Very true Val. Only the astute ones see him for what he is & give him the push first before things begin to go pear shaped ;)

 

Yes, Thank goodness Gareth wasn't the push-over he thought he was and got away from him, before he managed to ruin his chances completely.

 

Mind you he had a good try at making him release music he didn't want to release after the fantastic Sunshine. He was obviously worried Gareth may get as popular as he was himself.

 

He still might when he starts releasing his own stuff ;)

 

Here's hoping :D

 

"Darius & Hayley both entered Pop Stars, but if Darius only took part in a documentary with no wish to become part of the group, who am I to argue? "

 

Firstly, Darius did not enter himself for Popstars and hadn't a clue what it was all about when he first sang for the judges. (see Sink or Swim, chapter 2)

 

Secondly, after he'd decided to go along with it for fun, he specifically asked the judges several times what kind of group they were intending to form and was given the impression it would be a male/female group along the lines of All Saints i.e one where the members of the group would be allowed to write their own songs. Hear'say were very far removed from that. If that had been made clear during the auditions, perhaps Darius would have walked out, just as he threatened to do behind the scenes of the final 4 stage in PI but didn't have to when the judges backed down.

 

Darius had management, record producers and finished demos for his own songs viz. Colourblind and Mockingbird, before he auditioned for PI. His motive for entering PI, his second bite as you put it, was a matter of personal pride - it was to redress the very wrong picture of him created by the editing of Popstars and the adverse media storm which followed. PI was to be a live show. He was content when he didn't make it into the final ten because he felt the show had served its purpose. He replaced Rik thinking he'd only last a couple of weeks but would use whatever time he had, to get free tuition from some of the best people in the business.

 

Those kids in the original UK shows weren't to know that they would be manipulated nor did they understand that the media would add their tuppennyworth.

 

The success of PI and continuing high ratings for BB encouraged a plethora of reality shows, some of which were dire but nevertheless got reasonable ratings.

 

The contestants nowadays are much more savvy, they've watched enough of these programmes to know exactly what they're getting themselves into.

 

IMHO another X Factor so soon is pure and simply all about making money. If it was a genuine talent search they'd wait another year to replenish the talent pool and audition all the hopefuls themselves instead of getting TV producers to do it and in the process send away singers who are technically proficient but not judged to be "good TV".

 

 

 

Well, what can anyone say to all this except, I really hope that Darius doesn't feel as ashamed of his involvement with both these tv talents shows as you appear to do. ;)

 

Nope. I'm proud of all the kids including Darius who took part in Popstars and Pop Idol. Whatever their ambitions and whatever their route to the shows eg stage school, talent contests, school choirs, semi-professional work, they supported each other, were prepared to work hard and just tried to do their best and enjoy the experience.

 

They didn't want instant fame, magazine coverage and money for just being a "celeb" like so many today.

 

Darius has never once denied his part in the shows, He has always thanked the public for their support via those shows and beyond which helped him to push to do what he always wanted ie. write and record his own songs.

 

He isn't ashamed of any of it including the last version of HMBOMT. He still socialises with both Nasty Nigel and Simon Cowell when they're in LA and his current partner, Natasha Henstridge, has seen all of the footage.

 

 

 

 

 

True, BT, Popstars was a documentary about finding and marketing a band, something done quite a lot even if not under public glare. The shows that followed cottoned onto the idea of getting the GBP involved in the selection and paying for that honour. The problem isnt the kids taking part in the shows - it is the way the media and the hype is intended to promote such shows, purely to make money for the makers of such shows, as has just been said the current releases and X factor follow up show is purely to hype up the new series - I wonder how many of the kids knew what they were signing when they auditioned, understood contracts etc pushed in their faces, what their obligations to the show would be afterwards - although they gain some celeb status for a while and make money out of being part of X factor or the likes it is a pitence compared with what SC and SF make(a pitiful £500 a show for a start for gods sake). Many take part purely to get a chance to have their moment of fame, even if it's just sparing with SC, some want to get exposure, but some expect to be nurtured and start their career from it, especially when this is what is implyed about winners and runners up. they just end up being used like PR mules, bled for every bit of selling power they may have then spat out.

I know Darius' Lawyer came down and got the PI finalists a bigger cut of the first PI tour deal - seemingly they would have got a very mean cut had not he got them more, so that says something about contestants fair share of the fortunes made from these shows.

I just find them insulting and a sort of exploitation in a way.

Edited August 19, 200618 yr by prettyinpink

I don't think Journey South & Andy have been that successful. Both their albums have only sold a paltry 300k which isnt much on the back of what is claimed a successful tv programme. Also, both their singles flopped badly by failing to reach the top40...Chico did have a number 1 but it hardly sold anything and will probably fade into the background over time with his current trend of performance.

Journey Souths album is one of the highest selling albums of the year so its hardly poor sales. Andys album hasn't done badly. The Ciccle / Desperado by JS was chart inelligable and 'The First Time' was released to music channels to promote the album though was never released as a single. 'Hang Up' by Andy did somehow amazingly miss the top 40 which considering the amount of airplay, and videoplay it got, was amazing however I think people chose to buy the album instead of the single. His second single 'Sticky Situatiion' was download only. Chenai is now releasing a single download only and Tabby has now got a record deal and is releasing a fantastic single and Maria Lawson will be releasing her new single 'Give All You Got' in November along with Shayne releasing 'Next To Me' possibly the same week as Maria. Andy, and JS have now both gone on tour and will be releasing new albums next year along with G4 who are releasing their third album in February.

True, BT, Popstars was a documentary about finding and marketing a band, something done quite a lot even if not under public glare. The shows that followed cottoned onto the idea of getting the GBP involved in the selection and paying for that honour. The problem isnt the kids taking part in the shows - it is the way the media and the hype is intended to promote such shows, purely to make money for the makers of such shows, as has just been said the current releases and X factor follow up show is purely to hype up the new series - I wonder how many of the kids knew what they were signing when they auditioned, understood contracts etc pushed in their faces, what their obligations to the show would be afterwards - although they gain some celeb status for a while and make money out of being part of X factor or the likes it is a pitence compared with what SC and SF make(a pitiful £500 a show for a start for gods sake). Many take part purely to get a chance to have their moment of fame, even if it's just sparing with SC, some want to get exposure, but some expect to be nurtured and start their career from it, especially when this is what is implyed about winners and runners up. they just end up being used like PR mules, bled for every bit of selling power they may have then spat out.

I know Darius' Lawyer came down and got the PI finalists a bigger cut of the first PI tour deal - seemingly they would have got a very mean cut had not he got them more, so that says something about contestants fair share of the fortunes made from these shows.

I just find them insulting and a sort of exploitation in a way.

 

 

Will knew exactly what he was signing. He spent a day with his lawyers and accountants and throughly read his contract.

 

It wasn't Darius' lawyer who got them a deal. Simon Fuller made all the final ten 'audition' law firms 'Pop Idol' style and it was the 'winners' who negotiated for a bigger cut of the income from merchandising than Fuller would have given them. For all the time they 'worked' for Simon F, S Club Seven made very very little, just being given a weekly wage with all profits from merchandising going into Simon's coffers.

 

It all about money - always has beeen - but fortunately for the first kids it was about finding hidden talent - now it's just about good TV. They don't leave time between series because there's no 'waiting for the talent pool to fill again' because that's not their motivation. Can you really believe they didn't find anyone in Leeds :rolleyes:

Edited September 10, 200618 yr by munchkin