Bella Ferraro (born 20 Aug 1994) is an Australian singer who competed in the fourth season of The X Factor Australia in 2012.
Early life Ferraro was born and raised in Sydney, Australia. She began singing as a child. At age five, she became a member of the Australian Girls Choir, which performed at the annual Carols in the Domain and during Oprah Winfrey's Australian tour. Ferraro left school in Year 12 to pursue a music career.
Career 2012: The X Factor Australia Ferraro successfully auditioned for the fourth season of The X Factor in 2012, singing "Skinny Love", with a treatment based on the version by Birdy. She was inspired to audition for the show after seeing the success of One Direction on the UK version. During the super boot camp stage, Ferraro forgot the lyrics to the two songs she performed: Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" and Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over". For the first live performance show on 17 September 2012, Ferraro sang Matt Corby's "Brother" and received a mixed response from the judges. Mel B said it was not the right song choice, while Ronan Keating disagreed, saying that he loved the song choice and describing her performance as "beautiful".
For the second live performance show, Ferraro performed a stripped back version of "What Makes You Beautiful". She received mixed reviews from the judges, who concluded that while the song was an appropriate choice, the arrangement did not match that week's theme, "Party Week". Her performance of "What Makes You Beautiful" debuted at number 62 on the ARIA Singles Chart. For the third live performance show, she sang "Big Yellow Taxi" by Joni Mitchell and received a positive response from the judges for her vocals, but mixed reviews over the choreography. Ferraro's performance of "Big Yellow Taxi" debuted at number 84. For the fourth live show, she sang "Ray of Light" by Madonna, followed by the English version of "99 Red Balloons" by German band Nena for the fifth live show. In week six of the live shows, Ferraro fell into the bottom two alongside Fourtunate but was saved after Mel B, Natalie Bassingthwaighte, and Guy Sebastian all opted to eliminate Fourtunate.
For the seventh live performance show, Ferraro sang The Temper Trap's "Sweet Disposition". Her performance debuted in the charts at number 59. For the eighth live performance show, Ferraro sang "Dreams" by The Cranberries, and her performance debuted at number 82. In the semi-finals of the live shows, Ferraro fell into the bottom two alongside The Collective; the result was a deadlock and so reverted to the earlier public vote. Ferraro was the tenth contestant eliminated in the competition. Her performance of "The Last Day on Earth" debuted at number 90.
Performances on The X Factor denotes having reached the ARIA Singles Chart. denotes having been in the bottom two.
ShowThemeSongOriginal artistOrderResult Auditions Free choice"Skinny Love"Birdy N/AThrough to super bootcamp Super bootcamp 1"The A Team"Ed Sheeran Through to stage 2 Super bootcamp 2"Somebody That I Used to Know"Gotye Through to stage 3 Super bootcamp 3 "Don't Dream It's Over"Crowded House Through to home visits Home visits"Heartbeats"Ellie GouldingThrough to live shows Week 1Judges' Choice"Brother"Matt Corby 10 Safe Week 2Party All Night"What Makes You Beautiful"One Direction5Safe Week 3Top 10 Hits"Big Yellow Taxi" Joni Mitchell5Safe Week 4Legends"Ray of Light" Madonna7Safe Week 51980s"99 Red Balloons"Nena5Safe Week 6Latest and Greatest"Shake It Out"Florence + the Machine6Bottom twoFinal showdown"Tonight"Lykke Li2Saved Week 7Made in Australia"Sweet Disposition"The Temper Trap5Safe Week 8Judges' Challenge"Dreams"The Cranberries5Safe Semi-finalPower and Passion"Bulletproof"La Roux3Bottom two"The Last Day on Earth"Kate Miller-Heidke7Final Showdown"Angel"Sarah McLachlan1Eliminated
2012–2013: Record deal and singles After The X Factor ended, Ferraro obtained a recording contract with Sony Music Australia and released her debut single "Set Me on Fire" on 14 December 2012. The song peaked at number 36 on the ARIA Singles Chart on 30 December 2012. Her second single "Forgot You", which features Will Singe of The Collective, was released on 18 October 2013 and peaked at number 75 on the ARIA Singles Chart.
2014: Leaving Sony Music and social media Ferraro opted out of her recording contract and abandoned all social media in 2014. She is no longer signed to Sony Music Australia.
2015-2019: Life away from the spotlight, LilBels Over the following years, Ferraro studied music production, did backing vocals and keyboards, and performed on occasion under the name LilBels. As LilBels, she performed in Sydney with band Sister Peach, where she was rediscovered by the artist Zepha, a turning point for Ferraro's return to music.
2020-Present: Returning as Bella Ferraro, new single Ferraro performed at the Sydney venue Low 302, where she played unreleased tracks that she had finalized with Zepha. After the positive response, she released a single, "Her", in August 2020. Dave Ruby Howe from Triple j Unearthed said about the single: "Bella's vocal and this whole pulsing track does more than just luring you in. It's more like they trap you. Everything feels close up and connected; skin to skin, baring the soul." She released another single, "Believe You", on 30 October 2020. On March 1st 2024, she released "Heartbreaks".
Artistry Ferraro cites Bon Iver, Lykke Li, Crystal Castles, Foals and Two Door Cinema Club as her musical influences.
Discography
Singles Title Year Peak chart positions Album AUSPeak chart positions for singles on the ARIA Singles Chart:
"Forgot You": "Set Me on Fire" 2012 36 rowspan="5" "Forgot You"(featuring Will Singe) 2013 75"Her"2020"Believe You""Heartbreaks"2024
+Music VideosTitleYearAlbumSet Me On Fire2012 rowspan="2" Forgot You (feat. Will Singe)2013
Other charted songs Title Year Peak chart positions AUSPeak chart positions for songs on the ARIA Singles Chart: "What Makes You Beautiful": "Big Yellow Taxi": "Sweet Disposition": "Dreams" : "The Last Day on Earth": "What Makes You Beautiful" 2012 62 "Big Yellow Taxi" 84 "Sweet Disposition" 59 "Dreams" 82 "The Last Day on Earth" 90
References
External links (Archive)
https://www.bellaferraromusic.com/