Lopez Blogs

It's absolutely no secret that ever since their first appearance on the X Factor back in 2007 I became a huge fan of the adorable sibling duo, Same Difference. My love for them was sealed when they performed what hereafter will be known as "the greatest X Factor live show song ever" (above) and went all the way to the final 3. From there came a single, an album and enough career ups and downs to last a lifetime. So when I got the opportunity to sit down with Sean and Sarah, I couldn't pass up a chance to discuss their success to date, their future plans and of course the place where it all started - the X Factor. Nervous about meeting them, it's impossible not to be put at ease by them ~ Sean has incredibly kind eyes (and sports a pair of kick ass boots) and Sarah just radiates warmth and enthusiasm. We somehow end up talking about Entourage (Sean claims the Vince character for himself, but generously gives me E - surely better than Drama?!) and settle down backstage of London's Madame JoJo's...

POP - THE ALBUM:

I'm eager to discuss the Pop album (see my review here). I preface the conversation by gushing a little bit (how embarrassing!) about how brilliant I thought the whole project was - almost like a mixtape of great europop both old and new. However, as Popjustice recently pointed out, it was perhaps targeted towards a very specific audience and did receive some criticisms - everything from "cheesier than a marathon runner's trainers", "enough to make anyone the wrong side of 12 cringe" and "bland cash cow pop". Amongst the criticism was an acknowledgement that the songs were relentlessly cheerful and upbeat. So looking back on it, how do Sean and Sarah feel about the album? I'm utterly relieved to find out they are incredibly proud of it. Sean states that Simon (Cowell) had a very specific vision for the album that was based around the huge success of High School Musical....

"It was everywhere at the time. Our video for We R One - we absolutely loved doing it and had a brilliant time in LA, but it was very colourful and people perhaps saw the video and had a preconception of us that was all about the visual rather than our music. "

Sarah is convinced that having to mime when they appeared on the X Factor live shows didn't help their case either...

"It's obviously the biggest show you can perform on and I think a lot of people were put off by us miming. We had these massive ear piece mics on and there was feedback fuzzing through them when we were talking, so it was really obvious that we mimed. We didn't have a choice and I think it cost us some fans"

Sean adds that they also performed the same week as Take That appeared on the show, and acknowledges that it's hard to compete with the biggest comeback pop has ever seen. The duo are also convinced that if they could swap their live GMTV performance with the X Factor one, they may have won some new fans in the process. I remind them that their album actually was quite successful in it's own right and they get all animated about what it achieved: I'm informed by Sean that while it may have "only" peaked at 22, it sold over 125,000 copies and by the end of 2008 had outsold The Saturdays Chasing Lights (though he cheerfully admits that this was before their big Up single). I then suggest that perhaps other songs on the album would have showcased a different side of them to the public and ask what other singles they would have released. They both choose All Roads Lead To Heaven as a favourite from the album and Sarah states that she would have loved a wider audience for Better Love Me as she believes it has a great melody that really showcases their vocals. Sean also talks of a different mix to the track If You Can't Dance...

"There was a very different original mix of this song - it was very English sounding, very funky town. In that format it wouldn't have suited the final album because it stood out too much. Most artists today are very cohesive in their sound and that what was wanted for the album. Similarly I think Turn It Into Love would be huge in Japan as Pete Waterman is a god there and they all love Kylie and Jason. Well, who doesn't?!"

Indeed! One thing is clear though - the duo are clearly grateful to Simon Cowell for giving them to the chance to record such a fun pop album. It's helped them achieve one dream of having a cd in the shops - their next ambition is to get a number one.

THE X FACTOR:

It was a simpler time back then. No audience during the auditions. Just Sharon throwing drinks over people and hopefully not electrocuting them on their own mic. Ah, good times. Before I delve into their illustrious X Factor history, I chat with them about the new format of the show. Sean thinks the audience might not be such a bad thing - positing that it gives people at home a wider reaction to latch onto. In their auditions it was just the judges opinion and that can often sway the public. Sarah thinks though that perhaps they wouldn't have gotten through if that format had been around in their day. We discuss how the quality of the backing tapes people use affected the quality of the performances and how Simon used backing vocalists at the judges houses just in case people didn't sound so amazing without all the theatricals that made up the initial auditions. But we're soon onto the topic of their brilliant outlandish performances on the show, and Sean is happy to discuss riding in on a tricycle!

"Brian just loved throwing everything and anything into our stage shows. I was coming in on trikes and we were off flying throwing glitter over Christmas trees. It's funny because when I worked the cruises I was told I wasn't being camp enough and then there I was doing all that. [Sarah]... We were one of the only acts to do singing and dancing within the show, a whole actual performance. He was really disappointed when we did Nothing's Gonna Stop Us and said he was bored that week!!"

I get a bit distracted reminiscing over these performances, and once again suggest it was a mixtape of brilliant pop magic. We then chat a little bit about whether they made mixtapes for people when they were younger (turns out Sarah was/is a big romantic who would make mixes for her boyfriends - more their musical choice than hers; nowadays her iPod mix is mainly pop and rock-pop such as Avril Lavigne. Sean is also a bit of a pop-rocker at heart and enjoys wigging out to Bon Jovi and Meatloaf) before turning our attention to Louis Walsh!

Now it's fair to say that Louis wasn't a huge fan of Same Difference and soon fell into the pantomime villain role of rolling his eyes at their performances and saying they weren't good enough for the competition. Turns out there are no hard feelings and that his views may have helped them along...

"[Sarah]... It definitely seemed more theatrical as the weeks went on and everyone has their role to play in that show. Actually our votes went up each week he was nasty to us; i mean if the semi-finals had been the final week we would have won! We had something like 44% of the vote! One week, our gran collared him backstage and told him not to be so nasty - and she can be fierce when she's angry! He had to convince her it was just his opinion for the camera!"
It was somewhat of a stressful time for the siblings too - each week the show would air, they would hold their breath just praying to get through to the next week. Then once that pressure was over with it was straight onto choice of song, rehearsing for the next week and starting the process all over again. It's clear they used each other for support during the process and were mature enough to take Louis' comments with a grain of salt. I point out that some of his recent choices aren't really credible (*cough* johnandedward *cough*) and we all have a jolly good chuckle about that :) Despite the ups and downs that the show brings, both Sean and Sarah are adamant that it was a brilliant experience and not one they would ever wish to badmouth.

In the upcoming live shows, Sean in particular is looking forward to is the Robbie Williams performance on this week's show and the conversation goes back to big comeback acts overshadowing X Factor alums performances - in this case Alexandra (who also features on the upcoming show) will have to shine against the biggest pop comeback since, well, Take That. Sarah hopes that Simon is nice to Robbie (I say that he always seems incredibly polite, if a little forthright) as he is quite competitive and will want Alexandra's single (which they both love) to do much better than Robbie. Fair point I suppose, and we're off again on a tangent chatting about upcoming pop music...

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE:

The process of selecting tracks for the "Pop" album was largely done by the record company, which has left Sean and Sarah with a number of tracks that they could still use.I ask about This Is The Night which recently featured on their bebo page...

"[Sean]... There were about 30 tracks in total in the running for the album - one of which was This Is The Night. We were so disappointed that it didn't make the final cut but we have more control now over the songs we can use and what we are recording and are hoping to take the songs to Europe and Asia first, where there is still a huge market for pop music. Then we can come back to England and kind of present ourselves saying 'well look what we've achieved now!'"

I suggest that perhaps This Is The Night is the a cross between a great Dannii Minogue dance track and something Alcazar might record (which reminds me - how brilliant would a Same Diff version of Thank You from the Disco Defenders album be?!) - in essence perfect for the European pop market where acts like Alcazar, Mans Zelmerlow, BWO and Caracola still thrive. And since leaving the Syco stable, they have been busy with everything from Boots suncream commercials to playing holiday camps to appearing at Fresher's Fayres!

"[Sarah] The Boots commercial was fun - but so cheap. Those kids weren't professional actors, it was almost like bring your kid to work day! We had to work like child minders all day trying to get them to dance, playing games and just really making it fun for them to encourage them to interact with us! [Sean] We definitely earned our money from that! And getting to play at Pontins and Butlins has been great because we have been able to meet so many fans and get out there singing live."

Progressing from the family environment of Butlins to doing university gigs must have been a bit nerve wracking for the duo? Sarah, in particular, admits to having reservations and it's nice to see that Sean is still protective of his sis...

"[Sarah]... I was really nervous at first to perform to teenagers because I got bullied by them so much when I was growing up. I think we went down really well though - it's like when you are that age you won't admit to liking S Club's greatest hits, but somehow everyone knows the words and enjoys themselves. I think we were the same. [Sean]... Sarah has definitely had some hard times at school, but one thing this process has done is really give her some confidence."

So with a trail of live performances behind them, and some new songs under their belt (including Souled Out - read more about that here), the focus is firmly on getting that number one record and still delivering solid, melody driven, danceable, fun loving pop music that everyone can enjoy. I can't help but feel that behind the enthusiasm are two very determined individuals who will work incredibly hard to achieve their dreams.