Ace Rejects

Ace Rejects are a Urapopstar Awards winning British/Irish girlband first formed in 2010 and who came into public focus in November 2010 when they released their first UK single. The group is currently made up of four members: Nicola O'Neill, Monique DiVine, Kelly Dando and Ama Slater. The group have achieved eleven Top 10 singles, which includes six UK Number #1s. They have also achieved one diamond selling album and platinum album. The group have been praised by many contemporary artists such as Elice Claire and have also received praise from some music critics particularly for their appreciation of pop music.

Formation
The girls met each other when Nicola O'Neill moved from Belfast to Manchester. Ama Slater and Kelly Dando already knew each other through family friends. It is when all three came together that they decided that they would like a career in music. After months of trying, a local record label in Liverpool called Rejectum signed the girls up.

Shattered Dreams (2010-2011)
In September 2010, Rejectum Records confirmed the signing of Ace Rejects and had already set motions in place concerning their debut. In November 2010, the girls were revealed to the general public and shortly after, their first single Top of the World was premiered on radio.



Later on in December, the girls confirmed that they would be releasing their single on the 27th December 2010. Also during December, the girls put the finishing touches to their debut album. They confirmed they were working with a number of different writers including Elice Claire, Genevere Johnson, Sienna Martinez and Violetta DiNozzo, as well as working with a range of producers including Xenomania and Starsmith. On 12 December, the group's management confirmed that their debut album would be entitled Shattered Dreams. It is due to be released on 21 February 2011. The album has been described by the band as a mix of pop and electropop, and also includes a cover of TLC classic, "Unpretty".

On 2 January 2011, the girls debuted at No.10 in the UK Chart with their debut "Top of the World" whilst reaching No.1 in the Download Chart. The following week, the single peaked at No.7. The single was certified Gold.

On 14 February 2011, the group released their second single "Jealous Games". It was a track written for the band by singer Elice Claire. The single was also the group's first release in the Republic of Ireland. On the 18th February 2011, it charted at Number 4 in the Irish Charts, but a week later peaked at Number 1. The single was also the girl's first number 1 single when it debuted in the UK at Number 1, and also scoring the girl's second No.1 Download.

On the week of the release of their debut album, Ace Rejects left record label Rejectum Records and signed to Fusion Records. On 27th February 2011, the group's debut album Shattered Dreams debuted at Number 1 in the UK Album chart, selling over 80,000 copies. It also debuted in the Irish Albums chart at Number 7.

The group also were the support act for Alesha's Heathen Tour, performing on the European Leg of the tour.

The group released their third single, a double A side of The Game/You Want What?! on 13 June 2011 in the UK and Ireland, whilst releasing You Want What?! as their debut single in continental Europe. The single went Top 5 and Top 10 across Europe and secured the girls a Number 2 hit in the UK. It was certified Platinum, selling over 267,000 copies.

The girls were initially meant to release a re-release of Shattered Dreams to be released in Europe, however they have now decided to leave it until their second album.

The girl group released Sparks as their the fifth song (and fourth single) from Shattered Dreams. It charted at #2 with over 100,000 copies being sold in its first week. It achieved platinum status.

The girls won the Best Group award at Urapopstar Awards 20 beating competition from the likes of Dante.

Lineup change and Queen of Hearts (2011-2012)
After initial reports had suggested that the group had split up, it was confirmed on 07 October 2011, that Kelly Dando had left the band and had been replaced by Monique DiVine. The girl group had originally planned on releasing new single "Sojourn" before Christmas, however this was shortly changed to January instead and the girls enjoyed their second UK number 1 with the Elice Claire penned track. The track eventually sold over 300,000 copies and being certified platinum.

The girls returned with a more electropop manic sound via Queen of Hearts from their soon to be released album of the same name. The track was hailed by the critics for its manic electronic mash up sound along with a 90s club sound. It scored the girls another number one track. The girls released their sophomore album 'Queen of Hearts' which was hailed by critics as a 'a bit more of a mature pop' sound compared to their debut but still undeniably Ace Rejects sound. The single sold approximately 379,000 copies, becoming the girls most successful single to date. The album has eventually sold over 774,000 copies and spent around 35 weeks in the album chart.

Shortly before the release of the double a side "Kiss You Goodbye/Dreams", the girl group confirmed rumours that they were going to take a break. Band member Nicola O'Neill confirmed that she would be working on her solo album whilst Ama Slater moved into fashion and Monique looked at both singing and acting for the break. "Kiss You Goodbye/Dreams" scored the girls a further UK number 1 for the group as well as securing the group another platinum hit, selling over 300,000 copies.

Disco Love & Break(2013-June 2015)
The girlgroup had planned on reuniting around April 2013, however due to a number of different commitments, this was cancelled. It was then rumoured that the group may split and Nicola O'Neill was planning on releasing a follow up to her Top 5 hit "On The Dancefloor".

In July 2013, the group performed a special impromptu gig at a London pub. Shortly after this rumours began that the band were due to reunite. In August 2013, the group confirmed via Twitter that they had reunited and had begun recording their third album as a group. It is believed that the girls were working with Darren Clarke and Xenomania on their third album. In an interview with Gaydio, Monique and Nicola confirmed that Elice Claire had also submitted a track for the album.

On 11 August 2013, Popjustice confirmed that the group's comeback single would be titled "Disco Love" and would be released on 23 September 2013. The girlgroup worked with Xenomania on the track and it was rumoured to be similar to the group's sound debuted on Shattered Dreams. The track premiered around the middle of August and received a positive response from critics. The track ended up being certified platinum and entered the charts at #2. The group were due to release their third album but due to artistic differences, they cancelled the release of the album and in April 2014, Nicola O'Neill confirmed the band had went on hiatus again.

On 4th August 2014, the band's Twitter account confirmed that the girlgroup would release a special fan boxset collection. The collection would consist of their two debut albums, all the CD single releases, a special rarities disc and a live concert DVD of their London gig before the first break in 2012. To mark the release of the boxset, the group decided to release fan favourite album track Is This A Dream? from their debut album Shattered Dreams. The track and boxset collection was released on 18th August 2014. The girl group performed on URAPS Factor 3 in August 2014 and it was their first performance since a 2nd break had been confirmed. Is This A Dream? charted at #1 in the Digital Charts.

Singers Nicola O'Neill and Monique DiVine, at the end of 2014, hinted at the band returning to music in 2015 to celebrate the group's fifth anniversary, with DiVine saying to URAPS Factor that the band would definitely be releasing new material in 2015. It was confirmed in February 2015 that the group would release a buzz single called Tequila Tango. The track was hailed by critics as a triumphant return for the girlgroup. The track was released in March 2015. It was not a major commercial success for the girl group however it did achieve a silver certification with a #3 debut and is one of their lowest selling singles. In an interview in June 2015, band member Nicola confirmed that the track would not feature on the group's forthcoming album.

Kelly Dando's Return and Rebel Hearts (July 2015-Present)
In July 2015, the band confirmed that they would release a new single called A.W.O.L which would be the first single from their upcoming third album. The song received positive reviews with Popjustice describing it as 'Ace Rejects do fun and 80s. And succeed', whereas the Guardian described it as a feelgood feminist summer anthem. The song received an exclusive stream on streaming service Spotify. On 9th August 2015, the song debuted at #1 on the Urapopstar Charts selling over 97,000 copies. The song went onto sell over 500,000 copies becoming the girls' 8th platinum selling single. On the same day, the group revealed that they would release a download only single entitled Summer Nights which would be released at the end of August. In August, the group revealed that the album would be called 'Anima'.

In May 2016, the group released the information that ex band member Kelly Dando would rejoin the group. Dandy's return led to rumours that Monique DiVine was not happy in the band, but these claims were later rubbished by both Dando and DiVine as well as the group's management. In July 2016, the group confirmed that the new album had now been called Rebel Hearts and would be released in September 2016 along with a new single Took Me Over. Rebel Hearts saw the group return to a sound that was similar to their debut. The album was received warmly by the public though some critics remarked that some tracks could have been left out. Took Me Over went to Number 1 in September 2016, achieving sales of over 90,000 in its first week, staying at number one for two weeks. It has so far been certified as silver. The album, Rebel Hearts, went straight to Number 1 in the Album Charts reaching sales of 101,000 in its first week.

Albums

 * Shattered Dreams (2011) - Diamond - #1
 * Queen of Hearts (2012) - Platinum - #1
 * Rebel Hearts (2016) - #1

Singles

 * "Top of the World" (2010) - Gold - #7
 * "Jealous Games" (2011) - Platinum - #1
 * "The Game/You Want What?!" (2011) - Platinum - #2
 * "Sparks" (2011) - Platinum - #2
 * "Söjourn" (2012) - Platinum - #1
 * "Queen of Hearts" (2012) - Platinum - #1
 * "Kiss You Goodbye/Dreams" (2012) - Platinum - #1
 * "Disco Love" (2013) - Platinum - #2
 * "Tequila Tango" (2015) - Silver - #3
 * "A.W.O.L." (2015) - Platinum - #1
 * "Took Me Over" (2016) - Silver - #1

Digital Releases

 * "Is This A Dream?" (2014) - #1
 * "Summer Nights" (2015) - #3

Ace Rejects: Off The Record
The group were the subject of a one hour documentary on E4. About a month before the air date, the band were confirmed to be the subject of the documentary Ace Rejects: Off The Record. The documentary followed the girls for a week whilst they were promoting their second single, Jealous Games. It offered an insight into the lives of the girlgroup. The documentary achieved viewing figures of 900,000 and was a hit for the channel. Neither the group or E4 have confirmed whether the documentary was just a one-off.

Outside the Group
The girls have completed work outside the group whilst they have been together as a group.

Nicola O'Neill had a Top 5 hit with a solo song entitled "On the Dancefloor" that received critical acclaim from a number of different music critics. She has released a further 2 singles Summer Collection and Killing Me Slow that have also charted in the Top 5. She has so far achieved 1 platinum and 2 gold certified singles, selling over 1 million singles. She also achieved a number one debut album Girl Interrupted. The album has been certified gold and has sold over 1.5m copies.

Ama Slater was a judge on Sky Living's Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model in 2013. She has also appeared on other programmes such as a special episode of Absolutely Fabulous. Slater has also announced recently that she has opened up her own modelling agency. In 2013, Slater was given her own fashion television show on Sky Living entitled Ama's Fashion Fix. The show was renewed for a second series, which is due to start in October 2014.

During the group's first hiatus, Monique DiVine worked with a number of different producers and songwriters and offering advice to pupils at BRIT School. She has also recently opened up a special centre of excellence for the Arts in her own East London neighbourhood which offers children from deprived backgrounds the chance to enter the Arts and offers both practical advice as well as financial support. During the second hiatus, DiVine has been living in the United States and the UK as she owns two restaurants in New York.