HYPEBy Revathie Dhanabalan
With raving reviews and a sell-out debut tour, it’s no wonder that The Saturdays are the new face of pop music, and possibly the biggest girl group since the Spice Girls. hype puts Rochelle Wiseman of The Saturdays in the hot seat to reveal the work, the fame and the dirt.
hype: Pop seems to be making a big comeback, with acts like Girls Aloud and you girls making big waves in the scene. That’s a pretty huge responsibility to handle. How are the girls holding up?
Rochelle Wiseman: “We’re not doing too bad, thank you! We’re working so hard that we don’t often get time to sit still and absorb everything. It’s been such a crazy year and so much fun. It’s so cool that there’s now a stack of new pop acts on the scene. No one takes themselves too seriously and it’s just great music to put you in a good mood!”
h: Are The Saturdays bringing back the song-and-dance acts of the Spice Girls and S Club?
R: “We’re definitely trying to bring a bit of pop back into the charts. It all went pretty indie for a little while so we’re trying to get people dancing again.”
h: Along with your current success, The Saturdays are coming up with a clothing line. That must be exciting! How is it coming along?
R: “We designed a line for Rare, which is a great young label. We did two dresses each and it was so much fun. I wanted to design something for girls with curves like me, but still want to wear something tight and fashionable.”
h: And your upcoming tour, The Work Tour, sold out at every venue within a matter of days! How does that feel?
R: “So amazing! We couldn’t believe we were doing our own headline tour so early in our career and for it to sell out like that was so exciting.”
h: The Saturdays spent close to a year on your debut album. Was it hard to keep working on the same project?
R: “I think, because we genuinely love the tracks, we haven’t really got bored yet. It’s the type of music we’d all listen to even if we weren’t in the band, so to be able to put your own vocals to the tracks is great. We were all so happy with how well the album has done. No one could have expected it.”
h: Your debut album Chasing Lights was well-received by both the critics and the public. What can we expect in your next album?
R: “It’s going to be amazing. We’ve actually been co-writing on the new album so it’s much more personal. We’re still complete pure pop but it will have a few surprises.”
h: Time to dish out the dirt! What’s it like working with 4 other girls?
R: “We have so much fun. We all really get on and work really well together.”
h: Being known as the mother figure of the band, do you feel like you always have to keep the girls under tight control?
R: “Haha! I think I’m known as the mummy because I’m pretty organised. I’m the one who grabs the diary in meetings to make sure we all know what to do. We all have to be pretty organised though, as we’re always going to different places throughout the week.”
h: Lastly, what would you like to say to your Singaporean fans?
R: “I just want to thank you for supporting The Saturdays. It means so much to us. We can’t wait to come visit and meet all our Singaporean fans in person!”