Rosie Ribbons | |
---|---|
Birth name | Rosemary Ribbons |
Born |
Australia |
22 July 1983
Origin | Pontardawe, Wales, United Kingdom |
Genres | Pop |
Years active | 2002–2012 |
Labels | Telstar Records |
Website | Official website |
Rosemary "Rosie" Ribbons (born 22 July 1983) is an Australian-born, United Kingdom-raised singer-songwriter. She achieved fame by being one of the finalists in the ITV1 talent show Pop Idol. Subsequently, she went on to score two UK top 20 hits.
In the early 1980s, her English father (from North London), Ronald, visited Australia. He met and married Rosie's mother Carol, and the family moved to Pontardawe near Swansea when Rosie was four, to be near Ronald's parents who had moved from London to South Wales for work prior to retiring.
Ribbons reportedly wanted to be a pop singer since she was eight years old. A big fan of Mariah Carey, she learned to mimic her singing, and also started to write her own songs. She lost interest during her final school year, passing only two GCSEs, English and Drama.
In 2001, bored with her supermarket job, Ribbons auditioned for ITV1's talent show Pop Idol. She initially performed her own composition called "Colours" to judges Simon Cowell, Nicki Chapman, Neil Fox and record producer Pete Waterman. Although impressed with her vocal, Cowell suggested that she pick a more familiar song. Taking his advice, Ribbons then wowed the panel with a rendition of "Hero" by Mariah Carey, a performance that moved Waterman to tears.
Ribbons progressed through the competition and made the top 50. She won her heat by a landslide with a version of "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" by Bryan Adams, receiving over half of the total votes cast for her group. At this juncture Ribbons was named amongst the favourites to win, but was voted out by viewers a few weeks before Will Young was crowned winner on 9 February 2002, ultimately finishing in 6th place.