Random Clip in honor of the Season Premiere tonight...

Don't Stop Til' You Get Enough...

A lot has happened in celebrity news since my last post. And I recognize that this post is late, which is entirely my own mistake. Anyway, I was really hoping to blog about something or someone OTHER than Britney, but lo and behold, she has managed to be the headliner of the moment once again. I'm now convinced that she is no longer human, but rather somewhat of a sponge-type creature who soaks up paparazzi attention and doesn't rinse out the scandals well. Luckily, she took a break from LA this past weekend and went to Atlanta (why?) to get away for a bit. She came back with a new brunette weave, which looks just as bad as the blonde one. Last week, after I had announced in my last post that Brit was dropped by her management and ditched by her lawyer, a judge ordered her to complete parenting classes and take random drug tests, calling her a "habitual...user of controlled substances". That's not good Britney! But what does she do right after the court ruling??? She goes out and parties, ya'll! Because that is what you should do after being officially labeled a drug user! Britney then had ANOTHER court case regarding her fender bender in August (with paparazzi video proof of Brit not even acknowledging the Mercedes that she hit while parking). That case revealed that Britney was never even registered with a California driver's license! How can this even be possible??? I guess famous people really are above the law...especially really insane and uncontrollable famous people. On top of all of this, and definitely at the perfect time, a former bodyguard of Britney's decided to tell the world what he saw her do under her employment. And it is not surprising news at all.

And you know there is just more more more to say, and her new single is called "Gimme More"...but I don't know if there can even be any more from her. I will end this nonsense with Britney's former security guard Tony Barretto speaking about how out of control she is on "The Today Show".

Going Beyond Below The Belt

Movie stars are talented, highly respected and largely professionally trained actors. Tabloid stars are punchlines and grab onto whatever shtick they can to maintain fame. Modern day celebrity obsession has made tabloid stars more newsworthy than real movie stars. And we love it. We do. Admit it. It's constant material and entertainment. It makes for a perfect hour-long pop culture radio show (The Scoop @ Noon, on KSFS The State). Hollywood is out of control, and we cannot get enough.

So, what is the 'scoop' as of today?? Brit seems to hit rock bottom on a daily basis. She has been dropped by her latest manager because she is 'unmanageable', her expensive divorce lawyer quit, and now reports are saying that she WILL lose custody of her (as Sarah Silverman refers to them) "adorable little mistakes", Sean and Jayden. How can things get worse for the fallen pop tart? Sure, there was her lackluster performance last weekend at the VMAs, which many of us watched online over and over again, because we can't take our eyes away from the trainwreck in front of us. It's like it was so bad that it's totally awesome. Brit croon's "gimme more" in her new slow-charting single, and we actually do want just that...MORE britney! She knows she screwed up, and she knows she's a media joke. But she won't listen to anybody! Brit, your lawyer quit your case because you're out of your mind and your management dropped you because you're, once again, out of your damn mind! Based on what we the public see in the media and read on the gossip blogs, you should absolutely lose custody of your lil' K-Feds. When Kevin looks like a Greek God compared to you, you are in trouble. And it's been like this for almost a year now. Ever since she split with Kevin and started making the rounds on the Hollywood party scene, with Paris and her legion of whores. Who would have thought that innocent teenage TRL Britney would become America's hooker trash, living on fast food and Red Bull, and firing people around her left and right because they can't keep her happy. She is completely off the deep end! But you know what is hilarious...I'll still get her album. Millions of people will. It is the nature of the tabloid star. She has kept herself in the press nearly every day for so long now, how can people not be interested in her new album? She finally has something to show for her over-exposure and constant late night trips to Carl's Jr. And you have to admit, "Gimme More" is not that bad.

There is so much going on in tabloid-land. The never-ending feud between Lauren Conrad and Heidi Montag of MTV's "The Hills" is a press magnet. Yah, the spoiled blonde chics from Southern California who have a show about getting lattes, shopping, going to nightclubs, and fighting about pretty douchebag boys. It's MTV's highest-rated show! No surprise there. It's such an easy target, but at the same time, I still can't stop watching. It's television escapism at its finest. I'm just waiting for Whitney to finally tell one of the other girls to grow up. We can only hope. Anyway, Lauren launched a new clothing line on the same day as her arch nemesis and former-BFF Heidi's 21st birthday, on which Heidi debuted her new single (yes, music) at LAX nightclub at the Luxor is Las Vegas (the nightclub where Britney hosted its initial launch party!). God, this stuff is good. Lauren's clothes are a bore and overpriced, while Heidi even being allowed to have a pop star career is hilarious. But she's probably better than the Britster right now. Want more? Look below...
Heidi performs her new single "Higher" at LAX, Las Vegas


Oh, and pretty boy 19-year old Zac Efron landed back in LA after his European press tour. He reunited with his 'girlfriend' (co-star in Disney's sugar-coated "High School Musical") Vanessa Hudgens, who experienced a media storm over her released nude photos, that she publicly apologized for. I bet they had a lot to talk about at their McDonald's date...I give these kids 2 years, then they'll be on the Lindsay Lohan bandwagon, partying late night at Hollywood clubs and snorting cocaine with Paris and the like. And we will be watching it all.

Paparazzi Pages Prevail

Pretty much the only blogs I actively check quite frequently are celebrity/gossip blogs. I know they seem meaningless and superficial, but that is also why they are so entertaining. Some of the bloggers who write these blogs are hilarious personalities themselves, and alot of the fun of seeing new pics and videos of famous people is reading what the bloggers have to say about them. Blogs such as Perez Hilton, TheSuperficial, Just Jared, What Would Tyler Durden Do, and X17 Online are my favorites, besides the commercial site TMZ. It is pure entertainment and these sites are all about people's personal lives rather than their actual work. Their lives are way more fun to watch than some of their work. Everyone knows their work. Without these kinds of blogs and the media attention, some popular stars today would not be so popular.

Perez Hilton scrutinizes many celebrities in a hilarious and often cruel way. He trashes on people like Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan, while he gives high praises to other people that he personally loves, such as Amy Winehouse and other musicians. He gives no mercy to famous people, and will not hesitate to call them out, which makes for a fun read. With constant new pictures and videos, his site is really interactive and thousands of readers post comments every day. He writes in a very casual style, but he still writes in proper form (alphabetizing and punctuation). TheSuperficial and What Would Tyler Durden Do are blogs by straight guys who like to post pictures of mostly female celebrities and comment on them from a male point of view. They also include other interesting tabloid stories about other famous people, but mostly it's them commenting either favorably or negatively on Hollywood stars that catch their eyes. Just Jared is somewhat of the same, but is instead written by a gay male, who admires female celebrities and likes to post pics and stories about male celebrities that he likes (such as young Zac Efron). These blogs are written fairly casually, and often include links to their sources. One of my favorite celebrity blogs is a strictly paparazzi site called X17 Online. X17 is an actual paparazzi agency, and they upload all of their pictures and unedited video footage immediately, so you can see what celebrities are doing every day. It is definitely overload, but they can capture a story fast and post it first with footage to back it.

I know that the whole celebrity gossip blog phenomonon is petty and meaningless, but it is now a huge part of pop culture and it makes for great material to talk about on entertainment shows. I am doing another radio show this semester for KSFS every Tuesday at 12pm called "The Scoop @ Noon", where my co-host and I talk about what we find on the gossip blogs and we play alot of the music that is associated with them (such as Britney's new song or Kanye West's latest after he threw a tantrum backstage at the VMAs). Anyway, I think I will probably end up blogging alot about the stuff I find on these sites and my take on everything, because it's fun and it does not involve me personally!

And now, here is Britney's trainwreck performance that has had the world talking all week long...