Pop Buzz UK

Britain’s Got Talent started very ropily last year, but was saved when Paul Potts came on stage and blew everyone away. This mild mannered mobile phone salesman got over his crippling lack of confidence to win the final by singing opera like an Italian tenor.

Since then Potts has gone on to have a best selling album and is playing venues around the world. But that was last year, and we need another winner of his calibre. Unfortunately, based on the first episode which has just aired on ITV, that ultra talented individual is going to take a bit of searching.

Don’t get me wrong, there were some good performers on show tonight. The dog was talented, the Christina Aguilera-alikes were nice in their own right, the electric string quartet called Scala were brilliant, and beautiful too. And last but not least there was the Pie Jesu singing 13 year old bully victim.

They were all very good, and the latter even made the hairs on the back of my neck tingle in the same way that Potts managed 12 months ago. However, his voice will break, and then he’ll just become another average singer who Simon Cowell will abuse till kingdom come.

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Kylie Minogue, she’s almost British, even though she’s an Australian by the simple technicality of being born over there. She launched her pop career here under defunct record label Stock, Aitken and Waterman, and now spends most of her time in the UK, living here when she’s not gallivanting around the world on tour… she’s even appeared in Doctor Who for cripes sakes!

So that’s my justification for writing about her here on Pop Buzz UK.

The latest saga to emerge from camp Kylie is the video for new single Wow (crappy title, not bad song) being banned from British television, or at least it’s first version.

The video was meant to be getting an exclusive première on Channel 4 last Wednesday, but was pulled at the last minute due to Ofcom (the television regulators) rules about flashing light effects.

The video heavily features strobe lighting which could affect epileptics and people sensitive to that sort of thing. Yes, while you’re happily sitting there watching a Kylie video, and wishing you could be her, or be with her, depending on your gender, you could suddenly start fitting or convulsing. Which isn’t a good look by anyone’s standards.

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It may be a bit late to the party, but Heroes finally got it’s terrestrial television debut on BBC2 last night with a double bill of the first 2 episodes. If you haven’t got Cable or Satellite TV and don’t download TV and from the Internet, this will be your first chance to see the show which rocked America last year.

The show is about a group of ordinary people who discover they have some extraordinary abilities, and shows them learning how to deal with them. But it’s much more than that, with connections between the characters, and sub plots and surprises around every corner. You can read my full preview of the show here.

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The latest Harry Potter film ‘The Order of the Phoenix‘ was given it’s European premiere on Wednesday and received almost universal praise from everyone present.

The film of the 5th book aired in London’s Leicester Square, and expectant fans flocked to catch a glimpse of the young stars despite the heavy rain which barraged them through the day. J.K. Rowling was also in attendance and revealed her feelings on finally completing the 7th and last book of the series “Finishing it was very, very emotional. It was a combination of relief and sadness really,” she said.

David Yates has directed this film and early reviews say a grittier, darker edge comes out, following the book quite closely as a coming of age story. Emma Watson, who plays Hermione said “The Order of the Phoenix is the most genuine of all the films so far, David wanted to find the truth from within all the characters.”
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No, thankfully I’m not talking about a recent experience I’ve had to endure, rather the new ITV1 chat come reality show called 24 hours with… The first episode of this intriguing new show aired on Monday night with Bobby Brown as the guest, and it made for some interesting viewing.

When I first heard the concept of this show ‘1 host, 1 guest, 1 room, 24 hours’ I was blown away by the simplicity but pure genius behind it. It’s one of those TV shows that you sit there and wonder why you didn’t think of first. Well, people sort of have done, with it being a cross between Big Brother, Parkinson, and Louis Theroux. The fact it’s 3 programmes rolled in to 1 is it’s good point, but also it’s downfall.
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Big Brother is back, and it’s bigger and supposedly better than ever. The huge twist this year, which was gradually revealed as the housemates entered the house was the lack of any males. Yes, that’s right, the first 11 HMs this year are all female, and what a lbunch of strange bods they are. For all you girls out there wanting a nice bit of totty to watch through the summer, don’t despair, there will be at least 1 guy entering the house on Friday. I suspect more will be introduced throughout the series too, with maybe mass evictions of the girls to even out the numbers.
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To celebrate Mitchell and Webb making, and releasing their first film, called ‘Magicians’, I thought I’d look back to last year, and their brilliant first series of ‘That Mitchell and Webb look’.

David Mitchell and Robert Webb are British comedians, who started on Play UK, before transferring their sketch show to BBC radio 4. As happened with ‘Little Britain’, the BBC know when they’re on to a good thing, and it wasn’t long before a full BBC2 show was commissioned, and aired at the end of last year. A second series is being made, and is due to air at the end of this year. They are also the geniuses behind ‘Peep Show’, that oh so strange Channel 4 sitcom where the cameras often shoot from the characters point of view, and we get to hear what they are thinking rather than saying.
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Wow, what a song! And video to boot. This was recommended to me by a friend of mine and I watched it for the first time, absolutely mesmerised first by what the guy says, and secondly the visual imagery of the video.
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The Arctic Monkeys are back, and what a song to come back with! This is their new single ‘Brianstorm’, the first off the forthcoming 2nd album ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’.
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This is Muse with their brand spanking new single ‘Invincible’ out in the UK on Monday 9th April. It’s the fourth single to be released from the haunting yet brilliant album ‘Black Holes And Revelations‘ which itself came out last July. The song is a fantastic floaty journey through what seems to be a person’s doubts and their need to overcome obstacles and come out the other side. It has a kind of romantic feel to it, yet the almost march like drum beat moves the pace of the song on nicely. About half way through the song, the strong bassline which is one of Muse’s strengths, comes in and from there the song builds up to a crescendo. (more…)

Let’s be honest, Sony have had more than their fair share of problems and bad PR with the new Ps3. From the high price point, the three-month delay, and finally the removal of the PlayStation 2’s chipset meaning only some older games will work on the new console, they have been many and varied. But all that was put to bed last Friday night, Saturday morning at midnight when the behemoth that is the Ps3 finally reached these shores. (more…)

Becoming Jane is the new period costume drama inspired and based on Jane Austen’s life. We have ‘Devil Wears Prada’ star Anne Hathaway playing the young Jane, controversial not because she’s a bad actor but because yet again we have an American actress playing a very English character. The story is based on Austen’s private letters and follows the story of her lovelife, as well as showing her being on the cusp of what was to be a great literary career. (more…)

This is the new single by the Scissor Sisters called ‘She’s My Man’. The third single to come from their brilliant second album ‘Ta-Dah’, and it carries on where ‘I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’ and the slightly less successful ‘Land Of A Thousand Words’. It’s another slice of catchy electro pop, exactly as we’ve come to expect from the band. The video meanwhile is one of the most ambitious they’ve done, with an animated feel as people in black contort and twist Jake and Ana’s bodies until their moves resemble something from ‘The Matrix’!

Song Rating: 7/10 Video Rating: 9/10 Overall: 8/10

Scissor Sisters, She’s My Man, Ta Dah, I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’, Land Of A Thousand Words, Electro Pop, The Matrix, Video, YouTube

This is the new song by ‘Rehab boy’ Robbie Williams called “She’s Madonna”. Despite his absence from the music scene, his mansion, parties and his usual celebrity life, he proves with this latest record that he’s still got it. It’s got a very 80s feel, which is a vibe the whole ‘Rudebox’ album seems to follow. The video fits the song and Robbie’s style supremely well too, proving his campness and metrosexual behaviour more than ever before.

Song Rating: 8/10 Video Rating: 8/10 Overall: 8/10

Rehab, Robbie Williams, She’s Madonna, Video, YouTube, 80s, Camp, Rudebox, Metrosexual

This is the new fantasy thriller movie and big US hit which hits UK cinemas today Friday 2nd March. Starring Nicholas Cage as the eponymous ‘Ghost Rider’ and his alter-ego Johnny Blaze, this is the latest comic book conversion to hit the big screen.

Cage’s Johnny Blaze is a daredevil stunt biker who, as a kid, sells his soul to Mephistopheles (played by the legendary Peter Fonda) to spare his dad from cancer. So the Devil kills his Dad in an accident instead and laughs his head off. In return, Blaze has been turned into the Ghost Rider – a mystical figure who collects on other contracts made by the devil with desperate souls who turn to Satan in a bid to avert disaster. (more…)