Joe McElderry

Joseph "Joe" McElderry (born 16 June 1991) is an English singer and model. He won the sixth series of the ITV show The X Factor in 2009. His first single "The Climb" reached number one on the UK and Irish Singles Charts.

Early and personal life
Born in South Shields, England, McElderry is the only child of Jim McElderry and Eileen Joyce. The couple separated when McElderry was a child. McElderry was raised in a small flat on Tyneside with help from his grandmother Hilda Joyce and his aunts. Hilda sang in a band called The Dolly Mixtures, who performed in the pubs and clubs of North-East England. McElderry attended Harton Technology College in Lisle Road, South Shields, before joining South Tyneside College to study AS level school qualifications, and Newcastle College to study performing arts. McElderry studies for BTEC National Diploma in Performing Arts at Newcastle College Performance Academy. He took the role of 'Danny Zuko' in Grease performed at Harton Technology College. In July 2010, McElderry announced that he was gay, and thanked his family and fans for their support.

2009: The X Factor
McElderry auditioned for The X Factor in 2007, but it wasn't shown because he felt he was too young compared to the other contestants and opted to walk away. He auditioned again in 2009 in Manchester and sang Luther Vandross's "Dance with My Father". He made it through to the live finals and was announced the winner on 13 December 2009, beating runner up Olly Murs with his version of Miley Cyrus's "The Climb". McElderry's prize, as winner, was a recording contract with Simon Cowell's Syco record label, whose parent company is Sony Music Entertainment. The contract has a stated value of £1 million, of which £150,000 is a cash advance and the remainder allocated to recording and marketing costs. The single "The Climb" was released as McElderry's debut single. Along with The X Factor finalists, McElderry recorded vocal for featured on a charity single, a cover of Michael Jackson's hit "You Are Not Alone". It was released in aid of London's Great Ormond Street Hospital. The finalists premiered the song live on the 15 November edition of the programme; the single was available for digital download that day and a physical release followed the day after. The single reached number one in the UK Singles Chart.

Performances
McElderry performed the following songs during the contest:

2009-2010: The Climb
McElderry's debut single, "The Climb", was available to download at midnight on 14 December 2009 and was released physically on 16 December 2009. According to industry sources, approximately 100,000 copies of the single were sold on the day of its release. On 18 December 2009, it was announced that McElderry secured the top spot in the Irish Singles Chart for 11–17 December 2009. "The Climb" was a contender for 2009's UK Christmas number one, but unfortunately lost to Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name". McElderry's single sold 450,000 compared to Rage Against the Machine's 502,000 after a Facebook-based campaign was started in protest of The X Factor's dominance of the Christmas number one title. This was the first time since 2004 that the X Factor winning single was denied the top spot for Christmas in the UK Singles Charts. Following the defeat, McElderry congratulated Rage Against the Machine on his official Twitter page for an "interesting chart battle". Simon Cowell stated that he was "gutted for Joe because a number one single meant a lot to him. But I have to congratulate Jon and Tracy [Morter, who started the Facebook campaign]." McElderry's single stayed at number one on the Irish charts for a second week securing him the Irish Christmas number one (18–25 December 2009), and the song moved up to the top spot in the UK Singles Chart on 27 December. The single had the fifth highest sales of all UK singles released in 2009 staying one week at #1. It was also the top selling Irish single of 2009 where it remained at the top spot for four consecutive weeks. "The Climb" was nominated in the British Single category at the 2010 BRIT Awards but lost out to fellow X Factor contestants JLS.

2010-present: Post-X Factor and debut album
McElderry performed "Don't Stop Believin" and presented an award at the 15th National Television Awards in London on 20 January 2010. In January 2010, he participated in the Helping Haiti charity single, a cover of "Everybody Hurts" arranged by Simon Cowell in order to raise money for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. McElderry and the other finalists, Olly Murs, Stacey Solomon, Danyl Johnson, Lloyd Daniels, John &amp; Edward, Jamie Archer and Lucie Jones, appeared in the X Factor Live tour which began on 15 February at the Echo Arena Liverpool and concluded on 4 April 2010 at the SECC. McElderry performed the songs "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", "Love Story", "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word", "She's Out of My Life", "Don't Stop Believin'" and his debut single "The Climb" on the tour. On 15 March 2010, it was reported that McElderry had signed a modelling deal with Next Models.He performed on Radio 1's Big Weekend on 22 May 2010, singing an acoustic version of "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Telephone" in the Live Lounge tent and he also performed "Don't Stop Believin'" and his single, "The Climb" on The 5:19 Show. He will be taking part in the Great North Run and will be raising money for Teenage Cancer Trust. He is currently recording his debut album which is due for 25 October 2010. Producers of the album include Dallas Austin and John Shanks. He will launch the album at G-A-Y along with appearances from X Factor runner up Olly Murs and X Factor 2006 winner Leona Lewis.