My Latest Craze

As you may have noticed, every couple of weeks I find myself obsessed with some pop star or band, and it tends to take over my life a little. So it's time to meet my latest faves, Maroon 5! They don't appear to be the type of band I'm meant to like - they supported Counting Crows and Matchbox Twenty on their tours, but Hula likes them lots too so it must be OK! And look, they're really cute too. This is the lead singer, Adam:



He's my 2nd fave Adam, after the much-missed Adam off Pop Idol.

| Posted at 11:22 pm

This Might Be Fun

From The Sun Online:

Flopstars PHIXX have made a good impression on at least two people. After hearing the band’s debut Hold On Me, PET SHOP BOYS CHRIS LOWE and NEIL TENNANT want to produce their follow-up single, which will be called Contagious.

Top 10 Scary Pop Videos

1. Michael Jackson - Thriller
2. Fast Food Rockers - Say Cheese (Smile Please)
3. Backstreet Boys - Everybody (Backstreet's Back)
4. Five - Don't Wanna Let You Go
5. Delta Goodrem - Not Me, Not I
6. XTina - Fighter
7. Savage Garden - To The Moon And Back
8. Robbie Williams - Sexed Up
9. Phixx - Hold On Me
10. Blondie - Good Boys

Best No.1s Of The Past 16 Years Ctd.

1991

Michael Jackson - Black Or White



Runners Up: Chesney Hawkes - The One And Only, Jason Donovan - Any Dream Will Do (Can you see anything better?)

Worst No.1: Iron Maiden - Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter

1992

Shakespear's Sister - Stay



Runners Up: Snap! - Rhythm Is A Dancer, Tasmin Archer - Sleeping Satellite

Worst No.1: Right Said Fred - Deeply Dippy

1993

Take That feat. Lulu - Relight My Fire



Runners Up: Ace Of Base - All That She Wants, Gabrielle - Dreams

Worst No.1: Mr Blobby - Mr Blobby

1994

Whigfield - Saturday Night



Runners Up: Baby D - Let Me Be Your Fantasy, Take That - Everything Changes

Worst No.1: Machester United Football Squad - Come On You Reds

Top 10 Halloween Hits

1. AllSTARS - Things That Go Bump In The Night
2. Spooks - Karma Hotel
3. Darren Hayes - Creepin' Up On You
4. A1 - Scary Movie
5. No Doubt - Hella Good
6. Tamperer ft. Maya - Hammer To The Heart
7. Meatloaf - Bat Out Of Hell
8. Cartoons - Witchdoctor
9. Sugababes - Freak Like Me
10. Nelly Furtado - Turn Off The Light

As long as there'll be music we'll be coming back again

So sang the Backstreet Boys once upon a time in 1997. We have lost a few top popsters since Jan '02, when the BSBs were last seen, but generally music is still here. So where are they? I was quite a BSBs fan in their day, or at least I thought I was - looking back I was pretty rubbish in terms of fandom. I only have one of their albums on CD, the others on cassette or (shock horror!) just taped copies. I don't own any of their singles, only liked them after the Milennium album and have never seen them live. But I did like them and they were my fave band at the time, which is what matters. Still, come back BSBs! We can never have too many good bands, even if you are strange-looking and boring in interviews.

Top 10 Pop Culture References In Savage Garden Songs

They're full of them!

1. The whole of Crush (1980 Me) (Spin)

2. "Occasionally, I can be caught dancing to Britney" Good Enough (Spin)

3. "Acting like a mover shaker dancing to Madonna then you kissed me" Chained To You (Affirmation)

4. "Because I console myself that Hallmark cards are true" Gunning Down Romance (Affirmation)

5. "Can I confess that arthouse doesn't turn me on, but I like every single thing that Spielberg's done" Good Enough (Spin)

6. "I believe that beauty magazines promote low esteem" Affirmation (Affirmation)

7. "Like Cartier, Armani, like TAG, Gucci, Versace" All Around Me (Savage Garden Oz version)

8. "Television freak show cops and robbers everywhere" The Animal Song (Affirmation)

9. "I believe that God does not endorse TV evangelists" Affimration (Affirmation)

10. "I could be a supermodel or Norman Mailer. And you wouldn't know the difference" Santa Monica (Savage Garden)

Video Killed The Radio Star

Back to the usual reviews for this week.

No Doubt - It's My Life
I absolutely loved this song when I first heard it, but I have to admit I'm a little tired of it now. I do love No Doubt though and the video is pretty good. Gwen looks very Madonna (My Mum even thought it was Madge) and the video has her poisoning and electrocuting her boyfriends (actually the other ND members) who take her to court, which results in her being taken away to jail in a bright orange boilersuit, still managing to look great.
It's My Life = 85% poptastic!

Christina Aguilera - The Voice Within
A simple video for Xtina's latest ballad from her successful album, Stripped. Her voice is at it's best on this song, particularly at the start which you could say carries on where Beautiful left off. This should be reasonably popular as it's a lovely song that proves Christina's talents, but it is the 5th release from Stripped which won't help. It deserves to do as well as Can't Hold Us Down at least.
The Voice Within = 80% poptastic!

D-Side - Real World
Forget Fast Food Rockers, Avril Lavigne and Sean Paul - this is by far the worst song I've heard all year. I'm guessing it's meant to be Westlife-esque but it fails miserably even compared to Westlife's worst songs. It would be hilarious if it wasn't so painful, particularly the repetitive chipmunk ending that made me feel quite ill on first listen. However, we should just be thankful it's this we have to hear rather than Clay Aitken's version of D-Side's last single, Invisible. Thanks the Lord for small mercies, as Clay would (probably) say.
Real World = 2% poptastic! (0% would be Clay)

Thanks to this article, I have a new favourite phrase, "I'm full of earworms today." Use it often!

Also, congratulations to everyone who completed Stronger October, I hope you are all now successful and STRONG!

Helloooooooooo!

J'ai retourne de France! And now I can stop talking in French - hurrah! I hope you all remembered to buy Phixx. If you have any money left over, I would strongly recommend a purchase of the December issue of Popworld, inside which is something on Will Young. I don't know what cos I don't have it yet, but I'm sure it's excellent as Popworld always is.

I'd also like to mention a few links I've added recently - James' site Hollywoo, Patrick's blog Champagning In Boston, the Phixx official site and last but not least, Jellybabies, owned by Jennie. All are very ace and without doubt worth a visit or ten.

One Last Request!

On Monday a very important single, Hold On Me is out. It deserves to be number one, so please buy it and help me get it there!

I Need A Holi-Holiday!

So I'm going on one, tomorrow, and not to Ibiza or Jamaica like the Vengaboys. And surprisingly, not on a Vengabus or Venga Airways either!

The Saturday Musical Discovery

I've noticed that I always make exciting pop discoveries on Saturdays, so I've decided to make it a regular feature. And here is my first:

Fefe Dobson

Who? Canadian black rock chick, signed to Island and climbing the TRL chart in the US.

Single: Take Me Away

Style: Skin meets a more subtle Gwen Stefani

Music: Angry rock upbeat and slowies

Influences: Nirvana, Madonna, the Bangles and Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

More info: http://www.islandrecords.com/fefedobson

Verdict: Perhaps too angry for me but definitely one to watch

He Thinks He'd Better Leave Right Now

But I beg to differ!

The top 5 most exciting moments of Will's new video are as follows:

1. Will falls over



2. Will plays leapfrog



3. Will gets strangled



4. Will looks sad and beautiful



5. Will looks very angry



Overall, a fantabulous video!

Warning! The following post contains WET WILL!

Will Has Attitude

And Attitude has Will!













Wowee!

Hugely Exciting News!

Alistair's ace as can be debut single, Bring It On, has a release date! And it happens to be December, which is also incredibly important for the following reasons:

1. It is the first day of advent
2. It is the first day of my mock exams
3. Will's album comes out!

Which is quite convenient, cos hopefully I can remind my parents how hard I've been working and how stressful my life is and they will buy me the CDs. Hurrah!

Best No.1s Of The Past 16 Years

Starting with the year I was born:

1987

T'Pau - China In Your Hand



Runners up: Madonna - La Isla Bonita, Mel And Kim - Respectable

Worst No.1: Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody

1988

Kylie Minogue - I Should Be So Lucky



Runners up: Yazz - The Only Way Is Up, Tiffany - I Think We're Alone Now

Worst No.1: Cliff Richard - Mistletoe And Wine

1989

Madonna - Like A Prayer



Runners Up: Soul II Soul - Back To Life, Kylie Minogue - Hand On Your Heart

Worst No.1: New Kids On The Block - You Got It (The Right Stuff)

1990

Sinead O'Conner - Nothing Compares 2 U



Runners up: Madonna - Vogue and er...that's all!

Worst No.1: Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody

To Be Continued...

1 Month TODAY!

1 month, 8 days and counting!

Top 5 Rock (sort of) Bands With Female Lead Singers

With pictures:

1. No Doubt



2. Blondie



3. Lillix



4. Garbage



5. Briskeby

Top 9 Albums Of The Year So Far

Before Will etc. infest the list at Xmas:

1. Delta Goodrem - Innocent Eyes
2. Girls Aloud - Sounds Of The Underground
3. Sinead Quinn - Ready To Run
4. Amy Studt - False Smiles
5. Michelle Branch - Hotel Paper
6. Jamelia - Thank You
7. Lillix - Standing Uphill
8. Siobhan Donaghy - Revolution In Me
9. Dannii Minogue - Neon Nights

Couldn't think of a no.10, sorry! A top 9 is kind of quirky I suppose. Just realised they are all girls too. Last year was much better for boy albums, with Will, Darren and Justin releasing.

Celebrity Showdown

Blue and Liberty X both have new songs out this week - so who would win in a completely unbiased celebrity showdown?

1. Celebrity Friends:
Liberty X - Andy Scott Lee, Hear'say, James from Fame Academy, Sam from Night And Day, Richard Branson (5 points)
Blue - The 'spiritual' one in Atomic Kitten, Elton John (2 points)

2. Courtcase Victories:
Liberty X - 0 (0 points)
Blue - 1 (1 point)

3. Secret Weapons:
Liberty X - Canes, a lethal spinning machine (2 points)
Blue - Lee's poetry (1 point)

4. Powerful voices:
Liberty X - 0 (0 points)
Blue - 1 (1 point)

5. Quality of song:
Liberty X - 4/5 (4 points)
Blue - 2/5 (2 points)

Liberty X win with 11 points to Blue's 7. Hurrah!

Dear Jessie...
It was obviously always my destiny to become an agony aunt as even the very mighty Madonna released a song telling me so. Here are some letters I received today...

Dear Jessie,
I slept with a voluptuous older woman and she told everyone. My family was really disappointed and now my career is on the rocks because of what I did. I got a new grown-up image but this didn't help at all. How can I win my fans back? Please help Jessie - you're my last resort!
Bewildered in Bradford

Dear Bewildered,
My advice to you is to take a long break and think about whether singing is really the career for you. It's not too late to become a bus driver.

Dear Jessie,
A few years ago a gorgeous boy gave me his number, but then he became a famous pop star and I was too shy to call him. Now I am becoming famous too and I want to get in touch, but I think he might have a boyfriend already. I feel like I've missed my chance - what should I do?
In A Fix, London

Dear In A Fix,
If you still have the number, call him! Even if he has a boyfriend, you could at least be friends. Perhaps if you ask nicely he'll even sing with you!

Dear Jessie,
I'm in a girl group with 2 other girls and they always leave me out and treat me like I'm stupid. I want to leave and have a solo career, but they won't let me cos they've already forced out one member and it would look really bad on them. I want to stand up to them, but I'm too scared. Please help me Jessie!
Lonely in Liverpool

Dear Lonely,
You should tell the other girls Eminem and Nelly are in their dressing room, then when they go in, lock them in and leave them there. Don't forget to leave a note saying you are leaving. As for your future, why not team up with the other girl who left, you'll be a certain success!

10 Steps To Life Fulfilment

It will work, I promise!*

1. Buy Jamelia's excellent album that improves on each listen.
2. Watch TOTP Saturday this week for a lovely Will-related surprise.
3. Enjoy Pop Idol without getting attached to people.
4. Pretend that work is fun or if this fails, alternate bits of work with reading pages of Will's book.
5. Buy a bag of Sainsbury's chop chip cookies and eat 2 (Very extravagant, I know!)
6. Be nice to people who are nice to you, even if you don't like them. You'll feel very popular and loved.
7. When you are at home alone wait for a groovy song to come on the telly and dance and sing until you can't stand up or speak.
8. Eat green sweets - they're the only ones worth having.
9. Think of all the exciting jobs you could get if you work hard. Will's personal assistant, Will's manager, Will's biographer or something else equally fabulous.
10. Listen to the happiest song you can find. Someday by Alcazar works a treat!

*For me at least.

Best Article Ever?

The showbiz world is set to be rocked by the unveiling of the first ever celebrity gay couple.
And The Goss can exclusively reveal that Pop Idol Will Young is making this historic move by stepping out with Phixx hunk Andrew Kinlochan.

While the music industry has had its fair share of gay performers, including legends such as George Michael and Elton John, there has never before been a joint celebrity pairing.

But Andrew, 24, was determined that he and Will would become the gay Posh and Becks when they met in the final 50 of Pop Idol two years ago.

He recalled: "Will and I got on really well when we were in the final 50, he gave me his phone number but I was too nervous to call. I bumped into him at a party recently and he reminded me. I was quite chuffed!"

Andrew, who was a loser in both Pop Idol and Pop stars: the rivals, is now on the brink of huge success with his band Phixx, runners-up to now defunct One True Voice.

Friends of the hunk say he's now ready to find love with Will. They told us: "After their initial meeting during Pop idol Andrew had to go back to the drawing board with his career and we all know what happened to Will. Andrew just wanted to be on an equal footing with Will before he could consider seeing him. With the way things are going for Phixx, that's a dead cert."

But then both Andrew and Will share a mutual friend who has been determined to see this perfect pairing come to fruition. Hayley Evetts met both as they all vyed for the title of Pop idol and has made sure they got together. Our insider told us: "Hayley promised Andrew a date with Will and even got them talking on the phone. She knows them both so well and knew instinctively they'd click. She's tickled pink at the way things are progressing between them."

Andrew, 24, only dropped his gay bombshell a couple of weeks ago at the start of the boyband's fledgling career. Unlike Stephen Gately, who did it when Boyzone were on the wane, or George Michael, who came out years after his hits with Wham, he was determined to be, er, straight with his fans.

And happily for him it looks like he's heading straight for a happy ending with the Pop Idol.

Well, we always say, where there's a Will, there's a way.

The Pop Idol Top Ten That Should Have Been

Yes I know it's a bit boy-heavy but the girls are so dull and samey.

1. Adam



Adam was the best PI contestant since Will. He was ill on his week and the judges were really mean. But he can take comfort in the fact that he is my Pop Idol 2. Nb: His hair did improve later in the series and he looked quite wonderful, but I couldn't find a picture of that era.

2. Sam



Sam is adorable and my favourite (As I will vote for him and I think he'll win) to win if he gets through. He also reminds me of my cousin.

3. Glen



Glen was robbed last week in what can only be explained as a phixx! Sorry, I mean a fix. And he can't go through on Wildcard cos Sam has to and if it was 2 boys it would be a 4:8 boy:girl ratio in th efinal 12. But at least he's on TV again!

4. Mark



Mark sang a lovely song She's Like The Wind and sounded excellent. He might win if Sam doesn't.

5. Leon



Leon has a great personality - he seems quite shy (and lovely with it) but when he gets chatting he's really funny. I hope he does very well.

6. Chris



Ahh Chris who is not a vicar. He has grown on me now I know he is a friend of Adam and Glen's. If he can do less twiddling in his next song he will do great.

7. Susanne



Susanne is my favourite girl cos she has a nice voice when she sings in tune and has the best dress sense since Alex off of FA - maybe even better! She's a nice girl too.

8. Michelle



Michelle has a nice voice though it's not as amazing as some seem to think. She is a nice down-to-earth person too.

9. Michael



Michael wasn't very popular on the show but I thought he sang brilliantly and his shameless obsession with Mariah Carey was lovely. He was really shy too. He would be higher if he wasn't a friend of Carolynne (FA)'s

10. Andy



Andy is possibly the worst singer in the final ten but he is really lovely and I can see why the public warmed to him. Maybe he will get better?

It's a Will Young Photo Story!

Hello there! Long time no see! It's been a very strange day today. I woke up to find I had grown some antlers.



Once I had been to the doctors to remove them I went on a trip around the world



Then I met up with Hayley & Jessica from Pop Idol, and we had a great laugh - here's me re-enacting Gareth's constipated singing of Unchained melody:



Then I went back to my flat to find all my furniture had gone missing. I sat down on the floor, wondering what to do.



Then I realised, I was in the wrong flat! Mine is next door! Here's me when I finally found my own home:



Then there was time for one last run around the world before bedtime



As for what I got up to next...*wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge*



See ya!

Will

ps. I have a new single out on 24 Nov so buy it!

Will's horny, horny horny horny!



I feel a Photo Story coming on!

Because I Miss You
Today will be Darren Hayes Day. Because I miss him!

A History Of Hairdos



First up we have girly weirdo Darren (right). Not many people can pull off this look and it is debatable whether Darren can.



Here's Darren (left) rocking the superstar look on the Superstars And Cannonballs Tour.



Looking like a proper pop star, and a gorgeous one at that in the I Knew I Loved You video.



A drastic image change here to long, blonde and slightly dodgy (To match the shirt!)



Curly definitely suits Darren better than it did JT!



Short and casual for a more grown up look.



Back to black during the recording of his sophomore solo album. This is his current look.

This Is Your Song
There are two songs in particular from the Spin album of which I love the lyrics. These are (Click to read lyrics):

Good Enough
and
Spin

And I shall pretend not to sympathise with Creepin' Up On You!

Top 10 Darren/SG Covers

Darren and Savage Garden have done several covers at their concerts, on TV shows and as b-sides. Most of them are songs you're not meant to touch, but as I love them so much I do not care, they are very fab. Her is my top 10!

1. Last Christmas (Wham)
2. One Of Us (Joan Osbourne)
3. Can't Help Falling In Love (Elvis)
4. I Can't Make You Love Me (Bonnie Raitt)
5. Sexual Healing (Marvin Gaye)
6. Holiday (Madonna)
7. Imagine (John Lennon)
8. In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel)
9. I Wish U Heaven (Prince)
10. Always Coca Cola!

Latest News On Darren:

Darren is working on his new album in London, with top writers such as Marius De Vries (Romeo & Juliet/Moulin Rouge soundtracks). The first single will be announced soon. He says this is a much more personal album as he is fed up of doing 'pop'...slightly worrying, but I have faith in him.