Nicola

Nicola Mairead O'Neill is an Irish singer/songwriter and female activist. She rose to fame in 2010 as a founding member of girl group Ace Rejects. The group have achieved two number one albums (one which went diamond and the other being certified platinum) as well as eight top ten singles (four of which went to number one). The group also won a Urapopstar Award 20 Award for Best Group. The group are currently on hiatus. O'Neill embarked on a solo career in 2013 releasing On the Dancefloor which went to number 5 in the charts. In 2014, O'Neill released her debut solo album Girl Interrupted which went to Number One and spawned three further hit singles Summer Collection,Killing Me Slow and End Credits. All three tracks carried on O'Neill's Top 5 streak. O'Neill has currently sold over 1 million singles in the UK. O'Neill has become recognised as a leading voice on women's rights in the UK & Ireland and also as a leading advocate for LGBT rights in her native Northern Ireland.

Early Life
Nicola was born in Belfast on 14th March 1988 to Patrick and Martina O'Neill. Nicola attended St Dominic's Grammar School for Girls in the west of the city, a place where she first joined the choir and began her interest in music. Nicola's mother Martina ended up booking Nicola in for some recording sessions in a Belfast music studio. O'Neill also appeared on UTV's Kelly Show and RTÉ's The Late Late Show when she was younger.

Ace Rejects
The group's first album, Shattered Dreams produced Top 10 single "Top of the World", Number 1 single "Jealous Games" and Number 2 Double A-Side "The Game/You Want What?!" and single "Sparks". The album also debuted at Number 1 in the UK Albums charts and Number 7 in the Irish charts. The group have also supported Alesha on tour. The band have sold over a million singles in the UK, and over 1,200,000 copies of their debut album since it was released in February 2011The girls won the Best Group award at Urapopstar Awards 20 beating competition from the likes of Dante.

They have achieved a further three singles from their second album number 1 album Queen of Hearts. Sojourn,Queen of Hearts and the double A-side Kiss You Goodbye/Dreams all went to number one and were certified platinum. The album was certified platinum in 2012 eventually selling over 774,000 copies.

The girl group took a hiatus in 2012 and then returned to the music scene in 2013, what many believed, recording their third album. The girls scored a #2 and subsequent platinum hit with Disco Love, however the girl group then confirmed that they would not be releasing their third album and would instead go back on hiatus. The band are currently on hiatus.

The group have received critical acclaim throughout their history with many critics praising their style of music and for bringing 'fun' back to Pop music.

Girl Interrupted (January 2013 - Present)
Nicola's solo career started in January 2013 when she scored a #5 hit with On the Dancefloor. The track got an On Air On Sale release however O'Neill had begun some promo for the single before its release.

After Ace Rejects confirmed their second hiatus, the singer confirmed her solo comeback. The Irish singer ended up releasing a track that Darren Clarke had worked on for Ace Reject's unreleased third album. In April 2014, Nicola released Summer Collection. The track debuted at #3 in the charts. It was critically acclaimed and was eventually certified platinum. It has sold over 470,000 copies becoming O'Neill's most successful single both as a solo artist and as part of a girl group.

In April 2014, Nicola confirmed that she would be releasing Alesha penned track Killing Me Slow as the third single from her album on 9th June 2014. The track again received positive reviews from critics. The single entered the charts at #5 and has so far sold over 300,000 copies and been certified gold.

O'Neill confirmed in May 2014 that she would release debut solo album Girl Interrupted on 9th June 2014. O'Neill worked with a range of writers and producers on the album including Richard X, Simen & Empsen,Alesha and Elice Bellamy. The album was released on 9th June 2014 and received widespread acclaim from critics who complimented the different styles that O'Neill included on the album and how they meshed seamlessly on the album. The album debuted at #1 and stayed at #1 for two weeks upon its release. It has so far sold over half a million copies and been certified Gold.

In June 2014, Nicola revealed that the fourth release from her album would be End Credits, a duet with Elice Bellamy.It was released on 4th August 2014. It charted at Number 2 in the charts, becoming O'Neill's highest charting solo record. It sold over 82,000 copies in its first week. It has so far been certified Gold, selling over 450,000 copies.

Nicola was also confirmed as the support act for Alesha's European leg of her tour in 2014. O'Neill is set to perform at a range of sell out concerts with Alesha throughout July, August and September, shortly before going on her own UK & Ireland tour from the middle of September 2014.

In December 2014, Nicola confirmed that she would release Winter as a special thank you to fans for their support over the year. The single is due to be released on 29 December 2014.

Other Projects
In 2014, Nicola became widely known for her support of women's rights and was involved in the release of the Women of URAPS Digital Single "What It Feels Like For A Girl". O'Neill also travelled to India to give a series of talks to women in various regions in the country about women's rights and the promotion of women's rights in the country. She is due to open a female charity to help women in society.

O'Neill has also been an advocate for the LGBT community and was involved in a campaign for Marriage Equality to be introduced to Northern Ireland. The singer admitted that she received some hate mail and tweets from people commenting on how she should not get involved in politics. She was also criticised by local political party DUP for her comments about the party's stance on homosexuality and marriage equality.

Personal Life
O'Neill came into conflict with former bandmate Kelly Dando in 2011 and 2012 when Dando had an affair with Nicola's then boyfriend. The argument ended up in Dando being forced out of the group. Nicola has since spoken to Dando and has she said that she has 'forgiven' her. O'Neill received death threats in 2013 when it was rumoured that her uncle was allegedly part of the IRA during the Northern Ireland troubles. O'Neill critcised those giving her death threats and said that she should not be judged by her uncle's actions.

Albums

 * 2014: Girl Interrupted (#1)

Singles

 * 2013: "On the Dancefloor" (#5)
 * 2014: "Summer Collection" (#3)
 * 2014: "Killing Me Slow" (#5)
 * 2014: "End Credits" (duet with Elice Bellamy) (#2)
 * 2014: "Winter" (TBC)