Nosey

Just announced on Jonathon Ross. The next single will be Angel On My Shoulder and will be out in June, with the album to follow soon afterwards. Gareth gave an acoustic performance of it with Pete on guitar and it sounded amazing. Jonathon thinks it will be a big hit (not sure he knows much about charts, but nice of him to say it anyway), and invited him to come back and sing again when it's out. :cheer: I can tell already that Angel On My Shoulder will get a better reception, which is a relief, because scrabbling for airplay is no fun.

I would assume that bringing forward the single would tie-in with bringing forward the album, but I don't think that is necessary. July is not that far away, and while it will be important to maintain the momentum from this promotion, there needs to be some kind of break, if only to make a new video and arrange the promotion. Most people seem to think the next single could be either Angel on My Shoulder, as previously playlisted by Radio 2, or Lost in You, which is much more upbeat and would appeal to a younger audience. I like both, and both could do well for different reasons. Angel on my Shoulder is a more mature song, and I think might be better suited to an album buying audience and it has had some excellent feedback. On the other hand, Lost in You is more fun, and it might pay for Gareth to do something very different to Changes. Both are catchier and more radio friendly and it's a shame they have been taken down from his MySpace page. I wonder if Gareth's management were worried they were getting more attention than the single?

Argh, I didn't know about this. I'm on her mailing list, but I get so many rubbish emails I must have missed this one. I love Bev and agree about Affirmation being an amazing album. I'm not sure if she'll top that for me, musically, but I think this album could do very well commercially. She has become much more mainstream over the last couple of years.

Try not to stress. If people managed to remember Gareth after three and a half years away, I'm sure they'll manage to retain some memory of him over the next three months. If Gareth starts promotion for the next single in May, then it could be less than two months. But if the worst does happen, and everyone forgets all the promotion Gareth did this time round, then you can stop worrying about Gareth losing his "USP", because if everyone has forgotten, everyone will be just as interested to know about those things! However, I am rather hopeful some people will remember, because that way the DJs and journalists can ask some new questions, and perhaps more time can be given to promoting the music, rather than the personality. He's done a great job with letting a lot of people get to know him, and excellent feedback from the media, which should make things easier for him and his promoters next time round. A lot of his tv and radio interviews ended with "don't leave it so long next time". Next time the music does need to be pushed further forward, and they need to ensure they pick a song that the radio stations will play, and if they do that, and at least some proportion of the population manages to remember Gareth from this time around, then he wouldn't need to do as much running around all over the place, but I don't see anything wrong with them planning for that. Loads of artists run around just as much, if not more, and they do it for release after release. New artists in particular expect to do a lot of running around for the first few releases. The whole physical sales vs download thing will make for an interesting few days before we get the final chart. Without a doubt, someone involved in Gareth's promotion will have to give some serious thought to tapping into that market next time, but given the airplay situation, I don't think anyone can scoff at Gareth's sales. If he continues to be the second biggest seller of physical singles, then some part of his promotion has gone very well. :dance:

After last week's jitters, I'm very happy with number 14, lol. I read that he's number 2 on physicals, which is remarkable. Downloads are obviously pulling him down, but without the airplay, and limited video play, it was inevitable there would be a big difference. There are a lot of lessons to be learnt from this promotion, one being that Gareth shouldn't be written off just yet!

I'm as untalented as can be in the art department, so I'd better pass on that one. :wacko: The single is supposedly stocked in Woolies, which was a pleasant surprise, as I thought the dearth of airplay would mean they wouldn't bother, but someone there thought to put him at number 5 in their charts, which I won't complain about. Not that their charts are worth paying much attention to, but nice to see all the same. I went to buy it in HMV today, but there was no sign of it. I don't know if they were too busy to put it out, or what, but the whole shop was a mess, so I escaped without asking any questions. I'm not in a rush, I downloaded the full, album version from iTunes, which works a lot better. I only want the physical version because I like to have something to hold and keep, so I'll go to Woolies tomorrow lunchtime. The promotion has been a bit of a mixed bag. There has been good tv, and reasonable press. Not tonnes of press, but while the likes of Victoria Newton was very catty before, she has been surprisingly nice, although his profile is understandably lower across the papers and magazines as a whole, but he has been getting good feedback and Jonathon Ross has asked him back, so he must be doing something right. I would say that with the exception of airplay, promotion has been good towards the album buying over 25s. He isn't releasing an album at the minute, but hopefully a lot of it will help for when he is, and the amazon album rankings suggest he's made some kind of impact. Promotion towards under-25s has not been so good, and I think in a bid to demonstrate that Gareth has grown-up, they've managed to alienate that part of the market. The song, Changes, clearly hasn't struck a chord with the radio stations and we can discuss the many reasons for that until we are blue in the face. However, the important thing is that next time they give the radio stations that might play a Gareth Gates song something that they feel comfortable playing. Angel on My Shoulder is obviously a favourite at Radio 2, but a lot of fans have been lobbying for Lost in You. Hopefully they will ask around a bit before deciding, because promoting without a reasonable amount of airplay is just too difficult. What strikes me is how instantly a lot of people have taken to Angel on My Shoulder and Lost in You. I can understand the reasons for not going with Lost in You, because they maybe thought a ballad is a safer bet, but Angel on My Shoulder is a song just about everyone (who might like Gareth) appears to like on first listen, which you would think is a very important quality in a come-back single. It also shows off his voice a lot better than Changes, so works in terms of helping him to be taken seriously too.

This is a tough one, because both are very talented singers. Shakira is the most talented song-writer, but Beyonce has the best voice. Both are sexy too, but I would say Beyonce has more classic good looks, but Shakira is a better mover.

The hat is hilarious. :lol: It's like he's growing something under there. Do you think it was a bet? The jumper isn't much better. :huh: What a beautiful acoustic set. I could listen to those all day. :wub: I don't suppose anyone will have thought to make an acoustic version available as an extra download?

So why join in now? Did you think we were too happy and needed a good dose of miserable bickering to remind us of how it always used to be whenever Gareth got any attention?

Have you considered just not commenting at all? It really is not compulsory to police the Gareth threads. Do you not think it looks a bit silly that 90% of the people who join in on Gareth threads who have the burning desire to find fault with him, his music and the fans just happen to be massive Will fans? Many of whom had plenty of conspiracy theories about Simon Cowell or how the industry in general was unfair to Will when it suited them. You might think you are poking fun at the silly Gareth fans, but in all honesty, you make yourselves look petty, bitter and obsessed. At least us fans are obsessed with someone we like, not someone we hate. Even if you aren't commenting, the same names are always reading, checking up on what is being said, waiting for an excuse to take us to talks on something. :blink: Back to the topic at hand. I can understand that radio stations may decide that a song doesn't suit their audience without trying it out. That is the way of radio these days, but channels like The Box only need to play the songs that their viewers request. If none of their viewers want to see the video, they wouldn't request it and they wouldn't need to play it. Given that Gareth's videos always did so well in the past, I don't think it's that mad an idea to hope that the playlist people might try it out for a week to see what happens, instead of assuming it won't get requests. If there are not enough requests, they could take it off the following week with good justification. Instead, the video is getting a lot of requests on the minority of channels that have it. I'm not really one for grand conspiracy theories, but there will always be PR people striking deals and some will do a better job for their artists than others. There will always be playlist people who think they know what's best and who will stubbornly refuse to budge. The person at Radio 1 who decided that Shakira wouldn't be popular with their listeners, and who refused to add her week after week would be one example. Edits: Sorry Dudie, I crossed posts with you. I do think you are right that the promotion seems more suited to the album buying audience. It's strange, because a few years ago the media all decided that Gareth's fans were only silly little girls, and so anyone a little bit older was made to feel stupid if they liked him. Now they seem to be going for the opposite approach, but it's equally incorrect. The fact is, Gareth's music appeals to a wide range of people, but another unfortunate fact is that some people struggle with liking music that older and/or younger people also like. I know when I was a younger teen, I hated what my older brother liked and vice versa, and in all honesty we were both guilty of being closed to liking what the other liked.

I don't think it's so much a conspiracy theory, more acknowledging that throughout the history of popular music, there have been behind the scenes deals going on. Whether or not that is true in this case is only ever going to be speculation, but it would be embarassing for Simon if Gareth did very well without him. But he has had much better press than someone like Steve, who I think was deliberately excluded by the media, but then Steve managed to turn the media against him all on his own. Slagging off a man who is looked after by Max Clifford is not the best way to endear yourself to the popular press. Gareth rarely got good airplay in the past, but there always used to be TOTP and CD:UK, and Gareth always topped the video request charts on the major channels for the singles buying public, so it is all a bit of an unknown quantity without any of that. I don't think Radio 2 were playing Angel on My Shoulder because Gareth was going on Steve Wright. It seems to have been arranged at the last minute after they saw him on Jonathon Ross and thought they'd like him as a guest. They actually played Changes when he was on. I think they just liked the song, probably assumed the album was coming out soon, and decided to support that instead. I'm very disappointed with the whole airplay and video play thing. I'm the first to acknowledge it's not a massively commercial sound, but as someone else said, the stations often overlook that kind of thing if it is by an artist they expect to add to the playlist, often regardless of how well they actually chart. On the other hand, I'm really happy that a lot of people who used to sneer about Gareth as a person are now being nice about him. I don't think that will translate to many extra CD sales at this point, but no matter how well Gareth does, he never deserved to be a figure of hate. I also think it is of note that the album has been bobbing about surprisingly high on the amazon charts, considering it isn't released until July!

Dindy, I think you are too late for the day with Gareth. I think that is happening this afternoon. I was able to get the single from iTunes last night. Love Song is brilliant. It is a very different style to Changes, and shows off another aspect to his voice.

I'm sorry I missed this. I always liked Sam's music. I can't say I ever thought much to her personality one way or another, except she always had stupid stories about her in the press that reeked of a Louis Walsh invention more often than was good for her. I wouldn't pay too much attention to her being caught out acting up a bit, because everyone has that in them, and if you film for long enough, you are bound to catch something, especially if they are stressed. I'm more shocked that she never sang live before. I know she mimed a lot, as was normal for pop acts back then, but she had a credibility that I would have thought could only come through singing live from time to time at least! She'll never manage a come-back now unless she can demonstrate that she has what it takes to be a popstar, and that means proving that she is a singer by letting people hear her sing. Good luck to her. I hope to hear more from her, because her recorded voice at least appealed to me.

Not all gone, but if he keeps up with his breathing exercises etc he is managing to keep it under control. This is the Jonathon Ross interview, in which he manages to ask some reasonably sensible questions on the subject. FleJnFSpgpE m93E2k2jwCc He's got some HMV live performances and signings the week after next in Bradford, Leeds and Sheffield.

It's likely they are abandoning the promotion of this album, but it's a bit premature to decide he's not getting another one. If they have any sense, they'd use the tour to push the album further. How much has this album sold anyway? And how well has the tour sold?

I often prefer the live versions of Gareth's songs, because it seems that you get to hear his voice better, and I love his voice! His voice seems to have more resonance in that version than the recorded one.

Here you go! -CIUZoIh2Ak Great performance, and by the look of his schedule, he's got a very busy week ahead of him. I hope I get to hear some of the radio stuff, and I've already set my video for next week's Jonathon Ross! :unsure:

It was brilliant. Jo said she'd like to put it onto their next Live Lounge album.

I love the song, but missed the video. Any sign of it on YouTube yet?

It was. Hopefully someone will YouTube it soon or get up early tomorrow morning. :P Next week there is the performance and the week after that is an interview. All recorded on Wednesday by the sound of things. This was on the Popworld website about the interview. Gareth Gates the musical interview ain’t probing but it is spectacular. We are truly impressed, certainly by Gareth’s versatility. No instrument is left unplayed - except the cool-looking sitar thing, much to Gareth’s dismay. The gang all enjoyed ice cream and Gareth has agreed to go bowling later with Alex. Alexa isn’t invited. :cheer:

Amarillo wasn't even a cover song. It was a re-release, but a re-release of a good song with a great video by people that captured the imagination. I like both of this year's songs for different reasons, but overall they appeal to different demographics, so saying which is best feels irrelevant. I hope both sell well to people who like that kind of thing and raises a lot of extra cash and awareness for Comic Relief.

In the near future I'm looking forward to Gareth Gates, Beverly Knight and maybe Natasha Beddingfield, but I'm a bit worried about her new song. In the longer term Sugababes and I've love there to be a new Britney album, but I want her to get sane first, and I'm not sure there is time this year. :cry:

I love the video and it goes very well with the song. It isn't as commercial as some of the stuff he's done before, but being commercial isn't the be all and end all of music. I love that the song has layers and has more to offer on each listen, but I fully accept that means it might not be instant enough for some. It's a balancing act for him as it is for everyone else in the industry. Personally speaking, I'm delighted with what he's done. Gareth said he was very pleased with the video and particularly liked the lighting and I agree with him on that. It adds to the mood brilliantly, and dare I say it - he's looking quite sexy too! :yahoo: It's up on YouTube now. :cheer: JkqAoB_0bOw

It's not going to be everyone's cuppa, and I must admit I'm surprised they are brave enough to release something that is a bit unconventional, but they obviously want to make a statement. Like it or not, I don't see how it can be described as MOR, but a lot of people like MOR, so it's not that much of a put-down. I can understand what Joe Mott meant about the song either being a massive hit, or passing people by. I think it's a song that not everyone will get on first listen, so convincing the radio stations to give it the airplay it needs might be harder than it would have been for one of the more commercial tracks, such as Angel on My Shoulder, but I get the sense that it's a risk they are willing to take, and that they know that Gareth's come-back is about more than just one single. A few people who have heard the album have said they prefer other songs, which might be bad news for this single, but then it's good news for the album as a whole. I hope it does get good airplay. I love it, more and more on each listen, and I really do think it will impress a lot of people if they do give it a chance.

It was a close thing between Get Ready for This, Twilight Zone and No Limits, but I had to go for the big hit (No Limits), because it reminds me of some great times! :D