The Clique were an Australian pop duo consisting of members Jacinta Gulisano and Jordan Rodrigues. They were formed in 2013 originally as the trio Third Degree, who competed in the fifth season of ''

The X Factor Australia ''The X Factor'' is an Australian television reality music competition, based on the original UK series, to find new singing talent. The first season of the show premiered on Network Ten on 6 February 2005. Ten dropped ''The X Factor'' after ...

'' and finished in fourth place. The group subsequently signed with

Sony Music Australia Sony Music Entertainment Australia is the predominant record label operated by American parent company Sony Music Entertainment in Australia. SMEA also formerly published and distributed video games in Australia & New Zealand on behalf of Sony ...

and released their debut single " Different Kind of Love", which peaked at number 22 on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. Following the departure of Kelebek in 2014, Third Degree changed their name to The Clique and were no longer signed to Sony Music. The group disbanded in 2015 to pursue solo careers.

History

2013: Third Degree

Third Degree was formed in 2013 on the fifth season of ''

'' by judges

Ronan Keating Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish singer. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish pop group Boyzone. His solo career start ...

Dannii Minogue Danielle Jane Minogue () is an Australian singer, television personality, and actress. She initially gained recognition for her appearances on the television show ''Young Talent Time'' (1982–1988) and for her role as Emma Jackson on th ...

and

Redfoo Stefan Kendal Gordy (born September 3, 1975), better known by his stage name Redfoo, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, record producer and DJ best known for being part of the musical duo LMFAO, and for their hit songs " Pa ...

. Their initial line-up included Kelebek, Jacinta Gulisano and Jordan Rodrigues. All three members originally auditioned on the show as solo contestants and progressed to the super bootcamp stage, where they got eliminated. However, the judges called them back to form a mixed group for the Groups category. All three members were notably unhappy at first about being put in a group, stating that it was an "odd trio". Third Degree entered in the third day of bootcamp, where they sang "

No Diggity "No Diggity" is a song by American R&B group Blackstreet as the first single for their second studio album, '' Another Level'' (1996), featuring Dr. Dre and Queen Pen. Released on July 29, 1996, the song reached number one on the US ''Billboard' ...

" by

Blackstreet Blackstreet (often stylized as BLACKstreet) is an American R&B group founded in 1991 by record producers Chauncey "Black" Hannibal, and Teddy "Street" Riley. The group has released four albums with Interscope Records until 2003. They achieved ...

to the judges and a live audience of one thousand. They received a standing ovation, and subsequently progressed to the home visits stage. During home visits, Third Degree sang "

Can't Hold Us "Can't Hold Us" is a song written and performed by American hip hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring American singer Ray Dalton, originally released on August 16, 2011 as the second single from the duo's debut studio album '' The Heist'' ...

" by

Macklemore Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (born June 19, 1983), better known by his stage name Macklemore ( ; (formerly Professor Macklemore), is an American rapper and songwriter. A native of Seattle, Washington, he has collaborated with producer Ryan Lewi ...

and

Ryan Lewis Ryan Scott Lewis (born March 25, 1988) is an American record producer, DJ, videographer, photographer, graphic designer, music video director, rapper, and songwriter. Along with producing his own album, ''Instrumentals'', Lewis produced the alb ...

in front of their mentor

Natalie Bassingthwaighte Natalie Bassingthwaighte (; born 1 September 1975) is an Australian recording artist, actress, and Celebrity, television personality. Born and raised in Wollongong, New South Wales, she began her career in musical theatre. She later pursued an ...

and guest mentor

Guy Sebastian Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian singer and songwriter who was the winner of the first '' Australian Idol'' in 2003, judge on Australia's ''The X Factor'' from 2010 to 2012 and again from 2015 to 2016, and coach ...

. Bassingthwaighte later selected Third Degree, along with JTR and Adira-Belle, for the live finals—a series of ten weekly live shows in which contestants are progressively eliminated by public vote. For the Judges' Choice-themed first live show, Third Degree sang "

thatPower "#thatPower"is a song by American recording artist will.i.am, taken from his fourth studio album, '' #willpower''. The song features Canadian singer Justin Bieber, who wrote the song alongside will.i.am, Verrigni, and Damien Leroy (DJ Ammo). T ...

" by

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas. ...

and received positive feedback from the judges. In week six of the live shows, Third Degree fell into the bottom two alongside JTR but was saved after Keating, Minogue and Redfoo all opted to eliminate JTR. Following the eliminations of Adira-Belle and JTR, Third Degree became the only remaining act in the Groups category. In week eight of the live shows, Third Degree fell into the bottom two alongside

Jiordan Tolli Jiordan Anna Tolli (born 1994) is an Australian actress and singer, known for playing the role of Lolly Allen in the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours''. In 2013, Tolli competed in the The X Factor (Australia season 5), fifth season of ''The X ...

. The judges' vote went to deadlock, and Tolli was eliminated after it was revealed she received the fewest votes. In the semi-finals, Third Degree sang "

Give Me Everything "Give Me Everything" is a song by American rapper and singer Pitbull featuring Dutch DJ Afrojack & fellow American singers Ne-Yo and Nayer. Written by the former three and produced by Afrojack, it was released on March 18 2011, through Polo Grou ...

" by

Pitbull Pit bull is a term used in the United States for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers, while in other countries such as the United Kingdom the term is used as an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. The term was f ...

and "

Pound the Alarm "Pound the Alarm" is a song by rapper Nicki Minaj, serving as the fourth single from her second studio album, '' Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded'' (2012). The song was written by RedOne, Carl Falk, Rami Yacoub, Bilal Hajji, and Achraf Jannusi, with ...

" by

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...

, gaining positive reviews from the judges. Despite this, they fell into the bottom two alongside

Taylor Henderson Taylor James Henderson (born 23 March 1993) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Originating from Ceres, Victoria, Henderson rose to fame after placing third on the fourth series of ''Australia's Got Talent'' in 2010. Three years later, h ...

. The judges' vote went to deadlock, and Henderson advanced to the grand final after it was revealed he received the most public votes, leading to Third Degree being eliminated and placing fourth in the competition.

Performances on ''The X Factor''

denotes having entered the ARIA Singles Chart.
denotes having been in the bottom two.
denotes having been eliminated. After ''The X Factor'' ended, Third Degree received a recording contract with

and released their debut single " Different Kind of Love" on 1 November 2013. "Different Kind of Love" debuted and peaked at number 22 on the

. On 23 November 2013, Third Degree toured alongside Henderson, Tolli,

Dami Im Dami Im ( , , ; born October 17, 1988) is a South Korean-born Australian singer and songwriter. She represented Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 held in Stockholm, Sweden with the song " Sound of Silence", placing second and ach ...

and

Jai Waetford Jai Waetford (born 25 January 1999) is an Australian pop singer and songwriter who came third on the fifth season of ''The X Factor Australia''. He subsequently signed with Sony Music Australia and released his debut single " Your Eyes", whic ...

for The X Factor Live Tour, which ended on 2 December 2013. On 7 March 2014, it was announced that Kelebek had left the group to pursue a solo career, leaving Gulisano and Rodrigues as a duo.

2014: The Clique

On 22 May 2014, Gulisano and Rodrigues announced in a video posted to their YouTube and Facebook accounts that they changed the group's name to The Clique. Their first song as The Clique, titled "Live the Life", was released independently on 12 June 2014. The group disbanded in 2015 to pursue solo careers.

Members

Jacinta Gulisano

Jacinta Gulisano, born , is from Sydney. She was a student at Aquinas College in

Menai, New South Wales Menai is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 29 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire. History Menai is named after Menai Bridge, a ...

. In 2009, Gulisano was a semi-finalist in the third series of ''

Australia's Got Talent ''Australia's Got Talent'' is an Australian reality television talent show. The show is based on the ''Got Talent'' series format that originated in the United Kingdom with Simon Cowell. The first six seasons aired on the Seven Network, from 2 ...

'', as a member of the singing trio Soundcheck. In 2013, it was revealed she had been dating ''

Dance Academy ''Dance Academy'' is an Australian teen-oriented Dramatic programming, television drama produced by Werner Film Productions in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and ZDF. Series one premiered on 31 May 2010, and series tw ...

'' actor

Jordan Rodrigues Jordan Rodrigues (born 20 July 1992) is an Australian actor and dancer. He is best known for his role as Trey Emory in the Hulu original series ''Light as a Feather''. He has starred and appeared in TV series ''Dance Academy'', ''Home and Away'' ...

. Gulisano auditioned for ''The X Factor'' singing "

LaserLight "Laserlight" is a song by English singer-songwriter Jessie J featuring French DJ David Guetta, taken from the platinum edition of Jessie J's debut studio album, '' Who You Are''. The artists co-wrote the song with The Invisible Men, Giorgio ...

" by

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...

, and progressed to the super bootcamp stage of the competition. During bootcamp, she sang a mash-up of "

Who's Lovin' You "Who's Lovin' You" is a Motown soul song, written in 1960 by William "Smokey" Robinson. The song has been recorded by many different artists including The Miracles, who recorded the 1960 original version, The Temptations, The Supremes, Terence ...

" by the

Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

and "

Telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

" by

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

. Prior to entering ''The X Factor'', she was a vocal coach and a dance teacher. Gulisano cites

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

, Jessie J,

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

and

The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hil ...

as her musical influences.

Jordan Rodrigues

Jordan Rodrigues, born , is from

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. He auditioned for ''The X Factor'' singing "

DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" is a song by American singer Usher, featuring guest vocals from American rapper Pitbull, who co-wrote the song with the producers Shellback and Max Martin, with additional writing from Savan Kotecha. It was release ...

" by Usher, and progressed to the super bootcamp stage. During bootcamp, Rodrigues sang " Lately" by

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

. He cites Michael Jackson, Usher and

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

as his musical influences.

Kelebek

Vanessa "Kelebek" Skrypczak, born , is from

Albury, New South Wales Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the C ...

. Kelebek is of

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

and German descent. She previously auditioned for the fourth season of ''The X Factor'', under her birth name Vanessa Skrypczak, and made it to the top 24. She auditioned for the fifth season singing " Good Feeling" by

Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), better known by his stage name Flo Rida (, ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 breakout single " Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the record for digital dow ...

, and progressed to the super bootcamp stage. During bootcamp, Kelebek sang " Change Your Life" by

Little Mix Little Mix are a British girl group, composed of group members Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, and Perrie Edwards. Jesy Nelson was originally part of the group before she left in 2020. After becoming the first group to win the British ver ...

. Kelebek cites Michael Jackson,

Eve Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...

, Beyoncé, Jessie J,

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

Slaughterhouse A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

and The Black Eyed Peas as her musical influences. On 7 March 2014, Third Degree's ''X Factor'' mentor Natalie Bassingthwaighte announced on her Twitter account that Kelebek had left the group. Kelebek stated that she wanted to re-pursue her solo career, saying: "I began as a soloist but it has been hard splitting from the group."

Concert tours

;Headlining *The X Factor Live Tour (2013)

Discography

Third Degree

Singles

Other charted songs

The Clique

Singles

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clique 2013 establishments in Australia Musical groups established in 2013 The X Factor (Australian TV series) contestants Australian pop music groups Australian musical duos Pop music duos Male–female musical duos