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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
Entertainment
Abbie Meehan

West Lothian star Leon Jackson's life after X Factor - song writing, LA living and more

West Lothian star Leon Jackson suddenly shot to fame after he beat all the competition to win The X Factor in 2007, at just 20 years old.

The local West Lothian lad went from scanning shopping at Iceland and folding clothes in GAP to international superstardom - but what is he doing now?

The now 32-year-old won the fourth season of the hit ITV competition a whole 15 years ago.

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Below is all we know about what Leon is up to now, having had his first musical career peak at such a young age.

From scanning veg to singing to thousands

Leon was a fresh-faced 20-year-old when he appeared on the X Factor in 2007, and was mentored by the stunning Dannii Minogue in the boys category.

The Scottish lad impressed not only the judges, but the hoards of fans every week on the show, as he sang his wee heart out on national television.

The singer swooned the panel with his version of Michael Buble's Home at his first audition, and ended up making it to the final - where he scooped the grand prize by beating fellow group contestant Rhydian Roberts.

His winner's single 'When You Believe' placed at number one in the UK charts, and sold an astonishing 400,000 copies.

His debut album Right Now also performed well, with second single 'Don't Call This Love' peaking in the top three in the charts.

Performing on The X Factor in 2007. (PA)

However, singles Creative and Stargazing dropped levels in terms of chart performance, and the young singer was later dropped from Simon Cowell's label Syco.

After this disappointment, Leon went for a more acoustic sound in his music and began to record on his own.

The star played a number of small festivals and gigs around the UK and also helped The Voice's Vince Kidd write his song Sick Love in 2016.

LA Lifestyle

In 2016, Leon also decided to make the move to Los Angeles, where he had been writing and recording a new album - still yet to be released.

He now splits his time between LA and Scotland, where he keeps himself to himself.

The star headed for the lights of LA in 2016. (Instagram)

Charitable work

Leon is a star ambassador of Scottish charity Children's Hospice Association Scotland.

He shared his support back in 2019 on Instagram as he told fans: "Today is the last day of my fundraiser for Glasgow Children’s Hospital.

"If inclined to make a contribution, you can find the link in my bio, it would go a long way in helping some disadvantaged young people."

You can still find all of Leon's music online, and who knows, maybe he'll come back to Scotland to make more music one day!

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