Wannabes join queue for new girl group
Winners of Popstars, The Rivals, who scored a recent No 1 hit Sound of the Underground, are due for fresh competition soon from a new Irish teenband with the provisional title, New Girlz on the Block.
Although the entire nation might raise a collective eyebrow at the prospect of yet another girl group, it did not act as a deterrent for almost 1,000 young girls to show up in Dublin yesterday to audition for a band whose most unique claim for the moment is that they are not being managed by Louis Walsh.
Large groups of hopefuls aged 14-20 queued from dawn yesterday morning at the B Famous Dance Studios in Wolfe Tone Street.
The doors formally opened at 9am as the young wannabes were put through their paces by being asked to sing a rendition of a recent chart number.
Everybody who showed up was given an opportunity to perform, with 76 singers being called back for a further audition at 5pm yesterday. The judging panel then began the process of whittling down this group to a final four-piece which was due to be completed in the early hours of this morning.
Among the judges was former B*Witched singer, Sinead O’Carroll, who will also act as the new group's co-manager, following her own retirement from singing after the break-up of the group, which had an international No 1 record with C’est La Vie.
“It’s a totally new challenge but I’m really looking forward to it,” said Sinead. "The standard of the people we've heard auditioning has been really impressive. There are loads of girls with good voices. It's just a question of matching the combination of voices with looks. The time is right for a ballsy girl group from Ireland to make a stance."
Despite a growing cynicism about the number of manufactured bands, the promoters of the new group are adamant that New Girlz on the Block will be different. "We are not resorting to the methods of the contrived, reality TV shows like Popstars or You're A Star with people having to call up phone lines. We are relying on the conventional, old-fashion audition," said spokesman Mark Rahman.
However, the odds on success remain perilous as the promoters confirmed that there is no recording contract on offer for the time being.
