Who is Rebecca Ferguson? Will X Factor star sing Strange Fruit at Trump’s inauguration?
REBECCA Ferguson has agreed to sing at Donald Trump’s inauguration on the condition that she performs civil rights anthem Strange Fruit.
Will Rebecca Ferguson sing at Trump’s inauguration?
The X Factor runner-up has claimed that she has been asked to sing at Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration, which will take place on Friday January 20.
She released a statement on Twitter saying: “I’ve been asked and this is my answer.
“If you allow me to sing Strange Fruit, a song that has huge historical importance, a song that was blacklisted in the United States for being too controversial.
“A song that speaks to all the disregarded and downtrodden black people in the United States.
“A song that is a reminder of how love is the only thing that will conquer all the hatred in this world, then I will graciously accept your invitation and see you in Washington. Best Rebecca X.”
The President-elect has not confirmed whether the singer has been asked, or whether he will accept her condition.
But Trump is highly unlikely to allow her to perform the protest song at an event meant to celebrate his presidency.
The Republican has reportedly had difficulties in finding musicians that will play at his inauguration.
Many US artists such as Beyoncé, Madonna and Bruce Springsteen all campaigned on behalf of his rival in the election Hillary Clinton.
What is Strange Fruit about?
Strange Fruit deals with racism and was first recorded by jazz singer Billie Holiday in 1939.
Its haunting lyrics describe the lynching of black Americans which was still widespread during the early 20th century.
The song includes the iconic line: “Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze, strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.”
The record was a huge departure from Holiday’s earlier love songs and was widely banned by radio stations in the US.
Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun claimed the track was “a declaration of war… the beginning of the Civil Rights movement”.
Bob Dylan counts the song as an inspiration and Kanye West sampled it on his 2013 album Yeezus.
Billie Holiday - Strange Fruit
Who is Rebecca Ferguson?
Ferguson, 30, competed in the 2010 series of The X Factor, and memorably performed civil rights anthem A Change Is Gonna Come.
After finishing in second place, the Liverpudlian mother-of-three signed a record deal with Simon Cowell’s Syco Records.
She has since released four albums, including a cover album of Holiday’s Lady Sings The Blues.
Ferguson briefly dated fellow X Factor contestant Zayn Malik in 2011. The relationship attracted criticism due to the six-year age gap between the two singers.
Rebecca Ferguson's shocking confession on Loose Women
She was previously in a relationship with a man named Karl Dures, who is the father of her two eldest children Lille May, 12, and Karl Jr, 10.
The pair remain close friends and Dures even offered to adopt Ferguson’s daughter Arabella, 2, from a separate relationship.
After giving birth to Arabella in October 2014, Ferguson revealed that the child’s father dumped her after she told him that she was pregnant, and revealed that he already had a girlfriend.
In November 2016, the singer appeared on Loose Women where she revealed that she was sexually abused aged eight-years-old while she was in a children’s home