Thursday, January 29, 2009

More about Sophie and Martial arts

Sophie Ellis Bextor has revealed that she has taken up karate - despite being heavily pregnant.

The Rimmel covergirl is expecting her second child in April but is still fighting fit, she revealed to Closer magazine.

She told Closer: "I'm still working out three times a week - I took up martial arts when I found out I was pregnant. I'll stop when it doesn't feel right."

The 29-year-old singer and husband Richard Jones of The Feeling already have a four-year-old son Sonny, and Sophie said she will be in no rush to lose her baby weight.

"I won't be doing any crash-course dieting or intense exercising to lose my baby weight," she said. "It's more important to spend time with the baby! I'll let it drop off naturally."

Although the couple do not know for certain, Sophie said she thinks baby number two will be a boy.

"I don't know why," she said, "but I think I'm going to have another boy."

Monday, January 26, 2009

Return to the dancey side of things

I was on youtube when i saw this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ah9inTN4-c

It was kinda lame for Sophie to say its either a boy or a girl, cos it has to be definitely one of those...lol.. but yea. She confirmed Freemasons, Calvin Harris and Metronomy and she did say its a return to the more dancey side of things... i'm excited

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Sophie doing martial arts!?!?!

I found this here: http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/3am/2009/01/22/sophie-ellis-bextor-still-karate-chopping-at-six-months-pregnant-115875-21060245/

Move over Jackie Chan. Sophie Ellis Bextor may be six months pregnant but she's still kicking ass.

Soph has taken up martial arts and told us at the Southbank Awards: "I go three times a week, but I'm the most unscary person ever."

Well we're not taking any chances!

Well, i'm impressed! Go Soph!!!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Sophie's pregnancy blog update

Sophie has her own pregnancy blog at http://www.sparklingpregnancy.com
Here's her first blog entry....

Thanks to Shloer the Sparking Juice drink I will be sharing my thoughts, feelings and general pregnancy tips until I give birth in April. If you’re pregnant (which I’m guessing you probably are if you’re reading this) congratulations!

I am already a mum to Sonny (who is four) and I’ve already noticed that I feel much more relaxed in this pregnancy than I did in my first. It’s just much less stressful when you know what to expect from your body and your emotions and people don’t fuss around you as much.

Saying that the first twelve weeks were quite hard going. I felt permanently yucky, like I had a hang over, so I couldn’t get enough of comfort food. Since that stage has passed I feel back to normal and haven’t really had any cravings except one week where all I wanted was beetroot. I’ve since discovered it’s full of folic acid so there you go!

I don’t like people to treat me differently when I’m pregnant and it’s important to me that I still feel attractive, so this Christmas I made it my mission to ensure I wasn’t the frumpy one sat in the corner. My mum tried her best to persuade us all to go for Christmas at her house, as she thought I might not feel like doing all the work involved in hosting it myself, but I was insistent that I wanted to have the family round mine and give my mum a year off. So, I prepared Christmas lunch for the whole family with all the trimmings. Richard helped too, of course and it was lovely. We spent New Year with family and friends in the countryside and it was fun and relaxed.

My philosophy on avoiding certain foods is to trust my intuition. I think your body is very clever at telling you what it needs. I only buy good quality food so I can avoid any risk of food poisoning and I ration food that I think might be high in mercury like tuna, but generally I go with what I feel as guidelines change all the time. When my mum had me she was encouraged to drink Guinness and eat liver!

For me being pregnant is almost an indulgence as it gives me more time to focus on my music. My favourite part of the album making process is song writing so I’m taking my time and really savouring it. Protecting myself and the baby is the most important thing at this time and being pregnant really does give you the chance to slow down, prepare for the birth and focus on the things you really want to do. One of my top tips would be to try to preserve your social life as much as possible when you’re pregnant as it reminds you that you’re you and not just a pregnant lady! I DJ, run a club night called Modern Love, and have been doing the odd gig too. I’m going to continue to do this as long as possible so I don’t feel defined solely as a pregnant woman. I still have lots of energy so I might as well keep active and happy.

I will be really investing in spending time with my friends before I give birth because when the baby is born the tendency is to go into a bit of a bubble. Be it a relaxing lunch and a spot of shopping, or dinner and a chat over a glass of Shloer! If you’re out and about seeing friends you want to feel great and harness that pregnancy glow to maximum effect. I’m not a huge fan of maternity wear as I find it hard to find things that are fashionable and reasonably priced. My tip would be to buy a few sizes bigger from the high street. Empire line dresses are great because the tightest part is just under the bust (which serves to accentuate what for many of us becomes our best asset!) and flare out over your bump. I put this into practice at the British Fashion Awards in November and opted for a Topshop black mini dress which flared out nicely over my bump. Also the fashion for low rise jeans mean the high street is awash with long line tops which are perfect. I am not a fan of revealing your bump, particularly not in this weather! These sorts of clothes are also great post birth because it takes a while to return to your normal size and these pieces will see you through until your normal wardrobe fits again. My new music is out in the late Summer / early Autumn hopefully, so I’ll be doing everything I can get to get in shape for then. I will let you know how I get on with this in future blogs, although I’m not going to embark on any silly diet and gym plan. I want quality time with my new baby first!

We are all really excited about meeting the new addition to our family. We have chosen a name but it’s a secret! Sonny has always loved babies and has been telling me for a while he would like a baby brother or sister so for him it’s what he expected would happen at some point. My husband (Richard Jones from The Feeling) and I are both busy but we feel incredibly lucky to be able to have babies and jobs, which is in no small part thanks to Sonny’s nanny, Claire, and support from our families. Plus Sonny has always loved coming to work with me and we both think a childhood surrounded by music is by and large a happy thing.

I’m feeling great at the moment (six months in) and my concentration levels are fine so the song writing is ticking along nicely. The hardest part of the pregnancy so far has been before I could announce I was actually pregnant. I’m always a bit cautious of getting coughs and colds when I’m pregnant as they seem to take that bit longer to shake off so I’m dosing up on the vitamins as it’s so cold outside. I suffered from pre-eclampsia in my first pregnancy so I am having regular scans at the moment, next one in three weeks!

Until next month…

Sophie x

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Sophie Update '09

FINALLY!!!!! AN UPDATE!!! YAY!! (Leon was right!!)

Hello Sophie. How are you?
I'm really good actually.

The big news since we last caught up is that you now have a baby inside you.
I do! Quite a big one too. I'm at 28 weeks, so I've got 12 weeks left.

How's it been?
It's been really fine, luckily, touch wood. I didn't have as easy a time with Sonny, so I've been really appreciative of it this time, and enjoying it a lot more. I've had loads of energy and I haven't got swollen ankles! It feels like this whole pregnancy has been so much smoother and easier.

Do you know the sex of the baby?
We don't, no. It's going to be a surprise. But we honestly don't mind either way, and neither does Sonny. It really doesn't matter.

Are you all geared up for the arrival?
Um, I think so. I'm not sure. Every once in a while it dawns on us exactly what we're letting ourselves in for again. It's been five years since we had a tiny baby in the house, which is quite a big gap.
Every once in a while I'll have a flashback to like when Richard does the night feed and has to heat up the bottles, or just having to have all that stuff with you all the time, or the way they throw up a lot!
Plus, Sonny's got lots of little toys, which means there's loads of choking hazards around. So we've got all that kind of stuff to think about. But we'll be OK. I'm looking forward to it.

And Sonny's old enough to help out.
I hope so! He's certainly excited. I think he'll be a good big brother. He's started school last week actually. It feels like quite a big step, but he's been skipping out of school looking really happy and full of beans.

So, how was 2008 for you?
It was one of the best years I've had in a while, just doing lots of gigs and DJing and that sort of thing. It was really, really busy.
Plus, I was doing lots of songwriting and the album is now two-thirds written. The final third I'm reserving judgement on, because I want to keep writing for now. The plan is to get the album finished just before I have the baby, then take off three months, and then come back to work and bring out a new single and do another Rimmel campaign.
That'll be late summer sort of time. That's the plan anyway.

What was the highlight of last year's gigs?
The trip to Lithuania was unexpectedly lovely. I was asking loads of people beforehand and I couldn't find a single soul who'd been there.
But Vilnius is a really pretty little place. Very quaint and well kept, with lots of little cobbled streets. And the gig was great. It was part of this Nokia Trends Lab thing, with a full stage production and it was all just really well put together. Andy Cato from Groove Armada DJ'd after us and he was really good too. It ended up being a really fun night.

Did you party hard?
I was pregnant by then, so not really. But I managed to stay up quite late. Actually, I went to a wedding in Ireland recently where I stayed up until 5am! It's quite a different experience having to go to a wedding sober. At the start of the evening, you feel like you're missing out, even though I'm not a massive drinker. But then there's the bit where people cross over from having had 2-3 drinks to having 4-5. That's when you start feeling really glad that you won't be waking up with a hangover in the morning!

What's your non-alcoholic tipple of choice?
The choice is so boring! I like elderflower cordial if that's on offer. Otherwise it's just a bit of fizzy water or a cup of tea. I've definitely re-discovered the joys of tea recently.

Did you have a nice Christmas?
It was great, yeah. Very social, but very lovely. We managed to see loads of different friends and family. We had Christmas Day at home in London and I cooked for about 12 of us. Then we went down to Sussex to see family down there.

What did you do for new year?
Well, some friends of ours host a New Year's Eve party with about four other couples who live in the same area. We didn't really know what to expect, I was picturing maybe 30 or 40 people. But there were actually 370 people there.

Blimey.
I know! It was this massive party in the countryside. It was really good fun. And the couple we stayed with had a babysitter for their kids who we used too, which was handy. Actually, Sonny had been staying up quite late over Christmas, until like 10 o'clock. So I let the babysitter know that he would be up until fairly late. But it turned out that he stayed up until 1.15am! He watched Jools Holland with the babysitter!

What did you do at midnight?
We tried to go outside to watch some fireworks but it was *so* cold.
We lasted about three bangs and then went back in again.

And yet, last week the Daily Mail heralded you as a fine example of how to dress up warm.
Really?!

Yes. You were in a black coat, yellow gloves and a yellow hat.
Ha ha! My mum said those gloves look like Marigolds.

Funnily enough the Mail did too. They wrote, "To brighten the bleak January weather take your cue from Sophie Ellis-Bextor who has jazzed up her double-breasted coat with a dazzling yellow beanie and leather gloves, not to be confused with Marigolds."
Ha ha ha! Well, if you're on a budget, Marigolds would do. Saying that, I actually got those gloves from Lithuania, where they have very cheap leather goods. But the funniest thing about that story is that the yellow hat is actually Sonny's! I was taking him to school and then I wore his hat home, because I was cold! Luckily he's got a big head and I've got a small one, so we can share.

So, can you tell us much about this new material?
Well, I've been working with Metronomy, which has been fun. And I did a track with Ed Harcourt which came out really well. Then there's a song called Sophia Loren which I did with Cathy Dennis and Chris Rojas. That's the soundtrack to the mascara advert I did with Rimmel.

You've hinted that might be a single.
I think it will be, yeah. There was talk of releasing it around the advert being on telly, but then I got pregnant. And I turn into a bit of a recluse when I'm pregnant.

Understandably so.
Yeah, it's quite a private time. And even when I've been doing gigs, I've been trying to wear stuff that doesn't look like I'm obviously pregnant.

Are you pleased with how the Rimmel ads have gone?
I am actually, yeah. It's been really nice and I haven't had anything but positive feedback from it. It's lovely when that happens. I waited quite a long time to find what I thought was the right fit with regard to doing something with a brand, but this felt like the right thing at the right time for me.

Will it be ongoing for a while?
I hope so, yeah. They've already signed me up for a few years.

Is that really your voice at the end of the ad?
Yes! I had to do it on the first day of the first shoot. It was mortifying, cos there must've been about 100 people on set. They had to call for absolute silence from everyone when they recorded the audio, which meant everyone was listening. It was quite embarrassing.

What's the line again?
Live the London look.

Did you get it right first time?
I had to say it quite a few times actually, just cos they wanted different inflections.

"Now say it like it's a question, now say it like you're angry..."
Yeah, all that! I was particularly good at surprised/curious. Ha ha!

So what's the first thing in your diary post-baby?
Well, I will be filming the next advert in July/August and I hope to be doing the first single's video around that sort of time. So I would think the single will going to radio around then too. I always get in trouble on the website when I give dates and then they change. But I don't want to release stuff if it's not right. Although saying that, I'm definitely not going to take as long with this album as I did with the last one!

Are you pleased with what you've got so far?
Yeah, it's coming together really well. The proof will be in the pudding, but I've been enjoying making this album. And I feel really well supported by the people at the record company.

You've been with them a long time.
I know, I think it's 8 years this year. And it's all the same people, give or take a couple of folk. It's been great. I had a very positive meeting with them all yesterday.

It sounds like 2009 is shaping up to be an exciting year for you.
I hope so, yeah. I'm going to be 30 in April and when I was approaching it, at 27 or 28, I didn't feel quite ready for the big 3-0. But now I'm starting to think that it's the best time for an artist. You feel more confident, you know what you're doing and you haven't got anything to prove. So, yeah, I'm optimistic that the best is still yet to come..

So basically
1. new album out sometime next year along with new single
2. new advert out sometime next year
3. baby is healthy and so is Sophie
4. the Metronomy thing is confirmed!!

Monday, January 19, 2009

Sophie at 'Revolutionary Road' premiere

Well, its good to finally see a picture of Sophie all big and healthy (Pregnant singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor and her husband, The Feeling guitarist Richard Jones attended the premiere of the film 'Revolutionary Road' in London). Some of us were getting worried about her health. She has really become chubby on her face! Sophie is due in April. Here's wishing her a happy pregnancy!!

Also, apparently Sophie has a question-interview which she will upload onto her MySpace soon (thanks to Leon)

No official confirmation though....

And once again, i played with Sophie's name. I'm calling the blog Sophierazzi until i wear it out....lol... Its cute that you can modify her name.....
My ID on seb.net - sophi(E)sticated
My old website - Soph-ology
The new name for the blog - Sophierazzi

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Bad news??

Junior Caldera is unsure when his collaboration with Sophie will get a release. He's not sure if its Feb or a little later, along with his debut album.

Sophie was supposed to upload some old demos on her MySpace, but she hasn't done it till now, so i'm doubting if she will.

No news about Sophia Loren getting a release. No leaks.

Sophie is pregnant, and i'm just hoping everything goes on well this time, without any complications!

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Revenge: Sophie Ellis-Bextor

Are we ever going to hear this song by Sophie?? I only wish she decides to release it sometime during her 4th album or upload it as a freebie or on her MySpace...

I was just reading this (http://www.madonnamad.com/blog/?p=62#more-62) and i suddenly realised that i had forgotten all about this. Maybe its time to generate interest in this song again. Hopefully we'll get to listen to this song someday..

Here's Madonna's version - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mvXKO9APk8

Mmad.com: Another thing that you have revealed for the first time in Record Collector is that none other than Sophie Ellis Bextor recorded the unreleased Madonna song, ‘Revenge’.

Peter: Yes, indeed she did. Greg Fitzgerald, who co-wrote ‘Revenge’ and who is an all round top bloke told me all about that. It was a similar story to what happened when Kylie recorded ‘Alone Again’. The song was set to be released until someone, not Madonna, pulled the plug on it, which was a pity I think.

I’ve been lucky enough to have heard Sophie’s version of the song and I have to say that her version of ‘Revenge’ is a great pop song that really suits her somewhat aloof, slightly frosty vocal delivery that I think she does so well. I’m a big fan of Sophie’s too and I love what she did with the song and in my humble opinion it would have made a great single for her. Sophie’s touted 2008 greatest hits album was recently scrapped in favour of a forthcoming album of new material, which is great news for fans of her new music (For anyone missing the Confessions… disco sound since Madonna’s went all R&B on us, check out Sophie’s new song ‘Heartbreak Make Me a Dancer’ on her MySpace page – it needs to be released as a single now please!), but that could have been the perfect opportunity for fans to hear her version of ‘Revenge’. So, for now, it still remains unreleased. Hopefully it’ll see the light of day soon in some shape or form.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Can't Fight This Feeling Remixes

http://www.lastfm.de/music/Junior+Caldera+feat.+Sophie+Ellis-Bextor
There seems to be three mixes of CAN'T FIGHT THIS FEELING on LastFM. Does anyone know how to operate that, or even understand the language?? Help please....

Followers

ABOUT | CONTACT ME

Welcome! SOPHIERAZZI is a website dedicated Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Here, you will find first hand information, access to several rarities and exclusive inside details unavailable elsewhere. This is your heaven... Feel free EMAIL ME, if you have some exciting news to share, if you want to update me about something, or if you need some clarification regarding any post. I promise to respond to your email at the earliest...
Cheers, Kaushik. (sophierazzi@yahoo.com)