Stevie Tonks
Birth nameStephen Reuben Tonkin
Born1992 (age 30–31)
Christchurch, New Zealand
GenresRock, indie pop, pop, soul
Occupation(s)Singer
Instrument(s)Vocals, piano, guitar
Years active2015–present

Stephen Reuben Tonkin, known as Stevie Tonks,[1][2] (born 1992) is a New Zealand singer from Christchurch, who was the tenth contestant eliminated on the second season of The X Factor (New Zealand). In the boys category he was mentored by Natalie Bassingthwaighte, 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 through 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 Bassingthwaighte after Kills was fired from the show. He then sang his version of "Recovery" at judges retreats 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.

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. 1 2 "Home".
  2. ↑ "Home".
  3. ↑ Slater, Caitlin (10 March 2015). "Tonks through to live shows". Southland Times. Fairfax. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "23 MARCH 2015". Official NZ Music Charts. Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "13 APRIL 2015". Official NZ Music Charts. Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "Stevie Tonks on Apple Music". iTunes.
  7. ↑ "Top 20 New Zealand Singles Chart | the Official New Zealand Music Chart". Archived from the original on 22 June 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  8. ↑ "Stevie Tonks Chart Profile and Statistics – HOT100NZ". Archived from the original on 25 April 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
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