Matthew Raymond-Barker
Matthew Raymond-Barker is an English singer who won the second season of the French X Factor in 2011. He received the grand cash prize and a recording deal with Sony Music.
Early life
Born in London, Matthew William Raymond-Barker is the only son of Karen and William Francis Raymond-Barker. He lives in Mitcham,south-west London, works in Waterford and attended Emanuel School in Battersea.Raymond-Barker had applied initially to the British The X Factor competition, but was rejected after the first day of bootcamp.
Raymond-Barker is a student, studying French and Spanish at the University of Bath and was in France for a period of six months to improve his French language skills at University of Toulouse. He applied to the French X Factor in Montpellier after a friend of his spotted an advertisement for the French competition.
He was coached in the series by Véronic DiCaire.
Performances on ''X Factor''
Raymond-Barker qualified to the Final 12 after singing "Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars in the auditions. During the live shows, he sang the following songs:| Week | Song performed | Original artist | Result |
| Week 1 | "Supreme" | Robbie Williams | Safe |
| Week 2 | "Price Tag" | Jessie J | Safe |
| Week 3 | "Soulman" | Ben l'Oncle Soul | Safe |
| Week 4 | "Man in the Mirror" | Michael Jackson | Safe |
| Week 5 | "One" | U2 | Safe |
| Week 6 | "Time After Time" | Cyndi Lauper | Safe |
| Week 6 | "Ma philosophie" | Amel Bent | Safe |
| Week 7 | "Single Ladies " | Beyoncé Knowles | Safe |
| Week 7 | "Ça fait mal" | Christophe Maé | Safe |
| Week 8 | "Nothing Compares 2 U" | Sinéad O'Connor | Bottom 2 / Saved by judges 3-0 |
| Week 8 | "Dieu m'a donné la foi" | Ophélie Winter | Bottom 2 / Saved by judges 3-0 |
| Week 8 | "Use Somebody" | Kings of Leon | Bottom 2 / Saved by judges 3-0 |
| Week 9 | "A la faveur de l'automne" | Tété | Safe |
| Week 9 | "Dynamite" | Taio Cruz | Safe |
| Week 10 | "Like a Prayer" | Madonna | Safe |
| Week 10 | "Viva la Vida" | Coldplay | Safe |
| Week 10 | "Ne retiens pas tes larmes" | Amel Bent | Safe |
| Week 11 | Medley "Love the Way You Lie" / "Don't Stop the Music" / "Tik Tok" | Eminem / Rihanna / Kesha | Winner |
| Week 11 | "Man in the Mirror" | Michael Jackson | Winner |
| Week 11 | "Vivre ou survivre" | Daniel Balavoine | Winner |
During the competition, he was in Bottom two only once and sang for his life against Florian Giustiniani and was saved by unanimous vote of the judges after singing "Use Somebody" from the Kings of Leon.
In the finals, aired on 28 June, he beat Marina D'Amico who became runner-up. The difference between the two was a mere 1300 votes. Maryvette Lair finished third.