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Everything you need to know about X Factor contestant Shan Ako

Everything you need to know about X Factor contestant Shan Ako

The session singer is a graduate of the famous Brit School

Susanna Lazarus

Published: Saturday, 24 November 2018 at 12:39 pm

A session singer by trade, X Factor contestant Shan (full name Shan Ako) is a 25-year-old graduate from the prestigious Brit School.

Shan went on to release an EP, Prisoner of Hope in 2016, a record drawing from Gospel, Soul, Reggae and Folk influences. And outside performing, she also achieved a 1st class degree in 'Music Business and Arts Management at Middlesex University.

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Shan’s X Factor journey started with a cover of The Greatest Showman’s Never Enough in her first audition. The singer walked away from the stage with four big yeses and assurances from Simon Cowell she could be a "great role model to young people."

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Shan continued to impress Cowell at the Six Chair Challenge round, usurping fellow performer Georgia Burgess with a rendition of Sia's Alive.

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At the Judges’ Houses, Shan risked performing original song Get Back in front of the elite of the music industry. Fortunately, the gamble paid off, with the singer winning a hearty round of applause from multi-award-winning American songwriter Diane Warren.

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And if that wasn’t enough, Shan also got a shout out from one Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson during her time in Los Angeles, the actor responding to a photo of the singer standing on his Hollywood Walk of Fame star.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo1UV2PnO5b/?taken-by=shanofficially

Shan: The Key Facts

Age: 25

From: Croydon, London

Twitter: @ShanOfficially

Instagram: @shanofficially

Authors

Susanna LazarusAssociate Editor, RadioTimes.com

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