"SPICE UP YOUR LIFE"

In the mid 90’s the first major British all girl singing group was created; “The Spice Girls.”The group consisted of five unique and extremely talented women; Geri Estelle Halliwell, Melanie Janine Brown, Melanie Jayne Chisholm, Victoria Adams, and Emma Lee Bunton. Each Spice Girl member had a specific identity and where given a stage name based on their personalities which would help lead to their success in the marketing industry. Geri Estelle Halliwell,(“Ginger Spice”) Melanie Janine Brown, (“Scary Spice”) Melanie Jayne Chisholm, (“Sporty Spice”) Victoria Adams,(“Posh Spice”) and Emma Lee Bunton(“Baby Spice”) This powerhouse group began their career in Britain and decided in 1997 to take the next step and bring their “Spice World” to the United States. The group’s main ambition was to show the world the importance of women and in order to catch people’s attention they used the phrase “Girl Power”, to reinforce the message they were trying to covey. Their proud, all girl-image and catchy dance pop- appealed to younger listeners, while their colorful sexy personalities and sense of humor appealed to older music fans which lead to their enormous success. The combination of pop hits, cartoonish personalities and clever marketing made the Spice Girls a global phenomenon, selling more than 55 million albums, breaking all sorts of British chart records and taking their song "2 Become 1" to Number 1 in 53 countries.

The Spice Girls had several money making products on the market such as their famous Spice Girls Barbie dolls, lollipops with stickers in the inside, t-shirts, perfume, lip gloss, posters, umbrellas pretty much EVERYTHING. However, the Spice Girls fame in the United States started to fade away and the members started to drift apart around 2001.

But the Spice Girls could not stay out of the spotlight for long and this year they started their 2007-2008; 25- date global Reunion Tour. The tour began in Vancouver Canada, and continued to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, London, Cologne, Madrid, Beijing, Hong Kong, Sydney, Cape Town, and Buenos Aires, etc. The shows will be their first concerts since breaking up in 2001, and the first with all five of the original group. Tickets where sold out for the London shows in 38 seconds!! It was reported that over one million people in the UK signed up for the tour and over five million worldwide for the ticket ballot on the band’s official website. Sixteen additional dates in London where added to accommodate their fans; and were also sold out performances. In America all of the concerts where sold out too!!! On their very first concert in Vancouver they performed in front of an audience of 15,000 people. The Reunion Concert consisted of twenty songs both their number hits and fan favorites and eight costume changes.

When I was little I was a huge Spice Girl fan; I collected all the posters, dolls, and stickers. So once I heard about the reunion tour I knew I needed to go, so my friends and I got tickets to the show in Madison Square Garden. The concert was a night to remember filled with mixed emotions. As I danced and sang along to the song that I grew up to the child inside of me came alive again. The energy in the stadium was indescribable because many girls my own age felt like a kid again and where filled with excitement. However, it was sad to realize that we have grown up and have entered a new time in our lived and we where no longer the little girls who idolized and only cared about singing to the Spice Girls.

The part of the concert that made me realize that the Spice Girls where no longer just a female-singing group but incredible individuals; was when they sang their song Mama. They dedicated this song to their children, and it showed the audience that they where saying goodbye to their singing careers because they have opened a new chapter in their own lives as mothers. Before they sang the song their children where brought on stage and they sat down and began singing to them. It was a very moving experience for both the Spice Girls and their fans.

Where Are They Now?

After Releasing 3 studio albums and 12 singles globally between July 1996 and November 2008, and completing their Reunion Tour….Where are the Spice Girls now?

Geri Estelle Halliwell,(“Ginger Spice”)

Ginger Spice left the band in 1998 before the group broke up due to differences between members. As solo artist she has received 4 Brit Award nominations and released four number-one singles in UK and sold about four million albums worldwide. On May 14 2006 she gave birth to her daughter Bluebell. When I went to the Reunion Spice Girl Concert she brought her daughter on stage who after the song “Mama I love you” was performed, Bluebell screamed into the microphone “Mama I love you.”

Melanie Janine Brown, (“Scary Spice”)

After the Spice Girl breakup in 2001 Scary Spice seemed to be getting off to a great solo career and married Jimmy Gulzar. She had a beautiful baby girl with Jimmy and named her Phoenix Chi. However, she and Jimmy divorced after a horrible custody battle today Scary Spice has full custody of her daughter. In addition, Mel B can be recently remembered for her affair with Eddie Murphy which was all over the tabloids. Even though her solo singing career went downhill she performed great in my opinion at during the Reunion Tour

Melanie Jayne Chisholm, (“Sporty Spice”)

Sporty Spice has always been the strongest vocalist of the group and proved it by pursuing a solo career in music. Her most recent album is “Beautiful Intentions” which at the Reunion Concert she performed one of her hit songs “I Turn to You.” She still today fights with the press about her sexuality because of the “sporty” image she portrays. However, she continues to live both in Los Angeles and London and she continued to dazzle fans with her amazing voice.

Victoria Adams, (“Posh Spice”)

Posh Spice was always known for her fashion sense throughout her career as a spice girl. When the group broke up she had a significant career in fashion, designing a line of jeans for Rock & Republic and later designing her own denim brand, dvb Style. In 1999 she married the gorgeous, talented, football superstar David Beckham. Together this lavishing couple had three sons; Brooklyn (8 years old), Romeo( 5 years old), and Cruz ( 1 years old)


Emma Lee Bunton(“Baby Spice”)

Like Mel C and Mel B, Baby Spice also tried to have a solo career after her success as a Spice Girl. She released her worldwide record in 2004 and the same year scored a cameo role on a television series Absolutely Fabulous and made numerous other television appearances. Last August Baby Spice became a mother and gave birth to a boy and named him Beau. In French, Beau means “beautiful” which is the same name as his father.

* Even though the group broke and went their separate ways for sometime they where all reunited during the 2007-2008 tour. “The Return of the Spice Girls", a global tour that featured all five original members of the Spice Girls together on stage proved that they will always be a Spice Girl at heart.

THE 2008 GRAMMY'S = )

LAST NIGHT THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GRAMMY AWARDS WAS CELEBRATED. THE GRAMMY’S TOOK PLACE IN LOS ANGELES AND WAS HOSTED BY THE VERY TALENTED ACTOR TOM HANKS. THE AWARDS THAT THE CELEBERITES RECEIEVED ARE PRESENTED BY THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF RECORDING ARTS AND SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE RECORD INDUSTRY. THIS NIGHT IS A TIME FOR MANY CELEBRITY ICONS TO LOOK THEIR BEST AND BE REWARDED FOR THE TALENTS THEY POSSESS IN MUSIC. IN ADDITION, THE NIGHT FEATURED PERFOMANCES BY PROMINIENT ARTISTS SUCH RHIANNA, CARRIE UNDERWOOD, ALICIA KEYES, KANYE WEST, AMY WINEHOUSE, FOO FIGHTERS, ARETHA FRANKLIN (etc.)

AND THE GRAMMY GOES TO …..
AS WE ALL KNOW THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE WINNER WHICH LEFT MANY NOMINIES HEARTBROKEN KNOWING THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN SECONDS AWAY FROM RECIEVEING A GRAMMY! HOWEVER, THE GRAMMY WINNERS WHERE FILLED WITH EXCITEMENT AND ENJOYED THEIR MAGIFICENT MOMENT IN THE SPOTLIGHT. MOREOVER, SOME OF THE WINNERS WHERE SPEECHLESS, AND OTHER COULD NOT STOP TALKING AND WHERE LITERALLY BEING KICKED OFF STAGE BY THE PRODUCERS!!!(when they played the music during their speeches)

SOME OF THE AWARDS RECEIVED WHERE AS FOLLOWED:
BEST FEMALE COUNTRY VOCALIST: CARRIE UNDERWOOD
BEST FEMALE R&B PERFORMANCE: ALICIA KEYES
BEST COMPILATION SOUNDTRACK ALBUM: RINGO STARR
BEST COUNTRY INSTRUMENTAL PERFORMANCE: BRAD PAISLEY
ALBUM OF THE YEAR: HERBIE HANCOCK
RECORD OF THE YEAR: AMY WINEHOUSE
SONG OF THE YEAR: AMY WINEHOUSE
BEST MALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE: JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
BEST POP PERFORMANCE BY GROUP: MAROON 5
BEST POP COLLABORATION WITH VOCALS: GONE GONE GONE ( DONE MOVED ON )” ROBERT PLANT & ALISON KRAUSS
BEST DANCE RECORDING: JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
BEST ELECTRONIC/DANCE ALBUM: CHEMICAL BROTHERS

A BLAST FROM THE PAST

At the 2008 Grammy’s there where many talented artists that performed elaborate shows which helped contribute to making the Grammy Awards a spectacular night. One performance that I felt was a show stopping, energetic, and meaningful performance was Beyonce Giselle Knowles. Beyonce is not only a R&B singer but songwriter, record producer, music video director, actress, dancer and fashion designer. Her career began when she was the creative force and lead singer of the famous R&B girl group Density’s Child. Today Density’s child is known as the world’s best female singing group of all time. However, Beyonce had bigger and better dreams for herself and wanted to venture out as a solo artist. She released her first album “Dangerously in Love” in 2003 and the album became one of the biggest commercial success of the year and topped the charts in both the United States and United Kingdom. Her success continued through the years, in 2004 she released two albums “Crazy in Love” and “Baby Boy” in which she received 5 Grammy Awards. In 2006 she won another 2 Grammy Awards during her solo career for her records “Déjà vu” and “Beautiful Liar”.

With hard work and dedication Beyonce has accomplished many things in her life today. However, she believes that inspiration was a leading part in her discovering fame. Her performance at the Grammy’s showed that man y legend woman vocalists have impacted Beyonces life for the better and that is why in her performance she recognized the voices from the past. One person that she states in “The New York Times” that inspired her the most as a young child was Tina Turner. If you think about it if it was not for the women vocalist of the past sending the successful trend they did then talented woman like Beyonce would have never succeed in the music industry. I think you really understand this message when Beyonce and Tina Turner sang side by side at the Grammy’s. This showed that the past can influence and give you the drive to achieve your goals. In addition, the performance send out a message that we should be thankful for our past and we can help the past live on through the new generations and generations to come.

Lights Camera Action

This weekend, Friday February 8th a comedy that was filled with adventure and romance was released. The movie, Fool’s Gold starring Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson was produced by Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turn and directed by Andy Tennant. McConaughey and Hudson are most remembered for their first romantic comedy “How to Lose a Guy in Ten”, which was an enormous success. This film grossed 100,000 million dollars in the box office and it was only time that this dynamic duo hit the big screen again for another unforgettable film. McConaughey plays Finn, a scavenger on the trail of a ship that sunk in the 1700s laden with the riches of a Spanish royal dowry. His marriage with Kate Hudson who plays Tess was portrayed as a relationship heading towards shipwreck. She prepares their divorce which will take place in Key West. Ironically, this comedy takes a turn when they are both reunited on the yacht where she's working as a steward for ultra-rich Nigel Honeycutt. They pair up and once again stir up their passion for treasure hunting and begin their last treasure hunt together in hopes of finding 500 million dollars in diamonds. Unfortunately, New York Times critics only gave Fool’s Gold two and half stars rating out of five. Watch the clip I provided for you, and go out and see this romantic comedy so you can voice your opinion about the movie!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2IInvMZcE-Y

Three More Babies in 2008

In 2008 seems like celebrities caught baby fever and everyone is turning up pregnant! Along with Tori Spelling and Gwen Stefani; Angelina Jolie is expecting not one baby but THREE. Rumor has it that she is pregnant with twins and this can be possible because twins run in her husband’s family. Her handsome and talented husband, Brad Pitt, sister Julie has twin girls so the chance is high. Although the famous couple wanted to keep her pregnancy a secret; her belly was NO secret through her Actors Guild Awards gown. However, Angelina still looked amazing in her Hermes vintage flowy style gown. Since we know now that she has two babies inside her where is the third? Angelina and Brad made plans before she found out she was pregnant to adopt an Ethiopian girl. When asked if they would still adopt they replied, yes and are extremely excited about adopting the little girl even though she is expecting. With the possibility of three new babies in 2008, in addition to Maddox (6 years old), Pax ( 4 years old) Zahara ( 3 years old) and Shiloh ( 20 months old) their house will be nosier then ever.

IS IT A BOY OR GIRL ?

Gwen Stefani , the American singer , songwriter, fashion designer, and occasional actress was quoted last October saying “ I pray that I can have another baby, I mean it’s such a miracle to have one.” Her prays where answered and she is now 12 weeks pregnant! Gwen’s husband Gavin who is 42 years old stated that he let Gwen decide when she was ready to have their next child because she was so busy with her amazing career. Along with her many accomplishments she is a wonderful mother to her 20-month old son Kingston who according to Gwen can not wait for his new brother or sister. Gwen tried to keep her pregnancy a secrete but nothing is a secrete when you live a life of fame. Her secrete was revealed by the assumption of her being seen in big baggy clothing and immediately the news that she was expecting spread across the media! However, Gwen is not the only celebrity who is expecting another child. Tori Spelling, television actress best known for her role on 90210 is expecting another child with her husband Dean McDermott. They where quoted saying “ We are having so much fun with Liam (first child) we can’t wait to have another one. Word around the media is that Tori is in her second trimester but she will not tell the truth just yet. Last time Tori was pregnant she announced she was having but a boy, but only time will tell whether Liam will have a brother or a sister.

Defining Drama

What is drama? Webster dictionary defines drama as state, situation, or series of events involving interesting or intense conflict of forces. I believe drama is an act that gives rise to excitement. In addition, drama is when daily occurrences stop being normal and usually draws attention from a crowd.
What causes drama? The main factor I believe that is the cause of drama is gossip. Gossip and juicy stories spread like wild fire throughout our society. People of all ages love to gossip and it has become a essential part of their everyday lives!
What comes to mind when you hear the word drama? The first thought that comes to my mind when I hear the world drama is ENTERTAINMENT. The entertainment industry is a business world that never sleeps because there is always a juicy new story to capture. It is filled with celebrities’ lifestyles, hooks-ups, breakups, fashion, and movies which are all based on drama and gossip. Entertainment is an industry that continues to grow and flourish throughout the years.