Hi, I come from London and think Cookie is fantastic. I am also a big fan of Will Young, who won the 1st ever Idols competition, Pop Idol. I thought I would share with you the many conicidences between next week's final and Pop Idol's.

Cookie is like Will in many ways, although their style of music is diffferent. They are both intelligent, articulate, funny, caring guys on their with mid 20s with a degree. They are both quite unconventional and not the typical fan of a cheesy talent show. The are both handsome in an inconventional way. They are very sexy when they sing, with an ability to change a song to totally make it their own. They connect with an audience, can sing anything, and have worked very hard on this. Will's fanbase were, and still are, all ages.

Archie is like the other finalist, Gareth Gates was, 17 years old, with a pushy parent, and from a religious family. He had a rabid fan base of 8 year old girls. He had a sweet voice (although not as nice as Archies) and sang boring ballads.

Well, despite Gareth being the bookie's favourite, Will won. He did have to battle with Simon Cowell, who saw Gareth as more marketable, and wanted Will to sing covers. But Simon Fuller believed in him and allowed him artistic control and to write his own songs. His 2nd album, was a huge seller and critics called him the new George Michael. Will has now sold 7m records, is about to release album no 4 and has successfully branched out into acting. Although Gareth's career was intially very successful, it has gone done the pan. He slept with a topless model and lied about it and his fans deserted him.

Will's fans are all rooting for David and have been requesting his songs on Radio IO, along with Will's:

http://www.radioio.com/channels/idols

Love Vonnyxx

Er~ which David - Archie or Cookie? Okay, I was being lame here.

Anyway, welcome to this fun forum, Vonny! Now that you've mentioned it, it's somewhat similarly surreal. Come to think of it, I felt that the battle between Will and Gareth was kinda stiff, which is gonna be the same for Archie vs Cookie - except that it will be more cut-throat.

PS: And there I was wondering why I never heard from Gareth ever again, soon after his second CD. I recently saw his newly-released third CD in a record store, but it was never really publicised - it was like, say, a low-profile release.

Exactly what I've been saying The parallels are amazing

Gareth Gates, cute as pie, sweet as could be, could sing a ballard very nicely, had an very moving backstory (the boy had an extremely bad stammer, could sing but when talking had huge difficulties - which he's battled and since overcome), fanbase of very young girls and grannies, favourite from his first audition, the one all the papers were backing.

Will Young - older, mature, more distinctive voice, articulate, a different type of good looking - not as 'obvious' for want of a better phrase, we didn't even see his first audition, nearly didn't make it to the final pick but he did talk back to Simon in the early TV rounds (brilliantly, called Simon out for trashing an earlier act IIRC).

In the final they both did the winners song, Will came out first, and completely owned the song, which is not my type of music, but I can still remember his version 7 or so years on, Gareth came out and it just sounded flat and boring when compared.

Will won, went on to be a successful recording artist, Gareth sold well in the early days, then his fanbase started to grow up and move on, and he completely disappeared from the music scene within 18 months.

Pretty much anyone who watched the first Pop Idol can see the similarities, don't tell me Simon can't, and he damm well knows which act sold, is still selling and who's fanbase won't grow up and move on.

If you want to take it further, in third place was Zoe Birkett, nice girl, great singer, but lacked the ability to connect with the audience.

Thinking about it, there's even similarities looks wise between the four of them

Have to agree with all your comments there .... there are loads of similarities its uncanny!!!!

Lets hope that we have a similar result!

Will has a fantastic voice... I have both his first two albums.

British talent shows have uncovered some amazing new artists over the years... also some we would rather forget! like Rick Waller and Michell McMannus! Disasters!!!!!

We're all requesting Cookie's songs of course.

Gareth was dropped from SonyBMG after his 2nd album didn't sell well. He released his 3rd album through a small record company but it flopped. He overcame his stutter, which was great for him, but he kind of lost his usp. Little girl fans are very fickle, an older fan base is much more loyal, and has a greater purchasing power.

Love Vonnyxx

oh wow. i remember will young and gareth gates. i thought gareth gates won. LOL

Gareth did a fly on the wall documentary recently behind the scenes of his 'comeback' trouble is those young girls who originally followed him being so young will have moved onto other bands, very fickle at that age.

I have not heard much of will recently?

No, definatley Will won, although it was very close on the night, only a few hundred thousand votes between them.

Will is one of the only two people I've ever voted for on reality shows (10 votes for him, and I'd prefer not to remember my telephone bill after the ridiculous amount of votes I did for Mark Ramprakash on Strictly Come Dancing every week )

The worldwide promotion for Gareth made out he was the winner, when he wasn't. Will had to put up with a lot of backstabbing but kept a dignified silence. Simon Cowell even gave interviews in the US saying Gareth was much better and should have won. Will took a break to act in a Noel Coward play and write his 4th album which is out this autumn. He is singing at music festivals this summer including Glastonbury.

Love Vonnyxx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWgky2xMDbE

trip down memory lane!

Results of POP Idol 2002!

Thanks for the clip! I missed watching that one the last time round.

And I also missed Ant & Dec~!!

Wow! That's very interesting. I don't know any of those singers, but I guess Simon remembers all that very well and that is one of the reasons he is pushing for Cookie and is very confident in what he can do in the future...

Vonny -

Thank you so much for the comparison. I had no idea and enjoyed learning about the similarities. Let's hope David Cook has a similar career to Will, without the backstabbing. I think he will.

David COOK FTW!!!!

I was thinking exactly the same thing, If you remember back then everyone knew Gareth was going to win, (even though Will deserved to) we all did, Gareth did, Will did. So on the night it was actually a shocker that the rightful person (will) won. Hopefully it'll be the same and the better man will actually win despite all the teeny bopper voters.

I think Simon sees the similarities himself, he said he realises he made a big mistake with Will. I bet he doesn't want to do that again with DC. He actually raved about Will's performance at the concert for Diana last summer. Incidentally, if you are curious how Will's career has progressed, look the videos in the cinema section of his website, they are like mini movies. Who am I is the most recent and is based on a children's TV show from the 70s. Switch it on is a send up of Top Gun:

http://www.wyoung.co.uk/cinema/

love Vonnyxx

More like similar to the recent British X Factor

Leon (David A) v Rhydian (Cook) , Rhydian was throughtout the show the best singer, performer, original etc etc Simon loved him, Leon cried, sang ballads and had all the tweenies vote for him and won

Simon was not happy

It was actually Darius 'can you feel the love in the room' Danesh who came third (who initially wasn't in the top 10 at all, but came back in to replace Rik Waller) - Zoe was 4th. I still remember his version of Britney's hit me baby one more time which he sang when he was on Popstars (which had the original nasty judge... Nigel Lythgoe!)

But I do agree that the similarities between Will and Gareth and the 2 Davds is uncanny!

You guys have probably seen this before, but seeing Ant and Dec announcing Will as the winner reminded me of the time when they dressed up and auditioned for American Idol as a prank on Simon - the look on his face is priceless! Very funny.

American Idol Prank

when gareth gates released an album i remember the ads here (philippines) would say something like gareth gates from Pop Idol or something like that so i think most people would assume he won. and when will young finally got an album out, everyone was like WTF? two winners? LOL so maybe not everyone,maybe just me. LOL

Thanks for the link, bea99!

I've read about Simon been fooled by the duo Ant & Dec, but never really got to see that clip.

Actually I hope Cookie DOES NOT have a similar career to Will. While Will may still be releasing music, nobody hears much of him nowadays. To me, he has vanished just like Gareth Gates. And while I preferred Will's music to Gareth's, none of the Pop Idol winners have made much of an impact in years to come.

I'd like Cookie to not only have longevity, but also be very big and very successful. Which is something I don't think Will Young has done.

Gareth, has vanished because his last 2 albums have flopped. Will's last 2 albums have been hugely successful and he is one of SonyBMG's biggest artists in the UK. He has just taken a break to act, and his acting has been very successful too, he got good reviews for the film he did with Dame Judi Dench. You will hear a lot of him in the autumn when album No 4 comes out.

Whilst the AI final reminds me of PI, and I am sure Cookie will be a big star, his career will be no doubt different from Will's. They are both very talented but their genres of music are different. Cookie will be a big rock star whereas Will sings pop but with a soul/jazz/funk vibe. Will has chosen for personal reasons not to promote very much outside the UK. So selling 7m records in a country as small as the UK is no mean feat. An artist should have the success they are comfortable with, irrespective of their talent, or else it can have damaging effects. Simon realises he made a mistake supporting Gareth and dissing Will because he was an individual. He won't make that mistake again with Cookie.

Wow blast from the past! Yeah I loved Will Young, the similarities are very close. Lets hope we get the similar result for David too!

Thanks for the trip down memory lane - I remember watching the final convinced GG would win and shrieking with delight that the more talented person won. GG has recently appeared in the UK on a programme called Dancing on ice (like dancing with stars but ice skating)........now I have mental pictures of both Davids and Lycra!

Now you've pointed it out, there are a lot of similarities with the Pop Idol final. The right person won Pop Idol so let's hope the right person wins American Idol!

Well guess we only have to wait a few more days till we find out !!!

I have a lot of respect in some ways for simon cowell, he knows what he is doing, much to randy and paula's annoyance. When he gave David Cook, FTIISYF to sing, he had given that to JS and then to Leona to do, he knows its a terribely difficult song to do and really tests the voice, if you can sing that you can do anything! Journey South still perform it on tour now. And it still sends a shiver down my spine!

Ditto. Everyone was convinced GG would win but like you said the more talented person won and Will has gone on to have huge success in the UK and Europe.
I've actually been talking to my folks about the AI final and how it's similar to the first UK Idol, it's like boy vs man. GG was very much like David A. too, not just with their age, they both tend to sing ballads and go for the safer option. I don't remember Will taking any huge risks but his voice was unique and stood out more then GG.
Also I don't know if anyone remembers but Will spoke back to Simon, just like our David did with Simon when he said David didn't have any charisma.

Hi everyone, I adore David Cook, he is just fantastic, but IMO nothing like Will.
I love Gareth's voice, and he is a very talented singer and musician, the reason he parted company with BMG was that he wanted to do his own type of music.
His last album might not have sold well (after 3 years away, people did not give it a listen), that does not mean its not a fantastic album, very grown up sound, quite rocky and brilliant lyrics, Gareth is rightly proud of it, having written/co-written most of the songs and having played the piano and guitar on all the tracks.

I do hope David Cook will win, and I definately will buy any album he will release in the future.

Blast from the past. You can say that again. There may be similarities in background between David and Will Young, but voice wise, there is no similarity whatsoever. David sings straight from the heart with a rich tone, whereas Will sings with what sounds to be phlegm gurgling in the back of his throat. Nice voice if you like that type of singing, but an insult to David, comparing them I'd say.

As for the blast from the past, that's most definitely true. The same old rigmarole that's been going on in the UK for the past 6 years. As assassination of a rival. All avenues have been exhausted to spout the venom in the UK and the majority of the general public now take no notice or if they do, most let it be known they can see through the motives. I hope the American public aren't sucked in the way they were here.

I'd just like to give a true version of what happened with Gareth Gates. He was extremely popular not only in the UK but all over Europe and Asia for 18 months after PI. Unfortunately for Gareth he made a mistake in his private life and being as he'd been portrayed as a very innocent young 17 year old, some of his fans found it difficult to cope with the fact that he was a normal young man who made mistakes like most others of his age. The press and media, assisted by letters and e-mails received by none other than the very same people who have been posting in this thread, made Gareth's life a total misery and unfortunately affected sales of his second album. He took a complete break from the limelight for 3 years, during which time, Will made the most of his empty playing field with the help of having a good song written for him. He was certainly on the way down until the revelations were made public of Gareth's mistake. In fact Will had found it difficult to sell 100,000 copies of a charity record. When Gareth returned he released a brilliant almost totally self-penned album. Unfortunately, the media in this country, still couldn't get past what had happened previously and didn't give him the airplay needed to get the music heard by the majority of the public. Consequently it didn't do as well as he would have wished. Gareth has now spent the last 6 months, raising his profile and from reports I've read, everyone who has met him in that time have been very impressed with his personality and the fans are flocking back. Gareth was very aware when he returned after his absence that it wouldn't be easy and that it would probably take two albums to make an impact after the `music assassination' that was done on him. He is still a very young man of 23 with plans to be married in the very near future. He has recently told fans that he will be back with more music as soon as possible, after his marriage, so please don't believe anyone who tells you he has sunk without trace. That's just wishful thinking I'm afraid. Can I suggest that anyone who hasn't heard Gareth's latest album `Pictures Of The Other Side' gives it a listen. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. And if you listen to the lyrics in most of the songs, you'll be able to hear confirmation of all that I've said in this post. The album was truly written from the heart.

To get back to David, I wish him every success in AI and hope he wins. Whatever the result I'm sure he will have a very long and successful music career and I hope his fans and the American people in general will avoid going down the road people like the opening poster and others who have maligned Gareth in this thread, have chosen to go. Even to the extent of entering another country and spewing the same old twaddle.

Good luck to David

haha, i remember sitting with my friends watching that finale and they all wanted gareth and i wanted will

however, i dont think they can be compared really
simon likes cookie, but he always hated will haha
though you make an interesting point

I don't think anyone's comparing Will and David as artists, more the circumstances - GG was strong favourite from the beginning, Will suddenly emerged from the pack and gained momentum and got the victory - the parallels are not really in the type of singer they are (although GG and Archie are similarish at the same age - I've no idea what GG sounds like and what type of music he's doing now) but just their journies through the Idol experience.

I don't think anyone's maligned GG in this thread, but at the age of 17 he was very similar to Archie now, a very cute, talent sweet boy who bascially sang ballard after ballard (with a few exceptions) with a fanbase of tweenies and grannies. Will was already a performer on stage, during Idol GG lacked the same ability to work the stage and the camera.

BTW, just to clarify, I'm not particularly a Will Young fan, like the odd song but have never bought an album etc - David Cook is far more my type of music.

Actually the album Pictures of the other side is very much like the music of David Cook, great melodies and rocky.

Gareth has battled with his speech problem and has now become a Speech Coach with the McGuire Program in the UK, where he is thought very highly of. He has worked very hard during his time away from his music.

He does have a quite large young fanbase, and also very many of all ages and sexes. I think you'll find the `grannies' tag belongs to Will Young fans though. A huge majority of his fanbase are retired with lots of time on their hands.




That's why I recommended listening to Pictures. I thought the same. Gareth would never have been able to release that kind of music if he'd remained with Sony/BMG. They wanted him to remain the naive young teenager he was when he was in PI. Thank goodness he had other ideas. Huge success isn't everything in this world. Doing what you're happy with is much more important.

Well I think he is talented enough to have a brilliant career. I am another huge Will fan and David C is the first person to catch my attention since I have been hooked by our Will. They are very different, but have a load of the same qualities, the main one being they both have a very distinctive strong voice that can mould any song into a masterpiece.

The similarity of the Will/Gareth final and this one is uncanny. I just hope the good voters of the USA have the same good sense and see the MAN who has a true talent over the sweet kid with the pleasant voice and nice smile.

I don't think you have any fears about Simon not backing David C if he doesn't win, Siman is very strewd and knows both these guys have a totally different market and so he knows he can make double the money. He realised this too late with Will, he won't be making the same mistake again.

Wow, I was just skimming through (as I'm in a rush off to run errands before the big night) --
VERY VERY INTERESTING!!! Hope for similar results as far as who wins tonight!

I object to this, I certainly haven't sent e-mails to the media about Gareth, nor have any other Will fans. Frankly I have better things to do with my time. I do wish Gareth well though, and I enjoyed his skating on Dancing on Ice. I know that him and Will are still friends. I was only pointing out the similarities between the AI final and PI. David and Will's voices are very different and I love them both. But they both have a musical theatre background and are able to change every song to make it their own.

Good luck tonight Cookie.

I dont know what this is all about, but how can you know what all the other Will Young fans have done or not done? Surely he must have more then just people you know?

Now that it's mentioned... I agree.

However, I am and always have been a Gazette; I'm 18 in three weeks time. Not exactly older.

I love Pictures of the Other Side; 19 Minutes is an amazing song.

Kylie xx

Well all the Will fans I have met would not have contacted the media to slag Gareth off which is what I think we were acsused of. They have all been very nice people.

Anyway what may or may have happened in the past its not important now. I was only trying to point out a few similarities. No-one expected the Spanish inquisition

What's important now is Cookie

Well said Vonny - it was an interesting and light hearted comparison to something that happened in the very first pop idol. What's important now is DC gets the success he deserves and over to these shores PDQ

So did Will get harshly judged by Simon as well?

Yes - and he wasn't an immediate favourite in the show

They focussed on Gareth Gates from the start, and it was clear they wanted and expected him to win the thing - I guess at the time they thought he was more marketable?!!!

That all sounds very plausible unless its being read by people who know the way you work. Not quite the same impression you and those other `Will fans you have met' give in posts you make in the UK though is it.

I'd hardly call this `trying to point out a few similarities' either.



Again I'll repeat Gareth has not vanished. , for all your wishful thinking. Those two albums you are so scathing of contain really good music. Much of it very, very, similar to Cookie's. Adverse circumstances are what affected sales, not the music. But hell would freeze over before you'd ever admit it.

I think its very dis-honourable to start a thread using comparisons just so you're able to big up Will Young at Gareth's expense. Not that anyone should be surprised.

One thing I will agree with you on, the important thing is that David gets the right result tonight.

Yes, I think Simon tries a bit of voter manipulation. We saw on TV how Simon was really taken with Gareth at his 1st audition which was shown on the 1st programme. He was good and in the early stages everyone thought he would win. The 1st time we really saw Will on TV was a few weeks later where, in my opinion, he gave a stunning performance of Light My Fire (the Jose Feliciano version). The other judges raved about it but Simon said it was distinctly average. One of the other judges said to Will "you're not going to take that are you?". Will then politely challenged Simon saying he hasn't given very constructive criticism up to now and his performance was not remotely average. The other contestants all applauded Will. I think Simon was trying to diss Will because he saw him as a threat to Gareth. But it backfired and made everyone who enjoyed that peformance more determined to vote for Will. This happened a few times in the show and Will won. I think Simon realises that his criticisms had the opposite effect and that is why he probably gave Cookie a hard time last night.