Appy days for Gaeilge radio
3AM
A NEW app for the first Gaeilge music station has been launched by Communications Minister Denis Naughten. He said: “Raidio Ri-ra plays a key role in providing opportunities to engage with the Irish language outside the classroom, demonstrating its vibrancy in modern life.”
GIRLS Aloud star Nadine Coyle’s solo comeback has flopped - with her song, Go To Work, failing to chart, despite heavy promotion.
It sold just 1,616 copies. Combined with streaming figures, her sales totalled 3,132. But the former chart-topping singer seemed to preempt the possibility it would perform poorly when she said she had “no” expectations for the track when it was released last Friday. She still embarked on a hectic trail of interviews and podcasts during which she waxed lyrical about her “bitter” Girls Aloud bandmates. Sadly, even that failed to encourage listeners to her new single. A music insider said: “It’s embarrassing after expensive promo.” Nadine, 32, is no stranger to a poorly executed campaign. In 2010, she signed an exclusive deal with Tesco, but the supermarket chain didn’t stock her album in every store, and she peaked at No. 47. Speaking last week, she said: “They had to do online maps for fans trying to find it! I was like, ‘What do you want me to do, drive a truck around and hand them out to people?’” In 2011, having rebranded as Nadine 2.0, she released Sweetest High – though now quips that she “must have been drunk” at the time. With a new deal with Virgin, Nadine reconnected with Girls Aloud’s former collaborators Xenomania – who were responsible for the group’s biggest hits, including Sound of the Underground, Biology and Love Machine. But Brian Higgins seemed under no illusions about its chart prospects, saying: “I’m measuring success in different ways now.” The track did make it on several viral charts. Xenomania also worked on Mollie King’s latest single, Hair Down, which failed to reach the top 100 last week – despite promo and her starring in Strictly Come Dancing. Similarly, Paloma Faith’s comeback single Crybaby limped into the charts at No. 61 last month. Sam Smith’s Too Good at Goodbyes claimed yesterday’s No. 1.