Latest news with #MichelleMcManus
Daily Mail
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Michelle McManus performs on stage with Robbie Williams in front of huge 70,000 strong crowd at Murrayfield Stadium
Michelle McManus performed on stage with Robbie Williams in front of a huge 70,000 strong crowd at Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium over the weekend. The Scottish singer, 44, belted out Relight My Fire alongside the Take That star, 44, after receiving a surprise invite from him. Sharing an Instagram update on Sunday, Michelle thanked Robbie for his 'unconditional kindness' and gave an insight into her night. In the clip, she could be seen getting ready backstage before joining Robbie in front of the crowd wearing a bright red lace gown. Michelle wrote: 'So about Saturday night…… It's taken me almost 24hrs to try and comprehend what happened yesterday at Murrayfield Stadium.' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. She continued: 'It was truly a moment I'll never forget, singing to a home crowd of 70,000 people with one of the world's biggest superstars performing by my side. 'To everyone in the crowd cheering me on - thank you. Your support means the world. 'To all of my beautiful friends, family and followers across my social media platforms for sending me literally thousands of messages of love and support - thank you so much and I'm so sorry I haven't managed to reply to you all individually but please know how grateful I am. 'To my incredible manager Alison Sloan and my phenomenal team who put me together on the day - thank you. You made me look and feel more beautiful than I've ever felt performing in my entire life. 'Finally I want to thank Robbie Williams for his unconditional kindness to invite me to sing with him onstage in the first place. 'To watch you perform and have the crowd in the palm of your hand for over 2hrs straight last night was jaw dropping and a master class in live vocals and stage craft. You are a beautiful soul and I'm so lucky to count you as a friend. 'It's been 22 years since I won Pop Idol and I feel so truly blessed to still be performing at this level after All This Time.' Back in March, Michelle revealed that she had received a surprise invite from Robbie to join him on his world tour. The singer concluded: 'Finally I want to thank Robbie Williams for his unconditional kindness... You are a beautiful soul and I'm so lucky to count you as a friend' Robbie surprised Michelle with the unexpected invite during an interview on her BBC Radio Scotland Afternoons show. Michelle revealed: 'We'd just got to the end of the interview and he told me he wanted to ask me something. 'I thought he wanted me to recommend some restaurants in Edinburgh or something. I couldn't believe it when he asked me to sing on stage at Murrayfield. 'I actually couldn't comprehend what he was saying.' She confessed that she thought the gesture was 'the ultimate act of kindness' and praised his generosity. The singer, who scored a No 1 with her debut single All This Time, said: 'Kindness is so underrated in people, and people say it to a man about Robbie, that he's just so kind. 'He has been very generous towards me over the last few years. He invited me to the Leicester Square premiere of his film Better Man and took me backstage afterwards. 'He took part in the documentary I made a couple of years back about the pop industry, and he had absolutely nothing to gain from doing that. 'So I'm really fortunate to have been on the end of some amazing acts of kindness from him. For him to do something like this is incredible. It would have been enough that he gave me an interview. 'I'm not in the same stratosphere as Robbie Williams, but he had his struggles around the period after I won Pop Idol and I think he genuinely recognised me as someone who got totally battered in the press at the same time as he did.' She confessed that she thought the gesture was 'the ultimate act of kindness' and praised his generosity She added: 'I as told I was overweight, wasn't good looking enough, and had no right to be anywhere near a show like Pop Idol, let along win it. 'So I think he understands and gravitates towards people who have experienced the same sort of terrible treatment as he did.' Michelle will join a select group including superstars Kylie, Nicole Kidman and Taylor Swift as the latest female star to duet alongside Robbie. She has performed to huge crowds before, joining Rod Stewart on stage for the Lisbon Lions 50th Anniversary party at Glasgow's Hydro in 2017. Michelle has also sang for Pope Benedict in 2010 at the city's Bellahouston Park and now she's looking ahead to rehearsals for the summer show in the capital.
.png%3Fwidth%3D940%26auto%3Dwebp%26quality%3D75%26crop%3D3%3A2%2Csmart%26trim%3D&w=3840&q=100)
Scotsman
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Robbie Williams sings iconic Hibs anthem at Murrayfield as he asks Hearts question
Robbie Williams has paid homage to an iconic song synonymous with Hibs - and asked a Hearts question about the anthem. Sign up to our Hibs football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Robbie Williams has tackled Hibs' iconic Sunshine on Leith anthem - with a question asked on Hearts. The 51-year-old performed at Murrayfield over the weekend as part of his Britpop tour where he played plenty of his famous hits. As part of the slate of songs he performed, Scots star and Pop Idol winner Michelle McManus joined him on stage for a duet of Take That's Relight My Fire. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad One fan got close to the singer as he worked with the crowd at a barrier, stopping to serenade them with emotional lyrics from She's The One. He then moved into a heartfelt rendition of Sunshine on Leith, which was met with mixed response, with Hearts' Tynecastle home close to the home of Scotland's national rugby team. Robbie Williams sings Sunshine on Leith Originally sang by the Proclaimers, Hibs fans belt out the anthem in times of joy and outstanding results, a rare occurrence happening in the season past as it was heard two times in a week after wins over Celtic and Hearts in Leith. Williams asked: "Now there's two things here. One is I think that's a better song than You'll Never Walk Alone and the other thing is why don't Heart of Midlothian boo that song? I don't get it?" "Are you here Hearts?" was another question posed by the frontman before he finished off any talk of football rivalry "Ok that's enough of that s**t." He is the latest high profile music act to cover Sunshine on Leith after Coldplay had a go earlier this year. Coldplay on why they sung Hibs anthem Chris Martin said: 'This cover that Guy sent me three days ago - he said 'listen to this song by The Proclaimers.' And I'd never heard it before. It blew me away. I'd never heard it before. Then I watched the Hibernian fans singing it in the terraces and it just gets me so much that song. There is a whole other world of music behind that song that I've just been discovering, and they're a wonderful, wonderful band. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "Now we live in the age of coolness doesn't mean anything, just quality and soul. The Proclaimers make more sense than ever. This song is so astonishingly good and we're going to butcher it right now!" Guy Berryman, the bass player who comes from Kirkcaldy, explained : "I'd never heard it before either and I'm Scottish! I was listening to it in the bath three days ago and when it got to the second verse I was like kind of like 'oh, this is a serious song.' By the time it got to the chorus I was crying. I got to the end of it and I said to myself, if I listen to it again I wonder if it'll have the same reaction. So I did it again and the same thing happened. And by the third listen, I was in the bath howling. It's just one of those perfectly simple songs and I can't believe I'd never heard it before."
The National
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Review: 7000 at Floors Castle for Skerryvore's 20-year epic show
The band who has produced seven studio albums, toured four continent tours, won Scotland's Live Act of the Year three times and spread their unique fusion of folk, trad, pop and rock to a global audience did not disappoint with their celebrations. This wasn't a regular concert, however, with several of the attendees I spoke to comparing it to Tiree Music Festival. My sister and I left from Edinburgh on one of five coaches arranged by the organisers. The castle is relatively isolated and does not have the infrastructure to support an influx of 7000 fans and so coaches also left and returned to Newcastle, Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Hawick and Galashiels. Built by architect William Adam in 1721, Floors Castle is Scotland's largest inhabited castle and home to the 11th Duke of Roxburghe. I had never been but will be sure to be back for the grounds that we did see were beautiful and the mansion itself played its on role as the backdrop for the artists. READ MORE: Fans stunned as Michelle McManus joins Robbie Williams during Murrayfield gig Hawick band Western End opened the day at around 4pm while fans arrived, wandered around the grounds, and eyed up the array food vans offering paella, steak on fries, burgers, katsu chicken, haggis, neeps and tatties, fish and chips, flatbread wraps, ice cream, and more! I list them to try and communicate the scale of the operation here. This wasn't just your average concert. This was a one-day festival in the grounds of an 18th century castle. Local pop duo The Eves – who previously opened for Belinda Carlise and The Shires – were next, bringing a pop factor to the stage. As we listened, enjoying the energy of the growing crowd, children chased bubbles with glitter on their faces, and I noticed the wide age-range of the crowd. Young groups of friends together, as well as older folk being looked after and shown to the seated area. More and more fans arrived at the grounds, The Laurette's came on and told us: 'Let's get this party started'. The mood completely changed, with the standing room at the front of the stage filling out, and fans really starting to dance. Next up was Skye band Valtos with singer Eilidh NicCarmaig kept the energy going. NicCarmaig also joined Trail West, as well as eventually Skerryvore. Scotland, England, Japan, Ireland, USA (from as far as Alaska!), Norway, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia and so many more were all represented in the crowd at Floors Castle. Ahead of Trail West, a glass was raised to the international fan base for being at the core of Skerryvore's 20-year journey. Of course, Martyn Bennett – the late artist and composer often referred to as the father of fusion trad music – and the Vatersay Boys – the internationally-recognised trad band from Vatersay, Barra - were also among those mentioned as integral to where the genre is today in its evolutionary sound and global recognition. READ MORE: How algorithms are reviving traditional Scottish music for the next generation In between stage set-ups, heartfelt tributes from fellow musicians and fans from across the world were played on the screens either side of the stage. Each, 30 seconds or so long, thanked, congratulated and wished – always referred to as – 'the boys' a very happy anniversary. Sentiments included 'it's not just a band to us, it's a family', 'you've grown to be so accomplished, diligent, and professional', 'the respect on stage you all have for each other comes through', 'thank you for being such an inspiration for our children, so much so we have another piper to add to the collection'. A woman we stood next to had travelled from The Netherlands to be in Kelso for the day. She said she had seen them dozens of times, and said they were playing in in November. 'But I'll probably fly over and see them before that,' she said, quite sure of that. Skerryvore, for her, had opened up Scottish trad music and introduced her to Manran, Tidelines, Skippinish, and so many others on the scene. The energy and hype was building and building until, at 8pm, Skerryvore came on to an immense reaction. Saltire flags with their logo and 'No Skerryvore, No party' emblazed on them were waved, cheers echoed off the castle walls, children on shoulders waved as the ones holding them were just as excited. The boys started right away with Alec Dalglish front and centre, piper and whistle players Martin Gillespie and Scott Wood on either side, fiddler Craig Espie to the left, Daniel Gillespie on accordion to the right, bass Jodie Bremaneson back left, Fraser West on drums, and Alan Scobie on the keys, back right. The boys were joined by special guests all throughout the set. Nathan Carter performed a duet with Dalglish, members of the Red Hot Chilli Pipers joined for a tune, and for the closing song, just as the heavens opened, Edinburgh's Royal Military Tattoo Pipes and Drums came to the stage. The feeling of the rain falling, the pipes and drums blasting out, the electric energy in the air and the sheer size of the crowd, was supremely epic. More than innovative sound, intricate lyrical compositions, or breaking barriers for Gaelic culture, as fiddler Espie told me the week before, the band are ambassadors for Scotland when they travel the world and share our sound. Watching the eight members on stage, you could still very much see 'the boys' from 20 years ago in the men sharing that sound. With a refined professionality and showmanship, the lads from Tiree, Irvine, South Ayrshire, Livingston, Ellon, and Erskine were still just having a pub sesh with friends. The only difference? They had 7000 friends joining, and millions around the world rooting for them.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Robbie Williams review – dazzling superstar glow from the ‘King of Entertainment'
'Allow me to re-introduce myself,' Robbie Williams declares, with real gravitas. 'This is my band. This is my ART.' Then he holds his mic to his crotch and waggles it. Yep – same old Robbie. After eccentric diversions into film and visual arts, the pop star's grand return to stadium shows begins with a philosophical bent: a sombre video critiques the impact of technology on the pop sphere, replete with a deepfake Elvis, and implies that only one man – perhaps one with a whopping 15 No 1 albums – could possibly save the industry. As campy and braggadocious as he's ever been, after 35 years in the biz Williams crowns himself the 'King of Entertainment' and tonight is not a mere show but a 'journey'. That journey involves: Williams bathing flirtatiously in a handsy audience; T-shirts chucked out during Old Before I Die, of all the songs to choose; belting Take That's Relight My Fire with sparkly guest Michelle McManus. He even dives off a pyro-laden bridge to hang suspended by his ankles, in a visual tribute to his biggest-selling album Escapology. Less fun: the lengthy skits with yet more deepfakes, and some tedious preaching about 'embracing our inner cringe'. Throughout, Williams closely monitors our progress: 'That was really good,' he confirms, with a cocky shrug, after a psychedelic performance of Kids. 'I got goose bumps!' he grins, when the crowd bellows the chorus of Sexed Up. After a flamboyant Rock DJ, with the Broadway-style arrangement from the Better Man soundtrack: 'I'm shitting out hits!' But the meta narrative works best when it goes unsaid. Finishing on My Way, a swinging big-band moment with cacophonous brass, Williams has the superstar glow of a man living up to that regal title. The encore then begins with Feel, a song which stares bleakly at 'the role [he's] been given' and for the first time Williams is utterly sombre. The contrast is genuinely moving. 'Are you not entertained?' he roars gladiatorially, as we karaoke to Angels. Of course we are! Tonight's frenzied, overcompensating maximalism could indicate a dash of insecurity or total, outrageous confidence. As with all things Robbie, it's probably both.
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Pop Idol star Rik Waller unrecognisable with brand-new career 24 years later
Rik Waller was one of the breakout stars of the first series of Pop Idol in 2001, but his singing career came to a standstill after he left the show and he is now unrecognisable Pop Idol, one of the early noughties' biggest telly sensations, only ran for two series but launched the careers of Gareth Gates and Will Young as well as Michelle McManus. It also catapulted Kent-born crooner Rik Waller to fame, who was a hot favourite to win the inaugural series of the reality singing competition. Back in 2001, a then 20 year old Rik wowed judges Simon Cowell, Pete Waterman, Nicki Chapman and Neil Fox with his stellar vocal prowess, securing a spot in the final ten. However, the singer's journey was cut short due to a bout of laryngitis. Despite his premature exit, he did enjoy some chart success with his rendition of Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You, which climbed to number six in the UK singles chart. He signed a record deal with EMI, rumoured to be worth around £400,000, and went on to release a cover of Something Inside (So Strong). Now 44, Rik bagged roles on various UK reality shows, including a stint on Celebrity Fit Club. Around this time, he was dropped by his record label, EMI and formed a band that signed with Red Admiral Records. However, after disappointing ticket sales, they scrapped a planned tour and split up. The last time Rik graced our screens was in February 2007, with an appearance on Never Mind The Buzzcocks. It was rumoured that the singer had lost his ability to belt out tunes after damaging his voice, leading him to confide in 2007: "I'm getting tired of singing and I can't rely on it for 100 per cent of my income. I've got two people to think about now, and talent doesn't always pay the bills." Amidst a whirlwind romance, he found love with a Pagan woman and the pair were reportedly sketching out plans for a Pagan wedding ceremony. But their union came to an end amid whispers she had influenced Rik's decision to step away from the limelight. In 2019 he went on to say he was 'gutted' that his fellow Pop Idol contestant, Michelle McManus, was married, writing on Facebook: "Gutted that Michelle McManus is married, but she looked gorgeous and wishing her all the best." In a candid 2013 chat with the Daily Mail, Rik laid bare the harsh reality of job-seeking as he recounted: "The most demoralising thing I've ever had to do was queue up at the Job Centre and have people look at me saying, 'What a failure'. "When you've lost the ability to do the job you've always done, it's an incredible stab in the back to find people are actually laughing at you." Rik bared his soul as he continued: "It's why I don't make a lot of effort to talk to the press these days - it can be more trouble than it's worth." He admitted, finding solace in simpler joys: "If you've got a roof over your head and food on the table I don't know how anyone can be truly unhappy." By 2014, the chart-topping days were a distant memory as Rik returned to his roots, moving back in with the folks. There, he secured a gig as a secondary school exam invigilator under his birth name, Richard, while also dabbling in the disco beats of his Dad's mobile karaoke and disco venture. According to his Facebook page, the former singer is still an exam invigilator and lives in Leicester.
