What would you ask Kym from Hear'Say?

How will she cope with being a nobody again (in about ten months)?

"So which one are you supposed to be then - pure or simple?"

How's the kids?

1. what compromises are you prepared to make?
2. what compromises have you already made?
3. what has cheered you up most abt the industry?
4. what has disappointed you most?
5. what do you most want to do/achieve that you think you are currently least likely to be allowed to pursue?

As she is shagging Jamie Mitchell is she worried about being hit by Sonia and Zoe Slater?

What's Myleene up to tonight?

Questions about Liberty, the other Popstars group. Does she think their Garage direction lends them more credibility than the pure pop angle of Hear'say. Of the people she met during the process are there people she thinks should have been in the band.

How do other - so called genuine - Popstars treat her. Do they also have this notion of them not paying their dues. Has she paid her dues.

Feel free to add question marks to any of these questions. Does she think there are any inviolable human rights, especially in relation to what is going on in Palestine at the moment.

Who the fuck are you and how do you feel about artifical banana flavouring

What is the average rainfall in the amazon basin?

Oh and I would ask her what she thought about that stupid thing Julie Burchill said about her in Marie Claire regarding her looks, some crap about 'one of those strikingly attractive dark girls like Catherine Zeta Jones' only sillier.

Who is best: Def Leppard or Bon Jovi?
Does N'Sync's "Pop" spell the end of an era or the beginning?
What does the term "fan fiction" mean to you heh?

Why is your name spelt with a 'y' rather than an 'i'?

'Bridge Over Troubled Water' - why?

Does the devil really have the best tunes?

ps Nick: all above are serious-ish but this is even more serious. make sure your friend doesn't assume that just becoz KM works in this-tiny-delimited-genre (so-called) that she is not fully aware of eg what nme is [ask what she thinks of demise of mm], or what punk or goth or metal or glitchcore are abt...

What are the strengths are weakness of the idea of "knowing yr craft" in music-making?
Why is Lloyd Cole not bettah respected?

(god i wuv kym marsh)

"Do you think the Strokes made a better pop record than you did? If so is that more disappointing for you or them?"

"My mate Mark S. fancies you."

wuv != fancy

Look look Mark S is blushing!

Cheers everyone. This is what I emailed him: Everyone has seen the Popstars phenomenon as a sign that in some kind of valueless, cynical world, all that young people aspire to is being famous for being famous's sake. I'd try to tease out of her how much her auditioning was to do with a desire for fame, and how much it was to acheive something as a singer/entertainer. Would she have settled for, say, landing a part in Hollyoaks instead? Does she want to *do* something or want to *be* something? Is it all for her kids? Is it about a single mum from a working class background proving herself?

What compromises is she prepared to make? What compromises has she already made? re: demands on how you look (vid. Nigel's 'lose weight' remarks - has this pressure carried on?). In the show she got angry at this because of her eating disorder history. People tend to think that images of thin celebrities cause anorexia (though true anorexia's a lot more complex than that). How does she feel about the issue? If she thought excessive dieting was a bad example to set, would she defy her record company as a matter of principle?

Also compromises re: type of music she makes (is it the kind she likes to listen to? What would she think of Hear'Say if she weren't in the band? Liberty, the 'nearlys' of the Popstars selection process, have released their first single. Obviously she'll say 'gd luck to them', but does she think their Garage direction lends them more credibility than the pure pop angle of Hear'say? Would she like to try doing more street styles of music?

Much is made of the idea of "knowing yr craft" in music-making, having 'true musical talent' rather than just being 'processed, soulless manufactured pap' or some such cliche. Hear'Say are clearly talented singers, but is that the point? Does she subscribe to the view that 'real music' must come from some kind of organic singer-songwriter process and what she does is something inferior? Does she separate the music from the dancing and the photo shoots in her mind? Is she proud to be pop? Who does she judge Hear'Say against?

What does she most want to do/achieve that she thinks she is currently least likely to be allowed to pursue?

What does she think about her image as 'the difficult one'?

What has cheered her up most abt the industry / what has disappointed her?

She soon got herself a celebrity boyfriend in the shape of Jack Ryder from Eastenders (are they still together?). Is this coz a) only other celebrities understand what it's like b) they are the kind of people she now hangs out with so it stands to reason c) Jack Ryder - pwhoar!

How do other, so called 'genuine', pop stars treat her. Do they have this notion of them not paying their dues? Has she paid her dues?

I hope this thread is not a thinly veiled advert for the issue of the Guardian this interview will appear in.

Why is your album sooooo long?

Hair colour apart, can you tell the difference between the three girl Hear'Say dolls?

Nick tag on a bit asking her if she's seen the attention she got on ILE this morning.

Emma, whatever do you mean? It's actually for the Southwark Sparrow. Monday.

Who's your favourite H or Lee?

There are a lot of things I'd ask the lovely Kym. But not many of them are really suitable in an interview situation. I reckon I could have that little scallywag Ryder though.

Dastoor, you BASTARD. The excellent Mark S suggested **a question about LLOYD COLE** and YOU OMITTED IT.

I am upset.

PInefox, you know I have dedicated my whole life to upsetting you. Get used to it.

Did this ever run?

I've come to think that Liberty are way cooler! I like their new video!

Y eah, it did. But then the next day some planes hit the World Trade Center and Hear'Say dropped off the chattering classes' agenda.

Kym -- do you like the names of a lot of fish?

Since this has been revived so many months later: Who did you say you were again?

Who? Me?

kym marsh is a tough local-girl rock singer with a good voice, who saw an impossibly chance to step out of poor-born single-mom hell, taking difficult risks with her principles from day one, was somewhat fucked over by the music industry (no surprise there), all the while persistently and contemptibly laughed at by alt.rock cynics who make a big deal of how much they despise the mainstream yet totally collude in the destruction they profess to hate: "haha she was naive" = "haha her dream of a decent life is ruined"

the reason i haven't finished my kym marsh vs jonathan king piece for FT is possibly because one of the anecdotes in it makes me TOO ANGRY to actually sit trhrough writing it down => it is about islington pub-hipsters mocking kym for badly wanting success, but not wanting it SO badly that she sacrifices her self-respect

This new mad as hell mark s will kill us all!