Charming, excitable and polite.

These are the three words that best describe boyband JLS on meeting them for the first time.

All four make a point of introducing themselves — Aston, JB, Oritse and Marvin — and are full of compliments.

Within minutes there is a huge burst of laughter and I am called upon to judge Aston’s impression of a seal… which he is performing with full gusto on the floor.

During the time it takes to set up for the interview, the boys — who came second in last year’s X Factor competition — begin a play fight.

It all starts to get a bit out of hand, but no one else in the room seems to mind.

Quiet now. I want some decorum.

JB: Sorry. Right we’re ready.

Good, right lets go back to the Mobos in October — bet it was great beating X Factor winner Alexandra Burke and scooping two awards?

JB: It wasn’t about beating Alex at all, she was sat on a table next to us and she was one of the first people to congratulate us on winning the award.

We had a great time and we’re so over the moon to have won both awards that we were nominated for.

What would you rather have done — won the X Factor or your two Mobos?

Aston: What we’re doing now.

Marvin: With hindsight now, we’re glad we didn’t win the X Factor because we wouldn’t be in this position. We’ve had an amazing start, Alex is a deserved winner, she’s a fantastic artist and we’ve now won two Mobos.

It’s not always about winning, it’s not always about beating someone, it’s about us establishing ourselves in the market place and having a career in music.

Are you feeling the pressure now you have won two awards so early in your career?

Oritse: Winning awards just makes us the more determined to go out and do even better.

The pressure that we have we feel amongst each other, and that’s in terms of goals and aims that we always want to try to achieve. We have our own delivered pressure.

I think that’s really important because it means that you care about your job and what you do. We love to do this and we want to be doing this for a very long time and it’s all about JLS and establishing ourselves.

Not all former X Factor contestants have stood the test of time. Steve Brookstein, Shayne Ward, Same Difference and Leon Jackson — where are they now? What is the secret to success?

Aston: There is no secret to success, it’s just what direction you go in. We’re a group, we’re a totally different act to what they were.

At that time there may have been another 10 solo artists out at the time, that’s just how this industry works, now we’re the only boy band. Right now, there’s a market gap and we’re tying to grab hold of it.

Do you think the X Factor format is getting rather boring as we have seen the sob stories all before?

Aston: I bet you sit there and you watch it and you think about it. You might say: ‘There’s another sob story’ but you will still sit there and watch it, because you’ll be thinking that that is actually someone’s life. That’s what they’re going through.

JB: I sat and watched it last weekend and I thought to myself: ‘You know what this is actually a really great show.’ I’m not talking from being on it, I’m talking from the way it’s filmed, the way it’s done. And you can’t deny that every week it has millions of viewers, you don’t get that by chance.

Oritse: You get very attached to people. I almost don’t believe in the term ‘sob story’, because for me, it’s one of the biggest reasons why the show is so relatable to the general public.

Nobody wants to see fully auditioned artists going onto that show being well groomed and well prepared.

What you want to see are real people, they could be your next door neighbour, it could be your mum, it could be your uncle, whoever has this big dream to play on a major stage, to get the opportunity they would never have had without the show.

Marvin: I must admit I got a little bit choked up. You can’t but help getting a little bit attached, it’s real life, they’re real people and they’re just trying to pursue what we were trying to pursue.

Alexandra Burke and Cheryl Cole both have singles out — which record will you be buying, and you HAVE to give an answer.
Aston: We’re half and half.

Marvin: We have nothing but love for both of the ladies.

JB: Two of us would buy Cheryl’s single and the other two would buy Alex’s.

What is all this we have been hearing about you wanting to make it big in the US?

Oritse: We’ve not actually discussed anything to do with the US yet. For us the most important thing is for us to do well on our home turf.

At the end of the day we were part of a show where everybody voted for us and I think our fans and supporters deserve for us to be here and give them some great music before we even branch off anywhere around the world. But obviously, it will be in our sights in the future. Right now it’s all about the UK.

One final question, what is on your rider list?

Marvin: Our rider list is very simple, all we request is fruit, water, towels, Haribo and Nandos.

Aston: To be fair we don’t even ask for Nandos, we go to Nandos and bring it back ourselves.

The band’s second single Everybody In Love is due out on 2 November 2009 and their debut album will follow on 9 November.

Source: BBC News

A MEMBER of one of the UK’s hottest new bands visited a Harrow hospital as part of his new role as a charity’s ambassador.

Jonathon Benjamin Gill, known to millions as JB from boyband JLS, stopped in at Northwick Park hospital on Wednesday, October 7.

JB has just taken up a role as official ambassador for Rays of Sunshine, a Wembley-based charity which supports seriously ill children in hospices, hospitals, and specialist care centres across the UK.

The singer, who shot to fame as one quarter of JLS after last year’s X Factor, met a specialist paediatrician at the hospital during his visit to north west London, before stopping off at the charity’s offices in Olympic Way to learn more about the work being done.

Source: Harrow Times

THEY are the product of a rival show, but JLS singer Aston Merrygold reckons he has the solution to Alesha Dixon’s problems on Strictly Come Dancing…

The boy-band singer, whose act were runners-up in last year’s X Factor final on ITV, thinks Alesha would win over her detractors if she gave them a flash of her legs.

Aston and his mates are talking to Saturday Plus! in the HQ of their record company in London’s plush Kensington when the subject of the rival TV show comes up.

While his three JLS colleagues fall over themselves to keep out of the controversy surrounding the singer’s new gig as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing, the 21-year-old is happy to share his thoughts.

“Her legs, man, wow,” he says. “She’s a lovely girl, Alesha, but maybe she should sit in front of that desk they’ve put her behind.”
It’s all he gets to say on the matter. His bandmates then speak over the top of him, protesting that they “haven’t seen the show” or “haven’t heard about” the Alesha issue.

Four young men signed to a major record label are obvious choices to be given rudimentary lessons in media training — especially as their core market is teenagers and kids.

They may well have been told to avoid answering certain questions. And, like a well-oiled footballing defensive partnership, they cover for each other perfectly.

Like many products of the manufactured pop market created by The X Factor and shows of that ilk, JLS have garnered a formidable profile.

Young boys think they’re cool, young girls think they’re gorgeous.

They’ve gone from watching The X Factor to being on it, nearly winning it, then landing a record deal they never thought they would get off the back of it.

And last week in Glasgow, they landed two prestigious MOBO awards — Best Newcomer and Best Song, their No.1 single Beat Again — at a glittering ceremony in the SECC.

The upsides — fame, attention, the chance to make a living having a laugh with their mates — are obvious.

So, what’s the downside? Again, it’s Aston who speaks most honestly.

“You can’t do all the stuff you did before, such as going out with your friends and having a quiet drink,” he says. “Now there is always someone trying to say something to you, or asking for a photograph.

“That’s a good thing in one way but not if you’re just out having a catch-up with your mates.”

To be honest, Aston looks like he would have trouble getting over the door of a nightclub let alone be troubled for autographs once he’s in there.

JB (Jonathan Benjamin Gill), meanwhile, hates the attention that he gets any time he’s seen with a girl.

“People always write that she’s your latest girlfriend,” he says. “They jump to conclusions because we’re high-profile and people pay attention to us.”

Then Oritsé Williams intervenes. Although two years younger than JLS’s elder statesman, 24-year-old Marvin Humes, he has the aura of the “big brother” of the band.

He says: “The biggest bonus for us is that we do what we’ve always wanted to do for a living.

“We’re very fortunate we even got a deal from the show. When we went in, the only person who was getting a record deal was the winner.

“That’s why we looked so sad on the show. It felt like if we didn’t get a deal then we’d have been back to square one.

“To get a deal was a dream come true — especially with Epic, because of the calibre of people they had on their label. The first person I thought of was Michael Jackson.

“I thought our manager was having us on at the time. It was exciting for us. Now we get to come in here all the time and get on people’s nerves. But there are too many pluses to even start thinking about negatives.”

Every now and then, there’s a break away from that feeling that JLS are a band who say what they think a band should be saying. Some of their chat is stock cliché for the newly famous who are maybe a touch guilty of thinking they are more famous than they are.

At other times, they almost seem a bit embarrassed — especially in the case of Marvin, perhaps because he has done the “band thing” before with Simon Webbe’s short-lived act VS, and also because he worked in the altogether less showbiz world of property sales before having another crack at pop.

But, for the most part, JLS have the repartee you’d expect from four young guys who work and live (in the case of Marvin and Aston) together.

Aston teases Marvin about which team he would support if he was forced to pick one between Celtic and Rangers, trying to trip him up in front of a hack from Glasgow, having himself made headlines for saying he would wear a Celtic top on stage, for a bet with an ex’s dad.

Then Oritsé teases Aston about his appearance on a kids’ show years ago, and jokes about ITV mistakenly using footage of one of JB’s primary school mates on last year’s X Factor thinking it was him.

Oritsé himself ‘fesses up that he didn’t play football when he was young because he wanted to go off at break times and sing with the girls. Soon, they’re all laughing at each other. Is it always like this? Marvin says: “We’re business partners, best mates, family. Every single day we’re having a laugh with our mates.

“Of course, it’s hard work but you’re doing it with people you love and having a great laugh. I live with Aston and we went to Ibiza the other day. We spend a lot of time together.

“When we go abroad to places like LA or whatever, it’s different from here and Europe. We can do stuff like go shopping and no one recognises us. And going to clubs there was totally different.” Why, because you had to stand in a queue like everyone else?
“Yeah, more or less,” he says, smiling.

They’ve already had one No.1 single but, once the album is released next month, the foursome can expect that to change.
While they’re careful not to say anything about The X Factor’s rival show, Strictly Come Dancing, they are happy to talk about the talent contest which made them stars.

Do they watch it? Yes, unanimously.

“Me and him were in a hotel the other week in Manchester, going out with some of the boys,” says Aston, nodding to Marvin. “The guys were desperate to get out but we wanted to stay in and watch The X Factor before going out. We got a bit of stick for that.”
Do they have a favourite this year? Rikki Loney. Ah, but of course. These boys really do know how to play the papers. Speaking to the Scottish press? Give the Scottish guy the “big up”.

Marvin says: “We’re rooting for Rikki. He’s a genuinely great guy and he’s so hungry for it.”

Oritsé adds: “We know him from last year at boot camp. He has a great voice, very powerful. He could be flying the flag for Scotland this year.”

After that, Aston says he likes Danyl, and, before long, Rachel and Jamie “Afro” Archer are in there too.
Four guys, four points of view.

As a band built round four-part harmonies, do they agree on who is the best singer in JLS? “Yeah, the backing track,” says Aston, with a wry smile.

Flatmate Marvin considers it more seriously.

“We all have our strengths and weaknesses,” he says. “That’s the best thing about being in a group — we all know each other so well. So, yeah, we’re all good singers. But I reckon there’s an acknowledgement… that I’m obviously a better singer than anyone else…” And then they’re at it again, shouting and laughing, like a class full of schoolkids after a lunch break of blue M&Ms.

“Marvin always says it’s like being on a rollercoaster,” says Oritsé. “We keep going up and up, and we’ve not started coming down the other side yet. Hopefully we never will.”

JLS’s new single, Everybody In Love, is out on November 2. The album is released on November 9.

Source: Daily Record

JLS ladies man ORITSE has earned himself a Boombastic new nickname courtesy of his services to Shagging — Mr Lover Lover.

Cheeky ASTON kept serenading his pal with lines from the cheesy Shaggy chart-topper when I caught up with the boys.

Fresh from their MOBOs success, Aston bounded into the room singing, “What you want is some boombastic romantic fantastic lover. Mr Lover lover.”

Enter Oritse.

It should be noted that Aston’s impression of the growly-voiced reggae lothario is spot-on.

He explained: “That’s Oritse’s new name. He is Mr Lover Lover. That song could have been written about him.

“We love a bit of Shaggy. In fact, MARVIN used to perform Boombastic on stage.”

JLS defended their serial Shagger reputations, insisting “no one’s getting their heads slapped in” at the end of the night.

The Beat Again boys are serious contenders for my Bizarre Shagger of the Year crown this year following months of all-night debauchery and no-strings flings with the opposite sex.

And it seems Aston would be a proud recipient of the title — even the band’s close relatives think he’s done enough, pun intended, to earn it.

He told me: “Our mums say that me and Marvin are the worst. They think JB’s an angel for some reason.

“We’re all young guys, we like to chat to beautiful young girls.

“We’re all single and we haven’t got girlfriends. No one’s getting their heads slapped in when they get home.”

Meanwhile, the lads have urged TINCHY STRYDER to keep his chin up following his strop at last week’s MOBOs.

The grime star was furious after missing out on all three awards he was nominated for.

JB said: “When you’ve worked so hard, sometimes it is upsetting when you don’t get rewarded.

“At the time he was very upset but I’m sure now he won’t think it’s as much of a big deal. I’m sure his career’s not over.”

Source: The Sun

A unique C4 show which airs on Sundays 6pm and everyday after on 4Music, aims to challenge viewers’ opinions by getting celebrities involved in telling us who their greatest popstar is.

After Peter Andre talked us through ‘Eminem’ last week, this Sunday saw X factor group JLS performing with Aston, Marvin, JB and Oritsé taking us through the life and fame of Justin Timberlake, as he went from the curly-haired one in ‘N Sync to one of the coolest men on the planet.

The show even sees them give a private rendition of their favourite ‘N Sync track — and will be repeated everyday this week — Monday 12pm, Tuesday 10.50pm, Wednesday 3.25pm, Thursday 7pm, Friday 1.35pm, Saturday 11.10am.

“If you separate Justin Timberlake’s record sales from his NSync record, he is approaching close to 100 million, which is the Holy Grail of any artist looking for success” said one commentator on the show.

JLS in particular where impressed with Justin’s business nous, which has seen him in the Top 10 earners under 30 for a number of years.

His latest projects have seen him move into producing songs where he co-wrote and featured in Ciara’s ‘Love, Sex, Magic’ with Y (see below), and acting; he will be in ‘Facebook: The Movie’ as Sean Parker, the co-founder of Napster.

Channel 4 who are co-producing the show with Box TV said about the show:

“We are taking a topic that is constantly on the lips of music fans across the country and bringing it to life through TV. We are looking at the best pop acts of all time and running a series of in-depth, star-studded documentaries which will educate and capture viewers imaginations. It’s fresh, orginal and over-flowing with celebrity glamour.”

Source: IBTimes

JLS have revealed that they hope to one day break the States — but admit it will be a long time before they desert their UK fans.

The X Factor runner-ups have confessed that they would like their music to be Global, but say they are concentrating on building up a steady fan base before attempting to try and make it big over seas.

Speaking to BBC Newsbeat, Jonathan Gill said: “We’re concentrating on consolidating ourselves over here first. So it’ll probably be a long time before we think about the States and going over there to promote.

“Obviously it’s on our wish list, we’d love to go over there. It’s not different to any other territory and we want our music to be worldwide, that’s the main goal for us.”

JLS have just announced their first ever tour and tickets are on sale here.

Source: Angryape

JLS have promised that they will not desert their UK fans in a bid to break the US.

The boyband, who reached number one with their debut single ‘Beat Again’, admitted that they are eager to release material Stateside but will first focus on their support at home.

“We’re concentrating on consolidating ourselves over here first. So it’ll probably be a long time before we think about the States and going over there to promote,” Jonathan ‘JB’ Gill told BBC Newsbeat.

“Obviously it’s on our wish list, we’d love to go over there. It’s not different to any other territory and we want our music to be worldwide, that’s the main goal for us.”

The group, who came second in last year’s X Factor, are currently working on their debut album and will embark on their first headline tour next year.

JLS release new single ‘Everybody In Love’ on November 2.

Source: Digita Spy

Aston says he’s having the time of his life at the moment

Aston Merrygold from JLS has admitted that his mum confronted him about tabloid reports that he was out partying a lot.

The 21-year-old recently had some downtime from a heavy promotional schedule along with the rest of his band mates and explained that his mum was a bit shocked by what she read in the papers.

He said: “At the end of the day she obviously read too much into the papers. People were saying to her, ‘Aston’s doing this, this and this’.
“She doesn’t regularly read it but when all the stuff was coming out I just said, ‘Look, it’s bound to happen, don’t believe everything you read’.

“She’s alright now but obviously it was a bit of a shock for her to see people writing that kind of stuff but it’s fine.”

‘Best time’

Aston admitted he’s a bit old to be told off and is still determined to enjoy himself.

“I’m a 21-year-old man so she can’t really tell me off any more,” he said.

JLS took part in the recent Live Lounge tour with Jo Whiley

“She can give her opinion but like I said to her, ‘If you want to believe it, you can believe it’ but at the end of the day I’m going to focus on what I’m doing and carry on because I’m having the best time of my life right now.”

Aston, along with band mates JB, Marvin and Ortise are promoting second single Everybody in Love, the follow-up to number one debut Beat Again.

They have a busy time ahead with an album and UK tour starting in January, so plans for a US takeover will have to wait a while.

JB told Newsbeat: “We’re concentrating on consolidating ourselves over here first. So it’ll probably be a long time before we think about the States and going over there to promote.

“Obviously it’s on our wish list, we’d love to go over there. It’s not different to any other territory and we want our music to be worldwide, that’s the main goal for us.”

Source: BBC

JLS star ASTON MERRYGOLD names SIMON COWELL as the only X Factor judge he’d consider kissing — in a blistering snub to DANNII MINOGUE and CHERYL COLE.

During a game of ‘Snog, Marry or Avoid’ with Gay Times magazine, the Beat Again singer said: “I’d snog Simon — he’s the least repulsive.”

However, JONATHAN ‘JB’ GILL favours the ladies, saying: “I’d snog Danni and marry Cheryl.”

“We were like, ‘Yeah, whatever baby.’

“We don’t care. We’ve got loads of gay friends anyway. All of mine fancy JB.”

Though Aston claims he’s the one with the most gay fans.

He said: “Whenever we do meet and greets with gay fans, I’m the one they sling over their shoulders and run off with.”

The latest issue of Gay Times is on sale now. Go to www.gaytimes.co.uk for more info.

Source: The Sun

STRICTLY is not the only reality show getting a bashing — The X Factor has been given a slap by last year’s stars JLS.
The foursome who ended as runners-up, have joined the chorus of disapproval over the ITV1 talent hit’s new live auditions.

The lads reckon getting the wannabes to audition in front of hordes of screaming fans is just a rip-off of Britain’s Got Talent.

Oritsé Williams said it had even put him off tuning in. He told GT: “I did catch ten minutes of it on YouTube. It’s too much like Britain’s Got Talent.”

Aston Merrygold chipped in: “I watched it and expected to get a weird feeling because we were there a year ago — but I didn’t.

“It’s a completely different show now. I don’t like the new format — it’s taken the build-up away.”

Bandmate Marvin Humes added: “Some contestants have been wicked. But it seems like they’re already in the live finals.

“You don’t get to see personalities properly — they’re more confident and playful. It takes away the intimacy.”

A poll found 70 per cent of viewers preferred the old system — and we have backed them at TV Biz. We have already said we miss the intimacy of the studio, where hopefuls auditioned with no backing track and just fed-up judges for an audience.

The full interview appears in this month’s GT

Source: The Sun