Latest news with #Valleys
Wales Online
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Why this iconic Welsh reality TV series needs to be resurrected
Why this iconic Welsh reality TV series needs to be resurrected It has been over a decade since controversial Welsh reality TV show The Valleys hit out TV screens and here's why it should come back It has been over a decade since the controversial reality TV show hit our screens (Image: MTV ) It has previously been labelled cheap, tacky and inaccurate but this Welsh reality TV series is nothing more than iconic. Picture this: It's 2012 and a group of delusional youngsters from small towns with big city dreams, all hope to find fame and make a lot of quick cash by simply existing. In the hustle and bustle of the Welsh capital, they all had to live together under the same roof - and, dare I say, this is what made the show entertaining. As expected when you put a group of big personalities in a house together (Big Brother, Love Island), drama will dominate the whole series. That show in question is none other than The Valleys. Running for three seasons on MTV, I would quite literally do anything for the show to make a comeback. The Valleys followed a group of young Welsh people from small towns with big city dreams (Image: Cynon Valley Leader ) Article continues below At the time, The Valleys was hailed "a huge hit" by the channel, despite criticism, becoming MTV UK's second highest-rated show of all time. It scored an average audience of 563,000, ranking it number one in its slot on pay platforms for 16-34-year-olds, which is even more of a reason for MTV to bring it back. The first season featured cast members Aron Williams, Carley Belmonte, Darren Chidgey, Jenna Jonathan, Lateysha Grace, Leeroy Reed, Liam Powell, Natalee Harris, and Nicole Morris. With the exception of Aron, everyone returned for series two but twins Jason and Anthony Suminski were added into the mix and the final series added Jack Watkins to the cast. Valleys boss AK with fellow boss Jordan But one thing is for sure, no matter who was partying in Cardiff, the show followed the same chaotic formula. The Valleys was essentially Geordie Shore on caffeine with a cast filled with strippers, builders and models who earned their stripes as outrageous carefree Welshies. It was a battle to see whether the fun and games would come between their work and impress their boss at the time, Jordan Reed. The series was pure television gold for reality TV fans Article continues below It's been over 10 years now since the show has been on air so I think it's the right time for some a fresh set of South Wales' biggest wannabes take on the infamous Valleywood Nights tours and cause absolute carnage in the city. The series was pure television gold for reality TV fans with every episode filled with petty fights and backstabbing. For some strange reason it just didn't take off the way that similar shows such as Geordie Shore or the US version Jersey Shore did. Perhaps it was just too chaotic - but that's what makes good TV.
CairoScene
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
Adonis Explore Resilience in New Indie-Pop Album ‘Wedyan'
On their seventh studio release, the Lebanese band expands beyond indie rock, embracing pop, R&B, and baroque influences. Apr 16, 2025 Twelve years into reshaping the Levantine music scene, Adonis return with their most expansive project to date. 'Wedyan' (Valleys), their seventh studio album released on April 10th, sees the Lebanese band move beyond their signature indie-rock comfort zone into lush new terrain—baroque pop, alternative R&B, and nods to nostalgic Arabic pop all collide in this concept album rooted in resilience and uncertainty. Produced between Amman and Beirut by Amr Shomali, with contributions from Taym and Robert Al Assaad, Wedyan is a genre-fluid, emotionally rich record. Tracks like 'Kel Ma Tsame'ni' and 'Khod Sa'at' channel the golden age of early-2000s Lebanese pop, while the swelling chorus in 'Nadini' plays like a ballad, full of devotion and urgency. The album's two interludes, one for a newborn nephew, the other for a late grandmother, add an intimate, narrative depth. If 2022's 'Hadis El Layl' romanticized love, 'Wedyan' reflects on its limitations. It's about cutting ties, embracing truth, and finding strength in solitude. 'No broken person can ever break me,' Anthony Adonis sings on 'Yekserni'—a defiant line that sets the tone for the album's emotional clarity. Just days before the album dropped, the band released 'Ma'rafha', a music video directed by Eli Salameh. Set in a dark security control room, it visualizes the futile attempt to erase someone's memories—a poetic metaphor for the album's central conflict. Adonis will support the album with a global tour, kicking off in Abu Dhabi, Cairo, and Riyadh before heading to Canada and Beirut.
