HUGO Urban Rules Competition: Behind the Scenes at the Exclusive Workshop and Grand Finale

HUGO Urban Rules

The Contest Tuesday 3rd October 2006

The first ever grand finale to the HUGO Urban Rules competition, which will now be running annually, took place earlier this month at The Village Underground in Shoreditch. Close to 400 artists sent in demos, and finally the big day had arrived.  

For the last two months, contestants battled it out for a unique chance to grab the coveted trophy, record their music in a top London studio, be part of a massive PR campaign, feature on an exclusive limited edition HUGO CD, perform on MTV, and get the chance to be interviewed by leading magazines.

After narrowing it down to the final three; rapper Blemish Blackstorm, R’n’B/pop singer Daizy and soul crooner Chris De Montague, it was now time to pick the winner. The previous finalists were also invited down for a unique day of music industry schooling, consisting of vocal and dance training, as well as exclusive master classes from industry veterans such as RWD Magazine editor Hattie Collins and Mervyn Lyn, Vice President of A&R for Sony BMG’s RCA label. Not only this but Sway and Joe were also at hand to give the stars of the future personal perspectives of the industry. A spokesperson for HUGO Fragrances explained; “This event is all about providing a platform and nurturing and developing new talent”.

10 am, The Day Begins

I was invited down to witness the course of the day, as well as interview one of my musical heroes Joe prior to his performance. And so I headed down that Tuesday morning, ready for an interesting and insightful experience, which would finish with a superb, intimate concert featuring the winner as well as Sway, Terri Walker, Scratch from The Roots, and of course Joe, who had flown in from NYC especially. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but soon felt at ease as I entered the building, a small venue tucked away in an anonymous side street in London’s east end. The first person I bumped into was Sway. “These events help everybody involved”, he told me. “The people who are not the winners are gonna go away and work harder, they’re gonna use this opportunity as fire, and those are usually the people who make it in the industry. The people who get to the top of the industry are not always the most successful people when they’re coming up, and that’s why they’ve got so much drive and energy and why they go so far. The same can be said for winners; after today there’ll be more of an expectation for the winner to want to work hard, so it benefits everybody”.

The attendees, made up of contestants who’d got through previous rounds of the competition, slowly started to arrive, and the day began with some choreography sessions and vocal training, before the panel of experts took their seats at the front for the question and answer sessions.

The Q&A Sessions

 “The reality of this industry is that it’s a hell of a lot of hard work”, said Hattie Collins, editor of top music magazine RWD. “I remember seeing Sway years ago outside the MOBOs selling his mix tapes. And even now, if you arrange to meet him, he’s always on time; he keeps to arrangements. You have to have that work ethic and determination to back up your talent”.  “Only you can be responsible for your career”, confirmed Sway. “You’ve gotta be 100% on top of your business. You can be as creative as you wanna be but ten years down the line, you’ll be kicking yourself that you didn’t take control of the business side of things”. Joe agrees. “I had to start from the ground up. It wasn’t handed to me. It takes that kind of determination to make it in this industry”, he added.

The Grand Finale

Those words of wisdom said, it was time for a lunch break, as MTV roamed around, interviewing the attendees. I spoke to rapper Blemish backstage, who, for as long as I’ve known him, has always maintained the kind of work ethic just talked about. “I think Chris is gonna win it”, he told me. “I’m a bit nervous about going up there in front of the judges but I’m gonna give it my best shot. If I win this it wouldn’t be less than I deserve, I’ve worked hard for years. I’d take it in my stride”.

The music began playing and DJ Twin B addressed the judges. “What we have here today is the freshest talent; they beat hundreds to get down to the final three. First up we have Chris De Montague, a 19 year old Economics student who grew up in Jamaica and now lives in Stockwell, South London, he blew everyone away when we first heard this raw talent”. And boy did he do that again, belting out two self-written soul-infused numbers with all his heart. “Next up”, the DJ continued, “we’re gonna go into some hip hop. Blemish Blackstorm is very well known in the UK rap circuit. He’s extremely well respected and that’s why he’s here today”. And as usual the South London representer tore it up, performing a fast number first, before slowing it down and coming with some conscious hip hop, captivating everyone present. Next up was Daizy. She confidently worked the stage, showing off some sexy moves and demonstrating her vocal skills, as well as a catchy selection of self-penned songs, which had Sway bopping his head.

The Verdict

After a nail-biting wait and some delayed deliberation from the judges, everyone was finally called back to their seats. “And the winner is….Daizy!” The newly crowned starlet had won the coveted trophy, and after being presented with it on stage, can now look forward to HUGO Fragrances supporting the early stages of her career.

By then it was about 4pm, time for another fag break. I bumped into Sway again outside, who had this to say about the result; “Daizy was the most ready product; she was ready to go. She had commercial appeal, she was attractive, she could sing, she had the right type of songs that could fit in mainstream radio today. Whereas Blemish, he reminds me of me. He’s a hustler, no matter what happens today, Blemish is gonna go out there and do his thing, standard. I seen Blemish on the streets selling CDs from before I was. He didn’t really need this as much as she did. And with Chris, he’s got an amazing raw talent but he still needs to work at it, he’s only 19. The way I see it, they’re all gonna get very far, it’s all just a matter of time”.

It was then time for me to head to the hotel around the corner for my interview with the one and only Joe. I asked him what he made of the contestants. “Chris still needed a lot more time, a lot more work and understanding of the industry. Blemish is one of those already developed artists who probably wasn’t really for this type of contest. He’ll probably be out in the next three-four months with a record anyway. Daizy had more of a package, she had the look, the image, she had a voice, and her songs were a little bit better than Chris’”.

7pm…Back to the Show

After our chat, Joe excused himself to take a kip before his set later on that night, so it was back to the venue, where I caught up with Daizy. “I’m thrilled to have won this”, she told me. “I can’t believe it, I’m totally speechless. I want to thank HUGO for giving me this amazing opportunity”. She then took to the stage, finally getting to showcase her talent to the now filled to the brim room.

500 guests made up of music industry figures and fans came down on the Tuesday evening to show their support. UK artists such as Ty and Shawn Emanuel were seen it the crowd, enjoying the warm up to the show, sipping on the free HUGO inspired cocktails that were flowing at the bar. We were then treated to a 45-minute set from one of the UK’s most underrated soul queens Terri Walker, who gave a captivating performance. Scratch from The Roots provided some fantastic beat boxing and turn table magic, before Sway appeared on stage. “Industry! Up your Speed!” he shouted, addressing the audience, before putting on a 45-minute concert. The secluded east London spot was dressed in red drapes, and MTV were around again covering the night. Then Joe stole the show with a legendary performance, getting everyone singing and swaying along to his unique selection of R’n’B classics.

The star-studded audience left with goodie bags containing HUGO perfume and other gifts, the end to a fascinating and insightful day, and no doubt the start of something very big.

By Anna Nathanson

You can read Anna Nathanson’s interview with Joe in New Nation newspaper, released in November.
This event will be aired on MTV at 7pm on Saturday 29th October and then repeated over the next two months.

The competition continues in Birmingham in February and Manchester 2007. You still have time to submit your demos, so for more information, and for the chance to attend these finals, please visit www.hugofragrances.com