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The Five Signature Looks We Expect To See In The Spice Girls Musical 'Viva Forever!'

Posted 6/27/12 6:00 pm EST by in Music

By Audrey Cook

News broke yesterday that there will be a stage musical based on the career of the Spice Girls. Titled "Viva Forever!” the show will debut at London's Piccadilly Theatre in December.

Besides the group’s memorable hits, which include such classics as "Wannabe" and "Say You’ll Be There," the English girl group was also known for the funky ensembles they rocked onstage. It's a pure fashion blast from the past!

Check out the five key looks we expect to see in "Viva Forever!" below:

>> Ginger Spice got her groove on in bright-colored mini dresses, but is remembered most for her trademark platforms boots, Union Jack dress and, of course, her ginger-colored hair.

>> Baby Spice rocked blonde pigtails, wore light and airy baby doll dresses, white platform shoes and sometimes accessorized with a giant lollipop. Oh, and a monogrammed necklace with the word "Baby" on it. How fitting.

>> Not much has changed for Posh Spice since the 1990s – Victoria Beckham can still rock a little balck dress, black stilettos and dark makeup better than just about anyone we know.

>> Sporty Spice had the most comfortable outfits of them all. She got her jam on wearing a sports bra, athletic pants, tennis shoes and the high ponytail.

>> Scary Spice decked herself out in over-the-top jumpsuits, often with animal print, but she also mixed it up by wearing midriffs and cargo pants with a gold arm band. Luckily for us, all of her outfits were paired with her enormous curly brown hair and platforms.

Get More: Spice Girls, Say You'll Be There, Music, More Music Videos

Which of the five looks is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!

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Cher Planning Broadway Musical, New Album And Tour

Posted 6/27/12 4:53 pm EST by in Music, Tour Dates

Cher

By Zachary Swickey

It feels like the perfect time for iconic diva Cher to get her own Broadway musical! Thankfully, one is currently in development, according to the singer. The process is moving along slowly but surely and producers have “been working on it quite a while now," her publicist, Liz Rosenberg, corroborated to Billboard.

On top of the planned musical, Cher has been working on a new studio album with a tour expected to follow. (So much for that three-year, hugely successful "Living Proof: The Farewell Tour.")

The musical is expected to be divided into three segments, with three different actresses portraying Cher in various stages of her life. In an interesting stage experiment, the trio will also reportedly interact with one another through dialog and song.

One actress will play Cher from her early years through her relationship with late husband Sonny Bono. A second actress will then pick up the story and continue it through her "Believe." Finally, a third woman will play Cher from 1999 to present day.

Cher states that the “old Cher” in the show will be “wise” and interact with the younger version of herself – telling her not to fear the future.

Apparently not one to rest on her laurels, Cher is also prepping her 26th studio album – her first effort since 2002’s Living Proof. The singer stated on Twitter that she hopes to release it before the holiday season. She’s been working on tracks for over a year with one particularly noteworthy track – a duet with Lady Gaga dubbed "The Greatest Thing" – expected to be included. The song was originally intended to debut last August as a single, but Cher tweeted that the release was delayed due to her label, Warner Bros., wanting to save the single for release with the completed album.

Finally, 66-year-old Cher will once again hit the road for a large-scale tour. She appropriately joked the name of the tour will be the “Never Can Say Goodbye Tour.” Her "farewell" tour, which concluded in 2005, included over 300 shows over a three-year span and is one of the top grossing tours of all time. She followed it up with a hugely successful stint in Vegas at Caesars Palace from 2008-11.

The new tour was originally expected to kick-off this August, but this is highly unlikely as no dates have been announced.

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Happy Birthday, Khloe Kardashian!

Posted 6/27/12 3:57 pm EST by in Happy Birthday!

Khloe K

By Audrey Cook

Reality star Khloé Kardashian turns 28 today, and the birthday wishes are in full swing.

Nicki Minaj took to Twitter to wish Mrs. Kardashian-Odom a happy birthday, writing, "happy birthday sexy face!!!!!!"

Minaj isn't the only superstar sending out well wishes – big sis Kim posted a sweet message to her baby sister on her blog. "Happy birthday Khloball!!! I love you more than you know," Kim K. wrote. "I am so proud of the woman and wife you have become."

Last year was a tough year for Khloé, whose husband Lamar Odom was traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Dallas Mavericks. The trade caused Khloé to have to leave her family in Los Angeles to be by her husband’s side.

The couple’s reality show, "Khloé & Lamar," also went on hiatus early this year so Lamar could focus on family and basketball, she told "Entertainment Tonight" back in April.

Khloé’s year did have many highs as well, including a $40 million deal for the family to star on three more seasons of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" and the news that a new L.A. DASH boutique will open soon. Khloé and her famous siblings were also busy launching a clothing line, “Kardashian Kollection,” at Sear’s last year.

It’s no secret that Khloé wants a family. She has previously stated she and Lamar have been trying for a baby. With no such luck, maybe this year will be her lucky year. Wonder what LamLam will get his wife for her special day.

Wish Khloé a happy birthday in the comments box below!

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MDNA Doesn’t Want Her DNA Left Behind

Posted 6/27/12 1:00 pm EST by in Madonna, Tour Dates

Madonna

By Bryant Gilmore

When you’ve shed as many skins as Madonna has over the years, you might start to worry about what you leave behind.

Reportedly, the Queen of Pop is so concerned with leaving behind her precious DNA in dressing rooms during stops on her MDNA world tour that a “sterilization team” has to come in after she’s left and carefully remove any traces that she may have left. Alvaro Ramos, her Portuguese tour promoter, acknowledges that the rumored sterilization situation is unique.

During a recent press conference, he reportedly said (via Vanity Fair):

We have to take extreme care, like I have never seen for any other artist. We cannot even look at the dressing room, after it is ready, or even open the door. We can only enter after her sterilization team has left the room. There will not be any of Madonna’s DNA, any hair, or anything. They will clean up everything. In the end it is all to protect her and make her feel comfortable. I do understand it, but it is taken to extremes.

They also reportedly construct fake ceilings and walls so she can be certain no one is filming her.

The “sterilization team” talk is the latest strange detail to emerge following a list of crazy rumored demands on her tour rider that includes a 200-person entourage complete with 30 bodyguards, yoga instructors, vegan chefs (even though Madonna is not vegan), 20 international phone lines in her dressing room and special furniture that has to be brought with her from hotel room to hotel room.

The "MDNA Tour" has courted controversy since it began. Madonna has flashed her bum and nipples to crowds in Rome and Turkey and placed a swastika on the forehead of French politician Marine Le Pen during her “Nobody Knows Me” video interlude, which resulted in threatened legal action.

The crazy tour demands and body part flashing have not deterred her hardcore fans from attending her show … the "MDNA Tour is on track to be one of the top ten highest grossing tours of all time.

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New Muse Track 'Survival' Chosen As Official Song Of The 2012 London Summer Olympic Games

Posted 6/27/12 11:50 am EST by in muse, Music, olympics

Muse

By Zachary Swickey

Need more proof of how loved electro-rockers Muse are in their native UK? Their upcoming new single, “Survival,” has been chosen as the official song for the 2012 Olympic Games, which kick off in London on July 27. The track will be our first taste of Muse’s upcoming sixth studio effort, The 2nd Law.

The song is expected to debut tonight (June 27) on Zane Lowe’s BBC Radio 1 radio program at 7:30 p.m. BST. The news was broken earlier today on the band’s official website.

The posting also reveals the new single’s inspiration was the Olympics in the first place: "Matt wrote the song with the Olympics in mind. It's about total conviction and pure determination to win."

The track is expected to get plenty of play throughout the games, so there's no doubt you'll have it memorized by the time of the closing ceremony.

"The song will be played throughout the Games including when athletes enter the stadium, in the lead up to the medal ceremony and also as the theme for all international TV coverage," the band writes. "We are honoured that the Olympics have chosen our song to officially represent the London 2012 Olympic Games across the globe."

After the song premiere on BBC Radio, “Survival” will immediately be available to buy on iTunes and through the band’s website.

Muse are currently completing work on The 2nd Law in London with producer David Campbell, who has worked on over 450 gold and platinum albums with everyone from Michael Jackson to Aerosmith as well as orchestrating the arrangements for the much-publicized musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.”

Check out Muse's The 2nd Law album trailer:

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President Obama Strikes Again With Justin Bieber 'Boyfriend' Mashup

Posted 6/26/12 4:42 pm EST by in Barack-Obama, Covers, Justin Bieber

Obama

By Natasha Chandel

We know President Barack Obama is seeking the youth vote, but we didn’t realize he would take on Justin Bieber to get it!

That’s right, another video mash-up of the president has surfaced, and this time Obama is singing Bieb’s latest hit, "Boyfriend."

High off the viral video success of his mash-up cover of Carly Rae Jepsen’s "Call Me Maybe," the YouTuber known as barackdubs pieced together another hilarious clip, where Obama, in his deep and stoic voice, promises viewers that if he was their boyfriend, he would never let them go. Maybe sub in “boyfriend” for “president” and you get the hidden message? That’s probably reading too far into it, but the video should definitely boost his presence among the Beliebers.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen President Obama serenade the nation. Earlier this year, Obama dropped a few bars of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" at a New York fundraiser to rave reviews!

And this certainly isn’t only the second time for barackdubs, who has racked over 35 million hits on his YouTube channel for other Obama renditions to songs like Rihanna’s “Drink to That” and LMFAO’s “I’m Sexy and I Know it.”

Check it out below! Read More...

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Bon Iver Adds More Dates To U.S. Tour, Extends Run At NYC's Legendary Radio City Music Hall

Posted 6/26/12 3:40 pm EST by in Music

Bon iver

By Zachary Swickey

The year could not be going better for soothing folk act Bon Iver, who took home two Grammys back in February for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album for their self-titled 2011 effort. Heck, frontman Justin Vernon has even found himself as a spokesman for Bushmills Irish Whiskey and the subject of a popular jokey Tumblr called "Bon Iver Erotic Stories."

Things are going so well for Bon Iver in fact, that the band has added seven additional U.S. dates to their run in September, including Boston, Providence and Philly. With the addition of two shows at Radio City Music Hall, the tour also now boasts four consecutive nights at the iconic New York City venue. The dates were added after the September 19 and 20 shows immediately sold out.

Bon Iver’s European tour kicks off on July 5 in Poland with a string of foreign gigs through August, October and November with some stateside shows tossed in the mix for September. The group’s incredibly lengthy itinerary can be seen below. Read More...

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'Spartacus' Star Andy Whitfield Lives On In New Documentary

Posted 6/26/12 2:18 pm EST by in Activism, Television

Andy Whitfield

By Bryant Gilmore

When Andy Whitfield completed his first season on the hit show "Spartacus: Blood and Sand," he was understandably exhausted. He had undergone an extensive and strenuous training regimen to prepare for his role and filmed choreographed battle scenes for 12 to 14 hours a day. Reflecting upon this, Whitfield said, “I was exhausted by the end of the first season, but it was one of the most extreme things that I had gone through.”

The training and long days of filming were nothing compared to what Whitfield would face next as a visit to the doctor soon after revealed that he was suffering from the symptoms of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Whitfield immediately began treatment and was well enough to return for filming season two of "Spartacus" in September 2010, but after a check-up for insurance purposes, he was told that the cancer had returned and that without aggressive treatment, he would be dead within three to six months. This revelation forced Whitfield to drop out of the show that made him an international star and turn all of his focus on getting better.

While he took his doctor’s advice and adhered to more conventional means of treatment, Whitfield and his wife, Vashti, traveled to India to also explore alternative means of treatment. Throughout this journey, Whitfield and Vashti, with whom he had two children (a son, Jessie Red, and daughter, Indigo), documented every step that they took along the way and the footage has been turned into the new film "Be Here Now."

Film crews followed Whitfield and Vashti for more than a year and the couple also filmed themselves on their journey, until shortly before he died at age 39 in September 2011.

"Be Here Now" is based on the motto that the Whitfields adopted while undergoing this personal upheaval. The couple even went as far as to get matching tattoos of the phrase on their arms and Whitfield explained, "'Be Here Now' is about being in the present and not fearing what you don’t know."

To complete work on the film, the production team, led by Academy Award-nominated director Lilibet Foster, pieced together footage for a Kickstarter campaign video (which you can check out below) to give Whitfield's fans a taste of what to expect. It begins with a heartfelt plea from Whitfield’s good friend and 'Spartacus' co-star Jai Courtney, asking fans and friends to give what they can to not only help with the funding of the film, but help work toward a cure for cancer. As it stands today, the Kickstarter fund has swelled to over $181,000, just shy of the $200,000 goal they hope to reach by July 23.

To learn more, visit the project's Kickstarter site.

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Kanye West Spends A Lot Of Money Quickly (And Yes, There Was An 84-Mile Private Plane Ride Involved)

Posted 6/26/12 1:04 pm EST by in Kanye West

Kanye West

By Meredith Goldberg-Morse

When faced with an 84-mile journey, most people would simply hop in their car, or perhaps even board a train or a bus. In case there was ever any confusion, Kanye West is not most people.

While traveling the U.K. for his "Watch the Throne" tour with Jay-Z, the rapper spent over £8,000 on a private jet from Doncaster to Birmingham, where he was then picked up by a chauffeured Mercedes and deposited at his five-star £1,100-a-night hotel. He then reportedly booked eight additional rooms for his entourage, including girlfriend Kim Kardashian’s make-up people, who failed to show up. (Rude!) Why so frugal, Kanye?

In preparation for Kim's arrival, the 34-year-old allegedly ordered two dozen white roses—with the stipulation that they be cut only one inch above the top of the vase, because, according to an inside source, he has a "deep hatred of dying flowers drooping."

>> Kanye West Splurges On Kim Kardashian In Paris

He also really worked up an appetite on that 84-mile flight because he followed up with an order of 50 bars of white chocolate, with a £1,800 bar tab to wash it down.

As a hyper-observant witness commented, "Kanye has a lot of money and isn’t afraid to spend it." Truer words were never spoken.

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Lady Gaga Settles Charity Lawsuit And Covertly Responds To South African Controversy

Posted 6/26/12 12:10 pm EST by in Lady Gaga, Tweet Beat

By Zachary Swickey

No good deed goes unpunished, as pop superstar Lady Gaga found out when she tried to raise money for victims of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The accusations came in the form of a nasty lawsuit claiming that the charity she had set up for the victims was not donating 100 percent of the proceeds, and to settle the claim Gaga will write a big check for charity.

The lawsuit claims that fans and visitors to her website were misled with a charitable promotion selling wristbands – an idea similar to Lance Armstrong’s “Live Strong” bracelets. The charity stated that all proceeds would directly go to relief funds. However, the lawsuit claims that the sales tax and $4 charge for shipping created additional funds that were not donated.

Originally, Gaga offered the wristbands for just five bucks with the message “We Pray For Japan” stamped on them while also offering visitors the opportunity to donate more money. Public court records show that around $1.5 million was raised for the victims of the tsunami disaster, but Detroit-based attorney Alyson Oliver claimed the shipping and tax charges weren’t going to charity.

To settle the suit, Lady Gaga and several other defendants – who all feel the lawsuit has no credit – will pay an additional $107,500 to charity for the tsunami victims.

In other typical Gaga drama, a religious group with the long-winded name (Christians Against Lady Gaga & Beyonce’s SA (South-African) Tours) has got a few thousand followers behind them protesting the singer’s upcoming tour of South Africa. Not everyone is protesting the tour, of course, as ticket sales for the shows crashed the servers for the Computicket website.

The organization began a four-day “prayer avalanche” to support their cause and stop the “filthy demon” known as Lady Gaga from performing.

In a tongue-in-cheek pic post on her Twitter account, the superstar somewhat responded with a risqué photo of herself and caption reading, "Hey Melbourne we're here! We can hear you downstairs! Is that church bell ringing for us? The devil of pop is here."

The “Devil of Pop” and proud of it:

Lady Gaga, Twitter

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