Tabitha MacLachlan

**Tabitha Catrìona MacLachlan** (born 2 April 1998) is a Scottish singer, songwriter, and model. MacLachlan rose to prominence in 2016, after winning series fourteen of *The X Factor*.

The daughter of Scottish singer Kirsty MacLachlan and Northern Irish musician Christopher Swan, MacLachlan began her career as a member of the duo Tabitha and Sarah, of which she played guitar and performed backup vocals. The duo auditioned for series fourteen of *The X Factor*, but were broken up into two solo acts. MacLachlan continued to advance in the competition as a solo artist, eventually winning the competition. As part of her winning prize, she received recording contracts with Sony Music and Syco Records. Her winner's single "Ocean" was released in December 2016, and became a number-one hit in the United Kingdom.

Following her win, MacLachlan released the lead single to her debut studio album "Find You", which became her second number-one hit. Her debut studio album *Lassie* (2017) was released in October 2017, and peaked at number-one in the United Kingdom, and within the top five in the United States. Her second studio album *In Too Deep* (2019) will be released in 2019.

## Early life and education

MacLachlan was born on 2 April 1998 in Glasgow to single mother Kirsty MacLachlan; Kirsty was a singer during the early-1990s, known for her 1992 hit single "No One but You". Her father is Northern Irish musician and former Renegade frontman Christopher Swan; MacLachlan did not know Swan was her father until she was 18 years old, and did not meet him until after beginning her music career. She was raised by her mother in the Glasgow suburb of Baillieston.

Growing up, MacLachlan and her mother struggled financially. Kirsty worked as a secretary after ending her music career to prioritize motherhood in 1998, and lost her job when MacLachlan was 17. She subsequently began working two part-time jobs in retail, while MacLachlan began working as a singing waitress at a diner. MacLachlan began her education in 2003, attending a local primary school. She began secondary school at Bannerman High School in 2010, where she participated actively in the arts and music. MacLachlan graduated from secondary school in 2016. She planned on attending the University of Glasgow until beginning her music career.

## Career

### 2016–2018: *The X Factor*, breakthrough, and *Lassie*

During the summer of 2016, MacLachlan attended the auditions for series fourteen of *The X Factor* in Edinburgh with her friend Sarah Anderson. They performed in the duo Tabitha and Sarah, with MacLachlan playing guitar and performing background vocals, while Anderson was the lead vocalist. Following their audition, the judges asked MacLachlan to perform a song on their own; they received three yeses as a duo, while judge Natasha Khan gave only a yes to MacLachlan continuing as a soloist. In bootcamp, the duo continued to advance and reached the six-chair challenge. In the six-chair challenge, the duo performed "Do I Wanna Know?" by Arctic Monkeys, but were broken up by the judges and asked to return as solo performers. As a soloist, MacLachlan performed an original song titled "Goodbye"; she advanced to judges' houses, while Anderson was eliminated.

In the judges' houses, MacLachlan performed a second original song titled "Disaster". She was ultimately one of the three girls selected by mentor Maya to advance to the live shows. During the live shows, MacLachlan performed consistently and did not end in the bottom two or three once. After reaching the finals, MacLachlan performed her winner's single "Ocean". She was declared the winner of the competition, besting runner-up JJ Waters. As the winner, MacLachlan was awarded recording contracts with Sony Music and Syco Records. "Ocean" later went on to become a number-one single in the United Kingdom.

In early-2017, MacLachlan began work on her debut studio album. In July 2017, she released the single "Find You", the lead single off of her upcoming album. "Find You" became a massive success internationally, becoming her second chart-topping hit in the United Kingdom, and additionally reaching the top ten in a number of countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, and the United States. She later released her debut studio album *Lassie* (2017) in October 2017. The album peaked at number-one in the United Kingdom, and within the top five in the United States. It additionally produced the top ten singles "Never Over" and "Up the Street". To promote the album, MacLachlan supported Maya on her *Independent Woman World Tour* from December 2017 to June 2018, and later embarked on the *Wee Scottish Lassie Tour*, which performed shows in the United Kingdom and United States from July to September 2018.