- Olly Murs
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Olly Murs
Murs performing on the X Factor live tourBackground information Birth name Oliver Stanley Murs Also known as Olly Born May 14, 1984 Origin Witham, Essex, England Genres Pop, reggae fusion, ska, dance Occupations Singer-songwriter, dancer, presenter Instruments Vocals, guitar Years active 2009–present Labels Epic (2009–present)
Syco (2009–present)Associated acts The X Factor 2009 finalists Website ollymurs.com Oliver Stanley "Olly" Murs [1] (born 14 May 1984 in Essex, England)[2] is an English singer-songwriter and TV presenter. Murs rose to fame after being the runner-up on the sixth series of The X Factor. He is currently signed to Epic Records and Syco Music.
After being announced the runner up of The X Factor, Murs announced he had signed a joint record deal between Epic Records and Syco Music, and would record a debut album. In late August 2010, Murs released his first solo single "Please Don't Let Me Go", which debuted at number-one on the UK Singles Charts, becoming Murs' second number one single after releasing "You Are Not Alone" with the other series six finalists. "Please Don't Let Me Go" received a Silver certification by the BPI. He released his second single from the album "Thinking of Me" which charted at number four on the UK Singles Charts, however the single also got a Silver certification by the BPI. "Heart Skips a Beat" was released and became his third number-one hit.
Murs released his self-titled debut album in November 2010, Olly Murs. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number two, with the biggest week one album sales for a debut album in 2010, with over 108,000 albums sold. The album went on to sell over 600,000 copies, and was certificated double platinum by the BPI. He is due to release his second upcoming album in November 2011, with the first single release from the album titled "Heart Skips a Beat" which features hip hop duo Rizzle Kicks. In May 2011, it was announced that Murs would return to The X Factor to co-present spin-off show The Xtra Factor with Caroline Flack. It was also confirmed that Murs would present a Celebrity Club Classic show on Heart FM.
Contents
Early and personal life
Murs was born to Vicky and Pete Murs,[3] who is of Latvian descent.[4] He has a twin brother, Ben (Olly is the older twin) and a sister, Fay.[3] He attended Howbridge Junior School in Witham then Notley High School in Braintree, Essex[5] where he was a striker in the school's football team. He is a supporter of Manchester United,[6] and played semi-professionally for Witham Town. He gave up his football career following an injury.[7] Prior to The X Factor, Murs worked as a recruitment consultant at Prime Appointments in Witham. He also appeared on the TV show Deal or No Deal[8] and has played in Soccer Aid for charity early in 2010.[9][10]
Music career
2009–2010: The X Factor
He performed "Superstition" in his first audition and Simon Cowell said it was "the easiest yes I've ever given". On the first live show he sang "She's the One" and on the second, "A Fool in Love", a performance which Cowell described as being "in a different league." For week three he took on "Bewitched". Walsh commented that he was the "dark horse of the competition," and Cole said he was "coming into his own each week." He frequently employed dance moves in his performance including his trademark "Olly wiggle."[11] In week 4 he sang "Come Together" and again received positive comments, with Walsh predicting, "I think you're in the final three," and Cowell saying he was "progressing better than just about everybody."[12] In week 5 he performed "Twist and Shout" and in week 6 "Don't Stop Me Now", after which he was labelled by Minogue as, "absolutely the best performer we have on the show by far."[13]
After a performance of "Fastlove", he was in the bottom two in week 7, with John & Edward. Cowell and Cheryl Cole decided to send John & Edward home, but Louis Walsh voted against Murs. Dannii Minogue then decided against taking the judges' vote to deadlock and sent home John & Edward. When the voting statistics were later released on itv.com, they revealed that if Minogue had voted to save John & Edward and taken it to deadlock, Murs would have been sent home on popular vote, as John & Edward gained 10.7% of the popular vote against just 9.8% to Murs. In the semi-finals Murs had to miss the wedding of his brother. The ceremony took place just 16 miles from the show's studio, but mentor Cowell was against letting him off for a few hours on the crucial semi-final day.[14] He sang "Can You Feel It" and "We Can Work It Out" in the semi-final and ended up as one of the three finalists, breaking down in tears upon hearing the result.[15]
In the final on 12 December, he repeated his audition song, "Supersition", following which Cowell said putting him in the final 12 was "the best risk I have ever taken in my life". Murs then sang with Robbie Williams on a duet of "Angels", in which Williams fluffed his lines as he walked on stage to join Murs and came in at the wrong time, singing the second line of the song, but was helped by Murs to find the right spot.[16] There was then a repeat performance of his week 2 song "Fool in Love". Murs qualified for the final two and first sang a repeat performance of "Twist and Shout", following which Walsh commented, "You're a born, born showman and no matter what happens tonight you're going to have a great career in music." In his final performance on the show he performed the winner's song, "The Climb", finishing it in tears.[17] He was told by Cole, "You absolutely tore it from your soul. I've never heard you sing like that. I thought it was a beautiful version of the song."[18] He lost the final to Joe McElderry the next day and finished as the runner-up.[19]
On 15 December, two days after the final, it was reported that Cowell was going to offer Murs a record deal in early 2010.[20] Following his defeat, Murs was reportedly texted by duet partner Robbie Williams and invited to visit him in his Los Angeles mansion and participate in the upcoming Soccer Aid, organised by Williams.[6] Olly performed in the X Factor tour, alongside Joe McElderry, John & Edward, Stacey Soloman Lucie Jones and several other finalists. It was later revealed on The Xtra Factor that Murs was predicted by all the judges and presenters (except Minogue who said Nicole Jackson and Cole who said Miss Frank as a second choice) as the favourite to win the series at the Boot Camp stage.[21][22] As with all other finalists save the winner, Murs began gigging around the country following the end of the show.[23] A fight broke out at one New Year's Eve gig in London prompted by enthusiastic fans.[24] He was also booked to appear at the engagement party of model Danielle Lloyd.[25] Footage of Murs appearing on Deal or No Deal was later featured in an edition of the BBC's Almost Famous on 2 January 2010.[26]
2010–2011: Major label success and Olly Murs
Rumours began that Murs would record a debut album almost immediately after the final, where he finished in second place to Joe McElderry. After the rumours broke out, Murs announced he signed a joint record deal between Epic Records and Syco Music in February 2010.[27] It was announced that Murs began working with John Shanks and Eg White.[28] It was later confirmed that Roy Stride, Trevor Horn, Wayne Hector and Matty Benbrook would have involvement on the album which he collaborated with to make the "best possible songs".[29] More writers and producers were confirmed to be working with Murs in the studio including; Phil Thornalley, Martin Brammer, Samuel Preston, Mark Taylor.[30] and Chris Difford[30] Professor Green was due to appear on the album, however, the duet fell through before recording was completed. "Heart on My Sleeve" is a cover of the song originally recorded by American Idol finalist Michael Johns.
Murs confirmed the first single from the album to be titled "Please Don't Let Me Go", which was released on 27 August 2010 following the circulation of the accompanying music video.[31] The song was written by Murs himself and with other songwriters, Claude Kelly and Steve Robson; the single was also produced by Future Cut.[28] The song is about a minor relationship Murs was in where he ended up feeling something for the other person. Murs commented: "Sadly she kept giving me the impression that she didn't like me as much, and ultimately it didn't work out, so that's where the idea of me singing 'Please Don't Let Me Go' came from."[32] The song was described as "a lovely summery reggae-tinged pop tune that bobs along in a thoroughly hummable and not un-Will Young-like fashion" and said that the music video "is just as quintessentially pleasant".[33] During the release, Murs was told not to get his hopes up for a number-one due to Katy Perry releasing "Teenage Dream" the same day. On 5 September 2010, the single entered the UK Singles Charts at number 1 beating Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream". The song was released with the B-side track, entitled "This One's for the Girls" also entered the UK Singles Charts, debuting at number 69, was written for all of his female fans.
His debut album was released in November 2010;[34] which was a self-titled album, Olly Murs. The album's tracking list was revealed on 15 October 2010.[35] The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number two, with the biggest week one album sales for a debut album in 2010, with over 108,000 albums sold.[36] The album also charted on the Irish Albums Chart where it found itself peaking at number eleven. The second single will be "Thinking of Me",[37] written by Murs, Steve Robson and Hector, and co-produced by Future Cut and Steve Robson.[38] It is due to be released on 21 November 2010,[37] prior to the album's release.[30] It was reported that Professor Green would feature on the single,[39] however, the duet fell through before it was completed.[40] The single was added to BBC Radio 1's C Playlist on 3 November 2010. Murs performed the single for the first time on The X Factor. Upon the release the single charted at number four on the UK Singles Charts and thirteen on the Irish Singles Charts. On 13 November Murs turned the Christmas lights on in the Scottish town Paisley and he also turned on the Christmas lights near his hometown in Chelmsford, Essex. Renfrew Council was criticised in the media for the £15,000 fee that Murs was paid to turn on the lights, after announcing that they were axing 500 jobs.[41] Olly has now started his 2011 UK Tour starting in Rhyl, Wales on the 26th April.
2011–present: In Case You Didn't Know and Xtra Factor
It was rumoured that Murs had started working on his second studio album, which he confirmed. He said he would take the album from a different approach and said he would like to rap stating; "I'm secretly not a bad rapper, I really like to do a bit of beat boxing, Eminem is always a favourite, or maybe Vanilla Ice, "Ice Ice Baby" is a classic."[42] Murs also confirmed that he would like to record a duet with Robbie Williams on the album, like he performed with him on The X Factor Live Final.[43] Murs also revealed that he will build himself a more of a "soulful" sound. He said that the second album is really different to the first single of the album. He said the first single is a summer song, but the album's completely different.[43] It has recently been revealed that the name of Olly's second album is "In Case You Didn't Know".
Murs confirmed that the first single from the album would be called "Heart Skips a Beat", the lead single from the album; which peaked at number one on the 28th August 2011, giving Murs his second number one single. The song was confirmed the feature rapping duo, Rizzle Kicks.[44] The song premiered on The Chris Moyles Show on July, 7 2011 and has been well received by fans.[45] The video was released by Murs onto his official YouTube. Murs said that the song is one of his favourite tracks of his new album; saying, "I'm loving the tune at the moment. It's going down really, really well."[44] It was confirmed that Murs would return to The X Factor to present the spin-off show, The Xtra Factor however, he would co-present alongside Caroline Flack.[46]
On 19 September 2011, Olly announced through twitter that his second album would be Titled 'In Case You Didn't Know' with a song by the same name on the album.[47]
On 29 September 2011, Olly won the award for "Best Male Artist" at the BT Digital Music Awards
On 9 October 2011, Olly Murs won the 'Best Album' award at the BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards, a series of awards that are nominated by teenagers. Olly Murs was the favourite for his album 'Olly Murs.'
On 14 October 2011, Murs released 'Dance With Me Tonight' on his YouTube Channel
On 28 October 2011, Olly was the first artist to be confirmed to play at Capital Fm's Jinglebell Ball 2011.[48]
Other work
In February 2011, it was announced that Murs would take part in the BT Charity Trek along with other celebrities as part of the 2011 Comic Relief Red Nose Day campaign. The celebrities spent five days in the Kaisut desert in north Kenya, covering 100 kilometres (62 mi) in temperatures up to 40°C.[49] On 2 April 2011, Murs appeared in a celebrity version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and won £10,000 for charity.[50][51] On 4 April 2011 for one week, Murs stood in for Comedy Dave Vitty on The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 while Vitty was rehearsing for Dancing on Ice.[citation needed] In 2011, Murs appeared on CBBC's children's hidden camera show Remote Control Star.[citation needed] At the end of May 2011, Murs presented a Celebrity Club Classics show on Heart FM.[citation needed] On 31 May 2011 it was confirmed Olly would be co presenting the eighth series of The Xtra Factor alongside Caroline Flack.[52]
Discography
Main article: Olly Murs discography- Olly Murs (2010)
- In Case You Didn't Know (2011)
References
- ^ Olly's diary – Week 10 – Part 1 ITV – X Factor, 9 December 2009
- ^ Olly Murs does Talk Talk (AOL) Facebook
- ^ a b "Olly Murs to miss brother's wedding over X Factor commitments". NOW (IPC Media). 3 December 2009. http://www.nowmagazine.co.uk/celebrity-news/tv-news/433380/olly-murs-to-miss-brother-s-wedding-over-x-factor-commitments/1/. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
- ^ Lemanski, Dominik (4 October 2009). "It's Ol in the genes...". Daily Star (London: Northern & Shell). http://www.dailystar.co.uk/gameon/view/101992/It-s-Ol-in-the-genes-/. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
- ^ McGrath, Kate (17 October 2009). "X Factor's Olly: 'I won't win, but I'm enjoying every second of working with lauren'". Evening Star. http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/content/x-factor/story.aspx?brand=EADOnline&category=XFactor&tBrand=EADOnline&tCategory=xDefault&itemid=IPED16%20Oct%202009%2017%3A58%3A40%3A717. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
- ^ a b BFF ALERT: Robbie Williams Bombards Olly Murs With Texts… Mr Paparazzi, 17 December 2009
- ^ "Olly always had the X Factor at school...". Daily Gazette. 9 October 2009. http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/4672560.Olly_always_had_the_X_Factor_at_school___/. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
- ^ News Story. Deal or No Deal. Retrieved on 2011-09-19.
- ^ "Seawick Park gig cancelled". OllyMurs.com. 2 June 2010. http://www.ollymurs.com/news/post/seawick_park_gig_cancelled/. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
- ^ Fletcher, Alex (3 June 2010). "Olly Murs, Jamie Redknapp ('Soccer Aid')". DigitalSpy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s103/the-x-factor/news/a223338/olly-murs-jamie-redknapp-soccer-aid.html. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
- ^ Olly Murs – All finalists ITV – The X Factor
- ^ 'X Factor' Week Four: What The Judges Said Digital Spy, 31 October 2009
- ^ 'X Factor' Week Six: What the judges said Digital Spy, 14 November 2009
- ^ Daily Mirror: Cowell Has Ruined My Big Say. Mirror.co.uk (2009-12-06). Retrieved on 2011-09-19.
- ^ X Factor: Three's a crowd as Olly Murs and Stacey Solomon share a car to rehearsals... and Joe's the odd one out Mail Online, 8 December 2009
- ^ Robbie Williams fluffs lines to Angels as he walks on stage to duet with Olly Murs in X Factor news.com.au, 14 December 2009
- ^ Joe McElderry wins The X Factor with 61% of the vote Mail Online, 14 December 2009
- ^ 'X Factor' Final: What the judges said Digital Spy, 13 December 2009
- ^ "Joe McElderry wins X Factor crown". BBC News. 13 December 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8411103.stm. Retrieved 14 December 2009.
- ^ Cowell in disc deal with Olly The Sun, 15 December 2009
- ^ Judges, hosts predicted Olly Murs win Digital Spy, 14 December 2009
- ^ Xtra Final: Guess Who? ITV – X Factor 18 December 2009
- ^ Olly Murs mania as the hordes turn out to see X Factor runner-up Mail Online, 29 December 2009
- ^ Brawl at Olly Murs gig The Sun, 2 January 2010
- ^ Stacey Solomon lives it up in Essex... as Olly Murs lands a gig singing at Danielle Lloyd's engagement party Mail Online, 10 January 2010
- ^ BBC Three Programmes – Almost Famous BBC
- ^ "Olly Murs signs to Cowell's label". BBC News. 23 February 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/music/newsid_10050000/newsid_10058400/10058417.stm.
- ^ a b "Olly Murs excited over single release". STV. 2 July 2010. http://entertainment.stv.tv/tv/185219-olly-murs-excited-over-single-release/. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ^ "Olly Murs – Please Don't Let Me Go". glasswerk.co.uk. 26 July 2010. http://www.glasswerk.co.uk/news/national/9469/Olly+Murs+-+Please+Dont+Let+Me+Go. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ^ a b c Levine, Nick (19 August 2010). "Exclusive: Olly Murs discusses debut album". Digital Spy (London: Hachette Filipacchi UK). http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a264071/olly-murs-discusses-debut-album.html. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
- ^ Music Video for Olly Murs' Please Don't Let Me Go[dead link]
- ^ Levine, Nick (19 August 2010). "Olly Murs". Digital Spy (London: Hachette Filipacchi UK). http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/s103/the-x-factor/interviews/a263925/olly-murs.html. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
- ^ Levine, Nick (24 July 2010). "Good golly, it's Olly!". Digital Spy (London: Hachette Filipacchi UK). http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/thesound/a249494/good-golly-its-olly.html. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
- ^ Levine, Nick (19 August 2010). "Exclusive: Olly Murs discusses debut album". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a264071/olly-murs-discusses-debut-album.html. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
- ^ Olly Murs' self titled album tracking list was revealed. Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved on 2011-09-19.
- ^ "Olly Murs Record Entry On UK Album Charts". Digital Spy. 5 December 2010. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a291537/take-that-remain-at-top-of-uk-album-chart.html. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
- ^ a b "Ollys’ new single unveiled". OllyMurs.com. 8 October 2010. http://www.ollymurs.com/news/post/ollys_new_single_unveiled/. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
- ^ Levine, Nick (11 October 2010). "Exclusive: Olly Murs confirms second single details". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/s103/the-x-factor/news/a281439/olly-murs-confirms-second-single-details.html. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
- ^ "Olly Murs taps up Prof Green". News of the World. 19 September 2010. http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/showbiz/xs/979719/X-FACTOR-runner-ups-academic-solution-for-his-quest-to-get-second-No1-hit.html. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
- ^ "Murs in the meddle". The Sun (London: News Group Newspapers). 27 September 2010. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/3153869/Olly-Murs-record-bosses-block-plan.html. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
- ^ Council slammed over X Factor star Olly Murs Christmas lights fee | Glasgow and West|STV News. News.stv.tv (2010-11-12). Retrieved on 2011-09-19.
- ^ Murs reveals he would like to rap on new upcoming second album. Tourdates.co.uk. Retrieved on 2011-09-19.
- ^ a b "Olly Murs reveals debut second album details". London: Contract Music. http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/olly-murs-wants-to-reconnect-with-robbie_1235463. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
- ^ a b "Olly Murs announced first single from second album". London: Entertainment TV. http://entertainment.stv.tv/tv/261184-olly-murs-reveals-new-single-heart-skips-a-beat/. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
- ^ Olly Murs' fans love his new song with Rizzle Kicks. Youtube.com (2009-12-07). Retrieved on 2011-09-19.
- ^ "Olly Murs and Caroline Flack co-present Xtra Factor". London: The Mirror. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/x_factor/3681841/Xtra-tight-jeans-for-Olly-Murs.html. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
- ^ Olly Murs announces new album 'In Case You Didn't Know' - Music News - Digital Spy
- ^ http://www.capitalfm.com/artists/olly-murs/news/calvin-harris-2011-jingle-bell-ball/
- ^ "Murs up for 'toughest challenge'". BBC News. 8 February 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/essex/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_9390000/9390777.stm.
- ^ Patsy Palmer for live Millionaire special. Digital Spy (2011-03-30). Retrieved on 2011-09-19.
- ^ Twitter / Olly Murs: Ha ha when have I declared. Twitter.com. Retrieved on 2011-09-19.
- ^ Saul, Stephen (31 May 2011). "@carolineflack1 and Olly Murs @ollyofficial confirmed as hosts on Xtra Factor! #xfactor". The X Factor. Twitter. http://twitter.com/TheXFactor/status/75650579753472001. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
Preceded by
Konnie HuqHost of The Xtra Factor
2011–present (with Caroline Flack)Succeeded by
incumbentSingles "Please Don't Let Me Go" · "Thinking of Me" · "Heart on My Sleeve" · "Busy" · "Heart Skips a Beat"Featured singles Related articles Discography · The X Factor (UK) (series 6 · series 6 finalists) · The Xtra Factor (UK) · Epic Records · Syco MusicThe X Factor (UK) Series Main Celebrity Battle of the StarsPresenters Current Former Judges Current Former Guest Paula Abdul · Geri Halliwell · Natalie Imbruglia · Pixie Lott · Katy Perry · Nicole Scherzinger · Alexandra BurkeWinners Main series Steve Brookstein · Shayne Ward · Leona Lewis · Leon Jackson · Alexandra Burke · Joe McElderry · Matt CardleCelebrity series Related singles Winner's singles "Against All Odds" · "That's My Goal" · "A Moment Like This" · "When You Believe" · "Hallelujah" · "The Climb" · "When We Collide"Charity singles Related articles List of finalists (series 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8) · Discography · Controversy and criticism · Syco TV · Fremantlemedia · talkbackTHAMES · ITVNotable contestants of The X Factor (UK) Series one Series two Series three Leona Lewis · Ray Quinn · Ben Mills · The MacDonald Brothers · Kerry McGregor · Avenue · Dolly RockersSeries four Series five Series six Series seven Series eight The Risk · Carolynne PooleCategories:- 1984 births
- Living people
- British people of Latvian descent
- English male singers
- Music from Essex
- People from Essex
- Sony BMG artists
- The X Factor (UK) contestants
- The X Factor hosts
- Twin people from England
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