2009–2012: The X Factor and Planet Jedward In 2008, John and Edward formed a duo and the following year they auditioned in
Glasgow as a group for
the sixth series of
The X Factor, under the name John & Edward. Despite being described by judge
Simon Cowell as "not very good and incredibly annoying", John & Edward were put through to bootcamp, then made it to judges' houses, where
Louis Walsh selected them for the live shows. John & Edward became known for their unpolished but enthusiastic performances, famously including a version of
Britney Spears' "
Oops!... I Did It Again", during which they reenacted the
Titanic monologue. After their departure from
The X Factor, Jedward were signed to Modest! Management; however, it was later announced that Louis Walsh had reached "an amicable agreement", which allowed him to take the twins on. From February until April 2010, they performed on the
X Factor Live tour, where they were credited with the boost in demand for tickets, that led to an extension in the tour run. Their debut single "
Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby)" was a
mashup of "
Under Pressure" and "
Ice Ice Baby", with
Vanilla Ice contributing guest vocals. In March Jedward's Sony contract ended, but the following day
Universal Music Ireland signed them on a three-album contract. In April 2010, Jedward began their first solo tour, a 27-date tour of Ireland called the
Planet Jedward Tour. Due to popular demand, it was extended with a second 43-date leg in the UK and Ireland. The
Irish Independent rated the tour positively, saying that "Jedwardmania is right up there with
Beatlemania." Jedward's second single, a cover of the
Blink-182 song "
All the Small Things", was released in July 2010 and peaked at number 21 on the Irish charts and number 6 on the
UK Indie Chart. The same week, Jedward released their debut album
Planet Jedward, consisting of cover versions. It which went straight to number one on the
Irish Albums Chart and number 17 on the
UK Albums Chart. In August 2010, Jedward appeared in their own
ITV2 documentary, entitled
Jedward: Let Loose, a three-part series in which they moved out of their home for ten days.
2011–2012: Victory On 12 February 2011, Jedward released their third single and Eurovision Song Contest entry "
Lipstick", which peaked at number one in Ireland. Jedward successfully qualified from the second Eurovision Song Contest semi-final, eventually finishing in eighth place. After the Eurovision Song Contest, "Lipstick" was released digitally across Europe, where it charted in many countries such as
Belgium, Sweden, Germany and most notably
Austria where it peaked at number three. The song also peaked at number 8 in the South Korea's
international artists' chart. "Lipstick" had featured in a
Hyundai advertising campaign in South East Asia. Shortly after the Eurovision Song Contest, on 23 May, Jedward performed in front of an audience of 60,000 people at
College Green in Dublin City ahead of a speech by visiting
U.S. President Barack Obama. In April 2011, Jedward began their second tour, the
Bad Behaviour Tour, with a series of dates across Ireland. Jedward's next single "
Bad Behaviour" was released in July and reached number one in the Irish charts. This was followed two weeks later by their second album
Victory, consisting entirely of original tracks. A new version of
Planet Jedward was released by the German branch of Universal Music in July, featuring a mix of tracks from
Planet Jedward and new songs from
Victory. On 31 July, the twins began the first leg of their third tour,
The Carnival Tour, with 12 shows across Ireland and Northern Ireland. In September Jedward played their first European tour, with dates in Sweden and Germany, followed by a UK tour. Three days after the first leg finished, Jedward entered the
Celebrity Big Brother 8 house. They made it to the final, eventually finishing in third place. The third single from
Victory, "
Wow Oh Wow" was released in August 2011, with a music video featuring their
Celebrity Big Brother housemate
Tara Reid. In December, Jedward starred in the pantomime
Jedward and the Beanstalk, a musical comedy version of the fairytale
Jack and the Beanstalk.
2012–2013: Young Love Jedward won the Irish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest again in 2012, this time with their song "
Waterline". In May, Jedward performed "Waterline" at the
Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan. After qualifying from their semi-final, they eventually came in 19th place in the grand final. "Waterline" was also the lead single on the twins' third album
Young Love, released in June. The tracks "
Young Love" and "
Luminous" were also released as singles. Jedward released the charity single and "unofficial" Irish
UEFA Euro 2012 song "
Put the Green Cape On", a reworking of "Lipstick". The duo embarked on the European leg of their
Victory Tour in January, playing in Austria, Germany, Sweden, Finland and Estonia. This was followed by the
Young Love Tour in Ireland in August. They also visited Singapore, where the new album had enjoyed popular success. In June they ran as part of the
2012 Summer Olympics torch relay in
Dublin on day 19 of the relay. The twins starred in their own TV series ''Jedward's Weird Wild World
on UK TV channel 5*, with John and Edward humorously presenting a selection of popular internet videos. Over the Christmas and New Year period RTÉ broadcast the second series of their show OMG! Jedward's Dream Factory, and the second season of their BBC series Jedward's Big Adventure screened in early 2013. Over the festive season, Jedward starred in their third annual pantomime, Jedward & the Magic Lamp''. In January 2013, the twins made a promotional visit to
Toronto,
Ontario, Canada, appearing twice on
MuchMusic's
New Music Live show and also made an appearance on
Canada AM. While in Toronto, Jedward also filmed a promotional video for the
Young Love album track "Happens in the Dark" and previewed a clip from the video on
New Music Live. Later in the month, it was announced that Jedward's three-album contract with Universal Music Ireland would not be renewed. The music video for "Happens in the Dark" was premiered on
Much Music in March, with the video having been shot in
Toronto earlier in the year. In April the twins filmed a video for the song "What's Your Number?" in
New York City. Later in the month they made a promotional visit to Australia, including radio and television appearances. In June, Jedward joined the line-up of A Night for Christy, a gala concert in aid of
Aslan frontman
Christy Dignam. The twins performed Aslan's song "She's So Beautiful" with the band. In July the twins performed live shows in Cork and Limerick, with a UK live tour scheduled for September. In November the twins toured Australia, with performances in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney. While in Australia they also released the music video for
Young Love album track "Can't Forget You". The video for "Can't Forget You" was shot at and around El Mirage Lake, in San Bernardino County, Los Angeles, California, United States..
2014–present: Voice of a Rebel and other projects In January 2014, the third series of their
CBBC television programme ''
Jedward's Big Adventure'' was broadcast. Due to its popularity, the series run was doubled to 10 episodes. They also provided weekly style commentary of the contestants in Sweden's
Melodifestivalen competition and made a guest performance at the Melodifestivalen Second Chance show in early March. In April 2014, Jedward debuted their new single "
Free Spirit" on Australian radio station
KIIS 106.5. This was followed by news of the duo's fourth studio album to be released later in the year. The album will contain songs written and produced by Jedward. The duo's follow-up single "Ferocious" was released in November 2014, charting at No.15 on the Irish singles chart. In November 2014 it was announced that John and Edward would join the cast of
ITV's new circus reality show
Get Your Act Together in 2015. Between 2014 and 2018, they released several new self-penned singles and directed the accompanying music videos. The twins appeared on ''The Ray D'arcy Show
in February 2017 and confirmed that they were working on their fourth studio album. They signed to Universal Music Singapore in April 2019, and released their fourth studio album, and first with UMSG, Voice of a Rebel'' on 20 June 2019 across Asia, followed by the rest of the world on 27 June. ==Philanthropy==