Reigan Derry

Early life

Reigan Elisse Derry was born on 19 September 1988 in Maida Vale, Western Australia. Derry began singing at an early age and took on classical lessons at the age of fourteen. She was a student at Perth Modern School, where she completed a music scholarship majoring in voice. During her high school years, Derry had already worked with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and was an understudy in the musical The King and I at the Regal Theatre. She was also a member of a Christian band called Djreamz. Prior to entering Australian Idol, Derry worked as a receptionist.

2006–2011: Australian Idol and Scarlett Belle

At the age of seventeen, Derry successfully auditioned for the fourth season of Australian Idol and progressed through to the semi-finals. Following the semi-final process, she had advanced through to the top twelve. During the final twelve week, Derry performed "Breathe In Now" by George and landed in the bottom three alongside Joseph Gatehau and Lavina Williams. During the final eleven week, she performed "Themata" by Karnivool and landed in the bottom three again alongside Ricky Muscat and Guy Mutton. Derry was then eliminated from the competition and placed eleventh.

At the age of eighteen, Derry relocated from Maida Vale to Sydney to pursue a pop career with Australian girl group, Scarlett Belle. The group signed a record deal with US label Def Jam Recordings in 2007. Based between Los Angeles and Sydney, Scarlett Belle began to work on their debut album with Ne-Yo, Snoop Dogg, JR Rotem, Nate Dogg and StarGate, as well as Australian producers Rudy Sandapa and Israel Cruz. However, in 2008, Scarlett Belle were dropped from Def Jam Recordings and founding member Hayley Aitken left the group, leaving Derry and fellow member Tamara Jaber as a duo. They later signed with Sony Music Australia and released their debut single "Closure" in June 2010, which peaked at number 38 on the ARIA Singles Chart.

Scarlett Belle released their second single in August 2010, a cover of Cruz's 2009 song "Freak Tonight". Featuring guest vocal appearances from Cruz and rapper Miracle, the song peaked at number 29 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Their third and final single "Lover Boy" was released in November 2010, but failed to impact the charts. In May 2011, it was announced that Scarlett Belle had disbanded to pursue their solo careers.

2014: The X Factor Australia

In 2014, Derry successfully auditioned for the sixth season of The X Factor Australia singing "Someone like You" by Adele. She received four yeses from the judges and progressed to the super bootcamp round of the competition. For the first bootcamp challenge, Derry was placed into a group with two other contestants from the Over 25s category to perform a song together for the judges. Derry made it to the second bootcamp challenge, where she performed a ballad version of "Numb" by Linkin Park to the judges and a live audience of one thousand. She then progressed to the home visits round in Las Vegas and performed "Locked Out of Heaven" by Bruno Mars in front of her mentor Redfoo and guest mentor Nicole Scherzinger. Redfoo later selected Derry, along with Jason Heerah and Rochelle Pitt, for the live finals—a series of eleven weekly live shows in which contestants are progressively eliminated by public vote.

For the Judges' Choice-themed first live show, Derry performed "Unconditionally" by Katy Perry and received a standing ovation from judges Redfoo, Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Ronan Keating and Dannii Minogue. For the Legends-themed second live show, she performed a sultry version of Britney Spears' "Toxic", while being suspended from the ceiling. Derry received a standing ovation from Bassingthwaighte, Minogue and Redfoo, who notably got up on the judges table. However, her performance received a mixed response from Keating, who felt "she disconnected from us and the audience". For the Decades Challenge-themed third live show, Derry performed "Chandelier" by Sia and received another standing ovation from all four judges. Her performance of "Chandelier" debuted at number 81 on the ARIA Singles Chart. For the Top 10 Hits-themed fourth live show, Derry sang Sam Smith's "Stay with Me", while playing the piano. Bassingthwaighte said it was her "favourite X Factor performance of all time". Derry's performance of "Stay with Me" debuted at number 20 on the ARIA Singles Chart and number 28 on the New Zealand Singles Chart. She became the first X Factor Australia contestant to have a live performance chart in New Zealand.

During the Latest and Greatest-themed fifth live show, Derry received her fifth consecutive standing ovation from the judges for her performance of "Bang Bang" by Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj. Keating said it was the best performance he had seen in the last five years of The X Factor. Derry's performance of "Bang Bang" debuted at number 53 on the ARIA Singles Chart. For the Rock-themed sixth live show, Derry performed "Boys in Town" by Divinyls and for the Judges Challenge-themed seventh live show, she performed Florence and the Machine's "Dog Days Are Over", which was chosen by Bassingthwaighte. Derry's performance earned her another standing ovation from the judges, with Keating saying it was the best vocal performance he had seen on The X Factor, anywhere in the world. Her performance of "Dog Days Are Over" debuted at number 61 on the ARIA Singles Chart. For the Aussie Week-themed eighth live show, Derry performed an emotional rendition of John Farnham's "Burn for You", and her performance debuted at number 78 on the ARIA Singles Chart. During the eighth live decider show, Derry landed in the bottom two for the first time with Heerah, and performed "Stay" by Rihanna in the final showdown. However, Derry was saved by the public vote after the judges' vote went to deadlock, which resulted in Heerah's elimination. After the eliminations of Pitt in week six and Heerah in week eight, Derry became the last remaining contestant in Redfoo's category.

For the Killer Tracks and Curveballs-themed ninth live show, Derry performed Radiohead's "Creep" and Rihanna's "Only Girl (In the World)". Her performance of "Creep" received a mixed response from the judges, with Bassingthwaighte saying that she "hated that song" choice for her because it was "too aggressive". Minogue agreed with Bassingthwaighte's comments and also criticised Derry's outfit for being too oversexualised, which led to an argument between Minogue and Redfoo. However, Derry's performance of "Only Girl (In the World)" was praised by the judges and earned her a standing ovation from Bassingthwaighte, Keating and Redfoo. For the Power and Passion-themed tenth live show, she performed Shakira's "Can't Remember to Forget You" and Paloma Faith's "Only Love Can Hurt Like This". Derry's performance of the latter song debuted at number 63 on the ARIA Singles Chart. During the tenth live decider show, she fell into the bottom two again with Marlisa Punzalan, and performed Jeff Buckley's version of "Hallelujah" in the final showdown. After the judges' vote went to deadlock, it was revealed that Derry had received the fewest public votes and was eliminated. She placed fourth in the competition.

2014–present: All of the Pieces and upcoming debut studio album

On 29 October 2014, it was announced that Derry had received a recording contract with Sony Music Australia. Derry's debut extended play, All of the Pieces, was released on 12 December 2014 and features studio recordings of selected songs she performed on The X Factor. The EP's title track was serviced to Australian radio stations on 27 November 2014 as Derry's debut solo single, and debuted at number 33 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Derry's second single "Feels Like Heaven" was released on 4 September 2015, as the lead single from her upcoming debut studio album, and debuted at number 37 on the ARIA Singles Chart. She worked on the album for nine months in Australia, Sweden and the UK with several songwriters, including Jake Gosling, Adam Argyle, Jon Hume, Trinity and David Ryan Harris. In March 2016, it was speculated that Derry had been dropped by record company Sony Music, along with other X Factor finalists Nathaniel Willemse, Marlisa Punzalan and Dean Ray.

Artistry

Aside from singing, Derry also plays the guitar and piano. She cites Alicia Keys, Beyoncé, Eva Cassidy, Lorde, Rihanna and Shakira as her musical influences.