Got some free time this Thursday? Rather, do you have all of Thursday free? If so, and if you are a fan of Flaming Lips, get your butt over to Hollywood’s Ricardo Montalbán Theatre, which is near the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street. The news is that the band is going to have a FREE concert at 7:30 pm.
There’s some good and some bad here. The good first: the concert is FREE. It is sponsored by MySpace, and they are throwing away the tickets on a first come first served basis. That’s the bad. You know how these things go. Even though the concert is not starting till 7:30 pm, you would have to be there hours earlier to score some tickets.
So why is this gig creating such noise? If you haven’t heard, Flaming Lips has released a new album after so many years. Titled “Embryonic,” the album is getting favorable reviews. This psychedelic band has been in the scene for quite some time now, and while not everyone is into their music, they do have a strong following. Also, a teaser tells us that this will be the band’s last performance till next year. That’s enough reason for fans to make it to Thursday’s concert.
By the way, if you buy the CD at Amoeba, you will also get free tickets. As it was released Tuesday, I don’t know if there are any left. You could go check it out, though. I am sure that beats having to line up early at the venue.
Everyone needs a hero and our world today, more than ever, needs its own heroes to look up to. In a world were violence and all sorts of negative things are common, it can be hard to retain a positive outlook. Yet when we hear of and witness simple acts that become great in their simplicity, we can’t help but be inspired and once again believe in the goodness of mankind. This is how I felt when I read and viewed the tribute to CNN Heroes of 2008.
Singer Christina Aguilera joined fellow Grammy Award winners Alicia Keys and John Legend for “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute,” which honored the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2008.
The show, taped before an audience of more than 2,500 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, premiered on the global networks of CNN on Thanksgiving night.
Liz McCartney, dedicated to helping survivors of Hurricane Katrina rebuild their homes, was named 2008 CNN Hero of the Year.
McCartney, who will receive $100,000 to continue her work just outside New Orleans, was selected from among the top 10 CNN Heroes after six weeks of online voting at CNN.com. More than 1 million votes were cast.
Here is the video of Christina Aguilera singing, courtesy of YouTube.
I regret that I was not able to take part in the voting for the heroes of this year. Maybe next time.
Plan on joining American Idol to get rich? Unless you’re going to be among the top contestants you can forget about it. My recent research to find the answer to the question of how much the idol contestants actually make while on the show lead me to these findings:
1. No one is paid anything until they’re on the top 24.
2. The top 24 contestants get paid about $30 a day for food and an additional $500 a week for clothing. They are not allowed to spend the $500 on anything else.
3. They go home empty handed if they don’t make it to the top 12.
4. The longer the contestant stays the bigger the check they get when they are eliminated (this makes sense of course). The top two contestants get a car on top of the money.
5. Contestants get a cut from the compilation album.
6. Contestants are paid a nice enough amount for going on the AI tour. For each appearance they rack up $5000 (per show) and they also get a cut from the all the merchandise sold during the tour.
7. Of course we all know the AI winner goes home rich.
Lesson learned? If you plan on joining AI just for the money you’d better make sure you make it to the top 12!
I love watching American Idol and I especially love Idol Gives Back but this year I did cringe when they sent home Michael Johns. It wasn’t that I am a big fan of Michaels Johns (although I did love his last performance) but Ryan Seacrest’s callous remark after announcing who was going home really is cringe-worthy. Hearing Ryan say, “Last year on Idol Gives Back week, we didn’t eliminate anyone. Not so this week.”, somehow soured the goody goody feeling Idol Gives Back inspires. That was a cruel thing to do. No one should be left with negative memories of an Idol Gives Back night and Michael Johns sure would. A pat on the back him though since he took it all in stride and even said about his song “Dream On” that, “If there’s a song to go out on, that’s not a bad one.”
On the bright side though the show had some really good moments with the highlight being the amount of money raised, which is more than what they raised last year. They are still accepting donations via the Idol Gives Back website as well as their Idol Gives Back MySpace page.
If you want to see all the stars and the performances head on to itunes to download all the Idol performances (regular shows and Idol Gives Back).
So with the influx of various popular celebrities who have been participating in this new hit show “Dancing with the Stars” who is the latest to be in them? The last was Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban but for sure there are a lot of people and fans who want to know who would be next to be seen there. Site are sure to use affordable search engine optimization practices offered by companies such as Los Angeles SEO for one and surely this is one hot news ticker many are taking advantage of.
This would include blogs of course where people post their reviews and all. There will be over millions of sites that would give in their two cents worth but the thing is, being the first and preferred among them will surely be to the credit of the site owner in the end. All they have to do is optimize their site for priority in search queries.
Pop sensation Britney Spears has been at the top of the celebrity headlines and search queries for some months now and has topped it off by doing the unthinkable, shaving her head and doing various weird things to her body. Spears, a known icon in the music industry, started her tumultuous popularity by getting pregnant and being linked to Kevin Federline.
As it looks at the moment, it seems the Britney Spears has been too blinded by her success that she apparently does not know what she is doing with her life. She was recently released from the Promises Malibu Alcohol and Drug Rehab Treatment Facility after successfully completing their program.
But at the rate things are going on in the life of this former pop star idol, the worst is yet to come. Her pending case for divorce with Federline is sure to be the next thing to hit the headlines.
[tags]britney spears, kevin federline, spears bald, rehab[/tags]
It has been customary for most celebrities to come from a certain point of origin. This point of origin where they originally came from would usually be the immediate foundation of their illustrious career. For Beyonce Knowles, she will always be best known for being a part of the famous singing group Destiny�s Child.
Outside the obvious talent in singing, her beauty and looks are other assets that make Beyonce a diva in her own right. In 2001, the group decided to try out solo careers and this surely became the opportunity for Beyonce Giselle Knowles to shine. Her natural talent in music since age seven sprung to new heights and this can be seen with her various accomplishments when she ventured out into stardom on her own.
Among her accomplishments included that of her first hit single �Work It Out�. She also gained prominence when she became the first African-American female artist and second woman ever to win the annual ASCAP Pop Songwriter of the Year Award. She has also appeared in the big screen in movies such as Austin Powers: Goldmember in 2002 and The Pink Panther in 2006.
Everybody is surely familiar with that straight-forward judge who resort to know dilly dallying and gets straight to the point when it comes to judging on American Idol, the hit TV show followed by the world and benchmark for making similar shows in different regions in the world. While this is not really his nature, getting to the point instead of keeping their hopes up, Simon gets directly to the point and tells the contestants that they are not good in their talent.
Rude as it may seem and negative, Simon is only after informing them not to expect too much from their journey in the hit TV show. Cowell plays no games. If a contestant has promise, he will readily say so without hesitation. From a long list of hopeful candidates, trimming down the list to the potential artists will not be an easy job. He, along with Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, are the judges of the acclaimed TV show which has produced the likes of Kelly Clarkson and Ruben Studdard.
[tags]american idol, simon cowell, paula abdul, kelly clarkson, ruben studdard, tv shows, reality[/tags]
Britney Spears was once the pop princess. Thanks to her biological clock, marriage, 2 kids and apparently bad taste in habits plus alcohol, Britney’s popularity and once glorious career has taken a sharp nose dive.
Rapper and producer Timbaland wants to help Britney revive her music career. He says, “I feel her pain, it really bothers me. I’m the type of person who tries to save the world. I just want to take her away, go overseas, and work it out”. He has even asked Justin Timberlake if he’d be willing to help out; to which JT replied that he would do so only if Britney were serious about doing it.
He may just be the man to get Britney’s career back on top too. Timbalake has produced many hits for various artists including number one hits for Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado. If the Sexyback producer can indeed help Britney get back in the zone, her fans will really be happy.
In the meantime, Britney Spears is still in rehab. All going well, she’ll hopefully complete the course this time and come out clean and sober and back on track.
The search is on for an additional Pussycat Doll coutesy of the CW network. True to the trend, it has been made into a reality TV show. You don’t get to see a whole bunch of girls auditioning before being narrowed down to 1 “American Idol” style. You get something more like “America’s Next Top Model” complete with melodrama.
Is there really a need for an additional Pussycat Doll? Most wfans would say absolutely not! The current group seems pretty good already. They make great eye candy. They can sing and they can dance. They appeal to both the men and the women. So far the show seems like a soap opera with a catfight (maybe more than 1) brewing in the wings.
The judges of the show include Robin Antin – who formed the band, Ron Fair – chairman of Greffen Records, and L’il Kim. Nicole Scherzinger, lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, shows up to judge the first round.
