On the 24th April, 2013, JLS announced that they are splitting after 5 successful years in the UK charts. It came as a bit of a surprise, as just two months earlier the group announced that they were getting ready to record a 5th studio album. Perhaps after noticing that each album they have made has sold less than the previous one, with their latest album, Evolution, being their worst selling to date, they have decided to end things on a high note, while they are still relatively popular. With all their success over the last five years, it is easy to forget that JLS first came to the public eye on the fifth series of The X Factor. Unlike most groups on the show which are made up of contestants who auditioned as solo artists and got rejected, JLS auditioned as a group. Although the other two groups that JLS competed with, Bad Lashes and the lazily named Girlband, were voted out of the show in the first two weeks, JLS steadily and deservedly grew a fan base over the course of the show. Despite finishing second to Alexandra Burke, JLS went on to have ten top 10 singles in the UK chart over the next five years, including five number 1s, making them one of X factors most successful alumni. Meanwhile, Alexandra Burke has had some success of her own her debut album went to number 1 in the UK, and she has six top 10 hits in the UK including three number 1s, as well as some minor success in Europe, but her last album only managed to climb up to number 18 in the UK album charts, and it could be argued that JLS have actually had more success than her. It just goes to show that even if you do not win a talent show, it doesnt mean its too late to cash in on your newfound popularity and carve out a more successful career than the winner you lost to. Here are six other examples of successful talent show contestants who didnt manage to win their respective competitions, yet found themselves better off than the winners they lost to.