The Wanted are a British-Irish boy band consisting of group members Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness, Nathan Sykes, and the late Tom Parker. The group was formed in 2009 and signed a worldwide contract to Universal Music, Island Records and Mercury Records, and was managed by Scooter Braun.

The Wanted's released their debut album, The Wanted in 2010. It peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart. and spawned three UK top 20 singles: their debut single, "All Time Low", which topped UK Singles Chart, "Heart Vacancy", which reached number two, and "Lose My Mind", which reached number nineteen. Their follow-up album Battleground, was released in 2011 and reached number five in the UK and number four in Ireland. The album lead single, "Gold Forever", was released in aid of Comic Relief and peaked at number three in the UK. The third single, "Lightning", hit number two in the UK.

In early 2012, the Wanted achieved success in the United States and Canada with their single "Glad You Came" which became their second UK number-one. It peaked at number three for four consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, the highest American chart entry by a British boy band at the time. Their follow-up singles "Chasing the Sun" and "I Found You" reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart. The band's compilation album, The Wanted (2012), reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200. In 2013, the Wanted starred in their own reality series on E! entitled The Wanted Life. On 22 January 2014, the band announced that they would be taking a hiatus in order to pursue individual solo projects.

According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the band has been certified for 700,000 albums and 3.2 million singles in the UK. Their nominations and accolades include 14 World Music Awards, two Brit Awards, an American Music Award, and a MTV Video Music Award. On 8 September 2021, The Wanted had announced that they would be reuniting for a greatest hits album and a performance at a charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall in support of band member Tom Parker, who had been diagnosed with brain cancer in late 2020. Parker died from the illness on 30 March 2022.