Laura White

Laura Jane Amanda White (born 31 August 1987) is an English singer and songwriter. She was finalist for fifth series of the British TV talent show The X Factor in 2008, been the fifth contestant eliminated. White has penned songs for multiple artists, including Charles Hamilton's Grammy-nominated "New York Raining" featuring Rita Ora. White also co-wrote and featured with Galantis on their hit "Love on Me" and Cash Cash "Gasoline". She has also worked with Beverley Knight, Naughty Boy, Hugel, Hannah Grace, Ms Banks, Bugzy Malone, MistaJam, James Carter and Lucas & Steve and has recently written for Alicia Keys, Kelly Clarkson, Andre 3000, Galantis, Inna, JP Cooper, Rag'n'Bone Man, Matoma, Steps, Timmy Trumpet, Stormzy and Tinie Tempah.

White has written numerous music scores for Netflix's 'The Bold Type', BBC, and many HBO adverts, including one alongside Missy Elliott. White also co-wrote and featured on the soundtrack for the ‘Four Kids And It’ blockbuster movie starring Michael Caine. She also penned The Voice Australia winner single "Nobody" for Taryn Stokes, charting at number 1.

White has also featured on TV shows This Morning, Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, Loose Women and Alan Titchmarsh. White has played arenas and shows alongside duetting with Mariah Carey, Coronation Street and Loose Women.

White was also the only contestant of all time raised in parliament due to hundreds of thousands of people petitioning over her exit after leaving the X Factor. TV Awards named it 'the biggest TV exit of all time'. Recent podcasts featuring White include Global's Jenni Falconer's podcast 'RUNPOD' and many music podcasts on songwriting, including Björn Ulvaeus (ABBA) podcast and Louise Golbey's Ivor Novello podcast.

Early life White began singing in jazz bars at the age of 15 and played many festivals. White went to Fred Longworth High School in Tyldesley, the same school as actors Anthony Quinlan, Leah Hackett and Oliver Lee. She studied her A-Levels in English Literature and Drama at Wigan and Leigh College, before going on to study creative writing at The University of Bolton.

White was later chosen to be in a soul band alongside Mark Ronson as a producer.

Career

2008–09: The X Factor

White auditioned for the 2008 series of The X Factor and reached the final live stages in the "Girls" category, mentored by Cheryl Cole. After performing Fallin', by Alicia Keys, on the first live show, White sang You Are Not Alone as part of Michael Jackson week the following episode. She then performed God Bless the Child, originally recorded by Billie Holiday, as part of the third week's focus on big band music, and Somebody Else's Guy, written and performed by Jocelyn Brown, on the fourth live show as part of disco week. After performing Endless Love by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross in the fifth week, White was voted off the show on 8 November, after a sing-off against Ruth Lorenzo.

After her elimination, fans of White circulated a petition for broadcasting watchdog Ofcom to investigate phone voting procedures on the show, complaining of a lack of transparency in the voting system and of difficulties in getting through to vote for White–allegations which were denied by a show spokesman. The issue was even mentioned in the Houses of Parliament by her local MP Andy Burnham, who commented that White's exit had been "very harsh".

2009–2012: What My Mother Taught Me

The Manchester Evening News reported on 11 November 2008 that White had been approached by an as-yet unnamed record company. White was chosen by Peterborough City Council to perform and turn on the annual Christmas lights at Cathedral Square, Peterborough. A crowd of 6,000 attended and cheered as the lights were turned on. White then went on to switch on the lights in the county capital Cambridge on the Sunday night. White was invited to the Brit Awards Launch Party as The X Factor contestant representing the "Hero" single. White was a judge in the 2009 Miss Manchester contest and sang at the Miss England contest.

In early August 2009, White posted samples of four tracks onto her website. Fans were allowed to vote for one of the four to become her debut single. The candidates were: "You Should Have Known", "Touch You", "Got It Bad" and "Love Hurts". "You Should Have Known" was chosen as her debut single. The song was written by Ivor Novello-winning songwriter Michelle Escoffrey and produced by Ian Green, the man behind Madonna's autumn 2009 album Celebration. Speaking in October 2009 to noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul, White stated: "I'm really pleased to kick my whole album project off with 'You Should Have Known."

She performed her track "You Should Have Known" on GMTV on 19 August 2009. The video for the single "You Should Have Known" was shot in early September and was uploaded to White's official YouTube account. The single was released on 2 November 2009. To promote the single, White embarked on a promo tour of the UK. "You Should Have Known" debuted and peaked at No. 32 on the UK Singles Chart. White was also part of the alternative Haiti relief charity single "I Put A Spell on You".

White released her debut extended play, What My Mother Taught Me in 2013.

2012–2023: Songwriting and No. 95

White has written songs for artists including Inna, Leona Lewis, Eliza Doolittle, and Cher Lloyd. White had her first number one with artist Gin Lee in 2012 and also penned songs for many Danish artists and Dutch X Factor winner Lisa Lois. White wrote "New York Raining" for Charles Hamilton & Rita Ora, which was featured on the soundtrack of the US TV show, Empire and nominated for a Grammy in 2015.

In 2016, White confirmed signing a publishing deal to Peer Publishing UK. She released her second extended play, No. 95 in February 2016. She also wrote and featured as a vocalist on the Galantis single, "Love on Me".

2023–present: Woman to Woman

In 2023, White released the single "Lemons", the lead single from her upcoming debut studio album. In February 2024, White announced that her debut album would be available to pre–order from the 8th March 2024, sixteen years following her appearance on The X Factor in 2008. Her debut studio album, Woman to Woman, is scheduled to be released in November 2024.

Discography Studio albums

Title Details Woman to Woman Released: 29 November 2024 Label: Laura J. A White Dizzi Records Format: Digital download CD Vinyl

Extended plays Title Details What My Mother Taught Me Released: 10 November 2013 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download No.95 Released: 12 February 2016 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download

Singles

As lead artist Year Title Peak chart positions Album UK UK Indie 2009 "You Should Have Known" 32 2 2013 "What My Mother Taught Me" — — What My Mother Taught Me 2015 "Kind of Blue" — — 2016 "Martha" — — The Painted Door - EP 2018 "Heartbreaker" — — 2019 "Back to You" — — "Nobody" — — 2020 "Happiness" — — The Bold Type "Push It Right" — — "When You're Dancing" — — 2023 "Lemons" — — Woman to Woman 2025 "Ricky Hatton (Northern Girl)" — — "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released. "—"

As featured artist Year Title Peak chart positions Album UK IRE 2008 "Hero"(with The X Factor Finalists) 1 1 2010 "I Put a Spell on You"(with Shane MacGowan and Friends) — — Helping Haiti 2013 "Dalt Vila"(Sister Bliss & Wally Lopez featuring Laura White) — — 2015 "Circles"(Xploder featuring Laura White & Manga St Hilare) — — 2016 "Love on Me" 16 21 The Aviary 2017 "Lullaby" — — 2018 "Ladykiller" — — "Ce sour ?" — — 2019 "Ultimatum" — — 2020 "Gasoline" — — Say It Like You Feel It2026"Back To Me" (Afrojack and Vikkstar featuring Laura White)__ "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released.

Songwriting credits

Tours White toured on The X Factor live tour, with fellow series 5 finalists. White was also touring with Peter Andre with his Revelation Tour. She continues to perform in gigs/festivals. She has performed her own shows at the Lowry Theatre Manchester, Camden Assembly London and more dates for 2020.