“Tom is the center of our world and we can’t imagine without his infectious smile and energetic presence,” his wife wrote.
Wanted Tom Parker has died at 33 after a long battle with brain cancer, his wife Kelsey Hardwick confirmed via Instagram on Wednesday (March 30).
“It is with a heavy heart that Tom passed away peacefully by his side with his entire family earlier today,” she captioned a black-and-white photo of the singer. “Our hearts are broken, Tom is the center of our world and we cannot imagine life without his infectious smile and energetic presence. We are so grateful for the love and support you have poured out and ask us all to come together, Make sure Tom’s light continues to shine for his beautiful children. Thank you to everyone who has always supported him as he fought to the end. I will always be so proud of you.”
Parker shared publicly about his battle with brain cancer, announcing in October 2020 that he had been diagnosed with the disease. On Nov. 4, Parker updated his Instagram followers of his condition and reported that he had returned to stability with his most recent brain scan.
“We got the results from my last scan…I’m happy to say they’re stable,” he shared. “Such a mix of emotions. We really couldn’t ask for more at this point. The trip was about a year old. Very happy to be honest. We could sleep a little easier tonight. Thank you for your giving in the past 12 months All the love and support.”
The “Glad You Are Here” singer is releasing a book about his cancer battle titled Hope, which is about finding positive moments in the darkest of times. “This is a book about life,” Parker wrote on March 21. “This is a book about finding hope in every situation and living your best life no matter what. It will show you how if you believe in hope and dare to dream, how can you overcome all odds and move on .”
In 2009, Parker participated in a mass audition for The Wanted. After a lineup that included Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuinness and Nathan Sykes was confirmed, the band was signed to Island Records and Mercury Records and managed by Scooter Braun. The group achieved mainstream success in 2012 with the singles “Glad You Came” and “Chasing the Sun,” which peaked at No. 3 and No. 50 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively.
The late singer opened up about The Wanted’s stormy start in a 2018 interview with Billboard, reflecting on the band’s bad-boy image and its lasting impact on pop music.
“Once we started recording and got to know each other, we all knew it wasn’t going to be your typical boy band,” Parker said. “Our image was supposed to be clean, but how do you control five guys who just want to party and have a good time? So we just adopted the party/bad boy image. However, none of us are really bad boys. We are all geeks at heart!”
He added: “I think the best memories are really from the early days of the band. When we were first placed in a house together, none of us could believe what was going on. It was just a group of people playing in a house very happy.”
Reflecting on the band’s success earlier in the decade, Parker said, “I hope we left some mark that broke the boy band sound. I think with the band’s upbeat sound, I hope it survives.”
Hardwick and their two children – Aurelia Rose Parker and Bodhi Thomas Paris Parker – survive the “Glad You Are Here” singer.
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