Brenda Edwards was born in Luton, Bedfordshire and has one older brother called Rodney. On 22nd December 1974, Brenda’s parents were tragically killed in a car accident, meaning that both Brenda and Rodney were raised by their grandmother, aunts and uncles. Brenda’s grandmother was a member of the local Pentecostal church and Brenda began attending from the age of 8. It was here that Brenda was to first realise her love of music by singing in the Sunday school junior choir. In later years Brenda went on to became the choir mistress and also sang for the Pentecostal collective Church Of God In Christ (C.O.G.I.C) mass choir.

From the age of 18 Brenda started to spread her wings, freely singing at local night clubs and private parties whenever she could get the chance, hoping that she would be spotted! For years Brenda attended many different auditions for groups and soloists and sent out demos and her music C.V. to music contacts and agencies in search of a break. The break proved elusive and Brenda would fulfil her passion for singing by performing unpaid at parties, weddings, funerals and Bar Mitzvahs for friends and family. In order to make ends meet and support her two children, Jamal and Tanisha, Brenda would work full-time in an Accounts office. Her accounts career lasted 17 years, culminating in her role as Accounts Payable Manager at Sit-up Ltd the first interactive auction channel on Sky, NTL and Telewest.

Brenda met her husband, Patrick in 1995 and after a whirlwind romance they were married in Barbados in August 1996. It was whilst on a romantic getaway to Belfast in May 2005 that they spotted an evening television advert for X Factor auditions coming up in the very hotel they were staying. Despite Brenda being totally unprepared - "I had no proper make-up and absolutely nothing to wear!" she protests, Patrick persuaded her to join the queue for auditions the following morning. The judges liked Brenda and it proved to be the start of an incredible X Factor journey that would introduce us all to her great undiscovered talent.

Patrick, Jamal and Tanisha were seen along with brother Rodney and other friends and family week after week supporting her throughout the X Factor competition. The love strength and support that they all gave her through 9 weeks of live competition were invaluable through all the highs and lows culminating in an emotional farewell at the semi-final stage.

Asked about life before, during and after the X Factor, Brenda talks of her appreciation for family and friends, old and new who have been there to provide support and encouragement as she pursues her dream career:- "Being part of the X factor has opened so many doors for me and I will be eternally grateful to everyone who helped me ride the roller coaster of emotions that was involved. Thank you to Sharon Osborne and Mark Hudson for believing in me and special thanks to Ozzy for helping me through the nerves in Beverley Hills. Thank you to Louis Walsh and Simon Cowell for all the encouragement and advice. Thank you also to all the thousands of people who put their hands in their pockets and voted for me during the shows and for all the messages of encouragement and support I have received since. You guys are great – keep rockin!"

Prior to appearing in the X Factor finals Brenda was working for Sit-up Ltd as an Accounts Payable Manager and she expressed her gratitude to everyone there for supporting her before, during and after the X Factor show:- "...to my bosses, Chris Manson, Ian Percival and Bryan Crenol - I had a fantastic time working at Sit-up. Thank you for your very special support, for extra leave, for keeping my job open right up until Dec 05 when I knew I could commit full time to my music career and for putting up with my madness! To my friends, Karen Jones and Clare Winfield - thanks for all the long chats, laughs and girls nights out! To my team, Kerry, Manpreet, Jay, Debbie, Gill, Joy, Mitesh, Vijay and Kim - Thanks for working so hard guys. You’re the best team I have ever had the pleasure to work with..."

Brenda finishes off by paying tribute to her family and friends:- "Of course the biggest hug and kisses go to my family and closest friends. To Patrick, Jamal, Tanisha and my brother Rodney – I love you and I couldn't have done this without you. Thanks for being there, believing in me and keeping my feet firmly on the ground! Last but by no means least, a big shout out to my best friend, Tracey, who was there each week supporting and cheering me on. Thanks for keeping it real and for all the invaluable fashion advice before boot camp – priceless girlfriend!!!"

At the end of 2006 Brenda appeared in an exclusive sold out concert One Night Only at the world famous Ronnie Scotts Jazz Club in London. The first half of this year has been a very busy time for Brenda. In March she completed an unprecedented 12 month contract with Chicago in the West End and went immediately into rehearsal with her band for some live dates at The Pigalle Club in central London. In the past few months Brenda has performed around the country with The Motown Show, supported Smokey Robinson at Rochester Caste, appeared in front of 40,000 people at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and performed 3 live dates in New York one of which was alongside Ashford & Simpson.

Last Summer Brenda played one of the principal roles in Carmen Jones at the newly renovated Royal Festival Hall receiving critical acclaim for her performance.

In December Brenda was invited back to be part of the cast for the 10th Anniversary Gala of Chicago. Brenda then continued to reprise her performance until the end of February this year.

Brenda has spent the last few months writing and recording in the studio and plans to release a single and album in the coming months.