LISTEN HERE
FEATURING THE SINGLES ‘ON THE SURFACE’ AND
‘SWEET SURRENDER’
“‘On the Surface’ is a powerhouse that Céline Dion would be proud of.” – I
“She was by far the best singer in S Club 7, and proves it again on her second album”
– Daily Mirror
“The future couldn’t look brighter.” – House of Solo
“Back to conquer planet pop once again.” – Celeb Mix
| The resurgence of former S Club 7 star Jo O’Meara feels simultaneously like the return of an old friend and a brand new start. The unmistakable voice that made the likes of ‘Never Made A Dream Come True’ and ‘Reach For The Stars’ such classic, era-defining pop smashes is back with a bang. Yet the intervening years have seen Jo’s voice grow in maturity and elegance, and she now possesses an assured self-confidence that had eluded her the first time around. Jo now completes a comeback that has been sixteen years in the making as she today releases her second solo album ‘With Love’. The reaction to its lead singles ‘On The Surface’ and ‘Sweet Surrender’ have put Jo firmly back in the spotlight as she featured on This Morning and Michael Ball’s Radio 2 show and recently supported Ronan Keating, Jo says, “A lot of people spent last year analysing what they wanted to get out of life, and I knew that what I wanted was to get myself back into the only thing I know how to do well. It’s been my dream for so long to make this record. I can’t believe it’s finally out – hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed making it!” Those life experiences have inspired six of the writing credits that Jo has on the album. Naturally, it’s big on emotion. ‘Lay Your Hurt On Me’ was written as a tribute to a friend who was battling cancer, and never had a chance to hear the finished song, while the future wedding classic ‘Closer’ puts a different spin on the joys of the big day by taking the perspective of a bride singing to her groom. ‘Hope You Dance’ picks up the tempo with some Nashville flavour, and the inspirational ‘I’ll Be There’ neatly wraps up the album’s spectrum of moods: “It’s saying: I’ll be there for you. No matter what. At the end of all this, I’ll still be with you.” An acoustic version of ‘Relentless’, originally the title track of Jo’s debut solo album from 2005, allows her to fulfill some unfinished business, while another stripped-back version of ‘Don’t Stop Movin’’ feels just as relative to this chapter of her life as the original did back in 2001. That gold-plated vocal gift also puts a fresh female slant on the mid-’80s classics ‘Heaven’ and ‘Missing You’. ‘With Love’ started early in 2020 when Jo got back in touch with the Grammy-winning producer Brian Rawling. Within days they were back in the studio together. Other key members of the Metrophonic team subsequently joined the creative process, including Paul Meehan and Kjetil Mørland. The massive success of S Club 7 launched Jo to fame, as the group scored four UK #1 hits, won two BRIT Awards and sold-out countless arena shows. Success came at a young age, but Jo had always been destined for a career in music – first singing classic country standards in local working men’s clubs in Essex, before joining an early incarnation of Solid Harmonieand then working with Max Martin shortly before he achieved global success. And now ‘With Love’ sees Jo finally becoming the artist she always dreamed of being. |
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