April 5, 201312 yr Author On we go then with the top 35 now - and another Popstars favourite next... 35. JAVINE (4 points) ('Popstars: The Rivals', runner up, Innocent/Universal Island, 2002 - 2005) http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/27949865/Javine.png UK top 40 hits: 5 UK top 40 albums: 0 Biggest single: 'Real Things', UK #4, July 2003 Biggest album: 'Surrender', UK #73, July 2004 Best known for: briefly amazing pop via inter-marital adultery Every reality pop series past and present has always had a contestant who was 'the favourite', or rather two favourites. Javine Hylton just so happened to be one of these when she made it to the final 10 girls on Popstars: The Rivals, with her soulful diva voice seeing her through each round week after week. Alas, she was close but no cigar (even in the face of national news headlines declaring it was a fix) on being one of the chosen ones for Girls Aloud. Still, Geri Halliwell's sound advice that she 'really enjoyed being a solo artist, so y'knowwhaddaimean' seemed to resonate with Ms Hylton and it wasn't long before Virgin's then pop division Innocent came a-calling with a deal for her. Fast forward 8 months and by the summer of 2003, her MOP sampling monster of a top 5 debut 'Real Things' was never more than ten plays away from a local radio station. It should have then been, like it was for Lemar, ever continuing success for Javine. But the mammoth success of similar artists like Beyonce and Jamelia at around about the same time she came to release follow up material meant it was ever decreasing circles thereon in despite two more corking top 20 hits with 'Surrender' and 'Best of My Love'. After her debut album tanked she was all but on the scrapheap - and not even a paltry second from last showing as our Eurovision entry at Kiev in 2005 with the worldly inspired 'Touch My Fire' could save her. Of course since then she's gained notoreity for reasons other than her pop career, owing to her much publicised affair with So Solid Crew's MC Harvey that broke down his marriage to Alesha Dixon. A shame really, when she could have potentially been a lot more than she ended up being. Still, the tunes have remained tunes. Edited June 26, 201312 yr by ThePensmith
April 5, 201312 yr Author 34. JEDWARD (4 points) ('The X Factor' UK series 6, finalists, Sony Music/Universal Island, 2009 - present) http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/67396236/Jedward%201.png UK top 40 hits: 1 UK top 40 albums: 2 Biggest single: 'Ice Ice Baby (Under Pressure)', UK #2, January 2010 Biggest album: 'Planet Jedward', UK #17, August 2010 Best known for: being the X Factor's first Marmite kids Up until 'The X Factor' returned for its 6th series in 2009 it had never really drawn contestants that had divided the nation so readily like the 'token' acts we know of today from recent series - Rylan Clark/Wagner/Goldie, anyone? That was of course before two hyperactive twin brothers from Dublin by the name of John and Edward Grimes stepped onto the audition stage. Big quiffs and what to some appeared to be big egos, Simon Cowell automatically hated them ('you are not very good and incredibly annoying'). Cheryl, Dannii and Louis being Louis however, absolutely loved them - so fitting then that Louis ended up mentoring the groups that year and taking them to the live shows. And what a slightly off the wall treat they were for the lives. Turning in some bizarre but rather endearing performances of everything from 'Ghostbusters' in Halloween week to 'Oops! I Did it Again' (complete with the Titanic-esque bit of dialogue), they were the talk of the series as Twitter and social networking became an even bigger part of the show. However, their luck ran out in their sixth week of the lives when they found themselves bottom two with Olly Murs, but three years on and they've never been far from our screens, both in their native Ireland and here in the UK. Aside from their chart success they've sold out countless European tours, represented Ireland at Eurovision, taken part in 'Celebrity Big Brother', starred in their own fly on the wall ITV2 series and even performed before Barack Obama. Yes really. Love them or hate them, they're like your harmless hyperactive little brothers that live in a world of their own. But as long as they're still living in that world they're pretty perfect as they are, however crazy they get.
April 5, 201312 yr Author 33. MARIA LAWSON (5 points) ('The X Factor' UK series 2, finalist, Sony Music, 2005 - 2006) http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/20877929/Maria%20Lawson%20704178389_l.jpg UK top 40 hits: 1 UK top 40 albums: 0 Biggest single: 'Sleepwalking', UK #20, August 2006 Biggest album: 'Maria Lawson', UK #41, August 2006 Best known for: being the X Factor's first casualty of bias over talent One of the X Factor's first ever contestants to try again after a failed first attempt, Maria Lawson reapplied for the show's breakthrough second series in 2005, with Simon immediately remembering her and saying that he'd regretted not letting her get past boot camp the year before. This time she was going to be a bit more lucky, as Sharon Osbourne ended up mentoring her as one of the Overs category in the lives. Along with the series' eventual winner Shayne Ward (more on him a bit later) she quickly became a favourite to win, turning in stunning renditions of the likes of James Blunt's 'You're Beautiful' - it was in fact the week she sang that particular song where she came top of the votes. It was a different story the following week when she found herself bottom two with screechy Irish quartet The Conway Sisters, and though she'd recieved double the votes they had her X Factor dream was over, causing both media uproar and Louis to end up in Sharon's bad books for not voting for her to stay ('This is the Irish mafia!!!') Just under a year later and she was readying the release of her debut single, the Chi-Lites sampling, motivational 'Sleepwalking'. Alas that and her self titled debut album did little to trouble the charts for all the hype of the injustice she'd suffered on the show and her and Sony Music subsequently parted ways in 2007. She however has continued to release music independently, with her most recent album 'Emotional Rollercoaster' set for release some time this year. She also released a self help book/autobiography in 2008, entitled 'Life Starts Now'.
April 5, 201312 yr Author 32. CLEA (6 points) ('Popstars: The Rivals', finalists, 1967 ltd/Upside, 2003 - 2007) http://designermagazine.tripod.com/CleaPIC1.jpg UK top 40 hits: 3 UK top 40 albums: 0 Biggest single: 'Download It', UK #21, September 2003 Best known for: Asda signings tours before Peter Andre made them cool Chloe, Lynsey, Emma and Aimee. First letters from each of which spell? Very good. These were of course the four girls after Javine who made it to the live heats of 'Popstars: The Rivals' but didn't make it into Girls Aloud. However, like Liberty X before them, it was only a matter of time before some bright spark decided they'd make a pretty good girl group on their own regardless. Much like their fellow series finalists Phixx, Clea seemed to go for the shock factor from quite early on to try and garner the public's attention, hence the decision to release the sultry yet borderline hilarious cyber-nookie anthem 'Download It' as their first single. But when that just missed the top 20 by a whisker in the autumn of 2003, a rethink was needed. One support slot on Daniel Bedingfield's arena tour later and the far better follow up single 'Stuck in the Middle' was released. Alas it did little better and their debut album 'Identity Crisis' was shelved from UK release (it did recieve a limited release in Russia and can still be found for the price of an arm and a leg from import on eBay) and their deal with Warners offshoot 1967 ltd was axed. A move to small independent label Upside and the loss of Chloe from their fold by 2005 brought little change or joy - instead they seemed to pile on more fake tan than Nicola Roberts managed in three years and last bothered the UK top 40 with a lame cover of 'We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off'. They disbanded to virtual indifference in 2007, with Emma being the only one to pop up on screens in recent years - first as a contestant in Paris Hilton's flop 'British Best Friend' show for ITV2 and then in the Identity Parade on 'Never Mind the Buzzcocks'. Aimee is now in another girl group who supported The Wanted on tour last year. Edited May 10, 201312 yr by ThePensmith
April 5, 201312 yr Maria was my favourite contestant in Series 2, I was outraged when she was voted off! :lol: As for Javine, I really liked all of her first album singles. 'Best Of My Love' only reaching #18 was a great shame!
April 5, 201312 yr I'm lucky, because I have this album on audio cassette. Cool story bro. http://i.imgur.com/rcNrT.gif I don't actually know who the previous two are, but how on earth did Jedward get this high up?! :mellow: No big losses so far, either way...
April 5, 201312 yr Author Last one today...30-26 coming tomorrow. 31. GARETH GATES (7 points) ('Pop Idol' series 1, runner up, 19/RCA, 2002 - 2008) http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/37242729/Gareth%20Gates%20PNG.png UK top 40 hits: 9 UK top 40 albums: 3 Biggest single: 'Unchained Melody', UK #1, March 2002 Biggest album: 'What My Heart Wants to Say', UK #2, November 2002 Best known for: being reality pop's first poster boy It had by this point in 2002, been a long time since there'd been a fresh faced charming solo poster boy for pop, the kind that teenage girls the land over would be kissing their poster of every night before bed - someone who'd be the Noughties missing link between Peter Andre and Kavana. Unsurprising then, for all his puppyish good looks and spiky hair that looked suspiciously like Scott from 5ive's had done four years previously, that the then 17 year old Bradford born Gareth Gates would fit that bill neatly. But not only could he sing, but he could sing in spite of a stammer he'd had problems controlling from a young age. He was the dead on cert favourite to win that 1st series, constantly topping the votes and even the choice of winners' single (more on that when we get to Will Young), a cover of a Westlife song, seemed geared towards him. Alas he came second in the end, but still Gareth's popularity for 2002 at least made him one of the biggest things in UK pop with three consecutive #1's - the biggest of which being his cover of the Righteous Brothers' standard that sold over a million copies - a sold out tour alongside Will and an album that went double platinum. Smash Hits even declared 7th November as 'International Gareth Day'. Then came the next nine months of 2003 after his fourth and final chart topper, his Comic Relief cover of 'Spirit in the Sky' came out in March - and everything went horribly wrong. There was the allegations of salacious flings with Katie Price aka Jordan. Tales of him cracking under the pressure. And as the cooler likes of Justin Timberlake began to emerge the album sales dwindled, as did the chart positions, and talk began to circulate of him being dropped. When RCA finally axed him it was January 2006. A year later, and still signed with Simon Fuller's 19 Recordings branch he brought out his third and so far final album, 'Pictures of the Other Side' which showcased a maturer, adult contemporary sound. Since then he has turned his attentions to stage and musical work, as well as devoting countless time and energy to the Maguire programme that helped him control his stammer - he is even now a fully qualified coach with them. Edited June 26, 201312 yr by ThePensmith
April 5, 201312 yr I'd really like if Maria Lawson released another album. I was really annoyed when she was voted off aswell. Loving the countdown by the way :dance:
April 6, 201312 yr Author Glad everyone's enjoying the countdown so far. Into the top 30 now and time for another graduate from the first Pop Idol... 30. ROSIE RIBBONS (8 points) ('Pop Idol' series 1, finalist, Telstar, 2002 - 2003) http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/305763/Rosie%20Ribbons.jpg UK top 40 hits: 2 UK top 40 albums: 0 Biggest single: 'Blink', UK #12, October 2002 Best known for: being Pete Waterman's golden girl A Mariah fangirl who'd been writing her own songs from the age of 8, the Australian born Swansea based Rosie Ribbons was stuck in a dead end supermarket job after scraping only two GCSE passes when she then went for the first series of Pop Idol in 2001, with one of her own songs entitled 'Colours'. It was her audition in the live heats with (what else?) Mariah Carey's 'Hero' that notably reduced Pete Waterman to tears and before long she was through to the live shows, finishing 6th place. Instead, however, of pushing to release the own songs she'd written and demoed, she went for the quick and what proved to be very cheap option when she signed to the then financially unsteady Telstar Records in 2002 - it was said to be the multi million pound deals of hers, Claire Sweeney's and Victoria Beckham's that sent it plummeting into administration. Unsurprising when both of her singles (with terribly dated videos to match) just scraped the top 20, leaving her debut album 'Misbehaving' to be cancelled and her deal axed. It was however, not to be her last experience with reality pop, as after moving back to Australia in 2007, she tried out for 'Idol' over there, once again with another original song 'Butterfly Wings'. She was not so lucky this time however, and was eliminated in the final 24 heats. She then moved back to the UK a couple of years later, and released two singles that failed to chart. Of recent, she notably appeared in 2010 as a guest vocalist on an EP from UK rapper Alonestar, on a track which also featured a pre-fame Ed Sheeran.
April 6, 201312 yr Author 29. JAMES ARTHUR (8 points) ('The X Factor' UK series 9, winner, SyCo Music, 2012 - present) http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/84716841/James%20Arthur%20james.png UK top 40 hits: 1 UK top 40 albums: 0 Biggest single: 'Impossible', UK #1, December 2012 Best known for: being X Factor's newest credible kid Now to get bang up to date with the most recent reality graduate, and one who none of us had heard of this time last year. Middlesborough born James Arthur had been the frontman of his own eponymous band when he first appeared at the auditions on last year's series of X Factor and was something of a breath of fresh air whilst maintaining a cool, understated presence. In amongst the hopeless weekly turns from Union J and District3, and overbearing corpulence of Rylan Clark, he was able to take virtually any song and make it his own and along with fellow category finalist Jahmene Douglas prevented last year's series from being a total disaster. Winning respect not just from fans of the show but from even the more 'credible' ranks of the music industry - he can count Tinie Tempah and Labrinth amongst his fans - he even managed to make a two year old Shontelle hit sound like his own song when it zoomed straight to the top of the chart last December and became the fastest selling winner's single from the show in years. And with his debut album due for release later this year, it's fair to say James will hopefully have a brighter future ahead of him than other male winners have done. Edited April 10, 201312 yr by ThePensmith
April 6, 201312 yr Author 28. HEAR'SAY (10 points) ('Popstars' series 1, winners, Polydor, 2001-2002) http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/75656496/HearSay%20png.png UK top 40 hits: 4 UK top 40 albums: 2 Biggest single: 'Pure & Simple', UK #1, March 2001 Biggest album: 'Popstars', UK #1, March 2001 Best known for: being the experiment that started it all And so from the most recent we now go all the way back to 2001 when the first ever reality pop act was born, when Twitter didn't exist, there was no live shows and when the full works of how a new chart act was discovered and put together was about to be exposed to the world via ITV's then new docusoap series 'Popstars'. It was LWT executive 'Nasty' Nigel Lythgoe, former Take That and Spice Girls PA Nicki Chapman, and Polydor A&R guru Paul Adam who'd judge and put together pop's newest thing. Of the five the panel eventually picked, there was feisty Wigan girl and single mum of two Kym Marsh, classically trained Myleene Klass, bubbly blonde Suzanne Shaw, the soulfully voiced Danny Foster and Welsh cheeky chappy Noel Sullivan - and together they became Hear'Say. With the huge exposure for a new act launched from such a new concept show (it was ITV's highest rated programme of 2001) it almost seemed to guarantee the immediate success of any music. And indeed the first single, 'Pure & Simple' did exactly that. Locked in a chart battle with Westlife's Comic Relief cover of 'Uptown Girl', it shot straight to #1 and ended up selling three times as many copies as their single - over 500,000 in the first week to be exact, making it at the time the third fastest selling single ever behind Band Aid and Elton John's 'Candle in the Wind'. Similar sales and success also awaited their debut album, also titled 'Popstars'. As did a sold out tour, dolls, books and even pasta shapes. Hear'Say mania swept the nation - and then disappeared as quickly as it had come soon after they'd topped the charts again with 'The Way to Your Love' which had done so on a tenth of the sales of its predecessor. When the jointly titled single and album 'Everybody' appeared in the winter of 2001 to middling chart positions the cracks began to show and truth followed rumours when Kym left the fold, to then be replaced by Boom singer and (if you believe the rumours) tour dancer Johnny Shentall. But continual bad press and unfeeling from the public as the growing success of fellow finalists Liberty X followed them around seemed to put the writing on the wall, and in October 2002, just two months after their final single 'Lovin' is Easy' scraped into the top 10, they'd called time on being the first ever reality popstars. Kym and Myleene were the only two who went onto brief solo success in 2003 before they then turned their attention towards more successful ventures (Kym plays saucy barmaid Michelle Connor in ITV's long running soap Coronation Street, Myleene's now doing TV presenting and modelling), Noel and Suzanne moved into musical work and Danny is alleged to be appearing on the new series of The Voice. And as for Johnny? He was last seen being the shoulder for a blubbing Lisa Scott-Lee to cry on...well, someone had to reassure her that 23 is worth it. Edited December 13, 201410 yr by ThePensmith
April 6, 201312 yr Author 27. JESSICA GARLICK (11 points) ('Pop Idol' series 1, finalist, Sony Music, 2002) http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/28467027/Jessica%20Garlick%20600pxJessica_Garlick.jpg UK top 40 hits: 1 UK top 40 albums: 0 Biggest single: 'Come Back', UK #13, May 2002 Best known for: being reality pop's first Eurovision entrant Also from the land of the valleys like Rosie Ribbons, Jessica Garlick had a brief brush with some of the latter day talent shows of Saturday night viewing - namely Jane McDonald fronted 'Star for a Night' and Michael Barrymore's 'My Kind of Music', both before she had turned 16. After she was voted out of the live shows of 'Pop Idol' in late 2001, it was at the start of 2002 that the BBC and producer Martyn Bayley approached her to record a song that was to become that year's UK entry for Eurovision in Tallinn, Estonia. Whilst it only managed a couple of weeks in the top 20 here, powerful ballad 'Come Back' still went on to become the UK's best performing entry in the long running contest since Imanii's 'Where Are You?' in 1998, finishing joint 3rd with the Estonian entry. Her links with Eurovision have remained strong, as she was subsequently invited back to provide commentary and analysis for the spin off shows on BBC Three the following year and also performed at a preview party for the 2009 contest. She took time out of music to settle down and start a family before returning to the spotlight in 2009 with a new single 'Hard Not to Fall', which failed to chart. Nothing more has been heard from her since.
April 6, 201312 yr Author Last one tonight...and another Fame Academy graduate next... 26. ALEX PARKS (11 points) ('Fame Academy' series 2, finalist, Polydor, 2003 - 2006) http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/46208425/Alex%20Parks%20PNG.png UK top 40 hits: 2 UK top 40 albums: 2 Biggest single: 'Maybe That's What It Takes', UK #3, November 2003 Biggest album: 'Introduction', UK #5, December 2003 Best known for: being Fame Academy's final 'grade A' graduate Cornwall born Alex Parks had a slightly unorthodox route into music before she appeared on the second series of 'Fame Academy' in 2003. She'd been studying theatre studies, dance, acrobatics and clowning (yes, you read that correctly) at her local college and was even a street circus performer. Yet beneath all that the otherwise publicity shy Alex had a haunting, powerful voice - almost evocative of Annie Lennox - that saw her win praise and the public vote week after week as she eventually went on to become the show's second and final winner. Her debut single shot into the top 3 and her debut album sold over 500,000 copies - double the amount that David Sneddon's debut only six months previously had managed - and then after another top 20 hit in early 2004 with 'Cry' she went quiet. Very quiet. And for a very long time. When she did reappear in the autumn of 2005 with her next album 'Honesty' it had been two years since her victory lap. Continual clashes of artistic differences with Polydor however, meant that she'd left them after the title track of that album was released as it's second single and failed to chart - and has disappeared from public view altogether since.
April 6, 201312 yr 28. HEAR'SAY (10 points) ('Popstars' series 1, winners, Polydor, 2001-2002) http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/75656496/HearSay%20png.png Kym and Myleene were the only two who went onto brief solo success in 2003 before they then turned their attention towards more successful ventures (Kym plays saucy barmaid Michelle Connor in ITV's long running soap Coronation Street, Myleene's now doing TV presenting and modelling), Noel and Suzanne moved into musical work and Danny is alleged to be appearing on the new series of The Voice. And as for Johnny? He was last seen being the shoulder for a blubbing Lisa Scott-Lee to cry on...well, someone had to reassure her that 23 is worth it. Suzanne won a series Dancing on Ice too! :P
April 7, 201312 yr EDIT: I am so retarded :wacko: Top 10 (Favorite song) 1) Kelly Clarkson - a mix of talent, personality and icon :) I am obsessed. (Hazel Eyes) 2) Leona Lewis - angelic vocal and a credit to X Factor (Outta My Head) 3) Carrie Underwood - like Kelly has stood the test of time in the US (Blown Away) 4) Girls Aloud - such a niche group with an incredible back catalogue (Untouchable) 5) Alexandra Burke - very underrated (All Night Long) I don't even care for the following so it was pretty hard to continue on with a top 10 6) JLS 7) Liberty X 8) Little Mix 9) Will Young 10) Olly Murs Edited April 7, 201312 yr by MyDecember
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