Monthly Archives: August 2002

Geri Halliwell Makes Fun Of Contestant’s Weight And Disappoints

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Once again, thousands of young pop hopefuls are preparing to lay their dignity on the line to appear under the TV microscope in yet another search for a bunch of new teen idols.

The other day the first 350 wannabes tried to convince the Popstars Rivals Panel, made up of Pete Waterman, Geri Halliwell and Westlife manager Louis Walsh, that they have what it takes to be the next teen sensation but, as the reports emerged one by one, the judges, in particular the former Spice Girl, have been painfully honest. However, this time round, the wannabes aren’t taking criticism lying down.

“The judges were honest but a bit too honest” said Yiannis Chrysanthou, 24, “Pete said to me that my voice wasn’t special enough and that I’d probably make a great living doing karaoke or working the clubs, which I actually already do. Then Geri said that I didn’t have the look they were going for. When I suggested that I was perhaps a little too individual, she said that’s what she meant. Louis Walsh, on the other hand, was more intrigued by my Greek origins and assumed I must be a George Michael fan.”However, Yiannis, who’s also hoping to land an audition for the BBC’s rival show ‘Fame Academy’, admits that what disappointed him most was Geri, who he’s adored ever since her days in the Spice Girls.

“You know, I absolutely love Geri” he confessed “I always have but meeting her today has really made me think twice about why I liked her in the first place. I mean, while she didn’t say anything too bad about me, she just didn’t come across as honest. She’s a great pop star but to tell you the truth, she’s not necessarily the best singer or the best looking girl. I wish she hadn’t decided to look for a carbon copy of what’s gone before.”

Meanwhile, Geri, who had promised earlier on that she was going to be honest yet compassionate, has been accused of making fun about a contestant’s weight. Carol Lynch, 19, who hails from Basildon, Essex, said “When I finished singing, Pete or Louis said I was a larger-than-life character. Then Geri had to say ‘yeah, very larger than life’ in a sarky way. I was all smiles and just walked out, but I couldn’t believe it.”

Carol said she refused to be disheartened by Geri’s words and that the rejection would not make her give up her quest for pop stardom.

Later, a Popstars spokesman insisted that the ‘Calling’ vocalistress was referring to Carol’s personality rather than her size when she described her as being “larger than life”. “Geri said nothing about Carol’s physical appearance”the spokesman said. “She commented that she had a larger than life personality and a huge show-stopping voice but didn’t allude to her physical appearance at all” he said.

Popstars: The Rivals will be shown over ITV1 sometime in September and will be presented by Davina McCall.

Mandy Moore, Sarah Michelle Gellar And More Love American Idol

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From Sarah Michelle Gellar to Jennifer Love Hewitt, Susan Sarandon to Donny Osmond, Ashanti to Nick Carter, American Idol has got Hollywood’s actors and pop sensations talking and singing its praises.

“I’m like the hugest American Idol fan. I didn’t get to meet the cast of the show, but Simon said I was a very nice girl so I think I’m totally in on American Idol 2” said Sarah.

“I’m majorly obsessed” said Jennifer.

And even though Susan Sarandon missed last week’s show, her kids got her back up to speed. “They have definitely filled me in. That’s how much we all love that television show.”

Mandy Moore offered advice for contestants on ‘American Idol’. “Just surround yourself with the best people possible. Make sure you include your fans and your good friends and everything because they are going to be the people that you can trust” said the pretty Mandy.

Let’s Get Dirty With Christina Aguilera

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Christina Aguilera’s official site has announced that the first single off her upcoming album will be ‘Let’s Get Dirty’.

‘Let’s Get Dirty’ is said to be released mid-September. The video is to be shot in Los Angeles by Paul Hunter at the end of this month.

The track was produced and written by Christina and Rock Wilder, who also produced the hit for the movie ‘Moulin Rouge’, ‘Lady Marmalade’, with three others chipping in. The song will include Redman who apparently does a rap for the song and will also be seen in the video.

Nelly Furtado Pairs Up With Jurassic 5

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CDNow.com spoke with Jurassic 5 on their collaboration with Nelly Furtado in ‘Thin Line’, a track on the group’s forthcoming album, christened ‘Power in Numbers’, due out in good music shops on the 8th of October.

“We heard it through the grapevine that she was feeling us” J5’s Zaakir said. “It just really sounds like it’s really from each other’s soul.”

He admits that he was wary of working with the Miss India-pretty Canadian pop star though. “I didn’t think actually she would be the one for the track” he said.

“And then when we tested her out, I was just like, ‘She was perfect for it.’ So, I kind of ate my words on it.”

Could It Be Any Harder To Be The Calling?

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The Calling are taking a break from a summer tour this week to shoot the video for their third single, ‘Could It Be Any Harder?’

Meiert Avis, who has filmed U2, Bruce Springsteen and other legendary rockers, is directing the clip, the follow-up to ‘Adrienne’ and ‘Wherever You Will Go.’

“It’s a ballad, and the video revolves around the lifeline of this girl and her growing up and all the stuff she has to go through” singer Alex Band said to reporters. “It’s more of a touching video. It’s going to be a little more artsy. It should make you feel something.”

After the video shoot, The Calling will hit the road for eight more US dates and a string of shows in the UK. The Los Angeles rockers then plan to return to the States and tour through the end of the year.

Hear India.Arie’s Brand New Song

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India.Arie is putting the finishing touches on her second album, entitled ‘Voyage to India’.

The follow-up to 2001’s fabulous ‘Acoustic Soul’ has been penciled in to drop on the 24th of September. ‘Little Things’, which has already hit airwaves Stateside, is the first single to be lifted from the upcoming LP. According to her spokeperson, India will be shooting a video for the song come 17th and 18th of August.

India’s new album will not feature any guest appearances, though she has built a reputation as being quite a collaborator since the release of ‘Acoustic Soul’. She recorded duets with John Mellencamp on his ‘Peaceful World’ song and jazz singer Cassandra Wilson, called ‘Just Another Parade’.

‘Acoustic Soul’ has sold 1.64 million copies to date, according to statistics, and it has earned India.Arie seven Grammy nominations.

The neo-soul singer whom I personally think is one of the best out there in the industry has been nominated for Best R&B/Soul Single, Solo, for her number ‘Brown Skin’ at this year’s 8th annual Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards. The ceremony will be broadcast live from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in California on the 24th of August.

Hear ‘Little Things’ at the link provided below. In my opinion, I think it’s a song that has India written all over it. Either her or Aaliyah. http://demand1.stream.aol.com/ramgen/aol/us/aolmusic/artists/universal/indiaarie/indiaarie_littlethings_web.rm

Rayvon Had To Overcome Shyness

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Shaggy’s sidekick Rayvon has admitted that becoming an international reggae star hasn’t been an easy ride, as he first had to overcome his shyness.

The ‘Two Way’ crooner, who’s just released his ‘My Bad’ album in the UK, says that he spent much of his school days trying to find the confidence to get up on stage.

He admitted “I was shy at the beginning. When you change schools and you were a big fish in your last school, you want to be seen with the in-crowd. You definitely don’t want to be in the out-crowd. So I wasn’t very confident to start with.”

Luckily, once Rayvon started spinning discs at parties, it wasn’t long before he found a name for himself as a reggae DJ among his classmates, which gave him a much-needed confidence-boost. That, coupled with the desire to be as good as he could at what he did also encouraged Rayvon to overcome his shyness.

“When you step out and prove yourself in front of an audience, you better come with something good. You got to ask yourself, ‘can you deal with the embarrassment of not doing it right?’ That, I couldn’t deal with so that was the determining factor in my spark right there. Not flopping and looking like a fool. You can’t live it down. Now I just put my all into it, forget about the shyness and just make it happen” he explained.

Talk About Kylie’s Bum Makes Sugababes Fed-Up

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One of Sugababes vocalistress, Keisha Buchanan has said that she’s fed-up with people fussing over Kylie Minogue’s backside, claiming it’s “no big deal.”

Now, Kylie got people talking practically non-stop about her derriere when she made her comeback in ‘Spinning Around’ in which she prances around in a pair of tiny gold hot pants. However, Keisha reckons that, although the Aussie superstar has a great figure, her booty isn’t that all that special.

“Now, I’m not trying to be funny” she told the press recently “but being a black girl, I find it’s not a big deal that she has a big butt, because most black girls and Latinas have big butts, so to us, Kylie’s bum is no big deal.”

She also added “I think she has a really good bum. She has a really nice figure, especially for her age. I mean she’s like 34 and she looks amazing.”

“The thing about Kylie’s backside is that I don’t think she thinks ‘Oh yeah, what can I do to show off my bum'” argued Heidi, another third of Sugababes. “It’s the press that pick up on it. She’s obviously not obsessed with it.”

“She’s become a princess of pop. Everything she does, there’s always gonna be eyes are her. I think she’s a very beautiful and talented woman.”

Sugababes’ next single, ‘Round Round’, will be released on the 12th of August.

Marc Anthony Hates Being Labeled As Part Of Latin Explosion

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Doug Elfman of the Las Vegas Review Journal spoke with New York native Marc Anthony about his disgust for being categorized in the “Latin explosion.”

Marc fumed “When the hell does race or religion play a card in what you do artistically? Do you think I have talent or not?”

He added “It’s socially significant music. And you’re going to tell me that Ricky Martin’s ‘She’s All I Ever Had’ is Latin music? And Jennifer Lopez’s ‘If You Had My Love’ is Latin music? Don’t be silly.”

The successful singer said “I was just going bonkers listening to people go ‘It’s the Latin explosion thing’.” While J.Lo and Ricky don’t seem to have a problem with it, Marc sighed “Everybody else was cool with it, saying, ‘It’s our time.’ Whose time is it? I was born in New York. It was always my time.”

Hear’Say’s Myleene Speaks About Kym Marsh’s Exit From The Group

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Myleene Klass has spoken about the week she discovered that her Hear’Say bandmate Kym Marsh quit the hitmakers and she admitted it came as a huge shock.

“It happened after the rehearsals for our tour in February” Myleene told Heat magazine “I knew she hadn’t been entirely happy for a few months but she had perked up again. It was a Thursday and she said to me and Susie, ‘I’ll probably see you on Tuesday. I’d love you to come round to the new house for coffee.’ And then on Saturday our management called and said, ‘Kym’s left the band’.”

Myleene said that, when she was told about Kym’s departure, she thought someone was having a laugh “I made a joke of it because there’d been some story in the paper the week before that I was leaving. I rang Kym and her phone was on voicemail, you see. Nine days later, after reading headlines about me kicking Kym out, our manager came back and said ‘She’s left the band’.”

However, what’s troubled Myleene most of all is the way the press have portrayed her as a schemeing villain “People have got my character wrong. I’ve been called bossy and I thought that was bad enough. Now, I’m being called ‘the bitch’. I’d do anything to go back to just being bossy.”

Hear’Say’s next single, ‘Lovin’ Is Easy’, hits the racks on the 12th of August.