Ben Haenow
Benjamin Bernard Haenow (born 6 January 1985) is an English singer and songwriter. In 2014, he was crowned as the winner of the eleventh series of The X Factor UK after beating Fleur East. Following his win, his debut single, a cover of OneRepublic's "Something I Need", was released in December 2014.
Also recorded as Ben Heanow · Benjamin Bernard Haenow
Ben Haenow

InfoGibraltar · CC BY 2.0
- Name
- Ben Haenow
- Birth Name
- Benjamin Bernard Haenow
- Born
- 6 January 1985
- Birthplace
- Croydon, England
- Occupation
- * Singer
- Nationality
- United Kingdom.
- Fields
- pop music and rock music.
- Education
- Orchard Park High School and London.
- Languages
- English.
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Documentary summary
Benjamin Bernard Haenow (born 6 January 1985) is an English singer and songwriter. In 2014, he was crowned as the winner of the eleventh series of The X Factor UK after beating Fleur East. Following his win, his debut single, a cover of OneRepublic's "Something I Need", was released in December 2014.
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Ben Haenow (born 1985) is a British musician and singer. The musician was born in Croydon. Ben Haenow studied at Orchard Park High School, London.
Genres include pop music and rock music. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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wikidata · Q18640160 · wikipedia · Ben Haenow
In this article
Biography
Biography
It debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the 2014 Christmas number one. Haenow released his self-titled debut studio album in November 2015, preceded by the single "Second Hand Heart", a duet with Kelly Clarkson.

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Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Ben Haenow • Birth Name — Benjamin Bernard Haenow • Born — 6 January 1985 • Birthplace — Croydon, England • Genre — * Pop • rock • Occupation — * Singer • Songwriter • Instrument — * Vocals • guitar • Years Active — 2014–present • Label — * Syco • RCA
Early years
Early years
Ben Haenow was born on 6 January 1985 in Croydon, England, to parents Mick and Rosanna Haenow (née Ward). He has an older brother named Alex. Their parents split when Ben was four years old, forcing his mother to work three jobs to make ends meet. When he was 14 years old, Ben suffered depression and drank a bottle of vodka a day until he was "sick and paralytic". Haenow has sung in bands since he was 15 and formed the rock and roll band the Lost Audio with Alex in 2006. Before auditioning for The X Factor, he was employed as a van driver.
2014: The X Factor and career beginnings
2014: The X Factor and career beginnings
On 26 June 2014, Haenow auditioned in Newcastle for the eleventh series of The X Factor. After singing Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" in his room audition, he received four "yes" votes and progressed through to the arena auditions. He sang The Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses" at the arena and progressed to "bootcamp". Haenow was placed in the "Over 26s" category at "bootcamp" and was mentored by Simon Cowell. He successfully made it through to "judges' houses" and was later chosen by Cowell for the live shows, along with Jay James and eventual runner-up Fleur East (as well as eventual wildcard Stevi Ritchie). Along with East, he was never in the bottom two and eventually made it to the live final. Haenow was announced as the winner on 14 December 2014. When the voting statistics were announced, Haenow was revealed to have received the most public votes from week four to ten. • The X Factor performances and results (2014) • Episode — Theme — Song — Result • Room audition — Free choice — "Ain't No Sunshine" — Through to arena • Arena audition — Free choice — "Wild Horses" — Through to bootcamp • Bootcamp — Free choice — "Hotel California" — Through to judges' houses • Judges houses — Free choice — "With a Little Help from My Friends" — Through to live shows • Live show 1 — Number ones — "Bridge over Troubled Water" — Safe (4th) • Live show 2 — 1980s music — "Jealous Guy" — Safe (4th) • Live show 3 — Songs from films — "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" — Safe (3rd) • Live show 4 — Halloween — "Highway to Hell" — Safe (1st) • Live show 5 — Queen vs. Michael Jackson — "Man in the Mirror" — Safe (1st) • Live show 6 — Big band — "Cry Me a River" — Safe (1st) • Live show 7 — Whitney Houston vs. Elton John — "I Will Always Love You" — Safe (1st) • Quarter-Final — Songs chosen by other artists — "Come Together" — Safe (1st) • Jukebox — "Thinking Out Loud" • Semi-Final — Christmas — "Please Come Home for Christmas" — Safe (1st) • Song to get you to the final — "Hallelujah" • Final — No theme — "Demons" — Safe (1st) • Celebrity duets — "Thinking Out Loud" (with Ed Sheeran) • Song of the series — "Man in the Mirror" — Winner (1st) • Winner's single — "Something I Need" On 15 December 2014, the day after he won the show, Haenow released his winner's single, a cover of OneRepublic's "Something I Need", via digital download. On 17 December, the single received a physical release, which features three of Haenow's best X Factor performances – "Jealous Guy", "Highway to Hell" and "Man in the Mirror". On 18 December, "Something I Need" entered the Irish Singles Chart at number two, finishing behind Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk", making Haenow the first X Factor winner not to get Ireland's Christmas number one in nine years. On 21 December, the song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart ahead of "Uptown Funk", after selling 214,000 copies in its first week, and became the Christmas number one. The release also became the second-fastest selling single of the year, behind Band Aid 30's "Do They Know It's Christmas?", which sold nearly 313,000 copies in its first week back in November 2014.
2015–2018: Debut album and Alive
2015–2018: Debut album and Alive
On 6 January 2015, Haenow's 30th birthday, it was announced that he had been signed by Syco Music. He then spent several months of the year in Los Angeles recording his self-titled debut album, Ben Haenow, which was released on 13 November 2015. The lead single from the album, "Second Hand Heart", a duet with Kelly Clarkson, was released on 16 October 2015 and peaked at number 21. On 28 January 2016, Haenow confirmed that he and Syco had parted ways by way of mutual agreement. Haenow released a new single "Alive" and on 7 July 2017. This was followed by "Forgive & Forget" on 13 October 2017 and "Rising" on 15 December 2017. Haenow revealed on his Facebook page that new single "Falling Down" would be released on 6 April 2018; he later announced on 3 May 2018 that his sophomore album, titled Alive, would be released on 25 May 2018.
Albums
Albums
• Title — Details — Peak chart positions — Certifications • UK — IRE — RSA — SCO • Ben Haenow — * Released: 13 November 2015 * Label: RCA, Syco * Format: Digital download, CD — 10 — 16 — 7 — 7 — * BPI: Silver • Alive — * Released: 25 May 2018 * Label: Ben Haenow * Format: Digital download, CD — — — — — — — — • "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Singles
Singles
• Title — Year — Peak chart positions — Certifications — Album • UK — IRE — RSA — SCO • "Something I Need" — 2014 — 1 — 2 — 3 — 1 — * BPI: Platinum * RISA: Gold — Ben Haenow • "Second Hand Heart" (featuring Kelly Clarkson) — 2015 — 21 — 56 — 3 — 4 — * BPI: Silver * RISA: Gold • "Alive" — 2017 — — — — — — — — — Alive • "Falling Down" — — — — — — — — • "Heart of Glass" — 2020 — — — — — — — — — rowspan="2" Non-album singles • "If You're Lonely" — — — — — — — — • "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Promotional singles
Promotional singles
• Title — Year — Album • "Forgive & Forget" — 2017 — Alive • "Rising"
Identity
Identity
Ben Haenow is recorded as a citizen of United Kingdom. Recorded with the occupation musician. Recorded with the occupation singer. Classed in the genre rock music.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1985
Ben Haenow was born on 6 January 1985.
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q18640160: Ben Haenow
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “Ben Haenow”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Ben Haenow says he's 'too old to party' at NTAs. Yahoo News UK.
- 2.Local World. Croydon van driver Ben Haenow set to perform for a place in X Factor live shows. The Croydon Advertiser. 4 October 2014.
- 3.Wightman, Catriona. The X Factor: Ben Haenow signs Syco record deal on his 30th birthday. Digital Spy. 6 January 2015.
- 4.Forrester, Katy. Ben Haenow has bought his mum a house after his number one single went platinum in the UK. Daily Mirror. 22 August 2015.
- 5.Welsh, Daniel. 'X Factor': Ben Haenow Admits He 'Necked A Bottle Of Vodka A Night' As A Teenager To Cope With Personal Troubles. HuffPost. AOL. 8 November 2014.
- 6.Local World. Croydon X Factor Ben Haenow tells of his 'surreal' experience performing at Wembley. The Croydon Advertiser.
- 7.Local World. Girlfriend 'Charlie Withell' states Croydon van driver Ben Haenow set to perform for a place in X Factor live shows. The Croydon Advertiser. 4 October 2014.
- 8.McGrath, Rachel. 'X Factor' Final: Lauren Platt Misses Out As Fleur East, Ben Haenow And Andrea Faustini Prepare For Battle (PICS). HuffPost. AOL. 12 August 2014.
- 9.Denham, Jess. X Factor winner Ben Haenow topped public vote for past seven weeks – see voting breakdown. The Independent. Independent Print Limited. 15 December 2014.
- 10.Raidió Teilifís Éireann. X Factor winner Ben Haenow denied Irish No 1 spot. 19 December 2014.
- 11.Moss, Liv. X Factor's Ben Haenow crowned 2014 Official Christmas Number 1. Official Charts Company. 21 December 2014.
- 12.Corner, Lewis. Why Ben Haenow could break The X Factor's male winner curse. Digital Spy. 8 October 2015.
- 13.Copsey, Rob. Ben Haenow teams up with Kelly Clarkson for new single. Official Charts Company.
- 14.Corner, Lewis. The X Factor winner Ben Haenow exits Simon Cowell's Syco Music record label: 'It's the right time to move on'. Digital Spy. 28 January 2016.
- 15.RISA. SA Top 20 – 5 Maart 2016.
- 16.Official Charts Company. Archive Chart.
- 17.British Phonographic Industry. BRIT Certified – bpi.
- 18.Official Charts Company. Ben Haenow > UK Charts. Officialcharts.com.
- 19.Hung, Steffen. Discography Ben Haenow. Irish Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
- 20.Entertainment Monitoring Africa. EMA Top 10 Airplay: Week Ending 2015-03-24.
- 21.Official Charts Company. Chart Archive > 27th December 2014.
- 22.Sony Music Africa (Recording Industry of South Africa. Ben Haenow – Something I Need – RISA Gold Certification.
- 23.Copsey, Rob. Ben Haenow releases new single, talks Cowell label split. Official Charts Company. 7 July 2017.
- 24.Apple Music. Falling Down – Single by Ben Haenow.
- 25.Apple Music. Heart of Glass – Single by Ben Haenow.
- 26.Apple Music. If You're Lonely – Single by Ben Haenow.
- 27.Finbow, Kate. Ben Haenow wins X Factor 2014: 'My dream has come true'. Metro. BBC. 14 December 2014.
References
Citations
References
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Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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