show name	Pop Idol
country	United Kingdom
format	Interactive reality talent show
picture format	16:9
creator	Simon Fuller
presenter	Ant & DecKate Thornton
judges	Simon CowellPete WatermanNicki ChapmanNeil Fox
theme music composer	Julian GingellBarry StoneCathy Dennis
channel	ITV
first aired
last aired
num episodes	46
num series	2
website	http://web.archive.org/web/20030603175740/http://www.itv.com/popidol/
producer	19 EntertainmentThames Television }}

''Pop Idol'' was a British television music competition which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003. ''Pop Idol'' was replaced in 2004 with ''The X Factor''.

The ''Idol'' series has become an international franchise, although a legal dispute with the makers of ''Popstars'' meant that the word "Pop" had to be excluded from the title. As such, spin-offs have included ''American Idol'', ''Arab Idol'', ''Australian Idol'', ''Latin American Idol'', ''Idols'' (Denmark, Netherlands, Finland, South Africa, West Africa, Serbia-Montenegro & Macedonia), ''Idool'' (Belgium), ''Canadian Idol'', ''Indian Idol'', ''Indonesian Idol'', ''New Zealand Idol'', ''Hay Superstar'' (Armenia), ''Idol stjörnuleit'' (Iceland), ''Pinoy Idol'' (Philippines), ''Idol'' (Sweden), ''Idol'' (Norway), ''Idol'' (Poland), ''Nouvelle Star'' (France), ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'' (Germany), ''Singapore Idol'', ''Malaysian Idol'', ''Vietnam Idol'', ''Music Idol'' (Bulgaria), ''Ídolos'' (Brazil and Portugal), ''Greek Idol'', ''Super Star'' (Arab States), ''Hrvatska traži zvijezdu'' (Croatia), ''SuperStar KZ'' (Kazakhstan), ''Eesti otsib superstaari'' (Estonia), ''Slovensko hľadá SuperStar'' (Slovakia), ''Macedonian Idol'' and ''Kokhav Nolad'' (Israel).

Format

One of the UK's top-earning TV format exports, ''Pop Idol'' made extensive use of premium-priced viewer interactivity, with viewers voting by telephone, mobile telephone texting (not used on series one), through the "red button" on digital television sets, or via the official website. The final of the first series of ''Pop Idol'' in February 2002 received the highest-ever one-night vote for a UK TV show, making the show one of ITV's most profitable. The sister show on ITV2, ''Pop Idol Extra'', hosted by Kate Thornton also made extensive use of mobile phone text messages to raise additional revenue. The first ''Pop Idol'' received very high voting figures despite allowing only telephone and Internet voting and not making use of texting or the "red button".

The Saturday night primetime show initially followed the audition process, as hopefuls sang before four judges (record producer and music executive Pete Waterman, music executive and music manager Simon Cowell, music promoter and music manager Nicki Chapman and Radio DJ and television personality Neil "Dr" Fox) at various locations around the UK. Besides the successful auditionees, the poorest "singers" were often aired due to their obvious lack of talent or presence. Poor singers often faced harsh criticisms from the judges, especially from Simon Cowell (whose controversial rantings also made him famous on ''American Idol''). The judges' reactions to such performances often ranged from disgust to nearly open laughter; their style of judgement and attitude towards pop-star wannabes resulted in the controversial opinions of others about the show's setup, including that of Take That manager, Nigel Martin Smith.

The viewing public quickly fell in love with the format though, as viewing figures indicated. Watching middle aged men openly critique hapless teenagers and young adults proved to be popular television as those watching at home experienced a satisfying sense of schadenfreude. The judges' policy of speaking candidly would have to be sanitised in series 2, however, as it received condemnation from MPs.

Once the first round of auditions were completed, the series moved to the Criterion Theatre, where further auditions saw the judges decide on a group of 50. Unusually, this was the final point at which the judges had direct control over the contestants' fates, as the remainder of the results would be driven solely by viewer voting.

Stage 3 of the series took place in a conventional TV studio. The 50 contestants were split into five groups of ten, each of whom sang one song for the judges, accompanied only by a piano. Each judge offered their opinion, and at the end of the pre-recorded show phone lines opened for votes. Later the same evening a live show followed in which the voting results were revealed, the top two earning a place in the final ten. In series 2, a wildcard round (an innovation that originated on ''American Idol'') was added, in which the judges selected ten rejected contestants and gave them a second chance. In this special edition, one contestant (Susanne Manning) was selected by the viewer vote, and one (Sam Nixon), chosen by the judges. This meant that the next stage began with twelve contestants, rather than the ten in series 1.

For the final stage, the show moved to a more lavish TV set, where all remaining contestants sang on live television, accompanied by either a backing track or live band. Most editions had a theme, with contestants singing songs from a particular genre or artist (no original songs were performed at any stage in the competition). Again, the judges offered comments, but the results were decided by viewer voting. Again, a live results show was broadcast later in the evening, but this time the singer with the fewest votes was eliminated, the rest continuing to the following week, until only the winner remained.

Exceptions to the usual format were limited. In series 1, Darius Danesh was promoted to the live shows when Rik Waller dropped out. Danesh was third in the results for the group where Waller had won his place. Also, the first two live shows of series 2 saw two contestants leave, in order to rebalance the numbers after the addition of the two extra performers from the wildcard show.

Results and legacy

The first series was won by Will Young, with Gareth Gates coming second. Michelle McManus won the second series. All of the top three contestants from series 1 had number 1 singles in the UK. Will Young continues to be a recording artist. Gareth Gates initially had great success as a recording artist with 7 top 5 singles and releasing 3 studio albums. He has since moved on to a successful career in musical theatre appearing as lead in Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, as Marius in Les Miserables, on tour and in the West End and as Claude in Hair. Darius Danesh had two hit albums and has appeared in the West End musicals ''Chicago'', playing the role of Billy Flynn, and ''Gone with the Wind'', originating the role of Rhett Butler. He also appeared in the touring version of ''Guys and Dolls'' as Sky Masterson. Finalists Rosie Ribbons and Zoe Birkett have both scored chart hits, Birkett also moving on to a career in musical theatre whilst Jessica Garlick represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002. Semi-finalist Sarah Whatmore had two chart hits, despite failing to be voted into the top 10. Series 2 contestants enjoyed significantly less chart success, which many believe damaged the credibility of the show and helped hasten its demise in its home country.

Immediately after the second series of ''Pop Idol'', the same set was used to host ''World Idol'', in which winners of various ''Idol'' series around the world, including original ''Pop Idol'' winner Will Young, ''American Idol'' winner Kelly Clarkson and ''Australian Idol'' winner Guy Sebastian, competed in a one-off competition, complete with a large judging panel featuring one judge from each country (Simon Cowell officially representing ''American Idol'', with Pete Waterman the "official" UK judge). The surprise winner was Norway's Kurt Nilsen, who proceeded to minor UK chart success. Cowell was strongly critical of ''World Idol'', and it is highly unlikely to be staged again.

After the second series of ''Pop Idol'' in 2003, ITV put the show on indefinite hiatus. This was because judge and music executive Simon Cowell wished to produce his own show, ''The X Factor'', which he and his record label (Syco) held the rights to. In 2005, ''Pop Idol'' creator Simon Fuller filed a lawsuit against ''The X Factor'' producers claiming that the format was copied from his own show. The case was eventually settled out of court.

ITV's licence to produce ''Pop Idol'' has since expired, meaning that other channels could theoretically acquire the series. Despite rumours (see below), no broadcaster has since acquired the rights to the format in the UK.

Despite running for only two series, ''Pop Idol''s impact was immense and led 19 Entertainment and Fremantle Media to roll the format out globally; currently there are over 50 versions in 110 countries, including, notably, ''American Idol'', on which Cowell as a judge until 2010, before launching ''The X Factor USA'' in 2011.

Series 1 (2001/02)

Contestant	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8	Week 9
Will Young
Gareth Gates
Darius Campbell
Zoe Birkett
Hayley Evetts
Rosie Ribbons
Laura Doherty
Aaron Bayley
Jessica Garlick
Rik Waller
Korben

¹ Had been eliminated in previous rounds, but reinstated following Rik Waller's exit.

Series 2 (2003)

Following the completion of the series, the official ''Pop Idol'' companion book published percentages of votes for each contestant every week. In some circumstances, the book suggested that the bottom 2 or 3 contestants were not the same as announced by the show hosts. It is not known if the incorrect result was announced, or if the book merely made a typing error. However, the contestant deemed to have had the lowest percentage was always eliminated on that week, meaning the overall result of the show was not changed.

Contestant	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8	Week 9
Michelle McManus
Mark Rhodes
Sam Nixon
Chris Hide
Roxanne Cooper
Andy Scott-Lee
Kim Gee
Marc Dillon
Brian Ormond
Kirsty Crawford
Leon McPherson

Video games

''Pop Idol'' was released as a video game developed by Codemasters for the PlayStation 2 on October 30, 2003. The player creates his/her own singer, then they must sing their way through the auditions, theatre stages, heats, and then the finals. The game increases in difficulty as the player progresses through the competition. With each stage of the finals, one or two players with the least public vote tally are eliminated. The gameplay mainly consists of lining up a moving symbol with a fixed object in the centre of the screen and pressing the corresponding symbol on the game's controller. If the player presses it when the symbol is in the middle of the circle, their singer sings a good note. If he or she presses it when it is not in the circle, or mistimes their press, the singer sings a bad note.

Related programmes

The ''Idol'' format has been launched in dozens of nations worldwide, and there have been many imitations of the programme.

A ''World Idol'' international television special was held in December 2003, featuring national first series ''Idol'' contest winners competing against each other; viewers worldwide voted ''Norwegian Idol's'' Kurt Nilsen "World Idol".

The similar ''Popstars'' format preceded ''Pop Idol'', and was succeeded in Britain by one series of ''Popstars: The Rivals'' and eight series of ''The X Factor'' as of December 2011. After ''Popstars'' producers threatened legal action, a deal was struck that, among other clauses, does not allow the use of the word "pop" in the title of ''Pop Idol'' editions outside of the UK.

See also

''Pop Idol'' discography

''Pop Idol: The Big Band Album''

''American Idol''

''Australian Idol''

''Popstars''

''Fame Academy''

''The X Factor''

''Starmania''

References

External links

Category:Talent shows Category:2000s British television series Category:2001 in British television Category:2001 television series debuts Category:2003 television series endings Category:ITV television programmes

cy:Pop Idol de:Pop Idol et:Eesti otsib superstaari es:Pop Idol fa:پاپ آیدل fr:Pop Idol id:Pop Idol it:Pop Idol nl:Idols ja:ポップアイドル no:Pop Idol pl:Pop Idol pt:Pop Idol sk:Slovensko hľadá Superstar fi:Pop Idol tr:Popstar Türkiye vi:Pop Idol

Name	Gareth Paul Gates
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Gareth Gates
Birth date	July 12, 1984
Origin	Bradford, West Yorkshire, England
Instruments	vocals
Genre	Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Years active	2002–2009
Spouse
Children	Missy (2009)
Label	Sony Music Entertainment (Syco)/ 19 Recordings (2002-2006)UMTV /19 Recordings(2006-2007)
Website	}}

Gareth Paul Gates (born 12 July 1984 in Bradford, England), is an English singer-songwriter. He was the runner-up in the first series of the ITV talent show ''Pop Idol''. Gates has sold over 3.5 million records in the UK. He is also known for having a stutter, and has talked about his speech impediment publicly. Gates used the McGuire Programme to manage the problem and is now a speech coach with the programme.

In 2009, Gates moved into musical theatre, playing the title role in the West End production of ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat'' at the Adelphi Theatre. He has recently completed an eighteen month stint as Marius, initially in the touring production and then in the West End production of ''Les Misérables''. and takes up the role of Claude in the UK and European tour of Hair in March 2012

Early life

Gates was born in West Bowling, Bradford to father Paul and mother Wendy Broadbent (née Farry). He has three sisters, Nicola (born 1985), Charlotte (born 1991), and Jessica (born 1993) and grew up with his cousin James (born 1986) who was fostered by the family. His parents regularly foster other children.

Gates and his sisters attended Dixons City Technology College in West Bowling, Bradford where Gates studied art and music at GCSE level.

He joined Bradford Cathedral choir at age nine. He was head chorister by the age of eleven, singing solo for the Queen when she visited in 1997. Gates achieved Grade 8 in piano, classical guitar and singing. He had gained a place at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester before the finals of ''Pop Idol''.

Career

2002-2003: ''Pop Idol'', ''What My Heart Wants to Say'' and ''Go Your Own Way''

Gates was the runner-up to Will Young on the first series of ''Pop Idol'' in February 2002. Gates auditioned with Flying Without Wings and was put through to the next round of the show. Despite not winning the competition, he was soon signed up by Simon Cowell to the BMG label.

Gates' first single, a cover of "Unchained Melody", entered the UK Singles Chart at number one. The single went double-platinum in the UK, and was voted 2002's The Record of the Year by ITV viewers. This was followed by another number-one single, "Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)". His third single, a double A-side "Suspicious Minds/"The Long and Winding Road", a duet with ''Pop Idol'' winner Will Young, also reached number one. His fourth, "What My Heart Wants to Say", reached number five. Gates's debut album ''What My Heart Wants to Say'' achieved first week sales of 100,000 copies, peaking at number two in the UK Albums Chart, and eventually earned double platinum status in the UK.

The now-defunct ''Smash Hits'' magazine dedicated 7 October 2002 as International Gareth Gates Day. In 2003, Gates sang the 2003 Comic Relief charity single, "Spirit in the Sky", with The Kumars. The single was a UK number-one for two weeks. He also appeared in Comic Relief's ''Celebrity Driving School''. Through Comic Relief, he became involved with Body and Soul, a charity that helps people affected by HIV and AIDS.

His next single, "Sunshine", reached number three and was taken from his second album ''Go Your Own Way'', which was released in October 2003. However, the album was far less successful than his debut album. It peaked at number eleven in the UK before dropping to #32 the following week, and only spent four weeks on the album chart altogether. The album enjoyed slightly more success in a number of Asian countries however, and Gates won MTV Asia's award for Best International Male in 2003/04. He was awarded the same title by MTV China and MTV Taiwan.

His next single, "Say it Isn't So", reached number four in late 2003, but proved to be Gates' last single release in the UK until April 2007. At the start of 2004 he did an arena tour of the UK, then continued to promote his album throughout Europe and Asia, before taking a break and training as a speech coach and course instructor with the McGuire Programme.

By this point, Gates had sold just over three million music singles in the UK, including the second and sixth best selling singles in 2002 ("Unchained Melody", which sold 1.4 million, and "Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)", which sold 581,000) and the second best selling single in 2003 ("Spirit in the Sky", 561,000 copies). All three of these singles were listed in the Top 100 singles of the decade (2000–2009) as announced on Radio 1 with Spirit in the Sky at no. 62, Anyone of Us (no. 56), and Unchained Melody (no. 2). The biggest selling single of the decade was "Anything is Possible"/"Evergreen" by Will Young, whom Gates had lost the Pop Idol contest to.

In the 2003 film, ''Seeing Double'', alongside pop group S Club, Gates played a clone version of himself. He also promoted AIDS awareness through a charity concert to 50,000 people with MTV in Indonesia.

2004-2009: ''Pictures of the Other Side''

In 2003 and 2004, it was reported that Gates was being dropped by his record company BMG. The reports, which also cited low sales of his second album and low concert ticket sales as reasons, were denied by both Gates and the record company at the time. Gates was later dropped from the label in April 2006 before the release of any new material.

In 2006, Gates appeared in a television documentary for ITV1 called ''Whatever Happened To Gareth Gates?'', which dealt with his experiences in the music industry and his life outside it. The documentary was screened in December 2006, and confirmed a new record deal with UMTV (part of Universal) and a new album as well as showcasing snippets of the new material. An early preview of his new album was given at a secret gig on 29 November 2006. Gates had been working with writers such as Sacha Skarbek (who has worked with James Blunt), Ricky Ross (of Deacon Blue), Gary Clark and Pete Gordeno, and new the album was produced by Martin Terefe, Jon Hall and Nick Whitecross.

Since 2004 Gates had also been working with singer-songwriter Judie Tzuke. Initial contact was apparently made through Lucie Silvas. Gates' regular acoustic guitarist, Graham Kearns, also worked with Tzuke and has writing credits with Gates on both albums. Appearing at the Limelight venue in Crewe during Tzuke's October 2004 tour, Gates sang backing vocals to a surprised audience on Tzuke's track "Bully" (from her album ''Secret Agent''). A song Gates co-wrote with Tzuke, "Dark Days", appeared on Tzuke's 2007 album ''Songs 1''.

On 30 March 2007, Gates appeared on ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'', the first time he had participated in an interview for a mainstream television chat-show since his speech improvement.

The first single from Gates' third album was "Changes" which was released on 9 April 2007. The single peaked at Number 14. A second single, "Angel on My Shoulder", was released on 18 June 2007, peaking at Number 22. Both singles remained in the UK Top 40 for only one week. Gates' third album, ''Pictures of the Other Side'', was released on 25 June 2007. It proved to be Gates' lowest selling album to date and spent only two weeks on the UK album chart, entering at Number 23 before falling to Number 66 the following week, then dropping out of the chart altogether.

During his time working with Judie Tzuke, Gates also co-wrote the song "Christmas and I'm Home" with her. It was first premiered live by Gates in 2004 in Bradford, and Tzuke recorded the song with pianist Haim Cotton. Tzuke's version was released commercially in November 2008, as a charity single download and as a physical CD single sold exclusively through the CD Baby website.

Musical theatre

On 6 July 2008, Gates starred in the line-up for "A Spoonful of Stiles & Drewe", a charity fundraiser to celebrate 25 years of musical theatre composers George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. Gates played the part of Robbie in a preview of a new musical "Soho Cinders" and features on the album.

In January 2009, Gates confirmed in an interview with the ''Daily Mail'' that he has no plans to go back to the pop music scene in the near future, planning instead to concentrate on musical theatre, as he had just been cast in the lead role in Joseph in ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' at the Adelphi Theatre, London. Taking over the role from Lee Mead, Gates began the role on 7 February 2009 and continued to play the part until the final performance on 30 May 2009.

Gates performed at the charity event "Broadway To West End by Special Arrangement" on 4 October 2009 at the Drury Lane Theatre, singing "Why God, Why?" as a solo and "The Last Night of the World" as a duet with Ima Castro. Both songs come from the musical ''Miss Saigon''. The event was to honour the work of orchestrator William David Brohm and raised funds for CLIC Sargent Cancer care.

In June 2009, it was announced that Gates was joining the cast of the International 25th Anniversary World Tour production of ''Les Misérables'' in the role of Marius. Gates had been offered the choice of playing Marius in London's West End or in the anniversary tour, but opted for the tour as it was a new production and there was the opportunity to make the part his own.

In January 2010 Cameron Mackintosh BBC Manchester that there was to be a live cast recording of the production, recorded in Manchester,. This double album was released in the UK on 13 September 2010, ''Les Misérables Live'' on the label First Night Records.

Following the final performance of the anniversary tour at The Barbican, London, in October 2010, Gates joined the West End production of ''Les Misérables'' at Queen's Theatre where he continued to play the part of Marius until June 2011.

Gates is currently taking a break from musical theatre to work on other projects, including writing a new album, but planned to return in March 2012, taking the part of Claude in the UK touring production of ''Hair' It was later announced that the musical would not proceed as efforts to rescue the tour following the bankruptcy of the original production company had failed.

In January 2012 Gates will feature in a one night only charity production of Children of Eden in aid of Crohn's disease

Personal life, charitable work and other activities

Gates lives in Chiswick, West London, with wife Suzanne Gates (née Mole), a dancer he met at the Record of the Year awards in 2002, which he won for "Unchained Melody". In October 2006, ''The People'' newspaper incorrectly reported that they had secretly married. Gates and Mole got engaged on New Years Eve 2007 and were married on 18 July 2008 in a private ceremony for family and friends. The couple had their first child together on 6 April 2009, a girl they named Missy.

Gates qualified as a speech coach and latterly as a course instructor with the McGuire Programme where he helps those with stammers similar to his own. He co-led his first full course in February 2005 and in August 2006 he instructed his first course single-handedly in Galway, Ireland. He led his second at Bournemouth in November 2006, and continues to lead courses in the UK and Ireland, the most recent of which was in November 2010, with further courses scheduled in October in Birmingham and in Galway in November 2011.

"Gareth Gates' Stammer House" is to form part of the new documentary season for BBC Three recently announced by Zai Bennett at the Edinburgh TV Festival in August 2011, due to air later this year. In the documentary made by IWC Media, Gates will take five young men and women who've stammered since childhood and in four intense days transform their lives. Over the four days the group will confront their stuttering demons on an intensive and testing course. Speaking of the documentary, he said "Hopefully this documentary will give people an insight into something that most take for granted - speaking!"

The documentary, remnamed "Stop my Sutter" will air on BBC3 on 27 February 2012 on BBC Three and Gareth will discuss stammering on The Surgery on BBC Radio 1, 26 February 2012.

Gates spoke to MPs including David Amess MP, Robert Buckland MP, and Steve Brine MP at the Palace of Westminster as part of a briefing on communication disability hosted by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and the Centre for Social Justice. Gates said “By speaking today I hope to shed light on the issues that surround speech and language difficulties. In particular, through my own experiences, I want to explain how the inability to converse and communicate drastically shapes and moulds people’s lives. It determines the sort of people they become and the paths they follow. On 18 October 2011 his work as an ambassador, raising awareness of the issues surrounding speech difficulties was recognised at the Giving Voice Awards Ceremony.

Gates is a patron of the HIV/AIDS charity ''Body and Soul'' and of the Bobby Moore Fund, which supports research into bowel cancer. He took part in the 2009 Cosmo Everyman campaign to raise awareness of prostate and testicular cancer.

In 2008, Gates appeared on ITV1's ''Dancing on Ice'' with skating partner Maria Filippov, finishing fourth, losing a place in the final to Zaraah Abrahams and dancing partner Fred Palascak.

On 7 September 2008, Gates played for England against The Rest of the World in Soccer Aid 2008 at Wembley in aid of UNICEF. He was substituted for Tom Felton. England won 4-3.

Gates played Prince Charming in the pantomime ''Cinderella'' at New Wimbledon Theatre, from December 2008 to January 2009 alongside Joanna Page and Alistair McGowan. Further pantomimes followed - the Prince in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at Woking in 2010-11 and Aladdin in Milton Keynes in 2011-12

In December 2009, Gates took part in ITV's ''All Star Family Fortunes'', along with wife Suzanne, mum Wendy, sister Nicola and best friend Matt, and won £30,000 for the Bobby Moore Fund for bowel cancer. Other TV and sporting activities for charity have included an appearance on Sky's ''Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' and ITV's ''Mr and Mrs'' again for the Bobby Moore Fund and various events for the Rhys Daniels Trust.

In August 2011, he was Jersey's Mr Battle in the ''Battle of the Flowers''.

Working with Jonathan Wilkes, his wife Suzanne and Wilkes' wife Nikki, Gates set up the Gates and Wilkes Academy of Performing Arts for young people from 5-18, in London and his home town of Bradford. In October 2011, Gates announced that he and Wilkes were opening a further academy in Milton Keynes.

It was reported that Gates lost his virginity to glamour model Katie Price during the 2002 ''Pop Idol''. Gates initially denied the rumours but finally admitted the relationship in 2003.

In 2009, it was reported that Gates has made an estimated £6.5 million during his career to date. The ''Irish Independent'' newspaper reported that Gates was one of a number of celebrities with investments in the company Ingenious Media, which backed a number of films, including ''Avatar'' and ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine''.

On 19 November 2011, Gates performed and headlined Derby's Christmas Lights turn on.

Discography

Tours and concerts

Pop Tours

''Pop Idol'' Arena Tour 2002

Will and Gareth Arena Tour 2002

Go Your Own Way Arena Tour - UK and Asia 2004

West End and other theatre

Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. Joseph. West End 2009

Les Misérables international Tour. Marius 2009/10

Les Misérables. Marius. West End 2010/11

Hair. Claude. UK and Europe Tour 2012

Other notable events and charity concerts

A Spoonful of Stiles and Drew 2008

Broadway To West End by Special Arrangement 2009

Children of Eden 2012

Private concert for the Prince of Brunei, January 2005

MTV Asia AIDS Awareness Concert, Indonesia, December 2004

Concert to open Louis Vuitton's first store in Shanghai, China, October 2004

Dancing On Ice Tour 2008

Records and awards

Awards

;UK

The Record of the Year 2002: "Unchained Melody"

Smash Hits Awards 2002: best male, best hair, best newcomer, most fanciable male

Smash Hits Awards 2003: best male, best single ("Sunshine")

Young Achievers Yorkshire 2002

Special award for service to Yorkshire 2002

Giving Voice Celebrity Ambassador award. October 2011 ;Overseas

MTV Asia: Best International Male 2003/2004

MTV China: Best International Male 2003/2004

MTV Taiwan: Best International Male 2003/2004

TMF Belgium: Best International Pop

MTV Taiwan: Inspiration to Youth

G-Music (Taiwan): Best International Artist 2003

Hit FM: Best single of 2003 (AOU)

References

External links

Category:1984 births Category:Dancing on Ice participants Category:English male singers Category:English pop singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:Idol series runners-up Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Bradford Category:Pop Idol contestants

da:Gareth Gates de:Gareth Gates es:Gareth Gates fr:Gareth Gates id:Gareth Gates it:Gareth Gates lt:Gareth Gates nl:Gareth Gates no:Gareth Gates pl:Gareth Gates pt:Gareth Gates fi:Gareth Gates sv:Gareth Gates

name	Will Young
background	solo_singer
birth name	William Robert Young
birth date	January 20, 1979
birth place	Wokingham, Berkshire, England
genre	Pop
occupation	Singer-songwriter, actor
instrument	Vocals
years active	2001–present
label	19, RCA, Jive
website	}}

William Robert "Will" Young (born 20 January 1979) is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominence after winning the 2002 inaugural series of the British music contest ''Pop Idol'', making him the first winner of the now-worldwide Idols-format franchise. His debut single, "Anything is Possible", was released two weeks after the show's finale and became the fastest-selling debut single in the United Kingdom.

As a teenager, Young studied politics at the University of Exeter before moving to London, where he pursued a musical theatre degree at the Arts Educational School. Although enrolled in a three-year programme, Young put his studies on hold in late 2001 to become a contestant on ''Pop Idol''. After winning the competition the following year, he released his debut album ''From Now On'' (2002) which went to straight to number one. ''Friday's Child'' (2003) followed one year later and enjoyed greater popularity, eventually going platinum five times in the UK and spawning three top five singles. Achieving similar success, the album's successors include the multi-platinum ''Keep On'' (2005) and platinum ''Let It Go'' (2008) with his most recent release ''Echoes'' (2011) becoming his third UK number-one album.

In addition to his string of platinum-selling albums, Young has embarked on numerous tours, acted on film, stage and television, participated in philanthropy and authored the two books ''Anything is Possible'' (2002) and ''On Camera, Off Duty'' (2004). Established in the music industry, his albums have spawned many songs that have accomplished top ten positions in the UK: four of which went to the number one spot. His success as a singer has been proved by his accumulation of multiple awards, including 2 BRIT Awards from 12 nominations, and the estimated worldwide sale of over eight million albums.

Early life

Young was born in Wokingham, Berkshire, with a fraternal twin, Rupert Maxwell Young. He also has an elder sister Emma. He had a pleasant childhood and has often spoken about his happy memories of this time. Young was educated at three independent schools: Horris Hill School near the village of Newtown in Berkshire and from the age of thirteen, at Wellington College in Crowthorne, also in Berkshire, and at D'Overbroeck's College in Oxford. He then studied at the University of Exeter in Exeter, Devon, where he read Politics and graduated with a 2:2 honours degree. In September 2001, he became a student at the Arts Educational Schools in Chiswick, London, starting a three-year course in musical theatre with a scholarship.

Music career

''Pop Idol'' and touring (2001–02)

In February 2002, Young came to national prominence by winning the ITV television programme contest ''Pop Idol''. Contrary to press claims of being the underdog, after having beaten the widely accepted front-runner Gareth Gates in the final show, it emerged that Young had in fact gained the most votes in six out of the nine rounds of public voting. This was published in the ''Pop Idol'' book, which was released shortly after the programme.

In early 2002, Young joined his fellow ''Pop Idol'' contestants in a nationwide arena tour. The final concert at Wembley was in aid of the Prince's Trust, of which Young is an ambassador, together with Gareth Gates and Darius Danesh, the runner-up and third-placed contestant in ''Pop Idol''. In June 2002, Young performed at the Queen's Jubilee Concert in the grounds of Buckingham Palace, singing "We Are the Champions" with Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor.

During July 2002, Young sang at two concerts with the renowned songwriter Burt Bacharach at Hammersmith Apollo and at the Liverpool Summerpops event. In August 2002, he performed at the closing ceremony of the 2002 Commonwealth Games, singing "I Get the Sweetest Feeling" in the pouring rain. He was praised by the announcer, Grandmaster Flash, who said that it was not easy entering a talent show. November 2002 brought an appearance at the Royal Command Performance. In November 2003, Young performed the wartime song "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square", accompanied by the Squadronaires, at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

The songs Young sang on ''Pop Idol'' were:

!Week	!Theme	!Song performed	!Artist
Audition	Idol's Choice	"Blame It on the Boogie"	The Jacksons
London Rounds	Day 1 – Part 1		The Drifters
London Rounds	Day 1 – Part 2		O-Town
London Rounds	Day 2	"Fastlove"	George Michael
Top 50	Semi Finals	"Light My Fire"	The Doors
Top 10	Inspiring Artists	"Until You Come Back to Me"	Aretha Franklin
Top 9	Christmas Songs	"Winter Wonderland"	Perry Como
Top 8	Burt Bacharach Music	"Wives and Lovers"
Top 7	Film Hits		Bill Withers/ Andy Williams
Top 6	Songs of ABBA	"The Name of the Game"	ABBA
Top 5	Big Band	"We Are in Love"	Harry Connick, Jr.
Top 4	No. 1 Hits	"Night Fever""There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)"	Bee GeesThe Eurythmics
Top 3	Judges' Choice		Bobby DarinJackie Wilson
Top 2	Idol Single A-SideIdol's FavouriteIdol Single AA-Side	"Anything Is Possible (Will Young song)	Will YoungThe Doors/Jose Feliciano[[Westlife

From Now On (2002–05)

Young's first single was a double A-side featuring Westlife's song "Evergreen" and "Anything Is Possible", a new song written for the winner of the show by Chris Braide and Cathy Dennis. In March 2002, this became the fastest-selling debut in UK chart history, selling 403,027 copies on its day of release (1,108,659 copies in its first week). It went on to sell over 1.7 million copies, and on the official list of the all-time best-selling singles in the UK issued later that year, it was ranked eleventh. In 2008, Official Charts Company released the Top 40 Biggest Selling Singles of the 21st century (so far) in which Will's version of Evergreen topped the chart. On 31 December 2009, Radio 1 confirmed that "Anything Is Possible"/"Evergreen" was the biggest selling single of the 2000s decade in the United Kingdom. "Anything is possible" won an Ivor Novello Award for Bestselling Song of 2002.

In October 2002, Young released his debut album, ''From Now On'', which included "Evergreen" nominated in the Best single category in 2003 at the BRIT Awards and "Anything Is Possible". It produced three singles: "Light My Fire", "The Long and Winding Road" (a duet with Gareth Gates, released as a double A-side with Gates's song "Suspicious Minds") and "Don't Let Me Down"/"You and I" (released in aid of Children in Need). He won his first BRIT Award in February 2003 as Best Breakthrough Artist.

''Friday's Child'' and ''Keep On'' (2003–06)

Young's second album, ''Friday's Child'', was released in December 2003. It features the singles "Leave Right Now", nominated in the Best British single category of the past 25 years at the 2005 BRIT Awards and winner of the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically in 2004, "Your Game" (which won Young his second BRIT Award in 2005) and "Friday's Child" In November 2005, Young released his third album, ''Keep On'', which included the single "All Time Love", nominated in the Best British Single category at the 2007 BRIT Awards. Other singles from the album were "Switch It On" and "Who Am I".

In May 2006, he sang at the Prince's Trust 30th Birthday, which took place at the Tower of London. From 12 September until 2 October 2006, Young toured the UK with his ''Keep On Live'' tour, which included the songs taken from his album ''Keep On'' and a selection of past songs. The official merchandise range for the tour, highlighted by the press, included a "tip and strip" pen which, when turned over, reveals Young in his underpants. In October 2006, Young sang at Nitin Sawhney's concert in the BBC Electric Proms series of concerts. He followed this by performing in South Africa for Nelson Mandela's Unite of the Stars charity concerts.

In July 2007, he appeared at the Concert for Diana at the new Wembley Stadium. Young was the headline act at the Proms in the Park, which took place in Hyde Park in September 2007 as part of the Last Night of the Proms. In September 2007, Young performed at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club with the Vanguard Big Band. Young took part in the Little Noise Sessions, a series of intimate, acoustic gigs for the learning disability charity, Mencap. He performed in November 2007 with special guests at Islington's Union Chapel.

''Let It Go'' and ''Greatest Hits'' (2008–10)

On 29 September 2008, Young's fourth album, ''Let It Go'', was released. It peaked at Nº2 in the album charts, having been preceded by the single "Changes", which was released on 15 September and peaked at Nº10 in the UK Singles Chart. His next single "Grace" was released on 1 December 2008, and peaked at Nº33 on the UK Singles Chart. The third single taken from the album, "Let It Go", was released on 2 March 2009 in the UK, and peaked at Nº58 on the UK Singles Chart. The fourth and final single, "Tell Me the Worst", was released in the UK only, on 5 July 2009. It served as a club promo, and featured some Fred Falke remixes.

In April 2008, Young again appeared at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club with the Vanguard Big Band. Young is to perform at various festivals during mid 2008, including Glastonbury, T In the Park in Scotland and Bestival on the Isle of Wight.

On 24 August 2008 Young appeared at the Olympic Party which took place in the Mall, London. He performed his latest single Changes and I Can See Clearly Now, which was originally sung by Johnny Nash. On an interview with Digital Spy, Will Young revealed that he was working on a Dance-Pop album, which might be released in late 2009. He also confirmed that he was working with British duo Groove Armada, Superbass, who remixed his UK Top 10 single "Changes", and Gregg Alexander, who has previously worked with British pop singers Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Geri Halliwell. He also confirmed that he is working on an album covering songs by Noël Coward, which is as yet in its very early stages and he "doesn't know if it will end up". Young performed in a sell-out theatre tour, commencing on 16 November 2008 and continuing until 13 December 2008 with two dates at the Roundhouse in Camden, London.

Young was the featured singer on the X-Factor programme on ITV1 on Saturday 1 November 2008. He also mentored the remaining contestants. On 31 December 2008 Young was featured as a guest on Elton John's Live New Year show at the O2 Arena in London. He joined Sir Elton in the song Daniel. Young was one of the performers at the BBC's "Live at Blackpool" programme on BBC Radio 2 on Saturday 5 September 2009.

Young's greatest hits collection was released on 16 November 2009. It included two brand new songs, one of them the single "Hopes & Fears". The album was a success on the charts, being certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. In 2010 Will Young collaborated with Groove Armada on their album Black Light, singing vocals on the track 'History'. As part of his 2010 outdoor summer tour, it was announced that he would be a special guest and play on the Queen's Sandringham Estate, Sandringham in Norfolk. Pop singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor was his supporting act for his 2010 tour.

Recently his 2003 song "Leave Right Now" has been featured on ''American Idol'' as the "departing song". He also performed live on the programme on 25 May 2010. Young gave his first U.S. concert on 26 May at West Hollywood's Ultra Suede nightclub. He was also featured on the cover of the U.S. magazine ''Instinct''.

''Echoes'' (2011–present)

In early 2011, Will tweeted teaser clips of tracks from his new album, 'Echoes', which was subsequently released on 22 August 2011 and entered the UK Album charts at No. 1 on 29 August 2011 making it Youngs first number one album since "Friday's Child" in 2003. The first single is called 'Jealousy', and premiered on BBC Radio 2, between 9.00am-12noon, Monday 11 July 2011, as confirmed on Will's Facebook page. The single was released on 21 August 2011, preceding the album by 1 day with the single peaking at No.5. "A Night With...Will Young" was aired two days before the release of Echoes on ITV1 presented by Kate Thornton charting all of Young's greatest hits plus performing a few new tracks from the album. Young appeared on the third episode of the Jonathan Ross Show performing a track from Echoes to further promote the album. Will has announced a brand new 23 date UK tour including 2 nights at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire.

Other ventures

Acting career

Young added acting to his repertoire when he accepted a role in the BBC film ''Mrs. Henderson Presents'', starring Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins, in which he played Bertie. The film was released in the UK in November 2005 to excellent reviews—not least for Young's performance as both actor and singer in the film. The scene, in which Young appears naked, postdated his "absolutely thrilled" acceptance of the British male Rear of the Year Award 2005, an accolade to add to the Most Stylish Male Music Star, Best Bod, Sexiest Star, Best Dressed and Best Hair awards he had already won.

Young trod the boards in the Royal Exchange Theatre's production of ''The Vortex'' by Noël Coward. This production ran from January to March 2007 and Young played the leading role of Nicky Lancaster. Critics, including Nicholas de Jongh, were very positive.

In October 2007 Young narrated an audio version of the Roald Dahl novel ''Danny, the Champion of the World''.

Young also appeared in the Marple drama ''The Mirror Crack'd From Side To Side'' and guest starred in an episode of ''Skins'' in 2010.

In 2011, he starred in a new drama series on Sky Living called ''Bedlam'', about supernatural happenings taking place at a disused asylum being converted into loft-style apartments. The £3 million six-part series began airing on 7 February 2011. It was distributed by BBC Worldwide.

In November 2004, Young presented a documentary entitled ''Runaways'' as part of the Children in Need campaign, highlighting the problems facing distressed teens who run away from home, and the plight they were in being picked up off the streets and railway stations by pimps who offered them work and drugs. The children did not know where to go for immediate help unless they were picked up by the police and sent to a refuge centre.

During June 2007 a series of documentaries entitled ''Saving Planet Earth'' was shown on BBC Television. Young filmed an episode about saving the gorillas of West Africa during his visit to Africa earlier in the year.

In March 2009, ITV1 arts programme, The South Bank Show presented an hour long fly on the wall documentary about Young that they had been filming over the course of the year as he returned to promote the ''Let It Go'' album. It showed him in Iceland filming the video for the ''Let It Go'' single, backstage before his performance on The X Factor and on his UK theatre tour from November 2008 amongst other segments.

Young has been made a "Companion" of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.

Young was a guest on Top Gear during season 12 episode 2 and was the fastest wet lap around the track in the Chevrolet Lacetti.

Young is making a documentary about Ralph Fiennes production of Shakespeare's Coriolanus which is being filmed in Serbia. He also has a small role in the film as well as being Executive Producer.

In August 2011, ITV based an hour-long programme on Young, entitled "A Night with Will Young". This was to promote the release of his most recent album, Echoes.

31 October 2011, Will was the guest host of Never Mind The Buzzcocks.

Other work

On 27 October 2008, Young spoke on Celebrity at the Oxford Union, where he showed an interest in forming a band named 'Will Young and the Credit Crunchers'. he was invited to appear on ''Question Time'' after he revealed he was a fan of the show. He participated in the edition from Dunstable, Bedfordshire, in February 2009 and March 2012

Young supports the charity Women's Aid, about which he wrote: "I am proud to put my name beside this cause, and hope that I might be able to help more people affected by the terrors of domestic violence, as well as help to create a wider awareness within our society."

Young also supports Mencap—about which he wrote, "I'm very much in this for the long term, and I'd like to help continue to break down peoples' misconceptions and prejudices"—, The Children's Society Safe and Sound Campaign, and ''Positive Action Southwest'' (PASW), for which he performed at his first solo concert, in July 2003, at Killerton House, Exeter.

Young has been an ambassador for the Prince's Trust since 2002, and performed at the 30th anniversary concert in the grounds of the Tower of London.

Together with Dame Helen Mirren, Helena Bonham Carter and Martin Freeman, Young appeared in a series of advertisements during the Christmas period 2007 for Oxfam; "Oxfam Unwrapped".

Young is the ambassador for ''Mood Foundation'', a charity which aims to build a database of private therapists and alternative therapies to treat various types of depressive conditions. It was set up by Young's twin brother Rupert Young.

Young is an ambassador for Catch22, a UK young people's charity, which supports young people in tough situations. The young people may come from tough upbringings or districts, where poverty, crime and unemployment are common features. They may be leaving care, truanting, or have been excluded from school. Some of them have started getting into trouble with the police or may have got as far as custody. In April 2011 Young ran the London Marathon for Catch22.

Personal life

In March 2002, Young revealed that he is gay, pre-empting a tabloid newspaper that was preparing to out him. He also stated that he had never hidden and was comfortable with his sexuality.

Discography

''From Now On'' (2002)

''Friday's Child'' (2003)

''Keep On'' (2005)

''Let It Go'' (2008)

''Echoes'' (2011)

Filmography

+ Film and television credits
Title	Year	Medium	Role	Notes
''Mrs Henderson Presents''	2005	Feature film	Bertie
! scope="row"	2010	Television series	T Love	Appeared in the fourth series in the episode titled "Freddie"
''Marple: The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side''	2010	Television film	Casey Croft
! scope="row"	2011	Television series	Ryan McAllister
''A Night With Will Young''	2011	Television Special	Himself

References

External links

Official website

Will Young discography at Discogs.

.

Will Young Tour Review on the Daily Music Guide, 6 November 2008.

Interview with Will Young on the Daily Music Guide, 8 November 2008.

Category:1979 births Category:People educated at the Arts Educational Schools Category:Alumni of the University of Exeter Category:Brit Award winners Category:English film actors Category:English male singers Category:English pop singers Category:English stage actors Category:Gay actors Category:Idol series winners Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Gay musicians from the United Kingdom Category:LGBT people from England Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Berkshire Category:People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Category:People from Hungerford Category:People from Reading, Berkshire Category:People from Wokingham Category:Pop Idol contestants Category:RCA Records artists Category:Jive Records artists Category:The X Factor judges Category:The X Factor (UK) Category:Twin people from England

cy:Will Young da:Will Young de:Will Young es:Will Young fa:ویل یانگ fr:Will Young id:Will Young it:Will Young nl:Will Young ja:ウィル・ヤング pl:Will Young pt:Will Young ru:Янг, Уилл simple:Will Young fi:Will Young sv:Will Young th:วิล ยัง

name	Rosie Ribbons
birth name	Rosemary Ribbons
birth date	July 22, 1983
background	solo_singer
origin	Dubbo, Australia
genre	PopAdult Contemporary
years active	2002–2003
label	Telstar Records
website	Official websiteOfficial MySpace }}

Rosemary "Rosie" Ribbons (born 22 July 1983) is an Australian-born, UK-raised singer-songwriter. In the early 1980s, her English father (from North London), Ronald, visited Australia. He met and married Rosie's mother Carol, and the family moved to Pontardawe near Swansea when Rosie was four, to be near Ron's parents who had moved from London to South Wales for work prior to retiring.

Ribbons reportedly wanted to be a pop singer ever since she was eight years old. A big fan of Mariah Carey, she learned to mimic her singing, and also started to write her own songs. She lost interest during her final school year, passing only two GCSEs, English and Drama.

''Pop Idol''

In 2001, bored with her supermarket job, Ribbons auditioned for ITV1's talent show ''Pop Idol''. She initially performed her own composition called "Colours" to judges Simon Cowell, Nicki Chapman, Neil Fox and record producer Pete Waterman. Although impressed with her vocal, Cowell suggested that she pick a more familiar song. Taking his advice, Ribbons then wowed the panel with a rendition of "Hero" by Mariah Carey, a performace that moved Waterman to tears.

Ribbons progressed through the competition and made the top 50. She won her heat by a landslide with a stunning version of "Everything I Do" by Bryan Adams, receiving over half of the total votes cast for her group. At this juncture Ribbons was named amongst the favorites to win, but was voted out by viewers a few weeks before Will Young was crowned winner on 9 February 2002, ultimately finishing in 6th place.

Telstar

Although Ribbons did not win ''Pop Idol'', Telstar Records signed her to a five album deal, reportedly worth £1,000,000. After supporting Blue and Liberty X on tour, her first two singles "Blink" and "A Little Bit" (a cover by Jessica Simpson) were both UK top-20 hits, but due to Telstar's financial problems her contract was subsequently terminated.

Even though this million-pound deal was terminated, a promotional version of Ribbons's debut album did surface under the title "Misbehaving". The track list included her self-written Pop Idol audition song "Colours", among the following:

#"Good Thing" (4:03) #"A Little Bit" (4:02) #"Blink" (3:15) #"Deadly Sin #8" (3:30) #"Heaven" (3:52) #"Coming Up for Air" (3:45) #"Trusted" (3:51) #"No Space to Rent" (3:32) #"Even Angels" (3:48) #"Ain't That the Way" (4:09) #"Colours" (4:13)

According to the forthcoming album information on the official artwork of the "Blink" single, this unreleased debut was originally titled "Levitate".

After Telstar

In 2005 Ribbons returned to the studio to work on a new album. Three tracks were recorded and due to appear on this album ("Nothing's Changed", "Butterfly Kisses" and "If Only the World Could Smile") as well as a cover of The B52's hit "Groove is in the Heart".

Clips of all these recordings could be heard on her official myspace page, however, no new album or singles were released.

''Australian Idol''

In 2007, now living in Dubbo, Australia, Ribbons auditioned for ''Australian Idol'' with another original song, "Butterfly Wings". This time the judges did not ask for a second, more familiar song. She was accepted into the Top 100 and went on to make the Top 24.

In the fourth semi-finals on 29 August 2007 Ribbons sang R.E.M's "Everybody Hurts". She was the last contestant to perform on the night. On 30 August 2007, Ribbons did not make the final 12, nor was she chosen to come back as a wild card, therefore she was officially eliminated from the competition.

After ''Australian Idol''

Ribbons returned to the UK after ''Australian Idol'' to perform and record new music. She released the singles "Laws of Attraction" and "Turning Point" featuring MOBO Award winner MC Neat in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

In March 2012 Ribbons was the featured vocalist on the title track of the Alonestar EP "Warrior", a release which also featured English singer-songwriter and Brit Award winner Ed Sheeran, who Ribbons features alongside on the track "All Falls Down" from the same EP.

Discography

Singles

{|class="wikitable" |- !align="left"|Single !align="left"|Month !align="left"|Year !align="left"|Country ! style="text-align:center;"|Chart Position |- |align="left"|"Blink" | style="text-align:center;"|November | style="text-align:center;"|2002 | style="text-align:center;"|UK | style="text-align:center;"|12 |- |align="left"|"A Little Bit" | style="text-align:center;"|January | style="text-align:center;"|2003 | style="text-align:center;"|UK | style="text-align:center;"|19 |- |align="left"|"Good Thing" | style="text-align:center;"|March | style="text-align:center;"|2003 | style="text-align:center;"|UK | style="text-align:center;"| |- |align="left"|"Heaven / Groove is in the Heart" | style="text-align:center;"|April | style="text-align:center;"|2003 | style="text-align:center;"|UK | style="text-align:center;"| |- |align="left"|"Groove is in the Heart / Naked" | style="text-align:center;"|May | style="text-align:center;"|2003 | style="text-align:center;"|UK | style="text-align:center;"| |- |align="left"|"Laws of Attraction" | style="text-align:center;"|February | style="text-align:center;"|2010 | style="text-align:center;"|UK | style="text-align:center;"|– |- |align="left"|"Turning Point: Just Like Dis" feat. MC Neat | style="text-align:center;"|April | style="text-align:center;"|2011 | style="text-align:center;"|UK | style="text-align:center;"|– |- |align="left"|"Warrior" Alonestar feat. Rosie Ribbons | style="text-align:center;"|March | style="text-align:center;"|2012 | style="text-align:center;"|UK | style="text-align:center;"|Unknown |- |align="left"|"All Falls Down" Alonestar feat. Rosie Ribbons and Ed Sheeran | style="text-align:center;"|March | style="text-align:center;"|2012 | style="text-align:center;"|UK | style="text-align:center;"|Unknown |}

Albums

{|class="wikitable" |- !align="left"|Album !align="left"|Year !align="left"|Country ! style="text-align:center;"|Chart |- |align="left"|"Misbehaving/Levitate" | style="text-align:center;"|2002 | style="text-align:center;"|UK | style="text-align:center;"| |}

A blank box indicates it was not released

References

External links

Official website

Rosie releases album

Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:Australian Idol participants Category:People from Dubbo Category:Pop Idol contestants Category:Welsh female singers

name	Ant & Dec
birth date	Anthony David McPartlinNovember 18, 1975Newcastle upon Tyne, England Declan Joseph Oliver DonnellySeptember 25, 1975Newcastle upon Tyne, England
nationality	English
occupation	TV presenters, actors
years active	1988–present
website	www.officialantanddec.com}}

Anthony McPartlin (born 18 November 1975) and Declan Donnelly (born 25 September 1975), known collectively as Ant & Dec, are an English comedy and TV presenting duo from Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The duo first rose to fame as actors on the children's television show ''Byker Grove'', during which and in their subsequent pop career they were respectively known as PJ & Duncan - the names of the characters they played on the show. Since then, Ant & Dec have had a very successful career as TV presenters, presenting shows such as ''SMTV Live'', ''Friends Like These'', ''Pop Idol'', ''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'', ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'', ''PokerFace'', ''Push the Button'', ''Britain's Got Talent'', ''Red or Black?'' and ''Text Santa''. They have also returned to acting, starring in a 2002 ''Tribute to The Likely Lads'' and the 2006 film ''Alien Autopsy''.

Ant is the taller of the two at 5'8" (1.73 m) and Dec is two inches shorter at 5'6" (1.68 m). It is a running joke that many people do not know who is Ant and who is Dec, even though their appearances differ significantly. To assist with identification, they follow the 180 degree rule; all their TV appearances and publicity photos have Ant on the left and Dec on the right, but even this does not help everyone.

Background

Anthony McPartlin was born on 18 November 1975 and Declan Donnelly was born on 25 September 1975. They met each other while working on the BBC children's drama ''Byker Grove'' in 1989. After a shaky start, they soon became best friends. They have achieved such popularity as a duo that they are hardly ever seen apart on screen. Indeed, it is reported that they are each insured against the other's death, although the amount is unknown. Their inseparability has led to them receiving joint nominations for many awards.

Career

Acting

Although Ant had built some television experience with a brief stint on the children's television series ''Why Don't You?'', which was broadcast on the BBC, Dec was the first of the two to acquire his place on the BBC children's drama ''Byker Grove''. He joined in 1989, playing Duncan. A year later, Ant joined the cast playing PJ. Their friendship began when their storylines collided, creating a friendship off screen as well as on. Dec also played a stable boy in the adaptation of the novel ''The Cinder Path'' in his teenage years.

Music

After leaving television, the duo turned their hand to pop music. Their first single was a song they performed while part of Byker Grove, entitled "Tonight I'm Free". The single had some success, and the duo went on to record two albums under their character names of PJ & Duncan. Later songs included "Why Me?", "If I Give You My Number", "Eternal Love" "Our Radio Rocks", "U Krazy Katz" and a cover of the The Monkees classic "Stepping Stone". Their most famous hit during this period was the BRIT Award nominated "Let's Get Ready To Rhumble", for which the video was choreographed by Mark Short, who had previously worked with Tina Turner and Peter Andre. For their third album, the duo reinvented themselves under their real names of Ant & Dec. The album featured their signature single "Shout". Their final single release was "Falling", which was the track that subsequently ended their musical career. The track was pulled from the British charts under the instruction of their record label, Telstar Records, after claims of copyright infringement were made, brought about by a pop duo, 'And all because...', who were also managed by Ant and Dec's management team. The duo claimed that Ant & Dec had stolen the song from them and released it without their consent. Subsequently, Telstar Records decided not to renew their existing contract, and they were dropped from the label. During their time, the pair released sixteen singles and three studio albums, however, none of their releases managed to reach number one, with their highest UK chart position being #3. The duo did, however, reach the top ten in Germany and Japan, and even had a number-one single in Germany, with their cover of the Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do Is Dream". Success also struck in other European countries. The duo had a short lived revival in the music industry, releasing a song for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, entitled "We're On The Ball". The track peaked at #3, being beaten by Will Young and Gareth Gates.

Presenting

Children's television

Ant & Dec got their first presenting job in 1994, while they were still releasing music under the alias of PJ & Duncan. They co-presented a Saturday-morning children's show entitled ''Gimme 5'', which was broadcast on CITV. The show only lasted two series before being dropped from the airwaves. In 1995, the duo were once again offered a job on CBBC, this time presenting their own series, entitled ''The Ant & Dec Show''. The series was broadcast from 1995 to 1997, and in 1996, Ant & Dec won two BAFTA Awards, one for 'Best Children's Show' and one for 'Best Sketch Comedy Show'. In 1997, a VHS release, entitled ''The Ant & Dec Show - Confidential'', was made available in shops, and featured an hour of the best bits from three years of the programme, as well as specially recorded sketches and music videos. In 1998, the duo switched to Channel 4, presenting a early-evening children's show entitled ''Ant & Dec Unzipped''. This show also won a BAFTA, but was dropped from the airwaves after just one series. ITV soon signed the duo in August 1998, and within weeks, were assigned to present ITV1's Saturday morning programmes ''SMTV Live'' and ''CD:UK'', alongside old friend Cat Deeley. The duo presented the shows alongside Deeley for three years, before making their permanent departure from children's television in 2001. Two VHS releases, compiling the best bits from both shows, were released in 2000 and 2001 respectively. The pair also starred in the children's TV series Engie Benjy during their time on ''SMTV''.

Primetime

Ant & Dec's first primetime presenting job came in the form of BBC Saturday-night game show ''Friends Like These'', which was first broadcast in 1999. The duo presented four series of the programme between 1999 and 2001. In 2001, the duo's contract with ITV was renewed for a further three years, following their appearances on ''SMTV Live'' and ''CD:UK'', and received their first primetime presenting job on the station, presenting brand new Saturday night reality series ''Pop Idol''. The series was broadcast for two series only, and was replaced in 2004 by ''The X Factor'', to which Kate Thornton was assigned presenting duties.

In August of the same year, Ant & Dec were also assigned to their own game show, entitled ''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway''. The show has so far ran for nine series, broadcast between 2002 and 2009. itv.com confirmed that the show is set to return in 2012 after being off air for three years. During the fourth series, Dec broke his arm, thumb and suffered a concussion whilst completing a challenge for the 'Ant vs. Dec' segment of the show. The incident involved learning how to ride a motorbike and jumping through a ring of fire. During the challenge, Dec failed to pull hard enough on the throttle of the bike, causing it to topple over and sending him flying through the air. The accident caused the pair to miss the ''Comic Relief'' charity telethon of 2005. In 2006, the first episode of series five saw the duo abseil down the side of the 22-storey high London Studios, where the show was filmed. Two DVDs, a best-bits book and a board game of the series were released during 2004.

In May 2002, Ant & Dec took the helm of a further reality series, entitled ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''. The series has been broadcasting on ITV1 since 2002, and ten series have been broadcast. The duo drew their highest viewing figures to date while presenting the series in February 2004, with nearly 15 million tuning in to watch the climax of the third series. In May 2006, the duo were assigned to present coverage of the charity football match ''Soccer Aid''. The duo were then invited back to present coverage of the second match in September 2007, and have since presented coverage of each yearly match. In June 2006, the duo announced they had created a new game-show format for ITV1, entitled ''PokerFace''. The show featured members of the public gambling high stakes of money in an attempt to win the ultimate prize. The first series began airing on 10 July 2006, and was aired for seven consecutive nights. The second series was broadcast in early 2007, and saw a move to a prime-time Saturday slot. Ratings for the series fell to below 3.5 million, and the series was subsequently axed in March 2007. A board game of the format was released in 2008.

In April 2007, the duo signed a two-year golden handcuffs deal with ITV, reportedly worth £40 million, securing the duo's career at the station until the end of 2009. In June 2007, the duo were offered the job of presenters on new ITV reality platform ''Britain's Got Talent'' by Simon Cowell. The series features contestants aiming to win £100,000 and spot on the bill at the Royal Variety Performance, while performing and being judged by Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan. The series was highly successful, drawing in nearly 12 million viewers. A second series was broadcast in May 2008, and drew in nearly 14.5 million viewers. The duo have since returned to present three further series of the show, and have also had a regular feature on the ITV2 spin-off show ''Britain's Got More Talent''.

The pair filmed a series of six episodes for a new American game show, ''Wanna Bet?'', in November 2007. The episodes was broadcast in 2008, but failed to attract enough interest for a second series to be commissioned. ''What You Wrote'', another format created by the duo, was due to air in Autumn 2008 but was reportedly axed by ITV. In 2010, the duo debuted a replacement for their previous Saturday-night game show format, ''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'', entitled ''Ant & Dec's Push the Button''. The series was a success, and a second run of the programme was broadcast in 2011.

Ant & Dec have also presented the new game show ''Red or Black?'', a creation of Cowell's, airing live on ITV1. On 24 December 2011, they presented ITV's charity initiative ''Text Santa'' with Holly Willoughby.

Other activities

In April 2008, it was reported that Ant & Dec's production company, Gallowgate Productions, had purchased the rights to ''Byker Grove'' and ''SMTV Live'', after the production companies that made them, Zenith Entertainment and Blaze Television, had both gone bankrupt in 2007. According to reports, the duo decided to purchase the rights to stop digital channels showing repeats of the programmes. On 28 September 2008, it was reported that the pair were attacked by the Taliban whilst in Afghanistan to present a Pride Of Britain Award. In December 2008, the duo starred in a seasonal advert, their first in seven years, for the supermarket chain Sainsbury's. The duo appeared alongside chef Jamie Oliver. In March 2009, the duo filmed a short film for inclusion on Comic Relief, which highlighted their story upon visiting a community centre for young carers in the North East. In September 2009, the duo released their official autobiography, entitled "Ooh! What a Lovely Pair. Our Story". In October 2010, the duo appeared in several Nintendo adverts playing both the Wii and Nintendo DS. In 2011, they both appeared on ''Celebrity Juice'' on ITV2.

Controversies

In 1997, Welsh pop duo 'And all because...' successfully obtained legal aid and filed legal papers against Ant & Dec, along with their management team, record company and producers for copyright infringement over the song "Falling", and this was subsequently Ant & Dec's last single.

Law firm Olswang were commissioned to investigate the 2005 British Comedy Awards when the producers overturned the voting public's first choice, ''The Catherine Tate Show'' in favour of ''Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'' for the People's Choice Award. The incident is also the subject of an investigation by media regulator Ofcom.

Following allegations of fraud in 2007, an investigation by auditors Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu discovered that two shows, ''Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon'' and ''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'', had defrauded viewers participating in phone-ins. The programmes were subject to a further investigation by Ofcom which found that between January 2003 and October 2006 ''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'' had:

selected competition finalists before the telephone lines were announced as closed

staggered the selection of competition finalists which meant that viewers entering the competition did not have a fair and equal chance of winning

selected finalists on the basis of their suitability to be on television and where they lived

selected an individual already known to the production team to be placed on the shortlist of potential winners and who went on to win the competition

and between September and October 2005, ''Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon'' had:

on six occasions in the Prize Mountain competition, selected winners based on their suitability to be on screen

failed to account for almost half of the competition entries

One episode of ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' was also found to be in breach of Ofcom rules.

The pair were ridiculed for their alleged participation in the fraud on the front cover of the satirical magazine ''Private Eye''.

On 10 September 2008, Ant & Dec announced that the frauds "will never happen again", insisting that a high-tech system and strict rules will ensure viewers cannot lose out with poorly monitored premium rate phone lines. On 30 September 2008, it was reported that Ant & Dec were being sued for $30 million by Greek American stand-up comedian and actor ANT for using "his" name in the United States. The lawsuit, among other things, alleges trademark infringement and fraud. The suit was dismissed in May of 2010. In October 2009, Kelly Brook claimed that Ant & Dec had been the cause of her removal as the fourth judge on ''Britain's Got Talent''. She claimed that she was asked to leave the show after she upset the pair.

Acting

They have, albeit infrequently, returned to acting. They played themselves in the film ''Love Actually'' (in which Bill Nighy's character referred to Dec as "Ant or Dec"). They have returned to their Geordie roots in a one-off tribute to ''The Likely Lads'' and also by returning to ''Byker Grove'' for Geoff's funeral.

In 1998, the pair starred in the pantomime ''Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs'' at Sunderland's Empire Theatre alongside Donnelly's partner at the time Clare Buckfield. The show was financially unsuccessful, making £20,000 less than it cost to stage, with the duo footing a large share of the shortfall.

Al Burton, creator of the American gameshow ''Win Ben Stein's Money'', had approached Ant & Dec's talent agency with a proposal for a new reality television show entitled ''Ant & Dec Get Killed'' (after the film ''Penn & Teller Get Killed''), in which the two scheme to murder one another, framed with a lighthearted soundtrack and canned laughter. Burton received negative public reaction and narrowly escaped being charged with several accounts of premeditated murder in British courts, and Ant & Dec refused the offer from the talent agency.

Ant & Dec's most recent acting appearance was in the film ''Alien Autopsy'' released in April 2006. The film gained mixed reviews about the storyline but the pair received generally good reviews for their acting abilities.

Awards

In 2005, as part of the ITV Network's 50th birthday celebrations, they were back on television fronting ''Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon'', a celebration of some of ITV's most enduring gameshows from the past 50 years.

In 2006, a celebration to the show ''Spitting Image'' saw Ant and Dec having their own puppets made. They have also been made into cartoon characters on the comedy show ''2DTV'', and face masks in ''Avid Merrion'''s ''Bo Selecta''. Wax works of the duo can also be seen in London's ''Madame Tussauds''.

In September 2006, they were voted by the general public as number 7 in a poll of ''TV's 50 Greatest Stars''.

1994 Brit Award Nomination - Best Song: "Let's Get Ready to Rhumble"

2001

Most Popular Entertainment Presenter (SMTV Live)

2002

Most Popular Entertainment Presenter (Pop Idol)

National Television Awards: Special Recognition Award

2003 Most Popular Entertainment presenter (''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'')

Most Popular Entertainment program (''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'')

Most Popular Reality Programme (''I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'')

2004

Most Popular Entertainment presenter (''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'')

Most Popular Entertainment programme (''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'')

2005

Most Popular Entertainment presenter (''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'')

2006 Most Popular Quiz Programme (''Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon'')

Most Popular Entertainment presenter (''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'')

British Comedy Awards: Best Comedy Entertainment Personality British Comedy Awards: Best Comedy Entertainment Programme

2007

Most Popular Entertainment presenter (''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'')

Most Popular Entertainment program (''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'')

Most Popular Reality Programme (''I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'')

2008 TV Quick & TV Choice Awards: Best Entertainment Show (''Saturday Night Takeaway'') Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice Awards 2008: Favourite Funny Person, Best TV presenters and Best Family TV show (''Britain's Got Talent'') National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment Presenter

2009

TV Quick & TV Choice Awards: Best Entertainment Show (''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'')

TV Quick & TV Choice Awards:Outstanding Contribution Award

2010

National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment Presenter

National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment Programme (''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'')

British Academy Television Awards: Entertainment Performance (''I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'')

2011

National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment Presenter

National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment Programme (''I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'')

2012

National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment Presenter

National Television Awards

Ant and Dec has won the National Television awards award Best Entertainment presenter 11 years running 2001 to 2012

List of television appearances

''Why Don't You?'' (1980s)

''Byker Grove'' (1989)

''Engie Benjy'' (2002)

As presenters

''The Ant & Dec Show'' (1995–1997)

''Ant & Dec Unzipped'' (1998)

''SMTV Live'' (1998–2001)

''CD:UK'' (1998–2001)

''Friends Like These'' (1999–2001)

''Slap Bang with Ant & Dec'' (2001)

''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003)

''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'' (2002–2009, 2012/13)

''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' (2002–present)

''Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon'' (2005)

''Soccer Aid'' (2006, 2008)

''PokerFace'' (2006–2007)

''Britain's Got Talent'' (2007–present)

''Ant & Dec's Christmas Show'' (26 December 2009)

''Ant & Dec's Push the Button'' (2010–2011)

''Red or Black?'' (2011–present)

''Text Santa'' (24 December 2011)

Television advertisements

Woolworths (Christmas 2001)

McDonald's (voiceover only, 2002)

Sainsbury's (Christmas 2008)

Wii / Nintendo DS (2010/2011)

Television idents

ITV1 "Celebrities" idents (3 idents, 2002)

ITV1 "Abstract celebrities" idents (5 idents, 2003)

References

External links

Speaker's Corner article

Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:Articles about multiple people Category:British comedy duos Category:British hip hop groups Category:Musical duos Category:English game show hosts Category:English people of Irish descent Category:English pop music groups Category:Musicians from Newcastle upon Tyne Category:Pop Idol Category:Sony/ATV Music Publishing artists Category:Ant & Dec

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