Just when you think Dublin twins John and Edward Grimes (Jedward!) have slipped into irrelevancy, they come bouncing back to remind you of all the reasons you love them. Or love to hate them.
Either way, they’ve gone further than anyone ever expected back when they first appeared on X Factor, the judges repeatedly praising their energy, even if often their vocals didn’t match up with their enthusiasm. At that first audition Cheryl Fernandez Versini asked where they saw themselves in 15 years. John (the one usually positioned on the left)answered: “I see myself being older”. It didn’t set a high bar.
But that was six years ago. Since then, they’ve proved they have no plans to fade into oblivion anytime soon. We can only assume it’s the same energy and enthusiasm that has seen them resurface again this week, trending on twitter (#jednado) for their upcoming movie role. Here are five moments Jedward outdid themselves and surpassed our expectations:
1. When they landed not only a movie role but a song in the film
There's a Jednado coming – Jedward are making their film debut along with their pal Tara Reid in Sharknado 3. Yes, 3. David Hasselhoff and Frankie Muniz from Malcolm in the Middle will also both star in the film, which premieres on Syfy UK on Wednesday at 10pm. They're not in the trailer so we'll have to see if their acting abilities match their singing, but they've recorded the movie's theme song, 'Oh Hell No' and the video is everything you could possibly want from a Jedward video and more.
2. When they got to the final five in The X Factor
Our first glimpse of Jedward was at their first audition, where they performed the Backstreet Boys’ ‘As Long As You Love Me’; a performance Simon Cowell declared “not very good and incredibly annoying”. Despite this, they hung on week in, week out until the final five when the judges booted them out despite Jedward receiving more of the public vote than Olly Murs, who stayed. The injustice of it all.
3. When we sent them to Eurovision
Sure, Ireland’s reputation in the Eurovision over the last couple of years hasn’t been what it used to be, but that’s not to say we don’t still fancy ourselves as Eurovision heavyweights. We’re still the most successful country in the contest, with seven wins. It’s a mark of Ireland’s confidence in Jedward that in 2011, we sent them, their giant quiffs, glittery costumes and somewhat synchronised twin dance routines to dazzle Europe with Lipstick. And it mostly worked. The 119 points they bagged us were more than we’d seen since 1997.
4. When they convinced Vanilla Ice to be in their cover of Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby)
By all accounts, Vanilla Ice probably was very busy when Jedward called. He was about to embark on the Back2Kool tour with MC Hammer and Turbo B, and he had a spot on Dancing on Ice coming up. But nonetheless, he couldn’t resist the lure of Jedward’s charm and took the time to not only record a verse for their debut single, but also appear in the video. We can only assume it was the dance routines that did it.
5. When we sent them to Eurovision, again
After Lipstick charted in various European countries, and curiously, peaked at number eight in South Korea’s international artists chart, and we sent them out to perform before US President Barack Obama’s speech at College Green in 2012, another go at the Eurovision was the least we could offer them. We tried too hard: taking away their quiffs, adding Eurovision gimmicks like a water feature in the middle of the stage. Europe still loved them – the 46 points they got that year still was more than the few years before them – but we should have known to just let Jedward do their thing in its simplest form. They know how to please the people.
