The Big Reunion was a family affair this week, as '90s group 3T talked about the good, the bad and the tragic times they went through as members of the Jackson clan. Their story struck a chord with married mother-of-one and Girl Thing member Jodi Albert, who's been blogging about her time on the show exclusively for DS. Read on for her thoughts on Jackson family life, cheeky comparisons to the King of Pop and the prospect of being fired by fax like Eternal's Kéllé Bryan...
"First of all, I thought Andi Peters' jibe about Girl Thing not bothering Michael Jackson's record sales was hilarious. You can't take it too seriously - I think that's what makes The Big Reunion good. All of the bands at some point or another didn't end up working and you've got to be able to take it on the chin. It's only a laugh. There's no way in this bloody world that I think Girl Thing are anywhere near The Jackson Five, not in my wildest dreams.
"I can't say that I was a 3T fan back then, but I adore them now. They are just such nice guys. They went out of their way to come to our dressing room at Hammersmith last week and say, 'You keep putting yourself down and you feel like you're the joke act, but you're actually quite similar to us and you deserve to be here'.
"3T saw the similarities between us. We're the two bands in the show that never got the chance to actually become a big thing. We were always stopped in our tracks just when we were starting to lift off the ground. That's the most frustrating thing about this industry - sometimes someone on the inside will just decide, 'No, that's not good enough'. I call them 'industry blockers'. And if the Jackson nephews can't do it, what hope do the rest of us have?
"3T are in a really difficult position because they're part of this incredible legacy, but, like they said, they're never going to be Michael Jackson, they're never going to do what the Jackson 5 did, and that's a tough thing to face. In rehearsal they did this bit where they turned around and watched Michael Jackson on a screen and he sang some of the songs - that was the first time when I realised, 'That's their uncle who died'. That's not just Michael Jackson, that's their family member who they're still grieving over and I felt for them, actually.
"I think Michael was right trying to stop 3T going into showbusiness as children. His childhood got taken away and he wanted to let them be kids. I wouldn't let my son do it young, not at all. There comes a point when you can't hold your children back - when I wanted to be a popstar at 16, it would have broken my heart if my parents didn't let me go for it and I don't think I ever would have forgiven them. But when they're kids they have no idea. It's too much of a big bad world to release them into.
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"Taj still struggles with stage fright, and I do have little moments like that too. I normally can't eat before a performance, because I end up feeling like I want to throw up with nerves. But the minute you step out on stage, you can't help it, something happens. Normally I'm sat with no make-up on with a tracksuit on and my hair tied back, but as soon as I go on stage I want to go for gold. Obviously he's got a lot more pressure on him than me, being a Jackson - nobody gives a crap if I'm s**t.
"When 3T talked about their mother's death, I just saw these grown-up men as three little boys all of a sudden. I just don't know how you get over that. They've had to overcome so many tragedies in the public eye, and sometimes you do get so successful that people forget you're still a person. That's where being famous is a double-edged sword.
"But it was so lovely to see how normal the Jacksons are as a family despite their fame, with Michael's son Prince jumping around like a young lad and them all taking the mickey out of each other. I think it's a real show of TJ's character that he became co-guardian to Michael's kids. What a beautiful man. You can see what he's doing is working. They're obviously in a really good place. That's what life's about, really - family.
"With Eternal, you could tell their reunion was a bit frosty and they needed to work through a few things, but they saw the bigger picture and now they're great.
"I would have found it very hard to not contact Kéllé when she was diagnosed with lupus. I'm really soft, so I probably would have just made up with her, brought her a present and given her a cuddle. Life's too short. When it comes to illnesses and serious stuff, you've got to let it go.
"I think getting fired by fax probably hurt Kéllé bad and cut her deep at the time, but it's something she will get over. She's too much of a beautiful person to let things like that ruin everything for her. This whole fax thing cracks me up, to be honest. How '90s is it to get fired by a fax machine? So retro. What's the modern equivalent - could I get fired by a tweet?
"A1 admitting that they were depressed and had suicidal thoughts after their split didn't shock me. It's such a weird high that you get when you're a performer - it's addictive. If it's stopped dead in its tracks, you can't help but want to have it again. It's kind of weird to go from being so busy and buzzing around the place to nothing. You really do need friends around you and to get stuck into something else.
"It didn't shock me to hear about Ben being drunk on the stripper stage with just his socks on - it's Ben! I just love how honest he is. Fair play to him, he didn't have to say that. It's obviously not a big deal to him, and a lot of good-looking young guys - in fact, the ugly ones as well - end up living this life of girls and drink when they're in a boyband. They keep going for it until they find the one that gets them, then they sometimes settle down.
"I'm so scared for the Girl Thing reunion next week. Eternal's reunion is so calm and tame compared to ours. I was like, 'Is that it?' I'm going to probably watch it from behind my sofa. Put it this way - we were the only band that needed two reunions. Next week's going to be so explosive. This is the calm before the storm."
The Big Reunion continues on Thursday at 9pm on ITV2
