Misc. *NSYNC News
(03.06) Source - Various: Here's some minor news tidbits for those of you who don't know:
�����~BBMak will now saddle up for a whole slew of additional dates on *NSYNC upcoming 2001 Pop Odyssey Tour. In addition to the eight previously announced dates, the English trio will now join *NSYNC on 15 more dates, beginning in Boston on May 31 and carrying on through July 2 in St. Louis. Stops along the way include New York (June 3-4), Cincinnati (June 6), Buffalo, N.Y. (June 10), Philadelphia (June 12-13), Chicago (June 16-17), Toronto (June 19), Cleveland (June 22), Minneapolis (June 24), and Detroit (June 29). The 2001 Pop Odyssey Tour kicks off May 12 in Miami.
Rap Party
(03.09) Source - Entertainment Weekly: What would the Grammys be without music honcho Clive Davis? Although he recently left his post at Arista Records after 25 years, Davis wasn't about to give up hosting his annual Grammy Eve bash. Tuesday night, the music world turned out at his soiree - this year sponsored by his new label, J Records - to rub elbows and bump hips to the grooves of Stevie Wonder and Luther Vandross.
�����EW.com caught up with revelers at the Beverly Hills Hotel and asked them what they think about Eminem and Elton John taking the Grammy stage together at Wednesday night's ceremony:
�����Fred Durst, Limp Bizkit - "I heard the rehearsals were great. I knew I was going to get asked this a whole bunch tonight, so I would rather walk the blurry line on this one. I'm a friend of Eminem's. I'd love to be a friend of Elton John's, and that's about it. I think the Grammys are just trying to have something that's hip and cool and controversial to make people watch the show."
�����Lance Bass, *NSYNC - "They both love controversy, and the public eats it up. It will probably be the most watched Grammys in history. It will be fun."
�����Joey Fatone, *NSYNC - "I don't think it's really surprising. [Eminem] has got all of the pressure of what he says on his album and to [sing with Elton] is just a starting point. That just goes to show you that he's not really 100 percent serious in what he's saying. If he's going to have Elton John perform with him, then I give him [a lot of] credit. He's a smart guy. Some people probably will be [disappointed] in Elton John. But some people will also be disappointed in Eminem."
�����Brian McKnight - "I think any time you can bring people together like that it's always a wonderful thing. People are crazy for making such a big deal out of it. You've got the biggest icon of music with the most controversial icon of new music, and there's been a lot of posturing that they could do. But they're trying to take it to the next level."
�����Kathie Lee Gifford - "I personally find a lot of the lyrics on Eminem's album really repulsive, as a woman, as a mother, as a human being. Forget gender, forget sex, and anything else, I just find them very, very, very offensive. But I believe in the right to free speech. It is something that is very precious, and he's got the right to say what he wants to say and the rest of us have the right to find it offensive. That's what makes it a great country. Elton will surprise us until he takes his last breath, and that's part of the magic of Elton."
Duds Mean Big Business For *NSYNC's Chris Kirkpatrick
(03.09) Source - Entertainment Weekly: Leaning back on a black leather couch in an otherwise nondescript Redondo Beach hotel room, *NSYNC's Chris Kirkpatrick, 29, is earnestly explaining the marketing potential of his just out fashion collection. Bandying about phrases like "style and imaging" and "signature pieces," the eldest member of the megaselling boy band is starring in a video - but the fuzzy mini movie is far from "TRL" material. It's the promo tape - shrewdly intercut with flashy concert footage - shown to convince department store execs to pony up the Benjamins for the star's FuMan Skeeto clothing line.
�����"We'll go on all the TV shows that we do and say where you can go buy [the clothes]," he assures prospective buyers. "Because we get asked every day."
�����Kirkpatrick, Jennifer Lopez, Cher, Lil' Kim, Bon Jovi's Tico Torres, Crazy Town's Seth Binzer, and E!'s Emme are among the celebs joining the lucrative retail fray, which already includes Kathie Lee Gifford (whose fashion line generated $660 million last year for distributor Wal-Mart), Sean "Puffy" Combs (whose Sean John label raked in $100 mil in 2000), and actress/ex� swimsuit model Kathy Ireland, whose Kathy Ireland Sportswear Collection (at Kmart) pulls in more than a half billion dollars annually.
�����"The obvious reason stars are doing this is to capitalize on a name and extend their brand," says Kimberly Bonnell, former Glamour editor and author of "What to Wear." "It's a very glamorous thing to do - fashion has so much aura - as opposed to pots and pans." (Unless you're Martha Stewart, of course.)
�����But that aura can also lead to a public relations nightmare: In 1996, for example, then talk show diva Gifford became embroiled in an unfashionable scandal when National Labor Committee chairman Charles Kernaghan revealed that garments bearing Gifford's name (and sold at Wal-Marts nationwide) were produced in sweatshops in the U.S. and Central America. And Gifford's troubles are nowhere near over: Just last May, the NLC released a report stating that Kathie Lee handbags were made in China under "prisonlike conditions." Says Gifford's attorney Ronald Konecky, who refutes the validity of the report, "She has her own independent monitoring system to monitor infractions and has worked closely with Wal-Mart [to rectify problems]." Retail dabbling stars have become extra cautious as a result.
�����"I don't think [Gifford] knew what was going on," says Kirkpatrick, whose label launched at Nordstrom's last Thanksgiving, was completely sold out by Christmas, and is now available at Bloomingdale's and Von Maur. "We're very aware of who makes our clothes, when they get made, how long it takes them to get done."
�����Star power will only go so far, however: "Fans will buy something once, but when they make the second or third purchase, the clothes have to stand up to regular scrutiny and it's not just about some brand," says Agins. (Among the casualties: Olivia Newton-John's Koala Blue line, which, blaming overexpansion and the recession, went belly up in 1992 after filing for bankruptcy protection.) But in the end, there will always be consumers willing to buy the shirts off their favorite stars' backs. "I think [people] are gonna love it," says Kirkpatrick of his fashion endeavors. "It's something new that everybody hasn't really seen yet."
�����At least until the Backstreet Boys get their hands on some sketches.
Boys To Men
(03.07) Source - Entertainment Weekly: Growing up may hurt *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys. With news about marriage and fatherhood emerging, boy bands are testing their teen fans' loyalty.
�����Last week millions of teenage hearts shattered when rumors surfaced that *NSYNC singer Joey Fatone and his unnamed longtime girlfriend will become parents early this summer. Though Fatone, 24, reportedly has no plans to shimmy down the aisle, sources say he's ready and willing to be a devoted dad. But will his plan to croon lullabies make teen fans say bye, bye, bye? EW.com took a look at Fatone and some other rapidly maturing heartthrobs to discover whether their adult lifestyles will make their fans switch allegiance to up and comers O-Town.
�����NAME: Joey Fatone of *NSYNC
�����WHAT: Can you say "da da"?
�����WHAT HE SAYS: "[The problem is] you want to try and become serious [about a relationship]," Fatone told People in 1999, "then you're like, 'I'll see you in a couple of months. I gotta go off to work." Doesn't sound like he'll be Mr. Mom.
�����WHAT THE PROS SAY: "There will be a few fans who look down on him, but not all teens subscribe to the same values," says Laura Morgan, music editor of Seventeen. But fans under 14 may feel betrayed. "I think young girls, especially in the Midwest, may be disappointed in him, thinking, 'If you love her enough to get her pregnant, marry her,'" says Cathee Sandstrom, former editor of BOP magazine. "And when these guys start being thought of as men, it distances them from their fans, since they're almost in the same category as their dads." Ewww!
�����OUR VERDICT: No big deal. It's not like Joey was the cute one. But JC and Justin? They'd better take the necessary precautions.
�����NAME: Justin Timberlake of *NSYNC
�����WHAT: He and Britney Spears, who met as 12 year olds working on the Mickey Mouse Club, began their romance in 1998.
�����WHAT HE SAYS: "Every relationship I've been in," Timberlake told CosmoGirl, "I've eventually overwhelmed the girl because they just can't handle all the love." Isn't that, um, stalking?
�����WHAT THE PROS SAY: "These two were huge pop stars in their own right before anyone knew they were dating, so being united just makes them more of a force," says Morgan. But Sandstrom, who chose not to break the story of the budding relationship for fear of alienating BOP readers, believes young admirers may sour on Spears. "When Britney went public with the relationship, her teen girl fans stopped looking at her as a sweet ally, and starting looking at her as an enemy." Ouch.
�����OUR VERDICT: They'd better beware of cheesy matching denim outfits like what we saw at the American Music Awards, or they'd both better start looking for desk jobs.
�����NAME: Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys
�����WHAT: "The cute one," 21, briefly shacked up with his now ex, 20 year old Atlantic Records artist Willa Ford.
�����WHAT HE SAYS: "What guy couldn't say that he likes women being after him?" he told People. "I'm not going to lie. It's great!"
�����WHAT THE PROS SAY: BSB fans have forgiven Carter for dating the sultry blond, but Ford's career may be permanently off track. "There were about 40 anti-Willa sites on Yahoo alone when they were dating," says Lori Majewski, entertainment editor of Teen People. Angry Carter fans started a letter campaign to block Ford from getting media coverage for her as yet unreleased album.
�����OUR VERDICT: Golden boy Carter hasn't lost any luster - but if he even thinks about a duet with Ford when her debut album is released, he's toast.
�����NAME: Brian Littrell of the Backstreet Boys
�����WHAT: In September, Littrell, 26, married his girlfriend of three years, actress Leighanne Wallace, 31 ("Wild America"); she helped nurse him through a 1998 heart surgery.
�����WHAT HE SAYS: "She knocked me off my feet the first time I saw her," he gushed to In Style. "I've always wanted what my parents have - a wonderful marriage."
�����WHAT THE PROS SAY: "The band is trying to outgrow their boy band tag, so their lives and their music are maturing," says Majewski. "We didn't see a lot of letters from girls who were upset about [the wedding]." But, as usual, the woman gets the heat from those fans who are peeved: "They're bummed he's been taken away by a hottie starlet," explains Sandstrom.
�����OUR VERDICT: If his fan base ever falters, a little more heart surgery will give his sympathy factor a healthy boost.
�����NAME: Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys
�����WHAT: Last June Richardson, 29, married dancer girlfriend Kristin Willits, 30; they'd met in '93 working at Walt Disney World.
�����WHAT HE SAYS: It was love at first sight, but loving long distance almost destroyed their relationship (Richardson was stuck on the road and Willits was traveling as a dancer for Cher). :We ended up breaking up for a little while,: he says.
�����WHAT THE PROS SAY: "Being the oldest, Kevin's always been the man among boys in the group," says Sandstrom. "Though journalists probably thought Kevin was the cutest, young girls liked Brian and Nick best, so it didn't hurt them that Kevin got married."
�����OUR VERDICT: Kids may not care, but EW.com refuses to buy any more BSB CDS, dammit!
Recording Academy Latest To Sue Napster
(03.07) Source - Billboard: Beleaguered file-swapping service Napster was hit on another legal front yesterday (March 6) when the Recording Academy, producer of the Grammy Awards, filed a copyright-infringement suit against the company. The academy is seeking to prohibit Napster from allowing its millions of users to download and share recordings of live performances aired at last month's 43rd annual Grammy show.
�����The academy said it owns the rights to the works and has applied to copyright the material. Some of the recordings appeared on Napster immediately after the Feb. 21 broadcast. "Within hours of the televised broadcast, the sound recordings of live performances at the Grammy Awards were made available by Napster for downloading and copying," the suit says.
�����The suit was filed the same day a federal judge in San Francisco put Napster on notice that it must remove record companies' copyrighted material from its file-sharing service.
�����Recording Academy president Michael Greene said the academy and Universal Music Group, parent company of Eminem's record label Interscope, are debating whether to commercially release the much-hyped broadcast of Eminem's duet of "Stan" with Elton John now that it is on Napster.
�����"We remixed that song, and we're looking to put it out to the public with some of the proceeds going to the Recording Academy charities," he said. Napster did not immediately return messages.
�����The live performances the academy is seeking to protect include "Stan"; "Beautiful Day" by U2; "Natural Blues" by Moby featuring Jill Scott and Blue Man Group; a medley of "The Writing's On The Wall"-"Independent Women Part 1"-"Say My Name" by Destiny's Child; "Difficult Kind" by Shelby Lynne and Sheryl Crow; "Music" by Madonna; "Travelin' Player" by Dolly Parton and Brad Paisley; "This I Promise You" by *NSYNC; "You're The One" by Paul Simon; "Breathe" by Faith Hill; "I Try" by Macy Gray; and "Pero Me Acuerdo de Ti" and "Falsas Esperanzas" by Christina Aguilera.
'Stoked' About Acting
(03.06) Source - Allpop: *NSYNCer Lance Bass showed up at the Junos in Hamilton on the weekend, and will be around Toronto lots shooting his picture, On The L.
�����In the movie, Bass plays a dude who catches a glimpse of a beautiful stranger on a train, then spends the rest of the movie trying to find his mystery love. The $10-million production, co-produced by Bass' A Happy Place, co-stars fellow *NSYNCer Joey Fatone as Bass' buddy.
�����This is Bass' first big-deal film lead, so he's "so stoked" about the acting opportunity. Bass isn't a thespian rookie, either. He has done some TV. He played his *NSYNC self on Sabrina The Teenaged Witch and Clueless, and real characters in episodes of 7th Heaven and Touched By An Angel.