Hollyoaks Music Show
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Episode Nine
Lostprophets
Since their first single, 'Shinobi vs. Dragon Ninja', the rocking Welsh six-piece have had ten top 40 hits. That ain't bad for a bunch of lads from Pontypridd, in fact, in the last ten years that’s more top 40 hits than fellow Pontypridd-er Tom Jones has had! Even more significant is that they've achieved this feat despite only recently coming back from a three year chart absence!
During the past three years, the boyos (to use Welsh parlance) have lost a drummer to Nine Inch Nails and recorded an ill-fated album with producer Josh Feldmann. In the end, the band replaced Ilan Rubin with Beat Union's Luke Johnson and opted to produce their forthcoming long-player, The Betrayed, themselves.
So if you thought that their lead singer, Ian Watkins, relationship with Fearne Cotton in 2005 signalled some sort of 21st century John Lennon/Yoko Ono band demise (who didn't think that?) you can think again.
Lostprophets finally pooh-poohed those Justin Timberlake rumours in this here chat...
Girls Can't Catch
They may have got their name from a rejected name for The Saturdays, but Girls Can't Catch are more than just a bunch a lasses pillaging success from other bands. If anything, Girls Can't Catch are like some sort of girl supergroup!
Back in 2007, before becoming one part of the Girls Can't Catch triumvirate, Phoebe had been wowing the X-Factor millions in female harmony group, Hope. Then there's Jess who took part in a singing competition that led to an all expenses paid trip to New York to record for five days with Jay Z and Alicia Keys' producer, Freek. And let's not forget Daizy who's attention was first caught by US R&B star Joe and Brit hip-hop star Sway.
Put all the above elements together and you've got Girls Can't Catch and a whole lot of anticipation for their debut album that's set to be released in 2010.
Daniel Merriweather
Crowded House once sang (give or take), "Everywhere you go, always take Daniel Merriweather with you". And those entirely inaccurate lyrics are words that uber-producer/popstar Mark Ronson holds dear.
Like some sort of musical Fagan, Ronson found Merriweather feeding off scraps in the Australian pop charts before putting Daniel under his wing and featuring him on his debut album. Ronson then unleashed Merriweather on the UK charts after pickpocketing a version of The Smiths' 'Stop Me'.
From here, Daniel left the Ronson nest and decided to go it alone releasing top ten album Love & War. He's not done too bad for himself either, getting two top ten singles ('Change' and 'Red'), but we hear Mark misses him ever so much.
Tinchy Stryder
He's the biggest selling male singles artist of 2009, a fashion designer, and he raises money for charity and... he's only 22. It makes you feel sick doesn't it?
Tinchy Stryder, who got his name from a) the fact that he used to be small and b) the fact that he really liked the 80s arcade hit Strider, emerged from the grime scene that produced the likes of Wiley and Roll Deep. Tinchy's now outselling both those artists and, with the aptly named 'Number One' and 'Never Leave You' reaching the chart summit, it seems Tinchy's got the potential to become bigger than another graduate of the grime scene, Dizzee Rascal.
In fact, the Stryderman's prominence in the charts is so vast that he's managed to get in the top 20 with his latest single, 'You're Not Alone', before it's even been officially released. He's also featuring on the top ten smash by The Young Soul Rebels, otherwise known as the "urban soul supergroup", charity single for War Child. Which begs the question, where does his success end?
Houka Monks
Houka are the ninth and final band to appear on The Hollyoaks Music Show with Matalan.co.uk, but will their funk-pop get you voting them into an episode of Hollyoaks? Their mentor Nathalie Emmanuel (Sasha from Hollyoaks) will be hoping so...
Episode Nine Gallery
There's a bromance between Lostprophets and T4's Rick Edwards, there's some sultry posing from Girl Can't Catch, Daniel Merriweather looks like a generic Grease cast member and Tinchy's the king of the Hollyoaks kingdom...
Episode Nine Interviews
Lostprophets pooh-pooh Justin Timberlake rumours, Girls Can't Catch tell me that they other skills apart from not being able to catch, Daniel Merriweather doesn't have any idea what Hollyoaks is and Tinchy opens up his little heart to us and delivers his verdict on the tear-jerking Sugababes split.