Dido -- the AntiDiva
CliffB
Diva with a difference ... Dido
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DIVAS are taking over showbiz. They will stop at nothing to get what they
want and their success has earned them millions.
This week The Sun is exposing the real women behind the carefully crafted
superstar images. Weąve spoken to the divas, their friends, colleagues,
relatives, lovers and enemies for an unprecedented look into their private
worlds.
Day Three of a super Sun series features Dido.
By MARTEL MAXWELL
BY rights she should be driven everywhere in a limo, dress in furs and have
an entourage of 30 hangers-on.
But millionaire pop superstar Dido is the diva with a difference.
You never hear of her having backstage strops because the dressing room is
too small or the champagne is the wrong vintage.
In fact, the only time Dido DOES shout at some poor unfortunate is when she
is at Highbury and her beloved Arsenal go a goal down.
Dido is the down-to-earth diva, despite a Ł15million fortune, becoming
Eminemąs best mate ‹ and having the baggage of the name Dido Florian Cloud
de Bounevialle Armstrong.
Fellow superstars J-Lo, Madonna and Britney Spears may lap up the celeb
lifestyle but Dido, 31, keeps it firmly at armąs length and still lives in
Islington, North London, where she grew up.
She says: łI havenąt become a diva. I hate people who are rude to waiters.
And I never buy designer clothes, I still just go to Topshop.
łI do well on the non-famous front. Sometimes someone will tell me I look
just like Dido. I just say, ŚThank you, Iąll take that as a compliment.ą But
mostly Iąm left alone.
łFame doesnąt interest me in the slightest. Success is a fantastic thing and
has made my life very exciting. But it has done nothing for me except be a
little bit weird. I just love writing songs, thatąs what I live for.˛
Didoąs other passion is football ‹ she still makes the most of her Arsenal
season ticket.
She says: łFootball was part of my life long before I became a singer so
itąs very important to me to keep it like that.
łNobody recognises me at the ground. I go to my dadąs house and we walk
there. Just like always ‹ family time.˛
Songbird ... Dido lives to make music
Picture: REUTERS
In fact, although Dido has met many celebs since she became a star she only
lost her famous cool when she met Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour.
She laughs: łIf I ever meet one of our players Iąm just pathetic. I start
blushing, stammering. People laugh at me but itąs because Arsenal has been
such an institution throughout my whole life.
łIąve got a video of me meeting Ray. Itąs pathetic, Iąm actually gibbering.˛
Didoąs first album, No Angel, has sold more than 12million copies ‹ the
biggest-selling debut EVER by a British female artist.
White Flag, the first single from her follow-up, Life For Rent, is at No2 in
the charts and on Sunday looks set to start its third week in the Top Five.
Dido is launching Life For Rent by performing two acoustic gigs in London
and New York on the same day. To celebrate, she is taking two Sun readers to
both sessions.
The album is another collection of melodic songs about relationships and
modern life. It has already received rave reviews, with critics praising
Didoąs voice and moving lyrics. It is expected to be another worldwide hit.
The singerąs massive success is partly down to Eminem, who sampled her song
Thank You on his No1 smash, Stan.
But she doesnąt care if people think that without Stan she would still be an
unknown.
Dido says: łI just think itąs great that Stan made people investigate my
album. That sample transformed my career.
łMy problem is the same whether I sell 20,000 records or 12million ‹ and
thatąs to make a great record.
łI honestly donąt feel like I have to prove anything. I donąt ever believe
what I do is that important. I just love making records. Even if they donąt
sell Iąll keep making them.
łThe kind of success Iąve had has had nothing to do with record companies
and everything to do with the public. You couldnąt plan it if you tried. I
did what I did and people liked it. Now Iąve had the chance to do it again.
Itąs wicked.˛
A pal says: łSuccess seems to have come easily to Dido but she is incredibly
hard-working. She will stop at nothing to make the perfect song. When she
has a track she knows is good, she doesnąt care who slags it off because she
believes in it.
Lost love ... Dido with ex Bob last year
łShe didnąt become a singer to be famous ‹ she can think of nothing worse
than living a life like J-Lo or Beyonce. She has more talent in her little
finger than half the prima donnas who make headlines.˛
While writing Life For Rent Dido went through one of the toughest times in
her life. First her dad William became seriously ill. She says: łHe was in
intensive care for months, we thought he was going to die.
łWhen my dad was sick, every time I left the hospital I played the same song
to straighten me out. I have songs for every single mood Iąm in.
łIt was a dance track that sampled Nina Simoneąs Feeling Good, such a
beautiful, uplifting song. It was a weird thing to be listening to when
leaving an intensive care unit but it got me back to myself.˛
Half-way through last yearąs Ivor Novello awards ‹ where she won Songwriter
Of The Year ‹ Dido got a call from her mum Clare saying William was waking
up.
She said: łI bombed it there, in full make-up and everything. I ran up the
stairs and there he was siting on the bed eating chocolates. Iąll never
forget that day.˛
The other trauma during the making of the album last year was when her
seven-year relationship with fiancé Bob Page fell apart.
Dido, who has a secret new boyfriend, still calls Bob the love of her life,
but says they had both changed. She says: łWe realised we were different to
each other, that we werenąt going to make each other happy for the rest of
our lives. But weąre still good friends.
łIąve been out with a lot of guys but heąs the only person Iąve truly got to
know.˛
The Queen Of Serene adds: łI might seem calm on the outside, but on the
inside Iąm the least settled Iąve ever been.˛
fastfwd
single. Looking forward to hearing the new album....
--
A sickened mind and spirit
The mirror tells me lies
Could I mistake myself for someone
Who lives behind my eyes
Will he escape my soul
Or will he live in me
Is he tryin' to get out or tryin' to enter me
THX 1138