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Desperate Housewives', Teri Hatcher Celebrates 25th Birthday
Or Should We Say Teri Looks Like She's 25 BEVERLY HILLS, Calif, Dec. 16, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- 2005 Golden Globe Nominee Teri Hatcher, gorgeous star of the hit series Desperate Housewives, celebrated her birthday on Saturday, December 11th by letting 100 of her closest friends in on her very own beauty secrets. Held at her home, the theme of the event was "a 40th trip around the sun," with travel elements featured throughout -- from catering to specialty Ciroc Vodka cocktails -- to selections of yummy Godiva truffles. Guests were even issued passport photos for the innovative celebration. At the end of the event, the attendees, including such celebrities as Teri's Desperate Housewives co-stars Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria and Brenda Strong, plus William H. Macy, JC Chasez, David Spade, Luke Perry and Jane Kaczmerak, each received amazing "overnight" gift bags filled with travel friendly cosmetics and goodies. Miss Hatcher requested the CEO of CITY Cosmetics, one of the hottest new collagen treatment companies on the planet, to personally put together the spectacular gift bag for all her celebrity friends. The birthday bash was a huge success with CITY's ultra-luxurious gift bag. "I was thrilled to accommodate Teri's request. In a few short days, we pulled together 100 gift bags, which exceeded $30,000 in total value. Included in the gift bags were incredible new CITY Lips and CITY Face treatments that won't be available to the public until the end of December," said Chad Wright, CEO of CITY Cosmetics. Not one of these Hollywood party-goers will be "desperate" to look younger after using these one-of-a-kind collagen stimulating treatments. Teri Hatcher has never looked more stunning with a fabulous face that appears at least a decade younger than her birth certificate. This leaves women throughout the country to wonder -- How does she do it? Teri Hatcher's ultimate birthday party gift bag included: -- CITY Lips Mini Gift Set (Travel Size) About CITY treatments and the Science behind it CITY cosmetics is the inventor of the Good Housekeeping Recommended CITY Lips, a collagen peptide lip plumper treatment, and CITY Face, a next generation anti-aging collagen enhancing treatment that restores collagen, plumps up wrinkles, and increases cell renewal for radiant, softer skin that looks years younger. CITY Lips uses Oligopeptide and Celadrol Technology to increase lip size safely and painlessly by stimulating lips to produce their own collagen and hyaluronic acid. CITY Lips is sold in 84 countries and is the # 1 selling Lip Plumper at SEPHORA stores. CITY Lips attributes their success to proprietary cutting-edge science, this one-of-a-kind formula builds and repairs collagen, makes lips fuller, and reduces lip wrinkles. "CITY Lips plumped peoples lips an average of 3 mm," said Karen Rauen, Good Housekeeping Institute's chemistry director. For additional information or to get a photo of the Teri Hatcher CITY cosmetics gift bag contact:
Dolce & Gabbana top of the pops by Susie Rushton Strange as it may seem today, there was a time when the idea of blending pop music with designer fashion was novel. Of course, there was always a handful of musical visionaries who saw the value of a distinctive sartorial image: Elvis, Debbie Harry, Michael Jackson and David Bowie, to name but a few. But those stars were more likely to approach a specialist costumier than a fashion designer, to create their on-stage personae. While the fashion circuit and the rock fraternity often overlapped - for example in the case of Bianca Jagger, muse to Yves Saint Laurent - it wasn’t until the 1990s, and the dawn of the self-conscious "celebrity brand", that ready-to-wear designers made explicit partnerships with music stars. Among the first fashion designers to make a powerful alliance were Dolce & Gabbana, who at the beginning of that decade were still considered to be newcomers with much to prove. While Gianni Versace embraced and, to a certain extent, created the supermodel generation, and Giorgio Armani laid claim to the Hollywood establishment, it was Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana who courted the attentions of pop stars most assiduously. Madonna, Kylie, Beyonce and Whitney have all sparkled in the designers’ multicoloured crystals, or been cross-laced into signature corsetry-inspired dresses; Justin Timberlake, Sting, Ice Cube and Lenny Kravitz have allbeen made over as pinstriped gangsters or musclemen. "I love Kylie, I love Lenny Kravitz,I love Sting, I love them all," coos Gabbana. "Every one of them is an icon. I love Pavarotti. We’ve dressed Pavarotti, many times." To celebrate their ongoing relationship with pop artists, a glossy new book, entitled Music, is being published in the UK this month, with a portion of proceeds going to an Aids charity. As if to prove the designers’ clout among rock royalty, three generations of Presley women - Priscilla, Lisa Marie and Riley Keough, a model and the image of her grandfather Elvis - arrived en masse for the book’s recent launch in Italy, a feat which only US Vogue, for a cover shot, had previously pulled off. This was all part of what is now a remarkably successful strategy for Dolce & Gabbana, which sees the famous logo and brand promoted far beyond the fashion magazines and into the sphere of MTV and VH-1, album covers and world tours. "In the beginning, when nobody knows you but everybody knows the pop star, ordinary people say, ‘Why do they wear these clothes, who is the designer?’" says Gabbana, the tall and tanned native Milanese, and the more talkative of the pair. "And then, you become famous, little by little. It’s a good ad for us. You don’t make money but you become, you know, popular." Most impressively, Dolce & Gabbana were among the first designers to dress Madonna, perhaps the most famous mannequin in the world (her celebrity has also added lustre to Jean-Paul Gaultier’s career, and to the house of Versace). The Material Girl hired them to create 1,500 costumes for her Girlie Show tour of 1993; they also designed her famous rhinestone cowgirl look for her Music album four years ago. "That was an inspiration between Elvis and cowboys," says Gabbana. The pair first realised that they had caught the singer’s attention in 1991 when, in a scene from her movie In Bed With Madonna, former lover Warren Beatty rushes backstage after a performance to present her with an enormous black box, printed with the D&G logo. The designers admit that - during the fitting process - Madonna was the only performer who ever made them feel star-struck. "She was the one singer who made me feel nervous - me and Domenico, both of us. We love her, and we knew her from the beginning. I’d seen all her different faces, as a singer, movie star, mother, lover. She was the first pop star to ask us for something, and we loved her from a long time ago. People like that, they can make me anxious sometimes." Since the Girlie Show tour, which featured heavily crystal-encrusted bustiers, the designers have also provided exclusive costumes for many tours, including Whitney Houston’s in 1999 and Kylie’s in 2002. Perhaps predictably, Gabbana is keen to paint the brand’s relationship with musicians as a meeting of creative minds rather than mere product placement. "It’s like a collaboration," he says, through a heavy Italian accent. "I inspire the pop star and the pop star inspires me. We learn from music a lot - for example, from the tour of Kylie Minogue, from Madonna, from Bono - we learn a lot, you know?" Judging by the dozens of image transformations documented in the book, it seems that plenty of formerly ordinary-looking singers have gained a lot from these designers, who have helped to turn them into larger-than-life stars. Expert at cantilevering the female form into corseted dresses, adding glitz with lavishly beaded jeans, or delivering a slick androgynous look with satin tuxedo suits, surely Dolce & Gabbana, who set up their first studio in 1982, know exactly what they’re doing. What do they have to learn from pop singers? "Well, a fashion show and a tour are to-tally different!" exclaims Gabbana. "The pop star needs to change in 30 seconds, so maybe we need a fake button, a lot of zips, different straps - we learned all this. We learned that they need something for the movement of the arms - that you need more fabric under the arms, or stretch fabric." Dolce & Gabbana aren’t beyond open homage to their favourite pop icons, either, having based entire collections around both Elvis Presley and Madonna - even putting the latter’s face on a T-shirt (sprinkled with rhinestones, naturally). Above all, they are, Gabbana says, simply music fans. "This book was something like an award to these people in music, because music inspires my life," he continues, dreamily. "When I wake up in the morning, I open the CD player. I want to hear music all the time, when I work, in the car, on a Saturday night when I go dancing. Music is my life!" * Music: Dolce & Gabbana’ is published by Assouline.
You can call Marx many things, but he's no fake By PETER COOPER With bigger hair and more youthful enthusiasm, he was the singer of Endless Summer Nights and Right Here Waiting. Now, he co-writes with Keith Urban and Vince Gill. Oh, and he produces Josh Groban. And he writes for *N'SYNC. ''Part of my mission as a producer and writer is to keep (ticking) people off that want to categorize me,'' said Marx, who is getting pop radio play for current single Ready To Fly, from his new album My Own Best Enemy. It's an edgier-than-usual effort from Marx, who will play a 7:30 show tonight at Mercy Lounge. Peter Moon will open at 7 p.m. Marx, who lives in Chicago, called The Tennessean offices last week to talk about his career, his Nashville connections and his disdain for lip-synching. • • • Tennessean: You don't live in Nashville, but your name appears in the credits of albums by Keith Urban, Vince Gill and a bunch of others. Are you now a mainstay in this town? Marx: Nashville is the girl that will make out with me sometimes but won't let me go all the way. I can get to second base, sometimes to third. I've written songs with and for some great artists, though. Last year, Vince Gill and I wrote one of the songs I'm most proud of: Someday. We peaked at No. 30, though. I have to sit back and wonder, ''Is it my name on this thing that prevented it from going further?'' Is the charge that you're ''too pop''? Maybe. But in country music, the pop-leaning stuff has been the most successful stuff in the last few years, which means the audience digs it. The ''too pop'' thing is just an easy cop-out for people that are scared of what they think I represent. You've been in the public eye since 1987, so lots of people have notions about what you represent. Are there some people who won't take you seriously because of 15-year-old power ballads? It's all cyclical. Am I unaware that I've fallen into those categories? No. But anyone who's had any modicum of success goes through, ''Am I hip this week? Am I not?'' It's funny to think that in 1987, Don't Mean Nothin' was the MTV Hip Clip of the week. I've had to constantly reinvent myself creatively, to make different kinds of records. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't take myself seriously. But I take my work seriously, and I get sensitive when I feel like the work is attacked. Like when Brad Paisley talked about pop music (during a Country Radio Seminar panel): some guy attacking a genre. Is the business now similar to what it was a decade and a half ago? It's never been more exciting, and it's never been more brutal. The thing that's changed the most is that there are more and more artists who can't really pull it off, in terms of being able to sing live. And how little the public seems to care. If someone looks great in a video, their fans aren't going to care if they're lip-synching. I think that's a complete rip-off. I've had artists say to me, ''If I have a cold and I'm playing a concert, the fans didn't pay $40 to hear my cold. They want to hear me the way I sound on the album.'' The answer is, ''Shut up and be you.'' If you can't be that, why don't you admit you're misrepresenting yourself. It's cheating, and it's as fake as most of the breasts in Los Angeles. Getting there Richard Marx performs in celebration of Star 97's fifth birthday, 7:30 tonight at Mercy Lounge. Tickets are $9.71 and are available through Ticketmaster (255-9600, www. ticketmaster.com). Mercy Lounge is at 1 Cannery Row. Details: 251-3020
THE PARTIES SEEN Newlywed Joey Fatone held a family party of sorts -- with his wife, Kelly, and their 3-year-old daughter, Briahna -- at Disney World on Tuesday. The newlyweds and the wee one swung through the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.
Video games go Hollywood for awards By Ben Berkowitz SANTA MONICA, California (Reuters) - The stars of the video game industry have come out in force to honour their peers for creative excellence -- taking a page from the Hollywood playbook with red carpets, glittering gems and a live nationwide broadcast. The blockbuster criminal adventure game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" took Game of the Year honours on Tuesday at the Spike TV Video Game Awards, the cable network's second annual show honouring the $10 billion (5.2 billion pounds) games industry. The awards were the latest mark of legitimacy for the gaming business, increasingly the fourth pillar of the entertainment industry along with movies, music and TV. Games sales regularly rival box-office receipts, and the largest game publishers take in more than $1 billion a year in revenue. "I guess this means that when we make games we don't play games," said action movie star Vin Diesel, whose own game company, Tigon Studios, shared in the Best Game Based on a Movie award for "The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay," a film in which he starred. Celebrities from the worlds of entertainment and athletics turned out for the awards, including actress Tara Reid, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, singer JC Chasez and baseball stars Bobby Crosby and Barry Zito. But the crowd was pure gamer, with enthusiastic fans cheering for their favourite games. "San Andreas" led the pack with four wins, including nods for its soundtrack and for voice work from actor Samuel L. Jackson. Electronic Arts Inc., the world's largest game publisher, garnered five awards, including two each for the racing game "Burnout 3" and the football title "Madden NFL." Spike TV is part of the MTV Networks family of channels, and it brought some of the MTV sensibility to the awards, including raucous performances by rapper Ludacris and rockers Motley Crue. Victoria's Secret models in angel outfits descended from the rafters to help present the "Vector Monkey" statuettes (a monkey holding a video game controller and wearing a crown). But most award winners seemed unfamiliar with the procedure -- few made any sort of speech and most offered a simply a brief "thank you."
Quotes of the year: Britney to Brokaw They said it, even when they shouldn’t have From Britney to Brokaw, quotes from the past year’s major events: “I do believe in the sanctity of marriage, I totally do. (But) I was in Vegas, and it took over me.” — Britney Spears, on her 55-hour marriage to childhood friend Jason Alexander. “I am sorry that anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction.” — Justin Timberlake, saying he didn’t intend to expose Janet Jackson’s breast at the Super Bowl. “It wasn’t a stunt.” — Janet Jackson. “I’m not anti-Semitic.” — Mel Gibson, who directed, co-wrote and financed “The Passion of the Christ,” which rode a wave of faith and controversy to huge box-office numbers. “It took me a really long time to get here, but I’m here: Carrie, you’re the one.” — Mr. Big (Chris Noth) to Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) in the last episode of “Sex and the City,” which ended a six-year run. “It’s now official. There is nobody left in New Zealand to thank.” — Oscar host Billy Crystal, as “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” won a record-tying 11 Academy Awards, including best picture. “I would like to thank the fans around the world for your love and support.” — Michael Jackson, after he pleaded innocent in his child molestation case. “This is harder than I thought it was going to be.” — Monica Geller Bing (Courteney Cox Arquette) during the last episode of “Friends,” which ended 10 years in production. “I was the straight man, and (President) Bush wrote the funniest lines.” — Michael Moore, on his film “Fahrenheit 9/11,” which became the biggest documentary ever. “I have nothing to say about anything. My life is my life, that’s the only thing I have.” — Marc Anthony, refusing to confirm that he’d married Jennifer Lopez. “I kissed a bunch of frogs and finally found my prince. I feel like I’ve found my happily ever after.” — Britney Spears, ex-girlfriend of Justin Timberlake and ex-wife of childhood friend Jason Alexander, on her engagement to backup dancer Kevin Federline. “She’s hanging in there.” — Ashley Olsen, after twin Mary-Kate entered a treatment facility for a health-related issue, reportedly an eating disorder. “I’m flabbergasted.” — “Spider-Man 2” director Sam Raimi. His film pulled in a record $180 million in its first six days in North American theaters.
“I don’t mind having some people ridicule me.” — “American Idol” reject William Hung. “Everybody gets a car! Everybody gets a car! Everybody gets a car!” — Oprah Winfrey, after awarding new vehicles to all 276 audience members at the taping of the premiere of the 19th season of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” “This show is like a dynasty. You hold it and then you hand it off to the next person.” — “Tonight” host Jay Leno, on plans to make way in five years for “Late Night” host Conan O’Brien. “The whole situation was a bummer.” — Ashlee Simpson, after being busted for a lip-synch gone awry on “Saturday Night Live.” “You can’t get a gun inside Madison Square Garden.” — Jay-Z, after tour mate R. Kelly abruptly fled the stage and claimed people in the crowd were waving guns at him. “The train (of her gown) was so long it took about seven people to carry it.” — Valerie Simpson, on the star-studded wedding bash of “The View” co-host Star Jones. “It has been, and remains, an honor to be welcomed into your homes in the evening and I thank you for the trust you have given me.” — Dan Rather, in the wake of an ill-fated report on President Bush’s National Guard service, announcing that he would step down as “CBS Evening News” anchor in March.
“It didn’t really hit me that (missing the show) was going to be the hard part. I thought the hard part would be the loss.” — “Jeopardy” whiz Ken Jennings, who finally met his match after a 74-game run as a pop culture icon who made brainiacs cool.
Steelers Notebook Quick slants Chris Kirkpatrick, a member of the rock band 'N Sync, sang the National Anthem. Kirkpatrick, who grew up in Clarion, said he is a lifelong Steelers fan.
If his precocious boy band mate Justin Timberlake is the next-generation Michael Jackson, 'N Sync's equally talented second banana, JC Chasez, may be generation Y's answer to Prince. In a move that would make the Purple One proud, the formerly modest crooner takes a surprisingly sex-obsessed stance on several funk-, dance-, and pop-driven tracks on his aptly named solo debut, Schizophrenic, including the thumping "Some Girls (Dance with Women)" and the new wave–inspired "All Day Long I Dream About Sex." Further shedding his wholesome image, the 27-year-old waves his freak flag even higher on the cheeky club thumper "100 Ways" and the throbbing, Basement Jaxx–assisted "Shake It," which samples B.T. Express's disco hit "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)." But just as the disc's title suggests, Schizophrenic is all over the musical map -- which, as it turns out, is a good thing. Although Chasez, who co-wrote the album's 15 songs, didn't enlist Timberlake's producers, the Neptunes and Timbaland, to mine his beats, the record's strength lies in the singer's ability to effortlessly flow from style to style: "She Got Me" is Stevie Wonder filtered through Jamiroquai; the acoustic guitar–laced "Something Special" recalls George Michael's "Faith"; "Everything You Want" dabbles in reggae; and the R&B-lite ballads "Lose Myself" and "Dear Goodbye" are the album's only recognizable hints of 'N Sync. With the unpredictably good Schizophrenic, Chasez puts the final nail in 'N Sync's coffin (sorry, Lance, Chris, and Joey) and emerges as a bona fide solo star and Grammy contender in his own right. Tracy E. Hopkins
New casino entertainment venues increase By Richard Guzmán
But he did just that Wednesday night as the new $250-million Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa began its opening weekend celebrations where he wowed about 2,000 tribal guests and politicians in attendance at the "Celebration of Sovereignty Ceremony." Thursday, cheered on by an invitation only celebrity-filled crowd, Destiny’s Child did the same with an energetic one hour performance. Complete with a red carpet entrance and a line of photographers capturing celebrities like N’ Sync star Lance Bass with their lenses, the Casino’s opening weekend was a Hollywood-style event that’s rarely seen in the desert. But it was an opening weekend celebration, which tend to attract a lot of attention from curious crowds, and Santana’s favorite charity received $50,000 from the casino for his performance. So whether big name acts keep coming back remains to be seen, but the casino staff has some lofty entertainment plans that could make a dent in Hollywood’s night life and keep other local Casinos on their toes. "Nothing (in the desert) has been done in this scale," said Michel Morton, partner of N9NE Group, owners and operators of the Casino’s 15,000-square-foot Desert Rain night club and concert venue, as well as the 8,000-square-foot Spacebar lounge. The N9NE group is better known for the popular Rain nightclub at The Palms in Las Vegas, which was featured in MTV’s "The Real World" last season and attracts acts like No Doubt and Black Eyed Peas. So far nothing is set in stone, but he said he is in talks with chart-topping groups like Maroon 5, Staind, and the ever popular Kiss. "We expect the same type of (acts) that go to Rain will come to Desert Rain," he said. "There’s about 18 million people in a 90-mile circle (from Casino Morongo) … we expect to crossover into a lot of those different markets, attract people from the Palm Springs area, the Inland Empire all the way to LA," he said. Those are the same crowds that other local Casinos count on to buy tickets for concerts and gamble at their venues. But local casino representatives said they welcome the competition and are not planning any major changes to their entertainment line-up as a result of Casino Morongo’s plans. "We’ll definitely have to keep them on the radar, we’ll notice what type of acts they bring … but the more (casinos) that open, the better for everybody," said Paul Speirs, spokesman for Trump 29 Casino in Coachella. Speirs said he doesn’t foresee changes in the upcoming lineup at Trump 29, which includes Jon Lovitz and Norm MacDonald in January, Creedence Clearwater Revisited in March and comedian Carrot Top in September. "We look at it as good competition," said Ken Kettler, general manager of Agua Caliente Casino. "I think it’ll help bring more people to the valley. That’s what’s unique about casinos and entertainment, they grow off each other," he said. Although Casino Morongo will be going after the same customers, Kettler is confident they won’t lose many patrons. "The new casino may get some initially, but for locals and visitors (to the Coachella Valley) it’s about convenience. We have locals who are used to coming here and find comfort here," he said. "For now we don’t foresee change. We will continue to add to the frequency of the acts," he said. But at least one other local casino just went through some major changes that are on par with the new facilities at Casino Morongo. The new $200 million Fantasy Springs Resort Casino & Special Events Center is set to open in late December. The new casino includes a 12-story, 250-room hotel with restaurants and lounges and a 100,000-square-foot special events center for conferences, special events, boxing and big name acts. The acts include Balagan, a cirque-style act in January, comedian Larry the Cable Guy in February, Huey Lewis & The News in March and country singer Julie Roberts in April. The casino’s Sunset View Lounge will open Dec. 21 and offers the only rooftop bar in the Coachella Valley, which casino officials predict will be a big draw for the desert’s night crowd. "Competition is good for everybody," said Joel Rovics, executive director of marketing for Fantasy Springs Casino. He said the changes at Fantasy Springs will also attract crowds from Los Angeles and San Diego, as well as locals. While valley casinos downplay the possible effects of the new competition, others involved in the entertainment industry see it a little differently. "They’ll definitely have to step it up," said John Frias, president of Frias Entertainment, which promotes concerts throughout the United States. Although he hasn’t worked with local casinos yet, Frias has brought big name Latin rock acts like Jaguares and La Ley to the valley at the Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival grounds. He said he plans to work with local casinos in the future and already has his eye on Casino Morongo. "It sounds like it’s going to be a great place to bring acts," he said. "I think it’s definitely going to give (other casinos) some competition. But in the end the public wins because they’ll have to bring bigger and better acts to attract an audience," he said. Frias has brought acts like Van Halen to casinos outside the desert. He said that if promoters notice that the Casino Morongo audience is there for acts like Maroon 5 or Kiss, it will encourage others to bring their acts to all of the local casinos. "High quality acts are now performing at casinos, and competition can only encourage that to happen more often," he said. Besides big name acts, Casino Morongo also plans to attract crowds with it’s 1,200-person capacity Desert Rain night club, which could also mean competition for casino lounges and local night clubs here in the valley. "I’m not really concerned. We may lose a few (customers) when they first open, but they’ll come back. Locals aren’t going to want to make that drive every weekend," said Alonso Castaneda, manager of Carambas MusiCantina in Rancho Mirage, which can hold about 300 people on the weekends. "We have a big local customer base as well as tourists who are all pretty loyal," said Sarah Fell, manager of Costas Nightclub at the Marriott Desert Springs Resort. But local clubgoers are already making plans to make the trip to Desert Rain. "Yeah, I’ll be going there a lot," said Karla Galaviz, who frequents both Carambas and Costas and attended the Wednesday night opening ceremonies at Casino Morongo. "There’s a good vibe here, more people," she said. On Thursday, thousands of invited guests walked over from the temporary tent that had been set up for the Santana and Destiny’s Child shows Wednesday and Thursday. Inside the three-story Desert Rain they danced to hip-hop and funk beats and grooved to retro songs as balls of fire blasted from special effects pyrotechnics that heated the raised circular dance floor. Tribal chairman Maurice Lyons of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians walked along the third floor VIP balcony where stars like Lance Bass hung out at the bar. Lyons looked down at the crowd below as they pulsated along with the music while puffs of fire continued blasting. "We expect it to be this way at Desert Rain almost every night. Once the public finds out what we have here it’s going to be so packed it’s not going to be funny" he said loudly so he could be heard over the music. "But we don’t want to give competition. We want our brothers and sisters at other casinos to survive and do well," he said.
Truth and Justice Triumph Over Boy-Band Sex Appeal, Lindsay Lohan's Vocal Cords and $1 DVDs by Leslie Gornstein Why do all boy bands look gay?
Are you writing to me from 1998? Have you been sucked into a wormhole? Do you need aid? We need to explore the shades of gay, and there is a wide spectrum. And to be clear, we're not talking actual sexual orientation but merely image. Obviously, you don't mean Stipe gay or even Rupert Everett gay. (Lance Bass could do worse than to have a look like that.) I assume you mean Timberlake gay, the kind of Escher-like sexual construction that allows a man to talk like Michael Jackson and still persuade Cameron Diaz to kiss him atop a surfboard. You're really talking about a look that oozes a sexuality that defies all science. Actually, that International Male chic comes carefully planned, usually by marketers or managers or stylists--people other than the Menudos or the New Kids themselves. Why? Money. Remember: Most boy-band worshippers have yet to don a bra, and they haven't learned how to play smash-and-grab with Daddy's PT Cruiser. These idol worshippers usually come no older than 13--they still like to pop the heads off of their Diva Starz and serve invisible tea to the plastic corpses. In other words, marketers and other experts say, most boy-band fans are tweens. Lord willing, most of them have yet to discover their full sexuality. Their lobotomized parents see them as being too young to handle rock gods with full beards, broad shoulders, bass guitars and other badges of male maturity. And the parents, not the kids, have the cash that pays for the music and affiliated boy-band schwag. And yes, I use the term music loosely. "These performers do need to be hot and cute enough that they are crushworthy," explains Teen People music editor Zena Burns. "But not so R. Kelly-feelin'-on-your-booty that you should be locked up if you let your 11-year-old daughter listen to them. "That's why Clay Aiken is so popular and why every parent wants their little girl to be into him," she says. "You look up 'sexually nonthreatening' in the dictionary, and that is Clay Aiken." Indeed. Without the fluttery eyelashes or the Howdy Doody hair, parents might brand Aiken as too mature for their precious little ones. Also remember this: You know that look that you consider gay? Many guys--particularly those in the larger cities--call that just another day at Urban Outfitters. Lots of sk8tr bois actually like to pour themselves into tiny graphic tees, dark-wash denims and J. Lindeberg blazers. The whole look tends to complement the reedy little ladies they breed out in these parts. Need proof? "Guys ages 13 and 14 are getting their hair highlighted on the east and west coasts," says Anastacia Stathakis, a youth-marketing expert with Blue Fusion/Westin Rinehart. Now. Seacrest out.
A new approach was taken in designing the newly launched portal, Bubsy.com. The site uses several small fast-loading Flash movies to display the news, search, humor, and links to the most popular sites on the net. The eye-pleasing layout has a clean look, and users can change the content of many Flash files without leaving the main page. The fun and topical Quote of the Day as well as the News/Sports Ticker are updated daily and can be instantly customized. The site also offers free email, three of the best search engines on the Net, and online games. To kick off the launch of the site, Bubsy.com has several hand-signed celebrity items on auction -- including 2004 GRAMMY collectibles autographed by Dave Matthews, Justin Timberlake, Missy Elliot, Andre3000, Alicia Keys, Carole King, Sarah McLachlan, Quentin Tarantino, and many others. The eBay auctions end Dec. 10, 11, and 12th. http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&userid=bubsydotcom&include=0&since=-1&sort=3&rows=50 (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.) Links to the best free music downloads are coming soon.
Destiny Hit the Desert Reunited girl group roll the dice in California "Destiny's Child started when we were nine years old,"
Beyonce Knowles told the crowd of several thousand at a private
opening party for the new Morongo Casino, Resort and Spa in the
desert near Palm Springs, California, Thursday. "We've been
through a lot of trials and tribulations. If you've ever survived
anything in your life . . ." Screaming fans drowned her out
as she and her girls -- Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams --
launched into "Survivor," one of the band's signature
tunes. The large stage featured a runway jutting out into the audience, and Beyonce used it well, repeatedly strutting her way to the front, where three large fans were in place to dramatically blow back her golden locks. Rowland and Williams stuck more to the main stage, where they were accompanied by a changing cast of male and female dancers as well as a five-piece band highlighted by an energetic drummer. Demonstrating serious vocal chops, the three singers traded lines and verses on several songs, frequently coming together in powerful harmonies, full-throated that shook the room. "Say My Name" featured Beyonce on most of the lead vocals, with hip-shaking moves from the trio, which often struck poses reminiscent of another trio: Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz in Charlie's Angels. Each singer took a solo turn, Beyonce performing "Baby Boy," Rowland opting for "Dilemma" and Williams using her segment for a gospel-flavored number. "We're gonna give you a Christmas present," Williams said, introducing the a cappella "Opera of the Bells" from 8 Days of Christmas, another showcase for their vocal chops -- and more than adequate proof that they were singing live. They didn't ignore the new album, though, turning to "Cater 2 U," "Soldier" and finally "Lose My Breath" for a funky finale. The three members of Destiny's Child made their initial appearance rising up behind a large white staircase at center stage, and they left the same way, walking to the top, striking a pose and then slowly disappearing behind the stairs. Spotted in the crowd were 'N Sync members Lance Bass and Chris
Kirkpatrick, as well as rapper Won-G. They and the rest of
the crowd were treated to a spectacular fireworks display before
an after-party at Desert Rain, where the pyrotechnics continued
late into the night with machines-spewing flames and lightening
over the packed floor where dancers grooved to remixes of many
of the evening's earlier songs.
COMPLETE LIST OF GROOVEVOLT AWARD NOMINEES GENERAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR SONG OF THE YEAR BEST NEW ARTIST VIDEO OF THE YEAR BEST MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK R&B/SOUL BEST ALBUM – MALE BEST ALBUM – FEMALE BEST SONG COLLABORATION – BAND, DUO OR GROUP BEST SONG PERFORMANCE – MALE BEST SONG PERFORMANCE – FEMALE BEST DEEP CUT POP BEST ALBUM – MALE BEST ALBUM – FEMALE BEST SONG PERFORMANCE – DUO OR GROUP BEST SONG PERFORMANCE – MALE BEST SONG PERFORMANCE – FEMALE BEST UNRELEASED ALBUM TRACK HIP HOP BEST ALBUM – SOLO BEST DUO OR GROUP ALBUM BEST SONG COLLABORATION – DUO OR GROUP BEST SONG PERFORMANCE – SOLO BEST DEEP CUT ROCK BEST ALBUM – MALE BEST ALBUM – FEMALE BEST ALBUM – BAND, DUO OR GROUP BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE UBERARTIST BEST DEEP CUT – ROCK FASHION MOST FASHIONABLE ARTIST TRENDSETTER OF THE YEAR BEST URBAN FASHION LINE MOST FASHIONABLE MUSIC VIDEO
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| * All typos are that of the original author, not that of DirtyPop.net. |
