2012: The X Factor Henderson auditioned for
series nine of
The X Factor in 2012, with the original song called "Missed", which was later included on her debut studio album. She reached the live shows and was mentored by
Tulisa. Henderson and
James Arthur were controversially in the bottom two in week seven and sang for survival. Tulisa and
Louis Walsh voted to send Henderson through to the quarter-final and
Nicole Scherzinger and
Gary Barlow voted to send Arthur through to the quarter-final. The result went to deadlock and Arthur advanced to the quarter-final receiving 13.7% of the vote and Henderson received 12.1%. She consequently was the eighth contestant eliminated, despite being a strong favourite to win. Presenter
Dermot O'Leary described Henderson's exit as "one of the biggest shocks we've ever had on the results show". During the show and following her exit, a number of celebrities stated their support and praise for Henderson, including
Adele,
Lily Allen,
Cher,
Simon Cowell,
Stephen Fry,
Nick Grimshaw,
Sarah Millican, and
Chloë Grace Moretz. On a 2013 episode of
The Xtra Factor, O'Leary said that he viewed Henderson as the most talented performer he had seen during his seven years on the show.
2012–2015: Chapter One In December 2012, Henderson made an appearance on Ireland's
RTÉ The Saturday Night Show, singing "
Silent Night". While being interviewed on the show, she revealed that she had signed a record deal with
Sony Music Entertainment. She also performed "
Last Christmas" and "
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" on the
Myleene Klass Heart FM show that month. In January 2013, Henderson confirmed she had signed to
Simon Cowell's record label
Syco Music. During January and February 2013, she took part in
The X Factor live tour, where she sang four songs: her
X Factor audition song "Missed", "
Believe", "
Rule the World" and "
You Got the Love". She also performed "Believe" at the
18th National Television Awards in January, and appeared as a special guest at the Capital
Summertime Ball in June, where she performed a duet of "
Beneath Your Beautiful" with
Labrinth. Henderson's debut single, "
Ghost", co-written with
Ryan Tedder, was released on 8 June 2014. It debuted at number one on the
UK Singles Chart, and remained in the top five of the chart for eight consecutive weeks. It has subsequently been certified platinum for sales in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The song later ranked at number 84 on the
Official Charts Company list of the 100 biggest songs of the 2010s in the UK. Its follow-up, "
Glow", was released on 5 October 2014 and charted at number seven in the UK. Henderson's debut studio album,
Chapter One, was released on 13 October 2014. It was written by Henderson in collaboration with a number of writers and producers including
Claude Kelly,
Salaam Remi,
Babyface and
TMS. The album peaked at number one on the
UK Albums Chart, and was the 19th and 31st best-selling album in the UK in 2014 and 2015, respectively. It was certified platinum by the
British Phonographic Industry (BPI). The album also charted in the top 20 in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, and the United States. Its third and fourth singles, "
Yours" and "
Mirror Man", were released on 30 November 2014 and 9 March 2015, respectively. The former charted at number 16 in the UK. while embarking on her debut headlining UK tour in October and November 2015. That July, she featured on
drum and bass duo
Sigma's single "
Glitterball", which peaked at number four in the UK. The collaboration achieved global-wide chart success peaking within the top 20 in the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
2016–2019: Asylum Records and Glorious In November 2016, Henderson announced that she had finished recording her second studio album, having worked with
Danny O'Donoghue from
The Script and producer
Max Martin. In April 2017, it was announced that she would be supporting James Arthur on his
Back from the Edge Tour. In June, she featured along with other artists, including fellow
X Factor artists
Leona Lewis,
Louis Tomlinson,
Liam Payne, James Arthur,
Louisa Johnson and
Matt Terry on a cover version of
Simon & Garfunkel's song "
Bridge over Troubled Water", which was recorded to raise money for those affected by the
Grenfell Tower fire in London earlier that month. The single reached number one in the UK after only two days sales. Later that year, it was announced that Arthur had recorded a duet with Henderson, reportedly set to be included on her second studio album. While supporting him on his tour, she performed new songs that were set to be included on the record: "Ugly", "Cry Like a Woman", "Bones", "Solid Gold" and "Let's Go Home Together", her duet with Arthur. In February 2018, it was announced that Henderson and Syco Music had parted ways. In a statement, a Syco representative stated: "Syco and Ella Henderson are parting company. We wish Ella all the best for the future and thank her for her hugely successful contribution over the years." In May 2018, Henderson confirmed that she had completed work on her second studio album. Later that year, she signed a record deal with
Asylum Records' imprint Major Toms operated by the British group
Rudimental, and was working on new material with them, presumably meaning that the previously confirmed album was scrapped. She also supported Rudimental on their European tour that year. Regarding the scrapped material, Henderson later told
i: "I did write an album – well, I say an album, I wrote a body of work. But I was so lost in terms of who I was as a person that I wasn't ready to release it. I knew that if I didn't know what was going on, my fans wouldn't either." On 13 September 2019, Henderson released "
Glorious" as the lead single from her EP of the same name, which was released on 8 November. Its second single, "Young", was released on 11 October. Henderson also featured on
Jax Jones' song "
This Is Real", from his debut album
Snacks (Supersize), which was released as a single on 11 October, and on
Sigala's single "
We Got Love", which was released on 1 November. Both tracks charted in the UK, peaking at numbers 9 and 42, respectively. She followed it with the single "
Take Care of You" on 12 June, which reached number 50 in the UK. Henderson released the single "Dream On Me" with
Roger Sanchez on 2 October 2020, and a Christmas song "
Blame It on the Mistletoe" with
AJ Mitchell on 4 December. On 19 February 2021, she released her collaboration with
Tom Grennan titled "
Let's Go Home Together", which debuted at number 28 in the UK and peaked at 10 becoming Henderson's fifth UK top 10 single. On 20 August 2021, Henderson released the single "Risk It All" with House Gospel Choir and
Just Kiddin, followed by a collaboration with the French DJ duo
Ofenbach titled "
Hurricane" the next month. On 7 January 2022, she released the single "
Brave", which preceded her second studio album, ''
Everything I Didn't Say, released on 11 March 2022. "Brave" reached number 42 in the UK, while Everything I Didn't Say'' debuted at number eight. In August 2022, Henderson featured on a duet version of
Cian Ducrot's song "All for You". In September, she collaborated with British-German DJ duo
M-22 on the song "Heartstrings". Later in 2022, Henderson performed at a number of UK
Pride events, and was booked at UK Music and
TikTok showcases at the
Labour Party Conference and
Conservative Party Conference. The Labour conference performance was subsequently cancelled due to reported illness. Henderson's appearance at the Conservative conference attracted criticism from the
LGBT Community, as some felt it was incompatible with performing at Pride Events. The UK Music Industry released a statement pointing out that the events were held as part of the political party conferences to highlight the importance of the UK music industry and were not an indication of political affiliation. The song heavily samples
Robert Miles' 1995 single "
Children". Henderson next featured on
Frank Walker's single "I Go Dancing". In March, she released her collaboration with DJ
Regard titled "No Sleep", shortly followed by the song "Like I Used To" with
Sonny Fodera and
Paul Woolford in April. In June, she released "
0800 Heaven" with Nathan Dawe and
Joel Corry, which reached number nine in the UK. On 27 October 2023, Henderson released her second Christmas song with Irish singer-songwriter
Cian Ducrot called "Rest of Our Days".
2024–present: Upcoming third studio album In January 2024, Henderson started teasing an upcoming song titled "
Alibi" on her
TikTok. On 10 January 2024, Henderson announced that the song would be released on 12 January 2024 and features UK
drum and bass band
Rudimental. On 8 March 2024, Henderson released the song "Mamma You Were Right". On 5 April 2024, Henderson teamed up with
Natasha Bedingfield to remix "Alibi". On 31 May 2024, Henderson released the song "Under The Sun" with Switch Disco and
Alok. On 17 September 2024, Henderson announced the song "Filthy Rich" as the lead single from her upcoming third studio album. The song was released on 4 October 2024. "One Door Closes", a collaboration with
Breland, was released on 21 March 2025. On 8 May 2025, Henderson released her third single "Me & You". == Personal life ==