For anyone who is following this blog, I don’t update it as much as I used to.

I have a new project on the go called Theatre in Scotland.

It is a website which aims to promote theatre productions throughout the country regardless of genre or whether it is professional or amateur.

It can be found at www.theatreinscotland.co.uk

Hope to see you there.

Adelle

Arriving at Hampden stadium on the morning of Saturday 9^th January,  later than planned due to hideous road conditions, I joined the back of the (thankfully rather short and indoors) queue.

I’d dragged my dad along for moral support. Well, really he had volunteered because he didn’t trust me to drive in that weather. I don’t blame him.

Looking at the queue we saw girls of various shapes and sizes; all hoping they’d be chosen as Dorothy in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new production of the classic story The Wizard of Oz.

Red shoes and pigtails seemed to be what the girls had interpreted from the email invitation which said “dress to impress” Me? I went all out with jeans, a top and boots.

Considering it was my first audition in six years and for a televised talent search, I was strangely calm.

Whilst in the queue I was handed lyrics to Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Simple enough. Then, We’re Off to See the Wizard…oh dear! “We hear he is a whiz of a wiz if ever a wiz there was”. A tongue twister – just what I needed when trying to impress.

Chatting with my dad, our conversation would be rudely interrupted every so often by a hideous screeching sound. It took us a minute to realise it was coming from the girl in front of us. Seemingly she was warming up her vocal chords.

Ahhh, I’d forgotten how seriously some people took themselves at this kind of audition.

As the screeching continued – as did chuckles from my father and I – the queue moved at a snail’s pace. However, when I’d managed to reach the third or fourth stair towards the audition rooms, a voice called “Hello girls!”

Expecting to see a crew member, I slowly turned round and gasped. It was the man himself…Lord Lloyd Webber.

Yes, unlike Simon Cowell (note the lack of knighthood), Lord  Lloyd Webber actually showed up at the first round of auditions. He did have casting directors to weed out the really bad contestants in the first round of auditions and spent the day doing press duties but regardless he was around Hampden all day and kindly wished us luck prior to the auditions.

As he was speaking I noticed cameras filming from all angles. Where did they come from? The initial shock of seeing the cameras soon wore off as, as for the rest of the day I felt like a minor celebrity on a press charm-offensive.

“This is STV, they’re going to just have a little chat and take a few shots of what’s going on” and “This is the BBC, the same thing will happen as STV” then “If you wouldn’t mind going outside there’s a photo-call pitchside with Andrew”.  Not to mention the numerous in-depth interviews with the actual Over the Rainbow BBC crew.

They even interviewed my dad in the holding room – he was not a happy chappy he said, but I know that secretly he loved it.

The worst part of the day was the waiting around. Yes, you know that it is inevitable at auditions, but – ever the pessimist – I’d only brought a bottle of water with me expecting to go in and be kicked out with 30 seconds of my first audition. The time it took to get my first audition over with was approximately three and a half hours. My stomach began to rumble.

Before the audition Lloyd Webber made another visit and told us all to gather round. Being the attention-seeker that I am, I stood closest to him because I knew when the cameras were filming him I’d be in shot too.

He gave us a lovely pep talk but told us how he wanted an Avril Lavigne style Dorothy. It wasn’t what I was expecting but if that’s what the man wants, that’s what he’ll get.

First audition was in front of two casting directors and a video camera, as I expected. I had to sing a verse and chorus from two songs of my own choosing and sing a bit of Somewhere Over the Rainbow from whichever line they chose for me.

When that was done there was more waiting until the group of six had all been seen, then we got called back in to learn our fates. The casting directors were generally lovely but did the horrible thing where they start with negatives then eventually tell you that you’ve made it through to the next round. Swines.

I was extremely relieved and shocked, then the hunger pangs started again and I realised that I was going to be hanging around for another while yet.

I met up with my dad in the holding room to tell him the good news. He’d got chatting to other parents who were around and found the whole process rather amusing. This allowed my guilt about him hanging around for hours to lessen a bit.

Round two of the auditions saw us perform in front of esteemed West End casting director David Grindrod who had previously been responsible for casting over fifty musical theatre productions. There was also the threat that  Lloyd Webber may appear to hear us sing at any moment. Eeek!

As the group I was in were auditioned one by one, the horror stories began about how tough David was: “he made me push him around the room to show I had attitude” “he told me my breathing and posture were terrible!”

Then it was my turn (with the BBC crew filming me entering the room and another crew inside) and, bearing in mind how they wanted an Avril Lavigne, I changed one of my songs. Rock chick Adelle is here to sing you some…country! Not exactly Avril but the song was upbeat and portrayed the message that Dorothy would have liked to about getting out of town for a bit. Well that’s what I told myself anyway.

David smiled throughout and gave me very positive feedback after the audition. Then it was another waiting game to find out my fate yet again.

This is where my dream of running around stage in a gingham dress with funky red shoes and a cute wee puppy were shattered.

Sadly I was told I was going no further but was given yet more positive feedback which I took to heart rather than the rejection because I think for my first audition in six years I did pretty well.

Not only did I gain experience of auditions, some of the footage shot was shown on television and I was even referred to by name!

A star is born…

We all know we can download films and music easily enough and watch TV programmes on such wonderful technological advances as Sky+, Virgin Media +, On Demand, etc.

However, for the theatre fan there weren’t many options other than physically going out to your local theatre to watch a show.

Nothing will ever compare to seeing the live action on stage, however, Digital Theatre does well in bringing the theatre to the viewer via online high definition downloads.

Each download costs £8.99 and the viewer can watch theatrical performances in full in the comfort of their own home.

Choice is limited at the moment, when I checked today, the only productions available for download were English Touring Theatre’s production of “Far from the Madding Crowd”; Almeida Theatre’s “Parlour Song” and  A Young Vic in association with Amnesty International production of “The Container”.

I think the idea itself is fantastic, especially for theatre fans like myself who don’t always have the time to physically visit the theatre. Also, the productions on the site are ones which may not be available in theatres elsewhere, again a good thing for those in more rural destinations.

However, the limited choice and the price are two negatives at the moment.

Personally, I wouldn’t yet purchase anything on the site but I will keep checking back to see any progress being made and in future will download a production and write a review on both the download and viewing process via Digital Theatre and the production itself.

With winter nights drawing in what better place to meet up for a girly chat than in a lovely coffee shop on the coast? The girly chat was with singer/songwriter, Yvonne Lyon, the coffee shop was her favourite place to write songs and you’d never have guessed we hadn’t met before this moment. 

However, with a lot in common including a love for hot chocolate we settled down to talk about the ABCs…Album, Burnsong and Charity work.

Yvonne grew up in Quarriers Village, Renfrewshire in a large house with a piano, where her love of music began. After picking up her dad’s guitar at the age of fourteen and finding how natural it was to her, she says: “it was almost like I had to wake up to the fact that this is what is in me and this is what I should do”.

After giving up a career as a music teacher to focus on singing and song writing, her fourth album, Ashes and Gold, was released last month and she was very honest about how tough she found the writing process.

“The last album I really enjoyed writing and it felt very easy, the songs came very easily. This one I struggled with. I think I put quite an expectation on myself which in retrospect really paralysed me. I was almost too scared to write, there was a fear of failure.

Musically, Yvonne has many inspirations. “I grew up with a lot of church and gospel music but when I was at uni I discovered Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and Beth Nielsen Chapman…I’m also a huge Radiohead fan and U2 fan, so quite diverse. I think my taste in music probably comes through in my music because I don’t like to write in the same vein all the time. The albums are quite eclectic in style, although there is a kind of folksy rootsy feel running through them.”

Yvonne performed at the Scottish Parliament in a St Andrews Day concert through the Burnsong project.

“Burnsong seeks to promote the creation of songs in Scotland and helping to encourage songwriters and get them together. It is in the spirit of Burns but is for any genre of music at all.”

Over 400 acts entered the contest and ten were chosen as finalists, one of which was a duo. They were then sent on a residential song writing trip for a week from which she’d just returned the day before.

“We went to a house in Dumfries under the supervision of Joe Bennett from Bath Spa University and producer Chris Blanden and were given the challenge of writing a song a day. Every morning at ten o’clock we’d have to play our song, get a critique on it AND it was recorded at the same time by Chris. That was really nerve-wracking, I felt like I was ten again letting someone hear something for the first time.

“We also did a gig at the Scottish Parliament on Monday and got to meet the presiding officer. We were doing a lot of rehearsals and having to work together but we pulled it off I think.”

After such a gruelling week, what did she hope would come out of this experience?

“I think I’ve gained a lot already. I’ve learned a lot, particularly from Joe, Chris and the Burnsong housemates because we’ve all come at it from a different place. We’ve learned from each other about our own journeys and where we’re going and I’ve gained a community of musicians which I didn’t have, with a lot of different lines of experience. I’ve made connections with Burnsong and the people who are involved in that. I’ve also had the chance to play live on national radio and play in the Scottish Parliament, so I’ve gained a whole load of experience in a week and a half.”

Another area which takes up a lot of Yvonne’s time and is dear to hear heart is charity work. She visited Cambodia with Tearfund; has been involved with another Christian charity called Life 2 Romania since her student days and recently performed in a concert to raise money for Stop the Traffik.

However, one of the bigger projects she was involved with was when she had the opportunity to go to Yorkhill Children’s Hospital to take part on one-to-one song writing sessions with sick kids.

“I found that the kids themselves had such an insight into things and such an amazing attitude to what they were going through. One that I don’t think I could have had. The songs they were writing were brilliant wee songs and coming from different perspectives so we decided to record an album of them. We recorded it ourselves and put out the Yorkhill Sessions which is a great wee CD and all the proceeds go directly back to the Yorkhill Youth Services. Hopefully there’s still stuff going on there creatively for the kids at Yorkhill, because I think that’s such an important part of the healing process.”

As we were nearing the bottom of our cups of hot chocolate, one question remained…what does the future hold?

“Well, the future at the moment is Christmas!” she laughs.

“After that and New Year I’m really hoping to get into promoting the album properly. I have a PR company promoting it and I’m hopefully bringing on board a friend who would like to do more in the way of promoting. He’s based down in London so I’m really hoping it’ll be a UK wide thing.

“I’m amazed that I’ve got this far and that I’m still able to do what I do so anything from here on in is a bit of a bonus

“There are also two former Burnsong housemates that I’m linking up with and we’re doing a tour in March. We’re called New Fangled Folk and we’re all dipping into the folk world but we’re all in a slightly different genre even within that so it’s quite an exciting wee trio.”

It felt like catching up with an old friend and Yvonne’s warmth and gentle nature came through in person as much as they do in her songs. She made the interview easier by having a knack of linking perfectly into my next set of questions with her answers and we had a great laugh too.

If you’d like to find out more about Yvonne, or would like to purchase any of her albums, visit Yvonne Lyon Official website or Yvonne Lyon Myspace.

Also, the featured video on my page is a song called “Everything’s Fine” by Yvonne. Go on…have a listen. You won’t regret it.

Tonight is the final night of the show which has kept me busy for the past few months.

I will be blogging live throughout the show again. If you’d like to take part then why don’t you join me?

To access the live blog you will have to click the link below. Sadly WordPress doesn’t allow the viewing window to be embeded into here, so click the link below and at around 7.30pm where we find out if Joe McElderry or Olly Murs will be crowned the winner of X Factor 2009!

Also included will be any tweets from the offical X Factor twitter account, Yvie Burnett (vocal coach on the show), Brian Friedman (choreographer) and Holly Willoughby (presenter on itv2′s Xtra Factor) and possibly more!

Enjoy!

Adelle

X Factor Final Results Show!<—- click this link for the live blog!

The time has come! It is the final Saturday night of the X Factor and one contestant will be leaving but will it be Stacey, Olly or Joe?

I will be blogging live throughout the show using a fantastic piece of kit called Cover it Live. Why don’t you join me?

To access the live blog you will have to click the link below. Sadly WordPress doesn’t allow the viewing window to be embeded into here, so click the link below and at around 7.30pm the nail biting final will begin.

Also included will be any tweets from the offical X Factor twitter account, Yvie Burnett (vocal coach on the show), Brian Friedman (choreographer) and Holly Willoughby (presenter on itv2′s Xtra Factor) and possibly more!

Enjoy!

Adelle

X Factor Final Live Blog!! <—- click this link for the live blog!

I’d like to introduce you all to a website I’ve been a member of for two years now. It won’t appeal to everyone but I thought it was a great idea.

Singsnap.com is an online karaoke site.

It’s not JUST a karaoke website though. You can record a song and post it to allow anyone over the world to hear you. You can also sing live in chat rooms with other users.

Another option is to take part in contests against users all over the world – a large majority are in Asia, America and Canada.

These contests are a great way to get to know other users and have other people become aware of what you do.

Like every karaoke night there are a fair share of tone deaf singers but that’s what makes it all the more amusing. What makes it less amusing is the fact that this isn’t just one or two nights a week, the site is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

I was part of the News Team for six months and wrote site news and features in the montly newsletter which was great experience. Online meetings at midnight due to time differences (only myself and the editor were in the UK, the rest were in the US or Canada) were less fun though it has to be said.

There is a “Hall of Fame” on the site with lots of weird and wonderful videos and audio. One of my favourites is of this couple who met on the site and later got married:

That’s Not My Name – Ting Tings

And now for some shameless self promotion…Me singing “The Wizard and I” from my favourite musical…Wicked:

The Wizard and I – Wicked

If you’d like to check the site out for yourself and even sing your heart out, go to www.singsnap.com.

Enjoy!

The results blog tonight is going to be rather different, yes, at last, I am going to attempt LIVE blogging! Exciting!

To access the live blog you will have to click the link below. Sadly WordPress doesn’t allow the viewing window to be embeded into here, so click the link below and at around 8 o’clock the fun shall begin, or all hell will break loose…only one way to find out! haha.

Also included will be any tweets from the offical X Factor twitter account, Yvie Burnett (vocal coach on the show), Brian Friedman (choreographer) and Holly Willoughby (presenter on itv2′s Xtra Factor)

Enjoy!

Adelle

X Factor Live Blog <—- click this link for the live blog!

This week the contestants are performing two songs each, one Take That song, one Elton John song. This could be interesting, first up are the Take That songs, then the Elton ones.

GIRLS

Stacey Solomon – “Rule the World” – Stacey has such a powerful voice and to hear  her hit the low notes at the beginning was nice, they’re tough notes for a girl to sing. Also, due to the key change the song is all up and down with high and low notes, extremely tough to do but she’s doing really well.

“Something About the Way You Look Tonight”- It took me a while to realise what this song was. She is singing it well but it’s not my favourite performance of hers. I feel she sang the Take That song better. Some good notes but overall I feel it was very average.

Jeeeeez her singing’s lovely but I struggle to understand a single word when she talks. I really wonder how she doesn’t hyperventilate.

OVER 25S

Olly Murs – “Love Ain’t Here Anymore” – One of my favourite TT songs. Olly is good, but the way he’s saying “here” is grating. He avoided the really high notes but then did a relatively high and long note so I’ll cut him a little bit of slack. I still prefer him to Danyl so fingers crossed his Elton song impresses me more.

“Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)” – Not one of the Elton songs I know as well as others, but it’s definitely an Olly song, he’s getting properly into the swing of things, especially with all the half naked ladies acting as ring girls. This outfit is much better too. *swoon*

Danyl Johnson - “Relight My Fire” – The first line sounded rather bad in my opinion. His dancers are all clad in gold spandex….yuck. He’s dancing on top of some ladders now, dangerous stuff. Haha. I’m really hating the dancers’ outfits, they’re distracting me. It was a good performance overall but his vocals weren’t exactly amazing. Let’s hope his Elton song is better…

“Your Song” – Urgh! Why is he doing the Moulin Rouge version? It’d have been nicer and simpler if he’d done the original. I love Moulin Rouge, I’m not slagging that version, I like it but it’s not the way Danyl should have done it. The ending was fantastic but the rest of the song didn’t make me take much notice to be honest.

BOYS

Lloyd Daniels –“A Million Love Songs” – Aww, he’s such a little cutie, especially with his new haircut. But he is the weakest singer of the remaining contestants and as I say week on week, he over-sings every single song and in a song like this it should be kept simple.

“I’m Still Standing” – Very strange outfit choice, I don’t see how it fits. He sounds quite breathless, though there are a lot of words to fit in with this song. Again, he’s over-singing and adding an average of three notes where they don’t have to be. Some notes were flat, I reckon he’s in the bottom two this week.

Joe McElderry –“Could It Be Magic?” – Oooh goosebumps with the first line. Tough song to sing though but so far perfect….*sigh* oh I adore little Joe. A very emotional performance, very camp too. Hehe. There was a note that he struggled with in the VT but he certainly wasn’t flat in the live performance. GO JOE!

“Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word” – Sorry, I forgot to type as I was listening, he had me transfixed. Another performance nothing short of perfection from Joe. I have no doubt he’s going to be amazingly successful after this show. I would certainly buy his album. I adore his voice, it’s so smooth and perfect.

My favourites from each group this week:

Girls – Stacey Solomon

Boys – Joe McElderry

Over 25s – Olly Murs

Cowell Comment of the week:

“You’re like a dark cloud who blocks out the sunshine!”

(to Louis in reply to his comments on the kids choir who sang with Danyl’s Elton song.)

**Tomorrow we have performances from Alicia Keys and Rihanna. Wooo! Big names this year!**

Sorry for the lack of Saturday night blog again, social life and more urgent uni work got in the way, stealing my time so I couldn’t watch it before the results show. Again, this is another reason why there’s no live blogging. Next week though? If I figure it…

My guesses for bottom 2 this week

I think the bottom two this week will be:

John & Edward

Danyl Johnson

Group performance this week: “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go”

A very colourful performance tonight – neon everywhere and cheese, cheese, cheese with the song. Can’t believe we’ve gotten rid of half of the contestants already. I definitely prefer Lloyd’s hair the way it is now, so cute.

Susan Boyle Performance  – “Wild Horses”

The legend that is Su-Bo is singing her song and to be perfectly honest I’m not majorly impressed. The song is rather dull. Yes she has a nice voice but the song isn’t exactly an attention grabber. Not that my opinion matters, she’s well on her way to being number one and it’s only a matter of time until another breakdown occurs. Not being nasty, just stating facts, the poor woman needs more psychological support than she’s  currently getting.

LINES ARE CLOSED

Mariah Carey Performance – “I Wanna Know What Love Is”

This is the Foreigner classic. Mariah’s version is tamer, not so rocky but nice nonetheless. She’s looking quite a bit curvier than she used to though. Oh to be in love…Back to the singing, her vocal range is astounding and never fails to impress. I think I would have preferred an original song though.

Results time!

In no particular order, the first act through to next week’s show is:

Stacey

Joe

Next through is…

 Danyl (ooooh I’m not too pleased about that)   

Last guaranteed place goes to…

Lloyd

Wow! Shocker! That leaves Olly and John & Edward in the bottom two. Surely this is the end for the twins?

Singing for Survival

John & Edward – “No Matter What” – This is the most the boys have sang. There are some decidedly ropey harmonies but at least they’re trying. Ooooh deary, bum notes at the end. Olly HAS to get through tonight!

Olly Murs – “Wonderful Tonight” – He has a much better voice than John & Edward, but then again, who doesn’t? The nerves are showing in his voice a little bit though. It’s a classic Eric Clapton song but he’s putting his own flavour into it and he sang very well.

The judges say…

Simon – Sending home John & Edward

Cheryl – Sending home John & Edward

Louis – Sending home Olly

Dannii – Sending home John & Edward

AT LAST! A judge actually makes a decision. Well done Dannii!!

The act leaving the show this week is…

JOHN & EDWARD!

I’ve waited for this moment for so long, yet I do feel a little bit sad that they are going. There’s no doubt that they were extremely entertaining but the competition is hotting up now as it gets closer to the finals, so it’s only right that they get the boot now.

**Next week each act has two songs to sing and all the power lies iwth the public. Also Alicia Keys and Rihanna will be performing!**