2015: The X Factor In 2015, Johnson auditioned for the
twelfth series of the UK series of
The X Factor, singing American
soul music family group
The Jackson 5's "
Who's Lovin' You". She picked this record because "it is a really really hard song to sing, but I wanted to make a good impression". She received a standing ovation from all four judges and the audience afterwards and progressed through to "bootcamp". At the first challenge at "bootcamp", she sang "
Proud Mary" with
4th Impact (formerly known as 4th Power), Sherilyn Hamilton-Shaw, Neneth Lyons, Jasmine Leigh Morris and Andre Batchelor, and was sent through to the next challenge. She sang "
Lay Me Down" in the second challenge and made it through to the six-chair challenge. Johnson competed in the "girls" category at "bootcamp" and was mentored, at the decision of the public, by
Rita Ora. Two weeks after that performance was recorded, Following the eliminations of Weathers in the second week, Michael in the third week and Murray in the semi-final, Johnson advanced to the final along with
Reggie 'n' Bollie and
Ché Chesterman singing a cover version of "
I Believe I Can Fly" by
R Kelly; additionally becoming the final female in the competition. On 12 December, she duetted with her mentor, Ora. The following night, she sang her winner's single, a cover of "
Forever Young" by
Bob Dylan. On 13 December 2015, she won
The X Factor, becoming the first winner in the Girls category since
Alexandra Burke in
2008, and also the youngest winner of the UK version, overtaking
Joe McElderry, who was 18 years old when he won in
2009. After winning
The X Factor, Johnson released "Forever Young". The day after her victory, she plugged the single on
The X Factor judge
Nick Grimshaw's
radio show,
Good Morning Britain,
Lorraine and
This Morning, consecutively. The single dropped to number twelve the following week becoming the lowest ranking
X Factor winner's song ever on the Christmas Day chart. Overall, the single is the lowest charting
X Factor winner's single to date as all other winner's singles managed to top the chart or at least reach the top five. On 18 December 2015, Johnson performed "Forever Young" on the 2015
Text Santa broadcast.
2016–present: Collaborations and label change There were indications that her debut studio album would be released as quickly as possible, maybe as early as February 2016, and would include her debut single "Forever Young". However, the singer later declared: "If I don't like it, no way is it going out. People are going to know me through that album – so it needs to be perfect." She co-headlined the concert the following year, and appeared as a guest performer in 2018. Johnson released her second solo single, "
So Good", in November 2016. The single peaked at number 13 in the UK, and received a gold certification from BPI. Her third single, "
Best Behaviour" was released in March 2017. It charted at number 48 in the UK, and was certified silver by BPI. which reached number 32 on the official UK singles chart and received a silver certification from BPI. The single "Between You & Me", recorded in collaboration with One Bit, was released on 10 August 2018. Later that month, she was featured on Mars Moniz's single "999". In 2019, she collaborated with
Sigma on the single "
Here We Go Again" which charted in the UK at number 98. In January 2020, Johnson announced a collaboration with fitness clothing brand USA Pro. Following the announcement, she released "Like I Love Me" to promote the collaboration. For the artwork of the single, Johnson posed completely
nude, being photographed sitting down in front of a plain backdrop, with one leg raised towards her and the other one spread out. In September 2022, she released a collaboration with
Jonas Blue titled "Always Be There". == Personal life ==