Michel Legrand With Miles Davis and Bill Evans & other: 2008

Monday, 8 September 2008

From Beijing to barnstorm, US gymnasts on the road

Bringing home gold and silver from Beijing has certainly earned Shawn Johnson a rest, but this 16-year-old's non quite ready.

Rather than returning to her Iowa high school for her junior year, Shawn is pickings the semester off to barnstorm the country with fellow U.S. gymnastics greats and some hot young singers from Disney, including Jordan Pruitt.

The "Tour of Gymnastics Superstars" kicked off Sunday in Reno, Nev., with Shawn looking forward to performing without the Olympic-style stress.

"It's not so serious," she said. "We're still working out and staying in shape and working on our skills but we're able to just do it without so much focus and stuff. We're just having fun."

The 37-city tour, with a Sept. 26 special on MyNetworkTV, is share elite athletics, part dazzle, complete with a Chinese dragon and group routines by Shawn and confrere medalists Nastia Liukin, Chellsie Memmel and Jonathan Horton. The Hamm twins Morgan and Paul, both of whom had to sit out the Olympics ascribable to injuries, will as well perform.

The routines, some choreographed to songs from the "Disney Girlz Rock 2 CD," will include live performances from Pruitt and KSM, the up-and-comer girl rockers wHO recorded the tour's root word song, "Hero in You," and testament release their debut album next year.

No, Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers and stars from "High School Musical" won't be in the house for the shows booked into sports arenas from coast to coast, swathe up in Kansas City, Mo., on Nov. 16.

Shawn promises "a lot of dance numbers." She aforementioned she's looking for forward to the teen-inspired music.

"I love being able-bodied to perform to sport music and music that actually has words in it," aforementioned Shawn, a fan of Pruitt's hit single "One Love."

She aforementioned the duty tour is a different kind of gymnastics for the driven athletes.

"It's another reward to the hard make," Shawn aforesaid. "We can just slack our minds and I can enjoy the experience with my best friends."

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On the Net:

Tour information: http://www.gymnasticssuperstars.com/

More info

Tuesday, 19 August 2008

Cheryl Cole Gives X Factor "Best" Launch Show Ever

Simon Cowell definitely won't be regretting his decision to add Cheryl Cole to the X Factor judgement panel -- the Girls Aloud maven helped the show recoil off with its "biggest and best" launch show ever.

The diminutive singer, 25, was drafted in to replace Sharon Osbourne afterwards she renounce earlier this year. And the fifth series of the pip show, which kicked sour on the UK's ITV Saturday, garnered a humongous 10 meg viewers -- an telling 54 pct of the total TV audience,

Cheryl joined Cowell, Louis Walsh and Dannii Minogue on the judging panel.

The ITV1 strike peaked at 12.1 million and even beat last year's final, when an modal 11.7 million saw Leon Jackson win the �1million ($2m) record deal, reports Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper.

Meanwhile, ITV2 spin-off Xtra Factor with new host Holly Willoughby peaked at 1.5 million.

In contrast, the BBC's National Lottery show was watched by only 3.6 million.

An X Factor insider aforesaid, "This was the biggest and c. H. Best launch the show has ever had and it should cover throughout the series."

More info

Sunday, 10 August 2008

Beyonce Knowles Lightens Up For Controversial L'Oreal Ad?

...more Beyonce Knowles �

Has Beyonce Knowles undergone miracle skin lightning treatment, or did L�Oreal digitally alter her face to attend paler on one of their advertisements? That is the query on everyone�s lips at the moment.

The 26-year-old asterisk, who signed on with the company as a spokesmodel in 2006, is featured in an advertisement for L'Or�al Paris in the September edition of U.S. women's fashion magazine Elle.

The magazine includes a full-length head shot of the other Destiny's Child singer as she pitches a hair-highlighting product, disgraceful readers world Health Organization noticed her apparent change in appearance, according to the New York Post.

Left: Radiant looking skin, Right: Ghost Beyonce!

The company advertises their intersection in eighter pages throughout the magazine publisher, featuring a host of other celebrities including Scarlett Johansson, Milla Jovovich and Penelope Cruz.

A representative for Hachette Filipacchi Media, the company that publishes the magazine, has confirmed they are looking at into the matter, adding magazine editors generally take advertisers' products without close inspection.

What do you think, has Beyonce�s skin tone of voice been made lighter? Whatever the intellect, let�s hope she�s worth it.

Tuesday, 1 July 2008

Lynx and Flow

Artist: Lynx and Flow

   Genre(s):
Drum & Bass

Discography:

NU12014

Year: 2003
Tracks: 2

Lilitu

Wednesday, 25 June 2008

Nathalie Cardone

Artist: Nathalie Cardone

   Genre(s):
Other

Discography:

Nathalie Cardone

Year: 2000
Tracks: 12

Wednesday, 18 June 2008

Michelle Williams - Fascinating Fact 5441

Former DESTINY'S CHILD star MICHELLE WILLIAMS' debut solo single has been written by former bandmate BEYONCE KNOWLES' little sister SOLANGE.

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Rascal Flatts to appear in Hannah Montana movie

NASHVILLE, Tenn. —

The country group Rascal Flatts will appear and perform in the upcoming Hannah Montana movie.

A spokeswoman for the group's Lyric Street Records made the announcement Wednesday. No additional details were available about the band's appearance in "Hannah Montana: The Movie."

The movie, starring Miley Cyrus and her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, is filming in their home state of Tennessee. It's scheduled for release in theaters in 2009.

Rascal Flatts - Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney - are one of country's top acts. Their hits include "Take Me There," "What Hurts the Most," and "Bless the Broken Road."

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Diana Cooper

Artist: Diana Cooper

   Genre(s):
Easy Listening

Discography:

The Unicorn Meditation

Year: 2004
Tracks: 10

The Karma Release Meditation

Year: 2004
Tracks: 12

The Chakra Meditation

Year: 2004
Tracks: 12

Greg Packer and NSL

Ealing Studios closes 'Dorian Gray' deals

Deal with Alliance sends pic to multiple territories

LONDON -- The latest celluloid picture of "Dorian Gray" is shipping to Canada, the U.K., Spain, Italy and Scandinavia through a multiterritory deal struck between sales and financier Ealing Studios International and distributor Alliance Films.

The Canadian-based distributor will push the picture out using its subsidiaries Alliance Films in Canada, Momentum Pictures in the U.K., Aurum in Spain and its partners Eagle in Italy and Scanbox across Scandinavia.

Introduced to buyers during this year's Marche du Film in Cannes, "Gray" also went to Concorde for German-speaking territories while Village Roadshow took Australia and New Zealand rights.

Ben Barnes, on screens as Prince Caspian in the recently released "Chronicles of Narnia" sequel, is cast to play Oscar Wilde's iconic character in an adaptation of the author's novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray."

Ealing also reported strong sales for Richard Eyre's "The Other Man," sealing deals with A Film for Benelux, California Films for Latin America and Village Roadshow in Australia and New Zealand.

An Ealing spokesperson said it also has struck its first deal with Luis De Val's new venture Wide Pictures, for Spanish rights to the Eyre project.

"Establishing new relationships with first rate companies such as Alliance Films and A Films, and continuing to work with old friends like Village Roadshow and Concorde was part of the Ealing Studios dream when we established our sales arm 18 months ago," Ealing Studios International head of sales and distribution Natalie Brenner said.

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Duffy - Ting Tings Alphabeat And Duffy Set For T4 On The Beach

The Ting Tings, Alphabeat and Duffy are among new acts confirmed for next month's T4 On The Beach event.

The That's Not My Name stars will be joined by the Danish pop act and the Welsh chanteuse at the concert, Channel 4 has confirmed today.

Also set to take the stage in Weston-super-Mare on Sunday July 20th are Guillemots and Feeder, with the latter making their third T4 On The Beach appearance.

Tickets for the sixth T4 On The Beach, which also features the likes of Adele, the Pigeon Detectives and Sam Sparro, sold out in record time but those who missed out will be able to tune in to Channel 4 to watch the event live.

McFly, the Hoosiers and Scouting For Girls will also perform in the Somerset sun, while Lightspeed Champion's Dev Hynes will look to bounce back from recent health problems - including a dangerous foot infection and a troublesome facial abscess - is also confirmed to perform.

Following her recent UK tour, Robyn will be on hand with chart-topping hits such as With Every Heartbeat and Be Mine, while the Feeling, whose song Join With Us is used by event sponsors Toyota, are also on the bill.

12/06/2008 00:14:41

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Dangermouse liaisons

Visiting blues duo the Black Keys talk to Scott Kara about fleshing out their bare-bones sound
When the Black Keys went into the recording studio with a bloke called Brian "Dangermouse" Burton, there were a few nerves. Until then, the laid-back yet hard-rockin' Akron, Ohio, blues duo had done four straighforward "guitar, drum, rock records", the best being 2003's Thickfreakness, and here they were teaming up with one of the world's most in-demand music producers to record their latest album, Attack & Release.But, reckons drummer Patrick Carney, within a couple of hours he and his bandmate Dan Auerbach (vocals/guitar) knew it would be okay."We got on really well. The first song we recorded, on the very first day, was I Got Mine and the middle breakdown, with bizarre background voices, that was all Dangermouse. We were positive we had made the right decision," he says.Getting together with Dangermouse - half of the brains behind hip-pop upstarts Gnarls Barkley and producer of the Gorillaz' Demon Days - was a big move for the Black Keys, who play the Powerstation in Auckland on June 28.

Dangermouse was a fan of the Black Keys' music but Carney and Auerbach knew him best through Dangerdoom, a collaboration between Dangermouse and New York rapper MF Doom, and the album The Mouse and the Mask. And, of course, they also knew of The Grey Album, Dangermouse's first claim to fame where he remixed the Beatles White Album and Jay-Z's Black Album together."So we didn't know his stuff that well. But we both respected him," he says.Both Black Keys lads are fans of Wu Tang Clan and Carney says the Dangerdoom material is similar in its stripped-back simplicity."What I like about the Dangerdoom stuff was that it was clean but it still had the bass, drums, and the strings all incorporated into it. But nothing was over the top. And the thing I always liked about Brian was, and it seemed to us even before we worked with him, and it was true, that he has good taste in sound and it's something he doesn't even consider that much. He just doesn't even consider [using] a bad sound," says Carney.After their last album, Magic Potion, they knew it was time to change their minimal blues punk rock sound, yet Carney doesn't see Attack & Release as a change in direction. He says in recent years he'd been playing instruments like bass, synthesiser, piano and organ more than his drums and guitar so it was about time they started using them on records."We are extra proud of being able to incorporate instruments [on Attack & Release] that we wouldn't really use to define the band. So it's just a natural progression as far as Dan and I being aware that it's okay to open up the band and the sound and we just didn't ever want to get to the point where we were pigeon-holed as being one thing.

Blazing Saddles - Comic Actor Korman Dies

BLAZING SADDLES star HARVEY KORMAN has died. He was 81.

The Emmy Award-winning actor passed away at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles on Thursday (29May08) after suffering complications from the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm - an often fatal swelling of one of the body's main arteries.

Korman's daughter Kate has paid tribute to the star, insisting he fought hard against his ailing health.

She says, "It was a miracle in itself that he survived the incident (the aneurysm) at all. Everyone in the hospital referred to him as 'miracle man' because of his strong will and ability to bounce right back after several major operations.

"Tragically, after such a hard-fought battle, he passed away."

Korman was best known for his role opposite Mel Brooks in 1974 spoof film Blazing Saddles. But his regular appearances on 1960s TV programme The Carole Burnett Show won him critical acclaim and four Emmy Awards. He also landed a Golden Globe for the show in 1975. He went on to front his own programme The Harvey Korman Show in 1978 and star in a variety of movies including 1995's Dracula: Dead and Loving It.

Korman leaves his wife Deborah, daughters Kate, Laura and Maria, son Chris and three grandchildren.

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Sex And The City - Cattrall Denied A Role In Play Over Age

SEX AND THE CITY star KIM CATTRALL was turned down for a role in award-winning play EDUCATING RITA because she was too old.

The 51-year-old was so desperate to land a part in the famous stage production - set in her native Liverpool, England - she personally contacted playwright Willy Russell to talk him into hiring her.

Cattrall was turned down over her age, with Russell insisting he would prefer a young actress in the title role.

But Cattrall is not bitter about the snub.

She says, "I contacted Willy Russell a few years ago because I wanted to do a version (of Educating Rita). The idea was to make it about a working-class woman in her 40s, a woman's realisation of herself and the different possibilities for her.

"But he said it had been written for an actress in her 20s, which I respected."

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