Hope (English group)

Last updated

Hope
OriginLondon, England
Genres Pop
Years active2007–2009
Past members Emily Biggs
Phoebe Brown
Raquelle Gracie
Leah Lauder
Charlie Mole
Sisi Jghalef

Hope were an English five-piece girl group consisting of Charlie Mole, Emily Biggs, Raquelle Gracie, Leah Lauder and Phoebe Brown, who found fame on the fourth series of The X Factor , originally a six-piece before prior to the live shows, Sisi Jghalef was forced to step down after it was discovered that she had an outstanding criminal conviction.

Contents

The X Factor

The members of Hope auditioned originally as soloists but did not make it past bootcamp. However, judge Louis Walsh suggested that they re-audition as a six-piece, with the group originally containing a sixth member, Sisi Jghalef. [1] [2] After reaching the judges' homes stage and being told that they had made it through to the top twelve, it emerged that Jghalef had an outstanding criminal conviction. This went against the rules of the competition and the show's producers asked her to leave the group. [3] On 3, 17 and 24 November, they were in the bottom two but were saved by the judges on the first two occasions, and by the public vote on the other (due to the result going to deadlock). Hope were eliminated in the quarter-final by public vote. [4]

After The X Factor

Since leaving the show, Hope have performed at various events around the UK including The Birmingham Clothes Show and have booked their first international date in Dubai.[ when? ] They announced three tracks from their debut album: "Hot", "This Is It" and "I Apologize", which features Pharrell Williams.[ when? ]

At some point between October and November 2008, Leah Lauder was removed from the Hope website and all traces of her existence in the band were deleted. There was no official announcement from the group about her disappearance; however, it has been rumored that she left to become a solo artist, and she wished the band luck and is still in contact with some of them.

It was revealed on MTV UK Television's The Celebrity Agency that Hope went through a temporary split. This suggests that the band probably reformed without Leah Lauder, explaining her sudden disappearance from their website.[ citation needed ] As of 28 April 2009, the band's official website was taken down and it is presumed that Hope is on hiatus.

Solo careers

Brown subsequently joined the group Girls Can't Catch, signed to Fascination Records, the same label as Girls Aloud. However, the group disbanded after its two singles, "Keep Your Head Up" and "Echo" failed to meet expectations.

Biggs joined the group Parade. Their debut single "Louder" reached the top 10 in the UK singles chart while their follow-up, "Perfume", peaked at number 38. Parade's self-titled debut album was released in October 2011 but failed to enter the top 100. The group were dropped from their label in 2012 and split in early 2013.

Gracie now hosts the news/gossip web series "Daily Dips" on Dipdive.

Mole now works as a Senior Recruitment Consultant.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharon Osbourne</span> English television personality and entertainment manager (born 1952)

Sharon Rachel Osbourne is a British-American television personality, music manager, and author. She is married to heavy metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne and came to prominence while appearing on The Osbournes (2002–2005), a reality television show that aired on MTV, which followed her family's daily life. Osbourne later became a judge on the television talent competition shows The X Factor and America's Got Talent (2007–2012).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Walsh</span> Irish manager in the music industry

Michael Louis Vincent Walsh is an Irish music manager and television personality. He has managed Johnny Logan, Boyzone, Jedward and Westlife, four of Ireland's most successful pop acts in the 1990s and 2000s. He has also served as a talent show judge on television shows such as Popstars (2001–2002), You're a Star (2003–2004), The X Factor, and Ireland's Got Talent (2018–2019).

<i>The X Factor</i> (British series 4) British TV series

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The fourth series was broadcast on ITV from 18 August 2007 and was won by Leon Jackson on 15 December 2007, with Rhydian Roberts finishing as the runner-up and Dannii Minogue emerging as the winning mentor. Dermot O'Leary presented for the first time, replacing Kate Thornton, who had been presenting the show since series 1 in 2004. Fearne Cotton replaced Ben Shephard as presenter on the spin-off show The Xtra Factor. The original judging panel consisted of Simon Cowell, Minogue, Sharon Osbourne and Brian Friedman. Friedman left the panel halfway through the first audition episode and was replaced by former judge Louis Walsh.

<i>The X Factor</i> (British TV series) British reality television music competition

The X Factor was a British reality television music competition, created by Simon Cowell. Premiering on 4 September 2004, it was produced by Fremantle's Talkback Thames, and Cowell's production company Syco Entertainment for ITV, as well as simulcast on Virgin Media One in Ireland. The programme ran for around 445 episodes across fifteen series, each one primarily broadcast late in the year, until its final episode in December 2018. The majority of episodes were presented by Dermot O'Leary, with some exceptions: the first three series were hosted by Kate Thornton; while Caroline Flack and Olly Murs hosted the show for the twelfth series.

<i>The X Factor</i> (British series 5) British TV series

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The fifth series was broadcast on ITV from 16 August 2008 until 13 December 2008. Dermot O'Leary returned to present the main show on ITV, while Fearne Cotton was replaced by Holly Willoughby as presenter of spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2. Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, and Dannii Minogue returned to the judging panel. Sharon Osbourne left after four series and was replaced by Cheryl Cole. The series was won by Alexandra Burke, with Cole emerging as the winning mentor. Auditions in front of producers were held in April and May, with callbacks in front of the judges in June. The number of applicants for series 5 reached an all-time high with a reported 182,000 people auditioning. A number of well-established music acts from around the world, such as Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Girls Aloud, Take That, Il Divo, and series 3 winner Leona Lewis, performed during the live stages of the show.

<i>Popstars: The Rivals</i> Spin-off

Popstars: The Rivals is a British television talent show series that was broadcast on ITV in late 2002. It was the second UK series of the international Popstars franchise. Unlike Popstars, which resulted in the formation of one winning group, Hear'Say, Popstars: The Rivals created two rival groups, Girls Aloud and One True Voice, who competed against each other for the Christmas number one spot on the UK Singles Chart. Girls Aloud won and would go on to achieve twenty consecutive top ten hits, four number ones and six top ten albums, two of which reached number one and from that, group member Cheryl would achieve five number-one singles and two number one albums.

<i>The X Factor</i> (British series 6) Season of television series

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The sixth series started on ITV on 22 August 2009 and was won by Joe McElderry on 13 December 2009. Cheryl Cole emerged as the winning mentor for the second consecutive year, the first time in the show's history that a mentor has won back-to-back series. The show was presented by Dermot O'Leary, with spin-off show The Xtra Factor presented by Holly Willoughby on ITV2. McElderry's winner's single was a cover version of Miley Cyrus's "The Climb". Public auditions by aspiring singers began in June 2009 and were held in five cities across the UK. Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Dannii Minogue and Cole returned as judges. This season was the first to be sponsored by TalkTalk after they took over the sponsorship from The Carphone Warehouse. For the first time, auditions were held in front of a live audience. Following initial auditions, the "bootcamp" stage took place in August 2009, where the number of contestants was narrowed down to 24. The 24 contestants were split into their categories, Boys, Girls, Over 25s and Groups, and given a judge to mentor them at the "judges' houses" stage and throughout the finals.

<i>The X Factor</i> (British series 7) Season of television series

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The seventh series started on ITV on 21 August 2010 and ended on 12 December 2010. The series saw the creation of the boy band One Direction, from boys who entered the competition as individuals. The winner of the competition was Matt Cardle. Cardle was mentored throughout the show by Dannii Minogue. After the victory, he released his debut single "When We Collide". A total of 15,448,019 votes were cast throughout the series. It was presented by Dermot O'Leary, with spin-off show The Xtra Factor presented by Konnie Huq on ITV2, who took over from Holly Willoughby.

Belle Amie were an English pop girl group based in London. They were formed during the seventh series of The X Factor in 2010. The band originally consisted of Esther Campbell, Sophia Wardman, Rebecca Creighton and Geneva Lane. Their debut single, "Girls Up", was released in August 2011. Lane had left the group in early January 2011 and Creighton left in April 2012 in order to pursue a solo career.

<i>The X Factor</i> (British series 8) British TV competition

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The eighth series aired on ITV on 20 August 2011 and ended on 11 December 2011. Dermot O'Leary hosted the main show on ITV, while Caroline Flack and series 6 runner-up Olly Murs co-presented the spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2. Louis Walsh returned to the judging panel and was joined by Gary Barlow, Kelly Rowland and Tulisa. Barlow, Rowland, Tulisa joined the panel replacing judges, Simon Cowell, Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole. Series 5 winner Alexandra Burke served as a guest judge for week 4 of the live shows due to Rowland having a throat infection.

The X Factor in the UK has been subject to much controversy and criticism since its launch in 2004. This has included allegations of conflict of interest, voting irregularities and overcharging, product placement for sponsors, staging scenes, use of pitch correction technology, and exploiting vulnerable contestants. The series has also been criticised for developing singers as marketable products rather than creative individuals. As of April 2020, there have been fifteen completed series broadcast on the ITV network, as well as spin-offs The X Factor: Celebrity (2019) and The X Factor: The Band (2019).

<i>The X Factor</i> (American season 1) Season of television series

The first season of the American version of the music competition show The X Factor began airing on Fox on September 21, 2011.

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The ninth series began airing on ITV on 18 August 2012 and ended on 9 December 2012. Dermot O'Leary returned as presenter of the main show on ITV, whilst Caroline Flack and Olly Murs returned to co-present The Xtra Factor on ITV2. Louis Walsh, Gary Barlow and Tulisa returned as judges. Nicole Scherzinger was confirmed as the fourth permanent judge after Geri Halliwell, Leona Lewis, Rita Ora, Mel B, Anastacia and Scherzinger herself stood in as guest judges for the vacant position left by Kelly Rowland. After the show of 8 December, two of Scherzinger's acts, James Arthur and Jahméne Douglas, became the top two, meaning that Scherzinger was guaranteed to win. Arthur was announced as the winner on 9 December, and released a cover of Shontelle's "Impossible" as his winner's song. As of 2016, it is the most successful winner's single in the show's history.

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The tenth series began airing on ITV on 31 August, and finished on 15 December 2013. Dermot O'Leary returned to present the main show on ITV and Caroline Flack was back to present spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2, along with comedian Matt Richardson, who replaced Olly Murs. Flack also presented backstage segments during the live shows. Louis Walsh, Gary Barlow and Nicole Scherzinger returned as judges for their respective tenth, third and second series, with Sharon Osbourne returning to replace Tulisa after five series away. This was Barlow's final series as a judge. Osbourne and Scherzinger also departed the series, but reprised their roles as judges with Walsh again in series 13 and series 14.

Rough Copy were a British boy band from Croydon, London. The group consists of Kazeem Ajobo, Sterling Ramsey and Joseph James Thomas. They were the ninth contestant eliminated on the tenth series of The X Factor in 2013. They originally auditioned for the ninth series in 2012 and got to the "judges' houses" stage, but were forced to back out as Nigerian-born Ajobo was unable to obtain a visa in time, which would have made it almost impossible for him to re-enter the UK.

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The eleventh series began airing on ITV on 30 August 2014 and finished on 14 December 2014. Dermot O'Leary presented his eighth series of the main show on ITV and Sarah-Jane Crawford presented spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2, replacing Caroline Flack and Matt Richardson. Louis Walsh was the only judge from series 10 to return and was joined by former judges Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, Simon Cowell, and new judge Mel B, who replaced Sharon Osbourne, Gary Barlow and Nicole Scherzinger. Former judge Tulisa returned as a guest judge for the final on 13 December due to Mel B being ill. The series also saw the lower age limit decreased from 16 to 14, as it was in series 4 and 5. This was Walsh's final series as a judge before returning in series 13. It was O'Leary's final series as presenter on the main show, as he announced on 27 March 2015 that he was leaving to pursue other projects, before returning in series 13. On 11 May, Crawford also confirmed via Twitter that she would leave her position as The Xtra Factor presenter.

Stereo Kicks were an English-Irish boy band who were formed and were the twelfth contestant eliminated on the eleventh series of The X Factor in 2014. Stereo Kicks consisted of; James Graham, Jake Sims, Chris Leonard, Charlie Jones, Casey Johnson, Barclay Beales, Reece Bibby, and Tom Mann. Their debut single "Love Me So" was released on 21 June 2015 and charted at number 31 on the UK Singles Chart. Just a month later, however, having been together under a year, they announced they were disbanding due to their failure to land a record deal.

The Voice UK is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The fifth series began airing on 9 January 2016 on BBC One. The series is hosted by Emma Willis and Marvin Humes, and are joined by coaches will.i.am and Ricky Wilson. Rita Ora did not appear in this series of the show after joining The X Factor and was replaced by Boy George. In addition, Sir Tom Jones did not return and was replaced by Paloma Faith, leaving will.i.am as the only coach remaining from the inaugural series.

<i>The X Factor: Celebrity</i> 2019 celebrity edition of The X Factor

The X Factor: Celebrity is a British celebrity special edition of The X Factor which premiered on 12 October 2019 on ITV. It is a revamped version of the 2006 celebrity format The X Factor: Battle of the Stars. Simon Cowell, Nicole Scherzinger and Louis Walsh judged this series, with Dermot O'Leary presenting the series and Vick Hope hosting Xtra Bites on YouTube.

<i>The X Factor: The Band</i> 2019 special edition of The X Factor

The X Factor: The Band is a special edition of British reality talent competition The X Factor, which premiered on 9 December 2019 on ITV. The format for the series was announced on 4 November 2019 as a last-minute replacement for a planned All Stars spin-off series, which was originally supposed to air following The X Factor: Celebrity in late 2019. The format is an accelerated version of The X Factor whereby solo artists auditioned in front of Simon Cowell and Nicole Scherzinger to try to win a place in a boyband or girlband. The new bands would then compete for a chance to join Cowell's record label and launch their careers.

References

  1. "The final three groups revealed!". The X Factor. 7 October 2007. Retrieved 7 October 2007.
  2. "Louis suggests 'X Factor' experiment". Digital Spy. 29 September 2007. Retrieved 24 October 2007.
  3. "'X Factor' chiefs axe Hope member". Digital Spy . 30 September 2007. Retrieved 24 October 2007.
  4. "Hope crushed in X Factor contest". BBC News. 2 December 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2007.