Josh James Dubovie | |
|---|---|
 Dubovie at the "Eurovision Welcome Party" in Oslo (May 2010) | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Josh James Dubovie |
| Born | (1990-11-27)27 November 1990 (age 34) Laindon, Essex, England |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 2010–2014 |
Josh James Dubovie[1] (/dʊˈboʊvi/; born 27 November 1990) is a British singer. Dubovie is most notable for having represented the UK at the2010 Eurovision Song Contest, held inOslo, Norway, in May 2010, after winningthe UK national selection competition with "That Sounds Good to Me", a song byMike Stock,Pete Waterman and Steve Crosby.[2]
Dubovie, fromLaindon,[3] performed with StageAbility, an after-school stage club, from age nine. At age 15, he playedEnjolras in a school production ofLes Misérables with the Essex Group. For this role he saw avocal coach as he had no previous experience of singing.[4] He attendedThe Billericay School and studied for A levels inMusic Technology,Drama andEnglish Literature.[5] In 2008 he won the Blues Idol competition, and has also won Voice of St Lukes contest andBillericay's Got Talent.[6]
Prior to auditioning forYour Country Needs You, he applied for a part onE4 TV seriesSkins 3rd series and was short-listed for the role of Freddie Mclair.[7]
When Dubovie left school, his father, Richard, decided to manage him and has got him the majority of his professional work.[8]
On 12 March 2010, Dubovie wonEurovision: Your Country Needs You! with "That Sounds Good to Me". He said, "The minute I heard the song I thought it was a definite winner, I'm so happy I'm going to sing it in Oslo."[9] and "I really believe I can go on to win the Eurovision Song Contest for us." He sang "Too Many Broken Hearts" byJason Donovan to get into the final three chosen by Waterman, and he also took part in theABBA medley with the others.[10] After that performance Waterman described his voice as "perfect" while suggesting more "excitement" should be added to his dancing and Tonioli told him he had "an incredible talent".[11] As he represented a "big four" country, Dubovie automatically qualified for the final of theEurovision Song Contest 2010 on 29 May. Accumulating a total of 10 points during the voting process, Dubovie finished last in the competition.
Dubovie appeared with the 'Proms in the Park' show atBillericay on 24 July 2010. On 18 September, Josh performed alongsideCamilla Dallerup andMark Foster in a fundraising event for St. Francis' Hospice.[where?] Supporting local charities, Dubovie was later made celebrity patron of St. Lukes Hospice inBasildon. Shortly after, he appeared as Aladdin in the pantomimeAladdin, alongsideDavid Van Day,Nikki Grahame andFrazer Hines atLighthouse Theatre,Kettering in December 2010.[12]
In 2011, Dubovie was made a member of theOGAE performing for them in Munich on the weekend of 21 January at their Annual Eurovision party. He released his first albumCarpe Diem under Pure Music LTD on 11 February 2011. The album included cover tracks that Dubovie had performed. Shortly after, on 26 February, he entertained theQueen's Royal Lancers at their 'Corporal Mess' at the Catterick Garrison. In the same month, Dubovie guest spotted at the Brentwood Center alongsideX factor'sAustin Drage, raising over £10,000 for theEssex Air Ambulance.
In March, he performed at the Birmingham Gay Pride Ball, with other guest stars includingJonathan Ansell, Loose WomanZoe Tyler, Eurovision winnersBucks Fizz andX Factor'sRachel Adedeji.
In August, Dubovie flew to Sweden to perform at the Stockholm Pride Gala, performing withAnders Berglund's 14 piece Orchestra –an orchestrated version ofPete Waterman penned Eurovision song, That sounds good to me. Later that month, Dubovie appeared at the Havering Festival withStacey Solomon.
September 2011 saw Dubovie headlining at Towngate Theatre in aHelp for Heroes charity concert.
In November 2011, Dubovie was recruited byChannel 4 to interview their leading commissioners in front of live audiences as part of an 'Entrepreneurship week'.
Dubovie headlined at theSwindon Arts Center in December 2011 as part of a fundraising event.
In April 2012 he appeared atThe Sage,Gateshead at a 'Eurovision Reunited' concert with other past competitors in the competition such asBrotherhood of Man,Bobbysocks!,Black Lace,Johnny Logan andNicki French.
In March 2013 Dubovie's solo act was rebranded 'Josh James', with his musical style shifting towardsRnB and Dance to be more in-line with the current mainstream music trends.[13]
In an October 2013 interview he explained that Internet searches for "Josh Dubovie" produced countless references to Eurovision, so a name change was needed to help him move beyond the contest. "I wanted people to know what I'm doing now," he said.[14] His debut song as Josh James, titled "Game Over", was made available via free download in March 2013. An accompanying music video was released in July 2013.[15]
Dubovie hosted theESC News 2013 'Heart Campaign', which was broadcast live viaonline radio. The event saw the première of "Game Over", and featured other performers associated with Eurovision such asEmmelie de Forest (who won the Heart Campaign), plusAnnsofi Pettersen &Lys Assia as part of the show's jury.
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Carpe Diem |
|
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | UK Indie | |||
| 2010 | "That Sounds Good to Me" | 179 | 18 | Non-album singles |
| 2013 | "Game Over" | – | – | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | ||||
| Preceded by | UK in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 | Succeeded by |
