Ili (singer) facts for kids

Emily Middlemas (born September 26, 1998), known as ili, is a singer and songwriter from Scotland. She is famous for her unique pop music style. Emily first gained attention on the TV show The X Factor. She competed on the show twice, first in 2014 and again in 2016. In 2019, she started using her stage name, ili. She then released her first collection of songs, called an EP, titled Changes.

Early Life and Family

Emily Middlemas was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on September 26, 1998. She went to Woodfarm High School. When she was very young, Emily also auditioned for another TV talent show, Britain’s Got Talent.

Emily has been in a relationship with singer Ryan Lawrie since 2015. They got engaged in June 2022.

Music Career

Emily started her music journey at age nine. She was part of a band called Loud N Proud. By the time she was thirteen, she began writing her own songs. In July 2014, Emily won a big singing contest called TeenStar in Birmingham.

Later that year, she tried out for the eleventh series of The X Factor. She made it to the "judges' houses" stage. However, she did not make it to the live shows that year.

The X Factor Journey

Emily returned to The X Factor in 2016 for its thirteenth series. She sang "Master Blaster (Jammin')" by Stevie Wonder for her audition. She was placed in the "girls" category. Her mentor on the show was Simon Cowell.

Emily made it all the way to the live shows. She was the last singer left in Simon Cowell's team. In the semi-final, she was one of the last two contestants. Emily was eliminated from the show, finishing in fourth place.

After The X Factor

In 2017, Emily released her first song, "Lost and Found". After this, she went on her first tour around the United Kingdom. This tour was called The Memory Lane Tour and had 11 shows.

In March 2018, she released her second song, "Layla". This song was a special tribute to a young girl who passed away from cancer. Later that year, she released two more songs: "Habit" and "Broken Record".

Becoming ili

In August 2019, Emily announced her new stage name, ili. She released her first song as ili, called "A Little Bit", that same month. In September 2019, the song "Changes" came out. This was the main song from her first EP, also called Changes. The full five-song EP Changes was released on November 1, 2019.

She continued to release new music. On May 8, 2020, she released the song "Breath". Two years later, ili released "Time Go By". In May 2023, her song "Tongue Tied" was released. The magazine Notion said this song was starting to become popular around the world.

Music Releases

Extended Plays

Singles