Watching New Celebs

For her planned comeback in the music scene, reports are saying Whitney Houston is planning to team up with new comer and new singing sensation, British singer Leona Lewis.

Houston, the legendary diva who broke records and rose to fame in the 80’s is planning to stage a concert, after battling alleged drug abuse and a series of personal domestic problems. The singer is also planning on a release of a new album later this year.

Leona Lewis on the other hand is this season’s Whitney Houston, who is actually one of Lewis’ singing idols. Her singing style has been also compared to Mariah Carey. Lewis’ hit songs are currently topping the UK and US music charts.

The planned team up is orchestrated by Clive Davis, the music executive who has been responsible for making Whitney Houston’s record hits and who is also grooming Leona Lewis.

I think I’m the last to know that Whitney Houston is making a comeback but learning about this now, I think it would be great to hear these two together. I grew up listening to Whitney Houston and while I’m not a fan of Leona Lewis, I do think she has a pure and solid voice and can easily match up to the diva. Her career is really taking off. And I wish success for both these ladies and their collaboration. I have an inkling this will be a big hit.

Listen to the ladies sing I Have Nothing, a fan made compilation I found on YouTube, which by the way showcases why Whitney Houston is who she is in the music industry and why Leona Lewis can follow in her footsteps:

Leona Lewis, Whitney Houston, I Have Nothing, Clive Davis

The Hollywood Reporter thinks she is following in the footsteps of Jennifer Garner (Alias), Evangeline Lilly (Lost) and Keri Russell (Felicity), as JJ Abrams latest discovery. But unless you’re an Australian, this would have to be the first time you’ll hear of actress, Anna Torv, who has landed the female lead in JJ Abrams upcoming series, Fringe.

In the story, Anna Torv will portray the role of Olivia Warren, who is a young FBI agent tasked to work with an in institutionalised scientist named Dr. Walter Bishop (played by Lord of The Ring’s John Noble) and his son, who is played by former Dawson’s Creek star, Joshua Jackson, in tracking down phenomenons.

The new series has been compared to the cult hit, The X Files and is scheduled to premiere in the last week of August on the Fox network.

Born and raised in Australia, Anna Torv has been working as an actress in the United Kingdom before landing this role of a lifetime, one that would possibly make her the next most popular TV actress. She laughs off suggestions to such, showing that she has her feet firmly planted on the ground.

While she is the niece of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, she doesn’t make use of this influence and connection and has instead worked her way through the business, starring in a number of projects including UK’s drama series, Mistresses.

To console gamers though, Anna Torv’s voice may be all too familiar as she is the voice to Nariko of Heavenly Sword, a very popular console game for the Playstation.

Watch Anna in this sneak peek of Fringe:

Anna Torv, Fringe, JJ Abrams, Joshua Jackson, John Noble

Fans of Adele London are eagerly awaiting the release of her album under an international label, Columbia Records. The said release is slated for this summer.

More than a year ago, Adele was just playing at a North London pub. Today though, she is a music artist in demand. And breaks for her just keep coming and coming.

Born and raised in London, the 20 year old Adele (née Adkins) shot to fame in the UK music circuit with the release of her first single Hometown Glory in October 2007. Critics hailed this as her heartfelt autobiographic toast to life in London. Not long after that, she received the Critics Choice award and has also won top honors as a promising artist in BBC’s  Sound of 2008.

The songstress made more waves at the beginning of this year for her music. Her debut album’s lead-in single, Chasing Pavements, reached #1 in the UK singles charts; while the album itself  reached Top 10 in the Irish and Dutch charts, as well as Billboard UK.

The Observer’s Music Monthly described her voice as sultry soul and named her one of the faces to watch for in 2008.

Adele infuses a contemporary twist to soul and the blues and those who have heard her performance liken her to Amy Winehouse. But she has expressed that her music influences include Peggy Lee and Etta James.

Listen and watch Adele performing Chasing Pavements

Adele London, Chasing Pavements, Adele Adkins

Beginning June 1st, Sunday at 10 PM, Mary McCormack will be regular face on cable television as her new series, In Plain Sight, debuts on the USA Network.

But of course, the actress is no spring chicken. But she gets this special spot on this site because we sure do recognize her newest milestone. In Plain Sight will mark her first TV series as top billing.

More familiar to viewers as Kate Harper on The West Wing, McCormack is also a seasoned Broadway actress, who has appeared in the production of Boeing, Boeing playing the role of a German flight attendant. This role has earned her a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play this year.

Beginning with acting at age 12, the almost 40-year old Mary has worked in several theater productions in New York and has appeared in three seasons of the television series Murder One. But it was her role as Howard Stern’s wife in the movie, Private Parts in 1997, which has boosted her Hollywood career. The role demanded too much from whoever was going to portray her; and she was capable enough to deliver what it called for.

In the last decade, McCormack has played supporting roles in movies like Deep Impact, Mystery Alaska, Full Frontal and 1408.

In Plain Sight is about a US Marshall named Mary Shannon who is assigned to the Witness Protection Program. Much like a government babysitter (with a license to own a gun), Mary is posed to keep watch of all kinds of witnesses, regardless if they are innocent or known criminals. The troubling part is, there’s always someone who wants these witnesses dead and it’s up to Mary to make sure they are not.

Joining McCormack in this series is Fred Weller, who plays her partner, Marshall Mann. To make their situation even harder, Mary doesn’t get along with her partner; and her personal life is just as complicated.

Watch the teaser to In Plain Sight and inquire from your cable provider about it.

Mary McCormack, In Plain Sight

He is definitely the man of the hour.

Winning by twelve million votes over contender, David Archuleta, David Cook emerged as this year’s winner of the ever popular talent search, American Idol, just two days ago.

Originally only coming to the contest’s auditions to support his brother’s bid (who never made it to Hollywood, by the way), David Cook has wowed the judges for his edginess and originality. His ability to pick out familiar songs like Billie Jean, Hello and Always Be My Baby, and redoing their arrangement, has left people very impressed with his musicality. These songs are big hits on iTunes.

The new idol has always been very musical. Holding his first guitar at age 2, David was a perennial performer at his elementary school where he was part of the choir and the drama club. In high school, David gave up his love for baseball to seriously get into performing. In fact a clip of him doing Singing In The Rain had many people thinking this guy is more than just a Chris Daughtry copycat.

From 1999 to 2006, David Cook was lead singer of Axium, a band he formed with friend, Bobby Kerr. The band won a Got Milk? sponsored contest and was chosen as the best independent band in Kansas City, where he hails.

In 2006, after graduating college, he released a solo album called Analog Heart. With his degree and background in graphic design, David even conceptualized the album’s cover. It was gaining much attention at Amazon.com at the height of the Idol contest that the online shopping site had to take it down.

Merely a day after winning, David Cook’s original song, Time of My Life, hits #1 at iTunes. Not only that, many of his performances, recorded from the show, remain top selling choices in the downloading site.

David Cook on American Idol:

David Cook, American Idol

And no, I don’t mean, Demi Moore, hello…. I meant Disney’s newest discovery — Demi Lovato, star of “Welcome to Mollywood”, a new television series which has been green-lighted for the Disney Channel and is expected to start production in September.

Born in Dallas Texas, Demi Lovato is the daughter of a country music recording artist and is a capable guitarist, drummer and pianist. The newest and possibly the next teen sensation discovery is actually already familiar face to Disney Channel viewers, having been introduced in “As the Bell Rings”, which was a series of shortform comedy that ran on the network.

Aside from Mollywood, the fifteen year old Demi has a string of projects underway. Disney isn’t pulling the stop sign for her, in fact, it is just beginning — She’s going to be featured in the Jonas Brothers’ movie ” Camp Rock” and will be joining the brothers for their summer tour. Her recording contract with Disney is still in effect and she’s also starring in the film “Princess Protection Program”, currently filming in Puerto Rico.

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From THR:

Craig Horner (”Blue Water High”) and Bridget Regan will star in Sam Raimi’s syndicated series “Wizard’s First Rule,” which premieres in the fall, says The Hollywood Reporter.  The scripted series, an hourlong weekly from Disney-ABC Domestic Television and ABC Studios, is based on Terry Goodkind’s book “Wizard’s First Rule” and epic fantasy series “The Sword of Truth.”

Horner will star as woodsman Richard Cypher, who transforms into a magical leader and joins with a mysterious woman named Kahlan (Regan) to stop a bloodthirsty, sinister tyrant.

Production on the 22 episodes begins this month in New Zealand. Raimi is executive producing with Robert Tapert, Joshua Donen, Ned Nalle and John Shiban.

Focusing on the two leads:

Craig Horner is an Australian celebrity, who first started as a child actor. This would have to be the first time he’s going to be introduced to American television.

Bridget Regan may be a more familiar face as she has starred in the defunct show, The Black Donnellys, as well as Six Degrees and New Amsterdam. She is also a cast member in the Sex and The City movie.

I am actually looking forward to this one, as I’ve read the book and enjoyed it. I’m not exactly a fan, but I’m curious to see how they will play this one out for the small screen.

About the story:

Millions of readers the world over have been held spellbound by this valiant tale vividly told. Now, enter Terry Goodkind’s world, the world of The Sword of Truth. In the aftermath of the brutal murder of his father, a mysterious woman, Kahlan Amnell, appears in Richard Cypher’s forest sanctuary seeking help…and more. His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient debts come due with thundering violence. In their darkest hour, hunted relentlessly, tormented by treachery and loss, Kahlan calls upon Richard to reach beyond his sword-to invoke within himself something more noble. Neither knows that the rules of battle have just changed…or that their time has run out. This is the beginning. One story. One Rule. Witness the birth of a legend.  | IMDb

Sam Raimi, Wizard’s First Rule, Bridget Regan, Craig Horner

Bravo Television is presenting it’s first ever A-List Award, which aims to celebrate and recognize the BEST in categories like food, fashion, design, beauty, entertainment and pop culture.

The nominees include:

A-List CeWebrity Category - the award goes to people who have captured the internet market

• Mario Lavandeira perezhilton.co
• Christian Lander stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.co
• Obama Girl obamagirl.com
• Jay Maynard www.tronguy.net
• Gary Vaynerchuk tv.winelibrary.com

A-List TV Shows

• 30 Rock
• Gossip Girl
• Mad Men
• Weeds

A-List Actor (Female)

• Dana Delany, “Desperate Housewives”
• Jenna Fischer, “The Office”
• Leighton Meester, “Gossip Girl”
• Vanessa Williams, “Ugly Betty”

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English actor, Ben Barnes, has been described as low-key and unassuming. He is virtually an unknown to many American movie-goers, except perhaps seeing him for a few minutes in the fantasy film, Stardust. But he is an accomplished stage actor in the UK.

Like most actors, Ben Barnes did try to make it into Hollywood and won his first role as a lifeguard who eventually gets killed by a
shark. Between odd-jobs like babysitting and crashing in friend’s apartment, in February of 2007, Ben finally received a call from what would have to be his biggest break: Disney wanted him to play the role of Prince Caspian.

Now signed on for a three picture deal, he is also going to appear in the Narnia series’ The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Silver Chair, which should be running in the theaters in 2010.

To prepare for his role, Ben Barnes had weeks of training in New Zealand. Prince Caspian’s role called of a Spanish speaking character, so Ben Barnes reportedly had to learn to speak in a Spanish accent and patterned this after the character Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) from the Princess Bride.

In July of this year, he’s also set to start working on Dorian Gray which is an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s iconic play. THR is reporting that the film will be directed by Oliver Parker (The Importance of Being Earnest) and it will be “a visceral, dark horror story”.

In a way, his career path is likened to that of Orlando Bloom, who became an overnight sensation, thanks to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

Get to know Ben Barnes in this interview with Jimmy Kimmel from last week. They have a clip of him during his boy band days, too!

Ben Barnes, Prince Caspian, Dorian Gray

Whitney Thompson has the distinction of being the first plus-sized winner of America’s Top Model. This season proved that bigger is actually better. Through out this show’s history, only about five plus-sized girls were picked as finalists in the show’s ten seasons. None of these girls ever made it past Top Five.

At the beginning of the season, Whitney often received criticisms from judges who have told her her style and techniques were a little too “pageantee”. She was almost close to being eliminated having landed in the bottom two on more than one instance. But she has proven herself to be an adaptable fast learner, who has risen to the challenge, listened to what the judges had to say and used this to improve herself.

Born in Florida, Whitney was already working as a model at the age of fourteen years old but was no less exempted from ridicules and bullying as a youngster because of her figure.

After Top Model and as part of her prize, Whitney will be the current Cover Girl for CoverGirl Cosmetics. She will also be working under the Elite Model Management and will soon grace the July issue of Seventeen Magazine. Coinciding with this, she will also have her very own billboard on Times Square, soon.

An excerpt of her interview with BuddyTV:

You expressed several times throughout the season that there are designers who just don’t make clothes for girls your size. You’re very average, like me and a lot of other people. How do you plan to combat that in life after Top Model?

Hopefully I will get a lot of publicity just from being on Top Model, because honestly if I walked into an agency people would be like, “Who are you? No, you’re average. That’s not that exciting.” Of course, even Elite doesn’t have a plus size division in New York, so it’s a struggle already combating that. However, there are a lot of plus size people, and people that do support it, and designers that are beginning to support it, so hopefully that’ll come up and that’ll be bigger and bigger. I know even Dolce & Gabbana, you have Jean Paul Gaultier, you have big, high fashion designers that are starting to do the plus size thing. It’s just a first step, and you never know, I might be the first girl that they use. But there’s no way that I would ever say, “Oh, try to squeeze me into a size 2,” or anything like that I’m not going to change myself. Either the designer changes, or I just don’t work with them. That’s just the bottom line.

It has just began for Whitney…

Whitney Thompson, America’s Top Model, First Plus-Sized model Winner

Twenty three year old Emile Hirsch first appeared on television at the age of ten and has had guest stints on shows like 3rd Rock from the Sun and ER. But it wasn’t until 2002 when Hirsch made a leap for the big screen via the film The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys.

Since then, he’s had a string of thought provoking movies, some achieving critical success. And yet, I feel that he still hasn’t received that much deserved break.

He may play the lead in a movie, but it seems other stars or other factors about the film attract more attention than the actual lead himself — Emile.

I wonder — when is it Emile Hirsch’s time to shine? When  will that happen? What’s stopping him from becoming the next star “in demand”?

His current film, Speed Racer, is floating at the box office but has been unexpectedly a critical dud. Before this, he was in Into The Wild, and that film was praised by critics for his outstanding performance but it sadly did not achieve too much of a box-office following.

He’s not exactly a “new celebrity” in every sense but he has been in some much talked-about films in such a short time that if you look at it closely, it’s amazing to see how much he has achieved already. His filmography speaks for him. Surely, he is picking projects that would allow him to be taken as a serious actor first, laying the path for his great big time to shine… even if that happens fifteen years from now.

Emile Hirsch, Speed Racer, Into The Wild, The Dangerous Lives Of Altar Boys

And no, she isn’t the gorgeous Addison Montgomery on Private Practice. Coincidentally, though her songs did play on the show. And was also first heard on Grey’s Anatomy, where Addison, the other Kate Walsh, is from.

Kate Walsh, the singer and songwriter, is from Brighton UK and has had her “homemade” album, Tim’s House, land the Top 10 Most Downloadable spot in iTunes UK, surpassing even the most celebrated boyband in the region, Take That.

Her sound, which usually dominates with acoustic and strings, has been compared to legendary singer Joni Mitchell and like her, Kate Wash is also a guitarist and a songwriter. Her voice, which people have described as Dido-isque, is especially soothing yet powerfully vulnerable and effectively connecting to her audience emotionally.

Early this year, Rolling Stones Magazine named her one of the artists to watch for and it’s funny how all things worked together. Kate Walsh, also a classically trained pianist, used to just sell soaps for a living working as a salesperson at Crabtree and Evelyn. A prior recording did not quite achieve the same success but it did not allow her to give up. The singer even she has started to build a solid fan base on her Myspace Site and is now touring the US for a series of shows.

Her manager has said in interviews: “The record labels are queuing up to sign her now. She has a sweet voice and is a great song writer. Her work is original, it’s not over produced and it’s pretty raw and that’s what gives it a lot of appeal.”

Indeed the time has come for people to read and get to know the other Kate Walsh.

Listen to Your Song, a track which was used on the show, Grey’s Anatomy:

Kate Walsh, Kate Walsh Your Song, Kate Walsh the singer, Kate Walsh Tim’s House

Here’s a first look at The CW’s upcoming spin-off series Beverly Hills 90210 (are they calling it with the same name?). They are mostly composed of unfamiliar actors, except for one or two veterans of television like — Jessica Walter who was formerly Lucille Bluth on Arrested Development, now playing the grandmother on 90210; and Lori Loughlin who was Full Houses’ Aunt Becky, now playing the mother of  one the main teenage characters.

But I guess that in a couple of months, these kids will be names you will often hear. Will the young ones be TV’s toast and stars next season?

(From Left to Right): Dustin Milligan, AnnaLynne McCord, Jessica Walter, Shenae Grimes, Tristan Wilds, Lori Loughlin, Ryan Eggold, Jessica Stroup and Michael Steger.

It has been recently reported that Jennie Garth, from the original cast back in the 90’s, will reprise her role as Kelly Taylor on the series and will serve in a semi-regular capacity as her former Alma Mater’s guidance counselor. News sources also say Tori Spelling is coming on board, reprising her role as Donna Martin.

But the spin-off’s central character will be played by Shenae Grimes and her character is Annie Mills, whose family, supposedly patterned after the Walsh’s,  moves from Kansas City to take care of their ailing grandmother (Jessica Walter).

Shenae Grimes is a teenage Canadian actress most famous for playing Darcy Edwards on Degrassi: The Next Generation. She’s also a singer and has recorded an album in Toronto along with Nelly Futado.

Class of Beverly Hills, 90210 Spinoff class picture, 90210 Spinoff, Shenae Grimes

This is what New York Magazine says of the freshman hit series, Gossip Girl on The CW. I wouldn’t know about how great it is. The last teen drama I got hooked on was 90210 (which the same network is reviving, incidentally! We’ll look into the new cast at another time) and even then, I watched only half of its entire run.

So yes, I am not this show’s target audience nor its regular viewer. Best show ever? I don’t think so. But I am very aware the ensemble cast of Gossip Girl is very much the stars a lot of kids follow today.

Blake Lively, Leighton Meister, Penn Badgely, Chace Crawford, Ed Westwick — not since Sex and the City have kids been so obsessed about television stars. And they’re mostly who we read about in entertainment pages. A year ago, I did not even know who Blake Lively is and Leighton to me was just that kid I saw on House.

Why is this show such a hit among the younger set?

From what I’ve seen of a few episodes, it’s a show which projects impeccable style. From the wardrobe down to the props and the location….the attention to detail is commendable and impressive.

From what my young friends have told me about — It’s also a show filled with beautiful but flawed people they really wanna car for. The relationship between the two lead characters is complicated and intriguing. You wonder if are they really friends or are they enemies? The characterizations are nearly accurate, it’s a good depiction of how life is for young troubled teens or the rich and privileged (which sadly I wouldn’t know about). Music plays a big part, too. I’m told they carry great soundtracks in this show.

Last month, the show ran a controversial campaign which the Parents Television Council lost no time to protest over. While I have no qualms about that, it’s partly the reason why this show has failed to hook me in. It just feels like one big marketing machine and I see little substance in it.

But that’s just my take and it doesn’t matter. This show is a hit and the kids are stars.

Gossip Girl, New York Magazine, Blake Lively, Leighton Meister, Penn Badgely, Chace Crawford, Ed Westwick

On May 20, 2008, Scarlett Johannson will be debuting her very first album with the song “Anywhere I Lay My Head”, a cover of the Tom Waits original. According to news reports, Scarlett and producer David Sitek worked on the album for a solid five weeks at his recording studio in Maurice, Louisiana last year and has commissioned David Bowie to lend his voice on two tracks.

The album contains 11 tracks, with one original song. Here is the songlist:

Anywhere I Lay My Head - 01 “Fawn” (Alice) 02 “Town With No Cheer” (Swordfish Trombones) 03 “Falling Down” (Big Time) 04 “Anywhere I Lay My Head” (Rain Dogs) 05 “Fannin’ Street” (Orphans) 06 “Song for Jo” (original) 07 “Green Grass” (Real Gone) 08 “I Wish I Was in New Orleans” (Small Change) 09 “I Don’t Want To Grow Up” (Bone Machine) 10 “No One Knows I’m Gone” (Alice) 11 “Who Are You?” (Bone Machine)

Scarlett Johansson began as a child actress who blossomed on screen via the film “Lost In Translation” (2003) where she won Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival. She was also nominated for the same award at the BAFTA, and at the Golden Globes for both this movie and the drama “Girl With a Pearl Earring”.

She was supposed to be part of the West End production of “The Sound of Music” in 2005. In 2006, she released “Summertime” for a non-profit album called “Unexpected Dreams – Songs from the Stars”, which included other Hollywood actors cum singers.

Have a listen at Scarlett’s rendition of “Anywhere I Lay My Head” and tell me if you think she has a good future in music. Because if you ask me, I think the woman is better off doing movies:

Scarlett Johansson, Scarlett Johansson album, Scarlett Johansson Anywhere I Lay My Head