What's hot and what's not
Find out what's in style and what's not in the UK at the moment.
HOT!
- Corinne Bailey-Rae
- Andy Murray
- Christmas songs
- Celebrity fitness videos
- Soapstar Superstar
Corinne Bailey-Rae – HOT!
British soul singer, Corinne Bailey Rae, has been hailed as a rising
star after she topped the Sound of 2006 poll on the BBC News website.
The poll asks UK critics and broadcasters who they see to be the stars
of the upcoming year, and it bodes well for Bailey-Rae that the experts
don't often seem to get it wrong. In previous years, the poll has
predicted success for acts such as Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, the
Scissor Sisters, 50 Cent and the Kaiser Chiefs.
Bailey-Rae, a 26-year-old from Leeds in the north of England, has been
compared to blues legend Billie Holiday because of her unique mix of
soul, blues and pop. She released her debut EP, Like a Star, in
November and her first album is due for release in March this year.
'I'm just totally shocked because I didn't really think anyone had even
heard of me at all,' she said of the Sound of 2006 results.
US indie group Clap Your Hands Say Yeah came second in the poll.
To find out more about Corinne, and to hear some snippets of her style, check out her website.
Christmas songs – NOT!
Every year the same songs come out to play – again, and again, and again, and we're glad to get a breather come January.
Some are pleasant, some are corny and some are downright annoying, but
every year in the UK, the same Christmas songs can be heard playing on
every station, in every shop and in every office.
Come January, along with the post-Christmas and New Year blues,
hearing one of the familiar tunes will either have you smiling as you
look back on another wonderful Christmas, or blocking your ears in
horror as you run to escape the schmaltzy sounds.
In sport and fitness…
Andy Murray - HOT!
There's new hope for British tennis in the form of a wiry 18-year-old Scotsman, Andy Murray.
Since the young tennis star grabbed headlines at Wimbledon last year by
beating Radek Stepanek and George Bastl on his debut, he has climbed up
the rankings and is set for big things this year. With seasoned British
tennis stars Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski nearing the end of their
careers and failing to wow crowds, Murray is set to be the new tennis
champion of the UK.
He is currently the world number 84, but has his sights firmly set on
the top 20, which he hopes to reach by the end of this year. Last year
he qualified for the US Open, reaching the second round, and became the
youngest Brit ever to play in the Davis Cup.
He has so far made an impressive performance at the Heineken Open in
Auckland, and although he recently succumbed to defeat at the
Australian Open, there still seems to be great things ahead for the
young tennis star.
For more info about Andy Murray, see here
Photo credit: James Jordan
Celebrity fitness videos - NOT!
It's the next step after appearing on a reality television show, or if
your career needs a bit of a boost; celebrity fitness videos by Z-list
personalities are annoyingly swamping the UK.
A recent
program on UK's Channel 5 took a caustic look at what they called ?the
ludicrous, yet highly lucrative world of the celebrity fitness video'.
There seems to be a huge amount of celebrities out to make a quick
buck: all for the strenuous task of adding their name to a fitness
video and standing around in a pair of tights.
At least some, like Coleen (the infamous Wayne Rooney's girlfriend) or
Ulrika Jonsson actually don the tights and show you how to do the
exercises themselves, while others such as Martine McCutcheon (star of
Love Actually) just stand by and let the proper instructors do all the
work.
Other personalities to have trodden the fitness video path (with no
prior fitness qualifications other than that they have been on TV) are
ex-Big Brother housemates such as Jade Goody and Nadia Almeda, and
glamour girl Abi Titmuss. Will it never end?
And in entertainment…
Celebrity Big Brother - HOT!
It's that time of year again when the nation becomes enthralled by a
new batch of celebrities living out their mundane existence in the
famous house where Big Brother is always watching.
The 2006 version of UK's Celebrity Big Brother has kicked off, with ten
celebrities (and one fake celebrity) vying for the public vote each
week.
This year's line up includes glamour model Jodie Marsh, ex-American
basketballer transvestite Dennis Rodman, actress and model Traci
Bingham, scandalous TV personality Michael Barrymore, and the
cosmetically-enhanced Pete Burns, famous for his 1985 single: You Spin
Me Round (Like a Record). There is also a fake celebrity, a
Paris-Hilton lookalike Chantelle, who had to convince the rest of the
housemates of her fake-celebrity status in order to earn herself a
permanent position in the house.
The nation is bizarrely fascinated with the lives of generally
not-very-famous celebrities. Celebrity Big Brother was the first
program in the ?celebrity-reality' genre, and it spawned a series of
related shows such as Strictly Come Dancing, I'm a Celebrity…Get Me
Outta Here, Celebrity Love Island, The Games and Celebrity Wrestling,
to name just a few.
At least the charities will benefit from this one. Each celebrity picks
a charity that will benefit from the money raised when viewers call to
vote for them.
To find out more, go to the official Celebrity Big Brother site.
Soapstar Superstar – NOT!
UK television reached new lows when it screened the poor attempt at
entertainment, Soapstar Superstar, a celebrity talent show where stars
from popular soaps perform in a knockout competition.
Brits love their soaps, but they're not all loving this new talent show
where stars from the UK soap lineup of Coronation Street, Emmerdale,
Holloyoaks and Eastenders, perform in front of a judging panel and for
the public vote.
The show has ten soap stars battling to gain the ?Soapstar Superstar
crown', and is seen as a poor imitation of the immensely popular
reality talent show X-Factor. We're glad it only lasts for nine days!
