Jai Waetford
Jai Waetford in 2016.
Jai Waetford in 2016.
Background information
Born (1999-01-25) 25 January 1999[1]
Campbelltown, New South Wales
GenresPop
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • actor
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Years active2013–present
LabelsSony
Websitewww.jaiwaetfordofficial.com
NationalityAustralian
Height165 cm (65 in)

Jai Waetford (born 25 January 1999[1]) is an Australian pop singer and songwriter who was the last contestant eliminated on the fifth season 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. Waetford joined the Australian soap opera Neighbours in February 2016 as Angus Beaumont-Hannay; his debut episode aired on 2 May. His latest EP Heart Miles was released 3 June 2016.

Early life

Jai Waetford was born in 1999 and is from Campbelltown, a suburb in south-western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.[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] He was educated at Campbelltown Performing Arts High School[1] and left school in 2014 after completing Year 10.[5]

Music career

2013: The X Factor Australia

In 2013, Waetford auditioned for the fifth season 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 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, being the last contestant eliminated behind Taylor Henderson who runner-up and Dami Im who won the show.

  denotes a performance that entered the ARIA Singles
  denotes eliminated

Performances on The X Factor

2013: Jai Waetford EP and Get to Know You

After The X Factor ended Waetford 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] Waetford's third EP, Shy consisted of six covers and one single.[13]

2016–2017: "Living Not Dreaming" and Heart Miles

He released the single "Living Not Dreaming" in February 2016.[14] followed by the EP Heart Miles which was released 3 June 2016. Music videos have been recorded for both 'Living Not Dreaming' and 'Heart Miles' as well as a promotional video called Heart Miles EP which shows Jai discussing a long-distance relationship featuring snippets of each of the new songs from his EP. Jai toured a variety of cities to promote his new work across Europe, Indonesia and Thailand in May and June 2016, during which he performed his new material as well as covers of Drake's single "One Dance" and Justin Bieber's "Love Yourself".

2018: Return to music, "Lost in You", "Get Over" and "Friends"

In October 2018, Waetford released his first single in a year, titled "Lost in You". Waetford said: "I wrote 'Lost in You' about someone who I met in a dark time that captivated me to a point where my life suddenly revolved around this person. When I was writing this, it was strange to me because I found myself involving her in everything I did; I was living for someone else."[15] Waetford spoke candidly about his past mental health struggles, in an interview with the Herald Sun, saying he "couldn't find happiness in anything".

After sharing his mental health struggles in a candid social media post in August, Waetford was approached by the Australian Suicide Prevention Foundation to become an ambassador for their You Are Not Alone campaign.

Waetford then released the singles "Get Over" and "Friends", which premiered with urban music outlet Complex.[16] "Friends" is co-written by Waetford with James Agnus (Carmouflage Rose, Tigerilla, Tkay Maidza) who also produced the record. "James and I were trying to find a sound that mashed urban drums with pop instrumentation and vocal melody," explains Jai of the collaboration. "We then stumbled across this beat James had made a while back, ran with it, and ended up really digging the result." "'Friends' is all about the online world and the real world colliding. Often we say things online that we wouldn't say in real life, and 'Friends' is about a situation where that happened to me."

Artistry

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

Concert tours

Headlining

  • The X Factor Live Tour (2013)[10]
  • 'Drunk Together' Tour (2017)
  • 'Friends' Tour (2019)

Supporting

Joining

  • Amplify Live Australian Tour #Amplifylive[18]

Discography

Extended plays

Title EP details Peak chart positions
AUS
[8]
Jai Waetford 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
 —
Heart Miles
  • Released: 3 June 2016
  • Label: Sony Music Australia
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 24
Figure It Out
  • Released: 24 May 2019[19]
  • Label: Sony Music Australia
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 —
"—" denotes an EP that did not chart.

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications Album/EP
AUS
[8]
2013 "Your Eyes" 6 Jai Waetford
2014 "Get to Know You"[11] 32 Get to Know You
"Shy"[20] — Shy
2016 "Living Not Dreaming"[21] — Heart Miles
"Waves" —
2017 "Drunk Together" (featuring Allday)[22] — Non-album singles
"Champagne"[23] —
"Girl with a Suntan"[24] —
"We Don't Have To"[25] —
2018 "Lost in You"[26] —
"Get Over"[27] —
"Friends"[28] — Figure it Out
2019 "Honestly" (featuring Carmouflage Rose)[29] —
"Figure It Out"[30] —
2021 "Lowlow"[31] — TBA
"Options" (with Mansus)[32] —
"Cocaine Kisses"[33] —
"Running Cold Pt.2"[34] —
2023 "5am in London"(with Trip) —

Other charted songs

Year Title Peak chart positions
AUS
[35]
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[36]

Music videos

Year Title Director
2014 "Get to Know You"[37]
2015 "Shy"[38]
2016 "Living Not Dreaming"[39] Nick Waterman
"Heart Miles"[40]

Awards and nominations

YearTypeAwardResult
2013Poprepublic.tv AwardsFavourite Australian Male Artist/Breakthrough Artist of 2013Nominated
2017TV Week Logie AwardBest New TalentNominated
2017Kids' Choice AwardFavourite #FamousNominated

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Moran, Jonathan (14 July 2013). "Jai Waetford may look like Justin Bieber but this teen has his own talent". The Daily Telegraph. Australia. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  2. 1 2 Braithwaite, Alyssa (1 August 2013). "X Factor's Jai Waetford: I won't let fame go to my head". Who. Pacific Magazines. Archived from the original on 7 August 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  3. ↑ Giles, Amber (10–16 August 2013). "Jai's Secret Love". TV Week (32): 10.
  4. ↑ Adams, Cameron (21 August 2013). "X Factor reveals final Top 12 to perform at live shows". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  5. ↑ Te Koha, Nui (25 January 2015). "X Factor runner up Jai Waetford plays the waiting game". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Jai Waetford". The X Factor Australia. Yahoo!7. Archived from the original on 27 October 2013. 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. Archived from the original on 30 January 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Hung, Steffen. "Discography Jai Waetford". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
  9. 1 2 "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2014 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  10. 1 2 "The X Factor Live Tour 2013". The X Factor Australia. Yahoo!7. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013.
  11. 1 2 3 "Get to Know You – EP by Jai Waetford". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  12. 1 2 "#HypeTour Dates, Venues & On Sale Details Announced!". Justicecrew.com. 31 January 2014. Archived from the original on 8 February 2014.
  13. 1 2 "Shy – EP by Jai Waetford". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  14. ↑ "Living Not Dreaming - Single by Jai Waetford on iTunes". iTunes. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  15. ↑ "Get Lost in Jai Waetford's 'Lost in You'". auspOp. 5 October 2018.
  16. ↑ "Complex".
  17. ↑ Corner, Lewis (14 March 2016). "Little Mix tour live review: One of the best pop concerts you'll go to this year". Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  18. ↑ "Home". Archived from the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  19. ↑ "Figure it Out". iTunes Store. Apple. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  20. ↑ "Jai Waetford is Back with Brand New Single 'Shy'". Voice FM 99.9. 22 November 2014. Archived from the original on 4 December 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  21. ↑ "Jai Waetford releases latest single 'Living Not Dreaming' out now!". Sony Music Australia. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  22. ↑ "Drunk Together — Single by Jai Waetford". iTunes Australia. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  23. ↑ "Champagne — Single by Jai Waetford". iTunes Australia. 18 August 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  24. ↑ "Girl with a Suntan — Single by Jai Waetford". iTunes Australia. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  25. ↑ "We Don't Have To — Single by Jai Waetford". iTunes Australia. 15 December 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  26. ↑ "Lost in You — Single by Jai Waetford". iTunes Australia. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  27. ↑ "Get Over — Single by Jai Waetford". iTunes Australia. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  28. ↑ "Friends — Single by Jai Waetford". iTunes Australia. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  29. ↑ "Honestly — Single by Jai Waetford". iTunes Australia. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  30. ↑ "Figure It Out - Single by Jai Waetford". iPlusflex. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  31. ↑ "Lowlow — Single by Jai Waetford". Apple Music. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  32. ↑ ""Options" jai x mansus MIDNIGHT TONIGHT!!". Facebook. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  33. ↑ "Cocaine Kisses — Single by Jai Waetford". Apple Music. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  34. ↑ "Running Cold Pt.2 — Single by Jai Waetford". Apple Music. 13 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  35. ↑ Peak chart positions for other charted songs:
  36. ↑ "The Spirit of Christmas 2014 by Various Artists". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  37. ↑ "Jai Waetford – Get to Know You". YouTube. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  38. ↑ McCabe, Kathy (20 January 2015). "X Factor's Jai Waetford launches his new single Shy via YouTube". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  39. ↑ "Jai Waetford - Living Not Dreaming". YouTube. 5 February 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  40. ↑ "Jai Waetford - Heart Miles". YouTube. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
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