Jade Ewen
Ewen in 2018
Ewen in 2018
Background information
Birth nameJade Louise Ewen
Born (1988-01-24) 24 January 1988
OriginPlaistow, London, England
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • actress
Years active2002–present
Labels
Formerly ofSugababes

Jade Louise Ewen (born 24 January 1988) is a British singer, actress and a former member of the girl group Sugababes. She began her singing career in a girl group named Trinity Stone, which signed with Sony BMG in 2005 but disbanded in 2007 without releasing an album. In 2009, after winning the right, she represented the United Kingdom in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest by performing the Andrew Lloyd Webber / Diane Warren penned "It's My Time". She finished in fifth place.

Ewen controversially replaced Keisha Buchanan in the group Sugababes in September 2009. After becoming a member of the group, the group achieved two UK top-ten singles and a top-fifteen album before disbanding in 2011.

In 2015, Ewen made her West End debut, playing Vanessa in the original London cast of In the Heights, following a brief run off-West End the previous year. She went on to play Princess Jasmine in 2016, as part of the original cast of Disney's production of Aladdin.

Early life

Ewen was born on 24 January 1988 and grew up in Plaistow, London, the child of Trevor and Carol Ewen. Her mother is Jamaican while her father is Scottish and has Italian ancestry.[1] Trevor is blind and partially deaf, while Carol is visually impaired. Because of her parents' disabilities, Ewen is a caregiver to both of her parents as well as her two younger siblings, Shereen and Kiel.[2][3] Ewen started singing and taking dance classes before she was even four. She attended New City Primary School then Brampton Manor Academy before transferring to the Sylvia Young Theatre School (SYTS) after receiving a scholarship. While a student at SYTS, she appeared in the television productions The Bill, Casualty, Mr. Harvey Lights a Candle and The Ghost Hunter. At the age of ten, Ewen went to an open audition for The Lion King. She was offered the part of Young Nala.[4]

Career

2002–2009: Early career and Eurovision

Ewen appeared in the children's dance DVD, How To Dance. She was briefly featured in the video for Busted's "What I Go to School For". From 2003 to 2004, she appeared in the Noggin series Out There.[5] In 2005, Ewen became a member of the girl group Trinity Stone, which signed with Sony BMG.[2][3] The group disbanded in 2007.[5] She later recorded with rapper Kwamé, who was impressed with her work on MySpace.[2] She released a digital single, "Got You", in 2008 under Kwame's Make Noise label.[5] Ewen co-wrote the song "A Little Bit" for the girl group Booty Luv, as well as the song "Let Me Be Me" for Jessica Mauboy. In early 2009, Ewen acted in the first episode of the series Myths.

In January 2009, Ewen was approached for and participated in the process to select the UK representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009.[2][5] She was selected to represent the UK with her performance of the song "It's My Time", composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, who accompanied her on piano.[2] Ewen finished in fifth place at Eurovision, the highest placing for the UK since 2002.[6] Having already signed with Polydor Records before the Eurovision selection, Ewen began working on her debut album.[5]

2009–2011: Sugababes and solo projects

Jade Ewen performing with the Sugababes in 2011

In September 2009, Ewen joined the group Sugababes as the replacement for Keisha Buchanan.[7] While her single, "My Man", had been released the week she joined the trio, promotional activities for it were cancelled. Nonetheless, it debuted at number 35 on the UK Singles Chart.[8] In an interview with the BBC, Ewen confirmed her commitment to the Sugababes was her main priority and that her solo album had been put on hold. Ewen did not meet the members of the Sugababes until two days before the video shoot for their single "About a Girl" in Los Angeles, having been flown there without being notified that she would be replacing Buchanan.[9] "About a Girl" debuted at number eight in the UK.[10] Sweet 7 was released in early 2010 after multiple delays during 2009, and charted at number 14 on the UK Albums Chart. The second single to feature Ewen's vocals, "Wear My Kiss", peaked at number 7 in the UK.[11]

The Sugababes began recording an eighth studio album in April 2010.[12] In late 2010, Ewen became the face of Miss Ultimo lingerie.[13] In 2011, the group and their management, Crown Talent & Media Group, left their record label of ten years, Island Records, for a new three-album distribution deal with Sony Music's RCA Records. Crown Talent & Media Group was the acting record label.[14] A promotional single under the new label, "Freedom", was released for free on 25 September 2011.[15]

2013–present: West End, stage and television work

On 15 March 2013, Ewen confirmed that Sugababes would record new music at some point during 2013, stating: "I think we will probably come back together again at the end of the year. There will definitely be more recording but, there is no release date anytime soon."[16] On 1 August 2013, she revealed the Sugababes were no longer recording in the studio together, stating the group was "pretty much done" [17]

In summer 2014, Ewen played the supporting role of Clara in the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre production of Porgy and Bess. The musical opened to 4 and 5 star reviews, with The Guardian writing of Ewen's performance: "Jade Ewen brings a moving simplicity to Clara, who follows her heart and pays the price."[18] In April 2015, Jade was due to have a lead role in Godspell at the Hackney Empire, before moving on to a 28-venue national tour. Ewen had to drop out due to ill health, saying she was "saddened" to withdraw.[19] In September 2015, it was announced that Jade would be joining the cast of In the Heights in its West End transfer, in the role of Vanessa. The musical received positive reviews.[20] In November 2015, it was announced that she would play the role of Princess Jasmine in the musical Aladdin at the Prince Edward Theatre.[21] Ewen later sued Disney for over £200,000 alleging damage to her voice from having to sing too loudly to be heard over Matthew Croke who played Aladdin.[22]

Discography

Singles

As lead artist

Year Title Peak chart positions Album
UK
[23]		 GER
[24]		 SWE
[25]		 SWI
[26]
2008 "Got You" ———— —
2009 "It's My Time" 27753475
"My Man" 35———
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released.
Year Title Album
2014 "Fly"
(Lost Witness featuring Jade Ewen)		 —

Music videos

Year Title Director
2009 "It's My Time" Pop Club[27]
"My Man" Urban Strom[28]

Filmography

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2001 The Ghost Hunter Leonie Price 5 episodes
2003–04 Out There Aggie Thackery 25 episodes
2005 Mr. Harvey Lights a Candle Donna
Casualty Carrie Fletcher 1 episode
The Bill Shanti Das 2 episodes
2009 Myths Athene 1 episode
Eurovision: Your Country Needs You! Contestant 5 episodes (Won)
2010 Eurovision: Your Country Needs You! Judge 1 episode
2013 Splash! Contestant 1 episode
2015 Casualty Billie-Jayne Lowe 1 episode
2016 Tracey Ullman's Show Various 7 episodes
2017 Tracey Breaks the News Various 3 episodes
2018 Lovesick Miranda 1 episode
2020 There She Goes Sam 1 episode
2021 Luis Miguel: The Series Mariah Carey 5 episodes

Cinema

Year Title Role Notes
2016 End of a Gun Lisa Durant

References

  1. ↑ "Sugababe singer Jade Ewen on her blindness torment and death threats", Eurovision, Daily Record, 20 March 2010, archived from the original on 2 May 2021, retrieved 5 December 2016
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "About Jade Ewen", Eurovision, EBU, archived from the original on 12 May 2019, retrieved 4 December 2009
  3. 1 2 Eurovision Acts – Jade, BBC, archived from the original on 8 September 2009, retrieved 2 December 2009
  4. ↑ Performer: Summer 2016
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Klier, Marcus (24 April 2009). "Part thirty-seven Introducing the 2009 entries: United Kingdom". esctoday.com. Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  6. ↑ "London's Jade Ewen grabs fifth place for the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest", thelondonpaper, 17 May 2009, archived from the original on 19 May 2009, retrieved 4 December 2009
  7. ↑ Sugababes Statement, 21 September 2009, archived from the original on 10 November 2014, retrieved 2 December 2009
  8. ↑ Davies, Russell (21 September 2009), Official confirmation UK: Jade joins the Sugababes, esctoday.com, retrieved 4 December 2009
  9. ↑ Sugababes deny Keisha pushed out, BBC, 25 September 2009, archived from the original on 28 September 2009, retrieved 4 December 2009
  10. ↑ Top 40 Singles Archive, The Official UK Charts Company, archived from the original on 1 March 2010, retrieved 29 November 2009 Week 47 : 15 November 2009 – 21 November 2009
  11. ↑ "2010-03-06 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive". Official Charts Company. 6 March 2010. Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  12. ↑ "Music – News – Sugababes begin work on new album". Digital Spy. 21 April 2010. Archived from the original on 24 April 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  13. ↑ "Miss Ultimo". Ultimo.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  14. ↑ "Sugababes Sign To Sony RCA". Media Essentials. 7 June 2011. Archived from the original on 30 August 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  15. ↑ "Singles Release Diary – Music". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  16. ↑ "Sugababes to record new music before the end of the year". Digital Spy. 15 March 2013. Archived from the original on 19 March 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  17. ↑ "Sugababes are "pretty much done", Jade Ewen reveals". Digital Spy. 1 August 2013. Archived from the original on 4 August 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  18. ↑ "Porgy and Bess review – exquisitely sung Gershwin in the fresh air". TheGuardian.com. 29 July 2014. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  19. ↑ "Jade Ewen drops out of Godspell". 20 March 2015. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  20. ↑ "In the Heights review – utterly huggable musical lights up London". TheGuardian.com. 14 October 2015. Archived from the original on 11 December 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  21. ↑ Porteous, Jacob (23 November 2015). "Full Cast Announced For London Premiere of Disney's Aladdin – Tickets on Sale from 8:00 AM". London Theatre Direct. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  22. ↑ Ames, Jonathan (5 March 2022). "Aladdin star Jade Ewen sues Disney over loud singing". The Times. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  23. ↑ "Jade Ewen > UK Charts". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  24. ↑ Hung, Steffen. "Discographie Jade Ewen". German Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung). Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  25. ↑ "Discography Jade Ewen". Swedish Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2009.
  26. ↑ "Discographie Jade Ewen". Swiss Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  27. ↑ Knight, David (21 April 2009). "Jade Ewen's It's My Time by Pop Club". Promo News. Archived from the original on 17 October 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2009.
  28. ↑ Knight, David (14 September 2009). "Jade Ewen's My Man by Urban Strom". Promo News. Archived from the original on 15 December 2009. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
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