From Egyptian queen to old Hollywood royalty!
After channeling her inner Cleopatra for her latest fragrance shoot on Thursday, Britney Spears took on the iconic Jean Harlow for her next look.
"Loving day 2 of my Elizabeth Arden Fantasy Twist fragrance shoot," she Tweeted on Friday evening, along with a photo of herself wearing a gold headpiece, heavy eye makeup and a cleavage-baring spaghetti-strapped metallic dress. "[Fiance] Jason [Trawick] says I look like Jean Harlow!"
Britney has a busy fall season ahead - the pop superstar is engaged, her new fragrance will be released on September 1 and she'll make her debut as a judge on Simon Cowell's "The XFactor" when Season 2 premieres on September 12 on FOX.
Britney - who will be looking for music's next star with Simon Cowell, L.A. Reid and Demi Lovato - told reporters in June that she wants someone who will shine.
"I'm looking for someone who shows spark and spunk... [and that] they're meant to do what they're doing," the singer said at the time. "I think I'm a fair judge. Sometimes it's kind of hard because I know what they've been through and being so young... it's such a delicate situation when they're that young.
"You just have to use constructive criticism and be there for them and show them support," she added.
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Despite a marginal amount of dance experience, Grey didn't use a double and did all of her own dancing in the movie. "I just had taken ballet class as a little girl, you know, like Saturday mornings. They were casting someone who had never moved her body in her life."
"I'm such a fan of Ryan Gosling and all of a sudden, he's saying my name [in the movie]. I'm just in the theater with my husband and I look at him like, "Oh my God. Ryan Gosling just said my name. What's going on?" Grey recalls. "I was so scared. I was like, 'Oh, no. What are they about to do?' All of a sudden, there I was, like part of their movie."
Grey's career has had its ups and downs, but the actress made some unwanted headlines after getting a nose job (and subsequently a second procedure to fix a problem caused by the first) in the late '90s, which ended up changing the look of her face and, ultimately, rendering her unrecognizable to many fans. Though she wouldn't discuss her plastic surgery in this interview, she did explain why she chose to star in the 1999 ABC sitcom "It's Like You Know" shortly afterwards playing a version of herself (named, not-so-coincidentally, Jennifer Grey), and poking fun at actors, Hollywood, and even nose jobs.
More than a decade later Grey — who has a 10-year-old daughter, Stella, with her husband of 11 years, "Iron Man" actor Clark Gregg — found herself back on ABC primetime and back on the dance floor on the mega-hit reality competition show "Dancing With the Stars," where she used her fancy footwork to help her and partner Derek Hough win the mirror ball trophy.
"I'm really proud that I didn't quit. I'm really proud that I said yes and started it, and I'm really happy that I finished it. I learned a lot about myself and about what I'm capable of," Grey says of her stint on the series' 2010 11th season. "It was ultimately a really great experience, much more difficult than anybody knows, with enormous pressure. It's exhausting and it's a reality show, so the more you fall apart, the better for them."
Carly Rae Jepsen, the 26-year-old singer who's taken the U.S. by storm with her addictive song "Call Me Maybe," is already learning what it's like to be really, really famous. The pop star took her song to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, was chosen as the opening act for megastar Justin Bieber's upcoming fall tour, and — just Monday — was accused of starring in a video that shows her in a ... compromising position. Gossip blogger Perez Hilton posted still images from the clip, which features a woman resembling Jepsen, along with the headline, "Is This Carly Rae Jepsen In A SEX TAPE?!" On Tuesday, she responded via Twitter. "Crazy morning. Discovered that someone put up a sex tape claiming to be me," she wrote. "Ridiculous. Obviously not me." Earlier this month, Jepsen denied that she was the woman in some nude photos that surfaced online. They were eventually found to be pics of Internet model Destiny Benedict, according to TMZ.
Although Jepsen was already known to audiences in their home country because she finished in third place on "Canadian Idol" in 2007, her fellow Canadian the Biebs was the one who really pumped up her profile. He heard her song "Call Me Maybe" during a trip home for Christmas, and tweeted to his 22 million followers that, "'Call Me Maybe' by Carly Rae Jepsen is probably the catchiest song I've ever heard." Later, he posted a video of himself, along with girlfriend Selena Gomez and pal Ashley Tisdale, lip syncing the tune. In February, Jepsen even signed to the same record label as Bieber! Perhaps Jepsen and Bieber bonded more over the fact tawdry claims have been made against both of them. For his part, the "Boyfriend" singer has also denied accusations, such as one made last November by 20-year-old Mariah Yeater, who claimed Bieber was the father of her baby. Bieber's consistently denied even meeting the woman, and reportedly took a paternity test to prove he isn't the father.
Like her pal Bieber, though, Jepsen is on somewhat of a hot streak when it comes to her career. She performed her hit "Call Me Maybe" at the Teen Choice Awards 2012 on Sunday, where she also picked up the award for Choice Breakout Artist. On Tuesday, she debuted the video for her new song, a duet with Owl City, called "Good Time." Looks like her fame isn't going away any time soon!
When KatyPerry's not busy switching up her hair color, she keeps things interesting by trying out some seriously cool hairstyles. And while fans love her signature looks including long ponytails and perfect waves -- her sexy pinup girl-inspired coif at a charity event in L.A. on June 12 really piqued interest.
At the red carpet affair, the singer, 27, topped off her vintage, rose gold Nolan Miller silk slip dress with a romantic, flapper-inspired hairdo that features sexy, face-framing layers and "faking" shorter hair by punning her purple locks underneath. (Perry recently told Us Weekly that she can't wait to ditch her long hair extensions!)
Perry's look channeled another buxom, dark-haired Hollywood beauty, whom she has attributed as her style crush. "When I first started playing around with my look, it was more of a Dita Von Teese pinup thing," she said in an interview with Harper's Bazaar back in 2010.
In the video above, celebrity hairstylist Marc Mena shows Us how easy it is to recreate the "Wide Awake" singer's fun and flirty 'do with just a curling iron, some bobby pins and a spritz of hairspray.
Path to Possibilities; a UK registered charity committed to transforming the lives of disadvantaged but talented children in Nigeria, is hosting its annual charity gala on Saturday 18th August 2012 at the prestigious 5-star Grange City Hotel in Tower Hill, London.
The father of British neo soul Omar and the 1st lady of Afro beats May7ven will serenade guests as they enjoy a range of entertainment and dine on a three course meal.
The soiree will include a spectacular fashion show by renowned fashion designer Nkwo; unveiling her Afro centric collection. The line up of designers also includes the super talented milliner, Emma Brown, who trained with the milliner to the late QueenMother. And to cap it all, Jezreel Designs will be showcasing their captivating and expressive handbag range.
“This event has been designed to provide maximum entertainment to our guests as well as provide a solid platform for generating awareness about the education crisis and immense talent in Nigeria.” stated Titilola Bello, founder of the charity.
Buzz has it that Sunny has been approached to judge ‘India’sGot Talent’. The show, which showcases unique talent from across the country will soon be airing its fourth season.
Earlier on Sonali Bendre was hosting the show along with Kiron Kher. The male celebrity judge has changed in every season. Season one had Shekhar Kapur, season two had Sajid Khan and season three had Dharmendra making his debut on small screen.
This time round, Sonali will not be a part of the popular show and makers have approached Leone to fill in her shoes. Kiron Kher will remain in the show and Ritiesh Deshmukh has been roped as the third celebrity judge. The show will be hosted by Manish Paul and Cyrus Sahukar.
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This weekend the World Bodypainting Festival celebrated its 15th year in the Austrian peninsula of Pörtschach, bringing over 200 participants from 40 countries to the three-day event. The festival began as an attempt to draw tourism to the small town, and it has since blossomed into an international sensation. Participating artists compete in different body painting contests, but only one can be crowned world champion. The reigning champion of 2012 was KristinaElizarova, the Inquisitor reports.
Body painting, airbrushing and other special effects turned the hundreds of participants into mythical beasts, ethereal beings, tribal collages and much more. (We hope the crew of Avatar was taking notes for the sequel.) Our only advice for next year is that participants reconsider the decision to wear contact lenses, seeing as they are absolutely horrifying.
Oftentimes, in the real world, body paint has a rough time interacting with mainstream society. Michael Colanero's proud photos of breast cancer survivors were censored on Face book, and nude model Zoe West was arrested in New York City. Luckily at the World Bodypainting Festival thousands of people will come from around the world to watch you strip down in the name of art.
It would be easy for someone with Norah Jones' commercial and critical success to keep making albums that sound the same.
In this millennium, where platinum (million-copy-selling) CDs are increasingly rare, each of her first four solo efforts has reached that lofty sales level, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Jones' 2002 debut, "Come Away with Me," reigns as a diamond (10 million copies) selling album, a feat that may not be revisited often these days, with CD sales lagging.
Jones' newest CD, "Little Broken Hearts," debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200 chart last month, making the singer five for five when it comes to her albums reaching the top three.
But Jones hasn't played it safe in recent years, taking serious stylistic detours.
Billboard named her its jazz artist of the decade for 2000 to 2009. But she has a history of diverse collaborations, including some with decidedly non-jazz artists including the Foo Fighters, Willie Nelson and OutKast. In 2012, Jones has released an album with her country-tinged side project, the Little Willies, and her latest solo effort is collaboration with a man best known for his hip-hop beats, Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton.
"I definitely don't make music based on other people's opinions or expectations, because I think that would be kind of weird," she said, adding, "I definitely don't want to make the same album over and over, and I don't think I have. And I think if you do know everything I do, it makes a lot more sense. If you just know my first couple of albums, absolutely, it seems a little different."
Jones said "Little Broken Hearts" is a natural progression from her last few albums and from her work on Burton's "Rome" project last year. Jones said she and Burton enjoyed working together so much, she wanted to continue that relationship.
"I asked him if he wanted to produce some songs for me that I already had written for my last album, because I was looking for sort of a different sound and I loved working with him on the 'Rome' album," she said. "I knew that he had a whole different arsenal of sounds from what I was used to using.
"He said he'd love to work together, but he'd rather -- the way he works best, I think, is by being there from the start of the writing process," Jones continued. "So, that's just totally different, because usually, I go in with songs already finished. And on this record, I went in with nothing, and we just wrote together, which was pretty fun, pretty different from how I've ever worked."
Jones said she and Burton wrote the songs organically, picking up instruments and jamming.
"Sometimes, I would play bass, which I don't even play," she said. "But it sounded good, because he was playing drums and needed something to lock into the groove. Sometimes, I'd play guitar, or he would play guitar, and we'd both switch around on guitar and keyboards. "
Many reviews of "Little Broken Hearts" have focused on the angry, wistful lyrics and vocals that seem to depict a difficult breakup. Pointed songs such as "She's 22" and "Miriam" give the album emotional heft. But Jones says people may be reading too much into the album.
"It's just about sort of human interactions, which we all kind of go through. I mean, that's not really what we went into the studio trying to do," she said. "It always feels good to write a song about an experience if you're feeling it. But, it also was a lot of storytelling, you know -- a lot of writing interesting stories together. And once we got going, we sort of felt like there was a theme, so we just kind of kept going (down) that path. "
Now, Jones and her band are meandering through three North American tour legs and two European legs through the end of October. They have been playing most of the new album at the earliest shows on this tour, and Jones says fans have been responding positively.
Adele's 21 is the best-selling album of the year to date, selling 3.7 million copies, while a further 539,000 people bought her first album, 19.
Boy band One Direction take third place in the chart, shifting 899,000 copies of their debut, Up All Night.
In total, 220 million albums have been sold this year, analysts Nielsen said.
Overall, the US music market continued the recovery that began last year.
Total music sales - including singles, albums, music videos and digital tracks - stand at 853 million, up from 820 million in 2011.
Lionel Richie's album of country duets sold more copies than his last three albums combined
Digital sales from stores like iTunes and Amazon have largely been responsible for reversing a slump that has affected the industry since 2004.
Sales of digital albums were up 13.8%, to 57 million, offsetting a continued decline in physical album sales, which dropped 3% from 155 million to 150 million.
Vinyl is also experiencing a resurgence, with 2.2 million albums sold so far this year (up from 1.9 million in 2011).
The most popular vinyl release was Jack White's first solo album, Blunderbuss, which does not feature at all in the main best-sellers list.
However, CD is still the dominant format - responsible for 91 million sales, or 61% of the album market.
According to Nielsen, the top 10 best-selling albums are:
1. Adele - 21 (3,668,000)
2. Lionel Richie - Tuskegee (912,000)
3. One Direction - Up All Night (899,000)
4. Whitney Houston - Greatest Hits (818,000)
5. Various Artists - Now 41 (714,000)
6. Carrie Underwood - Blown Away (602,000)
7. Luke Bryan - Tailgates and Tan lines (575,000)
8. Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (557,000)
9. Drake - Take Care (549,000)
10. Adele - 19 (539,000)
The singles chart saw major sales for Australia's Gotye, who became the first singer to sell more than 5m downloads in under six months:
1. Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know (5,501,000)
2. Fun. ft Janelle Monae - We Are Young (5,087,000)
3. Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe (4,064,000)
4. Kelly Clarkson - Stronger (3,324,000)
5. Nicki Minaj - Starships (3,158,000)
6. Maroon 5 ft Wiz Khalifa - Payphone (3,075,000)
7. The Wanted - Glad You Came (2,892,000)
8. One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful (2,885,000)
9. Flo Rida ft Sia - Wild Ones (2,790,000)
10. Justin Bieber - Boyfriend (2,599,000)
"Sales trended well in the first half of the year," said David Bakula from Nielsen Soundscan.
"While retail sales continue to face challenges related to broader market trends, digital sales gains are expected to achieve another record-breaking year."
Adele's 21 was also the most successful album of 2011 in the US, shifting 5.82 million copies - the highest 12-month sales figure since Usher's Confessions sold 8m copies in 2004.
Before the advent of Napster and other illegal download services, America's most popular albums rarely dropped below the five million figures.
In 1999 and 2000, the Backstreet Boys and 'NSync managed to sell in excess of nine million copies of their albums.
With her new movie "To Rome with Love" having recently hit theaters on a limited basis, Penelope Cruz garnered herself a little added exposure by covering the new issue of Madame Figaro magazine.
The 38-year-old actress looked fetching in a Stella McCartney dress and a lambskin jacket beaded gold from BAL main with an era’s swimsuit strapless stretch polyamide for the dual Nice shot front pages while dishing about everything from her favorite designers to working with director Woody Allen.
Highlights from Miss Cruz's interview are as follows. For more, be sure to pay a visit to Madame Figaro!
On being the ambassador of Lancôme's Tremor perfume: "Absolutely! Since my teens, I am an absolute fan of this house. As a kid, I wanted all the brands products, but I could not buy them, of course. At 14-15 years, I asked my parents for perfume. I was in heaven. Since then, it grew with me. It is directly linked to memories, events, and persons. It is part of my life."
On her favorite designers: "Karl Lagerfeld, John Galliano, Ralph Lauren ... how to choose? Impossible for me to prefer one or the other. Just as I do not have a particular style. I love listening to my desires and I'm certainly not stuck on trends."
On her 'To Rome with Love' director Woody Allen: "This is the funniest man on the planet. With him, everything is wonderful, bright, and offbeat. On the set, my little pleasure was to sit beside him and make him talk about his life, his hypochondria, everything and anything. I could listen for hours, because I laughed all the time."
On if she plans on being one of those actresses who take their children on set all of the time: "I do not know yet how I will organize. I do not even know where I live soon! Our city is heart of Madrid, and we have just as often as possible. But we try to put elsewhere. Why not New York? I love it! When I walk through its streets, I feel like an eternal student."
