Joanne Valda O'Meara (born 29 April 1979) is an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 singer

Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

-songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

, television personality

Celebrity

A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...

 and actress. Formerly one of the lead singers of pop group S Club, she launched a solo single after the group's split in 2003

2003 in British music

This is a summary of 2003 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. Whilst weeks at number one began to increase with significant numbers achieving 4 week runs, and The Black Eyed Peas breaking a chart record in the 21st century, single sales rapidly plummeted,...

, which cut short the production of a proposed album following an appearance on Celebrity Big Brother

Celebrity Big Brother 2007 (UK)

Celebrity Big Brother 2007 was the highly controversial fifth series of the United Kingdom reality television series Celebrity Big Brother, a spin-off of Big Brother. The series was broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK , and involved a number of celebrities referred to as 'housemates', who live in the...

.

Early life

O'Meara was born in Romford

Romford

Romford is a large suburban town in north east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...

, East London, to parents Dave and Barbara. She has a brother and sister, Shane and Julie. She grew up in Collier Row

Collier Row

Collier Row is a place in north east London in the London Borough of Havering. It is a suburban development north of Romford, located north east of Charing Cross....

, a suburban housing estate in the north of Romford in the London Borough of Havering

London Borough of Havering

The London Borough of Havering is a London borough in North East London, England and forms part of Outer London. The principal town in Havering is Romford and the other main communities are Hornchurch, Upminster and Rainham. The borough is mainly characterised by suburban development with large...

. She was educated at Clockhouse Junior School and Bower Park School

Bower Park School

Bower Park School is a comprehensive school in the London Borough of Havering for 11 to 16 year olds. The school gained its specialist Arts College in 2010.-History:...

, and excelled in music, singing and dance.

1996–2003: Group singing

In 1998, O'Meara started off her music career in the hip hop/rap group, 2-4 Family

2-4 Family

2-4 Family was a rap/hip hop group, that formed in Germany in the late 1990s. The original line-up consisted of Jo O'Meara, Jay Dogg, Joseph Jazz and Essence Woods.-History:...

. She remained with the band for only one single release, "Stay".

In her teenage years, O'Meara would serve food at her local pub in Ilford

Ilford

Ilford is a large cosmopolitan town in East London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Redbridge. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It forms a significant commercial and retail...

. It was there that someone from 19 Entertainment spotted her on stage and recruited her to join a new pop group S Club 7. She was a prominent member of the British group, singing most of the group's lead vocals, as well as acting with the group in their own TV series, the group also had two reality television shows "S Club 7 Go Wild!

S Club 7 Go Wild!

S Club 7 Go Wild! was a television series starring British pop group S Club 7, who teamed up with the World Wildlife Fund to help raise awareness of the threats facing wildlife around the world. Each member adopted an endangered animal and travelled to their respective natural habitat in different...

" and "S Club 7 Don't Stop Movin'", as well as S Club's own movie, "Seeing Double".

During the filming of the movie, O'Meara hurt her back, limiting S Club's dance routines and leaving her out of the group for a brief period. O'Meara's voice remained; however, her vocals were re-recorded by Rachel Stevens

Rachel Stevens

Rachel Lauren Stevens is an English singer-songwriter, actress, presenter, dancer, television personality and model. She is a former member of the successful pop group S Club, and launched a solo recording career in 2003, releasing seven singles and two albums in the UK between 2003 and 2005...

 for use during live television performances. O'Meara eventually returned to continue performing with S Club and to promote the movie. She remained with the band until their ultimate split in 2003

2003 in British music

This is a summary of 2003 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. Whilst weeks at number one began to increase with significant numbers achieving 4 week runs, and The Black Eyed Peas breaking a chart record in the 21st century, single sales rapidly plummeted,...

.

2003–2006: Relentless

Many speculated as to when O'Meara would make her comeback, having been the most prominent vocalist in S Club 7, but it was Rachel Stevens who was the first member of the band to release solo material. O'Meara surprised many of her fans by taking a long hiatus from pop music, and it was speculated that she was healing her back injury. According to reports in a tabloid newspaper O'Meara, who was estimated to be worth £500,000 when she left S Club, became addicted to gambling when she was unable to perform in the band due to her back problems.
In July 2005

2005 in British music

This is a summary of 2005 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts. Average sales for a number one were 80,437 per week.-Summary:...

, she announced that she had signed a new solo recording deal with Sanctuary Records

Sanctuary Records

Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest independent music management company in the world...

, the label behind acts such as Morrissey

Morrissey

Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...

, KISS

KISS (band)

Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...

 and Megadeth

Megadeth

Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...

.

Her debut single, "What Hurts the Most

What Hurts the Most

"What Hurts the Most" is the title of a song written by American songwriter Jeffrey Steele and English songwriter Steve Robson. Initially recorded by country music artist Mark Wills in 2003 on his album And the Crowd Goes Wild, it was covered by Bellefire a year later...

", was released on 26 September 2005, peaking at number thirteen on the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

, followed a week later by her album, Relentless

Relentless (Jo O'Meara album)

Relentless is the debut album from former S Club 7 lead singer Jo O'Meara and was released two and a half years after the pop outfit split in May 2003...

. This, however, quickly fell out of the chart and sold poorly, peaking at #48. It also charted and sold poorly throughout Europe, reaching #82 in the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. O'Meara abruptly left the record label while they were still planning to release a second single.

In February 2006 she took part in the BBC reality show Just the Two of Us. Her singing partner was Chris Fountain

Chris Fountain

Christopher Ryan Fountain is an English actor best known for his role as Justin Burton on the Channel 4 teen soap Hollyoaks, a role he played from 2003 until his departure in June 2009. He is also now known for playing Tommy Duckworth in Coronation Street. He played the role of PC Paul Tait in...

, an actor in Hollyoaks

Hollyoaks

Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...

, a British Soap opera

Soap opera

A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

. The pair came third in the competition, failing to attract enough votes to make the final after their performance of "Never Had a Dream Come True

Never Had a Dream Come True

"Never Had a Dream Come True" is a song by S Club 7, released as a single on 27 November 2000. It was chosen to be the official 2000 BBC Children in Need song. The song was a great success in the UK, where it became the group's second #1 single on the UK Singles Chart and becoming the ninth...

".

2008–present: S Club 3 and recent work

Since November 2008, O'Meara has been performing in various nightclubs, universities and Butlins

Butlins

Butlins is a chain of large holiday camps in the United Kingdom. Butlins was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families....

 holiday camps around the United Kingdom along with fellow S Club members Bradley McIntosh

Bradley McIntosh

Bradley John McIntosh is a British singer, best known for being part of the band S Club, who had several hits.-1998–2003: S Club and Breakthrough:...

 and Paul Cattermole

Paul Cattermole

Paul Gerald Cattermole , St Albans, Hertfordshire, England) is an English singer and actor. He was previously a member of S Club 7, and was the lead singer of the band Skua and latterly Charlie Bullitt until he left in October 2005....

.

On 12 November 2008, a bottle was thrown at O'Meara during their performance in Bradford

Bradford

Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...

; it left her with a severe cut to the head, requiring treatment at a nearby hospital. A 20-year old white man was arrested, and the attack was thought to have been motivated by her Celebrity Big Brother antics.

Celebrity Big Brother

In January 2007 O'Meara appeared on Celebrity Big Brother

Celebrity Big Brother

Celebrity Big Brother could refer to:*Any series of Celebrity Big Brother UK:** Celebrity Big Brother 2001 ** Celebrity Big Brother 2002 ** Celebrity Big Brother 2005 ** Celebrity Big Brother 2006 ** Celebrity Big Brother 2007...

. Along with Jade Goody

Jade Goody

Jade Cerisa Lorraine Goody was an English celebrity. She came into the public spotlight while appearing on the third series of the Channel 4 reality TV programme Big Brother in 2002, an appearance which led to her own television programmes and the launch of her own products after her eviction from...

 and Danielle Lloyd

Danielle Lloyd

Danielle Lloyd is an English glamour model. The former Miss England 2004 and Miss Great Britain 2006, she first rose to prominence when she was stripped of her Miss Great Britain 2006 title after posing for nude pictures featured in the December 2006 edition of Playboy magazine and her alleged...

, O'Meara was accused of racist and bullying behaviour toward fellow "contestant" Indian actress Shilpa Shetty

Shilpa Shetty

Shilpa Shetty is an Indian film actress and model. Since making her debut in the film Baazigar , she has appeared in nearly 40 Bollywood, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films, her first leading role being in the 1994 Aag. Although she has been through years of decline during her career, Shetty has been...

, resulting in a record number of complaints to OfCom

Ofcom

Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...

, extensive national and international media coverage, and condemnatory statements from the British and Indian governments.

Personal life

Jo suffered a back injury in 2002.

In January 2008, in an interview with the Daily Mail

Daily Mail

The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...

, O'Meara noted she was well on the way to recovery from the aftermath of the Big Brother controversy, she had rediscovered her passion for rescuing animals and horses and also revealed that she was six months pregnant. While she admitted that the prospect of returning to the stage is daunting, she was considering an offer to work with former Celebrity Big Brother 2007 housemate, Jermaine Jackson

Jermaine Jackson

Jermaine La Jaune Jackson is an American singer, bassist, composer, a member of The Jackson 5, older brother of American pop stars Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson and occasional film director...

. On 12 May 2008, O'Meara gave birth by caesarean section

Caesarean section

A Caesarean section, is a surgical procedure in which one or more incisions are made through a mother's abdomen and uterus to deliver one or more babies, or, rarely, to remove a dead fetus...

 to a 7 lb 15oz boy she named Lenny.

Studio albums

Year	Album	Peak positions
		UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...	NZ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...
2005	Relentless Relentless (Jo O'Meara album) Relentless is the debut album from former S Club 7 lead singer Jo O'Meara and was released two and a half years after the pop outfit split in May 2003... 1st studio album Released:3 October 2005	49	89

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions		Album
		UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	IRE Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...
2005	"What Hurts the Most What Hurts the Most "What Hurts the Most" is the title of a song written by American songwriter Jeffrey Steele and English songwriter Steve Robson. Initially recorded by country music artist Mark Wills in 2003 on his album And the Crowd Goes Wild, it was covered by Bellefire a year later... "	13	26	Relentless Relentless (Jo O'Meara album) Relentless is the debut album from former S Club 7 lead singer Jo O'Meara and was released two and a half years after the pop outfit split in May 2003...

External links