Alex Parks

[willowsgirl]

Hey, Im not sure if this is the right place to post a topic like this- its my first time

Well I just wondered what you UK kittens (and anybody else who has heard of her) think of Alex Parks, the winner of fame academy. I just saw the video for her first single release, and it really made me think.

Im abandoning all street cred here to confess that yes, I did watch fame academy! But I only followed it to the end to support Alex- is it me or is it amazing that the public voted for a young openly gay girl, who's also a bit of a tomboy? Not exactly your stereotypical 19 year old.

If anybody has any thoughts, Id really like to hear them!



willowsgirl/stacey xx

[shootingstar]

OKay, I'm gonna come out of the closet here and amit that yes, despite my rants about disposable pop music and blahblahblah I did watch this years Fame Academy (mostly because Han kept talking about it )



There are not enough good things I can say about Alex. I live the whole singer/songwriting thing as it is from Michelle to Norah to Alison so Alex was the exact sort of person I would listen to. The first time I saw her perform was Beautiful on the first epiode but at the time i had no clue who she was and din't watch for a long time afterwards. I saw the last few weeks and instantly fell in love with Alex. She puts so much emotion into her songs it's unbelieveable. I've only seen part of her new video 'Maybe thats what it takes' but i keep surfing around to try and find it again.





My main worry of course is that Alex will go down the same path that that Snedon guy did. It would be a real lose to the British music industry if that does happen so I'm praying that it won't.



When I first saw her I had no clue she was gay until I read about it in the paper somewhere. I instantly had my worries about her chances of winning, mostly because I'm a cynical person, but I'm so happy she won. In the end the public made the right choice by far, and showed that her alternative stance in both her music, fashion and sexuality made no different to the talented girl she is



star



p.s those of you oh haven'theard anything by Alex yet should serious check it out. She's so talentented and of course hot

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A pretty girl happy in an ugly world, watching all the pretty people doing lots of ugly things...

[bla bla bla]

ah yes, alex. i must admit aswell that i did watch fame academy... but only because i kept recieving text messages saying "put on fame academy alex is fucking gorgeous" and yeah... have to admit i agree so glad she won...

"Hey Dykorama!"

"The name's Dyke. O. - and that's Ms. Rama to you."

[willowsgirl]

Shootingstar- Did you just climb into my mind and write down all my opinions? I think you did! I too hate commercial pop stylee music with a vengeance, but theres something about alex isnt there?

Yeah I really hope she doesnt go the same as sneddon, I was really worried theyd make her put out loads of covers. But then again, she can even pull those off!

I shared your cynical views, I thought the public would go for that cheesy Alastair guy, so Im really happy they voted for the right person. She's gotta be the 1st openly gay solo artist for a long time in the british industry, surely. Theres will young, but he only came out and talked about it after he'd won so...

Wow, quite a rant there!



willowsgirl xx

[sam darls]

I just saw the name alex parks..and I had to check it out..I love alex, she is so talented and so amazingly beautiful..and I watched Fame Academy too!! Go alex- we love you Love sammi xx

[LilacWine22]

hi all,



well i usually hate shows like that but one night i watched F.A and heard that voice and well i got hooked on the show just so i could see such talent every week



i was really glad she won as it is refreshing to see someone performing alternative music winning, instead of the mainstream pop that seems to come out of these shows,



what i was also impressed by is her down to earth nature also refreshing to see

she is a rare talent i hope she does well and doesn't fall into the TV reality show black hole of only having a year or so in her career cause it would be a real waste

well this will be a CD and my Christmas list when it is released



Lilac

"Everything i like to do is either Illegal,Immoral or Fattening"

wc feilds

[shootingstar]

Me? Steal your thoughts?...why yes, yes i did, it much easier that coming up with my own hehe



I think it seems to be a trend with a lot of people I've spoken to, that they'd never really watched anything like F.A and when they did fell in love with Alex because of her originality.



And dito to the CD, I can't wait for her album *prays for it to be rockin'*

* * * * * * * * *

A pretty girl happy in an ugly world, watching all the pretty people doing lots of ugly things...

[AmberAlysonlover]

I cant stand her! She has turned my gf into a nasty girl who wont stop talking about her! I think Alex isnt that hot, cant sing and shouldnt have won Lame Acedmey!

[willowsgirl]

Well this hasnt exactly become a huge thread, but its cool to see some of your opinions on Alex

AmberAlysonLover- I guess everyone's entitled to their own opinion its a shame you dont like Alex, but maybe thats just cos your gf does like her, eh? Just kidding.

I didnt like Fame academy either, I just loved Alex cos she was something different. And I didnt so much start this thread as a 'wow listen to her voice, buy her records' type thing, more isnt it good that she's won, and I wonder what impact (if any) a young, english lesbian singer will have on the music industry.

Wow this has turned into a long post.

Er...well, thanks!



willowsgirl xx

[feena191]

I wanted Alex to win right from the beginning. I was on holiday in Devon when they started trailing Fame Academy & the local TV did a piece on her. She has got an amazing voice, full of emotion. I can't wait to get her album too.



Feena

-x-

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Everyone whispers in Cornwall

[shootingstar]

Just in case you wanted to know, Alex is on Jonathon Ross tonight 10.35 BBC1.



There was also an article on her in the Guardian today, it was one of the pull outs they put in it. It was pretty good, talking about how more lesbians are appearing in tv, music etc. And then it used the phrase 'baby dykes' at which point i threw the paper back and my friend and went and did my media work.

* * * * * * * * *

A pretty girl happy in an ugly world, watching all the pretty people doing lots of ugly things...

[willowsgirl]

Wow thanks for letting me know, shootingstar!

I just looked up that article on the guardian website, and I think it might really help me with my uni dissertation too so



For anyone else who would like to read the article, Ive typed it up here for you!



Thank you, reality TV



Jenny White hails the cool new lesbian stars who are changing the face of showbiz



On November 17 Fame Academy winner, singer-songwriter Alex Parks will release her debut single Maybe That's What it Takes. Her self-penned ballad is hotly tipped to make the Top 10.



But Parks's TV victory and her £1m recording contract prize can be seen as much more than a mere personal success for the lesbian teenager. Her triumph also marks another stage in the rebranding of gay women in the public mindset, the culmination of a year of unprecedented lesbian visibility in British showbiz.



Importantly, the 19-year-old Parks has given young gay women their first pop idol to swoon over. Interviewed immediately after her Fame Academy win, Parks highlighted the fact that she had no role models to relate to when she was growing up and that she hoped her win would help to inspire other young lesbians.



While gay male showbiz household names trip off the tongue, there is still barely a handful of out lesbian celebrities. It is about time that some cool Sapphic stars shook up Middle England's perceptions of lesbians.



Those decades-old, tabloid images of gay women endure. Lesbians are still either viewed with suspicion - man-hating militants sporting dungarees and crew cuts - or as objects of amusement and titillation; the male fantasy of two femme stunners indulging in hot lesbo action waiting for a bloke to jump in and finish the job off properly



Although Pam St Clement and Sandy Toksvig have been out and proud for years, these middle-aged, middle-class women will never set Celebdaq on fire. This past year can be seen as a watershed in lesbian visibility aided by the reality TV phenomenon that can transform unknowns into "celeb personalities" overnight.



Until last summer's appearance on I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, Rhona Cameron was little known outside the stand-up comedy circuit; her lesbian-themed sitcom Rhona, which aired in 2000, was poorly received. But her jungle stint catapulted her to household-name status within a matter of weeks. She gained tabloid and celeb magazine coverage and a primetime ITV gameshow, Russian Roulette. And now she has written her first book, an autobiographical novel, Nineteen Seventy-Nine: A Big Year in a Small Town, published last month, in which she recounts the teenage angst surrounding her first forays into lesbianism.



With her new-found fame, Cameron also managed to out her former girlfriend Sue Perkins, one half of television comic duo Mel & Sue. Perkins, apparently persuaded by Cameron, then appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in November last year



In February, lesbian stereotypes faced their biggest ever challenge. Former Page 3 pin-up Sam Fox came out of the closet and introduced the nation to her female partner in the Channel 4 documentary Our Sam. There was more footage of the couple together throughout March when Fox was one of three celebrities competing to run the most popular bar in ITV's The Club.



Parks's appearance on Fame Academy took this increased lesbian visibility to new ground. The reality TV show format allowed people to gain a rounded picture of her: meet her family; see her form friendships with other contestants; share her pre-show nerves and passionate performances. They were able to see that her sexuality is only part of who she is.



After her win, she expressed relief that her sexuality had not overshadowed her stay: "That's just me. I didn't come in here trying to hide it or shout about it. It doesn't really make a difference."



Throughout the series Parks was praised by the Academy judges and press alike for being '"individual", "original", and "different". She is one of the first primetime TV personalities that baby dykes can empathise with: the funky boyish looks; and coming out worries, such as "What would the grandparents think?" But above all the realisation that your sexuality is no barrier to following your dreams.



Alex Parks is interviewed in Guardian Weekend tomorrow.



So there ya go!!



willowsgirl xx

[wolfwynd]

Whoo! Alex! Yes I must admit I did watch Fame Academy, but only for this woman! She is talented in singing and songwriting and is, of course, extremely hot! I think my girlfriend might be a bit jealous...



I'll also be another one buying her single and her album when it comes out!



Wolfy

"Love is a perky elf dancing a merry little jig and then suddenly he turns on you with a miniature machine gun."

-Matt Groening

[notjustme]

i really really like alex! me and my mum argued over whether she was good or not and my mum thought she was crap *my mums a vocal couch!* grrr but i think she rocks!!

******************



I didnt think it was humanly possible but this show both sucks and blows at the same time!

[the vamp nurd]

OK, I'm going to put my 2p in.



alex :- go girl!



She's cute too, kinda pixie like, I like pixies honest!

~Rachael~



Sorry I missed church, I was busy becoming a lesbian and worshiping Satan





Bardlet no #27

[willowsgirl]

Well I like pixies too!!

Its funny how people either love her or hate her. Whats funnier is the fact that while home the other day her video came on the tv and my mum said 'did you know that girl alex has come out as a lesbian?'

and i was like 'mum, where have you been?? she hasnt exactly tried to hide it!'

was so funny. or maybe u really had to be there...?

*crawls and hides under her desk in embarassment*



willowsgirl xx

[J uk]

Actually, I don't think they ever mentioned that Alex was gay on the show. There were a few bits on the website news, but the tv shows always seemed to gloss over the whole subject.





Just remembered seeing this article a few days ago:

www.ananova.com/entertain...37480.html

Quote:

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Alex Parks - 'proud to be a gay role model'



Alex Parks says she's proud to be a role model for gay young girls but is worried about the responsibility.



The Fame Academy winner said: "I'm a bit worried because it's a massive responsibility to have. But I'm pleased if I've done that for people.



Parks, currently single, says she's "not too bothered" about finding a relationship.



"I'm too busy and it wouldn't be very fair on her," she said. "But if I meet somebody, I'll go for it."



As winner of the reality TV show, Parks landed a £1 million contract with Polydor, the keys to a brand new BMW and lives in a luxury three-bedroom flat in London.



Her new life is far cry from her previous one in Mount Hawke, near Truro, Cornwall - a village with two shops, a church, a pub and a school.



"I'm not very used to it at all. I hope I'll be okay. If not, I'll just do a Sneddon," she said, referring to last year's Fame Academy winner who recently announced he's giving up singing to concentrate on song-writing.



Story filed: 12:47 Tuesday 11th November 2003

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Edited by: J uk at: 11/13/03 7:56 am

[willowsgirl]

J uk, yeah you're probabaly right actually. my sister took the whole fame academy thing a bit too far this year and watched it live on interactive for hours a day, so of course I HAD to as well! So through watching that I heard conversations she had, and discussions with the teachers and things gave me a different insight.

Plus I seemed to see a few interviews with her mum while alex was still in the house, clearly talking about her sexuality.

Thanks for adding the article to the thread too, was really cool



willowsgirl xx

[Underneathherclothes]

love Alex and her song is very deep and catchy-coulda put a girlie in the vid thou

I watched Fame Academy and I'm not afraid to admit it!

Although I must defend the and i quote 'cheesy alistair guy' did you not see the rolling down the hill game-funnest!

Anyways i had a point but got distracted oh yeah- I'm proud of Alex for being so open about her gayness, my flat mate showed me the paper at the time hoping to get a rise out of me but to be honest i wasn't surprised anyway, my gaydar must be up and running

So yay for winning Alex, but i still think you should go back to cornwall and buy a green hat with a bell and wear stripped trousers so i can go and shake you like i did that toy my mum bought me when we had a holiday there that time but then said we weren't going again cos it was too busy BREATHE =

damaged



oop op i thinka it's time for bed i have a job interview in the mornin

How bad could it be, if you should fall in love with me? How bad could it be-sexuality

[slayergirluk]

Hi

well im not gay but then agen im only 15 so i might b but i only watched f.a coz of alex and routed 4 her all the way through. I didnt no for sure if she was gay until i read this post but now i seem to respect her more! I love the covers she did on fame acadamy but also love her songs

i think she should smile more and b a bit happier that shes rich an successful!!

Slayergirluk

[chilled monkey]

I never watched Fame Academy (don't really like reality TV) and I very much regret it now. I watch Alex's video for "Maybe that's what it takes" every time I happen on it on the music channels. It's a great song and I love it.



One thing is puzzling me though. On some channels it says (underneath the song title) 'An Introduction to Me'. Is this an album title and if so, when is it out?

[J uk]

Alex's first album 'Introduction' comes out on Monday, and the best price I can find is £9.99 (with free postage) at play.com.



There's some clips half way down the page on www.alexparksonline.com.

[chilled monkey]

Thank you very much.