One Direction: The Totally Nuts Interview

One Direction’s latest autobiography Who We Are might be a perfect gift for Christmas, but at this most wonderful time of the year, we just want to know who in the band has been naughty and who has been nice. Guilty Pleasures caught up with the boys this week for some rapid questions.

It’s Christmas time boys, everyone wants to know who in the band has been naughty and who has been nice?
Niall: I have been great.
Harry: He helped an old lady across the street….but he actually left her half way. He wasn’t as nice as we originally thought.
Louis: Niall has been the naughtiest. He steals old ladies handbags.
Harry: That’s why he left her in the middle of the street.

What is your craziest story involving Sinitta?
Liam: Our craziest story is still from The X Factor when she came out with us dressed in leaves.
Harry: Niall slept with Sinitta. Wearing leaves.
Louis: That sounds like we’re joking but that did actually happen.
Niall: My favourite story about Sinitta is when she took a penalty on us in A League Of Their Own. She scored past Harry.

When did Simon Cowell last get cross with you?
Louis: Simon don’t really get angry though, does he, like? He don’t ever raise his voice.
Niall: Sometimes he will do that disappointed voice but he hasn’t done that in a while. I’ve never really seen him angry at all. Even with the people he works with. He just gets his point across in a relaxed manner.
Harry: He will be angry when he realises that Eric is Niall’s.
Liam: This interview is crazy.
Niall: I am going to have to do some serious apologising to Simon now!
Liam: I’ve not met the kid yet.

You’re on tour again next year – who is the worst for farting on the tour bus?
Liam: To be fair, Niall, you do just let rip at random occasions. And they are proud farts. They are not quiet ones. They are not smelly. But they are musical.
Zayn: The farts used to be worse, but now they are calmer.
Liam: Did you know that Niall can’t burp?
Niall: Yes. That’s something people don’t know about me. I had cholic as a child and didn’t have power over my muscles in my throat. The muscles moved down here [points to bum].

When was the last time one of you walked in on the other naked?
Louis: Someone just walked in on me having a wee, actually.
Liam: [To Louis] You walked past me having a wee the other day. The toilet in the hotel had a window and I was having a piss and then I turned round and he was looking at me.
Louis: A lot of hotels have windows in the bathroom.
Harry: The Standard in New York has windows where you wee. It’s ridiculous.

Harry – who would you rather be stuck in a lift with: Caroline Flack, Taylor Swift, or Kendall Jenner?
Harry: Erm… well I have had amicable relationships with all of them, so that’s a trick question.

All of them at the same time? Would that be fun?
Harry: I see what you are doing…I don’t know.

Would you give Caroline a shoulder to cry on now she’s single again or give her advice?
Harry: Erm… what a question!
[Publicist] Next Question!

Who did you last snog? With tongues? Zayn – we’re assuming Perrie?
Zayn: Yeah, my bird.
Liam: I love how Louis and I have girlfriends, but you’ve not asked like we are out snogging fans all the time.
Harry: Niall’s was Ariana Grande. And Caroline Flack at the same time. They were stuck in a lift.
Liam: That was Niall’s relationship advice for Caroline. And Sinitta was there as well. Wearing leaves.

[Printed Metro December 2014]

Ariana Grande: I'd prefer a guy to cheat on me with another guy

Ariana Grande says she is convinced an ex-boyfriend cheated on her with another guy – but says it would be much worse if he had cheated on her with another girl.

The 21-year-old Problem singer says she is ready to be honest about her love woes and reveals all on a new track from her upcoming second album.

‘There is a song called Break Your Heart Right Back which is about a boy that cheats on a girl with another boy. It’s one of my favourites on the album and it’s really funny to me,’ the pop beauty told Guilty Pleasures in an exclusive chat.

‘I believe it has happened to me. I’m not going to say I’m 100 per cent positive, but I’m 99.9 per cent positive,’ she said, adding the heartache would be more traumatic if a guy left her for another woman.

‘I would rather he cheats on me with a guy than with a girl any day! Oh please! Oh my god. If I found out my boyfriend was gay, I would be like “Ok!” I’d be so relieved,’ Grande laughed.

‘It would be so much better than finding out he was cheating on me with a girl. Of course we would be friends! Absolutely,’ she added.

With her album, called My Everything, due for release on August 25, fans of the singer can expect to hear other tales from her love diary.

‘A lot of the album is about love. It’s definitely really fun to sing about,’ she said.

Grande also revealed she she won’t scrap her duet with former lover Nathan Sykes from her future live set lists – and might even call up her ex to join her on stage.

The American beauty recorded a track called Almost Is Never Enough with former The Wanted star Sykes when they dated last year but says the memory of what they had and lost won’t impact her performing their track.

‘I don’t think it would be awkward to perform with Nathan. That would be professional,’ Grande explained, adding she has no ill feelings following her four month romance with 21-year-old Sykes.

‘I wish him well. He’s a great person, it just wasn’t right. You know?’ she said of their past.

The singer explains that love is a frequent influence when it comes to penning her tracks and says it can be upsetting singing the songs once the love is no longer there.

‘It brings back the memories but I love it because it was real and I get to capture that in the song. It’s like a love-hate thing. That can be so emotional sometimes,’ she said.

Boys aside, Grande is thrilled to be featuring on new single Bang Bang alongside Nicki Minaj and Jessie J after the girls reworked the song she originally wrote.

‘All of a sudden [music manager] Monte Lipman sat me down in his office one day and played it for me with Jessie and Nicki on it and I had a heart attack! It was the best surprise ever!’ she gushed.

Union J eye Iggy Azlea and Little Mix duets

Union J say they would love to get a couple of babes – and possibly a baby – on to one of their singles.

Proud dad JJ Hamblett, 26, said his six-month-old son Princeton could add vocals to a track in a similar way to how Mariah Carey’s three-year-old twins sang on her latest album.

‘He doesn’t speak at the moment so it would be a bit difficult, but maybe the next album. That would be cool,’ Hamblett told me.

He added that the band – which includes Josh Cuthbert, 21, Jaymi Hensley, 24 and 20-year-old George Shelley – would love to draft in some female vocalists as well.

‘We’d love to do a song with Little Mix,’ the former X Factor star said, adding that Australian rap babe Iggy Azalea was also a target.

‘Me and George are huge fans of Iggy. We said eight months ago when she released Work that we would love to collaborate with her. And she just collaborated with Ariana Grande. She is so cool,’ he gushed.

It could become possible because Union J and Azalea are set to take to the stage at the Capital Summertime Ball in London’s Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

‘I’ve planned it already. I’m going to go backstage and put the idea out there. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know,’ he laughed.

Union J will perform their new single Tonight (We Live Forever), which is released in August, live on Saturday.

‘It’s about partying all night and being with your friends,’ Hamblett said of the song – adding that his young son with model girlfriend Caterina Lopez is not keeping him awake at night.

‘Do you know what? He sleeps all the way through. We are so lucky.’

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Thursday 19 June 2014]

The Vamps reveal celebrity crushes

While it is no secret James McVey of The Vamps is a Taylor Swift obsessive (he tweets her ALL the time), apparently she’s not the only one he has his eyes on.

And his bandmates Connor Ball, 20; Tristan Evans, 19 and Brad Simpson, 18, also want to meet some famous women.

In a break between gigs to promote their debut album, Meet The Vamps, the lads revealed who their dream dates would be.

James, are you still obsessing over Taylor Swift?

JM: I actually have many crushes at the moment. I feel a bit naughty. I am sort of cheating on Taylor with a few other babes. There are a few actresses that tickle my fancy. I like a Coronation Street actress – Georgia May Foote. But I’m not confident at all when it comes to talking to girls. I just abuse them on Twitter and send them loads of tweets.

What about the rest of you?

TE: I like Iggy Azalea. I haven’t tweeted her to let her know. I’m just waiting to meet her and then see if she’s too gangster for me. She would destroy me.

CB: I want to go out with Arianna Grande or Mila Kunis. She’s so hot.

And you, Brad?

BS: Zooey Deschannell. She’s funny, she’s quirky. She’s a bit different.

Ariana Grande to record Halloween EP

Ariana Grande says she is planning to become the soundtrack to all our festive holidays.

‘I love Christmas but I like Halloween more,’ the 20-year-old tbabe old Guilty Pleasures as she went over her collection of Christmas ditties.

‘I’m doing a Halloween EP next year! I’ve said it first! I called Scooter [her manager] the other day and I said “Why are we doing a Christmas EP?” and he was like “Because it’s Christmas and the happiest time of year. You need to do Christmas music – you have the perfect voice for it.” And I was like “We’re doing a Halloween EP next year!” And he said “I am down with it!” I’ll look dope as a vampire!’

With ghosts, ghoulies and vampires all proving to be terrifying fictional monsters, Grande has revealed she has a real-life fear for her own fans who have been recently ‘killing themselves’ trying to vote her champion of an MTV award online.

‘My fans are literally killing themselves trying to get me to win. And it’s very flattering and sweet and I love my fans so much. But I want my fans to be healthy and sleep!’ she said.

‘I’m so happy with a nomination – that means the world to me, but that’s all I need. I love the dedication [of my fans] and I live for them, they are the sweetest kids in the world, but this award thing has got to a point where I am scared for them. They are fighting and I don’t condone that drama. They’re getting a hard time from other music fans and they’re all fighting for who they want to win the award. I wish they could just vote peacefully,’ she said.

Grande will release a new Christmas track every week until December 11 with two cover tracks and two original numbers as part of her Christmas Kisses campaign.

[Originally published Metro Guilty Pleasures Thursday 21 November 2013]

Ariana Grande discusses Kabbalah and spiritualism

Ariana Grande is following in Madonna and Ashton Kutcher’s footsteps by joining the celebrity Kabbalah craze.

The 20-year-old lover of The Wanted’s Nathan Sykes shared her drastic spiritual switch exclusively with Guilty Pleasures as she took up hosting duties backstage at the star-studded MTV EMA in Amsterdam.

‘I was born Roman Catholic but I lost faith when the Pope decided to tell me everything I loved and believed in was wrong,’ said Grande, who added she started losing her faith when the Vatican apparently started criticising her favourite cartoons.

‘[The church] said Spongebob Squarepants is gay and he’s a sinner and he should burn in hell. And Harry Potter was a sin. And working women. I was like “Enough! First the gays, then Spongebob and now Harry Potter? Get out my house!” I was not having it. And the working woman thing? It was a moment for me. I needed something else to believe in,’ she ranted.

The star says following Madge’s lead has given her a winning approach to life.

‘It is the practice of being a good person and how that will manifest good things in your life. People don’t really realise that if you are kind you can make all sorts of things happen for you,’ she added.

On Sunday evening, the pop babe was racing about backstage interviewing performers from the night, including Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus – but confessed to Guilty Pleasures she is surprised by her own success in Europe.

‘London, Paris and Berlin have been crazy! We got mobbed in Paris. [My creative director] lost his soya latte in the crowd, I lost my mom. I was like “where is my mom? Can y’all calm down?” My videographer Jones and my guitarist got lost in the mob. It was crazy. But that’s one way to die, huh? Death by love via Parisian fans!’

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Monday 11 November 2013]