Monthly Archives: May 2002

Atomic Kittens Claw At Rockers

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Atomic Kitten have bitten back at accusations that they are just another manufactured pop band.

“We’re just making music and not offending anyone,” Jenny told the papers. “But when people get on our cases – it’s when other bands say ‘pop’s crap and Atomic Kitten aren’t real’ – it’s like ‘get a life’.”

She continued, muttering “There’s so many guitar bands out there and they don’t get compared to each other. Why is that so really? It’s crappy.”

“And I think their music’s all the same,” added Tash. “And they shout down the mic. You’re boring. We don’t go out and say we write our own songs and then go and do a cover version. Not mentioning any names.”

The trio – including glowing pregnant member Tash – were speaking to the papers prior to the release of their brand new single ‘It’s OK’ which is slated to drop into all good music stations on the May 20th and it looks set to be another smash hit for the ladyband.

Got to agree with the Atomic Kitten ladies on the rock music scene.

Claire Richards Faults With The Big Hype Of Will & Gareth

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Ultra pop star Claire Richards has said she doesn’t think it’s right that Pop Idol winners Will Young and Gareth Gates are being nursed like superstars just because they’ve enjoyed a twosome of hits between them.

Speaking to an webpage, Claire admitted, “I don’t like the fact that they’re being portrayed as these mammoth pop stars when they’ve only released one single. You hear that ‘they can’t do this’ or even appear on ‘Top Of The Pops’ because they’re so famous. What trash. They’re riding on the crest of a wave at the moment but when it comes to their second album, they’ll have to start to prove themselves.”

While there’s still sometime to go before we even hear Will and Gareth’s debut albums, the pair will attempt to prove their worth when they release their second singles over the next month and half. Pop Idol winner Will is set to unleash ‘Light My Fire’ on May 27th, with Gareth’s ‘Anyone Of Us (Stupid Mistake)’ following-up on July 8th.

H & Claire’s debut single, ‘DJ’, is made its entrance onto the British singles charts at a not-bad No. 3 spot.

Geri Halliwell’s Fighting Bulimia

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Geri Halliwell is battling the slimmer’s disease bulimia. The former Spice Girl checked into a rehab clinic last week in Arizona in the US to keep her condition in check.

A friend of Geri’s told all that her condition recurs every few months. It can be sparked by all manner of issues and usually results in binge eating. The problem never develops any further because Geri is so aware of the warning signs and always acts quickly to sort herself out again.

Geri checked out of the clinic after a brief stay because she didn’t agree with the clinic’s cafeteria regime which offered a wide array of foods. The star also had her four suitcases of designer clothes confiscated and had to share a spartan room with two other women.

In her autobiography, If Only, Geri spoke openly of her illness. “I’d binge my way into the new year,” she wrote. “I cleaned out the cupboards and the fridge and the contents were flushed down the toilet via my stomach. Then I went to the supermarket.”

Rik Waller Thinking Of Entering US Pop Idol

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.”