Baby #2, album #4, debut single news, and fan responses

Before you read this, i suggest you calm down, and hope for the worst!

Here's the statement Sophie left on the official forums:

greetings guys and girls
i hope you are all well.
i am having a very good time of it as of late... the new single, Sophia Loren, is featured in the Rimmel sexy curves mascara advert and will be released early next year which is wonderful. thank you for all the positive feedback to the launch of the rimmel adverts. i am proud and flattered to be taking part.
i'll then be having a break around march april as i am very happy to share with you all the news that i am having another baby. i am due at the beginning of april and naturally the ellis-bextor-jonses are thrilled that sonny will soon have a little brother or sister.
i'll then be back with another single and the fourth album which is coming along very nicely. expected to be released around july august.
so i hope you're feeling good about all this news.. looks like 2009 and is going to be an exciting year (and busy!) for me. i can't wait!
as ever, thank you for being such a warm and supportive bunch.
Sx

Before i post my response to this, i want to quote the responses of some of her fans (from PopJustice, UKmix, Sophie online forums and the official forums)

Leon:

Personally, as a supportive fan, I´m very happy that she finally announced some more info on the new album herself. It´s still great to see that we will have a single early next year. I´m hoping that january 9th is true!First, congratulations to Sophie for being pregnant! She always wanted to have more children. I think it´s sort of strange to see that this pregnancy seems to be just a date in her agenda or something, she´ll just have the baby and then quickly continue promoting the new album. That´s nice for us, of course, but will she be able to do that.

Nunya B:

Aw, more ginger babies! Adorable.
Well this explains the peculiarities of the single release and the album release and all that. I'm not surprised- Sophie seems like she really enjoys being off from being famous. I just hope this album isn't a nail in her coffin career-wise because she had to take time off promotion to take care of the child. Visions of the halted campaign for "Shoot from the Hip" are dancing in my head.

Popfaced:

UGH. album now pushed until 'july august' 09.
am going to take a stab and say that the january single release is going to be scrapped eventually and that the album will instead be launched with single post-pregnancy in july, with an album in september/november. releasing a single months before an album is to be released/mid-pregnancy seems like a strange plan.
popstars should really just put their lives on hold for their fans. this pregnancy is not really great timing for me.

Danlucky16:

I'm pleased for her having a baby - but it only spells trouble for her music career.
It's not practical to have a baby and then head back into such a stressful job - she'll make herself ill.
*sigh*
I wish she could have waited until after the latest album campaign to have her baby as it really is make or break time for Sophie in the UK.
Record labels aren't renowned for the "oh dear, that didn't work, lets try something else" approach - especially with an artist like Sophie who has been on steady decline (both in terms of popularity and sales) since her debut.
I really love Sophie's work and I think it's great she'll have another child - but sadly it'll probably be at the expense of her music career. Or at least, her association with Fascination and Polydor.

Skelofect:

I love Sophie as an artist but this is really just another case of Shoot From The Hip...if the song is featured in a current advert why isn't it coming out this month! It's ridiculous...then the baby which means, she'll probably release 2 singles from the album if we're lucky.. there won't be any space for a tour....even if there is, it won't be until this time next year which is just another kick in the teeth for fans.
I find it hard to be a fan of Sophie sometimes, as much as I love her music, situations like this, waiting and getting tickets for the tour, the tour being cancelled, waiting for releases, then getting them & the wrong singles are released, then waiting again is just becoming highly off-putting. I'd go as far as to say angry.

Rebirth: (who by the way is a private friend of Sophie)

Oh my god, this will flop so hard. What is she doing??? A single in Early 2009? Then another single in July?? The album around July/August 2009?? A baby in Abril?? The hype for "Sophia Loren" will be over by then and the break between both singles is too long and the baby will need all her time, so there won't be promotion or a tour next year. This project is so ruined and over for me right now, how could she do this again...why not release a new album this year? This is a sure flop, sorry! I really heard this this morning and i was so happy for her to have another baby, because she knows it for only a few days, so she wants to delay her album now to summer 2009. I was so shocked that she wants to have a single in January still and wait 6 months until the next single...i am sorry but this is a big mistake.

MadeOfBricks:

I'd say it's a good idea really - if it all goes wrong then they've got a good six months to fix it all. And if it goes right, she can just sell her pregnancy to OK!
It's not like she can fuck up how Trip The Light Fantastic did, so even if Sophia Loren does well and we do have a bit of a wait, people will still anticipate the album because of that song.
I just don't think it's all that bad as everyone's going on like. Sure, it's not the best idea in the world but she seems like she's working around it well!

Pierree:

...and the TTLF-story again. Again the single in January and the album in July. Yeh, that's what Sophie needs, and another pregnancy, not that I don't want her to have more babies, but hello! you're about to release the album, what's with the tour? You haven't been on any since RML. It's sick.

WyRee:

I know it's not great that there has to be a big gap and the album is delayed, but it's a bit extreme to say it's ruined already.
Sophie always makes time for promotion when she has music out and she's an advocate of being a working Mom so i see no reason why it should be any different this time around. She still promoted I Won't Change You properly before taking time out during her last pregnancy. It's not good timing, but what can you do.

designer_label

Hi Sophie!
Congrats - so pleased for you! Great news!
Really looking forward to the new single - it is really cool and different! Love it! Cant wait for the album - I love that it will be out next summer - hopefully it will be the album of next summer!
Your Rimmel ads are fab! I dont think anyone thought anyone could do it better than Kate Moss...But you clearly do it better!!!
Bring on 2009!!!

Here's my response:
I'm not sure what to say actually. On one hand i'm pleased that she's having her second baby. As a human being, i completely understand her craving to enjoy her personal life outside her career. She has always kinda mixed her personal and professional lives, and she's been managing that well. So i don't think this would be much of a problem. Plus, its her second pregnancy. I'm sure she's learnt by now, how to manage a baby at home alongside work.
But come to think of it, that would (in a way) mean the end of Sophie's career (or at least the end of her popularity). Sophie should have taken this album more seriously. I do remember that she mentioned she wanted a baby, but she would put her album and DJing first. But anyway, its all done now, and none of us would want her to do anything to harm the baby. Which only means the album is gutted!
She obviously can't tour with the baby in hand, so a tour is out of question. She can't promote the album well, again, because of the baby. Poor baby, i pity the unborn thing, its going to be the reason for so much disaster, and i hate to say that, really! I think the whole "having a baby, and putting the second single out after that" is a bad idea.
Sophia Lauren should get a release in early Jan along with the video and proper promotion, even if she is pregnant (like she did with I Wont Change You). Then all she needs to do is send out Off & On and Heartbreak to the radio to keep herself in the music scene. Maybe release them as radio singles, and she could have her performance @ GAY as the music video for Heartbreak. She could shoot a video for Off & On during her pregnancy. It would add to the emotional effect on the video. A pregnant girl singing about her relationship which is always undulating.. Couldn't be a better idea for a video, frankly! And she doesn't have to promote those two songs, everyone has it, they'll just go buy the single for the b-sides and it would get airplay.
And then come out with a proper single with proper promotion and a good album. Thats the only thing that she can do, really!!
Oh well.. i'm just going to hope and pray for the best for Sophie...
And hoping that Sophia Lauren does well...