Rik Waller Thinking Of Entering US Pop Idol

Posted on 16 May, 2002 by admin

Former Pop Idol contestant Rik Waller is considering locking horns with Pop Idol judge Simon Cowell once again as he considers entering the US version of the show.

Rik said “I’d love to enter the American competition just to annoy Simon. I might go along and audition just to see his face.”

Rik is currently in New York recording his new single, a cover of Labi Siffre’s ‘Something Inside So Strong’. Rik said “I think I have the tools to break the American market. One thing that is becoming increasingly more evident across the world is that people aren’t bothered about plastic pop stars – the ones who care more about their looks than their voice. People are realising that it doesn’t take good looks to be a good singer.”

Rik had to pull out of the final stages of the Pop Idol contest when a sore throat prevented him from performing.

Rik’s first single, ‘I Will Always Love You’ made the Top 10 in the UK.

The US version of Pop Idol is set to be broadcast in America on the Fox network in the summer.

Appleton Sisters May Be Dumped By Their Label

Posted on 15 May, 2002 by admin

Past All Saints stars Nicole and Natalie Appleton right now are facing the danger of being dumped from their record company. All of this even before they’ve even released a single.

There are two simple reasons as to why this is happening to the sisters. Firstly, it is all because they’ve been postponing the recording of their new album time after time, which naturally angered their label, Warners. And secondly, the duo are believed to have persistently insisted a cool GBP2 million advance for unknown reasons which was turned down.

Just 18 months after signing the contracts and all, both Nicole and Natalie have failed to come up with enough fitting numbers to keep the record company content.

The pair did actually start doing studio time with former New Radicals frontman Gregg Alexander, whose work credits would definitely include Ronan Keating and former Eurythmics star Dave Stewart but a record company insider has confirmed saying that the material Nicole and Natalie have recorded so far just isn’t up to the quality of the material they produced when they were with All Saints.

Because of all of the above, Warners has had enough and have every intention of dropping the sisters.

Liberty X Pleased With Being In Their Band And May Get The No 1 They Deserve

Posted on 15 May, 2002 by admin

Liberty X looks all set to score their virgin No 1 single with their new track ‘Just A Little Bit’, a current favourite of mine at the moment. ‘Just A Little Bit’, a follow up to ‘Thinking It Over’ and ‘Doin’ It’, is reportedly outselling the current No 1, Ronan Keating’s ‘If Tomorrow Never Comes’. According to HMV stores across the UK, Liberty X’s single has been really popular and they predict it will topple Ronan from the No 1 slot come this Sunday.

Meanwhile, the members of Liberty X are pretty much pleased that they did not make the final line-up that eventually spawned Hear’Say because they feel that in the long run, they would enjoy more musical freedom, when compared to their Popstars rivals.

“We just thought we’d like to be the kind of band that we like” said Kevin Simm. “We wanted to make music that we’d be happy listening to. None of us like to be told what to do. We’ve got five heads on our shoulders. Basically, we couldn’t have signed with a record company who told us what to do. We never actually role-modeled ourselves on anyone, we just said let’s just be the kind of band we’d like to listen to.”

They also all feel that despite their rivals Hear’Say’s recent troubles, they believe that Hear’Say hopefully will get back on their feet and it’s not exactly fair when critics compare them to Hear’Say, saying that they’re doing much better than Hear’Say since they’ve lost a pop member and all.

Liberty X’s debut album, entitled ‘Thinking It Over’, is released on the 27th of May.

Victoria Beckham Bars Kylie Minogue

Posted on 12 May, 2002 by admin

My favourite, Victoria Beckham, apparently has banned Kylie Minogue from her posh star-studded World Cup party. “It’s to be a strictly Kylie-free zone” said a source close to the Beckhams to the press. Victoria has even made demands that her pop rival’s tracks are not played by the hired DJ. There’s even a warning that anyone who disobeys her will be thrown out. Slightly above 400 celebrity guests that’ll include Ronan Keating, Sven Goran Eriksson, Natalie Imbruglia and Elton John are expected to attend the white tie and diamonds celebration at Beckingham Palace, rumoured to have cost a cool GBP350,000.

The friendly source also added “Victoria has laid down the law and told all her advisors there will be no Kylie at the party. It’s also an unwritten rule for everyone who works with Posh that Kylie is not to be mentioned in her presence.”

It isn’t exactly rocket science to figure out why Victoria simply loathes Kylie so much, right. I mean, remember the whole Kylie-Victoria episode that occurred when they released their singles at the same time, with Kylie landing her ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’ at the very top of the UK singles chart while Victoria’s ‘Not Such An Innocent Girl’ had to settle for the sixth position on the same chart.

At the time this article was written for Pop-Music.com, Victoria’s spokeswoman had confirmed that Kylie was definitely not on the guest list for the “Gucci and sushi” charity bash, that’s to be held under a huge marquee in the sprawling gardens of the Beckham’s Hertfordshire home.

“It’s a private party so it’s only personal friends of the Beckhams” she said.

Anfield signs up Westlife lads

Posted on 11 May, 2002 by admin

Pop superstars Westlife are to play a charity football match in Liverpool.

The Irish heart-throbs are set to take part in the Music Industry Soccer Six at Anfield on May 19.

And they’ll have a trump card in singer Nicky, who was a Leeds United apprentice and youth team goalkeeper.

The star-studded event aims to raise money for Liverpool Samaritans, and is backed by Mersey TV, Radio City, the Liverpool ECHO and Daily Post, Channel One and Radio Merseyside.

For the past eight years the soccer six event has raised thousands for charity but this is the first year it has taken place on Merseyside.

Westlife confirmed that they would take part as the match coincides with their concerts at the Manchester Arena.

The 2001 Soccer Six champions, TV personalities Ant and Dec, are apparently already in training to defend their title.

The dynamic duo are likely to face stiff opposition from the other teams, including pop band Blur, Dane Bowers, and former Liverpool footballers Ian Rush and John Barnes.

Mersey TV is fielding several teams of Hollyoaks and Brookside boys and girls – including Jennifer Ellison, Suzanne Collins, Elize du Toit and Paul Byatt.

Tickets for the day are GBP10, plus GBP1 booking fee, from the Radio City ticketline on 0151-256 5555.

Norah Jones Don’t Know Why She’s Getting Lots Of Attention

Posted on 11 May, 2002 by admin

Named as one of Rolling Stone’s top 10 artists to watch in 2002, a gleaming star doesn’t quite aptly describe Norah Jones. She’s more than that, really. Critics and fellow music lovers alike all seem to be lapping her and her debut album, ‘Come Away With Me’, up like anything. Papers seem to produce glowing reviews about her debut offering. She seems to be left, right and center and receiving the kind of exposure Britney Spears would surely like, or not.

Anyway, at a press conference conducted the other day, when the reporters asked about the sudden explosion of attention, Norah smiled, saying “It’s a little strange, really. And way loads more, more work than I thought it would be. Which is fine; I’m up for work. But it’s absolutely not a side of music I’ve ever thought I would have to deal with so early on in my career. And I definitely don’t want it to overshadow what I really love to do or have it get to the point where music is just secondary.”

She’s releasing her ‘Don’t Know Why’ number in the UK on the 13th of May and you can preview it, along with other tracks, at her official website.

Norah, the daughter of celebrated Indian musician, Ravi Shankar, has a noticeably mature attitude to all aspects of her budding career, including the potential tumble that could await an unsuccessful album after all the media build-up.”Look, I’m young,” concluded Norah, whom everyone says is ‘Miss India’ pretty, “and so it’s OK if this one’s not such a big hit, because I’m happy with it. It’s already gone beyond my expectations in the response it’s gotten from friends and from some of the press, and that means that the people who are most important to me liked it. Right now, that’s enough.”

Meanwhile, as previously mentioned on Pop-Music.com, Norah did participate in an all-star tribute to Willie Nelson, dubbed ‘Willie Nelson & Friends: Stars & Guitars’. Other performers also included Dave Matthews, Brian McKnight, Keith Richards, Sheryl Crow, Emmylou Harris, Hank Williams III, Ryan Adams, Lee Ann Womack, Rob Thomas, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, Dixie Chicks and many more. ‘Willie Nelson & Friends: Stars & Guitars’ will air come 27th of May on the USA network from 9 to 11 p.m. eastern time.

Also, do take note that Norah hits the roads on the 15th of May playing dates throughout the UK and Europe. In early June, Norah heads back in the US performing at festivals and venues along the East Coast. Beginning on the 26th of June, Norah and her band will open a series of shows for the Indigo Girls. Here is some of her UK and Europe dates: ~

MAY 15 – CAMDEN DINGWALL’S, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM

MAY 16 – ALTER WARTESAAL, COLOGNE, GERMANY

MAY 17 – MOJO CLUB, HAMBURG, GERMANY

MAY 18 – PARADISO, AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS

MAY 22 – AUDITORIUM ST. GERMAIN, PARIS, FRANCE

MAY 24 – NEW MORNING, PARIS, FRANCE

Plus a whole lot more. All of which can be found on her authorized web page, elegantly located at a convenient URL: www.norahjones.com

Eminem Had To Re-Record A Number

Posted on 10 May, 2002 by admin

Since he wasn’t given permission to use a riff from a Beatles song, Eminem has revealed that he was hence forced to redo a song on his upcoming full-length release, entitled ‘The Eminem Show’.

Speaking to Rolling Stone, the ‘Stan’ rapper explained that his track ‘Hailie’s Song’ initially highlighted the melody of ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ but he was forced to revise it when George Harrison’s wife declined to grant him permission to use it.

“From what I understand, George heard it before he passed away and he unquestionably liked it” he said. “I don’t understand the political side, but his wife has control of the music now, and she said no, so I had to re-sing it all and redo the song man.”

Darius Danesh Inks Record Deal Finally

Posted on 10 May, 2002 by admin

Darius Danesh has signed a recording contract with Mercury Records.

Mercury’s managing director and former U2 producer, Steve Lillywhite, signed the singer, whom just about everybody think is brilliant and I must say that he is, to the label.

Steve says he is honoured to be mixing around with, quoting him, “such an exciting young talent such as Darius.”

Speaking to an online music webpage, Darius said “I’m thrilled to have signed with Mercury, really and am just glad to have taken the time to find the freshest major label to work with.”

“Having Steve Lillywhite at the helm of the album is a dream come true and I am very very very excited about pursuing the future with the whole team at that label.”

Apparently, Darius’s debut single is due for release in the summer and no word was given as to what the title of his first cut would be, at the moment.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Reveals All

Posted on 9 May, 2002 by admin

Once having posed for delicious-looking pictures for leading men’s magazine, FHM, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, says that she’ll be more than happy to show off a bit of cleavage, all in a bid to boost her image.

She said in her latest interview to the press “You’ve got to use every available tool to set the context for your music. If you want to get saucy, I’m singing with a microphone in front of my open mouth – it’s all fairly phallic.”

Accountable for brill hits like ‘Take Me Home’ and the infectious dance floor number ‘Murder On The Dance Floor’, the model-turned-singer is back in the tabloids with lots of rife gossips that seem to imply that the stunning crooner could very well be pregnant after she was spotted possessing a “noticeable bump” at her sell-out concert in Edinburgh.

Emma Bunton Patches Things Up With Jade Jones

Posted on 9 May, 2002 by admin

Reports are indicating that just six weeks ago since they split, the ‘What Took You So Long’ crooner, Emma Bunton, is apparently back in the arms of her ex-boyfriend, Jade Jones of R&B band Damage

The couple enjoyed a smooth dinner date during the weekend at stylish London club, Elysium. Onlookers at the club all say that they saw the couple snogging even! One observer told The Sun “They were dancing together and just couldn’t keep their hands off each other.”

They had gone their separate ways earlier on, after all those constant fights about her working together with Simon Fuller, who by the way used to be her ex-flame, in the hopes of reviving her solo pop career again.

It was later reported that Simon of Blue fame, took an obvious interest in Emma upon hearing about the split that is, at a party and looked really happy when she turned up. Whether things heated up or not, we don’t really know but now that she’s back with Jade again, looks like things didn’t really work out between she and Simon in the way Simon would’ve liked it to go.