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Cardle is a tenor with a vocal range of around B2-F5.[73] Being a fan of heavy metal music from a young age, he had tried to emulate the singing style of his rock heroes such as Kurt Cobain, but found it was damaging his vocal cords.[74][75] After taking advice from the owners of Highbarn, a venue in Essex he'd often played at in the past, he had vocal coaching, which helped increase his range and soften his sound.[76] He is known for his falsetto and being able to reach notes typically unusual for a male singer.[77][78][79][80] Upon Cardle winning The X Factor he has been involved in what type of music he would like to record, which led to the release of his debut album Letters. Cardle co-wrote eleven of the tracks which appeared on the album and a reviewer noted Cardle's "impressive falsetto".[81]
The discography of the English singer and songwriter Matt Cardle consists of four studio albums, one live album, seventeen singles and eleven music videos.
Cardle signed a joint deal with Syco and Columbia Records after winning the seventh series of The X Factor. His winner's single "When We Collide" topped the UK Singles Chart to become the 2010 Christmas number 1 and remained there for three consecutive weeks. In June 2012 the song reached the one million sale mark, making it the 123rd single to sell a million copies in the UK and the fourth by an X Factor contestant. In Ireland it is the fourth best selling single of all time.[1] His debut album, Letters, was released in the UK on 17 October 2011. The album's first single, "Run For Your Life," written by Gary Barlow, peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart. Letters debuted at number 2 on the UK Albums chart and spent 16 consecutive weeks in the top 40. Two further singles from the album were released, "Starlight" and "Amazing".
Following his split from Columbia/Syco, Cardle's second album, The Fire was released on 29 October 2012 through So What Recordings, part of the Silva Screen Music Group. The album debuted at number 8 in the UK album chart. Cardle then released his third album, Porcelain, independently in 2013 . It reached number 11 on the UK album chart. The first single, a duet with Melanie C called "Loving You", was released on 18 August 2013 and reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart. Two further singles were released, "When You Were My Girl" and "Hit My Heart".
Cardle returned to Sony in 2017 and released his fourth album, Time to Be Alive, with them on 27 April 2018.
Cardle announced the release of "Purple Crayon" on 12 January 2021, ahead of the release of his fifth studio album. The song was released digitally on 15 January 2021. Cardle says, “Purple Crayon is song about my struggles with addiction to Valium and the escape I found through using it. The song’s emotions are intertwined with imagery from my favourite children’s book Harold and the Purple Crayon.”[2] O 26 March 2021, Cardle released the second single from his upcoming album, "We're the Butterflies".[3][4]
2010: The X Factor era
In 2010, Cardle auditioned for the seventh series of The X Factor in front of Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole and Louis Walsh, singing Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good".[27] At the Bootcamp stage of the show he sang "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", a performance which prompted Simon Cowell to say "Why haven't we noticed him before?" and Louis Walsh to say "He's the biggest surprise of today for me!"[28] He was moved to the boys category when the age limit was raised to 28, making Dannii Minogue his mentor. Cardle was favourite to win from before the live shows until the end of the series, with some of the shortest odds the show had ever seen.[29] On the first live show he sang "When Love Takes Over" which received high praise from all four judges.[30] In week 5 he performed "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" again, which earned him the first standing ovation from all four judges of the series.[31][32] It remains his most viewed performance on YouTube with over 29 million views to date. In the semi-final he had to withdraw from a secret X Factor gig in London due to throat problems which saw him almost have to miss the show that weekend.[33] In the final he performed a duet with Rihanna.
Cardle was announced the winner on 12 December 2010, after receiving 44.61% of the vote. He received the most votes every week from week 2, being beaten only by Mary Byrne in week 1.[34] The week after the series final, Cardle's cover version of "Many of Horror" originally recorded by Scottish rock trio Biffy Clyro and retitled as "When We Collide", topped the UK Singles Chart to become the 2010 Christmas number 1 and remained there for three consecutive weeks.[35] The song was nominated in the Best British Single category at the 2011 BRIT Awards.[36] In June 2012 the song reached the one million sale mark, making it the 123rd single to sell a million copies in the UK and the fourth by an X Factor contestant.[37] In Ireland it is the fourth best selling single of all time, and the best selling single of the century so far, as of 31 December 2015.[38][39]
Cardle remains good friends with fellow contestant Aiden Grimshaw[40] and mentor Dannii Minogue.[citation needed] On 15 March 2011, it was reported that Cardle signed a record deal with Syco Music in a joint venture with Columbia Records, becoming the first The X Factor winner not to be exclusively signed to Simon Cowell's label.[41]
Beyond singing on The X Factor, Cardle says he tries to watch the show in his spare time.[10]