Why Did The Wanted Go on Hiatus?
After seven years, The Wanted are reuniting! But why did The Wanted go on hiatus to begin with?
The Wanted members Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness, Tom Parker and Nathan Sykes made their grand reunion announcement in the form of a comedic video posted Wednesday (Sept. 8). The funny clip shows all of the lads accidentally run into each other at a hospital.
The band announced that they will be reuniting for Parker's "Inside My Head" concert at London's Royal Albert Hall on Sept. 20, which will benefit Stand Up To Cancer and The National Brain Appeal. In 2020, Parker was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor; a grade 4 glioblastoma with no cure.
Also performing at the event is One Direction's Liam Payne, Becky Hill, McFly, KSI and Sigrid. Highlights from the concert will be featured in Parker's upcoming documentary.
Not only will The Wanted reunite for the show, but they will also release their Greatest Hits album on Nov. 12.
"It feels amazing. It's quite nice to be able to do something again that's not related to treatment," Parker told BBC. "It's been a very sad eight months, so it's been nice to smile again, for me."
"We have been talking off and on for a few years now about getting back together... but have all been working on other projects at different times so it didn't happen," McGuiness added."This is all about having fun with our mates, no pressure, just fun."
The band were originally planning to reunite last year to celebrate their tenth anniversary, but the reunion was put on hold due to the pandemic.
So, why did The Wanted break up in the first place? For starters, it wasn't an actual breakup: In January 2014, the group announced their hiatus. In an official statement, they said the reason behind the break was so that they could each temporarily pursue solo endeavors. Sykes later said that "nobody is to blame" for the breakup.
In a later interview with The Sun, however, George said that there was, in fact, tension due to his and Syke's solo music.
"Over the past year, there has been a lot of tension. Our personal lives drove us apart — things started to happen and we were drifting," George told the outlet. "We used to be such a brotherly pact, but it started to feel like it wasn't The Wanted anymore. It shouldn't be a surprise for anyone. As upsetting as it might be to some of the other guys, I have to live my life."