Following their appearance on The X Factor, JLS signed to Epic Records. Their first two singles "Beat Again" and "Everybody in Love" both went to number one on the UK Singles Chart. The band's self-titled debut album was released on 9 November 2009, and has since sold over one million copies in the UK. JLS won the awards for British Breakthrough and British Single at the 2010 BRIT Awards. They also won several awards at the Mobo awards for Best song for "Beat Again" in 2009 and also Best Newcomer in the same year. In 2010 they won the MOBO Awards for Best UK act and Best Album. They also went on to win their fifth MOBO Award in 2012 by winning Best Video for "Do You Feel What I Feel?". They won the title of the UK's hardest-working band for two constitutive years, in 2011 and 2012,.
In 2010, JLS signed a record deal in the United States with Jive Records, and released "Everybody in Love" as their debut U.S. single, but it failed to chart. "The Club Is Alive", the lead single from their second studio album, was released in the UK in July 2010, and earned the band their third number-one on the UK Singles Chart. Their single "Love You More", the official single for Children in Need in 2010, was the group's fourth UK number one. Their single "She Makes Me Wanna" featuring Dev was their fifth UK number one. As of 2012, their debut album and single has been named one of The X Factors top ten biggest-selling debut singles and albums. JLS have sold more than 10 million records worldwide. As of 2013, they are the sixteenth richest reality TV stars in the UK, with an estimated fortune of £6 million per member.
Music career
2006–2008: Formation as UFO
Oritsé Williams decided to get into the music business mainly because his mother has Multiple sclerosis and he wants to raise money to help find a cure. He was originally scouted for a number of boybands but Williams did not feel they were right and believed that a group should have a "real" connection with each other, like his heroes Boyz II Men. He decided to form his own boy band and, through friends, met Marvin Humes who had experience in R&B and pop music, being a part of VS in 2004. Next to join was Aston Merrygold, who was once cast in the ITV programme Fun Song Factory, because of his athletic ability. Last to join the group was J.B. Gill, for his "musical ear" and harmonies. They bonded, became friends and together they were called UFO . While working their way into the music business UFO instantly signed to Epic Records. In late 2007, UFO won their first award at the Urban Music Awards for Best Unsigned Act thanks to their mash-up of "Stand by Me" by Ben E. King and "Beautiful Girls" by Sean Kingston. Shortly thereafter, they released their second single, "Slap Ya Elbow". UFO and Tracklacers embarked on a journey ultimately leading to the next chapter. The group give credit to 'DJ Triz' who produced one of UFO's first songs and helped them write it.
2008: The X Factor and new name
UFO auditioned for the fifth series of The X Factor in 2008, but they had to change their name because it was already being used. They decided to go with the name JLS, a style created with Tracklacers some months back, combining the phrase "Jack the lad" and the urban music of New Jack Swing. Following the elimination of vocal groups Bad Lashes and Girlband in weeks one and two respectively, JLS were Louis Walsh's last remaining act in the competition, but throughout the live shows the judges called them the best band ever to come out of The X Factor. In week 7, JLS were in the bottom two along with Rachel Hylton. However, they survived thanks to votes from Walsh, Cheryl Cole and Simon Cowell. Cowell stated when casting his