Britney’s Reality Show
According to defamer.com, Britney Spears and “recently united manager,” Larry Rudolf, are shopping around a reality show featuring the new and improved lifestyle of the queen of pop. Unlike Britney and K-Fed’s first try at reality show success with Chaotic, her new reality series would showcase her attempts at normalcy and hopefully boost album sales and fan morale.
I think this could be a good strategy for getting Britney’s career back in line. The reality series will be a success if the show includes Britney completely back to basics and ready to focus on her career, family, and being drug-free. At this point in her career, a reality show idea like this one could either further destroy her image as a deteriorating pop star, or the show could potentially turn the media focus from the negative points in Britney’s life to the hard working career-driven women we all know Britney can be again. Her representatives are taking a risk by putting Britney’s life back in the spotlight after her tabloid hysteria has progressively dimmed down in the past few months. However, if done right, this show could be a huge success.
I am reminded of Kim Kardashian’s naughty video with R&B singer Ray-J, and the chaos that followed. Keeping up with the Kardashians, an E Network reality hit, has turned Kim’s image completely around. Her reality show focuses on her family, her career, and fun-loving sense of humor. If Britney’s show has the same focus, viewers will most likely receive the series with open arms.
Miley the Princess
Miley Cyrus is doing the damn thing. Not only is she the most popular teen queen, she continues to create other outlets for her fans to fall in love with her. Miley and her besty and backup dancer, Mandy Jiroux, now have an improv youtube show called “The Miley and Mandy Show.” Cute.
One of the bits the duo dance to in Miley’s room is by the Jonas Brothers. I have to wonder if this was staged? Miley has been photographed with the youngest brother in the past few months, and there have even been rumors of a possible relationship. If singing to a Jonas Brother’s song was planned, it was an amazing PR move by both Miley’s and the Brother’s representation. She obviously has wholesome unjaded fans that the Jonas Brothers could feed on to bring themselves to full-fledged stardom (not like they really need the help, but hey, why not the have the extra push?).
Miley’s good girl image is perfect in the midst of a celebrity society that has washed-up teen princesses, like Lindsey Lohan, being arrested for DWIs and cocaine. Miley’s peace-sign which she always gives to paparazzi and onlookers solidifies her image. In terms of PR, Miley is a goddess. Her innocent look and sweet nature has not yet been tainted by the Los Angeles club scene, a dirty sex tape, or scandals. I really hope that her reputation continues down this path so that there can be at least one role model for the pre-teen and teenage crowd.
Heidiwood
Oh Heidi.
In US Weekly, and at popcrunch.com, it was reported that Heidi has now launched her new clothing line, Heidiwood, at the same time frenemy Lauren Conrad came out with her new line during L.A Fashion Week 2 weeks ago. Of course Heidi is going to say that her line is “better,” but her plans to have it in Anchor Blue stores nationwide shouldn’t really be a boost to the ego. Anchor Blue is a teenybopper store much resembling a cheaper version of PacSun or American Eagle. Not too original, and kind of lame. Didn’t she go to a premo fashion school in L.A? Oh that’s right, she was a fashion school drop out.
Plus, so many Hills watchers are “Team Lauren” it wasn’t in her publicist’s best interest to feed the flames of the cat-fight by publicizing the launch of Heidiwood in the same month as L.C.’s more upscale and obviously more hip clothing line was brought to the catwalk.
I really feel sorry for Heidi at this point. According to E News this week, Heidi asked her manager, on-again-of-again Spencer Pratt (by the way, who else does he represent?), to change the Hollywood sign to Heidiwood for the launch of her clothing line and hopeful album. What? Who the heck is Heidi Montag anyway?
Guliana Rancic and Ryan Seacrest think Heidi is a joke and made it apparent when mocking her attempts at grandeur after Heidi and Spencer were interviewed on Ryan’s KIIS-FM radio show. It must be bad when Chelsea Handler can’t stop making jokes at Heidi’s expense. There are so many other screw-up celebrities out there, the fact that Heidi is on top of the talk-about list is sad. This is not one of those cases when bad publicity is good. There needs to be damage control fast. Heidi’s pathetic life isn’t exactly a crisis situation, but her publicist better kick it into gear to flip her reputation so that at least some people take her seriously.
Amy Winehouse, a British Sensation?
Amy Winehouse has been awarded Grammy after Grammy, Platinum Records, and bookoos of publicity both in England and the US. But why exactly? Are her music and song writing skills really that good, or has her popularity in the states been made by the sensational stories written about her stints in jail, and her media-smuggled daredevil crack-cocaine video? Unfortunately, after the surfacing of this video of Amy partying in her London apartment and smoking crack cocaine surfaced in late January 2008, there was no stopping the waterfall of media feedback and overplaying of her taking puff after puff on the deadly crack pipe.
As it is, the song that made her popular, “Rehab,” is truly ironic, and sadly factual. The idea that she has been awarded for her misbehavior by the Grammy’s is disturbing. She should have been stripped of her nominations after the appalling behavior in the crack video surfaced, and the fact that her previous run-ins with marijuana prevented her from actually attending the event is down-right laughable. Yet, did it really affect her career? No.
I do have to applaud her efforts on “voluntarily checking herself into rehab” after the incident… as if her previous arrests for possession, peep shows in London, and alcoholism weren’t enough before. Hitting the big time with crack really got the public’s attention, and damage control was definitely needed. According to Amy’s father, this bout with crack is actually a good thing. He goes on to say that the British Sun’s revealing pictures and comments on the issue “may finally be the thing to focus her mind and convince her to get the help she needs to quit for good.” Well Dad, you have to say that don’t you? Mom seems to have seen the inevitable coming, by having written a public letter to Amy a few months before the incident, warning her that things would get worse if she did not ask for help. Friends and family generally seem to be supportive, especially at the annoucement of her Grammy wins; however, is it a little too late?
According to celebrity blogger Byron Crawford, Amy’s performances have not been tainted by her apparent drug use, and she looks skinny, but sounds better than ever. I have to disagree. Even after her few weeks going in and out of rehab, she still couldn’t manage to pull it together for the satellite Grammy performance. She sounded raspy, sick, and was boring to watch. Her speech was incoherent, and even for a Brit! Anyone who had seen the previous crack video had to think she was still hitting the pipe pretty hard. And maybe right before her performance. Like me, other bloggers have mixed opinions of Amy. Jen’s Juice insists that Amy is just so talented, and her run-in with crack is “so sad.” Others see her demise coming soon as she continues to destroy herself with endless drug use and inappropriate behavior. Really though, even I do not wish death on the poor girl, I really think she just doesn’t deserve the fame that she has effortlessly been entitled. Universal Mowtown Records Group declare’s Amy “incredible” with her musical talent. Of course. Luckily she does have her “talent” to fall back on, unlike other celebs that have gone down the same crack-laden road.
Basically, Amy is a mess. Endlessly searching the Internet’s page after page of Amy, the majority of photos that are presented are of Amy looking disheveled, and emaciated with make-up running down her face. The crack video alone was a scary real-life portrayal of her intense party-habits, and her publicist Tracey Miller doesn’t seem to stepping too far out of her comfort zone to fix the problem. It seems that the only way Tracey is attempting to thwart the backlash of the video is to remind the public of how wonderful 6 Grammy nominations are, and of course, how marvelous the soulful singer’s songwriting skills have taken her to the top, accompanying each story with a less scary looking Amy. Really though, what else is there to do? I would try and get as many pictures as possible of Amy looking like the healthy 60s-inspired blues singer she once was. Popular celebrity news Web site Enews 2.0 seems to be the only one that puts a positive spin in each of Amy’s stories. She needs more help from the news, because the tabloids have taken over her image.
…Oh Amy, lay-off the crack and you’ll be just fine. Hopefully there will be more talk of Amy in rehab. I would love to see an interview or two from the singer herself about her addictions and her intentions to quit. Amy’s musical career seems to be increasingly successful after her Grammy appearance and the stint in rehab, but I want more. As a semi-fan, and potential publicist, I’d like to see Amy care a little more about her appearance and her reputation. This “I don’t care” attitude has left the world to see her flaws in endless pictures of drunkenness and of course, the famous crack video. There needs to be more publicity out there countering this terrible image she has festered for herself without having to resort to her successes in the music industry. Who is Amy the person? I’d love to get to the bottom of that.
Is Ellen a loser? a lesbian? or just nervous?
After reading a blog on defamer.com about Ellen Page bringing her publicist, Kelly Bush, to the Oscar’s with her, I started thinking about poor Ellen and her big Oscar goof. Here was Ellen, a young, inexperienced, possible lesbian nominee, with her publicist as a date… and an obvious security blanket. I’m sure if she WAS with her mother or a lover, Ellen would have been even further scrutinized by the press. So what is a girl to do? Grow up.
I can see how it looks a little pathetic that she 1: didn’t have a real date, 2: knew that if she did bring a date, it would be a female, thus did not want to come out to the public so soon, or 3: isn’t really ready for stardom. I believe the latter contributes to her awkward demeanor, and generally average looks.
It’s obvious that this actress has not really seized her fame. And, on top of it all the people working for her are seemingly working against her. Her stylist should be shot, her hairdresser should have turned on the lights, and well, her publicist probably should have stayed two steps behind her. It WAS Bush that triggered the controversy of whether she was mother or lover to Ellen. Shouldn’t a well-established publicist know better? I would hope so.
So J.T. is now a spokesperson for Parfums Givenchy?
He always struck me as more of a Diesel kind of guy- a little grungy, but seriously fashionable. In the past few years his evolution from pretty boy pop star into fashion-forward style icon has saved his image in the music world. Givenchy claims “elegance” as part of their brand, but does J.T. scream elegant? Do his fans want him to be elegant?
After his start with Nsync, I would think that finding a more masculine brand of perfume would be alluring to this solo artist in order to appeal to his now older audience. I don’t think going upscale will hurt his image…. but Givenchy isn’t really the down-to-earth brand that would truly reflect the image he has worked so hard to create.
The Mars Volta curse
A.V. Club, an online magazine and blog, conducted an interview with the lead singer of The Mars Volta, Omar Rodriquez-Lopez, to discuss the band’s run-in with an “evil” ouija board nicknamed the “Soothsayer.” Apparently the board has possessed the bandmembers and “chaos” has beseiged them all. A broken foot, nervous breakdown, flooded studio, and missing guitar parts are among the problems encountered by the band during the making of their new album: The Bedlam in Goliath.
I have to wonder if this is all a publicity stunt for the release of the new album. According to Lopez, this album’s lyrics are chaotic and “confusing,” in correlation with the mysteriously evil ouija board….. After visiting the website (as directed to do so in the article) the fans and readers of AVC can go ahead and play the “Soothsayer” game. Obviously an oppotunity to be possessed by the same board that brought horrors to the band would be a fun thing to do right? Maybe. I know that reading Hayden’s article I was captivated by the superstitious nature of the story even though I’m not even a huge Mars Volta fan to begin with. So, I ponder…. publicity??
If this WAS a publicity stunt, it worked completely. From what I can tell, the listeners of this latin-meets-metal-progressive band want to feel the passion behind the music, and what could be better to understand the lyrics than a glimpse into the crazy “theories” and interworkings of Lopez’s twisted mind.
In order to “uncover the dark story that inspired The Mars Volta to produce their latest album” and get a glimpse of the cursed game online, the curious fans have to go through the Web site, hear a new song and then find the link to take them to the game. Bravo to the publicist who arranged all this!
Is bashing Kevin’s lawyer the way to go?
Is bashing Kevin’s lawyer the way to go? Probably not. Sam Lufti’s publicist, Michael Sands, is going about the “Britney” situation all wrong when he writes to Life & Style regarding Britney’s possible illness.
Who is really to say that Kevin Federline is the “better parent? To me, neither Britney nor Kevin can even come close to qualifying as a parent. period. Parents do not put themselves first, and as I can see it… Kevin is making money by exploiting his ex-wife’s possible drug problems, and in general, exploiting his children for profit.
If I were in Michael Sand’s position… I would first deal with the fact that his client, Sam Lufti is completely untrustworthy and along with Kevin has exploited his so-called girlfriend to earn a pretty penny. His restraining order is real… they dont just hand those out. Sands is not a part of anything that has to do with the Spears-Federline clan… His client has no sort of custody over the toddlers, and thus, there needs to be no discussion from him over their well-being. Lets focus on the main issues at hand (Britney’s “illness,” and Sam’s “dishonesty”) before we start bashing Kevin and his lawyer for just being innocent bistanders.
