Flop Stars
... in ten years time? The answer to that is possibly, but only because they achieved the fastest selling single of all time with their debut ‘Pure and Simple’. And so, how does it feel to have your mind controlled, manipulated by powerful marketing and a smooth, Pop ballad, with cheesy romantic vocals which is so difficult to dislike? Admittedly, I found myself singing along in the car, humming the chorus as I washed the dishes, whistling it as I walked the dog – but that doesn’t mean I liked it. Arguably, ‘Hear’say’ were no different to any ‘Pop’ band, with each member enduring countless auditions and competing with their peers. The only difference was that it was broadcast on TV for the nation to see. Every tear, every smile, every ridicule, on TV, primetime on Saturday evening when their audience would watch religiously and build a kind of friendship with the potential stars. Musically, Hear’say weren’t awful, but weren’t great. They fitted cosily into the mid-genre of ‘chart-friendly’, churning out ‘last dance at the school disco’ ballads. With Popstars having become, for the record-buying public however, a distant memory, sales of Hear’say’s second album were disappointing. The public’s attentions had become fixed on the next instalment – ‘Pop Idol’. So, are you ‘Will’ or ‘Gareth’? A question so commonly asked six months ago. On Pop Idol there were no losers – Will and Gareth have scored Number Ones with cover version after cover version (yawn!). Two pretty boy pop muppets whom you could...