Year In Review 2012 Celebrity Edition: *

11. Beyoncé started off the year by giving birth to her first daughter, Blue Ivy Carter.

10: James Arthur wins The X Factor, and goes out with as many women as copies of his single that were sold.

9. Whitney Houston passes away in February at the Beverly Hilton hotel, just before the Grammys. Other deaths include film director and producer Tony Scott, Donna Summer, Irish author Maeve Binchy, and Dallas badboy JR Ewing (Larry Hagman).

8. Rihanna boards the ‘777’ as she promotes her 7^th album, with 7 performances in 7 different cities. Also her highly publicised on/off relationship with Chris Brown can be seen to all through their Twitter and Instagram pages. (no one cares anymore!)

7. Jimmy Saville’s claims of countless sexual abuse dominated British and Irish headlines.

6. Two members from girl group The Saturdays have had a big year, with Una and Rochelle both getting married a couple of months apart. Una gave birth to daughter Aoife Belle in March, and Rochelle has just announced that she is expecting. The group also have an excitng 2013 as they try to crack America with their E! reality show 'Chasing The Saturdays'.

5. After 14 years together, Westlife said goodbye to their fans at their last concert in front of 85,000 people at Croke Park in June.

4. Katie Holmes finally left the clutches of Tom Cruise, in a shocking and highly publicised divorce. Other divorces include Kat Perry and Russel Brand, Ronan and Yvonne Keating, Seal and Heidi Klum.

3. Kristen Stewart caused the biggest cheating scandal of the year after she was caught kissing Rupert Saunders, director of her latest film ‘Snow White and the Huntsmen’. Twi-hards came out in force in support of Robert Pattinson, but at the latest breaking Dawn premiere, it looked as if the couple had sorted out their problems.

2. Girls Aloud came back together for a new album and tour dates to celebrate their tenth anniversary. The Spice Girls also reformed for the closing ceremony of the Olympics.

1. Not to be outdone, Kanye West ends the year by announcing that Kim Kardashian is having his baby. Sources say she’ll be the best pregnant woman of all time (take that Beyoncé!) It is also expected that they will be married and divorced by this time next year.

*not in any particular order.

Sandy Hook Shooting

The devastating events that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut last Friday has shocked and saddened us all. Adam Lanza, aged 20, barged his way into the school and needlessly shot 20 children who were only 5 and 6, as well as 6 staff members. He also shot his own mother while she was sleeping.

 This shooting has sparked a serious debate in the US about the 2nd Amendment and peoples right to ‘keep and bear arms.’ First of all, the US Constitution was adopted in 1787. It is now 2012. People weren’t going into schools, or movie theatres killing people. Times have changed, and the laws need to start reflecting that. I know that it as big part of American culture, but look at the cost. There have been two serious mass shootings in the last six months alone, and it is going to keep happening unless something changes. I know people say that ‘well they will go and get them illegally’. Yes, there probably is some truth to that, but that doesn’t mean the US laws have to make it so easy for people to get access to guns! Adam Lanza’s mother, who was a gun enthusiast, apparently had up to 5 guns in her home, guns which Adam used during the shootings. Who needs five guns in their home? Obviously Americans are not going to agree with me seeing as gun sales have actually risen since the shooting. This honestly does not make any sense to me. 27 people have been shot and the response is to go out and buy the same gun the shooter used? Really?? I wouldn’t be surprised if teachers will now be allowed to have guns in school. If Obama is not going to make guns illegal (which I’m sure he won’t), then there needs to be some serious changes. Tighter restrictions have to be put in place. More background checks need to be done. At the end of the day, buying a gun should not be as easy as buying a loaf of bread!

Of course gun control isn’t going to solve the problem. The real issue lies with the person themselves. No person in their right mind would go into a school and kill 20 children. According to reports Lanza was a loner who stayed at home all day playing violent video games. He had no friends, and he hadn’t spoken to his older brother in two years. The only person he talked to was his mother, but she apparently had her own issues, and ideas when it cam to raising her son. While I agree that gun control needs to be looked at, I feel there should be a bigger debate surrounding the mental health issue. Adam Lanza obviously needed help, but was there anyone there for him to get him that help he needed which could have prevented this tragedy from happening?

'Beautiful 'Cause you Love Me'

Loving this new track form Girls Aloud, it puts me in a 'awww' mood...

Training Work...

I am currently doing a Radio Production Course with Radio Kerry. Check out some of the work I've done so far...

https://soundcloud.com/michellecourt84/

Jacintha Saldanha

The death of Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse involved in the prank phone call made by two Australian DJ’s Mel Grieg and Michael Christian to King Edward VII hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was being treated with severe morning sickness, has brought to the fore for me the issue of the media and the impact it ultimately has on people lives.

While the prank seemed a bit juvenile, lets face it, before Jacintha’s death, we all laughed when we heard it, and thinking how gullible this person was. We were not thinking how this mocking and teasing could be affecting Jacintha.

I know everyone has their views on the radio DJ’s who made the call, but I do feel sorry for them. I think they are genuine in their remorse and when they say that when they say they expected to be hung up on when they rang the hospital. They could never have foreseen what would happen. Lets not forget that they are only the presenters of 2day fm, and I don’t know if the prank phone call was even their idea. While I’m sure they have a certain amount of input, everything has to go through or be decided by someone higher up in the food chain (producers etc.). I think no matter what happens for them form here, their lives have been changed forever after this; the guilt that they feel will stay with them for a long time. I just think the radio station as a whole needs to take some responsibility for what happened instead of throwing the DJ’s under the bus and letting them take the blame, and giving the family £500,000 is just an insult. No amount of money could compensate for the pain and loss her husband and children must be feeling.

I’m not going to pretend to know what was going through her mind when she decided to take her own life, or know what kind of person she was before this happened. But I do think us as people, and the media as a whole must’ve had a huge impact on her self esteem in the lead up to the tragedy. I think that it just wasn’t just the phone call itself, it was the fact that every media organisation caught onto it and either showed it on television or posted it on their website, with people then posting it on their Facebook and Twitter pages. She just could not get away from the humiliation.

As someone who is trying to get into the media business, I am a big fan of social media and connecting with people and generally keeping updated on the latest news/technological advances. But there’s also a huge dark side to it. Someone’s humiliation can become viral in minutes, and easy access to people leads to unnecessary cyber-bullying and ‘trolling’. It’s a lot easier for people to disconnect with someone when they are in the ‘virtual’ world. It can lead to a lack of empathy, not realising that this is a real person with real feelings just like me and you.

Fairytale Wedding of the Century…

The 29th of April saw a Disney fairytale come true when an ordinary girl married her Prince Charming. Millions tuned in to see ‘commoner’ Kate Middleton become Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge as she wed Prince William, the future King of England. Since their engagement was announced, wedding fever gripped the world, but I personally wasn’t interested in their upcoming nuptials, and not being British, I didn’t understand the excitement surrounding the whole thing. That was until the morning of the actual wedding, when I decided to tune in for a bit. Of course, the romantic in me took over straight away and I was glued to it. I blame the whole ‘Disneyitis’ effect. Nearly every girl who has read these Disney books and watched the films growing up, dreams of one day being swept off her feet by a handsome prince, and living happily ever after. Naturally, there were a lot of girls out there who would have gladly traded places with Kate Middleton on that day, and I was one of them.

I watched as the guests arrived which included David and Victoria Beckham, Elton John, and our Irish representative for the day, Amy Huberman. Then Prince William with his brother and best man, the ‘cheeky chap’ Prince Harry. By this time I couldn’t wait for the first glimpse of Kate’s wedding dress, and she did not disappoint. She looked absolutely stunning in an Alexander McQueen gown. Whereas Princess Diana’s wedding dress was in style during the 80’s with the big puffy shoulders and meringue style gown, it does feel a bit outdated now. Kate certainly got it right with the Grace Kelly inspired dress. It is a classic and timeless piece, and will most likely inspire brides for decades to come. But the bride was nearly outshone but her sister, and maid of honour, Pippa Middleton. She also looked gorgeous in that white figure hugging Alexander McQueen dress. In the few weeks after the wedding, Pippa certainly gained many new admirers and fans.

What also made the day more poignant was the noticeable absence of William’s late mother Princess Diana, and the inevitable comparisons of his wedding day and that of his parents. If William has learned anything, hopefully it will be not to repeat their mistakes. So far, he appears to be on the right track. William and Kate, while obviously nervous, also seemed really confident and relaxed, with William telling his future father-in-law as he arrived at the altar with Kate on his arm, ‘I thought it was going to be a small family affair’, to ease the tension. But more importantly, they seem to be a couple very much in love, more in love than Charles and Diana probably ever were. Kate seems determined to stand beside her man and be a good wife, at least for the first few years anyway.

My favourite part of the wedding (besides their kiss on the balcony obviously), was seeing Kate walk down the aisle,she just look so happy and relaxed. Harry turned around to catch a glimpse of her and whispered something to William. She arrives at the altar and William whispers ‘you look beautiful’, it was just a lovely, romantic moment. To top off a perfect day, Prince William did something different as drove his new bride away in father’s car, complete with balloons and ‘Ju5t Wed’ licence plate, before they celebrated the night away privately with their nearest and dearest. Here’s hoping this is one royal couple that lives happily ever after!

The famous balcony kiss.

Kate and Pippa arrive at the church in those dresses.

William greets his bride and father-in-law at the altar.

William drives his new bride away.

Battle of the Boybands

Last weekend's X Factor saw the contesants sing songs from the legend that is Elton John, Cheryl let it rip on Saturday, Louis was on top form with his critiques, leaving the other three judges annoyed with him, Katie Waisel was saved by the judges (again!), but for me, last weeks X Factor was all about the boybands. Anyone who knows me know that I am a bit of a boyband nut (particularly when it comes to Westlife), so for me, it was like all my birthdays and Christmas's have come at once, and I certainly wasn't left disappointed! What I loved (from what I could hear anyway), was that JLS, Westlife and Take That all sang live (ahem, take note Cheryl!), and they all did a pretty damn good job of it as well, and as an added bonus, they all looked pretty hot too! But the question is, who was the best?

First up was the newsest boyband on the block, JLS, who performed their song, 'Love You More'. I absoloutely love this song, it feels like a classic boyband ballad from the 90's, so I was hooked the first time I heard it. I really enjoyed their performance as well. They stood on top of a high circular platform, with an orchestra around the bottom. Of course they are no strangers to The X Factor stage, after they were runers-up in the competition in 2008. They have definitely come a long way since then, and it was lovely to see them coming back after their success.

Up next was Westlife. Of course it was the performance of the night for me. I think that 'Safe' is the best song they have had in a while. Flawless performance and flawless vocals. After twelve years together, they are polished and gel extremely well together. With a new album and tour, Westlife are well and truly back!!

Last, but certainly not last, was the highly anticipated reunion of Take That with Robbie Williams. I have mixed feelings about this performance. On the one hand I loved it, I love the song, and thought and thought they all looked happy, and the chemistry between them is as strong as ever. Not to mention, they just get better with age. But the performance also left me feeling a little cold as it was definitely the Robbie Williams show. Vocally and performance wise, he was a bit all over the place, and over the top. I understand that is who he is, but I just didn't him, and I believe Take That are much better without Robbie William's ego.

For me, the King of the boybands was, and always will be, Westlife.