Letters is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter and guitarist Matt Cardle. It was released on 14 October 2011 through Syco Music, Sony Music and Columbia Records. Cardle worked with various songwriters on the album including Eg White and James Walsh. He co-wrote all the tracks except for his X Factor winner's single, "When We Collide" and the single "Run for Your Life", written by Gary Barlow. It peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart, behind Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' self-titled debut album. The Letters Tour in support of the album began in February 2012. Background After winning the seventh series of TV talent competition The X Factor, it was announced on 15 March 2011 that Cardle had signed a record deal with Simon Cowell's Syco Music, in a joint venture with Columbia Records, becoming the first X Factor winner not to be exclusively signed to Cowell's label. Cardle soon began work on his debut studio album, which just days after his X Factor win, was slated for release on 24 October 2011. On 18 August 2011, Cardle made his first official announcement regarding the album. He announced its title to be Letters, and the debut single from the album would be a Gary Barlow-penned track, "Run for Your Life". During an interview given on the day of the announcement, Cardle revealed the name of several album tracks, and the process behind writing them: "Starlight is a depressing, yet happy song about the insignificance of everything. Amazing is 'bout finding someone when you've got no-one. All for Nothing is one I wrote with my favourite all-time songwriter, Eg White. I recorded it after a couple of cups of tea and a few cigarettes, so it's quite raw." In September 2011, it was revealed that "Run for Your Life" would be released on 10 October 2011, and the album's release was pushed forward a week to 17 October, due to popular demand from fans. Cardle appeared on the BBC Breakfast show on 1 September to give a preview of the video. The single was premiered in full on The Chris Moyles Show on 5 September 2011. The video was then premiered in full on 5 September on his YouTube channel. The single was released on 9 October 2011, Cardle performed the song on The X Factor on the same day. He also performed another track from the