New record company deal for Katherine Jenkins

[fusilier23]

Ugh, and I've been defending her? Even Charlotte at her wildest didn't touch that junk. Maybe this all needs a rethinking. I was stunned to hear it, because I have been blessed enough to meet Katherine twice. Both times she was beautiful and gracious and appeared intelligent. She didn't give the appearance, in 2004, of someone who had recently cleaned herself up, but I didn't look that closely. Truth be told, I let myself be bowled over by her appearance, even telling her that I had seen many pictures but seeing her in the flesh was a whole other level.

All things considered, I guess I have to applaud Katherine for coming clean and telling the truth, it shows she has a consicience and can't just sit on a comfortable lie or omission. I'm not happy that she got into this stuff in the first place, but it is good that she saw the error of her ways and got out before she destroyed everything she has become.

I agree that this should not become a witch hunt, and if KJ is in fact 5 years clean and sober perhaps we can let it go, however forgive me if I did a double take at hearing this.

[dazza]

Nov 2, 2008 22:29:25 GMT fusilier23 said:

Ugh, and I've been defending her? Even Charlotte at her wildest didn't touch that junk. Katherine officially joins the ranks of the wicked with this, once for taking hard drugs, twice for lying about it.

Just a bit harsh don't you think?? I wasn't going to comment on this story but I think you have overstepped the mark quite a bit here. Fair enough if your not happy with it, fair enough if you won't support her, but is there really any need to describe her as 'wicked'?

It takes a lot of courage for somebody to admit to something like this, I like most was shocked when I read about it but what has happened has happened, this was at a time before Katherine ever knew she was going to be famous, she was on her own, far from home in a massive city like London, and gave into peer pressure and curiosity, it was wrong, she has admitted it was and regrets it.

The past is the past, it's not going to change who Katherine is today. The majority of people have done something stupid or something that they regret, it is what they do about it and how they overcome it that matters, and Katherine's career and determination has been a testament to that

Dazza

[martindn]

Hi Dazza,

Heartily agree. We have all done things we regret, and it is easy to submit to peer pressure. I too was offered that sort of stuff many times in my youth, and it would have been easy to go along with it, especially after a few drinks. You have to remember too that KJ has had some traumatic things happen to her in her life. I'm not excusing it for sure, but I can understand how it happened.
In any case, it all happened before she was well known, she has seen the error of her ways and her music was not affected by it.
The thing perhaps I wouldn't much like is if I was convinced that publishing this now was a cynical attempt to grab the headlines.

Martin

[Dave]

Nov 2, 2008 23:15:39 GMT dazza said:

Nov 2, 2008 22:29:25 GMT fusilier23 said:

Ugh, and I've been defending her?... [snip]

Just a bit harsh don't you think?? I wasn't going to comment on this story but I think you have overstepped the mark

I agree with Dazza and Martin here, let's not turn this into a witch hunt. It was half a decade ago and one newspaper interview is all we have to go on. Opinions on this subject can be very strong on both sides and everyone is entitled to their opinion but we don't want to have that kind of debate here.

Please consider carefully what you intend to write everyone before posting on this subject, and keep it cool.

Dave

[comet]

To be honest , I still like Katherine Jenkins the person and the singer.
Just put it down to experience. If you are lucky you can learn from mistakes, repeating the same action and expecting a different result is a problem though.

Many people make out of character decisions in their their lives I just hope this does no lasting damage.

I lost a friend this year, a man with a managerial position , late thirties, down to earth, sound as a bell type bloke, responsible and hard working. let his guard down on holidays and took one E Tab. It cost him his life ! No second chance !

[fusilier23]

Drugs, a dangerous deadly game. That kinda says it all. Still, I took a look at my pics of KJ from 2004, and I think she avoided lasting damage, she looked (and sounded) healthy at the time. I wonder if she's going to do any anti-drug PSAs.

P.S. Comet, please accept my condolences on the loss of your friend. I didn't know him, of course, but it sounds like he was one of those folks who tries drugs thinking nothing bad can happen the first time. Unfortunately, he found out otherwise the hard way, poor fellow.

[Dean McCarten]

Nov 3, 2008 12:27:54 GMT fusilier23 said:

Drugs, a dangerous deadly game. That kinda says it all. Still, I took a look at my pics of KJ from 2004, and I think she avoided lasting damage, she looked (and sounded) healthy at the time. I wonder if she's going to do any anti-drug PSAs.

P.S. Comet, please accept my condolences on the loss of your friend. I didn't know him, of course, but it sounds like he was one of those folks who tries drugs thinking nothing bad can happen the first time. Unfortunately, he found out otherwise the hard way, poor fellow.

Comet, please accept my condolence also, I have seen what drugs does to people, I would never even think about it, so much so I rarely drink.

[comet]

Thanks Steve and Dean,

as you say it could just as easily have been a legal substance like alcohol or prescription drugs which are just as dangerous, although they seem to be socially acceptable and even encouraged by advertising etc.

[Dean McCarten]

Nov 3, 2008 16:14:55 GMT comet said:

Thanks Steve and Dean,

as you say it could just as easily have been a legal substance like alcohol or prescription drugs which are just as dangerous, although they seem to be socially acceptable and even encouraged by advertising etc.

Hence why I don't drink that often (usually months between having an alcoholic drink), as you say legal drugs are just as dangerous!

[fusilier23]

Amen to that, they don't even have to be drugs (ie paint thinners, glue).

That said, I guess we should move back to the subject of Katherine. Some folks have raised the idea that she might have been trying to build a new image before going to the US, but I say that's nonsense, she's going to be doing crossover, not rock, and she does not need to build "street cred." Also, if she was looking to build a new image, she wouldn't be saying she was ashamed of what she'd done, she'd be loud and proud like CC, boasting about how if her friend had one drink she had to have two. I know this is speculative, but the most logical conclusion is that it is likely the story was going to break one way or the other, so she decided to "get in front of it," rather than hide or deny and risk a real witch hunt.

I'm not going to say people can't come back from errors, Anthony Hopkins, for example (also from Wales), also ran into this kind of problem, cleaned himself up, and started doing some great work, including his heart-wrenching portrayal of Christian scholar and children's writer C.S. Lewis in "Shadowlands."

I think the key, at least in the tradition I come from (RC), is the question of whether the person is sorry or not and intends to amend their wrong ways. Katherine clearly is sorry and has corrected her mistake, so she should probably be forgiven.

I think she will do all the better now for having gotten rid of this burden. Her voice is still among the best in crossover and she isn't abusing it, so she should do fine in the US.

[nicola]

I have four older brothers and they are all battling with drugs. I have never touched a single thing - not even cigerettes and I do not drink alcohol. But my brothers are really good people that mixed with the wrong crowds. I don't think people should be judged on their habits or their mistakes. As long as their heart is in the right place, do not hurt others, and they can learn, they shouldn't be called "wicked".

But back to the topic - I wish Katherine the best of luck in America! Her name is already mildly known over there, so she has a head start, and she has plenty of record-breaking achievements to boast of. And working with David Forster? She can't go wrong. He's a genius. She'll most definitely be teamed up with Josh at some point which will do her wonders. Katherine is such a beautiful woman, inside and out that I wish her every success.

Good luck, Katherine!

[gerrit]

Hi All,

I would just like to mention that for about two months now, I have not updated KJI.

The reason is simple. I have lost all motivation for supporting Katherine.

I simply feel that she is supporting too many high finance causes too my liking.

Does Montblanc (a company peddling unneccesarily expensive rubbish) really need her support? Or does she need the support of Montblanc?

This is not the only iniquitously expensive company that Katherine is involved with.

There have been a number of other exclusive functions she has been involved with in recent times.

Too much exclusivity to my liking.

And this sob-story about her having taken drugs?

Get real, it is part of the marketing of the new Katherine.

I have hesitated for a long time in making these comments.

But I for one have developed a real dislike for supporting the current Katherine.

Let's await wat her new contract deal will result in. I for one wouldn't be surprised if it isn't too classical.

Meanwhile, I must say I am delighted in not feeling the need for any update to KJI. It certainly gives me the time to do other things.

Gerrit

[nicola]

Well, I don't think the drugs are a "sob story". It's fatally damaged her image, and since most of her fans are of the older generation, many will be unforgiving and withdraw support for Katherine. As for her having contracts with companies - I don't mind in the slightest. That's what singers and actors do. It's a job, and after all, you do a job to make money for yourself. It's hardly criminal.

I'm sorry you feel this way, but I wish you the best of luck in whatever else you do. Some people will be able to come to terms with recent revelations, some won't. I wouldn't judge people that can't. There must be a element of betrayel in the feeling, after the golden image she projected out. Good luck, Gerrit.

[martindn]

Hi Nicola,

Well I haven't withdrawn my support. I have bought her recent CD and video, and saw her in concert a week ago. You can't blame her for trying to make money, and young people do make mistakes over things like drugs, when there is per pressure. She has seen the error of her ways, and I for one can forgive her, although I think I will be suggesting Hayley rather than Katherine as a role model for young people in future. Katherine isn't Amy Winehouse you know! And she is still a wonderful singer who I enjoy listening to.

Martin

[fusilier23]

I am forced to agree with Nicola. The drugs aren't part of the marketing of the new Katherine, they're a mistake she made that she admits and appears to be genuinely sorry for. It's easy to criticize her mistakes against the fact that she just launched a sacred album, but, um, aren't redemption and forgiveness for those genuinely sorry supposed to be part of that sacred tradition?

It would be one thing if she wholeheartedly embraced evil like another singer who shall remain nameless and her supporters said "don't judge!" that's just copping out completely, but that's not the case here, and she sure as the devil isn't Amy Winehouse, who is probably going to be found slumped over the wheel of a car one of these days.