Kelly Rowland in line for role on X Factor judging panel?

May 27, 2011 By Carl Wheeler
kelly-rowland

It’s all change for this year’s judging panel on the UK version of the X Factor with former Destiny’s Child singer, Kelly Rowland, being the latest name linked to the show.

The 30-year-old American singer has reportedly been in talks with the hit ITV show to take over Cheryl Cole’s place on the talent show, with insiders saying she’s likely to sign the contract over the weekend. With the first batch of auditions due to start on June 1st, ITV will be up against it to have the judging panel in place in time for the first contestant.

In a recent interview Kelly described the X Factor as an “amazing show” adding that she always agreed with Simon Cowell’s view on contestants.   

Last week it emerged that Danni Minogue would not be returning to the X Factor due to commitments with Australia’s Got Talent, and Simon Cowell has been replaced by Take That singer and songwriter Gary Barlow having signed a deal reportedly worth £1.5 million.

Louis Walsh will be the only surviving judge from last year’s line up on the news series, although many are hoping Cheryl Cole will return to the series after she was sensationally axed from the American version of the show amid fears the viewers couldn’t understand her strong Geordie accent.

N-Dubz star Tulsa has also been mentioned in recent newspaper reports as a possible replacement for Danni Minogue on the judging panel, however there’s been no confirmation over whether the 22-year-old will be joining Louis and Gary on this series as yet.

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Take That tour ticket sale causes mayhem

October 29, 2010 By Carl Wheeler
take-that

Tickets for the forthcoming stadium tour for the reformed former boy band, Take That, caused mayhem when they went on sale this morning at 9am.

Thousands of anxious fans took to the phones, queued outside stadiums, and brought down websites as the systems were unable to cope with the demand for tickets.

Next summer’s tour will mark the first time the band have toured together as a five-piece since 1995. Earlier this year Robbie Williams announced he would be rejoining the band which shot him to fame back in the 90’s.

The reformed group announced the dates for the 2011 Progress Tour in a press conference on Monday, and revealed the ticket would go on sale at the end of the week.

Some dedicated fans camped outside venues in order to be first in line to get their hands on the tickets which range in price from £55-£85. Other devotees hot footed it down to their local box offices after failing to get their hands on tickets online or over the phone.

Due to the huge demand for tickets, Take That have announced a second date for Cardiff with the band planning to play at the Millennium Stadium on June 14th and 15th.

The band has released a statement urging fans who are yet to get tickets to not give up. Due to the mad rush for tickets this morning, many ticket agent sites crashed as a result. However Take That say the agents are now confident they can “process all enquiries so are asking fans to keep trying”.

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Robbie Williams back for good with Take That

July 16, 2010 By Trudi Johnson
After today's announcement all 5 original Take That members are reunited

After today's announcement all 5 original Take That members are reunited

15 years after his departure from the chart topping 90’s boy band and Robbie Williams is back.

The happy news was announced today, and the reunited band also revealed that all five original members have already been working on new material for a forthcoming album which is due out in November.

The four band members Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Howard Donald re-launched the group back in 2005 to some success, picking up a number of top 10 hits and also performing a sell-out arena tour.

Robbie admitted he was “embarrassingly excited” at the prospect of re-grouping with his Take That band mates and it seems the feeling is mutual as Jason described the news as “absolutely brilliant.”

Rumours that Robbie was considering a move back with the band have been circulating for some time. Only last month the Robster revealed he and Gary Barlow had put their differences aside and have co-written a track together, Shame, which they are due to release in October.

As well as the Williams/Barlow single and the new album release, the reunited boys are looking to take the band out on the road again in a nationwide tour. According to reports the O2 Arena and Wembley Stadium are battling it out to host the £15 million Take That tour. Although the O2 is the favoured venue, it only has the capacity to hold 23,000 fans, whereas Wembley has room for an audience of 100,000.

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Robbie Williams’ new single finally revealed

September 4, 2009 By Trudi Johnson
Robbie Williams's new single revealed
Robbie Williams's new single revealed

Robbie Williams's new single revealed

A relaxed looking Robbie Williams hand delivered the first copy of his brand new single to Chris Moyles this morning. The track was heard for the first time after it was played on the legendary Radio 1 Breakfast Show.

After two and a half years out of the spotlight Robbie’s new single, Bodies, has finally been revealed and will be available to download from October 11th. Whether or not the public will take to it remains to be seen, however the Robster seems to be pretty pleased with his latest effort. Before playing the track Robbie instructed the audience to prepare themselves for “something cosmic.” After the track finished the 35-year-old unashamedly congratulated himself declaring, “Come on Williams. He’s back!”

When asked about the possibility of teaming up again with his former band, Take That, Robbie was typically elusive. At one moment the singer from Stoke said he would “really like to work with them again” and after the Breakfast Show presenter jokingly suggested that some of the Take That members were “non-committal” when asked about Rob’s potential return he quipped back with “That’s it, I’m not joining Take That then. It’s official.”

It seems the band mates are back on good terms again as Robbie explained how he had watched a taping of Take That’s recent concert with Gary Barlow a few weeks ago and said it was “one of the best shows I have ever seen.” Fellow Take That-er Mark Owen recently announced his plans to wed his long term partner this winter, and Robbie is rumoured to have received an invite.

The Angels singer now splits his time between the U.K and L.A and said he’s feeling fit and ready to launch his musical comeback after embarking upon a healthy regime, describing himself as a “food ninja.” So the old Robbie is back and he’s cockier than ever, but will his new album live up to his own hype? We’ll have to wait and see…

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Take That’s Mark Owen names the date to marry his long-term girlfriend

August 25, 2009 By Trudi Johnson
Take That singer Mark Owen set to marry Emma Ferguson
Take That singer Mark Owen set to marry Emma Ferguson

Take That singer Mark Owen set to marry Emma Ferguson

Take That singer Mark Owen has finally named that date he will make an honest woman out of long-term partner Emma Ferguson. The exact date and details of the wedding are being kept firmly under wraps, the canny pair are even keeping their guests guessing.

Patient Emma has waited 3 long years for her dream wedding to become a reality. Mark popped the question back in 2006 but in the mean time Emma has given birth to the couple’s two children, Elwood aged 3 and Willow-Rose aged just 9 months. Over the past 3 years Mark has also been kept busy after Take That reformed to roaring success and embarked on a U.K wide tour.

Save the date cards were sent out to 50 wedding guests last week. All of Mark’s band mates, including Robbie Williams, are on the guest list, however there will be a distinct lack of celebs at the nuptials as the publicity shy couple aim to keep the celebration low-key.

Details surrounding the wedding are very sketchy, even the guests are being kept in the dark. They’ve been told to congregate at a specific pick-up point where they’ll be met by chauffeur driven limos and whisked away to the secret wedding venue. If rumours are to be believed, the wedding is likely to take place at a Castle in the Scottish Highlands sometime in November.

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Limos to Take That Concert Targeted

July 8, 2009 By Trudi Johnson
take-that

Metropolitan Police Service pounced on suspect limousines as they took transported fans to the  Take That concert in Wembley.

The stretch limousines were stopped and taken to an inspection site in Carey Way, Wembley, Middlesex where officers, working together with VOSA (Vehicle and Operator Services Agency), carried out comprehensivemechanical examinations on the different types of limos.

Only two left with a clean bill of health, of the twelve limos stopped by traffic officers last Friday.

At the same time relevant checks were made on the drivers. One limo driver was arrested and later charged for driving whilst disqualified.

Another limo was seized, as the driver was not qualified to drive a Public Service Vehicle (PSV) for hire and reward. In addition there were two driver’s hours offences detected, which resulted in a £200 Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) issued by VOSA.

A further five immediate PG9′s (prohibition notices) were issued for dangerous offences and one limo received a delayed PG9 for a maintenance matter, with two drivers receiving verbal warnings for minor infractions.

The UK limousine industry has been cleaned up recently by, both the operators and VOSA who are working with the Police.

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