Paloma Faith: from BRITs to BAFTA? Eyeing major 'gritty' film role

She finally bagged a Brit, but Paloma Faith won’t stop there – she now has her eyes on an Oscar.

The singer, who scooped best female solo artist at last night’s ceremony, aims to step up her acting skills and thinks a role such as the battered wife played by Olivia Colemanin Paddy Considine’s film Tyrannosaur would be right up her street.

‘I’d be after something that challenges me to do something completely the opposite of what my public persona is. I would like to play a next door neighbour or something gritty,’ the Only Love Can Hurt Like This singer told Metro exclusively.

‘I am a big fan of Paddy Considine. If he does another film I would love to be in that,’ she continued, admitting she would love to be considered as an actress akin to Coleman.

‘I have started petitioning him! I direct messaged him on Twitter saying “If you do another film, please call me!” And he replied saying that in his house they were big fans of mine, him and his kids. Which was cute. I am sowing the seeds!’ she said.

However Faith – who played the girlfriend of the Devil in Terry Gilliam’s 2009 film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus – is not abandoning her music career yet as she hopes to have a new album out before the end of the year.

‘It’s an ambitious thing, but I’m hoping. That’s the idea. I’ve started writing but I haven’t been recording yet. It’s still very early days and I’ve just done a few days of writing so far,’ she teased.

[Printed Metro February 2015]

George Ezra almost decapitated by train

George Ezra may have lost out on all four of his nominated Brit award categories last night but he’s still a very lucky man after revealing he narrowly escaped being decapitated by a train.

The 21-year-old singer-songwriter almost lost his head in the near-miss last year, but says he was rescued by a guardian angel.

‘I was getting the train from Paddington to Bristol a few months ago and I couldn’t be happier to be getting out to the countryside,’ he recalled exclusively to Metro.

‘The sun was setting and after you go through the industrial areas and past Slough you are in the countryside and it’s beautiful. I had my head out the window and I had my eyes closed. And then I pulled my head in, for no apparent reason, and a train sped past the other way. I would have been fully decapitated. I turned white. I was like a ghost!’

Shuddering he says he learnt a valuable lesson: ‘We don’t put our heads out train windows, do we George?’

And Ezra – who topped the charts with his debut album Wanted On Voyage – says he is often left shaken by fans who tell him they make love listening to his music.

‘People have told me that,’ he confessed, before insisting he never listens to his own material when getting down to business himself.

‘Someone asked me if I listen to my album during sex and I just looked at him and said, “Are you f***ing serious? I do not put my album on before that!”’ he laughed.

[Printed Metro February 2015]

Pixie Lott: I used stick on bra to avoid 'wardrobe malfunction'

Pixie Lott was left in a mad panic on Wednesday night when she realised the elegant white gown she wore to the Brit awards was see-through.

The 23-year-old pop babe had to make a mad dash to find some equipment to help keep her assets concealed.

‘We had a bit of trouble because it is so see through and I tried everything. Nipple petals, the tit tape, and then last minute I had to rush out and get a stick on bra,’ she told Metro.

‘It is backless and you can’t just wear it with your boobs hanging out. But the stick on bra keeps everything in place,’ she winked.

However the gorgeous Londoner says she doesn’t live in fear of nipple slips.

‘I’m quite laid back so I don’t live in fear of wardrobe malfunctions – although obviously I don’t want them to happen. If you can try and avoid it, that’s good,’ she said.

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Thursday 20 February 2014]

Ellie Goulding: I can crack nuts with my thighs

Fitness fanatic Ellie Goulding reckons her legs are in such good shape she could crack a nut with her thighs.

The 27-year-old blonde beauty said she’s be up for the challenge to prove just how athletic her body is.

‘I think I probably can crack a walnut with my thighs. I’d give it a go!’ she teased.

‘I used to get bad knees, but not anymore. I stretch before I work out now,’ she added, saying she takes care not to get injured when she hits the pavements running.

Despite winning female solo artist at the Brits – and wowing the audience with a stage performance – the Burn singer revealed she does still get nervous before she goes on stage.

‘If I didn’t get nervous I wouldn’t give my best performance. I’d give a mediocre performance so I have to go for it and be exciting. I’ve paid a lot of people to cheer to encourage me,’ the singer added.

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Thursday 20 February 2014]

Pharrell: Women are my support group

Pharrell Williams is so infatuated with the ladies that he has dedicated his new album entirely to them.

The Happy star admitted at last night’s Brit Awards in London that his career would be nowhere without his army of female admirers.

‘The music has had an incredible fanbase, or what some would call family, and support system which has been women,’ said the 40-year-old, who performed at the awards show.

‘That’s kind of the reason why my new album is called Girl.’

He said he wanted to give a bit of warning to his fans about his new record – out on March 3 – as opposed to doing a shock release like fellow Brit performer Beyonce.

‘She didn’t give anyone any warning. She tweeted something and then took over the world!’ he told Metro.

Williams described his upcoming LP as ‘festive’, ‘celebratory’, ‘urgent’ and ‘visceral’.

The mega-producer revealed he was inspired by all the women that joined him in the studio during the record making process.

‘I can tell you is that me and all of the ladies that were all a part of the process and coming around to the studio listening to things, we all had a ball and we just want to share that with the rest of the world,’ he said.

‘I am just ready to go. We appreciate it and work really hard on it.’

It was a busy night for The Neptunes music maker, who was on hand to give the best international male solo gong to Bruno Mars.

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Thursday 20 February 2014]

Jake Bugg shocked by Twitter spank

Jake Bugg has revealed how he was made to blush when a cheeky fan sent him pictures of her own spanked bottom.

The 19-year-old admitted he was taken aback when the red backside flashed up on his Twitter feed.

‘There was a picture of some girl with red hand marks on her bottom, which was quite a bit of a shock when I saw it early one morning,’ he told Guilty Pleasures in an exclusive chat at the Brits.

‘I don’t believe it was my handiwork,’ he added, hurriedly.

The Nottingham-born star’s fan base affectionately call themselves the Love Buggs, and he told us how he won’t stand for them being abused.

‘I remember someone tweeting me saying out of all the Beliebers and Directioners and everything, that Jake Bugg fans were the worst because they think they are smarter than everyone else,’ he laughed.

‘It is good I get to connect with my fans. They are all cool.’

Meanwhile, the Two Fingers singer says he enjoys nothing more than kicking back and playing football online during time off from his British tour.

‘I’m quite good at FIFA. Sometimes I put on a funny American accent and start insulting [strangers] heavily. A lot of them think that I do sound American,’ he chuckled.

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Wednesday 19 February 2014]

Ellie Goulding: No one wins when women slag each other off

There are no winners when women slag each other off about their bodies, Ellie Goulding says.

The 27-year-old Anything Could Happen singer is still stunned by the backlash over a sexy gold dress she wore on The X Factor last year.

‘The thing is most people were saying I was too athletic.

‘I cannot believe people would say too athletic,’ she told Metro.

‘It’s either too fat, too thin, or too athletic. It doesn’t make any sense.

‘No one can win. But I’d wear the same dress again, and again, and again.’

The blonde beauty will face off against Birdy, Jessie J, Laura Marling and Laura Mvula at the Brits tonight for the best British female solo artist gong.

‘It’s very, very cool and exciting. I think there are quite a few good British female singers. I feel very lucky to be in that category,’ she gushed – although she would never allow her competitive spirit turn her fight for the gong physical.

‘I’m passive. I don’t believe in fights. I’m a lover, not a fighter.’

Goulding is also nominated for British single of the year and fans can vote for her to win the British video gong on social media.

Fans of the singer will have to wait for new music material as she confessed she’s been too busy on the road to make any new tunes.

Asked about her third album, she blushed: ‘I haven’t started.

‘I’ve been very busy touring, so I don’t have time at the moment. I have a new song coming out for the Divergent movie.’

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Wednesday 19 February 2014]