About JLS
JLS are an English boy band consisting of members Aston Merrygold, Oritsé Williams, Marvin Humes, and JB Gill, originally formed by Williams. They initially signed to Tracklacers production company New Track City and then went on to become runners-up of the fifth series of the ITV reality talent show The X Factor in 2008, coming second to Alexandra Burke. Following their appearance on The X Factor, JLS signed to Epic Records. Their first two singles "Beat Again" and "Everybody in Love" both went to number one on the UK Singles Chart.
The band's self-titled debut album was released on 9 November 2009 and has since sold over 1 million copies in the UK. JLS won the awards for British Breakthrough and British Single at the 2010 BRIT Awards. They also won several awards at the MOBO Awards for Best song for "Beat Again" in 2009 and also Best Newcomer in the same year. In 2010, they won the MOBO Awards for Best UK act and Best Album. They also went on to win their fifth MOBO in 2012 by winning Best Video for "Do You Feel What I Feel?". They won the title of the UK's hardest-working band for two consecutive years, in 2011 and 2012.
In 2010, JLS signed a record deal with the US record label Jive Records and released "Everybody in Love" as their debut and only US single, but it failed to chart. "The Club Is Alive", the lead single from their second studio album, was released in the UK in July 2010 and earned the band their third number-one on the UK Singles Chart. Their single "Love You More" was the official single for Children in Need in 2010 and gave the group their fourth number-one single in the UK. Their single "She Makes Me Wanna" featuring Dev was their fifth UK number one. As of 2012, their debut album and single have been named one of The X Factor's top ten biggest-selling debut singles and albums. As of 2013, they were the 16th-richest reality TV stars in the UK, with an estimated fortune of £6 million per member, thus giving the band a financial worth of approximately £24 million.
In May 2013, after seven years together, JLS announced that they would go their separate ways after releasing a greatest hits album and one last UK and Ireland arena tour. In February 2020, the band announced a reunion, with the Beat Again Tour due to start in November 2020, but it was postponed to June 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and then postponed to October 2021.
According to the British Phonographic Industry , JLS have been certified for 2.3 million albums and 3.4 million singles in the UK.
Oritsé Williams decided to get into the music business mainly because his mother has Multiple sclerosis and he wanted to raise money to help find a cure. He was originally scouted for a number of boy bands but did not feel they were right and believed that a group should have a "real" connection with each other like his heroes, the Four Tops. Williams decided to form his own boy band and, through friends, met Marvin Humes who had experience in R&B and pop music, being a part of VS in 2004. Next to join was Aston Merrygold, who was once cast in the ITV children's programme Fun Song Factory, because of his athletic ability. Last to join the group was JB Gill, for his "musical ear" and harmonies. They bonded, became friends and together they were called UFO . They signed to Tracklacers developing a sound they then called "Jack the Lad Swing", combining the phrase "Jack the lad" and the urban music of new jack swing. While working their way into the music business, UFO instantly signed to Epic Records, before winning their first award in late 2007 at the Urban Music Awards for Best Unsigned Act thanks to their mash-up of "Stand by Me" by Ben E. King and "Beautiful Girls" by Sean Kingston. Shortly thereafter, they released their second single, "Slap Ya Elbow". The group give credit to 'DJ Triz' who produced one of UFO's first songs and helped them write it.
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