I just don't buy it - a record company deliberately releasing a terrible song to destroy the career of a new act's first song? For all we know, it might've been a huge hit given the success of When We Collide and his popularity on the show. It was heavily promoted at the time too - there's no way record companies, which are ruled by money as we know, would waste a lot of it like that.
Then maybe they just had atrocious judgement given they had a probable hit co-written by MC ready to go (Starlight). It seems they put GB's slot as an XFjudge ahead of MC's career as a singer/songwriter. And they got it very wrong if they didnt actually plan to shaft Matt C.
I just don't think Simon ever cared that much about him. All he was bothered about was his boyband, that's why Matt was palmed off to another record label and given a mediocre first single purely because the new judge that year wrote it. Now he's independent they have no reason to advertise him.
edit: Just seen Tabby's post and she put it much better than I did!
But was he palmed off to another label? Didn't he say about it being a real artist's label. How ironic when Columbia actually bid for One Direction
I like Matt but let's not forget he did seem to put his foot in mouth on quite a few occasions. I know he was misquoted on several occasions but there was too many not to have been a source at some point
I like Matt but let's not forget he did seem to put his foot in mouth on quite a few occasions. I know he was misquoted on several occasions but there was too many not to have been a source at some point
He didn't 'put his foot in his mouth' as you put it remotely as often as James Arthur has and yet JA retains Syco's full support. Odd, that.
I like Matt but let's not forget he did seem to put his foot in mouth on quite a few occasions. I know he was misquoted on several occasions but there was too many not to have been a source at some point
I remember Sofabet doing an interesting article on it soon after his season finished. IIRC they said that TPTB took their eye off the ball re Matt & the planed march to victory by 1D.
I think it was in relation to his unexpectedly popular rendition of Nights in White Satin because up until then Sofabet argues that TPTB seemed to be guiding his voting numbers "back into the pack" Or in other words Simon et al were happy to take the voting revenue he was generating 'confident' in the belief that they could manoeuvre the voting in time for a 1D victory. Which, after all, was clearly part of the SCowell masterplan to launch XF USA.
Since then there seems to have been an attempt to conveniently forget other people polled a lot higher than 1D in the votes - I personally find it sad that the money spent voting for Matt & latterly Rebecca was used to launch the career of 1D and is why I would never bother voting on a SCowell show ever again.
In terms of SCowell's commitment to Matt, if I were a cynical kind of person, I might have even been tempted to think a conversation between SCowell & Borelow circa 2011 went something like this "Gazza my friend, ever wrote a song you realised was a pile of pants? You don't mind if I use it do you?…."
Sorry but this is utter tosh. Simon knew whether 1D and Cher won or not that he would sign them and the money from phone votes were not used to launch 1D's career, separate company altogether!
Simon is an astute business man he would have been very happy to be making lots of money from all 4 top artists that year . The bottom line is Matt got the creative control he wanted on that first album and it was a pile of poo. He sold masses because of his supporters from the show which have now all disappeared. I know of two people who loved him on the show but absolutely hated his first album and sadly not going to give him another go.
That first song was absolute rubbish but wouldn't Simon have wanted it to be a success? Different demo graph so both matt and 1D could easily have been huge successes side by side and both big earners for the label. Probably Simon's foot was so far up Borefest's arse he couldn't see it was a dirge of a song and of course poor Matt in that situation couldn't refuse. I mean how many of us in working life would refuse a request from the CE. Exactly!!
I feel sorry for Matt back then but he is now doing what he wanted to do and I don't get the impression that he is motivated by fame or money so all good in the end.
I do think Matt fans ( a bit like all fans really) get very side tracked when discussing Matt and everything is never his fault but management, label, PR etc etc. I mean you guys were the same ones jumping for joy when he was signed to Columbia and how it was a real label with real artists and it must mean that they really wanted him. So do you think then Cowell scuppered that by getting them to sign 1D too?
I like Matt but let's not forget he did seem to put his foot in mouth on quite a few occasions. I know he was misquoted on several occasions but there was too many not to have been a source at some point
I have to admit, that is the one thing he's said that makes me cringe a little. Whether that's actually the way he worded it, we'll never know.
He was very happy to be signed to Columbia, that doesn't take away from the strong possibility that Simon just couldn't be bothered with him and so gave half the responsibility to someone else.
I like Matt but let's not forget he did seem to put his foot in mouth on quite a few occasions. I know he was misquoted on several occasions but there was too many not to have been a source at some point
Sorry but this is utter tosh. Simon knew whether 1D and Cher won or not that he would sign them and the money from phone votes were not used to launch 1D's career, separate company altogether!
Simon is an astute business man he would have been very happy to be making lots of money from all 4 top artists that year . The bottom line is Matt got the creative control he wanted on that first album and it was a pile of poo. He sold masses because of his supporters from the show which have now all disappeared. I know of two people who loved him on the show but absolutely hated his first album and sadly not going to give him another go.
That first song was absolute rubbish but wouldn't Simon have wanted it to be a success? Different demo graph so both matt and 1D could easily have been huge successes side by side and both big earners for the label. Probably Simon's foot was so far up Borefest's arse he couldn't see it was a dirge of a song and of course poor Matt in that situation couldn't refuse. I mean how many of us in working life would refuse a request from the CE. Exactly!!
I feel sorry for Matt back then but he is now doing what he wanted to do and I don't get the impression that he is motivated by fame or money so all good in the end.
I do think Matt fans ( a bit like all fans really) get very side tracked when discussing Matt and everything is never his fault but management, label, PR etc etc. I mean you guys were the same ones jumping for joy when he was signed to Columbia and how it was a real label with real artists and it must mean that they really wanted him. So do you think then Cowell scuppered that by getting them to sign 1D too?
Sorry soap box session over :eek:
Im not quite sure what you're saying here, with respect. Matts first single was imposed on him as you accept. yet no one could see it was a dirge? He had a likely self penned hit ready to go and they tell him he has to accept a rejected song by Gary Barlow? Because SC suddenly had a lapse in judgement? That was the kiss of death for Matt because after that his radio play disappeared and there was no record company effort to help him from the looks of it. Thus Starlight- his second single a really good song - got no radio play
The effort and money put into 1D was not on the same planet as that given to MC. 1D were spirited off to LA with limitless resources. Matt, the winner, was left in Brighton as I understand it and had little say in the balance of his album. It doesn't much matter what Matts fans were saying or hoping at the time. The reality is compared with 1D he was shafted. Having said that Im quite sure that 1D and Matt would consider themselves friends even now from what Ive seen (e.g. Niall giving support to his album and MC saying many admiring things about 1D) unlike 1D and a more recent, Syco-favoured winner.
I thought that it was common knowledge why Matt is no longer allowed. I don't know why all these theories are popping up. Matt slagged off the show, was annoyed that Simon was paying more attention to 1D and so asked to be let go. They parted on bad terms because of his attitude. It's as simple as that.
Really, I have never heard Matt say anything bad about the X Factor in interviews, apart from the fact he disliked the yellow trousers.
He spoke out in reply to a James Arthur put down, relating to all X Factor Male Winners. By mentioning that it was not just him JA was insulting, but also the talented co-writers and production members that JA would be working for in the future. That does not strike me as somebody with attitude dissing post X Factor production. I do wonder if the negativity had anything to do with the fact that Will Talbot was assigned to look after Matt and Will left the Management team that Syco had in place, in order to look after the interests of both Matt and Mary Byrne.
Im not quite sure what you're saying here, with respect. Matts first single was imposed on him as you accept. yet no one could see it was a dirge? He had a likely self penned hit ready to go and they tell him he has to accept a rejected song by Gary Barlow? Because SC suddenly had a lapse in judgement? That was the kiss of death for Matt because after that his radio play disappeared and there was no record company effort to help him from the looks of it. Thus Starlight- his second single a really good song - got no radio play
The effort and money put into 1D was not on the same planet as that given to MC. 1D were spirited off to LA with limitless resources. Matt, the winner, was left in Brighton as I understand it and had little say in the balance of his album. It doesn't much matter what Matts fans were saying at the time. The reality is compared with 1D he was shafted. Having said that Im quite sure that 1D and Matt would consider themselves friends even now from what Ive seen (e.g. Niall giving support to his album and MC saying many admiring things about 1D) unlike 1D and a more recent, Syco-favoured winner.[/QUOTE]
Cats academy didn't say he was the most popular winner, but that he was most popular on the show's most popular year - the year with the highest audience figures.
As for the split with SyCo, I liked Matt and would like to think he wanted to do music that wasn't sh!t and that's just not part of the SyCo/Sony game plan.
One of the finalists who Matt Cardle won against became the biggest thing to come out of X Factor. Matt is to TXF what Diversity is to BGT.
Im not quite sure what you're saying here, with respect. Matts first single was imposed on him as you accept. yet no one could see it was a dirge? He had a likely self penned hit ready to go and they tell him he has to accept a rejected song by Gary Barlow? Because SC suddenly had a lapse in judgement? That was the kiss of death for Matt because after that his radio play disappeared and there was no record company effort to help him from the looks of it. Thus Starlight- his second single a really good song - got no radio play
The effort and money put into 1D was not on the same planet as that given to MC. 1D were spirited off to LA with limitless resources. Matt, the winner, was left in Brighton as I understand it and had little say in the balance of his album. It doesn't much matter what Matts fans were saying at the time. The reality is compared with 1D he was shafted. Having said that Im quite sure that 1D and Matt would consider themselves friends even now from what Ive seen (e.g. Niall giving support to his album and MC saying many admiring things about 1D) unlike 1D and a more recent, Syco-favoured winner.[/QUOTE]
Nice post.
I do find it interesting that all the winner's that did not to dance to Simon's tune have been left out. Not just Matt. Thank goodness Will Young won Pop Idol and it was Simon Fuller with full control of Will's future career. I wonder what the outcome would have been if he had won X Factor and where he would have ended up when it was all over?
The bottom line is Matt got the creative control he wanted on that first album and it was a pile of poo. :
i found that funnier than i probably ought to:o
there's no way SC would deliberately sabotage Cardle's career. It was sabotaged by poor material, the same as anyone's career is, if he's gone on to make better albums since it's a bit of a shame cos the first defined him. And RFYL was probably poor judgement on the part of all involved.
Everyone moans about Cowell, but the artists use his show to their gain so he doesn't owe them any further. And all of us on here (or most) are following an act we wouldn't otherwise have heard of but for Cowell. so he's not all bad;)
One of the finalists who Matt Cardle won against became the biggest thing to come out of X Factor. Matt is to TXF what Diversity is to BGT.
I don't think anyones arguing about that. But they didnt become ' the biggest thing to come out of XF' just by chance. A lot of effort went into it... ALOT of effort and it was justified in incredible returns for Sony and Syco. Fair play to them, they always had enormous potential as a teeny/teenage/maybe early20s-demographic act. But what do you think happened to MC? As the XF winner that same year, was he a priority in ANY way? I'd say the last minute imposition of GB song proves he was actually the opposite... it showed how little his career mattered to Syco (is it interesting that Columbia were his label, but Syco were apparently calling the shots, for the XF judge)?
there's no way SC would deliberately sabotage Cardle's career. It was sabotaged by poor material, the same as anyone's career is, if he's gone on to make better albums since it's a bit of a shame cos the first defined him. And RFYL was probably poor judgement on the part of all involved.
Everyone moans about Cowell, but the artists use his show to their gain so he doesn't owe them any further. And all of us on here (or most) are following an act we wouldn't otherwise have heard of but for Cowell. so he's not all bad;)
Im not sure why you talk as if SC is Syco? Syco is a professional record company in which he has little day to day involvement. He cant do everything. The TV end of things is SCs bag. MC says he decided he needed to get out when RFYL was imposed on him, so it wasnt quite 'poor judgement on the part of all involved'. He wanted the single they had agreed (Starlight)and at the last minute was forced to accept RFYL as his first big commercial release since the show. What could he do? How much say do you think artists in that position actually have? I believe JA was also claiming his first single was not his first choice though at least they released a song he cowrote and didnt parachute in a song out of nowhere...
Im not sure why you talk as if SC is Syco? Syco is a professional record company in which he has little day to day involvement. He cant do everything. The TV end of things is SCs bag. MC says he decided he needed to get out when RFYL was imposed on him, so it wasnt quite 'poor judgement on the part of all involved'. He wanted the single they had agreed (Starlight)and at the last minute was forced to accept RFYL as his first big commercial release since the show. What could he do? How much say do you think artists in that position actually have? I believe JA was also claiming his first single was not his first choice though at least they released a song he cowrote and didnt parachute in a song out of nowhere...
I just found this - either Cardle was lying, acting like he loved the track even though he hated it, or he means this:
During an interview with Digital Spy, Cardle discussed the track: "I'm really, really happy to have had Gary Barlow write a song for me. We had 90% of the album written, and then really late in the process, Gary sent the song through. I really related to it. I've been in that position many times, you know, that the song is talking about. It's about not being good enough for the person you're with and not being able to give enough, I was nearly in tears recording the vocals.[1] I've actually been trying to write that kind of song for a long time – it's putting yourself down in a clever way. Gary nailed it, and then he let me have a go at singing it, I couldn't pass it up, so I'm really happy about that."
I don't think anyones arguing about that. But they didnt become ' the biggest thing to come out of XF' just by chance. A lot of effort went into it... ALOT of effort and it was justified in incredible returns for Sony and Syco. Fair play to them, they always had enormous potential as a teeny/teenage/maybe early20s-demographic act. But what do you think happened to MC? As the XF winner that same year, was he a priority in ANY way? I'd say the last minute imposition of GB song proves he was actually the opposite... it showed how little his career mattered to Syco (is it interesting that Columbia were his label, but Syco were apparently calling the shots, for the XF judge)?
But what do you think happened to Rebecca Ferguson? She was not promoted nearly as much as Matt, yet put out a double platinum album that received critical acclaim and expanded her audience well outside the bounds of reality TV viewers.
She co-wrote all the songs herself. Unlike Matt's however, they were good. The bottom line, as twingle wrote above, is not promo or the lack thereof.
But what do you think happened to Rebecca Ferguson? She was not promoted nearly as much as Matt, yet put out a double platinum album that received critical acclaim and expanded her audience well outside the bounds of reality TV viewers.
She co-wrote all the songs herself. Unlike Matt's however, they were good. The bottom line, as twingle wrote above, is not promo or the lack thereof.
Did Rebecca have a first single imposed on her by Syco? How much control did she have over production and what went on her album?
(BTW looking it up, she was promoted just as much as Matt just in better ways..she got the same TV and radio opportunities plus an industry showcase and an international launch by her label. And good on her.)
I just found this - either Cardle was lying, acting like he loved the track even though he hated it, or he means this:
During an interview with Digital Spy, Cardle discussed the track: "I'm really, really happy to have had Gary Barlow write a song for me. We had 90% of the album written, and then really late in the process, Gary sent the song through. I really related to it. I've been in that position many times, you know, that the song is talking about. It's about not being good enough for the person you're with and not being able to give enough, I was nearly in tears recording the vocals.[1] I've actually been trying to write that kind of song for a long time – it's putting yourself down in a clever way. Gary nailed it, and then he let me have a go at singing it, I couldn't pass it up, so I'm really happy about that."
Oh come on. Seriously? What could he have said? 'This was shoved on to me, I wanted to use my own song which I think is much better, and I hate it but I have to promote it so spend your money to buy it anyway please because I desperately need a first hit?' Do you really think artists can say what they really think in situations like that?
I don't think anyones arguing about that. But they didnt become ' the biggest thing to come out of XF' just by chance. A lot of effort went into it... ALOT of effort and it was justified in incredible returns for Sony and Syco. Fair play to them, they always had enormous potential as a teeny/teenage/maybe early20s-demographic act. But what do you think happened to MC? As the XF winner that same year, was he a priority in ANY way? I'd say the last minute imposition of GB song proves he was actually the opposite... it showed how little his career mattered to Syco (is it interesting that Columbia were his label, but Syco were apparently calling the shots, for the XF judge)?
I quote Simon Cowell. I didn't decide that these boys would be huge but their fans did! We both watched that series and it was pretty obvious who the masses of girls outside the studio were screaming for. I know it's a different demo graph but that is the fact. If Cowell knew what the magic formula is he would be using it every year and so far the producers have tried with every boy band on the show since and it just isn't happening.
I too read a lot of interviews from matt way back and I recall him saying he couldn't really complain about 1D getting out of the blocks first because he hadn't got his ar$e in gear. And didn't he hate flying at that point so of course he would prefer to be with Biffa in Brighton. I also recall another interview where he said he would be terrified to have the level of fame 1D had. Of course it's a shame he didn't progress to huge success but as an Indie type artist it was never going to happen and I will be surprised if JA will buck the trend
Did Rebecca have a first single imposed on her by Syco? How much control did she have over production and what went on her album?
Syco initially wanted Rebecca's first album to be all covers but she dug her heels in and pushed for her own co written songs. Amazingly they relented and let her go her own way and I think she had some control over the production. She is a bit more stubborn than she appears to be.
Comments
Then maybe they just had atrocious judgement given they had a probable hit co-written by MC ready to go (Starlight). It seems they put GB's slot as an XFjudge ahead of MC's career as a singer/songwriter. And they got it very wrong if they didnt actually plan to shaft Matt C.
But was he palmed off to another label? Didn't he say about it being a real artist's label. How ironic when Columbia actually bid for One Direction
http://www.sugarscape.com/tags/simon-cowell/666007/oohh-did-matt-cardle-take-swipe-one-direction-and-cher-lloyd
I like Matt but let's not forget he did seem to put his foot in mouth on quite a few occasions. I know he was misquoted on several occasions but there was too many not to have been a source at some point
He didn't 'put his foot in his mouth' as you put it remotely as often as James Arthur has and yet JA retains Syco's full support. Odd, that.
In the real world, no. In the tinfoil hat world of Mattland, oh most definitely.:D
Deleted - because weird repost
Sorry but this is utter tosh. Simon knew whether 1D and Cher won or not that he would sign them and the money from phone votes were not used to launch 1D's career, separate company altogether!
Simon is an astute business man he would have been very happy to be making lots of money from all 4 top artists that year . The bottom line is Matt got the creative control he wanted on that first album and it was a pile of poo. He sold masses because of his supporters from the show which have now all disappeared. I know of two people who loved him on the show but absolutely hated his first album and sadly not going to give him another go.
That first song was absolute rubbish but wouldn't Simon have wanted it to be a success? Different demo graph so both matt and 1D could easily have been huge successes side by side and both big earners for the label. Probably Simon's foot was so far up Borefest's arse he couldn't see it was a dirge of a song and of course poor Matt in that situation couldn't refuse. I mean how many of us in working life would refuse a request from the CE. Exactly!!
I feel sorry for Matt back then but he is now doing what he wanted to do and I don't get the impression that he is motivated by fame or money so all good in the end.
I do think Matt fans ( a bit like all fans really) get very side tracked when discussing Matt and everything is never his fault but management, label, PR etc etc. I mean you guys were the same ones jumping for joy when he was signed to Columbia and how it was a real label with real artists and it must mean that they really wanted him. So do you think then Cowell scuppered that by getting them to sign 1D too?
Sorry soap box session over :eek:
I have to admit, that is the one thing he's said that makes me cringe a little. Whether that's actually the way he worded it, we'll never know.
He was very happy to be signed to Columbia, that doesn't take away from the strong possibility that Simon just couldn't be bothered with him and so gave half the responsibility to someone else.
My how the tune of Cardle fans has changed since the days of the 'tired and pitiful' trope that Cardle went to Columbia because 'Simon doesn't care about him'.
And of Columbia: In it for the long haul with Matt Cardle
Im not quite sure what you're saying here, with respect. Matts first single was imposed on him as you accept. yet no one could see it was a dirge? He had a likely self penned hit ready to go and they tell him he has to accept a rejected song by Gary Barlow? Because SC suddenly had a lapse in judgement? That was the kiss of death for Matt because after that his radio play disappeared and there was no record company effort to help him from the looks of it. Thus Starlight- his second single a really good song - got no radio play
The effort and money put into 1D was not on the same planet as that given to MC. 1D were spirited off to LA with limitless resources. Matt, the winner, was left in Brighton as I understand it and had little say in the balance of his album. It doesn't much matter what Matts fans were saying or hoping at the time. The reality is compared with 1D he was shafted. Having said that Im quite sure that 1D and Matt would consider themselves friends even now from what Ive seen (e.g. Niall giving support to his album and MC saying many admiring things about 1D) unlike 1D and a more recent, Syco-favoured winner.
Really, I have never heard Matt say anything bad about the X Factor in interviews, apart from the fact he disliked the yellow trousers.
He spoke out in reply to a James Arthur put down, relating to all X Factor Male Winners. By mentioning that it was not just him JA was insulting, but also the talented co-writers and production members that JA would be working for in the future. That does not strike me as somebody with attitude dissing post X Factor production. I do wonder if the negativity had anything to do with the fact that Will Talbot was assigned to look after Matt and Will left the Management team that Syco had in place, in order to look after the interests of both Matt and Mary Byrne.
One of the finalists who Matt Cardle won against became the biggest thing to come out of X Factor. Matt is to TXF what Diversity is to BGT.
Do please elaborate on the ways in which Joe McElderry danced "to Simon's tune." I'm sure that many of us are terribly uninformed about this.
i found that funnier than i probably ought to:o
there's no way SC would deliberately sabotage Cardle's career. It was sabotaged by poor material, the same as anyone's career is, if he's gone on to make better albums since it's a bit of a shame cos the first defined him. And RFYL was probably poor judgement on the part of all involved.
Everyone moans about Cowell, but the artists use his show to their gain so he doesn't owe them any further. And all of us on here (or most) are following an act we wouldn't otherwise have heard of but for Cowell. so he's not all bad;)
I don't think anyones arguing about that. But they didnt become ' the biggest thing to come out of XF' just by chance. A lot of effort went into it... ALOT of effort and it was justified in incredible returns for Sony and Syco. Fair play to them, they always had enormous potential as a teeny/teenage/maybe early20s-demographic act. But what do you think happened to MC? As the XF winner that same year, was he a priority in ANY way? I'd say the last minute imposition of GB song proves he was actually the opposite... it showed how little his career mattered to Syco (is it interesting that Columbia were his label, but Syco were apparently calling the shots, for the XF judge)?
Im not sure why you talk as if SC is Syco? Syco is a professional record company in which he has little day to day involvement. He cant do everything. The TV end of things is SCs bag. MC says he decided he needed to get out when RFYL was imposed on him, so it wasnt quite 'poor judgement on the part of all involved'. He wanted the single they had agreed (Starlight)and at the last minute was forced to accept RFYL as his first big commercial release since the show. What could he do? How much say do you think artists in that position actually have? I believe JA was also claiming his first single was not his first choice though at least they released a song he cowrote and didnt parachute in a song out of nowhere...
I just found this - either Cardle was lying, acting like he loved the track even though he hated it, or he means this:
During an interview with Digital Spy, Cardle discussed the track: "I'm really, really happy to have had Gary Barlow write a song for me. We had 90% of the album written, and then really late in the process, Gary sent the song through. I really related to it. I've been in that position many times, you know, that the song is talking about. It's about not being good enough for the person you're with and not being able to give enough, I was nearly in tears recording the vocals.[1] I've actually been trying to write that kind of song for a long time – it's putting yourself down in a clever way. Gary nailed it, and then he let me have a go at singing it, I couldn't pass it up, so I'm really happy about that."
But what do you think happened to Rebecca Ferguson? She was not promoted nearly as much as Matt, yet put out a double platinum album that received critical acclaim and expanded her audience well outside the bounds of reality TV viewers.
She co-wrote all the songs herself. Unlike Matt's however, they were good. The bottom line, as twingle wrote above, is not promo or the lack thereof.
Did Rebecca have a first single imposed on her by Syco? How much control did she have over production and what went on her album?
(BTW looking it up, she was promoted just as much as Matt just in better ways..she got the same TV and radio opportunities plus an industry showcase and an international launch by her label. And good on her.)
Oh come on. Seriously? What could he have said? 'This was shoved on to me, I wanted to use my own song which I think is much better, and I hate it but I have to promote it so spend your money to buy it anyway please because I desperately need a first hit?' Do you really think artists can say what they really think in situations like that?
I quote Simon Cowell. I didn't decide that these boys would be huge but their fans did! We both watched that series and it was pretty obvious who the masses of girls outside the studio were screaming for. I know it's a different demo graph but that is the fact. If Cowell knew what the magic formula is he would be using it every year and so far the producers have tried with every boy band on the show since and it just isn't happening.
I too read a lot of interviews from matt way back and I recall him saying he couldn't really complain about 1D getting out of the blocks first because he hadn't got his ar$e in gear. And didn't he hate flying at that point so of course he would prefer to be with Biffa in Brighton. I also recall another interview where he said he would be terrified to have the level of fame 1D had. Of course it's a shame he didn't progress to huge success but as an Indie type artist it was never going to happen and I will be surprised if JA will buck the trend
Syco initially wanted Rebecca's first album to be all covers but she dug her heels in and pushed for her own co written songs. Amazingly they relented and let her go her own way and I think she had some control over the production. She is a bit more stubborn than she appears to be.