‘Love Sick’ is one for the ladies, in which Tulisa and Lady NY sing about how the romantic hopes and expectations of the fairer sex are not always matched by the realities of life. Although Tulisa did not write the lyrics, they reflect well the experiences she had with many guys earlier in life. Again, a positive message comes out in the end. Although she does not appear in ‘Toot It And Boot It’, the song remains relevant to Tulisa. Many women – even those who do not self-define as feminists – would be uncomfortable with some of the lyrics and imagery of songs like this. Whether Tulisa’s ‘feisty’ image is compromised or in fact strengthened by the fact that she is in a musical genre that frequently refers to women in less than flattering terms is a matter of taste. The question is resolved in part later in the album.
He and Fearless later trade lyrics of fury aimed at an unnamed wannabe act who worked hard for fame but never achieved it, in contrast to their own sincerity and success. It’s an angry song that takes no prisoners and spares no blushes. In ‘So Alive’, Skepta guests. In the promotional video he rather dwarfs the band. That said, Tulisa looks magnificent in her white outfit. The lyrics of the chorus again encourage listeners to hold their hands up to the sky. In the second verse, Tulisa attempts to show the world who the real (female) boss is. She then boasts that she drives men crazy, as they all wish she was theirs. Tulisa also says that she is earning more money than any of the men who fancy her. It is her answer to those who doubted how she existed in such a macho world as urban music. It might not be enough for all observers, some of whom will just say that she is the subject of male domination. However, in this song the female boss is in no doubt over where she stands. In ‘Cold Shoulder’, she shares the lyrics with Dappy as they each beckon a lover to spend a passionate night with them. Again, she stands here on equal terms with the men of the world.
In ‘Morning Star’, the band goes all romantic on us. Both Tulisa and Dappy show hitherto rarely demonstrated sensitive sides. The lyrics even hint at the classic soul song ‘Wishing On A Star’. This is a song about a special someone and the love that can be shared with them, rather than about hump ’em and dump ’em encounters, as many of their other songs have been. Tulisa pleads with the man not to go. Given its late place in the album’s track list, N-Dubz are also sending that message to their fans. There is still more they want to show the fans, they are saying. Little could anyone have known as the album was released quite how long it would be until such demonstrations would begin.
The outro then brings album to a theatrical close. Again, we have the bookend theme, as in Against All Odds. Except here we get the addition of the aforementioned triumph that is ‘We Dance On’. Given the indefinite hiatus N-Dubz are on at the time of going to press, perhaps this song is a fitting closing message.
In the Daily Mirror, Gavin Martin said Tulisa and co were ‘boisterous’ and ‘upbeat’. However he added that the quality ‘wavers’ and gave the album just three out of five stars. The Evening Standard’s David Smyth gave it the same score, and complained that: ‘They’re in too much of a hurry to develop their frantic, hip-pop sound.’ Perhaps the most positive part of his review came in passing: he described the band as ‘rising fast towards national institution status’. For Andy Gill of the Independent, the album was mostly ‘fairly predictable fare’. Awarding it three stars, he nonetheless said ‘So Alive’ is ‘blessed with an ebullient bonhomie which, despite the lingering attitude, proves engagingly infectious.’ Killian Fox of the Observer wrote that the album: ‘sees the Camden trio blowing the spoils of their success on Gucci and champagne’ and complained that ‘the insistence on having fun soon wears thin’.
It was Caroline Sullivan of the Guardian who spotlighted Tulisa’s place in the collection. ‘If they sound transatlantic, their lyrics are still quintessentially British, especially on “Living for the Moment” … Their teen audience will love it; adults may find it all too frantic.’ Again, she awarded the album three out of five stars. Metro, too, focused on our heroine’s contribution to that song, declaring that: ‘Singer Tulisa takes an appealingly spirited turn on “Living For The Moment” and there’s something oddly endearing about the boundless enthusiasm of N-Dubz for enjoying a life they’ve grafted hard for.’ It was slightly guarded praise, but praise nonetheless.
Which is more than could be said for the review of the Scotsman. It began by saying of Dappy that he is ‘a rapper who makes Flavor Flav look like Stephen Hawking’ and said the band had ‘never been taken as seriously’ as acts such as Tinie Tempah. ‘Even with the occasional sweary word, it’s still just kids’ stuff,’ concluded Fiona Shepherd, giving it just two stars. Fraser McAlpine also took aim at Dappy, writing in the NME that he is ‘a self-righteous storm in a tea cosy’. He gave the album five out of 10 stars, saying: ‘This is, of course, both crackers and compelling, like a philosophy lecture in a chimps’ tea party.’ Plenty of record buyers were happy to give the tea party a chance. Love.Live.Life reached UK No 7 and an exciting UK No 3 in the RnB chart. At the time of writing, it is the last N-Dubz album to be released. Tulisa would now move to new areas – and her fame would rocket.
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Before she decided it was ‘time..to face…the muusssic’ of The X Factor, Tulisa had another stab at acting. She took the part of Amber in a British horror film called Demons Never Die. It follows the knock-on effect that a suicide has on a group of friends. Other people to act in it included Misfits star Robert Sheehan, Hollyoaks’ Emma Rigby and Hustle actor Ashley Walters. For Tulisa, this was a break into a new part of the arts world and one she welcomed. Since watching films such as Tomb Raider and Resident Evil she had been keen to get into the world of acting. ‘The movie’s got that urban twist, but it’s also very dark,’ she said. As such, it had one foot firmly in one of Tulisa’s favourite cinematic genres, with an original and refreshing twist. ‘I love urban films, but it’s nice to be able to combine urban with something else and I think this is the first to be able to do that; here it’s not just revolving around urban life; it’s actually got a plot within urban life.’
‘The character I play is a pretty dark one – very on edge and unstable. It seems she’s like that because of a boy, so it’s not too hard to relate to! I remember when I was 15 years old, but she’s a bit psychotic and has a lot of issues going on. It’s all about this suicide that’s happened and why it’s happened.’ Although Tulisa’s acting experience was not particularly deep at the time, she knew enough from past acting ventures to evaluate and appreciate how helpful it was for her to be playing a part of someone who had been through similar experiences to her. ‘It’s always easier to play a character if you’ve experienced those issues yourself. Obviously she’s quite depressed and when I was a kid I went through certain issues; so it was easier to get in to that mode.’ On a lighter note, she said: ‘I’ve always wanted to do a real kicking butt role. A bit of a Lara Croft, Tomb Raider… I love the Resident Evil character. Being able to learn a fighting skill and having to do training… just beating people up and I’ve got guns in holsters on my thighs which I pull out.’
As she looked ahead in 2010, Tulisa had no clue how much her career and life was about to change the following year. After dismissing The X Factor and the easy route to fame it gave to acts that she often did not rate, she said that her ambition was something far more mundane. Indeed, her biggest wish for the months ahead was actually something that many people would run a mile from – a vision of domestic DIY hell and the retail torture that comes with it. ‘All I want, my ambition for this year is to just get my house and spend a month decorating it,’ she said. ‘I’m really excited. I can’t wait. I want to go to IKEA and do a whole day there from like 8 o’clock in the morning… it’s all I’ve been thinking about.’ She had set out a far grander ambition in the closing pages of Against All Odds. She wrote: ‘In 10 years’ time I want to be right at the top. Simple as. That’s why we’re going to America. It’s scary as it means starting from scratch all over again. I
t’s a whole new market and I’m scared but excited. This is the new thing for me now. I’ve set myself a new goal and I’m going to work at it – because I like a challenge to keep me mentally stimulated.’
As it happened, 2011 would see a whole new challenge for her that would keep her not so much mentally stimulated as obsessed to the point of exhaustion. She had come to the attention of one of the entertainment world’s biggest players – nothing would ever be the same again for Tulisa.
CHAPTER SEVEN
At the end of May 2011, following much speculation, Tulisa was confirmed as one of the new judges for The X Factor. Finally allowed to share this exciting news publicly, she sent out a lively message on Twitter. ‘Very excited about joining the X Factor. Ive always loved the show and I want to thank you all for supporting me….’ [sic] She added: ‘On my journey this far, rest assured the Tulisa you know isn’t going anywhere. I don’t no how to be anything other than myself… & thats what I’ll be. I hope I can bring that raw in your face, real element 2 the show (& the warmth/love cus you know I’m a softy at heart).’ [sic]
Meanwhile, she and N-Dubz had played what was described as their final concert ‘for the foreseeable future’. They had taken by this stage to arriving on stage on motorbikes, dressed sharply all in black. ‘Considering the group are new to arenas, it was a smooth affair, though after a while it dragged a bit,’ wrote Tim Burrows in the Daily Telegraph, acknowledging nonetheless that the audience loved it. Afterwards, the band got stuck into the backstage refreshments. As a hung over Dappy said the following day: ‘We got off stage and the beers were flat, so I started drinking it like water.’ The first morning of the rest of his life was spent vomiting into the toilet before setting off for an interview with the Guardian newspaper. All far from ideal from his point of view.
As well as playing this bookending gig, the band also parted company from Def Jam. There had been creative differences between band and label. Though Tulisa put the case to her band mates for them to continue the relationship, it came to an end in the summer. Trying to put a positive spin on the story, Dappy told the Mirror: ‘They might say they’ve dropped us but we were never going to co-operate with them when they decided to change what we are. If we had co-operated we would still be signed. Tulisa thought we should do it because we could make some money out of it, but I said no. For them to say they dropped us makes me angry because we just didn’t want to change who we are or what we do.’
A more measured, official statement from the band’s management stated: ‘N-Dubz have left the Def Jam imprint in the USA due to creative differences over musical direction. This was 100 per cent the band’s decision and they remain signed to Universal worldwide.’ There was talk that Tulisa had – as part of the parting of the ways – signed a solo deal with Island Records, which contained a clause that gave Def Jam first refusal on American rights. However, her solo effort would have to wait until she had fulfilled her X Factor duties for the entire series. Indeed, the question of whether she would even merit a solo career rather depended on the success – or otherwise – of her first X Factor series.
Their American travels had been documented on the second series of Being…N-Dubz, which was broadcast on Channel 4 in the spring of 2011, as Tulisa was waiting for her X Factor duties to commence. Initially, Tulisa and Fazer jet out to America, leaving Dappy to fight off a bout of illness in the UK. They watch Tinie Tempah perform and then link up with Dappy in Los Angeles. Tulisa attends a Def Jam party, which had been snubbed by her two band-mates – another instance of their differing approach to their careers. Elsewhere, Tulisa is mistaken for a cast member of the US television show Jersey Shore, and she is shown attending yet another beauty salon, in keeping with the ‘diva of the band’ image the series had tried to paint of her. In another segment they are shown at a shooting range – though Tulisa says she doesn’t like guns. It was not world-changingly insightful stuff, but was entertaining enough. The Mirror said that this series showed a different N-Dubz, an N-Dubz that ‘say cute things like ‘clumsy clogs, clumsy clogs’ when they accidentally spill their hot chocolate and like goofing around in swimming pools.’ The Holy Moly website was bitchiness defined when, at the end of its preview of episode one, it broke with the usual convention of listing transmission details in italics at the foot of the article. Instead, it declared: ‘Being N-Dubz is on telly, but we’re not telling you where or when, because nobody should watch it, because it is shit and will make you grind your teeth to dust.’
As we have seen, the fears and disagreements that hit the band after it was dropped by Def Jam were not the only concerns that arose in the wake of Tulisa’s X Factor announcement. There was concern in the N-Dubz camp that by joining such a mainstream branch of the entertainment industry as The X Factor, Tulisa was turning her back on not just the band but the entire ethos that made N-Dubz so attractive to its millions of fans. She realised that she needed to respond to these fears immediately, and added a follow-up message on Twitter, in which she directly addressed the N-Dubz fans. ‘I can’t wait to find the next star of the UK,’ she continued. ‘I am still a member of NDubz & they will b my team till the day I die. People that dont know r story can never understand the way u guys do how important r loyalty is as a band to us … The Female Boss is ready to rumble. BRING IT ON!!!! Xxx’
All the same, Tulisa’s carefully cultivated ‘street’ image was something she would need to fight hard to hold on to as she underwent an inevitable transformation for The X Factor. She had offered a personal style guide to readers of the official N-Dubz book, in which she spoke of ‘slobbing about’ in lounge wear, including Adidas trainers, velour tracksuits with her hair scraped back and minimal make-up. Her favourite shopping locations were Brent Cross shopping centre, Kilburn High Street and Camden High Street. She said: ‘I don’t really buy anything that costs over 50 quid, except maybe trainers.’ As an X Factor judge, she would be expected to wear outfits that cost a lot more than ‘50 quid’. Indeed, she would be under pressure to accept the dictates of the show’s in-house style team. The media has for many years become obsessed with playing female X Factor judges off against one another, with weekly ‘style wars’ assessments of the outfits of past rival judges such as Cheryl Cole and Dannii Minogue a staple part of the middle-market newspaper and celebrity weeklies’ coverage of the ITV show. Perhaps the line in her own previous style guide that would most chime with the X Factor ethos was ‘I believe in looking classy 100 per cent’. That gave hope for some common ground as she prepared to join the judging panel of Britain’s leading show.
The opportunities that opened for her as an X Factor judge far outweighed the challenges. Indeed, for her, it felt liberating to be able to style herself as a standalone individual, rather than a member of a three-piece band. ‘Being in N-Dubz I was constantly having to accommodate the two band-mates either side of me,’ she told Star magazine. ‘I couldn’t wear the things I wanted to because it wasn’t ghetto enough for the group’s look.’ She was immediately being spoken of as the ‘new Cheryl Cole’ – and it certainly seemed that she had been chosen to fill Cole’s shoes. Like the Geordie Girls Aloud star, Tulisa was the youngest of the new panel and was also expected to be the feistiest. Cole, through the success she made of herself on The X Factor, became the nation’s sweetheart. Was it even feasible that Tulisa of N-Dubz could do the same? Did she want to? There was so much to see.
It was all change for the 2011 series. Simon Cowell – busy launching The X Factor USA – was absent, and both Cole and Minogue had flown the nest too. Only Louis Walsh from the previous season remained. The head judge would be Take That star Gary Barlow, who trousered a reported £1.5million when he signed up. He was no stranger to Tulisa: she had actually spoken about Barlow in the N-Dubz book, Against All Odds. She described him as ‘chilled out’, adding ‘probably too chilled in fact’. She recalled songwriting sessions she had with Barlow in which his laidback nature meant they fell asleep. ‘But he is soooo talented,�
�� she added. She also spoke of how they would ‘crack open a few beers and have a curry’. As well as admiring his talent, she was also enthralled by how down-to-earth he came across to her. ‘He doesn’t behave like a big superstar at all,’ she said. Even Dappy called Barlow ‘a good lad.’
Whether their existing friendship played a part in one of them recommending the other for a place on the panel is not clear. Indeed, it had been rumoured at one stage that Tulisa had failed an audition to join the X Factor panel due to her repeated use of foul language. ‘Tulisa did do a one-hour audition but was turned down because she couldn’t stop swearing,’ a source had reportedly told a newspaper. ‘It was all the time and bosses became worried about putting her on live TV in front of millions of viewers, including children. If she ended up cursing or making a rude comment live on the show, the programme would get into serious trouble.’ Tulisa later dismissed the entire suggestion, but controversy would never be far away.
As her fame rocketed, she naturally gave more interviews to the press. In a brief example she named the exclusive clothing lines of Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen, and then the high street brands River Island and Lipsy. Other brands she named included the Nando’s chicken restaurant chain, the energy drink Red Bull, make-up company Rimmel and the fashionable Ugg boot range. These interviews and Tulisa’s cheeky persona during them were certainly getting her noticed.
One interview from the past that Tulisa might prefer people to forget was the one she gave in 2010, when she launched a scathing attack on The X Factor and the acts it had launched. She was asked if she found it frustrating, after all the work she had put into her own career, to see reality television acts rocket to fame so quickly and comparatively easily. ‘Yeah, it’s annoying,’ she told RTE Ten. ‘It’s annoying watching them just come up there and become worldwide acts selling millions of records after just standing in a queue for an hour. It happens overnight to them.’ She then said that she had concluded that it was not worth getting upset about the issue, before adding a closing dig at the reality television genre, saying: ‘And half of those acts, if they came out off their own bat and not on X Factor, wouldn’t sell ten records so then you’ve just got to remind yourself of that.’
Tulisa - The Biography Page 9
