Neon Jungle
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Neon Jungle | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Electropop, dance-pop, EDM |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Labels | Sony, RCA |
| Members | Shereen Cutkelvin Asami Zdrenka Jess Plummer Amira McCarthy |
| Website | neon-jungle |
Neon Jungle are a British four-piece girl group, consisting of Shereen Cutkelvin, Amira McCarthy, Jess Plummer, and Asami Zdrenka. They are best known for their second single "Braveheart", which peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart. Their 2014 debut album, Welcome to the Jungle, features "Braveheart" alongside fellow top 10 single "Welcome to the Jungle", as well as the top 20 entries "Trouble" and "Louder".
History
On 10 February 2013, after a series of auditions, Shereen Cutkelvin, Amira McCarthy, Jess Plummer and Asami Zdrenka were selected to form the group. They toured schools and radio stations across the United Kingdom to get their name out there.[citation needed] According to the group, Plummer came up with the name Neon Jungle during recording of the track "Welcome to the Jungle",[citation needed] believing that the name reflected their vibrant personalities.[citation needed]
In August 2013, Neon Jungle released their debut single "Trouble", which entered the UK Singles Chart at number 12 and reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Dance/Electronic Digital Songs chart.[1] During October, the group supported Jessie J on select dates of her Alive Tour, and the following month it was announced that Neon Jungle would be a performer at the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.[citation needed] Neon Jungle's second single, "Braveheart", was released in the UK in January 2014 and peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart. The group had decided that the song's high octane energy and major bass made it the best option for their second single.[2] Neon Jungle released the song "Welcome to the Jungle" as their third single; it debuted at number seven.
The group performed at various UK music festivals during mid 2014, including Wireless Festival, T in the Park and the Blackpool Illuminations Switch-On Festival Weekend. Their debut album, Welcome to the Jungle, was released in July 2014 following the single "Louder" (number 14), and entered the UK Albums Chart at number eight. Welcome to the Jungle features songwriting and production contributions from Charli XCX, CocknBullKid, Cassie Davis, Fear of Tigers, Snob Scrilla, and soFLY & Nius. The album includes a cover of Banks's "Waiting Game", which attracted controversy after Banks publicly acknowledged her dissatisfaction with the cover's release months prior to that of her own debut album, Goddess. The group declined to comment.
Members
Shereen Cutkelvin
Shereen Cutkelvin (born 2 December 1996) is from Lanark, Scotland. She is the youngest member of the band. Cutkelvin admits her shyness, but claims she's "been singing since she could walk and talk". She was inspired by her father, and considers him her "musical idol". Shereen mentions she feels she was "born in the wrong generation", and mentions her love for Motown and soulful music with the likes of Diana Ross and The Temptations. Shereen posted covers of herself on YouTube, along with videos with her family. She was later discovered and invited to audition, and mentions she got the call to confirm her place in the group on her way back to her home in Scotland. Cutkelvin also mentions working for Sony before joining the group.[3]
Amira McCarthy
Amira McCarthy (born 2 February 1996 in London, England) has always known that performing was something she wanted to do. She has said that the moment she realised that the route she wanted to go down was music as opposed to acting or dancing was when she took part in a singing competition at her school Westminster Academy. Similarly to Jess, Amira was scouted to be in the group, found in Westfields Shopping Centre, London. McCarthy later auditioned and made the final four.[4]
Jess Plummer
Jessica Kate "Jess" Plummer (born 16 September 1992) is from London. She is the oldest member of the band and had previously worked as an actress. She appeared in two episodes of the CBBC series Wizards vs Aliens. Her musical idols include Mariah Carey, Rihanna and Jessie J. Jess was discovered through the group's current manager in Brick Lane, London, and from there was invited to auditions.[5]
Asami Zdrenka
Asami Zdrenka (born 15 September 1995 in Japan) was born to Japanese and British parents, and moved to the UK at an early age. Zdrenka has said that she has always loved to sing, and as a child, when her father took her on holiday back to Japan, he would make her sing to her family.[6] Zdrenka's mother was a singer and her grandfather has released albums in Japan. Zdrenka was also spotted online, through videos of herself singing on YouTube, catching the attention of the label.[7] She has been romantically linked to George Shelley of Union J.[8]
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK [2] |
AUS [9] | ||
| Welcome to the Jungle |
|
8 | 48 |
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [2] |
AUS [9] |
IRE [10] |
SCO [11] |
JT | |||||||||||||||
| 2013 | "Trouble" | 12 | – | – | 4 | 1 | Welcome to the Jungle | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | "Braveheart" | 4 | 19 | 20 | 2 | 1 | |||||||||||||
| "Welcome to the Jungle" | 7 | – | 46 | 4 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| "Louder" | 14 | – | 86 | 6 | 1 | *Jetanian Platimun Award | |||||||||||||
| "Skankin" | – | – | – | – | 23 | *Jetanian Silver Award | |||||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||||||
Tours
Opening act
- Jessie J – Alive Tour (2013) (Birmingham, Sheffield & Aberdeen only)
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Glamour Women of the Year Awards | Band of the Year | Nominated |
| Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards | UK Favourite Breakthrough | Nominated[14] |
References
- ^ "Donna Summer Returns 'MacArthur Park' To Top of Dance Chart After 35 Years". Billboard. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
- ^ a b c "Artists: Neon Jungle". Official Charts Company. 4 August 2014. Cite error: The named reference "UK" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Shereen Cutkelvin Biography". Heatworld.com. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ "Amira McCarthy Biography". Heatworld.com. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ "Jess Plummer Biography". Heatworld.com. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ "Asami Zdrenka Biography". Heatworld.com. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ "New girlband Neon Jungle have a smashing time as they make video for debut single Trouble". Daily Record. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ "This Week's Fresh Music Top 20". 1 August 2014. 4Music.
{{cite episode}}: Missing or empty|series=(help) - ^ a b Hung, Steffen. "Discography Neon Jungle". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
- ^ Hung, Steffen. "Discography Neon Jungle". Irish Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
- ^ Peak positions for singles in Scotland:
- For "Trouble": "Chart Archive > September 14, 2013". Official Charts Company. 14 September 2013.
- For "Braveheart": "Chart Archive > February 1, 2014". Official Charts Company. 1 February 2014.
- ^ "BPI certification 2013". BPI. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
- ^ http://www.aria.com.au/pages/httpwww.aria.com.aupagesaria-charts-accreditations-singles-2014.htm
- ^ "Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards – UK Favourite Breakthrough". Nickelodeon UK.