Honey G

Honey G
Contestant Profile
Birth Date	12 March 1981
Age	43
Hometown	Harrow, London, England
Occupation	Recruitment agent
13
Category	Over 25s
Mentor	Sharon Osbourne
Placement	5/12
Gallery

Anna Georgette Gilford (born 12 March 1981), known professionally as Honey G, is an English recruitment agent, rapper and record label producer from Harrow, London who competed in Series 13 of The X Factor as part of the Over 25s mentored by Sharon Osbourne. She was eliminated in the quarter finals, finishing in 5th place.

The X Factor

She auditioned in front of the judges performing a self-penned rap consisting of her repeating her name and made it through to the Six Chair Challenge where she was eliminated. However, when it was announced that fellow contestant Ivy Grace Paredes had to withdraw due to visa issues, she was brought back as a replacement and was chosen as one of Sharon Osbourne's Top 3 for the live finals.

The choice attracted much criticism from the public and a petition was launched to see her replaced.  Various artists including rapper Professor Green and singer Lily Allen criticised her for "cultural appropriation", while winners Little Mix and James Arthur were also critical of her participation in the show, believing her to have been planted there by the producers.  Series 10 runner up Nicholas McDonald also criticized her participation, saying that the joke had worn off. However, American rapper Snoop Dogg praised her for being a "real hip-hop artist" and expressed a desire to work with her.

After the first live show, an internet movement of mothers and grandmothers dressing up as Honey G emerged, with the pictures and videos shared via the hashtag #MummyG. After controversially avoiding the sing off for the first six weeks, she finally landed in the bottom two in Week 7 alongside Ryan Lawrie but was saved 3-1 by the judges leading to boos from the audience.  She has also attracted criticism from her fellow eliminated competitors, with Ryan Lawrie likening her to comedian Leigh Francis' character Keith Lemon.

In the quarter-final, she again landed in the Bottom 2 alongside 5 After Midnight and was eliminated by the judges via majority vote as her mentor Sharon Osbourne voted to save her.

Performances

Episode	Theme	Song	Result
Audition	Free choice	"Honey G"	Advanced
Bootcamp	Group performance	"Creep"	Advanced
Six Chair Challenge	Free choice	"WTF (Where They From)"	Brought Back.
Judges' houses	Free choice	"Gangsta's Paradise"	Advanced
Week 1	Express Yourself	"California Love"	Safe (4th)
Week 2	Motown	"Mo Money Mo Problems"	Safe (4th)
Week 3	Divas	"Ice Ice Baby" / "Under Pressure"	Safe (5th)
Week 4	Fright Night	"Men in Black"	Safe (6th)
Week 5	Girlband v Boyband	"Jump"	Safe (5th)
Week 6	Disco	"Stayin' Alive"	Safe (5th)
Week 7	Movies	"It's Like That" / "Gettin' Jiggy wit It"	Bottom two (6th)
Week 8	Louis Loves	"U Can't Touch This" / "Super Freak"	Eliminated (5th)
	Contestant's Choice	"Push It" / "Black Beatles"

Post The X Factor

Since her elimination she has spoken of her desire to secure a record deal with Simon Cowell and has appeared on Alan Carr's Happy Hour where she removed her hat and glasses, giving them to Alan.

She returned to The X Factor for the first night of the final and performed a mashup. Afterwards, she announced that she had been signed to Syco Music and would be releasing a single on December 23rd. This was met with criticism since it was announced before the winner had been crowned.  On December 30th, the single failed to reach the Top 100 of the UK charts, peaking at #149, making it one of the worst performing singles by an 'X Factor UK' act. According to reports, plans to record an album have now been scrapped.

In February 2017, she embarked on the live tour with her fellow Top 8 finalists. In April, she was dropped by Syco Music. The following month she announced she was starting her own record label with a single due to be released.  In May, she announced that she was launching an independent record label after being dropped by Syco Music. In June, she released her second single "Hit You with the Honey G" alongside a music video. In December, she released her third single "Riding Hot with the Babes", with the music video for the track released on 12 January 2018, on the her Vevo page.

During 2018 she worked as an estate agent. Throughout the COVID-19 lockdown, she worked on her weight loss and is set to release a weight loss video in 2021 after announcing she had lost over two stone. At this time, she also announced she has signed with SRL Publishing, a book publisher based in the UK and will be releasing her life story in 2022.

In 2022 Honey G appeared on the seventh season of Celebrity Coach Trip.

In 2023, Honey G performed upon Stath, Al, Katia and Sophie from "Stath Lets Flats"'s charity single for "Comic Relief" entitled "Comic Release" alongside Andy Abraham, Stevi Ritchie and Ben Haenow.

Discography

Singles

• The Honey G Show (2016)
• Hit You WITH the Honey G (2017)
• Riding Hot (2017)
• Jerk It (2019)
• Waiting For Your Love (2020)

Trivia

• In Week 7, Lawrie received more public votes than Honey G. This meant that if the result went to deadlock, Lawrie would have advanced to the quarter-final and Honey G would have been eliminated.