Niall Horan latest in One Direction to go solo

NEW YORK | One Direction’s Niall Horan released a first solo single Thursday, becoming the latest member of the boy band to pursue music since the group went on hiatus.

The 23-year-old Irish singer announced that he had signed a contract with Capitol Records and released a first song, “This Town.”

Driven by acoustic guitar, “This Town” is a light ballad about heartbreak in which Horan wishes for another chance with a partner.

Horan, who did not give a timetable for further releases, also put out a video for “This Town” in which he performs at Capitol’s studio in Hollywood.

One Direction achieved global fame, with screaming pubescent girls packing their concerts, after the then teenagers appeared in 2010 on the British television contest “The X Factor.”

The band announced a hiatus at the end of last year, with the proliferation of solo projects raising fears among fans of a permanent rupture.

Zayn Malik, who left the band in March last year, has had the most prominent solo career.

He released an album, “Mind of Mine,” full of racy R&B that would have been unthinkable for squeaky-clean One Direction.

Liam Payne in July revealed that he is also working on a solo album and, like Horan, signed to Capitol Records — not One Direction’s Columbia Records.

Among the other two members, Harry Styles has reportedly reached a record deal with Columbia.

Louis Tomlinson, who recently became a father, has been quiet on the solo front but is working with “The X Factor” judge Simon Cowell on putting together an all-girl pop band.

source: interaksyon.com

Fil-Aussie Cyrus Villanueva wins ‘X Factor Australia’

Cyrus Villanueva was crowned this year’s winner of “The X Factor Australia” on Tuesday.

The 19-year-old student from the New South Wales city of Wollonggong, who inherited his love for music from his Filipino musician father, beat fellow finalist Louise Adams at the conclusion of a two-day grand final on Tuesday night.

The youngest contestant this year, Villanueva had come into the finals as the overwhelming favorite, the only finalist who had never landed in the bottom two.

With his victory, he became the second consecutive Filipino-Australian to achieve the feat. Marlisa Punzalan, a shy 15-year-old whose parents were both immigrants from Bataan, won last year.

Villanueva, who was mentored by American rocker Chris Isaak, bagged a recording contract with Sony Music Australia with his victory.

He broke down in tears when he was announced as the winner. The top 12 finalists and rushed to the stage and hoisted him on their shoulders.

By then Villanueva was too overcome with emotion to close out the show with a reprise of his winner’s single, “Stone”. During the final, he also performed The Weeknd’s “Earned It”, a repeat of his audition, and Labrinth’s “Jealous”.

source: interaksyon.com

Zayn Malik quits One Direction, wants normal life

LONDON | Singer Zayn Malik said on Wednesday he was quitting the best-selling pop band One Direction because he wanted to live a normal life and apologized to fans of the hugely popular British-Irish group for doing so.

The decision by Malik to quit came after he dropped out of an Asian tour due to what he said was stress when pictures of the singer, who is engaged to Perrie Edwards of Little Mix, were published showing him partying with another woman in Thailand.

“I’d like to apologize to the fans if I’ve let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart. I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight,” Malik said in a statement on One Direction’s Facebook page.

The announcement said Malik’s decision had come after five years with the band, which came to prominence for its performance on the popular televised singing competition “The X Factor” in 2010.

One Direction’s biggest hits include “Best Song Ever”, “Kiss You”, “What Makes You Beautiful” and “Story of My Life”.

The remaining band members, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, will continue on their current world tour as a foursome and will release their fifth album later this year, the statement said.

“We’re really sad to see Zayn go, but we totally respect his decision and send him all our love for the future. The past five years have been beyond amazing, we’ve gone through so much together, so we will always be friends,” the band members said.

Simon Cowell, the British music and television impresario who launched the band, said:

“I would like to say thank you to Zayn for everything he has done for One Direction. Since I first met Zayn in 2010, I have grown very, very fond — and immensely proud — of him.

“I have seen him grow in confidence and I am truly sorry to see him leave. As for One Direction, fans can rest assured that Niall, Liam, Harry and Louis are hugely excited about the future of the band.”

The announcement instantly made Malik’s name one of the top trends on Twitter and produced anguished reactions from fans.

“I KEEP HOPING THAT @zaynmalik LEAVING IS SOME EARLY APRIL FOOLS JOKE BY @onedirection,” tweeted one American fan.

source: interaksyon.com

Pinay caregiver Rose Fostanes does it ‘My Way’, wins ‘X Factor Israel’

Filipina caregiver Rose Fostanes completed her Cinderella story Tuesday night in Tel Aviv (early Wednesday morning, Manila time), winning the first season of “The X Factor Israel”.

Singing Frank Sinatra’s signature song “My Way”, the 47-year-old native of Taguig City won on her own terms and displayed the form that made her the darling of the Israeli version of the British singing competition created by former “American Idol” judge Simon Cowell.

“There’s nothing to say but you did it your way. I’m so proud of you. Everyone’s proud of you,” the show’s host, Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli, told Fostanes right after her victory-clinching performance of the all-time Filipino karaoke favorite.

“Thank you so much for those Israeli who like my voice. Thank you for giving me the chance to be in ‘The X FactorIsrael’,” Fostanes said after she bested two other finalists. She also thanked the thousands of Filipinos in Israel who supported her.

Fostanes — who has been caring for an elderly Israeli woman for six years — was teary-eyed after her solo number, which was rewarded with thunderous cheers and a standing ovation from the judges and the studio audience.

The audience included her sister Nancy and her girlfriend Mel Adel, who had flown in from Manila to witness the finale.

One of the judges was also overcome with emotion  — her mentor Shiri Maimon, who performed a duet of Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You” with Fostanes during the show.

Fostanes won the finale representing the over-25s, the category for mature performers. Eden Ben Zaken (Girls category) placed second, while Ori Shakiv (Boys category) came in third.

An extremely popular song in karaoke bars in the Philippines, “My Way” nonetheless got a bad rap in recent years after from many bars that banned the song (link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/philippines/7199022/My-Way-deaths-lead-karaoke-bars-in-Philippines-to-ban-song.html) after singing it led to several “karaoke killings” in recent years.

“My Way”, however, proved to be a lucky choice for Fostanes as the only thing she “killed” was her performance that drew a standing ovation from the studio audience and judges composed of Israeli music sensations Ivri Lider, Moshe Peretz, Rami Fortes and Shiri Maimon.

Since “The X-Factor Israel” turned her into a household name and now, a global phenomenon, Fostanes is often compared with Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle who shot to fame in 2009 after joining “Britain’s Got Talent”, another talent show created by Cowell.

Fostanes, however, achieved in “The X-Factor Israel” what Boyle had failed to do in “Britain’s Got Talent”—win it all.

And she has the estimated 40,000 OFW population in Israel to thank for it. It is widely believed that her fellow OFWs, including the 16,000 strong “That’s My Tomboy of Israel” group rallied and voted for her to win in the contest.

“mabuhay ka idol INSPIRASYON KA, HERO KA, WE LOVE YOU MATUTUPAD MO NA LAHAT NG PANGARAP MO SA BUHAY…. HAPPY KAMI FOR YOU, BUONG BANSA AY NAG DIDIWANG NGAYON, KAHIT SANG PARTE NG MUNDO NA MAY OFW NAG DIDIWANG,” went the latest Facebook post of “That’s My Tomboy of Israel” shortly after Fostanes won.

Fostanes made no bones about her sexual orientation, admitting in interviews that she misses not only her family but also her girlfriend who is based in Manila.

Adel, Fostanes’ girlfriend, flew to Israel together with the singer’s younger sister, Nancy to personally lend their moral support and ultimately, to witness the victory of the newly-crowned “X-Factor Israel” champ.

Watch Rose Fostanes perform “My Way” in “The X-Factor Israel” finale in this clip from the program as uploaded by Benjo Bojos:

source: interaksyon.com

Pinay caregiver Rose Fostanes shines spotlight on Israel’s low-paid foreign workers

TEL AVIV | Once part of a faceless crowd of foreign workers who clean homes and tend to Israel’s sick and elderly, a Filipina caregiver has shot to stardom on a popular TV singing contest.

Rose Fostanes, 47, surprised viewers of Israel’s X-Factor talent show and swept its judges off their feet with soulful renditions of pop songs by the likes of Lady Gaga and Christina Aguilera. And she has rocked her way to Tuesday’s live final.

Fostanes hopes her popularity on the show will shine a spotlight on Israel’s low-paid foreign workers, who include about 20,000 Filipinos.

For many Israelis, the word “Filipino” has become synonymous with caregiver, and Fostanes’ appearance and success on X-Factor could help break the stereotype.

“I think I will be a leader for them because of what I did and I think also they will be proud of me,” she told Reuters on Sunday. “Everybody in the world will know that Filipinos, even working as a cleaner … can also share their talents.”

Fostanes, who came to Israel four years ago, has been working for about 20 years across the Middle East. She had always wanted to be a professional singer and the X-Factor gave her a shot at her dream.

At first she thought Israelis would not vote for a foreign worker, and that she would be an underdog in the competition, where viewers and a panel of four Israeli musicians determine at different stages which contender moves up and which gets dropped.

“I feel that everybody is looking at me like I was an alien,” she said on one of the early audition episodes of the show. “A Filipina working here, cleaning houses.”

Then Fostanes — who cares for an ailing woman in Tel Aviv — got on the stage and sang Lady Gaga’s “You and I”, winning a standing ovation from her competitors. To her surprise, the votes, cast via text messages and the show’s website, kept on coming and catapulted her to celebrity status.

“I get from them a lot of good compliments, especially when I’m on the street, when I’m on the bus. I get from them love, from all the Israeli people who saw my videos and saw me on the television,” Fostanes said.

Fostanes has been compared to the Scottish singer Susan Boyle, 52, who shot to fame in 2009 after appearing on the TV show “Britain’s Got Talent” and performing a powerful rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” from the musical “Les Miserables”.

Boyle’s giddy rise from unknown to multi-million-selling recording artist has been made into a musical.

“My dream is to win this competition, but I have to go back to my work as a caregiver,” Fostanes said before getting up on the arena stage to rehearse one of the numbers she was due to sing at the finals, Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”.

source: interaksyon.com

Britney Spears calls off engagement, quits ‘X Factor’

LOS ANGELES – Pop star Britney Spears on Friday called it quits with both fiancé Jason Trawick and as a celebrity judge on “The X Factor” talent show.

Spears, 31, and Trawick, 41 — her former agent — got engaged in December 2011.

“Jason and I have decided to call off our engagement,” Spears said in a statement. “I’ll always adore him and we will remain great friends.”

The couple began dating in May 2010, following a turbulent few years in Spears’ personal and professional life in which she lost custody of her children, entered rehab and shaved off her hair.

Trawick added in a statement: “As this chapter ends for us a new one begins. I love and cherish her and her boys and we will be close forever.”

The wedding would have been the third for Spears. She divorced dancer Kevin Federline, with whom she had two children, in 2006.

The singer also spontaneously married childhood friend Jason Alexander during a trip to Las Vegas in 2004. That marriage lasted 55 hours before the singer annulled the union.

Spears and Trawick announced their split the same day that the “Toxic” singer confirmed she was leaving “The X Factor” after just one year as a judge on the Fox singing show, saying it was time to get back to making music.

“I had an incredible time doing the show and I love the other judges and I am so proud of my teens but it’s time for me to get back in the studio.

“Watching them all do their thing up on that stage every week made me miss performing so much! I can’t wait to get back out there and do what I love most,” Spears said of her “X Factor” departure.

Spears’ most recent album, “Femme Fatale,” was released in March 2011.

Celebrity website TMZ.com reported on Friday that Spears was in talks about a long-term residency gig in Las Vegas. The gambling city is already host to stars like Celine Dion and Shania Twain, who perform under long term contracts.

Spears was recruited to “The X Factor” with a reported $15 million salary after a 14-year singing career that made her one of the biggest pop stars of the 2000s.

But audiences slumped and the TV show lost about 3 million regular viewers from its first season. Many fans and TV critics found Spears bland and boring.

The exit of Spears leaves “X Factor” creator Simon Cowell searching for two new judges to lift his show past its NBC rival, “The Voice,” in the ratings when it returns in September.

Judge and record producer L.A. Reid announced in December that he would be returning full time to his job as the head of Epic Records.

Spears took “The X Factor” gig with singer Demi Lovato, 20, in May 2012 to fill the judges’ seats left by Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger, who were both fired by Cowell a year ago.

source: interaksyon.com