He was Hers From the Moment They Met: Alex & Sierra – A Look at UCF Knights’ X Factor Journey
When Sierra Deaton, ‘13 and Alex Kinsey met on a beach in 2009, with Alex singing Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” on the back of a truck, the pair couldn’t have imagined a $1 million dollar record deal was in their future. Still, a bond formed at the beach and the two became best friends. Two years ago, Alex and Sierra made the jump from friends to boyfriend and girlfriend.
The couple’s foray into stage performances began about as naturally and spontaneously as their relationship. Alex, who’d performed on different public stages for six years, would bring Sierra to his gigs and ask her to play or sing along with him. From there, their bond as musical artists and performers was created.
As for their X Factor audition, it wasn’t Alex or Sierra’s first time in the TV spotlight. Both had auditioned for the twelfth season of American Idol, but the show does not accept group performances. Alex & Sierra had to split up. Sierra was not selected for American Idol. However Alex made it all the way to Hollywood Week before being eliminated.
This turn of events didn’t seem to faze the couple’s drive to perform at all. In fact, it was a major reason the couple even auditioned for The X Factor. Sierra stated she “lured” Alex into performing by reminding him Simon Cowell, one of the creators behind American Idol and The X Factor, would be a judge.
From that point on, it was a whirlwind of four busy months performing, rehearsing and doing interviews. Alex & Sierra faced off against the 15 other contestants that were left after thousands initially auditioned, made it through boot camp and the four chair challenge. The pair stayed determined and made it through regular and double eliminations as well as a triple elimination unscathed. It was smooth sailing for the couple on the whole, despite Sierra being hit with critiques on her smaller vocal power compared to Alex’s vocal strength.
Simon would gush over some of Alex & Sierra’s performances, calling one “the best of the season” before the season was even over. He even predicted the couple would win after their version of A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera’s “Say Something” hit number one in the Itunes store.
In the two-night finale, Alex & Sierra competed against Jeff Guff and Carlito Olivero. On the first night Alex & Sierra performed one song of their choice to win the competition (Ed Sheeran’s “Give Me Love”), one song with a celebrity guest (“Bleeding Love” with Leona Lewis), and a song of the audience’s choice (“Say Something” by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera). Their first and last performances were major hits.
6,204,000 viewers from 166 countries tuned in to watch The X Factor’s finale, a 42% ratings increase from just two months prior. Alex & Sierra sang their rendition of Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas” during the holiday themed show before being crowned winners. The victory was surreal to the couple until they began singing “Say Something” again as their coronation song and the top 13 contestants came out to congratulate them. It was later revealed Alex & Sierra had received the most votes every single week of the competition. Therefore their win shouldn’t come across as too much of a shock.
Right after winning, Alex & Sierra flew back home to Orlando, Florida on December 21st and were greeted by nearly 100 fans, including their family, UCF students and alumni, and local media the FOX 35 news, CF News 13 and XL106.7.
Both Alex and Sierra have a connection to the UCF College of Sciences. Alex is a UCF student, in his senior year. He is studying I-O communication, but is currently taking a break from school. He does plan to return to UCF and finish out his degree. Sierra has recently become a UCF Alumna, graduating with a degree in advertising and public relations in 2013. Sierra and her family are well connected to the university. Her father is a former adjunct professor in psychology at UCF and is currently a professor at FL Tech. Her sister, Lara Deaton, graduated from UCF in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Many of her other family members either worked for UCF, studied at UCF or graduated from the university. Her entire family is thrilled with their success.
Just days after their return and holiday celebrations, Daytona Beach mayor Derrick Henry honored Alex & Sierra with a key to the city in a large ceremony with about 1,000 people present on December 26th. The duo also performed during the special event.
Alex and Sierra both say their experience on The X Factor strengthened and increased their confidence in their relationship. This is great news for all fans of the sweetheart’s relationship. Alex & Sierra have now moved to California and begun work on their first album together and co-writing songs for it. Let’s hope their album blows us away just as much as their spectacular win on The X Factor did.
The College of Sciences is coordinating a UCF campus wide event for Sierra & Alex to celebrate the couple’s success on The X Factor sometime in 2014. Please check back here for details!
