Nosey

That is definitely a possibility. Not if she doesn't want to be. Christina left it too long between albums and not much effort seems to have gone into promoting this one. It might be too late to turn this particular album into a big success, but if she gets the music and promotion right next time, she could be big again. The problem seems to be that she doesn't care. Perhaps she will care more when she sees the charts and sales figures.

Not so long ago you were criticising Mark because the AA wasn't good enough for him. As others have said, Mark's drinking problem did not result in him being drunk the whole time. Based on very limited insight, I'd guess his problem was more of a psychological dependency than a physical one, so the idea that he needs to be institutionalised for a certain amount of time to dry out doesn't stack up. That doesn't mean that it's not a serious problem, but the approach to tackling it is different. He also has to deal with the fact that for his adult life he's perhaps not been fully in touch with reality, so needed to sort out what was important in his life. Two weeks in rehab might not be enough to do all of that, but it might be enough to get him clear as to what he wants to do next, which is to start sorting himself out in the real world. He's got children and a wife and whatever their future as a family is, hiding away from them isn't fair. Leaving rehab doesn't mean you are cured, and doesn't exclude going back to see councillors or taking part in therapy. The press have been quiet, and presumably that's in part because Mark hasn't given them any more, nor has the rest of the band or anyone close to Mark. They got to band about half of a quote from someone in Boyzone saying he'd been an idiot, hiding the bit about how he hopes he sorts himself out and has a fresh start. Being in rehab where medical ethics prevents a certain amount of gossip and reporting will have helped too. The reality is that although a lot of the general public are suprised and disappointed in Mark, they do wish him well and that he'll sort himself out. He is being seen to be trying to sort himself out and make amends. His image might be tarnished, but so long as he keeps his head down, they won't turn on him. I don't see why it should stop the band from going on. They might want to carefully think through their next round of promotion, but there isn't any rush to do that. Even if 25% of their fans stop buying their albums and concert tickets, they are still going to be massively popular. Throw in the Robbie collaboration and people will want to support the project. I'd already wondered what they could do to top The Circus tour, and wondered if they should try. I think stadia are too big anyway, so I'd be happy for them to return to an arena tour, which would also allow them to take their full tour to Germany etc. What I'm more worried about is for Mark personally. If he's been too reliant on drink over the years then perhaps it won't just be a case of whether or not Emma wants him back. Will he realise that he's just not the same person when he's fully sober and so they just aren't right for each other anyway. He could end up reappraising his whole life and what is important to him. He might decide that he and his family need a bit of time out, away from people who know all of their problems. It might be his turn to live in LA for a bit. A couple of months might be enough then back to reality. I think it would be best for him to get back into work etc, but I can see that it might be tempting for him to hide away from it.

I hope not too. I hope that Gary and his wife are happy, but more selfishly, the public's love of Gary will be what sees the band through the scandal. But for that reason I'm not sure if the papers would want to run a story about him. They can go after people when the mood takes them, but the papers can be quite savvy about not killing the golden goose, and Take That as a brand might be of too much value to them. I read that the papers have got another couple of kiss and tells ready to roll on England footballers, but they don't want to rock the boat this close to the World Cup. How very patriotic!

Yeah, full on checking into "rehab" seems a bit extreme, but a few sessions with some kind of therapist isn't that big a deal. I think some counselling is something Mark will benefit from, but going to a residential establishment seems like more of a statement or even running away from seeing the fall-out. It suggests that he is committed to a change of behaviour, but it's what goes on behind the closed doors that count. I have a friend who is a psychiatrist who did a stint working with people with addictions in a very poor part of the country. It was an out-patient, NHS funded thing and while a lot of the people he saw were at one point full on drug addicts with no chance of holding down a job, I hope that kind of service is available to functioning addicts, or people who fear they could be heading in that direction. If Mark and Emma decide they are going to try to make things work, then a bit of relationship counselling might be a good idea, and Mark probably has a whole load of issues that he's never quite dealt with. Part of me thinks that leaving Emma to look after the kids while he escapes to rehab is another avoidance tactic, but on the other hand, if he's realised he's done wrong, and is in a bad place and needs some help, he's right to seek it. It's gone beyond the point of trying to brush it under the carpet.

I too think that rehab can be banded about willy nilly, but I have to take exception to your comments about depression and particularly bi-polar. Depression is just one symptom of being bi-polar, and it isn't even there a lot of the time. People with bi-polar also experience extreme highs. It's old name manic-depression was perhaps a bit more descriptive, except people didn't get the mania side of things either, and just thought it was another term for chronically depressed. A lot of people do suffer from depression, and sometimes just getting on with things is enough to get you through it, but if it goes on for any length of time then it's likely to make things worse. Those people should be seeking help from family and friends, if not their GP. I don't know that AA would be particularly effective either. Not everyone with a problem with alcohol is an alcoholic, and Mark turning up to a meeting probably would disrupt things for everyone else, especially at the minute. I rather think that the "drinking problem" is a symptom of the problem, not the cause, and he needs to work out what that is first. Hopefully wherever he is he'll spend some time talking to people who are qualified in a broad range of subject, including alcohol dependency, and relationships. If they are good at what they do, they won't indulge him, but will make him focus on what is really important. I also agree that his relationship with Emma is between them. Mark has done wrong and he needs to face that, and the bulk of my sympathy goes to his wife, but I still hope he's OK and won't hold it against him. There are countless non-famous men and women in a similar situation who aren't expected to account for themselves when they turn up to work.

I think that the sort of person who buys music early in the week is the sort of person who is looking for new releases. The people who download at the weekend are less actively looking for the latest new music. It's generalising a hell of a lot, but it's the people with the time and inclination to find out what's out and when, and who are really into a new track before it's released who will also make time to buy when a track is first out or early in the week. If you have less time, and are less aware or bothered about the latest releases, then you probably have the patience to wait until Saturday to make your purchase. I'd also argue that a lot of clubs will be playing newer music, but for most people it is less familiar, so even if they hear it, decide they like it, and would like to own it, they might not be sure of who it's by or what it's called by the time they next log onto iTunes. The older stuff that's had the airplay will be easier to remember when you hear it.

I don't particularly like that the X Factor single will be heading to number 1, but I don't get how these rival campaigns that crop up each year are any less cynical or more creative. I know the song, I like the song, and I even have a copy of it somewhere. I'd be a mug to buy it again. If it's all about art, then buy the music you like when you like and don't care about the charts. Rage Against the Machine are already loaded, but I'm sure they and their marketing team will love the free publicity that comes with this campaign. I don't usually buy the X Factor winning single and I definitely don't buy it for the sake of it, but if I like it enough, then I'll buy it. It's unlikely I'm going to like it enough to buy it, but I'll make that judgement after I've heard it.

It's coming out of my radio now, so watch that position change.

I said it and I stand by it. It's fine for their fans, or people who follow the charts closely to see their differences and think that they will appeal to different people. In many respects they will. However, to have serious success they need to appeal to a mainstream market, and their record companies will be hoping that their CDs will be bought in large quantities by the sort of person who listens to the radio when they are getting ready for work on in the car. For those people, not the people watching the music channels, these artist are a bit of a blur. It didn't help any of them to define themselves that Lady GaGa was hogging most of the headlines for interesting pop starlet this year too. It's no biggie. So long as the record companies keep the faith I don't see why they cannot properly establish themselves with their second albums. There's no shame in that, and it's what worked for Amy Winehouse.

I think this too. Within a couple of months we had Little Boots, Pixie Lott and La Roux all appeared within weeks of each other, each vying for the same sort of audience and competing for recognition and to establish themselves. For the casual music fan they are a bit interchangeable. They are all in the shadow of the much more distinct Florence who has the added benefit of building up to where she is now. I think there is room for them all, but launching at the same sort of time wasn't helpful.

It might be that some people are shunning iTunes in favour of amazon to download Leona if it's cheaper on there. It would be amazing if BEP could get to number one this week, and IMO it's the better song. Leona's song is good, but not really good enough. I hope this gives her people a kick up the bum to try harder next time.

I don't think anyone is saying it only did well because of X Factor, but the connection gave her sales a boost. Selling a million is a major achievement, even for X Factor winners promoting on X Factor, but it isn't as big an achievement as it would be for an artist who hasn't had that kind of boost. And you are partially right about Kylie and Neighbours, so you could argue that her sales of her duet with Jason Donovan "Especially For You" might not have sold as well as it did if their on screen characters hadn't just got married. However, by the time Can't Get You Out of My Head sold a million, Kylie was a pop star who got her break thanks to Neighbours, but the song did well in its own right. Of course it can be argued that some of the people who bought CGYOMH were original Neighbours fans, but not all of those fans bought all of her singles in such high volumes, which proves that it was that particular recording of that song that interested people.

No, this is the same PopJustice that described the intro to Alexandra's song as being like the intros to Womanizer meets Biology! :cheer: As an aside, there were some American ladies on Scottish news earlier. They were filmed visiting Susan's home-town and described it as a pilgramage. They were also being filmed by a Japanese tv crew. :blink:

My Dad used to be a bit like that. Very resistant to using the internet, but he's gradually converted. He used to think that it was just for saddos who didn't have a social life and even when he conceded that it had useful things on there, things that would interest him, he still said he didn't have the time and was too busy. My mum was always a bit more pro-active about it. Now they are realising that email is useful for getting things organised, and if you are a member of a club or society, you can find out what's going on. You can check train times much more easily online than you can on the phone, let alone in person, and booking flights, looking up maps and buying wedding presents from online wedding lists all saves time for people with busy social lives. Do you remember a while ago Elton John did a big rant about how awful the internet was, and that people would be much better off without it. Says the man who has a string of staff who presumably all use the internet and email to keep him organised. I'd love to see Elton standing in the queue at the post office to renew his car tax. ;) Even if we don't use the internet directly, we get the benefits of others using it. All kinds of research, including medical research, can progress so much faster thanks to online publication of research findings. It was the academics who invented the internet for that very use in the first place and anyone who needs to find or disseminate information quickly can do so much more easily. If we want to know what our local MP has been up to, it is easy to search for them, and if we don't know who our MP is, we can check that too. All new Acts of Parliament go online, along with the minutes of committee meetings at all levels of government. It wasn't that long ago that you had to rely on a journalist being there and reporting it in a newspaper that you read, or having to know that a particular piece of guidance existed, and knew how to contact the relevant body and then get them to post you a copy of it, possibly for a fee. For a lot of those people, they simply don't know what the internet can do for them, and wouldn't know where to start. It's good that they are running courses and things, so that even if people don't have their own home internet connection, they can go to the local library to take advantage of some of what is on offer.

This was always going to be a tricky one to predict. The song itself hasn't had much buzz on music forums or got much in the way of airplay, but Peter Andre himself has been all over the place and has managed to maintain the public interest/sympathy. Anyone who might like the song knows it is out, and of those who quite like it, more might be inspired to download it to prove a point. If big mouthed ex hadn't been so public about how he was a nobody without her, people might be less interested. She was utterly convinced that she was the popular one and wasn't shy to tell everyone, so a lot of people will be enjoying the balance being redressed. Or maybe this sort of music is popular and the radio stations got it wrong and should be playing his music and not just gossiping about his private life. We'll find out in a couple of weeks if it picks up on airplay and sales hold. B)

This is good. TBH, I think too many people are eager to get their favourite artists a dedicated forum as soon as they develop moderate success, but as a music fan, I'd much rather that more of those acts stayed in the genre forums. It's too much hassle to keep checking the forums of acts I quite like to see what they are up to, but I'd click on threads about them if the latest news is posted in a forum I'm already visiting.

I agree. I couldn't believe how successful it was, but I think it might be a whole new tweeny audience buying it. I hope Tynchy and Amelle can hang on for another week.

I would be surprised if there wasn't at least one Michael Jackson related event at the O2 during his scheduled run. It might not be the only event and it might not be possible to include all of the big stars, but I bet there will be something. The O2 themselves will be pushing to get something to fill the gap and there will be demand. Even if they can't get the biggest possible names, I'm sure there won't be any shortage of famous names who would want to sing a Michael Jackson song in a tribute concert and get some dance groups like Diversity in to do a few dance routines. In fact, I fully expect there to be tribute events cropping up all over the world, and on tv for some time to come.

People tend to forget how many records Gareth has sold, in particular around the world. I know some people in the UK scoff at being "big in Germany" or "big in Asia", but it all adds up and don't forget top selling DVDs, calendars and PAs and more recently starring in Joseph, which pays very well. Just because The Sun wants to compare people like Leon to Gareth, doesn't mean that their careers are in any way similar in real terms. I must admit, I'd have thought Darius would have earned more, because he did a fair bit of touring and appearances at Party in the Park type events, but perhaps none of the tours were of the scale to bring in the big money.

When I go to a live concert I want the singing to be live, but I don't see the point in getting worked up about other people being "conned" because they go to see Britney and she is miming half of it. I don't think anyone is being conned, and if they enjoyed themselves, they weren't short changed. Personally, I'd prefer to watch someone producing a good live vocal than watch them dancing around with a weak or mimed vocal, but if other people prefer dancing, that's their business. If other people would rather see someone singing, but not dancing, that's their business too. I think it's a bit unfair to single out Britney, because I'm pretty sure Girls Aloud were miming on their last tour (not the most recent one) for a portion of it. They got away with it because most of their show was live and also being a group it's much easier to mix in pre-recorded backing vocals with the live ones and it is less obvious. A lot of people think that Kylie spends a lot of time miming to pre-recorded vocals too. Pink is a good example of someone who sings live and puts on a great show with a lot of movement, but one time I saw her she was horribly off key for some of it, especially towards the beginning of the evening. I don't think she had done a proper warm-up beforehand and that annoyed me. My friends said something similar of Robbie Williams, and then I read that he hadn't been turning up for all of his tour rehearsals. If I'm paying money to see someone in concert I want to be singing live, but I also want to know that they've put the effort into the rehearsals and taking the time to do the required soundchecks and warm-ups. I also want them to be on stage for a decent length of time and unless it's made clear, I want them to sing their big hits and not just the new album. I also want them to look like they want to be there and to be enjoying themselves and to generally engage with the audience. Some excellent live singers struggle to do the latter, but it is those elements that make it worth travelling to see someone in concert rather than listening to a polished vocal on CD.

I don't hate him and I don't know anyone who does, but he does seem to take himself incredibly seriously. There are other popstars who are up themselves and manage to work that into their image, but Craig doesn't have the charisma for it.

I'm excited about quite a few of those. Tops are Beverley, Arctic Monkeys, Sugababes, Kelly, Nelly, Booty Luv and Timbaland. For now.

I liked We Are One, and was considering buying their album, but as soon as I heard clips I realised they had pitched it way too young. They were always going to be too uncool for a lot of people, but if they'd at least given a nod to older fans of pop they could have expanded their market.

What's worse, bandwagon jumping or throwing allegations about because you don't like someone? Anyway, a very quick google search using the terms "Jane Tomlison" and "Gordon Brown" throw this up: The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, said: "Jane's mission in life was a simple one: to make the most of every day and to help others, and she not only achieved that several times over, but inspired millions of others along the way. We will remember her amazing spirit and strength and that exceptional charity work, and she will be a daily inspiration to our generation to fight on against the terrible scourge of cancer." I hope that makes you feel a bit better, or are you enjoying being outraged too much for that? I remember how Jane, like Jade, was accused of using her cancer for attention or indeed fabricating the whole affair. You might hate Jade, you might think the PM is an idiot, but it's insulting to Jane's story to treat her as nothing more than a name to band about in one of your rants. Perhaps the fact that you are aware of what the PM said about Jade, but not what he said about Jane says more about what sort of news stories interest you and which media outlets you read?

Most of us feel sad when someone we know dies, even if they aren't close to us. Even though most of us hadn't actually met Jade, most of us did know who she was and enough about her for her illness and death to be of interest to us. It's not that Jade's death is more sad than any other, it's that she is known to more people so more people will be talking about it. I never much liked Jade, but she never deserved the most hateful stuff thrown at her by the press, and most of those in the press know it. That's the pig stuff thrown at her during her first BB stint or the disproportionate reaction to her time on Celebrity BB. Those involved probably feel guilty, and quite rightly so. Jade's illness and death doesn't merit all of the attention it's got either, but for the main part, the extra headlines she's got are only replacing photos of Chanelle's bum on the Daily Star or Kerry and Jordan bitching about each other and anyone else they can think of. With the exception of today, the serious news sources have managed to deliver news as normal most of the time.