Posts tagged Girls Aloud
In part one of our REAL Sound Of 2012 we looked at already established and establishing artists, but in part two, we’re all about the newbies. These acts are the ones we’re supporting in 2012 and hoping they’ll go all the way to the top.
BUBBLING UNDER
OH MY!
Alex and Jade have been on the pop radar for the better part of the year, but they are yet to make their big splash which is why we’ve categorised them as Bubbling Under. The girls did a great DJ spot at Club Love Machine which proved that if nothing else, they certainly know a great pop tune or two, but they’ve also more than impressed us with their first single ‘Dirty Dancer’ which is one of the best pop songs of the year. Hopefully their connections with mentor Example will see them smash the mainstream in 2012.
JESSIE AND THE TOY BOYS
Jessie Malakouti used to be a Xenomania act and supported The Saturdays on tour. She then reinvented as Jessie And The Toy Boys - which is less a band and more Jessie and a bunch of mannequins - and started releasing some really punchy electropop. Earlier in the year she joined Britney Spears on her US tour and after that we’re not quite sure what’s going on. The music is more than decent though - check out ‘Push It’, ‘Money Makes The Girl Go Round’ and ‘5 O’ Clock’ with Doctor Rosen Rosen.
SIMON CURTIS
We were quite taken with Simon’s single ‘Superhero’ earlier in the year, and the album it was taken from, R∆, was a decent listen too. As far as we can tell, Simon now has management but still no label, so who knows what will happen for him in 2012. He hasn’t done too badly as an “indie” popstar, releasing his first album as a free download and accumulating a solid fanbase. There aren’t that many male popstars doing what Simon is doing, and we’d like for there to be, which is why we hope things will kick up a gear in 2012.
BRIGHT LIGHT BRIGHT LIGHT
Still obsessed with ‘Disco Moment’ probably until our dying day. We know that there’s an album on the horizon, and that all the loose ends are being tied up probably as we speak, but when will it actually be released? We’re in the dark :( Bright Light Bright Light (aka Rod Thomas) is a master at creating big, theatrical epics through his music, which is why we like him. You know those end of the night songs that have you making dramatic poses and singing along at the top of your voice while holding back the tears? That’s what we’re talking about here.
BREAKOUT STARS
LUMINITES
Luminites have us very excited. Their song ‘All Dressed Up’ is very good and the band are incredibly talented. They have a beatboxer! In all seriousness, we know very little of what they have planned for their attack on 2012 but they have partnered with Centrepoint to raise money for homeless young people this Christmas with their cover of ‘Streets Of London’ which is slightly cheesy but highlights the fact that they can really sing. Of everyone on our REAL Sound Of list, we’d most like Luminites to do well for themselves.
MNEK
Whether or not 2012 will see MNEK become a star in his own right remains to be seen, but certainly in the backstage magic areas of songwriting and production, all signs point to a good year. Having already landed a #3 single as co-writer on ‘All Fired Up’ on The Saturdays and been named by The Guardian as one of the 10 producers of the new generation, things can surely only get better?
LAWSON
The music is suitable for grown ups, but Andy, Ryan, Joel and Adam are so good-looking that it’s no wonder they have a strong female fan showing. They went the “indie” route by uploading acoustic videos to YouTube and playing as many gigs as they could, before signing to a major label and looking set to take over in 2012. Their pop rock leanings aren’t exactly tailored to a Love Machine audience (there’s more guitar and no synth, for a start) but at the same time they have a big stadium-pop sound with great sing-a-long hooks that we find irresistible.
DARE TO DREAM
RACHEL STEVENS
We heard a rumour (read a random article) that suggested Rachel Stevens was back in the studio and looking to record new material for her legions of unsatiated pop fans who thought Come And Get It was basically the Holy Grail of music. The next thing we knew, there was new Rachel Stevens material but it wasn’t anything we would ever want on our iPods because it was literally music for children. We’d LOVE a Rachel Stevens comeback, even if she is the most boring woman in pop. The music was great, and that’s all that matters.
S CLUB
If Rachel hasn’t been in the studio for her own purposes, maybe she has been secretly getting things in gear for the S Club reunion which is definitely a real thing and not media fabrication based on the Steps comeback making everyone nostalgic for that early 2000s sound. An S Club return would probably be tainted a little bit by S Club 3’s “career”, but we’d still embrace it wholeheartedly. Especially if they could also reform the Juniors. With Una from The Saturdays having to take some time off to have a baby, Rochelle and Frankie would surely be able to commit, right?
GERI HALLIWELL
We know you’re probably staring at us like we’re crazy for wanting Geri Halliwell to return to music, but allow us to remind you that this is the woman who glued the Spice Girls together, performed at the Brit Awards once in a dress made out of a teatowel and a further time on a pole between giant inflatable legs and achieved four consecutive solo #1 singles on the UK chart - a feat no British female popstar has been able to match. Not even her more talented band mates. Geri Halliwell’s return to music (aided by long-time collaborators Absolute) will either be so bad it’s so good, so bad it’s bad…but still good, or actually genuinely fantastic. Where she slots in on the pop landscape right now is, well, nowhere, but for the novelty of nostalgia, we are truly anticipating this.
GIRLS ALOUD
It’s the reunion EVERYONE wants, desperately craves, dreams about even when they’re not asleep, would give their right arm for… Just us? Okay, well we know you guys want it too. Just maybe not as much. That’s cool. Now there’s nothing concrete confirmed (when is there ever?) but the tenth anniversary of the greatest British girl band since the Spice Girls will be rung in on November 30th 2012 and we’re hoping that we’ll be celebrating it in style with a brand new Girls Aloud song, with a new studio album in the works and a big long tour planned for the summer. The world is scheduled to end 21 days later, but wouldn’t they be the most glorious 21 days ever?
Do you remember the b-side to Girls Aloud’s ‘The Loving Kind’? A slice of creamy electro paradise sung primarily by Kimberley and Nicola, it was released only on the collectable vinyl which understandably riled fans a little bit because who has the means to play vinyls nowadays? It eventually made its way onto a CD as part of the limited-edition-but-not-really Girls Aloud complete singles boxset, and is considered somewhat of a treasure.
To entice people who have already purchased a copy of Nicola Roberts’ album Cinderella’s Eyes into also parting with £1.99 to support the third single ‘Yo-Yo’, Queen Ginge has recorded a solo version of this track and made it a pre-order only exclusive on iTunes. You can listen to a short clip here.
We realise that it is considered somewhat blasphemous to rate any Solo Aloud material above or beyond Together Aloud material, because everyone’s still a little bit unsure exactly where we all stand re: “The Break” and “The Reunion” and the fanbase is just a tad over-protective about their legacy right now… but we have to be honest. And the truth is that Nicola’s solo version of this track is AMAZING and, dare we say (yes we do), better than the original.
Ms. Roberts - we salute you.
Oh wait… that’s Cheryl’s thing. Sorry.
There were two big important pieces of Nicola Roberts news this morning.
1. The third single from the best album of the year will be ‘Yo-Yo’. This Princess and the Pea style artwork will represent the song visually.
We don’t know how this relates to the song, but it contributes to the overall modern-day fairytale of this campaign and Nicola’s life so we’re giving it two enthusiastic thumbs up.
2. Nicola is running for Prime Minister. Okay, so we’re jumping a few steps ahead here, but we do know that the Education Secretary wants to meet Nicola to talk about online bullying and so it logically follows that in two years time, Ms Roberts will be welcomed into Downing Street and steering our country into a Golden Age. Or so our daydream goes.
Summary: NICOLA ROBERTS IS STILL AMAZING.
Girls Aloud - ‘The Promise’
We love Nuhdeen Coyle here at Love Machine and so we jumped at the opportunity to grill the lady herself. We talked about Girls Aloud, NYC and Tesco before leaving with the over-whelming urge to buy her album.
Get comfy, guys. You may need subtitles…
Nuhdeen, it’s Love Machine’s second birthday next month - what did Girls Aloud do to celebrate their second birthday?
Ay remember the day so clayurly because that was the day we had a fayt wuth all of the Pointer Sehsters. We’d jest released Jump and then foiund oiut they were gettung most of oiur royalties. We were oiutrayjed and they were un the UK, one event led to another and well… uf yew thunk the Leona Lewus/Avicii thang was bad, yew should’ve seen thus. There was weave snatchung, nupple crupples, one of them got Serrah un a headlock and started doung that noogie thang wuth her knuckles. We lost so badly because Chehrul was oiut of play after that toilet attendant thang and Nehcahlah was stull sensutuve aboit beyung ginger un those days. All one of them had to do was shoiut ‘GINGER’ at her and shay curled up un the fetal position un the middle of the alleyway, ut was awful. After tendung to oiur bruises, we jest had a party and got drunk. That was nayce.
How will you celebrate the second birthday of your seminal debut record Insatiable?
Weve got a surprayse party planned and ayv ordered Unsayshuhbul her favourite cake. Obvayuslay aym jokung but sometayms ay do feel layk ut’s may chayld, ayv even pondered waht the birth would have been layk. Ut’d bey un the the middle of Tesco’s, rayt next to the potatoes. Aym not sure waht ay’ll actuhallay bey doung yet, look oiut on may Twehttur page fur details closer to the date but ye’ll definitely have to send presents. Aym tellung yew noiw so yew can get them nayce and ehrlay.
Which Girls Aloud song would you like us to play in honour of you at next month’s club night?
Aym guessung ye’ll have all the singles covered so ay’ll go fur an aylbum track. Hoiw aboit Gerrl Overboard? Ut’s one of may favourites from may favourite Gerrls Aloid aylbum. Ayv actuhallay wrutten a letter to James Cameron, askung hum to make ut the theme tune fur Titanuc 3D. Ay have lots of fond memories from the Tangled Up recordung sessions. Ut was the ferrst aylbum Brayun Hugguns dudn’t use corporal punushment when we made mustakes, not even when ay let oiut an accidental ad lub. Yew have no idea hoiw mehnay raps oiver may knuckles ay got fur that when recordung Soiund of the Undergroiund.
You rebranded from Nuhdeen Wurldwiyd to Nuhdeen 2.0 to NuhdeenCoyleNow - what can we expect from the new you?
Ay kaynda feel layk Nuhdeen 2.0 was jest the brudge between Nuhdeen Wurlwiyd and NuhdeenCoyleNow. Layk when The Saturdays dud that Headlayns thang and ehvrayone was layk ‘waht the heyll us goung on? Half an aylbum wuth some of yer last aylbum’s tracks on ut?!’ That’s exactly waht aym goung fur, that sense of confusion untul yew feel layk ye’ll jest have to hashtag beymayaylbum to understand ut. Ayv been remuxung Unsayshuhbul to guve the songs a US friendly vaybe and aym addung some new tracks on there. But reuhallay, yew can’t perfect perfection and that’s waht Unsayshuhbul us as aym sure ye’ll agree.
Are you still signed to Tesco?
Well technicallay aym on may own label, Black Biro Records. Ut’s great to have that creatuve control over may musuc, aym not sayung ut wasn’t duffucult doung ut on may own. Ay would have to stop recordung mudway throiugh sessions because people would need the toilet and ay recorded a lot of the aylbum un may bathroom fur the acoiustucs. One song dudn’t make the aylbum purely because ay recorded ut oiutsayd the bathroom and yew can hear someone flush durung the second verse. Ut dudn’t soiund rayt re-recorded wuthoiut the flush and Tesco dudn’t thunk ut was a good idea puttung the original on the aylbum. Havung may own label also means ay can sign people up though. Ay plan on takung on some protégés and luvung off their successes layk Mathew Knowles at some point.
What’s it really like being single in NYC?
Well ay never got to go to univehrsuhtay, ay barely went to school because ay was too busy lyung may way throiugh audition after audition trayung to make ut, ay was almost cast un a Rosa Parks musucal as a young Rosa untul may lies caught up wuth may. So aym treatung New York vehray much layk univehrsuhtay. Aym experimentung wuth may sexualuhtay a but, ay kussed a gerrl and ay layked ut. Doesn’t that soiund layk the basus to a great track. As yew can see, single layf un New York has definitely opened may up creatuvelay. Plus the gerrls are hot.
When will Girls Aloud reunite?
23rd July 2012. Ha, aym jest messung wuth yew! Yew geys are so desperate, ay love ut. Ay have no idea but ay hope ut’s soon too. Ut’d bey so nayce to do somethang fur oiur tenth annivehrsary and aym not talkung aboit a tandem sky dive fur charity aythur. Aym talkung somethang that pays cold, hard cash layk a turr. That’d bey good, wouldn’t ut?
When was the last time you saw or spoke to the rest of the band?
Ay thunk ay last spoke to Kemburley when we were doung that Kut Kat promotion thang. Shay said ‘pass may that Kut Kat, Nuhdeen’, uf ay’d known that was goung to be the last taym, ay would’ve made her say ‘thaeynk yew’. Ay used to talk to Chehrul all the taym throiugh may TV on X Factor but noiw that gerrl whose name soiunds layk somethang ye’d bey at KFC has her job. When ay foiund oiut aboit that, ay dud waht ay dud when Javine mussed oiut on a place un Gerrls Aloid. Ay got the champers oiut and celebrated. Oh, actuallay, don’t prunt that. So ehnayway, aym always talkung to Nehcahlah on the Twehttur but shay jest ugnores may, ay thunk shay’s goung throiugh her rude ginger bitch phase again. Ay know aym furgettung someone… May mind us drawung a blank but yeah, ay muss her so much. Aym sure we’ll catch up soon.
Cheryl tweeted that she was watching the Tangled Up tour dvd and it gave her goosebumps - how does the Tangled Up tour dvd make you react?
The press us always goung on aboit hoiw much we secretly hate each ehthur but waht ay feel when ay watch that turr us the genuine love between best friends. Look at us on that swaaang durung Untouchuhbul, ehnayone of us could’ve pushed the ehthurs off that platform causung unstant death or at least suhrayus unjury but we dudn’t. That’s true friendshup, uf yew don’t feel the love whale watchung that turr, there’s somethang wrong wuth yew… or yer Javine. Havung said that, there were tayms durung some shows where ut looked layk Nehcahlah reuhallay wanted to push may off but noiw ay thunk aboit ut, ut was probablay jest the lights shinung un her eyes.
Finally - what would you like to say to everyone reading this interview?
Ay’d layk to send may love to all the geys oiut there who bought may aylbum. To those who haven’t, yer mussung oiut on double clubcard points, yew complete Javine Hylton supportung umbaciles. Ay hope ehvrayone has a lovelay taym celebraytung Love Mushayn’s birthday, thus Gerrls Aloid nayt soiunds layk such great craic! Ay so want to bey there but may passport hasn’t been seen sunce 2006. Aym actuhallay un the US ulleygally. Oh, don’t prunt that. Ehnayway, ay’ll see yew all soon, hopefully un circumstances where yev had to pay to see may.
