TV
Gareth and Will, the remaining two contestants in ITV's Pop Idol, are preparing for the final on Saturday. The pair are travelling around London on their own "battle buses" to attend public events to try and garner public votes.
L-r: Darius, Gareth, Will
Saturday's edition of the reality show, which saw 21-year-old studient Darious Danesh eliminated, was seen by 10m and received 5.8m votes. Just 0.5% - 29,000 calls - separated Gareth and Will.
They have each come up with "manifestos" to win the audiences.
Gareth's manifesto:
• I pledge not to throw celebrity strops or become a high-maintenance pop star.
• I pledge to retain the 2-2-1 formation (hairstyle) for as long as possible.
• I pledge not to give photo shoots in posh mansions claiming they are my home.
• I pledge to work hard and give my fans everything they deserve.
• I pledge not to become a celebrity bighead and vow to keep my feet firmly on the ground.
• I pledge not to accept lavish gifts from other celebrities in a bid for publicity.
Will's manifesto:
• I pledge to stay true to myself and my beliefs at all times.
• I pledge not to become a music-industry diva and not to request lychees on tap 24/7.
• I pledge to stay away from typical celebrity hangouts.
• I pledge not to throw celebrity strops at stalker journalists and paparazzi (I reserve the right to break this pledge).
• I pledge not to wear my trousers at an unacceptable waist height.
• I pledge to respect and entertain my fans at all times.
"I won't be going in for negative campaigning," Will told Ananova. As a politics graduate I know it doesn't work, so I will just be concentrating on my own campaign and letting Gareth get on with his. I have always just been myself and have done my own thing. I think if you go out to try to beat a certain person or performer you lose sight of your own performance and don't do your best. I hope that people who have voted for me so far have done so because they have enjoyed my performances, my style of singing and my personality, so I just hope they continue to do so on Saturday."
"It’s like a political battle at the moment," Gareth said in an interview with The Sun. "We both need to work really hard. Will I win? I don’t know, it’s really close at the moment. Hopefully I will. Obviously we both want to win it. We are very good friends — we have been living in a hotel suite together during the contest. I’ve seen the group get smaller and smaller and that’s really weird. It’s unbelievable. Me and Will have spent all this time together. It’s been an awesome time and it’s helped me with my speech.”
Will, meanwhile, revealed that he thought he was the one to be kicked out on Saturday's show instead of Darius. "I had prepared myself for going out," he said. "When they mentioned Darius first I was convinced it was him and Gareth going through. I just remember thinking, ‘Oh well, I gave it my best’. I was really happy afterwards because I really did think I gave the night my all."
As part of the media blitz, Will will drop in to Sara Cox's Radio 1 breakfast show at 8.15 on Friday morning, and will join Gareth on So Graham Norton later at 22.30 on Channel 4.
Stick with Digital Spy for continued Pop Idol coverage.
Pop Idol: The Final airs Saturday at 19.10 and 22.05 on ITV1.
L-r: Darius, Gareth, Will
Saturday's edition of the reality show, which saw 21-year-old studient Darious Danesh eliminated, was seen by 10m and received 5.8m votes. Just 0.5% - 29,000 calls - separated Gareth and Will.
They have each come up with "manifestos" to win the audiences.
Gareth's manifesto:
• I pledge not to throw celebrity strops or become a high-maintenance pop star.
• I pledge to retain the 2-2-1 formation (hairstyle) for as long as possible.
• I pledge not to give photo shoots in posh mansions claiming they are my home.
• I pledge to work hard and give my fans everything they deserve.
• I pledge not to become a celebrity bighead and vow to keep my feet firmly on the ground.
• I pledge not to accept lavish gifts from other celebrities in a bid for publicity.
Will's manifesto:
• I pledge to stay true to myself and my beliefs at all times.
• I pledge not to become a music-industry diva and not to request lychees on tap 24/7.
• I pledge to stay away from typical celebrity hangouts.
• I pledge not to throw celebrity strops at stalker journalists and paparazzi (I reserve the right to break this pledge).
• I pledge not to wear my trousers at an unacceptable waist height.
• I pledge to respect and entertain my fans at all times.
"I won't be going in for negative campaigning," Will told Ananova. As a politics graduate I know it doesn't work, so I will just be concentrating on my own campaign and letting Gareth get on with his. I have always just been myself and have done my own thing. I think if you go out to try to beat a certain person or performer you lose sight of your own performance and don't do your best. I hope that people who have voted for me so far have done so because they have enjoyed my performances, my style of singing and my personality, so I just hope they continue to do so on Saturday."
"It’s like a political battle at the moment," Gareth said in an interview with The Sun. "We both need to work really hard. Will I win? I don’t know, it’s really close at the moment. Hopefully I will. Obviously we both want to win it. We are very good friends — we have been living in a hotel suite together during the contest. I’ve seen the group get smaller and smaller and that’s really weird. It’s unbelievable. Me and Will have spent all this time together. It’s been an awesome time and it’s helped me with my speech.”
Will, meanwhile, revealed that he thought he was the one to be kicked out on Saturday's show instead of Darius. "I had prepared myself for going out," he said. "When they mentioned Darius first I was convinced it was him and Gareth going through. I just remember thinking, ‘Oh well, I gave it my best’. I was really happy afterwards because I really did think I gave the night my all."
As part of the media blitz, Will will drop in to Sara Cox's Radio 1 breakfast show at 8.15 on Friday morning, and will join Gareth on So Graham Norton later at 22.30 on Channel 4.
Stick with Digital Spy for continued Pop Idol coverage.
Pop Idol: The Final airs Saturday at 19.10 and 22.05 on ITV1.
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