Alex from Fame Academy!

[oasischuan]

I think she's amazing! I want her to win! :done:

[Tom Violence]

Spot on! I've even been watching the nightly Fame Academy shows on BBC Three for that girl. She has such presence and starpower, I'm amazed. It's the first time I've cared for anybody on any of these shows.

My only worry is that she won't get the material she deserves after the show has finished. Which would be an absolute travesty.

[oasischuan]

You are lucky to have BBC 3! I can only watch BBC1... Did you see the article about Carrie on Daily Star today? Alex has been quoted 'Carrie is so pretty, I have no problem being coached by her' and 'I'm gay' to others.

I think she's one of the few original artists in the house. Her voice is brilliant. She should win!

[spyretto]

Is she that girl who had her hair done like Yulia's and wore a pink top a la Tatu on TOTP? when I saw her I was sure she'd start screaming "Not Gonna Get Us!! They're not gonna get us!!!"

:D

If I'm wrong I gotta say that I wasn't watching much, I just had it on. :D Tough to watch such crap, but I watched her for a while and I was amazed. she had a very low-pitched voice, lol

[Kappa]

*mepouts* People, pics, please? I don't know her...

[spyretto]

I think this is the official site of the show. Do you think she might try to sing Tatu later?? :D

http://www.bbc.co.uk/fameacademy/student_profiles/index42.shtml

[oasischuan]

There are people saying that she looks like one in her 50s!

On the official message board, someone was actually slagging her off by describing her as a 'Tatu reject'. How pathetic!

Luckily she has lots of support she deserved and I'm sure she will be in the final three. And hopefully she will win! :rose:

[spyretto]

yeah, I saw that and she definitely looked better on the show, and sounded well too. Hmm, what did she sing?

It's cool, now that there aren't many news about Tatu at least we have a Tatu fan on Star Academy. :) ahem, Fame, I mean :D
she has the attitude too... and maybe she's a lesbian? just a thought...

[Tom Violence]

She is gay, she's already said as much to one of the other contestants.

Tonight she sang 'I Don't Want to Talk About It'. Apparently it's a Rod Stewart song.

[oasischuan]

She sang 'I don't want to talk about it'. The mic stopped working so she had to do it again. The way she handled it was so professional. She did a fab version of 'Beautiful' on Wednesday while suffering tonsillitis.

Yes, she's lesbian. According to Daily Star, she came out when she was 14.

[spyretto]

But it was covered by that band, hmm what the name? Everything But The Girl, right?
oh, she's gay, ok, I haven't been watching it on BBC3 or BBC1, though I might do now - just to see how our Yulia fan gets on.

oh yeah, I saw that bit when the microphone didn't work, and I thought wtf? Very harsh for her but she did well regardless.
Then I think I switched off...the others were so cheesy I couldn't watch.

[oasischuan]

I thought Dina Caroll sang it as well. Who's the original version?

[spyretto]

Stewart's, I'm sure. Aren't they any other pictures of her? Maybe from the show?

[Tom Violence]

This (http://forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/t/81152/b8dc3d5b8e88e7a5be9b57aa9024f672ds.html) is encouraging.

And this (http://www.bbc.co.uk/fameacademy/images/newsimage/02_me_myself_i_195.jpg) shoddy effort is the best picture of her I've found so far. No mad cappers on her case yet, it seems.

[spyretto]

wow, that's very promising indeed. ;)

The bookies also have her joined favourite.

[oasischuan]

Take better pix please, Fame Academy!!

More about Alex:

http://theinternetforum.co.uk/fameacademy/alex1.html

[poppy]

this is quite a good photo. rock star in training LOL. i haven't watched it though so i don't know what she's like or what she sounds like, but yeah Yulia did spring to mind.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/fameacademy/photo/photo824.shtml

[oasischuan]

http://www.eddietalbot.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/alexparks/alex1.jpg

http://www.eddietalbot.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/alexparks/alex2.jpg

http://www.eddietalbot.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/alexparks/alex3.jpg

http://www.eddietalbot.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/alexparks/alex4.jpg

http://www.eddietalbot.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/alexparks/alex5.jpg

http://www.eddietalbot.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/alexparks/alex6.jpg

http://www.eddietalbot.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/alexparks/alex7.jpg

http://www.eddietalbot.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/alexparks/alex8.jpg

http://www.eddietalbot.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/alexparks/alex9.jpg

--------------------------------------------------------
Many thanx to edman from digital spy forum!!

[Rachel]

Oh yum!!! Wouldn't say no to her! :D

I haven't watched Fame Academy at all, but I will try to catch it as she looks hot!

I'll see if I can cap something of her :)

[Kappa]

I_Love_Yulia, I would *madly* appreciate it if you did. :/ No BBC channel in here, you know? And she looks damn interesting. :P

[spyretto]

When is the next round of the contest? Saturday on BBC1 or maybe earlier on BBC3?

[Tom Violence]

The next elimination is on Saturday on BBC1.

The BBC3 shows are just half-hour long updates on what has taken place in the Academy in the past 24 hours. They tend not to be at all interesting, there aren't many fireworks in the house. Plus there tend to be a lot of painful group sing-songs to endure when watching it on BBC3.

[oasischuan]

Alex is singing Everybody hurts on Saturday. It's a great song for her and it's going to be amazing! There will be a rehearsal tomorrow. ;)

If you have digital, satellite or freeview it's like watching Big Brother, I'm sure you can get lots of Alex! What a pity I only have five channels on my dodgy second hand telly! :( :( :(

darje and everyone who's interested, this page contains download links of three short videos of Alex. They are no good quality, we have to wait for Rach. ;)

http://forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/showthread.php?s=&threadid=81622&perpage=25&pagenumber=2

[Ghalib]

I zapped onto Fame Idol Acdemy - the Rivals ha whatever ?!?!?! :confused: NOT !

And thougt was I the only one who saw the TATU type appeal to Alex ...

Behold the new queen of angst is born ... :hmmm:

And Paris is PANTS ... my brain started to pool on the floor after I saw the rest of the drivel ....

Who the HELL is the XENA type 80's chick ?? :rolleyes:

Scary Mary !!! :eek:

PS Loved Alex lil' smile straight at camera on her close up during "Beautiful" ... Priceless !! :dead:

[oasischuan]

Alex is the favourite at the moment. She never received a negative comment from the teachers so far. For someone like Richard Park and Carrie Grant, this is amazing. She makes every song her own. She's fantastic, original and refreshing, so different from other bland cheesy pub singers. Even Louis Walsh said she 'has everything, a real real star' and is 'definitely going to get a record deal'. Don't even dream about getting Alex to join Girl's Aloud, Louis! :D

[spyretto]

Well, who knows, maybe she'll be the first one to break free from that vicious circle of "popidolness" :D and have her own thing going? The only one who tried to do that is Darius, in my opinion, but he's not good enough. All the rest are puppets of the system, they cover every popular 60s track they've heard of and sell a million records.

She could be the new Tracy Chapman or Suzanne Vega or something. Though I don't think her voice is suitable for the repertoire that goes on with the show.

[oasischuan]

This Alex appreciation page is made by edman from digital spy forum. Enjoy! ;)

http://www.eddietalbot.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/alexparks/

[Rachel]

My friend recorded Alex singing "Everybody Hurts" for me. For some reason the video doesn't seem very compatible with my VCR and/or the tape is wearing out so the quality isn't too great. Anyway, I still capped it.

Get it at this ftp -

address - 24.77.103.33

username - tatu

password - tatu

Port - 4321

Folder - Uploads

Filename - Alex - Everybody Hurts.mpg

Enjoy!!! :D

[Tom Violence]

After tonight's show, I'm still suitably impressed. I mean, anybody who can make me enjoy a Coldplay song must be talented. :D

[poppy]

has anyone been watching this recently? i don't get bbc3 so i've only managed to catch a couple of the live shows, but i gotta say Alex's version of Tainted Love rocked!!! apparently she's the bookies favourite to win as well.

as i don't get bbc3 (that's so annoying! LOL) i haven't managed to see any of the day to day stuff, and i've just read that there's an interesting love triangle developing between peter, alex and carolynne. also that alex and carolynne have started creating their own code to communicate in!!??

was just intrigued and wondered if anyone had been watching it. although the likelyhood is pretty slim ... bbc3 and all that.


there's a vid of her performing tainted love on the link at the top of this page it's pretty good you should check it out, only little.

[Rob]

Yulia looks way better (and I'm not even into Yulia).

[iluvjulia84]

Originally posted by Rob
Yulia looks way better (and I'm not even into Yulia).
I agree!! But i'm REEEEEEAAAAAAALY into Julia!:D

[poppy]

i wasn't suggesting she's anything like yulia at all .... except for having short hair. just wanted to know a bit more about her.

[spyretto]

just to remind you that the final instalment of Fame Academy is tonight at 9:35 p.m. ( in about half an hour from now ) on BBC 1. Alex and Alistair go head-to-head and I really hope that Alex wins not only coz she's far better but also because I placed a little bet on her a long time ago, 20 pounds at 6 to 1.
Of course the latest odds had her down to as little as 1 to 3, so she should be able to clinch this one. Odds for her to have the Xmas no 1 are also available :)
Only disantantage that I see? well, she's a girl :D

[EeZeReal]

Pfffft....Seriously she has no chance of losing AT ALL!!!

I've been watching it recently...and she outshines everyone so much.. its pathetic... :D

[spyretto]

well, it's simple, she has the voice , my dear...the others, don't. I heard that she's nervous for tonite and that is a good sign ;)

I think that rendition of "Imagine" was very good and it's not one of my favourite songs as that teacher said. I'd like to listen to that again. And she can even shine singing next to Daniel Bedingfield, which is not easy.


Hmm, now that I called to vote for her I heard her name clearly. When I was calling to vote for Tatu, all I could hear was "your vote has been registered". Well, I just reminded meself ;)

I liked her song too.

hehehe, she did it, congrats. And to you guys for spotting her :coctail:

[vicky7]

I'm so glad she won my Mum doesn't like her but I have loved her since she first sang beautiful. What a star! I just wished I had placed a bet!

[spyretto]

I think the other girl was better than Alistair bloke too but for two girls to be in a final it'd be too optimistic. At least Alex won... if she didn't it'd be a first-rate scandal ;)

[oasischuan]

Glad to see that you haven't forgot Alex! :D

I've spent so much time at Digital Spy's FA forum when I couldn't log on here... and I spent too much money on voting Alex -- it pays off! ;)

Thanx Rach! I found a few great sites:

http://www.alexparksonline.com/

http://alexparks.lunarpages.com/aly/

And of course:

http://www.eddietalbot.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/alexparks/index.html

Well done Alex for winning FA2!! :) :) :)

[poppy]

really glad she won!! watched so much fame academy last night my eyes hurt!

i think carolynne deserved to be in the final 2 though.

apparently minnie driver sent her (alex) some flowers to wish her luck!!?

[oasischuan]

Originally posted by poppy
really glad she won!! watched so much fame academy last night my eyes hurt!

i think carolynne deserved to be in the final 2 though.

apparently minnie driver sent her (alex) some flowers to wish her luck!!?

Yes, Mini said it's sad she 'couldn't be there last night, but see you next week'. ;)

The result is good, but the show was clearly biased. See the discussion here:

http://forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/t/91443/ds.html

Jacky Sparrow is me.

[spyretto]

sorry, I don't get it, in what way was she used?

I didn't follow the show too closely to know all the shenanigans behind the selections but personally I think that both Carolynne and Peter were better than Alistair - but in the same way that both girls wouldn't make it to the final, Peter and Alex wouldn't make it together either, as they are both the rebelious type and aren't they pals as well?
I don't know what else was going on behind the scenes though.

Hmm, Alex "best talent since Radiohead"? Yes, she's the best talent to emerge from these kind of shows... but, ahem... no.

What's the relation between Minnie and Alex, by the way?

[rachelc]

All I know about this Alex bird is that she's Cornish, and Cornwall is next to Devon (which is my own turf) so I'm glad she won. The West Country scene will be the next big thing, you wait and see. We've had Bristol and the trip-hop thing, so Exeter's turn must be next. And I plan to be a player.

[oasischuan]

Originally posted by spyretto
sorry, I don't get it, in what way was she used?

I didn't follow the show too closely to know all the shenanigans behind the selections but personally I think that both Carolynne and Peter were better than Alistair - but in the same way that both girls wouldn't make it to the final, Peter and Alex wouldn't make it together either, as they are both the rebelious type and aren't they pals as well?
I don't know what else was going on behind the scenes though.

Hmm, Alex "best talent since Radiohead"? Yes, she's the best talent to emerge from these kind of shows... but, ahem... no.

What's the relation between Minnie and Alex, by the way?

Well, the final show was obviously biased: editing, song choices, set-up, teachers and guests' opinions etc... especially Daniel Bedingfield, who was supposed to be a guest, but pointed at Alex and claimed 'vote Alex!', which shocked everybody including Alex herself. By all means she deserves to win, but the way the show had been putting together wasn't the way that BBC should had done. The record company (Polydor), production company (Endemol, who produced Big Brother) and the BBC wants a credible winner in order to defend the name of FA2 after last year's disappionting winner Sneddon. You can see from the very beginning their favourites are Louise, Paris, Peter and Alex. Louise, Paris and Peter lost it, the only one left who can do this is Alex. They don't want a bland boyband material, nearly 26 year-old like Alistair to win this.

The relationship of Alex, Carolynne and Peter is very very complicated. You need to follow FA2 on telly and online for the last 10 weeks to have a better idea. There are speculations and rumors that Alex fancies Carolynne, Alex snogged Peter and of course the real 'face-sucking' between Carolynne and Peter. Alex obviously fell out with Peter in the last two weeks. And don't forget Alex's early claim that she has a girfriend but changed the story to say she's single recently. Anyway, Peter is back with his girfriend now and Carolynne is going to share the winner's flat with Alex. We can only wait and see.

Don't know what's the big deal about Mini Driver. At the moment we only know that she likes Alex a lot, like the whole cast of EastEnders. ;)

[Rob]

There are speculations and rumors that Alex fancies Carolynne, Alex snogged Peter and of course the real 'face-sucking' between Carolynne and Peter. Alex obviously fell out with Peter in the last two weeks. And don't forget Alex's early claim that she has a girfriend but changed the story to say she's single recently. Anyway, Peter is back with his girfriend now and Carolynne is going to share the winner's flat with Alex. We can only wait and see.
?
what?!
Sounds like the UK-shows were way more interesting than the ones over here.... :laugh:

[poppy]

yeah i deffinately think alex had a thing for carolynne. it was quite mad at one point whenit seemed that carolynne liked peter, peter liked alex and alex liked carolynne! LOL! i think she just got a bit jelous of the whole caz/peter thing coz they were her 2 best friends and maybe she liked caz a bit more!?

she is great though i just hope they don't ruin her!! with all their talent show cheese!!

i downloaded the winners interview from the link you left.

http://alexparks.lunarpages.com/aly/Alex%20interview%20with%20Claudia.zip

she is very sweet!! bless.

thanks for the links!!

[oasischuan]

Originally posted by Rob
?
what?!
Sounds like the UK-shows were way more interesting than the ones over here.... :laugh:

How's German Fame Academy doing? ;)

[poppy]

did anyone see her on RISE this morning? she was very cute. very tired, laid back and a little shy. she didn't seem too sure about the whole fame thing! LOL.

she said that sleeping was one of her passions in life and that it looked like she was gonna have to give it up!! bless.

here's a link for a scan of one of her first interviews since winning. thought it was quite sweet .... and there's a big pic of her too!!

http://www.alexparksonline.com/updates/sneakscan2.html

[oasischuan]

How poor a programme could be? Was it a presenters' show or David Sneddon's show? (It's good for Alex to have a rest though!:D) RI:SE must be the worst breakfast show ever! :D Now I know the reason why it's going to be finished for good by the end of the year!

[spyretto]

I haven't seen the last show but Sneddon still sold well, he went to number 1 if I'm not mistaken ...so what difference does it make?
But I can understand where those rumours about being a biased show are coming from.

[Mossopp]

I never actually watched 'Fame Academy' when it was on cos IMO reality TV is quite pathetic - especially the kind of reality TV that forces crap like Sneddors, The Cheeky Girls, Gareth Gates et al upon the British public. I only started watching the end of the 'Best of Fame Academy' re-runs after reading this thread on Alex. She seems like a pretty cool chick - I just hope she doesn't end up like another one of those Avril/Kelly Osbourne clones that are so common nowadays.
Anyway, I was flicking through this weeks Sneak magazine (I didn't buy it - it's my mother's, I swear!!) with Alex on the cover and one of the questions - well, it wasn't technically a question - she was asked was "Your mum sent you a lovely letter after you discussed your feelings about being gay on national TV..." I was just wondering exactly what it was that Alex said on the matter. I'm no massive fan of hers but I'd like to hear her views on this. If anyone could tell me what she said then I'd be really greatful.
Cheers.

[poppy]

i left a link for a scan of that article a few posts back, it's really sweet isn't it!?

she didn't really talk that much about being gay as such. i think that in the very beginning she had a chat with one of the girls expressing her worries on how the public would accept her and that she hoped that wouldn't become the only thing they associated with her and not her singing. but that was it really. obviously there were conversations about girls she liked and stuff, and also she was a terrible flirt with her make up lady and a few of the crew.

i think when she won the press askedher about being gay on a reality tv programme and she said something like, she didn't want to hide it but at the same time she didn't want to be in ya face about it either, she was just being her.

hope that all makes sense!?

p.s i don't think she will become an avril or kelly, she seems way too reserved for that!

[oasischuan]

Originally posted by spyretto
I haven't seen the last show but Sneddon still sold well, he went to number 1 if I'm not mistaken ...so what difference does it make?
But I can understand where those rumours about being a biased show are coming from.

I was talking about last Thursday's RI:SE on Channel 4, NOT the final showdown of Fame Academy!

[Mossopp]

Thanks for the info poppy. :)

Originally posted by poppy
i don't think she will become an avril or kelly, she seems way too reserved for that!

Yeah, I noticed that Alex seems pretty laid back. I wasn't talking about her becoming another Avril in terms of atitude though. My concern is that she may go down the same musical route as all the Avril and Kelly clones. The last thing the UK music scene needs right now is another Amy Studt! :bebebe:

BTW, in case anyone hasn't heard, 'Fame Academy:The Winners Story' is on BBC3 tonight at 8pm.

[oasischuan]

Originally posted by Mossopp
I never actually watched 'Fame Academy' when it was on cos IMO reality TV is quite pathetic - especially the kind of reality TV that forces crap like Sneddors, The Cheeky Girls, Gareth Gates et al upon the British public. I only started watching the end of the 'Best of Fame Academy' re-runs after reading this thread on Alex. She seems like a pretty cool chick - I just hope she doesn't end up like another one of those Avril/Kelly Osbourne clones that are so common nowadays.

Glad you got to know Alex from here! :) She's a unique talent who's very mature at the age of 19. She's different from every reality show winner. She was reluctant to apply Fame Academy, only discovered that her Dad sent a video of her performance without telling her. She didn't want to win and considered leaving for many times.

Don't worry she ain't going down the Avril routine. Her style is folk/rock. There's a gap for her in the market at the moment. First album will be out next month, half her own songs half the covers from the showdowns. First single is out 17 November -- a double A side with Maybe that's what it takes (the song she sang in the final show) and Beautiful.

Here's a great article about her on the Telegraph:

http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml;$sessionid$MYYEMJ2VM5XV1QFIQMFCFFOAVCBQ YIV0?xml=/arts/2003/10/09/bmalex09.xml

(Need to copy and paste the whole line)


Polydor is laughing their way to the bank with Alex's voctory. :D

[Mossopp]

I really didn't want to like Alex.
As a rock/metal fan it's my duty to kick against superficial "pop stars" - especially those that have been cultivated from reality TV. But she seems like such an awesome chick that it's hard to dislike her.
I watched 'Fame Academy:The Winners Story" on BBC3 this evening and Alex seemed a lot like me in so many instances that it was actually quite spooky (I'm in no way suggesting that I am as musically talented as she is BTW).
I doubt that I'll like her musical output - it'll no doubt be much too 'middle-of-the-road' for my tastes - but I'll certainly be following her progress post Fame Academy. I'm always happy to see a young gay woman make a positive impact on the public conciousness. It makes me feel like we're making some progress.

[oasischuan]

Absolutely, reality TV kills the music industry but Alex is so different! I never voted in any talent show before, but when I saw Alex on the first audition show I just couldn't help myself but to vote for her to get into the House. She had helped and will be continuing to help people, which is great!

You are lucky to have BBC3... the Winner's Story is gonna be out as DVD/video on 2rd November. I heard they didn't include any post FA interview on the TV version, hope they are saving them for the DVD! ;)

You can download some Alex videos from:

http://www.eddietalbot.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/alexparks/index.html

I'm sure you will like them!

[poppy]

do you know what!?

i actually really liked her 'heart of glass' rendition. which everyone slated! i think they pigeonholed her and made her do ballads too much, because of the amount of power and emotion she could convey was awesome. But that just gets boring after a while so it was nice to see her do somwthing different, tainted love rocked too!

also i loved that red jacket she wore for heart of glass!!

[oasischuan]

I like it, too. Anything she sang just worked for me. Love the studio version of Maybe that's what it takes! :)

btw the jacket is good but not the barber shirt! :D

[poppy]

see i thought the 'heart of glass' performance was her best look! second was what she wore for the kerrang awards (blk t shirt with gold man? on and jeans)! i only know this cause i had a look through some of the pics on another sight LOL! and i really wasn't fussed on that green t shirt they kept putting her in!