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Joe McElderry
Contestant Profile
Birth Date 16 June 1991
Age 33
Hometown South Shields, Tyne & Wear, England

6

Category Boys
Mentor Cheryl Cole
Placement Winner (1/12)
Gallery

Joe 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.

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
Week 2 Divas "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" Safe
Week 3 Big band "Sway" Safe
Week 4 Rock "Don't Stop Believin'" Safe
Week 5 Songs from films "Circle of Life" Safe
Week 6 Songs by Queen "Somebody to Love" Safe
Week 7 Songs by Wham! or George Michael "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" Safe
Week 8 Songs by Take That "Could It Be Magic" Safe
Songs by Elton John "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"
Week 9: Semi-final Songs by Michael Jackson "She's Out of My Life" Safe
Mentor's choice "Open Arms"
Week 10: Final Audition songs "Dance with My Father" Winner
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"
Final results Song of the series (chosen by contestant) "Don't Stop Believin'"
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[]

Trivia[]

  • He first auditioned for the show in Series 4.
UK Series 6 Finalists
Danyl JohnsonJamie ArcherJedwardJoe McElderryKandy RainLloyd DanielsLucie JonesMiss FrankOlly MursRachel AdedejiRikki LoneyStacey Solomon
The X Factor UK Winners
Regular Series
Steve BrooksteinShayne WardLeona LewisLeon JacksonAlexandra BurkeJoe McElderryMatt CardleLittle MixJames ArthurSam BaileyBen HaenowLouisa JohnsonMatt TerryRak-SuDalton Harris
Specials
Lucy BenjaminMegan McKennaReal Like You
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