Ash Gray (born 11 December 1998), sometimes known professionally as Gabz, is an English singer who reached the final of the seventh series of ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global '' Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquial ...

'' in 2013. Gray released his debut single "

Lighters (The One) "Lighters (The One)", originally called "The One", is a song by British singer Ash Gray, released as his debut single on 30 June 2013 in the United Kingdom under his previous name "Gabz". Gray wrote the song and was produced by Graham Stack (r ...

" under the Gabz name on 30 June 2013, which peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart.

Career

2013: ''Britain's Got Talent''

In his ''

'' audition, screened on 26 May, Gray who at that time was going by the name Gabz, performed an original song called "

The One The One may refer to: Buildings * The One (shopping centre), a shopping centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong * The One (Toronto), a mixed-use skyscraper under development in Toronto, Canada * The One, a residential skyscraper under constru ...

". When asked beforehand what the song was about, Gray stated that it was about "losing the love of your life". Gray received praise from the judges, with

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...

stating, "I absolutely loved that. I really did. I think that's a cute little song, great chorus, you know, produced properly that song... you may have something there." Gray received four "yes" votes from the judges and was put through to the next round, and subsequently the semi-finals. In the semi-final on 28 May, Gray performed the song again, this time with a backing track and choir. Walliams urged Cowell to make the song available for purchase, predicting it could make number one in the UK Singles Chart. Gray landed in the top three of the night, and with comedian Jack Carroll already through, it was down to the judges to choose between Gardiner and Irish singers Jack and Cormac. All four judges voted for Gray, thus sending him through to the final. It was Gray's idea to audition, and that his father almost refused to let him audition because of his bad attitude at home, and required Gray to get better, and eventually let him after the deadline was extended. Gray also stated that "It would be amazing to win – I'm not expecting it – I don't think I will. I'm really really happy to get this far, I can't believe it, it's great, I'm just hoping I can get a record deal or something so I can show more of my songs – I've written over 30 now." Gray's hometown also saw support, with banners supplied by businesses around his hometown. In the final, Gray performed a mash-up of a new song "Lie There" and "The One". Gray finished in seventh place with 3.6% of the vote.

2016 – UP Album & Losing New Sleep Single

Cowell stated his intention to give Gray a record deal after ''Britain's Got Talent''. Gray released "The One", renamed "

Lighters A lighter is a portable device which uses mechanical or electrical means to create a controlled flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of flammable items, such as cigarettes, butane gas, fireworks, candles, or campfires. A lighter typica ...

", on 30 June 2013 via Sony Music. It was produced by Graham Stack. The single debuted at number 6 in the UK Singles Chart. Gray's second single, "Lie There", was released on 3 November 2013. The video was released on 21 October. A third single "Change the Game" was released on 21 March 2014. Gray's fourth single, "Holiday in Brazil", was released ahead of the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

in Brazil. It was written by Gray and Paul Baker, with 25 p from every download going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation UK. The video was filmed in London, featuring several of Gray's brothers, two of his cousins and several of his school friends. In 2016, Gray released his EP titled "Up" which featured five tracks - "Up", "Best Night", "Counting Scars", "Dream Big" and "Friend Zone". The First Single came from the UP Album was Called Up in July 2016. Then The Second Single Called Counting Scars came out in August 2016, a Month later after Up the Single Up Came out. In 2018, The Single "Losing No Sleep" was released in 2018. The music video was subsequently posted on 3 February 2018 to the "GabzOfficialVEVO"

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channel. The song and music video is about a couple going through a hard time and how they are struggling to resolve their relationship.

2019: present: Singles

On 12 April 2019, Gray released the single 'When I Look At You' and the accompanying music video was posted on 3 May 2019. In 2020, Gray released his EP "Self Destruct". It featured five tracks - "Crash", "Peak (Interlude)", "Self Destruct", "No Consequences" and "Break up Song". On 11 June 2021, Gray independently produced and released a remake of his 2013 single "

". This reflected his sexuality as the lyric previously used the term "girlfriend" when referring to a partner he lost and now said "boyfriend".

Other media

From 2018 to 2019, Gray appeared in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

talent series '' All Together Now'', as one of the hundred judges.

Personal life

Gray lives in

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

and attended

The Nobel School The Nobel School is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Stevenage in the English county of Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of th ...

. Gray is a trans man, and uses he/him pronouns. While Gray still uses the name Gabz on his

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

and some other social media, his

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and

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

use Ash Gray, the name he has used since coming out as transgender, with him tweeting on the name change that while he lost his verification as a result of it, by finally changing his username he is happy.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

Music videos

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Ash Living people 1998 births 21st-century Black British male singers 21st-century British male singers 21st-century English male singers 21st-century English LGBTQ people Britain's Got Talent contestants English people of Jamaican descent Black British LGBTQ people English transgender men English transgender musicians People from Stevenage English LGBTQ singers Transgender male musicians Transgender singers