James Blunt: I feel naked when I sing

James Blunt feels naked when he takes to the stage as his lyrics are so personal.

The British singer is famed for ballads such as You’re Beautiful and Goodbye My Lover. He doesn’t like to talk about his personal life or discuss the meaning behind his songs, explaining he thinks people can work things out for themselves if they study the lyrics. He pours everything he has into his tunes, which sometimes makes him feel strange when he sings them to strangers.

“Often they are very personal and private songs, the lyrics behind them... to get on stage is a naked moment,” he admitted.

The star is currently promoting his new album Some Kind of Trouble, which he wrote over the last year. He went into the studio with no idea of the sort of record he wanted to make, choosing to spend time “messing around” with his producer until he was happy with a song.

The process worked, and James is pleased with the resulting LP. He says it is more positive than a lot of the material he has released before, although there are still some tracks which will appeal to his diehard fans.

“It’s more upbeat, it’s got some happy songs in there which is unusual for me. I’ve got a little dash of misery in some of them but this is optimistic as an album and it’s been really fun making it,” he told the BBC. “This one’s taken over a year, locked away in the studio. I went in and messed around, so it’s nice to be allowed out to talk to people. We were in there almost every single day, I think my producer’s wife was jealous about the amount of time we were together.”

Several years ago, James admitted he sold his sister on internet auction site eBay. She was desperate to make it to Ireland in time for a funeral so he posted an advert calling for someone to help her as she couldn’t get a flight or ferry in time. She is now married to the man who won the bid, giving James a cunning idea.

“My sister is now married to the person I eBayed her to. I have a second sister who I’m going to put online soon,” he said. “She’s not as good, she’ll be cheaper but it’s worth a go.”


Source: musicrooms.net

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Rihanna tops singles chart

Rihanna sits on top of the singles chart for a fourth time with her new single Only Girl (In The World).

Cheryl Cole's Promise This, which was number one last week, dropped to number two, while Alexis Jordan's new single, Happiness, debuted at number three in the Official Charts Company's top 10 singles list.

Entering the charts just one week ago, a massive 126,000 copies of Rihanna's Only Girl (In The World) were sold in its first week.

The success follows three other number one singles she has had in the UK - Run This Town, which was released in 2009, Take A Bow, released in 2008, and Umbrella, which was recorded in 2007.

In total the Barbadian-born singer has recorded 14 singles that have made it into the Official Chart Company's top 10.


Source: musicrooms.net

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Nicole Scherzinger: I pretended to be Whitney

Nicole Scherzinger pretended to be Whitney Houston when she was growing up.

The star has revealed she was a huge fan of the legendary singer as a child, and would spend hours singing along to her most famous tracks. Nicole admits she lacked confidence when she was younger, and always felt happiest when she was behind a microphone.

“I was really shy as a kid, but I’d always sing at family get-togethers and pretend I was Whitney Houston!” Nicole said in an interview with British magazine Star.

The 32-year-old beauty also confirmed her band, the Pussycat Dolls, are currently on “hiatus” and she is focusing on her solo career. Even though she isn’t sure if the group will reunite in the future, Nicole insists she is still hoping it will happen.

“It’s inevitable if you put five chicks together and make them one of the biggest groups in the world, breathing each others’ air 24/7, things are gonna clash,” she explained. “But I haven’t left, it’s still there for the future.”

Nicole went on to discuss her acting career, revealing she is keen to show off her comedic timing in a movie. The beauty claims she is a “goofball” and can’t understand why people perceive her as intimidating.

“I guess I’m a pretty good actress. I asked a friend recently why people are blown away when they meet me. And my friend said: ‘Maybe you were playing this persona of Queen Doll in the group for so long that people think that’s what you are really like.’ So I guess I’m just a really good actress!” she laughed. “I can’t wait to do more comedy. I love being goofy. I’m naturally a goofball!”

Nicole is so busy working on her singing and acting projects, she has no plans to get married to her boyfriend, racing driver Lewis Hamilton. However, she has refused to rule out tying the knot in the future. “Everything in its time,” she teased.


Source: musicrooms.net

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Kanye West's mile high show

Kanye West surprised passengers on a US flight by giving them an impromptu concert.

The ‘Runaway’ singer reportedly took to the in-flight loudspeaker in the cockpit of the Delta Airlines flight from Minneapolis to New York, where he rapped versions of his hits ‘The Good Life’ and ‘Gold Digger’.

The famously outspoken rapper reportedly serenaded passengers 30 minutes into the flight, giving edited versions of his tracks, omitting profane language.

A passenger on the flight told website HollywoodLife.com: “I had to pass through First Class to get my seat in Economy, and I saw Kanye sitting there with a little drink in his hand.

“I wouldn’t have even thought it was him, but he was sitting with a very PR-looking lady.”

Describing how the star then got up to perform for those on board, the witness continued: “He was like, ‘Yo, this your n***a, Kanye.

“Then he couldn’t decide if he wanted to do ‘The Good Life’ or ‘Gold Digger,’ so he was like, ‘I’ll just do a little bit of both.’ It was awesome - but I still have no idea how he got into the cockpit.”

The witness said what shocked them most, however, was that Kanye didn’t demand preferential treatment upon leaving the plane.

The source added: “He filed out in line with everyone else, and I thought that was pretty cool. Especially for Kanye.”

Kanye also posted a message of support to his fans over the weekend, tweeting: “All my fans have really supported me through the dark times and I wanna thank yall for the constant motivation.

“Even when I'm super tired I don't wanna let yall down... my fans are my family ... FANMILY! (sic)”

Kanye releases his new album ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ on November 22.


Source: musicrooms.net

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Robbie Williams wanted to crush Barlow

Robbie Williams wanted to “crush” Gary Barlow.

The ‘Angels’ singer has admitted he found it hard to forgive the Take That songwriter when he left the band in 1995 and even after seeing his former friend struggle to establish a solo career following the demise of the group, he couldn’t let go of his bitter feelings.

Robbie – who has now ended his feud with Gary and rejoined the group for a new LP and tour – said: “My problem has always been with Gary. It was always with Gary. I wanted to crush him. I wanted to crush the memory of the band – and I didn’t let go.

“You know, even when he was down, I didn’t let go. And for that I sincerely apologise.”

Meanwhile, Gary has admitted he begged his bank to change the name on his credit cards after his career flopped while Robbie’s took off because he couldn’t take anymore ridicule.

He said: “It was hard watching Rob get further and further into the distance and I just seemed like I’d gone 10 steps back.

“It was a constantly daily mock. It followed me everywhere. You just seem like a total loser.

“In fact, I remember asking the bank whether I could change my name on my card. I couldn’t face my own name because even over the phone people would make some wisecrack.”

Though Take That – also comprising of Howard Donald, Mark Owen and Jason Orange – are preparing to release their first album as a five-piece in 15 years and will embark on a mammoth European tour next year, their reunion was thrown into doubt after Robbie again quit the group last November following a brief appearance together, saying he wasn’t ready.

He explains in new documentary ‘Take That: Look Back, Don’t Stare’: “I wasn’t very well, physically. I just didn’t feel as if I had the energy to do it.

“It was a scary prospect to be out there among something so huge feeling depleted of life force.”

Though he was eventually talked round by Mark, Jason was furious with the ‘No Regrets’ singer’s actions.

He said: “It was like the rug was pulled from under my feet. I was gutted. I actually said to Rob, ‘Your whims have a direct effect on us.’ ”

‘Take That: Look Back, Don’t Stare’ airs in the UK on ITV1 on Saturday (13.11.10) night.


Source: usicrooms.net

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Kesha celebrates new album with gold tooth

Ke$ha celebrated the launch of her new album Cannibal by investing in a gold tooth.

But the 23-year-old singer revealed that the flashy fang also holds a darker purpose.

"I got it because I like to dig into people's flesh," the Tik Tok singer reportedly told the Daily Star. "It reflects my cannibalistic side, hence the album name."

And she assured fans that she plans to be on the scene for a good while yet.

She added, "I can't stop writing songs, actually, so I think there'll be more from me next year."


Source: musicrooms.net

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LiLo and dad’s ‘emotional’ reunion

Lindsay Lohan and her dad were finally reunited at California's Betty Ford clinic seven months after she cut him out of her life.

The 'Mean Girls' actress, who had refused to speak to him for telling tales about her, cave in and asked him to visit.

"It was an emotional reunion - there were hugs, kisses and even a few tears when Michael and Lindsay first saw each other," the Sun quoted a source as saying.

"I have pledged not to comment about anything relating to my daughter. However, I will say I am an incredibly proud father tonight," Michael said.

Meanwhile Lindsay's mum Dina believes rehab is changing the wayward star.

"She's happy and relaxed. She's just a different person. She's been to a couple of facilities but this one, to me, has really changed her.

"They get into your psyche and bring the problem to the surface," she said.

"It was life-changing. It's an amazing place. I've spent two weeks there in family sessions," Dina added.




Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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I'd like to have my own kids:Sheryl Crow

Singer Sheryl Crow, who recently adopted two boys, says she would love to have her own children naturally to experience pregnancy.

"I would have loved to have gone through the whole experience of pregnancy myself and it's not impossible that it couldn't happen still, but I didn't feel like I needed to bring another kid into the world just to satisfy my own needs to become a mother when there were already so many kids in the world that needed one," femalefirst.co.uk quoted Crow as saying.

She did, however, request the process to be a closed one, where the natural parents would receive no information about her having adopted their child.

"I said I would take whichever baby I was supposed to have, my philosophy was that souls find each other; you don't end up with the wrong child, but it would have been difficult for another mother to see her child grow up in magazines," she said.



Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Big B to copyright his voice!

You're not an aspiring actor unless you've tried your hand at an Amitabh Bachchan imitation. From radio to ads to comedy shows, good/bad/downright criminal copies of his voice and mannerisms are everywhere, and he's not alone. Many actors and celebrities are spoofed or have their voices copied pretty much everyday – in fact, so often that we barely notice any more.

But recently, Big B took deep umbrage at a gutka company copying his voice for their advertisement, especially "for someone who does not smoke or propagate smoking or any kind of intoxicant, by keeping away from endorsing such products, it is most disgusting to find someone conflagrating the law of the land and the law of ethics," he wrote online. He's also said that he's going to copyright his voice so that it's not copied in this manner anymore.

Kis kis ki copy?
He's probably the most imitated star, but there are a bunch of others whom we've heard being spoofed endlessly over the years – in both commercial and non-commercial spoofs (see box). These remain the favourites when it comes to copies. Says mimic and TV comedian Suresh Menon, "People like Sanjeev Kumar, Shotgun, Dadamuni, Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan remain the most copied stars, and it just shows that our present day actors are not as iconic or as stylish as these older ones. We're still drawing from these legendary stars; these days, there's nobody really worth imitating or with a distinctive style, except maybe Shah Rukh Khan. Actors are very mechanical these days." DU student Samridhi Kapoor also remembers Sunny Deol being copied sometimes, besides Big B and other older stars, and adman Prahlad Kakar says Big B, Sachin Tendulkar, SRK, Shatrughan (with his signature 'Khamosh!') and Sunny Deol are copied often. Adman Piyush Pandey adds Asrani to the list.

Right ya wrong?
But while we all enjoy the humour when these stars or their voices are copied for spoofs, admen, mimics and audiences all agree that when used for commercial gain without consent, mimicking a voice like that is unfair. "Amitabh Bachchan is absolutely right. He's recognised by his voice, it's his signature. I mean, when someone does a thin-voiced imitation of a cricketer, we all know whom they're copying. If Big B gets his voice copyrighted, he can sue people like those gutka manufacturers, which he can't do otherwise. It's alright if you're copying a star for a spoof or for the purpose of programming, but when you're doing it to sell a product, even if it is a spoof, that's wrong. When it's all fun and games, you can spoof even Indira Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. They don't have a copyright law for voices yet, but if Big B gets his voice copyrighted, he'll be the first one and he'll be bang on," says Kakar. Pandey agrees. "It's unfair to Mr Bachchan. He's in any case overused by the industry. While the legalities are still not clear, it's fair if he's angry. Voices can be copied, but if they're attributed to the star and used for personal gain, how do you prove it wasn't them?"

While Menon agrees that it's unfair in cases like these to use mimicry for commercial gain without the star's knowledge or permission, he sounds a note of caution about overdoing the permission bit. "God has given us this talent – not everybody can mimic people well enough to make a living from it. If they want us to stop mimicry and spoofing altogether, they'll have to compensate us for the money we'd lose from not practising skills we've perfected over years. Humour should not be interfered with. Famous people are always imitated, it's the best form of flattery."


The Most Copied
'Sholay' still the most spoofed film
Most spoofed/copied actors:
Amitabh Bachchan
Shah Rukh Khan
Gabbar Singh/Amjad Khan
Sunny Deol
Dharmendra
Hema Malini
Sachin Tendulkar
Sanjeev Kumar
Shatrughan Sinha
Dev Anand
Ashok Kumar

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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