Early life
Ward was born in 1984 in Clayton, Manchester to Irish parents.He has been dating Faye McKeever for around four years. He has a twin sister named Emma and five other siblings: Mark, Martin, Michael, Lisa and Leona. He is a Manchester United supporter, and in 2002, he reached the final thirty of Popstars: The Rivals, the television show that created the massively successful British girl band Girls Aloud. Prior to his participation in The X Factor, Ward was in a band called Destiny with two women named Tracy Murphy and Tracey Lyle, performing at pubs, clubs and weddings.
The X Factor 2005
In early2005, Ward auditioned for the second series of The X Factor. He impressed all three judges (Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh) and passed through to the next round. His group (16 to 24 year olds) was then mentored by Louis, and Ward was chosen to be among Louis's top 4 contestants and perform on the live shows. Ward quickly became the bookies' favourite to win the show, and after making it to the grand final, he defeated Simon Cowell's duo Journey South and Sharon Osbourne's over-25 singer Andy Abraham and was crowned as the winner of The X Factor 2005. He had not fallen into the bottom two throughout the entire competition, and won by a margin of 1.2% of the vote, out of a reported 10.8 million phone votes cast by viewers. Immediately after the competition, his mentor Louis Walsh became his manager under a joint venture with Global Publishing and Walsh Global Management
X Factor Performances
Top 12: "Right Here WaitingFor you" by Richard Marx
Top 11: "If You're Not The One" by Daniel Bedingfield
Top 10: "Summer of 69" by Bryan Adams
Top 9: "You Make Me Feel Brand New" by Simply Red
Top 8: "Cry Me A River" by Justin Timberlake
Top 7: "A Million Love Songs" by Take That
Top 6: "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" by The Darkness
Top 5: "Careless Whisper" by George Michael
Top 5: "Take Your Mama" by Scissor Sisters
Top 4: "If Tomorrow Never Comes" by Ronan Keating
Top 4: "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers
Top 3: "When A Child Is Born" by Johnny Mathis
Top 3: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland
Top 2: "That's My Goal" (winner's single) - Declared X Factor Winner 2005
Post X-Factor career
Immediately after his victory on The X Factor, Ward signed a recording contract with Sony BMG and his first single, "That's My Goal", was rush-released in the UK on Wednesday, December 21, 2005 and after selling a massive 742,000 copies (including 313,000 on it's first day), it became the Christmas number one single of 2005, held the top spot for four weeks and stayed in the top 75 until June 2006, a huge 21-week run. It therefore became the fourth fastest selling UK single of all time, beaten only by Elton John's "Candle in the Wind", Will Young's "Anything Is Possible/Evergreen", and Gareth Gates' "Unchained Melody" which sold 685,000, 403,000 and 335,000 copies in their first days of sale respectively). To date, "That's My Goal" has sold 1,300,000 copies.
Ward's second single, "No Promises", a cover of a Bryan Rice song was released on 10 April 2006, and peaked at number two in the UK Singles Chart. Shayne Ward, his self-titled debut album was released on Monday April 17, and sold over 95,000 copies on the first two days of release. By the end of the week, the album had sold 201,266 copies and hit the albums chart at number one. To date, the album has sold 520,000 copies in the UK and a further 200,000 worldwide, hitting number one in eight other countries.
Ward's third single "Stand by Me" failed to set the charts alight like the previous two, entering and peaking in the UK Singles Chart at number fourteen. It fared slightly better in the Irish charts however, reaching number nine.
In August 2006, it was reported that Ward had developed vocal cord nodules — the same condition that stopped the singing career of Julie Andrews — and was to be flown out to Los Angeles in early September to see a specialist surgeon. His manager,Louis Walsh, released a statement that he was confident Ward would be fine and would be back at work by the end of the month. Ward had successful treatment and was indeed able to return to his singing career. In November 2006, he released his autobiography entitled My Story. He travelled to a several places around the UK for book signings, which thousands of people attended. In early 2007, Ward embarked on a massive solo tour of UK venues, taking in eighteen concerts in twenty-eight days from late January to mid-February. The tour commenced in Dublin on 21 January and ended in Birmingham on 17 February 2007.
2007–present: Breathless
After the completition of his successful debut tour, Ward's fourth single and first from his sophomore album ("If That's OK with You") was given a release date of 20 August 2007, but was then delayed and became a double A-side single with "No U Hang Up". It was finally released on 24 September 2007, and charted at number two in the UK. "No U Hang Up" and "If That's OK with You" charted separately in Ireland, the former reaching number eleven and the latter entering at number one.
Ward's second album, Breathless, was released on 26 November 2007, and after selling over 95,000 copies in its first week, debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, held off the top spot by his X Factor successor Leona Lewis, whose debut album had achieved enormous success. The second single from Ward's album was announced as "Breathless", and was released on 19 November 2007. It peaked at number six in the UK and number two in Ireland. On November 10, Ward had performed a world exclusive of "Breathless" on the live results show of the fourth series of The X Factor, although the single was not available for download until the 18 November, followed by a performance on The Paul O'Grady Show on 19 November. The date for the release of the third single from the album 'U got me so' is still to be announced.
In May 2008 Ward will embark on his month long UK tour named The Breathless Tour 2008. He will make his stage debut at London's O2 Arena as well as visiting his home town Manchester at the MEN Arena.
Ward was born in 1984 in Clayton, Manchester to Irish parents.He has been dating Faye McKeever for around four years. He has a twin sister named Emma and five other siblings: Mark, Martin, Michael, Lisa and Leona. He is a Manchester United supporter, and in 2002, he reached the final thirty of Popstars: The Rivals, the television show that created the massively successful British girl band Girls Aloud. Prior to his participation in The X Factor, Ward was in a band called Destiny with two women named Tracy Murphy and Tracey Lyle, performing at pubs, clubs and weddings.
The X Factor 2005
In early2005, Ward auditioned for the second series of The X Factor. He impressed all three judges (Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh) and passed through to the next round. His group (16 to 24 year olds) was then mentored by Louis, and Ward was chosen to be among Louis's top 4 contestants and perform on the live shows. Ward quickly became the bookies' favourite to win the show, and after making it to the grand final, he defeated Simon Cowell's duo Journey South and Sharon Osbourne's over-25 singer Andy Abraham and was crowned as the winner of The X Factor 2005. He had not fallen into the bottom two throughout the entire competition, and won by a margin of 1.2% of the vote, out of a reported 10.8 million phone votes cast by viewers. Immediately after the competition, his mentor Louis Walsh became his manager under a joint venture with Global Publishing and Walsh Global Management
X Factor Performances
Top 12: "Right Here WaitingFor you" by Richard Marx
Top 11: "If You're Not The One" by Daniel Bedingfield
Top 10: "Summer of 69" by Bryan Adams
Top 9: "You Make Me Feel Brand New" by Simply Red
Top 8: "Cry Me A River" by Justin Timberlake
Top 7: "A Million Love Songs" by Take That
Top 6: "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" by The Darkness
Top 5: "Careless Whisper" by George Michael
Top 5: "Take Your Mama" by Scissor Sisters
Top 4: "If Tomorrow Never Comes" by Ronan Keating
Top 4: "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers
Top 3: "When A Child Is Born" by Johnny Mathis
Top 3: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland
Top 2: "That's My Goal" (winner's single) - Declared X Factor Winner 2005
Post X-Factor career
Immediately after his victory on The X Factor, Ward signed a recording contract with Sony BMG and his first single, "That's My Goal", was rush-released in the UK on Wednesday, December 21, 2005 and after selling a massive 742,000 copies (including 313,000 on it's first day), it became the Christmas number one single of 2005, held the top spot for four weeks and stayed in the top 75 until June 2006, a huge 21-week run. It therefore became the fourth fastest selling UK single of all time, beaten only by Elton John's "Candle in the Wind", Will Young's "Anything Is Possible/Evergreen", and Gareth Gates' "Unchained Melody" which sold 685,000, 403,000 and 335,000 copies in their first days of sale respectively). To date, "That's My Goal" has sold 1,300,000 copies.
Ward's second single, "No Promises", a cover of a Bryan Rice song was released on 10 April 2006, and peaked at number two in the UK Singles Chart. Shayne Ward, his self-titled debut album was released on Monday April 17, and sold over 95,000 copies on the first two days of release. By the end of the week, the album had sold 201,266 copies and hit the albums chart at number one. To date, the album has sold 520,000 copies in the UK and a further 200,000 worldwide, hitting number one in eight other countries.
Ward's third single "Stand by Me" failed to set the charts alight like the previous two, entering and peaking in the UK Singles Chart at number fourteen. It fared slightly better in the Irish charts however, reaching number nine.
In August 2006, it was reported that Ward had developed vocal cord nodules — the same condition that stopped the singing career of Julie Andrews — and was to be flown out to Los Angeles in early September to see a specialist surgeon. His manager,Louis Walsh, released a statement that he was confident Ward would be fine and would be back at work by the end of the month. Ward had successful treatment and was indeed able to return to his singing career. In November 2006, he released his autobiography entitled My Story. He travelled to a several places around the UK for book signings, which thousands of people attended. In early 2007, Ward embarked on a massive solo tour of UK venues, taking in eighteen concerts in twenty-eight days from late January to mid-February. The tour commenced in Dublin on 21 January and ended in Birmingham on 17 February 2007.
2007–present: Breathless
After the completition of his successful debut tour, Ward's fourth single and first from his sophomore album ("If That's OK with You") was given a release date of 20 August 2007, but was then delayed and became a double A-side single with "No U Hang Up". It was finally released on 24 September 2007, and charted at number two in the UK. "No U Hang Up" and "If That's OK with You" charted separately in Ireland, the former reaching number eleven and the latter entering at number one.
Ward's second album, Breathless, was released on 26 November 2007, and after selling over 95,000 copies in its first week, debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, held off the top spot by his X Factor successor Leona Lewis, whose debut album had achieved enormous success. The second single from Ward's album was announced as "Breathless", and was released on 19 November 2007. It peaked at number six in the UK and number two in Ireland. On November 10, Ward had performed a world exclusive of "Breathless" on the live results show of the fourth series of The X Factor, although the single was not available for download until the 18 November, followed by a performance on The Paul O'Grady Show on 19 November. The date for the release of the third single from the album 'U got me so' is still to be announced.
In May 2008 Ward will embark on his month long UK tour named The Breathless Tour 2008. He will make his stage debut at London's O2 Arena as well as visiting his home town Manchester at the MEN Arena.
