Little Mix

September 2012

IT has been less than a year since Little Mix became the first group to win the X Factor and yet the all girl quartet have just topped the singles chart for a second time... and picked up their fair share of over zealous fans. For Perrie Edwards, the blonde one who is dating One Direction’s Zayn Malik, it has been a surreal – and painful – experience.

One fan recently showed her a tattoo of the letter “P” on his hand that he said was dedicated to her.

“Yeah, that was quite bizarre,” says the 19-year-old, who celebrated her birthday over the summer with a holiday in Nice.

Surely that “P” could be for any number of his family or friends?

“That’s what I thought but he didn’t have it when I first met him,” she says. “We’ve met him a few times but when he came to a signing we did in South Shields he said: ‘I’ve got this for you.’ I said ‘Wow!’

“If it is for me then it’s such a compliment.”

She adds: “A fan ripped my hair out once and they took quite a lot of it. If I knew they wanted it that bad I’d have cut it off and given it to them,” she laughs, before strangely adding: “But if it makes them happy, why not?”

Perrie, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall and Jesy Nelson initially auditioned for the X Factor as solo performers but judge and mentor Tulisa Contostavlos encouraged them to join forces.

They signed to Simon Cowell’s label Syco and topped the chart with their debut single, Cannonball, a cover of the Damien Rice hit.

They headlined the X Factor tour in February, which included a visit to the Capital FM Arena – although she has no memory of the city.

“I just remember it being an amazing crowd,” she deadpans.

Come on, Perrie.

“I don’t remember,” she laughs. “Everything on the tour was just amazing. There were more and more people with Little Mix T-shirts as the tour went on. I loved being on that tour.”

As well as working on their debut album, Little Mix spent the summer touring with JLS.

“They are the sweetest boys ever!” she beams. “So lovely and genuine and down to earth. They make time for everyone.”

Also supporting were Cover Drive, who were less, erm, lovely.

“We were playing practical jokes on each other all the time but they started it! We got them back big style.

“It started off with us in our dressing room, doing our thing getting ready to go on stage then all of a sudden there was a fire alarm. When we came rushing out they were standing there laughing. One of them had a fire alarm app on his phone.”

They’ve just announced their debut headline tour, which opens at the Royal Concert Hall on January 28.

“Being on tour is the best time because you get to see the crowds, you get to see your fans and everyone is going wild, it’s just amazing,” she says. “When the audience is singing the lyrics back at you and waving their arms having a good time, there’s no better feeling.”

Wings, which topped the chart on Sunday, is the first taste of the new material that will be on their debut album.

“We will have an album out by the tour,” says Perrie. “Then hopefully everyone knows all the songs.”

She adds: “We know it’s going to be hard work and tiring but we just can’t wait to get into it and start rehearsals.”

The first gig the South Shields singer went to was McFly.

“When I was younger I didn’t see that many people live. I couldn’t really afford the tickets. I know – poor me!”

She’s been seeing Malik since December.

“It’s only hard to a certain extent because you’re not seeing each other as much as you’d like. But if you’re happy with someone and you really like them you’re going to make it work.”

Leigh-Anne Pinnock is the only member of the group who is single. So, what’s wrong with her? Does she have a personality defect?

“(Laughs) No, I just don’t think anyone is good enough for Leigh-Anne”

Who: @ Little Mix

Where: @ Royal Concert Hall

When:@ Monday, January 28, 2013

Tickets: @ £19.50 and £29.50

Web: @ www.trch.co.uk

Katie Rebekah Osborne: Capital FM Arena

April 2012

Katie Osborne, Digital Marketing Manager for the Capital FM Arena and National Ice Centre, talks about her experiences with social networking and visiting celebrities

I MOVED to Nottingham from Yorkshire when I was ten. I was scouted by a local model agency at 13 but myparents wouldn’t  let me sign with them until I finished school, so I started modelling at 16 when I was studying for my A Levels at Sixth Form. During this time, I had a part-time job at Kookai and the companyentered me for Miss Nottingham in 2000, which I won. I went on to Miss England, where I came second and represented Great Britain in Greece (Athens, Mykonos and Crete), Malta and Singapore. By the time I was 19, I had signed to an agency in Knightsbridge and did London Fashion Week which was incredible. I also did a further two A Levels and travelled to some amazing places around the world. Then I was offered a great contract to work in Japan, but at the same time I was offered a place at uni and decided to take the ‘career’ route instead… Uni was incredible- and I was even lucky enough to do work experience as a runner at the BBC and Sky TV. The day I found out I had got the job at the Arena was up there as one of the best feelings ever.

I was brought in to the Capital FM Arena and National Ice Centre two years ago to market and establish the brands online. At the same time they recruited a Web developer. When I started they had two websites, two Facebook friend pages, a Flickr page and a Twitter account. We now have four websites, four Twitteraccounts, four Facebook fanpages, two YouTube channels, two Flickr accounts and several Linked-In profiles and groups.

The first time I was shown around by my manager and saw the dressing rooms and star corridors backstage,it was a really exciting feeling. I remember seeing the racks of costumes for Strictly Come Dancing who were in at the time and all the flight cases and glitter backstage... and it occurred to me how we could pass on that excitement of being behind-the-scenes to our customers- offering outsiders the inside scoop!

Even now, I still get excited when I see a show being set up or even the artists who play here – show days are the best buzz ever - but for a different reason. I know that if we get exclusive video or pictures of wardrobe, make-up, or, better still, of the artist themselves, the social reaction and coverage we’ll get from it, along with the local (and sometimes National) media, will be amazing. When I got a snap of The Wanted, our Twitter and Facebook went crazy- especially when they tweeted us to say thanks!

But, it isn’t that easy getting this kind of content. Sometimes I can wait around for three hours at the end of a long show-day just to get one photo of an artist backstage! And backstage access isn’t guaranteed… I’m not always allowed backstage to take photos. I work closely with our brilliant Events team who introduce me to the promoters and tour managers of each show and then turn on the charm and take it from there! Nearly two years on from covering my first show backstage, we have built up a fantastic portfolio of backstage access for a variety of artists and shows, from Tinie Tempah to Justin Bieber and Strictly Come Dancing to Arctic Monkeys. And of course, the same promoters come back, so if I nail one shows backstage coverage, the likelihood of getting access again is high- particularly as our coverage can often result in last minute ticket sales!!

Sometimes you’ll get access to the dressing room, the stage, the tour bus and even the artist. That happened with JLS, who were all lovely guys- and even retweeted our coverage to our followers. That made me do a victory dance in the office! The guys I work with are used to me screaming every now and again when an artist interacts with us socially. It’s a standing joke in the office that I’m a nerd. I went on the tour bus for JLS, Britain’s Got talent and Iron Maiden – theirs was the best, with mirrored ceilings! I met Justin Bieber after he finished his soundcheck. And Willow and Jaden Smith who were supporting him. There was a rumour that Will Smith would attend the concert, which he did backstage with Jada - as you can imagine, I put that straight out on Twitter!! Vanilla Ice was amazing. I remember he let me update his Twitter on his phone. Tinie Tempah and Labrinth were pretty cool. Really nice guys. That show had a load of last minute ticket releases so I gave this show huge push socially on the day, tweeting out pics of his trainers, stage and basketball rings backstage – by show doors, we had just one standing ticket left over. The promoter was chuffed with the coverage and even gave me meet and greet passes for the gig. The security manager for The Saturdays took me round backstage to do some photos. I remember being in their dressing roomtaking pics of their outfits, when the door swung open and Marvin from JLS (dating the group’s Rochelle Wiseman) walked in! My immediate reaction was to tweet about it. Which I did a minute later after as soon as I left the room!! And later that night, Aston (Merrygold from JLS) turned up in his supercar backstage as well to watch the girls from the mixer. Again, we were given some meet and greet passes for the work on this show and I remember having my photo with Mollie from The Saturdays. She looked amazing, whereasafter working a crazy 12 hour day, I had definitely looked better!!

 

Hulk Hogan was wicked. He told me I reminded him of his daughter. I wasn’t quite sure how to take that one... Lady Gaga recorded part of her Born This Way album when she was here in 2010. She set up a studioin the star dressing room. Michael Buble played ice hockey with the Panthers when he was here. When Batman Live was here they brought the original Batmobile here as a treat for the cast, which I only found out about by keeping an eye on Twitter- so I retweeted the casts pictures out.

A lot of the time, for confidentially reasons, we can’t publicise a lot of what we see. One of our Events team passed a major rock singer coming out of his dressing room singing “I’m Every Woman” at the top of his voice, which was hilarious. The nicest artists I’ve met were probably Tinie Tempah and The Wanted. Stars of reality TV shows like Strictly and X Factor are always lovely too. Support acts are the best as they are always really up for coverage as we can help get them the right exposure.

I don’t really get starstruck – backstage coverage is just part of my job. And I like to think I do it well! I really do feel so lucky to have the job I have- it is amazing. But hard work! Yes, social marketing is fun and exciting, but it’s also a massively powerful platform which requires 24/7 monitoring and dedication- I’ve been known to update our social platforms from 7am, right up until to 11.30pm after a show. Or when I’m on holiday, Christmas Day, and even when I was off after having my wisdom teeth out because we had the One Direction on-sale, which was crazy online! As well as becoming another channel for customer service, I believe social networking also really adds to our customers show experience, before, during and after an event… And people expect it from us! I think perhaps, I’ve created a monster! My motto? Keep calm and carry on tweeting J

The Capital FM Arena Twitter account now has nearly 10,000 followers which is the second largest in the UK after the O2 Arena. Katie tweets from @KatieRebekah, @CapitalFMArena and @Nat_Ice_Centre. Links to all the Facebook, YouTube and Flickr accounts can be found at www.capitalfmarena.com and www.national-ice-centre.com

One Direction

March 2012

JELLY Babies, teddy bears and underwear. Since the dawn of time rock n roll in the mid-fifties, pop idols have had all manner of items thrown at them by fans, eager to please.

But in the case of boy band One Direction, it’s been a most unlikely orange vegetable.

“We get carrots thrown at us,” says Liam Payne.

“I think Louis (Tomlinson) made some remark once that he liked girls who liked carrots. So now they all bring carrots and throw them at us.

“He could have picked a softer fruit (fruit?) but he’s a bit stupid like that is our Louis.”

Or you could have suggested how much you like £20 notes?

“Yeah, we love Rolex watches.”

They have all been moved into a swanky new apartment block in London recently but the riches of pop fame have yet to roll in for the five lads, who met two years ago on the X Factor.

So the cash hasn’t started rolling in yet?

“No it hasn’t yet,” says Liam with a laugh.

“We’re still being paid in sweets.”

With the exception of JLS, One Direction are the biggest group to emerge from the X Factor.

They’d all auditioned as solo singers but judge Nicole Scherzinger suggested they team up to form a group.

As One Direction, Liam, Louis, Niall (Horan), Zayn (Malik) and Harry Styles went on to finish third behind Matt Cardle and Rebecca Ferguson.

All three finalists recently played shows at the Royal Concert Hall but only One Direction have booked a return to the city, at the Capital FM Arena next March.

“We can’t wait to come back with a bigger show,” says Liam.

“We’re going to put on a massive show this time, with all the bells and whistles. And I hope you guys enjoy it.”

The group played two shows at the Royal Concert Hall in January on the same day. Both sold out before Christmas.

“They were really good shows,” says the 18-year-old from Wolverhampton.

He adds: “My sister’s boyfriend goes to university in Nottingham and she goes up there quite a lot, so I know a little bit about Nottingham. I know it’s got a good party scene.”

There’s a pause...

“Is it true that the boy to girl ratio in Nottingham is really different?”

That old chestnut is still doing the rounds then? Three girls for every boy...

“That’s mental!” he says.

But you have a girlfriend (he is dating a dancer from the X Factor) so what does it matter to you?

“Erm, I was just intrigued. For the boys, obviously. I just wanted to clear up an old legend, that’s what it was.”

Since emerging from the X Factor in 2010, One Direction have topped the charts with their debut single What Makes You Beautiful and album Up All Night, had two best-selling books and sold out a UK tour in a matter of minutes.

Last month they picked up a Brit Award for Best Single.

“It was amazing,” he says.

“To be in that room with so many established people and brilliant artists, we were so excited. I mean Example was the first one that we met and I think he such a great artist. The tunes he brings out...

“Rihanna was there and Bruno Mars. Then to walk away with a Brit... we are such lucky boys. The fans had been grafting away hard on the internet and it paid off.”

The single award was voted for by the public.

“We’re so thankful that our fans are the sort to pick up the phone and go on the computer and spend hours and hours voting.

“I actually heard that there was a girl in Sweden who voted for us 134 times. And to do that she had to make 134 e-mail accounts.”

So what about the aftershow party?

“To be honest our aftershow party was a bit pants. I was sat there with my girlfriend thinking, I’m not enjoying this. You quickly come to realise that aftershow parties are all about loads of talking and meeting people.

“Although I did meet Chris Martin. He was a nice fella.”

Did he offer any advice?

“He just said enjoy it. Everyone says the same thing really.”

The day after the Brits they were up for rehearsals at 10am, then flew to the US for a brief promotional tour.

There is YouTube footage of their arrival at the airport in Chicago, faced with a wall of hysterical girls.

It happens all the time, says Liam.

“We have to  be really careful what we say about our plans otherwise we have trouble at the airport.

“The other day in France we had a crowd surge and I lost a shoe.”

Rival boy band The Wanted, featuring Newark-born Jay McGuiness, have also been in the US promoting their single Glad You Came, which topped the iTunes chart. It’s the first time a UK boy band has enjoyed such success since Take That in the mid-nineties.

Says Liam: “They’ve been out there a while now with lots of radio play. Fair play.

“We’ve had a really good start over there. It’s a massive confidence boost to go out there knowing that we’ve sold some records. And you can feel the fans on Twitter.”

They’re back in the UK now so what happens next?

“We’re looking to do a bit more travelling and stuff. Coming back and forth to the UK as and when we can. It’s so difficult to stretch ourselves pout across all these different places.

“We really want to see all the fans but we’re struggling at the minute. It’s hard to be in ten place at once.”

One assumes there’ll be another album before next year’s tour?

“Yeah, for sure,” he says, before thinking about the Nottingham show.

“I don’t know what we’ll be performing but it’ll be a lot of fun. I know that much. I was watching the Justin Bieber DVD Never Say Never recently and it looked like so much fun. I can’t wait to get out there.”

He has since restyled his hair but for a while, like Harry Styles, he’d been accused of copying the Bieber fringe.

“The last holiday I had was the Christmas before last. That was to Florida with my parents and my girlfriend. We went to one of the theme parks and I got recognised before I’d even got on the first ride. It was an English person who picked me out.

“Then the Americans thought I was Justin Bieber. No I’m not Justin Bieber!” he adds, with a chuckle.

“They were funny times.”

So what is life like on the road for One Direction?

“We play computer games and have a laugh with the boys. It’s a bit like being on a school trip.

“It’s like a really bad version of The Inbetweeners actually. That’s kind of how our lives are at the moment.”

Tickets for One Direction’s show at the Capital FM Arena on March 20, 2013 are sold out. Hospitality tickets are still available from £88. Call 08444 124624.

To register for notifications of returns or extra tickets visit www.capitalfmarena.com.

JLS

November 2010

POSTERS, T-shirts, teddy bears, badges and keyrings I get but condoms?

Walk in to Boots and you’ll find a rack of them baring the faces of all four members of boy band JLS.

No doubt there’s a serious message behind the idea but let’s ignore that. Has Aston stuck one of Oritse’s branded condoms on his head and blown it up with his nose? Yes I know, childish but I saw someone do that on holiday years back and it was very funny.

“I leave Oritse’s condoms to him,” laughs Aston Merrygold, the shortest member of Britain’s biggest boy band.

“Besides I did two of my own,” he adds, before toning down the silliness to deliver the all-important message.

“It’s not weird at all. It’s to create a sexual awareness message, you know. People in this country are not, you know, by the stats, being careful enough with their sexual health. One in five girls fall pregnant before they’re 18.

“And last year alone there were over 500,000 cases of STDs in the 16 to 24 year old bracket. Our fans are mainly that age group, so it’s just trying to raise awareness.”

Aston isn’t just reading off a press release handed to him by his manager. The idea to get behind the project came from his mum, who works with young mums and young families.

His dad on the other hand is a supply teacher.

“My dad lives up in Nottingham,” says Aston.

“He moved up there when I was about nine or ten.”

That was when his parents separated. Aston stayed with his mum in Peterborough.

“When we come to Nottingham I’ll see him and my uncles but it’s been quite a while since I’ve been able to do that because we’ve been darting around the country.”

He adds: “I’ve got a couple of friends who go to university in Nottingham as well. When we did the club tour about two years ago, the Nottingham crowd came down for that and we had a good time.”

Since then they’ve sold out the Royal Concert Hall and next month return for the first of three shows at the Trent FM Arena.

“It’s a scary thing to think that two years on from doing the X Factor Tour that people are coming just to see JLS now.”

Scary but hardly surprising. They’ve so far racked up three No. 1 singles, a No. 1 album and won two Brit Awards.

“We’re going all out with the stage production on this tour, “ he promises.

“There’s going to be stuff you’ve never seen before on a tour. Our creative director has been to see hundreds of shows over the past year just to get ideas and to see if anything can be pushed to the limits. Can people fly around the stage without the wires? It’s going to be like a movie on the stage.”

Along with condoms, JLS have attached their name to Nintendo’s Christmas campaign. There’s no serious message behind that.

“Obviously it’s a load of fun. Have you ever played Mario Kart on the Nintendo Wii?”

Nope. I’m 43 years old.

“I tell you what, play Mario Kart, get your friends together, some drinks and a take-away... it’s one of the best things I’ve ever experienced.

“It’s a regular thing now at the weekend, with my friends. Before we go out., it’s Mario Kart and dinner.”

The lead single from the new album, Outta This World, which is released next week, is the Children In Need song Love You More.

“It’s a fantastic honour to be involved in that charity because it does so much good for the kids in this country,” says Aston.

“The song is extra special for us because it’s the first one we wrote together.”

For the album they worked with “some crazy producers”, he says.

“Guys who have done some amazing stuff with Ne-Yo and Rihanna and Beyonce and Fergie. It’s not a total style shift from the first album but I think it’s more universal. I think it’s going to be liked all around instead of by just one audience.”

Apart from Mario Kart what else does he do for laugh?

“I do love a night out with the boys or with friends who I’ve had since I was at school. We’re all still lads and enjoy chatting up the prettiest women in the club.”

Gig

Who: JLS

Where: Trent FM Arena

When: Dec 11, Jan 11, Jan 23

Tickets: £25.54 to £31.67, 08444 124624.

Web: www.trentfmarena.com

JLS

November 2009

They are the biggest new boy band of the noughties, currently sitting at the top of the singles chart and battling with Robbie Williams for the No. 1 album this Sunday. Their show next February at Nottingham's Royal Concert Hall is a sell-out. So, granted a chat with one of the JLS four, there was only one thing to ask: What are you wearing?
"Some boots, some jeans and a T-shirt," says Marvin Humes, without missing a beat.
Well, it makes a change from the usual questions he's repeatedly had to answer over the past few months since they turned around losing to Alexandra Burke in last year's X Factor final and a rejection by Simon Cowell's record label SyCo, to become the decade's hottest boy band property.
What do they think of Cowell? Do they watch the X Factor? Who is the fittest, Cheryl or Dannii? Actually...
If you are the last man on Earth, with just two women left, Dannii and Cheryl, who do you pick?
"Cheryl for me," he says.
"Dannii's lovely, I love Dannii, she's a sweet girl but Cheryl's just perfect. Very hot."
It was their performance of the current No. 1 single Everybody In Love on the show two weeks ago that gave the X-Factor its series peak with an audience of nearly 14 million.
Humes, who was named after Marvin Gaye ("I was born the year after he died"), is in a room at his record company HQ in London. The label treats them well: at September's MOBO awards in Glasgow the quartet turned up in individual, chauffeured Lotus sports cars.
After picking up awards for Best Newcomer and Best Song, Marvin, Aston Merrygold, Jonathan "JB'" Gill and Oritsé Williams were sent into a room to handpick designer clothes and jewellery. "It's not all the time," says Marvin. "The MOBO Awards had a gifting lounge. We're very fortunate. We do get a lot of freebies, which is great.
"Christmas is taken care of, really."
He's diplomatic about the album battle with Robbie on Sunday; their self-titled debut is vying for the No.1 spot with Williams' comeback release, Reality Killed The Video Star.
"You know what, for us, just to be up against someone like Robbie is incredible," is all he'll say.
The album features nine songs co-written by JLS – unusual for any boy band.
"Yeah, it is, for an act coming out of X Factor. We've been extremely lucky. The label put us in the studio for two months and said, If you come up with the goods they'll make the album."
JLS had been together a year before they entered the X Factor.
"The name came from our British identity," says Marvin. Jack the Lad Swing was a composite of their cheeky onstage persona and the US music genre New Jack Swing that had produced Jodeci and Boyz II Men.
As the eldest of the four, is he, perhaps, the sensible one?
"I'd think the boys would say I am because I'm the oldest but we've all got a sensible streak in us."
Aston gets the most attention, he admits, but not because he's better looking.
"He was like the lead singer towards the end of the X Factor. He's very popular with the fans and hence, popular with the ladies."
And Aston has family in Nottingham, he reveals. Scream! We'll say no more. We don't want you lot camping outside their homes...