Jo O'Meara

Jo O'Meara
Birth name	Joanne Valda O'Meara
Born	29 April 1979 (1979-04-29) Romford, Essex, England
Genres	Pop
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, actress, television personality
Instruments	Voice
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Sanctuary (2005)
Associated acts	2-4 Family, S Club, Rachel Stevens, Tina Barrett, Paul Cattermole, Bradley McIntosh, S Club 8

Joanne Valda O'Meara (born 29 April 1979) is an English singer-songwriter, television personality 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, which cut short the production of a proposed album following an appearance on Celebrity Big Brother.

Early life

O'Meara was born in Romford, East London, to parents Dave and Barbara. She has a brother and sister, Shane and Julie. She grew up in Collier Row, a suburban housing estate in the north of Romford in the London Borough of Havering. She was educated at Clockhouse Junior School and Bower Park School, and excelled in music, singing and dance.

Music career

1996–2003: Group singing

Main articles: 2-4 Family and S Club

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

2003–2006: 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, she announced that she had signed a new solo recording deal with Sanctuary Records, the label behind acts such as Morrissey, KISS and Megadeth.

Her debut single, "What Hurts the Most", was released on 26 September 2005, peaking at number thirteen on the UK Singles Chart, followed a week later by her album, Relentless. 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. 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, an actor in Hollyoaks, a British Soap opera. 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".

2008–present: S Club 3 and recent work

Main article: S Club 3

Since November 2008, O'Meara has been performing in various nightclubs, universities and Butlins holiday camps around the United Kingdom along with fellow S Club members Bradley McIntosh and Paul Cattermole.

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

Main articles: Celebrity Big Brother 2007 (UK) and Celebrity Big Brother racism controversy

In January 2007 O'Meara appeared on Celebrity Big Brother. Along with Jade Goody and Danielle Lloyd, O'Meara was accused of racist and bullying behaviour toward fellow "contestant" Indian actress Shilpa Shetty, resulting in a record number of complaints to OfCom, 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, 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. On 12 May 2008, O'Meara gave birth by caesarean section to a 7 lb 15oz boy she named Lenny.

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album	Peak positions
		UK	NZ
2005	Relentless 1st studio album Released:3 October 2005	49	89

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions		Album
		UK	IRE
2005	"What Hurts the Most"	13	26	Relentless

Filmography

Year	Show	Role
1999	Miami 7	Jo
	The Greatest Store in the World
2000	L.A. 7
2001	Hollywood 7
2002	Viva S Club
2003	Seeing Double
2006	"Just the Two of Us"	Herself
2007	Celebrity Big Brother

External links

• Jo O'Meara at the Internet Movie Database