Union J were an English boy band, consisting of members JJ Hamblett, Jaymi Hensley, George Shelley and Josh Cuthbert.

They auditioned for the ninth series of the British television music competition The X Factor where they met Shelley who joined the band at the judges' request.

On 31 January 2022 Union J confirmed they would be reforming to celebrate their tenth anniversary with Shelley and Cuthbert rejoining the group who respectively left in 2016 and 2018.

In 2007, Blair Dreelan of Alpha Dog Management met 14-year-old Josh Cuthbert, who was auditioning for the fourth series of The X Factor in front of judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Sharon Osbourne and Dannii Minogue.

"[9] In 2011, Cuthbert and Jaymi Hensley met whilst studying performing arts at the Sylvia Young Theatre School in Westminster and later decided to put a band together.

Former jockey Jamie "JJ" Hamblett[10] was later added to the group by Dreelan, and they named themselves Triple J (due to each member sharing the same initial).

[9] In May 2012, after eight months together, Triple J and soloist George Shelley both auditioned in London for the ninth series of The X Factor in front of judges Walsh, Gary Barlow, Tulisa and Nicole Scherzinger.

Triple J performed Rihanna's international hit "We Found Love", whilst George covered an acoustic version of Britney Spears' "Toxic" – in which he also incorporated his guitar.

[11] Bootcamp saw Shelley perform Labrinth's "Earthquake", competing against female contestants; Charlie Cammish and Meg O'Neill.

However, following Rough Copy's forced withdrawal from the show, Dreelan was contacted by The X Factor producers with an offer for the group to return, on the basis that Shelley was added to the three-piece.

All parties accepted the offer and the band – now a four-piece – became Union J and advanced to judges' houses alongside fellow recalled Times Red in the groups category, mentored by Walsh.

Despite negative feedback from the other judges, they progressed through to the next week after placing fourth in voting statistics behind Christopher Maloney, Jahméne Douglas and Ella Henderson, respectively.

[14] In week 4, the group received the fewest public votes with Jade Ellis, but were saved by Barlow, Scherzinger and Walsh.

Union J first announced that they had signed a record deal with Sony Music Entertainment at a performance in Cardiff, Wales, on 15 December 2012.

[16] Their debut single "Carry You" was recorded in London in January 2013[17] and was released in June 2013, charting at number six in the United Kingdom.

"[24] They also revealed that they felt there was pressure on them to match the huge success of One Direction, as Louis Walsh had expected them to have a number-one single.

We've got a label now which are great and I respect them lots and have nothing but good words to say about them, but it is difficult when you change members.George obviously left, which was hard for us, but everyone has different reasons and has different things going on.

"[5]The remaining members of Union J released their third and final single from Who Would've Thought, called "Paralysed", on 14 December 2018, with a video appearing on their YouTube channel on 25 January 2019.

On 19 March 2023 the group issued a statement on their social media platforms saying they had to cancel their upcoming tour, they did not state the reason(s) why.

He said: "I hoped and dreamed of all possibilities afterwards, but this has not happened for several reasons, and therefore, out of love & respect to the family of fans and my integrity as an artist, I cannot sit and watch the legacy that I have tried to sustain for a decade decay any further.

Union J made an appearance in the 2013 comedy film Kick-Ass 2, playing heartthrobs adored by Hit-Girl's teenage school friends.

[48] The band commented, "We are very excited to be working with Penguin on our first book and are looking forward to the chance to tell our stories, of how we came together and where we came from, as well as the journey we've taken since X Factor.

[56] In August 2015, Hamblett announced the start of a new reality television project with his former girlfriend and mother of his child, by posting a sneak peek video on Facebook but the venture did not progress beyond initial promotions.

[61] Having made his panto debut in the lead role in Peter Pan at the White Rock Theatre (Hastings) in December 2016.

[63] In January 2019, Hensley appeared on the fourth series of Celebrity Coach Trip alongside JJ Hamblett.

George Paul Shelley, born (1993-07-27) 27 July 1993 (age 31),[53] in Clevedon, North Somerset,[54] was the youngest member of the group.

He has two brothers Tom, who lives in Australia, and Will, who did three tours with the Marines in Afghanistan; a younger sister Harriet who died in April 2016 after being hit by a car, and two step-sisters Anabelle and Louisa along with four half-brothers Leo, Archie, Spencer and Roman.

Shelley auditioned for The X Factor as a solo artist singing "Toxic" in 2012 while he worked as a Barista in Costa Coffee and was eliminated during bootcamp, but they later called him back to join Triple J and form Union J.

Playing in goal meant I broke every single finger but one day I was shooting an air rifle with my grandad and the gun was faulty.