Leona Tops Billboards!

Reality T.V programmes are all that ever seem to be on television at the moment, but one programme that I am gripped to every year is X-Factor. A lot of people say that it is just a platform for the weird and even weirder to be given their 15 minutes of fame, but no-one can dispute that at the end of the series a true talent is found - with the exception of Steve Brookstein!

No-one can deny that two years ago a true star was discovered on the show, Leona Lewis was throw into the lime light. I have to admit it wasn't until the live performances that, for me, her talent really shone. Her performance of A Million Love Songs with Take That I thought was amazing!

When Bleeding Love was released in October last year I thought it was a good song, then my housemates bought me Leona's album for my birthday and I can truly say that it is an album I can listen to over and over again - and yes I know the words to every song on the album!

So I just want to say congrats to the star and I think it is a great achievement for her to have made it to number one in the Billboard charts this week, it shows that there is real British talent but also that it can come from shows such as X-Factor. OK so there are contestants that believe or should I say are deluded that they have amazing voices, but these shows also give people with real talent to get the chance to be noticed, a chance that they may not get otherwise!

The McCann Case Continues...

I think it's about time that the English Press apologised to Gerry and Kate McCann! I can't begin to imagine what they must be going through since the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine last May, yet some of the British media think it's acceptable to print lies on order to make the story more newsworthy and to increase circulation figures!

A couple months after Madeleine's reported disappearance in Praia da Luz, Portugal I actually went on a family holiday to the same place (the holiday had been booked way before the story of the missing girl came to light), and stayed in a villa that was about 10 minutes away from The Ocean Club - the resort the McCanns were staying in.

When the news first came about a lot of attention was put on why Gerry and Kate had left their children in the apartment in the first place - which is a question they have probably asked themselves everyday since 3rd May 2007 - but when you actually look at the distance between the resort restaurant and the apartment it really wasn't that far, parents have probably let there be a bigger distance between themselves and there children while at the beach!

I had many discussions about Madeleine's disappearance with my family while on that holiday, about how simple it could have been as all that separated one side of the apartment and the road directly outside it was an iron gate. The fact a car park was situated behind the apartment and that the resort is surrounded by roads which would result in a 'quick and easy get-a-way'. I have therefore never thought that Gerry or Kate McCann had anything to do with their daughter's disappearance.

I just hope that Madeleine is alive and well somewhere in the world and returned to her family soon so that they can end the nightmare they are living in! With the story of Shannon Matthews being found it can only give the McCanns hope their little girl will be too.

My Super Spoilt Sweet 16

Has anyone seen the ‘reality TV’ programme My Super Sweet 16 on MTV? It basically highlights just how spoilt children in America are when they demand their parents to fork out a ridiculous amount of money for a party to celebrate their sixteenth birthday. The general theme of the parties is to have a celebrity perform at their parities and for the present to be a brand new expensive car like a Mercedes or Range Rover. This doesn’t seem so bad as Americans can start learning to drive when they are 16, but now they have bought the show over to England and the show is pretty much the same even the presents being brand new cars which I don’t see the point in as people in England can’t start learning to drive until they’re 17.

Anyway I caught the end of My Super Sweet 16 UK last night just in time to see what the lucky girl had been bought for her birthday but this time her Dad went way over the line, was she bought a car..Oh no! At the age of just 16 the girl was given the keys to her own flat!! This actually blew my mind, why on earth a 16 year old would need a flat of their own I do not know and whatever possessed her parents to buy one for her is beyond me. There is no way either of my parents would buy me a place of my own now that I’m 20 let alone when I was 16!

Would anyone else’s parents have bought them a flat when they were 16?

First Day Nerves

Today was my first day starting a PR placement for a company in Harrogate and I must admit I was a little apprehensive this morning. I have been on placement before at a company called Eulogy! in London but I had no idea what to expect and how it would compare!

The One Agency also deals in advertising, direct marketing, web design has a PR team of 3 people whereas the team at Eulogy! is made up of 20. However they both have the same relaxed approach which put me at ease straight away and I can tell that the two experiences are going to be completely different from each other. I know I will only benefit from and already the work they have lined up for me differs to what I have previously done and so I'm really looking forward to going back next week!

So what are everyones elses experiences of work placements?

Blog On..

Well I thought I would jump on the band wagon and join the world of blogging!

As a PR student at Leeds Met we are encouraged to create them to get our names and opinions 'out there' and into social networking systems such as Blogs and Facebook profiles - which has become a global phenomena!

I started with a MySpace profile as my friend raved about how you were able to keep in touch and look at other people's profiles including those of celebs and to search for music. Then after a few months at uni my flatmate introduced me to the world of Facebook, and I am amazed at how fast it has grown! I created a profile for my brother as a way to keep in touch, who then introduced it to his friends and his girlfriend who in turn have encouraged their brothers/sisters and friends to join. And just recently I have had friend requests from people that I haven't spoken to or seen since I was 11!

So I'm wondering after blogging what will be the next step in social networking?