Who & What Are They?
Weekend are a Chaos Award nominated Australian-British-Irish boy band consisting of members; Dustyn Blue, Scott Wellington, Oscar Ward, Riley Hamilton and Billy Khan. They were put together by G2L member and big cousin of Dustyn Blue, Lyrica Ocha. Following their formation in late 2011 they were quickly signed to Angel Music Records. In March 2012, Angel Music Records closed its doors and Weekend quickly signed to Chaos Records.
Weekend's debut single; "Everything About You" was released on 22nd January 2012. The single debuted at No.5 in the weekly Airplay Chart making it the 4th highest new entry that week, the single peaked at No.2. Their debut album "Fired Up" was released on March 17th 2012 alongside a limited signed edition of which only 300 copies exist. The group's second single, "Smile About It" was released on March 10th 2012 and entered at No.11 in it's first week, the next week it rose to No.1 giving them their first ever Number 1 hit. They announced that their third single will be "Fired Up" and was due for a release in May, however it was pushed back to June. It became another top 5 hit for the group. August 2012 saw the release of Lock It Up, the first single from the release of their debut album Fired Up: Reloaded. The single continued their string of top 5 hits and also became their second number one in the UK and the group's fastest selling single worldwide to date. They became one of the biggest selling acts of 2012 worldwide despite only being together for less than a year. Their debut album reached No.1 in 6 countries and the Top 5 in 20 countries. Fired Up: Reloaded entered at No.1 in 6 countries within its first week of charting, reaching the same level of success as their debut album.
Following their formation, they signed a £1 million record contract with Angel Music Records which is home to G2L (alongside Stefani Vola & AJ Price as solo artists), Brown Sugar, Cinzia Ricci, Jake Richards and many more.
They started recording their debut album in November 2011, with 4 songs already written for them. The boys either wrote/co wrote the rest of the tracks. On 14th January 2011 it was confirmed that all of the songs have been written and only 4 songs remain to be recorded and mixed.
On January 5th 2011, they appeared on daytime TV show DayBreak and Riley Hamilton confirmed that their debut single would be released at the end of January. Weekend performed a cover of 'Say It Right' by Nelly Furtado. The performance was uploaded onto YouTube and has so far reached of 1.4 million views.
Their first single 'Everything About You' was released on 22nd January 2012 and has so far reach No.4 in the charts. The video premiered on 1st February. The clip sees the five boys messing around on a beach together with some friends. Clips of them swimming underwater and driving around also appear throughout. It has has far received over 32,000,000 views on YouTube. The song was written by Lyrica Ocha and Dustyn Blue. Some critics say that the song's instrumental sounds very similar to Raven's 'Colors Explode', however due to both being released at the same time it has been put down to coincidence instead of copying.
'Smile About It' was released as the second single in March 2012. The song is a mid tempo ballad which was written solely by Dustyn. The video was released a day later. In it, the boys walk through a small countryside village searching for their girlfriends. Whilst walking the notice other couples in love and showing affection towards each other. It was filmed in 3D and the surrounding scenery (forests, trains etc) appear to be almost prodruding from the screen. A lot of birds-eye views of the countryside and rivers are shown leading many to call the video 'beautiful' and 'stunning'. It entered at No.11 in it's first week of charting but then rose to No.1 the following week, giving them their first No.1 single. The video has so far received over 106 million views on YouTube.
Weekend's debut album 'Fired Up' was released on March 17th 2012. The tracklisting for the album was revealed through their official website in Febraury 2012. The boys have also been confirmed to make An appearance on Alan Carr: Chatty Man. In February 2012, they appeared on the second episode of The Queen Alexis Show, in which they talked about "Dustyn's bathroom bunk-up, STD's, Self Harming & Solo work". Fired Up debuted at No.1 in its first week, giving the boys the number one single and album simultaneously.
The third single to be lifted from the album was Fired Up. The video was shot in early April and will premiere sometime in June. Scott Wellington stated on Twitter that the video will have full on choreography. The video was directed by Emil Nava. The song received critical praise with many calling it 'the best song on the album'. It was written by Stefani Vola.
In July 2012, Weekend embarked on their first ever world tour. It is simply titled 'Weekend World Tour' or just, 'WWT'. The tour was sold out in a matter of minutes and the demand for tickets caused many online ticket offices to actually crash. WWT has received glowing reviews from critics for the boys outstanding live vocals and the choreography in each show. They were supported by Jacob Estrada, The Zone, Mercedes Payne and Serenity Scott. Whilst touring, they recording a number of songs during their days off of the tour. Weekend decided to put together a re-release of their debut album so that fans have something to listen to whilst they take a break from recording after the tour. The first single from this re-release was Lock It Up. The single entered the charts at No.4, continue their string of top 5 singles, the next week it rose to No.1 giving them their second number one single. It has became their fastest selling single to date and has already outsold their previous single, 'Fired Up', within just a week of release. The boys confirmed via Weekend's official Twitter page that 'Turn Up The Volume' would be their next single. It has continued their string of Top 5 hits, peaking at No.4. On 24th of September 2012, Fired Up: Reloaded entered at No.1 in the album charts in 6 countries, matching the success of Fired Up.
The Boys
Weekend consists of Billy Khan; the lovable bad boy who was raised in a children's care home. Riley Hamilton; the shy and mild mannered boy next door who is also extremely intelligent. Dustyn Blue; the sometimes forgetful but totally adorable little Irish boy who is the baby of the band. Scott Wellington; the eldest member with the sweet angelic like voice who also originates from Australia! Finally, Oscar Ward; the handsome lead singer of the group whose curls are more iconic than Ginger Spice's Union Jack dress. Together they make up one of the world's most loved bands.
BILLYFull Name: Bilal "Billy" Ataubaq Khemprakash Khan
Home Town: Shoreditch, London, UK
D.O.B: 24th May 1993
Favourite Food: Hmmmm......fajitas!
Favourite Colour: Purple
Favourite Artists: Aaliyah, Michael Jackson, Dominic Brown, Leona Lewis, Cassie Valentine, Brandy
Favourite Word: Probably shouldn't say.....
My Band MatesDusty - My best friend. He's been with me through thick and thin. Despite everything he's been through in life, he's stayed strong. I admire him so much.
Ri - Gotta watch the quiet ones :P Ri's so generous and there's not a bad bone in his body. Love our debates on eating animals, he's one of those weird vegan things :/
Oz - Curly-Wurly! We've had our differences in the past but when it gets tough, he's always there for me. Also my tennis playing buddy :)
Scott - He has me in stitches sometimes, I really love how witty he is. We've had so many great times together and he's even funnier when drunk lol
IN BRIEFBilly Khan is a Chaos Award nominated British singer-songwriter. His mother is White British and his father is Pakistani with Mexican and Filipino ancestry. He is a member of Australian-British-Irish boy band Weekend. Billy was born on 24th May 1993. Weekend have received critical praise for their vocal and musical style and also their image. As a member of Weekend he has achieved a top 2 hit single; Everything About You two number one singles; Smile About It and Lock It Up, another top 5 single Fired Up and two number one albums. The group have became one of the biggest selling pop acts of the century despite being together for only a matter of months. Billy recently split up with his wife, Andrea Khan. He is currently in the Celebrity Big Brother House.
BIOBilly was born to Joanne Lott and Heder Khan on 24th May 1993. He has two older sisters; Amira (24) and Yasmin (21) and a younger brother Deneil (17). At the age of 4, Billy and his siblings were taken into care at a local foster home as his parents split up. His mother couldn't cope financially with the children and his father fled the country. He and his three fellow siblings were adopted after spending 1 year in the home however Billy was sent back as his new family couldn't handle his problem behaviour. He was then adopted again at the age of 7 but returned to the home a month later. In 2001, at the age of 8, he was took on by a third family who looked after him for 7 months before being given up again. When he turned 16, his mother took him back home. Billy now lives in the Weekend complex, with his wife Andrea Khan [Mason].
Being a pupil at a performing arts school that his foster home paid for and sent him to, he isn't shy and loves to perform. Billy has written numerous scripts and songs in his spare time.
Billy has also been a member of several failed bands. Two of which were a boy band and one was a mixture of males and females. The second band he was a member of; 'Lights' came closest to fame as they were signed to a label but were dropped a month later as the label went bust.
Billy also did some modelling for a catalogue and soon became a photographer's favourite due to his 'exotic looks' and 'sexy expressions'. He quit modelling after only a brief 5 month stint as one photographer tried to persuade Billy to pose naked which he refused to do. After that he stated that he felt he was becoming and object and does not like to be told what to do.
He has also admitted he has been smoking for nearly five years (since the age of 14).
In October 2011, Billy auditioned for Weekend after hearing about auditions on Twitter via a friend. He successfully auditioned for Lyrica Ocha and became the 3rd boy to join the band.
Billy and pop star, Andrea Mason, married on July 11th 2012. The wedding is reported to have cost around £1 million which Billy paid for by himself. He also hired BCStyle&Co. to design the outfits and wedding dress. On September 6th 2012, naked photos that he sent to former boss, Mykaylah, back in February 2012, leaked onto the internet.
Billy and Andrea split in October 2012. Billy is currently in the Celebrity Big Brother house and has caused controversy by sleeping with fellow male contestant, Andros, on TV.
Billy is known for his very stubborn personality and his habbit of expressing dislikes of people in public. He is also known as being very vain and loving the material things in life.
The most famous examples of his strong personality are the heated debates he's gotten into with fellow musicians such as AJ Williams, Serenity Scott, Ally Levesque, Scott Rose-Hilton and even fellow band member, Oscar Ward.
OSCARFull Name: Oscar Joseph Ward
Home Town: Mayfair, London, UK
D.O.B: 16th November 1994
Favourite Food: Anything with cheese!
Favourite Colour: Red
Favourite Artists: James Urie, P!nk, Riot! In The Boulevard, JoJo
Favourite Word: Kangaroo
My Band MatesDusty - He's so funny and doesn't even know it! Always saying the first thing that comes into his head without giving it a second thought.
Ri - The golden boy :P Seriously, the nicest guy I know. He'll do anything for a friend in need. He's also so fricking intelligent!"
B - Not a guy I'd want to mess with....Actually, he's really sweet and is a great guy. He'll look out for you. Also the best footballer ever!
Scott - Probably my closest friend. Love his sarcasm and quick wit. There's never a dull moment with Scott around. Love you, buddy.
IN BRIEFOscar Joseph Ward is a British singer-songwriter who is one fifth of the boy band Weekend and is known for being the lead singer of the gorup. He was born on 16th November 1994. The band have received critical praise for their vocal and music style and also their image. With Weekend, he has acheived a top 2 single; Everything About You, two No.1 singles; Smile About It and Lock It Up, another top 5 hit Fired Up and a number one album of the same name, Fired Up. He is the younger cousin of Joey Frankson from the Teen Titans. Oscar is currently engaged to Eilidh Greene and the couple are expecting their first child.
BIOOscar was born on 16th November 1994 to Richard and Sharon Ward in London, England. He is the youngest of 3 siblings [Gillian (24), Emma (19) and Oscar (17)]. Born and raised in Mayfair, London, Oscar was used to a life of luxury and money was never an issue. His parents sent him and his siblings to a private school which his father, a P.E teacher, works at. His mother works in Real Estate so with two hard working parents with a high income, he loved like a prince.
At the age of 11 he enrolled in drama school were he landed lead roles for numerous plays. In 2009, he was ejected from the school for fighting with a fellow student. Oscar expresses a dislike to the pupil to this very day and shows no interest in finding another drama school. After defecting from drama school he created his own indie band; Rising Water. The band consisted of 4 members. Rising Water recorded over 30 songs together and were in talks with numerous indie labels until the group split in late 2010.
In October 2011, Oscar received a call from his cousin Joey Frankson in which he said that Lyrica Ocha wanted Oscar to come down and audition for a new boy band; Weekend. He successfully auditioned and became the second member to join after Dustyn Blue. Oscar was praised for his 'rocky' vocals and deep voice. During the writing and recording, it was decided that Oscar would be the lead singer of the band due to his powerful vocals and charm. Since joining Weekend, he has enjoyed the feeling of having two number one singles, two number one albums and 4 consecutive top 5 hits.
Also, on 26th February 2012, it was confirmed that Oscar would be co-hosting the prestigious Chaos Awards V alongside his girlfriend, Eilidh Greene. The show aired live on 1st April 2012 and was the most watched award show ever televised (only to be surpassed by Chaos Awards VI). Now that's something!
DUSTYNFull Name: Dustyn Sean James Kian Blue
Home Town: Cahir, Tipperary, Ireland
D.O.B: 25th December 1995
Favourite Food: Sushi, Kebabs.....Lucky Charms
Favourite Colour: Baby Blue
Favourite Artists: The Zone, Pixie Lott, Rita Ora, G2L, Kelly Rowland, Katie Coyle
Favourite Word: Gobbledygook
My Band MatesB - My bestest friend! He is soooo tall and broad and it scares me! But he is really sweet and underneath the toughness is a big cuddly teddy bear :P
Oz - I just want to touch his hair, he doesn't let me :( Ozzy is funny and has a sweet girlfriend called Eilidh. He has an amazing voice.
Ri - Aww Ri is so kind. I never thoughts someone could be as caring as he is but I guess I was wrong. I wish I is as smart as him.
Scott - Scotty is like a dad to me. I is the youngest, he's the oldest and he makes sure everything is OK in my life :)
IN BRIEFDustyn Sean James Kian Blue was born on 25th December 1995 (age 16) in Tipperary, Ireland. He is an Irish singer-songwriter and actor. He is a member of Australian-British-Irish boy band Weekend. The band have received critical praise for their vocal and music style and also their image. With Weekend, he has earned a Top 2 single; Everything About You,a number one single; Smile About It, another international top 5 hit, Fired Up and a chart topping album of the same name. He is the younger cousin of manager and G2L member, Lyrica Ocha. Dustyn was named the richest pop star under 16, beating the likes of Willow Smith and Layla Wilson. Dustyn is father to Shay Aodhan Blue who was born on 23rd May 2012. As of April 2012, he has been in a relationship with the singer, Blake Williams.
BIODustyn was born on Christmas Day 1995 to Janet and Martin Blue in Tipperary, Ireland. At two weeks old, his parents changed his name to Logan, before returning to Dustyn two days later. He is the youngest of 5 siblings [Raymond (31), Celine (27), Conor (22), Reece (20), Dustyn (16)] and is the only one of them that is involved in a musical career.
At the age of 3, Dustyn was diagnosed with MVP (Mitral Valve Prolapse) which is an abnormality in his heart valves which can lead to an irregular heartbeat (which he has), strokes, heart attacks and heart failure. As a result, he said that even when he reaches the age of 18 he will not drink or smoke to prevent any further damage.
At the age of 13, he started to busk in the streets. Dustyn sang and played his guitar in the city centre for nearly two years before joining Weekend and became a well known face in his town. He would sing covers of Stevie Wonder, Katie Coyle, Oasis and many more famous acts alongside original songs of his own.
Aged 14, Dustyn was attacked at a subway train station after coming back from visiting his aunt and uncle. A gang of teenagers hit him with baseball bats and stole his belongings. During the attack, one of the thugs hit Dustyn in the mouth with a hammer, knocking four of his back teeth out and breaking several others. He was also left with a scarred lip and a chipped collar bone.
Dustyn is a catholic and still attends a catholic secondary school today. He is also dyslexic and admits that he finds even the most basic of words difficult to read and spell. It was also discovered in 2012 that he has very mild Asperger's sydrome (a form of autism). Dustyn is fluent in English, Irish Gaelic, Japanese & Spanish, he self taught himself the latter two through audio tapes. He also has Scottish & Polish roots. Dustyn owns a black and white kitten called Fifi.
In October 2011, Dustyn's big cousin and musician, Lyrica Ocha decided to create a new musical project whilst her group G2L were on a small hiatus. Lyrica decided that she was going to create a 'male version of G2L' and find 5 talented boys to create the band. Dustyn was first choice as he and Lyrica are very close and Lyrica knows his musical talent.
Dustyn has the most writing credits in total. He wrote all of the groups second single and first number one; Smile About It.
Dustyn became father to Shay Aodhan Blue on 23rd May 2012. He was born 4 months premature and was underweight. Shay is also partially deaf, not being able to hear in his right ear and having muffled hearing in his left.
He entered a homosexual relationship with cousin of Mandy Williams and member of pop band, The Zone, Blake Williams. The couple have been dating since April 2012 and have been living together since March 2012, originally as just room mates. They both raise Dustyn's son together.
Dustyn developed a cocaine addiction in late spring. His boyfriend, Blake, sent him to rehab but he only stayed for a few days before returning home. He later started taking the drug again in September 2012 and was sent to rehab again for a few weeks. He has stated that he has gotten over the addiction.
In August 2012, Holly Dunbar, the mother of Shay, died due to alcohol poisoning. She was 18 years old.
SCOTTFull Name: Scott Jay Edward Wellington
Home Town: Leeton, New South Wales, Australia
D.O.B: 24th October 1991
Favourite Food: Hotdogs with tomato ketchup....LOTS OF KETCHUP
Favourite Colour: Orange (obviously)
Favourite Artists: Cassie, J.Lo, Kato, Izzy, Mandy Williams, Teen Titans
Favourite Word: Bang
My Band MatesYou're all d*ckheads ;) LOL
IN BRIEFScott Jay Edward Wellington is an Australian singer-songwriter who is a member of the boy band Weekend. He was born on 1st October 1991 in Leeton, Australia and moved to the UK, aged 7. He is the eldest member of Weekend and is seen as the father figure despite being in his early twenties. Scott's also know for his quick wit and sarcasm, providing comic relief within the group. With Weekend, he's had 4 consecutive top 5 singles (two of them becoming No.1's), two No.1 albums and a sellout world tour. He is currently the only single member
BIOScott was born on 24th October 1991 in Leeton, Australia. He is the eldest of three siblings; Scott (20), Arianna (19) and Sophie (17). Scott's father Jack Wellington is a heart surgeon and his mother, Christine is a primary school teacher.
Growing up in Australia, he took part in numerous physical activities and was a member of his school's basketball team. However, this did not last as his family relocated to the UK when Scott was 7 as his father was offered a job transfer.
In 1998 his family moved to London where he currently resides today. Instead of resuming his sporting activities, he join the school drama club and went on to acheive the highest drama exam grades in his year. Scott also achieved the second highest English grade in his school.
After leaving school in 2009, Scott took on a part time job at a music store whilst also attending University where he was training to become a drama teacher however, after he become aware of auditions for a new boy band he quickly signed himself up.
Scott became the 4th member to make the band after successfully auditioning for Lyrica Ocha. He sang 'Unchained Melody' and was praised for his emotional vocals.
After the line up was finalised, they went on to record their debut album and are currently in the final stages of completing it. They released their debut single Everything About You on 22nd January 2012.
Scott admits that he has the weakest voice in the group but has been praised for his vocal tone. He sings the least on their debut album Fired Up.
RILEYFull Name: Riley Conor Hamilton
Home Town: Beeston, Leeds, UK
D.O.B: 28th July 1994
Favourite Food: Aubergine Bake
Favourite Colour: Green
Favourite Artists: M.I.A, Nelly Furtado, Stephanie Fierce, Mercedes, Bjork, Siobhan Donaghy
Favourite Word: Skedaddle
My Band MatesB - I've always admired his confidence. I'm really shy and would love to be as strong and confident as Billy. He's been through a lot but he's remained as grounded as possible
Dusty - Aw, who doesn't love Our Little Dustyn? He's just so cute and innocent, I love the little guy, he's so full of life and is like a little brother to me
Oz - Our leader! :P He's an amazing singer and really funny at times. Trying to convince him to become a vegan but it's not happening lol
Scott - He's the papa of the group. Scott's only in his 20's but he's really wise and gives good advice. On top of that he is hilarious!
IN BRIEFRiley Conor Hamilton is an English singer-songwriter and is a member of Australian-British-Irish boy band Weekend. He was born on 28th July 1994. The band have received critical praise for their vocal and musical style and also their image. With the group he has achieved a top 5 hit single; Everything About You, two number 1 singles; Smile About It and Lock It Up, another top 5 hit, Fired Up and two number one albums. He is currently dating Michelle Green and the pair live together. Riley is known for being a vegan and also for being the quietest member of the band who rarely swears at all.
BIORiley was born on 28th July 1994 to Beverly Jackson and Thomas Hamilton. He has two older sisters, Leah (26) and Victoria (22) and an older brother, Michael (20). Riley was raised in Beeston, Leeds and moved to London in 2011.
His mother owns a chain of beauty salons; 'Sparkle' and was a former member of a small girl band; 'The Willows'. His father is a construction worker.
Riley attended Hugh Gaitskell Primary School and then Farnley Park High School until he was 16 years old then dropped out to go to university to do an English degree however, after joining Weekend he decided not to go to university.
Riley also had a love for sports, especially tennis. When he was younger, he wanted to play professionally but instead turned to a career in music. He had a brief stint in a band before joining Weekend.
In October 2011, he auditioned for Lyrica Ocha in hope to become a member of Weekend. Riley successfully auditioned and was the 5th boy to join the band. Riley's bus was held in traffic and arrived 40 minutes late for the auditions, however, by luck Lyrica and the others still gave him the opportunity to audition for the group. He sang a beautiful rendition of 'Haven't Met You Yet' by Michael Bublé.
On June 11th 2012, Riley traveled to his old home in Leeds to visit his father, Thomas Hamilton. Upon arrival, Riley discovered his father's dead body in the living room. The body had its throat cut and hadn't been dead for long. The police are currently investigating the case. A few months later, Riley's brother, Michael, was found dead at his home too. He was found with his neck broken after a fall down a flight of stairs.
MUSIC
Singles
Edited by user 29 August 2016 10:06:18(UTC)
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