The changing sound of Diana Vickers
Since appearing on the X Factor in 2008, Diana Vickers has kept herself pretty busy. The singer signed a record deal only a month after the show had finished, and spent most of 2009 working on her debut album, ‘Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree’. The record was originally due for release in November 2009, but was postponed after the singer decided to try her hand at musical theatre. From October 2009 to January 2010, Vickers starred in West End hit, ‘The Rise and Fall of Little Voice’, winning the Theatregoer’s Choice Award for London Newcomer of the Year along the way.
Following her stint on the stage, Vickers turned her attention back to chart success in the spring, and her debut single was released in April 2010. Titled ‘Once’, the track made it to number one in the UK Singles Chart, paving the way for the release of her album in May, which was also a number one best-seller.
Not one to rest on her laurels, Vickers has just released her third single, called ‘My Wicked Heart’, which was digitally available from the 17th October. Physical copies are due to hit the shelves on 1st November, after which the singer will embark on a British tour. Vickers is also due to digitally re-release ‘Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree’ in early 2011, followed by a second studio album later that year, which she described in an interview with the BBC as her first album’s “sexy, adventurous, curious older sister.”
“I’m like a writing machine,” she says, “I still love the first album. I think it’s great but I’ve come so far. I’ve been experimenting with different sounds. I listen to all the oldies but then I listen to The XX and The Doors, and Siouxsie and the Banshees and Bjork.”
The 19 year old from Lancashire featured in one of the X Factor’s most productive years ever, which spawned a number of successful acts. Of the 2008 show’s top four, Vickers, JLS and Alexandra Burke have all gone on to further success, with only teenager Eoghan Quigg getting the boot from his record label.
Although her X Factor experience is now a distant memory, Vickers is still an avid fan of the show. Asked to name her favourite acts in this year’s competition, she said, “Matt and Aiden. Mary as well. You can’t deny she’s got a cracking voice.”
