County Durham, England native Karen Harding, a singer and songwriter inspired by Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Jazmine Sullivan, among several others she has noted, competed in series 10 of The X Factor. She advanced through auditions into the boot camp round but was dismissed through a "musical chairs"-like twist that didn't go down well with the viewing public. The Capitol-affiliated Method label, home to Sam Smith, snapped her up, and she collaborated with producer MNEK on the emotive house track "Say Something," her first single. The track was released in November 2014 as the lead single from her debut album. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi