Union J

Union J (originally Triple J) are a British boy band consisting of members Josh Cuthbert, JJ Hamblett, Jaymi Hensley and George Shelley. They were formed in 2011 and originally a trio, consisting of Cuthbert, Hamblett and Hensley then, Shelley was later added to the group in 2012 through the ninth series of British television music competition The X Factor, in which they finished fourth. They subsequently signed a record deal with Sony Music subsidiary RCA Records, and released their debut single "Carry You" in June 2013. Their self-titled debut studio album, Union J, followed in October 2013 and peaked at number six on the UK Albums Chart.

In April 2014, Union J left RCA and signed with Epic Records.[1] Their second studio album You Got It All – The Album will be released later in 2014. It was preceded by the lead single "Tonight (We Live Forever)" and "You Got It All".

X Factor
In 2007, Blair Dreelan of Alpha Dog Management met 14-year-old Josh Cuthbert, who was auditioning for the fourth series of The X Factor. Cuthbert failed to get through to the next round, but Dreelan believed that he looked like a pop star and was impressed by his voice: "I began to sort of work with him on various little projects like just sort of recording stuff because I've got a recording studio in Swindon."[2] In 2011, Cuthbert and Jaymi Hensley met whilst studying performing arts at the Sylvia Young Theatre School in Westminster and later decided to put a band together. Former jockey Jamie "JJ" Hamblett[3] was later added to the group by Dreelan, and they named themselves Triple J (due to each member sharing the same initial).[2]

In May 2012, after eight months together, Triple J and soloist George Shelley both auditioned in London for the ninth series of The X Factor. Triple J performed Rihanna's international hit "We Found Love", whilst George covered an acoustic version of Britney Spears' "Toxic" – in which he also incorporated his guitar. Both acts progressed to the next stage of the competition, receiving positive critique from all judges present.[4] Bootcamp saw Shelley perform Labrinth's "Earthquake", competing against female contestants; Charlie Cammish and Meg O'Neill. Triple J first sang Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger", before contending for the final place at judges' houses with GMD3 (later District3). They covered Chris Brown's "Yeah 3x", but were sent home after GMD3 were eventually chosen for judges' houses. However, following Rough Copy's forced withdrawal from the show, Dreelan was contacted by The X Factor producers with an offer for the group to return, on the basis that Shelley was added to the three-piece. All parties accepted the offer and the band – now a four-piece – became Union J and advanced to judges' houses alongside fellow recalled Times Red.[5]

The band's first performance as a four-piece was an acoustic cover of Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe".[6] This earnt them a place in the live shows, and they instantly proved popular with social media users, garnering 46% of all online discussion regarding The X Factor after being announced to compete at judges' houses. In week 1 of the live shows, Union J performed Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now". Despite negative feedback from the other judges, they progressed through to the next week after placing fourth in voting statistics behind Christopher Maloney, Jahméne Douglas and Ella Henderson, respectively.[7] In week 4, the group received the fewest public votes with Jade Ellis, but were saved by Gary Barlow, Nicole Scherzinger and Walsh. They found themselves in the bottom two again in week 6, against District3, but were saved for a second time by Barlow and Scherzinger, with Walsh refusing to vote (as he mentored both acts). Union J were in the bottom two for a third time in week 8, where they were saved by Barlow, Tulisa Contostavlos and Walsh over Rylan Clark. They were eliminated in the semi-final on 2 December, finishing in fourth place. It was later reported that their winning single would have been a cover of Demi Lovato's "Skyscraper",[8] which is featured on their debut album.