Congratulations to Rita Ora on her first solo number one in the charts with RIP. It’s a stonker of a pop tune and this girl is preparing to take flight into the pop stratosphere. Her debut album ORA will be out within weeks and she’s spent two and a half years being trained and prepared by rap legend Jay-Z (she is on his Roc Nation label). Not bad for a girl from Earl’s Court, London!
I met the star at her single launch bash this week at London’s plush Asprey jeweller’s and she told me Jay and his wife Beyonce have been huge inspirations to her. “Jay has been with me since day one and being part of the Roc Nation family is amazing,” she said. “He’s involved in everything I do and at the end of the day he wants his company to be a success and he believed in me.
“The first time I met Beyonce she was in the crowd at a show in New York and she came with Jay-Z and I sang Say My Name by Destiny’s Child and she was there. I didn’t know she was in the crowd when I did it. But she gave me the seal of approval afterwards. It was a massive deal. She’s one of my Idols. I was crapping myself meeting her at first but she’s one of the nicest people. I didn’t think she’d have time for me but she did.”
The star has some surprises in store on the debut album too – she says there’s heavy rock influences and she cites No Doubt as a big inspiration. I can’t wait to get some more Rita in my life….

Picture: Thanks to Richard Young

Paloma Faith is back with a fantastic second album, Fall To Grace, and I met up for tea and cake with the star this week at Soho’s amazing Maison Bertaux.

The singer tells me she’s sick of being dubbed weird, zany and kooky and admitted she could never do what Lady Gaga does planning her outfits and image weeks in advance. Paloma said: “I think in my first record I found sometimes the branding of me as a weirdo, zany, kooky and quirky was mildly annoying. I felt like I had almost set myself up so if I wasn’t like that one day people would be like ‘What’s wrong with her?’

“I feel like everything about this record is me being honest. The album cover is completely dramatic but I am dramatic. I just decided this time around to be wholeheartedly me and not to set myself up to have to maintain any characters or persona. I really couldn’t do what Lady Gaga does and i think it must have to take such a tremendous amount of energy to always be on in that way.”

And was Paloma inspired ala Adele to write about the men in her life to make song lyrics for the album? “There are probably a few men in there,” she laughed gobbling a strawberry tartlet. “I’m a serial monogamist and I can’t seem to get past the two year mark. Then there are a few other relationships with human beings which aren’t romantic. I’m trying to turn all the sadness into something hopeful. That’s why it’s called Fall To Grace rather than Fall from Grace.”

Paloma’s single Picking Up The Pieces is out May 20 and album Fall To Grace is out May 28.

She’s pretty special so check it out.

P.S. Thirty-Minute Love Affair is a real stand out track on the album…..I”m obsessed.

It’s not everyday you get the opportunity to fly to New York to hang out with an American Idol winner.

I jumped on a flight from the UK last weekend to go and meet up with music star Carrie Underwood.

In the UK she’s not a big name…yet. But she’s clearly got fans – after all, tickets to her debut UK tour date at the Royal Albert Hall in June sold out in a matter of minutes last week.

In real life she’s cute, bubbly and very easy to talk to and I’m pleased to report very normal considering the fact she’s mobbed everywhere she goes in the States.

I’ll set the scene, we met for a drink in the plush London Hotel in NYC and loads of fans were waiting to say hello whilst we enjoyed a glass of wine in a quiet corner.

Managed by Spice Girls creator Simon Fuller, this week Carrie releases Good Girl – her first proper single in the UK. Then her debut album for UK fans, Blown Away, follows on June 18.

Enjoy the interview and I look forward to meeting this young lady again when she comes to the UK in the summer.

Hello Carrie, First of all – your gig in London has sold out with ease which is great news. Have you been to the UK before?

I can’t wait to get to London and perform at the Royal Albert Hall. I’ve been there as a visitor and been running around like a tourist but never performed there. I remember doing the whole double decker bus tour and going past Buckingham Palace. I went to Wimbledon too. I went with my mum and my sisters and it was an amazing trip. If I’m honest though I’ve got no idea about tennis and what happens in the games so I just sat there completely jetlagged and zoned out trying not to fall asleep or faint.

And tickets sold out in ten minutes? That’s crazy.

I can’t believe the tickets have already sold out. I’ve never been to the Royal Albert Hall so I’m looking forward to actually stepping out into the arena and seeing it. People keep telling me it will take my breath away. I’ve got a fear about performing at a venue and it comes to the night of my show and I step out and nobody has shown up. I’ve heard the Royal Albert Hall is like ‘starting at the top’ in the UK. So I’m very excited.

Where is home for you these days – I’m imagining you’re in LA an awful lot?

I live in Nashville these days actually. I really like LA – I love the weather but I’m a space girl and I love loads of space around me. So LA is OK for me but not totally perfect. A friend of mine lives in Sussex in England actually and we stayed there too and got to take a ride in a helicopter over the fields. It was glorious. Sussex was very spacious indeed.

Do you live on an amazing plot then?

I’ve just bought 450 acres or so of land just outside Nashville to live on with my husband and it’s beautiful.

Tell me about Blown Away – what’s the general feel of this album?

The album is diverse. We basically decided to use as many different styles as possible. I love music in general and pride myself in feeling like I can sing whatever I want. I don’t ever want to be locked into one type of song or style. I never want people going, “oh, that sounds like Carrie Underwood”. I want things to sound different from song to song and that’s what we’ve done with this particular album. There are dramatic songs that are dark, big and bold. And then there’s tracks that are so sweet and organic and swell. There’s some pretty country in there as well.

And how involved are you with the process of writing an album?

I’m involved in everything when it comes to the album. People might think I’m just an Idol puppet but not these days. When I came out of Idol it was so important to strike while the iron was hot so there wasn’t much of an option but to rush things. We went on the road with the Idols tour and during that I was recording and then it was ready to go straight away afterwards. Tonnes of people came out to see that tour but it was very hectic behind the scenes. It was a good time for me to learn a lot but it did happen so fast. I never went in there saying that I knew everything.

And you learned the game form good people around you, I assume.

I wanted to learn everything from scratch and in the beginning I would always say: “I know enough to know I don’t know anything about the music industry.” But now I do. I was never going to try and dominate the situation or be a diva. I had never done that before and had to trust the people around me.

I have people around me who are wonderful. Simon Fuller, in particular, has been brilliant from the very beginning. He’s all about what makes the people that he works with happy and what makes me happy. He asks me all the time if I’m happy with every aspect of my career. He’s a supporter and a friend and there’s opinions, guidance and loyalty with Simon.

Were you a Spice Girls fan before you met him?

I loved the Spice Girls back in the day and to know him now on a personal level and what a great guy he is in real life is brilliant. Being on idol, he didn’t have to be nice to me or approach me about management. He could have given me to somebody else – but he didn’t, he believed in me and had a vision.

And were you a fan of British music in general growing up?

I’m a fan of the Brit music scene right now. Adele’s brilliant and obviously there’s been a big history since the British invasion in American. So many people have managed to make it big around the globe. My iPod is very random to be honest. When I was growing up my parents used to listen to the oldies station when I was young. I always used to hate it and would moan but now that I’m in the industry I’m so appreciative of what they did making me listen to it all. It gave me a knowledge of music and grounding.

Often I will cover those songs in my shows today. I would listen to the Carpenters and the Rolling Stones and lots of rock music. My mum loved a little bit more a laid back style. My sisters were teenagers when I was little so they listened to all the eighties top 40 like Debbie Gibson and Culture Club. A little bit of hair metal too like Motley Crue and Guns n’ Roses.

How is married life? (Carrie is married to ice hockey player Mike Fisher)

Married life is great – I’m not going to lie. It’s nice to have a constant fulfillment in my life – in all aspects. I’m so happy with Mike.

You seem to be good at keeping your private life private.

I’ve always been about keeping my private life private. I’ve never been some club girl falling out of bars and all of that. Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing my girlfriends and chilling out and having some wine. But I’m just not to interested in going out – I feel really old these days. I honestly feel so old when I go out to clubs. It’s just not me to be in a nightclub and drinking. I have a lot of friends and we do what we do – we don’t need to world to see us.

What’s the secret to your longevity as a couple?

It’s nice that Mike has his thing and I have my thing and we support each other fully but in all honesty our world’s rarely collide and that helps things and keeps them working. They never really collide. I look at Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin and how their marriage works and think that’s a great way to make things work. They support each other through thick and thin but they’re still independent and have a life together behind closed doors.

You seem to have managed to stay on the straight and narrow easily dealing with fame.

It’s really easy to look at people and think how easy it is to fall off the wagon in this industry and fall into drinking or going out too much. I remember the first time we were on Idol we were herded up like cattle – because there are so many of us – and then when we made the top 24 we were doing a photoshoot and a girl standing next to me said to herself: “Man, I’m thirsty.” And then somebody standing there suddenly rushed forwards with a bottle of water. I was like, “oh my gosh, we have gone from being yelled at to people doing stuff for us.” It was a big defining moment in my life. It would be easy for me to fall off the wagon but I can’t do that to the people around me. I’m too responsible for so many people I work with.

How do you chillax?

Reality TV is crazy in our town. I watch loads of it. The Kardashians, Dog the Bounty Hunter and Jersey Shore. It’s kinda funny that it makes news in the US when things happen on those shows though. But it’s mindless television and I’m guilty of watching it. When I’m sitting in a room all day writing I work hard and when I come out I need to watch ‘nothing’ television. I could be sitting there for three hours but I couldn’t even tell you what I watched. It’s forgettable TV. But you need that kind of escape sometime

What about starting a family?

Children are definitely in the distant future.

Well, you’re still young?

Well, not really. We do have busy lives but I guess Mike and myself are wanting to get everything we want to do out of the way now before we have children. And also I do think as a mother it’s tricky in this industry. I know so many men that have kids and just carry on with life as normal but for women it’s a far bigger deal in this industry to take time out to have a child. And I’m not done yet. It’s fine for a man to be there on the road away from his family – as long as his wife’s there looking after baby. But it’s different the other way around. I’m not sure why that is but it’s obviously trickier. Right now, Mike’s so busy, I’m so busy and neither either one of us are willing to compromise our careers to start a family.

It’s not like it’s unusual to wait until later in life to start in life….

We waited late to get married compared to where I’m from. We waited late. Where I’m from people are generally married out of high school or college. You’re married at 21 or 22. That’s just the norm. Most of my friends I went to school with are still married and almost all of them have children.

I’m glad I didn’t come out of college married. I wanted to date and enjoy myself and figure out who I was. I didn’t have a clue what kind of guy I wanted at 21. I had no idea. I definitely think I’ve played it all the best way by waiting. I’m the last one out of my friends to have kids. Everybody else has. Everyone. I went back to my 10-year High School Reunion recently and that was a real eye opener.

Carrie’s single Good Girl is out to download today and Blown Away is released June 18

Professor Green is set to swap his low-slung jeans for a pair of chinos as he undergoes a Chelsea makeover. Some may have thought the Hackney rapper’s relationship with Made In Chelsea star Millie Mackintosh (both pictured above) was going to be a fleeting affair but I can reveal it’s just been notched up to the serious stakes.
In a bid to impress his girl Pro has bought a pad in Chelsea and the couple – who have been dating since the beginning of the year – are set to move in together.
My source reveals: “Pro really wanted to impress his girl and show her that he’s serious about their relationship.
“He’s always been an East London boy so people are shocked. He’s also going to be moving in his best mate Lewis The Giant and his backing singer Felix in too.
“Since they’ve been dating, Millie has introduced Pro to the area and her friends. It’s going to be a massive change for him but he’s decided she’s worth it.
It will be interesting to see how his hardened fans will react to this image change as he’s always been someone that has traded on his tough routes. Don’t forget – he previously hit out at Leona Lewis and insisted he was from the real side of Hackney. But it appears no more!

Let’s not all get over excited about Lily Allen’s return to the music scene. Last week the star was pictured outside a recording studio in London, prompting the rumour mill to get ‘hyped’ about Lily – who famously said she was bowing out of the music business – recording a new album. The truth of the matter is the star is in the studio – but only to finish work on the score for the Bridget Jones Diary West End stage show. The star has to finish that by May apparently. A source tells me: “She’s working her arse off on the show and loving being in the studio – but she’s not doing a solo album yet. She’s been thinking about it but for now she’s working on the show and loving every minute.” Good for her. I’d personally love her to push out an album of solo material after. Fingers crossed.

It doesn’t sound like we will be having the five Spice Girls back in the same room together in the foreseeable future.
From what my sources say the bubbling feud between Victoria Beckham and Melanie Brown shows no sign of ending anytime soon and it’s causing a big divide between my favourite girl group.
So much so that the pair have not spoken for two YEARS and are not planning on reacquainting themselves with each other any time soon.
My Spice source tells me the five some were due to appear at the opening night of Viva Forever – the Spice Girl’s musical – but as things currently stand there’s ZERO chance of that happening.
“Victoria and Mel have not spoken for so long and have had no contact,” says the source. “For them to kiss and make up is going to be a miracle.
“None of the girls are contracted to appear at the launch – but they wanted too initially. Melanie C, Emma and Geri have been heavily involved throughout the process of making the show. Victoria’s been in touch with the show’s producer Judy Craymer on the phone but both her and Mel B have more been kept in the loop because they’re just too busy to get involved.
“Both girls have no love for each other at the minute.”
It’s no surprise with Victoria’s fashion empire taking over her life and Mel presenting Dancing with the Stars and being a judge on X Factor in Australia these days.
The pair initially fell out when VB refused to lend a dress from her up-market collection to Mel for her to wear on her reality show in the States and since then have barely ushered a word to each other – even tweeting the rest of the band without including each other.
And I can reveal fans of the band – who have sold 55 million records worldwide – may have to wait quite a while longer for the premiere of the musical on the West End – because they can’t find a theatre large enough to house it.
“There are actually only three theatre’s large enough to house the production in London,” says my mole. “And none of those productions are closing anytime soon. And they can’t cast the show until the theatre is in place. So instead of casting taking place now it’s likely it won’t happen until July or August. Which means the show won’t open until possibly as late as March or April next year.”
But on the plus side Viva Forever is shaping up very well indeed. Work shops have gone down a storm, the songs have been turned into a story that everyone is thrilled with and Jennifer Saunders is thrilled the script has gone down so well. They think they have a huge hit on their hands.”
Let’s just hope we also have five ladies hand in hand on that red carpet – after all….didn’t they say “Friendship never ends”.

When an actual living Beatle throws a party to celebrate his latest work efforts you’re pretty much guaranteed an A-List crowd will turn out for the peacock feather display.
So when Sir Paul McCartney (above with wife Nancy Shevell) held a viewing party, hosted by daughter Stella McCartney, for his latest single My Valentine – which features Johnny Depp and Natalie Portman – obviously half of Hollywood decided to show face.
Gwen Stefani blew my mind in a Stella creation, Kristen Stewart left boy toy Robert Pattinson at home for the evening and looked vampish, Reese Witherspoon showed off her bump and Gwyneth Paltrow showed out for Stella too.
And it appears Macca is showing no sign of slowing down despite being 69 years old. He made a surprise trip to Coachella last night to catch a few bands before jumping back on his private jet to Uruguay for the start of his South American tour tonight.

Above: Sir Paul and Zooey Deschanel pose up

Above: Reese, Nancy, Stella and Sir Paul at the My Valentine event….

Above: No Doubt about it Gwen Stefani is smouldering at the party….

High priestess of radio Jo Whiley has never been afraid to be vocal about X Factor making her feel uncomfortable. But when it comes to BBC1 newbie The Voice she revealed she’s already addicted!
“After the X Factor I felt a bit bored by that style of program but thought this was a really great idea and was really intrigued. I thought I would only dip in to watch it but I’m actually I’m finding it quite compelling and enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. The quality of the artists who are auditioning is pretty high so you don’t have those comedy acts who people like to laugh at – that makes me cringe because I really don’t like that. The judges are great too and I love the way they interact. If the winner’s single is good then I’ll definitely play the record because my BBC2 evening show isn’t snobby.”
But when it comes to telly talent show contestants the presenter – who has teamed with Kingsmill to become their Big Lunch ambassador – reckons people have been too swift in tipping boyband One Direction to become as big as The Beatles.
“It’s taken everyone by surprise how they are being received over there but I think it’s amazing. It’s great that they are helping the type of music which comes out of the UK get recognised. I think it’s quite a big statement to say that they’ll be as big as The Beatles. They are a pop band as opposed to be a collection of singer-songwriters which The Beatles turned out to be be. It will be interesting to see if they develop songwriting skills and then maybe they could start to be compared. They are babies at the moment and have got an interesting and exciting journey ahead of them. It will be fascinating to see how it develops.” Hear, hear!

All eyes are on newcomer Conor Maynard who releases his debut single Can’t Say No tomorrow. The 19-year-old has had artists like Pharrell and Ne-Yo begging to work with him and has been hailed as the new Justin Bieber. And like the Baby singer he’s proving pretty popular with the ladies.
“It’s flattering to be compared to one of the biggest artists in the world right now when it’s so early for me. It would be pretty crazy to get as much female attention as Bieber but then he seems to handle it pretty well. My fans are called the ‘Mayniacs’ and fit that name very well. The head of my label told me that that Pharrell had reached out to them and said that he would love to work with me. I then went out to Miami last month to work with him for a week. I’d always dreamt of working with him so to be working with him before my first single was even out was incredible experience. He told me that he’d been watching my Youtube covers for 3 years and had reached out initially to sign me. There could potentially be some cool collaborations on the first album.”
And once such collaboration could possibly be with hot new female songstress Rita Ora. Speaking before his gig this week at Nando’s in London’s Kensington High Street he said: “I’m really close to Rita as we’re both on the same management and have been in the studio together. She’s incredibly talented and it’s great that we are popping up at the same time.”

Above: Cleo Sol also performed at the low-key gig….

It must be so nice being in The Wanted right now. Girls throwing themselves at them all over the globe, freebies galore and they even get to have a day off from time to time!

Siva, Jay, Max and Tom spent the day at Universal Studios Hollywood yesterday enjoying some of the attractions including Jurassic Park – The Ride. I love Universal – great day out if you’re ever in LA!