milly

That would be my dream :) But they'll probably stick to only TT songs. Even so, I'd love it if one of their tracks made such an impact that it would chart and become a hit, after all those years. I soooo hope someone sings Will You Be There for Me, Coming Home, Flaws, Holding Back the Tears and Another Crack. And You and Trouble and Sleepwalking and Butterfly and Higher than Higher and Fall Down at Your Feet and Freeze and Don't Say Goodbye and Like I Never Loved You At All and She Said and Pretty Things....I'm really dreaming here :lol:

If you've missed the interview today and you wanna listen to it: https://www.mixcloud.com/mirelaGB/gary-barl...on-bbc-radio-2/

Gary has said that all of them have been involved in this new show - who knows, maybe we'll get to see Mark and Howard as guest judges. I'm curious what TT songs they'll be using. They have 8 live shows after all - and if they get at least 5 bands and one song/band/show, that means we should be hearing at least 40 TT songs - they'll have no choice but to go beyond the obvious hits - at least that's what I'm hoping :)

Well, I'm more than open to be proven wrong, cause I really want the show to be a success and I want to be able to enjoy the full panel :)

How can Gary come 2nd to anyone? :P Amber whatshername apparently was on Glee, so Glee fans are probably familiar with her. Anyway, she won't be on the show permanently, just at the beginning. I hope I warm up to the judges in time; so far, none of them excites me in any way or screams success for the show. I know that Dannii is popular with the XF audience, but I get her as much as I do her sister and, with the other 2 judges, I'm not familiar at all. I wish Gary had brought Josh Groban on board, cause he's got a great personality and a great sense of humour - not to mention an undeniable singing talent.

I agree with you, Dylan. My favorite was Jeremy Jordan too. He had charisma, he had a great voice, he had control over his voice, his acting wasn't too "theatrical" (as ironic as that may sound). They've changed the cast again for the US tour; unfortunately, they've replaced Laura Michelle Kelly too, which, for me, is a big shame and a loss, cause the actress, from the little I've seen, was fantastic on the role of Sylvia. I imagine she may have had other commitments and couldn't do the tour; I'm just hoping that, once the show returns to Broadway, she'll come back too.

I know most people liked her on XF, but, personally, I never got the attraction. I just hope Gary made the right choices for his show and he won't regret them later on. http://www.tellymix.co.uk/reality-tv/let-i...ary-barlow.html

It is. I was very disappointed by this choice - and the other 2 (if they get confirmed). I was hoping he'd go with someone with credibility in the business and with a big career behind them.

I saw the clip a few months ago - I think it was the day following his live performance on that American show. I think it's more than just a rumour by now that he's being lined up to take on the role of JM Barrie. For me, the best performances have been those of Jeremy Jordan and Matthew Morrison. Alfie Boe and Tony Yazbeck compete for the worst interpretations, at least for me. From what I noticed, Alfie Boe tends to oversing everything - he even shouts sometimes - to the detriment of any kind of emotion. Tony Yazbeck may have been even worse than him, though. I hope that, on stage, Alfie Boe is more convincing than he was in that show. He seemed...fake. If you ask me, even James Corden would have been more suited for the West End than Alfie Boe for this role. I'm sure there are plenty of British artists that could do a much better job. I'm not sure if Alfie is the right person to sell the musical in UK. I think this is the video, Dylan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s16CIphu17g And this was Tony's Yazbeck's performance: http://pix11.com/2016/03/01/finding-neverl...-performs-live/

Really happy for you, Kath. I watched the trailer of Kes that you shared and it really got my attention. It will be on my list to watch this weekend. Having lived the moment is always better than any selfie.

If they want to be international artists, they should pay more attention to diction. Zayn, Ariana...they could as well be speaking Chinese for me; I never understand one word. Italians and South Americans have, usually, perfect diction. The British and the American singers are better, though, than the French, when it comes to pronouncing words properly. PS: Did any of you know that It Only Takes A Minute video has over 1 million views? :lol:

I had noticed you can't hear him breath on the Relight My Fire live performances and on the Sure number (during the BW tour). He has the ability to belt if he wanted to and he did it a few times, but he never overdoes it. Oversinging seems to be a problem especially with girls nowadays, but there are also some male singers who do it - Andrea Faustini, for example. For some reason, they have to belt 90% of the song and they ad-lib too much - too many runs, too many embellishments. To be honest, I even hate the vibrato that is too into your face. I don't know how a native's ear perceives it, but I and many other foreigners find that Gary's diction is one of the best on songs. I need subtitles for Rihanna, Adele and even Elton (he had better diction when he was younger) :) I know that diction has nothing to do with vocal technique, but it's still indicative of a singer's quality, because it helps the listener relate more quickly.

Thank you, Pippa :) Yeah, we only have that distinction (solicitor-barrister) in law firms - certain lawyers specialize on doing research and other present the cases in court. But, if you're an independent lawyer, you get to do both - I'd hate to do all the research for a case and not get my time in court, it's what gives you the adrenaline :lol: I specialize on criminal law as well :) A little on civil and family law, as well, but my inclination is towards criminal law. I didn't know barristers in UK still wear wigs :lol: We just have the black robe - I always joke that it's like looking at death in multiple mirrors, when going to court :lol: As much as I love TT, after their Greatest Hits album, I'm still hoping we'll finally get another solo album from Gary. I'm curious what the GH album will look like: will it be a 2 parts album: 1 with all the 90s hits and 1 with the post-comeback hits? I have no idea how they'll handle so many projects next year: the new BBC show, promoting the new album, a new tour, a GH album and the Vegas shows. Plus, The Girls for Gary. It's a good thing the airplane that gets from London to NY in just a few minutes is almost ready to be launched. Unfortunately, they'll have to buy one all for themselves, cause it can only carry 10 passengers :lol: Totally unrelated to what we were talking: I was watching today the video of Gary and Ronan's duet on Harvest of the World and I couldn't help thinking how much of a natural singer Gary is. I guess it hit me because of the contrast with Ronan (whom I do like). Ronan was trying so hard - and all that grit in his voice was just too much -, but Gary was singing effortlessly, without forcing anything. Even all the acutes he was doing sounded effortless. Maybe that's one of the reasons he's one of the few artists who, at this age, have the voice still in perfect condition. All the contestants on XF are oversinging so much - and not only them, big artists as well (Adele, Demi!!!! - boy, does she shout a lot!!- Leona, Beyonce)- that it's no wonder that their voices start cracking in their late 20s. Which makes me wonder who taught Gary his singing technique? I know he now has a vocal coach, but he had a good technique when he was very young too and I doubt he was taking singing lessons back then.

Wow, good luck to your son! Uni life is the best in the world - shame it has to end so quickly. I searched on the internet to see what the correspondent of a barrister would be in our legal system and I think that it's the qualified lawyer, in the sense that both can plead before any level of court. Right now, I can only plead before ordinary courts and, after I pass my exams, I'll be allowed to plead in calls and appeals. But your system is really different to ours, so I'm not sure of the analogy I've made. I wouldn't say your brother is the only brains in your family - I don't know what you do, but you present yourself like a highly educated and intelligent person and that's what counts the most ultimately. I laughed hysterically when I found out what Gary, Dawn and James were practicing when they took that pic - I'd die to see Gary show off his twerking moves on the next tour. His lessons had better paid off; he has no excuse now not to dance :lol: To be honest, at times I thought Gary had too much of a good time in the States - I think he might have suffered from sunburns...on his brain :lol: The man posted more selfies in a few days than he has in his whole life and he was shirtless in most of them. I was starting to wonder if he had hit his head or something like that :lol: He seems to finally be in a very good place again and I hope that will help him with his music projects. As for Jason, I agree with you. I perceive Gary, Mark and Howard like genuine friends right now and I'd have liked to think that Jason is still (if he ever was) a part of this "brotherhood". Honestly, I never understood his need for privacy overshadowing everything else - especially when his right to privacy is being paid by the work of a team of people-, but I can't find any excuses for him not to check in with the boys (when they did the Hyde Park interview, I think they mentioned not having talked to/seen Jason for a while) or to, at least, come see them at one gig. It's not like he has his schedule full. In what concerns the albums' endurance over time, I have to admit III has only kept growing on me and I still believe it's their best album to date - and, shockingly, I've been able to even enjoy Hey Boy lately (minus the lyrics). I'm just as excited about The Girls cast album as I am about the new TT album. And there are rumours we might get a dvd of the Hyde Park gig - we have a lot to look forward to. Oh, and Gary's appearance on The One Show on Sept, 16 - I learnt about it from a friend, cause I haven't had too much free time over the summer and I'm not in touch with all the news.

Awww, I hope you feel better soon! :( It's so bad you can't have your comfort food when you most need it. You should take advantage of your small holiday (2 days sounds too little time to recover from surgery) and do everything that makes you feel better. I'm the same as you - I'm going through a more stressful period - I have a big exam in November (to become a qualified lawyer, as opposed to a trainee lawyer, as I'm now) and have lots of papers to do and lots to study and all I can think about at the moment is watching TT and Gary videos :lol: I should probably take my exams in TT, as I'd know more :lol: I love reading, from time to time, the comments under the medley video - they are 99.9% positive and they seem to be coming mostly from Americans, which is very unusual. The duet he did with James Corden is the one getting him all this attention, in my opinion. Fans of James's watch that video and the documentary they did together and get intrigued by Gary, which leads to them watching that video. I think it is, currently, Gary's most watched video, next to the one with James. I don't think the BBC yt video is representative of what most people think of Gary or his show. The ones commenting there are some of the BBC yt channel subscribers - not very different to the ones who comment in the Dailyfail or the Guardian, so I wouldn't pay too much attention to what they're saying. All they do is troll the BBC videos and post hateful messages. I found some of the comments quite hilarious - especially the ones about the cheers and applauses being faked. If only they knew that the cheers have actually been muted on that video and that people were going crazy and screaming like nuts on the day. I still remember that the fb video garnered over 50k views in only a few hours after it was uploaded, that's how fast the news of Gary showing up in a mall to sing was spreading and that's how excited people were. He truly can't win with haters: if he does appear on telly, they'll say he's an attention seeker and he's desperate to make money; if he doesn't appear, they'll say he's a has been whose career is finished. The only thing he can do is carry on with his projects. And I'll keep my fingers crossed that it works out well for him and the boys and that this show will remind people of TT's music and reopen their appetite for our boys' songs.

I was curious as to what video comments you were referring, Dylan, and I went on yt and found the BBC one - I guess that's where you read all those comments. On the facebook video - that has over 600.000 views by now -, the comments are mostly positive and there are lots of people defending Gary. https://www.facebook.com/BBCOne/videos/1157192570967826/

Whenever we talk about press and haters, I can't help but think of this fable: "Please all and you will please none!" Whether it's a good or bad idea, it's obviously something Gary wants to do and it's better he regrets later on something he did rather than something he didn't do. In the end, if there's a lesson he should have learnt from all his life story is that the good and the talent always succeed, even if it takes them a long time. And since we're talking about XF, this is something I really appreciate Simon for (shocking, I know :D ): he never cares what anyone thinks about him and he's carried on with his show, despite everyone (including me) saying he should have put it to rest long ago. Good or bad, Gary still keeps people talking,which means he's not as boring as some say. I saw threads on DS forum where no one would comment, no matter what the topic about that specific artist - THAT is when you know someone's career is finished (temporarily at least).

That panel worked really well till they got to the live shows. I still can't stand Tulisa. I prefer Kelly to Nicole and I certainly liked the Gary+Kelly couple more than the Gary-Nicole one, but I thought Gary, Nicole, Sharon and Louis worked really well together. Sharon was and still is very fond of Gary (unlike Simon), Nicole seemed to have a crush on him, Louis and Gary and Louis and Sharon were some comedic pairs and Sharon and Nicole were and are friends, so everything seemed genuine on that panel. For some reason, I don't see Simon and Sharon going out together on Saturdays and Sundays, like Sharon and Gary and their families used to. I think she was paid a huge amount of money to come back and she may have accepted partially because of Nicole and Louis, but she made it quite clearly over the years that she doesn't like Simon too much. I do have to say that, as much as I dislike Simon, I would have liked to see a panel with him and Gary and Rylan presenting the Xtra Factor. It would have been hilarious :)

I find everything faker than usual. The format is the same old same old and the panel is not very different to the 2012/3?? one - with the difference that Gary was smarter, wittier and more honest than Simon. Nicole seems as bonkers as ever, but I don't find any chemistry between Sharon and Simon and even the Louis-Simon duo isn't as funny as it used to be. I thought Gary, Sharon, Nicole and Louis had real chemistry and seemed like true friends - their laughs seemed honest, unlike now. As for the acts...nothing new under the sun. I preferred the arena auditions and I always prefer the crazy acts to the good ones - at least they're not boring. But this year, even the nuts seem very contrived.

I'm not denying that the boys would probably settle for 1D fame, what I'm questioning are Nigel's intentions - somehow, I don't think Nigel is pursuing only fame. I think he still hopes he can re-create TT2 - the question is: has he found GB2? I saw a Robbie in that group, I even saw a MO - with better vocals - and I saw 3 Jasons and Howards, but without the dancing skills; what I didn't see is a GB and I doubt XF is the place to discover him. I believe Nigel is still taking pride of discovering a talent everyone else had ignored; I doubt he's putting together boybands now because he's chasing ww success. He is still nostalgically linked to the past. It remains to be seen whether he can make it happen a 2nd time.

Nigel is still trying to recreate TT, but what he fails to understand is that the everlasting force of TT resides precisely in the fact that they never were a karaoke act. Those boys in Yes Lad may be cute and may sing decently, but, with XF and with no songs of their own, they can be at most 1D or Westlife.

If most had voted HUAL, I'd have gone with it - I'll say that first. But I agree with Dylan - it's a song that comes alive during a live show, I don't actually find much pleasure in listening to it as a record and I'm happy it never was a single. As for We All Fall Down - sorry, don't get it, never did, I find it hard to listen to and I don't really understand what's to like about it. I find it baffling that people prefer this to the beautiful I'd Wait For Life. YOU would have been another single choice, at least imo. There are plenty of songs that could have been released as 4th single, at least - shame they never were. Anyway, I'm happy with the song selected, 8 Letters. I hope the rest of the Buzzjack users like it too.

I'm happy to go with 8 Letters too. When do you have to let the main forum know, Pippa?

I actually think the lyrics of BFG, in all their simplicity, are very wise for any age, especially for a young man. Plus they are Gary through and through, cause he always loved the dichotomies and to play with words - everything in 12M11D is very much written in the style of BFG - lyrically, I mean.

I had forgotten about 8 Letters and Reach Out. I love them as well.