As many 25-35 year old women might remember from the mid nineties, Jordan Catalano was the shy but oh-so-sexy journalist at the school where Clare Danes was the key character of the TV series, My So-Called Life. Jordan was of course Jared Leto, a young actor who was later known for his role in Fight Club when he got beaten up by Edward Norton (1999), followed by Requiem for a Dream in 2000. But as we all know, this actor soon turned his hand to music and he has been belting out beautiful tracks with his band ever since.
2002: 30 Seconds to Mars began as a duo consisting of Jared and his younger brother Shannon on drums. Bouncing ideas off each other, the two siblings created their self-titled debut album!
2003: Two more band members were added and the touring began as they set out to prove that they were more than just an actor-turned-musician band!
2004: Leto was in Cape Town shooting with Nicolas Cage and Ethan Hawke for Lord of War. He was commonly spotted hanging out in Camps Bay and was also captured on the rocky cliffs of Llandudno by South African supermodel-turned-photographer Josie Borain, for the Dec/Jan 2005 issue of Interview Magazine (the magazine founded by Andy Warhol).
2005: The second album, A Beautiful Lie, was released of which it has been said that the inspiration for the name comes from his experiences in South Africa – of being surrounded by an amazing country with beautiful land and then around the corner how the failure of man from decrepit houses to people in the streets contrasts it all.
2006: Airplay on SA radio stations reached peak levels for 30 Seconds to Mars tracks From Yesterday and The Kill, setting a record for the longest running hit in the history of modern rock radio when it remained on the national airplay chart for more than 50 weeks following its No.3 peak in 2006.
2007: The amazing music video for Beautiful Lie was shot in Greenland in August. It then went on to win Best Music Video at the MTV Europe MTV Awards.
2008: 30 Seconds to Mars were one of the headlining bands at the Coke Fest rock extravaganza, one of the biggest selections of top rock acts to be performing in one place in SA!
2009: The third album, This is War, was released… spending 12 weeks on the 5FM Top 40.
2010: In the year of all things South Africa, it is fitting that Jared Leto is returning to play for the people. With two shows at the Coca-Cola Dome in Joburg on 18 and 19 November, followed by the Grand Arena at Grandwest Casino in Cape Town on 20 and 21 November. And their most recent single Closer to the Edge is steadily climbing the 5FM charts – onwards and upwards for all things 30 Seconds and South Africa!
