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]

Ricky Wilson: I love being a gay pin-up

Ricky Wilson says the best thing about his glossy makeover since appearing on The Voice is that he has garnered a gay following.

The 36-year-old Kaiser Chiefs frontman shed pounds and got his teeth straightened before taking to his revolving chair, and his dishy new look hasn’t gone unnoticed.

‘I get a lot more attention from men than women. They say, “You’re hot. I wouldn’t mind a go on you”, which I find a compliment. I find it harder to please the same sex,’ he told Metro in an exclusive chat.

Wilson, who has been with his girlfriend Lesley Williams for more than five years, warns he is going all-out to win their respect.

‘There was a load of us on holiday last year and we were all sitting around the pool and someone had brought the [gay magazine] Attitude issue with the 100 hunkiest men,’ he said.

‘I was reading through it and said “I am going to do whatever it takes to get in this magazine next year.” We have booked the same villa and we are going back to Tuscany at the same time that issue should be back and I want to parade around the pool with my 100th hunkiest male entry. If I scraped in at 100, I’d be fine.’

While the Ruby singer has had viewers of both sexes swooning as he coached acts on The Voice, he insisted he was embarrassed by his effect.

‘The thing is, you can put anyone on TV and they can be hot. It’s like listening to a song on the radio, if you hear it every day you’ll start liking it,’ he protested.

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

Kylie Minogue: I love acting and being someone else

These days Kylie Minogue may spend her time curled up on the sofa watching Gogglebox but she hasn’t given up on resurrecting her life as a movie star.

The Voice coach told Metro how she needs to act to escape the mayhem of Kylie world.

‘I love being on set, it was my first job, and I love the opportunity to not be “Kylie”, to be someone else,’ the 45-year-old sighed.

Her bid to escape came as the sizzling video for her single Sexercise debuted online, showing her reinvented as a sex kitten who could give Rihanna a run for her money.

But fans of the former Neighbours star’s acting will have to wait.

‘At the moment it’s parked, but it’s something I’ll always have a little pilot light for,’ she lamented. Finding an escape is something she isn’t good at on her own, revealing Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears was her ‘naughty brother’ while working in LA last year.

‘He’s the kind of guy who’ll get me to do something “normal,” like go to the movies, when I feel like I should stay home. He’ll say, “I’m coming to pick you up at this time, I’ve got the tickets, and we’ll just go”,’ she explained.

She’s relished being on The Voice but Kylie may find herself tested in the live finals.

‘I’m normally more reactive, or I go with the flow, I don’t like decisions – which is quite odd now I’m on The Voice which is decisions all day but I like to kind of feel my way,’ she said.

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

Sir Tom Jones: My wife bans stars from our house

Sir Tom Jones may be famous for his name-dropping but if you expect him to host star-studded dinner parties at his LA home, think again.

The 73-year-old chart veteran says his wife of almost six decades bans him from inviting the likes of Aretha Franklin, Lionel Richie and Prince over for a knees-up.

‘I don’t have parties at my house. My wife is a very quiet person and she gets very nervous if anybody shows up. Like Robbie Williams showed up the other day and my wife stayed in the bedroom. Even though she knows him,’ the Sex Bomb star revealed.

‘Melinda’s not that way inclined. She’s not a party person. But I go to a lot of other people’s houses.’

Series three of The Voice has seen the coach reveal he was once serenaded by Elvis while taking a shower and has seen him namecheck everyone from Frank Sinatra to Janis Joplin – but he insists he isn’t exaggerating about his famous connections.

‘The thing is, it’s true. I’ve been in showbusiness a long time and I’ve been lucky enough to meet some great entertainers in the business, so why not talk about it?’ he said.

Meanwhile, Jones thinks the current line-up of coaches has been an unbeatable combination and says he was glad to welcome some familiar faces on to the panel.

‘I’ve known Kylie since she first came to this country. And the same thing with Ricky Wilson, I’ve known him with the Kaiser Chiefs. I was relieved not to have to get to know new people,’ he said.

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Tuesday 18 March 2014]

Will.i.am: Black Eyed Peas would fail The Voice

Will.i.am reckons The Black Eyed Peas would be a flop on The Voice and fail to get the coaches’ chairs swivelling.

The 39-year-old mega producer’s band started out in the mid-1990s and took almost a decade to make it big – but he’s glad the Peas took the long road to fame instead of a TV talent show.

‘We wouldn’t join it, and if we did join it, we wouldn’t win. And if we won, they would be joking. Because we are different,’ Will told Guilty Pleasures in an exclusive catch-up.

‘We mean something different in popular culture. We create our own stew. Everyone else is eating spaghetti.’

According to the Don’t Stop The Party singer, the music industry judges you ‘on spaghetti or pizza’ but the Black Eyed Peas were ‘like a f****** calzone’.

He added: ‘The person judging the pizza would be like, “This isn’t a pizza! What is this?” And I’d be like, “Taste it. This is different, homie.

‘We’re just making a sandwich out of the mother f****** pizza and putting all the juice in the middle.’

With his Voice commitments taking him to Australia and a Peas album in the pipeline, Will finds it easy to forget if he is in the northern or southern hemisphere.

‘I’m doing the Australian Voice too. Every once in a while you wake up and say: “Is this my Australian bed? Or am I in London? Or at home? Where am I at?” But I love doing The Voice UK,’ he said.

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Monday 17 March 2014]

Kylie Minogue loves being 'only female coach on The Voice'

Kylie Minogue is revelling in the fact she is sharing coaching duties on the third series of The Voice with three men and rebuffs claims the show’s line-up is sexist.

In the debut episode of the new series – airing on BBC One on Saturday night – Minogue, 45, tempts a prospective contestant to join her team as she can help lead her in the male-dominated world of music.

‘I hope I am giving a voice to the girls and women who look up to me or anyone like me in the business. Maybe it is proportionate to what it is like in the industry,’ she pondered at the press launch of the show on Monday, before explaining the line-up of herself, Sir Tom Jones, Ricky Wilson and Will.i.am suits her just fine.

‘We work really well as one girl and three guys – just because it stops any stories about bitchiness or cattiness or any kind of competition,’ said Minogue.

Kylie is also glad she has her younger sister Dannii – who endured such claims of rivalry when she was a judge on The X Factor with Sharon Osbourne – on hand to offer advice if working on The Voice becomes too stressful.

‘Dannii has offered me advice but she didn’t actually have to say too much, because I have watched her experience [on The X Factor]. I can look back and fully relate to how invested you become in the show and the acts that you have. She thought I would enjoy the experience of being a mentor – and she was right.’

The Spinning Around singer also has nothing but the highest praise for former coach Jessie J, 25, whom she has replaced on the panel.

‘I think Jessie did a great job – especially for someone so young to be put in that position. I wouldn’t even get in the door if we were to talk about voices with Jessie because she has a phenomenal voice and talent – and spunk! I admire all of that.

‘I am a completely different character. If I really was trying to fill someone’s seat, you actually can’t and you have no option but to be yourself. I am proud to take the reins from her,’ Kylie added.

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Tuesday 3 January 2014]

Will.i.am: I will make The Voice winner a success

Will.i.am has vowed to champion his acts on The Voice to achieve international success – even if it takes a decade.

The eccentric music genius, 38, worked for ten years before he hit the big time with his band the Black Eyed Peas but promised to back his own acts every step of the way if it takes them as long to achieve success.

‘When you are working with singers and you promise them all the things you are going to promise them, I wouldn’t just say it. I will fight for you,’ he said, adding he believes co-coaches Kylie Minogue, Ricky Wilson and Sir Tom Jones would be as true to their word.

Indeed Will has stood side-by-side last year’s runner up Leah McFall, who he is now building up to own the year in music.

‘I am still fighting for Leah. She came on tour with me. She came to Los Angeles and recorded her whole album. We finished officially last week,’ he revealed.

‘I think maybe she wasn’t meant to break in 2013, maybe she is to break 2014. Who is to say when the artist is to be a mega star? I am committed. And so is Leah.’

Until then, The Voice is yet to find a bona fide break-out star – however the Scream & Shout hit maker thinks this is only a matter of time.

‘The only way I know how to do it is how I experienced it with the Black Eyed Peas. If it wasn’t for [Interscope records’] Jimmy Iovine who believed in us to keep us on the label, Black Eyed Peas would have got forgotten between ’97 to 2004 when we finally had a break. And then 2005 came and we released another album. And then in 2009 we hit it really big. But we were signed for almost ten years before we broke as an act!’

Will is also confident the third year of The Voice will be a TV smash with its new line up of coaches and presenter. Minogue and Wilson are replacing coaches Jessie J and Danny O’Donoghue respectively while Emma Willis and Marvin Humes are taking over presenting duties from Holly Willoughby and Reggie Yates.

‘I really like this season. I like the way it feels. I like the relation between the coaches. It feels good. I was concerned, to be real with you. I thought “Jessie’s gone? Danny’s gone?” But season three, I just love it. It’s amazing,’ he gushed.

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Tuesday 3 January 2014]

Ricky Wilson promises no 'novelty' on The Voice

Ricky Wilson has taken a thinly-veiled swipe at rival singing show The X Factor as he prepares to take up coaching duties on BBC singing show The Voice.

The cheeky 35-year-old Kaiser Chiefs frontman says viewers should tune in for true talent and shouldn’t expect comedy acts.

‘We don’t rely on the novelty of people being there that shouldn’t be there later on,’ he warned.

‘It gets to a point where everyone is getting better and better and it is down to the best singer. If you want to watch a show where the person is the best singer, The Voice is the show for you. If you want to see people making fools of themselves, you can watch shows on other stations,’ he laughed.

Having been drafted in to replace departing coach Danny O’Donoghue, of The Script, Wilson jokes he will stand out on style alone.

‘I can’t wear those low slung T-shirts!’ he chuckled before revealing he is anxious about the pressure of being on live television later in the competition.

‘It is going on TV [which is] something I’ve never done as myself before. I’ve always been singing, which is relatively easy.

‘When Tom Jones advised me to just be myself I thought, “but who is that guy?” I am a different guy to Danny, so I will come across as different. You can’t compare.’

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Tuesday 3 January 2014]

Sir Tom Jones: The Voice has real talent

Tom Jones thinks The Voice holds the best haul of singing talent because the wheat has already been separated from the chaff before the blind auditions even begin.

The singing veteran, 73, is relieved production staff have already lined up the best of the best by the time the contest gets to the studio auditions.

‘When you walk into this studio they are real singers out there. There is nobody going to come on and you think, “What was that all about?” They go through that before they step into the studio,’ he said, adding: ‘It is a professional show.’

He does, however, warn that a successful career can’t be assured, even for the best of singers, as they will still be at the mercy of the  public when their music is released.

‘There is no guarantee in this business – and I know that,’ he mused.

‘You don’t know when you record something how it will be perceived by the public. At the end of the day it is always down to the public to decide if that person is going to be a star.’

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Tuesday 3 January 2014]