Former Pop Idol lovey himself Gareth Gates has been out the public eye ever since he released Sunshine, his flop “sexy image” single that ex All Saint Mel Blatt described as “Incognito meets the Tweenies” on CD:UK two years ago…but this year he may return- and with a new Gareth, it must mean a new image…but what this time? Apparently, it’s the Busted route according to the tabs- guitars and tales of unrequited love all the way…Gareth’s been willing to go down a more edgier route similar to Busted’s according to his writers, which is why they’ve got John McLaughlin on board, who produced both the Busted albums and McFly’s debut…the new material isn’t finished yet, but let’s just hope it goes somewhere this time!

New boyband Triple Eight haven’t even released a record yet and already they’re taking a pop at their rivals.

Of course, it’s not surprising, because Justin, Jamie, David, Josh and Sparx are fussy fellas. These are, after all, the guys who’ve promised to turn pop as we know it on its head with their single, ‘Knockout’.

Sparx recently said that “The country’s gone to s**t as far as pop is concerned and we intend to throw out the rule book and write a new one.”

And when we spoke to them recently, the lovely lads were still adamant that planet pop needed a spring clean and were only too keen to tell us who they thought shouldn’t be allowed to make music anymore.

“I just don’t understand David Sneddon,” David told the press. “I estimate it’s because he’s Gareth Gates on a piano, isn’t he? And we already have a Gareth Gates and kids love him, even though I don’t see anything special about him. I don’t know who David Sneddon appeals to. I just don’t.”Meanwhile, Josh admitted he can’t understand the phenomenal popularity of pop twins, The Cheeky Girls.

“It’s meant to be a music chart, but songs like theirs just don’t make sense. Having said that, Sparx bought their last single!”

Triple Eight release ‘Knockout’ on Monday.

Sanjeev Bhaskar, star of the brilliantly funny ‘The Kumars At No 42’, has been helping out Gareth Gates with his new video and has given it that authentic Bollywood flavour.

The single is a cover of ‘Spirit In The Sky’ and it’s this year’s Comic Relief record. The more famous version was by ’80s novelty band, Dr And The Medics.

Sanjeev says Gareth owes it all to him “In the video, Gareth has had a bad hair day and hair is the comic relief symbol this year. So he has this dream where the Kumar family take him up to their Bollywood heaven and put his hair straight. I’ve kind of taught him everything he needs to know about the day. I taught him the dance steps, how to sing the song, a couple of comedy routines to help him put his shoes on. I think he’s coming along nicely.”Meanwhile, Gareth has gone on record to say that he used to have a crush on a beautiful Indian classmate but never had the urge to ask her out.

“She was like this Miss India contestant or something. Very pretty. And because of her, I even got hooked on Bollywood flicks which is something I miss doing now that I don’t have time. I never got round to asking her out though. Am a very shy boy.”

He also added “You must watch the video. It’s got the sexy dancers from ‘Bombay Dreams’ as well. It’s all very colourful. Hope you like it” he said, speaking to the press four days ago.

It appears that Gareth Gates and his relationship with Hayley Evetts has soured. Well, whether they were dating or not previously, sources say they are spending much less time together now and they both seem to be with different people.

Hayley Evetts, apparently is going out with Popstars The Rivals winner Keith Semple, voted recently to make the cut into OTV also known as One True Voice.

The pair fell for each other while Keith battled it out with his fellow hopefuls and Hayley followed their progress presenting ITV2’s Popstars The Rivals Extra.Keith, who split from his girlfriend last month, and Hayley have been out on a number of secret dates. They were spotted Christmas shopping on London’s Oxford Street and also last night, they were seen enjoying spicy Indian cuisine.

As for Gareth Gates, they say that he has fallen head over heels with a stunning blonde pop star after a night of games.

Sources say it might not have been just games but more of a romp. The Pop Idol runner-up spent the night with Mandy Davis, the niece of former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell and a member of the up-and-coming band Frenzy, after a gig.

“I know she and Gareth did share an intimate night together” Frenzy’s co-manager Chris Nathaniel said. “They had all sorts of fun and games and she left at 6 o’clock in the morning. Mandy said she kept in contact with him. She sees him as a good friend at the moment and hopes it will develop into something more.”

This must come as a shock to girls out there.

Gareth Gates, singer of No 1 hits like ‘Stupid Mistake’, has been caught miming on stage, even when he talks!

Apparently, Gareth records his banter during concerts weeks in advance and lip-synchs to the tape between songs at his gigs.

Pop Idol runner-up Gareth Gates is to record a duet with Romeo from controversial garage collective So Solid Crew.

And the boy says the most unlikely collaboration of the year will be more R&B than pop.

According to articles, Gareth says he expects the song to be released early next year.

He also joked “I’ll change my name to be part of the crew, probably MC G”.

A Pepsi spokesman denied reports in the Daily Mail that the company planned to drop Pop Idol runner-up Gareth Gates from their ad campaign because his popularity with teenagers had “already started to wane”.

The spokesman told BBC News Online “He has not been axed. Gareth was always on a one-year contract. He has exceeded our expectations and we are delighted with his success. We wish him all the best in the future.”

Pop Idol runner-up, Gareth Gates was flying back home to Bradford from Norway for his homecoming gig when he discovered his luggage vanished.

“The airline told him his suitcase had gone to another airport” he publicist told a magazine. “There was a mad panic because it contained all his outfits, including his favourite leather shirt.

“Luckily, his stylist sent another outfit up in the car and he managed to get ready just in time.”

Pop Idol’s jovial judge Dr Fox has condemned Gareth Gates and his record company for scrubbing JXL’s Elvis Presley remix off so that the gappy-toothed star can get to the top slot of the UK singles chart.

The be-spectacled muso thinks that the move is a mocking effort to ‘fix’ the charts by guaranteeing no big competition for Gareth.

The King’s song ‘A Little Less Conversation’ has been one of the top hits of the year, but BMG stopped stocking stores last Friday. The DJ told the newspapers “People are always saying the charts are not exciting because they are fixed. It is not true always but in this particular case, yes, I would say there has been a fix. It’s so obvious.”You know, if it was indeed a move by his record label, then I’m pretty sure Gareth’s no angel then since he must have known about it.

Meanwhile, Gareth’s decision to cover an Elvis song could defuse controversy over the move to delete JXL’s remix of ‘A Little Less Conversation’.

He plans to release ‘Suspicious Minds’ as part of a double A-side with ‘Pop Idol’ victor Will Young. The other main track will be their duet on the Beatles’ song ‘Long And Winding Road’.

Will and Gareth’s joint effort will be out in September.

Gareth Gates seem to have been talking a lot lately, giving his opinions and setting right any gossips that link him up with anyone. Not that it’s a bad thing really but Gareth doesn’t exactly strike me as someone who talks a lot. Check out what he had to say below.

Gareth has denied that he is dating his former ‘Pop Idol’ co-contestant Hayley Evetts. A report in the News Of The World suggested that the pair were dating and that Gareth had bought Hayley a GBP1,000 bracelet as a show of his love.

“No way, me and Hayley are just good friends and that’s it” Gareth told reporters. “It’s a shame when you can’t have girls as friends without people thinking that you’re dating. Boys and girls can most definitely be friends and just keep it at that, giving and taking respect and all” said Gareth.

The singer, who celebrates his 18th birthday on the 12th of July, also denied he had romanced ‘Pop Idol’ chum Zoe Birkett. “I’m best friends with Zoe” said Gareth. “We all spent a long time together filming the show and just became close but there’s absolutely no romance” said Gareth.

What else did Gareth pour out in recent times? Well, he has denied that he and ‘Pop Idol’ winner Will Young will be releasing a cover of The Beatles’ ‘Long And Winding Road’ as a single. “Yes, there are plans for me and Will to work together but I don’t think we’ll be releasing that song” said Gareth.

Gareth said he had fulfilled a dream recently when he met up with his idol, George Michael. “He was recording his new album in the same studio as me recently and I said I’ve just got to meet him or die trying. I did meet my idol and George was really sweet and nice.” Gareth confirmed that George had sent him GBP300 worth of champagne when he pipped George to the No.1 spot with ‘Unchained Melody’ a few months back. “I haven’t seen the champagne though. It was sent to my management office” revealed Gareth.

Gareth’s new single, ‘Anyone Of Us (Stupid Mistake)’ is released on the 8th of July.