How much do the owners of the Empire State Building charge for the right to tint it pretty colors? I ask only because I'm curious about how much Island Def Jam's marketing team is shelling out today, when the former tallest building in the world will be radiant in pink, lavender, and white to celebrate the solemn occasion of "the week after a Mariah Carey album comes out."
There are so many things I love about the press release that just showed up (twice!) in my inbox. For starters, Mariah is kicking off this wonderful event with a lighting ceremony planned for early this afternoon. That's right, she's lighting up the Empire State Building... in broad daylight. But not to worry. At this important ceremony, Mariah won't be illuminating the actual Empire State Building, but rather "flip{ping} the light switch on a scale model of the Empire State Building." A scale model! How Spinal Tap. Lastly, I'd just like to note that the building's color scheme is being altered to Mariah's tastes for the entirety of this weekend. I think that's longer than they give some major holidays!
Okay, okay, I'll go back to listening to the unstoppable earworm that is "Touch My Body" now. (All extravagant publicity grabs aside, I concede that E=MC2 is a pretty great album.) But I won't be able to stop myself from looking up in reverent awe / amused disbelief if I happen to be anywhere near 34th St. this weekend. Will you?
I almost want to tune in to see this, but I won't*: Tonight, on the eve of the Pennsylvania primary, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain will each make a very special appearance on a three-hour edition of WWE's Monday Night RAW (USA, 8 p.m. ET). According to the press release, "An invitation from the WWE to have Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama appear on RAW to settle the Democratic nomination process in the wrestling ring was the catalyst for tonight's appearances by the three top Presidential contenders, who each will address the WWE audience in specially taped messages."
I guess it's nice that the WWE is encouraging its fans in PA to "Smackdown Your Vote!" Still, this got me wondering: Is there a TV show that a candidate could appear on and LOSE your vote? I shot EW's What to Watch maven Alynda Wheat an email and asked for her expert opinion. "Besides this one?" she wrote back. "Losing on Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? would erode some respect." Where do you draw the line?
As president of Island Urban Records, Jermaine Dupri has spent a lot of time thinking about the future of music. And his latest brainchild is... TAG Records, a joint venture with, yes, TAG Body Spray, the favored scent of skeezy dudes everywhere. When I first saw this press release in my inbox, I thought it had to be a way-late April Fool's joke. I still wish it were. "Today, we make history in the music industry with TAG Records," Dupri pompously offers. What kind of history — terrible-idea history?! I'm sorry, but sure-to-fail vanity labels and cheap-o deodorant brands (what, he couldn't have gone upmarket and partnered with Axe?) are two cultural phenomena which did not need to join forces. Besides, there's already a defunct label called Tag Recordings!
Oh, this label. As Jay Sherman would say, it stinks! (Indeed, one blogger has already dubbed it "Stanky Records.") It hurts me to give it even a little bit more publicity with this post. But now that I have, what do you say — would you ever willingly buy a CD with the TAG logo on it?
ABC's summer lineup may look like a joke... but apparently, it isn't. You've got The Bachelorette (with DeAnna Pappas, pictured) bowing May 19 with a two-hour premiere. And then itwill stay two hours. WHAT?
The Mole returns May 26, but we can't even deal with that because of what launches on June 24: the one-two punch of Wipeout and I Survived A Japanese Game Show. Per Variety, the latter involves Americans being flown to Japan to compete in one of the country's someone's-getting-hit-in-the-nuts shows. I guess it was cheaper to fly contestants there than build their own line of spinning logs? A real-life MXC sounds fun on paper, but I don't know if the magic will translate.
The network is currently casting for the homegrown sister competition series, Wipeout. Allow me to quote from the press release:
Human cannonballs! Human pinballs! Crashes, smashes and mud splashes! Twenty-four thrillseekers will compete on an extreme obstacle course designed to provide the most crashes, face-plants and wipeouts ever seen on television... Wipeout features 24 daring contestants who attempt to conquer increasingly difficult but wildly hilarious obstacle courses. In each one-hour episode, one competitor will win the title of Wipeout Champion and $50,000.
I'm up for watching face-plants (I have no shame), but who's up for performing them?
When the first Sweet Valley High book was published in 1983, Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield, identical twin heroines of the soon-to-be wildly popular teen fiction series (and subsequent TV spinoff), were described as blonde, beautiful, and a "perfect size 6." Now bid welcome to a new, thinner, Sweet Valley High: Random House is reissuing 12 books from the original series with a few small editorial tweaks, one of which involves the slightly awkward issue of the Wakefield waistline. The twins' "perfect size 6" has been reduced to a "perfect size 4." Kudos, Random House, for not only introducing body-image issues to a whole new generations of young fans, but proudly trumpeting this point in the press release.
To that end, if you can't manage to (or afford to) physically alter your body via starvation or plastic surgery, you may still create your own anorexic cyber-waif with a little help from Miss Bimbo.
Axl Rose has come out of hiding the recording studio to respond to Dr Pepper's offer to donate a can of the fizzy soft drink to everyone in America — save Slash and Buckethead — should Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy, now in its 13th year of gestation, see the light of day in '08. The dreadlocked rocker issued a press release that was posted on the GN'R website yesterday:
We are surprised and very happy to have the support of Dr Pepper with our album Chinese Democracy, as for us, this came totally out of the blue. If there is any involvement with this promotion by our record company or others, we are unaware of such at this time. And as some of Buckethead's performances are on our album, I'll share my Dr Pepper with him.
So... is this a yes, Axl? We can expect to see Chinese Democracy in 2008? Here's a clock you can use to chart your progress.
Props to Dr. Pepper for their snarky promise to give everyone in America a can of their soda if Axl Rose (pictured) finally releases Chinese Democracy sometime in 2008. (Well, everyone except former Guns n' Roses guitarists Slash and Buckethead. Sorry, guys.) The Pepper people have even started a blog to encourage Axl to end the 17-year drought and get off the can, so to speak. In mock sympathy for Axl's painstaking perfectionism, the Pepper press release proclaims,
"It took a little patience to perfect Dr Pepper's special mix of 23 ingredients, which our fans have come to know and love," said Jaxie Alt, director of marketing for Dr Pepper. "So we completely understand and empathize with Axl's quest for perfection — for something more than the average album."
Very clever stunt, since they're all but guaranteed not to have to make good on the offer.
Sarah Chalke stars in Hanes' advertising campaign for its new "No Ride Up Panty." Zach Braff, her costar on Scrubs, has directed two TV spots. The funny one, which debuts March 11 during American Idol, is embedded below.
"I am so glad that Hanes is conquering the dreaded wedgie because it can happen at anytime to anyone — I should know," Chalke said in a press release. "For my first appearance at the Emmys, which was also my first time on the red carpet, I chose a gorgeous dress, but made a bad underwear selection. There were cameras everywhere so I had no opportunity to fix anything, especially a wedgie. Now I wear my No Ride Up panties because I love how they fit and I don't have to worry about tugging them back into place."
Funny, sad, or funny-sad?
From a CBS press release issued Monday: "CBS has ordered three new alternative/reality series for broadcast later this year — the biweekly celebrity talent contest SECRET TALENTS OF THE STARS, the hidden camera game show GAME SHOW IN MY HEAD and the search for AMERICA'S TOP DOG."
Let's break this down: Secret Talents of the Stars will allegedly feature some of our "favorite film and television stars" competing in a tournament to find out who has the best hidden talent. Now I'm willing to guess that some of my favorite stars will be on this show, because the D-list are my people. But will anyone else want to see celebs who weren't big enough to get on Dancing With the Stars do magic? Game Show in My Head is the latest offering from Ashton Kutcher (pictured) and Jason Goldberg, his partner on Punk'd and Beauty and the Geek. I hate the title, but do appreciate the concept because it reminds me of something Graham Norton does would do. Basically, contestants will wear earpierces and earn money for following through on whatever inane things the TBD host of the show instructs him or her to do in public. If the contestant wimps out, the winnings are erased.
America's Top Dog is only a working title, thank God. The pitch here: A group of owners and their pups will live together and "battle it out in a dog competition that puts the dog's relationship with the person who has raised and trained it to the test. In the end, only one team of loving owner and faithful dog will emerge the winner in this dog-eat-dog competition!" Is this the price we pay for expensive reality fare like The Amazing Race and Survivor? I like dogs — and will admit to watching those agility competitions on ESPN — but seriously?*
New York, NY — Google Cash Money, one of hip-hop’s most successful and enduring street-imprints, and the first four words blazing across Wikipedia identifying the dirty south’s first globally acclaimed brand might be the most revealing: An American Record Label.
Um, no. I mean, yeah, but...no. And people wonder why the record industry is in trouble?
Note: This snark is not in any way intended to disparage the subject of said press release, Cash Money Records: 10 Years of Bling Vol. 1, which includes several very decent hits which have sent me on a pleasant nostalgia trip to those far-off days when the Best(?)-Rapper-Alive-to-be was, in fact, lil'. (Link intermittently NSFW.)
In our continuing effort to illuminate the darkest recesses of the pop culture universe, we've uncovered something mystifying. Something exotic. Something forbidden.
We've discovered what rock icon Rod Stewart likes to do, all by himself, with tiny marvels of machinery in the palms of his hands. And it involves special terminology like "kitbashing" and "scratchbuilding."
THE PROBLEM: You really, really, really need publicity for your comeback single. A Hollywood paycheck would also be nice. THE SOLUTION: Put your name in the same sentence as TV's biggest hit, pretend it's "news", and cross your fingers! '80s Pop Star Hopes To Be Fourth Judge On 'American Idol' Friday October 19, 2007
LOS ANGELES (Wireless Flash) -- Move over Paula Abdul, because another '80s pop princess is vying for a spot on the "American Idol "judges panel. Singer Gioia Bruno -- member of the 1980s pop trio Expose, best known for their hit songs "Seasons Change," and "Point Of No Return" -- is making a musical comeback with her new solo single, "Your Love Is Lifting Me (Higher and Higher)," which she hopes will get her back on the music map and secure her a spot as a new judge on the upcoming season of "American Idol." Says Bruno: "I've always wanted to get involved with "American Idol" and I'd be a great asset to the judges panel. I know the business inside and out, and I'm not afraid to tell aspiring musicians how it is. Plus, I'm hysterical!" Bruno, who suffered a longterm throat injury a few years back and feared she'd never sing again, says her story is a good way for "Idol" wannabes to realize that giving up your music dream is never an option. And while "Idol" refs Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson are the mean, nice, and cool judges, Bruno believes she could bring a new personality trait to the table. She adds, "I'm the gay guy judge! I'm sassy, I tell it like it is, and it comes out all whacked out."
So, what do you think? Click here to hear a snippet of Bruno's comeback single, then weigh in: Should we kick off a campaign for her right here on PopWatch, so that it can indeed "come out all whacked out," or just enjoy our weekend?
Home
How much do the owners of the Empire State Building charge for the right to tint it pretty colors? I ask only because I'm curious about how much Island Def Jam's marketing team is shelling out today, when the former tallest building in the world will be radiant in pink, lavender, and white to celebrate the solemn occasion of "the week after a Mariah Carey album comes out."
I almost want to tune in to see this, but I won't*: Tonight, on the eve of the Pennsylvania primary, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain will each make a very special appearance on a three-hour edition of WWE's Monday Night RAW (USA, 8 p.m. ET). According to the press release, "An invitation from the WWE to have Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama appear on RAW to settle the Democratic nomination process in the wrestling ring was the catalyst for tonight's appearances by the three top Presidential contenders, who each will address the WWE audience in specially taped messages."
As president of Island Urban Records, Jermaine Dupri has spent a lot of time 
ABC's summer lineup may look like a joke... but apparently, it isn't. You've got The Bachelorette (with DeAnna Pappas, pictured) bowing May 19 with a two-hour premiere. And then it will stay two hours. WHAT?
When the first Sweet Valley High book was published in 1983, Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield, identical twin heroines of the soon-to-be wildly popular teen fiction series (and subsequent TV spinoff), were described as blonde, beautiful, and a "perfect size 6." Now bid welcome to a new, thinner, Sweet Valley High: Random House is reissuing 12 books from the original series with a few small editorial tweaks, one of which involves the slightly awkward issue of the Wakefield waistline. The twins' "perfect size 6" has been reduced to a "perfect size 4." Kudos, Random House, for not only introducing body-image issues to a whole new generations of young fans, but proudly 
Props to Dr. Pepper for their snarky promise to give everyone in America a can of their soda if Axl Rose (pictured) finally releases Chinese Democracy sometime in 2008. (Well, everyone except former Guns n' Roses guitarists Slash and Buckethead. Sorry, guys.) The Pepper people have even started a 
From a CBS press release issued Monday: "CBS has ordered three new alternative/reality series for broadcast later this year — the biweekly celebrity talent contest SECRET TALENTS OF THE STARS, the hidden camera game show GAME SHOW IN MY HEAD and the search for AMERICA'S TOP DOG." 
It's the author of this gem:
In our continuing effort to illuminate the darkest recesses of the pop culture universe, we've uncovered something mystifying. Something exotic. Something forbidden.
