Lesleys bio
Lesley Moore, 17, is the group cheerleader or, according to her fellow group members, the “teen spirit” girl. Always bubbly and happy, Lesley loves carting around her brand new puppy with her everywhere, she loves shopping and likes to scrapbook. A real “people person,” you won’t see her sitting at home watching TV too often. “I have to be with people. I have to have something to do.” And while she loves the fact that she can “go to school” in her pajamas (the Jump5 crew keeps a rigorous home schooling schedule, with a teacher who travels with them during the school year), Lesley still misses being in a big classroom with 30 other kids. She loves performing with Jump5, but made sure she was able to go to prom and a few local high school football games. “It’s those little things that really mean a lot to me, and I want to make sure I don’t miss out on those times with my friends.”

groups bio
“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV)

There’s no doubt about it. We’re in the midst of a virtual Youthquake. Teenage icons are regular fixtures not only at the mall, but all over the airwaves and on both the big and small screens. They sing, they act and even write their own music or, in some cases, own their own companies. Teen People calls them “teen titans,” but you might know them as “generation next.” Whatever the title, they’ve moved into the house built by their entertainment elders, and they are ready to renovate.

Smack in the midst of it all is the energetic power-pop phenomenon Jump5 Brandon, Brittany, Chris and Lesley. Sporting a brand new album, Dreaming in Color, this magnetic foursome knows how to do one thing extremely well: connect with their thousands and thousands of fans around the world. And with the momentum they’ve built over their past five albums, it’s easy to see why.

Jump5’s career history makes these teenagers seem like veterans in a crowded entertainment marketplace. They’ve toured with Aaron Carter, A*Teens, Baha Men and Radio Disney Live!, and recently headlined two tours. Major TV performances have included appearances on ABC, CBS, Nick at Nite and The Disney Channel, to name a few. Jump5 also recently recorded a cover of the classic J. Geils Band song “Freeze Frame” for the new motion picture Sleepover, starring Alexa Vega (Spy Kids). And as if that wasn’t enough, Jump5’s songs have landed on soundtracks of The Lizzie McGuire Movie, Ella Enchanted, Kim Possible, Brother Bear and the DVDs of Beauty & the Beast and Lilo & Stitch (they also sing the theme song for this Disney Channel animated TV series).

Needless to say, whether they’re hitting the red carpet at a national movie premiere or performing in an arena full of church youth groups, this talented foursome keeps everything in perspective. In fact, these hometown friends may not even be aware of how brightly their star shines. Or perhaps it’s just not that important to them in the grand scheme of things.

“Every once in a while it will hit home, and it’s just hard to take it all in,” Brandon Hargest, 17, admits. “We’re really grateful for everything we’ve been able to do.”

“Probably the most rewarding thing is to see how what we’re doing is really impacting people,” says Brandon’s 16-year-old sister, Brittany Hargest. “Our group verse is 1 Timothy 4:12, and it says, ‘Don’t let people look down on you just because you’re young.’ Even at our age, we can still be strong Christians and set examples for people everywhere. It’s cool to feel like we really do have a voice, and we’re being heard.”

“We really believe in what we’re saying, what we’re singing about,” adds 17-year-old Lesley Moore. “Reaching other people is what we’ve been about from the very beginning, and I think that is what keeps us going strong.”

“I think a lot of kids look to their friends and other kids their age for direction sometimes,” notes 18-year-old Chris Fedun. “I know I can be that way, myself. I’ll go to my friends for help or just to talk about what they would do if they were in my situation. As a teenager, there’s a lot of pressure to be a certain way, to dress a certain way, or to hang out with certain people. But I feel like it’s okay to say, ‘You know, I’m going to be who I am. I don’t care what anyone else thinks.’ That’s what we hope other kids will get from our music.”

On their newest CD, Dreaming in Color, Jump5 blends the same enthusiasm and intensity of their past recordings with a new maturity and conviction. The album features the group’s best vocals and hook-driven melodies to date. Under the guidance of producers Mark Hammond (Josh Groban, Amy Grant, Nichole Nordeman, Brian McKnight, Luther Vandross), Dan Muckala (Mandy Moore, Joy Williams, N’Sync, Point Of Grace, Aaron Neville) and Shaun Shankel (writer/producer of American Idol finalist Kimberley Locke’s smash single “Eighth World Wonder”), Dreaming In Color allows Chris, Brandon, Brittany and Lesley to flex their notably strong vocal muscles on some of the year’s best hit-worthy pop sounds.

“This album is a lot more even and balanced, musically speaking,” says Brandon. “It’s not heavy on just guitars or just pop sounds, but it’s got a good, even spread of it all and that’s what we wanted. We offered a lot more input throughout the entire recording process this time around. That’s why it really feels like it’s our album.”

Dreaming In Color features songs written by Stuart Brawley (Don Henley, ’N Sync, Celine Dion), Steve Diamond (Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, Faith Hill), Rob Cavallo (Green Day, Goo Goo Dolls) and even Jump5’s own Brittany Hargest, who co-wrote “Feels Like Falling,” her first recorded song for the group.

From top to bottom, Jump5 effectively expands the parameters of teen pop, making a successful evolution from song to song with the infectious hooks of tracks like “Just a Dream” or the album’s title cut, which the group says became the fastest album title they’d ever agreed upon. “This song is really about not dwelling on the bad things in life, but seeing the good,” says Chris.

Listeners will connect quickly with the powerful guitar-pop sounds when Dreaming in Color kicks into hyper-drive on head-nodding tracks like “In My Heart” (co-written by Brawley and Michelle Tumes) and “It’s A Beautiful World.” And some will be familiar with the catchy pop classic “I Got the Music In Me,” with its explosive new Jump5 spin that is sure to be a favorite at dance parties everywhere.

Taking a stand that’s both inspirational and heroic, Jump5 continues to be at the forefront of the new “tween” revolution, setting the pace not only for their fans, but for some of their fellow artists who now present a more clean-cut image with empowering messages about self-esteem, self-confidence and the importance of being comfortable with who you are common themes that Jump5’s audience has always responded to in a very big way.

“We go through pressures every single day,” says Lesley, “so it’s cool that we get to sing about that kind of stuff in our songs and that kids can relate to it.”

“Music is such a big part of teenagers’ lives,” Chris adds. “That’s what kids do they listen to music. So when we started this group we wanted to make good music that kids could listen to, something their parents didn’t have to listen to first to make sure it was okay. A lot of kids look to others their own age for direction sometimes. I know I do. So we just want to be something positive.”

And kids aren’t the only ones who appreciate Jump5’s inspirational messages, proving without question that this is music for the whole family. The stories we hear aren’t always from kids,” says Brandon. “We’ve heard from moms or dads who have written and said they brought their kids to the show and were really impacted by what they saw. That’s such a cool thing for us to see that we can really help reach people of all ages.”

Jump5 will take to the road this fall, co-headlining ShoutFest 2004 with Tait, ZOEgirl, Rachael Lampa and others. Then they’ll barely have time to catch their breath before heading out this holiday season, headlining their second Christmas tour.

“We love this life, and we wouldn’t want to miss these opportunities we’re having right now,” Brandon adds. “We’re just having fun with it. We think it’s a blast! We wouldn’t change anything.”