Joe McElderry

Joseph "Joe" McElderry (/məˈkɛldəri/; 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 in 2011 and the first series of The Jump in 2014.

To date he has released four top 20 albums – two of them reaching the UK top three. He was the first X Factor contestant to release a fourth album. As of 2014, McElderry has sold over 2 million records worldwide.

Early life

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. He took the role of 'Danny Zuko' in Grease performed at Harton Technology College.