An X Factor Winner Is Finally Interesting Again (With Some Help From Clean Bandit)

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The X Factor has had a habit in recent years of picking extremely boring winners and overlooking the true superstars with global pop potential. We have seen the rise of One Direction, Ella Henderson, and Fleur East (whose performance in the US is exciting beyond my wildest dreams). 

Luckily, that's all about to change with Louisa Johnson.

Louisa won the most recent series of the reality talent show, and it was fairly obvious from the beginning that she was one of two acts that deserved to sing on that show (the other is 4th Impact obviously). Here are both of those acts performing the best group audition I have ever seen.

Under the guidance of style icon and previous pop star Rita Ora (she did not let her down), Louisa took home the crown and released another one of those boring winner covers that did moderately well. While we wait for her solo efforts, Louisa has decided to bless us with this collaboration with Grammy award winning dance act Clean Bandit.

You probably remember Clean Bandit from making Jess Glynne a superstar with "Rather Be" back in 2014, along with working with Noonie Bao and Alex Newell before they hit their pop stride nowadays. Last I heard, they had been working on their second album and performed a new song with Marina & the Diamonds, though it remains unreleased. Instead, they've roped in Louisa for this massive collaboration.

"Tears" has one of those dramatic intros that make you think "oh here we go, another ballad" before going into a pop step chorus that makes you think "oh wait, this is getting interesting". By the time the second chorus comes in, you go "oh shit, this is one of the most amazing dance anthems in years." The Gloria Gaynor "I Will Survive" references have already been made, but the song definitely holds its own and if you don't want to listen to this as you're crying on the dance floor, you are insane. Hopefully, Louisa continues to channel this disco diva mentality on her own material, but we'll be happy to consider her the 5th interesting winner the X Factor has produced, and that's more than you can say about American Idol....

Here is the full song on Spotify and you can follow Louisa and Clean Bandit on social media to see what they're up to!