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Leon Jackson

Scottish recording artist; singer

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
People and ideasInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMar 6, 2026
Entity authorityQ466032
Source-derived summary

Leon Jackson (born 30 December 1988) is a Scottish singer–songwriter. Born and raised in Whitburn, he won the fourth series of the ITV talent show The X Factor in 2007. Following his win, he starred in his on-web series entitled Leon's Life (2007–2008). Jackson's debut single, "When You Believe", reached number one in his native Scotland, Ireland and the United Kingdom, where it became the Christmas number one of 2007. It sold over 400,000 copies, becoming the third best-selling single of 2007, and ranked the 92nd best-selling single of the 2000s in the UK. "When You Believe" was named the best selling single by a British Male Artist in 2007.

His debut album, Right Now (2008), reached number two on the albums charts in his native Scotland, whilst in the United Kingdom it debuted at number four and seven in Ireland. It was subsequently certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), and finished the year as the 75th best-selling album in the UK. The albums lead single, "Don't Call This Love", reached number one in Scotland, the top ten in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and the top ten of the European Hot 100 Singles. Following the moderate commercial success of his next singles "Creative" and "Stargazing", Jackson departed from his record label.

Following a hiatus from recording music, Jackson ventured in songwriting – collaborating with Vince Kidd and Lady Leshurr on the single "Sick Love". "When You Believe" currently ranks as the seventh best-selling X Factor winners single, outselling Little Mix with "Cannonball", Sam Bailey with "Skyscraper" and Louisa Johnson with "Forever Young".

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Leon Jackson” is scottish recording artist; singer. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Leon, Jackson and Scottish, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1988, 2007, 2008—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1988-12-30. For this dossier, Leon, Jackson and Scottish is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “scottish recording artist; singer” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q466032. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1988, 2007 and 2008.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Leon Jackson”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Leon Jackson primary sources, Leon Jackson archive and Leon research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Leon Jackson”?
  2. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
  3. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Leon Jackson” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.