Few reality show stars caused a stir like the baby-faced Irish twins with the blond quiffs and the slick dance routines as they advanced through the rounds in the 2009 edition of British TV show The X Factor. Even their most ardent admirers would make few claims for their talent, but their energy, enthusiasm and bushy-tailed charm won more and more hearts with every appearance on the show, much to the increasing annoyance of the highly critical Simon Cowell. The twin sons of a computer technician and a teacher in Rathangan, they were talented athletes, but their love of pop music led them to the X Factor auditions in Glasgow, where they performed As Long As You Love Me by the Backstreet Boys. They were repeatedly ridiculed, but their feel-good sense of fun and exuberant routines continued to win fans. The competition was eventually won by Joe McElderry, but in 2010 Jedward went on to release their debut single, a cover of Queen's Under Pressure backed with Ice Ice Baby, formerly a hit for Vanilla Ice.
