What Happened to ‘The X Factor’ Winner Matt Terry?
Thames / Syco Reading Time: 3 minutes
Matt Terry rose to fame as the winner series 13 of The X Factor in the United Kingdom. He took the world by storm as an extremely talented pop singer. Soon after winning the competition, he announced his departure from music, is he still singing in 2022?
Terry auditioned for The X Factor UK as a 23 year old with a dream. The singer took to the stage singing a rendition of Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me.” He then went on as apart of the Boys category. Nicole Scherzinger was the mentor of him throughout the series. Scherzinger chose Terry as her Top 3 for live shows. From there, he was crowned as the winner of The X Factor series 13.
Matt Terry Has Rocky Pop Artist Beginnings
Following Terry’s win, he signed to RCA Records on December 14 2016, instead of Syco Records. Immediately after winning the series, he released his winner’s single and donated all proceeds to United Kingdom based charities. The single entered the United Kingdom’s charts at No. 3, it became the second lowest selling winner’s single to date.
After that, he sang in both a cover version of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” and Enrique Iglesias single “Súbeme La Radio.” In October of 2017, Terry released his first solo single since winning the series. “Sucker for Love” charted at No. 83 in the United Kingdom and was the worst performing follow up single for a winner.
In February 2018, the singer shared that he considered switching career paths amid his music struggles. During his announcement, he shared that his management group was already looking at different options for him.
“I’ve decided I’d like to act. I feel like something for TV or theatre would be good or even a film. I’m open to that side of the industry now. I think it would be really fun,” Terry said. “I studied drama at college and it was always my forte along with singing. It’s something I’m really interested in. I’m hoping it will happen at the right time.”
Terry hoped to make the switch the acting in the same way Harry Styles has in the past few years. Reports state that Terry was dropped by RCA Records around this time.
Has The X Factor‘s Matt Terry Found Success As an Actor?
Later in 2018, Terry made his acting debut in the United Kingdom production of Madagascar The Musical. The following year he returned to the production to portray the role of Alex the Lion. From there, Terry portrayed Young Max in How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical. This 2019 production was based on the Broadway show originally created by three time Tony Award-winning director Jack O’Brien.
His success didn’t end there. In late 2021, Terry was cast as Stacee Jaxx in Rock of Ages. This show will tour throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. This tour begins on Wednesday April 27 and will conclude on Saturday September 10. The shows will be taking place in Woking, Edinburgh, Aylesbury, Glasgow, and Sunderland.
Even though Terry switched to the acting scene, he is still singing on his TikTok, YouTube, and sometimes Instagram. This X Factor champion has over 43,600 followers on TikTok, 90,000 subscribers on YouTube, and over 255,000 followers on Instagram. It seems like Terry is currently managed by Future Agency, as well as Orlando Gray Management. I think it’s safe to say that he’s figured out his career path, nearly four years after the competition.
