Dawn Collinson talks to singer Jodi Albert about her new group and auditioning for her husband
BEING managed at work by your partner could be a problem for some couples.
But for former Hollyoaks actress turned singer Jodi Albert, nothing could be further from the truth.
Although her new band is supporting husband Kian Egan’s Westlife on arena dates around the UK, it’s more a case of ships that pass in the night – one in a van, one on a tour bus.
“We’ve been doing school tours and radio interviews as well, so we’re in a van and Kian will be with the boys on their bus,” smiles Jodi. “We’ll see each other at the arena and then me and the girls go off somewhere else.
“It’s like, ‘hi, here’s the backing track, love you, bye ..’ and then we’re off again!”
Wonderland, Jodi’s five-piece girlband, were put together more than two years ago by Louis Walsh and Kian. She jokingly insists, though, that there was never any chance of favouritism.
“Oh my God, he would absolutely have told me if I wasn’t good enough,” she laughs. “In fact he wouldn’t have let me go to the audition. He didn’t let his own sister go, that’s how professional he was about it.
“Anyone who knows Kian knows he’s very honest and he’s worked very hard to build up a reputation in this business so it would do him no good to put me in on a favour.
“Don’t get me wrong, it was probably one of the hardest auditions I’ve ever had to do and I’ve been to a lot of auditions in my life. But I just had to grit my teeth and go for it, and forget for a second about everything else. I thought to myself, I either want to do this and get signed or I can get silly about it and then I may as well just go home.
“So I closed my eyes when I auditioned – I didn’t look at anyone! Louis kept saying to me ‘you close your eyes too much’ but I think I was just trying to block everything out and be in my own little world. I couldn’t let my brain think about how Kian might be reacting or look for little signs because it would have driven me mad.”
It seems a long time since the five girls were first hand-picked in Dublin back in 2008.
Only now are they ready to release their debut single Not a Love Song, but 27-year-old Jodi says it’s been time well spent.
“We didn’t know each other when the band first came together, so it’s given us time to develop in a really natural way,” she explains. “We’ve grown as a band and it’s all happened at a lovely pace, without any pressure.
When we were in the studio recording our album together we were learning about each other and becoming friends. I think that’s worked now because we’re just so enjoying the whole process and we’ve got this really strong bond, like a little sisterhood.”
For Londoner Jodi, Wonderland is a second chance at pop stardom. She was first in a girlband aged just 15, when she was signed by Simon Cowell.
That lasted just two years and Jodi admits she thought her music career was probably over.
“That band gave me my first taster of this job,” she says. “When it finished at 17 I became a backing dancer, dancing in music videos and stuff like that, and then I jumped into acting and got into Hollyoaks. Now I’ve jumped back.
“But if I’m honest I didn’t think I’d ever be in a band again. The first experience didn’t put me off, I loved it, but I just didn’t think I’d get another opportunity. So when Louis heard me sing on a demo and asked me to audition, I couldn’t believe I was being given a second shot. That’s why I just went for it and grabbed it with both hands and I haven’t looked back since.”
Supporting Westlife and an appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival last year have seen Wonderland play in front of crowds upwards of 85,000. Their debut single has entered the iTunes chart at number seven, and it seems their patience is about to be rewarded.
“A while ago, we’d have these conversations and say ‘imagine next year when we’re on tour’ or ‘imagine what it’ll be like when we do our first TV show.’ Now it’s becoming a reality and all these imagines are starting to happen.”
So, singing now comes first, but Jodi says she’ll always appreciate the profile which three years on Hollyoaks gave her and the fun she had.
“Oh I absolutely loved it,” she smiles. “I love Liverpool, it’s one of my favourite cities in the world. Every time I go back I get a homely feeling. When I look back on that time it was like being in college, it was an amazing point in my life and I’ll always be grateful for it.”
