Jessie J Is So Inspiring, Danny O'Donoghue Tells LOOK

The Script's Danny O'Donoghue is as lovely in real life as he is on The Voice. When we bumped into him backstage at the BRITs nominations party last month, he was only too happy to pull up a chair and chat to us, dishing the dirt on series two of the BBC talent series, what it's like working with Jessie J and which Will.i.am quote still gives him the giggles.

We also made complete fools of ourselves discussing horoscopes with the astronomy fan (astrology and astronomy are not the same thing, FYI) but that's a whole other story…

You're nominated for Best International Group at this year's BRIT Awards. Congrats! How does it feel?

It feels amazing! It’s nice to get a pat on the back from the industry.

2012 was an incredible year for you – what were your highlights?

Hall Of Fame going to number one. We’ve had number one albums before but actually having a single do it was great. It’s three times platinum in the UK and it’s just gone number one in Germany and Austria. Plus all the places we’ve been touring have gone up from 10,000 to 16,000 to 25,000. The power of one song is amazing, we’re literally heading into the wall of fame ourselves! It’s really kicking ass.

We hear you've already started filming series two of The Voice. Give us some gossip!

We’ve finished filming the blind auditions which are the most exciting and important part of the show. We’ve shot that and it’ll be stretched out across a longer period.

I get 12 contestants then they get chopped down to six. But then the other judges are allowed to steal any of those acts away from me if they‘re like ‘What are you kicking them out for?’. There’s knockout stages, judges stealing from other judges, and toys being thrown out of the pram if they haven’t got an artist.

Sounds awesome! We're so jealous you get to work with Will.i.am – what's the best thing he's ever said?

"I don’t have tactics, I’ve got tic tacs. HOLLERRRRRRRRR."

What's it like working with Jessie J?

Jessie J’s amazing. She’s just getting bigger and better and stronger. I love her, she’s so inspiring and to have a wonderful singer like that, someone who’s so so good around you all the time is great – you get really inspired by her.

Will you be recording a song together?

We’ve talked about working together, we talked about it on the first series. It just so happens that me and Will got into the studio together. But yeah, I can imagine her doing a song with Will, me doing a song with her, me and Tom doing a song… so you never know.

Have there been any acts this year that have completely blown you away?

I can’t give you any names but the level of quality is even better this year and it’s more varied as well. We’ve got buskers, soul singers, piano players. A lot more musicians actually came on this year.

We’re trying to change the culture from being the ‘singer show’ to an ‘artist show’, so while it’s great if you’re a singer and can sing every name in the phone book and it sounds great – you can also be an all-round artist. This year we’re going to be concentrating on that.

How do your bandmates feel about you being a judge on The Voice?

They’re the ones that pushed me into it. We all sat down and said ‘Is this going to be good for the band?’ and decided, ‘Yeah, it is’. There’s no space for bands anymore – on the radio or on television – so I feel like it’s important to get not just The Script but just bands in general on television.

Aside from The Voice, the BRIT Awards and marrying us, what are your plans for 2013?

We’ve kicked off the European leg of our tour, then straight after that we’re heading on our 28-day arena tour of the UK, then we shoot The Voice at the same time, then we fly to America and we do a 32-day tour with Train. That brings us up to Christmas and then we’re back in the studio working on album number four. It’s a big, mad, crazy year.

Source: Look Magazine / Edited: DannyODonoghue.Net

The Voice 2013 - Launch Date Announced

The Voice 2013 to launch on Easter Saturday with Doctor Who – Battle Rounds being filmed NOW!

We loved the singing competition last year, particularly the earlier stages, so we’re pretty psyched to find out that the second UK series of the show will be starting on BBC One over the Easter weekend.

It’s been confirmed that Will.i.am, Jessie J, Tom Jones and Danny O’Donoghue will all be back in their big red spinny chair thingies on Saturday 30th March, the same night that Doctor Who returns to our screens. We predict that the Beeb will dominate the ratings that night.

The series will of course start with the blind auditions, which will see the four coaches (coaches not judges remember?) sitting with their back to the stage, as singers try out for them nervously. The coaches only turn around to face the wannabes if they want them for their team and if more than one coach spins, then the performer gets to choose who they want to work with.

The BBC has tweaked and changed the format a bit this year, after ratings dwindled during the live rounds in 2012.

A source told the Daily Star newspaper: ”There is a lot riding on ‘The Voice’ this year. It needs to succeed to prove its critics wrong.”

Last year The Voice stormed past Britain’s Got Talent in the ratings during it’s early stages, but when the live shows kicked off and it was going head to head with Simon Cowell and the BGT finals, it shed more than half it’s viewers.

Ratings dropped from an astounding 13 million for the first episode to six million during the live shows, so this year there will be just three live rounds (the quarter final, semi final and final) with more time being spent in the battle rounds.

The series will feature five blind audition episodes, followed by five battle rounds in which the Jessie, Tom, Danny and Will will pair their acts and watch as they go head to head in a duet. They can only save one singer per pair.

In a new twist, the celebrities will also be able to save one singer who was axed from one of their rival’s teams to join their own group.

The audition stages were filmed in the BBC’s centre in Salford last month and this weekend the judges will come together once more to work on the brilliant battle rounds. The Voice’s official Facebook page revealed:

We’re filming the Battle Rounds this weekend. There will be fireworks (vocal ones).”

Source: TheVoiceUK / Edited: DannyODonoghue.Net

Day 1 Filming The Voice

A short break in filming.

Twitter: Jessie J

Anger in the BBC over coaches huge pay cheques!

The Voice UK coaches have been causing jealousy amongst other BBC stars over their vast fees for taking part in the BBC One series.

The deals given to The Voice UK’s coaches – Will.i.am, Jesise J, Sir Tom Jones and Danny O’Donoghue – haven’t gone down well with other stars.

And with the news that all four are set to return this year for a second series despite disappointing ratings, many have been left somewhat fustrated.

Will.i.am is understood to have got a whopping £600,000 for his first series, while Sir Tom scooped £300,000.

Even Danny’s £100,000 fee was above what most other stars – such as the Strictly Come Dancing judges – got for their last series.

According to the Daily Mail, various “household names” from BBC shows are angry over the huge wages.

One told the newspaper: “How can the BBC justify paying that much money to four part-time judges who work a few hours a week on a show that struggled?

“I’ve had to take a major pay cut and accept that I’ll probably never receive a pay increase again, even though I work on a successful show.”

Another added to the paper today: “There are brilliant presenters who work full-time for the BBC who get less than half of the money paid out to The Voice judges. It’s not fair.”

The Voice UK will return in the new year for a second series on BBC One

Source: Tellymix.co.uk

Danny O'donoghue Wants To Write Song With Jessie J

Danny O'Donoghue is going to write a song with his fellow 'Voice' judge Jessie J for her next album. 

Danny O'Donoghue is planning to collaborate with Jessie J. 

The Script singer would love to pen a break-upsong for his fellow 'The Voice' judge Jessie J and is hoping to line up the perfect track for the 'Price Tag' singer's second album. 

Danny said: ''Jessie was saying that lyrically on her next album she wants to articulate the break-up she went through, so I was like: 'Come to me. No one can write love songs like me!' 

''I would love to write with her - her voice is incredible. She has the whole world in her hands.'' 

The Irish charmer also revealed recording 'Hall of Fame' with his unpretentious new pal will.i.am - who is also a judge on 'The Voice' - has been the highlight of his band's career and has opened up big musical opportunities for the rockers. 

Danny gushed: ''It was awesome. I've been a fan of his and The Black Eyed Peas for over 10 years. When I got 'The Voice' I was really excited about befriending him. 

''He's all about the music, like me, and not pretentious. He loves our band too, so that's really cool. 

''The collaboration with will.i.am has opened up a lot of doors for us. Tinie (Tempah) has been down to the studio; we just haven't come up with the right song yet.'' 

The band has come a long way since their debut album and Danny is thrilled landing the BBC One talent singing show gig has given them more exposure, but he insists they won't let their new found success go to their heads. 

The singer explained: ''The mantra when we set out was that we wanted to make everyone in the world hear a Script song at least once. And it seems like we're doing a pretty good job. 

''But no, it's just about trying to make the music we want to make and pouring our heart and soul into that.'' 

Source: Contact Music