If you haven't been living on Mars for the last year and a half then you know how this story begins.... Popstars the TV phenomenon. Thousands upon thousands of hopefuls apply to become the lucky winners of a place in a pop band. Those thousands are pared down to a final talented ten. Five were finally chosen and become celebrity popstars, lauded by the nation. And the other five? They disappear back into obscurity right? WRONG! Here's what happened next.....
"We decided to be positive about the whole Popstars experience and just thought, 'let's go for it,' because we were so strong together and all really got on. It seemed far more natural to stick together than go it alone," Kelli
Weeks later, Jessica, Tony, Kevin, Michelle and Kelli meet up and discuss their baptism of fire by television and the events that had since unfolded. None had been short of individual offers of 'celebrity, fame and fortune' - a nation's opportunists eagerly running to their doors - but 'the fast buck' didn't sit well and offer after offer had been turned down. What they had all wanted was the chance to be in a band, the chance to create something of their own with a group of like-minded people. The more they talked the more it became apparent that there really was only one solution. They knew how well they worked together and they trusted implicitly in each others talent, ability and friendship. Liberty X was born.
A busy time followed, gathering a team of like-minded souls to work around them and writing their own material so as to prove to all and sundry that their confidence was bolstered by true creativity. They got together a demo of their first six tracks, all self-penned, and set about finding themselves a record deal.
"From our first meeting I was completely wowed by their determination, optimism and refusal to give up. But it was when I heard their music that I knew they were going to be a huge success" Richard Branson
V2 had met with Liberty X and immediately been impressed by their charisma and commitment. As a result they had followed their progress with interest and were keen to hear music. LIBERTY X duly provided V2 with those first demos. It was when V2 heard the X's edgy pop r&b sound backed up by their tremendous vocals and harmonies they knew that they had found their pop band. So confident were V2 in LIBERTY X's ability and potential that they signed them for a whopping six album deal.
So what happened next?
Liberty X burst onto the popscene with their first single 'THINKING IT OVER', which was co-written by Kelli and Tony of the band with Pete Devereux of the Artful Dodger. 'THINKING IT OVER' entered with a bullet at number 5 in one of the most competitive weeks of the year and stayed in the top 20 for four weeks, quickly passing the magical 100,000 sales mark.
Second single 'Doin' It' quickly followed chalking up a top 20 hit for the band, but with the album primed for release, the unforeseeable happened. A little known band also called Liberty took the X's to court and everything was put on hold as a judge decided who the name belonged to. Our Liberty lost but an addition of a simple X did nothing to cease the momentum and the newly re-christened Liberty X headed back into the charts and they did it in style......
Storming third single 'Just A Little' swept across the nation. An absolutely massive hit which saw Liberty X sitting firmly at No.1 both in the singles and airplay charts (the single has so far sold half a million and was the sixth biggest seller of the year).
Shortly thereafter they released their debut album 'Thinking It Over'. The band had been heavily involved in the writing process (co-writing 10 of the 14 tracks) and created an r&b flavoured pop sound that belied their youth. Cutting edge pop with powerful melodies and stunning vocals, it's release saw Liberty X gain further critical and chart success (entering the charts at no.3 behind Eminem and Ronan Keating and achieving double platinum status)
After a year of UK and European festivals, international success (chart hits in UK, Ireland, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand and more to follow with first releases in France, Italy and the U.S soon approaching), and two more massive hits in Mantronix' 'Got To Have Your Love', featuring a mix by Mr Kurtis Mantronix himself, and the Liberty X co-written 'Holding On For You', the X's were here to stay.
2003
At Radio 1's invitation, on February 9th, Liberty X were the first and only band to play three tracks live into the Top 40 Countdown as part of the 50th anniversary of the charts. On 20th February they won the Brit for Best British Single with 'Just A Little. In May the single also won an Ivor Novello. These honours topping a great list of awards as diverse as Best Band (T4), Best Dance Act (Disney) and Best Single (Capital Radio Awards & Smash Hits Awards). As a final massive achievement it's incredible to note that, since the weeks leading up to the release of Just A Little, way back in May 2002, Liberty X have constantly remained in the nation's airplay charts with one or more of their singles... and no sign yet of that changing (Being Nobody still in the top 20 after 15 weeks).
Just before disappearing into the studio to start writing and recording their second album, they completed a sell out 23 date tour of the UK to rave reviews from music magazines and broadsheets alike and were narrowly beaten to the number one spot with Being Nobody (their invited collaboration with uber-bootleg king Richard X. It's been a busy time!
What's next?
They are set to return with a killer second album in October and, prior to the album, there's the small matter of the first single 'Jumpin'..... a track that blew the roof off every night of their tour and threatens to set fire to dancefloors across the country and beyond.
Liberty X have fought through a swathe of negative opinion (just another tv-made pop band), a lost court case and a change of name to become, as CD:UK said, "one of THE biggest music stories of the year". Happy endings aren't always reserved for Hollywood.
Now the fun really begins. Liberty X, the band with the X factor.
Source: http://www.libertyx.co.uk
