Ex-member of The Wanted Jay McGuinness is appearing on this year's Strictly Come Dancing, but what are the others doing now?
You remember The Wanted, right?
Of course you do. Nathan Sykes, Jay McGuinness, Max George, Tom Parker and Siva Kaneswaran became The Wanted in 2009 when they were chosen by music manager Jayne Collins – who also put The Saturdays together – to be in a band to rival One Direction. Well, that was the plan, but band member told Sugarscape in an interview that Harry Styles and co were ‘untouchable’. Even so, The Wanted had plenty of success on their own – their first single All Time Low made number one and stayed in the UK Top 40 for 17 weeks. They also supported pop heavyweights Justin Bieber and Britney Spears on tour.
So then what happened?
They briefly had their own reality series, The Wanted Life, on E! It only lasted for one season, but was nominated for a Teen Choice Award in 2013. The Wanted announced last year that they were going on a hiatus (yep, that thing that One Direction are going to do next year) to focus on solo projects.
So how did their solo careers go?
Very well, for Nathan Sykes, anyway. His pop career got off to a flying start on his pop career when he duetted with his then-girlfriend Ariana Grande on Almost Is Never Enough in 2013, and he released his own single, Kiss Me Quick, in July 2015, which reached number one on the UK dance chart.
And the others?
Max George dated Michelle Keegan for two years but they split in 2012, and he’s now trying to break into TV. He filmed six episodes of Glee playing the character Clint, and now lives in LA to pursue an acting career. Tom Parker dabbled with reality TV – he made it to the semi-finals of Celebrity Masterchef this year, and also played on the UK team in Rugby Aid For Heroes in September. Siva Kaneswaran is focusing on his personal life – he proposed to his girlfriend, shoe designer Nareesha McCaffrey, in 2014, and the pair now live in LA with their poodle Mylo. Siva is also working on a solo album and says he’s been offered various acting roles, but turned them down because he wants to ‘work on his acting skills’ first.
And what about Jay?
Ah yes, Jay McGuinness. The curly-haired one is the reason we’ve all been reminded of The Wanted, because he’s set to appear in the new series of Strictly Come Dancing. He’s been living in LA, but moved back to the UK to take part in the series. He’s also the only single member of The Wanted – perhaps those lycra outfits will help him find love?
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