Olly Murs

From a Latvian background, Olly Murs (14 May 1984) was born and raised in Essex and had been working in a call centre before his boyish looks and natural charm won the hearts of British viewers along with his energetic performances in the 2009 series of the X Factor, eventually finishing as runner-up to Joe McElderry. Robbie Williams, who sang "Angels" with him during the show, became one of his most influential fans and after playing at Robbie's Soccer Aid initiative and performing on the X Factor live tour, Olly Murs finally released his first solo single, "Please Don't Let Me Go", in August 2010. It went straight to number one, beating Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" into second place before he was himself knocked off the top spot one week later by another former X Factor winner, Alexandra Burke, with "Start Without Me". His second album, In Case You Didn't Know, featured the number one single "Heart Skips a Beat", which was a collaborative effort with rap duo Rizzle Kicks. "Dance With Me Tonight" became the album's second single and followed suit by topping the UK Singles Chart. The album also lived up to this by topping the UK Albums Chart. Right Place Right Time was released as his third studio album, with hit singles including "Troublemaker", "Army of Two" and "Dear Darlin" all taken from the album. Murs opened for One Direction on their north American tour in 2013, sparking a strong friendship with band member Niall Horan. Olly Murs reunited with Robbie Williams to record "I Wan'na Be Like You" from 'The Jungle Book' for Robbie Williams's 2013 album Swing Both Ways. In 2014, he released his fourth album Never Been Better. The album featured a collaboration with Demi Lovato on "Up", the number three single "Wrapped Up" and the top 40 "Seasons". The album went to number one and he later re-released it with an accompanying DVD. 24 Hrs followed in 2016 with the announcement of a UK tour for 2017. In 2018, Olly Murs released his sixth record, a double album titled You Know I Know, and sailed to the top of the UK charta again in 2022 with his seventh studio album, Marry Me. The LP marked his first release for EMI following his departure from RCA Records.