Alex & Sierra

Alex & Sierra was an American duo consisting of Alex Kinsey (born September 8, 1991) and Sierra Deaton (born February 11, 1991), who won the third and final season of The X Factor US. They were mentored by Simon Cowell and became the first and only group to win the American version of the show. Their debut album It's About Us was released on October 7, 2014, on Columbia Records.[3] Their EP As Seen on TV was released on September 30, 2016.

Alex & Sierra
Alex & Sierra at the Winter NAMM Show in 2015
Background information
OriginDaytona Beach, Florida, US (Alex Kinsey)
Orlando, Florida, US (Sierra Deaton)
GenresFolk-pop,[1] indie pop[2]
Years active2013–2017
LabelsSyco/Columbia (past)
Past membersAlex Kinsey
Sierra Deaton

On September 1, 2017, Alex & Sierra announced to the media that they had broken up more than a year earlier, and would no longer continue to make music together, but would branch out into their own solo careers.[4]

Career

2013: The X Factor

Alex & Sierra auditioned in New Orleans, Louisiana, making it to the next round after wowing the judges with a sultry version of Britney Spears' "Toxic". They continued on to the top 40 and received Simon Cowell as their mentor.[5] For the Four Chair Challenge, Alex & Sierra took on the John Travolta/Olivia Newton-John classic "You're The One That I Want" from the 1978 musical film Grease.[6] The judges praised the duo for putting their own twist on the song. Kelly and Paulina felt the performance was "nice" and said they had "sexiness" to them, while Demi Lovato told them they were one of her favorite acts but questioned the future and their relationship. Simon Cowell was annoyed and disagreed, in support of Alex & Sierra as a couple. Despite this controversy, the duo made it through to the live shows.[7] The couple also made a song called "Little Do You Know" which was a hit!

For the first live show, Alex and Sierra earned a spot in the top 12 after performing a stripped-down version of the Robin Thicke hit "Blurred Lines".[8] Kelly Rowland wished it had been a bit sexier and thought it got corny at times, something Simon Cowell disagreed with,[8] praising Alex & Sierra's performance, calling it "original" and "unique".[8][8][9] For Motown Night, they took on "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye. Paulina felt it was "natural," while Demi said it felt "organic" as well as very "hot" and "sexy".[10] On the re-vote show, which happened due to a graphics error that nullified the votes, Alex & Sierra sang "Give Me Love" by Ed Sheeran; Cowell afterward said that the performance was "immaculate... ragged and raw."[11]

For '80s Night, the couple took on the Robert Palmer classic "Addicted to Love".[12] The performance earned them negative reviews; Kelly wanted them together more, Paulina called them "Bohemian" and "vintage", Demi felt that Sierra looked uncomfortable in her shoes and wanted the performance more organic, and their mentor Simon expressed disappointment over how the performance went by saying that they lost the melody in the beginning and "it wasn't as good as it should have been."[12] For British Invasion night, Alex & Sierra took on the One Direction hit "Best Song Ever". Demi Lovato called it their best performance and said she planned to download the song on iTunes.[13] However, Sierra's vocals were criticized for not being as strong as Alex's. Their version charted on the top 40 of the US iTunes, the first act to do so that season.[13]

For Big Band night, Alex & Sierra performed Taylor Swift's hit "I Knew You Were Trouble".[14] Demi said that she didn't like the arrangement at first, but Alex & Sierra made her like it by the end. Simon said that their arrangement was clever and cool and not obvious, and also praised Sierra: "You just shut up the witches of Eastwick here because that was a great, great vocal performance." They later faced off against the others in a group performance of "Cry Me A River", in which they received praise from Kelly, who said they "soared".[14]

For Divas/Unplugged night, the couple sang two songs. Their "Diva" song was "Say My Name" by Destiny's Child. The song earned them praise from Kelly, who said she adored the new sassy side of Sierra.[15] Their "Unplugged" song, "Say Something" by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera (thought by many as their best X Factor performance) earned them praise by the judges; Kelly said she felt like she was watching an awards show, Demi felt that the performance was "magical", Paulina was impressed with Sierra's talent with the piano, and Simon stated that this was not only their best performance of the night but of the season.[15] Their version of the song hit number one on the US iTunes charts, which was the first time that a song from the US X Factor reached the top position.[16]

For the semi finals, the public chose "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men, which pleased the judges; Kelly said they nailed it, Demi felt she was looking at the winners, Paulina said that they kept coming back stronger and suggested that there was a huge gap in the industry for them, and Simon said they were not just performing - they were making records each week.[17] They faced Carlito Olivero in The Duet Duels singing "Falling Slowly" with the judges feeling that while Carlito and Alex did well, Sierra stole the song.[17] but it was their performance of "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles that earned high remarks. The judges felt that Sierra had blossomed during the competition, Alex's vocals were "fricking crazy" and their performance was "perfect", bringing judges Kelly Rowland and Demi Lovato to tears and securing their place in the finals.[17] Like "Say Something" before it, the couple's version of "Gravity" hit number 1 on iTunes.

For the finals, Alex & Sierra sang three songs. They did their "save me" song from the re-vote show as their "song to win", "Give Me Love" by Ed Sheeran.[18] They also sang "Bleeding Love" with Leona Lewis, and their "song of the season" was "Say Something".[19] The "Bleeding Love" performance received a bit of a mixed response mainly from Demi Lovato, who said that it wasn't their best performance, but the other two songs received praise. In the finale result show, Alex & Sierra performed "All I Want For Christmas Is You". Later that night, they were announced the winners of the season on December 19, 2013.[20] They were the only group to win the American version of the show,[21] and the fourth in the worldwide franchise (after Random on the first series of the Australian version,[22] Little Mix on the eighth series of the United Kingdom version and Rak-Su on the fourteenth series of the United Kingdom version). In an interview after the winner was announced, Simon Cowell revealed that Alex and Sierra received the most number of public votes every week of the competition.[23] He said that the margin for the number of votes narrowed closer to the end of the season.[24]

Performances on The X Factor

     denotes having reached within the top ten of the iTunes chart.

2013–2015: It's About Us and being dropped

Following their win on The X Factor, Alex & Sierra announced they would be making their debut album 'quick' and 'right'.[25] They have been working with Julian Bunetta, Sam Watters, John Shanks, Toby Gad, Jason Mraz, and Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter John Legend on their album.[26] On May 3, 2014, Alex & Sierra revealed their debut single, "Scarecrow". The lyrical video featuring puppets instead of the singers themselves, was released on May 27, 2014.[27] The song was released to iTunes on June 23, 2014. 'Scarecrow' was promoted with a performance on the Today Show on the day of the iTunes release. It sold 30,000 copies in its first week of release.[28] The music video for Scarecrow was released on July 11, 2014. The next day, Alex & Sierra announced the title and artwork of their debut album, "It's About Us." Along with the pre-order of the album on July 15, "Little Do You Know" was made available as a promotional single.[29] "Just Kids" is the second promotional single, and was premiered on August 4, 2014. On August 24, "Bumper Cars" was released as the third promotional single. Two weeks later, on September 17, "Here We Go" was released as the fourth promotional single and peaked at #4 on the iTunes singles charts.

Somewhere around July 2015, Alex and Sierra were dropped by their record label without any formal communication.[30][31]

2016–2017: As Seen on TV and their break up

On March 6, 2016, Alex & Sierra announced on their Instagram that they were in the works of releasing an extended play. They stated that the EP will feature songs they've covered on TV (The X Factor USA) along with some new original songs. They were featured on Gareth Emery's album, 100 Reasons to Live, with a new song, "We Were Young", released March 31, 2016.[32] On August 1, 2016 they announced on their Twitter that their EP As Seen on TV would be available for pre-order on August 5, 2016 and be officially released on September 30, 2016. On August 3, 2016 they released a music video for their cover of Toxic exclusively on Yahoo Music.

On September 1, 2017, Alex & Sierra announced via Twitter that they had broken up a prior and had attempted to continue as friends. However, they realized that it was time for them to no longer continue making music together, and instead decided to focus on their own careers.[4] The reason for the break up has not been released.

Members

Alex Kinsey

Alex Kinsey (born September 8, 1991), sometimes simply known as KINSEY, is from New Smyrna Beach, Florida and is an only child. Alex cites Jason Mraz as one of his biggest musical influences, and has seen him live in concert eight times.[33] He has been playing guitar since middle school. Alex attended New Smyrna Beach High School and The University of Central Florida. He is currently making music in the band BoTalks, which is a musical duo made up of Alex and Swedish singer-songwriter & producer Johan Lindbrandt.[34] On 31 May 2019, he released his debut solo EP Party of One.[35]

Sierra Deaton

Sierra Phuong-Thao Deaton is a singer, songwriter and dancer, born on February 11, 1991 (age 29) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Raised in Orlando, Florida, Deaton, through her father, Dr. John Deaton, claims British descent and through her mother, Vu Deaton, claims Vietnamese descent.[17] She has an older sister named Lara Deaton.[17] Deaton began dancing at the age of two and studied ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, modern, and more. She competed for eleven years and won three international titles in Irish dancing.[17] She attended Lake Howell High School.[17] Initially enrolling in post-secondary education with the intent of becoming a scientist or doctor[36], Deaton attended The University of Central Florida, studying for a advertising and public relations degree and graduating with honors in 2013.[37]

Following the split of Alex & Sierra, Deaton began releasing music under the stage name, Essy. On 16 February 2018, Deaton released her debut solo single "Don't Hurt".[38] On 23 March 2018, Deaton released "Fools Gold" in collaboration with producer Ship Wrek.[39] On 27 April 2018, Deaton released a second collaboration with Ship Wrek, titled "Open Up".[40] She has since co-written songs and provided backing vocals for artists, including 5 Seconds of Summer, Gnash and Lovelytheband.[41][42][43] Deaton is currently signed as a songwriter for Unknown Music Publishing.[36]

Since 2018, Deaton has been dating Luke Hemmings of 5 Seconds of Summer.[41]

Tours
  • The Good Guys & A Girl Tour (2015, with Andy Grammer and Paradise Fears) – the tour began in Seattle, WA at The Showbox on February 24, 2015 with the final concert of the tour on April 3 in West Hollywood, California at the House of Blues, Sunset Strip.[44]
  • The Take Me Tour (2017, with JOHN.k) - the tour began in San Francisco, CA at Slim's on February 16, 2017 and spanned 8 more shows, ending in Los Angeles, CA at The Roxy on March 2, 2017.

Discography

Studio albums
List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
US
 AUS
[45]		 CAN
 NZ
It's About Us[46]
  • Released: October 7, 2014
  • Label: Syco, Columbia
  • Format: CD, digital download
 897119
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Extended plays
Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
 DEN
[48]
As Seen on TV
  • Release date: September 30, 2016
  • Label: The A&S Partnership
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 18336

Singles
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
Bub.		 US
Adult
[49]		 AUS
[50]		 DEN
[51]
"Scarecrow" 2014 174089— It's About Us
"Little Do You Know"[52] ———33

Promotional singles
List of promotional singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US CAN
"Just Kids" 2014 — — It's About Us
"Bumper Cars"[53] — —
"Here We Go" — 100

Videography

Music videos
Year Title Director
2014"Scarecrow"Alex Purifoy
(Lyric Video)
Philip Andelman
(Music Video)
2014"Little Do You Know"Jay Martin
2016 "Toxic"
2016 "Animals" Bruce Bohman
gollark: Er, built-in commands to get Chuck Norris jokes?
gollark: One is for remote debugging/emulating ghosts, one is for the uninstaller/updater disk(s), one is for updating generally, and one is because I was too lazy to cache the emulated BIOS.
gollark: I think you mean "remote support systems".
gollark: Four, by some counts.
gollark: "But still" what?

References
  1. Matt Collar. "Alex & Sierra | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-04-02.
  2. "Alex & Sierra: Artist to Watch - Fox Weekly". Foxweekly.com. Archived from the original on 2015-05-13. Retrieved 2015-04-02.
  3. "iTunes - Music - It's About Us By Alex & Sierra". Itunes.apple.com. 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2015-04-02.
  4. "Musical Duo and Couple Alex & Sierra Announce Breakup". Billboard. Retrieved 2017-09-02.
  5. "Alex & Sierra Flaunt 'Toxic' Love On 'X Factor' Season Premiere — Watch". HollywoodLife. September 12, 2013. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  6. Still, Jennifer. "'The X Factor' USA: Four Chair Challenge part four recap". Digital Spy. Retrieved Oct 13, 2013.
  7. "Alex and Sierra – You're The One That I Want – The X Factor USA 4-Chair Challenge". Southomer.com. Oct 10, 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-12-24. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  8. Wightman, Catriona. "'The X Factor' USA recap: The live shows begin, but four say goodbye". DigitalSpy. Retrieved Oct 30, 2013.
  9. "Alex and Sierra with their cover of Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines". thexfactorusa. Oct 29, 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  10. Fienberg, Daniel. "Recap: 'The X Factor' Season 3 Top 12 Performances - Motown Night: What is the twist Simon Cowell has been teasing?". Hitfix. Retrieved Nov 6, 2013.
  11. Fienberg, Daniel. "Recap: 'The X Factor' Top 13 Performances Deja View - Thursday edition: After Wednesday's SNAFU, the Top 13 perform again for your votes". HitFix. Retrieved Nov 7, 2013.
  12. Fienberg, Daniel. "Recap: 'The X Factor' Season 3 - First Elimination and '80s Night Performances". Hitfix. Retrieved Nov 13, 2013.
  13. Kubicek, John. "'The X Factor' Recap: The Top 10's British Invasion". BuddyTV. Archived from the original on 2013-11-22. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  14. Wightman, Catriona. "'The X Factor' USA Big Band Week recap: Swinging and swooning". DigitalSpy. Retrieved Nov 28, 2013.
  15. Wightman, Catriona. "The X Factor USA Diva & Unplugged week: Five best performances". DigitalSpy. Retrieved Dec 5, 2013.
  16. Bentley, Jean. "'The X Factor': Simon Cowell says 'Say Something' was Alex and Sierra's star-making moment". blog.zap2it. Archived from the original on December 9, 2013. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  17. Wightman, Catriona. "The X Factor USA semi-final recap: Duet duels, tears & killer songs". DigitalSpy. Retrieved Dec 12, 2013.
  18. "The X Factor On Fox - News-Detail". Thexfactorusa.com. Retrieved 2014-01-29.
  19. Becca Longmire. "X Factor USA: Paulina Rubio To Perform As Alex And Sierra, Jeff Gutt And Carlito Olivero Make It To Final". Entertainmentwise.com. Archived from the original on 2014-12-24. Retrieved 2015-04-02.
  20. Still, Jennifer. "The X Factor USA: Grand finale". DigitalSpy. Retrieved Dec 19, 2013.
  21. "Top Three Finalists Announced on 'The X Factor'". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
  22. "Teen, duo, country mum battle for X Factor". AAP. The West Australian. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  23. "Simon Cowell Interview at "The X Factor" USA Season 3 Finale Night 2 - Alex and Sierra". Maximotv. Retrieved Dec 20, 2013.
  24. Saltman, Laura. "Congrats to @TheXFactorUSA winners @AlexandSierra3 @SimonCowell told me backstage they were the #1 vote getters every single week it was on". Twitter. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  25. Murphy, Shaunna. "Alex & Sierra: 'X Factor' Winners Plan To Do 1st Album 'Quick' & 'Right'". Hollywoodlife.com. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  26. Parker, Lyndsey. "'X Factor' Winners Alex & Sierra Writing With John Legend for Debut Album". Yahoo. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  27. "Alex & Sierra - Scarecrow (Lyric Video)". Youtube.com. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  28. "Alex & Sierra Perform Debut Single 'Scarecrow' On The Today Show". Popdust.com. 2014-06-23. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  29. Hiramine, Brie. "Get All the Deets on Alex & Sierra's New Album 'It's About Us'". J-14.com. Retrieved 2015-04-02.
  30. "r/IAmA - We are Alex & Sierra... we won X Factor, (a Simon Cowell reality singing competition,) released an album that charted #8 on Billboard and then we got dropped. We just put out our first independent release. Ask us anything!". reddit. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
  31. "Alex Kinsey & Sierra Deaton of the X Factor Split". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
  32. "Instagram". Instagram. 2016-04-01. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
  33. "Alex Kinsey: Road To Hollywood Interviews - AMERICAN IDOL". American Idol. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  34. "Review: BoTalks Embrace Exposed Emotions in "Fuck It" ft. Caroline Pennell". Atwood Magazine. 2018-03-09. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  35. Partners, EDM com-Music. "X Factor Champion Alex Kinsey Releases Debut Solo EP, Party of One, on Proximity". EDM.com - The Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  36. "Sierra Deaton". Unknown Music Publishing. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  37. "UCF Honors Alex & Sierra as Knights for Life". College of Sciences News. 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  38. "Sierra Deaton Exclusive Interview: Leaving Alex & Sierra, New Solo Single". Billboard. 2018-02-16. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  39. "Fools Gold - Single by Ship Wrek & Essy". Apple Music. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
  40. "Open Up - Single by Ship Wrek & Essy". Apple Music. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
  41. "Uncover All The Hidden Meanings In 5 Seconds Of Summer's New Album 'CALM'". J-14. 2020-03-27. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  42. "Gnash Offers a Vulnerable Apology in Latest Release, "Forgive"". Soundigest. 2019-10-10. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  43. coachella, retrieved 2020-07-04
  44. "Alex and Sierra 2015 The Good Guys & A Girl Tour Schedule". March 5, 2015. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  45. Ryan, Gavin (2014-10-25). "Slipknot Land No 1 Album On ARIA Chart". Noise11. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
  46. "iTunes - Music - It's About Us". iTunes. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  47. "It's About Us - Album Sales". Hits Daily Double. 2016-10-05. Archived from the original on 2016-10-01. Retrieved 2016-10-27.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  48. "Album Top-40 Uge 5, 2017". Hitlisten.NU. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  49. "Alex & Sierra - Chart history". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2015-04-02.
  50. "ARIA Singles Chart - Chartifacts - Tuesday 23rd September 2014". ARIA Singles Chart. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  51. "Track Top-40 Uge 4, 2017". Hitlisten.NU. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  52. "Alex & Sierra anunciam "Little Do You Know" como novo single". Vagalume. Retrieved 2014-09-01.
  53. "Ouça "Little Do You Know", novo single promocional de Alex & Sierra". Papelpop.com. 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2015-04-02.
Preceded by
Tate Stevens		 Winner of The X Factor
2013		 Succeeded by
N/A
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