Canadian singer J.D. Fortune out of INXS but says the split is amicable

TORONTO – Canadian singer J.D. Fortune says he’s no longer a member of the band INXS and that the split is amicable.

In a post on his blog Tuesday, Fortune says he was not fired and didn’t quit, but that the band will continue without him.

He says he and band members decided earlier this year to no longer play together after their most recent tour, which ended this summer.

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Fortune says a “deep friendship and respect” lives on after six years of working together.

He says he’s now developing “several exciting projects as a solo artist.”

Fortune rose to stardom after winning the TV reality show “Rock Star: INXS” in 2005 and becoming the new frontman for the band.

Later that year, he sang on the group’s record, “Switch,” which reached No. 1 on the Canadian charts.

About two years later, Fortune said the band dumped him at a Hong Kong airport, leaving the Mississauga, Ont.-born rocker to live out of a truck.

He says they reunited in late 2009.