Reality TV and music’s current “cute couple,” Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton, used the show that brought them together, The Voice, to debut their first of what I can assume will be many duets. “Go Ahead and Break My Heart” is from Blake’s upcoming album, If I’m Honest, which drops on May 20.
If watching couples make goo-goo eyes at each other for 4 minutes makes you nauseous, I’d recommend you don’t watch the clip. If you are a fan of the couple or of love, give it a peek. Gwen’s hair looks amazing and the top of the gown is lovely – she loses me at the sheer part around her legs, as it makes the dress look unfinished. Blake’s looking pretty handsome though. As much of a cynic as I can be about the fleeting romances of celebrities, it really does appear that these two are smitten with each other.
The first wave of Grammy nominations rolled out this morning. Pharrell and Ed Sheeran announced the list on CBS This Morning, and you can watch the video here. These aren’t all the categories, but they’re the big ones. The usual suspects popped up on the list of course. There are some surprises too. Everyone knew Beyonce would snag a nomination, but Miley’s on the shortlist for Bangerz as Best pop album. I really thought she’d get shut out of the awards process, yet she’s receiving recognition. She won’t win though. The award will probably go to Sam Smith, don’t you think? Here’s the rundown:
Best pop vocal album:
Ghost Stories, Coldplay
Bangerz, Miley Cyrus
My Everything, Ariana Grande
Prism, Katy Perry
X, Ed Sheeran
In the Lonely Hour, Sam Smith
Best urban contemporary album:
Sail Out, Jhene Aiko
Beyoncé, Beyoncé
X, Chris Brown
Mali Is …, Mali Music
Girl, Pharrell Williams
Record of the year:
Fancy, Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX
Chandelier, Sia
Stay With Me, Sam Smith
Shake It Off, Taylor Swift
All About That Bass, Meghan Trainor
Best pop solo performance:
All of Me, John Legend
Chandelier, Sia
Stay With Me, Sam Smith
Shake it Off, Taylor Swift
Happy, Pharrell
Best rock song:
Ain’t it Fun, Paramore
Blue Moon, Beck
Fever, The Black Keys
Gimme Something Good, Ryan Adams
Lazaretto, Jack White
Best country album:
Riser, Dierks Bentley
The Outsiders, Eric Church
12 Stories, Brandy Clark
Platinum, Miranda Lambert
The Way I’m Livin’, Lee Ann Womack
[From Grammy.com]
Here’s another shocker: Iggy Azalea is up for Record of the year. Nicki Minaj must be seething about that one, but she’ll probably hold her venom intact until the Rap category is announced. Other than that, this list isn’t too controversial. I’m glad to see Jack White grab a spot, but is Paramore really considered “rock”? These categories are so whack. The rest of the list should be interesting, whenever it comes out. Taylor Swift will probably grab a few more nods. Ugh, Coldplay.
The full Jurassic World trailer has arrived. It is loud, splashy, and super corny but still awesome. [LaineyGossip] Lady Gaga dressed up as an inflatable sea urchin. [Dlisted]
Australians label the United States & it’s hilarious. [Buzzfeed]
Casting decisions that inspired Ridley Scott‘s Exodus: Gods & Kings. [Pajiba] Shia LaBeouf looks like he took a shower. [A Socialite Life] Lisa Rinna says RHOBH has more drama than soaps. [Reality Tea] Bai Ling is such a mess, but I like her. [Go Fug Yourself]
Sports journo Sara Carbonero looks fantastic. [Moe Jackson] Mila Kunis makes a post-baby appearance for the paps. [Popoholic] Ellen DeGeneres in a silly 50 Shades parody. [Wonderwall] Karl Lagerfeld directed a Pharrell & Cara Delevingne vid. [OMG Blog] Melissa McCarthy starts her own plus-sized clothing line. [ICYDK] J-Woww & grumpy Roger got matching baby tattoos. [Starcasm] Kaley Cuoco talks on her cell and drives a car. [Celebslam]
Happy Thanksgiving from Kaiser, CB, and myself! Be safe, everyone. We’ll see you on the other side of turkey, probably for some light posting on Friday.
Just when I think Robin Thicke can’t get any douchier, he outdoes himself. 2014 has been a total disaster for Robin. He should be curled up in a fetal position. No one bought his stalky album. Paula Patton ditched him and triumphantly moved forth with her life. Aaand (this is my favorite part) everyone laughed at Robin’s unintentionally hilarious acting debut in Making the Rules. The movie went straight to VOD. If you watch these lowlight-highlights, you’ll see why. He is a terrible actor and full of awkward silences.
Maybe 2015 will be a better trip for Thicke? Ha. He certainly won’t be working with Pharrell again. Thicke, Pharrell, and T.I. initially filed suit to protect themselves after people noticed “Blurred Lines” ripped off Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up.” Marvin Gaye’s family countersued. Gaye’s family filed for summary motion last week, and Robin’s bizarre deposition has been made public. Robin initially told several outlets that he co-wrote the song with Pharrell. Robin once told the BBC he wrote it for Paula because “She’s my good girl.” Robin once confessed to GQ magazine that and Pharrell purposely fashioned the song after Gaye’s classic.
Robin’s changing his story. Robin says he had nothing to do with writing “Blurred Lines.” He only said that junk because he was high on Vicodin, yo. Hollywood Reporter has a detailed analysis of the depo (you can see the full article here here). Some highlights:
[Thicke] says under oath that after writing and producing six albums himself, “I was jealous and I wanted some of the credit … I tried to take credit for it later because [Williams] wrote the whole thing pretty much by himself and I was envious of that.”
In his deposition, Thicke soon gets more specific:
“Q: Were you present during the creation of ‘Blurred Lines’?
Thicke: I was present. Obviously, I sang it. I had to be there.
Q: When the rhythm track was being created, were you there with Pharrell?
Thicke: To be honest, that’s the only part where — I was high on Vicodin and alcohol when I showed up at the studio. So my recollection is when we made the song, I thought I wanted — I — I wanted to be more involved than I actually was by the time, nine months later, it became a huge hit and I wanted credit. So I started kind of convincing myself that I was a little more part of it than I was and I — because I didn’t want him — I wanted some credit for this big hit. But the reality is, is that Pharrell had the beat and he wrote almost every single part of the song.”
Thicke says he was just “lucky enough to be in the room” when Williams wrote the song. Afterward, he gave interviews to outlets like Billboard where he repeated the false origin story surrounding “Blurred Lines” because he says he “thought it would help sell records.” But he also states he hardly remembers his specific media comments because he “had a drug and alcohol problem for the year” and “didn’t do a sober interview.” In fact, when he appeared on Oprah Winfrey’s show with his young son and talked about how weird it was to be in the midst of a legal battle with the family of a legendary soul singer who “inspires almost half of my music,” Thicke admits he was drunk and taking Norco — “which is like two Vicodin in one pill,” he says.
The singer addresses his honesty (“I told my wife the truth. That’s why she left me.”) and after saying he’s been sober for many months, clarifies toward the end of the deposition that he’s given up Vicodin but not alcohol.
For whatever reason, Pharrell let Robin have a co-writer credit, so Thicke gets about 18-22 percent of the song’s royalties. Robin gladly took that money, and he enjoyed the “prestige” of writing a douchey song with a clever beat. Now Robin wants none of the credit but only because of the lawsuit. Of course. Oh, and Robin says Paula left him because he lied about writing “Blurred Lines.” Not because he was hitting it with other chicks. Mega douche.
This pic illustrates how I imagine Pharrell reacting to this mess.
The GQ UK Men of the Year Awards were held last night in London and we have so many good/interesting photos from the event. This post is just about Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. This is the reason why Kanye and Kim flew to London yesterday – I covered those photos, with Doc Martens-clad North West. Kim and Kanye appeared at this event because Kim won GQ UK’s “Woman of the Year” gong.
I’m assuming Kanye dressed Kim. Just because that seems to be their M.O. and Kanye does treat Kim like she’s his very special (sex) doll. It’s all very My Fair Lady. So, Kanye told Kim to wear this Ralph & Russo gown which… eh. I never know what to think of Ralph & Russo as a label. The designs can veer into “matronly” but sometimes their churn out some old-school glam. This is neither. This just looks like a drowsy hooker wanted to wear something sparkly. Apparently, this isn’t technically a dress – Kim paired a leather bodysuit with a glittery skirt. Was that the designer’s intention? Eh. Anyway, there’s too much fabric and heaviness being added to Kim’s mid-section which (guess what?) adds weight.
Kim also “cut” her hair recently. I’m using sarcastic quotes because I think she just took out some of her extensions, but for what it’s worth… I like this length on her. I also like that she’s trying out some volume and wavy bedhead styles rather than that dated, pin-straight, center-part hair she usually does.
Oh, and Kim posted an Instagram photo of the place settings for her table at this event. She and Kanye were seated with Sam Smith (poor, poor Sam Smith!!), Lewis Hamilton, Jonah Hill (!!!) and Pharrell Williams. Pray for all of them, because you know Kanye was dropping some Yeezus truth-bombs on all of them.
PS… I LOVE the photo of Kanye fixing her skirt. Hand to God, I love it.
Here are some fashion photos from last night’s GQ Men of the Year Awards. I find it difficult to comprehend that Kim Kardashian, Pippa Middleton, Benedict Cumberbatch and Lindsay Lohan were ALL at the same event at the same time. God knows, they might have even exchanged words with each other. Would the Cracken even try to speak to Cumberbatch?! Would Kim Kardashian approach Pippa? It’s so crazy to consider.
Anyway, let’s start with Pippa, who seems like the weirdest choice for this event. Pippa wore this too-conservative Hugo Boss dress. Considering her style is always pretty awful and if you go into it with low expectations, this isn’t so bad. A few things: the in-between length does nothing for her, this should be either a full-length gown or a knee-length cocktail dress. And she needs a more supportive bra. She could do with better foundation garments overall.
Cara Delevingne in Burberry Prorsum. This whole thing is a mess and it’s a mess because it’s Cara. I feel like she’s about two stunt-queen moves away from either a major arrest or rehab. She looks strung out in a big way. She also wore some weird thing in her lip. I think it was supposed to look like a cherry?
Rita Ora in Zuhair Murad. I give her some points for being so try-hard. And this is like the first photo I’ve seen of her where I think the blonde works. The bust on the dress is too tight though. Needs better tailoring overall.
Yes, Lindsay Lohan walked the carpet. The Cracken was unleashed! Speaking of strung out… do you think Lindsay walked in on Cara in the bathroom or did Cara walk in on Lindsay?
And finally, Pharrell Williams. I realize the boots are Chanel and the hat is probably Westwood and the whole ensemble probably costs more than my house, but my goodness, if you’re going to spend that much money, why not just wear a suit? It sure costs a lot of money to look cheap.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and Pacific Coast News.
-When are fashion editors going to realize that putting people in headdresses during photo shoots is a terrible idea? Pharrell Williams has apologized for his Elle cover.
-Speaking of stepping in it, Jonah Hill’s apology tour continues. He got choked up about those homophobic comments he made during appearances on both Fallon and GMA. As crappy as his behaviour was (and reportedly can be), at least he’s not shying away from it or blaming the stresses of fame.
-In other news about celebrities being on the defensive, another video of Justin Bieber making racist jokes has surfaced. It’s obviously terrible, but he’s so, so young in it.
-Thank god for the internet. I had lots of confused feelings about that attempted rape scene in the most recent episode of Louie, and am glad everyone’s talking it out. But it still disturbs me that the knee-jerk reaction on Twitter seemed to be that Louis CK can do no wrong. I guess we’ll see if there’s any fallout next week.
-On a much lighter note, here’s everything his Hungarian girlfriend said to him, translated.
-It’s probably not a good sign for the TV industry that an article about this season’s winners and losers is mostly filled with losers.
-They’re not all losers. Game of Thrones’ ratings now rival The Walking Dead with 18 million this season.
–Robert Downey Jr. is producing an ’80s rehab drama. I like all of those words.
–Dina Lohan got her driver’s license suspended yesterday, but she’s not going to jail because the universe sucks.
-Early reviews of the new season of Orange Is the New Black are glowing.
–Amanda Seyfried showcased her rapping skills during a recent interview with the BBC. Seth MacFarlane‘s embarrassed expression is all of us right now.
-A movie I saw at TIFF last year starring Toni Collette is out this week. It’s probably a bad sign that I totally forgot I’d seen it until about halfway through this review.
–Here’s an excerpt from J.K. Rowling’s second detective novel, The Silkworm.
–Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum‘s Jupiter Ascending has been abruptly pushed backfrom its July release date to the movie wasteland that’s Feb 2015. That’s not a good sign. Too bad; the trailer looked intriguing.
-Speaking of trailers, Elizabeth Olsen and Dakota Fanning play Very Good Girls in their latest movie.