Jack Stevens

Jack Stevens (born December 23, 1979) is a British singer, dancer, actor, reality TV star, author & business man. Born in London, England, he worked as an electrician before signing with Inner'Sense Records after being spoted in a record-company canteen in 2004. Stevens' first two studio albums Ambition & Ego & Electropop Therapy became international successes, with the latter becoming certified diamond for selling in excess of a million copies. Both charted at number one. In 2007 Stevens released his third studio collection Filthy! Dirty! Sexxxy! Audio! which again broke sales records. In 2007, Stevens released the charity single Trendy Pop Boys with Jake & Jon Farley which single-handidly cured child abuse in the UK for the BBC's Children In Need campaign. In 2008 after releasing his first Greatest Hits compilation Broken Records & signing a new deal with Ensemble Entertainment, Jack became the executive producer of his fourth album Affirmative which became his most successful to date, certified diamond & selling over 500,000 concert tickets for his worldwide year long Affirmative World Tour

In 2009, after the release of his second Greatest Hits collection The Master Jack's music career went into hiatus. Although not releasing a statement at the time, Jack 'bought himself' out of his recording contract and did not release music for 10 years. After time out of the spotlight and rumours of the future of his career filling the papers Jack announced the next chapter in his career as a TV Star. Jack has fronted 15 series of his long running Reality Series Jack Stevens - My Life for ITV2, appeared as a judge on 3 series' of The X Factor before going on to present the show. In 2020 Jack announced a musical comeback with the release of a Nothing In Common his first single in a decade and an accompanying Greatest Hits collection.

Jack announced in his fifth studio album Close Encounters for release in December 2020, launched by the single Masc For Masc in November 2020, he was also tour a number of stadiums across the UK & Ireland on the Close Encounters Tour in 2021.

Stevens is regarded as a pop icon and is credited with numerous records including, most number one singles by any artist on the Urapopstar singles chart (21), most consecutive number ones on the Urapopstar singles chart (16) and was the biggest selling artist worldwide in 2008. His work has earnt him numerous Urapopstar awards and accolades. In 2009 The Sun ranked Jack number one in a list of the artists of the decade. Jack is one of the highest selling artists of all time and also holds the record for the first single to chart at number one on downloads alone.

Childhood, discovery & debut album (1979-2004)
See Also: Ambition & Ego Born and raised in London, England Jack lived a normal life, living with his parents & 2 older brothers, unlike many Jack had never courted a popstar lifestyle & was instead scouted by a talent representitive for Inner'Sense Records while completing work at the Head Office in London, speaking of the discovery label Boss and singer 4tune told Popjustice "He could just about hold a tune, just about dance, but looked hot as fuck with his top off, we were on to a winner". Stevens' rush-released his debut single, ironically titled My Farewell which despite debuting in the top five, failed to generate much buzz within the industry. Jack then begun working on further material with an up and coming production outfit called Knobfeelers' who would go on to become his long-term production house, producing all of his following material. Further sessions paid off and the follow-up single Shame On You debuted at number one in the Summer of 2015, the album's third single was a traditional ballad Scared aimed at setting up Jack to the older album buying market of Q4, it paid off with both the single & album debuting on top. No further singles were released from the album after Jack was asked to duet with Lucreacia on her single First, Last & Only ironically this would be her last single and Jack would go on to beat her record of number one singles.

Ensemble Entertainment & second album (2005-2006)
Despite the success of his debut album, Jack found himself without a label after Inner'Sense Records folded at the very end of 2004. After many negotiations Stevens signed to Ensemble Entertainment with a three album contract worth an estimated £10m. His first single with the label was released in the Summer of 2005. Popstars By Numbers showed a new darker electropop edge and it's video caused controversy for it's adult themes. The single raced to number one and stayed their for two weeks. An album was originally planned to be released by Christmas 2005 but new material didn't materalise until March 2006, the critically acclaimed Electropop Discosound became Jack's fifth number one upon it's release, launching his second album Electropop Therapy, the album marked a new direction and saw Jack's music receive critical praise for the first time.

As the album continued to sell in impressive numbers Jack kept the momentum going with it's third release Foreign Birds co-produced by Aloud. Keen to build on the success of the campaign Jack went back into the studio to record further tracks for a re-issue of the album. It's 4th single, a new track called Anonymous Girls (we think, it's hard to remember) was released as the Christmas sales period aproached and again reached the top spot. Shortly after this time Jack teamed up with Jake and Jon Farley for one of his biggest releases of his career, Trendy Pop Boys broke sales records and is still one of Urapopstar's biggest selling singles, the track raised money for the BBC's Children In Need appeal, Jack also completed his first tour for this album, bringing his live show to arenas in the UK and Europe, the album also saw him break into new markets including Australia and Japan.

Commercial peak & Greatest Hits (2007)
After the huge success of his collaboration Trendy Pop Boys Stevens was at his commercial peak, keen to continue on the hype he'd built for himself with an aim to snatch the record of the most number ones by any act Jack was back in the studio to record his third studio collection which would be titled '''Filthy! Dirty! Sexxxy! Audio! the album included Trendy Pop Boys but was lead by the hi-energy europop of Reverend Stevens''' a light-hearted track typical of Jack's crazy style, the song caused controversy with his religious lyrics and conitations despite Jack being an openly homosexual man, the track continued his reign of number ones and the album also topped the charts in the UK, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Germany and Spain. The album was certified Diamond in the UK for sales over 1,000,000 copies and sporned further number ones Sexy Robots, Dodging Bullets, Hook, Line & Sinking Sailor. During this time Jack also duetted with long-term songwriting partner Shell Ruin on the number one In For The Kill and London on the summer track Showmance.

Rather than continue to promote the album as Christmas approached Ensemble Entertainment decided to release a Greatest Hits collection entitled Broken Records which would include all of Jack's singles to date and two new tracks, which would themselves become number ones Something Kinky and The Wolves, the album was another number one album but didn't match up to the sales of his studio efforts, a tour was announced for 2009 initially billed as LIVE2009 the tour would later become Affirmative World Tour and would support Jack's fourth studio collection. Also at this time Jack launched his first clothing collection for TOPMAN. Homewear range for BHS and filmed the first series of his TV Show Celebrity Job Hunting with Jake for BBC Three. After the release of Jack's first hits collection many feared he was reaching saturation point, as he entered the studio to record his fourth opus many wondered whether the star was becoming burnt out and his stardom fading, headlines about the star began to turn sour and notable publications such as NME / Observer and even Radio 1 and Capital were beginning to be less forthcoming to support Stevens' career.

World tour, public breakdown & retirement. (2009-2010)
Despite fears for his mental health and the support of his industry peers beginning to slide Jack announced his fourth album titled Affirmative in March 2008, the campaign was launched by a new single '''Hands Up! Pants Down!''' the proceeds of which would be donated to Comic Relief, Jack engaged in a demanding promotional tour across the UK / Europe and Australia to launch the album, even performing in three continents within 48 hours. It paid off and the single and album both charted to at number one with even bigger sales than his last album. Despite the success Jack's personal life was crumbling, at a rocky patch with partner Andre Cassenove from Indigo Peak Jack was hit by claims of infidelity with best friend Jake, who was at the time married to Andre's brother, the singer suffered a breakdown and was entered into a rehabilitation clinic. Ensemble Entertainment assured worried fans that his sold-out Affirmative World Tour would still go-ahead as planned and continued with second single Mannequin Do... which Stevens had filmed a video clip for, before his ill-health, with no promotion and limited radio play the track charted at 4, the media went to town as the track broke Stevens' record-breaking run of 16 number ones, many questioned if this was the end for the 'troubled' star.

As his world tour approached, Jack was keen to return to the top of the charts and rush-released one of the album's most popular tracks Captain Jack, mixing a promotional campaign with tour rehearsals and huge media coverage of his private life as he rebuilt his relationship with Andre and raised his two children as a single father following the passing off his former wife (that woman from that band we've forgotton about) Ensemble Entertainment also trialled a new release strategy of a one track CD at the lower price of 99p, the single charted at number one but the release method wasn't repeated. Jack began his world tour in Dublin, fans declared the show his most ambitious and entertaining to date, 2 hours of costumes, effects, dance breakdowns and interaction from Jack, however critics were keen to point out the lack of live vocals from Stevens, haunted by a new found crisis in confidence from the industry backlash the tour would go through numerous setlist and costume changes during it's 10 month run, for the first time Jack took the tour outside Europe visiting Australia, Asia, South America and a handful of 'smaller venues' in the USA and Canada. Despite undertaking the most ambitious tour of his career, Ensemble Entertainment continued to promote Affirmative releasing a fourth single Late Night Safari originally featuring Indigo Peak the track was initially edited for single release to include Izzy but would eventually feature neither, but instead be remixed to launch a special Remix album called The 12 Inches Of Jack Stevens, the collection of previous released and specially commisioned remixes was a relative success charting within the top five, Late Night Safari also proved a further success for Jack.

During the tour Jack continued to record new music, originally for a project referred to as Affirmative 2.0 fans were unsure whether this would be a brand new album, a second disc or a re-release as Jack's team continued to tease the new material through social media. Jack had developed a strong following on Twitter but it was aparant that many of these posts were not being posted by Jack himself. In late Summer Jack announced the release of brand new material Alright Dynamite a new track, a guitary breezy track would launch a re-issued version of Affirmative, the album was released on 2 new formats a Mini Collection which would retail for just £6 and include 7 songs and a full deluxe version including the original album and bonus tracks. One of the new songs The Siren's Call would be the album's sixth and final release and was penned by Shell Ruin and Alesha. The album was certified Diamond and despite the single run ending Jack's consecutive number one pattern actually became his biggest selling album of his career.

By the end of 2009 Jack's Affirmative World Tour had played to over 500,000 fans across the world, and was the biggest grossing tour of that year, with a combined income of over $150million in ticket sales and advertising revenue, the tour was sponsored by JD Sports, Virgin Mobile and 'Got2B' haircare range and saw Jack front advertising campaigns for all 3, in addition to his long-term partnerships with TOPMAN and BHS. Finishing with a final performance in Australia on New Year's Eve Jack said a tearful goodbye to the stage, while most fans speculated why the star was so sad for the tour to end, many put it down to exhaustion but fans would soon realise that the concert would be Jack's last.

In Early 2010 speculation of Jack taking a hiatus reached fever pitch as Ensemble Entertainment announced another compilation album The Master the singles collection released less than 18 months since his previous Greatest Hits Broken Records and six months after remix collection The Twelve Inches Of... fans inundated the label with negative comments about being 'forced' to buy the same old tracks again and there disapointment was heightened when the album didn't actually include all of Jack's singles despite being billed as a single collection. The album was launched by another number one single Jack For Justice which many saw as a follow-up to his earlier hit Reverend Stevens with it's tongue in cheek nature, while his fan base enjoyed the track, critics wondered whether Jack was too old to be releasing this kind of material and would need to re-invent himself to keep up with up and coming younger stars. The album failed to match the success of his previous releases selling less than 200,000 copies in the UK. The album's final single was a duet Men On A Mission with long-time friend and fellow popstar Jake, the track charted at 3 and fell-out of the charts within a month.

Although there was no official confirmation of Jack's hiatus from music, this would be the last release that he would support. Ensemble Entertainment later released an 'off-cut' from the Affirmative sessions a track entitled Keep Calm & Blow which featured an unmastered verse from Alesha it's believed both stars were unhappy with the release of the track and had tried to stop this, however both were still under-contract with Ensemble Entertainment. Since his 'retirement' many low-budget releases of his material have been released through the label before it folded, it's believed this completed Jack's deal and he is now without representation for his music.

Musical Hiatus & TV Career (2010 – 2020)
After growing tired of the music industry Jack didn’t hang his microphone up for long and instead took his talents to the small screen and embarked on a successful presenting career in a ‘golden handcuffs’ deal with ITV. Jack fronted 15 series of his own reality TV show “Jack Stevens – My Life” for it’s digital channel ITV2 until 2015 and became a judge and later a presenter on it’s flagship TV talent show format The X Factor from 2012 – 2015. Jack also fronted a number of charity events and one-off specials for ITV and even guest hosted This Morning in a guest stint alongside Holly Willoughby in 2016. As well as presenting Jack released a number of endorsements include ranges of homewares and expanding his male grooming collection, he also made his music available to streaming websites in 2015, albeit limited to just his studio albums and in low quality. Jack continued to be a regular fixture in the media thanks to his friendship with Emily Henning and his divorce from Andre Cassenove of Indigo Peak, it’s believed during this time he became estranged from former friend Jake McQueen. After a successful presenting career, Jack didn’t renew his contract with ITV in 2016 and instead took time out from the spotlight and stopped uploading content to his social media channels, he continued however to be covered in the media from time to time.

Comeback, Greatest Hits & Close Encounters (2020 – present)
In the Summer of 2020, as the world was gripped by the coronavirus pandemic, Jack completed a number of secret recording sessions in his home studio in The Cotswolds alongside his long term collaboration partners Shell Ruin and Knobfeelers. Initially no album was planned and Jack was simply looking for a creative outlet and the chance to reconnect wirh Shell, however after playing some of the music to his friend Emily Henning Jack was persuaded to comeback and signed a distribution deal with her label. Jack announced his musical comeback to much fanfare, in the form of a new single Nothing In Common and a compilation of his Greatest Hits but fans and music critics alike were unaware at the time that this release was simply to ‘test the waters’ ahead of a full scale comeback in the form of his fifth studio album Close Encounters which will be released in December 2020 and released through his own record label imprint JSM (Jack Stevens Music) and licensed / distributed by Blush Recordings in a three year deal.

“Nothing In Common” was premiered on BBC Radio 2 Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on July 23, 2020 one day ahead of it’s official release on July 24, 2020 and peaked at number 4 in the official Urapopstar singles chart and has been certified Gold. “Popstar By Numbers” the hits collection was released on the same day and has been certified Silver with sales also in excess of 300,000 on the official Urapopstar Album Chart. Despite the relative success of the single and collection, Jack still remained reluctant to commit to a full comeback in the earlier secret recording sessions remained unknown by the public. However after receiving a deal from live promoter Live Nation for a series of UK and Ireland stadium shows in 2021, Jack decided accept and back the gigs with new material and revisited the sessions alongside Shell.

Jack announced Close Encounters as his fifth studio album through a press release on October 16, 2020 the same day tickets for his Close Encounters Tour went on sale and it will be launched with the single Masc For Masc, which has been written and produced by him in November 2020. The album is believed to be proceeded by a number of instant grat tracks and a second single.

Discography (2005-2020)
=== Singles === #3 My Farewell (Released In United Kingdom & Ireland only)

#1 Shame On You

#1 Scared

#1 First, Last & Only (with Lucreacia)

#1 Popstars By Numbers

#1 Electropop Discosound

#1 Foreign Birds

#1 Anonymous Girls

#1 Trendy Pop Boys (with Jake & Jon Farley)

#1 Reverend Stevens

#1 Sexxxy Robots / Dodging Bullets (Released In United Kingdom & Ireland only)

#1 Showmance (Featured arist on London single)

#1 In For The Kill (Featured artist on Shell Ruin single)

#1 Hook, Line & Sinking Sailor

#1 Something Kinky

#1 The Wolves

#1 Hands Up! Pants Down!

#4 Mannequin Do...

#1 Captain Jack

#2 Late Night Safari

#1 Alright Dynamite

#1 Electric Eccentric (Indigo Peak Vs Izzy & Jack)

#1 The Siren's Call

#1 Jack For Justice

#5 Men On A Mission (with Jake)

#3 Keep Calm & Blow (with Alesha)

#4 Nothing In Common

?? Masc For Masc

Albums
#1 Ambition & Ego

#1 Electropop Therapy

#1 Filthy! Dirty! Sexxxy! Audio!

#1 Affirmative

?? Close Encounters

Compilation albums
#1 Broken Records

#3 The Twelve Inches Of... Jack Stevens

#1 The Master - Singles Collection

#2 Popstar By Numbers - Greatest Hits