Posted August 19, 200618 yr http://www.xfactor.tv/uploads/images/1155214047343_0.3896859061050387.jpg Tonight at 6:50 pm, ITV1 X-Factor will return to our screens! http://www.xfactor.tv/uploads/images/1155202524828_0.6924250808380179.jpg Simon Cowell has worked in the music industry for 27 years. He started in the post room at EMI Music Publishing. After starting his own label at the age of 23, Simon joined BMG in 1989 and began a relationship that has now lasted for 20 years. During his time at BMG, Simon has sold over 150 million records and has had over 50 number one records. His artists have included Westlife whose first 7 singles all went to No1 and most recently Il Divo whose first 2 albums have collectively sold 15 million copies around the world. Simon’s first TV venture was Pop Idol in the UK where he also appeared as a judge. Idol has now been produced in over 30 countries. In 2003 after the success of Idol, Simon set up SYCO as a television production company with BMG. The first show produced was The X Factor, a show he judges with Sharon Osbourne in the UK. The X Factor (now in its third series) has won Entertainment Show of the Year at the National TV Awards and most recently won the BAFTA award for Entertainment Show of 2006. Syco also created and produces American Inventor for ABC which returns in 2007, the No1 Show in the US, America’s Got Talent and Celebrity Duets for FOX which premieres in September 2007. http://www.xfactor.tv/uploads/images/1155202537562_0.6490842124154369.jpg She’s brought new meaning to the phrase “housewife superstar†for the 21st century, but that phrase is only a foreword to the book of Sharon Osbourne’s life. Here’s a woman who’s all about empowerment, without any of the tokenistic acknowledgement of females that usually lurks behind that phrase. That’s human empowerment, as in not taking no for answer, never taking any of life’s mess lying down, and recognising tall brick walls but simply driving around them. Sharon’s autobiography, released in September 2005, was the voice of one of the most resilient and multi-faceted figureheads in the public consciousness. Not to mention possibly the most successful female businesswoman the entertainment world has ever fostered. With hardback sales of over 1,200,000 in the UK alone, this is now one of the most successful autobiographies of all time. We’re several paragraphs in and we haven’t even mentioned ‘The Osbournes’, or Ozzy, or Ozzfest, or the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Foundation, or her talk show, or the years of honing a reputation as the definitive straight-talking artist manager of her generation. Sharon likes to say she's “lived 50 lives in 50 years†and it sounds a fairly conservative estimate. The Sharon Osbourne the world now knows is the one made famous by TV, but it’s also the sum of many other parts, parts that were constructed on the shop floor of a music business that was in her very blood. Sharon was a mere 15 when she began her career, as a receptionist for her father Don Arden's management company. It was while working for her father that she first met seminal rockers Black Sabbath and a lead singer called John Michael Osbourne, already known to one and all as Ozzy. Sharon was 17 then, and their paths crossed off and on over the ensuing years, until she began managing Ozzy's career in 1979, after he’d been fired from Black Sabbath. Sharon kept believing in his talent and over the next quarter-century, would mould and mastermind the truly unique solo career of a rock icon. That bit about coming up against a brick wall and simply going around it? How about answering the “no†of other music festivals to her requests to add Ozzy to their line-up by creating a summer festival in his name? Ozzfest, formed in 1996, went on to become the essential occasion of any summer of rock, and it will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2005. Sharon and Ozzy were married on July 4, 1982. The tour bus was often a nursery for their three children, Aimee, Kelly and Jack. During a management career three and a half decades strong, Sharon has also worked with Gary Moore, Motorhead and ELO. She’s as proud of her work ethic now as when she formed her own international company, Sharon Osbourne Management, created two record labels, became a concert tour producer, film producer, five-days-a-week talk show host and started a charity, all at the same time as nurturing her family. And then, ‘The Osbournes’. The idea of a reality TV series about her family was Sharon’s too, but it was the viewing public who spontaneously created the reaction that turned the series into a pivotal moment in modern television history. Starring Ozzy, Sharon, Kelly and Jack, it won MTV the highest ratings they’d ever known and won an Emmy for Best Reality Show, presented by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences at the 2002 Emmy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. Suddenly, viewers who may never have heard of Sharon Osbourne before had a new friend and inspiration. Soon she was on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, Blender and People, among many others, and became a new favourite on America’s chat-show couches. Then came the most serious of pitstops, when she was diagnosed with colon cancer in July 2002, Sharon spent the rest of the year coming to grips with her own mortality, ravaged by chemotherapy and the attendant sickness. Her brave move to let the MTV cameras document her illness during the filming of the second season of ‘The Osbournes’ was all about seizing the chance to promote public awareness of the disease. Fully recovered, she started the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Foundation with the mission of providing free screenings and healthcare to those who can't afford it. Late in 2004, she was at the Woman of the Year awards in London to collect that trophy, which she’d won at the 2002 event but had been too ill to receive. In March and April this year Sharon undertook a successful short run in The Vagina Monologues in Southampton and Newcastle. Her autobiography, Extreme, has sold in excess of two million copies and is the most successful female autobiography ever. With the continued success of Ozzfest and then ‘The X Factor’, if anybody’s got that, it’s Sharon Osbourne. http://www.xfactor.tv/uploads/images/1155202548015_0.01171716404628037.jpg Louis Walsh is the undisputed king of the Irish pop scene. He is the man behind some of the most successful bands in pop history, masterminding the careers of Boyzone, Westlife, Samantha Mumba and Girls Aloud. The fact that he has achieved a staggering 28 number one hits is a testament to his success and is one of the reasons why Louis Walsh is one of the most respected names in the music industry today. Louis has always been passionate about music. His first taste of success came when he spotted the talents of an artist called Johnny Logan. Louis was convinced that Logan could be a big hit if he was given the right break and persuaded him to sing at The Eurovision Song Contest. Louis’ gamble paid off and in 1980 Johnny Logan won the 25th Eurovision Song Contest in front of 500 million TV viewers. Logan’s first album sold half a million copies within three days of its release, catapulting Logan to Number 1 in eleven European countries. With a number one artist already under his belt, Louis was ready for his next challenge. Relying on his instincts, Louis knew that his next hit would be with a band to rival the success of Take That. The papers picked up on the story and news of an audition was soon the talk of Dublin. A series of auditions followed and five unknown artists were plucked from obscurity. Ronan Keating, Stephen Gately, Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch and Mikey Graham made up the band and Boyzone was born. Louis’ hunch was right, under his management, Boyzone went on to be one of the most successful boy bands ever. They achieved 16 top three singles, six of which were Number 1's and four Number 1 albums, selling over 12 million copies worldwide. When Ronan Keating announced he wanted to take a break from Boyzone, Louis continued to manage his career, helping him to score a Number 1 hit with Life is a Rollercoaster in 2000. Ronan’s solo album shot to Number 1 and a further two hit singles were released from the album, which went on to sell over 4.4 million copies. Boyzone is not the only success Louis has had with an all-Irish band. His next discovery, Westlife, were a hit from the start. Record companies were literally falling over themselves to sign the band and in 1998 Simon Cowell of RCA signed them up in a multi-million pound deal. Their first single ‘Swear it Again’ reached Number 1 in the UK charts and their next 6 singles all followed suit. The group currently hold the record for achieving the most consecutive number 1 singles. Under Louis’ guidance, Westlife have accumulated an overwhelming 13 UK Number 1’s, six number 1 selling albums. Louis was also the mastermind behind Lulu’s duet album two years ago. Featuring stars such as Paul McCartney, Sting and Elton John, the album was Lulu’s most successful release to date, reaching Number 4 in the charts. In 2001, Louis made his first foray into television on the Irish version of Popstars. The show made Louis a household name in both reland and the UK. The following year, Louis appeared as a judge on Popstars: The Rivals, along with Pete Waterman and Geri Halliwell. Louis went head to head with Pete Waterman on the show, with his all girl band Girls Aloud battling it out with Pete’s boy band, One True Voice. Girls Aloud won hands down and their debut single achieved the coveted UK Christmas Number 1. Louis continues to manage the group, who went on to achieve a million single sales while their debut album went platinum. In 2004 Louis first appeared as a judge on The X Factor, and found chart success with G4, who have gone on to have two chart topping platinum selling albums and the boys have jut finished their second tour of the UK. In 2005 Louis found success again with last years X Factor winner Shayne Ward, whose debut single That’s My Goal spent four weeks at number one and whose debut album has sold over 3 million copies to date. It seems that success for Louis Walsh is set to continue.
August 19, 200618 yr I will watch the early rounds not because of any likelyhood of talent but I love Simon Cowell's put downs to really c**p singers, brilliant tv
August 19, 200618 yr I look forward to yet more BLAND popstars being churned out in the aftermath of this. :rolleyes:
August 19, 200618 yr Paula Abdul is also a judge apparently tonight :blink: Is there 4 categories this year :unsure:
August 19, 200618 yr Paula Abdul is also a judge apparently tonight :blink: Is there 4 categories this year :unsure: No Abdul is only making a guest appearence to apperently help Sharon annoy simon :rolleyes: She won't be on any of the other episodes as far as i am aware -_- I look forward to tonight. It should be a great nights viewing :smoke:
August 19, 200618 yr That little lad was the cutest thing I have seen in the world - EVER. Did you see him "I love singin' I do" :cry: God bless his little soul, I want to put him in a cage. :wub:
August 19, 200618 yr Someone do me a favour and KILL that UGLY, FAT, FOUL, Mariah wannabe. :arrr: :angry: :arrr:
August 19, 200618 yr That group of 6 was BRILLIANT Weren't they? This Asian guy is AWFUL. Also what in the blue HELL is he wearing? :arrr:
August 19, 200618 yr I know the judges being well paid for X Factor but they deserve a bonus for not resorting to strangling that Asian guy
August 19, 200618 yr This guy is good Would not be surprised to see him go far, has the looks to appeal to the young viewers too
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