JLS auditioned for the fifth series of The X Factor in 2008. Following the elimination of vocal groups Bad Lashes and Girlband in weeks one and two respectively, JLS were Louis Walsh's last remaining act in the competition. In week 7 JLS were in the bottom two along with Rachel Hylton. However, they survived thanks to votes from Louis Walsh, Cheryl Cole and Simon Cowell. Cowell stated when casting his deciding vote that JLS did not deserve to be in the bottom two. In week 8 JLS performed "...Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears. They received negative comments from the two of the four judges, with Simon Cowell saying "at the moment you're out". After their second performance, however, Cowell commented that they were "back in the race" and that they could "have a hit record" with that performance.
In week nine, JLS performed the second Rihanna song of the evening "Umbrella" (the first being Alexandra Burke's performance of "Don't Stop the Music"). Their second song was "I'm Already There" by Lonestar. When it was Cowell's turn to give his comments he said "I'm gonna make a prediction, you could actually win this competition". JLS gained the most votes in the semi-finals.
JLS made it to the final, after surviving the first public vote of the night in which Eoghan Quigg was voted off. They performed their own version of the winner's song, "Hallelujah", which the other finalist Alexandra Burke also performed. The public voted for the second time that night and Burke won the competition, JLS coming second. They were the fourth band to make the final (the others being G4, who came second in the first series, Journey South who came third in the second series and Same Difference who came third in the fourth series).
After The X Factor
Following JLS's success on the The X Factor, Simon Cowell's record company, Syco, announced that they were to sign JLS with an advance payment of £75,000. The Sun later reported that Cowell had revoked this offer and JLS were to be signed to Epic Records. In 2009, they released their debut, self-titled album, JLS and their debut single, Beat Again, both of which made it to number one on the UK Singles Chart. This was followed by their second number one song, Everybody In Love. These have set the benchmark for the third single, One Shot, which has already peaked at number six despite a physical release.
In 2010, JLS became the first X Factor contestants to win a Brit Award. Jo Whiley has claimed that JLS have profited from the demise of Chris Brown after revelations that he battered his ex-girlfriend Rihanna, with rapper Jay-Z stating that they will become as big as N*SYNC.
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