Amy Winehouse Nails Her Brit Performance
Amy Winehouse Nails Her Brit Performance
Sure, she’s had a pretty rough time over the past few months, but when Amy Winehouse emerged onto the stage at the Brit Awards last night, it was all about proving herself. And she did.
Joined by her pal Mark Ronson and fellow UK-er Adele, the “Rehab” singer performed two cuts, “Valerie” and “Love is a Losing Game” to an overjoyed audience. But according to an insider, it almost didn’t happen.
Apparently, Winehouse struck fear into the hearts of the Brit Awards producers when she fell over during rehearsals. Apparently she’s been drinking again.
A source told press, “Amy was atrocious in the final rehearsals, she kept falling over. But she had had a couple of large drinks before she went on stage and she seemed out of it. At that stage we were seriously considering pulling her out of the show.”
The producers even came up with a backup plan, in case Amy wasn’t fit for the gig. “We had a meeting with her record company in the afternoon, and whatever they did seemed to do the trick. But we had made plans in case Amy’s voice didn’t hold up on the night.”
Enjoy th pictures from Amy’s Brit Awards performance, along with shots of her heading to the ceremony (February 20).
Shania Hurting, but Grateful for "Beautiful Blessings"
Now that she’s trying to make it on her own, Shania Twain wants her fans to know she’ll be back in business soon, “hopefully stronger than ever.”
“As I am sure you have seen or heard; I am going through a rough time personally in my life,” the recently separated country star wrote in a message on her website dedicated to her “beloved fans.”
“I wanted you all to know that I could not be getting through this without you. Your letters, emails and words of encouragement give me strength. Your overwhelming support reminds me to smile, no matter how deep the pain and to always be grateful for all the beautiful blessings in my life…
“I have so much to say but I know the best way for me to speak is through my music. This is my therapy, my passion, and my love. I look forward to sharing it with all of you as I begin this new journey.
“I need some time to heal this broken heart but make no mistake; I will be back and hopefully stronger than ever.
“Thank you my friends, from the bottom of my heart.”
Twain and her producer hubby of 14 years, Robert “Mutt” Lange, announced their separation May 15. They have one son, 6-year-old Eja D’Angelo.
Big Brother 9: live feeds report - Feb. 15
Fans of Big Brother 9 have a rough time of it this year. The schedule of this rather impromptu season is all kerflooey — two nights in a row, then almost four days go by before the Sunday show airs in the evening. Plus, we’re getting bombarded with all the Cupid, soulmates, and walking down the aisle “Til Death Do You Part” funky business.
Have the houseguests found true love? What’s the buzz from inside the Big Brother House of Mismatched Misfits? Who’s on the block for eviction? Has Power of Veto been played yet?
Show spoilers are just beyond the jump, beware!
In my last report, I told you that Neil had to leave supposedly due to a family emergency. He was replaced with the recently evicted Sharon when Joshuah chose her instead of Jacob for the return. Both Sharon and Jacob had been conveniently sequestered nearby. So, now Sharon and Joshuah are partnered together. The nominations have been held and Jen/Parker and Ryan/Allison are on the block.
The Power of Veto is expected to be played out later today, but I don’t know what time it will happen. Last night they had Alex and Amanda (Heads of House) read the rules of the PoV comp to the houseguests and I got all psyched for it to go down. Alas, all that happened was the rules reading which was apparently filmed for the show. We generally don’t see the PoV comp played out on the feeds, but the houseguests usually spill the beans shortly after the feeds return.
I don’t think the way the houseguests are interacting with each other is quite what the producers had in mind. I think they pictures sexual romps, love at first sight, hot gals in bikinis. They probably had visions of high ratings shining like stars before their eyes.
Wrong.
Instead we have a bunch of immature bickering boobs. And, no, I’m not talking about breasts. Amanda is upset at Alex for trying to be the boss. Parker is mad at Jen (and BB) for ruining his chances in the game. Jen is mad at Parker because he’s mad at her. Allison is mad at Ryan for telling her not to talk to others not in their alliance. Alex can’t stand Amanda and doesn’t want her to touch him. The boys (yes, not men) are having huge arguments over who swore at whom first. Some are mad at James for not giving them personal information to prove that he isn’t Chelsia’s brother. We have Ryan and Jen having quick sex in a bathroom stall (not really seen on the feeds).
“I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes. Love is all around me, so the feeling grows.”
Yeah, right.
About the only couple getting along now is Adam and Sheila. Yes, you read that right. Adam had a teary talk with her about how special he thinks his work with autistic kids is. She found it touching and they’re now friendly albeit not lovey-dovey. She made him a special Valentine’s Day breakfast and he was very appreciative. James made Chelsia a breakfast in bed, too. She told him she doesn’t do breakfast.
Despite all the schoolyard fights and dirty glares, they all dressed up for a fancy Valentine’s Day dinner. Each houseguest told the others why Valentine’s Day is special to them. I just know that BB had to tell them to do that. Sure, they were excited about getting pretty and having an event, but this was not a Valentine’s Day for the lovers within.
Other house happenings:
- It seems that Sharon/Josh, Matt/Natalie, and Amanda/Alex are an alliance block.
- Alex wants Parker/Jen to stay although he’s very concerned about the veto.
- Chances are if the veto is used, it will be Sheila and Adam on the block.
- Adam has worked his way into the good graces of most of the house.
- Sheila is a staunch Ryan supporter and thinks Jen is throwing him under the bus.
- Alex thinks that Amanda hangs out with Parker too much and that they must have known each other outside of the house.
- Parker and Amanda both deny the allegations.
- Several suspect that Chelsia and James are brother and sister.
- Amanda thinks Alex is mean to her.
- Matt complains that Natala is a “crazy lunatic partner.”
- Matt only trusts Parker in the house.
- Despite their differences, Alex and Amanda got all smoochy under the covers in the HoH room.
- Natalie said her ex-boyfriend paid $3,200 for her boob job, then broke up with her and changed his number.
- Natalie and Matt did some hanky-panky under the covers. Maybe the producers are right? I don’t know — most of the time these couples hate each other, but put them in a bed and they play around? They must think it’s “good TV.” Matt had said earlier he has no intentions of having sex with Natalie. He must be of the Bill Clinton “I did not have sex with that woman” club.
- After she finished, he mumbled something about needing to clean the sheets and turned away from her.
The houseguests are all asleep as I get this posted. I’ll let you know what happens next.
30 Rock live at the UCB Theatre
On the heels of the Saturday Night Live stage show, the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York hosted a live reading by the cast of 30 Rock, with ticket proceeds going to show staffers who are out of work due to the writers strike.
According to accounts of the show — most notably, from Rachel Sklar at the Huffington Post and Dan Hopper at the Best Week Ever blog — every major member of the cast, including Alec Baldwin, was at the reading. An upcoming episode was read for the audience, and Tina Fey asked that the audience members not divulge the plot of that episode because “this show is like Heroes and we don’t want to ruin it for everyone else.”
The audience wasn’t as star-studded as the one that witnessed the SNL stage show, but according to the accounts, it was just as enthusiastic, loudly laughing at the big and small jokes. They seemed to be especially appreciative of the “mandatory” commercial breaks that were provided by Jon Lutz and Jack McBrayer, both of whom are UCB veterans; they improvised generic commercials based on words solicited from the audience.
The blog AndIAmNotLying one-ups Huffington and BWE by providing pictures and short quotes from the cast that were taken at a nearby pub after the show.
I really find it heartening that the casts of both shows have put on these benefits; it shows that they not only have a passion to perform, but that they care enough about their non-writing staffs to try to do something to help them through this rough time. And I’m glad to hear that 30 Rock plays as well live as it does on screen. The show has come so far in such a short amount of time, that it might be one of the shows that will actually get a ratings boost when it comes back, as people will watch the first season on DVD and the previous episodes on NBC.com and see how smart and funny it is.
Which, of course, means more money for NBC. Which is why the writers are on strike. Sigh.