As over 10,000 X Factor fans sign a petition to kick rapperHoney G out of the singingcompetition and replace her with ousted pub landlady Samantha Atkinson, we take a look at the controversial contestant.
1. Her real name is Anna Georgette Gilford - and it used to be Anna Ruth Gilford
"I changed my middle name to 'Georgette' from 'Ruth' after my grandmother died. I changed my name in her memory. My real name used to be Anna Ruth Gilford," the rapper told The Mirror back in August.
"I've been Honey G since the year 2000...It was one of my uni mates that came up with it. I questioned it and he was like 'It's sweet like honey' and I was cool with that."
2. She's been accused of 'fakery', after revelations about her privileged upbringing - but says she's always been into urban music
"I was brought up aroundclassical music, aroundpiano and guitar, but most of the stuff I do now is urban music," Gilford revealed on the X factor ahead of her first audition.
The daughter of a classically trained pianist (her mother, also a guitarist, played with the BBC at the Royal Albert Hall) and a dentist, she was educated at twofee-payingschools:St Helen's School in North-WestLondon, Peterborough, and St Margaret's High School For Girls in Stanmore. For herA Levels, she attendedDr Challoner's High School, a selective grammar schoolin Amersham, Buckinghamshire.
Gilford has also explained that she is not deliberately concealing an upper-middle class accent: instead, she says, her voice changed after many years DJ-ing on the underground music scene.
3. She has her own YouTube channel
There's only one video on it right now:a single calledsingle Your Loving.
Uploaded about 11 months ago, the song hashad over 74,000 views, and alternates Gilford's rapswith a melodic "Please don’t take away my loving tonight” chorus.
The video, meanwhile, alternates scenesof Gilford arguing and pleading with a woman in a bedroom as she packs her bags– presumably a partner about to walkout?– with footage of the rapper against a graffitied street background.
The song was also released on Apple Music, where it was available to buy for79p.
4. Sheworked as a DJand used to host her own club night
The YouTubechannel's "about me" section offers an interesting glimpse at Gilford's life and passion for music.
"I started mixing in 1999. After mixing for 4 months I made my 1st appearance at Club Abbyss in Ayia Napa and gained a residency at Gas club in the summer of 2000," she writes.
"I played at Insomnia which was filmed for channel 4. I was introduced to a talented MC and singer - MC Krazie and we formed a crew - 'Female Phenomena'.
"We toured across the whole of the UK playing at various clubs in Manchester, Blackpool with EZ, Nottingham with Ms Dynamite, Preston and The 112 concert in Liverpool which I remember very vividly.
"I met DJ Sarah Love (UK HIP HOP Legend) at University and the three of us decided to team up and launch an urban club night calledLuvibe, this idea originated from another close friend. I will never forget the night at Club Venus in Manchester when the night ended with Krazie asking the crowd 'When I say love you say Vibe'and there was not a single person in that club that didn't shout Vibe'. This was probably one of the most moving moments of my entire life."
5. She's a sexual assaultsurvivor
Earlier this year, Gilford bravely spokeoutabout a traumatic past experience.
“Before I graduated from university, I did have a very bad experience and unfortunately as a result of that my DJ career didn’t survive and then I basically moved into production," the 35-year-oldtoldThe Sunlast month.
“Obviously the effect the bad experience had on me – it kind of ruined my confidence, it knocked me and basically it’s affected my whole life.
“Basically in my final year of university I was car hijacked and kidnapped and sexually assaulted. A man was convicted for what happened – for the crime."
6. She runs her own recruitment business
Her company ARGSearch (it looks as if the acronym may bebased on Gilford's original name, Anna Ruth Gilford) specialisesin IT recruitment consultancy.
According to Gilford's Linked In page, the TV star was also"awarded the UCL school of Management Scholarship for the MSc Management at UCL", beginning the postgraduate degree in 2015.
In addition to herMSc studies, Gilford also holds a BA in Popular Music and Recording from the University of Salford. She graduated in 2004.
7. As far as weknow, 2016 was her first time auditioning for X Factor
Wegot in touch with the X Factorpress office, who told us that Gilfordmade the decision to audition herself, and was not "scouted" orinvited on by producers, asis the case with some contestants.
"Honey auditioned herself and I believe this is the first time auditioning," said a spokesperson, in response to our query.
8. She doesn't see herself as a novelty act
Her X Factor success has split fans, with some claiming that her success has been at the expense of other, more genuinely talented singers.
But Gilford has repeatedly said that she is serious about her musical career, and doesn't see herself as this year's "joke" act.
She also appears to believe that the controversy is mainly due to the fact that she is a rap artist, rather than a more traditional performer.
"I wouldn't consider myself as a novelty act. Just because I'm a rapper and I'm on X Factor? Just because I'm a rapper it doesn't mean that I'm some kind of circus act. I'm real. I'm a genuine artist," Gilford said in August. Wonder what Simon Cowell makes of all this ...
9. She's looking for love
"I'm looking for someone to share my life with. I want to find someone to settle down with and have children soon," Gilford revealed on the X Factor.
Atthe very least, her time on the show has definitely helped raise her profile.
