The Final Countdown: #Jedward Fourth Album #VoiceOfARebel Out This Thursday

by Lisa Hafey | Posted on

With the release of ‘Voice Of A Rebel‘, their first album in 7 years this Thursday, 27 June, comes the dawn of a new Jedward era. The Jedwardian Era if you like. Although Jedward have previously released 12 non-album singles, ‘Voice Of A Rebel‘ is the first long-player from the Dublin duo since their 2012 concept album, ‘Young Love‘. It’s also their first release with new record label, Universal Music Asia, the pair having signed a five year contract a few months back.



And what an album it is! Comprising 22 songs, it’s been recorded over the past few years and is essentially in three parts: John, Edward, and both together. Back in May Jedward toured the UK, giving their audience a taster of the album over 6 dates – 2 each in Manchester, London, and Glasgow – and revealing four songs, ‘Extraordinary‘, ‘Teenage Runaway‘, ‘Respect Your Dreams‘, and ‘Freedom You Deserve‘, all of which were received with pride from the fans, who responded by learning the lyrics and dancing with immense gusto.

Leading up to the album’s release, Jedward have surprised their social media followers by announcing that the first two singles from ‘Voice Of A Rebel‘, ‘Soul Crushing‘, and ‘Bodies In Action‘, would come as instant downloads with every pre-order of the album on Apple Music. More recently, they’ve previewed other album tracks, including ‘Teenage Runaway‘:

‘Extraordinary‘:

‘Phoenix Wings‘:

‘Live For The Magic‘:

‘Choose Your Own Adventure‘:

‘Respect Your Dreams‘:

And most recently, the track which they’ve revealed to be the favourite of good friend Ed Sheeran, ‘Spice Things Up‘:

It certainly sounds like an album which provides something for everyone, with musical styles ranging from full on power pop, in ‘Extraordinary‘, and ‘Respect Your Dreams‘; RnB on ‘Bodies In Action‘; prog/classic rock (think Robert Plant or Roger Daltrey) on ‘Choose Your Own Adventure‘; to tropical/dancehall on ‘Spice Things Up‘. No doubt, given the nature of their non-album singles, we will be hearing some dance/EDM tracks on the record as well.

John and Edward with Robert Plant Backstage At RTÉ In 2013
John and Edward with Robert Plant Backstage at RTÉ bin 2013

It’s a more mature sound for the Dublin twins too, and quite rightly so, given they’re turning 28 later this year. ‘Voice Of A Rebel‘ is a true reflection of the duo, with all 22 songs having been written, composed, and produced by John and Edward themselves. Fans have long known the pair are multi-instrumentalists, and Jedward have made an acoustic set part of their live shows since 2014: finally we have an album where they have also played guitar and piano, showing off yet more of their considerable talent.

Casual readers of EP (maybe even long term readers) may well wonder why we are so enthusiastic about Jedward. The explanation is simple. Having been started in the first place by fans of Jedward’s music, Lisa and Juliet, Essentially Pop has always been a place to champion those who may not otherwise have a voice, or a positive one for that matter, in the media.

Jedward for us stand as a beacon to those who might feel it’s all too hard, that struggle with getting their music heard, that at times want to throw it all in. John and Edward show that it’s possible to follow your dreams and stick with them, and that true success comes as a result of seeing it through to the end.

Indeed, before they became musical artists, John and Edward were champion long distance runners, and have put the skills learned in that area to good use, in terms of knowing how to pace themselves, and seeing tasks through. In the words of their song, ‘Respect Your Dreams‘:

Respect Your Dreams
Go live your life
Don’t write yourself off
Put up a fight
Protect your heart
From those who hate
Respect Your Dreams
It’s not too late

‘Voice Of A Rebel‘ comes out this Thursday 27 June on Universal Music. Pre-order now on iTunes and Apple Music. You can stream ‘Soul Crushing‘ and ‘Bodies In Action‘ right now on Spotify and Apple Music.

Jedward can be found online on their official website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Snapchat, and YouTube.

Read all our other Jedward articles here.

About the author

Lisa has been writing for over 20 years, starting as the entertainment editor on her university newspaper. Since then she's written for Popwrapped, Maximum Pop, Celebmix, and ListenOnRepeat.

Lisa loves all good music, with particular fondness for Jedward and David Bowie. She's interviewed Edward Grimes (Jedward), Kevin Godley, Trevor Horn, Paul Young, Peter Cox (Go West), Brendan B Brown (Wheatus), Bruce Foxton (The Jam), among many many more. Lisa is also available for freelance writing - please email lisa@essentiallypop.com

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