Читать книгу Union J - The Story - Tina Campanella - Страница 15

6/7 October 2012

What Union J sang: ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ – Queen

What the judges said:

Tulisa: ‘What was important was missing – if you get through this week, I need to hear vocals.’

Gary: ‘You’re a good band, but Louis, you’ve destroyed their night.’

Nicole: ‘Well done for performing for the first time as a group.’

Louis: ‘We’ll get it right next week.’

The sun was shining on a beautiful October day as the black cab drew up at the Corinthia Hotel in London – a 294-room palace of a hotel, just minutes away from Trafalgar Square.

As the now four members of Union J got out and looked at the grand entrance, their faces lit up. If they were lucky, this could be their home for the next few months.

‘This is a lot nicer than my house at home,’ said Josh, staring in amazement.

‘I bet the Queen lives here,’ added JJ, walking up the huge steps to where a smartly dressed doorman was waiting to let them in.

‘Welcome to the Corinthia Hotel,’ said a smiling receptionist as she handed over the keys to the suite. She and the rest of the smart hotel’s staff would have a huge job on their hands – keeping out the hordes of X Factor fans who would surely soon arrive, hoping to catch a glimpse of their latest idols.

‘This is still like a dream,’ said Josh, as they stepped into the swanky lift. Opening the door to their suite, the boys’ eyes widened still further: it was huge! Plush purple and gold cushions lay across the enormous bed – there was a giant TV screen and even a lounge. It must have felt like being given the keys to their own brand new flat, complete with maid service and room service.

‘Shotgun!’ yelled George, leaping onto the bed and claiming it as his own.

‘Oh no!’ the others groaned, ‘You’re not shotgunning the bed!’

But there was plenty of room for everyone in the beautiful suite. And anyway, once they’d unpacked they had little time for exploring.

They were taken for vocal coaching before heading off to have choreography lessons with legendary dancer and choreographer Brian Friedman. He has worked with stars like Britney Spears and Salt-n-Pepa, and even organised the moves in the film Charlie’s Angels.

In the huge dance studio, Brian took them through some steps before giving the boys some advice. ‘You have to be the heartbeat of the party,’ he told them. ‘You have to sell that this is a united group. Union is part of your name, so what I need more of from you is interaction with each other.’

He would be responsible for taking the boys’ raw talent and honing them into stars.

With their singing and dancing being taken care of, it was then time for the stylists and hairdressers to work on their look. The boys couldn’t believe how much pampering and preening they had to go through. They had their eyebrows plucked, their hair cut and styled and they even went for facials.

‘It was literally like a star treatment, that we’re not really used to,’ said George.

Next they were whisked to the famous This Morning studios, to reveal their feelings on their new band to the nation. George told the presenter that he’d always hoped to be put into a band, so he had got his wish!

‘I came into X Factor hoping to be put into a group scenario,’ he said. ‘Especially after my first audition, I felt like I need something around me.’

Sitting beside him on the sofa, JJ, Josh and Jaymi grinned, showing how happy they were to have George on board.

Jaymi admitted that it had been a rollercoaster of a journey so far, and he was just happy to be back with a second chance. ‘We auditioned as a three-piece and we didn’t make it through Bootcamp,’ he said. ‘Then Louis rang the house and said, “Guys, I’ve had a problem with one of the groups’ visas so we’re going to offer you a place at Judges’ Houses – plus we’re going to add George”.’

The boys were obviously happy with their new line-up. They were now one step close to becoming a superband…

Union J had just over a month to get to know each other properly and rehearse for the live shows. They had to make their acts as slick as their fellow groups, MK1 and GMD3, who had both been together for years and knew each other like brothers.

Speaking about George, Jaymi told the This Morning viewers: ‘We met at Bootcamp and bonded really, really strongly and when we came out of the competition we stayed in contact. He has just fitted in straight away and we love having him.’

DID YOU KNOW?

When Triple J met George at the auditions, they had been thinking of asking him to join their band anyway so it was perfect when Louis became their musical matchmaker!

That week they also spilled the beans about some of the difficulties they faced in Vegas – with one of the other bands. According to the boys, one group were using some dirty tactics in Sin City. And surprisingly, it was the only girl band in the group – Poisonous Twin – who they described as an absolute nightmare.

‘They would just speculate,’ George explained to Heatworld.com. ‘They were just poisonous. All the way through the Judges’ Houses they were speculating about what was going on.’

At first, they had got on with the two girls – before their gossiping began to drive them nuts. ‘When we got there they were saying, “Oh, we just overhead someone saying that they’re going to split the boybands up and stuff”.’

Josh said it was a dirty tactic, while sensitive Jaymi seemed upset by it all. ‘It’s sad because we thought they were quite close with us. When we got there, they were really nice to us.’

Apparently the duo even told Union J that they’d heard rumours that the show’s producers were going to kick George out of the group – after he’d only just joined them.

‘They were saying this just before we were about to go on and sing,’ said Jaymi.

Luckily for the confused boys, Poisonous Twin didn’t make it through to the first live show. And the rest of the contestants were getting on so well they felt like one big happy family.

All week they worked hard on their performance, getting themselves ready for the first live show. But they did take time out to eat together, where they constantly messed around, throwing bits of food at one another and teasing each other.

They stopped practising one night to head over to the famous celebrity club Whisky Mist, where they were showered with female attention. Joined by Jade Ellis and Lucy Spraggan, MK1, Carolynne Poole, Kye Sones and Rylan Clark, the boys soaked up the celebrity lifestyle before the live shows had even begun. But though they had a few drinks, they didn’t overdo it. It was just a chance for the boys to have one final night off before the fight of their lives began.

On the day of the live show, the boys filmed a short segment to be aired that night, where they spoke about how they were coping, spending so much time together. ‘We’re even bathing together,’ joked JJ, much to the amusement of the others.

It was clear the boys were really looking forward to the first live show. ‘We’re really excited to get the chance to sing in front of Olympic stars,’ said Josh. But there was one particular athlete they couldn’t wait to meet.

‘Laura Trott’s going to be in the audience,’ said JJ.

‘She’s really hot,’ said Josh. ‘Hot to Trott!’

‘Nooo!’cringed the others, putting their heads in their hands and groaning at the bad pun.

‘That’s really cringy,’ said George, giggling.

DID YOU KNOW?

Louis Walsh had a hair transplant before the latest X Factor series. No wonder his barnet was looking so lustrous!

That night, hearing their own voices on the pre-recorded snippet from backstage, the boys prepared to take their first steps onto the X Factor’s live stage. And they had a surprise before the show: One Direction were there to give them some advice.

The boys were definitely starstruck to see their heroes, and when they were all mingling, it was hard to tell them apart. They looked like one big superband!

‘Just have fun,’ the established singing sensations told the next big things. ‘Literally, just go out there and have fun.’

One Direction had been in their shoes at that first X Factor live show two years before and they knew what it was like so Union J were very appreciative of anything they could say to make the experience a little easier.

‘You know you can sing the song – you’ve been practising all week, so just get out there,’ said Niall. ‘Just be yourselves the whole time.’

And shaggy-haired heartthrob Harry Styles had some important words for baby-faced George. He told him: ‘Never cut your curls.’

The pep talk had really given the boys the confidence boost they needed to go out on stage and fight for their place in the competition. They’d practised for hours, but would that be enough?

Standing on a huge plinth, with their new name emblazoned on it, the pressure was on. This was it. This was finally their moment. This was where they would prove to their mentor Louis that he had made the right decision. This was where they would prove to the other judges that they deserved to be in the competition. And this was where they would win the hearts of the eight million viewers at home.

‘Tonight, I’m gonna have myself a real good time…’

George was the first to sing, to the appreciation of the audience, before he was joined one by one by Josh, JJ and Jaymi, all singing the Queen classic.

‘If you wanna have a good time, just give me a call…’ they sang and if any of the girls watching at home knew their numbers, they would certainly have been dialling.

After they’d sung a few lines, the stage was swarming with brightly dressed backing dancers and pyrotechnics and you could hardly see the boys against all that was going on. With so many scantily clad dancers gyrating in front of them, it was a wonder they could concentrate.

Tulisa looked stony faced as the boys belted out the tune but Union J were oblivious, lost in the excitement of the moment – their first ever, live, on-stage performance. When they finished, they jumped energetically down from their plinth and walked towards the judges, the cheers deafening them.

Tulisa began to speak, signalling for the audience to quieten down. It was time to hear what the judges had to say.

‘Guys, it pains me to say this and I know the audience are going to disagree with me, but I just wasn’t feeling that tonight. I don’t think you’re at your full potential.’

At this the mood in the arena changed and the cheers instantly turned to boos. The boys’ hearts began to race – this wasn’t sounding good.

‘I didn’t agree with that song choice, Louis – I really didn’t,’ Tulisa continued, focusing her attention on the boys’ mentor.

‘There was so much going on and what was important, which was the vocals, was missing,’ she added, ignoring the angry fans behind her. Then she said the words that the boys’ had been dreading: ‘If you get through to next week, I need to hear vocals.’

If…? It was a shocking start to the competition for the new foursome and somewhere deep down they must have started to worry that their dreams would be over as quickly as they’d begun.

‘Louis, what were you thinking?’ Tulisa went on, getting more and more angry at her fellow judge. ‘They’re young and they’re fresh, and you’ve made them feel so dated.’

It was a damning appraisal of all their hard work and Union J looked devastated.

Louis sounded unconvinced as he tried to defend himself.

‘I gave them a big task with Queen, okay, but listen – it’s fun, like something out of Glee…’

But Tulisa couldn’t bear to hear anymore.

‘Boys,’ she said kindly, ‘all the faults as far as I’m concerned aren’t yours, it’s down to Louis.’

It was small comfort to Union J, who knew that it didn’t matter whose fault it was: if nobody voted for them, they were done for.

Gary decided to step in, but it wasn’t good news from him either.

‘I have to agree, Tulisa. And guys, I want to say this – you’re a good band and I thought, Louis, that putting George in was a genius move, but you have to smooth them out. That was a catastrophic song choice and an awful version. It was so dated with the dancers.’

Then he turned to the Irish judge and said harshly: ‘Since you worked in the business, boybands have changed.’

In the face of this verbal onslaught, Louis gave up defending himself and the boys and eventually had to agree with Tulisa and Gary.

‘You know what,’ he said quietly, ‘I think the song choice wasn’t great, it was too big for you.’ Then he whined: ‘But it’s only Week One!’

Back and forth the arguments went. Tulisa was quite clearly angry with Louis and felt as their mentor, he’d let the boys down. Meanwhile, Louis tried to calm the raging fury directed at him by promising to do better the next week. But by now the boys must have been seriously wondering if there would even be a next week.

‘I didn’t want to play it safe,’ Louis sulked. ‘You’re all playing it too safe.’

‘I didn’t play it safe,’ said an indignant Tulisa, ‘I had someone singing their own song!’ she almost yelled.

She was referring to Lucy Spraggan, who had impressed the judges earlier in the show by singing her own composition, ‘Mountains’.

It was as if the judges didn’t even realise that the poor boys were standing on stage, where they must have been feeling very exposed. Surely they were praying it would end soon, so they could run away and hide!

Finally, Nicole put an end to the fighting. ‘Well done boys for performing as a group for the very first time, live on television,’ she said, hearing the booing instantly turn to cheers behind her. She went on to say that she agreed with Gary and Tulisa, though – which meant not one of the judges had really liked their first ever performance.

Louis tried to salvage the night for the boys as he could see that it was probably very lonely and scary up on stage, listening to such a landslide of criticism.

‘Guys, you know what, let’s hope everybody at home votes for you and we will do better next week. We’re prepared to work hard…’

But it wasn’t the most confident of pep talks, and the boys must have felt that their mentor had badly let them down.

‘To be fair, we did the best we could with the song choice,’ said JJ, the first of the boys to speak since their disastrous song.

Huddled together, George put his arm around his new bandmate for moral support as he continued: ‘Like Louis says, maybe next time we’ll try a different song. We’re just praying that everyone votes for us.’

George tried to speak next, his face the picture of sorrow. But before he’d got one single word out, the previously silent audience began to scream their love for him. Blushing, he smiled for the first time since the awful judges’ comments had begun and his beautiful face lit up. It was the boost he needed to continue.

‘We’re going to take on board what you’ve said to us and hopefully if we get through to next week we’re going to do better,’ he said in a determined voice.

But they had to get through first, and after being slated by the judges, it was going to be very difficult.

As they listened to Dermot O’Leary call out the number to vote for Union J, the boys waved and left the stage, their heads bowed and their hearts heavy.

DID YOU KNOW?

Union J’s Josh says his main influences are Chris Brown, Tinie Tempah, Bruno Mars… and Michael Bublé!

After everyone had sung, George, Jaymi, Josh and JJ reflected on the evening. MK1 had picked up the pace and did a cool mash-up of Chipmunk and Hot Chocolate, strutting confidently around the stage, but their vocals weren’t perfect.

Jade Ellis had put her sultry tones to good use, singing the Enrique Iglesias’ ballad ‘Hero’, while Ella Henderson, who was fast becoming one of the boys’ best friends, had sung Gary Barlow’s ‘Rule the World’ to high praise.

Gary had even said: ‘I’ve got to be honest, there’s nothing I hate more than someone singing my song ten times better than me.’

The Union J boys were facing some stiff competition.

After a sleepless night and a restless day, they were back at the studio for the live results show. Thirteen acts would be cut down to twelve and the boys were praying that they wouldn’t be the first to leave.

‘Backstage, the nerves are jingling and jangling,’ said Dermot O’Leary, opening the show – and he was spot on.

After joining with the other contestants to sing Emeli Sandé’s ‘Read All About It’, the audience was treated to performances from former X Factor winner Leona Lewis and R&B star Ne-Yo. It was a bit of light relief, but the waiting was torture.

Finally, it was time to face the music.

The two acts with the fewest votes would be singing for their survival; one of them would be going home. The boys could only hope it wouldn’t be them.

All the acts stood on the stage, trying to stop themselves from shaking. Standing next to Louis, Union J looked nervous.

Dermot O’Leary started speaking.

‘In no particular order, the first act going through to next week is…’

There was a tense pause.

‘…Kye.’

‘Also through is James,’ he said next.

‘And District 3…’

The Union J boys hadn’t heard their names being called and the odds were getting slimmer. But then…

‘The next act through to next week is Union J!’

The audience exploded into cheers and the boys began jumping up and down with uncontrollable excitement. Jumping on Louis, who looked mightily relieved, they hugged him tight.

In the end, Rylan and Carolynne found themselves in the bottom two, and they both had to sing again for the judges.

Rylan sang ‘One Night Only’ from the musical Dreamgirls, and Carolynne sang ‘There You’ll Be’ by country star Faith Hill.

But tensions were simmering between the judges.

Gary had taken an instant dislike to Rylan the night before, telling him: ‘I really was having fun till you started singing.’

Nicole had made everyone laugh by telling Gary: ‘Don’t be an old grumpy fart now…’

But when Louis chose not to save Carolynne, which took the vote to deadlock, Gary was enraged. He couldn’t understand why Louis wouldn’t save the talented songstress over fun performer Rylan.

It wasn’t Carolynne’s night. At the mercy of the public vote she was sent home, prompting Gary to storm off the stage, angrily telling the camera crew: ‘Get the camera out of my face!’

Even Rylan was in tears over Gary’s impromptu rage. ‘Get me somewhere else,’ he wept, walking backstage to where his stunned fellow contestants were waiting.

Union J were first to comfort him. ‘I just want to walk out!’ sobbed Rylan. ‘No, you don’t,’ soothed George sympathetically. ‘You deserve to be here, they saved you.’

Everyone agreed.

Later that night the mood was lifted as all the remaining acts laughed and joked with Caroline Flack and Olly Murs on The Xtra Factor.

Jade Ellis revealed she was terrified of spiders and Lucy Spraggan said she hated chewing gum. While James Arthur told everyone how much he hated cricket, joking: ‘How hard is it to hit a ball with a stick?’ – before being handed a bat and failing miserably to hit a ball at least five times, much to the audience’s amusement.

But all eyes were on Ella Henderson when a fan called the show and said to her: ‘You’re living with a lot of really hot boys at the moment – out of all of them which one do you fancy the most?’

Ella went red and struggled to think of the right answer.

She wasn’t helped when Caroline Flack and the other contestants all started mumbling and coughing ‘George!’ under their breath.

‘I get along with all the guys, right,’ she said, diplomatically, trying to avoid answering the question.

‘Come on,’ teased Caroline. ‘If you had to fancy one, who would it be?’

‘This is going to spiral into something, isn’t it?’ she said, sighing. ‘Right, my best friend is George…’ she admitted, to delighted whoops and some teasing laughter.

‘I’ll never hear the end of this now, never,’ she added, prophetically.

DID YOU KNOW?

Lucy Spraggan’s self-released single ‘Last Night’ entered the UK Singles Chart at number 11 following her X Factor audition.