I can't believe I'm defending Steve, because I'm not a fan and I didn't see Series 1 except clips on YouTube. However, I don't buy the argument he should have known better because of Pop Idol. From what I do remember of X-Factor Series 1 it was marketed as being different to those shows and being an opportunity for more seasoned performers with the Overs category. As for Steve laughing and smirking at the judges, I'm not sure how I'd react if someone said to me, "Why are you trying to sing like a black man?" And if he was that corky and disrespectful, I doubt he would have won. Regardless of how Steve is or was, I don't think anything excuses bullying from the media.
No it doesn't excuse bullying of course. But the problem now is that no-one really has any idea of what the truth is. Being honest, I expected to warm to him in his book but I didn't. I feel that yes, he was treated badly but I can't honestly understand the lack of understanding on his part. Like other people have said, Leon did not comment and has come out of this better......
But he quickly found it that it wasn't the chance of a lifetime!! He clearly had knowledge of Cowells usual signing and the outcomes of pop idol, so I disagree that he wasn't aware!!! Cowell has never marketed non manufactured acts so why would Steve think he was different?
If it was the 'chance of a lifetime' then why didn't he agree and go along with it???
In terms of arrogance, it was his smirking and laughing at the judges comments etc. I'm saying how I believe he came across to the public IMO. I'm not claiming to know what he really felt. The public it seems do not like arrogance or victims. He would have been better walking away during auditions and supporting Ritchie! Staying true to himself.....
Simon Fuller was the brains behind Pop Idol, not Simon Cowell.
Will Young did amazingly well out of Pop Idol, no offence to Michelle McManus, but she was hardly your typical, marketable 'pop star' and recording artist.
If you watched the first series and the judges' comments, no-one could take Louis Walsh's and Sharon's comments seriously- it was a two pronged bitch fest. If you've read the book you know what happened in dress rehearsals.
If the public thought Steve was arrogant, or a victim- how did he win... and so convincingly?
I can't believe I'm defending Steve, because I'm not a fan and I didn't see Series 1 except clips on YouTube. However, I don't buy the argument he should have known better because of Pop Idol. From what I do remember of X-Factor Series 1 it was marketed as being different to those shows and being an opportunity for more seasoned performers with the Overs category. As for Steve laughing and smirking at the judges, I'm not sure how I'd react if someone said to me, "Why are you trying to sing like a black man?" And if he was that corky and disrespectful, I doubt he would have won. Regardless of how Steve is or was, I don't think anything excuses bullying from the media.
Simon Fuller was the brains behind Pop Idol, not Simon Cowell.
Will Young did amazingly well out of Pop Idol, no offence to Michelle McManus, but she was hardly your typical, marketable 'pop star' and recording artist.
If you watched the first series and the judges' comments, no-one could take Louis Walsh's and Sharon's comments seriously- it was a two pronged bitch fest. If you've read the book you know what happened in dress rehearsals.
If the public thought Steve was arrogant, or a victim- how did he win... and so convincingly?
Will Young did well once he left Cowell - the public were sold an image with Steve imo. IF someone is that uneasy and distressed by a process, and has THAT bad feelings about something, they leave. I cannot for the life of me understand why he stayed. As he states in his book, the series was heavily edited to present Steve how the production team wanted him to be presented - which is possibly why he got so many votes.
Throughout the book, Steve refers to these 'voters' and that this is clearly a sign of popularity - I think this is merely a snapshot of the minds of the British public on 1 particular Saturday night, and are not indicative of real fans........
The public are fickle, and will jump on the voting bandwagon, but I dont see how that is a measure of popularity on the long run. If Steve did indeed have that level of following then these millions of people would be supporting him and buying his stuff regardless of negative press.
Seriously, if all you ever read about someone is negative- you begin to believe it. I thought Sharon Osbourne had something on him in her outbursts on the show and wondered about the 'fake' thing and I'd been a fan from the start!
Just last night I was watching Rude Tube and there was another dig at him- they really did a good job on burying him didn't they. Steve should be applauded for fighting back!
Read the book reviews- loads saying they believed the Cowell/Clifford narrative UNTIL they read the book.
It was the "adoption" story the press we're going to run that got me
Yes that was one of the shockers for me too.
I don't know how some (admittedly only a few) people can say there was nothing 'new' or shocking in it, unless they haven't read it or have their own agenda.... I'm obv a big fan but there was quite a lot I didn't know/hadn't heard of before. The Sharon Osbourne staff member story was another one!
Just read this in the Mail Online about celeb autobiographies having poor sales these days- makes Steve's self promoted book success (ie no national paper/tv/radio coverage etc) even more impressive! http://dailym.ai/1GG8AZd
Just because you read the other side of the story doesn't mean you have to go with that one over the other - it just means you're balancing the view, as I'm sure you appreciate.
Agree with this. I read the book and whilst it was good to hear Steves perspective and undoubtedly he had some really disgusting treatment, there were times when he made excuses or seemed to pull a motive out of thin air to excuse some of the questionable things he did - tweets etc. I think he would have come across better if he had more of a 'I did/said this, was a bit of a bell and I regret it, apologies' attitude rather than reasoning that there was some grand plan and reasoning behind him posting an offensive tweet.
I am glad he is able to get his side of the story across, and hopefully he will be able to turn a corner now and get on with his career without constant digs by the press.
I can't believe I'm defending Steve, because I'm not a fan and I didn't see Series 1 except clips on YouTube. However, I don't buy the argument he should have known better because of Pop Idol. From what I do remember of X-Factor Series 1 it was marketed as being different to those shows and being an opportunity for more seasoned performers with the Overs category. As for Steve laughing and smirking at the judges, I'm not sure how I'd react if someone said to me, "Why are you trying to sing like a black man?" And if he was that corky and disrespectful, I doubt he would have won. Regardless of how Steve is or was, I don't think anything excuses bullying from the media.
Sorry but this is just looking for excuses. X Factor was just the next iteration of the conveyor belt of reality television singing shows in the early part of last decade. Anybody and everybody knew it was just the next one. It may have had a different format but then so had Popstars / Pop Idol / Popstars the Rivals. To be making out that entering XF was any different to these shows and expecting a significantly different outcome is somewhat ridiculous. It is either signs of delusion in 2004 or rewriting of history in 2014. Either way it was just another singing show. BBC had also done Fame Academy in the same time period.
The accusations made about Steve were that he was cocky and disrespectful behind the scenes. Rowetta was the first to 'out' this behaviour not Louis or Sharon. It came to a head on finals night after a syrupy VT where Sharon was not happy that public were being sold a false persona of Steve. As I said at the beginning of this thread a decade has passed which has enabled those who want to establish for themselves whether Sharon was correct in her character assessment or not.
Simon Fuller was the brains behind Pop Idol, not Simon Cowell.
Will Young did amazingly well out of Pop Idol, no offence to Michelle McManus, but she was hardly your typical, marketable 'pop star' and recording artist.
If you watched the first series and the judges' comments, no-one could take Louis Walsh's and Sharon's comments seriously- it was a two pronged bitch fest. If you've read the book you know what happened in dress rehearsals.
If the public thought Steve was arrogant, or a victim- how did he win... and so convincingly?
The biggest mass sympathy vote in reality television history. Everybody knows if a judge on a show says anything slightly negative to a contestant it almost always guarantees them enough votes to get them through to next week. Stop saying negative stuff and they go out. This was the biggest verbal assault on a tv contestant and it got the biggest sympathy vote. Trouble for Steve was sympathy votes don't turn into purchasers of your music.
The biggest mass sympathy vote in reality television history. Everybody knows if a judge on a show says anything slightly negative to a contestant it almost always guarantees them enough votes to get them through to next week. Stop saying negative stuff and they go out. This was the biggest verbal assault on a tv contestant and it got the biggest sympathy vote. Trouble for Steve was sympathy votes don't turn into purchasers of your music.
Hadn't Steve topped the vote nearly every week though
Hadn't Steve topped the vote nearly every week though
I was responding specifically to the words 'so convincingly'. I have no doubt he would have won without the onslaught as Simon had engineered the first series for a Steve win. No different to later series but he was the chosen one in 2004. Up until the last song it was said to be close according to Kate Thornton. Louis reckoned afterward that G4 led after the second song but who knows. The onslaught happened and the avalanche of sympathy votes poured in.
I was responding specifically to the words 'so convincingly'. I have no doubt he would have won without the onslaught as Simon had engineered the first series for a Steve win. No different to later series but he was the chosen one in 2004. Up until the last song it was said to be close according to Kate Thornton. Louis reckoned afterward that G4 led after the second song but who knows. The onslaught happened and the avalanche of sympathy votes poured in.
Yes he had won the vote every week, I think Sharon O mentioned it in one of her biographies!
Did you say you'd read the book Aurora?
In other words - Defend himself from vindictive morons.
In not all cases. I agree he has had to fight his corner in some cases but I think he obviously likes to antagonise. As an adult getting into a twitter feud with young kids who have no common sense made him look silly . He also started the feud in the first place by commenting nastily on Louis Tomlinson's vocals. There could have been better ways of getting his views across.
I have also said previously on here how nasty he was on DS. As a member he knew how critical this place is and unlike Rowetta was very ungracious in responses. There are ways to respond to criticism without breaking T and C's which is why he was banned twice. People in the public eye need to develop a very thick skin as not every one will like you . There have been younger contestants from X Factor who have handled the pressure and critic much better than him.
I am glad he has got his side of the story out but I refuse to buy it and push up his bank balance on principle and I doubt with my own experience of him I would change my view point as I wouldn't be reading it objectively
Don't let the fact that he was the lowest selling finalist of the early XF's. Surely anyone not wearing rose tinted glasses can see that vote was iffy in terms of actual fans of his voice/music voting. Voting to despise Sharon and/or anti G4 who were marmite absolutely. He was the lowest selling I think until the mega star Leon came along. Again up against a marmite act.
Comments
Will Young did amazingly well out of Pop Idol, no offence to Michelle McManus, but she was hardly your typical, marketable 'pop star' and recording artist.
If you watched the first series and the judges' comments, no-one could take Louis Walsh's and Sharon's comments seriously- it was a two pronged bitch fest. If you've read the book you know what happened in dress rehearsals.
If the public thought Steve was arrogant, or a victim- how did he win... and so convincingly?
Will Young did well once he left Cowell - the public were sold an image with Steve imo. IF someone is that uneasy and distressed by a process, and has THAT bad feelings about something, they leave. I cannot for the life of me understand why he stayed. As he states in his book, the series was heavily edited to present Steve how the production team wanted him to be presented - which is possibly why he got so many votes.
Throughout the book, Steve refers to these 'voters' and that this is clearly a sign of popularity - I think this is merely a snapshot of the minds of the British public on 1 particular Saturday night, and are not indicative of real fans........
The public are fickle, and will jump on the voting bandwagon, but I dont see how that is a measure of popularity on the long run. If Steve did indeed have that level of following then these millions of people would be supporting him and buying his stuff regardless of negative press.
Just last night I was watching Rude Tube and there was another dig at him- they really did a good job on burying him didn't they. Steve should be applauded for fighting back!
Read the book reviews- loads saying they believed the Cowell/Clifford narrative UNTIL they read the book.
It was the "adoption" story the press we're going to run that got me
I don't know how some (admittedly only a few) people can say there was nothing 'new' or shocking in it, unless they haven't read it or have their own agenda.... I'm obv a big fan but there was quite a lot I didn't know/hadn't heard of before.
The Sharon Osbourne staff member story was another one!
Just read this in the Mail Online about celeb autobiographies having poor sales these days- makes Steve's self promoted book success (ie no national paper/tv/radio coverage etc) even more impressive!
http://dailym.ai/1GG8AZd
Agree with this. I read the book and whilst it was good to hear Steves perspective and undoubtedly he had some really disgusting treatment, there were times when he made excuses or seemed to pull a motive out of thin air to excuse some of the questionable things he did - tweets etc. I think he would have come across better if he had more of a 'I did/said this, was a bit of a bell and I regret it, apologies' attitude rather than reasoning that there was some grand plan and reasoning behind him posting an offensive tweet.
I am glad he is able to get his side of the story across, and hopefully he will be able to turn a corner now and get on with his career without constant digs by the press.
Sorry but this is just looking for excuses. X Factor was just the next iteration of the conveyor belt of reality television singing shows in the early part of last decade. Anybody and everybody knew it was just the next one. It may have had a different format but then so had Popstars / Pop Idol / Popstars the Rivals. To be making out that entering XF was any different to these shows and expecting a significantly different outcome is somewhat ridiculous. It is either signs of delusion in 2004 or rewriting of history in 2014. Either way it was just another singing show. BBC had also done Fame Academy in the same time period.
The accusations made about Steve were that he was cocky and disrespectful behind the scenes. Rowetta was the first to 'out' this behaviour not Louis or Sharon. It came to a head on finals night after a syrupy VT where Sharon was not happy that public were being sold a false persona of Steve. As I said at the beginning of this thread a decade has passed which has enabled those who want to establish for themselves whether Sharon was correct in her character assessment or not.
The biggest mass sympathy vote in reality television history. Everybody knows if a judge on a show says anything slightly negative to a contestant it almost always guarantees them enough votes to get them through to next week. Stop saying negative stuff and they go out. This was the biggest verbal assault on a tv contestant and it got the biggest sympathy vote. Trouble for Steve was sympathy votes don't turn into purchasers of your music.
Hadn't Steve topped the vote nearly every week though
I was responding specifically to the words 'so convincingly'. I have no doubt he would have won without the onslaught as Simon had engineered the first series for a Steve win. No different to later series but he was the chosen one in 2004. Up until the last song it was said to be close according to Kate Thornton. Louis reckoned afterward that G4 led after the second song but who knows. The onslaught happened and the avalanche of sympathy votes poured in.
Did you say you'd read the book Aurora?
In other words - Defend himself from vindictive morons.
Don't let facts get in the way. ;-)
Thankfully no. Im just a regular person
In not all cases. I agree he has had to fight his corner in some cases but I think he obviously likes to antagonise. As an adult getting into a twitter feud with young kids who have no common sense made him look silly . He also started the feud in the first place by commenting nastily on Louis Tomlinson's vocals. There could have been better ways of getting his views across.
I have also said previously on here how nasty he was on DS. As a member he knew how critical this place is and unlike Rowetta was very ungracious in responses. There are ways to respond to criticism without breaking T and C's which is why he was banned twice. People in the public eye need to develop a very thick skin as not every one will like you . There have been younger contestants from X Factor who have handled the pressure and critic much better than him.
I am glad he has got his side of the story out but I refuse to buy it and push up his bank balance on principle and I doubt with my own experience of him I would change my view point as I wouldn't be reading it objectively
Don't let the fact that he was the lowest selling finalist of the early XF's. Surely anyone not wearing rose tinted glasses can see that vote was iffy in terms of actual fans of his voice/music voting. Voting to despise Sharon and/or anti G4 who were marmite absolutely. He was the lowest selling I think until the mega star Leon came along. Again up against a marmite act.