UNIT 51 Magazines- Magazine Article First Draft

Four years on after initially chasing careers as solo artists who were thrown together as a group act on Britain’s biggest singing talent show- ‘Britain’s Got The Voice Factor’, Harold, Lionel, Lewis and Neil or as they're better known-‘Can't say no,’ have become one of the worlds biggest boy bands with their fan base spanning across 120 different countries on 6 different continents. Now tonight they're standing on stage, with instruments in hand ready to take down the house at London's O2 arena- one of many locations on their nationwide tour. Seeing them warm up their vocals and tuning their instruments so finely just goes to show that they’re truly in this business for the love of what they do rather than for the perks that come with the job- although they are an added bonus.

But if we step back in time only 4-5 years ago, you’d see a very different image of the boys; they’d be non-recognizable living their average lives with their working class jobs, performing either at home in the shower, in their bedrooms or in the evenings to audiences of less than 30 with hope of one day becoming stars. “We all came from different backgrounds with the same dream and goals of what we wanted to accomplish in the future, it was only a matter of being in the right place at the right time that actually brought us together” Harold told MTV in a recent interview. “We didn’t realize it at the time, but this was something special, something that was going to become big”.

So lets take a look at how the boys came to be on Britain’s Got The Voice Factor back in 2012. Well let’s start with Harold who from birth was surrounded by music with his father as a jazz musician and local celebrity in the town where they lived. Inspired by his father's dream as well as his own passion for music, Harold decided to begin to pursue music himself when he turned 18 and moved to London to attempt this. His career didn't take off in the way he initially wanted as finding a solid enough gig was tough, especially in a place like London, so he got a job in a restaurant, that often had live musical performances, waiting tables and washing dishes in order to get by. After hearing Harold sing whilst cleaning their table, a few customers expressed to him and his manager just how beautiful his voice was and after a while more customers began to notice the same thing. Eventually his boss gave him the chance and come October 2011 he was performing on stage to a small crowd every other night. But this wasn't enough for Harold; he didn't want to just be known as 'The Singing Waiter' all his life so later that month he signed up for the talent show that would one day make his career.

Lionel’s story was different as compared to Harold he was at a disadvantage with his family having no musical background. Living in a place like Liverpool made it very easy for Lionel to find some inspiration from a few homegrown legends you may have heard of called 'The Beatles'. It is known fact that Lionel draws his musical motivation from 'The Beatles' however unlike his heroes, Lionel always lacked the confidence to sing in front of anyone so his talents almost went to waste especially as his father had always pushed him towards a more 'Practical' career. It was only when Lionel went to see the live auditions of the show that he actually gained that confidence. As it turns out he wasn't going to just watch the live auditions but in fact his mum had signed him up in secret without even telling him until a couple days before. Lionel rehearsed his heart out and despite a couple of minor mistakes due to nerves in his initial audition, he blew the audience away. Now he's gone from idolizing people like Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to performing in front of them and going out for a drink with them afterwards. 

Lewis was in a much better position going into his audition. As a young child and teenager, Lewis loved performing in front of audiences whether it was in school shows or in local performances that they held in Dublin, so he already had performing experience. He was discovered by a small time talent agent at 13 and began writing and performing his own songs attracting a small fan base. He became quite well known in Ireland performing in small theatres however his career became very short lived after his talent agent dropped him at the age of 15 as he was no longer a profitable compared to artists like Westlife and Boyzone. This hit Lewis hard and he ended up becoming depressed. He just wasn't himself anymore. It took much encouragement and a lot for Lewis to be able to put himself back out there but as soon as he found out the show was coming to town he realized that this would be his final chance to prove not only to the judges but to himself that he deserved what he so much strove for. Since his audition it literally put him on top of the world and he became the fun loving and lively guy once again that he used to be in his younger days because he was given another chance at doing what he was meant to be doing.

Neil probably had the more normal story of the four that led him to his audition. Everyone that knows Neil has always said how much he always loved to sing whether it was around the house or when he was out with his friends, it was a surprise his teachers could even get him to work so it was only a matter of time that Neil eventually signed up to audition for the show. Coming from a place like Leeds there wasn’t much opportunity for him to actually prove himself so he knew he had to find a way. He drove himself to the London auditions and in fact he didn’t even tell anyone he was auditioning for the show, even his family didn’t know until it aired. He blew the audience and the judges away, not surprisingly to all to his loved ones. He knew he had the ability to do so and with confidence and zeal, walked out on that stage and absolutely owned it.

Although each of the boys individual auditions were in fact exceptional, the music mogul himself Simone Coyle thought that each of their unique voices would mesh together in a soothing harmony. After a few trial rehearsals they all decided that this group idea worked and they were all happy to collaborate with one another for the sake of their careers and to bring that extra something special to the show. After a successful run through the show and the live performances, ‘Can’t say no’ as they eventually became, finished in the top 5 but sadly did not win. Despite the fact, they got signed anyway to Coyles Record label SiCoy resulting in a more significant and successful career than any of the previous winners of the show have. ‘Cant say no’ are now in their fourth year as a group and are better than ever. But if anyone thought that they might be slowing down any time soon then come see for yourselves and look no further than their current tour. They open the O2 show by telling their 20,000 adoring fans “This is dedicated to all of you out there, without you we wouldn’t be able to do what we love each and every day and we’re thankful for that”. All the fans in the audience rejoice with one another, as the show is about to begin. I see their smiling faces and their eccentric movement around the stage; I know it and they know it that this is exactly where and who they are supposed to be.