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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Entertainment
Kyle O'Sullivan & Ryan Paton

X Factor Diana Vickers' night with Leonardo DiCaprio and life 14 years on from show

Diana Vickers shot to stardom on season five of the X Factor in 2008.

The singer was just 17-years-old when she captured the nation's hearts with her unique style and quirky performances.

Diana was described as a "little hippy" by Louis Walsh after she blew the judges away with her rendition of Damien Rice's The Blower's Daughter - as Mirror Online reports.

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Simon Cowell branded her performances as "marmite" as her unusual hand gestures while singing became known as "The Claw", but Diana had no problems with being divisive.

She told The Mirror: "Some people have such a problem with me, I am like a magnet to it all. But I would rather people adore me or despise me than go 'she's all right' as that’s boring."

Diana faced a turbulent journey in the competition as she contracted laryngitis, which forced her to pull out of week five after doctors warned she could do permanent damage to her voice.

She overcome the challenges to progress to the later stages of the ITV talent competition and was competing against future stars such as JLS and Alexandra Burke.

Diana eventually bowed out of the competition in the semi-final and finished in fourth place.

Rumours swirled throughout the programme that Diana was dating fellow contestant Eoghan Quigg - and the two appeared to confirm their romance when the Northern Irish singer came on stage to give her a hug during Diana's final performance.

However, Diana broke off the relationship soon after the show finished to focus on her career.

She said: "Right now, I'm not going to think about anything like that.

"I don't know what's going to happen. There's a difference between loving each other and being in love. I love him to bits."

Diana continued to forge a career in showbiz and released hit single Once in 2010, which soared to the top of the UK Singles Chart.

Her album, Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree, also reached number one in the charts and she released a follow-up in 2013 named Music to Make Boys Cry.

Diana started rubbing shoulders with Hollywood A-Listers and revealed she once spent a night with Leonardo DiCaprio during an appearance on Celebrity Karaoke Club in 2020.

She said: "I have a lot of stories but I'm just going to say one. The best one - I've been on a night out with Leonardo DiCaprio. That's my best one.

"I was more like hanging out with his friends and then I got a message being like 'oh come back, Leo, he's having a vibe' and I thought it was going to be all Wolf Of Wall Street, like a massive thing. And I got back there and it was [just the two of us.

"It was very chilled and we just ended up watching telly!"

Diana continues to be active today in showbiz and regular shares updates with her 95.1k Instagram followers.

The 30-year-old has built up an impressive portfolio of theatre credits and played the lead in musical Son Of A Preacher Man, inspired by the Dusty Springfield song of the same name.

The popstar and recently starred in a touring production of Dial M for Murder, which featured at the Liverpool Playhouse last September.

Her latest project is as part of comedy duo, Ki and Dee, where she performs comedy songs alongside her best friend.

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