To date, McElderry has released five top 20 albums – two of them reaching the UK top three.[3] He was the first X Factor contestant to release a fourth album. As of 2014, McElderry had sold over two million records worldwide.[4]
Early life
Joseph McElderry was born on 16 June 1991 in South Shields,[5] England. McElderry is the only child[6] of Jim and Eileen (née Joyce) McElderry.[7] The couple separated when McElderry was a child. He was raised in a small flat in South Shields.[7]
McElderry attended Harton Technology College in Lisle Road, South Shields, before joining South Tyneside College to study AS level school qualifications. Subsequently, he joined Newcastle College to study performing arts.[8] He was the Pride of South Tyneside's Young Performer of the Year in 2008.[9][10] He studied for BTEC National Diploma in Performing Arts (Advanced Performance) at Newcastle College Performance Academy.[11] In 2009, he took the role of 'Danny Zuko' in Grease which was performed at Harton Technology College.[8]
Career
2007–2010: The X Factor and touring
The X Factor
McElderry auditioned for The X Factor in 2007[12] 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.[13] He auditioned again in 2009 and sang Luther Vandross's "Dance with My Father".[14] Mentored by Cheryl Cole, he made it through to the live finals and was announced the winner on 13 December 2009,[1][15] beating runner up Olly Murs with his version of "The Climb".[16] 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..[1][13][17]
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.[18] 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.[19] The single reached number one in the UK Singles Chart.[20]
McElderry performed the following songs during The X Factor 2009:
McElderry's debut single, "The Climb", was available to download at midnight on 14 December 2009 and was released physically on 16 December 2009. According to industry sources, approximately 100,000 copies of the single were sold on the day of its release but it was not enough to knock Rage Against The Machine off the spot in the UK in its opening week.[21] On 18 December 2009, it was announced that McElderry secured the top spot in the Irish Singles Chart for 11–17 December 2009.[22]
"The Climb" was a contender for 2009's UK Christmas number one,[23] competing against, and losing to, Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name".[24] McElderry's single sold 450,000 compared to Rage Against the Machine's 502,000 after a Facebook-based campaign was started in protest of The X Factor's dominance of the Christmas number one title. This was the first time since 2004 that the X Factor winning single was denied the top spot for Christmas in the UK Singles Charts. Simon Cowell stated that he was "gutted for Joe because a number one single meant a lot to him. But I have to congratulate Jon and Tracy [Morter, who started the Facebook campaign]."[25][26] McElderry's single stayed at number one on the Irish charts for a second week securing him the Irish Christmas number one (18–25 December 2009),[27][28] and the song moved up to the top spot in the UK Singles Chart on 27 December.[29][30] The single had the fifth highest sales of all UK singles released in 2009 staying one week at No. 1, and was the top-selling Irish single of 2009, where it remained at the top spot for four consecutive weeks.
On 15 March, it was reported that McElderry had signed a modelling deal with Next Models.[32]
2010–11: Wide Awake and Departure from Syco
In 2010, McElderry recorded his debut album, Wide Awake, which was released on 25 October 2010.[33][better source needed] The first single released from Wide Awake was "Ambitions", a cover of a song by Norwegian band Donkeyboy.[34] He filmed a music video for the song in September 2010.[35]Ambitions premiered on BBC Radio One on 19 September 2010.[36]
Wide Awake debuted at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart,[37] with retail sales of 39,405 copies in the country during the album's first week of release.[38] The album fell to number 20 on the chart the following week,[39] and to number 40 the week after that.[40] As of 4 December 2011, 101,454 copies of the album had been sold at retail in the United Kingdom.[41]
"Someone Wake Me Up" was the second single taken from the album.[42] It was released as a single on 5 December 2010 in the United Kingdom. It debuted and peaked at number 68 on the UK Singles Chart.[43]
McElderry told Terry Wogan in an interview on BBC Radio 2 that he had parted ways with Syco in February 2011.[46] McElderry told Tony Horne that he had a meeting with Syco staff members in February 2011.[47] At the meeting, he expressed his unhappiness with the company, and told staff members that his relationship with Syco was not working for him.[48] McElderry has also stated that his split with Syco was amicable, and there was no "fight" between them.[49] He told the Shields Gazette: "I really like Simon Cowell and always think very highly of him .... There's no hard feelings there — there never has been and never will be."[50] He told Capital FM on 19 August 2011 that he was "forever thankful" to Syco and Simon Cowell for the opportunity they gave him.[51] He also denied a report (attributed to an unnamed "friend" in the Daily Mail's article about Syco's dropping of him) that he was "devastated" when Syco dropped him.[49][52][53]
Also in 2011, McElderry terminated his relationship with Modest! Management, the management company that had managed him since his victory on X Factor.[54]
On 9 May 2011, McElderry performed the song "Something's Coming" from West Side Story at a reception at Buckingham Palace that celebrated young people in the performing arts.[55]
In late January or early February 2011, ITV approached McElderry's management about his being a contestant on the upcoming second series of Popstar to Operastar. McElderry agreed and entered the show, which started on 5 June 2011. McElderry won Popstar to Operastar on 10 July 2011. After the show it was revealed that, in all of the episodes in which he competed, McElderry received more votes than all of the other contestants combined, never receiving less than 58.2% of the total public votes.[56]
On 11 July 2011, McElderry confirmed that he would be recording his second studio album.[57]
The label was later revealed to be Decca Records.[58] On 24 July 2011, he headlined a free homecoming gig at Bents Park as part of South Tyneside Summer Festival 2011, singing a set list of 20 songs, with over 20,000 people in the audience- the biggest turnout the event has ever had.[59] His album, Classic, was released on 22 August 2011. Classic debuted on the official UK top 40 albums chart at number 2 on the chart that was released on 3 September 2011.[60]
McElderry at the Paralympic Flame Festival, Edinburgh, on 26 August 2012
During the recording of his fourth studio album, he performed at The Royal Albert Hall in support of The Hunger Project, singing "Don't Stop Believin'", "Nessun Dorma" and a duet with Dionne Warwick, "One World, One Song".[68] He was also scheduled to make a guest appearance in the Coronation Street musical, Street of Dreams, singing the finale number "Ghost – Take My Hand" in the show's Newcastle dates, originally set for 29 and 30 May.[69] On 3 June 2012, he performed at the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, he sang for guests on board a Dunkirk ship, The Viscount.[70]
McElderry made a cameo appearance in a musical version of Dirty Dancing at the Sunderland Empire on Tuesday 25 September.[73] He played Tommy in The Who's Tommy at the Prince Edward Theatre for a one-off appearance on 12 November[74]
2013–2014: Set Your Soul Alive Tour, Cinderella, and The Jump
On 8 February 2013, McElderry was awarded a Variety Silver Heart award.[75] An event, 'A Tribute to Joe McElderry' was held to celebrate his career so far and where he was presented the award. Money raised on the evening went towards the children's charity 'Variety'. In March 2013, he appeared as a celebrity guest judge during the audition stages on the third series of Comic Relief does Glee Club.[76]
McElderry went on tour for the summer of 2013, where he presented a new song, "Memory of You". In December 2013 and January 2014, he played the starring role of Prince Charming in Qdos Entertainment Pantomimes Cinderella at The Beck Theatre, Hayes. This was his pantomime debut, and he starred alongside Shane Richie Jr. for a 38 performance run.[77] He also appeared as a guest on the James Whale Radio Show.[78]
In January 2014, while on a skiing holiday, McElderry entered Channel 4 series hosted by Davina McCall, The Jump, as a last minute replacement to Henry Conway who was injured on the show. McElderry earned a place on the show after a jump-off with another celebrity sub, Donal MacIntyre, who would also join the show after the Melinda Messenger withdrew. In February 2014, McElderry was announced as the winner after jumping 17.5 metres off the K40 ski jump.[79]
In 2014, McElderry performed a fifty-date tour throughout the UK called the Set Your Soul Alive tour.[citation needed] During this period, he also worked on material for his fifth studio album. After finishing the Set Your Soul Alive tour, he appeared on Kerry Ellis's self-titled album in a cover of "(I've Had) The Time of My Life".[citation needed]
2015–present: The Who's Tommy, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat
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McElderry received very positive reviews for his performances as Joseph. Mark Leslie of the Lynn News called him "a shining star" in the role.[84] Janet Tansley of the Liverpool Echo wrote that McElderry "breathed new life into this middle-aged musical", adding: "His voice was solid and silken and, simply, faultless, rendering 'Close Every Door' possibly the best version I have ever heard".[85] Mark Shenton wrote in The Stage that McElderry "may just be the best sung Joseph there's ever been, bringing a vocal flair to Joseph that's utterly ravishing".[86] John Wood of North West End wrote: "McElderry has been good from the moment the curtain rose; he has a good voice, obviously, and can really handle the comedy, but on Close Every Door he completely takes over, his voice filled with emotion and absolutely soaring; he has the audience breathless. He has made it his own and I can't imagine anyone performing it better. For his efforts he receives rapturous applause."[87]
McElderry took part in the Great North Runhalf marathon 13.1 mile race on 19 September 2010 raising money for Teenage Cancer Trust,[91][better source needed] a charity for which he is also an ambassador.[92] He performed at The Ray of Sunshine charity concert on 11 March 2011.[93] Two days later, he performed at Theatre Royal in Newcastle to help raise money for Josie's Dragonfly trust. He also took part in a Comic Relief campaign, where celebrities and prolific Twitter users auctioned off the chance to be followed by a star, it raised £560.[94]
McElderry performed on 13 July 2011 at the Newcastle Teenage Cancer Trust Unit. His acoustic set was streamed live to all other Teenage Cancer Trust units across the country as well as on the website.[95] In 2012, he performed at the Sunday for Sammy benefit concert.[96]
McElderry was harassed by one Twitter user throughout 2010 and 2011. On 24 December 2011, a man was arrested in McElderry's home town of South Shields and later charged with harassment. The individual was found guilty, fined £1,000 and received a 5-year restraining order.[101][102]
On 30 July 2010, shortly after winning on The X-Factor, McElderry came out as gay.[103]
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