Before They Were Young Divas - Part 3

The third and final part of my Young Divas special will focus on the magnificent Paulini. Paulini is one of the alumni of the very first season of Australian Idol. She came in fourth after being criticised on national television by one of the judges for being too fat, which is actually quite ironic given the multitude of plus-sized women to frequent later series of Idol - including fellow "divas" Ricki-Lee and Kate DeAraugo. In fact, it seems you have to morbidly obese to even make it to the final 12 of Australian Idol these days. The controversy helped raise Paulini's profile and, as clearly the most talented vocalist to appear on the show, she was quickly snapped up by Sony.

I have already dedicated a post to Paulini's magnificent second album (or third, if you count a shitty Christmas offering), "Superwoman". That album was also recorded before the Young Divas formed but this post will focus on Paulini's number 1 debut album, "One Determined Heart". Paulini's debut single, a cover of "Angel Eyes", sets the tone of the album. "Angel Eyes" is a lovely ballad, which showcases Paulini's impressive voice. It is also pretty fucking boring. I really like "Angel Eyes" but an album of full of ballads and dodgy cover versions was never the best career move. Thankfully, there are a handful of interesting remixes.

"Angel Eyes" hit #1 on the Australian singles chart and remains Paulini's only solo top 10 hit. The follow up, "We Can Try", was written by Audius - whose dubious claim to fame is working with Dullta Good-rim. The original version of "We Can Try" is bland crap but the remixed radio version is sensational. The song made the top 30 and, in its remixed form, remains one of my Paulini favourites. It seems far more suited to "Superwoman" than "One Determined Heart" - ie. it appeals to people under the age of 90.

I hope I'm not sounding too critical of "One Determined Heart" because in comparison to the other Young Divas solo albums it is a work of unbridled genius. There are several excellent tracks and Paulini's vocals are exquisite. Another highlight of the album is the selection of bizarre cover versions. The album contains one of the strangest cover versions I can remember hearing. Paulini's version of "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" is notable for being her first cover of a gay classic and surely the only R'n'B rendition of the song. Not only has the song been turned into a mid-tempo soul ballad, it is also sung as a duet with a man - which makes some of the lyrics rather interesting! It's so wrong, it's kind of right.. if you know what I mean!

Actually, I'm mistaken about "No More Tears" being Paulini's first cover of a gay classic. I had forgetten about this live medley from Idol which includes "Don't Leave Me This Way" and "Freeway Of Love". As usual, Paulini's voice is immaculate.

It seems appropriate to finish any discussion of "One Determined Heart" with yet another cover version. The song selection is truly baffling and one of the most random choices is Phil Collins' "One More Night". Paulini's version is rather nice, although it is begging for a remix.

If Paulini rings your bell, why not keep the woman in diet pills by buying "One Determined Heart" and/or "Superwoman" at Sanity, Chaos or Australian Ebay. Both albums are recommended but "Superwoman" is infinitely superior. This ends my rundown of the pre-diva careers of Paulini, Kate, Emily and Ricki-Lee. It will be interesting to see what 2007 holds for the divas. I have a bad feeling that "Right About Now" is being lined up as single number 3. I hope not because it is one of the worse tracks on their fabulous album. I hear rumours that Sony is intent on rushing out a new album with original material in 2007. That can only be good news!

Before They Were Young Divas - Part 2

Rest assured that today's post will include no pictures of naked people (I understand, I'm developing something of a reputation!). Instead, I'm continuing my exploration of the floptastic solo careers of the Young Divas. Today it's Ricki-Lee Coulter's turn to be dragged under the microscope. Ricki-Lee immediately stood out from the crowd when she first appeared on Australian Idol. For starters, unlike the other contestants, she wasn't butt ugly and could actually sing. Ricki-Lee looked a certainty to win the second series but in a major upset, she was knocked out early in the competition. However, her potential did not go unnoticed and Ricki-Lee was snapped up by a record label before the series had even ended.

Ricki-Lee's self-titled, debut album is something of a musical dog's breakfast. Shock records obviously couldn't decide whether to market her as a cute pop star, an edgy bad girl or most amusingly, as a gangster ho - so they basically tried a bit of everything. Ricki-Lee sings Mariah-esque ballads, bubblegum pop and funky hip hop tunes (complete with cheap rent-a-rappers!) with varying degrees of success. The album does contain its fair share of excellent songs but the lows are pretty desperate. And yet, "Ricki-Lee" has grown on me immensely since its 2005 release. "Hell No!", the lead single, sounds like a tragic urban-pop version of Alanis Morissette's "Ironic". The song peaked at #5 on the Charts and has become something of an Australian trash classic. The second single, "Sunshine", was also a top 10 hit but unlike "Hell No!", "Sunshine" is sweet and upbeat enough to grace a Young Divas' album!

The rest of the album is such a mixed bag that no particular song is reflective of the overall sound. I have selected three of my personal favourites to share. "Stay With Me" has an Indian vibe and a chorus that involves a lot of "la la la"-ing. In other words, it's fucking fabulous! "Tell Him" is a mid-tempo R'n'B number that wouldn't sound out of place on the US charts. I mean that as a compliment! The song showcases Ricki-Lee's impressive pipes without ever being bland or boring. The final song, "Let Me Hear You Say (Ft. Nitty)" is here for pure entertainment value. I love it when nice white girls hire a rapper and try to sound like a streetwalker. Ricki-Lee's attempt at an urban party anthem is great, although I'm not sure who she thinks she's fooling!

Ricki-Lee's album is still readily available, so if you like what you hear please buy it. You should be able to find it at Sanity or Chaos. Part 3 of my Young Divas special will focus on Paulini's debut album and include Paulini's first tragic cover version of a gay classic!

Before They Were Young Divas - Part 1

I love the Young Divas. They really are a pop trash addict's wet dream - a manufactured girl group who cover gay disco classics and look like sumo wrestlers in drag. I've made several posts about Paulini and her amazing "Superwoman" album, but I realise I have all but ignored the other three members. Basically, because I thought they were completely useless. However, I have had the near spiritual experience of watching the band perform live several times over summer and the other tragic skanks have won me over. Kate, Emily and Ricki-Lee might be as rough as the Australian cricket team but they can sing and they are amusing, in a car crash kind of way. I have decided to review the (failed) solo careers of all of the "divas". Paulini is my favourite YD and Ricki-Lee's album is actually quite wonderful in an "oh no, she didn't!" manner, so I'm going to start off with the two least trashtastic divas: the ever-expanding Kate DeAraugo and Hawk Eye, aka Emily Williams.

There really isn't much to say about Emily. Apart from the fact that she was runner-up in the third series of Australian Idol, behind Kate DeAraugo. Emily is the only Young Diva yet to release a solo recording. The closest she has come is singing the bonus track for the Young Divas' album, a fairly shocking cover of Dolly/Whitney's "I Will Always Love You". I doubt this offering will have fans petitioning for a solo album. Emily does have a nice voice but she seems disinterested and bored A LOT of the time. During concerts she often stops singing mid-song to talk to the crowd about her life and her sister (who was also on Idol). It was nice and personal the first few times but the novelty has well and truly worn off. Strangely, when the girls sing together, Emily comes across as one of the most competent performers. Emily is growing on me but I still think the most intriguing thing about her remains the fact that she was a forklift driver before entering Idol!


Kate DeAraugo entered the first two series of Australian Idol but was rejected. She made the cut the third time around and ended up winning the whole damn thing. I'm still not sure how she did it. I was less than impressed with just about everything about Kate during her run on Australian Idol, from her dreary choice of soft-rock material to her pleasant but generic voice. Kate's debut single, "Maybe Tonight", hit #1 and the follow up, "Faded" was a substantial hit. However, Kate's album disappeared after a couple of weeks and Sony decided against releasing any further singles. "Maybe Tonight" is actually quite a lovely ballad, while "Faded" (penned by the Veronicas) is a surprisingly good slice of pop-rock. Unfortunately, the rest of her debut album is rather shit. In many ways, Kate is the odd "diva" out. Her musical influences seem to be quite rock orientated and she looks far more comfortable in a tracksuit than a sequined mini-skirt. And yet, it is this fish out of water quality that makes Kate so endearing.

The second part of my "Before They Were Divas" special will focus on the trashtastic Ricki-Lee Coulter. Stay tuned!

Australia's Wonderfully Awful - Girlband

Girlband are the latest girl group to emerge from Australia. They are the product of a reality TV series that followed the girls from auditions, through the recording process and the release of their first single, the astoundingly awful "Party Girl". The whole project imploded when "Party Girl" struggled to make the top 50 and disappeared a couple of weeks later. The show was car crash TV at its best due to the hilarious bimbo antics of the girls. I'm sure if they had been given even a moderately bad song they might have scored a hit.

"Party Girl" will probably be Girlband's first and only release, which is a shame because they have great trash potential. Girlband makes Young Divas look like The Supremes but the girls do have some vocal ability. Like the Young Divas, they have contributed a song to the charity album "Songs Of Hope And Journey", which I, rather uncharitably, rubbished below. Girlband offer up a cover of "By Your Side", which is surprisingly pleasant. In fact, I think I prefer it to Young Divas' contribution, a cover of "2000 Miles".

If tragic girl groups make you wet, give Girlband a try!

You can order "Party Girl" from Chaos. "Songs of Hope & Journey" can be ordered from both Sanity and Chaos.

Young Divas - The Gayest Album EVER!

I have already discussed Young Divas at length in my Paulini post but after listening to their debut album for the past week, I thought they deserved their own. Young Divas have done the impossible and put together an album that "out gays" Marcia's "Discotheque"! In fact, both albums share pretty much the same concept. Marcia's album is comprised of covers of disco classics from the 1970s, while Young Divas stick to 1980s pop music. And not just any old 80s material. This album is basically a collection of gay anthems and trash classics! The tracklist itself was enough to get my juices flowing and after listening to the album several times over the past week, I can say that I'm not disappointed!

There are a couple of tracks that have been done to death and really should have been left in peace - but who cares? Paulini and her backing singers breathe life into these classics and will hopefully bring a whole new audience to the likes of Donna Summer and Laura Brannigan. A couple of interpretations are unneccessary and fall flat but, on the whole, this album is gay pop heaven and about as much fun as you can have without being on drugs! I'm obviously not the only one who thinks so because the album beat out some serious competition to debut at #4 on the Australian Album Chart, while the second single from the album, "Happenin' All Over Again", climbs into the top 10.

Here is my track by track review:

What A Feeling: Irene Cara's classic gets yet another workout. I was expecting to be annoyed by this given my affection for all things Giorgio Moroder and Irene Cara. However, the layered vocals work a treat and this anthem can't help but make you dig out some leg warmers and dance around like a poofter. I love it - but it loses a point for the cheap keyboards. 9/10

This Time I Know It's For Real: Young Divas launched their career with this SAW cover and it manages to more than hold its own with Donna Summer's original and Kelly Llorenna's fabulous high energy re-make. The song hit number #2 and is still in the top 50. "This Time" is heavenly. Kudos to the producers for being smart enough to let Paulini do most of the singing. 10/10

Right About Now: Now this is the odd one out! A cover of a Mousse T dance hit from a few years ago. The Divas have turned this into an En Vogue inspired urban groove anthem. The song doesn't really fit that well with the others but it does come as a relief amongst all the cheese. I have a feeling this could be the next single as the girls sang it on the final of Australian Idol last Sunday night. It could be a grower but it's not my favourite. 7/10

Gloria: This is one of those songs that should never be messed with. Laura Brannigan's original would definitely make a list of my 20 favourite songs of all time. So, I was a more than a bit reluctant to listen to this. It is a butchery, but such a big, bright, gay hatchet job that I'm ashamed to say I LOVE it. I just hope Laura isn't spinning in her grave. 9/10

Happenin' All Over Again: The second single from the album takes on Lonnie Gordon's big hit. It's fun but hasn't grabbed me like their cover of "This Time I Know It's For Real". I would take Lonnie's version over this any day. That said, "Happenin' All Over Again" is still top shelf pop. 8/10

Searchin': This song has always amused me - pop music's most infamous lesbian singing about hunting down a man. Hazell Dean's original is a high camp classic and this version stays pretty true to the original but injects some much needed attitude. Such insipid trash - I ache for it! 8.5/10

Woman In Love: By far the strangest interpretation. While most of the cover versions "gay up" the originals to an even greater extent, Young Divas turn Barbra Streisand's classic into a slow groove R'n'B number. I'm not sure it works. In fact, it doesn't. Barbra's version shits all over this. 6/10

It's Raining Men: How many people have covered this song? It would have to make the list of the most covered songs of the past 20 years. I was dreading another version after that filthy Halliwell bitch (Geri - not Deirdre!) destroyed it for the Bridget Jones' Diary soundtrack. This version is much better than fat Geri's. In fact, it almost matches the heights of Deirdre Halliwell's "It's Raining Jizz"! The Weather Girls still take the crown but this is surprisingly excellent. 8/10

Let's Hear It For The Boy: I adore Deniece Williams and was fearing what the Divas would do with her 80s classic. I was relieved and delighted when I discovered that they had given the song a bubble gum pop makeover! This would make my shortlist for the next single. Deniece fans will probably pull their hair out in disgust but admit it - this is insanely fun! 9.5/10

She Works Hard For The Money: Another Donna Summer classic gets a Young Divas makeover and just like their cover of "This Time I Know It's For Real", this is an absolute winner. Another possible single, this is just about irresistable. 9.5/10

Say I'm Your No. 1: Yet another Stock Aitken Waterman cover, this time it's Princess's turn. "Say I'm Your Number One" is one of the classiest songs ever to come out of the hit factory and Young Divas do it proud. The slower pace comes as a bit of a relief after the onslaught of gay disco that comes before it. Paulini's lead vocals are sublime. 8.5/10

You'll Never Stop Me From Loving You: Yes, that ugly, red troll -Sonia- gets a Young Divas overhaul. The Divas shit all over that hideous beast. They seem to save their best for SAW covers and this is another superb track. A great way to end the album. 8/10

Overall Verdict: This is fuckin' gay and essential for all homosexualists. Order your copy at Chaos or Sanity.