well I think she was a bit gobsmacked to be the second to last in the votes last week..have to admit we have been watching..it is quite god really..voting apart..

I missed that because I just couldn't be bothered to watch TV at all when I was ill. I'm surprised that Emma could be in the bottom two - she was always one of the favourites and got loads of praise every time I'd seen the show.

 

It's clever marketing from Simon Fuller to have Emma record the song that's being used for the Ferrero Rocher advert and put it on her album as a bonus track. Kids who like it are more likely to download Emma's version than Cilla Black's, I should think. SF must surely have known about the campaign in advance. I absolutely don't believe her producers plucked an almost unknown CB track out of the past and it coincidentally just happened to be used in a major TV advertising campaign for chocolates in the run up to Christmas.

Mercury seem to be treating Lucie Silva the same way they treated Darius when they signed her - anyone know who they are backing now?

But you can't deny she was given a very good crack of the promotional whip - she was on all the big charity/event bills, got slots on all the adult music and chat shows, hugely positive write ups in all the broadsheets. She was talked up by the head of universal long before she was launched and she was support act on a couple of arena tours before her debut album. They threw everything into making her into a big star.

 

Is Mercury Lucie's record company or just distributers like with Darius ?

I think I saw somewhere her single charted at 34. I think they thought she had a voice like chrstine aguilera which at that particular time may have been good but the new girl on xfactor also has a voice similar but with much more attack. Saw lucie at bristol baloon fiesta and wasnt impressed, no fire there.

Rearding emma bunton and downtown. I would have thought 19 could have come up with a better single than downtown for CIN. , when you think of all the covers that are out there, thousands but downtown is suitable I suppose for a what I would say is a small voice which does not have to make a lot of effort and a voice very similar to petula clarkes.!!

yes, Lucy had a lot of PR, a lot of crediblity spin from people who can sway public opinion, Parky being one of them. mind you she was paying for it..perhaps they milked all they could out of her, and now they dont much care? she must be doing ok with royalties though as she writes for others doesnt she. I tend to think a lot of these artists are picked up by the labels to milk any spare cash out of them..a lot went into the lads out of Blue..then they just vanished..I am cynical but I feel the men in black see the opportunity to part these poeple with the last of their disposable - I mean I dont think the labels pay for that much..it all seems reclaimable from the artist

as ofr Emmas down town I tend to agree, it is pleasant enouogh..like Pets version..but lacking that umphff she had in her voice - I am not quite sure of the reasoning in choosing such a random tune, its not a particularily strong song

I know but it makes me wonder what choice or say they would have in Ds next music.Regarding songs written by an artiste but released as a cover by another artiste, I believe mIchael Balls new album includes a cover of Daniel bedingfields If your not the one.

Apparently Downtown is likely to be top 5 if not top 3 so that's not bad at all, certainly better than last year's CIN track by Liberty X.

 

I've just realisedit's on the 19 label. I wonder if her album will be too.

yes, Lucy had a lot of PR, a lot of crediblity spin from people who can sway public opinion, Parky being one of them. mind you she was paying for it..perhaps they milked all they could out of her, and now they dont much care? she must be doing ok with royalties though as she writes for others doesnt she. I tend to think a lot of these artists are picked up by the labels to milk any spare cash out of them..a lot went into the lads out of Blue..then they just vanished..I am cynical but I feel the men in black see the opportunity to part these poeple with the last of their disposable - I mean I dont think the labels pay for that much..it all seems reclaimable from the artist

as ofr Emmas down town I tend to agree, it is pleasant enouogh..like Pets version..but lacking that umphff she had in her voice - I am not quite sure of the reasoning in choosing such a random tune, its not a particularily strong song

 

 

pip,

 

FYI Lee Ryan and his family were on Celebrity Family Fortunes last week. Lee's got a good soul voice but his solo material hasn't been all that strong. I hope he keeps singing.

 

Antony Costa is still in Blood Brothers, I think.

I had to laugh when I read that he and Adele Silva split up because of the stress of carrying on a long distance relationship - she was working in the North of England ...Yorkshire? Sounds like a lame excuse to me. As if one of them couldn't have hopped on a train or even a plane. Where there's a will, there's a way. If Darius could do 8 shows a week and still return to LA, surely with a bit of effort AC and AS could easily have kept their relationship alive?

 

Duncan James is supposed to be one of the celebrities taking part in Dancing on Ice this year.

 

To me, Duncan seems to have been the most aimless of the guys. He released a single that went to number 2, I think but then seemed to disappear. Then came word that he was in a workshop for a new musical but nothing seems to have come of that. Maybe the producers gave up on the concept or couldn't get the financial backing or maybe it opened somewhere but with someone else playing Duncan's role. Who knows?The latter would be an awful thing to happen. For a while Duncan seemed to do quite a bit of presenting.

 

It's a pity he hasn't stuck at any one thing. When I heard Blue were splitting, I thought Duncan was bound to be a solo artist because he had loads of fans.

Edited November 29, 200618 yr by Baytree

quote Baytree -

 

Apparently Downtown is likely to be top 5 if not top 3 so that's not bad at all, certainly better than last year's CIN track by Liberty X.

 

Yes it is no.3 BUT would it have been had it not been for all the exposure she has had on strictly come dancing and the fact it was the children in need song. Its all about promotion and in the case of the other Blue singers, lee ryan, duncan webb and anthony costa they did not get much promotion compared to other artistes (saying no names) on that label. Anthony costa is coming to plymouth in another musical (not blood bros.) They seem to have concentrated on simon webb only.

 

re megs query as to who mercury are supposed to be pushing, Matt willis ex busted is on their label and this is a quote from someone on ROTD - seems familiar.

 

To be fair the album has had no promotion whatsoever, I am surprised anyone even knew it was out. They also say that Matt went against mercurys wishes with the choice of the first single. However he is also getting exposure on Im a celebrity get me out of here.

 

I do wonder what position in the pecking order of 19 Darius will come. We have now had emma bunton, then GG, theres also rachel stevens and others who I cant remember.

 

Well, I'm a celeb didn't help Matt's album. Darius will work around what happens. He's used to being kicked.

It does look like promoters take what they see as an easy route now and get their artist onto a celebrity reality show or their own fly on the wall TV show e.g. Totally Lisa Scott Lee hoping that will be enough exposure to get a single high enough in the charts to then launch an album. It's been happening too much and the GBP are sated. They vote in the shows - yes... but that increasingly doesn't transfer into sales with the exception of shows like X - Factor which discover new talent.

 

Sales are still generated more by record companies who put their money where their mouths are, and spend to accumulate.

 

Universal put all they had into Lucie Silvas' first album. I was annoyed at the time that from at least six months before her debut she was being talked up all the time by the head of Universal and all of her label mates including Darius, who were actually out there grafting, were put on the back burner and left to simmer. Naturally she got high chart positions and huge credibility in return and so she should because she is a talented singer/songwriter. They had the perfect platform to launch a 2nd album but.... the campaign for it has been almost invisible ( sound familiar?) and her last 2 singles failed to chart because they missed the top 75.

 

James Blunt's singles didn't do much either until money was put behind them but when he was hyped to the top of the UK charts the money was then reinvested in other campaigns to break him worldwide. Suddenly everyone was raving about songs which less than six months before had hardly caused a ripple.

 

It isn't talent that counts. It's money and cliques of pals in the print media and on radio that seem to decide our charts.

 

Mercury put all their eggs in one basket and relied totally on Matt's IAC appearance. They obviously thought he had charisma and after a fortnight would have made his mark. Unfortunately he didn't because he was too much in the background because only Scott and Jan were doing the BTTs.

 

I think Matt's only released 2 singles but it might be 3, so he has a chance of reviving it with the next one but his promotion people will have to do much better for him than the 1 week at 98 in the airplay chart that Live Twice got.

I totally agree BT, it has always grated on me that poeple assume that if you have talent you sell bucket loads..people really underestimate the importance of hype and PR. all too often acts are overloooked. then suddenly with high power PR and spin become the best thing since sliced bread..then when the PR dies down..they are forgotten.

Edited November 29, 200618 yr by prettyinpink

Remember the Darkness . All the rock mags were all over them especially the NME and then sudden;y it's like someone has pressed a switch and they're swamped in total derision without seemingly having done anything different from what was previously being lauded. It makes no sense but it can destroy not only the career but the lives of talented people. Only those with remarkable strength of courage can survive.

Thought Emma bunton would stay in strictly dancing until after the album release one way or another. The album is out today and in woolies chart today it was no.38. 19 will have to pull out the stops to improve on that.

well..perhaps she isnt as popualr as they thought..after all didnt she get top marks in last weeks show from the judging..and then to be in the bottom two..she must have had really low votes from the public

I think its a bit worrying that D is with 19 or their subsidiary. Emma bunton is getting a right blasting from the public and others - quote Jamelia today - And she said of Emma, who has made a cover of pop song Downtown: “Her career is going Downtown — but at least she can dance.†An insider said Jamelia has credibility so she can say these things. Emma was on gmtv again this morning singing another song from her album which is doing badly and she had two complete page spreads in the mail, the mirror and one page spread in the star this week so she has had massive promotion probably too much with being in the dancing show as well but the album and her voice particularly is weak and therein lies the problem but 19 do hold some responsibility for this surely.

 

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Emma recorded what she wanted to, which is good for her. The charity single took a higher place. Maybe the album will improve it's position with a 2nd release.

Oh dear! 19 management and label. quote todays Sun

 

EMMA Bunton suffered an embarrassing chart flop yesterday when her album limped in at No65.

 

The former Spice Girl’s record label had hoped the publicity over her appearance on BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing would help resurrect her pop career.

 

But when the charts were announced, it was revealed that Life In Mono only sold around 12,000 copies.

 

A source said: “It’s a very poor performance for Emma’s record.

 

“She was popular on Strictly Come Dancing because people like her but they don’t want to buy her record.

 

“Her management spent a fortune on ads and she did interviews to promote the album — but it flopped . A source said: “It goes to show that being popular in a reality show doesn’t mean people will buy your product if they don’t think it’s any good.