Neon Jungle

Lore & Background

The group was formed after a three-month audition process beginning in November 2012. Amira McCarthy and Jessica Plummer were scouted while shopping in London; Shereen Cutkelvin and Asami Zdrenka were discovered via their solo YouTube videos. The four were told in February 2013 they had made the line-up and began recording that same week. RCA Records UK signed them by June 2013, and the group chose the name Neon Jungle, reflecting that the members were "all individual and quite different"; their song "Welcome to the Jungle" was later named after the group.

Neon Jungle released their debut single "Trouble" in August 2013, which reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart. They supported Jessie J on select dates of her Alive Tour in October 2013. Their second single "Braveheart" peaked at number four in December 2013. The album Welcome to the Jungle followed in July 2014, entering the UK Albums Chart at number eight. The group's contract with RCA Records was terminated in May 2015, and they announced their disbandment in July 2015.

Reader's Guide

Neon Jungle represent a brief but notable moment in 2010s British pop, achieving four top-20 singles from a single album before disbanding. Their sound was described as "pop-dance with a dash of punky" and "edgy pop", and they were nominated at the 2015 Teen Choice Awards in the category Choice Music: Next Big Thing. The group's members came from diverse backgrounds—Scottish, Japanese, and various London roots—and were discovered through a mix of street scouting and online videos, reflecting the changing talent-discovery methods of the era. Their album featured contributions from Charli XCX and others, and included a cover of Banks's "Waiting Game" that drew public criticism from Banks. Though short-lived, Neon Jungle's impact is preserved in their chart entries and the subsequent careers of members: Cutkelvin later appeared on The X Factor and became a presenter, Plummer joined EastEnders and I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, and Zdrenka pursued solo material.

Did You Know?

• Neon Jungle performed at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in November 2013, but not alongside Taylor Swift, who was not a performer at that event.
• Their debut album included a cover of Banks's 'Waiting Game', which Banks publicly criticized for being released months before her own debut album.
• Shereen Cutkelvin later appeared on series fourteen of The X Factor as part of the three-piece band the Cutkelvins.