BBC announced earlier today that Tom Jones and The Script’s Danny O’Donoghue will be joining Jessie J and Will.i.am on The Voice judging panel and one man is less than happy about the fact.

Will Young had been in talks with producers about working on the new talent show but it seems that he wasn’t what they were looking for and he was passed over in place of the Irish singer-songwriter.

Just minutes after BBC revealed their all new mentoring lineup, the Pop Idol star took to Twitter and began to rant about how he was too ‘pop’ for show bosses.

He wrote:

“The voice came, the voice went. They wanted to go more rock…. Should have dusted off my Leather jacket! Hey ho.”

The singer – who has recently also been focusing on his acting career – then joked that he could ‘turn things around by appearing to be more of a ‘rock’ star.

He told followers:

“Hang on … Just got jimmy page on the Line. I’m commiserating him.”

“I’m holding a seance with Hendrix. Hang on….. I can turn this around people. I can turn this around!!!!

“Going out tonight with an appetite for destruction – guns and roses?”

Young hinted yesterday that things may not be well in his world, when he tweeted

“Words escape me. Life is sometimes a bitch.”

We kind of feel sorry for him now!

And Will wasn’t the only disappointed soul to rant about The Voice on Twitter today. The production teams sent out thousands of letters this week, letting down many people who auditioned for the new series last month. They may need to pay a little bit more attention to their research though as many people who didn’t even turn up for their tryout got a very sympathetic let down letter, despite never having performed for staff.

View the original post The Voice UK: Will Young is furious to have lost out to The Script’s Danny O’Donoghue on Unreality TV

The former Pop Idol winner was elated when a controversy broke out, over the fact that Simon Cowell’s producers were autotuning contestants who auditioned for the ITV show and revealed that he was sure it spelt the end for the format.

Speaking on The Joe Whiley Music Show, which launches on Sky Arts this week, Will explained:

“I thought it was outrageous.

“I thought it was going to be the demise of Cowell. I thought, ‘Brilliant!’

“It’s no longer a talent show, it’s a soap opera.”

He added that he feels the show has moved too far from it’s singing roots and is so different to when the genre started in the UK a decade ago. Young added:

“The thing I find saddening is that if you look back to when I was on Pop Idol, it looks like it was shot in the 1970s.

“There was something nicely naive about it.”

We couldn’t agree more! Do you remember the days when The McDonald Brother stood and sang with their guitars, dressed in checked shirts and jeans. No backing dancers, no roller skaters and no fireworks, just two men and their voices. Jump forward a few years and compare that to a Johnny Robinson camp-fest….which do you prefer?

Former X Factor winner Joe McElderry has also waded in on the debate and claimed that this year’s hopefuls are the least talented yet (and when you consider Wagner and Jedward that is really saying something!)

He blasted:

“There is nobody standing out, there is no front-runner — which is making people think what’s going on.”

“Either this week or next someone needs to step up and shine.”

Joe is planning to go up against the X Factor winner this Christmas, as he releases his cover of the Wham hit ‘Last Christmas.’ Whose record will you buy?

Do you agree with Will and Joe? Is the X Factor in demise? Leave your comments below.

View the original post Joe McElderry and Will Young hit out at ‘outrageous’ and X Factor on Unreality TV

Reality TV music looks set to dominate the UK single and album charts this weekend.

Olly Murs, Will Young and Joe McElderry look set to triumph when their sales figures are confirmed on Sunday, with all three of their releases proving a massive hit with British music lovers.

Young – who won ITV’s Pop Idol in 2001 – will most likely take the number one spot in the album chart with his fifth studio release ‘Echoes’, which hit the shelves on August 22nd.

Olly Murs – who currently presents The Xtra Factor on ITV2 and finished in second place on The X Factor in 2009 – seems to be heading for his second number one single with his track Heart Skips A Beat…..and he didn’t even promise to strip naked this time!

Olly’s fellow X Factor 2009 star Joe McElderry – who won the series two years ago – looks like he’ll come in at number two, just behind Young, with his album ‘Classic’ according to figures from the Official Chart Company. He has enjoyed a boost of profile in recent months, after winning Popstar To Operastar in July 2011.

The domination by reality TV stars look set to continue over the next few months also, with releases due from X Factor’s One Direction, Matt Cardle and Kelly Rowland in the coming months.

View the original post X Factor’s Olly Murs, Joe McElderry and Pop Idol’s Will Young set to rule single and album charts on Unreality TV

Will Young has claimed that while UK reality TV shows have become much more sensational since his day, they were never really about finding genuine musical talent.

The 32 year old singer rose to fame in 2002, after winning ITV’s Pop Idol contest and said that while producers and show bosses were always more concerned with making good TV than with finding a real star, they are now moving towards being more manipulative of their audience and contestants.

Will – who released his fifth studio album ‘Echoes’ this week – claimed that viewers of The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent need to be very suspicious of what they are seeing on the TV shows.

He said:

“They’re much more sensational now.

“But I don’t think the shows were ever about the music.

“Programme-makers are only ever concerned with creating great TV shows. The danger now is that they could become something more cynical and manipulative that moves into the realm of hoodwinking the public.”

Will was the first ever Pop Idol winner, and the format has gone on to be a massive hit on TV channels worldwide. He claims that it has been a very important show for issues such as gay rights and the singer – who came out as gay immediately after he claimed the Idol title – told The Radio Times:

But Will, who is to mark a decade in the music business with a TV special on ITV1, told Radio Times that the show had been good for one thing – gay rights.

“Pop Idol made people look at what their prejudices might be.

“So if they voted for this guy all along – they liked him, felt passionate about him, got caught up in the TV show – then suddenly, do they have to think, ‘Oh, well I’m not gonna buy his music because he’s gay?’.

He added: “That show, rather than me, was very important for gay rights. And sexual equality.

“I was like a conduit for it, but it was definitely within the protective bubble of that show.”

View the original post Will Young claims The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent were never ‘about the music’ on Unreality TV

Will Young has offered his backing to former X Factor contestant Cher Lloyd.

The former Pop Idol winner believes the 18 year old singer has proved herself in the face of all the negativity directed at her, by pushing her debut single ‘Swagger Jagger’ to number one in the UK single charts.

Young added that he loves the diversity promoted on reality TV shows such as the ones he and Cher graduated from, adding that he and Malvern lass couldn’t be more different.

The ‘Leave Right Now’ hitmaker told The Daily Star:

“I watched Cher on last year’s show and it’s a shame when anyone faces negativity, but she’ll be all right.

“She’s a feisty girl and a No 1 speaks for itself.

“The beauty of shows like Pop Idol and X Factor is the diversity of talent that comes from them – it’s totally democratic.

“It’s brilliant. Look at the difference between myself and Cher: she’s a sassy teenage girl and I’m a posh, gay politics student.”

Young is planning a musical comeback later this month, with the release of his new album ‘Echoes’ and it’s lead single ‘Jealousy,’ which he performed on Alan Carr’s Chatty Man recently.

It will be his sixth studio album and speaking about the record, Will commented that he thinks it might be his best yet. He added:

“It feels really great to be back.

“I’ve got a new sound and it’s had a great reaction.

“I feel like Echoes is the best record of my career.

“There are so many songs on it that could be singles.”

And he has more work in the pipeline, the singer recently recorded an ‘A Night With….’ special for ITV, which will see him showcasing some of his biggest hits and brand new tracks in front of a studio audience.

He continued:

“I’ve also just recorded an ITV1 special which airs at the end of August.

“So it kind of feels like a new beginning.

“It’s all good fun, though. I’m really happy.”

View the original post X Factor: Will Young backs ‘feisty’ Cher Lloyd after ‘Swagger Jagger’ chart success on Unreality TV

Will Young has reportedly been approached and asked to replace Simon Cowell on The X Factor.

Cowell is leaving the ITV show, to front his own new American series on Fox and is said to be keen to land the opinionated Pop Idol winner as a panel member.

A source told misformusic:

“Will is the perfect replacement for Simon, after all he did put him in his place during his time on Pop Idol. He is opinionated but at the same time charismatic and funny.

“Bosses know the public would love him, they know he knows what he is talking about as he has been in the same position as the contestants. It would also be great for him to reignite his solo career which has been fairly quiet over the last few years.”

Other names linked to the UK X Factor in 2011 are Mel B, Gary Barlow and Robbie Williams, though none have yet been confirmed. Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh are thought to be returning to the show, though they have not signed their official contract as yet.

Will has been turning his hand to acting in recent years. His last starring role was in Living’s original drama Bedlam.

View the original post Will Young to judge on X Factor UK? on Unreality TV

Will Young has to be one of our favourite reality TV stars ever, certainly one of the most talented and we were delighted to see him cross the pond to sing on last night’s American Idol final performance show.

On a night that was supposed to be all about the two finalists, Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox (check out our critique of their performances here), former Pop Idol winner Will wowed the audience as he closed the show with his UK hit single, Leave Right Now.’

The track has been used as the goodbye song for the 2010 season, so it seems fitting that Will performed it live on the penultimate show. Better still, Will’s recent exposure through Idol has led to him conducting a whirlwind promotional tour in America. After his performance last night he put on a five song show for some industry bosses and during the preceding week he enjoyed some high profile radio interviews, attended the E! TV 20th Anniversary party and attended a star studded Perez Hilton party.

‘Leave Right Now’ has now been released in the U.S. and is at No. 29 in the Billboard charts. It is predicted that it will climb much higher after the show last night and may just be the start of Will’s music career Stateside…….No one deserves it more!

View the original post American Idol 2010: Can Will Young crack USA after ‘Leave Right Now’ performance? (VIDEO) on Unreality TV

British singer Will Young has admitted that he was thrilled when he heard that American Idol bosses had chosen his song ‘Leave Right Now’ as this year’s exit song.

The track is played over eliminees ‘best bits’ just before they leave the show and the former Pop Idol winner told MTV:

“It’s brilliant. I haven’t released in America before, so I’m really happy, because my song is now on the biggest show in America. And it’s played every week.”

“I’ve watched it over here a couple of times when I can, and I think it sounds great on the show.”

Young then shed some light on what he sees as the meaning of the song. He added: “Funny enough, the song is more about taking yourself out of a situation, so in a way, I’m telling myself to leave, which is almost the harder thing to do.”

He added: “I think that’s what it is about, that song. So many people have experienced that. You’re coming back, and you think, ‘I really shouldn’t be in the situation, but here I am again’. That’s what that song is about. And that’s why I always love performing it.”

Will is set to unveil his first album in the US next month.

View the original post American Idol 2010: Will Young LOVES that ‘Leave Right Now’ is exit song on Unreality TV

Former Pop Idol winner Will Young has claimed the X Factor group song is not performed live on a Sunday night.

Will was defending Cheryl Cole’s performance on the show when he told MSN:

“I think there’s a very mixed reaction to different people whether they mime or sing live, some people get away with it – I’m not entirely convinced the contestants sing live on the Sunday shows in the group thing but people don’t comment on that.”

He added: “I think Cheryl can do no wrong in my eyes. So it’s just different people for different things.

“But Cheryl did a great performance. I don’t think it really matters. It’s showbiz.”

View the original post Will Young says X Factor group song not live! on Unreality TV

The X Factor judges are currently picking their final acts for this years live shows and The Sun has reported that former Pop Idol Will Young is assisting Cheryl Cole in choosing hers.

The pair alighted to Morocco to do the task, while Dannii and Kylie are doing their selecting in Dubai.

Next week Simon Cowell will pick his final three over-25 acts in Los Angeles, while Louis Walsh will choose the final groups in Tuscany.

View the original post Will Young helps Cheryl Cole on X Factor on Unreality TV