Jetfire

Jetfire is a British rock/pop band that formed and originated in London in 2006, whilst the members were all at school together, however they achieved minimal success performing gigs until 2012 when they finally came to the media's attention. The band consists of four members: Sean Cotes, Aaron Dixon, Joey Nicholson and Mikey Thompson. The band, who went to school together, formed in 2009, after finishing sixth form and deciding they wanted to persue a career in music.

After almost three years trying to get a record label, in late 2011 the boys auditioned for the first season of popular reality talent show The Uraps Factor. The band were heavily praised and progressed through to the live shows in the final 16. They eventually ended up as the last group left in the competition, and finished the show in 5th place, also making them the last males on the show.

In April 2012, the group were signed to Next Generation Records, Their debut single "Tears In Your Eyes" was released on July 23, 2012 and was taken from their self-titled debut album "Jetfire", which peaked at #2 in the UK and was certified Diamond for sales of over 1 million copies. The group's second single "Turn Back Time" became the first single released by an act from The Uraps Factor to chart at #1. They have since earned another number one with their single "Dim The Lights". In 2016, the group achieved massive success worldwide with their sophomore album "Counting The Stars" and lead single "Little Black Book", both of which charted at #1. The band have also been nominated for two URAPS Award, winning "Best Group" at the 23rd awards show and have to date sold over 5 million records in the UK.

2006-2011: Formation and early career
The band consists of four members who collectively went to the same high school. Three of the members: Joey, Aaron and Mikey were in the same year at school, and formed a band whilst at school. They ended up adding a fourth member; Sean who was in the year below them. After the boys left sixth form, Sean left sixth form after Year 12 and joined the boys as they attempted to get signed. The boys performed gigs nightly in order to build themselves up a fan base. Although unsuccesful at getting signed, several labels did show slight interest, however they felt there was no space on the market for boybands at that time.

Towards the end of 2011, with the rise of groups like Dante and Difused, boybands were coming back into fashion, and Jetfire saw an opportunity when they heard about auditions for The Uraps Factor.

2012: The Uraps Factor
The boys first auditioned for the mentor of the groups, James Moss in Texas. They performed "When You Were Young", to strong praise from James. After he had to choose which three of his six acts should be brought through to the live shows, Jetfire were chosen.

Once into the live finals, they competed as one of James four groups, and sixteen finalists. The first live show saw the first group leave the show in a double elimination. Jetfire, who performed "Warzone" were safe however. In week 2 they performed "Hit Me With Your Best Shot". Week 3 was "Rock week", a week where Jetfire really stood out due to being familiar with this genre. They performed "Somebody Told Me". Another group, Kimono, were eliminated this week bringing the total of groups in the final 12 down to just 2. Jetfire also revealed after their mentor had voted out one of his own acts they felt very concerned.

Week 4 saw a performance of "Live And Let Die" and week 5 they sung "For The First Time" bringing them into the final 10. Week 6 the boys performed a cover of their mentor James Moss's song "Going Under". Week 7 was duets week where they performed "Glad You Came" with Justin Thorne and "Princess of China" with Pixie Starr, the latter recieving overwhelming compliments from the judges. It was also in this week that the only group other than Jetfire remaining, Kicks, were in the bottom 2, making Jetfire the only group to have never been in the bottom 2. Week 8 feature the final seven singing deadly sings. Jetfire's performance of "Hollywood" brought them through to the final 6, however Kicks were voted out, making Jetfire the only group left in the whole competition.

Week 9 was a week where the contestants had to sing songs personal to them. Jetfire's first performance "Break Your Heart" recieved mixed comments from the judges, however their second performance "Thnks Fr The Mmrs" was met with a better response. Despite this they were in the bottom three along with Justin Thorne and Aimee Stevens. It was revealed that it was a double elimination, meaning only one of the bottom three was safe. Aimee Stevens went through to the final 4 as Justin and Jetfire were eliminated in 5th place.

2012 - 2013: Jetfire
Not long after their elimination from The Uraps Factor, Jetfire (along with fellow boyband Kicks) were signed up to Next Generation Records by owner Coral Harris. They immedietly began working on their debut era, however weren't allowed to release any material until the current season of "The Uraps Factor" was over. In mid June, Jetfire revealed they were going to be releasing their debut soon. They also revealed the band's new logo, which featured a rocket in their name. The debut single, titled "Tears In Your Eyes" had a release date of 23 July 2012, with the self-titled album "Jetfire" following the week after on 30 July. Upon their release "Tears In Your Eyes" debuted at #5. "Jetfire" debuted at #4 but rose to #2 the week after. In August 2012, the boys supported their old mentor James Moss on his "Kingdom Hearts Tour". For the 22nd URAPS Awards the group were nominated for "Critic's Choice Award". The band's second single, "Turn Back Time" is a duet with fellow boyband Difused. Released in November, the song is the official Children In Need 2012 single. The band have also announced their first tour The Gods of Rock Tour, which will take place across the UK and Ireland in February/March 2013. On 18 November, "Turn Back Time" charted at #1, giving the band their first chart topper and also making it the first single released by an act from The Uraps Factor to top the charts. The band released their third single, "Midnight Trail" on 18 February 2013. After a dissapointing debut at #7, it rose to #2 in it's second week. The boys are also the support act for the UK leg of Syd Wolfe's "The Scientist World Tour" during May 2013. The group were nominated for "Best Group" at the Urapopstar Awards 23, which they went on to win, giving them their first Uraps Award. A fourth single will be released from the album in the summer, ending the era. The final single to be released from the album will be released on 25 November, 2013. To decide the fourth single, a poll was put on the band's website, asking fans to vote for their favourite track between "Save Our Relationship", "Toast To The Girl", "The Best Memories" and "Dim The Lights". The track that recieved the most votes would be chosen as the fourth single. On 29 October, 2013 it was revealed that "Dim The Lights" (featuring Coral Harris) had received the most votes out of the four tracks (55.56%) and would be the albums fourth single. The boys are also due to release a download-only Christmas release on 09 December, titled "Rocking (Around The Christmas Tree)". Upon it's release, "Dim The Lights" debuted at #01, giving Jetfire their second chart topper. In December 2013, their album was certified Diamond for sales of over one million copies.

2013 - present: Counting The Stars
The group have confirmed they are working on their second studio album, with working beginning in late 2013. The album is currently expected to be released in March 2015.

Jetfire have recorded their third consecutive Christmas song, "Everything's Going To Be Cool This Christmas" which will appear on the album "A Very URAPS Christmas 3" released in December 2014. It also charted at #10 on the Christmas AirPlay chart. The following Christmas, in 2015, they released their next Christmas song "Wintertime Girl". Whilst promoting the track, member Aaron Dixon revealed a new album and single would be coming in June 2016. Jetfire featured on a track titled "Strum Me" taken from Dakota Prescott's debut album "Welcome To The Brat Pack" which was released 21 March 2016.

On 21 April 2016, Jetfire officially confirmed their comeback and revealed they would be releasing their sophomore album "Counting The Stars" on 06 June 2016. In April 2016, Jetfire covered Prince's 1979 song "Bambi", with their version appearing on the album "Prince: A Tribute To His Purple Majesty". On 04 May 2016, the band revealed the albums cover, tracklisting as well as the title of the album's lead single, "Little Black Book". The single premièred on BBC Radio 1 on 13 May.

On 05 June 2016, Paul revealed that Jetfire would be featured on his next single "Bored", the second single from his eighth studio album "Ampliphied Heart". On 12 June, "Little Black Book" charted at #1 on the singles, Download and Airplay chart, and "Counting The Stars" hit #1 on the Album chart, giving Jetfire the rare and impressive feature of being #1 on all four UK charts simutaneously.

In August 2016, the group recorded an original song, "Harley Quinn" to appear on the Suicide Squad Original Soundtrack. On 20 September, Jetfire revealed "Tastes of Gin" would be the second single released from the album, with a release date of 31 October. Jetfire revealed in September 2016 that they would be touring the globe from February to October 2017 for their headline tour "Road To Nowhere Tour", consisting of 101 tour dates. In December 2016, Jetfire released their fifth consecutive christmas song "At Christmas".

The third single from the album "Light Em Up" was released on 29 May 2017 and it charted at #5 on the singles chart. Each member of the band also featured on the charity single "One More Memory", released on 22 June 2017, the single was a response to the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing. The single charted at #1 on the UK singles chart. On 11 December, the band released their sixth consecutive Christmas single, "F U Christmas". It charted top ten on the Christmas Airplay chart and became their first christmas song to chart elsewhere besides the Airplay chart, as it reached #2 on the Download chart.

Image and popularity
The boys are considered part of the 2011/2012 popular rise of the boyband. They are often regarded as a more "cool" option, compared to other boybands. The boys are all very popular amongst females for their apperance. In June 2012, band member Sean Cotes hit headlines when he began a relationship with Ruby and the Gems, despite the fact she was in a relationship with Jackson Bradshaw at the time. Mikey Thompson has also been in a relationship with his childhood sweetheart, Rachel Aberts since August 2005, and the couple got engaged in May 2016 and married on 30 October 2016. Aaron Dixon began dating Syd Wolfe in January 2013. The couple had their first child in October 2014. In November 2015 it was revealed that Syd had been having an affair and the couple separated, however they reunited the following year. Joey Nicholson is known to be single.

Although considered part of the original "boyband boom" of the eary 2010's, the group have remained perhaps the only prominent boyband to still be active and successful later into the decade.

Band members

 * Sean Cotes, 23 (born in London on July 22, 1990)
 * Aaron Dixon, 24 (born in London on December 28, 1988)
 * Joey Nicholson, 25 (born in London on October 16, 1988)
 * Mikey Thompson, 24 (born in London on March 2, 1989)

Discography
Main article: Jetfire discography

Albums
2012: Jetfire (#2) 2016: Counting The Stars (#1)