"Popstars or Flopstars" Irish Independent
Nov 30, 2006 6:17:37 GMT 10
Post by dededom on Nov 30, 2006 6:17:37 GMT 10
Popstars or flopstars?
Irish Independent newspaper
www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=45&si=1731856&issue_id=14938
Irishman Damien Leith has just won the new 'Australian Idol' but his early success is definitely no guarantee of lasting fame, as JOHN MEAGHER reports
On Sunday night, in the splendid surroundings of the Sydney Opera House, a 30-year-old Irish pharmacist called Damien Leith won the latest instalment of Australian Idol.
Dubbed the 'people's tenor' by his excitable fans, Leith received a standing ovation for his performance of the Puccini aria Nessun Dorma - and two million Aussies tuned in.
The judges were united on his star quality. "Damien has massive universal appeal," said judge and radio personality Kyle Sandilands. "I can see him selling records all over the world because he has such an international sound."
The Kildare man says he has the ambition to make it in the business. "I'm so thrilled with the outcome. It has changed my life. I'm going to work really hard to make music my lifelong career."
But while Leith may be basking in his victory - and his deal with record company giant SonyBMG - success in the music business is by no means assured. Such reality shows may churn out 'popstars' like link sausages, but few of them enjoy a sustainable career after the first flush of success has abated.
And winners can struggle to attract an audience outside the territory where the show was initially broadcast. Broadly speaking, the winners - and prominent runners-up - can be lumped into three categories: Disappeared Without Trace; Surviving, But Only Just; and Still Intact, Against All Odds. Very few make the latter category.
DISAPPEARED WITHOUT TRACE
HEAR'SAY... They won Popstars in 2001 - the first of these programmes to make an impact in this part of the world. Their debut single, Pure And Simple, was a huge UK hit and a rushed-out first album did good business as well. Then it all fell apart and after plummeting sales, in-band spats and a nervous breakdown or two, the band split. The group's most photogenic member, Myleene Klass, can be currently seen eating bugs in I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.
ONE TRUE VOICE... They were the boyband created on Popstars: The Rivals in 2002 and their debut single was kept off the top of the charts by Girls Aloud, also discovered on the same show. A follow-up single went largely unnoticed by the public. Within six months, the group had disbanded and retreated back to obscurity. To compound their troubles one member, Matt Johnson, auditioned unsuccessfully for The X-Factor two years later.
MICHELLE McMANUS... Like Rik Waller, that other footnote in reality TV history, the Scot was more famous for being fat than for her (questionable) singing ability. A slimmed down McManus went on to release fitness DVDs, which did exactly what her pop career did - flopped.
GARETH GATES... The spiky-haired urchin finished runner-up to Will Young in the first series of Pop Idol in 2002. Nurtured by the show's judge and record company exec Simon Cowell, Gates was soon racking up lucrative sponsorships and four UK number one singles. But his moment in the sun was short-lived - his second album bombed and his fans deserted him faster than vermin scurrying from the Titanic.
STEVE BROOKSTEIN... One of the more mature winners of these shows, Brookstein seemed to implode on releasing his second single. Frequently pilloried in the press, struggling to sell out venues and being dropped by his record label meant a return to nobodyness came sooner rather than later.
LUCIA EVANS... The Galwegian won the last series of RTE's You're A Star, but failed to make the all-important immediate impact. Her first single limped to number five in the domestic chart and she soon parted company with her record label.
MICKEY HARTE... He was cheeky-chappy Mickey 'Joe' Harte when he first surfaced but soon dropped the middle name on winning You're A Star. It didn't bring him much luck and he has never really recovered after representing Ireland inauspiciously at Eurovision.
SIX... Back in 2001, during RTE's first and last series of Popstars, this six-piece boy-girl winning combo were promised a big recording deal from BMG's Simon Cowell. But no sooner had the cameras been turned off, than Cowell lost interest in them. Most of the members have gone back to anonymity, while one or two have had to make do with the twilight world of children's television.
SURVIVING, BUT ONLY JUST
G4... Popera - which fuses manufactured pop with operatic standards - is perhaps the most repellent genre in music today. This charisma-free quartet, who came to prominence on The X-Factor, enjoyed a UK number one album.
Their second only managed number six, while their just released third effort is not expected to get a top 10.
ANDY ABRAHAM... A soul singer in name only, this X-Factor also-ran has succeeded in charming the housewives of middle England.
Frequent appearances on the Late Late Show has ensured that his fanbase in this country remains large. Yet nobody will ever admit to purchasing his music.
LIBERTY X... While Hear'Say were crashing and burning, this quintet - featuring a young Irish singer called Tony London - were honing their craft and delivering a batch of half decent songs.
After initial, and critically acclaimed success, they have found it tough going.
Their last album only managed number 27 in the UK chart. They have been very quiet of late, however, and new material is likely to struggle to find a large audience.
STILL INTACT, AGAINST ALL ODDS
KELLY CLARKSON... The Texan singer was the first winner of American Idol and her first two albums have sold more than five million copies each. She has won a Grammy award and has distanced herself from her reality TV roots.
WILL YOUNG... Some feared that Young would alienate his young female audience when he came out as gay shortly after winning the inaugural UK version of Pop Idol, but his honesty seemed to help rather than hinder his career. He has carefully re-worked his image, being seen as an album-focused artist rather than a singles-based pop act. A recent show in Dublin's Point suggested he may enjoy longevity.
GIRLS ALOUD... The shouty, mouthy five-piece are rarely out of the tabloids thanks to the high-profile relationships of Cheryl Tweedy (married to footballer Ashley Cole) and Nadine Coyle (on-off relationship with Desperate Housewives hunk Jesse Metcalfe), but they can still deliver top-notch singles. And their debut song, Sound Of The Underground, remains the critical high-water mark of any act created on such shows.
Irish Independent newspaper
www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=45&si=1731856&issue_id=14938
Irishman Damien Leith has just won the new 'Australian Idol' but his early success is definitely no guarantee of lasting fame, as JOHN MEAGHER reports
On Sunday night, in the splendid surroundings of the Sydney Opera House, a 30-year-old Irish pharmacist called Damien Leith won the latest instalment of Australian Idol.
Dubbed the 'people's tenor' by his excitable fans, Leith received a standing ovation for his performance of the Puccini aria Nessun Dorma - and two million Aussies tuned in.
The judges were united on his star quality. "Damien has massive universal appeal," said judge and radio personality Kyle Sandilands. "I can see him selling records all over the world because he has such an international sound."
The Kildare man says he has the ambition to make it in the business. "I'm so thrilled with the outcome. It has changed my life. I'm going to work really hard to make music my lifelong career."
But while Leith may be basking in his victory - and his deal with record company giant SonyBMG - success in the music business is by no means assured. Such reality shows may churn out 'popstars' like link sausages, but few of them enjoy a sustainable career after the first flush of success has abated.
And winners can struggle to attract an audience outside the territory where the show was initially broadcast. Broadly speaking, the winners - and prominent runners-up - can be lumped into three categories: Disappeared Without Trace; Surviving, But Only Just; and Still Intact, Against All Odds. Very few make the latter category.
DISAPPEARED WITHOUT TRACE
HEAR'SAY... They won Popstars in 2001 - the first of these programmes to make an impact in this part of the world. Their debut single, Pure And Simple, was a huge UK hit and a rushed-out first album did good business as well. Then it all fell apart and after plummeting sales, in-band spats and a nervous breakdown or two, the band split. The group's most photogenic member, Myleene Klass, can be currently seen eating bugs in I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.
ONE TRUE VOICE... They were the boyband created on Popstars: The Rivals in 2002 and their debut single was kept off the top of the charts by Girls Aloud, also discovered on the same show. A follow-up single went largely unnoticed by the public. Within six months, the group had disbanded and retreated back to obscurity. To compound their troubles one member, Matt Johnson, auditioned unsuccessfully for The X-Factor two years later.
MICHELLE McMANUS... Like Rik Waller, that other footnote in reality TV history, the Scot was more famous for being fat than for her (questionable) singing ability. A slimmed down McManus went on to release fitness DVDs, which did exactly what her pop career did - flopped.
GARETH GATES... The spiky-haired urchin finished runner-up to Will Young in the first series of Pop Idol in 2002. Nurtured by the show's judge and record company exec Simon Cowell, Gates was soon racking up lucrative sponsorships and four UK number one singles. But his moment in the sun was short-lived - his second album bombed and his fans deserted him faster than vermin scurrying from the Titanic.
STEVE BROOKSTEIN... One of the more mature winners of these shows, Brookstein seemed to implode on releasing his second single. Frequently pilloried in the press, struggling to sell out venues and being dropped by his record label meant a return to nobodyness came sooner rather than later.
LUCIA EVANS... The Galwegian won the last series of RTE's You're A Star, but failed to make the all-important immediate impact. Her first single limped to number five in the domestic chart and she soon parted company with her record label.
MICKEY HARTE... He was cheeky-chappy Mickey 'Joe' Harte when he first surfaced but soon dropped the middle name on winning You're A Star. It didn't bring him much luck and he has never really recovered after representing Ireland inauspiciously at Eurovision.
SIX... Back in 2001, during RTE's first and last series of Popstars, this six-piece boy-girl winning combo were promised a big recording deal from BMG's Simon Cowell. But no sooner had the cameras been turned off, than Cowell lost interest in them. Most of the members have gone back to anonymity, while one or two have had to make do with the twilight world of children's television.
SURVIVING, BUT ONLY JUST
G4... Popera - which fuses manufactured pop with operatic standards - is perhaps the most repellent genre in music today. This charisma-free quartet, who came to prominence on The X-Factor, enjoyed a UK number one album.
Their second only managed number six, while their just released third effort is not expected to get a top 10.
ANDY ABRAHAM... A soul singer in name only, this X-Factor also-ran has succeeded in charming the housewives of middle England.
Frequent appearances on the Late Late Show has ensured that his fanbase in this country remains large. Yet nobody will ever admit to purchasing his music.
LIBERTY X... While Hear'Say were crashing and burning, this quintet - featuring a young Irish singer called Tony London - were honing their craft and delivering a batch of half decent songs.
After initial, and critically acclaimed success, they have found it tough going.
Their last album only managed number 27 in the UK chart. They have been very quiet of late, however, and new material is likely to struggle to find a large audience.
STILL INTACT, AGAINST ALL ODDS
KELLY CLARKSON... The Texan singer was the first winner of American Idol and her first two albums have sold more than five million copies each. She has won a Grammy award and has distanced herself from her reality TV roots.
WILL YOUNG... Some feared that Young would alienate his young female audience when he came out as gay shortly after winning the inaugural UK version of Pop Idol, but his honesty seemed to help rather than hinder his career. He has carefully re-worked his image, being seen as an album-focused artist rather than a singles-based pop act. A recent show in Dublin's Point suggested he may enjoy longevity.
GIRLS ALOUD... The shouty, mouthy five-piece are rarely out of the tabloids thanks to the high-profile relationships of Cheryl Tweedy (married to footballer Ashley Cole) and Nadine Coyle (on-off relationship with Desperate Housewives hunk Jesse Metcalfe), but they can still deliver top-notch singles. And their debut song, Sound Of The Underground, remains the critical high-water mark of any act created on such shows.
. Well said every one, i agree 100%.
. Another bunch of crap added to the list of saying bad and mean things about Damien. CRAP CRAP CRAP-A-ROO I TELL U.
