Friday, December 19, 2025

Texas progressive country pioneer Joe Ely, who collaborated with The Clash, dead at 78

Joe Ely, a central figure in Texas’ progressive country scene during the 1970s, has died aged 78.  His representative...

Latest Posts

Kylie Minogue tops UK Christmas charts

Kylie Minogue has achieved her first-ever Christmas number one. The 57-year-old pop star has topped the Christmas charts in...

Guitarist Gem Archer reveals Oasis Live ’25 tour setlist was ‘amended’

The Oasis Live ’25 tour setlist went through some last‑minute trimming, leaving a few planned songs on the cutting‑room floor.

Addison Rae doesn’t want to be seen as just a ‘pop star’

Addison Rae says she doesn’t “really care about being a pop star” — she just wants to be a “star”.

Måneskin enjoying the ‘space to experiment’ before regrouping

Måneskin have every intention of getting back in the studio together, but for now, they’re relishing the chance to experiment individually.

Sharon Osbourne slams ‘gimmick’ The Voice

Sharon Osbourne thinks ‘The Voice’ is a gimmick with a low success rate because the contestants are all "toads."
The ‘X Factor’ judge has admitted she’d jump at the chance to mentor on the singing competition, which sees the panel base their decision on voice alone, if Simon Cowell hadn’t employed her for the rival show last year, but thinks the winners fail to do well once the series wraps because they’re just "backing singers" lacking the full package of a pop star.
Speaking to the Radio Times magazine, she said: "’The Voice’ is a gimmick with the twisty chairs.
"I love the judges and if I was asked to do it and didn’t have ‘The X Factor’, course I’d do it. But you cannot judge talent on voice alone because if Mick Jagger was up there nobody would turn around. They have all these toads up there, and I’m sorry, half of them are backing singers. That’s why no stars have come from the show."
And the 64-year-old music manager isn’t the only one who thinks ‘The Voice’ is lagging behind ‘The X Factor’ in its success rate, as Louis Walsh likes the panel – which features Sir Tom Jones – but believes the format is all wrong.
She said: "The panel on ‘The Voice UK’ are good – I’m a big fan of Tom Jones, but ‘The X Factor’ is a much better show."
And it looks like Simon agrees as he has promised the programme will continue for at least another six years.
Asked if he thought ‘The X Factor’ would make its 20th anniversary in 2023, he said: "Yes, I do think it’ll last a little bit longer than I thought. If you’d asked me years ago how many more years I could do, I would have said: ‘If we can get to five more years then we’ve done well.’ Then you get to five years and it becomes 10.
"What I have noticed over the last two years is that I’m seeing younger and younger kids turn up to the show. That’s always the fear that you don’t stay relevant."

Latest Posts

Kylie Minogue tops UK Christmas charts

Kylie Minogue has achieved her first-ever Christmas number one. The 57-year-old pop star has topped the Christmas charts in...

Guitarist Gem Archer reveals Oasis Live ’25 tour setlist was ‘amended’

The Oasis Live ’25 tour setlist went through some last‑minute trimming, leaving a few planned songs on the cutting‑room floor.

Addison Rae doesn’t want to be seen as just a ‘pop star’

Addison Rae says she doesn’t “really care about being a pop star” — she just wants to be a “star”.

Måneskin enjoying the ‘space to experiment’ before regrouping

Måneskin have every intention of getting back in the studio together, but for now, they’re relishing the chance to experiment individually.

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