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Alex ParksAlex on Fame Academy After winning Fame Academy, Alex gave an interview to Jan Moir of The Daily Telegraph. "To be honest, I feel stigmatised by Fame Academy. I fear that being associated with it is a hurdle, not a help, and now I really feel I am working to get rid of it," she said. "I am grateful for Fame Academy, I really am. There is no way I would be here if it was not for it, but now the BBC feel that they own me, and that is not the case," she added. "The BBC did not put me where I am. They helped, but they did not ultimately put me where I am and they do not have the ownership of me they seem to assume. I fear that I am going to go to cheesy pop world and that I will never come back." Honesty Honesty, Alex's second album, was released in October 2005. It is largely self-composed, with some songs co-written by Judie Tzuke, Shakespear's Sister's Marcella Detroit and Alisha's Attic's Karen Poole. Introduction Alex's album, Introduction, includes the following tracks: Maybe That's What It Takes Introduction was number five in the album chart on 30th November. Definitely That's What It Takes Alex wasted no time after winning Fame Academy. The following morning she was already in the recording studios recording her new single, Maybe That's What It Takes. Polydor Records said they would have offered her a contract whether she had won or not. The record was released on 17th November and was number three in the UK singles chart on 23rd November. Beautiful - Alex wins Fame Academy Alex won Fame Academy 2003 on 4th October. In the final show it was revealed that Alex's dad, Stephen Parks, had sent in Alex's application for Fame Academy without Alex knowing. And that she had had to start her audition several times because she was so nervous. The three finalists, Alex, Alistair and Carolynne had been to visit the Fame Academy flat and the car during the week. Alex had said if she won: "I'd have to make everything a bit more wonky." She added: "We could all live here - whoever wins." Now we shall see if they do. There were less than a thousand votes between the top two students at the start of the first show. It is likely that Alistair was in the lead during the week. By the end of the first show viewers had cast 1.5 million votes. Alex and Alistair were voted through to the second show and Carolynne was in third place. In the second show Alex performed her own composition, Maybe That's What It Takes. It was the first time the viewers had heard Alex perform that song on BBC One. It is likely to be released in November or December and make number one. After the show Alex told Claudia: "I kind of can't feel my body. And I'm happy." Maybe That's What It Takes The last song performed in Fame Academy before the voting closed for the last time was the song Alex had composed in the academy, Maybe That's What it Takes. Richard said: "The highest compliment I can pay you is that that song could have been written by somebody like Annie Lennox. That was extraordinarily moving. Your talent is outstanding - outrageous. That was truly beautiful and quite sincerely I am moved. Fabulous. Fabulous." Alex on Alex "Since I was little I have always known that something different was going to happen. That I would be doing something special in my life. I'm kinda thinking it's going to be this." "You give up so much to be here. You give up everything that means anything to you for something that means everything." Alex does not want to win The favourite to win Fame Academy, Alex, told Paris she does not want to win the series. Paris told her that he thought she would do well. He said that she'd either "come out of it as the winner or come out of it alright." "I'd rather just come out alright," Alex replied. "It's not why I came here, it's not what I've always dreamed of. I don't want to be the Fame Academy winner." Alex and the microphone In the first showdown Alex went up on the stage to sing I Don't Want To Talk About It. The backing track started playing and 15 seconds later Alex started singing. However, her microphone was not working and the viewers could not hear her voice. After another 20 seconds Patrick jumped on the stage, surprising Alex and saying: "It's not your fault." An engineer changed the microphone and Alex sang the song for a second time. Carrie said; "Great recovery. That is a bad thing to happen to somebody live on telly. She is the queen of angst." Yellow In the penultimate week Ales, Alistair, Carolynne and Peter all sang live on Radio 1 to decide which of them would sing on Top Of The Pops. Alex won the listeners' vote and sang Cold Play's Yellow in the Top Of The Pops broadcast on 26th September. Alex before Fame Academy
Alex, 18, is from Mount Hawke, near the north coast of Cornwall where she attended the local primary school and then the Richard Lander School in Truro. She started studying A Levels but gave up to attend The Hub Theatre School in St Austell. Alex is a folk/indie guitarist and singer/songwriter. When she was 15 she won a singing competition with a prize of £2,000, and then joined the soft-rock band One Trick Pony where she wrote her first song, To You. Alex has several circus performing skills and can mime, juggle and do a bit of magic. She has been writing rock songs since the age of 15 and has been performing since her early teens too. Her favourite artists are Ani Di Franco, Annie Lennox, Skin and Jimi Hendrix. Beautiful Alex first performed the Christina Aguilera song Beautiful in the audition show on 6th August. This was the last of the four audition shows and Alex was the lastof the six hopefuls to sing. Carrie said: "I don't know how you managed to get so much emotion tonight." David said: "I think she's fantastic." Even Richard liked it. He said: "What a great version of Christina Aguilera's hit. You used your nerves to assist you." Later on, Lee Thompson of The Box, said on BBC Three that Alex "blew him away". The teachers and the winner Carrie said: "She was totally amazing and we have found a diamond." Jeremy said: "She's gonna be over the moon. What a great credit she's been to the academy." |
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