Stevie Tonks
| Stevie Tonks | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Stephen Reuben Tonkin |
| Born |
1992 (age 23–24) Christchurch, New Zealand |
| Genres | Rock, Indie Pop, Pop, Soul |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals, piano, guitar |
| Years active | 2015–present |
Stephen Reuben Tonkin, known as Stevie Tonks,[1][2] (born 1992) is a New Zealand singer from Christchurch, who came 4th on the second season of The X Factor (New Zealand). In the boys category he was mentored by Natalie Bassingthwaite, and before that by Natalia Kills
Early life
Tonks was born in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1992. Prior to auditioning for The X Factor, he was a performing arts student at the Southern Institute of Technology.[1]
Musical influence
Tonks cites Sia, Jeff Buckley and Michael Jackson as his main musical influences.
The X Factor
Tonks attended the pre-auditions for the second series of New Zealand reality show The X Factor in Christchurch in November 2014 and advanced though to the judges auditions. Tonks performed the U2 song "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" at his audition and received positive feedback from all four judges who advanced him through to bootcamp.[3] He sang "Jealous" for the "Six Chair Challenge" at bootcamp and progressed through to judges retreats with mentor Natalia Kills and then by Natalie Bassingthwaite after Kills was fired from the show. He then sang his version of "Recovery" at judges retrears causing then mentor Natalia Kills to cry. He soon advanced to the live shows as one of the Top 13. His week one cover of "Young and Beautiful" reached No.5 in the New Zealand artists' singles chart, and his week four cover of "Crazy" also reached No. 5 in the same chart.[4][5] Tonks found himself in the bottom two in Week 7 after his performance of "Billie Jean" failed to impress. He sang "Grenade" in the final showdown against Lili Bayliss and was saved by the judges with only Stan Walker voting to send him home. Tonks found himself in the bottom two again in week 8 against Steve Broad. He was again saved by the judges with only Melanie Blatt voting to send him home. Tonks was eliminated in the final showdown with Brendon Thomas and the Vibes, and only mentor Natalie Bassingthwaighte voting to keep him.
Performances on The X Factor
| Episode[2] | Theme | Song choice | Original artist | Order | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audition | Auditioner's choice | "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" | U2 | N/A | Advanced |
| Bootcamp, Part 1 | Group performance | N/A | N/A | N/A | Advanced |
| Bootcamp, Part 2 | 6 Chair Challenge | "Jealous" | Nick Jonas | 12 | Advanced |
| Judges' Retreats | Contestant's choice | "Recovery" | James Arthur | 6 | Advanced |
| Live Show 1 | Judges' Choice | "Young and Beautiful" | Lana Del Rey | 9 | Safe |
| Live Show 2 | Biggest Records Right Now | "Like I Can" | Sam Smith | 2 | Safe |
| Live Show 3 | Songs of Summer | "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" | Jet | 10 | Safe |
| Live Show 4 | One Hit Wonders | "Crazy" | Gnarls Barkley | 8 | Safe |
| Live Show 5 | Ed Sheeran vs Taylor Swift | "Give Me Love" | Ed Sheeran | 6 | Safe |
| Live Show 6 | Celebritites Choice | "Hold Back the River" Chosen By JayJay Harvey | James Bay | 2 | Safe |
| Live Show 7 | Musical Heroes | "Billie Jean" | Michael Jackson | 1 | Bottom Two |
| Final Showdown | Save Me Song | "Grenade" | Bruno Mars | 2 | Saved |
| Live Show 8 | NZ Artists Challenge | "Oh My" | Gin Wigmore | 4 | Bottom Two |
| Final Showdown | Save Me Song | "I Can't Make You Love Me" | Bonnie Raitt | 1 | Saved |
| Live Show 9 | Number One's | "Some Nights" | Fun | 3 | Bottom Two |
| Song for Mum | "Fix You" | Coldplay | 8 | ||
| Final Showdown | Save Me Song | "Over the Rainbow" | Judy Garland | 1 | Eliminated |
After The X Factor
After his stint on The X Factor, Stevie was quickly snatched up by Christian music label Parachute Music. He has performed many solo gigs around the country, as well as being involved with bigger events. Stevie also occasionally leads worship at his church. Stevie recently performed at the Christian music festival, Festival One at Mystery Creek Events Centre, alongside notable names such as Bethel Music, Ike Ndolo, NF, Young Lyre, All Sons & Daughters and more. He has released one song since his elimination from The X Factor. He collaborated with Majestic Church's worship team based in Christchurch, New Zealand to release I Will Rise, which featured in Majestic Sounds Like's latest album, alongside other former X Factor voices in the Christian music world such as Rory Mckenna, featuring on their song, Stars.
Discography
Digital releases from The X Factor
| Title[6] | Peak Positions[7][8] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ Artists | |||||
| "Young and Beautiful" | 5 | ||||
| "Like I Can" | 98 | ||||
| "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" | 86 | ||||
| "Crazy" | 5 | ||||
| "Give Me Love" | 14 | ||||
| "Hold Back the River" | 45 | ||||
| "Billie Jean" | - | ||||
| "Oh My" | - | ||||
| "Fix You" | 46 | ||||
| "Some Nights" | - | ||||
| "-" denotes a single that did not chart. | |||||
References
- 1 2 http://www.tv3.co.nz/Stevie-Tonks-Pop-Quiz/tabid/3925/articleID/109248/Default.aspx
- 1 2 http://www.tv3.co.nz/Shows/TheXFactorNZ/Contestants/StevieTonks.aspx
- ↑ Slater, Caitlin (10 March 2015). "Tonks through to live shows". Southland Times. Fairfax. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
- ↑ "23 MARCH 2015". Official NZ Music Charts. Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ↑ "13 APRIL 2015". Official NZ Music Charts. Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/nz/artist/stevie-tonks/id975939590
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 11, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
- ↑ http://www.hot100nz.com/artists/stevie-tonks/