024 Cowell Factor

With Susan Boyle safety locked up in her new London mansion - with Pebbles the cat of course - Simon can now get on with his new project - the remake of Saturday Night Fever! LISTEN TO THIS PODCAST TO FIND OUT THE WHOLE SCOOP!

First up is my latest news on the X Factor. As Simon heads to Glasgow this week for the first auditions.

JLS - The boyband, who lost out to Alexandra Burke in last year's final, release their new single on July 13 and its called Beat Again - and I gottta tell you – it’s really HOT.

But….the big news this week is Simon is working on a deal with pop legend Michael Jackson which could see the singer take a mentoring role on this season’s X Factor.
Simon Says "Tony, it's all down to Michael now. If a deal can be struck, then we're in business.”

But the best is yet to come because I’m back down in the Fame Games talent bank - where I belong……to dig up some more hits of the future.

This week Stefani Scovolo from LA- really got me going with her song Where do I fit in. This girl really knows how to craft a great pop song - and deliver it. Where have you been all my life Stefani?????

Now you guys already know I’ve always championed Will Champlin - and for good reason - he just keeps getting better. I love the new song, Killing me with Twilight. And Will has proved he can write great songs. And, equally as important, he appears so determined to breakthrough in this business. And trust me - you will - Will.

Now Following last week’s X Factor competition - As promised I have to read you a few Snippets from other emails I received on the Adam Lambert/Kris Allen debate-
And…I finally found a fan of Kris Allen.

A girl called Emily wrote me saying: “…of course it's fair that Kris won! I have to admit I did my best to like Adam Lambert, but I don't think there was a single performance of his where I didn't have to turn down the TV volume. I thought he was screaming his way through the songs, which made them painful to listen to. Yes, he has an amazing stage presence and he looks like a genuine rock star, but I can't stand him. I would never, in a million years buy his CD.

I remember Simon said to a contestant on AI that she sounded "like a cat jumping off the Empire State building and the noise it would make before it hit the floor". That's what Adam's voice reminds me of.”

Now MaryHelen Cuellar, from Dallas, - emailed me - and I just so love this because it illustrates exactly how obsessed some Idol voters get.

Helen says: “I think The voting system skewed the Idol results. If there had been one vote per phone line, then it is my firm belief that Adam would have won. Some say Kris had younger girls interested in him and they texted more; I’m a grandmother and voted 340 times on a land line, but dialed the phone 1,000 times in four hours; but couldn't get through. I belong to a Adam Lambert fan group and we voted our hearts out. One woman was able to vote 1,000 times, so it is not for lack of effort that Adam didn't win."

So here’s the thing…I, like you, am so bored with the whole Susan Boyle thing. But what have we actually learned from this??? Yes, you can get famous overnight.

But yet I’m so fascinated - so transfixed as to how far can it really go. Meaning… fame is one thing - talent is another. Now all a sudden Susan is everywhere - but yet nowhere. In other words she has her fame - but nothing yet has been established. We have no substance - no product.

So what has reality TV taught us? Yea - we get five minutes of fame - but how do we really capitalize on that? You too must have thought - Jesus that was quick - everyone knows about Susan Boyle - but, actually what has she done - what has she actually achieved?

At the moment I’m writing a book about the 60’s music scène - About the Beatles, The Stones, David Bowie, Eric Clapton - all names that everyone knows. But why do they know them??? -

They wrote brilliant songs - they changed the face of the music business. They were there at the right time.

But their reason for fame is obvious - they knew instinctively how to perform on stage, they wrote classic songs. They emerged naturally, - and did as their managers told them and got on with their music business

In other words - their talent came first - and their fame came later.

Remember - do what you do well…first. And IF you have talent - your fame will follow.
If you wanna talk to me - email me at tony@famegamesradio.com

The Cowell Factor

If you've only got ONE shot at FAME you might as well get it right!!