Stacy Francis was a finalist and fan favorite on the first season of Simon Cowell’s new show The X Factor. Her audition blew Simon away and gave her one of the few standing ovations he has ever given and proclaimed, “I have been doing this a long time. That was one of the best auditions I have ever seen in my life. I love, love, love it. I love you!” And LA Reid declared that she literally “made the hairs on his arm stand up” and that “her voice stirs souls!” The YouTube videos of her X Factor performances have collectively been viewed more than 11 million times.Stacy’s career didn’t begin on the X Factor; she has been singing all of her life. She grew up a preacher’s kid in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, NY. At the age of 16, Stacy joined the girl group, Ex-Girlfriend. The group was signed to Warner Bros. Records by music industry legend Benny Medina and scored a #3 Billboard hit single, “Why Can’t You Come Home,” produced by notable singer/songwriter, R. Kelly. Before leaving the group, Stacy performed on Broadway in the show Boys Choir of Harlem and Friend’s on Broadway and appeared in Girlfriend, a made for television movie produced by Oprah Winfrey.Stacy is a trained actress and has toured the world with several stage plays and musical productions in addition to appearing on a variety of television programs including featured roles on Third Watch (NBC), Half and Half, The Parkers (UPN), Yes Dear (CBS), Phil of the Future (Disney), Fastlane (FOX), Son of The Beach (FX) and In My Opinion (WB). She has also performed live on The Rosie O’Donnell Show, Showtime At The Apollo, Soul Train and The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.A highlight of Stacy’s musical theater career was landing a starring role opposite Chaka Khan in the West End production of Mama I Want To Sing in London. The success of the play resulted in a coveted performance at the Olivier Awards, Britain’s equivalent of the Tony Awards. Before returning stateside, Stacy also performed the role in Tokyo. Upon her return, she landed a role in the musical theater production Born to Sing at Madison Square Garden with gospel legends, CeCe Winans and Shirley Caesar. Rave reviews of her performance led to an invitation to join the cast of Smokey Joe’s Cafe on Broadway. This was followed by roles in Street Corner Symphony and the hit Broadway show, Footloose where she originated the role of “Rusty”. Recently, Stacy was honored to sing for Hilary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention.