A teenager who spent years as a school choirboy is now stepping onto the international stage after being selected for a new boyband.<\/p>\n
John Fadare, 17, a sixth former at King\u2019s School, Rochester, has been chosen as a member of December 10, a seven-piece band formed through the Netflix docuseries Simon Cowell: The Next Act.<\/p>\n
John Fadare from Rochester features on Simon Cowell\u2019s Netflix show The Next Act<\/p>\n
The six episodes, made available to watch yesterday (December 15), saw the music mogul painstakingly put the hopefuls through their paces on stage, in the studio and at a photoshoot.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt paid off,\u201d a spokesperson for the show said. \u201cAs well as playing 14 instruments between them, their multi-part harmonies, varied influences and different personalities create a band that is genuinely unique.\u201d<\/p>\n
John beat hundreds of other young performers auditioning for a place.<\/p>\n
He said the opportunity was the result of a lifelong connection to music rather than a sudden breakthrough.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really can\u2019t remember a time when I wasn\u2019t singing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing a chorister also builds teamwork skills, which really helped when it came to being part of a group\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dad always played music around the house when I was younger and I\u2019d harmonise along to songs on the radio.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mum noticed that I liked music and was into it.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we had a family friend whose daughter was in a choir, so my mum was like, John, you should apply for this, because you like to sing.\u201d<\/p>\n
He joined the choir in Year 4 after starting at King\u2019s in Rochester.<\/p>\n
The school is one of the oldest cathedral schools in the world and has strong links to classical and choral music.<\/p>\n
John in school uniform in Rochester Cathedral where he was a chorister, pictured with King’s principal Simon Fisher<\/p>\n
John said years of training and repeated auditions helped shape him musically and taught him patience and resilience.<\/p>\n
\u201cSinging in a choir builds your confidence and musicality,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing a chorister also builds teamwork skills, which really helped when it came to being part of a group.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adrian Bawtree, director of music at Rochester Cathedral, said John \u201calways sang to a high standard as an 11-year-old and beyond\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was wholly dependable, committed and good company in everything that he did,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
John has also been writing and producing music for several years.<\/p>\n
In 2023, he won the Medway African and Caribbean Association award for the arts.<\/p>\n
He said he auditioned for the new TV show because of the scale of the opportunity and Simon Cowell\u2019s reputation for spotting talent.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought being in a band just sounded interesting and fun,\u201d he said. \u201cSimon Cowell has such a good ear for music.\u201d<\/p>\n
The programme was billed as an attempt to fill a gap in the market for a major British pop boyband.<\/p>\n
John Fadare performing with his new band December 10<\/p>\n
John said he was very excited when he learned he had been selected.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve learned not to set expectations for myself. I used to do a lot of acting and drama, so I got rejected all the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m used to telling myself not to let it phase me and just keep trying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking about Simon Cowell, John said: \u201cHe\u2019s not what he seems if you watch his old content.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s honest but he\u2019s also very down to earth and genuine. I think he\u2019s softer than he came across years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cKing\u2019s prepared me for the real world. Now real life is beginning and I feel ready\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a very genuine character and we all really like him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now signed to EMI and Universal Records, John is balancing his A-level studies with filming in Miami and recording sessions in London.<\/p>\n
He praised his school for preparing him for adult life.<\/p>\n
\u201cKing\u2019s prepared me for the real world,\u201d he said. \u201cNow real life is beginning and I feel ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
John said he hoped the band would release strong music and sell out shows.<\/p>\n
December 10, Simon Cowell’s new band. Picture: Gracey&Co<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would be the dream, because we\u2019ve all worked so hard for this.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to band management, \u201cthe seven-piece boyband December 10 is ushering in a thrilling new era in pop music\u201d.<\/p>\n
Along with John, the group consists of Cruz, 19, Danny, 17, Hendrick, 19, Josh, 17, Nicolas, 16, and Sean, 19.<\/p>\n
Teachers at King\u2019s School said John\u2019s work ethic and commitment were clear long before the cameras arrived.<\/p>\n
Music teacher Miss Roux described John as \u201ca versatile performer, comfortable in RnB, musical theatre and classical vocal repertoire\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis success is a testament to his hard work and resilience, and we are delighted to see him achieving his dreams\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis enthusiasm for music is infectious,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Director of drama Mr Bailey said: \u201cJohn has always been creative. He has a flair for performing that captivates audiences, whether acting, singing his own compositions or performing live as part of a band\u201d.<\/p>\n
School principal Simon Fisher added: \u201cWatching him grow from a chorister into such a confident and creative performer has been a privilege,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis success is a testament to his hard work and resilience, and we are delighted to see him achieving his dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n
December 10\u2019s first video, released yesterday (Monday, December 15), was a live acoustic cover of \u201cBye Bye Bye\u201d by NSYNC, recorded at Metropolis Studios in London.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A teenager who spent years as a school choirboy is now stepping onto the international stage after being…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":320063,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[6491,96,192,188,128,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-320062","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-human-interest","11":"tag-medway","12":"tag-music","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=320062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/320063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=320062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=320062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=320062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}