Case study: The Wanted

You may think that The Wanted had it made, as they had a huge record deal in place before they were even formed. However, each of the boys came from different backgrounds and had their ups and downs before joining the band:

• Max auditioned for X Factor as a solo act and as part of the boyband Avenue, who were kicked off the show for having a manager already. While Avenue's eventual single release was a flop, that rule-breaking manager was in fact Ashley Tabor, whose label Global Talent ended up signing The Wanted.
• Tom had also auditioned for X Factor numerous times but shockingly he didn't even get past the producers. His other brush with pop was as part of a Take That tribute act, which may seem cheesy now but almost certainly helped prepare him for life in a real boyband. And if Take That want a Robbie replacement, they know who to ask!
• Nathan joined the band straight from the Sylvia Young Theatre School, but it wasn't his first attempt at becoming a teen pop sensation. He took part in Junior Eurovision aged 11 with this amusing routine, auditioned for Live and Unsigned and also won a singing competition on Ministry of Mayhem, which is when he famously got to kiss Britney Spears!
• Jay was perhaps the least likely boyband star of the group. Although he's a good singer, he was actually planning for a career as a dancer and trained at a dance school from the age of 13. Unfortunately this was of no use in The Wanted, where Jay himself admits the closest they get to dancing is leaping around the stage to Glad You Came.
• Siva comes from a family of musicians, with his sister almost making it into Girls Aloud (she was cut from Popstars: The Rivals for lying about her age) and his brother David part of an Irish boyband called Zoo. Siva and his twin Kumar came to London to work as models, but as he'd grown up singing and writing songs he pursued a pop career and achieved it with The Wanted.