I do find it kind of interesting that people are interested enough in an artist to see them live, pay upwards of £100 a ticket, book hotels, transport yet are not interested enough to buy their new output.

But I guess you could equate it to him having 4.4 million Instagram followers, he’s not selling 4.4m albums, probably only 1% of his followers have the album.

Edited April 23, 20232 yr by musicfan97

Weird set list. The lead single from the current era not even featuring, a couple of his biggest hits omitted and some very choice cover versions.

The oddest setlist...

I mean, I sort of admire his honesty about not performing much from the new album because it didn't do that well and he probably realised he needed to put on a show that would keep people buzzing for his next one... BUT, those cover versions are just weird? Like, I could see the sense of doing a mash-up of one of the new tracks and We Found Love to keep the show going (as an example), but just randomly sticking it in there seems... weird. It's not like that was some "defining" moment in his X-Factor run or something... same with Sweet Caroline (though I guess that one is for his mom audience). :unsure:

I thought the same at first tbf, but apparently ‘Sweet Caroline’ is sung as a tribute to Caroline Flack.

I mean I should point out that the "Sweet Caroline" cover is in memory of Caroline Flack so that one kind of goes without saying (I saw a video of it on socials and it is really beautiful). But he has seven albums' worth now, surely he shouldn't be so reliant on covers to prop up a setlist?

Have to agree, the amount of covers seems excessive. No 'Excuses'? :(

Olly got married weekend before last to Amelia, pictures are in Hello magazine this week:

 

View this post on Instagram

Big congrats to them.

Edited July 25, 20231 yr by Padamic Tension

I saw the penultimate show of the summer tour dates in Colchester last night (it finishes tonight in Plymouth). Such a special night and he still absolutely kicks it:

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, in news that is not necessarily surprising, it would appear that he is no longer with EMI. If you search on their website under their artists, he's not listed there anymore.

 

Given that they did the sum total of flap all once the album actually charted, picked the wrong singles and barely did any music videos from this era, this is sad but not surprising.

 

That said, it was a joint release through his own ICYDK Ltd, which makes me wonder if it was just a licensing deal for distribution and retailing?

 

I can say with a year's distance that I'm surprised he went with them. He should have gone with BMG. Hopefully it's where he goes on the next album whenever that might be.

 

Also worth a look, this podcast he did with a good friend of mine talking about songwriting and how some of his biggest hits were crafted. So awesome to have an in depth interview like this just solely about the music:

 

Edited August 28, 20231 yr by ThePensmith

Great he still delivers great shows. BMG is definitely the label he should go with now and I'd say they would happily sign him up.

It a shame ‘I Hate You When You’re Drunk’ got the negative comments it did because although it’s not the best song on the album it did seem to be catching on slightly and was the most Olly sounding song on the album. The negativity around it stopped radio playing it and he didn’t perform it when he was doing promo for the album so it just got forgotten about.

I still think that was all a fuss over nothing. People get drunk, people getting annoying when drunk, people write songs about people who are annoying when drunk. Big deal. I also think it's a great song, as is most of the album. Such a shame this era didn't go better for him.

I still think that was all a fuss over nothing. People get drunk, people getting annoying when drunk, people write songs about people who are annoying when drunk. Big deal. I also think it's a great song, as is most of the album. Such a shame this era didn't go better for him.

 

As much as I can take or leave Olly, I agree with you. If he had been a country music star, nobody would have batted an eyelid.

That song got what it deserved :cool:

I don’t see the issue either, just sums up how people are censored nowadays.

On balance, whilst "I Hate You When You're Drunk" absolutely wasn't single material (I genuinely don't see how that and "Die Of A Broken Heart" were even considered frontrunners when "Dancing On Cars" and "Go Ghost" were literally right there. It says it all that the latter in particular wasn't performed at the arenas or the summer shows), I cannot deny that on tour, "...Drunk" absolutely popped off. Especially at the "Na na na" bit. Idiot proof crowd interaction at its finest.

 

Hopefully at least the crowd reaction to it has sweetened it for him because I do remember him being upset that people had taken it the wrong way when that wasn't the intention at all. With a year's distance, it's still an album of two halves for me. And again, I feel working with the same producer for the whole album is the reason for that. David Stewart and Jessica Agombar should have only been on board for a handful of tracks, not the whole album.

 

Anyway, whenever we do get an album next I imagine it won't be until end of next year at the earliest. He seems pretty keen to start having a family with Amelia. That said, I'd be here for Murs Fest that he did on his wedding weekend as a thing, mind!

In non-abum news, Olly has been axed from The Voice UK after 6 years to refresh the panel and they are reportedly already looking for his replacement. His fans have threatened to boycott the show in response. It’s hard to believe the show is still going.

Edited September 23, 20231 yr by _Clo_

He's also supporting Take That next year.

 

As for The Voice UK, he didn't strike me as an obvious choice to replace. The show seems like it's being wound down anyway so it seems a random decision either way.

His axing is a surprise as he was popular.