Ili (singer)

Emily Middlemas (born 26 September 1998), known professionally as ili (stylised in all lowercase), is a Scottish singer-songwriter. In 2014, she auditioned for the eleventh series of The X Factor but did not progress to the live shows. She returned two years later for the thirteenth series, where she was the ninth contestant eliminated. She competed in both under her birth name, Emily Middlemas, but in 2019, she began using her stage name and independently released her debut extended play, Changes.

Middlemas was born on 26 September 1998, in Glasgow, Scotland,^[1] and attended Woodfarm High School.^[1] Middlemas auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent at a young age.^[2]

Middlemas has been in a relationship with fellow singer Ryan Lawrie since 2015.^[3][4][5] In June 2022, the couple got engaged.^[6]

At the age of nine, Middlemas started her performing career in a band called Loud N Proud,^[7] and at thirteen, she began writing her own songs.^[7] In July 2014, Middlemas won TeenStar, an annual singing competition held in Birmingham.^[8] Later that year, she auditioned for the eleventh series of The X Factor, and reached judges' houses, but failed to proceed further.^[9][10][11]

Middlemas then returned to audition for the thirteenth series of The X Factor in 2016, singing a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Master Blaster (Jammin')".^[12] Middlemas was placed in the "girls" category and reached the live shows, where she was mentored by Simon Cowell.^[13] Following the eliminations of Gifty Louise in week 4 and Sam Lavery in week 6, Middlemas became Cowell's last remaining act in the competition. She was in the bottom two in the semi-final, against Matt Terry, and was the ninth contestant eliminated.^[14][15]

In 2017, Middlemas released her first single, "Lost and Found", after which she embarked on her debut headline tour across the United Kingdom.^[16][17] The Memory Lane Tour consisted of 11 dates.^[18] In March 2018, she released her second single, "Layla", a tribute to a young girl who died from neuroblastoma cancer.^[19][20] Later that year, she released two further singles, titled "Habit" and "Broken Record".^[21]

In August 2019, Middlemas announced that she had adopted the stage name ili.^[22] That same month, she released "A Little Bit" as her debut single as ili.^[23][24] In September 2019, "Changes" was released as the title track from her debut EP, Changes.^[25][26] On 1 November 2019, ili released the five-track EP Changes.^[27] She then released the single "Breath" on 8 May 2020.^[28] Two years later, ili released "Time Go By".^[29] Then in May 2023, she released the song "Tongue Tied", which was noted by Notion for "beginning to transcend Scotland’s borders and make an impact globally".^[30]

• Official website