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"She&amp;apos;s already impressed Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul on FOX&amp;apos;s The X Factor, but just who is 42-year-old vocal powerhouse Stacy Francis?\r\nUs Weekly uncovers five need-to-know details about the competition&amp;apos;s early favorite.\r\n\r\n1. Simon helped her beat the battle of the bulge! Prior to wowing Cowell with her audition song &amp;quot;Natural Woman,&amp;quot; the single mom used the acerbic Brit judge as motivation to slim down. &amp;quot;I had Simon&amp;apos;s picture on my wall to inspire me,&amp;quot; Francis told E! News. &amp;quot;I made a commitment to myself that when he saw me and I got in front of the world, I was going to be 70 pounds lighter.&amp;quot;\r\n2. She&amp;apos;s already been on Broadway, baby. Francis made her mark on the Great White Way in shows like Smokey Joe&amp;apos;s Cafe and Footloose more than 10 years ago. &amp;quot;Stacy has actually performed professionally in many different things!&amp;quot; a source tells Us of the single mom. &amp;quot;She definitely had some professional success, not just singing in her bathroom at her house.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\n3. Once told she was too old to make it as a singer, the 42-year-old drew inspiration from U.K. X Factor contestant Susan Boyle, 50, when it came time to try out for the U.S. version. &amp;quot;It had to also do with me deciding, you know what? I can do this. Susan Boyle -- she stepped out, she was brave enough. She had to go through 20,000 people as well so I&amp;apos;m gonna try,&amp;quot; Francis told Access Hollywood.\r\n\r\n4. Cowell&amp;apos;s not the only A-lister impressed by Francis and her pipes. In 2004, Francis belted out &amp;quot;Old Time Rock and Roll&amp;quot; -- with an assist from none other than Tom Cruise -- during the actor&amp;apos;s birthday bash on the Freewinds cruise ship. (Watch the hilarious video here)\r\n5. &amp;apos;X&amp;apos; might just mark the spot for Francis. Recording two albums with R&amp;amp;B girl group Ex-Girlfriend in the 90s, the singer has discovered a common thread in her career path prior to The X Factor. X Marks The Spot&amp;#x2026; was my first record,&amp;quot; she told Access Hollywood. &amp;quot;It&amp;apos;s funny you&amp;#x2026;maybe this means something!&amp;quot;\r\nX Factor airs Thursday at 8 p.m. (EST) on FOX.\r\nFor more Channel Surfing, click here."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/5-things-you-dont-know-about-x-factor-standout-stacy-francis-2011299>