Rak-Su’s Ashley denied visa for breakthrough US trip because of shoplifting rap
X FACTOR winners Rak-Su’s bid to crack America has suffered an early blow as one of the members has been stopped from entering the country.
I can reveal Ashley Fongho was denied a visa this week after US authorities became aware of a shoplifting incident when he was just 13.
And the T-shirt at the centre of the drama has come back to haunt him in a big way, as he will stay behind, leaving his three band-mates Jamaal Shurland, Myles Stephenson and Mustafa Rahimtulla to fly out without him.
A music source said: “Ashley is gutted. He was desperate to work on new tracks and also see Camila Cabello live.
“When he applied for a visa online, he recalled the theft when filling in a section about previous criminal activity.
“Even though he was never charged, the incident was still clearly on a file somewhere and he has been stopped from entering America.”
Ashley is so cut up about missing out on the LA jaunt he has jetted off to Barcelona — where he doesn’t need a visa.
He told his Twitter followers he will be hitting the beach and the Nou Camp football stadium and enjoying a few nights out with pals while the band are laying down tracks.
Rak-Su’s new music is expected to be released this summer.
The lads were due to record this week, working with some top US producers.
Their boss Simon Cowell has high hopes for the boyband following their X Factor victory last December.
Their winners’ song Dimelo, a track made with Wyclef Jean and Naughty Boy, got huge air play and charted at No2.
If they do go on to be massive, Ashley will be hoping bosses pump out loads of Rak-Su memorabilia.
Then no doubt he will be first in the queue to pick up freebies.
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The Rita's running
RITA Ora could have been mistaken for a New York cab in this yellow coat.
The singer was on a day out with rocker boyfriend Andrew Watt in the Big Apple on Monday.
The pair were reunited after he was kicked out of a warehouse rave in Brooklyn last week.
Someone was said to have told security he was on the wrong table alongside her ex A$ap Rocky, who dissed Rita in his tune Better Things.
Andrew did well not to pour a drink over him.
Kev up for career cha-change
WHEN Louise Redknapp was paired with Kevin Clifton on Strictly, he taught her the ins and outs of dancing.
But it appears she passed on a tip too.
I can reveal that Kevin has been taking singing lessons at the Royal Academy of Music after encouragement from the former Eternal star. He has taken up several new hobbies, including ballet, since The Sun revealed in February his split from wife Karen.
Kevin whose dancer sister Joanne swapped Strictly for the stage last year, has been having regular classes with top West End vocal coaches Lucinda Allen and Jordan Clarke.
A pal said: “Kevin has been keen to find a much-needed distraction since his marriage split.
“He’s always fancied trying his hand at musical theatre and following his sister’s footsteps.
“Louise was constantly telling him he should take singing lessons and he finally took the decision to sign up for some earlier this year.
“He’s hoping to take his music career in the future.”
Louise is hard at work on her new album, and this week has been in the studio recording a song penned for her by Jessie Ware.
Kevin could be her next duet.
bizbit
ELTON John has praised Ed Sheeran for covering his classic Candle In The Wind for Elt’s tribute album Revamp. He told Beats 1: “I didn’t think anyone would tackle it but Ed had the balls to do it. It’s absolutely beautiful.”
No doubt a wedding's coming
GWEN Stefani is already thinking about another wedding - just two years after divorcing husband of 14 years Gavin Rossdale.
The singer has been gushing about her relationship with country star Blake Shelton and admits another trip down the aisle will go down well with her family.
Asked if they would get hitched, she said: “I love weddings. The kids love him. We love him. Everybody loves him. He’s loveable. I do, I think about it all the time.”
Yesterday the former No Doubt frontwoman also announced her Just A Girl Las Vegas residency, which will see her perform at Zappos Theatre in Planet Hollywood from June until March 2019.
After all those money-spinning shows, she really will be able to splash out on her big day.
bizbit
QUINCY Jones is to do a one-off summer gig in London to celebrate turning 85 this year. The legendary US musician will play the O2 Arena, along with a number of special guests and a symphony orchestra, on June 27.
Role model Anais
ANAIS Gallagher appears to be cut from a different cloth to her famous dad Noel and uncle Liam.
The aspiring model has revealed she doesn’t drink.
Speaking on the latest edition of the Hotbed podcast alongside mum Meg Mathews, Anais admitted: “Friends have stopped inviting me out”
She also revealed yesterday that she suffers from skin condition psoriasis and is now going to stop editing its marks on her ankles and waist from her selfies to set a better example. Good on her.
Record track hacked
THE video for Despacito has been hacked and deleted days after becoming the first to reach five billion views on YouTube.
Luis Fonsi’s hit song – remixed by Justin Bieber – was replaced with a picture of masked gunmen when users searched for the track.
Experts were last night hard at work trying to get the video for the song, which sold more than six million copies last year, back online.
Tracks by Shakira, Drake and Selena Gomez were also affected by the hack.
A spokesman for Vevo, the music channel which hosted the songs on YouTube, said: “Vevo can confirm that a number of videos in its catalogue were subject to a security breach, which has now been contained.
“We are working to reinstate all videos affected and our catalogue to be restored to full working order.”
I’m sure it could squeeze out a few more million hits.
Normani: Cab doing fab
CAMILA Cabello’s career has gone from strength to strength since quitting Fifth Harmony in 2016 – and now even her ex-bandmates are recognising how well she is doing.
Normani, who was in the group until they announced their split last month, said of her former pal: “She’s killing it. She’s freaking killing it. I’m super proud of her. She is in her own space and she’s happy.”
It comes just weeks after Camila took the moral high ground on my Dan Wootton Interview podcast, saying she held no “bad feelings” towards the girls over their stunt at last year’s MTV VMAs, when they pushed a mannequin of Camila off the stage.
Clearly Normani has taken a leaf out of her book.
bizbit
RUSSELL Crowe tweeted on the end of his marriage to Danielle Spencer: “Yesterday, April 9th 2018 at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (Aus). I officially became divorced. Thank you linesman. Thank you ball boys.”
Mark on a kick ab-out
MARK Wright has been getting practice in before taking on Usain Bolt and Niall Horan in Soccer Aid 2018.
And staying true to his Essex roots, he made sure to flash his abs mid-game in LA.
Mark, who works on US TV show Extra, will be back in the UK to report on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding next month.
He will then return in June for Soccer Aid to play alongside Olly Murs, Joe Wicks and Mo Farah for England against The Rest of the World team captained by Usain.
The ex-Towie star must have great air miles.
bizbit
JURASSIC World actor Bryce Dallas Howard has told how she took lower pay than men for fear of losing jobs. She said: “I didn’t want people to think I wasn’t grateful for opportunities.” Yet she adds: “You can’t do that.”
1's new King of the airwaves
MOLLIE King has bagged an official presenter job at Radio 1 in a station shake-up that looks like bad news for breakfast host Nick Grimshaw.
He loses his Friday morning show, but the Saturdays singer deserves her new job after the success of her stint as a celebrity guest host.
Mollie, who will co-host with Matt Edmonson three days a week, has a face for way more than radio, as my stunning exclusive snaps here show.
Yesterday she wrote on Instagram: “I’ve had so much fun working with Matt and I’m so glad I’m no longer just Mollie from The Saturdays, but Mollie from the Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.”
Like what she did there.
Pro cops it in horror
PROFESSOR Green’s past run-ins with the law have finally come in useful.
I can reveal the rapper has landed his first film role, playing a policeman in a budget Brit horror Are We Dead Yet?
Pro, whose real name is Stephen Manderson, has been cast as cop Bryan alongside Love Island’s Marcel Sommerville and singer Lisa Maffia, who will both appear as ghosts.
A source said: “Pro’s had huge success with his cutting-edge televison docuentaries.
“People find him relatable and he reckons he has what it takes to be a top actor on the Brit movie scene. While he knows this film isn’t going to win any Oscars, he feels it’s a good chance to test his talent.”
Former Hollyoaks actors Paul Danan and Fabrizzio Santino and model Jessica-Jane Stafford also feature in the Fredi “Kruga” Nwaka-directed film set for release on Halloween.
Rapper Pro, who was slapped with a one-year driving ban in 2014 for getting behind the wheel of his Mercedes drunk to chase the thief who stole his £40,000 Rolex on his own doorstep, has claimed music has saved him from a life of crime.
He was previously stabbed in the neck with a broken bottle and saw his attacker brought to justice in 2010. Pro later had the word Lucky inked over the six-inch scar on his neck.
Pro may have to get used to applying concealer on his tatt if his movie career takes off.
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Matchmaker Si
SIMON Cowell is trying to set up Sinita, who he dated in 1984, with his BGT co-judge David Walliams. David told Heat: “Imagine if that happened. She’d have gone from Brad Pitt to Simon Cowell to me. That’s a steep decline. What kind of woman would go out with us three? ”
Must be jo-King
NOEL Gallagher compares himself to civil rights icon Martin Luther King in Q. He explained he likes to get fans at his gigs so “deranged” that they are “begging” for him to speak, adding: “I drop a mumbled ‘good evening’ into the mic and they whoop and holler like I’m Martin Luther King.”
Luc of love
HE has been with wife Natasha for 15 years – so what is Gary Lucy’s secret to his long-standing romance? The Hollyoaks actor told Now: “The three children we’ve got are testament to how patient and forgiving she is. She’s the angel, I’m the devil and it somehow works.”
Em muscles in
EMMA Willis has begun sharing a personal trainer with Olly Murs after being bowled over by the pop star’s recent transform- ation. The Voice presenter told Star: “His name is Rob and he’s very good. I mean, he’s whipped Olly into incredible shape.”