Janet Devlin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Janet Devlin
Devlin in 2012
Background information
Birth name	Janet Maureen Aoife Devlin
Born	(1994-11-12) 12 November 1994 (age 30) Gortin, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
Genres	Pop, folk, Celtic
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter
Years active	2011–present
Labels	Insomnia Music Records OkGood! Records Absolute
Associated acts	Eliot Kennedy, Newton Faulkner, Joshua Radin, Ethan Ash, Jack Savoretti, Gareth Emery

Janet Maureen Aoife Devlin (born 12 November 1994) is a singer and songwriter from Northern Ireland. She became well-known after competing in the eighth series of The X Factor in 2011. She finished in fifth place on the show.

Janet released her first album, Hide & Seek, in 2013. After releasing several shorter music collections called EPs and singles, her second full album, Confessional, came out in 2020.

Early Life and School

Janet Devlin was born on 12 November 1994. She is the youngest of four children. She has three older brothers named Jason, Gavin, and Aaron. Before she joined The X Factor, Janet lived with her family in Gortin, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

She went to an Irish language pre-school. Later, she attended Drumragh Integrated College. There, she completed her GCSEs, which are important school exams.

The famous musician Courtney Love once said she thought Janet and her family might be distant relatives of Kurt Cobain. However, Janet has said she doesn't know about any such connection. Before The X Factor, Janet only sang at school, in local pubs, and at talent shows. She also shared videos of herself singing on her YouTube channel.

Music Career

Starting with The X Factor in 2011

In 2011, Janet Devlin tried out for the eighth series of The X Factor. Her audition was shown on TV on 20 August 2011. She sang "Your Song" by Elton John. All four judges, Louis Walsh, Tulisa, Kelly Rowland, and Gary Barlow, liked her performance. They sent her to the next stage, called bootcamp.

After passing two challenges at bootcamp, Janet moved on to the judges' houses round. She was in Kelly Rowland’s group for solo female singers aged 16–24. Kelly Rowland then chose Janet to go to the live shows.

In the first live show, Janet sang "Fix You" by Coldplay. Kelly Rowland saved her, so she moved to the next round. There was no public vote in the first week. Janet was very popular with the public. She received the most public votes for the first four weeks of voting.

She reached the quarter-final (week 8). There, she ended up in the bottom two with another contestant, Misha B. Janet was voted off by two judges. However, voting numbers showed that Janet actually received more votes than Misha B. If the decision had gone to a public vote tie-breaker, Janet would have stayed. Her song in the sing-off was "Chasing Cars".

After leaving The X Factor, Janet performed at different places in the UK. She was one of nine acts to perform on The X Factor Live Tour in 2012. This tour visited cities across the UK and Ireland. She sang popular songs like 'Fix You' and 'Sweet Child o' Mine'.

First Album: Hide & Seek (2012–2013)

After The X Factor Live Tour, Janet started working on her first album. She began recording in May 2012. She wrote and recorded three songs with producer Eliot Kennedy and his team. One of these songs, "Crown of Thorns," quickly became a favorite at her live shows.

Janet wrote all the songs for her first album, often with another songwriter. She worked with people like Joe Janiak, Helen Boulding, and Ethan Ash. She also wrote songs with the Faulkner brothers, Toby and Newton Faulkner, Joshua Radin, and Jack Savoretti. By 2013, Janet had written about 25 songs. She wanted to write even more to make sure her album was the best it could be.

Janet used a website called PledgeMusic to help fund her debut album. Fans could pre-order the album and get special rewards. In December 2012, it was announced the album would be released in 2013. It reached its funding goal by New Year's Eve 2012. Janet finished recording the special limited version of her album in June 2013. Hide & Seek was released to her supporters on 1 July 2013. She also released an acoustic EP called Nothing Lost for her supporters.

In June 2013, Janet sang backing vocals for Newton Faulkner's album project, #studiozoo. She also premiered a live version of her song "Things We Lost in the Fire" on her YouTube channel.

Running with Scissors and Tours (2014)

In early 2014, Janet performed a new live version of her song "Delicate." She performed with Tom Dibb in a BalconyTV session. She won the Balcony TV Global Music Rumble several times in March.

In March 2014, Janet announced that her debut album would be released to everyone. It had a new title: Running with Scissors. This album came out on 9 June. It included a new single called "House of Cards," released on 26 May. The album also featured new songs and updated versions of songs from her earlier Hide & Seek album. The new version of "Hide & Seek" featured Newton Faulkner.

In October 2015, Janet used PledgeMusic again for her Christmas EP, December Daze. She was also featured on a song called "Beautiful to Me" by SHY & DRS. This song was released in November as the official song for Anti Bullying Week 2015. She also appeared on Gareth Emery's album 100 Reasons to Live in 2016. The song "Lost" on that album is a remix of her song "Things We Lost in the Fire."

EPs and Singles (2015–2018)

After Running with Scissors, Janet released more EPs and singles. The single "I Lied to You" came out in December 2018. It was described as a very personal song.

Confessional and Emotional Rodeo (2019–Present)

Janet Devlin's second studio album, Confessional, was released in June 2020. Before the album, she released several songs from it, including "Confessional," "Saint of the Sinners," and "Honest Men." She also released a book called My Confessional. This book explains the meaning behind all the songs on the album.

In November 2021, Janet released her own version of Elton John’s song “Your Song”. This song was part of her EP "It's Not that Deep," released in December 2021. This EP included two new songs and three cover songs.

On 26 April 2024, Janet released "Emotional Rodeo." This single reached number 22 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart. It is the first song from her upcoming album, also called Emotional Rodeo, which is expected in autumn 2024.

Artistic Style

Musical Inspirations

Janet Devlin is inspired by alternative artists. Some of her influences include City and Colour, John Frusciante, Nirvana, and Devendra Banhart.

Special Performances

In 2012, Janet performed at Croke Park in Ireland. She sang in front of a huge crowd of 82,300 people. This was part of the half-time show for a big Gaelic Football final. She sang 'Fix You' and her own song 'Walk Away'. She also performed at the X Factor NSPCC Childline Ball. She helped raise a lot of money for charity by singing 'Walk Away' and 'Fix You'.

In April 2013, Janet performed for the Dalai Lama. This was for a charity event in Derry, Northern Ireland. In May 2013, she played two concerts just for her supporters.

Janet went on her 'Imaginarium Tour' in September and October 2013. She played 14 shows across the UK and Ireland with her band. Her second tour, 'My Delirium Tour', was in December 2014. It included two shows in Northern Ireland, with the final stop in her hometown of Omagh.

In July 2015, Janet played four shows in the USA. She was supporting Heffron Drive on their 'Happy Mistakes Unplugged' Tour. She also came in second place at the 2015 Baltic Song Contest in Sweden.

Film Work

In 2018, Janet Devlin appeared in a short fantasy film called "Songbird." She played the role of Jennifer. The film won 26 awards at different international festivals. Janet herself won awards for Best Actress and Original Song ("Chandeliers") at some festivals.

Achievements

On 11 May 2012, Janet Devlin was honored by the Town Council in Omagh, County Tyrone. This was to celebrate her success on The X Factor.

Janet wrote two original songs for the film "Songbird." One of these songs, "Chandeliers," won two awards: Original Song at The Midlands Movies Awards 2019 and Best Foreign Theme Song at the Artemis Women In Action Film Festival 2019. The film "Songbird" was also nominated for Best Score/Soundtrack. On 27 March 2021, Janet Devlin won the Stagie Award for "Female Artist of the Year."

Discography

Studio Albums

Extended Plays (EPs)

Singles

As Featured Artist

Music Videos

Notes

a Illustrated, Animated and Directed

Tours

• The X Factor Live Tour (2012)
• The Imaginarium Tour (2013)
• My Delirium Tour (2014)
• Happy Mistakes: Unplugged Tour (2015)
• Confessional Tour (2021)
• It's Not That Deep Tour (2022)

Images for kids

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  Janet Devlin in 2012