Stephen Desmond Brookstein was born on 10 November 1968 and is an English singer, who is best known for winning the first series of The X Factor in 2004.
17 Facts About Steve Brookstein
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Steve Brookstein was born in Dulwich, London, England, the son of Malle, a council worker, and Errol Steve Brookstein, a lorry driver.
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Steve Brookstein's father is South African and his mother is of Estonian descent.
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In 1997, seven years before his breakthrough on The X Factor, Steve Brookstein was a finalist on the ITV series The Big Big Talent Show, hosted by Jonathan Ross.
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In early 2004, Steve Brookstein auditioned for the first series of The X Factor, a talent series aiming to discover new recording artists in the UK.
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Steve Brookstein's audition failed to impress two of the judges, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh, who thought he lacked the motivation and confidence to succeed but the third, Simon Cowell, asked Brookstein to return the following day and sing again.
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At the second audition, Steve Brookstein managed to impress the other judges and was put through to the next stage of the competition.
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Steve Brookstein reached the live shows, where contestants are put to the public vote, as one of three contestants in the Over 25s category mentored by Cowell.
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Steve Brookstein reached the grand final on 11 December 2004 alongside G4 and won, despite him mixing up words and lines in his winner's song and a controversial outburst against him from Osbourne.
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Steve Brookstein released his debut album Heart and Soul on 9 May 2005 through Sony BMG.
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Steve Brookstein maintains that the decision to drop him reportedly came after he was offered a second album and to come back on the show, which he declined as it was to be another album of covers and he preferred a mix of old and new.
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Steve Brookstein has publicly feuded with Simon Cowell and The X Factor, claiming "there is absolutely no way he would want me within 100 miles of him" and admitting spending years feeling bitter about the way he was treated on the show.
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In December 2009, when a Facebook campaign was launched to stop The X Factor winner from achieving the coveted Christmas number 1 spot, Steve Brookstein backed the campaign to see Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name" reach the top of the chart, targeting Cowell in an online rant.
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Steve Brookstein further attacked Cowell, claiming the latter "ruined Christmas" and that he was dropped from his record label because he "wouldn't play the game".
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Steve Brookstein claimed the show was staged and the winner was fixed, and was removed from the official The X Factor website following those comments.
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In 2013, Steve Brookstein announced that his new album would be called Forgotten Man and would be released on 23 March 2014.
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Steve Brookstein released a book on 21 November 2014, Getting over the X, that describes his journey from winning The X Factor to having the press and industry turn their backs on him.