| Joe McElderry | |
|---|---|
| Contestant Profile | |
| Birth Date | 16 June 1991 |
| Age | 34 |
| Hometown | South Shields, Tyne & Wear, England |
| Occupation | Student |
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| Category | Boys |
| Mentor | N/A |
| Placement | Bootcamp |
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| Category | Boys |
| Mentor | Cheryl Cole |
| Placement | Winner (1/12) |
| Gallery | |
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Joseph McElderry (born 16 June 1991) is an English singer. He auditioned for Series 6 of The X Factor UK and made it all the way to the final as part of the Boys category mentored by Cheryl Cole.
Due to the eliminations of Rikki Loney and Lloyd Daniels, McElderry was the only act left in his category. He was crowned the winner defeating Olly Murs from the Over 25s category mentored by Simon Cowell.
The X Factor[]
McElderry auditioned for The X Factor in 2007 and made it to bootcamp. At the time, he believed that he was too young compared to the other contestants and opted to walk away. He auditioned again in 2009 and sang Luther Vandross's "Dance with My Father". Mentored by Cheryl Cole, he made it through to the live finals and was announced the winner on 13 December 2009, beating runner-up Olly Murs with his version of "The Climb". McElderry's prize, as winner, was a recording contract with Simon Cowell's Syco record label, whose parent company is Sony Music Entertainment. The contract had a stated value of £1 million, of which £150,000 was a cash advance and the remainder allocated to recording and marketing costs..
Along with The X Factor finalists, McElderry recorded vocals for on a charity single, a cover of Michael Jackson's hit "You Are Not Alone". It was released in aid of London's Great Ormond Street Hospital. The finalists premiered the song live on the edition of 15 November of the programme; the single was available for digital download that day and a physical release followed the day after. The single reached number one in the UK Singles Chart.
Performances[]
| Episode | Theme | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audition | Free choice | "Dance with My Father" | Advanced |
| Bootcamp 1 | Group performance | Advanced | |
| Bootcamp 2 | Solo performance | "Praying for Time" | Advanced |
| Judges' houses | Free choice | "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" | Advanced |
| Week 1 | Musical heroes | "No Regrets" | Safe (3rd) |
| Week 2 | Divas | "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" | Safe (4th) |
| Week 3 | Big band | "Sway" | Safe (2nd) |
| Week 4 | Rock | "Don't Stop Believin'" | Safe (3rd) |
| Week 5 | Songs from films | "Circle of Life" | Safe (2nd) |
| Week 6 | Songs by Queen | "Somebody to Love" | Safe (2nd) |
| Week 7 | Songs by Wham! or George Michael | "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" | Safe (1st) |
| Quarter-Final | Songs by Take That | "Could It Be Magic" | Safe (1st) |
| Songs by Elton John | "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" | ||
| Semi-Final | Songs by Michael Jackson | "She's Out of My Life" | Safe (1st) |
| Mentor's choice | "Open Arms" | ||
| Saturday Final | Audition songs | "Dance with My Father" | Safe (1st) |
| Celebrity duets | "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (with George Michael) | ||
| Song of the series (chosen by mentor) | "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" | ||
| Sunday Final | Song of the series (chosen by contestant) | "Don't Stop Believin'" | Winner |
| Winner's single | "The Climb" |
Post-The X Factor[]
Following his win, his debut single, a cover of the Miley Cyrus' single, was released but due to growing public frustration in regards to the inevitability of the winner claiming the Christmas #1 spot for the fifth consecutive year, a Facebook campaign was launched to see Rage Against the Machine's 1992 single "Killing In the Name Of" clinch the coveted spot instead. The campaign was successful but McElderry claimed the top spot the following week, spending one week at the summit and having the last chart topper of the decade.
Follow-up single "Ambitions" peaked at #6 on the UK Charts and debut album "Wide Awake" peaked at #3. However, the third single from the album peaked at #68 and in April 2011 it was reported that he had been dropped by Syco Music, which he later confirmed.
After his departure, he turned his attention to reality TV competition "Popstar to Opera", where he competed against other celebrities and went on to win. Following this, he was signed to Decca Records. With them he has released four studio albums and as of 2017, has had four Top 10 albums.
As well as singing he has had roles in the West End and has also competed in the reality TV series "The Jump", which he also went on to win.
Discography[]
- Wide Awake (2010)
- Classic (2011)
- Classic Christmas (2011)
- Here's What I Believe (2012)
- Saturday Night at the Movies (2017)
Trivia[]
- He first auditioned for the show in Series 4 and made it to bootcamp. At the time, he believed that he was too young compared to the other contestants and opted to withdraw.
| UK Series 6 Finalists | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Danyl Johnson • Jamie Archer • Jedward • Joe McElderry • Kandy Rain • Lloyd Daniels • Lucie Jones • Miss Frank • Olly Murs • Rachel Adedeji • Rikki Loney • Stacey Solomon | |||
| The X Factor UK Winners | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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