Charttoppers - 10. Powercouple

New Music Powercouple: Ash and Kelly Get Up Close and Personal!

Pop superstars Ash Khong and Kelly Marvel are about to release a song together, Shallow Waters, which will be the second single from Ash’s upcoming album, Too Close. But are the two young singers more than just colleagues?

Judging by the recently leaked photos from their video shoot, it seems the two have gotten quite close. In the photos below, we can see Ash standing mere inches from Kelly, his fingers touching her lips. According to our unnamed source close to the pop starlet, Ash was the one who approached Kelly first with the idea of doing a song together, and things escalated from there.

“After meeting in the studio a few times, it quickly became clear to both of them that they had a lot in common. They started spending more and more time together and kept seeing each other even after they finished recording,” the source reveals. “They are absolutely crazy for each other and it’s only a matter of time when they’ll go public with their relationship.”

Marvel has been linked to several celebrities throughout her career, the latest of whom was the up-and-coming action star Jason Harrington. Even though they were pictured together on many occasions, both denied there was anything between them. Unlike her, Ash Khong’s dating life has been a mystery ever since his debut in the South Korean boyband 2Good. According to our source, this is his first relationship with a high-profile celebrity, which is why he is hesitant to confirm anything just yet.

~~

Recording music and working with some of the most talented people in the business was often a demanding process, requiring utmost concentration. However, it was also very inspiring for Samson, who was always a people person. Working with others - whether it was on new songs, dance moves or photoshoots often brought out the best in him and got his creative juices flowing. Still, if anyone was to ask Samson what his favorite part of being a popstar was, he would without question say he loved performing more than anything.

His job came with many privileges and he appreciated all of them - having enough money to be able to live comfortably, having a fanbase that loved and supported him - as small as it was, or being able to travel the world and see the sights he never thought he would get to see. But all of this paled in comparison to being able to fulfil his artistic vision on stage in spectacles that combined visuals, music, costumes and choreography.

It was nearly a year since the end of his first tour in support of his debut album Bleed Out, and Samson was itching to get back on stage. Aside from a few TV gigs where he promoted his latest number one single Clouds, he did not do any big performances or concerts. That was about to change, though, as the song became an unexpected hit. It reached number five on the latest charts, becoming his biggest hit to date.

In just a few weeks, Samson would be gracing the stage of Stardust Awards, where he was set to perform his upcoming single, a heartfelt acousting song called The Perfect Place. It was just at the right time, as the award ceremony was to take place two days after his album drops.

It was very important to the singer that everything goes without a hitch. Not just because he was a perfectionist, but also because he felt like he constantly had to prove himself. Even though his fans loved him, there were always people who tried to put him down, whether it was because of him being gay, doing commercial pop music or not having the strongest voice in the world. He never let this get him down, though. Instead, he used all of that criticism to work on his craft and become even better at what he does.

That was exactly why Samson insisted on releasing this song as his next single. The Perfect Place sounded unlike anything he’d ever released before, with his voice front and center, accompanied by piano and violins. It would help him showcase a different side of himself that the audience wasn’t able to see before. Maybe then he would be finally taken seriously and recognized as an artist, rather than just a throwaway pop singer.

“That was amazing, everyone! Anna, do you have it all on camera?” Samson asked his friend after the dancers and he finished practicing the moves for the song. This time, it was a slow routine that matched the soft ballad’s pace.

“Yeah. You guys totally slayed,” the girl nodded and smiled.

“Great! Why don’t we all take a shower and then meet back here to check out the video,” Samson suggested and quickly followed his dancers to the locker rooms.

His body sore after another long practice session, the singer retreated into one of the shower cubicles of the dance studio to wash away the sweat and relax under a stream of warm water. He had been training especially hard the last few days, not just for the performance, but also in preparation for his upcoming tour, which was to start in July. As was usual when Samson’s performances were concerned, the tour would be a complete audio and visual treat, with intricate choreography, costumes and props.

After the shower, Samson and the dancers returned to the dance hall where Anna was setting up to play the rehearsal video on a laptop. Everyone sat down on the matted floor, eager to see how they did. Their voices died down as the video began and they all focused on the screen. Samson observed it with a critical eye, trying to find any flaws or dull moments that could be made more exciting.

“This part right here,” he said as he reached for the laptop and pressed pause, then turned to Elena, his choreographer. “What if the four dancers in the back move away for the pre-chorus, and then come back as the chorus starts. It’ll make more of an impact, I think.”

“Yeah, we can try that next time,” Elena nodded and Samson pressed play. “Oh, here comes the bridge. Sam, you’re killing it!”

The singer smiled as he watched the rest of the video, satisfied with how well they’ve learned the moves so far. After winning just one award last year, he wanted to come back stronger than ever and show that he deserves a lot more. He wanted his performance to be the talk of the night.

Hank arrived just a few minutes later, as everyone was packing up and getting ready to leave. He came straight over to where Samson and Anna stood, getting their attention.

“Hey, when did you get here?” The singer gave him a brief hug when he noticed his manager and publicist next to him.

“I just got here,” Hank replied, greeting the two friends. “I got some news and had to tell you asap.”

“Oh, no, you’re making that face. This can’t be good,” Samson frowned. He had received enough good and bad news from Hank over the years that he could pretty much predict what the man was going to say based on his expression alone.

“What face?” the young manager asked, glancing between Samson and Anna.

“You know, when you bite your lower lip and slightly raise one eyebrow,” the singer replied, to which Hank’s cheeks started filling with color.

“Honey, you’re embarrassing him,” Anna interjected. “Anyway, what’s going on?”

“Well, there’s good news and bad news.”

“Gimme the good first,” the singer said nervously.

“Alright. You’ve heard of Argent Fest, the music festival Argent Media are trying to put together?” As Samson nodded in confirmation, Hank continued. “Well, their people called, they’re interested in having you as the headliner on the second day. Apparently, the CEO Melanie Roy is personally asking for you.”

“Oh, am I supposed to be flattered?” Samson chuckled. “I mean, I don’t really care which of their suits is asking for me.”

“She is a pretty big deal, so they’re just trying to butter you up, show you how ‘important’ you are to them. Anyway, Melanie wants to meet with us in person to negotiate the terms,” the manager explained.

“Alrighty. When are we meeting her?”

“The week after the Stardust Awards.”

“Ok, fine by me. And what about the bad news?”

“Well… It’s about the award show. I got a call from one of their producers today, and... they’re moving your performance slot. They want you to close the show,” Hank said as gently as he could.

“WHAT?!” Samson snapped, his sharp voice echoing through the large dance hall. At once, all of the dancers stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him, but he paid them no attention. “Are they kidding me with this? Half the viewers are gonna tune out by the end of the show! They’re literally moving me from the best slot to the worst one!”

The singer slammed his phone on the desk, not caring if it gets broken. He could feel his heart racing as anger started boiling inside him. He was supposed to perform in the very middle of the show, right before the biggest awards were announced. Along with the opening slot, which went to Ash this year, that was the most coveted part of the show, when the viewing numbers were usually the biggest. This was his chance to prove himself, to finally make a splash in the music scene, and now it’s been taken away from him, just like that.

“So, who are they replacing me with?” he asked, crossing his hands and pursing his pretty lips.

“They wouldn’t tell me, of course,” Hank rolled his eyes. “But I made some calls and managed to find out anyway. It’s Tyler Edwards.”

“Have they been smoking crack? The guy has one song. Count it: one!” Samson raised his index finger, waving it in Hank’s face. “I’ve had baths that lasted longer than his career! And they’re replacing me with him? Honestly, fuck him. First he’s releasing his album the same day as mine, and now this!”

“Sam, I know this isn’t what you wanted, but-”

“No,” Samson shook his head, cutting him off. “Tell them I’m not doing it then. Call them and tell them I’m backing out of the show if they don’t give me my slot back.”

“Look, why don’t you think about it some more? Let’s go have lunch and when you cool off, then you can decide what you wanna do, ok?” Hank suggested. “I mean, this is a big promo deal anyway. People will be streaming your performance later no matter what.”

“No, I’ve been dealing with this kind of shit my entire career. People saying I can’t sing, I’m not a real artist, I don’t write my own songs. Well, I’m working my ass off to prove them wrong, and I deserve this chance! First they used my name for promo, and now they replace me with this flavor-of-the-month guy! No, not gonna happen. I’ve made up my mind,” the singer stated firmly, fire in his eyes. “If you don’t call them, I will. It’s the principle and I’m not backing down.”

“Ok then,” the manager sighed as he pulled out his phone from his pocket. If Samson said he would call them, he definitely would, Hank knew that very well. He actually admired the singer for being stubborn and persistent, even though it sometimes made his job so difficult. “I’ll try getting in touch with them now, but then let’s go and have lunch, ok? I don’t want you stressing over this.”

“Fine,” the singer replied, watching Hank walk out of the room.

Still fuming, Samson went back to finish packing. Silently, he proceeded to aggressively shove his workout clothes into his bag, thinking how he just might be starting to hate Tyler Edwards with all his might.

~~

“No, mom, I didn’t forget about dad’s birthday,” Ash repeated for the third time, forcing himself not to roll his eyes. Instead, he smiled into his laptop camera as he chatted to his mother via Skype. “I’ll call him first thing in the morning. And I already got him a gift, I’ll give it to him next time I visit.”

“Really?” the woman’s lips instantly spread into a smile, her eyes burning with curiosity. “What did you get him?”

“I’m not gonna tell you, you’ll just tell him then,” Ash refused, knowing his mother could not keep a secret if her life depended on it.

“I will not,” she protested, offended at his remark.

“Sorry, but you’re gonna have to wait. You’ll find out together.”

Even though the woman was ready to complain some more, she quickly got over it after Ash promised he would visit them in a few weeks. With him often on the road and both of his parents working as university professors, they did not get to see each other often. However, his mother loved to keep in touch with him at least once a week via Skype. That way, she could see it with her own eyes that her son was alright.

“Oh, and I got you VIP tickets for the Stardust Awards. We’re going together.”

“Really? That’s so exciting! I get to see my baby perform live,” the woman gushed, clapping her hands together. “When do you perform? Is there going to be dancing?”

Ever since the start of Ash’s career, his mother loved watching his music videos and performances, especially enjoying the complex choreography he would often perform.

“I’m opening the show and yes, there’ll be dancing. I’ll have my manager show you to your seats, and then I’ll join you after the performance,” the singer explained.

Unlike Samson, Ash was not a big fan of award shows, considering them a waste of time and money. However, he knew his fans loved them and were looking forward to seeing him take the big stage again. Also, he had new music he was eager to perform and promote, and when it came to award shows, there was no bigger event than the Stardust Awards, taking place every summer in Los Angeles.

Last year, he won two awards - best album and best song, while Samson snatched up best live performance. This year, they had no nominations since they released no new music in the award period. Still, Ash was looking forward to going as a performer, especially since he could bring his parents and show them a good time.

After promising once again to visit them in a few weeks’ time, the singer said goodbye to his mother and closed his laptop. Even though it was only noon, he was ready to call it a day and go to the gym or the studio to get some practice in. Anything to get away from the press and the incessant phone calls that were driving him crazy. His phone had barely stopped buzzing since he woke up and he wasted no time in putting it on silent. He was in no mood to answer reporters’ questions about Tyler Edwards or Cliff Sanders - he knew nothing about the former, and he wished he didn’t know anything about the latter.

However, that was not even the worst news of the day, as another unpleasant surprise waited for Ash when he unlocked his phone that morning. A paparazzo had taken photos of the Korean singer and Kelly Marvel during their video shoot, making it seem like they were about to kiss. It was a compromising position, with Ash’s fingers touching her face, enough to make anyone suspect something was indeed going on between them.

Without even reading through the entire article, Ash angrily closed his phone and tossed it on the couch. Lauren was going to be pissed about that, and Marcus even more. Ash was not looking forward to dealing with either at the moment.

Luckily, his manager Paul was the first to call, wanting to inform him about Cliff Sanders being absolutely livid about the new singer, Tyler Edwards, releasing his album on the same day as Ash. After a quick Google search, Ash saw that Sanders definitely had a lot to be furious about. All major pop culture websites had already published articles about the ‘next big thing in music’ coming to conquer America. Most importantly, it turned out Tyler was signed by the biggest rival record label - Platinum Street.

“Well, I guess he had it coming,” he could only shrug at the news. “He wanted publicity, I’d say he’s got it now. At least seeing him fume on that show was fun. He always had a short fuse, but I still can’t believe he embarrassed himself like that.”

“Ash, I know you don’t like Sanders, and believe me, neither do I, but this is your career we’re talking about,” Paul tried to reason with him. “Tyler is a fresh new face everyone’s going crazy for at the moment. His single is big, and I’m talking song-of-the-year big. He could easily dethrone you.”

“Look, I know you want me to care about charts, but I just don’t. All I want is to do my album the way I want to and to hear people sing my songs back to me on tour. I don’t care if I debut at number one or twenty-one. No one’s gonna remember those numbers in a few years anyway, so I think I’ll leave the new kid to worry about charts.”

“You talk as if you’re some kind of a veteran. This is only your second album.”

“My second solo album,” Ash corrected him. “You forget I’ve been in the business for seven years, Paul. What do you think I was doing all those years with 2Good – playing pretend?”

“Fine,” the manager sighed. “But when Sanders cuts your budget for your next album, don’t come crying to me, asking me to beg him to reconsider. And you know him, he won’t hesitate to pull a stunt like that if he thinks you’re underperforming. Remember what happened to Alison Reed?”

“Who?”

“Exactly. She had one hit album ten years ago, but as soon as the label decided she wasn’t doing well enough, they sidelined her for other, younger singers. And she’s just one of the many examples.”

“I know, you’re right,” Ash admitted, calming down. “I’m sorry. But what do I do? I can’t force Tyler to move his release date.”

“Actually, Sanders has another one of his brilliant ideas,” Paul said hesitantly, and Ash couldn’t stop himself from shaking his head. Whatever it was, he was almost certain he was not going to like it. “He’s seen the gossip on you and Kelly and… he wants you to play along with it. He thinks a high-profile PR relationship would be good for publicity right now. And let’s face it, there’s no one more high-profile than Kelly Marvel at the moment.”

“Fuck no. Forget about it, I’m not doing it,” Ash snapped, shooting down the idea. Having to hide his sexuality was something he had always despised. Sadly, he had to get used to it because he did not have a choice, but it still sometimes pained him that he could never kiss his boyfriend in public, take him out for a romantic dinner and hold his hand as they walked down the street. Still, pretending to be in a relationship with a girl was out of the question. It was one thing to hide a part of himself, but a whole other thing to actively deceive everyone, including his fans.

“Wait, before you rip my head off, let me explain. First of all, it would only be until the album drops. Secondly, you don’t even have to do anything. He’s not asking you to take her out on dates and kiss her in public. Just… let the gossip mags write their stories and don’t correct them. If they ask you about it, just be vague or change the subject. Lauren can help you with it,” the manager explained. “Speaking of Lauren, she said she wanted to talk to you. I assume it’s about this.”

“I know, she texted me this morning. Said she’d stop by later,” the singer replied, weighing his manager’s words.

As much as he hated it, Ash knew his career largely depended on Cliff Sanders. Even though they had a contract for one more album, the man could cut his budget and leave Ash to fend for himself. If that happened, he would have to pay for the producers, video directors and more. Of course, any kind of extensive promo would be out of the question in that case, since Ash could certainly not finance it on his own.

“I better not regret this, but ok. If I don’t have to actually go out with her, I’ll play along,” he finally agreed. “But don’t expect me to appear with her at events or anything. And as soon as album sales are announced, the deal’s off.”

“That’s all you have to do, no one’s expecting anything more from you.”

“Good,” Ash nodded, trying to keep his cool. Even though Paul Raines was a demanding manager, he was always fair and on the singer’s side more often than not. Ash appreciated that and did not want to sound ungrateful, but anything that had to do with him hiding his sexuality was a touchy subject. It was the one part of his life that he wished he could be genuine about, and something he envied Samson for. The younger singer seemed so unapologetically himself and his career did not seem to suffer for it. Ash often wondered if that would be possible for him someday - proudly appearing on the red carpet with his boyfriend and using male pronouns in his songs. For now, it was only a dream, but it was one he wanted to make a reality.

When he opened the door a little later that day to receive a sulking Marcus in, Ash’s mood was once again dampened. He was not surprised one bit, what with the rumors about him and Kelly spreading like wildfire, but he still hoped Marcus would understand that was just how gossip magazines worked.

When he tried to go in for a hug, the dancer swiftly dodged him and went into the living room, stopping when he reached the balcony door. Ash closed the door and silently followed.

“I guess you saw the news, huh?” the singer asked as he stood next to his boyfriend, his hand hovering over his shoulder. A few seconds later, he pulled it back, knowing how prickly Marcus could get when he was annoyed.

“No, not at all. Why, what happened?” the dancer replied, mustering all the sarcasm inside him. “Fuck, what the hell were you thinking, Ash?!”

When the man turned to look at him, the Korean could see the hurt and anger in his dark eyes. He had been crying.

“Babe, I’m sorry, but it’s just rumors. We know what’s real,” Ash tried to appease him, but he wouldn’t listen.

“You know what, I don’t wanna hear it. It’s always this or that - there’s always some excuse! I’m fucking sick of it, ok?!” Marcus lost his temper, storming away from Ash once again. “Dammit, I’m allowed to be angry! I’m allowed to want to hold and kiss my boyfriend whenever I feel like it, and not watch him get it on with girls.”

“Come on, you know it wasn’t like that. You were there!”

“Yeah, I know, but that doesn’t change the fact that I have to see comments about the ‘hottest new couple’ whenever I go online. How do you think that makes me feel? This morning at dance practice, everyone was looking at me with pity. No one said anything, but I knew what they were thinking. Poor Marcus, having a closeted boyfriend.”

“And do you think I’m happy about it? I want nothing more than to come out and tell everyone you’re my boyfriend, but I can’t! I was pissed too when I saw those photos, but I just got orders this morning that I have to play along with it because Cliff fucking Sanders thinks it’s a good idea. So yeah, now I have a fake girlfriend,” Ash spat it all out in one breath, his face getting red with anger.

“And when were you gonna tell me that? When I see photos of the two of you kissing all over my Twitter feed?” Marcus’ voice was filled with venom.

“That’s not fair and you know it. You knew what you were getting yourself into,” Ash was angry at Sanders, Marcus, everyone. He was sick of fighting, but he was also fed up with his boyfriend’s complaints, even though he knew neither of them were to blame. “What do you want me to do? I can’t do shit as long as I have that fucking contract hanging over my head.”

“I know you can’t do anything, and neither can I. That’s the thing, there’s just no point in trying anymore,” the dancer hung his head. Ash’s breath caught in his throat as realization hit him. Marcus was always strong and fierce, a fighter. But now, even he was giving up. It was over.

“Marcus, don’t…” Ash started to reach out for him, but the other guy brushed him off, getting up from the couch and heading for the door, tears already flowing freely down his face.

“No, Ash, I’m done. I’m sick of feeling like your dirty little secret. I’m sick of not being good enough for you to put me first. I just… I’m done. I don’t think we should see each other anymore.”

Stunned, Ash did not say anything to convince him to stay. He knew there was no use in trying. With teary eyes, he just stood in the middle of the room like a statue, watching Marcus walk out the door without looking back.