U.K. boy band The Wanted were hoping to cap off a stellar 2012 with a new full-length album being issued in the fall. Although a new single, “I Found You,” was released, an album date never materialized, and the group now expects a proper LP — which follows their self-titled EP, released last April — to surface in spring 2013.
“We did push [the album] back,” admits Jay McGuiness, who spoke with Billboard alongside band mate Siva Kaneswaran at the KIIS-FM Jingle Ball concert in Los Angeles on Monday (Dec. 3). “It was meant to be this Christmas, but it wasn’t ready yet so… we’re thinking around April, we’ll have something ready.”
The Wanted Live Q&A: Archived Video
The Wanted’s debut U.S. EP included the hit singles “Glad You Came” and “Chasing The Sun,” and has sold 159,000 copies to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The group’s still-untitled next album will be its first released in the States, after the Wanted dropped a pair of albums overseas beginning in 2010.
After the Wanted performed “I Found You” live at the 2012 American Music Awards last month, the song leapt back onto the Hot 100 last week at No. 89. The quintet will also perform at Z-100’s Jingle Ball at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Friday.
Along with a proper U.S. album, The Wanted expects to embark on a world tour next year and enjoy more prime TV opportunities.
(Reporting by Nicole Pajer, L.A.)