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Latest News
2 AUGUST 2002
Scandal'us have announced that
they have split, revealing to the media that "We're officially
doing our own thing". The announcement was made when Scandal'us
received an ARIA No. 1 Chart Award for their hit, "Me, Myself and
I" which debuted at No. 1 in 2001. Sydney's Daily Telegraph and
Channel Ten news reported on the announcement, which occurred during
yesterday's award ceremony.
"We took it as far as we could possibly
go and I think we all have such a different type of thing we want to
do and we couldn't agree on the one thing we wanted to do," Jaber
told The Daily Telegraph
"Just a lot of decisions went the
wrong way at the wrong time, I think. We had this big peak and then
it seriously went into a big trough and everything was just too much
for us." Ditcham said.
Simon and Tamara were the only members
of Scandal'us to attend the awards. ||
MORE details >>
Scandal'us: What went wrong?
Yesterday's announcement came after months
of speculation as to the future of Scandal'us. Management conflicts
and the group's failure to secure a record deal foreshadowed Scandal'us'
split. The months leading up to yesterday's announcement were quite,
promises of new releases did not eventuate and Scandal'us slowly slipped
into obscurity.
A major hurdle the group faced during their
time together included the public's misconceptions formed during the
'Popstars' series. Labels of 'manufactured', 'talent less' and 'puppets'
questioned the group's credibility. This was not helped by the post-production
on the final episode of 'Popstars' which clearly showed live audio from
their concert overlayed with edited or previously recorded studio vocals.
Their second single 'Make Me Crazy' then
failed to captivate the public's attention. The management decision
to cancel their organised Australian national tour was another factor,
which contributed to the group's demise. A national tour would have
established an Australian fan base, which would have assisted the group's
future success. However, on their return Scandal'us' following dropped.
A new direction was planned for the group with Scandal'us changing managers,
trying to sever ties with 'Popstars', remixing tracks on their album
and leaving their record company, Festival Mushroom Records.
Financial pressures also seemed to play
a major role in the group's decision to split. In John Safran's recent
SBS Music Jamboree programme, it was revealed that songwriters and record
companies retain most of the profit from the 'Popstars' series, while
performers are often paid last after the cost of the music video and
production costs (about $500,000+). The financial pressure, uninterested
record labels together with the conflict regarding the future direction
of the group, all contributed to the split of Scandal'us.
The desire for personal careers, which
favoured their own individuality and style, also seem inevitable for
members of the 'manufactured' group. On last reports Jason's producing,
Daniela's writing an album, Tamara has a solo contract, Simon's considering
his next step in the music industry and Anna's recording an album.
While Scandal'us never wanted to be described
as 'One hit wonders', it is probably fair to say they will always be
remembered for "Me, Myself and I" and 'Popstars'. It's disappointing
to see another local Australian act slip into obscurity in a dog-eat-dog
music industry, while devoted fans wait and hope for an unlikely reunion
in the near future.
Anna Belperio, Daneila Scala, Jason Bird,
Simon Ditcham and Tamara Jaber are a talented group of young individuals
and it's disappointing that Scandal'us will be no more.
"Should have seen it coming/ Should
have read the signs/ Didn't give a warning/ What did you find? / You've
been foolin'way to much around/ Never thought you could let me down/
Guess I must've been to blind to see/ But now your history"
Good Luck and Good Bye,
Scandal'us Avenue
[email protected]
23 JULY 2002
Video and Audio files have been
updated, so check out the multimedia section of scandal'us avenue.
Interviews updated with full transcript of ninemsn National Youth Week
Scandal'us chat.
For the latest news go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scandalusdotcom/
20 JULY 2002
The last five months for Scandal'us have
been relatively quite. Members of Scandal'us celebrated their birthday
over the past months and have been involved in several events and have
performed at several functions.
Scandal'us have been involved in several
charity events including the 'McDonald's Charity Fight for Live' where
they performed 'History' live and they also appeared as ambassadors
during 'National Youth Week' 7-14 April.
A new single was scheduled for release
in April however a new release has not been produced except for a remix
of their album track 'You Bring Me Love' which was released on the 'Undercover
Angels' soundtrack on 10 June.
Scandal'us has also confirmed that their
contract with Screentime, the producers of the Popstars series, ceased
at the end of the financial year. This could be the reason why the groups
official website, www.scandalus.com.au,
has not been in operation for a couple of months.
Scandal'us were scheduled for a 10-day-long
tour of Singapore to release their debut album 'Startin' Somethin''
in the Asian market. On their return the members of Scandal'us performed
in the stage musical "Hair" in Melbourne's Concert Hall from
June 24 - 29. After their "Hair" performances, Daniela, Jason,
Simon, Tamara and Anna have confirmed that they will take an indefinite
break to pursue personal goals. More information can be found in this
Herald Sun article. ||
MORE details >>
10 FEB 2002
Interviews updated with full transcript
of HNFM, E-Cast Online Music Festival Scandal'us chat. Read about what
the group is up to, what Jason thinks of Bardot and what's install for
Scandal'us in 2002.
1 FEB 2002
Scandal'us Avenue is officially launched.
During the month of February, 2002, thousands
of music fans will make their way to HNFM - www.hnfm.cjb.net - for the
E-Cast Online Music Festival... one of the biggest music events to hit
the world wide web in 2002. The
HNFM E-Cast, hosted by Telstra Big Pond Chat and also in association
with Urban305.com and Big Hit Magazine, will bring together some of
Australia's best talent and music fans from all over Australia and the
rest of the world for regular online chats throughout the whole month.
Scandal'us kick start the online chats
on Tuesday - Chatting Live @ HNFM February 5th @ 7pm (AEST)
Scandal'us will be performing at the 'Blast
Off To Kids Planet' festival at the Sydney Superdome on Saturday 23th
& Sunday 24th February 2002. Tickets available at Ticketek.
Scandal'us are in the process of updating
their website and will have a new site shortly.http://www.scandalus.com.au
Scandal'us will be performing for free at
the Civic Park Spectacular, NSW beginning at 8:00pm on Sunday 10th March
2002.
Scandal'us appeared live on the Channel
[V] Music Bus on 23 and 24 January 2002. Scandal'us performed unique
versions of 'You Bring Me Love', 'History', 'Make Me Crazy' and 'Me
Myself & I'. They also performed a musicbus song called 'Channel
[V]' to the tune of 'Let It Be'.
Scandal'us' debut single,
'Me Myself and I' was No. 15 in the top 100 singles of 2001. Their Album,
'Startin' Somethin'' was No. 83
 |
The Daily Telegraph has revealed that the
new manager of Scandal'us is Geoffrey Schuhkraft,
who has worked with Tina Arena, Little River
Band and Real Life. Schuhkraft said the band
is more determined than ever, and are currently
writing new material for their up coming
new album. "Daniela Scala in particular
has written some great songs," he said.
It was also reported that Scandal'us will
embark on a National tour of mainly regional
areas, starting mid-February and running
through May.
|| MORE details >> |
Scandal'us- 2001 What a remarkable year.
What a remarkable year 2001 has been
for
Tamara, Jason, Simon, Anna and Daniela.
Rising
from virtual unknowns to the pop sensation
that is Scandal'us, the group have
experience
both highs and lows. The group's roller
coaster
ride to fame began when they applied
for
the Network Seven hit Australian TV
show-
'Popstars'.
Week after week, from nationwide auditions to recording contracts, the
country followed the rise of Australia's newest mixed-gender pop group-
Scandal'us. With their debut single, 'Me, Myself & I' going straight
to number one in the ARIA charts, Australia stood up and took noticed
of the five talented members of Scandal'us.
On the final one-hour episode of 'Popstars',
Scandal'us performed several songs
in a televised
concert. However the final episode
of the
series did not conclude without controversy,
with post-production clearly overlaying
the
live audio with previously recorded
studio
vocals.
After releasing, 'Startin' Somethin'', Scandal'us' 12-track debut album
quickly reached Platinum status. Several weeks later their second single
'Make Me Crazy' failed to captivate the public's attention. After releasing
their second single, Scandal'us canceling their organised Australian
national tour, deciding to tour with British 'Popstars' phenomenon Hear'say
in a major tour of England, Scotland and Ireland last August/September,
 |
On their return, Scandal'us won an Aria award
for the Highest-Selling Australian Single
in 2001 with Me Myself and I. Other nominees
for the best selling single award were: Kylie
Minogue with On a Night Like This; Human
Nature's He Don't Love You; Strawberry Kisses
by Nikki Webster and My Happiness by Powderfinger.
|
Since their return from their overseas tour,
the group appeared at the 'Rumba' Pop
Festival
in Sydney and Melbourne performing
several
songs from their "Startin' Somethin'
" debut album. At the Sydney performance
on Saturday 24th 2001 they performed
'You
Bring Me Love', 'History', 'Make Me
Crazy'
and their No. 1 hit, 'Me Myself and
I' on
the "Pepsi Live" stage.
Scandal'us also performed several songs
at
last years Carols In The Domain in
Sydney.
The performance was broadcast live
on Channel
7/Prime. Songs performed included 'Prepare
Ye' and 'Let It Be'.
After struggling to follow up their
No.1
hit 'Me Myself and I", Scandal'us
left
their record label, Festival Mushroom
Records,
and manager Les Gock late last year
in favour
of industry veteran manager Geoffrey
Schuhkraft.
Gock and Scandal'us parted ways in October,
after they failed to take off in the UK,
where they toured with UK Popstars winners
Hear'Say in August. "There have been
some down moments," agrees Ditcham.
But he's proud that when the going got tough,
the would-be famous 5 stuck it out. "We
have a new manager and we are writing songs
for a new album and hopefully we will tour,"
he says, adding that 2002 is "goin to
be an amazing year!"
With firm interest from other record
companies
Schuhkraft believes that the group
can overcome
their recent obstacles saying, "They're
an incredibly talented group of kids.
A lot
of people are quick to pan them, but
you
can't deny the talent."
Scandal'us has organised a national
tour
of mainly regional areas, starting
in mid-February
and running through May in 2002.
|
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Articles
2 AUGUST 2002
Scandal'us split
AT least it wasn't as embarrassing as Bardot's final tear-filled, groupie-friendly
performance. Scandal'us officially announced their demise with a whimper
rather than a bang in Sydney yesterday.||MORE
>>
28 JUN 2002
Scandal'us takes a break-
Herald Sun
POP group Scandal'us will take an indefinite break after the production
of Hair ends on Saturday night.
||MORE
>>
11 APR 2002
Rock on, Roll off- BRW
Manufactured pop acts have rarely been successful in Australia. But
Seven Network's making-of-a-popstar series, Popstars, has been a big
hit in the past two years.
||MORE
>>
17 JAN 2002
New boss for Scandal'us -
The Advertiser
IT'S been a tough road for
Popstars graduates Scandal'us
||MORE
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27 DEC
2001
Scandal'us split with label - Daily Telegraph
SECOND-GENERATION Popstars
band Scandal'us have left their record label only months after they
were formed.
||MORE
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JULY 2001
Access All Areas! - Smash Hits
We watched for weeks as
Scandal'us were formed, but the true test came with their first concert.
||MORE
>>
JUNE 2001
Popstars- Inside Sport Profile
They've done the hard yards
in the pre-season and impressed the selectors. Now Scandal'us, the creation
of the TV show Popstars, has hit the big league. Let's play.
||MORE
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25 MAY 2001
Pop critics hit sour note - Herald Sun
TV POP creation Scandal'us
has hit back at increasing doubt over their singing talents.
||MORE
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14
MAY 2001
Scandal'us
Startin' Somethin' Review
||MORE >>
30 APR 2001
The Awesome Fivesome - Who Weekly
Scandal'us - Anna Belperio, Daniela Scala, Tamara Jaber, Simon Ditcham
and Jason Bird...
||MORE >>
29
APR 2001
Scandal'us - Sunday Telegraph
CAN lightning strike twice
in the ferociously fickle world of television-generated pop music?
||MORE
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15
APR 2001
Platinum burst for Popstars II- The Sun-Herald
WHEN Scandal'us
(better known as Popstars II) release their first single Me, Myself
and I tomorrow, it will be the first real test of their new-found celebrity
status.
||MORE
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9 APR 2001
Popstars Hope For Disgrace- Daily Telegraph
THERE was a strange sense
of deja vu last night. A pre-fab pop group, discovered and formed by
a top-rating TV show, were unleashed into the big, cruel world of record
deals, in-store appearances and magazine cover shoots.
||MORE
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9
APR 2001
Scandal'us - Sydney Morning Herald
Yes, they can sing, and
no, they won't fold when Popstars, the talent search program that unearthed
them, finishes its run.
||MORE
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8
APR 2001
Inside The Secret World Of Popstars - Sunday
Telegraph
THE members of Australia's
new pop act, Scandal'us, were prefect strangers just 12 weeks ago.
||MORE
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