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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Joel Leaver

Popstars: The Rivals' Javine Hylton looks very different after quitting showbiz

Javine Hylton is almost unrecognisable two decades after appearing on Popstars: The Rivals - where she narrowly missed out on a place in pop group Girls Aloud.

The singer, now 40, competed to be among the line-up of the manufactured girlband on the ITV reality show in 2002, with her later pursuing a career as a solo artist instead.

Javine's debut single Real Things the following year - which charted at Number 4 in the charts - and then representing the UK with the song Touch My Fire at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005.

She however has stepped away from being in the spotlight in more recent years, with the mother-of-three understood to have spent time focusing on her family.

Javine Hylton released a number of singles in the early noughties (PA)
She's since stepped away from the spotlight (javinehylton/Instagram)

Javine is mother to eldest child, Angel, now 14, with fellow musician Michael Harvey Jr., 42 - who is best known by his stage name MC Harvey - in 2008. The couple later split up.

Javine has since welcomed two more children. Her youngest child, who she affectionately refers to as Zacky on social media, was born last summer.

The mother-of-three posts about her family life Instagram, with it miles away from the showbiz lifestyle of her past - with Javine herself looking quite different in recent years.

She now looks very different having stepped away from showbiz in recent years (javinehylton/Instagram)

And although she isn't in the spotlight as much as she once was, Javine has been known to make public appearances - such as on a red carpet for the Lion King musical in 2019.

She attended a 20th anniversary event for the musical, having played Nala in the West End production for two years prior to pursuing a career in the music industry.

It was following her role in the show, when she was in her late teens, that Javine auditioned for Popstars: The Rivals - which created rival groups, Girls Aloud and One True Voice.

Javine narrowly missed out on a spot in Girls Aloud on Popstars: The Rivals (REX / Ken McKay/REX FEATURES)
She performed the song Touch My Fire at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005 (SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP/Getty Images)

She made it to the final six for the girl band, but didn't get a spot in the group - which consisted of Cheryl Cole, Nicola Roberts, Nadine Coyle, Kimberley Walsh and the late Sarah Harding.

After deciding to embark on a solo career, Javine released her debut single, Real Things, in 2003. The song reached Number 4 in the UK charts and is her biggest hit to date.

She went on to win Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up in 2005, with the song Touch My Fire - which meant that she ended up representing the UK at the contest that year.

Javine had competed on Popstars: The Rivals for a spot in the band who would become known as Girls Aloud (Getty Images)

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Javine performed in the final in Kyiv, Ukraine, and finished with 18 points overall. This placed the UK towards the lower end of the leaderboard, though above France and Germany.

She has since appeared on shows such as The Games in 2006 and Celebrity Scissorhands the following year. Her other credits include Celebrity Masterchef in 2012.

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