Rosie Ribbons is an Australian-born, UK-raised singer. In the early 1980s, her Welsh father, Ronald, visited Australia to see his parents who had emigrated there. He met and married Rosie's mother Carol, and the family moved to Pontardawe near Swansea when Rosie was four.
Rosie reportedly wanted to be a pop singer ever since she was eight years old. A big fan of Mariah Carey, she learned to mimick her singing, and also started to write her own songs. She lost interest during her final school year, passing only two GCSEs, English and Drama.
Bored with a supermarket job, Rosie auditioned for ITV1's talent show Pop Idol. She performed her own song called "Colours" and wowed the judges Simon Cowell, Nicki Chapman, Neil Fox and especially record producer Pete Waterman, who cried during the performance. Rosie made it through to the final 10 of the show and was originally one of the favourites to win, but was voted out by viewers a few weeks before Will Young was crowned winner on February 9, 2002, ultimately finishing in 6th place.
Although she didn't win, Telstar Records signed her to a five album deal, reportedly worth £1,000,000. After supporting Blue and Liberty X on tour, her first two singles "Blink" and "A Little Bit" (a cover by Jessica Simpson) were both UK top-20 hits, but due to Telstar's financial problems her contract was subsequently terminated.
In 2007, now living in Dubbo, Australia, Rosie auditioned for Australian Idol. She was accepted into the Top 100, and made it to the Top 24. She performed in the 4th semi-finals 29th August 2007. Rosie performed R.E.M's "Everybody Hurts". She was the last contestant to perform on the night. The judges critiqued her performance negatively with Marcia calling her on the licks, Kyle commenting that Rosie looks in her late 20's rather than her early 20's and Dicko telling her that she needs to find her identity. On 30 August 2007, Ribbons did not make the final 12, nor was she chosen to come back as a wild card, therefore she was officially eliminated.
Rosie Ribbons - A Little Bit
