Aston Merrygold | |
---|---|
Born | Aston Iain Merrygold 13 February 1988 Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 2002–present |
Agent | Logan Media Entertainment [1] |
Television | |
Spouse | Sarah Richards (m. 2022) |
Children | 3 |
Musical career | |
Genres | |
Instrument | Vocals |
Years active | 2002–present |
Labels | |
Website | astonmerrygold |
Aston Iain Merrygold (born 13 February 1988) [2] is a British singer, songwriter, actor, dancer and television presenter. He is known for being a member of the British boy band JLS, who were the runners-up to Alexandra Burke in the fifth series of The X Factor . As part of the group he achieved five number one singles on the UK Singles Chart and a number one album on the UK Albums Chart. As of December 2013, JLS had sold over 10 million records before disbanding in 2013 and reuniting in 2020. In 2013, he became a judge on the British dance talent show Got to Dance . [3]
Aston worked on his debut solo album Showstopper for a planned mid-2016 release, [4] but it remains unreleased. The lead single of the album, "Get Stupid" [5] was released on 24 July 2015 and reached number ten on the ARIA Charts and was certified Platinum. In August 2017, he was announced as a contestant for the fifteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing, and was controversially eliminated on 5 November 2017, [6] coming in tenth place. Merrygold has also appeared in television series including Fun Song Factory and Almost Never .
In 2024, Merrygold is starring in the UK tour of The Wizard of Oz as the Tin Man. He's set to reprise the role in the West End at the Gillian Lynne Theatre. [7]
Merrygold was born on 13 February 1988 to a Jamaican father and an Irish mother, who split up when Merrygold was young. He is one of seven children: he has five brothers and one sister between his biological and step parents. [2] He was born and raised in Peterborough by his mother Siobhan and stepfather, Orjan; where he attended Jack Hunt School. [8] Merrygold stated that he loved to dance and perform and certain TV appearances got him into singing. Through auditions, he met future band member Marvin Humes and they stayed in contact. Whilst still attending secondary school, he played football on behalf of England in the European Youth Games. [9]
In 2002, he entered Stars in Their Eyes where he appeared as Michael Jackson, singing "Rockin' Robin". He finished in second place. [9] Shortly afterwards, Merrygold took on a job as an entertainer at Pop Star Studios in Fletton Peterborough, eventually leaving to follow his musical career. Merrygold performed in school productions and, after leaving school in 2004, was cast in the ITV children's programme, Fun Song Factory alongside presenter Laura Hamilton. [10]
Friend Marvin Humes had already successfully auditioned to become a member of UFO, (later JLS), formed by Oritse Williams when Humes encouraged Aston to audition. [11] Merrygold and JB Gill were recruited soon after, and they changed their name to JLS. In 2008, they auditioned for the fifth series of The X Factor , where they went on to finish in second place to Alexandra Burke. [12] After the series finished, JLS signed with record label Epic Records [13] The band have released four studio albums ( JLS , Outta This World , Jukebox , and Evolution ) and appeared in a film, JLS: Eyes Wide Open. [14] In August 2012, Merrygold was confirmed as a judge on the fourth series of the Sky One dance talent show Got to Dance [15] and would appear alongside Diversity dancer Ashley Banjo and former Pussycat Dolls member Kimberly Wyatt. Merrygold said the experience had been "inspiring". [16] In 2014, it was confirmed that he would not be returning to the show due to pursuing other projects. [17] On 22 December 2013, JLS performed for the last time. [18]
On 23 September 2014, Merrygold signed with Warner Bros. Records to release his debut album Showstopper, [4] preceded by lead single "Get Stupid" on 24 July 2015. He premiered the "Get Stupid" video on 26 May 2015. [19] [20] [21] Merrygold then announced that he would be releasing a six-track EP instead of the Showstopper album, titled Precious. Merrygold posted a yellow picture on his Twitter and Instagram accounts, asking fans to "play around" with the filters to reveal a "hidden message", which revealed the name of the EP and its release date, 28 April 2017. [22] [23] Only the single "Precious" was included on the EP. On going solo, Merrygold has explained that he can be "expressive as [he likes]" rather than considering what his fellow JLS members would think of a song. [24]
On 5 May 2017, Merrygold released the single "Trudy". [25] On 27 May 2017, Merrygold guest presented an episode of The Playlist . In August 2017, Merrygold was announced as a contestant for the fifteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing . [26] He was partnered with professional dancer Janette Manrara and reached the seventh week of the competition, losing the dance off to Mollie King and AJ Pritchard. [27] The decision to eliminate Merrygold instead of King was not popular with viewers and bosses, who went on social media to vent their anger at the decision. [28] In February 2018, Merrygold's 2015 single Get Stupid featured in a newly launched TV commercial released by Samsung promoting the Galaxy S9 smartphone. [29] Merrygold was picked in July 2018 as Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month. He was featured on NBC's Today show hosted by Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford, broadcast nationally in the United States on 19 July 2018 where he performed a live version of his single "Get Stupid". In 2019, he was cast in the CBBC series Almost Never as Jordan. He stated that he used his knowledge of the music industry, particularly from his time with JLS, as inspiration for the role. [30] [24]
From 2020 to 2021, Merrygold competed in the ITV singing series The Masked Singer UK as Robin; he finished in third place. [31] He chose the alias of Robin because Robin from DC Comics's real name is Dick Grayson and Merrygold's son's name is Grayson. [24] In 2022, Merrygold returned in the third series final masked as Robin to perform a duet with Charlotte Church masked as Mushroom.
In September 2021, Merrygold became a judge on the Irish talent show The Big Deal along with Boy George, Jedward, Lyra, and Deirdre O'Kane. [32]
Merrygold is a supporter of Arsenal F.C. [33] Merrygold has numerous tattoos, including three stars behind his right ear, two stars on his pelvis, a music note between his shoulder blades and a sleeve which consists of a tattoo of Michael Jackson, whom he cited as an inspiration. [34] In 2011, Aston's close childhood friend Lisa died in an accident. As a tribute to his late friend, he got her face tattooed on his forearm. [35]
In September 2017, Merrygold announced via Instagram that his partner, Sarah Louise Richards, was expecting a baby. He said that her pregnancy had encouraged him to take part in Strictly Come Dancing. The couple announced their engagement in December 2017. [36] On 30 January 2018, Richards gave birth to their first son. [37] Their second son was born on 5 June 2020. [38] They wed in September 2022. [39] In March 2024, they announced the birth of their third child. [40]
In September 2010, an "Aston doll" was launched, alongside the other 3 members of JLS. [41] Durex teamed up with JLS to produce a condom range called "Just Love Safe", with each member of the group having their own box. [42] In 2010, Merrygold alongside Gill, Humes and Williams endorsed Nintendo Wii Party, appearing in 7 different TV adverts. [43] JLS were also part of the Walkers crisps "Make sandwich more exciting" advertising campaign. This resulted in the band doing a surprise performance at Sandwich Technology School, which appeared on the television advertisement. [44] Merrygold also appeared on advertisements for Coca-Cola in the UK promoting their 'Share a Coke' range. [45]
JLS founded "The JLS Foundation", [46] a foundation that sets out to raise money for 6 different charities: Cancer Research UK, Rays of Sunshine, Brook, Childline, Beat Bullying and the MS Society. Despite the band's split, the foundation still remains active. Merrygold is an ambassador for the charity BeatBullying, a cause he "feels strongly about" after enduring racial bullying growing up. [47] Merrygold has appeared on Children in Need nights since 2010. All sales from the JLS number one single "Love You More" went to Children In Need. [48] In 2011, Merrygold did a VT for the charity in which he met 7-year-old Emily, who suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta. In 2012, JLS performed at the "Children in Need Rocks Manchester" concert, performing "Take a Chance on Me". [49] In 2013, Merrygold appeared on Children in Need for the last time as a member of JLS where the group sang a medley of JLS songs at the BBC One soap opera EastEnders set. [50]
JLS also helped raise money for Comic Relief, appearing in comedy sketches with both Miranda Hart [51] and James Corden. [52] In 2012, JLS visited Uganda for Sport Relief, and appeared in VTs throughout the show. [53] In the same year, JLS also released the official Sport Relief charity single "Proud", which peaked at number 6 in the chart, [54] as well as hosting a special charity concert "JLS Sing for Sport Relief" [55] and doing the Sport Relief Mile.
Title | Details |
---|---|
Precious [23] |
|
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [56] | AUS [57] | IRE [58] | SCO [59] | ||||||||||||||||||
"Get Stupid" | 2015 | 28 | 10 | 72 | 15 | Non-album singles | |||||||||||||||
"Show Me" [60] | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
"I Ain't Missing You" (featuring LDN Noise) | 2016 | 126 | — | — | 70 | ||||||||||||||||
"Too Late" | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
"One Night in Paris" | 2017 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
"Precious" (featuring Shy Carter) | — | — | — | 74 | Precious | ||||||||||||||||
"Trudy" [25] | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||||||||||||||||
"Across My Heart" (featuring Gawler) | 2018 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
"Bon Appetit" | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
"Poison Ivy" | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
"Whine Up" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
"Overboard" | 2021 | — [A] | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
"Share a Coke" | — [B] | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
"Hundreds and Thousands" [63] | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
"Emergency" | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released. |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AUS [64] | |||||||||||||||||||||
"Money Maker" (Throttle featuring LunchMoney Lewis and Aston Merrygold) | 2016 | 65 | Non-album singles | ||||||||||||||||||
"Rockstar" (LDN Noise featuring Aston Merrygold) | 2017 | — | |||||||||||||||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released. |
Heather Marguerita Small is a British soul singer and lead vocalist of the band M People. Her subsequent debut solo studio album, Proud, was released in 2000. Her second and third studio albums Close to a Miracle and Colour My Life were released in 2006 and 2022, respectively.
Simon Solomon Webbe is a British singer and rapper. He is best known as a member of the boy band Blue, selling over 15 million records. Webbe released three solo studio albums in 2005, 2006 and 2017 and had five UK Top 40 singles.
Anthony Paul Beke, known professionally as Anton Du Beke, is a British ballroom and Latin dancer, author and television presenter, best known for being a professional dancer and a judge on the BBC One celebrity dancing show Strictly Come Dancing. His professional dance partner since 1997 has been Erin Boag.
Sport Relief was a biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, established in 2002.
George William Sampson is an English street dancer, television presenter, singer, and actor. He won the second series of Britain's Got Talent on 31 May 2008 at the age of 14. He is an official ambassador of the United Dance Organisation.
Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She won the fifth series of the talent television show The X Factor in 2008. Following the show, she was signed to Syco Music and released the winner's single "Hallelujah", which became the European record holder for the most singles sold over a period of 24 hours, selling 105,000 in one day, and became the top-selling single of 2008 in the UK and the UK's Christmas 2008 number one.
JLS are an English boy band consisting of members Aston Merrygold, Oritsé Williams, Marvin Humes, and JB Gill; Williams formed the band. They initially signed with Tracklacers production company New Track City and were the runners-up of the fifth series of the ITV reality talent show The X Factor in 2008, coming in second to Alexandra Burke. After their appearance on The X Factor, JLS signed to Epic Records. Their first two singles "Beat Again" and "Everybody in Love" were both number one on the UK Singles Chart.
Mollie Elizabeth King is an English pop singer, songwriter, radio presenter and a member of girl group The Saturdays.
Marvin Richard James Humes is an English singer-songwriter, disc jockey, radio host, television presenter, and former actor. Before rising to prominence as a member of the British boy band JLS, he had an acting role in Holby City. As part of JLS, he achieved five number-one singles on the UK Singles Charts and a number-one album on the UK Albums Charts. As of December 2013, they have sold over 10 million records worldwide.
Janette Manrara Škorjanec is a Cuban-American singer, television presenter, choreographer and professional dancer from Miami, Florida, US. Born to her Cuban parents, Luis and Maritza, Janette is the oldest of three. Originally a singer, learning from her Cuban family, she formally studied dance from the age of 19. Manrara is best known for her appearances on the US series So You Think You Can Dance and British dance reality television competition, Strictly Come Dancing. She is married to Slovenian dancer and co-star Aljaž Škorjanec. In June 2021, it was announced that Manrara would co host Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two with Rylan Clark and later Fleur East.
Oritsé Jolomi Matthew Soloman Williams, professionally as Oritsé, is a British singer. He is best known as the founding member of the boy band JLS, who were runners-up to Alexandra Burke on the fifth series of The X Factor in 2008. JLS sold over 10 million records before disbanding in December 2013. Williams also won the ITV dancing competition Stepping Out in September 2013.
"One Shot" is a song by English boy band JLS. It was written by Soulshock & Karlin, Michael Warren, Brandon White, and Sean Hurley. It was released on 21 February 2010 as their third and final single from their self-titled debut album (2009). The song reached the A-List on BBC Radio 1's playlist, and reached number six in the United Kingdom, where it has so far sold 302,493 copies.
"Love You More" is a song by English boy band JLS from their second studio album, Outta This World (2010). The band co-wrote the song with Toby Gad and Wayne Hector. It was released as the band's second single from the album on 11 April 2010. The track serves as the official Children in Need charity single for 2010. "Love You More" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 21 November 2010, making it JLS's fourth number-one single. The video for the song premiered on the group's YouTube channel on 1 October 2010.
"Eyes Wide Shut" is a song by English boy band JLS from their second studio album, Outta This World (2010). The song, written by JLS, and Tim McEwan and Lars Halvor Jensen of Danish production team DEEKAY, was released as the third single from the album on 13 February 2011. The single version of the track features guest vocals from English rapper Tinie Tempah. The song has peaked at number eight in the United Kingdom.
"Do You Feel What I Feel?" is a song by British boy band JLS from their third studio album, Jukebox. It was released as the album's third and final single on 30 December 2011. The song was written by Gloria Shayne Baker, Tebey, Julian Bunetta, Noël Regney, John Ryan, and it was produced by Julian Bunetta. The song samples Bing Crosby's classic festive hit "Do You Hear What I Hear?". The song charted at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart becoming their first single to miss the top 10.
"Proud" is a song by British boy band JLS, which serves as the official Sport Relief charity single for 2012, and appears on the festive edition of the group's fourth studio album, Evolution. The single was released on 16 March 2012. The song was written by co-written by JLS, Daniel Davidsen, Jason Gill, Jonathan Gill, Cutfather, and Ali Tennant. The single sold nearly 45,000 copies during its first week of sales, peaking at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart.
Evolution is the fourth studio album by British boy band JLS. The album was released on 5 November 2012 through RCA Records. The album marks a new change in direction for the band, described as "a throwback to the '90s new jack swing/R&B-influenced music". The album was preceded by the single "Hottest Girl in the World", released on 21 October 2012.
Jonathan Benjamin Gill also known professionally as JB Gill, is a British singer and television presenter. He is best known as a member of the boy band JLS, who were runners-up to Alexandra Burke on the fifth series of The X Factor in 2008. With JLS, he went on to achieve five no. 1 singles, over 10 million record sales worldwide, two Brit awards, and five MOBO awards, before the band split up in 2013. His later career saw him presenting television shows Down on the Farm (2015) and Songs of Praise (2017).
"Get Stupid" is the debut solo single by British singer and former JLS member Aston Merrygold. It was released on 24 July 2015 as a digital download in the United Kingdom.
Goodbye – The Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits album, and fifth album overall, to be released by British boy band JLS. It was released in the United Kingdom on 18 November 2013, via RCA Records. The album contained a total of twelve tracks, including all of the band's singles, plus a new single "Billion Lights", which was released ten days prior to the album on 8 November 2013. The deluxe edition of the album featured a bonus DVD with all of the band's music videos. The super deluxe edition contained a disc of all of the band's B-sides, as well as remixes. This version was made available through the band's official webstore. The album resulted in "The Greatest Hits" tour which took place in December 2013.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)