Revision 327559 of "Alicia Benson" on test2wiki

{{Infobox musical artist
|image = Alicia performing in April 2017.jpg
|caption= Benson performing at Diamond Awards in April 2017
|background = solo_singer
|name = Alicia Benson
|birth_name = Alicia King Benson
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1995|06|16}}
|birth_place = Teddington, London, United Kingdom
|genre               = {{Flatlist|
* R&B
* hip hop
* pop
* dance
}}
|occupation = Singer, dancer
|instrument =  Vocals
|label = MTM
|years_active = 2012–present
|associated_acts = [[Ladies Sound]]
| website             = {{URL|https://barbiefame.wixsite.com/aliciabenson|aliciabenson.com}}
}}

'''Alicia King Benson''' (born 16 June 1995)<ref name="r2">[http://celebstarxlr8.blogspot.co.nz/p/alicia-benson.html Alicia Benson</ref> is an English dancer and singer. She was a member of a Barbian girl group [[Ladies Sound]] formed in 2012 and disbanded in 2015. She became the judge for the third season of ''So You Think You Can Dance'' in 2015 and became a judge for the singing competition ''The X Factor'' in 2016. In 2017, Benson released her solo work "[[Free Love (Alicia Benson song)|Free Love]]" on February 2, 2017, which is a lead single from her debut album.

==Early life==

Alicia King Benson was born on 16 June 1995 in Teddington, London, United Kingdom. She grew up singing and dancing, she studied multiple style of dance competitively in ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical and hip hop. She attended a dance class in Teddington Dance Studio and attended a secondary school in Grey Court School, where she was a first honor and a member of a choir. At the age of seventeen, Benson moved to Grovia, Barbia to audition for Starquest.

==Career==

===2012–2015: Ladies Sound and ''So You Think You Can Dance''===

{{main article|Ladies Sound}}
[[File:Alicia in November 2013.jpg|thumbnail|Alicia in November 2013|left|160px]]

In 2012, Benson traveled to Revlon to audition for Starquest to pursue her dream to become a singer and a performer. She signed a record label contract with MTM. Benson were desperate to work as a solo but the manager forced her to be in the group due to lack of her confidence and personality. Benson felt disappointed and frustrated by the management. She was also forced to leave if she did not agree with the decision. Benson joined a music group and met her fellow co-members [[Amanda Lili]] and [[Gabby Wends]] and they were announced as [[Ladies Sound]] girl group. During their debut, Ladies Sound had a hard time finishing their choreography and completing the album due to their lack of time. 

The group released their debut album ''[[Party Party (Ladies Sound album)|Party Party]]'' and the lead single same title on 5 February 2012. The album peaked at No. 11 on the XLR8 Albums Chart in Barbia and it has sold copies by 7,765 in the country and the total number of selling the album were 5,865. The lead single "[[Party Party (Ladies Sound song)|Party Party]]" peaked at number 18 U.K Singles Chart. Ladies Sound performed the song on Music Celebrations! on March 15 2012. The second single "[[Let's Go (Ladies Sound song)|Let's Go]]" were released on November 11 2012 and it made MTM company earned 1 million box. The song peaked at number 11 U.K Singles Chart in United Kingdom. In December of 2012, the group had made to Sound Net of  promoting "Let's Go" in Bratz and performed it on STee Show on November 25 2012 <ref>https://jog.fm/artists/glee-cast/workout-songs/animal-glee-cast-version?page=2</ref> The magazine has named Ladies Sound as the sexiest girl group of 2012. In February 28 2013 the group released the third single "[[Sexy Girlz]]" and peaked at number 84 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in United States. The song received a negative critic from media claiming that  the song is a bad influence for young girls. The group took over a hiatus on September of 2013 due of Amanda Lili's marriage and it was also reported that Benson was performing at various concerts.<ref>http://www.pinterest.com/amvelting/life/</ref> During the hiatus, the group started working on the studio for the second album but it was a lack of record due to the members' schedule and Gabby Wends' vocal issue. Benson was also visiting the royal ballet during the work of the second album and she was a temporary student dancer in the company. In 2014, Benson served as a host for a television series "VT Dumb". 

In January of 2015, Ladies Sound had embark on Party Party Tour and the tickets has sold by 10 million from UK, America and Australia but it was cancelled due to the lack of preparation for the concert. In May 22, 2015, Benson is no longer in the group [[Ladies Sound]] for disbanding by MTM due to Amanda Lili's first child with her husband and the lack of record for the second album. Benson became a judge of the Barbian version of ''So You Think You Can Dance'', alongside [[Babra Jay]], [[Daniel Matts]] and [[Joshua Miller]], in 2015. She also danced along with the contestant of the show during the finale. 

===2016–present: ''X Factor'' and ''Queendom===

On 12 July 2016, XLR8 revealed that Benson had signed on to be a judge on ''The X Factor Barbia''. With a reported salary of $10 million, she became the highest-paid judge on a singing competition series in television history. She mentored the Girls category; her final act, [[Laland Mary]] was named the runner-up of the season. In December 2016, it was announced that Benson is working on her debut studio album ''[[Queendom (Alicia Benson song)|Queendom]]'' and it was released on September 4, 2015. The album peaked at No. 14 Official Charts in United Kingdom and sold copies by 9,787. She released the lead single "[[Free Love (Alicia Benson song)|Free Love]]" on February 2, 2017. The song was first debuted in United Kingdom and it peaked at number 6 UK Singles Chart and peaked at number 33 Billboard Hot 100 in United States. Benson performed the song on Live Station, Superstar Shines and iSound. Many LGBT people, celebrities, couples as well as fans thank Benson for the song ''Free Love'' for making them "believe in their self and to love whoever they want". The song also receives many positive critic from media due to the lyrics of the song and it helped many couples around the world to be happy. The song won Song Of The Year at Cube Awards 2017. In April 19, 2017, Benson released the second single "[[Lemonade (Alicia Benson)|Lemonade]]" and it peaked at number 3 UK Singles Chart where it first debuted. The song won Best Dance Song at Diamond Awards on April 18, 2017 and also performed it for the first time. On July 30, 2017, it was announced that Benson was chosen as one of the opening acts of Trisha Louis's Foreplay Tour. Benson released her third single "[[Pistols (Alicia Benson song)|Pistols]]" on August 14 2017. The song was first debuted in United Kingdom and it peaked at number 9 UK Singles Chart.

==Personal life==

In 2013, Benson was a temporary student dancer in Royal Ballet in London, UK. She was also invited to dance schools in London to be a guest teacher. She stated that she enjoys teaching young dancers in her spare time. "If I wasn't a famous singer or dancer, I would be a dance teacher and a dance instructor, I really enjoy doing this".

==Other ventures==

In 2013, Benson was chosen to model the American clothing line Guess.<ref>http://allthingslawandorder.blogspot.co.nz/2011/02/law-order-svu-pursuit-recap-review.html</ref>

==Filmography==

===Television===

{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Year 
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 2014
| ''VT Dumb''
| Herself
| Host
|-
| 2015
| ''So You Think You Can Dance Barbia''
| Herself
| Judge
|-
| 2016
| ''X Factor Barbia''
| Herself
| Judge
|}

==Discography==
{{Main|Alicia Benson discography}}
{{See also|Ladies Sound discography}}

*''[[Queendom (Alicia Benson album)|Queendom]]'' (2017)

==Concert tours==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
;Opening act
* [[Foreplay Tour]] (2017) {{small|([[Trisha Louis]])}}
{{col-end}}

==Awards and nominations==

{| class="wikitable"
! width"40"|Year
! width"275"|Awards
! width"275"|Category
! width"250"|Nominated work
! width"90"|Result
|-
|align="center" rowspan="6"|2017
|align="center" rowspan="1"|XLR8 Star Awards
|align="center" rowspan="1"|Most Popular Celebrity
|align="center" rowspan="1"|Alicia Benson
|{{nominated}}
|-
|align="center" rowspan="2"|LoudSlam Awards
|align="center" rowspan="1"|Best Entertainer
|align="center" rowspan="1"|Herself
|{{nominated}}
|-
|align="center" rowspan="1"|Best R&B Song
|align="center" rowspan="1"|"Pistols"
|{{won}}
|-
|align="center" rowspan="2"|Diamond Awards
|align="center" rowspan="1"|Best New Artist
|align="center" rowspan="1"|Herself
|{{nominated}}
|-
|align="center" rowspan="1"|Best Dance Song
|align="center" rowspan="1"|"Lemonade"
|{{won}}
|-
|align="center" rowspan="1"|Cube Awards
|align="center" rowspan="1"|Song Of The Year
|align="center" rowspan="1"|"Free Love"
|{{won}}
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|https://barbiefame.wixsite.com/aliciabenson|aliciabenson.com}}
*{{Facebook|284744524998464|Alicia Benson}}