Jai Waetford

Jai Waetford

Waetford performing at The X Factor Live Tour in November 2013
Background information
Born 1999[1]
Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia
Genres Pop
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Years active 2013–present
Labels Sony
Website www.jaiwaetfordofficial.com

Jai Waetford (born 1999)[1] is an Australian recording artist who came in third on the fifth series of The X Factor Australia. He subsequently signed with Sony Music Australia and released his debut single "Your Eyes", which peaked at number six on the ARIA Singles Chart. Waetford's self-titled debut EP was released in December 2013 and peaked at number 21 on the ARIA Albums Chart.

Early life

Jai Waetford was born in 1999 and is from Campbelltown, New South Wales.[1] He was raised by his mother Alana Dow and grandparents Hannah and Roger Dow.[2] At a young age, Waetford's father left him and his mother.[1][3] He taught himself how to play guitar from watching videos on YouTube.[4] Waetford was a student at Campbelltown Performing Arts High School.[1] He quit school in 2014 after completing Year 10.[5]

Music career

2013: The X Factor Australia

In 2013, Waetford auditioned for the fifth series of The X Factor Australia, singing "Different Worlds" by Jes Hudak and an original song titled "Don't Let Me Go".[6] He progressed to the super bootcamp stage of the competition. On the first day of super bootcamp, Waetford performed "Titanium" by David Guetta and advanced to the second stage of super bootcamp, where he sang "Last Request" by Paulo Nutini.[6] On the final day of super bootcamp, Waetford performed "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift to the judges and a live audience of one thousand.[6] He made it through to the home visits round and was put into the Under 24 Boys category, which was mentored by Ronan Keating. At the home visits, he sang Elvis Presley's version of "Always on My Mind" and made it through to the live shows.[6] Waetford went on to reach the grand final, finishing third behind Taylor Henderson who came second and Dami Im who won the show.

Performances on The X Factor

2013–present: Jai Waetford EP and Get to Know You

On 1 November 2013, four days after The X Factor ended, it was announced that Waetford had signed a recording contract with Sony Music Australia.[7] His debut single "Your Eyes", which would have been his winner's single if he had won The X Factor, was released that same day. The song peaked at number six on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association for sales exceeding 35,000 copies.[8][9] On 23 November 2013, Waetford toured alongside Third Degree, Taylor Henderson, Dami Im and Jiordan Tolli for The X Factor Live Tour, which ended on 2 December 2013.[10] On 6 December 2013, he released his self-titled debut EP, which peaked at number 21 on the ARIA Albums Chart.[8] Waetford's second EP, Get to Know You, was released on 28 March 2014.[11] Its title track was released as a single and peaked at number 32 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[8] Waetford served as the supporting act for Justice Crew's #HypeTour in April 2014 around Australia.[12]

Artistry

Aside from singing, Waetford also plays guitar and writes his own songs.[2] He cites Justin Bieber, Michael Jackson, Bruno Mars, Elvis Presley, Guy Sebastian and Stevie Wonder as his musical influences.[6] Waetford has been compared by many to Bieber.[1][2]

Concert tours

Headlining
Supporting

Discography

Extended plays

Title EP details Peak chart positions
AUS
[8]
Jai Waetford EP 21
Get to Know You
  • Released: 28 March 2014[11]
  • Label: Sony Music Australia
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 —
Shy
  • Released: 16 January 2015[13]
  • Label: Sony Music Australia
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 —
"—" denotes an EP that did not chart.

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications Album
AUS
[8]
2013 "Your Eyes" 6 Jai Waetford EP
2014 "Get to Know You"[11] 32 Get to Know You
"Shy"[14] 54 Shy

Other charted songs

Year Title Peak chart positions
AUS
[15]
2013 "Fix You" 55
"The Way You Make Me Feel" 97
"That Should Be Me" 83
"Somewhere Only We Know" 95
"Dynamite" 89
"Don't Let Me Go" 37

Album appearances

Year Title Album
2014 "White Christmas" The Spirit of Christmas 2014[16]

Music videos

Year Title Director(s)
2014 "Get to Know You"[17]
2015 "Shy"[18]

Awards and nominations

Year Type Award Result
2013 Poprepublic.tv Awards[19] Favourite Australian Male Artist Nominated
Breakthrough Artist of 2013 Nominated

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Moran, Jonathan (14 July 2013). "Jai Waetford may look like Justin Bieber but this teen has his own talent". The Daily Telegraph (News Limited). Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Braithwaite, Alyssa (1 August 2013). "X Factor's Jai Waetford: I won't let fame go to my head". Who. Pacific Magazines. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  3. ↑ Giles, Amber (10–16 August 2013). "Jai's Secret Love". TV Week (Bauer Media Group) (32): 10.
  4. ↑ Adams, Cameron (21 August 2013). "X Factor reveals final Top 12 to perform at live shows". The Daily Telegraph (News Limited). Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  5. ↑ Te Koha, Nui (25 January 2015). "X Factor runner up Jai Waetford plays the waiting game". The Daily Telegraph (News Corp Australia). Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 "Jai Waetford". The X Factor Australia. Yahoo!7. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  7. ↑ McCabe, Kathy (1 November 2013). "X Factor stars Taylor, Jai and Third Degree to release singles today". News.com.au (News Limited). Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Hung, Steffen. "Discography Jai Waetford". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2014 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "The X Factor Live Tour 2013". The X Factor Australia. Yahoo!7. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Get to Know You – EP by Jai Waetford". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "#HypeTour Dates, Venues & On Sale Details Announced!". Justicecrew.com. 31 January 2014. Archived from the original on 6 February 2014.
  13. ↑ "Shy – EP by Jai Waetford". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  14. ↑ "Jai Waetford is Back with Brand New Single 'Shy'". Voice FM 99.9. 22 November 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  15. ↑ Peak chart positions for other charted songs:
  16. ↑ "The Spirit of Christmas 2014 by Various Artists". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  17. ↑ "Jai Waetford – Get to Know You". YouTube. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  18. ↑ McCabe, Kathy (20 January 2015). "X Factor's Jai Waetford launches his new single Shy via YouTube". The Daily Telegraph (News Corp Australia). Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  19. ↑ Manser, Robert (25 January 2014). "Poprepublic.tv Awards Nominations Announced". Poprepublic.tv. AKA Entertainment. Archived from the original on 28 January 2014.

External links