Dean Ray

Dean Pritchard, At the age of six, Ray and his family moved to Meandarra, Queensland. Ray comes from a musical family; his parents Chris and Angie had their own country band called Itchy Feet. Ray grew up travelling around Australia with his parents, and he would often sleep in guitar cases backstage at venues when his parents were on stage performing. Ray and his brother, who played piano, were then recruited into their parents' band. Ray made it to the second bootcamp challenge, where he performed "Yellow" by Coldplay to the judges and a live audience of one thousand. He then progressed to the home visits round in New York City and performed "Dancing Queen" by ABBA in front of his mentor Natalie Bassingthwaighte and guest mentor Jennifer Lopez. Bassingthwaighte later selected Ray, along with Adrien Nookadu and Tee, for the live finals—a series of eleven weekly live shows in which contestants are progressively eliminated by public vote.

After the eliminations of Nookadu in week three and Tee in week seven, Ray became the last remaining contestant in Bassingthwaighte's category. In week nine, he was in the bottom two for the first time with Caitlyn Shadbolt and performed Johnny Cash's version of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" in the final showdown. Ray was saved after Bassingthwaighte, Dannii Minogue and Redfoo chose to eliminate Shadbolt.

Performances on The X Factor

Free choice "Bette Davis Eyes" Kim Carnes

Through to super bootcamp

Group performance "You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You" James Arthur Through to super bootcamp 2

Solo performance "Yellow" Coldplay Through to home visits

Free choice "Dancing Queen" ABBA Through to live shows

Judges' Choice "Sympathy for the Devil" The Rolling Stones 12 Safe

Legends "Janie's Got a Gun" Aerosmith 6 Safe

Decades Challenge

8 Safe

Top 10 Hits "Mr. Brightside" The Killers 6 Safe

Latest and Greatest

7 Safe (2nd)

Rock

1 Safe

Judges' Challenge

6 Safe

Aussie Week

6 Safe

Final showdown

3

8

Audition song

9

Duet His debut single "Coming Back", which would have been his winner's single if he had won The X Factor, was released on the iTunes Store that same day. Ray was the supporting act for The Veronicas' Sanctified Tour in February 2015. On 17 March 2015, Ray released an acoustic cover of Jake Bugg's "Me and You" as his second single. His third single "I O U (A Heartache)" was released on 31 July 2015. In March 2016, it was speculated that Ray had been dropped by record company Sony Music, along with other X Factor finalists Reigan Derry, Marlisa Punzalan and Nathaniel Willemse.

2017–present: The Messenger and 4 Trak Sessions – Volume 1 In August 2017, Ray released "The Winnings", the lead single from his second studio album, The Messenger which was released in October 2017. His follow-up single "Call It a Day" was released shortly after. Rolling Stone. magazine said of The Messenger: "Ray delivers a set that's steeped in Australiana and affecting story-telling... The down-on-his-luck outlaw rocker motif isn't new, but Ray's talent turns it upside down with terrific verve."

In 2018, Ray then released the singles "Lady Powers", "Mystery", "Princess Annie" and "Scars".

In October 2018, the Dean Ray was part of the 100 judges on All Together Now.

In September 2020, Ray released his third studio album, 4 Trak Sessions – Volume 1.

Artistry Aside from singing, he also plays the guitar and drums and writes his own songs.

Personal life In October 2014, Ray confirmed that he was dating fellow Australian singer Bonnie Anderson. The pair ended their relationship two months later. On 31 July 2015, Ray's house in Melbourne was burgled and seven of his parents guitars were stolen. From 2015, Ray has stayed away from the public light and has kept his personal life private.

Concert tours Supporting The Veronicas' Sanctified Tour (2015) Discography

Studio albums + List of studio albums Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications AUS NZ Dean Ray Released: 21 November 2014 (Australia) Label: Sony Music Australia Formats: CD, digital download 5 21 ARIA: Gold The Messenger Released: 20 October 2017 (Australia) Label: Franklin Sound Art Formats: CD, digital download – – 4 Trak Sessions – Volume 1 Released: 4 September 2020 Label: Franklin Sound Art Formats: CD, digital download – –