Marcus Collins
{{Short description|English pop singer}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2013}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Marcus Collins
| image =
| caption = Collins in 2011
| birth_name = Marcus Collins
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1988|05|15}}
| birth_place = {{nowrap|Crosby, Liverpool, England}}
| origin =
| occupation = Singer
| years_active = 2011–present
| label = RCA
| website =
}}
Marcus Collins (born 15 May 1988) is an English singer who was a finalist on the eighth series of The X Factor in 2011. He was mentored by Take That frontman Gary Barlow, who continued to work with him on his debut album.
The self-titled album was produced by the London-based Metrophonic team, known for their work with Whitney Houston and Cher. It peaked inside the UK top 10 and spawned the single "Mercy". His debut single from the album was "Seven Nation Army", a cover of The White Stripes hit, and also peaked inside the top 10.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bluesandsoul.com/feature/768/higher_and_higher/|title=Marcus Collins: Aiming higher and Higher|website=Bluesandsoul.com}}
Career
=Eton Road=
Prior to his solo audition in 2011, Collins was a member of four piece boyband Eton Road, who rose to fame on the third series of The X Factor. Collins did not appear on The X Factor that year, but joined the band after original member Anthony Hannah left the band due to exhaustion. Anthony performed over 150 gigs with the band.
=''The X Factor'' (2011)=
In 2011, Collins chose to audition as a solo artist for the eighth series of The X Factor in front of judges Louis Walsh, Gary Barlow, Kelly Rowland and Tulisa. His audition was successful as all four judges put him through to bootcamp. He then progressed through to judges' houses where he was put through to the live shows by Barlow in his Boys category (solo males aged 16–24) alongside Craig Colton, Frankie Cocozza and James Michael. He beat over 200,000 other contestants to earn his place in the grand final at Wembley Arena. Collins performed the following songs on The X Factor:
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |
| style="text-align:centre;"|Show
! style="text-align:centre" colspan="4"|Song choice ! style="text-align:centre;"|Theme ! style="text-align:centre;"|Result |
|---|
| Auditions
|colspan="4"|"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAnapPKoIHQ Marcus Collins – The X Factor 2011 Auditions – Liverpool]. YouTube. Retrieved on 2012-05-14. |Free choice |Advanced |
| Bootcamp 1
|colspan="4"|"Born This Way"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjRNDhkv6To X Factor Uk 2011 – Bootcamp 1 – Marcus Collins, Goldie Cheung (LEGENDADO PT). YouTube (2011-09-25). Retrieved on 2012-05-14.] |Bootcamp challenge |Advanced |
| Bootcamp 2
|colspan="4"|"Kiss from a Rose" |Bootcamp songs |Advanced |
| rowspan="2"|Judges' houses
|colspan="4"|"One Big Family"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhfSmVgo6AY Marcus Collins' Judges' Houses audition – The X Factor 2011 Judges' Houses – itv.com/xfactor]. YouTube. Retrieved on 2012-05-14. |rowspan="2"|Free choice |rowspan="2"|Advanced |
| colspan="4"|"Rolling in the Deep"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvnUuroceF8 The X Factor 2011 (The Xtra Factor) Judges Houses – Marcus Collins]. YouTube. Retrieved on 2012-05-14. |
| Live show 1
|colspan="4"|"Moves like Jagger" |Britain vs America |Saved by Barlow |
| Live show 2
|colspan="4"|"Russian Roulette" |Love and heartbreak |Safe (7th) - 6.8% |
| Live show 3
|colspan="4"|"Are You Gonna Go My Way" |Rock |Safe (4th) - 11.2% |
| Live show 4
|colspan="4"|"Superstition/Need You Tonight" |Safe (6th) - 10.1% |
| Live show 5
|colspan="4"|"Reet Petite" |Dancefloor fillers |Safe (2nd) - 16.0% |
| Live show 6
|colspan="4"|"Another One Bites the Dust" |Safe (4th) - 12.9% |
| Live show 7
|colspan="4"|"(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" |Movies |Safe (4th) - 14.4% |
| rowspan="2"|Quarter-Final
|colspan="4"|"I'm Your Man" |Guilty pleasures |rowspan="2"|Safe (3rd) - 21.0% |
| colspan="4"|"Lately"
|Musical heroes |
| rowspan="2"|Semi-Final
|colspan="4"|"My Girl" |rowspan="2"|Safe (2nd) - 24.0% |
| colspan="4"|"Can You Feel It"
|Song to get you to the final |
| rowspan="5"|Final
|colspan="4"|"Hey Ya!" |Free choice |rowspan="2"| Safe (2nd) - 34.5% |
| colspan="4"|"She's Always a Woman" (with Gary Barlow)
|Mentor duet |
| colspan="4"|"(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher"
| Favourite performance |rowspan="3"|Final two |
| colspan="4"|"Last Christmas" |
| colspan="4"|"Cannonball"
|Winner's single |
=2012: Debut album and ''Hairspray''=
In January 2012, Collins signed a record deal with RCA Records and announced that was set to release his debut studio album in March. On 21 January, it was announced that his debut single would be a cover of The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army". The single was released on 4 March. It was an exact copy of an arrangement of the song previously recorded by French artist Ben l'Oncle Soul that had been a hit in Europe.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}} The song received a mixed reception, with fans of The White Stripes comparing the song in unfavourable light to the original. The song charted at number nine on the UK Singles Chart and spent three weeks on the chart. Collins then released his self-titled debut album on 12 March 2012 and debuted and peaked at number seven on the UK Albums Chart.[https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/albums-chart/20120318/7502/ 2012-03-24 Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive], Officialcharts.com "Mercy"[http://blog.thenext2shine.com/music-video-marcus-collins-mercy Music Video: Marcus Collins – Mercy – TheNext2Shine.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120428042158/http://blog.thenext2shine.com/music-video-marcus-collins-mercy |date=28 April 2012 }}. Blog.thenext2shine.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-14. was released as the second single from the album, making it Collins' first self penned single. The music video for "Mercy" was released on 24 April 2012, with the single released on 3 June 2012. It was relatively unsuccessful, reaching only 194 on the UK Singles Chart, due to lack of proper promotion.
On 16 October 2012, it was announced that Collins would star as Seaweed Stubbs in the 2013 UK Tour of Hairspray, from February–September 2013.{{cite news|url=http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/crosby-x-factor-star-marcus-3332433|title=Crosby X Factor star Marcus Collins joins the cast of Hairspray|last=Miles|first=Tina|date=16 October 2012|work=Liverpool Echo|access-date=2 December 2013}} After completing the tour, Collins, Beth Tweddle and others took part in a world record-breaking charity skydive.{{cite news|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/news/a517856/marcus-collins-hollyoaks-stars-break-skydiving-world-record.html|title=Marcus Collins, 'Hollyoaks' stars break skydiving world record|last=Sperling|first=Daniel|date=23 September 2013|work=Digital Spy|access-date=2 December 2013}}
=2013–present=
He has appeared in Kinky Boots the musical at The Adelphi Theatre in London's West End which stars Matt Henry and Killian Donnelly. On 27 September 2013, after finishing with Hairspray, Collins revealed that he had left RCA and signed with a new record company: "It was all mutually agreed. To be honest, it just didn't feel like we were going in the same direction. I loved working with them, but it just got to a point where we both could go either way." Regarding his new album,{{cite news|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a519255/marcus-collins-leaves-sony-signs-new-record-deal.html|title=Marcus Collins leaves Sony, signs new record deal|last=Corner|first=Lewis|author2=Sperling, Daniel|date=27 September 2013|work=Digital Spy|access-date=2 December 2013}} He announced that he would be back in the recording studio "for the majority of October". Regarding his new album, Collins explained: "We've got about seven or eight songs that we're going to put down. We've got some new tracks and we've got some acoustic ones that are a little bit different. [Acoustic songs are] something that I've done before, but the record label I was with previously had different ideas and that's kind of why we separated." As of 2023, neither a new recording contract or album have been confirmed nor released.
He latterly was on tour playing Hud in the stage show Hair.
As of 2023, he is currently playing Andre in Mrs Doubtfire at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London West End{{cite web | url=https://www.mrsdoubtfiremusical.co.uk/cast-and-creative | title=MRS. Doubtfire UK | Cast & Creative }}
Discography
=Albums=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album details ! scope="col" colspan="3"| Peak chart positions |
|---|
| scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"|UK
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"|IRE ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"|SCO |
| scope="row" | Marcus Collins
|
| 7 || 24 || 8 |
=Singles=
=As featured artist=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" | ||
| scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Singles ! scope="col" colspan="3"| Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| UK
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| IRL ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| SCO | ||
| 2011
! scope="row"| "Wishing on a Star" | 1 | 1 | 1 |
References
{{Reflist}}
{{The X Factor contestants}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Marcus}}
Category:20th-century English LGBTQ people
Category:21st-century Black British male singers
Category:21st-century British male singers
Category:21st-century English LGBTQ people
Category:Black British LGBTQ people
Category:English gay musicians
Category:English LGBTQ singers
Category:English LGBTQ songwriters
Category:English male singer-songwriters
Category:English people of Grenadian descent
Category:English singer-songwriters