Emeli Sandé eyes Bond score, Olympic gold and fears X-rated Jaguar collaboration

Emeli Sandé says she doesn’t understand why people compare her to Adele and says she would rather score and entire Bond film than just sing its theme song.

The 27-year-old Scottish songstress may have emulated the Someone Like You singer in penning the biggest selling record of the year, but Sandé thinks their material is worlds apart.

‘I guess it’s because we are both quite soulful, we’re both British, we’re both girls… It’s lovely and I am a fan of hers, but I think there are other people that both of us can be compared to,’ she said.

Admitting she would love to win Grammy awards like her chart rival, the Clown singer says also fancies getting her teeth into a 007 soundtrack.

‘I’d love to do film scores. Bond would be cool, but I love classical music, so composing would be a big dream,’ she said.

‘I think visuals and music go together beautifully. I’d love to write a musical as well. I have ideas every day about musicals,’ she teased.

Despite being one of the biggest recording artists in the UK, Sandé says the industry she works in is too male dominated.

‘The music world is 100% male dominated,’ she warns.

‘I think when women start writing that’s where the real control is as you are giving a message out to people. But it’s a business and a lot of women just want to stay creative – which I respect. But I think it’s harder to get control if you are a woman.’

Meanwhile Sandé fears her next music offering could turn X-rated as she has been asked to write an exclusive track to promote the launch of the new Jaguar XE Sports Saloon.

The Next To Me hitmaker is asking fans to send inspiration for lyrics via social media using a unique hashtag to influence her FEEL XE Exhilaration track.

‘I’m asking fans for things that sound exhilarating and things that get their hearts going. I am going to sit and watch them all and see what song comes out,’ she explained.

But on realising her description could inspire some saucy suggestions, she laughed: ‘Maybe I will get more X-rated tweets and it could get really RnB.’

Away from her own music, the singer revealed she has also been working with Rihanna and Mary J Blige to help them create their own new records.

‘Mary has been with me this past week. Sitting next to a legend and listening to her sing your words is a real buzz,’ she gushed.

The petite star also revealed she has developed an ambition to compete in the next Olympic Games having performed at the 2012 London closing ceremony.

‘I just got a trampoline. I’m trying to learn some tricks although I’m a bit scared. Next Olympics I could be a trampoline gold medallist,’ she laughed.

And while it seems to have been all work, work, work (and trampolining) for the chart topper, Sandé says she knows how to party.

Spotted at Tinie Tempah’s 25th birthday party in London last November, the Scot was appeared to enjoy herself as bottle after bottle of sparkler adorned champagne arrived at her roped off table.

‘I guess because I spend so much time in the studio that when I go out I like to go for it. I have a wild side. I do,’ she giggled.

[Elements of this article appeared in Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Tuesday 29 July 2014]

Melissa Steel wants to sing at Zayn Malik and Perrie Edwards wedding

Kisses For Breakfast singer Melissa Steel says she’d love to be a wedding singer for her old school mate Zayn Malik.

The 20-year-old has been friends with the 1D hunk for years and is willing to offer her services for his big day with Perrie Edwards.

‘I haven’t spoken to him about the wedding, but hopefully I can be singing there,’ the Bradford lass laughed.

‘We were at school together and in the same year and had classes together. He’s always been supportive of me and we’ve been supportive of each other. I am proud of him,’ she gushed.

Revealing Malik, 21, was a squeaky clean student, Steel admits she was a much more disruptive pupil in comparison.

‘I wouldn’t say I was a rebel, but if I had an argument with a teacher, the argument would last for the whole lesson,’ she said.

With her debut single out this week, the singer says she would love to get the 1D star involved as a guest vocalist for one of her album tracks.

‘We always used to talk about doing a YouTube video together but we never got round to it because obviously the One Direction thing took off. His voice is so RnB so if we did a song it would be amazing. I’d love to make that happen,’ she said.

Chris Pratt: My wife likes me fat

Chris Pratt says he loved getting in shape for his leading role in Guardians of the Galaxy, but explained his wife Anna Farris was less thrilled.

The 35-year-old TV actor graduates to big screen leading man in the action flick and got whipped in to shape for his role, but his 37-year-old wife prefers him with a bit of blubber.

'She likes abs, but she likes her fat husband better,' the funny man said at the film's European Premiere in London's Liecester Square.

'She's a feeder! She wants to keep me locked up in the bedroom all fat and eating Kentucky Fried Chicken,' he added.

Having shed the pounds and bulked up the muscle, Pratt also says he doesn't mind feeling objectified when he has to strip down for certain scenes in the film.

'Do I think I'm being objectified as a sexual object? It feels good!' he laughed, adding that getting in shape for the space adventure left him feeling in the best condition of his life.

'I became much healthier and I feel younger than when I started making this movie,' he said.

WIth the film filled with gags throughout, the former Parks and Recreation star says he had an easy way to keep a straight face when cameras were rolling.

'When every frame of film costs fifty thousand dollars, they get really pissed when you start blowing it by laughing in takes,' he warned.

Karen Gillan talks naked selfies and kicking ass in Guardians of the Galaxy

Karen Gillan wants to assure everyone that an apparent naked selfie that went viral online is not what it seems.

The 26-year-old red haired beauty can be seen covering her modesty in an online snap that is taken from her upcoming US TV show - also called Selfie.

'I didn't post the naked selfie. It's just a screen grab from the TV show so I want to get that straight so my mum can know that,' the Scottish star giggled at the European Premiere of her new film, Guardians Of The Galaxy.

Gillan says she relished letting out her bad side in the new movie as she plays intergalactic villain Nebula in the Marvel action adventure.

'It's really fun to indulge that side of things. I've never played a baddie before and she's just a total sadist and has men in headlocks. That is fun,' she said.

She also explained she followed the no pain no gain adage while training for the film, but doesn't mind suffering for her art.

'I was covered in bruses consistently the whole time. It was a challenge for me becasue I've never done anythihng so physical before so I had to work out four times a week and do martial arts training so I can throw a good punch.'

Dazzling on the red carpet in a Louis Vuitton outfit, Gillan also said she is more than happy to fight co-star Zoe Saldana on-screen, but says she can't compete with her when it comes to the style stakes.

'I'm not taking on Zoe Saldana in a frock off,' she laughed.

'She is amazing! She would always win.'

Zoe Saldana loves her Guardians of the Galaxy girl fight

Zoe Saldana says she is so bored of beating up men in her action flicks that it was a thrill to finally fight another girl in Guardians Of The Galaxy.

The 36-year-old American actress goes head to head with British beauty Karen Gillan in the latest Marvel comic book blockbuster and she thinks audiences are gagging for a bit of girl on girl action too.

'It's actually harder to beat up a woman or have a woman beat you up, than beat up a man. That's easy. I do that every day. I call it a Tuesday,' the Sci-Fi babe said on the red carpet for the film's European premiere.

'What I find very encouraging and thrilling for me is when you have more than one female character in a movie. Especially if they get to interact with each other and especially if they get to beat the crap out of each other. I just feel that is such an unconventional thing to see, so people love to see that more. Audiences are starving for it,' she said.

Dressed in an elegant Valentino gown outside the Empire cinema in Liecester Square for the event, Saldana teased that fans of the film will get even more of an eyefull when the flick is released on DVD.

'You know there is a deleted scene where we are fighting naked too. But that will have to wait for the DVD,' she winked.

Taking a more serious tone, the star - who has played leading roles in Avatar and Star Trek - fears there is a lack of strong female characters in the movie business.

'I think there has always been a lack of female presdence in the artof any sort. Art is meant to imitate life and and for some reason, women's beauty is exposed more than the interior of a woman and women have so many layers - just like beautiful men do,' she said.

Quickfire Q&A: James Gunn at Guardians of the Galaxy premiere

Guardians of the Galaxy is the vision of director James Gunn who finds an incredible balance between action and humour to create the summer's most impressive blockbuster.

With the film featuring a wide cast of actors - including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Benicio Del Toro, Glenn Close, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper and more - the skilled writer and director does the impossible: he made a film that doesn't feel overcrowded despite all the A-listers on screen.

Joined by a raccoon (named Oreo) on the red carpet of the European premiere in London's Leicester Square, the filmmaker took a few minutes to answer some quick questions.

Guardians of the Galaxy is an awesome action flick with a great balance of peril and rib cracking humour. Was it hard to prevent everyone laughing the‎ whole time when you made it?

We laughed a lot! We screwed up a lot - including me. I screwe‎d up a lot of takes. Chris Pratt screwed up a lot of takes. I think the only person who didn't screw up takes was my brother, Sean, who played Rocket on set and he was very professional.

There are a few CGI characters in the film (a CGI raccoon called Rocket and a living tree called Groot), but did you have actual people playing the roles so the other actors could have a focal point?

My brother, Sean, played Rocket and a lot of the facial expressions you see on that character were taken directly from my brother.

How does he feel about Bradley Cooper stealing all his credit?

He loves it! My brother actually also plays Kraglin in the movie so he had another role. Bradley has been the most generous ‎guy of all. Half of his interviews on the red carpet are about Sean because they worked in collaboration to create this character. We also worked in collaboration with a company called Framestore to develop this character with the CGI, so there are a lot of people who made this character come to life.

Why do you think it's the right time for the Guardians to enter the Marvel universe?

You‎ know, I think it is the right time for this movie in general. I think there are a lot of movies out there that are so brooding and so dark and sometimes there is this layer of darkness over a movie to make up for the fact that there is no character or story. Other movies are out there and it's an endless string of explosions and action sequences with no characters or love in between. This is a movie that is first and foremost about the characters and their relationships. It should work if it was an independent movie, but we added space battles and all the other stuff.

How did you craft the story when there are so many characters to juggle?

It really is about balance and making sure all the characters have a beginning a middle and an end and really taking care and loving each of them and making sure when you right the screenplay so that you can read the script and cross out the character's name and you can see how they are speaking and you know exactly who that character is just by the way they speak.

There are infinity stones in this film and Thanos as well - how heavily will Guardians of the Galaxy influence future instalments in the Marvel cinematic universe?

We have The Collector come out and tell you everything about the infinity stones. Hopefully The Collector is telling the truth, he's not the most trustworthy guy in the universe, but what the stuff that Benicio, the Collector, says is really important to the rest of the Marvel universe.

How do you think the Guardians will fit in to an Avengers film?

We will have to see. Maybe it will be a couple of Guardians that will meet up with them one day. Maybe more... I don't know. We will need to figure it out.

Will you direct Guardians 2?

If there is a sequel, I will come! I will direct the sequel if there is a sequel.

Charli XCX: Iggy Azalea and I are underdogs who won

Charli XCX says she and Iggy Azalea overcame racist jibes and underdog status to rule the American charts.

The 21-year-old British pop babe says it was not an easy ride to the top for either of them, but the pair are enjoying having the last laugh.

‘People give Iggy a hard time because she’s Australian and white and female and apparently that’s a weird thing, which I don’t get,’ she told Guilty Pleasures in an exclusive chat.

‘People also view me as an underdog so I think it’s cool that we came together and had this girl power moment and were No. 1 in the states for seven weeks. We really proved everyone wrong which I think was really cool.’

With her own synthpop track Boom Clap heading for British chart success this week, Charli said she is glad people are taking note of her solo work.

‘I would never change my style or my way of song-writing just to fit in with what other people think is cool or commercial.

‘It’s cool people now think my s*** is cool – but I won’t change if it becomes not cool either,’ she laughed.

Charli, aka Charlotte Aitchison, also revealed she is angling for a Coldplay duet after supporting Chris Martin and Co on tour back in 2012 and explained she was so overwhelmed by their recent album, Ghost Stories, that she was reduced to tears.

‘I actually listened to that record on a plane the other day and I cried! I think that album is so good,’ she gushed.

‘To collaborate definitely would be cool. I think Chris Martin is one of the best, top line writers around at the moment. I’ve always thought his melodies are incredible.’

And it is not just Coldplay Charli has her sights on – she also wants to work with Bill Murray.

She admitted she had more than a passing interest in the 63-year-old Lost In Translation actor.

‘I sometimes ask for a framed picture of Bill Murray on my rider just because I think he is really cool,’ she said.

‘There are a few I have collected and some of them have been in nice frames!’

‘I have a weird Bill Murray collection, I guess. Although it’s not some weird obsession.

‘It would be sick to have him in a music video.’

No stranger to music, Murray was once MC for Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival.

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Thursday 24 July 2014]

Danny O'Donoghue jealous of The Script bandmate anonymity

Danny O’Donoghue says he is envious of the anonymity his fellow The Script bandmates enjoy as he can’t enjoy life’s temptations so freely.

The brooding 33-year-old Dubliner would be easy to spot on the streets after being placed in the spotlight thanks to his coaching position on mainstream TV show The Voice.

‘They can drink and smoke every night if they want but I can’t because I’m the f***ing lead singer. I’m totally missing out,’ O’Donoghue told Guilty Pleasures, comparing himself to guitarist Mark Sheehan, 38, and 34-year-old drummer Glen Power.

‘I can’t do that s*** every night. So I’m jealous for a lot of different reasons. The day the band finishes, I’m going to start another band and become the guitarist,’ he said mischievously.

Having left The Voice after series two last year, O’Donoghue says he is not worried about the band falling back into obscurity without a Primetime show to provide added exposure.

‘The show had an amazing reach and was an amazing platform but it wasn’t like I was on it every week saying “Buy The Script’s records” or singing our songs,’ he said.

‘We announced we were going to do a Google Hangout last week and we became the number one trend worldwide on Twitter, so I really don’t think we’ll have a problem getting the news out.’

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Tuesday 22 July 2014]

Pixie Lott guns for TV matchmaking show

Pixie Lott is impressed Cheryl Fernandez-Versini tied the knot after just a few months of dating – when marriage isn’t even on the cards for her and boyfriend of four years Oliver Cheshire.

The 23-year-old pop beauty reckons Chez Fe-Vez, 31, has her ideal picture of marriage set in her head after she got it wrong with Ashley Cole first time around.

‘Maybe she just knows that it’s right? Every situation is different for different people. Maybe she just wants to settle down and have babies,’ Lott told Guilty Pleasures.

However the Kiss The Stars singer admitted she wasn’t yet considering taking the plunge with her 26-year-old model beau but is quite a good matchmaker.

‘I set one of my best friends, Carla, up with my other friend Oss,’ she explained.

‘I had a song called Broken Arrow and Ossian is the boy in the video I do the dance partner work with. We were already friends at school but then we met up again through the video and we became good friends again.

‘Then it was Carla’s birthday so I told him to come down and they got on like a house on fire.

‘Two weeks after I was on tour and booked them both to be dancers so they were together every day on tour and now they’ve been together for four years.’

Lott, whose new single Lay Me Down is out a week on Sunday is so confident about her Cupid abilities she thinks she should be commissioned to bring love alive.

‘I should have a TV show. I could bring together on tour – it’s worked in the past. I could match-make people in the crowd,’ she laughed.

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Thursday 17 July 2014]

Rixton's Jake wants to dance like Nicole Scherzinger

British band Rixton may be in a chart battle with Nicole Scherzinger for this weekend’s number 1 single, but frontman Jake Roche is such a fan he wants the former Pussycat Doll to be his dance coach.

The cheeky 21-year-old singer – the son of Shane Richie and Coleen Nolan – says he has met 36-year-old Scherzy several times but is yet to get one-on-one tuition.

‘Has she ever taught me how to be an erotic dancer? Not yet! I mean, I look at the videos and I try to copy ‘em, but there’s only so much I can do while wearing a bra before it looks a bit wrong,’ he chuckled during an exclusive chat with Guilty Pleasures.

Roche and his pop/RnB bandmates Charley Bagnall, 28, Lewi Morgan, 26 and Danny Wilkin, 24 have their eyes on Sunday’s top spot with infectious tune Me and My Broken Heart and have agreed to get matching tattoos if they beat off Scherzy.

‘We want to get a broken heart single tattooed on each other. But if Nicole does beat us, I might just have to get a Pussycat Dolls shrine tattooed on my neck,’ Roche laughed.

The Manchester-based group have already proven a hit in the USA where they are managed by Justin Bieber’s manger, Scooter Braun.

And while the boys couldn’t make 33-year-old Braun’s star-studded wedding to philanthropist Yael Cohen last week, they reckon he’d be chuffed if they rule the charts.

‘We did get invited but we missed it as we were gigging in Manchester, London and Birmingham,' Roche said of Rixton's workload.

'A number one should be a good wedding present for him. I don’t know what you buy a man like that but hopefully we can get him a number one.’

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Wednesday 16 July 2014]

Amelia Lily loves drinking...and cleaning

Amelia Lily is ready for a booze-up to celebrate her pop comeback – as soon as she can tear herself away from her mop and bucket.

The 19-year-old X Factor star said she has developed a love for cleaning but her Geordie roots mean she knows how to live it up when she does head out for a night on the town.

‘I like to have a party and I like to drink. I’m a northerner – I’ve got a Geordie dad so I like to let my hair down,’ she told Guilty Pleasures in an exclusive chat.

'I’ve not had a mad one in a while. I need one. I’ve just kind of got more domesticated. I’ve become a bit of an old woman,’ she went on.

‘I like to clean and I’m just getting the hang of using the iron. So rock and roll, I know.’

Lily is now gearing up to release her new song, California – a summer pop tune that is all about a long distance relationship between a guy and a girl who are constantly flying between LA and London and passing each other like ships in the night.

While the singer was known to be dating Lawson hunk Adam Pitts last year, she refuses to say if the song – out on August 24 – is about him.

‘I can’t name names. I don’t kiss and tell. I’ll have to keep you guessing,’ she teased.

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Tuesday 15 July 2014]

Ella Eyre in bus crash horror

Ella Eyre got quite the scare when she 'dodged death' in a crash on her way back from Glastonbury festival.

The 20-year-old pop babe was forced to cancel a planned appearance at an Irish music festival when her tour bus was written off.

But she managed to escape in one piece after being rudely awakened by the drama.

‘I didn’t even know we crashed – I was asleep!’ the If I Go singer revealed to Guilty Pleasures in an exclusive chat.

‘I woke up when I slid off the seat. I was in the living room with my band and everyone was chilling with laptops and stuff and suddenly the bus halted really quickly,’ she continued.

‘My keyboard player flew over the table, over two people, banged his head against the door and landed on the stairs. It was horrific. But he was alright in the end.’

The husky voiced Londoner insisted her bus driver was not at fault for sending her tumbling to the floor.

‘What happened was this woman had turned out to do a 360 because she was stuck in traffic and she didn’t look to see if anyone was coming and the bus had no time to stop. I dodged death!’ she said.

Eyre – able to laugh about the accident now she's safely back home – is hoping for better luck when she hits the road this weekend.

She is on the bill at the Wireless festival - performing in London today and in Birmingham on Sunday.

And the singer - whose real name is Ella McMahon - said her audiences can rest assured that she will give her all each time she gets on stage.

‘I will never mime. Anyone who comes to my shows will hear that my vocals are real. Mainly because I am out of breath half the time!’ she laughed.

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Friday 4 July 2014]

James Cordon begs Harry Styles to let him write for 1D

James Corden says he is constantly begging One Direction to let him write them a hit after he penned a tune in his new film.

The jolly 35-year-old comedian stars alongside Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo in music rom-com Begin Again and now he wants to use his new skills to help his mate Harry Styles.

‘I’d love to write with One Direction but I doubt they would let me. I’m constantly talking to Harry about letting me do anything,’ he revealed at the low key UK premiere at London’s Ham Yard hotel on Wednesday.

Corden also revealed he is working on a TV project with HBO – which is notorious for sex and violence filled shows like Game of Thrones and Sex & The City – however he’s not sure how extreme his own efforts will be.

‘Can I write a good sex scene? I’ve not given it a huge amount of thought!’ he laughed.

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Friday 4 July 2014]

Quickfire Q&A: Keira Knightley - romantic scenes, comic book movies and faking it with a guitar

Screen beauty Keira Knightley may be about to giver her Kalxons husband James Righton a run for his money as she plays a romantic singer-songwriter in her new film Begin Again.

The 29-year-old stars opposite Mark Ruffalo and is joined by James Corden and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine in his big screen debut.

Knightley stopped by the Ham Yard hotel in London to answer some quick questions about her latest role.

Some actors say they think of sad experience when working on sad scenes in films. As Begin Again is a romantic comedy, do you think of your husband when performing the more romantic scenes?

When I do sad scenes, I don’t think about sad things that happened in my life. It’s about the script and the story. In exactly the same way in romantic scenes, I think of the script and story and try and do that justice. Like a proper actress, I know!

Did your husband James give you any advice for the singing scenes?

He didn’t give any. He was like “aw, you’ll be fine! Don’t worry about it!”

In the film you play guitar – is that a skill you’ve retained?

I can’t play guitar but I think I could fake it. I knew what the chords were for the songs and I could kind of play them really badly but I couldn’t play and sing at the same time. Who knew that would be so difficult?

What was it like working with Adam Levine? How do you rate him as an actor?

He is great. He’s just lovely and an amazing entertainer. He’s a total natural and I kept forgetting it was his first film. I thought he was totally sensational.

And you worked with Mark Ruffalo who is very focused on Avengers at the moment. Would you consider getting involved in an action comic book movie?

If I found one that I liked. I read quite a lot of them but I haven’t found one that has been right at that particular moment.

Do you think there is a lack of strong or realistic female characters in comic book films?

I don’t think you look for realistic female characters in comic book movies. I don’t think you look for realistic male characters in comic book movies. I don’t think that’s what they are about. Anne Hathaway was great as Catwoman. And Scarlett Johansson [who plays Black Widow in Marvel films] is always wonderful.

McBusted: Matt and Dougie on boobs and drugs

Matt Willis has confessed he still thinks about alcohol and drugs ‘every single day’ but said he is glad to leave his addictions in the past.

The 31-year-old, who has gone into rehab three times, told Guilty Pleasures he would have been an addict even if he hadn’t found fame.

‘Sometimes you have a romanticism about the past and stuff but you know that was the past and it’s the past for a very good reason,’ the McBusted star said. ‘And I am constantly reminded of that every time I wake up.’

The singer – married to TV beauty Emma Willis, 38 – also put his substance abuse problems down to his personality and not his success in mid-noughties punk band Busted.

‘I would’ve ended up the same way if I was an accountant or if I worked in Tesco. It’s the way I am,’ he said.

‘Maybe because I had a bit of money that allowed me to progress quickly. But I don’t think me being in a pop band or anybody being in a pop band puts you in a position where you have to go off the rails. It’s very much on the person and what that person chooses to do.’

The star will join the other McBusted boys – James Bourne, Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Harry Judd and Dougie Poynter on stage for the Barclaycard Presents British Summer Time in Hyde Park on Sunday – but it won’t be the last of the supergroup.

Poynter, 26, explained they are already working on new material – which means McFly’s planned sixth studio album is on hold.

‘We had an album ready to go but we spent too much time mixing it and then thought “Sod it. Let’s do the McBusted thing!” But we might use songs from that and Matt and I have been writing about boobs!’ the cheeky lad laughed.

Confirming the saucy new tune, Willis added: ‘We wrote a little song about boobs, which is fantastic. It is an appreciation song, more than anything.’

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Thursday 3 July 2014]

5SOS talk private jets, chocolate milk and the mile high club

Australian punk rock band 5 Seconds Of Summer are looking forward to the day they can travel by private jet.

The Don’t Stop singers have been supporting One Direction on their world tour but have been forced to travel by bus while the 1D lads zipped off in their own private jets.

‘We couldn’t afford our own jets yet. That’s the thing you can do once you’ve done massive things in your career,’ 19-year-old Ashton Irwin from the band told Guilty Pleasures.

Jets could soon be on the band’s shopping list, however, as their self-titled album out this week is hotly tipped to top the charts around the world.

However Irwin says any mid-air antics would be pretty tame.

‘There would probably be some chocolate milk and maybe an X Box,’ he said, adding: ‘And none of us would join the Mile High club.’

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Thursday 3 July 2014]