It's Time To Face The Music Glasgow!

It's that time of year again where thousands of 'singers' line themselves up for hours to try and show the judges that they've got the X factor.  The search is now on for the next X Factor winner and this Saturday Scots will have their chance to impress the judges as auditions are being held at Glasgow's SECC.  Don't fret if you've not already applied because it is open auditions so if you feel like having a go at becoming the next best thing, just show up at 8am prepared with an acapella verse and chorus of a song and dress in 'bright colours' as this seems to be the dress code.

Scotland has had its fair share of talent on the show although no-one has ever really seen long term success.  I'm sure we all remember poor Gamu Nhengu who was dropped from the show by Cheryl Cole during boot camp shortly after it was discovered that she was having visa problems. 

And let's not forget Leon Jackson from Whitburn who won the fourth series of the show.  Sadly Leon was dropped by his record label in 2008 after his debut album only managed to sell 130,000 copies.  But this hasn't destroyed Leon Jackson's dream of sucess and since then he has been working on his own album and has moved away from the X Factor popstar image to create a new acoustic rock style.  He really is working his way up from the bottom again as he supported boy band Lawson in January this year at their King Tut's show in Glasgow which is a huge step down from being the headline act on the X Factor arena tour.  

The video below shows snippets from his performance at King Tut's and you can catch him there again on April 3rd supporting Allen Stone.

However having already made a name for himself I don't imagine it'll be difficult for him to be noticed and after taking on a similar style to current popular artists such as Ben Howard and Ed Sheeran, he'll fit right into the current music scene. Click here to follow Leon Jackson on Twitter and follow him on his new journey towards the top. 

But all this could change this year and you could become the first Scot to see real success from the X Factor.  If you're patient and truly talented (or truly awful) and willing to wait through the lengthy audition process you might just make it into the competition this year or at least be featured in an episode showing the auditions.  Click here to see all the info on the 2012 auditions.

S Club 7 To 'Bring It All Back'!

That's right, S Club 7 have announced today that they will be re-uniting for a tour this summer and if it is a success there is a possibility of a further two album releases.  For fans who've never had a dream come true, they certainly will have now!

It is reported that the pop group felt that now was the perfect time for a come back with the Queen's diamond jubilee and the Olympics coming up.  This is probably true, but they've most likely chosen this time to try and gain as much money as they can.  According to The Mirror, the group have been 'inundated' with offers over the past few years but have always rejected them.  It's surely no coincidence then that they decided to reform only months after seeing the success of Steps' comeback.  The Daily Record said that the group have signed a 7 figure deal to undergo their UK tour this summer, so it seems they're just looking to reunite to top up the cash and then part ways again.

S Club 7 pictured together in March 2011.

But whatever the reason, the reunion will no doubt be a roaring success and the arenas will be full of nostalgic fans in their teens and 20s reaching for the stars and bringing the house down.  When I was on a family day out to 'The Big Idea' in Irvine in 2002, we discovered that over the hill next to it was the Blue Peter Roadshow.  So as an excited 8 year old who regularly tuned in to watch Blue Peter, I was aware that S Club 7 were due to appear at the show.  With high hopes of seeing the group I was disappointed when out came a tribute band as S Club 7 themselves had cancelled.  Hopefully they'll be more reliable for their fans wanting to see them on their summer tour!

It has been 10 years since the group last played in Glasgow and they'll no doubt be stopping off this summer as a part of the tour, but expect a hefty price tag if you want to attend.  With tickets for Steps' comeback tour costing £40 a seat, S Club 7 tickets will most likely set you back around about the same if not more.  But they're ain't no party like and S Club party so maybe it'll be worth the investment!

Below is a video of the group performing 'Don't Stop Movin' in London in 2002 where you will find plenty of miming:

Give A Big Scottish Welcome To... Gavin DeGraw!

For the first time ever, American singer songwriter Gavin DeGraw took a visit to Glasgow on his recent European tour.  It's no surprise that the gig at the O2 ABC was a sell out as not only is he incredibly talented, but he is a fantastic performer!  Since I follow Gavin on Twitter, I felt like I'd been following the tour from the beginning as he had been tweeting about the other dates which built up an excitement for the event as it got closer and closer.  I even flew into Sweden on the same day as he was flying in to play the first show of the tour there. Unfortunately we never crossed paths as we were flying to different airports.

But back to the Glasgow show, after a short acoustic set from the Spanish support Juan Zelada, Gavin took to the stage and had the crowd roaring from the moment they caught the first glimpse of him.  He opened the show with my personal favourite, 'Candy', and already his talent and character were evident as he saluted the audience and then soulfully sang and played piano accompanied by his band.  What I love about seeing artists and bands live is that they never sound the same as they do on the album and there is always improvisation and Gavin was no exception.

He then moved on to one of his most popular classics: the title track from his first album, 'Chariot'.  It without a doubt gained the best response from the audience as people danced and sang their hearts out and some people even pretended to play piano along with him.  The crowd banter was also very amusing as he joked around and at one point even invited a couple to come on stage to get engaged.

He played many other much loved classics from across all 4 of his albums as well as a cover of Maroon 5's 'Moves Like Jagger', combined with his attempt at Mick Jagger's moves, and then the band left the stage and he sang a few songs alone at his piano.  The atmosphere was incredible and he also explained the meaning behind the songs which is always great to hear from an artist themselves.

One of Gavin's most famous songs is 'I Don't Wanna Be' which is the theme tune to the popular American TV Drama 'One Tree Hill'.  Gavin also appeared on the show in the first series performing his song 'Chariot' in Karen's Cafe.  I took a recording of 'I Don't Wanna Be' at the show which you can see below:

After performing 'I Don't Wanna Be', he left the stage only to be called back for an encore by 1400 Scots who couldn't get enough.  He returned and performed another two songs: 'Radiation' and his most recent single 'Not Over You'.  This was followed by him climbing onto his piano and attempting to back flip off of it like a true rock star... even although it failed but I'll give him respect for attempting!  All in all it was a fantastic gig and I'd recommend that if he returns, which he promised he would, that you go along and see him for yourself.

Here is the full set list from the show:

1.   Candy
2.   Chariot
3.   Sweeter
4.   I Have You To Thank
5.   Soldier
6.   In Love With A Girl
7.   Where You Are
8.   Follow Through
9.   Chemical Party
10. Moves Like Jagger
11. More Than Anyone
12. You Know Where I'm At
13. Let's Get It On
14. Run Everytime
15. I Don't Wanna Be

Encore
16. Radiation

17. Not Over You

Emeli Sandé Grace's Glasgow

Up and coming artist Emeli Sandé provided a treat for fans in Glasgow last week when she performed a free mini-set in HMV on Buchanan Street.  The performance took place to promote her debut album, 'Our Version of Events', which was released on the 13th February and saw around 400 fans queueing outside the store to hear her.  She sang four songs with the backing of a guitarist and her vocal ability was so powerful and graceful it could be compared to the likes of Beyoncé and the late Whitney Houston.  She was also kind enough to wait behind to allow fans who had queued for hours to meet her and have their copies of her album signed.  Her album is currently number 1 in the UK iTunes album chart and the single 'Next to Me' has the number 2 spot on the UK iTunes top 10 songs.  The album has already received the Critic's Choice at the Brit Awards and Emeli is also hoping to receive the award for Breakthrough Artist at the Brit Awards which are taking place tonight.

Emeli originally came from Alford in Aberdeenshire but later moved to Glasgow to study Neuroscience at the University of Glasgow.  Despite being a nerd who claims she revises her old uni work for fun, Emeli dropped out of uni and pursued her music career which evidently has been the right decision.

She said:

"I came to Glasgow when I was 17 and I loved it. It was the perfect city - great for being a student and I had a lot of fun here."

Here is a video of her performing 'Next to Me' live at the event:

You can catch Emeli Sandé performing live at the Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow on Tuesday 10th April 2012.  Tickets are available here.