Jo O'Meara
Background information
Birth name	Joanne Valda O'Meara
Born	29 April 1979 (1979-04-29) (age 28) Romford, United Kingdom
Genre(s)	Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer, Songwriter
Instrument(s)	Voice
Years active	1999-2003 (band) 2005-2006; 2007-present(solo)
Label(s)	Innocent Records
Associated acts	S Club
Website	IMDB Profile

Joanne Valda O'Meara (born 29 April 1979 in Romford, London Borough of Havering) is an English singer and actress. Formerly the lead singer of pop group S Club (7), she launched a solo career after the group's split in 2003, which was cut short following an appearance on Celebrity Big Brother where she was embroiled in a racial bullying controversy. If you hold the copyright to an image (e. ... is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England. ... , Romford is a large suburban town in Greater London, England and the principal settlement of the London Borough of Havering. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Pop music (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Innocent Records is a pop record label that was created to cater to pre-teen and teenage music fans. ... S Club, formerly known as S Club 7, were a BRIT Award-winning English pop group created by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller, who rose to fame via their own BBC television programme. ... is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... , Romford is a large suburban town in Greater London, England and the principal settlement of the London Borough of Havering. ... The London Borough of Havering is a London borough in east London, England and forms part of Outer London. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... S Club, formerly known as S Club 7, were a BRIT Award-winning English pop group created by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller, who rose to fame via their own BBC television programme. ... This is a summary of 2003 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. ... Celebrity Big Brother 2007 was the fifth series of the United Kingdom reality television series Celebrity Big Brother, a spin-off of Big Brother. ...

Life and career

O'Meara was born in Romford, London Borough of Havering ^[1] in East London to parents Dave and Barbara. 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.^[1] , Romford is a large suburban town in Greater London, England and the principal settlement of the London Borough of Havering. ... The London Borough of Havering is a London borough in east London, England and forms part of Outer London. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Collier Row is a place in London in the London Borough of Havering. ... , Romford is a large suburban town in Greater London, England and the principal settlement of the London Borough of Havering. ... The London Borough of Havering is a London borough in east London, England and forms part of Outer London. ... Clockhouse Junior School is a coeducational primary school for ages 7-11 in Collier Row in the London Borough of Havering. ...

2-4 Family

In 1998, Jo started off her music career in the hip hop/rap group, 2-4 Family. She was however, only a part of the group for the duration of one track release, before deciding to leave to pursue other projects.

S Club 7

Main article: S Club

In her teenage years, Jo 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 (with bandmate Rachel Stevens), as well as acting with the group in their own TV series (shot in Miami, LA, Hollywood and Spain), the group also had two reality television shows "S Club 7 Go Wild" and "S Club 7 Don't Stop Movin'", an as well as S Club's own movie, "Seeing Double". S Club, formerly known as S Club 7, were a BRIT Award-winning English pop group created by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller, who rose to fame via their own BBC television programme. ... Ilford is a district of the London Borough of Redbridge in east London, England. ... 19 Entertainment, based in the United Kingdom, is a leading creator and producer of entertainment properties, including American Idol in the United States, Pop Idol in the United Kingdom, as well as versions of the Idol series in more than seventy countries around the world and US Television show So... Rachel Lauren Stevens (born April 9, 1978) is an English singer and actress and an occasional model who lives in Hampstead, London. ... Seeing Double is the debut movie starring S Club. ...

During the filming of the movie, Jo hurt her back, limiting S Club's dance routines and leaving her out of the group for a brief period. Jo's voice remained; however, her vocals were re-recorded by Rachel Stevens for use during live television performances. Jo eventually returned to continue performing with S Club and to promote the movie. She remained with the band until their ultimate split in 2003. Rachel Lauren Stevens (born April 9, 1978) is an English singer and actress and an occasional model who lives in Hampstead, London. ... This is a summary of 2003 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. ...

Solo career

Many speculated as to when Jo 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. Jo 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 Jo, 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.^[2]

In July 2005, Jo announced that she had signed a new solo recording deal with Sanctuary Records, the label behind acts such as Morrissey, KISS and Megadeth. This is a summary of 2005 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts. ... Sanctuary Records is a record label based in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of Universal Records. ... For other uses, see Morrissey (disambiguation). ... Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in 1972 (see 1972 in music). ... Megadeth is an American thrash metal band led by founder, frontman and songwriter Dave Mustaine. ...

Her debut single, "What Hurts the Most", was released on 26 September, 2005, followed a week later by her album, Relentless. This, however, quickly fell out of the chart and sold poorly peaking at #47. It also charted and sold poorly throughout Europe reaching #82 in the Republic of Ireland. Jo abruptly left the record label while they were still planning to release a second single. What Hurts the Most is a country song written by Jeffrey Steele and Steve Robson. ... is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Relentless was the debut album from former S Club 7 lead singer Jo OMeara and comes two and a half years after the pop outfitsplit in May 2003. ...

In 2006 she took part in the BBC gameshow 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". Just the Two of Us logo with presenters Vernon Kay and Tess Daly Just the Two of Us is a British television reality singing contest hosted by Vernon Kay and Tess Daly. ... Christopher Ryan Fountain[1] (born September 3, 1987 in Bradford, England) is an English actor best known for his role as Justin Burton on the Channel 4 teen soap Hollyoaks, a role he has played since 2003. ... Hollyoaks is a British television soap opera, first broadcast on 23 October 1995, on Channel 4. ... The first TIME cover devoted to soap operas: Dated January 12, 1976, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of Days of our Lives are featured with the headline Soap Operas: Sex and suffering in the afternoon. A soap opera is an ongoing, episodic work of fiction, usually broadcast on television... Never Had a Dream Come True was a single released by UK pop group, S Club 7 on November 27, 2000. ...

Celebrity Big Brother 2007

Main article: Celebrity Big Brother 2007 (UK)

O'Meara was the fourth person to enter the Celebrity Big Brother house on 3 January 2007. According to the Daily Mirror, Jo entered the show to pay off her £34,000 debt and relaunch her singing career, with a plan to launch her new single shortly after her exit from the house.^[3] Celebrity Big Brother 2007 was the fifth series of the United Kingdom reality television series Celebrity Big Brother, a spin-off of Big Brother. ... Celebrity Big Brother 2007 was the fifth series of the United Kingdom reality television series Celebrity Big Brother, a spin-off of Big Brother. ... is the 3rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Alternate newspaper: The Daily Mirror (Australia) The Daily Mirror is a popular British tabloid daily newspaper. ...

She received a positive reaction from the crowd and admitted live that she had no idea what she was doing on the show. When betting opened, she was favourite to win.^[4]

Accusations of Racial Bullying

More than 50,000 complaints were received by broadcasting regulator Ofcom about racial bullying directed towards Indian housemate Shilpa Shetty by Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd, Jack Tweed and Jo O'Meara. Ofcom is a regulator for communication industries in the United Kingdom. ... Jade Cerisa Lorraine Goody [2] (born June 5, 1981) is a British reality television celebrity, who became famous after appearing on the Channel 4 TV show Big Brother in 2002. ... Danielle Lloyd (born 16 December 1983, Liverpool) is an English lingerie and glamour model, and former Miss England (2004). ... Celebrity Big Brother 2007 is the fifth series of the United Kingdom reality television series Celebrity Big Brother, a spin-off of Big Brother. ...

The basis of racist accuations against O'Meara were as follows:

• On Days 11 and 12, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara poked fun at Shilpa's accent.^[5]

• Jo implied that all Indians were thin because they were always ill as a result of undercooking their food because she believed Shilpa undercooked a chicken meal.^[5]

• After a particularly nasty verbal attack on Shilpa by Jade, witnessed by a giggling Jo and Danielle, Jo said that the verbal attack had made her day and that she felt a lot better for it.

Reaction and Aftermath

Trevor Phillips, Chair of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, said "What we are seeing is a noxious brew of old-fashioned class conflict, straightforward bullying, ignorance and quite vicious racial bigotry. It is outrageous, and it is unpleasant".^[6] Trevor Phillips Trevor Phillips OBE (born in London on December 31, 1953) is a Black British Labour politician and former political journalist of Guyanese origins. ... The Commission for Equality and Human Rights is an equality and human rights body in Great Britain - a separate Equality Commission exists for Northern Ireland, established under the terms of the Belfast Agreement. ...

Jo became the fourth housemate to be evicted from the show, leaving the house on Friday January 26 in a surprise double eviction, along with fellow contestant Cleo Rocos. is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Cleopatra Anderson Rocos (born 24 July 1962 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a UK-based comedy actress and television/theatre producer, best known as the co-star and close friend of the late English zany radio/TV comedian and DJ Kenny Everett. ...

In her eviction interview with Davina McCall, Jo did not apologize for her comments and behavior towards Shilpa Shetty, claiming she had done nothing wrong, a stance which she would continue to take in subsequent interviews. O'Meara also claimed that imitating her accent wasn't necessarily racist as Shilpa herself had laughed at Jo's imitation of her accent. Davina Lucy Pascale McCall[1] (born 16 October 1967) is an English television presenter and actress who works on British television. ...

Her former housemate, Jade, disagreed with Jo's statement that she had done nothing wrong: "She's done everything wrong. She's made big mistakes;" and Jo's sister Julie admitted: "Jo should be very disappointed with herself."^[7]

In a subsequent interview with GMTV which aired on Tuesday January 30, 2007 O'Meara apologized for her behavior, but denied that she had been a bully or a racist while in the house, "I couldn't use those words. My cousins are actually of a different race and to use those sort of words, it would make me sick. I haven't got a racist bone in my body and I'm not a bully". She blamed poor editing by the show's producers (although this claim is undermined by the fact that the show was shown as a live feed on sister channel E4) and misquotation in interviews by national newspapers (especially the Mirror article) following the Celebrity Big Brother final, for contributing to her already-ruined image. She revealed she has not returned home due to unspecified death threats and concerns over her safety and was suffering from nervous exhaustion. She also revealed that her reason for entering the house was to help save her home, which had been threatened with repossession.^[8]. GMTV (Good Morning Television) is a national British breakfast television station owned by ITV plc (75%) and The Walt Disney Company (25%). It has held the license for the breakfast Channel 3 franchise since 1993, when it outbid the previous 6am-9. ... is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Bullying is the tormenting of others through verbal harassment, physical assault, or other more subtle methods of coercion such as manipulation. ... This box:      Racism has many definitions, the most common and widely accepted is that members of one race are intrinsically superior or inferior to members of other races. ... Repossession is generally used to refer to a financial institution taking back an object that was either used as collateral or rented or leased in a transaction. ...

In February 2007, the News of the World reported that O'Meara attempted to commit suicide and was "rushed to hospital" by friends.^[9]. In an interview with Heat magazine (3-9 March 2007)^{[citation needed]} she denied any intention to commit suicide as it would hurt her family but admitted some weight loss due to stress. She was also reported to be facing bankruptcy after her home was remortgaged for £200,000 without her knowledge and £200,000 went missing from her savings after apparently being a victim of a con scam. Media reports at the time suggested her house was in imminent danger of being repossessed.^[10][11] The News of the World is a British tabloid newspaper published every Sunday. ...

Ofcom Report confirms Racism in Celebrity Big Brother 2007

In May 2007, Endemol released a transcript of an unshown conversation in which O'Meara, Tweed and Goody (with Danielle Lloyd and Cleo Rocos also present) constructed a limerick which was based around, although it did not use, the word "paki", instead replacing the racist slur for the word "tacky" at Tweed's suggestion. Ofcom published the report which confirmed that there had been offensive behaviour towards Shetty. ^[12] This article is about the capital of County Limerick in Ireland. ... It is proposed that this article be deleted, because of the following concern: Wikipedia is not a dictionary: WP:WINAD If you can address this concern by improving, copyediting, sourcing, renaming or merging the page, please edit this page and do so. ...

Discography

Albums

• "Relentless", 3 October 2005

Relentless was the debut album from former S Club 7 lead singer Jo OMeara and comes two and a half years after the pop outfitsplit in May 2003. ...

Singles

• "What Hurts the Most", September 26, 2005

What Hurts the Most is a country song written by Jeffrey Steele and Steve Robson. ...

Unreleased Material

• Blue Today, Blue Tomorrow - a 13 second track leaked online in 2005 before "Relentless" was released.

• Amazed - Appeared on the original tracklistings for "Relentless" - Removed at the last moment.

• Incureable - Appeared on the original tracklistings for "Relentless" - Removed at the last moment.

• Don't Wanna Let You Down - The Mp3 of this track has been made available through various fansites, It's a duet with Lee Ryan, but Lee's management were unhappy with the song and it was never released. The track was written by Jo herself.

Relentless was the debut album from former S Club 7 lead singer Jo OMeara and comes two and a half years after the pop outfitsplit in May 2003. ... Relentless was the debut album from former S Club 7 lead singer Jo OMeara and comes two and a half years after the pop outfitsplit in May 2003. ... Relentless was the debut album from former S Club 7 lead singer Jo OMeara and comes two and a half years after the pop outfitsplit in May 2003. ... Lee Ryan (born June 17, 1983 in Chatham, Kent) is a former member of the British boy band Blue and is now pursuing a solo career. ...

Selected filmography

Films

The year 2003 in film involved some significant events. ... Seeing Double is the debut movie starring S Club. ...

Television

The year 1999 in television involved some significant events. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The year 2000 in television involved some significant events. ... The Lavochkin La-7 (Лавочкин Ла-7) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. It was a development and refinement of the Lavochkin La-5, and the last in a family of aircraft that had begun with the LaGG-1... This is a list of television-related events in 2001. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... The year 2002 in television involved some significant events. ... Viva S Club was the fourth and final TV series filmed by pop group S Club. ...

References