With images of unbeknown, fresh-faced, pop star wannabes gracing the tabloid front pages and a new wave of Cheryl mania, it can only mean one thing: X Factor 2010 is well underway. Whether you are tuning in to admire Cheryl’s LBD, lust over Danni’s new do or simply to watch Simon and Louie attack one another’s acts there is no denying that this year’s X Factor will be keeping many of us glued to our tele over the forthcoming Saturday nights.

Not to be forgotten from past years gone by, we thought it only fitting to revisit some of the acts who made the winters of 2005 – 2008 that bit more bearable. Love them or hate them, there will be a few surprises (and sniggers) when you find out just with what this bunch have been up to….

ANDY ABRAHAM (Came second in 2005)

Nice guy Andy had a busy time after X factor, undertaking 2 tours in 2006, and a third in 2008/2009. After releasing 3 fairly successful albums, he was chosen by the public to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with his track “Even If”. Sadly he came last and has since been trying to salvage his reputation by signing with a new management company, appearing on ‘Live From Studio Five’, raising money for The Childhood Eye Cancer Trust and presenting an award at the 2010 Urban Music Awards. Interestingly, he is joining forces with soul legends Alexander O’Neal, Kenny Thomas and Eddie Holman to perform in 15 UK performances during November and December 2010.

SAME DIFFERENCE (Came third in 2007)

Cringe-worthy sibling duo Sean and Sarah have been regulars on the holiday camp scene entertaining youngsters at Pontins, as well as performing cheesy pop at Pride events including London, Manchester and Cardiff. In August they released single ‘Shine On Forever (Photo Frame)’ which will feature on their second (yes, second!) album to be released in January 2011. One for your diaries, perhaps?

RHYDIAN ROBERTS (Came second in 2007)

Strange but successful Welsh singer Rhydian’s debut album sold 500,000 copies and last year he performed a sell-out UK tour. As well completing a second album, he performed ‘O Fortuna’ at this year’s classical BRIT awards. Rhydian is next set to star in his first musical ‘War of The Worlds – Alive on Stage!’. He will perform in a total of 19 international shows alongside Jason Donovan and Atomic Kitten’s Liz McClarnon, kicking off in Amsterdam in November.

BAD LASHES (Came twelfth in 2008)

This girlband foursome joined just a week before they auditioned on X Factor and sadly were booted off after their first live performance. They are, amazingly, still together with things set to get ‘even crazier’ for them according to their site. Such craziness has so far included switching on Durham’s Christmas lights, supporting Sean Kingston, a St Tropez promotional tour and a few Butlins gigs at Minehead. So far 2010 has been a quiet year for them though with just three bookings: a charity performance and two private parties. Weirdly there have been no updates on their website, blog or Facebook since March when they stated that they were moving to London.

RUTH LORENZO (Came fifth in 2008)

Sexy senorita Ruth was a firm favourite of Simon Cowell’s (for obvious reasons) but surprisingly only made it to fifth place. Ruth has since left music company EMI due to ‘creative differences’ and has spent the past 2 years independently developing her album, citing to fans that she wants to ‘make an album that they deserve, not another expendable pop record that remains forgotten in time’. On her crusade, she is asking fans to donate money for the video and marketing budget of her debut single. So far she has raised $4,470 which equates to around £2408. Going by that sum, expect to be waiting around another 8 years for her album!

This year’s X Factor finalists are bringing even more variety to the show; from mini-Cheryl – we mean Cher, to teen heart throbs One Direction, emotional crooner Aiden, soul sensation Paije, crazy Wagner and many more. Fancy seeing this year’s X factor finalists perform live on tour? The 2011 X Factor Live extravaganza is set to be even bigger than ever. Don’t miss the chance to snap up your X Factor Live tickets and see this year’s winner and all X Factor finalists live on the X Factor Live stage.

With 21 shows over the dates 19th Feb 2011 – 6th April 2011, concert tickets are available for Birmingham LG Arena, Belfast Odyssey Arena, Sheffield Arena, London Wembley Arena, Manchester Evening News Arena, Brighton Centre, Nottingham Trent FM Arena, Newcastle Metro Radio Arena, Aberdeen Exhibition Centre, Glasgow SECC, and Cardiff International Arena. Search now for your chance to see all the action live from a stage near you!

View the original post X Factor: Andy Abraham, Ruth Lorenzo, Rhydian Roberts – Where Are They Now? on Unreality TV

X Factor stars Same Difference have said that they didn’t receive enough support from show bosses, after the final of the show.

The sibling duo finished third in the fourth series of the TV talent show but felt that they were left high and dry by bosses once they failed to win.

They told The Sun:

“When you’ve just been in the public eye so much, that’s when you need help. It was just crazy for us.

“It’s something the X Factor should look into, the protection in the week or so afterwards when the attention’s at its highest.”

Unreality TV were at Sarah and Sean’s final show and we remember speaking to a journalist from their local newspaper the next day, who revealed that the pair waited in their hotel room the whole morning, hoping that someone from the X Factor to contact them and tell them what to do next. The call never came and they ended up enjoying some London sightseeing with the writer, before catching a train back home. It seems like they had already served their purpose!

View the original post Same Difference ‘X Factor bosses didn’t protect us enough’ on Unreality TV

Brother and sister act Same Difference have admitted that X Factor bosses forced them to mime, when they returned to perform their single on the show.

Sarah and Sean Smith competed in the 2007 series and finished third behind Leon Jackson and Rhydian Roberts. In 2008 they returned to the ITV show and performed their track “We R One.”

However, they have revealed that despite being desperate to sing live, producers told them that they could either lip synch, or not perform at all.

Sarah told The Sun: “We sang live from the beginning on The X Factor. But when we came back on to perform our first single we were told we had to mime.

“Because we’d got a lot of stick from people saying we couldn’t sing we really wanted to prove ourselves.

“But producers said we had to have our voices really enhanced or mime – ‘or you don’t do it at all’.

“We were gutted because we wanted to sing live.

“There was a lot of choreography in our performance and we were told we would sound out of breath.”

“I think they wanted the public to say ‘wow it sounds amazing’, as it was the main platform for the single.

“But it had a detrimental effect. The next day all we got was a lot of criticism from fans, so it backfired.”

Sarah added: “This year the people they have enhanced are going to get stick when they are probably really good singers.

“It damages their credibility as an artist.”

View the original post Same Difference forced to mime on X Factor on Unreality TV

Former X Factor finalists Same Difference have revealed that they are preparing to launch a new single.

The brother and sister duo finished in third place on the 2007 series of the ITV show and were initially signed to Simon Cowell’s Syco label before being dropped after their debut album ‘Pop’ failed to storm the charts.

Sean and Sarah Smith are now getting ready to launch a single entitled ‘Shine On Forever (Photo Frame)’ on August 29th 2010. They wrote on Twitter:

New single out August 29th and album to follow.

They later told their followers that they filmed the video for the track at the Lightbox Room at London’s Fire nightclub.

Check out the video and leave your comments and thoughts on the song below. We kind of like the poppy track in all it’s cheesy goodness. It’s like Steps have been reborn!

View the original post X Factor’s Same Difference to release ‘Shine On Forever (Photo Frame)’ (VIDEO) on Unreality TV

Former X Factor contestants Same Difference have revealed that they enjoy watching John and Edward Grimes on the show.

Sean Smith told Live From Studio Five: “I think they’re a good laugh every time. I just think they’re all much of a muchness, the other guys, and then all of a sudden they come on and it just seems to light up the screen and puts a smile on your face. What more do you want on a Saturday night?”

Sarah talked about how it feels to have the judges on your case week after week: “Every week we were struggling to get through. We always felt we were not the public’s favourites – we were always being told by Louis [Walsh], ‘You’re awful’.

“It was really, really difficult. The first few weeks, Louis would absolutely slate us. I’d come off and I’d feel like crying. As the weeks went on, it became a joke in the end. We just thought, ‘He’s never going to like us’.”

View the original post Same Difference think John and Edward Grimes are a ‘good laugh’ on Unreality TV

X Factor stars Same Difference are reportedly in talks to front a children’s TV show.

The sister/brother band were dropped by Simon Cowell’s record company earlier this year but have other projects underway.

“It’s an obvious route for us and we have a huge fan base for the under 10s,” Sarah Smith told The Daily Star.

View the original post Same Difference To Present Kids TV Show on Unreality TV

Same Difference have admitted that they believe being dropped from their record label may have been a blessing in disguise, thought they think Cowell’s company gave up on them too quickly.

The sibling duo were signed by Cowell’s record label soon after X Factor ended last year, but axed in April after their debut album failed to set the charts on fire.

Speaking about the decision in an interview with The News, Sean Smith admitted: “We still think there were four or five more great songs on the album that could have been singles and helped to sell a lot more copies of the album, but that’s the music industry.”

However Sarah thinks the axing will prove to be a blessing in disguise – as they felt restricted by Cowell’s demands.

She commented: “It’s not a bad thing actually. Now we can take our album to Asia or Australia where pop music is particularly thriving. We can do what we want because our management doesn’t have to run everything past SyCo.”

View the original post Same Difference Thinks Being Dropped By Record Label Was A Blessing In Disguise on Unreality TV

Same Difference, the cheesiest siblings in town have released their debut single and album titled Pop. Am I the only one who thinks it may be their last?

Same Difference made it to the final three X Factor acts in 2007 and returned to the show on Saturday night to perform their new single We R One.

Rhydian Roberts also returned, and in my opinion blew Same Difference out of the water! He sang live, perfectly and powerfully. Same Difference mimed, pulled really silly faces and lets not mention Sarah’s weird hairdo.

You can watch the clip from their performance below and if you still want to buy the album just follow this link!

View the original post Same Difference Release POP Album on Unreality TV

Same Difference, the cheesy pop duo, who almost won last years X factor are finally releasing their first single, which you can watch above.

I think its a really catchy tune and certainly better than Leon Jackson’s effort last month. It’s everything you would expect from these perpetually happy siblings and they really don’t disappoint.

Fans of the pair can buy the single (it’s only £2 quid!) by clicking on the link below!

View the original post Watch Same Difference’s New Single: We R One on Unreality TV

X Factor runners up, Same Difference, have been offered a £1 million record deal by Simon Cowell’s record company, Syco, according to The Sun.

The brother and sister duo had originally been offered a one single deal, which had been delayed, but reports now suggest that they will now release a full album which will include songs that have been written by previous X Factor winner, Leona Lewis.

Same Difference’s Sarah said: “We were on the train to London when we got the call.

“I think we probably deafened all the passengers because we were screaming so much.

“We still can’t believe it – we are so happy.

“When the single launch was put back we feared the worse. But now we are totally and utterly ecstatic and we can’t wait to get into the studio.”

The album tracks won’t just be written by Leona, as the writers behind the smash hits from High School Musical will also be composing new material for them.

View the original post Same Difference Get £1 Million Record Deal! on Unreality TV