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9/21/03

"Hey Whatever" - UK #4

"Hey Whatever" debuts at #4 in the UK, after a #2 debut in Ireland. This makes 15 consecutive top 5 hits. It is however, their 2nd worst chart debut, with the worst showing being "Bop Bop Baby" at #5.

They were the 2nd highest entry in the UK charts, beaten by ex S Club 7 member Rachel Stevens.

At the premiere of The Italian Job

Racy Charlize Theron zoomed into London’s Leicester Square last night and stole the show at the British premiere of The Italian Job. The sexy actress dazzled hundreds of screaming fans with her backless dress and declared: “I’m a better driver than any of the boys.”

Charlize joined her co-star Mark Wahlberg for the showing of the new version of the Sixties classic. The film revolves around a team of bank robbers who cause a huge traffic jam in Los Angeles as they run riot in red, white and blue Mini Coopers.

Charlize said: “This was such a fun movie to make. When we saw the Minis I was like a little kid I just wanted to get in and zoom about. I got so into it I even picked up a couple of speeding tickets after filming.”

Other celebrities at the premiere included Jay Kay, Jeremy Edwards, Kian and Bryan of Westlife and Nell McAndrew.

Rapper to outlive Westlife star, radio station predicts

Rapper 50 Cent may have been shot nine times but he will outlive Westlife star Bryan McFadden, according to a new life expectancy predictor.

The In Da Club star has another 47 years and 362 days to go despite his gangster-style background as a former drug dealer. And he will last 324 days longer than McFadden based on a lifespan generator created by radio station Kiss 100.

The dance music station has created a countdown clock to work out when we will meet the grim reaper as part of its Live Sexy promotional campaign. Predictions are based on lifestyle, diet, exercise regime and sex life. The website reckons Sir Elton John has another 14 years of shopping ahead of him before he checks out.

George Best - who recently underwent a liver swap after years of heavy boozing - will manage another 13 years. The website also predicts Billie Piper will outlive husband Chris Evans by 26 years and nine days - even though he is only 16 years her senior.

A spokesman for the station said: "Whether you're a macrobiotic yoghurt guzzling yoga freak or a curry, lager and 60-a-day couch potato, you can now check out how long you've got left before you meet your maker. Whether it's days, weeks or years, the underlying message is 'live sexy before you die'."

9/14/03

Remember...

"Hey Whatever" was released in Ireland this past weekend and released in the UK tomorrow. Be sure to help make Westlife #1 yet again!

Kian "attacks" Liz

Kian has launched an astonishing attack on ex-girlfriend and Atomic Kitten star Liz McLarnon. The singer said their fling was one of his biggest mistakes, claiming she stalked him by phone.

He said: "It was so bizarre and I'll never go back there. Liz is one strange cookie."

Kian, 23, started dating Liz earlier this year but the couple split after just a few weeks. It was later claimed she had dumped Kian, who reportedly became obsessed with the Liverpool-born singer and was desperate to win her back. But furious Kian said: "From the day we broke up, I've never called her number in my life and, believe me, she's called mine."

Kian said she had repeatedly phoned him for months - but he would not take her calls. He added: "When we ended, it was splashed over the papers that I'd been pestering her and calling her when I was drunk, begging her to take me back - but it was quite the opposite. I was certainly not obsessed with her."

Kian and Liz, 22, first met when the Kittens supported Westlife on tour and got together in January to enjoy a two-month fling. But the couple soon fell out. Since Kian's split from Swede Jessica Forsman last year, he has been linked to a string of celebrities, including Amanda Holden. Essex Wives star Jodie Marsh bragged she had shared steamy nights of passion with Kian. But millionaire Kian is less than happy to be associated with the former lap dancer.

He said: "I despise my name being mentioned in the same sentence as hers. I was with her in a nightclub once and that was it - we never even went on a date. We had a few drinks and ended up having a snog. She's just a fame seeking so-and-so."

For the last three months, Kian has been dating Hollyoaks star Jodi Albert, 21, who he met when she was in a band called Girl Thing. Kian said: "Jodi's a fantastic girl and I'm very happy to be with her. It's a very good relationship."

Yesterday, Liz - who had an on-off affair with Lee Ryan from Blue and has also been linked to Calum Best - laughed off Kian's scathing comments. A close friend of the star said: "Liz knows she was the one who broke it off with Kian. She is in the studio recording a new album at the moment. She just laughed it off."

Read the full interview in Now magazine, out tomorrow.

KIAN ON LIZ: She's one strange cookie.. after we broke up, she kept phoning me for months

KIAN ON JODIE: We just had a few drinks and a snog.. she's a fame-seeking so-and-so

It's partly because his wife, former Atomic Kitten star Kerry Katona, spent most of her childhood in care. Kerry sometimes lived with her mother in Liverpool, but also spent time with eight different foster families.

Now the showbiz couple want to give something back and help a child without a family.

Bryan said, "It's just because Kerry went through so much care when she was growing up, being fostered. It would be nice to pay that back for another child. It would be nice to help a troubled kid. We were thinking about adopting in a few years. Not now, it would be unfair to adopt a child because I'm never at home."

Link: Westlife on Dumping Simon Cowell

Big Buzz Awards

Funnyman Patrick Kielty was the main winner at last night's Big Buzz Awards when he picked up two accolades at the star-studded ceremony in the Europa Hotel.

The Fame Academy star was unable to attend the event due to work commitments but picked up Best TV Personality and Best Irish Entertainment Show at the annual Irish entertainment award bash.

Irish superstars Westlife were voted Best Irish Pop Act and former Boyzone star Keith Duffy was in town to hand out some of the top prizes.

Top Selling in Zimbabwe

Of all places, really. R Kelly's Chocolate Factory has managed to maintain its grip on the first position from 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' and greatest hits albums by WestLife and Bob Marley are still recording high sales.

Bryan working with Phixx

POP singer Nikk Mager and new band Phixx performed before a crowd of more than 50,000 last night. Proud mum Carolyn, from Greetland, watched as they supported boy band Blue in Peterborough. Millions watched the former Huddersfield Grammar School pupil lose out in the final of ITV's Popstars: The Rivals last year.

But Nikk, 19, and four other entrants have signed a three-album deal with record label Concept Music rumoured to be worth £500,000. Nikk added: "We were worried people would forget about us. But I have found we have a fans' website."

Carolyn said: "He is so excited. He is having a ball. He's doing what he wants to do and it must be wonderful. I only wish we could see him more. We have never seen him live before, but there have been girls running to the front at concerts trying to touch him."

The group's debut single, Hold On Me, is out on October 27.

Also in Phixx are Chris Park, Pete Smith, Andrew Kinlochan and Mikey Green. They have been working with Blue's Lee Ryan and Westlife's Bryan McFadden. The group is being managed by Nathan Moore, the former singer with 80s band Brother Beyond.

MY GREAT POP BLUNDERS

EXCLUSIVE: Stars who somehow slipped through Simon Cowell's fingers

LONG before he was fulfiling the dreams of a generation of pop wannabes on the ITV series Pop Idol, Simon Cowell was making and breaking careers. Here, in the second of our exclusive series, the 43-year-old music boss with the Midas touch and the razor-sharp tongue talks candidly about the stars he made - and the ones he let slip through his fingers.

I had a hunch about the mob of girls hanging around a van parked outside the office in London I was visiting. It was 1996 and there was a buzz going round the industry about a girl band called Spice. I'd made enquiries and been told that BMG - my parent company - was going to sign them up. Not wanting to tread on anyone's toes, I backed off. But when I saw the girls, curiosity got the better of me. I introduced myself, went into their van and they played me their record, Wannabe. I totally freaked out. I knew straight away that it would be huge. There was never any doubt in my mind.

And the girls were fantastic. Great image, full of energy and enthusiasm. I thought they were brilliant. I loved them. I phoned their manager, Simon Fuller, and said: "Whatever you've been offered, I'll double it." He told me they'd just signed a contract - BMG had pulled out of the negotiations. To put it mildly, I wasn't happy. And over the next few months, when they took off, it wasn't a great time for me at all.

If there's one thing I've learned, it's not to look back at my mistakes - and I've made plenty of them. In the early 1990s, the manager of an unknown band called Take That walked into my office with some demo tapes and photos. Referring to Gary Barlow, my exact words were: "Fire the fat one and I'll sign the band". I realised three months later that I'd made a mistake. Everyone was talking about them. I went back and said I'd changed my mind - but it was too late.

With every Number One hit they had - and there were eight of them - I felt physically ill, but you have to hold your hands up and say: "I screwed up". I tend to go very quiet for a couple of weeks, then it's over. I just get on with it.

But making hit records is a bit like target practice - sometimes you hit and sometimes you don't. When you do, it's the biggest buzz in the world; when you don't you feel bad for a while and then come back. So when I get criticised now for telling people what I think of them, I say: "Show me how much time you've invested in your talent."

Not everyone's going to get an easy ride in life. I wish it were that simple. Every time you put a record out and it fails to chart, is a criticism of sorts. You have to take a view. Is it your fault or is it their fault. It's usually your fault. I know a lot of guys in my business who blame everyone but themselves when it goes wrong. I say, "Rubbish. It's your responsibility."

My biggest influence in my early years in the record industry was my fellow Pop Idol judge Pete Waterman. He has the best ear I have ever come across for a brilliant pop record. I used to hang around his London studio, just watching him work. I'd tell him: "I just want to learn from you." Week after week, when I was trying to make it and bringing in songs which I wanted Pete to produce for me, he would shout at me: "Simon, you have no credibility! Your ideas are crap!"

I had to accept that he knew more than me. I didn't sulk. After the Spice Girls debacle, I did nothing for six months. Then I went to Chris Herbert, the man who got the girls together in the first place. I gave him £25,000 and said: "You did it once. Now do it again." The result was Five, who were totally under my direction. People seem to have forgotten just how successful they were. They sold over 1 million albums and were a hit all over the world.

Eventually, they reached a point when they said, "Enough". I said: "Yes, it is." We'd all done well out of the arrangement, but it was time to move on for all of us.

Not long after, I got a call from a manager called Louis Walsh who in his own inimitable style said: "Simon, I've got the best band in the world. Come and see them."

I flew to Ireland and he introduced me to a band called I.O.U. I said: "Louis. I can't sign this band. They don't look great." Actually, two of them looked alright. The other two were horrendous. I told Louis: "I'm not interested in working with a band like that. I can't market them. If you decide to replace the ugly ones call me."

He said, "I'm not doing that, Simon." But three months later he called and said: "I've done it! Come and see the new band."

So I flew back to Ireland. The band - now renamed Westlife - got up on stage and sang their first song.

I loved them. Straightaway, I said: "Thank you very much, Louis. You've got a deal." Once we'd agreed, Louis told me that all he'd done was take one of the guys I hadn't liked, dyed his hair blonde and put him back. That was Shane. I didn't care. They looked great, they sounded fantastic.

I flew back to London, but before I'd even drawn up a contract with them, there was a buzz going around about a new song called Flying Without Wings. I called the songwriters and got them into my office. They played me the song, but I took it off half way through and said: "I've got to have it."

I knew if I could get this song for Westlife, it would seal everything. It was perfect for them. Eventually we did the deal - and we had our first Number One with Swear It Again in April, 1999.

There were lots of highs and buzzes with Westlife. Signing them, selling over 20million albums and the moment they equalled The Beatles' record of seven Number One singles in October 2000. I don't think that will ever be broken - or, if it is, I hope it will be by one of my artists.

Every year, there are three or four exceptional pop records and more often than not, the song is more important than the artist. I love great songs. When I'm at home the number one CD I would play would be Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits.

Number two would be Bobby Darin's Greatest Hits. Number three would be the Righteous Brothers Greatest Hits. Then Tony Bennett, Charles Aznavour, Ella Fitzgerald. I just love good songs.

When I heard Baby One More Time as a demo, I offered the songwriter a £65,000 Mercedes if he would give me that song. I would have recorded it with Five and it would have changed their career, but Britney got it and look what it did for her.

If Gary Barlow had had Angels and Robbie Williams hadn't, things might have been very different. That's the delicious thrill of the music industry. You just don't know what's going to happen.

People ask, who do you regret missing? Well, that should be obvious - anyone who's successful. They're the ones who would have made me money.

Four years ago I put together a girl band called Girl Thing and we put out two singles. It was a disaster. The first made the top five, the second one didn't even make the Top Ten.

I had already recorded a great song called Pure And Simple with them. I knew it would be a hit. But then Hear'Say released the same song which topped the charts. So basically, Girl Thing was doomed. Needless to say, I will never work again with the people involved in that betrayal.

I bailed out from Girl Thing after six months. Looking back, I should have given them more time; they were actually very good, but we made mistakes. In those situations, it's very hard having the goodbye conversation with them. I spoke to the manager and he broke the news to them.

As hard as it sounds, you can't worry about what happens to them. You've just got to get on with it. You can never be ashamed of failure. So many of the contestants I see on Pop Idol don't understand the philosophy of good, old-fashioned hard work.

I've faced lots of rejection throughout my career but you have to take it on the chin. If you can't, you'll never be a success. No one has ever been helped by being patronised. I prefer to deal in brutal honesty... as you can see on Pop Idol!

SIMON'S TIPS FOR GETTING TO THE TOP

1. IF you have people working for you, you must understand that they have an invisible sign on their heads which says, "Make me feel important". Share the credit.

2. WORD of mouth is the most effective marketing tool in the world.

3. TRUST your instincts.

4. KNOW your limitations.

5. YOU are only as big as your last hit.

6. INVEST in your talent.

7. DEVELOP a tough skin.

8. IF you work for a large corporation, remember that all that matters is success. If you are successful for the company, they will look after you. Results are all that count.

9. WHEN things go wrong, always hold up your hands and accept responsibility.

10. WE all make mistakes. It's how you overcome them that matters and that, in the long-term, often makes the difference between success and failure.

9/07/03

Westlife to visit Hong Kong

Westlife will line up alongside the Rolling Stones and Santana at a music festival aiming to restore some glitz to Sars-hit Hong Kong.

Jose Carreras, Craig David, Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou and boy band F4, will also take part in the concert series titled Hong Kong Harbour Fest.

James Thompson, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce, which is organising the event with the government, said: "We thought we could all help Hong Kong recover by bringing some exciting, world class entertainment here."

He hopes the event will attract tourists from North America, Europe and Japan and in turn create jobs. An outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome between March and May dealt a heavy blow to the already struggling economy. The disease, which killed 299 people and left 1,755 ill, prompted travel warnings and devastated tourism, hotel and other businesses.

The festival will take place at the outdoor Tamar site along Hong Kong's waterfront between October 15 and November 9. It is estimated to be costing the equivalent of €15.3m. The government has agreed to contribute €9.4m if half the tickets are sold, said Mike Rowse, one of the organisers. The Stones will perform on November 7 and 9, with top tickets priced at about €230 each. More than 200,000 tickets for 18 shows will be available for the entire festival and ticket sales will begin on September 12.

Britain's Duchess of York will this week try her hand as a radio presenter – by joining DJ Steve Wright’s on-air posse. Fergie is spending three days working in the studio on Wright’s BBC Radio 2 show from Tuesday.

A spokeswoman for the station said: “Sarah was a guest on a recent show and was invited to come in and try her hand at interviewing and presenting.”

Guests during her stint on the show will include Cilla Black, Westlife, Elvis Costello and Lord Attenborough. Fergie will be working alongside Wright and his co-hosts Tim Smith and Janey Lee Grace on the show which has an audience of 6.3 million. She previously had her own chat show on Sky One although it was panned by critics.

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