Union J-History

2012: Formation and The X FactorCuthbert and Hensley had initially met whilst studying performing arts at the Sylvia Young Theatre School in Westminster, London. Hamblett was later added to the group by the band's manager, Blair Dreelan, and they named themselves ‘Triple J’ - due to each member sharing the same initial.
In May 2012, the three-piece and soloist George Shelley both auditioned in London for the ninth series of The X Factor. Triple J performed Rihanna’s international hit, "We Found Love", whilst Shelley covered an acoustic version of Britney Spears’ "Toxic" - in which he also incorporated his guitar. Both acts progressed to the next stage of the competition, receiving positive critique from all judges present and stealing many girls hearts on the way.
Bootcamp saw Shelley perform Labrinth’s "Earthquake", competing against female contestants; Charlie Cammish and Meg O’Neill. Triple J first sang Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger”, before contending for the final place at Judges’ Houses with District3 (formerly GMD3), where they covered Chris Brown’s “Yeah 3x”. Both acts initially failed to make it through to judges’ houses. However, following Rough Copy’s forced withdrawal from the series, the band’s manager, Blair Dreelan was contacted by producers of the competition with an offer for the group to return and compete in Las Vegas with mentor, Louis Walsh - on the basis that Shelley were added to the three-piece. All parties accepted the offer and the band - now a four-piece - were rebranded ‘Union J’.
The band's first performance as a four-piece was an acoustic cover of Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe".This earnt them a place in the live shows, and they instantly proved popular with social media users, garnering 46% of all online discussion regarding The X Factor after being announced to compete at judges' houses.In Week One of the Live Shows, Union J performed Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now", and placed fourth in voting statistics behind Maloney, Douglas and Henderson respectively.
In Week 4, the group received the fewest public votes with Ellis, but were saved by Barlow, Scherzinger and Walsh. They found themselves in the bottom two again in Week 6, against District3, but were saved for a second time by Barlow and Scherzinger, with Walsh refusing to vote (as he mentored both acts). Union J were in the bottom two for a third time in Week 8, where they were saved by Barlow, Contostavlos and Walsh over Clark. The band were eliminated in the semi-final on 2 December 2012, finishing in fourth position. It was later reported that their winning single would have been a cover of Demi Lovato’s “Skyscraper”.