JLS have fast became the most exciting boy band to have emerged from reality show, the X-Factor and in-fact the past decade. Having just released their third studio album, Jukebox, and a UK arena tour lined up for next Spring, band member JB told us a bit about life in JLS.
It’s been 3 years since you appeared on the X Factor, has that time passed quickly for you?
Sometimes it feels like a long time and sometimes it literally just feels like yesterday. It’s great though. It’s always nice to go back and see all the old faces.
Do you still get nervous going back?
Yeah but it’s different because obviously we’re not in competition anymore. For us it’s more of a performance but you always get nervous no matter what kind of show. You still want to be on top form.
What do you think of the new judges this year?
I think they’re great. Our judge Louis is still there and he works incredibly hard. He worked hard for us and got us to the final and now we are where we are. I don’t think we would change our mentor for anything. But the other judges this year are working hard as well and you can see the dedication they are putting into their acts.
Do you have any favourite contestants this year?
My personal favourite is Little Mix. They’re cute and they’re vibe is fantastic. But Marcus is great too. He’s the dark horse and his last couple of weeks have been absolutely incredible.
What advice would you give to any group trying to make it in the music industry?
You have to have that unity as a group. It takes time though. We’d been doing it for just over a year before we auditioned for the X Factor. It’s taken us that time to establish who’s who in the group and get that definition.
Are you glad you’re part of a group as apposed to being a solo artist?
Yeah definitely. When you look at solo performers doing shows and performances, it’s difficult. But we have each other to bounce off of. There’s times when I’m not feeling well or one of the boys isn’t feeling well or just generally if one of us are having a bad day, we sort of help out each other. You can afford to sing quietly when there’s the rest of the group there. When you’re a solo artist though, you have to be on it all the time. It’s hard work and sometimes it can be lonely as well. With us four, I always have three friends by my side. It’s nice to just experience something incredible with your close friends.
How much time do you all spend together?
ALL THE TIME. We all went on holiday in August. That was just great. We’re going away again in December.We go on holiday together, we go out together, we spend all our time together. Sometimes it’s just two of us, sometimes it’s three, sometimes it’s us all.
So you have a huge fan base, what’s the best way for them to keep up to date with what you’re up to?
Twitter. You can send them a tweet, let them know what we’re doing, where we’re going to be. If you didn’t get to see fans after a show you can always send a tweet acknowledging that they were there.
Staying in contact with your fans is important to you then?
Absolutely! It’s only fair. Technology is so advanced, you can’t really hide. They can go online and find out anything they want about us. Obviously they have to respect our privacy but at the same time it’s part of what we do. Especially for us because we came from a show where the fans, the people at home, voted for us to stay in the competition. They put us where we are.
What’s the craziest thing a fan has ever done or sent to you?
You know what, I’m actually not the crazy one in the group. I actually don’t get crazy things sent to me or things done to me. It’s usually Aston or Oritsé. Oritsé has actually unwrapped a naked fan before. She wrapped herself up and he had to unwrap her. Aston has been sent a pink thong and then was asked to go jogging with one of his fans wearing similar attire. The main thing is that our supporters are very creative. We like that.
You’ve had five number ones, which is more than any other X Factor contestant, how does that feel?
It’s incredible. It’s weird to think that there is so much that we’ve achieved and we’re just entirely grateful to everyone who has supported us and came to our shows. We’ve never shied away from the fact that we came from the X Factor. We’re also the only act to have released a third studio album.
You’ve won Brit Awards and Mobo Awards as well. How do you feel about people that say X Factor is a fix with no real talent etc when clearly you’re proof that the show is a success?
They’ve got to understand that X Factor is just a platform. It’s a method of stimulating an opportunity. Obviously Leona had a fantastic career from it as well as Alexandra Burke and Olly Murs. When it’s came to it, they’ve done well and that’s what it’s about. It’s down to the artists. People lay a lot of blame at Simon’s feet or at the show. The show starts and the show ends. It’s just a show for TV. After that it’s completely down to the artists and that’s as much to do with it as anything else. We’ve been lucky and have a fantastic label.
So on top of all your number ones and awards, you’ve had books and DVDs etc. Is there anything you haven’t done that you want to do?
Yeah lots of things. We want to do a feature film. It’s definitely something we’d love to be involved in. One of the most important things to us is national success. We’re working on it and we’ll definitely get to there in due time.
So to talk about you’re new single and you’re new album. The first single that was released from you’re new album was called ‘She Makes Me Wanna’ and it reached number one in the UK Charts. Did that give you the relief knowing that there is still that excitement and hype around you?
Of Course. I mean we never take a number one for granted. When you think of you’re favourite artists and the number ones they’ve had such as Westlife, who have something like 10 number ones and been 14 years in the game, we’ve achieved half that in just three years. So you can’t take it for granted. We’re very, very proud and it should always be celebrated. We hope to achieve more.
You’re second single ‘Take A Chance On Me’ was released yesterday. What’s the song about?
It’s basically if a girl feels like she wants to be in a relationship then she’s got to take a chance. She might have been hurt in the past and not be confident anymore and things. But you want her to know that you’re different and you want her to take a chance on you.
It’s a bit different from the teen friendly tracks you’re used to, is it nice to stray away from that?
Absolutely! That’s why we called the album Jukebox. We wanted an assortment of different songs. I mean there are songs that we’ve written that haven’t been suited to our previous albums but that are alright for Jukebox. I think we’re at that stage now where we can afford to take that risk, to mix it up a bit and give our fans more of a variety.
Jukebox was out on the 14th of November and you collaborated on the single ‘She Makes Me Wanna’. If you could collaborate with any other artist who would it be and why?
Probably Rihanna. We’ve met her before and, really, she’s the biggest artist in the world. Jay-Z as well. He’s just always bringing it, bringing something new. There’s so many different incredible artists that we’d like to perform with. Especially in the UK. So, watch this space.
You have your fourth dimension tour next March and April. Are you excited about it?
Yeah. We’re going to be in Aberdeen on the 3rd of April and we’re in Glasgow the 4th and the 5th. They’ve just added Braehead to our tour as well. I mean we’re adding dates as it goes. If people keep spreading the word and people want to see us perform then we’ll continue to add more dates.
Did you ever think you’d be here talking about a third album and an arena tour?
We always aspired to it. I definitely didn’t expect it to happen so quickly though. We’ve only been doing this for three years. We’re just really really proud.
Finally, if you could sum up life as JLS in one word, what would it be?
Exhilarating!
JLS’s latest album, Jukebox, is now available to buy and you can catch them in Scotland April next year.
By Natasha Reid
