Aston Iain Merrygold (born 13 February 1988) is an English singer, dancer, television personality and actor. He is known for being a member of the British boy band JLS, who were the runners-up to Alexandra Burke in the fifth series of The X Factor. After five years, JLS split on 22 December 2013. In 2013, Merrygold became a judge on the British dance talent show Got to Dance.
Aston worked on his debut solo album Showstopper for a planned mid-2016 release, but it remains unreleased. The lead single of the album, "Get Stupid" was released on 24 July 2015. In August 2017, Merrygold was announced as a contestant for the fifteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing. Merrygold was eliminated on 5 November 2017, coming in tenth place. Merrygold has also appeared in television series including Fun Song Factory and Almost Never.
Merrygold was born on 13 February 1988 to a Jamaican father and an Irish mother, who split up when Merrygold was young. He is one of seven children: he has five brothers and one sister between his biological and step parents. He was born and raised in Peterborough by his mother Siobhan and stepfather, Orjan; where he attended Jack Hunt School. Merrygold stated that he loved to dance and perform and certain TV appearances got him into singing. Through auditions, he met future band member Marvin Humes and they stayed in contact. Whilst still attending secondary school, he played football on behalf of England in the European Youth Games.

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