Lucie Bethan Jones is a Welsh singer, actress, and model. Jones first came to prominence while competing on series 6 of The X Factor UK in 2009, where she finished eighth. She represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Never Give Up on You", finishing with 111 points in 15th place, the country's best result since 2011.
Life and career
Jones was born in Pentyrch, a small village outside of Cardiff. In 2007, she attended the World Scout Jamboree as a Scout, and was the main performer singing "Jambo", the theme song of the jamboree. Lucie was also a part of Cardiff's own Scout and Guide Gang Show.
''The X Factor''
Jones auditioned for series 6 of The X Factor UK with the song "I Will Always Love You". She advanced to the live shows, and was mentored by Dannii Minogue. Jones was eliminated in week five, during the final showdown against John & Edward after the result went to deadlock with Louis Walsh and Simon Cowell voting to eliminate Jones while Minogue and Cheryl Cole voted to send home John & Edward. After her elimination, 1,113 viewers complained about Cowell sending the result to deadlock rather than sending home John & Edward in a majority vote.
After being eliminated from The X Factor, Jones was signed to Select Model Management, and began a modelling career. In May 2010, Jones was signed by Cameron Mackintosh to play Cosette in the West End production of Les Misérables. In September 2010, she was revealed to be the face of Wonderbra's Full Effects campaign. In 2010, she appeared in The Sarah Jane Adventures episode, "Lost in Time: Part Two". Jones played the role of Meat in the 2013 arena tour of We Will Rock You. Jones also played the role of Victoria in the musical American Psycho at the Almeida Theatre in December 2013. In February 2015, Jones appeared as Melody Carver in ITV's Midsomer Murders, in the episode "The Ballad of Midsomer County". In April 2015, Jones played the role of Emma in the showcase performance of Like Me, at The Waterloo East Theatre. In March 2015, she was cast as Molly in the Chinese tour of Ghost the Musical. In April 2016, she played the lead role of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde at Curve Leicester. In 2016, she was cast as Maureen Johnson in the UK tour of Rent. Jones appeared in a summer run as Holly in the UK Tour of The Wedding Singer from 20 June to 19 July 2017. Between September 2017 and June 2018 she reprised her role as Elle Woods in a UK tour of Legally Blonde. Jones made her debut as Jenna in Waitress on Thursday 16th May 2019. Following a brief break, she returned to Waitress in mid-June to play Jenna indefinitely.
In January 2017, Jones was confirmed to be competing in Eurovision: You Decide, the United Kingdom's national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. Her song, "Never Give Up on You", was co-written by Eurovision Song Contest 2013 winner Emmelie de Forest. On 27 January 2017, Jones won the televised show, and was confirmed to be representing the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, in Kiev. Jones's performance was shown in excerpt at the first semi-final of the Eurovision and, following this, betting odds went on to surge. At the Grand Final Jones performed eighteenth in the running order and then, in the second half of the final, went on to score 111 points through combined voting from the jury vote and the popular vote. Jones also managed to score 12 points from the Australia professional Jury. An article in the International Business Times stated that she blamed Brexit for the "disappointing" result.
