Matthew Sheridan "Matt" Cardle (born 15 April 1983) is an English singer-songwriter who won the seventh series of The X Factor in 2010. He received a £1 million recording contract with Syco Music for winning. In 2012 he parted ways with Syco and signed with So Recordings. He has achieved two top ten albums and has combined album and single sales of over 2 million. Cardle was born in Southampton, Hampshire, to David and Jennifer Cardle (née Horner) on 15 April 1983.

He has an older brother called Dominic with whom he has a close relationship. His family lived in Bristol before moving to Essex.

At age two he was diagnosed with a rare form of kidney cancer and had a kidney removed. He started playing guitar and writing songs at aged 11 and knew from that point that music was what he wanted to do with his life.

At this time he also started singing lessons but stopped going after missing a class. He attended a summer band camp through his teens and played in bands.

He attended the independent Stoke College in Suffolk, then studied a music course at the Institute in Colchester. He then went on to do a media course at Braintree College.

Cardle is a keen skateboarder and spent a lot of his college years at skate parks instead of studying and therefore felt that education wasn't the right path for him.