A HUGE boyband star now has a very different career that is worlds away from his former chart fame.
The singer also competed on the thirteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing back in 2015.
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Jay McGuiness, 34, is best known for being one of the original members of The Wanted.
He joined the boyband back in 2009 alongside Max George, Nathan Sykes, Siva Kaneswaran, and the late Tom Parker.
The group went on to sell 700,000 albums and 3.2 million singles in the UK according to the BPI (British Phonographic Industry).
After winning Strictly with Aliona Vilani in 2015, Jay went on to forge a theatre career for himself on London‘s West End.
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He starred in several huge productions such as BIG! The Musical, Sleepless – A Musical romance and Rip It Up.
In 2022 he took on the lead role in a touring musical version of White Christmas, before he landed a role as Ben in 2:22 A Ghost Story in 2024.
Recently, he could be seen in the touring production of & Juliet in the role of Shakespeare.
But away from the stage, Jay is establishing himself as a fiction author.
Last year, the singer and actor released his debut fantasy novel, Blood Flowers.
This year he released another book called Poison Tides which forms part of his very own dystopian series.
During their tenure together, The Wanted achieved significant success both in the UK and around the world.
Their first album peaked at number four in the UK chart and it spawned three UK Top 20 singles.
In 2012, the group achieved success in the US and Canada with their track, Glad You Came.
It peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 for four straight weeks, and it was the highest American chart entry by a British boyband at the time.
The Wanted: Discography
HOW did The Wanted place in the UK charts in their heyday?
Albums
- The Wanted (2010) – UK number four
- Battleground (2011) – UK number five
- Word of Mouth (2013) – UK number nine
Singles
- All Time Low (2010) – UK number one
- Heart Vacancy (2010) – UK number two
- Lose My Mind (2010) – UK number 19
- Gold Forever (2011) – UK number 3
- Glad You Came (2011) – UK number one
- Lightning (2011) – UK number two
- Warzone (2011) – UK number 21
- Chasing the Sun (2012) – UK number two
- I Found You (2012) – UK number three
- Walks Like Rihanna (2013) – UK number four
- We Own The Night (2013) – UK number 10
- Show Me Love (America) (2013) – UK number eight
In their heyday, they were also nominated twice at the BRIT Awards in 2010 and 2012.
They also won the Best British Music act at the BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards in 2011 as well as the Favourite Breakout Artist at the People’s Choice Awards in 2013 in Los Angeles.
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