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Post by Shireblogger on Oct 22, 2016 10:58:39 GMT 1
We're back into yet another season of X-Factor, so let's step back 15 years to the record which ignited the current era of talent shows.
Of course, the original Popstars was partly designed as a documentary, rather than a neverending cringefest. But what of the group and song which triumphed at the end ? Myleene Klass, Kym Marsh, Suzanne Shaw, Noel Sullivan and Danny Foster were Hear'Say. And a cover of Girl Thing's "Pure And Simple", co-written by Alison Clarkson (aka Betty Boo) was their song. It became the fastest selling non-charity single of all-time, and had soon shifted more than 1 million CD singles.
But has time been kind to "Pure And Simple" ? Was it ever any good ? Maybe you think it is a great little pop song ? Perhaps we should have predicted the onslaught that it would trigger ?
Please give us your opinion of "Pure And Simple", along with a score between 0 (very bad) and 10 (very good). You must write a minimum of 5 words and a maximum of 5 paragraphs for your score to count, and scores outside the range of 0-10 will not be included.
0.0 average from 0 judges
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vastar iner
Member
I am the poster on your wall
Posts: 17,403
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Post by vastar iner on Oct 22, 2016 13:35:26 GMT 1
It's not a bad song. Unusual harmonies and slightly different structure, as if there's a bridge between the verses and chorus every time.
It's just a little difficult to get over the rank manipulation and, well, cheating that put it where it was. It was a case of - in theory anyway - dragging literally anyone off the street and showing that you could buy a number 1 hit.
Which might be why history has actually been unkind to the song itself. It is derided because it is the offshoot of a blatant publicity stunt over which Bowell has been allowed to sh*t as if his chart fixing is any different.
The other thing is all the bloody work had already been done. Could you put a fag packet between the Hear'say version and the original Girl Thing version? Even the Hear'say blokes are superfluous, they add literally nothing to the mix. (Bit like Steps.) Of course, there is the distinct possibility that the vocals actually were Girl Thing's, bit like "Sound Of The Underground" was actually sung by Orchid.
Had Girl Thing had an "organic" hit with it, I think the song would have been remembered a lot better; something like a poor man's "Pure Shores".
7/10 for the song.
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Post by o on Oct 22, 2016 15:29:51 GMT 1
A good catchy pop song, still sounds good now. 6/10
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Post by o on Oct 22, 2016 15:30:30 GMT 1
Sound of the underground is much better though, but that was a different year.
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Post by raliverpool on Oct 24, 2016 21:55:35 GMT 1
Mediocre song, which sounded like an album track by Steps or S Club 7. 4/10 (The best thing about it was it earned Alison Clarkson a ton of royalties). I remember the original Popstars series, and I absolutely loved it. Who could have guessed that 15 years later Darius would be a bona fide credible West End star and leading man (Chicago; Guys & Dolls; Gone With The Wind; From Here To Eternity; Funny Girl). The thing is back then I did not have the internet, so we at work guessed the make up of the final group. I only got 1 out of 5 right (Mylenne Klass), like the judges I would not have picked Michelle Heaton. Still what did I know about pop music ...... I'd much rather listen to a 10/10 song such as:
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Post by Smurfie on Jan 24, 2017 8:12:32 GMT 1
Liberty X "Just A Little" is better than all the Hear'Say output combined!
Pure and Simple was OK, harmless pop song - but I never really warmed to the group - not sure why, as on paper this would have been exactly the type of music I would have loved at the time (and still do). Lovin' Is Easy is the only one of theirs I bought.
I did find it quite sad how the public were really quite nasty to them.
5/10
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2017 10:11:44 GMT 1
Liberty X was the worst UK group from that music era.
"Pure and Simple" wasn't bad, but as solo artist Kym Marsh gave amazing pop album "Standing Tall" (8.5-9 / 10) for all fans of genre.
7/10
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Post by Earl Purple on Jan 24, 2017 10:38:50 GMT 1
Pure And Simple was an unexciting underwhelming song that was bound to sell well just because of all the publicity it got from the TV documentary, and unfortunately its success led us you know where.
In early 2001 our singles charts seemed to be getting some big-selling hits although singles sales in general were dropping dramatically due to Napster and Audiogalaxy making it easy for people to steal their music.
We were also getting longer-running number ones, after the "new number one virtually every week" we had suffered in 1999-2000 with only one #1 staying on top for 4 weeks during that period and only a handful managing 3 weeks. With Atomic Kitten spending 4 weeks on top though it had kept out the wonderful "Teenage Dirtbag" which would have been a great #1.
Pure And Simple landed at #1 during that early part of the year where the big selling hits were, so whilst it didn't compete for Christmas #1 it was up against some competition. However we know that later on, they would time these releases for Christmas #1 and I think that's why people think it "ruined" the chart, as there were not actually that many TV-series #1s in the scheme of the whole chart.
What didn't really happen at the end though of any of these was giving us the next major recording artist. So if that's what they were looking for, the experiment failed, but I never thought it was, I think the idea was TV for the sake of itself and its ratings, and any music that came out of it was just a by-product.
For the song on its own, just 3/10.
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TheThorne
Member
*Hillside, slip and slide, feel the pain, it's no surprise!*
Posts: 27,395
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Post by TheThorne on Jan 24, 2017 13:30:22 GMT 1
You saying that pop idol and X factor didn't give us any major artists, totally disagree with that , love them or hate them but there have been loads
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Post by Shireblogger on Jan 24, 2017 13:54:39 GMT 1
You saying that pop idol and X factor didn't give us any major artists, totally disagree with that , love them or hate them but there have been loads Bang on. One Direction & Kelly Clarkson became global superstars across a minimum of 5 albums. Girls Aloud, Will Young, Nicole Scherzinger, Olly Murs, Leona Lewis, Lemar, Alexandra Burke, Jordin Sparks, Jennifer Hudson and Pentatonix were or still are, undeniably, major recording artists.
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Jan 24, 2017 14:17:36 GMT 1
I haven't heard this song for over decade, it's not really good enough to stand the test of time but it's not bad enough to be forgotten completely. It's just there, a bookmark in history like Geoff Horsfield's goal scoring exploits for Birmingham City or the day they close down Tandy and merged it with Dixons. Notable at the time but all but forgotten now
3/10
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TheThorne
Member
*Hillside, slip and slide, feel the pain, it's no surprise!*
Posts: 27,395
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Post by TheThorne on Jan 24, 2017 16:15:10 GMT 1
You saying that pop idol and X factor didn't give us any major artists, totally disagree with that , love them or hate them but there have been loads Bang on. One Direction & Kelly Clarkson became global superstars across a minimum of 5 albums. Girls Aloud, Will Young, Nicole Scherzinger, Olly Murs, Leona Lewis, Lemar, Alexandra Burke, Jordin Sparks, Jennifer Hudson and Pentatonix were or still are, undeniably, major recording artists. Also JLS, Daughtry, Little Mix, Ella Henderson, Adam Lambert and James Arthur as well Only one that is failing is The Voice UK
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Post by Smurfie on Jan 24, 2017 16:23:35 GMT 1
Have we ever had any hits from The Voice UK? I really cannot think of any!
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Jan 24, 2017 16:42:31 GMT 1
final 4 from each season of The Voice
Leanne Mitchell Bo Bruce Tyler James Vince Kidd Andrea Begley Leah McFall Matt Henry Mike Ward Jermain Jackman Christina Marie Jamie Johnson Sally Barker Stevie McCrorie Lucy O'Byrne Emmanuel Nwamadi Sasha Simone Kevin Simm Jolan Cody Frost Lydia Lucy
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Post by Smurfie on Jan 24, 2017 16:46:07 GMT 1
Thanks Daz - some of the names are familiar, The Voice UK kind of passed me by as it's not shown here.
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Post by o on Jan 24, 2017 18:11:18 GMT 1
Pentatonix are from us X factor?
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Post by Earl Purple on Jan 24, 2017 18:35:48 GMT 1
Yes, those artists have sold a lot, but I always think they still rely on having some production / songwriting team behind them to provide them with music. And of course to promote it, but then all artists need that. And unfortunately those are the only ones who get it.
Nadine of Girls Aloud was quite pleasant (I met her).
Ok, so the model has changed. But then we had it in the 1960s with Motown, for example. And at least the lovely talented Rachel Furner is now on the side of the songwriters, and she has been writing with "Wolfgang" recently. And yeah, Betty Boo (Alison Clarkson) co-wrote the song "Pure And Simple". However I stand by my 3/10 on the quality of the song. I have liked some of Alison's music.
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Post by Shireblogger on Jan 24, 2017 18:57:52 GMT 1
Pentatonix are from us X factor? Pentatonix were "discovered" by a US tv show for a cappella groups called "The Sing-Off". It ran for 5 seasons starting in 2009, had a panel of judges (including Nicole Scherzinger), used viewers votes to determine the winner, and had guest stars during the tv shows. I suspect it took all of 30 seconds for NBC to devise the format. Pentatonix won series 3.
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vastar iner
Member
I am the poster on your wall
Posts: 17,403
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Post by vastar iner on Jan 25, 2017 0:23:36 GMT 1
I haven't heard this song for over decade, it's not really good enough to stand the test of time but it's not bad enough to be forgotten completely. It's just there, a bookmark in history like Geoff Horsfield's goal scoring exploits for Birmingham City or the day they close down Tandy and merged it with Dixons. Notable at the time but all but forgotten now Oi! Some of us don't forget The Horse. Scored in both the derbies in 2002-3.
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Post by Shireblogger on Jan 25, 2017 1:07:26 GMT 1
Yes, those artists have sold a lot, but I always think they still rely on having some production / songwriting team behind them to provide them with music. And of course to promote it, but then all artists need that. And unfortunately those are the only ones who get it. So what you’re saying is that “major artists” have to write and produce their own material ? Which means Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Whitney Houston, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, etc. are not major recording artists. Sometimes you make the most bizarre statements.
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