[Kaz]

Article from today's Sun Online where Declan Donnelly speaks out about Will's unfair treatment so far by his management. CLICK HERE to read the story.


Well said, Dec!

I must say I agree completely. By releasing Gareth's single so close to Will's they've probably denied Will another couple of weeks at No. 1.

They also denied him the opportunity to appear on TOTP by making their petty demands that he be allowed to sing both songs.

And I also agree totally that Evergreen and Anything is Possible should have been exclusively released by Will. The songs were for the winner, and Will won - so why has Gareth released them too?

Come on Simon, Nikki, etc. - pull your socks up and start giving the winner the support and publicity he deserves. Listen to the public for a change - WE voted for Will because WE wanted him to win. Start treating him like the winner!

Rant over - what do you think?

GO WILL!

[Romantic Old Bird]

I didn't realise that the record company had released Gareth's versions of the two songs as well. How silly, and how cynical. I suppose this is the reminder we needed that the whole thing was a supreme exercise in crass commercialism. Does this mean they will release the Darius versions as well? That, at least would be interesting.

Both these songs are notable only for being completely unremarkable. I am sorry, but Gareth's interpretation was competant but uninspiring. Will, however, managed to make them both a little bit special. I am sure they would not have been his choice at all, but he gave them his own flair, and made them good.

I am sure Gareth will be No 1, and maybe his sales could outstrip Will's initially. I still think that in 5 years time we are more likely to have Will on our screens and in the album charts than Gareth.

And I'm pretty sure we haven't seen the last of Darius!

[monie]

I am in agreement with you all, the whole thing sounds like a big con, 19 know that Gareth will be short lived so they are making the most of Gareth and making as much money out of him as they can whilst his moment last. Wills however will be with us for many years so therefore what is their rush. It s very unfair, as we voted for Wills why not let him have his glory. Darius was mentioned on Lorraine this morning, Ben Shepherd stated that he had heard that Darius had no yet got a record deal, Ben Shepherd called BGM and they neither denied it or confirmed it.

I am glad Dec is supporting Will - he is saying what a lot of us are thinking - why is Gareth getting all of the attention when Will won Pop Idol!
I can only agree with what you have all said - Will wil be around a lot longer than Gareth, he appeals to all ages whereas most of Gareths fans are teenagers and when their teenage years are over, they will probably listen to more maturer music like Will! It ahppened with a lot of artists like Boyzone, Spice Girls Take That etc- teenagers are more interested in their type of musci, same as Gareth.
I feel so sorry for Will but he will be the one laughing soon when he has a long career in music.

I also heard that 19 are to hold a big party for Gareth if his song becomes the fastest selling single - did they do that for Will...NO!
OOh, that Simon Coweel is evil

[Honey]

Good for Dec!

[LEE]

I also echo everything that everyone else has said.

I saw the Gareth single in HMV yesterday and was amazed when I picked it up and saw that 'Evergreen' and 'Anything is Possible' were on it as well. I distinctly remember someone (I can't remember whether it was Ant & Dec or one of the judges) saying that the only version of these songs that would ever be released would be those done by the winner of Pop Idol.

I think it is disgusting that they have been released now. It not only belittles Will's versions (which I think are far better) but it's also a clever marketing ploy to help try and sell more of Gareth's single. People may be more tempted to buy Gareth's single for the curiosity value of comparing both versions of the songs but also because we have been categorically told that they will never be released on an album so this is the only chance they will have to hear them.

I agree with Kaz that to release Gareth's debut single so close on the heels of Will's is also unfair. BMG and 19 should have let Will revel in his moment of glory fully. I'm sure Gareth wouldn't have minded waiting another month before releasing 'Unchained Melody'.

The other thing that annoys me is that BMG have pressed more copies of 'Unchained Melody' than they did of Will's version of 'Evergreen/Anything is Possible'. I know that several record shops sold out of Will's single completely and could have easily sold more but they couldn't do because no more had been pressed. By pressing more of Gareth's single it makes more available and therefore it is very possible more will sell. This is also grossly unfair on Will.

[Janette]

Time will tell

Somehow i can't really see Gareth still being as popular 5 years from now.

But I can picture the gorgeous Will wowing the stadiums all over the world for many years to come

[susieq]

I thought the Dec article was really eloquent and put into words what a lot of Will fans were thinking. It's blatantly obvious that BMG and 19 were expecting Gareth to win (tho' having seen the voting figures now I don't know how they could have been so sure) and had geared everything up for him to be the winner. They're treating the general public as non entities - our votes didn't count because they are going to push 'their' man and sod the 4.5 million who voted for Will - we're unimportant.

A case in point is today's 'Now' magazine. There is a double page spread on the PI concert - the biggest picture and 'blurb' (and it comes first) is Gareth. It is so unfair on poor Will.

Never mind, as others have said - Will be be around long after people have moved on from Gareth. The teenage market is indeed very fickle and, sadly, Gareth will be the flavour of the month for a relatively short period of time and then probably just become a pleasant memory. Will should, with the right backing, be around for years - he's got the talent and should be getting the encouragement from his management team and record company.

Are you listening BMG and 19 - we voted for him and we deserve to see and hear him.

GO WILL, GO WILL, GO WILL.

[Kaz]

BMG's Managing Director has written an open letter to The Sun formally insisting that Gareth is not being promoted at Will's expense.

CLICK HERE to read the article.


Here's hoping they start practicing what they're preaching very soon.

Interesting to read the letters sent in support of Will on page 2 of the article - they very much mirror what we've already said on this forum.

GO WILL!

[Feefs]

I’m going to go all controversial and disagree with people. I don’t think 19/BMG are behaving impeccably, but with the exception of the TOTP debacle, their handling of Will is much more clever than their handling of Gareth. They already have more than enough glory for now, and if anything it should be limited for the sake of “5 years from now”.

My view on this is that it is a much bigger shame for Will fans than it is for Will. As many people have commented, the single isn't very inspired, and not the sort of material he is likely to go onto release in the future. For people who only took a passing, or snidey interest in PI, they see the single as representative of who he is and what he's about, so the sooner he can move on, the easier it will be to impress them with his subsequent releases.

Furthermore, the general population who are neither Will, Gareth nor Darius fans are beginning to feel all this PI nonsense should be over. Even if it seems brief to us as fans of the series, his 3 weeks at the top of the charts already annoyed lots of people who “don’t understand what the fuss is about”, so I'd say it's clever not to drag things out too much right now.

I agree it would have been a shame to deny Will a 4th week at number one, because 4 weeks seems to have significance, but I'm pretty sure George Michael is outselling him anyway. It was definitely unfair to spoil Will's first TOTP. I can't believe they mucked it up to favour Gareth, because it made everyone to do with PI look bad. I suspect 19 got a bit too big for their boots and thought they did actually rule the world. Ultimately the record company wants to make money from both of them and that wasn't helping. It sounds terrible, but for Gareth’s sake, I hope there is another big release in 2 or 3 weeks to make sure his single doesn’t linger, annoying people (esp music press and DJs) either. I’m sure when they are old, they’d rather look back and remember a long and satisfying recording career than a 4th week at number one with their first release.

Putting Evergreen and Anything is Possible on Gareth's single was supposedly due to 'popular demand'. I suspect the popular demand was to buy something, and quickly and they didn't have time to record something new. It's quite boring, but only really a problem if you wanted to buy both singles anyway. I only hope they don’t put them on both the albums, because that would be a nonsense. The thing about Will and Gareth's initial single releases are that the hype and demand for both really would not be affected by what they were actually singing. Will will probably never have a bigger single in his life, but I'm hoping that it won't be the one he's remembered for, as I'm also hoping that all his future singles are much better. It isn’t groundbreaking, but at least Unchained Melody is a classic song and a bit less dull than Evergreen.

It does look unfair, but limiting Will's exposure can only help him in the long-term. I only wish they could do something to limit Gareth's exposure too for his sake and the sake of any other PI finalists wanting a singing career. It's any excuse to put a photo of him on the front page at the minute, but that's only be because people are willing to buy something. Will is a very private person, and Gareth is pretty quiet himself. I hate to think what the papers would be like if either of them were talkative. That said, whoever's idea it was to have them pose for the "handing over the number one" photo deserves a good talking to, and is only interested in breaking records for short-term gain.

One bit of good publicity for them is coverage of the PI tour, because they are actually doing their job. They should try to limit any news coverage to this, so it is more dominant than the status of Gareth’s hair, or Will’s jumpers. In what should be about the talent end of thing it's a shame so much attention seems focused on the louder Gareth contingent. It should focus on the performances, but I suppose the hysterical fans are quite entertaining too! Oh no, I’ve just realised I too am a trashy journo by spending so much time describing the squealing. I’m sorry, I’ve never been to anything like that before, and it was such a sight to behold – you’ve all seen them sing anyway. If forced to choose I'd say he did get the louder reception, but only just. In the overall context of noisiness, any differences were insignificant to my (ringing) ears. Will's reception at the concert was nothing short of massive and worthy of note all by itself, and it seemed to me to be from the same people screaming at Gareth, so it makes sense to look after them both equally well. In spite of what some reports will tell you, Will had much more to do during the PI concert than Gareth and was definitely given top billing. However it was also very obvious there was someone else there just as popular with the paying customer. There could be only one winner of the TV show PI, but there is so much demand for the runner up, that to deny that to give Will more glory would only serve to cause resentment the other way round. Neither Will, Gareth, nor the rest of the finalists entered PI for glory, but to get the chance to do what they enjoy - sing. They are getting it, and there will be far more singing (and glory) for them in the long term if there was a little less media saturation.

Sorry, another long and rambling post. What I think I really mean to say is that I think the "Will woz robbed" is just as much a part of the marketing ploy to ensure we go and buy his album as any of the rest of it. It is very cunning, because the best way to show the nasty record company that they are wrong to treat poor Will like that is to go out and buy his CDs in large volumes, and incidentally making them a bit more cash while we are at it.

[kaphc]

Just to add to what everyone has said so far, I do wonder how long Will will stay with 19 management and BMG in the future. I imagine they've got him tied into a certain number of albums deal (tho' I hope not, for his sake!).

It will be interesting to see what sort of songs go onto his album, and whether he gets to sings songs in a soul/jazz style which is undoubtedly what he likes best.

Darius not having a record deal yet is surprising, but then Kym from Hear'say seems to be struggling to do anything on her own, so it just goes to show it can be tough.

We shall see .......

I went onto a Will website (cant remember which one) and there was quite a lot of people on there who said this:

I think Will would be better off singing in a jazz cafe singing blues. I dont think he can handle arean concerts whereas Gareth can. I am saying this as a huge fan of Will

How stupid is that? I think these people are talking rubbish. For the people who saw the concert, what do you make of it? Is Will good and better than Gareth in a stadium?

[kaphc]

Hmmm, I am in two minds about this one. There is no doubt at all that Will shone in Wembley Arena on Sunday night. He did a littel king of jig (attempt at a dance) across the stage that got the crowd going wild!! The bit that he seemed less comfortable with was the announcements he had to make at the end of the 1st half, where he spoke too quickly and no one could really hear what he was saying.

My preference would be to hear Will sing live at the Albert Hall, basically because the acoustics are a lot better and his amazing voice would resonate a lot better. That's purely a personal thing though and is no reflection on Will's ability to sing!!



One of the reasons why Will is a great singer is because he can handle all types of venues and relate to many different situations. He was on the Saturday show this morning and was soooo funny
in his understated way.

I think this icon should be reserved especially for Will!!

[Feefs]

They were both great in a stadium, as were a number of the others. Most reports say there were more screams for Gareth, but Will had loads too. I would personally prefer to see either of them singing somewhere intimate like a cafe, but considering how hard it was to get tickets for an arena tour, that is unrealistic.

I'd love to see Will sing some blues, and that genre does benefit particularly from an intimate setting, but he is definitely NOT the limiting factor. I really hope Will does interesting songs, and that should happen if 19 and BMG think there is a big enough market for it. That's one of the reasons I don't want Evergreen to be that massive. If the record company have hard evidence Will can sell bucketloads of CDs singing drivil, then they'll be keen for him to keep doing so. That said, I heard they are definitely releasing Light My Fire as the next single, which went down a treat at Docklands. Even though I'm not so keen on that version either (Sweetest Feeling gets my vote), I hope its success can compete with Evergreen as it is much more the direction I'd like to see him take.

It's a bit like Westlife. In other countries they release upbeat numbers, but they are so determined to maintain their run of massive selling number ones they are scared to deviate from the successful formula of ballad after ballad. They stuck their neck out for Comic Relief and did an upbeat cover, discovered the fans could cope, and hence their latest track is .... mid-tempo. Life on the edge.

Thanks for your responses guys! And Feefs, I gotta agree with you about Sweetest Feeling, I love that song he did!! But I also love Light my fire. Sweetest Feeling was one of the songs where you could just sit back and relax whilst watching him instead of worrying about hitting any bad notes!!

[Janette]

Originally posted by kaphc
I think this icon should be reserved especially for Will!!

:s pin::spi n:

[kaphc]

Duh! How slow am I??? I was sitting there thinking "How come your icon is animated???" - then I replied to this message and saw the difference between (Will doing interviews) and (Will singing and finishing with a huge grin!)

Like it!!: spin: