Jessica Simpson Does NYC, Grease
Jessica Simpson Does NYC, Grease
If you’re reading this from the Big Apple, get your shoes on and head over to Macy’s Herald Square at 34th and Broadway. You just may get a glimpse of Jessica Simpson.
The former “Newlyweds” star was spotted yesterday headed through LAX, complete with Louis Vuitton gear and her dog Daisy, on her way to NYC.
The “With You” singer is doing an appearance at the famous department store and a few lucky attendees will get a chance to meet her. Jess will be on the 4th floor in the Juniors footwear department.
The catch? You had to be one of the first 250 customers yesterday to drop $50 on Jessica Simpson merchandise to get a pass to meet her today at 11am. But you can still gawk with the best of them, even if you don’t have a pass.
Along with her merchandising gig, Jess is looking more and more into acting. And there are reports that she’ll be starring in a remake of “Grease.”
Michelle Pfeiffer spilled the beans that Simpson may be reprising Olivia Newton-John’s role of Sandy. She recently told press, “It’s a great idea and I hear they would like to get Jessica Simpson for the role of Sandy. She would be good.”
MTV’s Rock the Cradle: Series premiere
(S01E01) MTV premiered a new series last night called Rock the Cradle. It’s a singing competition. But it isn’t your average Idol or Star Search show. There’s a twist: the competitors are all daughters/sons of real-life rockstars, pop icons, and R&B chart-toppers. Who’s progeny is competing? We’ve got Bobby Brown, Olivia Newton-John, Kenny Loggins and MC Hammer to name a few. MTV hired Larry Rudolph, ex-manager of Britney Spears, as a judge. Also judging the performances is Belinda Carlisle. *sings* Ooh, baby, do you know what that’s worth? Ooh, heaven is a place on earth…
So it has a cool name and a cool concept. But was it cool? My review is after the jump.
You’re probably expecting these kids to be really great singers much like their mamas and papas. But consider this. With the connections they must have, if they were really that fantastic, they’d be signed to recording labels already.
That said, here’s two things I found interesting. The judges give them scores (Olympics-style) then the singer with the highest score is “untouchable” and won’t have to rely on America’s vote to stay in the competition. The other interesting aspect of the show is that the parents of the singers sit in the audience and comment on the performances. Although I don’t know if that was just for the premiere or it they will be there every week.
Let’s talk about the performances. I’m giving some brief observations. Please leave any of your comments about the performers in the comments. I’d love to know what everyone else thought of this.
Jesse Money (daughter of Eddie Money) kicked off the night. From the video package, we could see that Eddie is a total stage dad. Her song choice was horrible and her right leg twitched like crazy during the refrain. Although I think the “twitch” was her keeping the rhythm and rocking out. Hmm, I said to myself. Well, it can only go up from here.
Landon Brown (son of bad boy Bobby Brown) sang Seal’s “Crazy.” Again, not a good choice. He did too much vocal gymnastics, forgot the words at one point in the beginning, and acted like he was already a big star encouraging the audience to clap along with him. Sidenote: Bobby Brown wore a T-shirt with his son’s name on it. Sidenote to the sidenote: You know, Whitney’s daughter should be in this competition.
Jesse Blaze Snider (son of Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider) had a better stage presence than most as he actually moved around the stage. He also wore tight leather pants and had a fake tan. Who could ask for more, right? Jesse Blaze sang “Rock and Roll” and Belinda Carlisle panned him. Dee Snider said he was proud of the performance and he had to pull strings with Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin to get permission to sing the song. Take that, Belinda! Uhh, Dee, ya dropped a few names there. Did ya need help picking those up?
Chloe Lattanzi (daughter of Olivia Newton-John) has gigantic lips and looks like the love child of Angelina Jolie and a muppet. She did okay with “Never Tear Us Apart” but had scores all over the place.
I wrote in my notes that Lara Johnston (daughter of Tom Johnston from the Doobie Brothers) had “good potential.” But I can’t remember anything else about her, what she sang, how she sang it, or what she wore. So, maybe not?
Lil B. Sure (son of R&B crooner and pantydropper Al B. Sure) had a really nice voice. His last note sounded weird though.
Lucy Walsh (daughter of Joe Walsh, guitarist for the Eagles) is “Untouchable” after the scores were in last night. She was very pretty and the most articulate of the bunch. She sang well but stood on stage with hunched shoulders like she was freezing cold or going through withdrawal. Larry Rudolph apparently likes the herion-chic posture because he gave her a perfect 10.
Crosby Loggins (son of Kenny Loggins) came off as extremely pretentious in his video package. It was that type of pretentious that happens when a person consciously tries so hard not to be pretentious and congratulates himself for being so down-to-earth. Make sense? He talked about how it isn’t easy for him just because his dad is a successful singer (they even showed him in a laundromat). Then Crosby said that it’s not like his dad was a plumber or something.
A’Keiba Burrell (daughter of rapper MC Hammer) was the best performance of the night, in my *humble* opinion. And that’s all I’m sayin’ about that.
Overall, Rock the Cradle was good. It wasn’t great and went on too long but it’s decent enough to watch a few more episodes. What do you think?
Rachel Bilson’s Energy Saving Initiative
Rachel Bilson’s Energy Saving Initiative
Rachel Bilson popped out of her Los Angeles pad on Tuesday to take her pet pooch Thurmen Murmen for a walk around town.
Besides tending to her furry friend, the 26-year-old Jumper actress has joined up with a long list of celebrities hoping to get Americans to start drying their duds on the line, thereby saving both money and energy.
According to a release from Hills (an Australian clothing line spearheading the effort), “the use of clothes lines and drying racks in the U.S. has declined steadily since the 1950s as adoption of appliances went mainstream. This has led to the drier becoming the the largest energy sucker in the American home next to the refrigerator.”
Joining Miss Bilson in the initiative are Matt Rhys, Olivia Newton-John, Dannii Minogue, Amanda Detmer, Radha Mitchell, Kimberly Joseph and Melissa George.
Britney Spears Gets Down To Business
Britney Spears Gets Down To Business
Following a business meeting at the trendy West Hollywood restaurant Sur, Britney Spears made her way to her car through a sea of paparazzi and fans.
It seems the “Gimme More” singer is hot on the trail of a comeback, with constant trips to the gym and regular sessions in the recording studio. So it only makes sense that she’d be in the midst of talks with industry execs to give her career a boost.
Then last night, Miss Spears stopped by a taping of “Rock the Cradle,” a show that pits aspiring pop stars, who have rock and roll in their family background, against one another. The offspring of Dee Snider, Kenny Loggins, and Olivia Newton John were all competing.
But most importantly, Brit’s former manager/friend Larry Rudolph is the show’s judge, and he told press that he was honored to have the support of the “Toxic” singer.
Rudolph told press, “She was here to support the show. I mentioned to her that I was going to my show. She said, ‘I want to come down.’ She loved it. She really loved it. She didn’t come here for publicity or anything like that. She came here because she wanted to see the show, which I appreciated.”