Calvin Hawthorne

Calvin Kevin Hawthorne (born January 6, 1993) is an English singer who rose to notoriety after appearing as a contestant on the first series of The Uraps Factor in 2012 and is now signed to Next Generation Records. In August 2012, Hawthorne released his debut single "Pretend" where it reached #6 in the UK. In October of that year, Hawthorne released his second single "The Thought of You (Brings Me To Life)" which entered the UK singles charts at #3. Hawthorne's debut album surprisingly debuted and peaked at #1 on the UK Albums Chart.

Aside from his music career, Hawthorne is known for his public image as a "victim", since he has a poor relationship with the press and his constantly attacked by them as well. Hawthorne has been mostly accused for sing "horribly" live, lip-syncing, and his supposed "over-usage" of AutoTune, as well as some feuds and other scandals that have overshadowed his career.

Hawthorne recently became a victim of a "death hoax" after it had been falsely reported that he died from injuries of a car accident on October 6, 2012. Hawthorne posted a video via Ustream the following to confirm that he was indeed still alive and that the reports are false.

Early life
Calvin Hawthorne was born on January 6, 1993 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom to an English mother and Swedish father. His biological father, who was already in another relationship at the time of his birth, abandoned him shortly after he was born and Hawthorne was solely raised by his mother throughout most of his childhood. Hawthorne and his mother lived on low income and in council flats until he was twelve years old. Although described to very "loving and caring" of Hawthorne, Hawthorne's mother was also said to be very controlling, domineering, and overprotective of him as well, often prohibiting him from many childhood liberties such as playing outside or going over to sleepovers and parties. As a result, Hawthorne was often teased and bullied by his classmates because of his mother's actions and he often found himself ostracized.

When Hawthorne was twelve years old, his mother married a wealthy businessman and Hawthorne moved into a wealthier neighborhood of Newcastle. Hawthorne initially got along well with his stepfather; by age thirteen, however, his stepfather turned on him and "considered him insignificant" after his mother and gotten pregnant by the stepfather. When she suffered a miscarriage however, the stepfather and mother took their pain of losing the baby out on Hawthorne and began to be physically, verbally and emotionally abusive towards him. Eventually his stepfather and mother also began to spread false rumors about him throughout the neighborhood, in which many people believed them. After getting into a heated argument with his stepfather and mother over him being sent to boarding school, Hawthorne was kicked out of the family home at the age of sixteen. He was briefly left homeless.

By the age of thirteen, after moving in with his stepfather to an affluent neighborhood, Hawthorne was often "mercilessly" bullied by his new classmates. By age sixteen, after his stepfather and mother began spreading false rumors about him and after they also kicked him out of their home, the bullying and teasing against Hawthorne increased and intensified and he lost what few friends he had left, though his "friends" were said to be very abusive to him anyway. Hawthorne also started to become targets of brutal physical attacks as well. In one incident, in a school hallway on the second floor, Hawthorne was accused of stealing an iPod of one of his former friends and the former friend confronted him about it in front of many witnesses. Hawthorne was then viciously attacked, brutally assaulted, and then dragged to the main staircase where he was thrown down the stairs. The attack resulted in Hawthorne sustaining three broken ribs, his left fingers crushed, his left wrist broken, a black eye, concussion, and whiplash, with the latter two resulting in him being thrown and tumbling down the stairs. Hawthorne's face was also left brutally but temporarily disfigured. The former friend, who assaulted Hawthorne, later found his "stolen" iPod amongst his own things actually losing it earlier that morning. Despite this, he did not apologize but Hawthorne, who received extensive medical attention, did not press charges against him. The incident would have a profound effect on Hawthorne though, resulting in him dropping out of school, moving back to his old neighborhood where he found a small apartment to live in, and finding employment at a clothing store. When Hawthorne was eighteen years old, he was almost sexually assaulted though he managed to fight off his attacker. The incident, along with his tumultuous past, sent him briefly into a depression and, for a short time, he began seeing a therapist.

Hawthorne has nine half-siblings from both of his parents; he has five half-siblings from his mother and stepfather and he has four half-brothers from his biological father by three different women; his biological father only raised one of his sons. Hawthorne is the oldest child of his mother while being the youngest son of his biological father. Hawthorne briefly met his biological father and all of his half-brothers in 2012. Hawthorne has stated that all four of his half-brothers are in the music business with three of them being well-known and one auditioning for a singing talent show but failed to make it through. Hawthorne did not know of the existence of his maternal half-siblings until after he was kicked out of the family home and has not met them. In 2012, a mutual family friend revealed to Hawthorne that his stepfather was also biologically his half-uncle; his stepfather is the older half-brother (by three months) to Hawthorne's biological father. Hawthorne has expressed no desire to interact any further with his family and has severed ties with his biological father, stepfather, mother, and all of his half-siblings. Hawthorne's mother and stepfather/uncle tried to reconcile with him but Hawthorne refused and disowned them in the process.

The Uraps Factor: 2012
Appeared on The Uraps Factor in 2012. He auditioned with "Turning Tables", a song originally done by Adele, and got three out of four yeses from the judge, with Brett Clarkson not wanting to put him through. Hawthorne eventually made it all the way through to the judges' houses round where he once again sang "Turning Tables" and was ultimately sent home from the competition by Clarkson. A subsequent "wild card" voting round by the public, which was able to bring back certain acts per category of the show (that being Boys, Girls, over 25s, and Groups), Calvin for the boys' category was brought back by a narrow 37.5% of the public's vote. Calvin, along with the rest of the Boys' category, would be mentored by Brett Clarkson, who were one of the judges who had him initially thrown off the show.

Due to his return via the "wild card" voting, Hawthorne was able to make it to the live rounds. Hawthorne was often seen as the underdog of the competition and his performances often faced criticism. Aside from his quirky and sometimes "questionable" outfit choices, Hawthorne's performances were often seen as "camp" and his vocals were often described by critics and fans as "shaky and pitchy" and that he "needs improvement". Many question Hawthorne's singing ability altogether often stating that "he [couldn't] sing". Despite the criticisms, Hawthorne, for the first four weeks of the live shows, did not ever make it to the bottom two which surprised many including the judges.

On the fifth week of the live shows in February 2012, Hawthorne infamously performed his rendition of "Fight For This Love". While singing the song on stage, Hawthorne, who did not pay attention to where he was going, fell off the stage and broke his ankle; Hawthorne still continued with the performance. Hawthorne was finally sent to the bottom two that week and was voted off by all four of the judges who chose to save Rhys Lee, the other contestant in the bottom two that week. (Hawthorne was the second to go home as the result shows for that week were double eliminations; Sitty Bang Bang also went home that night.) Hawthorne became the first contestant of that season to be unanimously voted off by the judges.

After the show, Hawthorne immediately returned to Newcastle.

Kelvin: 2012 to present
After returning to Newcastle from The Uraps Factor, Hawthorne was approached by a record producer who suggested that he record his own material. The produced was described as being "well-known" with him producing hit singles and albums for other artists, who found considerable commercial success. Hawthorne decided to move back to London to work the record producer on what was now his debut album in the making. Hawthorne and the record producer also quickly became best friends, though the producer did not tell him that he was actually Hawthorne's half-brother and shared the same father. Hawthorne had no prior knowledge of the producer's secret or "deception". Hawthorne fired the producer once he figured out that he was related to the producer after having an unexpected meeting with his biological father and three other half-brothers at a diner. Shortly after terminating the producer from his debut album, Hawthorne began working on the project on his own.

In August 2012, Hawthorne was signed to Next Generation Records, a label owned by Coral Harris and Kleo and released his debut single which is titled "Pretend". "Pretend" debuted at #6 on the UK Singles Chart, selling more than 48,000 copies in its first week; it also surprisingly charted at #7 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100. In October 2012, Hawthorne released his second single "The Thought of You (Brings Me To Life)" and his debut album titled Kelvin. The album title for Kelvin derives from his childhood nickname which itself derives from Hawthorne's first and middle name which is Calvin and Kevin. Whereas "Pretend" got mixed to negative reviews, "The Thought of You (Brings Me To Life)" managed to receive positive reviews though this was overshadowed by controversies surrounding Hawthorne at the time. Kelvin, once leaked and later released, managed to get mixed to positive reviews from critics and fans who praised its "heart-wrenching and emotionally driven" lyrical content while also criticizing how it sounded sonically. "The Thought Of You" debuted at #3 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Hawthorne's first top three hit in the UK. Kelvin surprisingly debut at #1 on the UK Albums Chart, selling more 96,000 copies in its first week. Ironically, the album knocked The Snapshot EP by Arianna DiCorso from #1 on the albums chart; DiCorso has been a very vocal critic of Hawthorne while Hawthorne openly admires her and the two somewhat have a rivalry with each other.

Voice and image
Hawthorne possesses the vocal range of baritone, though his voice has been constantly criticized for being "limited, weak, and thin". Hawthorne has constantly been accused of using AutoTune on most of his material and many people often describe his "real and raw" voice as being "very pitchy, way off key, and just wrong". Hawthorne insists that he minimally uses AutoTune and does not use it all the time. He's also been accused of not being able to sing live at all and many people have stated that he has no talent or "let alone vocal talent".

In 2012, a controversy arose stating that Hawthorne lip-synched every one of his performances on The Uraps Factor prior to being voted off. Hawthorne, the show's producers, and even the show's judges and hosts have denied this allegation. Hawthorne also drew negative attention after a "disastrous" performance on the morning show Daybreak where audience members called it "THE worst performance [they] have ever seen", often citing that Hawthorne's voice was off-key, pitchy, weak, and limited while also stating that he failed to hit most of the notes in the song. In late September 2012, Hawthorne performed on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge where he performed "Pretend", "The Thought of You (Brings Me To Life)", and his cover rendition of "Little Miss Knock Her Up" by Arianna DiCorso. His performance on Live Lounge caused controversy and outrage and was negatively panned, with many people criticizing his vocals as being "very flat and off-key". Fans were also livid at Hawthorne for "brutally murdering" DiCorso's song.

Hawthorne is constantly criticized harshly by the press for his vocal abilities, his music, certain scandals pertaining to him, and sometimes his fashion. While still on The Uraps Factor, Hawthorne was criticized for having a "very pitchy and weak voice" while his costumes on the show were called "outrageous" and his performances overall were called "cringe-worthy" and "camp". PopJustice is Hawthorne's biggest critic and has criticized him on everything pertaining to him often expressing a harsh negative feeling towards Hawthorne. PopJustice has been criticizing Hawthorne since he was on The Uraps Factor.

Feuds
Hawthorne is rumored to be in an ongoing feud with his former The Uraps Factor mentor Brett Clarkson. The two have apparently been at odds since Hawthorne was a contestant on The Uraps Factor with Clarkson not wanting Hawthorne on the team he was mentoring (which was the Boys' category) and with Hawthorne, in turn, wanting a different mentor aside from Clarkson, namely Candi or James Moss who were also mentors on the show with Clarkson. In a radio interview, in September 2012, Hawthorne was accused of "throwing jabs" at Clarkson by saying that he "uses AutoTune much more than I do"; Hawthorne also stated that Clarkson threw him a "nasty look". Hawthorne quickly went to Twitter to state that his remarks were "sarcastic" and that he "truly loves" Clarkson. Hawthorne had initially repeatedly denied any rift with Clarkson. However, in October 2012, a video of the two getting into a heated argument was posted on YouTube. In the video, Hawthorne and Clarkson are seen in rehearsals for The Uraps Factor (ironically, it was rehearsals for the week that Hawthorne performed his infamous "Fight For This Love" routine) when Hawthorne suddenly walks angering Clarkson who told him to "get his arse back here". Hawthorne angrily retorts back and then storms off while Clarkson calls him a "wanker". Following the uploading of the video, Hawthorne simply stated in a radio interview that "well...now you know me and Brett don't get along." Both Hawthorne and Clarkson are signed to Next Generation Records.

Hawthorne has been constantly criticized by Arianna DiCorso, who has publicly echoed what the main grievances about Hawthorne have been stated in the press by criticizing his vocal ability and his presence in the papers, often calling him an "attention whore". Hawthorne, who knows of DiCorso's disdain for him, has made it publicly known that he admires DiCorso.

Hawthorne was once rumored to have been feuding with his Next Generation label bosses, Kleo and Coral Harris. Apparently the rift sparked over a rumor that the label wanted to shelve his debut album Kelvin. Both Hawthorne and Kleo denied such a rift and Hawthorne went on to say that Kleo and Harris were "the mothers he never had in a long time".

October 2012 car accident and death hoax scandal
On October 5, 2012, Hawthorne was in London driving from a photoshoot he had participated in to go to a meeting with Next Generation Records to have a discussion over his album and what the album's new single would. While en route, Hawthorne was texting and driving, causing him to become distracted from the road. Hawthorne eventually lost control of his car and (minorly) crashed into a car before his vehicle flipped over. The accident was considered to be "deadly serious" and "possibly fatal" and Hawthorne was immediately rushed and treated at a hospital.

On October 6, the following day after the accident, Hawthorne was reported to have died from his supposed injuries, which were rumored to have "severely affected his head and neck". In actuality, Hawthorne had only suffered injuries on his left hand, wrist, arm, and shoulder which were completely broken and were confirmed by doctors to need "extensive and intense recovery"; aside from those injuries, doctors also noted that Hawthorne was in "relatively good condition".

Hawthorne posted a video on Ustream on October 7 stating that reports about him being dead were completely false and that he only suffered injuries on the left side of his body and nothing more. He also dispelled rumors that his car had flipped over seven times (it only flipped over once) and that no one visited him in the hospital following his car accident or the breaking news of his false death (indeed, he was visited by his friend and fellow singer Aimee Stevens and his former co-workers at the clothing shop he used to work at; plenty of bouquets of flowers were also sent to his room).

Following the initial report of his death, many celebrities and publications, even those who criticized him harshly, namely PopJustice, offered their condolences to Hawthorne. After it was reported that the news of his death was false, and while some publications, again namely PopJustice, retracted their condolences and sympathy for the singer, many celebrities, such as James Moss and Aimee Stevens, publications and fans express support for him. In the days following the false death report, four people working at the hospital that Hawthorne was staying at were fired by officials for leaking the story and for also "technically" violating patient privacy and confidentiality policy. Hawthorne was subsequently released from the hospital; on the day he was released he went to the courthouse to file a lawsuit against two of his half-brothers who visited Hawthorne in the hospital but were ordered by him to leave, which ultimately caused a scuffle.