2011–2012: Formation and The X Factor In 2007, Blair Dreelan of Alpha Dog Management met 14-year-old Josh Cuthbert, who was auditioning for the
fourth series of
The X Factor in front of judges
Simon Cowell,
Louis Walsh,
Sharon Osbourne and
Dannii Minogue. Cuthbert failed to progress to the bootcamp stage, but Dreelan believed that he looked like a pop star and was impressed by his voice: "I began to sort of work with him on various little projects like just sort of recording stuff because I've got a recording studio in
Swindon." In May 2012, after eight months together, Triple J and soloist George Shelley both auditioned in London for the
ninth series of
The X Factor in front of judges Walsh,
Gary Barlow,
Tulisa and
Nicole Scherzinger. Triple J performed
Rihanna's international hit "
We Found Love", whilst George covered an acoustic version of
Britney Spears' "
Toxic" – in which he also incorporated his guitar. Both acts progressed to the next stage of the competition, receiving positive critique from all judges present. Bootcamp saw Shelley perform
Labrinth's "
Earthquake", competing against female contestants; Charlie Cammish and Meg O'Neill. Triple J first sang
Maroon 5's "
Moves Like Jagger", before contending for the final place at judges' houses with
GMD3 (later
District3). They covered
Chris Brown's "
Yeah 3x", but were sent home after GMD3 were eventually chosen for judges' houses. However, following
Rough Copy's forced withdrawal from the show, Dreelan was contacted by
The X Factor producers with an offer for the group to return, on the basis that Shelley was added to the three-piece. All parties accepted the offer and the band – now a four-piece – became Union J and advanced to judges' houses alongside fellow recalled Times Red in the groups category, mentored by Walsh. The band's first performance as a four-piece was an acoustic cover of
Carly Rae Jepsen's "
Call Me Maybe". Walsh put them through to the live shows alongside District3 and MK1, and they instantly proved popular with social media users. In week 1 of the live shows, Union J performed
Queen's "
Don't Stop Me Now". Despite negative feedback from the other judges, they progressed through to the next week after placing fourth in voting statistics behind
Christopher Maloney,
Jahméne Douglas and
Ella Henderson, respectively. In week 4, the group received the fewest public votes with Jade Ellis, but were saved by Barlow, Scherzinger and Walsh. They found themselves in the bottom two again in week 6, against District3, but were saved for a second time by Barlow and Scherzinger, with Walsh refusing to vote between his acts. Union J were in the bottom two for a third time in the quarter-final, where they were saved by Walsh, Barlow and Tulisa over
Rylan Clark. They were eliminated in the semi-final on 2 December. It was later reported that their winning single would have been a cover of
Demi Lovato's "
Skyscraper", which is featured on
their debut album.
2013–2014: Union J and You Got It All Union J first announced that they had signed a record deal with
Sony Music Entertainment at a performance in
Cardiff,
Wales, on 15 December 2012. Their debut single "
Carry You" was recorded in London in January 2013 and was released in June 2013, charting at number six in the United Kingdom. On 28 January, it was confirmed that the subsidiary label that Union J had signed with was
RCA Records. In June 2013, it was announced that the band would embark on their first UK headline tour, the
Magazines + TV Screens Tour, which consisted of 18 dates in December 2013 and January 2014. They also revealed that their debut album would be released on 28 October 2013. Union J announced that their second single, "
Beautiful Life", would be released on 21 October 2013, a week before their self-titled debut album,
Union J. On 2 October 2013, the band revealed that they are partnering up with
Pokémon for the UK release of
X and Y. On 5 November 2013, they announced that their third single would be "
Loving You Is Easy". On 2 January 2014, while guest editing the
Daily Stars Playlist column, Union J announced that they would release their second album in 2014. Jaymi said, "Very exciting, we're about to start recording our second studio album, which is massive. And then I think we're going to write on the album as well, work with some new producers." Josh also said that they hope to "find that lane that [they] want to go down." They also revealed that they felt there was pressure on them to match the huge success of
One Direction, as
Louis Walsh had expected them to have a number-one single. On 5 April, Cuthbert announced via Twitter that Union J had left RCA and signed a new deal with
Epic Records. The first single to be taken from the band's second album is "
Tonight (We Live Forever)", which was released on 17 August 2014. Following its premiere on
Capital FM on 18 June 2014, the single entered the
iTunes Top 100 Chart through pre-order sales alone. Union J performed "Tonight (We Live Forever)" live for the first time at
Capital FM's
Summertime Ball. On 24 August, "Tonight" debuted at number 9 in the UK. On 14 October, it was announced that the second single from their second album is entitled "
You Got It All". Its first play was on 15 October on
Capital FM. On 30 October, Union J that announced that their second album will be called
You Got It All – The Album and was released on 8 December 2014. Despite promoting the album on
The X Factor and
The Xtra Factor, it entered at number 28 on the
UK Albums Chart, selling 15,000 copies on its first week.
2015–2019: Tour, departures and split Union J were the main support act on
The Vamps' arena tour in the UK and Ireland in April and May 2015. They announced that they were doing
An Audience with Union J in October and November, and also revealed that they are working on their third album. Shelley left the group in March 2016; speaking exclusively to
The Suns
Dan Wootton, Cuthbert blamed Shelley's departure on the latter's changing manner following his stint on ''
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''. Cuthbert said, "I would much rather have someone who wants to do it and is committed to do it. I’m not going to lose any sleep over him not being in the band." Hensley revealed that Shelley's departure was a mutual agreement between all four members and that there were no bad feelings or jealousy which led to it. Union J recorded their third album called "Who Would've Thought" in
Los Angeles in May 2016. It was also announced that theywould be touring
Butlins throughout the summer of 2016. In April 2017, Johnson left the band and the remaining members announced that they would continue as a trio. They released a second single,
Dancing featuring
Ironik, off their third album on 25 August. Josh Lloyd-Cuthbert then quit the band in October, leaving Hamblett and Hensley as a duo. Cuthbert told
The Sun: "The music industry is really difficult. It plays with your emotions, it's ups and downs and you go through different managers. Over the last few years we’ve had different managers and we've been promised the world and been let down. We've got a label now which are great and I respect them lots and have nothing but good words to say about them, but it is difficult when you change members. George obviously left, which was hard for us, but everyone has different reasons and has different things going on. Now that I'm making this decision myself I understand why George made that decision two years ago. At the time you don't really get it, until you have the same feelings as him, which I now have. I spoke to them on the phone and I just hope that they support me, I want to stay friends with the boys, I love them." Shelley and Cuthbert rejoined the group for the reunion and announced a one night residency at
The London Palladium on 28 May 2022. On the night of the concert, they announced they would be embarking on a comeback tour. On 23 December 2022, Union J released their third studio album,
Ten, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the band's formation. On 9 December 2022 the group announced they would be embarking on a headline UK tour the following year. On 19 March 2023 the group issued a statement on their social media platforms saying they had to cancel their upcoming tour, they did not state the reason(s) why. On 11 April 2023, Hensley announced his departure from the band via Twitter. He said: "I hoped and dreamed of all possibilities afterwards, but this has not happened for several reasons, and therefore, out of love & respect to the family of fans and my integrity as an artist, I cannot sit and watch the legacy that I have tried to sustain for a decade decay any further." The group later disbanded. ==Products and endorsements==