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Girl Guides Big Gig 2012 Backstage photo diary
The Girl Guides Big Gig returned for 2012 and as 16,000 Girl Guides descended on the LG Arena in Birmingham, we caught up backstage with the star line-up including Alexandra Burke, Olly Murs, Conor Maynard, Rita Ora and more!
Looking amazing and colour-coordinated as always, The Saturdays performed minus Una, who recently gave birth to a gorgeous baby girl.
Olly Murs was looking dapper and smiling from ear-to-ear about touring with One Direction in the USA. Opening up, he admitted he wasn't too sure what the Americans would make of him as he is still unknown there, but hoped he could win them over.
Our fingers are all crossed for you Olly, but you'll always have us here in the UK!
Rita Ora was adorable and full of energy. She may have a stunning figure, but even the 'Hot Right Now' singer couldn't refuse a couple of cheeky mini Cream Eggs kindly provided by the Girl Guides - a girl after our own heart!
Alexandra Burke looked amazing! She brought it all to the LG Arena stage with fireworks, back flippers, the works! The Girl Guides were clearly loving it raising the roof singing along to "Bad Boys"!
Backstage Alex chatted excitedly about her upcoming album revealing: "it's really different to [first album] 'Overcome'. It's a lot more grown up, but still young, still fun, still sexy, still vibrant...it's very loud!" We can't wait!
Big Gig presenter, Helen Skelton, revealed that she was keen to meet Charlene Soraia as during her Sport Relief South Pole trek, she listened to her cover of 'Wherever You Will Go', EVERY DAY on her ipod!
Brilliant that Charlene was in the line-up and just as eager to meet Helen - she wanted to find out how to earn a Blue Peter badge!
Charlene could have just asked Rizzle Kicks' who have previously claimed to have a stash of badges and seemed in an advice giving mood.
Making their 2nd Big Gig appearance, the Rizzles kindly offered some pearls of wisdom to new-comer Conor Maynard who admitted nerves ahead of his first arena performance. Judging by the Guides reaction, they loved him!
Matt Cardle was still buzzing from his recent UK tour. He's looking forward to playing festivals in the summer and heading back into the studio to start work on his 2nd album.
Part of the continuing success of the Big Gig is down to the help of dedicated Guiders who volunteer their time to organise both in the lead up, and on the day.
Aside from the satisfaction of volunteering and looking great on your CV, there are of course other perks too as this young lady discovered when she got to meet Matt Cardle!
Want to find out more about Girl Guides and get involved? Visit the Girl Guides official website and tell them Craveonmusic sent you.
For more of the latest music news, plus exclusive interviews and competitions, follow Crave on Music on Twitter and Facebook.
It's time to meet The Muppets
The Muppets are back in brand new, all-singing, all-dancing movie, 'The Muppets', on 10th February. Find out what happened when Craveonmusic's Tina came face-to-face with Kermit The Frog at the UK press conference.
The Muppets are an institution. For those who grew up watching The Muppet Show, and the various movies, it's impossible not to raise a smile at the thought of Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzy, and co.
Attending the press conference for the new movie was like a surreal dream, especially in the plush surroundings of the Mayfair Hotel in London.
Taking part in the conference were Muppet royalty Kermit, Miss Piggy (who arrived late), and director James Bobin. Empire Magazine's Chris Hewitt presided over proceedings.
To watch Kermit and Miss Piggy in action is fascinating. None of the questions were pre-set, yet still their responses came lightening fast, never missing a beat. They were also incredibly funny.
When given the opportunity to put a question to Kermit and Miss Piggy, an unexpected rush of fear/panic shot through me - especially when Kermit said "Hi Tina!"
Never in a million years would I have thought that I would be sat in front of The Muppets, let alone TALKING to them!
My question to Kermit was: "In the film, you're seen as an inspiration to The Muppets. What's the most inspiring piece of advice that you have ever been given?"
His response couldn't have been more apt: "Try to find a way to do what you enjoy and survive at it"
Meeting The Muppets is the stuff of childhood dreams, it's a moment I will never forget. If you're reading this blog then thank you, I have each and every one of you to thank for helping make it possible.
Disney's The Muppets is released in cinemas nationwide across the UK from 10th February. You can read our review here.
Tina x
Back stage at Liverpool's Radio City Live
Friday 2nd December saw some of pop's finest including The Wanted, JLS and Ed Sheeran, assemble at a sold out Liverpool Echo Arena, for Radio City Live's mega end of year shindig. Check out Craveonmusic's exclusive backstage pics and gossip.
Much respect for Ed Sheeran. Not one, but TWO of his guitar strings broke whilst he was performing live on stage. A member of the A Team however, he soldiered on to huge applause.
Normally nimble Aston from JLS, had a confession to make. Tom from The Wanted's girlfriend, Kelsea, had kicked his butt in a dance-off competition on a joint night out the previous evening!
'Do You Feel What I Feel', a 2012 rematch? In the mean time, JLS' new single of the same title, is released New Year's Day.
No wonder The Wanted were in good spirits, they will be rounding off the end of a brilliant 2011 on holiday in a villa in Barbados - alright for some!
Inspired by their travels, Siva from The Wanted is planning to learn another language, though hasn't decided what yet. Perhaps Spanish? We managed to convince him with 2 broken sentences that we were fluent - bless!
Another person looking to better themselves in 2012 is Matt Cardle. Ahead of his first headlining UK tour, Matt has decided that his New Year's resolution is to quit smoking.
Radio City Live will return for a summer show at Liverpool's Echo Arena, on Saturday 21st July 2012. Line-up to be announced - watch this space!
For more of the latest music news, plus exclusive interviews and competitions, follow Crave on Music on Twitter and Facebook.
Sainsbury's Super Saturday VIP Photo Diary
Find out what happened when we went to Sainsbury's Super Saturday at Clapham Common on September 10th. Marking 1 year until the 2012 Paralympics, we were invited to enjoy a day of sports, music and food VIP style.
Hey guys!
Saturday 10th will forever be known as "Super Saturday". Why? When they called it Sainsbury’s Super Saturday, they weren’t kidding! It really was super in every way.
Music was provided by the likes of Dappy and The Wanted…
Plus Will Young, Nicola Roberts, Pixie Lott, Olly Murs, Chipmunk, Sugababes, and Taio Cruz.
Backstage in the VIP area there was face painting and Sainsbury's laid on an amazing food spread for us all - thank you Sainsbury's! There was hot food...
Cakes...
Did we mention cakes?!...
Mingling back there we spotted a number of people from Eastenders plus a moody looking Alex Reid. One person who seemed happy to see us however was Craveonmusic friend, Olly Murs...
We also caught up with The Wanted. Nathan seemed to take a shine to my hat...
The cheeky monkey!...
Seriously!...
There was also the opportunity to give some paralympic sports a go. Olly opted to try fencing, whilst The Wanted tried Wheelchair Table Tennis.
Take a look below to watch a video of me attempting wheelchair basketball:
Pet Rock of Ages
Remember the Pet Rock God that Rock of Ages star Shayne Ward made when we were interviewing him about his role in the new Westend musical? We sent him off to the opening night to watch Shayne and the rest of the cast in action!
Hey Guys!
WOW! I couldn't believe it when I found out I was going to the opening night of Rock of Ages at the Shaftesbury Theatre - thanks Craveonmusic! I was really excited as I headed to London in rock star style...
Arriving at the Shaftesbury Theatre, I spotted a familiar face...
and was mobbed by groupies!...
Inside I admired the fine merchandise on sale in the foyer...
was blown away by the rockin' set!...
and even made a nice Scottish friend during the interval...
The show was amazing! Full of fantastic, feel-good 80s music, great comedy moments and even jazzy hands(!): standout performance of the night for me included the gorgeous and poweful voiced Amy Pemberton (Sherry), the hilarious Simon Lipkin (Lonny), and of course my old pal and creator, Shayne Ward (Stacee Jaxx) - sporting tiny y-fronts at one point!
Afterwards, I hung out with Rock of Ages stars including Oliver Tompsett (Drew)...
And Justin Lee Collins (Dennis)...
And of course, the man himself who molded me in his image, Shayne Ward AKA Mr Stacee Jaxx...
Whilst Shayne was busy signing autographs, I demonstrated some of my rock moves to his clearly impressed girlfriend, the star of hit Sky comedy series 'Trollied' - Faye Mckeever...
Finally, it was home time - even Pet Rock Gods can't resist a cheeky Burger King from Charing Cross station...
Pet Rock God Stacee \m/
Take a look below to listen to our exclusive interview with Shayne Ward and to see him making the Pet Rock God as pictured in this blog entry:
V Festival 2011, Day 1: Tina's backstage photo diary
V Festival 2011 at Hylands Park is the place to be! Day 1 saw the likes of Bruno Mars, Jessie J and Kaiser Chiefs take to the stage. Craveonmusic got to hang out backstage with some of the line-up. Here's what happened.
Hey guys!
First off, super excited to be at V Festival on behalf of Craveonmusic. Thanks to the guys at Cake Media for letting us come hang.
Well, arriving in Chelmsford, the rain was out in force and the sun seemed nowhere to be seen until...Oh, wait! That's just Labrinth's coat...
Still recovering from a broken ankle, 'Who's Laughing Now' singer Jessie J needed some help getting around...
Labrinth seemed in awe of Jessie's new purple hair as they chatted...
Whilst Jessie might sing "it's not about the bling-ba-bling", her metalic gold foot cast adorned with diamantes said otherwise...
Speaking of Cast, the recently reformed band serenaded me in a tent...
I then attempted a game of Charades with Rizzle Kicks...
To which Olly Murs brought the Xtra Factor...
I then went and hung out at the bar with KT Tunstall...
And found a professor - Professor Green that is
All in all, a good day! Just one slight problem - who forgot the tent pegs?
Thank goodness for pop-up tents! Here's to Day 2 of V Festival Hylands 2011!
Take care for now,
Tina x
Tina attempts stand-up comedy
Following the great comments she got as a compere at Danson Festival, Tina decided she needed to kick it up a notch, hone some skills, and attended a weekend course with The London Comedy Course in New Cross. The culmination was a performance at Up The Creek Comedy Club in Greenwich, London. Check out how she fared.
Hey guys!
They say the 3 scariest things in this world are bungy jumping...
skydiving...
and stand-up comedy. Now, being a gal who likes a challenge and having already done 2 out of the 3 previously (that's me in the pics above!), I figured, bring it on!
The only thing I think hand on heart I'd NEVER try is bee keeping...*shudder*
Set over the course of a weekend and led by professional stand-up comic, Harry Denford: we were taught the basics of how to come up with and develop material to be performed in a real comedy club.
Watch the video below to see how I got on at Up The Creek Comedy Club:
Manchester Key 103 Live Backstage Photo Diary
The evening of Sunday 31st July 2011 was like no other - it was 'Manchester Key 103 Live' baby! Whilst the creme de la creme of the popworld including The Wanted, Pixie Lott, JLS, and more, took to the stage at the MEN Arena, we got to hang out backstage. Here's what happened.
Olly Murs' heart skipped a beat when he saw my amazing bucket hat by Now Voyager and just had to try it on!...
It also caught the eye of Jay from The Wanted...
Going down a storm backstage was an ample supply of Chewits. I'm a Fruit Salad flavour gal myself whilst Scouting For Girls appeared partial to Ice Cream flavour - see the pack sticking out of Greg Scouting's jacket pocket?...
Meanwhile, we challenged Six D to our own "Sour Chewit Challenge!" Take a look below to watch the video and find out what happened:
Soccer Six-cess!
Both Charlton and Burnley had their share of action - Chipmunk getting a split lip, Tom from The Wanted walking off on crutches(!) Romance - Chloe Madley and Sam Attwater, what a cute couple! There was also one drama from Soccer Six that went untold: until now that is...
Hello, my name is Tina Campbell, otherwise known as "T", "Teen" or "Tanya" - long story. "Ok, but why did you play in Soccer Six?" you ask. Ah, why indeed! I'm not a singer or an actress, but I'll tell you one thing that I am, "determined"!
Is it technically still "winning" a medal even if you got it because you were a runner-up? Either way, I was so thrilled and honored to play in this year's Soccer Six tournaments at Charlton and Burnley that you'd think I'd won gold! Last year I went to the event at Charlton and watched from the stands. It was then that I turned to the person I was with and announced, "I'm going to play in this next year!" "Ok, Tina" They smiled as if to say "yeah, right", but I meant it!
Photo: with Twenty Twenty (121 Pics)
For the past year I've been busy working away building craveonmusic.com up. It's amazing to think how far the site has come in that time, the events covered, memories made, and the artists interviewed - Olly Murs, The Hoosiers, Boy George, The Script, to name a few. The thing is, none of this was ever actually planned. I worked as a content producer for a retail website and ran a fansite for a music artist on the side. I loved what I did with the fansite and wanted to take it further, but people laughed at me and said I couldn't. I set out to prove those people wrong and I'd say, I did it! There are 2 things though which a lot of people don't realise - 1) since day one I have run the site alone 2) I don't get paid for it. *gasp* Ok...you're looking at me like I'm weird now - I am, but it's true about the site: I'm working hard to try and change that. This means getting out there and spreading the Craveonmusic name further beyond the realms of the interweb...
Photo: MAC Photography
*Thanks to ARTI Promotions in Greenwich for the "Craveon Music" t-shirt! - Life savers!
In addition to Soccer Six, both me and the site have been featured in Look Magazine, Chat Magazine, and receive a mention in book, 'The Wanted A-Z'. I've been an expert panel member during a webchat for The Guardian on "Breaking Into Music Journalism", have been giving college talks about what I do, and been a judge for a music talent show. I also make an appearance in the music video for 'Must Be A Reason Why' which is the upcoming track by J.Pearl featuring Shayne Ward (released 8th Aug), and I will also be a main stage compere at Danson Festival next month - 60,000 people expected over 2 days, EEK!
Feature in Look Magazine, December 2010
It's a challenge! It's frustrating! But by golly it can be fun! I want to say thanks to each and every person who has clicked on the site, I really appreciate the support that I get from you guys, especially via Twitter and Facebook. That's part of the reason why I've decided to start this blog. It's a record for me as much as for you and will give more of an insight. OH! And of course there will be the odd bit of gossip and maybe one or two photos from events that didn't quite fit into one of the other site categories. Also, additional competitions starting right now!
Tina's competition
Want to WIN a Soccer Six shirt signed by all 3 members of Twenty Twenty, Max George from The Wanted, Oritse from JLS, John Adeleye, Pierre from Encore, and Starboy Nathan? Duh! Of course you do!
To enter, you must do the following:
1. Make sure that you follow Craveonmusic on Twitter and on Facebook
2. Here's a little video I made from both Soccer Six tournaments, it has gratuitous shots of The Wanted and Shayne Ward in shorts - thank me later girls. Watch the video below and answer this question: "Why did I switch teams from blue to green during Soccer Six?"
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