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Last night I tuned into Sky 1 and watched the “innovative” new show Must Be The Music.
Must Be The Music is basically The X-Factor but on a smaller budget, with rapper Dizzie Rascal, singer Sharleen Spiteri and singer/pianist Jamie Cullum fulfilling the roles as “our expert judges”.
Dizzie, Sharleen and Jamie are on a search to find the best NEW music act in Britain and Ireland, and are looking for NEW acts of all ages, sizes and styles.
I have typed the word ‘new’ in capital letters because imagine my shock last night when I saw trio FDM (aka Fundamental) on the small stage performing in front of the judges.
*I wonder if judge Dizzee was shocked too*
For those of you who aren’t so familiar with the group, FDM burst on to the scene in 2006, enjoyed some success with the singles Jump and Playground, and earned nominations for numerous awards (a MOBO nomination for ‘Best Newcomer’ and three UMA nominations).
Then the buzz died down and they disappeared.
However it was later announced that the trio had relocated to the States for a while, signed to Geffen Records and then joined Compound Entertainment UK (founded by singer Ne-Yo), who last July announced that the company was co-managing the group and co-executive producing their forthcoming album.
FDM also recently teamed up with new group Frixion on the single Afraid. Click HERE to watch them in action.
Up until yesterday I was under the impression that things were going well for FDM, but I guess something has gone wrong somewhere, because why else would they agree to appear on a show like Must Be The Music, touting themselves as being newbies ???
Only singers/bands/groups that are more or less just starting out and lack knowledge/experience go down this route because they have nothing to lose and need the exposure, along with some much-needed “mentoring”.
FDM on the other hand are well-known within the industry, have enjoyed some success in the past, they are fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity to work with top producers, and they have also signed to a major label.
When you actually sit and think about it, all this puts them at an unfair advantage.
Anyway, to be frank entering in to a talent competition broadcast on a satellite network (which will probably only attract a tiny audience) at this point in their careers makes no sense to me and just seems odd and desperate.
FDM are actually a pretty good group and a decent manager with their best interests at heart, would have advised them to go down an alternative route to reignite interest.
But I suppose we live in an age where artists will agree to do just about anything in order to gain exposure and to hold on to a career in entertainment.
