Abdul readying her comeback record & other: April 2008

Saturday 26 April 2008

Beckham wanted hips for comeback shows

The intriguer wHO put together the costumes for the Spice Girls' counter shows has revealed that Victoria Beckham wanted the outfits to "give her hips".
Speaking to Grazia magazine, Roberto Cavalli said that Beckham's colleagues Geri Halliwell wanted her outfits to designate off her body spell Emma Bunton wanted to be covered up.
He said: "I met to each one unity on their own so I could incur an mind of their personality. I asked them around their bodies, what they wanted to register and veil, and we talked about how they had evolved in the years since they were Spice Girls."
Cavalli said that Mel B wanted "shiny, body-conscious apparel, and beast prints" piece Melanie C "wanted to be more careen chick than sporty".

Thursday 24 April 2008

Winehouse visits clinic after video expos�

Troubled star Amy Winehouse visited a drugs clinic yesterday after she was caught on video apparently smoking crack cocaine, it was reported today.
The star is said to have visited a clinic in north-west London with her father for a two-hour appointment.
The visit comes as the Metropolitan Police confirmed it would investigate a video obtained by The Sun that appeared to show her inhaling fumes from a crack pipe, taking other drugs such as ecstasy and cocaine and admitting to downing six Valium.
The disturbing images were said to have been filmed during a party at Winehouse's east London home in the early hours of last Friday, hours before she attended a court hearing for husband Blake Fielder-Civil.
He is awaiting trial on charges of assault and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
The 24-year-old's father Mitch told The Sun: "Your video of Amy taking drugs may well be the best thing that has ever happened to her.
"For all the hurt and pain, it may finally be the thing to focus her mind and convince her to get the help she needs to quit for good."
Winehouse's spokesman told reporters the appointment at the clinic was a regular weekly session which formed part of her continuing treatment for drug addiction.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Officers will be viewing the footage when we receive it from the media.
"We will then assess the footage to ascertain whether any action needs to be taken. As always we thank the media for their co-operation."
In The Sun's video the singer appears to be having a 19-minute drugs binge in which she snorts powdered ecstasy and cocaine before heading to her bedroom, where she inhales crack cocaine in front of her wedding photo.
Looking dishevelled and wearing a grubby black vest, she is left barely able to talk.
When friends ask her to go out with them, she is heard to reply: "I'd be useless to you because I've had about six Valium."

SWR Symphony Orchestra con. M

Spears' behaviour sparks fresh concerns

Singer Britney Spears has sparked fresh concerns for her well-being after reportedly having another "public breakdown".
According to People magazine, the singer was spotted arguing with her friend Sam Lutfi as they returned from a short drive around Beverly Hills.
The magazine reports that Spears looked "visibly distraught" as she jumped out of the car at her home.
She then reportedly wandered around with her dog London in her arms, before sitting on a pavement, while paparazzi were snapping photographs of her.
Onlookers said that she "looked completely lost" and had tears in her eyes.
But the singer later told the photographers: "I'm fine. I'm... having a nice time with my dog."
The report also claims that Spears' most recent boyfriend Adnan Ghalib was later refused entry to her house.

Monday 21 April 2008

Live: 'In Love With the Music of Antonio Carlos Jobim'

As a concept, "In Love With the Music of Antonio Carlos Jobim" sounded like an unforgettable evening -- a "one-act musical" that included nearly 20 tunes by the Brazilian who was one of the premier songwriters of the last four decades, narrated by Gavin MacLeod, no less. Delivered as a staged reading at the Jazz Bakery Monday night, the production cobbled together the Jobim material with a lightweight running story line about a romance between a beautiful young Brazilian ("The Girl From Ipanema," played by Debi Nova) and her two admirers (the young, strapping Will Collyer and the older, wealthier Amick Byram). Conceived and written by Ernest Chambers, with special material by Ken and Mitzi Welch, the narrative was peppered with gags distinctly reminiscent of "The Love Boat" era of television sitcoms (not surprising, perhaps, given the presence of MacLeod, who played the captain in the '80s hit series). Too often, though, the story interrupted the pleasures of the Jobim songs.

Fortunately, the actors brought unique qualities to their vocal interpretations.Byram, whose big, musical theater voice was heard as Moses in the 1998 animated film "The Prince of Egypt," added warmth and musical intimacy to everything he sang. He was particularly effective in his reading of the lovely, rarely heard "This Happy Madness." Collyer's lighter, briskly rhythmic style was at its best in duets with the other two singers -- especially a vigorously contrapuntal take on "One Note Samba" and a sensitive rendering of "Once I Loved."Nova was also effective in duets -- especially "Two Kites" and "Quiet Night of Quiet Stars" -- less so when she unexpectedly launched into distracting scat singing on "No More Blues." Music director/pianist Bill Cantos, guitarist Pat Kelley and drummer Michael Shapiro did yeomen jobs of pulling together the disparate, often uneven qualities of "In Love With the Music of Antonio Carlos Jobim."But ultimately, it was a concept that failed to live up to its extraordinary potential.

Tamyra Gray