Olly Murs

Oliver Stanley Murs (born 14 May 1984), known professionally as Olly Murs, is an English singer, songwriter and television personality.

Murs was born on 14 May 1984 in Witham, Essex, the son of Vicky-Lynn and Pete Murs.

He has a twin brother, Ben, and a sister, Fay.

He is of Latvian descent and his great grandparents were Edward and Kathe Murs.

He attended Howbridge Junior School in Witham and Notley High School in Braintree, Essex, where he was a striker in the school's football team.

Murs played semi-professionally for Isthmian Division One North side Witham Town between 2006 and 2008.

He excelled for the club's reserve team during the 2006–07 season, scoring 12 goals in 13 appearances and winning the Ridgeons Reserve Teams Cup.

He made three first team appearances in the following season, scoring once, but was forced to give up his football career following an injury.

Prior to The X Factor, Murs worked at Kitchens Direct as a Telemarketer and then as a recruitment consultant at Prime Appointments in Witham, and performed as part of a covers band called the Small Town Blaggers with a friend, Jon Goodey.

He also appeared on the game show Deal or No Deal in 2007, where he won £10.

In 2008, he travelled to Australia, backpacking alone along the Gold Coast for three months.

It was upon his return that he decided, having tried it out unsuccessfully twice in the past (when he failed to make it past the stage where he had to audition in front of the producers), to re-audition for The X Factor again.

He rose to prominence after participating in the sixth series of the television talent show The X Factor in 2009, where he finished as runner-up.

Following the show, Murs was signed to RCA Records and Sony Music in the United Kingdom, and Columbia Records in the United States.

Prior to The X Factor, Murs was a Non-League footballer.

In 2009, Murs auditioned for the sixth series of The X Factor, performing Stevie Wonder's "Superstition".

Judge Simon Cowell said it was "the easiest yes I've ever given".

At bootcamp Murs sang Elton John's song “Your Song”.

On the first live show, he sang "She's the One" and on the second, "A Fool in Love", a performance which Cowell described as being "in a different league."

For week three he took on "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered".

Louis Walsh commented that he was the "dark horse of the competition," and Cowell said he was "coming into his own each week."

He frequently employed dance moves in his performance including his trademark "Olly wiggle."

In week 4 he sang "Come Together" and again received positive comments, with Walsh predicting, "I think you're in the final three," and Cowell saying he was "progressing better than just about everybody."

In week 5 he performed "Twist and Shout" and in week 6 "Don't Stop Me Now", after which he was labelled by Minogue as, "absolutely the best performer we have on the show by far."

In week 7, after a performance of "Fastlove", he was in the bottom two with John & Edward.

Cowell and Cheryl Cole and Dannii Minogue voted to send Murs through to the quarter-final while Walsh voted to send John & Edward through to the quarter-final.

In 2010, he released his self-titled debut album, which entered the UK Albums Chart at number two and was certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

The album included the hit singles "Please Don't Let Me Go" and "Thinking of Me".

The following year, Murs released his second album, In Case You Didn't Know, which entered the charts at number one and resulted in two number-one singles with "Heart Skips a Beat" and "Dance with Me Tonight".

In 2011, it was announced that Murs would return to The X Factor to co-present its spin-off show The Xtra Factor with Caroline Flack.

In 2012, he released his third album, Right Place Right Time, and released six singles from it; the first, "Troublemaker", was his fourth number one.

Murs returned for a celebrity version of the show in 2012, which made him the only person to appear on the programme as a contestant twice.

In 2014, Murs released the single "Wrapped Up" featuring Gym Class Heroes' Travie McCoy, which peaked at number three.

This was the first single to be released from his fourth album Never Been Better, which entered the charts at number one.

It was followed by a second single, "Up" featuring American singer Demi Lovato.

In 2015, it was announced that Murs would be reunited with Caroline Flack to replace Dermot O'Leary as co-presenters of The X Factor for series 12.

In 2016, he released his fifth album, 24 Hrs, which debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, followed by his sixth album, You Know I Know, in 2018.

After splitting with RCA Records, Murs released his seventh album, Marry Me, in 2022.

From 2018 to 2023, he was a coach on The Voice UK.

In 2022 and 2023, Murs presented Starstruck on ITV.