Biography
Their vocal coach at a school in Chigwell, Essex first matched Jonathan Antoine with Charlotte Jaconelli for a joint performance required by their music GCSE. The immediate vocal rapport they shared produced strong results and earned a top mark. Their West Hatch High School instructor, struck by the pair’s handling of “The Prayer”—the number originally recorded by Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion—invited them to repeat the song at her wedding. The experience prompted the duo to enter Simon Cowell’s televised contest Britain’s Got Talent.
Jonathan’s early-2012 audition carried extra weight because he had endured a breakdown the previous year after sustained bullying tied to his weight; observers likened the moment to Susan Boyle’s earlier appearance on the same show. Cowell and the other judges commended the seventeen-year-old’s commanding tenor, while Charlotte’s pop-oriented delivery supplied a natural counterpoint. Although Ashleigh and Pudsey ultimately prevailed in the final, the duo secured a recording contract with Cowell’s Syco imprint. Their debut album Together, issued in September 2012 and helmed by producer Graham Stack (G4, Kylie Minogue), contained re-imagined versions of R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts” (“Ognumo Soffre”), Take That’s “Rule the World” (“Il Mondo e Nostro”), and “The Prayer,” the last featuring Only Boys Aloud. The follow-up record, 2013’s Perhaps Love, again blended classical and contemporary pop material in fresh arrangements. While conversations about a third album were still in progress, creative differences led the pair to part on amicable terms and begin separate solo careers.
Jonathan’s early-2012 audition carried extra weight because he had endured a breakdown the previous year after sustained bullying tied to his weight; observers likened the moment to Susan Boyle’s earlier appearance on the same show. Cowell and the other judges commended the seventeen-year-old’s commanding tenor, while Charlotte’s pop-oriented delivery supplied a natural counterpoint. Although Ashleigh and Pudsey ultimately prevailed in the final, the duo secured a recording contract with Cowell’s Syco imprint. Their debut album Together, issued in September 2012 and helmed by producer Graham Stack (G4, Kylie Minogue), contained re-imagined versions of R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts” (“Ognumo Soffre”), Take That’s “Rule the World” (“Il Mondo e Nostro”), and “The Prayer,” the last featuring Only Boys Aloud. The follow-up record, 2013’s Perhaps Love, again blended classical and contemporary pop material in fresh arrangements. While conversations about a third album were still in progress, creative differences led the pair to part on amicable terms and begin separate solo careers.
Albums
