Huge boyband reunite and announce major comeback tour after hiatus
THEY sing, they dance, and now they are back together again, JLS will be DJing.
I can reveal the group, consisting of Aston Merrygold, Marvin Humes, JB Gill and Oritse Williams are reuniting for a major arena tour.
But not only will they be performing all of their hits, including No1s Beat Again, Everybody In Love and The Club Is Alive, they will take part in a DJ battle on stage.
In an exclusive interview to announce the tour, taking place 15 years after they kicked off their career on TV’s The X Factor, Marvin said: “There is going to be an element that audiences have never seen before from us.
“People know that I DJ and the fans have asked for me to do some sort of DJing in the show. But that would mean the other three getting a rest, which I’m not up for.
“Aston is DJing now, so there will be a part of the show where Aston and I will be playing tunes and JB and Oritsé will be hyping the crowd.
“We’re not just talking about JLS songs, we’ll be playing big records that represent the era that people know us the most from.”
Biggest tunes
Aston continued: “You’ve seen flying cars from us and you’ve seen us come down from the ceiling.
“We’ve set trends by doing outlandish stuff on tour so I’m not sure what else we can do to shock people.
“But everyone’s always expecting greatness from a JLS show, which we will try and provide.”
The Everybody Say JLS: The Hits Tour will kick off at Dublin’s 3Arena on October 20 and take in a total of 15 arena shows, ending at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena on November 11.
Tickets go on sale next Friday, March 3, at 9am.
The band released their first album in nine years in 2021 when they dropped 2.0, but this time they are focusing on performing their biggest tunes.
Oritsé explained: “We just want to get out there and play the hits.
“It’s those nostalgic songs which remind people of all their experiences growing up.
“And now some of those fans have children and they want their children to experience what they experienced growing up in the JLS era.”
Marvin added: “We’re not ruling out new music, we just haven’t had the chance to get into the studio yet.
“If we manage to get some tracks done this year then it will be a big bonus.”
But first they are eager to get back in the gym, admitting that their 2021 reunion tour knocked them for six.
Aston explained: “I need to get in some serious shape. Trust me, I’m trying to be out here looking like Michael B. Jordan.”
Musical comeback
Many fans had hoped JLS’s reunion would inspire Marvin’s wife, TV’s Rochelle Humes to make a musical comeback — having spent years topping the charts in S Club Juniors and The Saturdays.
Asked if she would return to the stage like him, Marvin said: “I honestly don’t know.
“She hung up the microphone a long time ago and she’s so busy with everything else she’s doing.”
But offering a glimmer of hope, he added: “The aim for us is to make every show different every night.
“We’re talking to some special guests who will come out at different shows so it’s going to be a unique experience every night for the fans.”
Those fans are in for a treat.
AVA MAX is finally going on her first European tour following the release of her second album, Diamonds & Dancefloors.
The Motto singer will kick off her jaunt in Manchester on April 14, followed by shows in Glasgow, Birmingham and London.
Graham’s got two top jobs at Eurovision final
Ava played her first UK show last summer headlining London Pride.
She has called her forth- coming run of shows Ava Max: On Tour (Finally).
She wrote on Twitter: “FINALLY going on tour!! Can’t wait to see you guysss.”
Tickets go on general sale at 10am on Friday March 3 through Live Nation.
Graham’s got two top jobs at Eurovision final
BRITAIN’S Got Talent’s Alesha Dixon, Game Of Thrones actress Hannah Waddingham and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina will host the Eurovision Song Contest when it comes to Liverpool in May.
And in bad news for us, Graham Norton is also part of the hosting team, meaning we will get less of his waspish TV commentary.
The chat show and Virgin Radio star has commentated on the final for the BBC since 2009, when he took over from the late Terry Wogan.
This year he will see him sharing the responsibility with Mel Giedroyc for the event on May 13.
Eurovision superfans Scott Mills and Rylan Clark will provide commentary on the semi-finals on May 9 and 11, which will air on BBC1 for the first time.
Graham said: “I truly believe it’s the greatest show on earth and every year I’m involved it’s a huge honour.
“This year is even more special and I personally feel a big responsibility to make our Ukrainian colleagues proud.
“Alongside presenting the grand final to the world, I just couldn’t resist the opportunity to get back into the commentary box for those watching in the UK.”
Our entry is set to be announced in a fortnight. The countdown is on.
Brown not a model hotel guest
CHRIS BROWN left London for Paris yesterday and no one will have been more pleased than the staff at his hotel.
I can reveal the Beautiful People singer has been causing a headache for bosses at the five-star Langham ever since arriving this month for a string of shows in the capital.
He has been hosting lavish after-parties in his £4,000-a-night suite, with shrieking models arriving through the night, much to the annoyance of other guests.
A source said: “Chris had been secretly putting a number of British models on his guest list for his shows at The O2.
“Most of the tickets were just the usual standing ones but after the shows were over he invited a lot of them back to his hotel to carry on the party.
“When they arrived they were whisked upstairs before being asked to hand over their phones and let loose in the booze-filled penthouse.”
He will return to the UK next month for shows in Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham, as well as two more nights at London’s O2.
I expect staff at one hotel are hoping he chooses to say somewhere else.
Miley’s bloomin‘ hot
MILEY CYRUS is at the top of her game in the gym as well as the charts, judging by this photo.
The pop star posed in a red bikini to celebrate her fifth consecutive week at No1 on both sides of the Atlantic with her single Flowers.
It is a particularly remarkable feat for Miley given she has only ever topped the charts in the UK twice before, with We Can’t Stop and Wrecking Ball, which only held the No1 spot for a week each.
One man also used to having hit singles, OneRepublic ‘s Ryan Tedder, joked about the chart-topper’s envious figure on Instagram.
After she shared this saucy snap, which has racked up more than two million likes, he took to social media.
Ryan said: “I see we’ve been using the same trainer. Our figure is annoyingly the same FML.”
That’s some very wishful thinking, Ryan.
Mescal glad to be trim
PAUL MESCAL won’t undergo a major body transformation for his role in Gladiator 2 because he wants to look “real” to viewers.
The actor will start filming the Ridley Scott sequel in Europe this summer.
Paul, who was handed the lead part of Lucius without an audition, said: “I’m so proud I get to make it. It’s something I’m nervous about but something I feel I can do.”
On the topic of bulking up for the film, he added: “With films like this, there is sometimes a focus on that, which I don’t find interesting.
“Of course there’s a physical robustness required for the role but, past that, I’m not interested.
“This guy’s got to fight and got to be a beast. And whatever that looks and feels like is right for me, is what it’s going to be.
“Sometimes I see films and I’m like, ‘That person doesn’t look real’.”
He is up for Best Actor at next month’s Oscars for his role in Aftersun and reckons it’ll be a big bash, as a raft of other Irish stars including Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson will also be there.
Paul added to the Hollywood Reporter: “I’m hoping the Oscars after-parties are going to be fun – because I think the Irish can show up in that setting.”
Gorillaz film gets dumped
DAMON ALBARN has revealed Netflix has cancelled its planned film about Gorrilaz.
The production started in 2021 and has been binned because the streaming giant claims it has too much on.
Damon said: “They started to panic because they were making too much content and decided to cut back on their movie offerings.
“And, as has been classic Hollywood practice for decades, the guy we were working with has moved on to another company.
“From then on you have lost your guardian angel and there seems to be a bad smell hanging on you.”
He added on Belgian news site HUMO: “Hollywood is quite territorial, if a new guy comes along, he must and will have a different opinion, even if he secretly agrees with his predecessor.”
When Blur frontman Damon first teased the project he said the band had wanted to make a film about the four fictional members 2-D, Murdoc Niccals, Noodle and Russel Hobbs.