"Na ƙi zama sananne," in ji Samuel Preston. "Na ƙi, na ƙi, na ƙi shi." Shekaru ashin da suka gabata, Preston—wanda ya yi amfani da sunan mahaifinsa don girmama Morrissey—yana fuskantar wani irin shahara mai tsanani. Ya fara samun karbuwa ta hanyar NME tare da ƙungiyarsa ta Worthing, the Ordinary Boys, wadda waƙoƓinta na indie-punk mai sassaucin ra'ayi da kuma shiga cikin al'umma, tare da sautin ska, suka samu masu bi da su da yawa da ake kira Ordinary Army, saboda waƙoƓi kamar "Boys Will Be Boys." Amma shigarsa a kakar wasa ta 2006 na Celebrity Big Brother, da kuma sha'awar jama'a game da dangantakarsa mai ban sha'awa da abokin takararsa Chantelle Houghton—'sanannen' da aka saka a cikin taurarin B—suka kai shi wani mataki na shahara.
Bayan barin shirin, ya tuna, "Ina cikin maganin kwanciya (Prozac) da yawa. Ina cikin wani yanayi mai ban mamaki." Yanzu, bayan ya shafe shekaru a Amurka, yana gina nasarar sana'a a matsayin mawaki mai haya (yana aiki tare da masu fasaha kamar Kylie Minogue, Cher, Olly Murs, Liam Payne, da Jessie Ware), da kuma tsira daga wani hatsari na kusa da mutuwa da kuma shan maganin OxyContin, Preston yana farfado da Ordinary Boys. Sabuwar waƙar ƙungiyar, "Peer Pressure," ita ce fitowarsu ta farko tun 2015, ban da waƙar Kirsimeti tare da Olly Murs.
"Ni mutum ne mai ƙwarewa sosai," in ji shi. "Zan iya yin komai sau biyu." Sanye da rigar Martin Parr, gashin kansa an aske shi kuma an yi masa bleaching, Preston mai shekaru 44 yana zaune a bene na biyu a wurin taron Strongroom na gabashin London. Kwana biyu da suka gabata, Ordinary Boys sun yi wasan su na farko cikin shekaru goma a can. Duk da cewa ba shi da sha'awar tsakiyar shekarun 2000 na fagen indie na Burtaniya ("a zahiri lokacin da babu waƙoƓi masu daraja sai ƙungiyoyi uku kawai"), ya yarda cewa sake duba waƙar ƙungiyar ta farko ta 2004, Over the Counter Culture, da kuma ta 2005, Brassbound, sun sa ya gane cewa suna da abin da za su faɗa. "Kowace waƙa a kundi na farko ta kasance: kar ku sami aiki, jari-hujja ba ta da kyau. Mu ƙungiya ce ta siyasa ta hanyarmu." Bai gane haka sosai a lokacin ba. "Billy Bragg ya buga min waya ya ce, 'Ina ganin kuna yin wani abu mai mahimmanci.'" Ya yi murmushi. "Amma sai watanni biyu bayan haka, na shiga Big Brother."
Lokacin da aka ba shi tayin, ya karɓe shi nan take. "Ni mutum ne mai ƙwarewa sosai," ya sake maimaitawa. "Zan iya yin komai sau biyu." Yan uwansa a ƙungiyar ba su ji daɗi ba, amma ya kare shawarar—a gare su da kansa—a matsayin "wani nau'in aikin fasaha na Warholian, mai ban sha'awa." Wannan kakar CBB ta ƙunshi ƴan wasa masu ban tunawa: Pete Burns ("mutum mafi kyau a kowane lokaci"), George Galloway ("makamashi mara kyau"), da Michael Barrymore ("mutum mai daɗi, ya yi mafi kyawun toad-in-the-hole da na taɓa ci"). Jimmy Savile ya ɗan yi baƙo a takaice. "Mummuna. Mugunta ta yi ta fitowa daga gare shi."
Amma soyayyar Preston da Houghton ce ta jawo hankalin jama'a sosai—musamman tun da kowa ya san Preston yana da budurwa, Camille Aznar, tana jira a gida. Hakan ya jefa shi cikin guguwar jaridu. "Da sauri ya zama mafarki mara kyau," in ji shi.
Ɗaya daga cikin matakan farko da ya yi bayan Big Brother shi ne ba da labari da hotuna ga Sunday Mirror. "Sun sa na cire tufafina. Kuma ban so ba. Ya kasance mai matuƙar wahala." Ya bayyana a shafin farko ba tare da riga ba, a tsakanin hotunan Houghton da Aznar, ana nuna shi a matsayin mutumin da ke tsakanin mata biyu. Mahaifiyarsa tana da kwafin wannan shafin farko a ɗakin bayan gida. "Bana tunanin ta gane yadda yake sa ni haushi a duk lokacin da na yi fitsari."
Ya auri Houghton a watan Agusta 2006, watanni takwas bayan sun hadu. "Tabbas mun yi soyayya. Mun haɗu cikin wahala ta wannan gogewa mai tsanani." Sun zama sanannen ma'aurata na lokacin, kuma duk da ikirarinsa a yau, Preston ya nuna jin daɗin hankalin da ake masa a lokacin: bayyanuwa a talabijin, murfin mujallu masu kyau, gabatarwar fina-finai. Shi da Houghton... Ma'auratan Houghton sun sayar da hotunan bikin aurensu ga mujallar OK! akan kimanin fam 300,000 kowanne. "Na tsaya kan hakan," in ji shi. "Duk waɗannan 'yan wasan ƙwallon ƙafa za su yi haka, me ya sa ba ni ba?"
Preston ya yi iƙirari—kuma har yanzu yana yin haka—cewa kundi na uku na ƙungiyar a 2006, How to Get Everything You Ever Wanted in Ten Easy Steps, ya kasance sharhi kan shahara daga cikin na'urar. An rubuta shi da sauri tare da taimakon "babban abokinsa" Will Self don yin amfani da sabon shahararsa, in ji shi, "Na ce, 'Zan yi kundi game da wannan duniyar hauka.' Amma na hau bango don gano cewa yana da tsanani da zalunci da ban mamaki. Ina tsammanin shi ya sa wannan kundi yake da sauti mai ban mamaki. Abin da 'Lonely at the Top' yake magana a kai shi ne. Kwatsam akwai mutane miliyan a kusa da kai kuma ba ka ma san ko suna son ka ko a'a."
Amma maimakon ya zama ɗan wasa mai raina kansa a cikin wani gwaji na Warholian, na ba da shawarar cewa a zahiri ya bayyana a matsayin mai kishin shahara. "Ina ganin hakan yana da gaskiya sosai, amma ban sani ba ko waɗannan abubuwan sun soke juna," ya amsa. "Domin akwai mai kishin shahara kuma akwai mai son sani. Ba haka bane, 'Ba zan iya jira in zama sananne ba. Zan sami mota mai tsada sosai.'" Ya yi kama da cewa shigar cikin ƙungiyar ita kanta wata nasara ce mai inganci. "Ni ɗan boko ne a makaranta. Mutum mai gashi mai kaifi, gaba ɗaya a bango. Ba wanda ya taɓa son ni. Don haka lokacin da na fita daga Big Brother ya kasance kamar, 'Na shiga, na yi nasara!'"
Duk da haka, "sai na gano cewa duniyar ba za ta iya canzawa ba. Kuma hanya ɗaya tilo da zan iya rayuwa da ita ita ce in karkata kaina zuwa wani siffa wanda ya dace da iyakokin abin da suke so. Na bar iko."
Ana bibiyarsa koyaushe ta hanyar masu daukar hotuna, kuma akwai mutanen da suke binciken shara. "Lokacin mujallar Nuts da Zoo Weekly ne. Yadda ake magana game da mutane—'Preston yana kama da mai kiba a yau'—ya kasance mummunan abu ne." Bugu da ƙari, an hack wayarsa. A cikin 2018, Preston yana ɗaya daga cikin mashahuran mutane 16 waɗanda suka sasanta iƙirarin hackin waya tare da News Group Newspapers, suna samun diyya mai yawa. "Hackin waya ya kasance babban ɓangare na wannan wahala gaba ɗaya," in ji shi. Zuwa wani wuri kawai don samun masu daukar hotuna sun riga sun jira su "da gasya ya sa na yi shakkar kowa. 'Wane ne ya gaya muku cewa za mu kasance a nan?'"
A cikin Janairu 2007, ya yi fitowarsa mara kyau a kan Never Mind the Buzzcocks, yana tafiya a tsakiyar shirin bayan mai masaukin baki Simon Amstell ya karanta sassa daga tarihin rayuwar Houghton, Living the Dream, cikin izgili. Houghton yana cikin masu sauraro. "Wannan lokaci ne mai girman kai," in ji Preston. "A zahiri yana da zalunci da nuna bambancin matsayi. A gaskiya ban san wani zaɓi da na yi ba." Amma a ƙarshen shekarar, aurensa ya rabu, kuma a farkon 2008 Ordinary Boys sun rabu. Farkon ci gaban sana'a bayan Big Brother—tare da Brassbound ya sami zinariya da waƙoƓi uku na Top 10—ya ragu daidai. "Mun ƙi juna a wannan lokacin," in ji shi game da abokan ƙungiyarsa.
Ya sayi tikitin tafiya ɗaya zuwa Philadelphia, garin mahaifiyarsa, kuma ya yi ƙoƙarin ƙaddamar da sana'a na solo tare da waƙa ɗaya, "Dressed to Kill," wanda ya ɗauki samfurin Siouxsie da Banshees. Bayan ya kasa shiga cikin ginshiƙi, ya ja da baya cikin rubuta waƙa don haya: Cher daga baya ta rufe "Dressed to Kill," kuma waƙa daga kundin solo da aka watsar, "Heart Skips a Beat," ta zama waƙar No. 1 ga Olly Murs.
A cikin 2015, Ordinary Boys sun dawo tare da kundi mai suna kansu na pop-punk wanda kusan ba a kula da shi ba—"kundi mai kyau, amma ba mu shiga ciki ba"—kuma shekaru biyu bayan haka, Preston ya kusa mutuwa a daren da ya gabata kafin sansanin rubuta waƙa a Denmark. Ya bugu da champagne kyauta, ya ɗauki maganin barci daYa fado daga barandar bene na biyu kuma aka kai shi asibiti, inda aka gaya masa cewa ba zai sake tafiya ba. "Na tuna kawai ina tunani, 'Zo, kar ka zama wawa,'" in ji shi. Ya yi amfani da keken guragu na watanni shida kuma yana da faranti na ƙarfe da yawa a jikinsa. Ya tashi tsaye ya ja gefe ɗaya na wandonsa don bayyana babban tabo da ke gangarowa a kafarsa. Ya ce yanzu yana cikin yanayi mafi kyau fiye da kowane lokaci, amma a lokacin murmurewarsa, ya kamu da OxyContin. "Na sami likitoci daban-daban guda huɗu su rubuta mani matsakaicin adadin da aka ba ni izini," in ji shi da murmushin nadama. "Ni wawa ne don yin hakan." Bayan shekara guda na "tsoro da firgita," ya daina shan taba. "Na yi karshen mako inda na yi amai kuma na girgiza a cikin gado, ina rawar jiki. Ya kasance mummuna."
Ya rubuta waƙa game da hatsarin nasa mai suna Live Forever kuma ya ba da shi ga babban abokinsa kuma abokin aikin sa, Payne. Mawakin One Direction ya fito da sigar sa a cikin 2019. "Kuma sai ya fado daga baranda ya mutu," in ji Preston, yana girgiza kai cikin rashin imani. "Akwai wasu abubuwa da suka faru a rayuwarka inda kawai ba za ka iya yarda cewa wannan ainihin yanayi ne ba."
Ya bayyana Payne a matsayin "mutum mai ban dariya, mai daɗi, mai kirki. An fahimce shi daidai. Babban hazaka." Amma ya yarda cewa waƙoƓin da Payne ya rubuta tare da shi sau da yawa "kukan neman taimako ne mara rufewa." Su biyun za su tattauna matsin lamba na shahara tare. "Na ga yawancinsa a cikina, saboda duka mun sha wahala. Ina fata sosai da na iya yin ƙari. Amma game da wani irin sa hannu, ba na tsammanin ina da wannan matsayi a rayuwarsa." Ya ce Live Forever "ni ne ƙoƙarin cewa, 'Duba, mutum, wannan abu ya same ni.' Amma yana da wuya a ba mutum shawara idan ba su shirya karɓar ta ba."
A cikin shekaru uku da suka gabata, Preston ya zauna a LA—"ƙasar rashin daidaito"—yana rubuta waƙoƓi masu karbuwa ga Sum 41 da ƙungiyar K-pop Tomorrow X Together. Amma kwanan nan ya tambayi kansa: menene zai sa ni farin ciki da gaske? "Game da rubuta waƙa, na ji kamar ina bin mafarkin wani. Na shafe shekaru 20 ina wasa a cikin ɗakunan studio ina ƙoƙarin rubuta waƙoƓin da ba lallai na so ba."
Game da nadama, ya ce, "Ina ganin takwarorina waɗanda suka ci gaba"—ƙungiyoyin NME na tsakiyar shekarun 2000 kamar the Kooks da the Wombats—"suna sayar da manyan fage." Yana jin kamar har yanzu yana bin shaharar da ya ce ya ƙi, amma ya bambanta. "Ina son mutane su kasance cikin kiɗa na. Zama sanannen mawaki ya bambanta sosai. Da na ƙara yin aiki tuƙuru, watakila zan iya yin haka maimakon, kuma zan kasance a wani matsayi daban."
Bayan Peer Pressure—wanda ya kira "ni ƙoƙarin rubuta waƙar Ordinary Boys ta musamman"—yanzu yana aiki kan kundin dawowar ƙungiyar. "Babban abu a rayuwata yanzu shine yin wasu abubuwa masu kyau sosai." Ya ce zai zama na siyasa, yana mai da hankali kan "abubuwan da nake sha'awar": biliyoyin, AI
