Joe McElderry (born June 16, 1991)

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Joseph "Joe" McElderry (born 16 June 1991) is an English singer and songwriter. 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 Singles Chart and Irish Singles Charts. He was also crowned the winner of the second series of Popstar to Operastar, two years later in 2011. To date he has released four albums - two of them reaching the UK top three. He is the first winner of The X Factor to release a fourth album. On 30 July 2010, McElderry announced on his official website that he is gay. The gay charity Stonewall has listed McElderry as a gay role model.

Born in South Shields, England, McElderry is the only child of Jim and Eileen (née Joyce) McElderry. The couple separated when McElderry was a child. He was raised in a small flat on Tyneside.

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. He was the Pride of South Tyneside's Young Performer of the Year in 2008. He studied for BTEC National Diploma in Performing Arts (Advanced Performance) at Newcastle College Performance Academy and in 2010 graduated with triple distinction. He took the role of 'Danny Zuko' in Grease performed at Harton Technology College.

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 took part in the Great North Run half marathon 13.1 mile race on 19 September 2010 raising money for Teenage Cancer Trust, which he is also an ambassador for. He performed at The Ray of Sunshine charity concert on 11 March 2011. Two days later, he performed at Theatre Royal in Newcastle to help raise money for Josie's Dragonfly trust. He also took part in a Comic Relief campaign, where celebrities and prolific Twitter users auctioned off the chance to be followed by a star, it raised £560. McElderry performed on 13 July 2011 at the Newcastle Teenage Cancer Trust Unit, the acoustic set was streamed live to all other Teenage Cancer Trust units across the country as well as on the website. He ran the Great North Run again in 2011 and 2012, supporting the Teenage Cancer Trust, finishing in 1 hour and 42 minutes in 2011 and his personal best so far in 2012, 1 hour 36 minutes. The singer was put up for auction on QVC in aid of charity and eventually sold for £6,350, the shopping channel set up the auction in the name of Breast Cancer Care. On Sunday 11 March 2012, Joe played a secret acoustic gig to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust at London's iconic 100 Club venue, accompanied by Scottish musician Michael Sweeney on piano and vocals. He performed at the Sunday for Sammy benefit concert in 2012.



In March 2010 it was reported that McElderry had signed up as model for Next Models. McElderry has also worked as a substitute DJ on Newcastle's Metro Radio. In April 2011 Joe headlined National Student Pride in Brighton's seafront club Coalition which was attended by students from all over the U.K and sponsored by Ernst & Young. In January 2012 Joe made an appearance on BBC TV series The Magicians. He appeared on Newsround in February 2012 answering questions about what he was like at the age of 10. In November 2012, he became a columnist for GT, writing about his music and other recent projects. He wrote columns for 4 issues of the magazines.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_McElderry

Further Readings:

Joe Mcelderry by Edwards Posy
Hardcover
Publisher: Sterling Pub Co Inc (October 30, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1409131386
ISBN-13: 978-1409131380
Amazon: Joe Mcelderry

Joe McElderry stole the hearts of the TV audience…and came out a winner on The X Factor! Find out how this talented 19-year-old achieved his dream, how he first started singing, who inspired him, what he's been up to since his victory, and what he's got planned for the future. Packed with the latest news and gossip, loads of stunning photos, and even a free pull-out poster, this scrapbook brings fans closer to Joe than ever before.