WEBVTT - Bardot: Becoming a Popstar 0:00:02.640 --> 0:00:06.760 Episode one, Becoming a pop Star. In the late nineties, 0:00:06.840 --> 0:00:09.760 the hunt was on for Australia's answer to the Spice Girls. 0:00:09.920 --> 0:00:13.280 We don't just want a group for the television show, 0:00:13.400 --> 0:00:15.240 We're looking for a career act. 0:00:15.640 --> 0:00:18.560 A call out was published a new Idea magazine, offering 0:00:18.600 --> 0:00:23.480 the opportunity of a lifetime, or so they thought. Warner 0:00:23.600 --> 0:00:26.439 Music was set to plug five girls from obscurity and 0:00:26.560 --> 0:00:30.000 turn them into household names, offering up a three album 0:00:30.040 --> 0:00:32.960 recording contract and a place in a girl band. The 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:33.919 twel's definitely out there. 0:00:33.920 --> 0:00:35.280 It's our job, naga and find it. 0:00:35.440 --> 0:00:38.519 Australia strapped in for the ride, with Channel seven bringing 0:00:38.560 --> 0:00:45.040 a new show called pop Stars to our screens. Millions 0:00:45.080 --> 0:00:47.520 tuned in to watch the auditions, and it wasn't long 0:00:47.600 --> 0:00:51.400 until we were heavily invested. Don't you Treat Me back? 0:00:52.000 --> 0:00:55.720 Don't You make Me Sad? But behind the scenes, fame 0:00:55.840 --> 0:00:59.160 wasn't as they expected. Whilst the TV execs were raking 0:00:59.200 --> 0:01:02.120 in millions from the band, the five girls weren't making 0:01:02.200 --> 0:01:05.640 a cent. Their mental health was also struggling as they 0:01:05.680 --> 0:01:09.440 buckled under the intense media pressure to stay thin. So 0:01:10.040 --> 0:01:13.560 was life as a pop star really worth it. We 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:16.360 are journalist Sophie Kate and Amy Torbert, and this is 0:01:16.400 --> 0:01:19.800 our new series Unspoken, where we bring you the unspoken 0:01:19.880 --> 0:01:22.840 stories behind the biggest pop culture headlines to rock the 0:01:22.920 --> 0:01:28.760 nineties and early naughties. Welcome to the first installment of 0:01:28.800 --> 0:01:31.640 our deep dive series on pop stars. Now. We were 0:01:31.720 --> 0:01:34.480 just eleven when the show came out and I remember 0:01:34.560 --> 0:01:38.720 at the time being so infatuated by Bardo. I remember 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:40.520 having to beg our mum to take us down to 0:01:40.560 --> 0:01:44.319 their instore appearance in Adelaide and it was absolutely packed. Oh, 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:48.400 these in store appearances were unprecedented. They had thousands of 0:01:48.480 --> 0:01:51.200 young girls lining up for hours to see them. I 0:01:51.240 --> 0:01:53.480 think the show was even shocked by how big the 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:56.040 crowds got. And everyone had their favorite. I don't know 0:01:56.240 --> 0:01:59.480 who were your favorites. Kane so oh like any other kid. 0:01:59.520 --> 0:02:02.200 My favorite Sophie Monk. Watching the show back, it's quite 0:02:02.280 --> 0:02:04.800 clear that she was the standout favorite. I also had 0:02:04.840 --> 0:02:07.360 a soft spot for Belinda Chapel as well. Yeah, they 0:02:07.400 --> 0:02:09.919 were my two favorites, along with Sally because she was 0:02:09.919 --> 0:02:12.320 an Adelaide girl. I want to take you back to 0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:16.000 September nineteen ninety nine. That is when Channel seven announced 0:02:16.000 --> 0:02:18.000 it was set to bring out a new show called 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:21.240 Pop Stars, and at the time, the term reality TV 0:02:21.440 --> 0:02:24.680 didn't really exist, with the show instead described as a 0:02:24.680 --> 0:02:27.960 thirteen part doc u soap which followed the creation of 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:30.600 an all female pop group. Now, this was at a 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:33.200 time when the Spice Girls were still top of the 0:02:33.320 --> 0:02:36.480 charts and Aussie music producers were desperate to create their 0:02:36.520 --> 0:02:39.880 own homegrown supergroup. Now, while the format of the show 0:02:40.000 --> 0:02:42.760 was unlike anything we'd seen on our screens before, the 0:02:42.840 --> 0:02:46.799 concept actually originated from New Zealand. So in nineteen ninety nine, 0:02:46.880 --> 0:02:49.280 the show followed the journey of a girl group called 0:02:49.440 --> 0:02:52.320 True Bliss. Now, there was a lot of publicity around 0:02:52.440 --> 0:02:55.120 True Bliss, but they didn't have the success of Bardo 0:02:55.440 --> 0:02:58.760 or the longevity, and this was because the show failed 0:02:58.800 --> 0:03:01.880 to select the girls and they failed to actually place 0:03:01.919 --> 0:03:05.000 them in the right market. So it seemed like Channel 0:03:05.080 --> 0:03:08.280 seven were able to see where this show failed and 0:03:08.320 --> 0:03:10.639 when they brought out Pop Stars, it was so important 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:13.720 for the producers to actually select the right group of girls, 0:03:13.720 --> 0:03:16.280 which they obviously did so well, and the show really 0:03:16.280 --> 0:03:19.360 did act as a blueprint for singing competitions going forward, 0:03:19.440 --> 0:03:22.200 because after that we saw Australian Idol launch, We've seen 0:03:22.200 --> 0:03:25.359 the Voice. There's been so many singing competitions. It's pretty 0:03:25.360 --> 0:03:28.120 interesting because Channel seven decided to buy the rights to 0:03:28.160 --> 0:03:31.320 this show and have it screen just before the Sydney Olympics, 0:03:31.360 --> 0:03:34.520 so it started screening in February two thousand and I 0:03:34.560 --> 0:03:36.920 loved seeing all of the signage for the Olympics in 0:03:36.960 --> 0:03:39.360 the background of the additions. It made me feel extra 0:03:39.440 --> 0:03:42.200 nostalgic watching this bag. Well, they really wanted a show 0:03:42.240 --> 0:03:44.360 that was going to draw in ratings so that people 0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:47.080 stayed on Channel seven, and this is exactly what they got. 0:03:47.120 --> 0:03:49.760 Because the show was a huge success. They ended up 0:03:49.800 --> 0:03:52.960 buying the franchise from New Zealand for a really small sum. 0:03:53.000 --> 0:03:55.680 So I wonder how the original creators of Pop Stars 0:03:55.720 --> 0:03:58.960 felt about it. They'd be so pissed off now. Auditions 0:03:58.960 --> 0:04:02.200 were held across the country in July nineteen ninety nine, 0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:04.960 with a three person judging panel made up of Warner 0:04:05.040 --> 0:04:09.440 Music executive Chris Moss, band manager Michael Naphthali and radio 0:04:09.480 --> 0:04:13.120 host Jackie O. Henderson. Is crazy to think Jackieo was 0:04:13.200 --> 0:04:15.840 only twenty four at the time that she was appointed 0:04:15.880 --> 0:04:18.360 as judge, so she was the same age as many 0:04:18.400 --> 0:04:20.599 of the band members. She went on to select I 0:04:20.600 --> 0:04:22.960 feel like this is the reason why she just never 0:04:23.000 --> 0:04:25.600 seems to age, because I didn't realize she was so 0:04:25.800 --> 0:04:28.039 young at the time of being on Pop Stars. The 0:04:28.120 --> 0:04:31.240 craziest thing was she wasn't even paid for being part 0:04:31.279 --> 0:04:33.320 of the judging panel, which blew my mind because, as 0:04:33.320 --> 0:04:35.960 we said, this was the biggest show on television at 0:04:35.960 --> 0:04:38.280 the time. Yeah. Well, it's kind of a theme that 0:04:38.320 --> 0:04:40.720 we'll see throughout this whole process that the young women 0:04:40.800 --> 0:04:44.040 on the show really weren't compensated for their efforts. Yeah. So, 0:04:44.080 --> 0:04:47.320 in twenty nineteen, JACKIEO told Kiss listeners that she did 0:04:47.360 --> 0:04:49.960 Pop Stars for free. She said, no one mentioned anything 0:04:50.000 --> 0:04:52.840 about money, so I didn't mention money. I remember we 0:04:52.839 --> 0:04:55.200 were in Adelaide doing auditions, and you know how they 0:04:55.240 --> 0:04:57.800 hand out per dims, which is like sixty dollars. They 0:04:57.839 --> 0:05:00.719 handed me this envelope and I didn't know what appear was. 0:05:01.000 --> 0:05:03.440 So I opened it and I saw sixty seven dollars 0:05:03.440 --> 0:05:05.520 in there, and I went up to the executive director 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:07.400 and gave him a big hug and said thank you 0:05:07.480 --> 0:05:10.280 so much. I was stoked I was getting cash. I 0:05:10.279 --> 0:05:12.359 would love to know if the mail judges were also 0:05:12.440 --> 0:05:14.240 paid in per deems or if they actually got a 0:05:14.279 --> 0:05:16.880 proper salary. Well, I would hazard a guess that Michael 0:05:16.960 --> 0:05:20.279 Naphthaalaie didn't actually get paid too much because he was 0:05:20.320 --> 0:05:24.200 a ringing at the last hour because his boss, Grant Thomas, 0:05:24.200 --> 0:05:27.599 who owned Grant Thomas Management, declined from being filmed, so 0:05:27.640 --> 0:05:30.320 he was their first pick and he suddenly goes, no, 0:05:30.360 --> 0:05:32.040 I don't want to do it. So they brought in 0:05:32.240 --> 0:05:35.479 Michael and he was really popular with the girls. Belinda 0:05:35.520 --> 0:05:37.680 Chappele actually said in her book that he was the 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:40.640 least intimidating judge of them all. He was really qualified 0:05:40.640 --> 0:05:43.119 at the time because he was an entertainment lawyer and also, 0:05:43.120 --> 0:05:45.279 as you say, okay, he worked at this management company 0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:47.760 and they managed the likes of the Finn Brothers, Split 0:05:47.880 --> 0:05:50.800 Ends and Crowded House. So this was a huge opportunity 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:54.120 for five unknowns to get managed by a huge company 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:56.120 like this. Yeah, but I suppose it's an opportunity for 0:05:56.200 --> 0:05:59.440 Michael himself because you see Jackie O also jumped at 0:05:59.480 --> 0:06:03.000 the chance to be on primetime TV. And nowadays we've 0:06:03.000 --> 0:06:05.400 got social media where everyone's got an opportunity to get 0:06:05.400 --> 0:06:07.719 their face out there. But at the time, being on 0:06:07.839 --> 0:06:10.360 TV was such a massive thing and so many people 0:06:10.400 --> 0:06:12.360 would do it for free. It's ironic because, as you 0:06:12.440 --> 0:06:14.960 touched on Kate Grant, Thomas didn't want to actually appear 0:06:15.000 --> 0:06:17.880 on camera. But Belinda said in her book that there 0:06:17.960 --> 0:06:20.000 was a judging panel for the cameras and there was 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:22.680 also a judging panel behind the scenes, so although he 0:06:22.880 --> 0:06:25.359 wasn't on camera, he was there every step of the 0:06:25.400 --> 0:06:28.400 way through the audition process helping them make the decisions. Well, 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:30.320 Michael would go up and ask his opinions, so it 0:06:30.360 --> 0:06:32.599 was kind of like a group vote yeah, and Belinda 0:06:32.600 --> 0:06:35.320 described this as the first taste of reception that was 0:06:35.360 --> 0:06:38.000 going to unfold behind the scenes of pop stars Now. 0:06:38.040 --> 0:06:40.960 The last judge was Chris Moss, who was the managing 0:06:41.000 --> 0:06:44.039 director of Warner Music and he was set to sign 0:06:44.120 --> 0:06:47.000 the group to a three album deal. You'll probably remember 0:06:47.080 --> 0:06:50.000 him because he used to wear these really bold, wacky 0:06:50.040 --> 0:06:53.320 T shirts. He also looks a lot like Ian Hewitson, 0:06:53.360 --> 0:06:56.160 who was a TV chef at the time. He was 0:06:56.200 --> 0:06:59.479 described by Belinda as being very kind and genuine with 0:06:59.560 --> 0:07:01.960 a good high but my perception of him on the 0:07:01.960 --> 0:07:04.880 show was really different because I always remember he would 0:07:04.880 --> 0:07:07.479 oggle at the young women who were auditioning, and in 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:10.400 a bonus episode, he was actually caught out staring at 0:07:10.400 --> 0:07:13.160 a number of the girl's boobs or either gushing over 0:07:13.200 --> 0:07:16.320 them behind the scenes. Yeah, it's interesting that the TV 0:07:16.440 --> 0:07:19.559 stations decided to portray him like that when Belinda actually 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:22.720 said he was so genuinely kind. It was clear from 0:07:22.760 --> 0:07:24.840 the start of this show that the TV network and 0:07:24.960 --> 0:07:27.800 music bosses really wanted this to be big. They seemed 0:07:27.840 --> 0:07:30.720 to throw everything at it. They enlisted the help of 0:07:30.760 --> 0:07:33.680 a lot of Australia's top music professionals and dancers to 0:07:33.720 --> 0:07:36.000 act as coaches for the girls. There were some huge 0:07:36.080 --> 0:07:38.560 names that they selected. Now as we touched on, the 0:07:38.600 --> 0:07:42.080 first episode did air in February two thousand and Who 0:07:42.160 --> 0:07:51.480 could forget this iconic theme song. This song has been 0:07:51.520 --> 0:07:53.720 in my head ever since we decided to do this 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:56.320 deep dive and it really does take me back. It 0:07:56.400 --> 0:07:59.600 really takes me back to Sunday night during summer. That feeling. 0:07:59.640 --> 0:08:01.600 I still that feeling when I hear that song, And 0:08:01.640 --> 0:08:03.640 it was a really positive feeling that you got when 0:08:03.680 --> 0:08:07.000 you watch this show because you think about talent competitions 0:08:07.040 --> 0:08:09.960 now and it's very cutthroat and negative and people are 0:08:10.000 --> 0:08:12.480 pitted against each other. But it didn't have that vibe 0:08:12.520 --> 0:08:15.040 at all. It was a bit more wholesome, it really was. 0:08:15.320 --> 0:08:17.320 And when you go back and you watch the show, 0:08:17.480 --> 0:08:20.360 it was really shot so differently to say how Maths 0:08:20.440 --> 0:08:24.080 is shot now, because it was that doco style filming. 0:08:24.360 --> 0:08:27.520 There was no sensationalized music which set the tone like 0:08:27.560 --> 0:08:30.000 we see now on reality shows, and there weren't those 0:08:30.080 --> 0:08:32.640 quick edits which made people look really bad. It was 0:08:32.679 --> 0:08:36.040 sort of more a really genuine fly on the wall experience. 0:08:36.200 --> 0:08:38.640 Belinda Chapple mentioned in her book that the girls had 0:08:38.640 --> 0:08:41.040 no idea what the TV series was going to look like. 0:08:41.120 --> 0:08:43.800 She did say that everything was being filmed, but because 0:08:43.840 --> 0:08:46.720 they didn't have a template for what this show looked 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:48.719 like on TV, they're like, how are they going to 0:08:48.800 --> 0:08:51.840 make this interesting? But it was interesting. It drew you 0:08:51.880 --> 0:08:54.720 in straight away. We've obviously watched it back, yeah, and 0:08:54.760 --> 0:08:57.000 I couldn't stop watching like it was really good. It 0:08:57.080 --> 0:08:59.560 was just so raw and authentic because no one knew 0:08:59.559 --> 0:09:01.760 how they were actually going to come across on TV. 0:09:01.880 --> 0:09:04.600 So people haven't tried to create these personas and if 0:09:04.600 --> 0:09:06.800 it couldn't get any more nineties. In order to actually 0:09:06.840 --> 0:09:09.240 audition for pop stars, you had to buy New Idea 0:09:09.280 --> 0:09:11.920 magazine which had the audition form inside. Yeah, it was 0:09:12.000 --> 0:09:14.440 quite funny because Belinda said that the headline on the 0:09:14.480 --> 0:09:17.640 magazine was Australia's answer to the Spy Skirls, and the 0:09:17.679 --> 0:09:20.200 premise was that every girl who filled out the form 0:09:20.200 --> 0:09:22.520 would get a shot at being signed to Warner Music. 0:09:22.559 --> 0:09:25.240 And in the first episode we see all these girls 0:09:25.240 --> 0:09:27.400 with the magazine in the line filling it out, so 0:09:27.440 --> 0:09:30.560 it was great promotion for the magazine. Well, that magazine 0:09:30.640 --> 0:09:33.640 ends up being quite a contentious topic. We will get 0:09:33.679 --> 0:09:35.920 into all of the scandals later down the track, but 0:09:36.040 --> 0:09:39.040 one of the contestants that actually made the band was 0:09:39.080 --> 0:09:43.200 accused of stealing the magazine and twist. Now, there was 0:09:43.240 --> 0:09:46.520 such a huge response to the auditions, with thousands showing 0:09:46.600 --> 0:09:49.000 up to get their chance, and the show kept reminding 0:09:49.080 --> 0:09:52.040 us that the judges were plucking five unknowns off the 0:09:52.080 --> 0:09:55.200 street and turning them into pop stars. The concept of 0:09:55.240 --> 0:09:58.400 being plucked from obscurity and then receiving this instant fame, 0:09:58.440 --> 0:10:00.800 it was completely new to all of and it led 0:10:00.840 --> 0:10:04.120 to a lot of intense media scrutiny and think pieces 0:10:04.160 --> 0:10:07.000 at the time about whether the band members were worthy 0:10:07.080 --> 0:10:09.600 of the fame that they were receiving. And I think 0:10:09.640 --> 0:10:12.200 the popularity of this show really came down to the 0:10:12.240 --> 0:10:15.040 timing because it was the first time we'd seen anything 0:10:15.200 --> 0:10:18.160 like this before, and we weren't jaded or cynical about 0:10:18.160 --> 0:10:20.920 the concept. We were really rooting for the girls in 0:10:20.960 --> 0:10:23.280 the group. We wanted them to be successful. We were 0:10:23.320 --> 0:10:26.280 out there supporting them, buying their CDs. Now, in what 0:10:26.320 --> 0:10:29.000 they called a cattle call, the girls were shepherded into 0:10:29.000 --> 0:10:31.679 a conference room and asked us seeing three lines from 0:10:31.720 --> 0:10:33.959 one of four songs and this really takes me back 0:10:33.960 --> 0:10:37.400 to the late nineties. They could choose from Wanna Be Respect, 0:10:37.600 --> 0:10:40.520 My Heart Will Go On for Ain't No Sunshine, and 0:10:40.559 --> 0:10:42.679 they auditioned in a line of five girls and they 0:10:42.720 --> 0:10:45.400 had a couple of seconds to impress the judges, and 0:10:45.480 --> 0:10:47.839 if they made it through the first round, they'd come 0:10:47.920 --> 0:10:50.720 back for the second day of auditions, where the judges 0:10:50.720 --> 0:10:52.920 would then make a short list of twenty five to 0:10:52.960 --> 0:10:55.200 go to Sydney for a week of what they called 0:10:55.360 --> 0:10:59.040 very intense auditions. What I noticed about these auditions whether 0:10:59.040 --> 0:11:01.840 the judges weren't act like you're so used to seeing, 0:11:01.880 --> 0:11:05.720 you know, Ian Dicko Dixon just absolutely tearing someone to shreds. 0:11:06.000 --> 0:11:08.760 But they were all kind of positive about it, like yeah, yeah, 0:11:08.760 --> 0:11:10.760 that's enough. There seemed to be a lot more care 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:13.840 and almost dignity given to the girls that were auditioning, 0:11:13.920 --> 0:11:16.120 because they seemed to gloss over a lot of the 0:11:16.200 --> 0:11:19.680 bad auditions. And also the judges were shown being quite 0:11:19.679 --> 0:11:22.400 supportive of the girls. I mean in one of the episodes, 0:11:22.440 --> 0:11:24.920 we see a girl visibly shaking and they're given a 0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:27.120 lot of support instead of being made fun of. Their 0:11:27.160 --> 0:11:30.319 faces were quite hilariously, like you could tell instantly if 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:32.640 Jackie O was a bit like yeah. I loved the 0:11:32.760 --> 0:11:35.400 shot from behind the contestants and it was you know, 0:11:35.440 --> 0:11:37.840 you can see the contestants singing and just the judges' 0:11:37.880 --> 0:11:40.800 faces and they were classic. It's almost that trying not 0:11:40.920 --> 0:11:43.240 to laugh. And I did love how Chris Moss would 0:11:43.280 --> 0:11:45.640 have this certain hand movement that he would do when 0:11:45.679 --> 0:11:48.840 he'd heard enough. Yeah, sometimes it was quite quick. One 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:51.480 thing that I couldn't get over was the eyebrows. I 0:11:51.600 --> 0:11:53.680 just can't believe it because they were plucked within an 0:11:53.720 --> 0:11:57.359 inch of their life. Like every girl had pencils in eyebrows. 0:11:57.440 --> 0:12:03.280 Everyone was so thin, like thin you forget that diet culture. 0:12:03.360 --> 0:12:05.800 Back in the nineties, it was the Kate Moss era. 0:12:06.080 --> 0:12:08.280 I did love the fashion though, because we are seeing 0:12:08.280 --> 0:12:11.040 the nineties come back in a big way. Everyone was 0:12:11.080 --> 0:12:14.439 trying to emulate the spice perse. Now in the first episode, 0:12:14.440 --> 0:12:16.880 we meet the five girls who do eventually go on 0:12:17.000 --> 0:12:19.920 to join Bardo, and from the start, Sophie Monk was 0:12:19.960 --> 0:12:22.480 a fan favorite. As you touched on. She was only 0:12:22.600 --> 0:12:25.520 nineteen at the time, and she'd driven nine hours through 0:12:25.520 --> 0:12:27.880 the night to make the auditions, and at the time 0:12:27.960 --> 0:12:30.080 she was working on the Gold Coast performing as a 0:12:30.120 --> 0:12:32.760 Marilyn Monroe impersonator. And I feel like he can really 0:12:32.760 --> 0:12:36.160 pick that up in her audition. Let's throw to it 0:12:36.360 --> 0:12:44.360 that the hardly goal. You could just tell that Sophie 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:47.439 Monk had that instant star quality when she performs. I 0:12:47.480 --> 0:12:49.720 still can't believe she was only nineteen. It really blows 0:12:49.760 --> 0:12:52.440 my mind. Now. The next girl was Katie Underwood, and 0:12:52.480 --> 0:12:55.360 the judges weren't really sure about her. She clearly had 0:12:55.400 --> 0:12:57.840 the X factor, but there were concerns that her voice 0:12:57.880 --> 0:13:02.120 wasn't strong enough. What love got to do got to 0:13:02.200 --> 0:13:05.440 do with it. She made quite the impression because I 0:13:05.520 --> 0:13:08.040 still have a vivid memory of what she wore to 0:13:08.040 --> 0:13:11.960 this first audition. So she had this silver reflective top 0:13:12.000 --> 0:13:14.640 on that looked a bit like a metal shield. And 0:13:15.040 --> 0:13:17.520 while it made hers stand out to the judges, they 0:13:17.559 --> 0:13:20.280 actually ended up asking her to change her outfit. Let's 0:13:20.280 --> 0:13:22.520 throw to what they said, we're. 0:13:22.320 --> 0:13:24.840 Going to ask you to come back, given that you've 0:13:24.880 --> 0:13:28.040 gone to so much trouble and it looks absolutely fantastic. 0:13:28.559 --> 0:13:31.120 Is there a chance that you can change your attire 0:13:31.400 --> 0:13:34.080 by one o'clock? I want you to rush out and 0:13:34.160 --> 0:13:39.000 like spend. That's not what we're some looking for problem. 0:13:39.000 --> 0:13:39.320 Thank you. 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:42.440 I love how polite they were. You know, if you 0:13:42.520 --> 0:13:44.600 can go out and buy something, it'd be great. I 0:13:44.640 --> 0:13:47.280 do recall when I saw Katie, I thought, oh, she's 0:13:47.320 --> 0:13:49.320 going to be one of those people like that everyone 0:13:49.400 --> 0:13:51.680 laughs at, you know, like the person. Well really, I 0:13:51.720 --> 0:13:54.440 actually had the opposite opinion. I thought that she looked 0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:57.640 like a star because she had a really unusual look 0:13:57.640 --> 0:13:59.600 and a striking look. Yeah, but I thought it came 0:13:59.640 --> 0:14:01.880 across that she was trying too hard and you know 0:14:01.920 --> 0:14:04.920 those people that go for that shock factor, they end 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:07.760 up being the center of the show for five minutes 0:14:07.800 --> 0:14:10.760 and then they get kicked off. Well, when Belinda Chappel auditioned, 0:14:10.800 --> 0:14:13.520 she made a big impression. She was actually working as 0:14:13.559 --> 0:14:16.000 a model at the time and her agent had actually 0:14:16.000 --> 0:14:18.480 booked it in for three catwalk shows that day, so 0:14:18.840 --> 0:14:21.000 she knew in order to be seen by the judges 0:14:21.040 --> 0:14:23.320 she had to talk her way in to getting into 0:14:23.320 --> 0:14:26.400 one of those early audition groups. They must have known 0:14:26.440 --> 0:14:29.480 she had star quality then, because we did see a 0:14:29.480 --> 0:14:32.840 lot of duds performing and she did bring along her 0:14:32.920 --> 0:14:36.280 CV to show, look, I actually am a performer. They 0:14:36.280 --> 0:14:38.160 would have taken one look at her and gone, yeah, 0:14:38.200 --> 0:14:40.120 you can go to the front. Ye go straight through, 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:42.760 because we know that so much of it was about 0:14:42.800 --> 0:14:45.560 the look and having that right pop star look. Definitely 0:14:45.760 --> 0:14:48.000 in her book, I found it quite interesting because she 0:14:48.120 --> 0:14:50.600 said that she'd always dreamt of being a pop star 0:14:50.720 --> 0:14:53.080 and when she saw it advertised a new idea, she 0:14:53.320 --> 0:14:55.400 just had this feeling that she was going to land 0:14:55.480 --> 0:14:58.080 the job. It seems to be this gut feeling that 0:14:58.200 --> 0:15:01.280 a lot of people get for something like Sadly, there 0:15:01.280 --> 0:15:03.160 are a lot of people that have no chance also 0:15:03.600 --> 0:15:06.080 a cut feeling, which we saw on the show. I 0:15:06.160 --> 0:15:09.400 do recall when Michael was saying, there are some people 0:15:09.440 --> 0:15:12.280 that really thought they had a good chance. And I 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:15.120 suppose it's because, again, they'd never done big auditions like 0:15:15.200 --> 0:15:17.760 that in the past, because Belinda Chappele in her book 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:19.640 talks about the fact that she used to go to 0:15:19.680 --> 0:15:22.440 auditions all the time, but these were professional auditions where 0:15:22.440 --> 0:15:25.160 they just don't let anyone in. But with pop stars, 0:15:25.520 --> 0:15:28.600 anyone who bought a new idea could audition. Now, Belinda 0:15:28.720 --> 0:15:31.120 did opt to sing respect, and in the book she 0:15:31.160 --> 0:15:33.960 said that it was a fairly average rendition of the song, 0:15:34.040 --> 0:15:36.720 and she explained that she was so nervous that she 0:15:36.800 --> 0:15:38.480 felt like her heart was going to jump out of 0:15:38.480 --> 0:15:41.640 her chest. So she made this very impromptu dance move 0:15:41.720 --> 0:15:44.880 actioning her pounding heart. And I always remember watching this thinking, 0:15:45.240 --> 0:15:48.120 what's that about? Yeah, I never knew what it was about, 0:15:48.200 --> 0:15:49.720 but I thought it was kind of like she was 0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:52.680 showing that she was fun and creative. Let's throw to 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:58.000 her audition, Ah that scared. It's for their respect when 0:15:58.000 --> 0:16:02.840 you come home, hey, baby, when you get home, mister. 0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:09.320 It's so funny watching this show back more than twenty 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:11.680 years on, because there are so many things that just 0:16:11.720 --> 0:16:14.600 wouldn't fly now. One of them that really stood out 0:16:14.640 --> 0:16:17.320 was the ageism. So in the first episode, they make 0:16:17.440 --> 0:16:19.440 fun of a group of women in their late thirties 0:16:19.440 --> 0:16:22.360 to early forties auditioning for the show. Let's throw to 0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:23.200 the clip. 0:16:23.800 --> 0:16:26.440 The auditions are open to any girl who was eighteen. 0:16:27.920 --> 0:16:30.160 My boyfriend's wife rang up and told me about it. 0:16:30.200 --> 0:16:33.520 Actually, Oh love her. She's a lovely lady. 0:16:33.720 --> 0:16:34.200 I'm shame. 0:16:37.240 --> 0:16:38.600 No, so what you reckon? 0:16:38.640 --> 0:16:42.520 You're gonna need chicky babes end today. If anything, were 0:16:42.600 --> 0:16:46.920 just going to help those young ladies out every night. 0:16:47.520 --> 0:16:55.360 Oh my dreams, I see I see you. The funniest 0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:57.880 thing about this was that these women actually seemed a 0:16:57.880 --> 0:17:00.440 lot more talented than some that actually made it through. 0:17:00.480 --> 0:17:02.880 They actually had good voices, yeah, but you could tell 0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:05.840 they just weren't what they were looking for. Maybe if 0:17:05.840 --> 0:17:09.280 it was the voice and they're particularly looking for a voice, 0:17:09.280 --> 0:17:12.399 but it's clear they were looking to manufacture a pop 0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:15.600 group of five twenty something. Something that was also really 0:17:15.640 --> 0:17:18.800 evident was the lack of diversity, because this show claimed 0:17:18.800 --> 0:17:21.880 that it wanted five different girls, that girls at home 0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:24.480 could relate to. However, the five women that they ended 0:17:24.560 --> 0:17:27.399 up choosing were all white and straight sized women. In 0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:30.080 saying that when watching the auditions, there were quite a 0:17:30.080 --> 0:17:33.520 few different nationalities that were actually put through the process, 0:17:33.760 --> 0:17:35.920 but they just went picked at the end. I also 0:17:35.960 --> 0:17:39.320 found it really uncomfortable because the judges would use someone's 0:17:39.440 --> 0:17:43.280 dancing ability as this thinly veiled excuse to reject plus 0:17:43.320 --> 0:17:46.320 size contestants. So in the first episode, we see an 0:17:46.400 --> 0:17:48.800 eighteen year old girl called Beth Huddle get through the 0:17:48.840 --> 0:17:51.760 first stage of the audition process and at the time 0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:54.359 she was working as a hairstylist and a cake decorator. 0:17:54.359 --> 0:17:56.960 For some reason, I loved the inclusion that she was 0:17:56.960 --> 0:18:00.639 a cake decorator and apparently she'd had five years singing experience, 0:18:00.760 --> 0:18:03.600 and the narrator explained that she'd been to many auditions 0:18:03.640 --> 0:18:06.680 before and during this one on one audition she did, 0:18:06.800 --> 0:18:09.240 Jackie O said to her, could you move around a 0:18:09.280 --> 0:18:11.440 bit because we want to see some of your dancing, 0:18:11.600 --> 0:18:14.639 And during this audition, Beth stuffed up the lyrics a 0:18:14.640 --> 0:18:17.040 couple of times, and she asks if she can get 0:18:17.040 --> 0:18:21.120 the lyrics to the song, let's play the exchange. Shall 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:30.240 your hand Tato makes my upholstery. Oh my god, a couple. So, 0:18:31.040 --> 0:18:32.840 I know this looks really bad. It looks like I'm nervous, 0:18:32.880 --> 0:18:34.560 but I've just forgot my ways. I only let the 0:18:34.600 --> 0:18:37.000 song this morning. Is it okay if I get some lyrics? Sure? 0:18:37.440 --> 0:18:40.240 Well, no, it's not. Actually, to be honest, it's not. 0:18:41.400 --> 0:18:44.080 Since this show, it seems like Jackie O has continued 0:18:44.119 --> 0:18:46.480 to be cast in the role of the good cop 0:18:46.840 --> 0:18:49.360 woman that asked the girls to do something and kind 0:18:49.359 --> 0:18:52.760 of sets them up for failure and critique from a male. Yeah, 0:18:52.760 --> 0:18:56.280 that's so true. Now, following this scolding, Beth then sings 0:18:56.320 --> 0:18:58.760 the chorus and she sounds really great, and the judges 0:18:58.800 --> 0:19:01.320 basically deliberate and in front of her, and they say 0:19:01.359 --> 0:19:04.040 her voice is really strong, but they didn't see any movement, 0:19:04.280 --> 0:19:06.239 and despite the fact that she really did have one 0:19:06.280 --> 0:19:09.399 of the strongest voices in this competition, they chose to 0:19:09.400 --> 0:19:12.840 cut her. Here's what they said, what love. 0:19:12.800 --> 0:19:13.400 Got to do? 0:19:13.960 --> 0:19:19.600 Got to do that? Why love the second handed bullshit? 0:19:20.080 --> 0:19:22.879 fIF We know everyone gets radiled with the nerves and 0:19:22.880 --> 0:19:25.280 it makes it really difficult and everything else, but it 0:19:25.359 --> 0:19:27.800 was a second callback and we see you come in 0:19:28.040 --> 0:19:30.439 and be very confident with the song at least the 0:19:30.520 --> 0:19:33.440 other point, because it wasn't just that movement and dance 0:19:33.520 --> 0:19:36.400 is also important to us as well, and we don't 0:19:36.440 --> 0:19:39.399