They wowed audiences with their vocal talents and cheeky personalities when they appeared on ITV's X Factor last year.

Union J, comprising Jaymi Hensley, Josh Cuthbert, JJ Hamblett and George Shelley, reached the final four in the talent show, and their popularity resulted in them gaining a record contract with Sony, with debut single Carry You due for release on Sunday, June 2.

They have a huge fanbase, with almost 1 million followers on Twitter, and the boys will be coming to meet some of their Kent devotees at the Sound Island Festival in Quex Park, Birchington on Saturday, July 27 and Sunday, July 28.

Josh, 20, said: "We are very excited. It is one of the first music festivals we are doing. It is very exciting times and we can’t wait to get the Union J campaign off with a bang."

Union J will be performing on Sunday, when the headline act will be Jessie J.

Josh said: "She has the same management as us, so we see Jessie all the time. She’s super talented so we’re very excited."

The headline acts on Saturday are Plan B and Rita Ora, and Union J are hoping to head down early to Thanet to see them perform.

Josh said: "That’s the plan. We are going to stay over on the Saturday night. We would love to be in the audience – if they give us some tickets!"

He added: "I’m from Ascot so not too far from Kent. A couple of my friends are at uni in Kent, so I go down there to see them. I love Kent, it’s a really good place."

Weekend tickets for the Sound Island Festival are £70; day passes are £38.50. Visit www.soundislandfestival.com