31 Facts About JD Fortune

JD Fortune received worldwide recognition and fame after winning the first season of the CBS reality television series Rock Star: INXS; in 2005, replacing its late lead singer Michael Hutchence.

JD Fortune is a vegetarian and has worked with PETA to promote an animal-product-free lifestyle.

JD Fortune was born Jason Bennison on 1 September 1973 in Mississauga, Ontario and raised in Salt Springs, Pictou County, Nova Scotia to Robert Bennison and Sandra.

JD Fortune has a younger sister Sarah-jane and a dog named Presley.

JD Fortune adopted his mother's maiden name upon starting his career in music.

JD Fortune had his early education at Cawthra Park Secondary School and West Pictou Consolidated School but dropped out before graduating after being offered a job on a television show in Toronto, Canada.

JD Fortune began to show his interest in music and performing at a very young age after finding the soundtrack for Kurt Russell's movie Elvis.

JD Fortune held a number of jobs before finding his way into the music industry; he worked as an extra on the Jerry O'Connell children's show My Secret Identity, worked at a martial art school as a teacher and an Elvis Presley impersonator at a local karaoke bar, and briefly worked as a truck driver.

JD Fortune performed at the Friendship Festival and at Toronto's SkyDome in front of 50,000 people.

JD Fortune worked as an entertainer and pop songwriter for an Ontario TV show and Elvis Presley impersonator.

JD Fortune fronted a band named JUICe, which recorded an album named In Retrospect.

JD Fortune recorded the song "Always Be In The Game" for the Beyblade V-Force: Let It Rip soundtrack and "Swing Low Let It Rip" for the Beyblade anime series.

JD Fortune was living in his car, under a bridge, when he applied for and was selected as a contestant on CBS's TV show Rock Star: INXS.

On September 20,2005, after an eleven-week televised audition process, JD Fortune won and joined INXS.

INXS, with JD Fortune, released their album Switch in November 2005.

On February 16,2009, JD Fortune revealed in an interview with Entertainment Tonight Canada that INXS fired him from the band with a handshake at a Hong Kong airport.

JD Fortune admitted to heavy cocaine use during the latest INXS tour and acknowledged that his drug habit had likely contributed to INXS's decision.

JD Fortune stated he had been off cocaine for the past 2 years; at the time, he was living out of his car and had put all his remaining money into his solo album The Death of a Motivational Speaker.

Former INXS manager and now record company head Chris Murphy responded at the time by saying that JD Fortune had never been fired by the band, but that the band was reluctant to continue working with him because of the drug-use allegations.

However, later in 2010, JD Fortune performed with INXS several times.

On February 24,2010, JD Fortune performed with INXS at the Vancouver Olympics in a sold out performance.

On July 10,2010, INXS, fronted by JD Fortune, performed at an outdoor concert for an estimated 13,000 people at the 2010 Sucrogen Townsville 400 in Townsville, Australia.

On July 16,2010, JD Fortune fronted INXS at an outdoor concert at the Mangrove Resort in Broome, Western Australia.

On September 25,2010, INXS and JD Fortune headlined the pre-match entertainment at the AFL Grand Final Event in Melbourne, Australia.

The tour, with JD Fortune, included eight performances across Australia from January 25,2011 to February 12,2011.

In 2011, INXS with JD Fortune completed shows in Australia, UK, Portugal, South America, Canada, and the United States.

In March 2010, JD Fortune announced that a previously unreleased solo work, entitled "One More Day", would be used in CBS television on-air campaign for a new television series Miami Medical.

In September 2011, JD Fortune announced that he was developing several projects as a solo artist that were on hold until he had completed his obligations with the INXS tour.

On February 8,2011, JD Fortune announced via Twitter that his song "Wicked World" would begin airing in a promotion for an episode of the CBS Television program Criminal Minds.

Some members of JD Fortune are fellow Canadians from the band Crush Luther.

On January 6,2015, JD Fortune signed with manager Gerry Pass of Chrome Artists Management, LLC in Los Angeles.