Niki Evans

Niki Evans (born 13 December 1972) is an English singer. She finished fourth on the fourth series of The X Factor in 2007. In 2009, she released her debut album By Request. Evans appeared as Mrs Johnstone in the UK national tour of Blood Brothers.^[1]

Biography

Pre X Factor

Born in the Staffordshire town of Tamworth, Niki Evans has sung with bands since the age of 12. At the age of 16 she was signed to Libido Records, an offshoot of Pete Waterman's PWL label. "Of R Timez", a single released with Ball Parc Playerz, did not achieve chart success.^[2]

• 1990 – Toured as a solo singer with pop stars Sonia, Lonnie Gordon, Big Fun and Yell!.^[3]
• 1992 – Married and settled down in Tamworth, Staffordshire with husband Darren. They have two sons.
• 1999 – Made her first TV appearance, on the BBC's Star for a Night, hosted by Jane McDonald. Following this she was approached by songwriters Stunt Masters to record a song to front a Mars chocolate TV advertising campaign.
• 2007 – Working as a catering manager at Polesworth International Language College in Tamworth. After her father's death she used an X Factor application form found in his personal files – and passed the audition to win a place in the live finals.^[4]

The X Factor

Evans was selected for the final phase of the competition as one of three contestants in the Over 25s category mentored by competition judge Louis Walsh. The others in this category were Beverley Trotman and Daniel de Bourg.^[5] Her performance of "Nothing Compares 2 U" in the first week of the live shows brought a standing ovation from the audience and acclaim from the four judges. Judge Sharon Osbourne told Evans that she was "in a class of her own". Each week Evans took on new challenges, both singing and performing, and was never placed in the bottom two, until she was eliminated at the semi-final stage.^[6]

X Factor performances

Post X Factor

Since appearing on The X Factor and the subsequent X Factor arena tour, Evans has sung with John Barrowman^[7] at the Symphony Hall, Birmingham and alongside Kim Wilde and Heather Small in Dubai. She appeared as a special guest of Jasper Carrott^[8] on his Christmas Rock With Laughter show at the NEC. Other appearances on TV include spots on LK Today with Lorraine Kelly and ITV's This Morning with Phillip Schofield and Fern Britton.

• August 2008 – Signed to artist management specialists, Liz Hobbs Group.
• September 2008 – Successful audition for the lead part of Mrs Johnstone in the West End musical Blood Brothers.
• October 2008 – Debut solo single "Love Me No More" scheduled for release by London-based Rollover Records on 27 October (download only).
• October 2008 – Evans joined the Blood Brothers touring company to play Mrs Johnstone at the Birmingham Hippodrome.
• November 2008 – Blood Brothers West End début at the Phoenix Theatre on 3 November. Evans will be with the show until 28 March 2009.^[9]
• 27 April 2009 – Evans rejoins the West End cast of Blood Brothers until the end of September.
• 2009–2010 – A new single 'I Feel Love', a cover of Donna Summer's 1977 hit released on 21 September 2009. An album followed in the autumn and Evans toured in early 2010. She promoted her new single with a live appearance in The Bentall Centre in Kingston upon Thames.
• December 2009 – January 2010 – Appearing in pantomime as The Fairy Godmother in Cinderella at The Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton. She released her debut album By Request on iTunes in December 2009.
• April 2010 – Evans rejoins the West End cast of Blood Brothers.
• December 2015 – January 2016 – Appearing in pantomime as The Fairy Godmother in Cinderella at The Darlington Civic Theatre, Darlington.

In 2012, Evans joined the UK tour of Legally Blonde: the Musical in the role of Paulette.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

• Official website
• Niki Evans Official Forum
• An interview with Niki Evans talking about her role in BLOOD BROTHERS – todoMUSICALES.com
• Niki Evans at the Internet Movie Database