Joe Harker
X-Factor star Danny Dearden has died at the age of 34.
He had appeared on the 2014 edition of the ITV singing show, where he got to the Judges' Houses stage of the competition and was mentored by Mel B.
He later went on to have a successful career in music as a vocalist and songwriter.
Dearden's song 'Could Be With You', which he worked on alongside Michael Calfan, has been streamed 14 million times on Spotify and featured on the ITV show Love Island.
The tragic news was confirmed by his manager Denise Beighton, who said: "Heartbroken to wake up to the news that you’re gone. I have no words right now, rest easy beautiful boy."
The Mirror reports that Dearden spoke of his collaboration with Calfan back in 2018, speaking about his experiences recording in a studio and the 'amazing' experience of working on music together.
Danny had said: "It was amazing working with him.
"At the time of the first session, when we wrote 'It’s Wrong', I hadn’t had a lot of experience in a studio of that scale, so it was quite nerve-racking, but everyone made me feel at ease.
"He is one of the most down to earth people I’ve ever met, although it can be difficult at times because he has the strongest French accent I’ve ever heard, that mixed with my Northern/Lancashire/Manc accent we had to repeat ourselves a few times."
Dearden's last social media activity was to post a picture of a Costa Coffee cup in hospital back in December of last year, a year before that in December 2023 he'd said he hadn't been in the best of health and that 'at one point I was told I probably wouldn’t be here today'.
During his time on X Factor he performed Kelly Clarkson's 'Beautiful Disaster' during the Judges' House stage of the show.
Mel B told Danny she'd 'loved you from day one' and told him 'undeniably you are pitch perfect'.
Sadly, he didn't end up becoming one of her three picks to go through to the live shows, but there was high praise for his skills.
Among those paying tribute were fellow former X Factor contestant Laura White, who said the singer 'was so so lovely', and Britain's Got Talent star Jamie Lee Harrison who described the news as 'devastating'.
Others said he was an 'absolutely lovely lad' as well as 'such a nice and talented guy'.