Since joining Girls Aloud Sarah Harding has constantly revamped her hair style.
But there's one thing she never changes - the blonde colour.
True to form, the 28-year-old unveiled a new mid-length style yesterday which once again owed much to the bleach bottle.*Meanwhile Nadine Coyle is preparing to release her first solo tracks, Nicola Roberts has campaigned for safer tanning regulations and launched her own make-up range, and Kimberley Walsh has taken her first steps as a TV presenter.
While the band initially pledged to reform after 12 months, there have been reports that their return to the music scene is being delayed by their solo ambitions.
But with a deal in place to record three more albums, they look sure to be back together before too long.
Sarah teamed the new hairdo with a grown-up outfit of black blazer and trousers. It was almost more suitable for a business meeting than a night on the town.
Like her Girls Aloud bandmates Sarah is currently enjoying a break from the band.
The five have been pursuing solo projects, with varying levels of success.
While X Factor judge Cheryl Cole has scored a number one single and album, Sarah has been working on her acting career, appearing in St Trinian's 2.
She has also fitted in plenty of holiday time with her DJ boyfriend Tom Crane, along with her fair share of partying.
Meanwhile Nadine Coyle is preparing to release her first solo tracks, Nicola Roberts has campaigned for safer tanning regulations and launched her own make-up range, and Kimberley Walsh has taken her first steps as a TV presenter.
While the band initially pledged to reform after 12 months, there have been reports that their return to the music scene is being delayed by their solo ambitions.
But with a deal in place to record three more albums, they look sure to be back together before too long.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Sarah Harding shows off another new hairstyle... but of course she's still bottle blonde
Thursday, January 14, 2010
First pictures of Beyoncé's most shameful ever gig... for playboy son of Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi
She's just been named one-half of the richest couple in showbiz... and perhaps here's why.
Beyoncé appears unable to say no to any gig - even when the host is the leering son of a Middle-Eastern despot - if a reputed $2m is on the table.
And so the stunning chart-topper found herself performing hits in a leotard on a tiny stage in tacky surroundings on New Year's Eve in the Caribbean island of St Barts.
In pictures which emerged on the day she and super-producer husband Jay-Z were named the highest-earning entertainers in the world by Forbes magazine, she can be seen strutting and kneeling before Muatsim Gaddafi.
The sparkly leotard slashed to reveal sections of her tummy and cleavage is so very Beyoncé, but it's hard to envisage Hollywood's highest-earner plying her trade in a tawdry setting resembling a cheap lapdancing club.
Certainly Muatsim Gaddafi, the third son of the Libyan leader Muammar-al Gaddafi, couldn't take his eyes off the Crazy In Love star as she gyrated and sang in front of him, his friends and other partygoers, including her businessman rapper husband Jay-Z.
Gaddafi smokes cigarettes, knocks back drinks and laughs with guests including Jon Bon Jovi, Usher and pretty, young female guests.
Beyoncé, 28, is believed to have been paid $2m fee for her performance at his private party at Nikki Beach on the Caribbean island - although that amount was not even required to help them top the Forbes magazine list.
Jay-Z, 40, and Beyoncé picked up an astonishing $110m (£68m) between June 2008 and June 2009.
Beyoncé's huge earnings stem from her I Am...Sasha Fierce world tour from March to June 2009 which raked in $14m, an extra $4m in sponsorship and $21million from album sales alone.
Jay-Z, dubbed the King of Rap, contributed his millions to the partnership through his record label, clothing line and movie production company as well as his music - he headlined Glastonbury - and also signed a $150million ten-year, three-album deal with live events company Live Nation.
A-listers Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart were way back in second spot with £42m and Brad Pitt and Angeline Jolie only third with £33m. Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith were fourth with £29m and David and Victoria Beckham fifth with £28.2m.
Victoria and David Beckham also made the top five having earned $46 million between June 2008 and June 2009. The vast majority of that comes from David Beckham, who plays for the Major Soccer League's Los Angeles Galaxy.
While many fans will find the sight of the star performing at such a sleazy gig offensive, they will be doubly so for relatives of Lockerbie bomb victims.
In 2003, Colonel Gaddafi finally admitted Libya was responsible for bringing down the Pan Am Flight 103 en route to New York in 1988, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew members plus 11 people on the ground.
Gaddafi gave a hero's welcome to the only man convicted in connection with the incident, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, when he was released from a Scottish jail last August on compassionate grounds when a Libyan doctor provided evidence that he was dying.
Gaddafi has ruled Libya since 1969 when, as a 27-year-old military officer, he staged a bloodless coup d'etat against King Idris I.
Muatsim is seen as a possible successor to his father as Libya's next leader.
He was once a Lieutenant Colonel in the Libyan Army but fled to Egypt after allegedly masterminding an Egyptian backed coup attempt against his father.
Gaddafi forgave him and he returned to Libya where he now holds the post of national security adviser and heads his own unit within the army.
Another of his sons, nicknamed Hannibal, was involved in an incident at Claridge's Hotel in London on Christmas Day when police were called to his £4,000-a-night suite.
Three of security guards were arrested and his wife, Aline Skaf, was taken to hospital with a broken nose. She later claimed that her injuries were the result of an accidental fall.
However, Hannibal has previous for violence against women. In 2005, he was arrested in a Paris hotel for punching a woman and was given a four-month suspended sentence and a £350 fine for assault and in 2008, he was held in police custody in Switzerland for two days for allegedly beating up his servants.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z have also been among U.S. President Barack Obama's biggest celebrity supporters and their willingness to be linked to the Gaddafi clan after the Libyan leaders long hostility to the U.S. will come as a surprise in America.
A spokesman for Beyoncé has so far refused to comment on either the New Year's Eve bash or the couple's relationship with Mr Gaddafi.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The Avatar effect: Movie-goers feel depressed and even suicidal at not being able to visit utopian alien planet
A utopian planet inhabited by blue aliens is the ideal setting for a bit of cinematic escapism.
But the world of the sci-fi epic Avatar is so perfect the line between fact and fiction has become somewhat blurred.
Movie-goers have admitted being plagued by depression and suicidal thoughts at not being able to visit the planet Pandora.
Set in the future when Earth's resources have been depleted, director James Cameron's film tells the story of a corporation trying to mine a rare mineral.
The humans clash with the natives - a peace-loving race of 7ft tall, blue-skinned creatures called the Na'vi, who exist in perfect harmony with nature.
Fans have flooded the internet with their confused feelings. On the site Avatar Forums, the topic 'Ways to cope with the depression of the dream of Pandora being intangible' has more than 1,000 posts.
In a similar forum, one user wrote: 'When I woke up this morning after watching Avatar for the first time yesterday, the world seemed grey. It just seems so meaningless.
'I still don't really see any reason to keep doing things at all. I live in a dying world.'
On another site, one fan was even more affected, admitting: 'I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora.'
On the Avatar site Naviblue, a fan calling himself Jorba has even asked others to join him in starting a real Na'vi tribe.
The blockbuster movie - which has already taken more than $1billion at the box office - tells the story of a disabled marine sent on a mission to a planet called Pandora, home to a race of giant blue aliens.
Humans are intent on exploiting the planet for its resources but clash with the native Na'vi, who inhabit their world in perfect harmony with nature.
This fantasy world, with its weird and wonderful plant and animal life, is brought to life using stunning special effects.
The Consumer Electronics Show, which ended in Las Vegas on Sunday, saw the advent of 3D televisions making most of the news.
Many commentators believe that 2010 is the breakthrough year for the technology helped by 3D movies such as Avatar.
DEALING WITH THE AVATAR BLUES
On the official Avatar website, David Scott Jaggers (from Texas) posted
'I can totally relate [to people feeling depressed about having to leave the world of Pandora]. I think most us can here.
'For me, getting to talk to you guys online allows me to feel closer to the movie, or maybe closer to you guys because we can share our feeling and thoughts and friendships.
So many things from the movie, like for example the idea of brotherhood we can bring to this very real world of ours.'
But on the www.halflife2.net forum others begged to differ
XCELLERATE wrote: 'People just want whatever they don't have. If we had three moons people might see a movie with just one moon and go, 'wow I like that a lot more, it so much simpler'.
TARKUS added: 'These people think they're 'cool' by thinking 'differently' from others.
'They choose an intangible objective (such as living in the avatar's world) so that they can live with the comfort of knowing that they will never get it, because it's actually scary to live without things like internet, and packed meat, and toilets.
'They're all losers and posers if you ask me'
The stunning beauty of the film as well as the view of corporations seems to have hit a nerve with audiences.
The incredible visual realism of the film could mean viewers become particularly attached.
Dr. Stephan Quentzel, psychiatrist and Medical Director for the Louis Armstrong Centre for Music and Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Centre in New York told CNN: 'Virtual life is not real life and it never will be, but this is the pinnacle of what we can build in a virtual presentation so far.
'It has taken the best of our technology to create this virtual world and real life will never be as utopian as it seems onscreen. It makes real life seem more imperfect.'
But not everyone viewing the film has been hit by the 'Avatar Blues', as a small but vocal group have alleged it contains racist themes - the white hero once again saving the primitive natives.
Since the film opened three weeks ago, hundreds of blog posts, newspaper articles, tweets and YouTube videos have said things such as the film is 'a fantasy about race told from the point of view of white people' and that it reinforces 'the white Messiah fable'."
The film's writer and director, James Cameron, says the real theme is about respecting others' differences.
AND THE FAN WHO WANTS TO TAKE HIS ENTHUSIASM A STEP FURTHER ...
Hello all. Would anyone of you be interested in forming an actual Na'vi Tribe?
I would like for it to actually be a physical organisation with live people, and a Tribal Council. For it to start, you have to be physically located in the Gulf Coast region of the United States.
You will need to be in Pensacola, Florida to become a citizen of the tribe. Here is the detail: You must remember that we are trying to set up an actual tribe. This is not an Avatar Fan Club (even though you can start one after our tribe is established)!
The goal of the tribe is to form a new ethnicity that anyone can be a part of, irrespective of politics, corruption and other issues. It is not a role playing group.
After all, the many Native American tribes and even countries such as Kosovo had to start somewhere.
Adding to the racial dynamic is that the main Na'vi characters are played by actors of colour, led by a Dominican, Zoe Saldana, as the princess.
The film also is an obvious metaphor for how European settlers in America wiped out the Indians.
David Brooks, a columnist writing in the New York Times said: 'Avatar is a racial fantasy par excellence ... It rests on the stereotype that white people are rationalist and technocratic while colonial victims are spiritual and athletic.
'It rests on the assumption that non-white need the White Messiah to lead their crusades.
'It rests on the assumption that illiteracy is a path to grace.'
Robinne Lee, an actress in such recent films as 'Seven Pounds' said that 'Avatar' was 'beautiful' and that she understood the economic logic of casting a white lead if most of the audience is white.
But she said the film, which so far has the second-highest worldwide box-office gross ever, still reminded her of Hollywood's Pocahontas story - 'the Indian woman leads the white man into the wilderness, and he learns the way of the people and becomes the saviour'.
'It's really upsetting in many ways,' said Ms Lee, who is black with Jamaican and Chinese ancestry. 'It would be nice if we could save ourselves.'
Although the "Avatar" debate springs from Hollywood's historical difficulties with race, Will Smith recently saved the planet in I Am Legend," and Denzel Washington appears ready to do the same in the forthcoming Book of Eli.
'Can't people just enjoy movies any more?' a person named Michelle posted on the website for Essence, the magazine for black women.
Black film professor and author Donald Bogle said he can understand why people would be troubled by 'Avatar', but stopped short of calling the movie racist.
'It's a film with still a certain kind of distortion,' he said.
'It's a movie that hasn't yet freed itself of old Hollywood traditions, old formulas.'
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Michael Jackson WAS murdered: Death certificate amended by coroner after police investigation
Michael Jackson’s death has been officially ruled as murder, it was revealed today.
The cause of death on the 50-year-old’s death certificate has been amended to 'homicide' after months of speculation.
According to the document the King of Pop died from ‘acute Propofol intoxication’ due to an ‘intravenous injection from another’.
On the original certificate issued on July 7 deputy coroner Cheryl MacWillie refused to give a cause of death.
However after further investigations, the certificate was amended and re-released in August by medical examiner Christopher Thomas. It now states the cause of death on 25th June 2009 as 'homicide'.
A source said that the Jackson family are 'keeping faith with the police', adding: 'We still feel that there is more than one person responsible for Michael's tragic death.
'Joe won't give up on getting justice for his son and a lawuit is his focus.'
The news comes after it emerged that the singer’s doctor Conrad Murray is expected to be charged with manslaughter.
Dr Murray could be prosecuted for 'gross negligence' for his treatment of the pop star during his last hours, police sources said.
Murray, a cardiologist, was with the star at his rented Los Angeles mansion in June and tried to revive him when he was found unconscious.
Murray already has a Houston law firm building his defence. Police affidavits say he admitted loading up Jackson with Propofol and other drugs in the hours before his death.
Miranda Sevcik, a spokeswoman in Houston for Murray and his lawyer, Edward Chernoff, said Friday the doctor had no comment and reiterated that Murray neither prescribed nor administered anything that should have killed Michael Jackson.
Jackson died while under Murray's care as the singer prepared for an ambitious concert schedule.
The district attorney's office is waiting for Los Angeles police to turn over the case before presenting it to a grand jury, the law enforcement source said.
A spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, however, denied that any decisions have been made.
'We have been working closely with the Los Angeles police during the pendency of this investigation,' spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said.
'There is no case before us at present and no final decision has been made.'
To prove a charge of involuntary manslaughter, authorities must show there was a reckless action that created a risk of death or great bodily injury.
If a doctor is aware of the risk, there might also be an issue of whether the patient knows that risk and decided to take it.
A large number of witnesses have been interviewed by police, including those who were present during Jackson's last days and those who worked with him in preparation for his comeback concert, 'This Is It'.
Authorities have also lined up medical expert witnesses who will testify about the normal standard of care in a situation such as Jackson's and will give opinions on why Murray's actions constituted gross negligence, the source said.
The police investigation was substantially completed by the end of December, the source said.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Katie Price faces tough custody battle with Peter Andre after exposing her children to drunk and rowdy guests at her New Year's Eve party
Katie Price really is her own worst enemy sometimes.
If her current and ex-boyfriend brawling at her New Year's Eve party wasn't bad enough, she now faces a even more fraught custody battle over her children.
Her ex-husband Peter Andre, with whom she has daughter Princess Tiaamii, two, and four-year-old son Junior, is reportedly furious that they were present at the drunken and violent bash.
The singer has allegedly threatened to consult his lawyers after pictures emerged of the young siblings looking tired and confused at the party at 31-year-old Katie's Surrey mansion.
The snaps showing the children have not been published by any news outlet in order to protect them.
The photographs were posted by some of her guests on their Facebook pages even though Katie made everyone sign a confidentiality agreement not to, as her TV show had the exclusive.
Andre, 36, was already livid over the reports that Reid, 34, and former pop star Dane Bowers got into a fight, which, it has now been reported, was allegedly fuelled over Bowers objecting to the way the children were treated.
Bowers, 30, apparently launched a verbal attack on Katie and Reid, shouting: 'Why are you letting the kids be up well past midnight?'
And as the fight broke out, Tiaamii and Junior were reportedly sleeping nearby.
Andre is also angry after Katie refused to let him take their two children to Australia to see in 2010 with his family.He has now reportedly launched a legal battle against her in an attempt to stop the children being exposed to Kate’s partying lifestyle, and may seek new advice on custody arrangements.
A source said: 'The children are Pete’s top priority. He’s not happy about what’s happened and will do everything he can to protect them.
'Peter is absolutely furious. He can’t believe anybody would go off like that with kids in the house. Little children should not be exposed to this and they shouldn’t even have been there.'They should have been enjoying themselves in Australia with their dad. Peter's heartbroken they aren't with him in Australia. It is hard enough for him missing them without having to hear about the violence.
'What sort of a mum stops her children from going on holiday with their dad and then keeps them at a party? It’s not the sort of place little ones should be.'
But a source close to Kati insisted last night that both children were tucked up in bed by the time the fight took place.
They said: 'It was a family party and there were lots of children there with nannies to look after them.
'Princess and Junior enjoyed themselves and were in bed long before the fight so knew nothing about it.'
Tags:
Paris Hilton models her latest present from boyfriend Doug Reinhardt... the tackiest snow suit on the slopes
She's a notorious shopaholic, but if there's one thing Paris Hilton likes more than hitting the stores, it's getting presents.
The socialite received a suitably chavvy white snow suit as a gift from boyfriend Doug Reinhardt, and it seems she couldn't bear to take it off.
As the couple welcomed in the new year on a skiing break in Aspen, Paris was pictured repeatedly wearing the bling suit complete with furry collar.
She wrote: 'Getting ready to go skiing. D bought me the cutest white ski suit. Snow Bunny Time! :)'
But it wasn't her only Christmas present. Lucky Paris told her fans that she had received diamond jewellery from her TV star boyfriend.
At home opening Christmas presents from my man,' she Tweeted on Christmas Eve. 'SO happy! He really spoiled me this year and gave me so many incredible presents!'It's true diamonds are a girl's best friend.'
Paris even found time to take a break from her holiday with Doug and his family to reply to fans concerns that her white fur hood was real fur.
No, don't worry, it is not real fur. Fake fur can look still look cute and real, but it's just synthetic.'And it wasn't all hard work in the snow.
Paris found the time to relax, Tweeting: 'Finally got back to the hotel. Sitting by the fire drinking a hot chocolate with marshmallows with my favourite person in the world. Loves it.'
Tags:
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Pamela Anderson slips out of her low-cut dress as she toasts New Year
Pamela Anderson looked as if she having a fine old time at a New Year's Eve party and really letting her hair down.
Unfortunately she also let the top of her dress down and revealed a little too much of her cleavage as she gave the countdown to midnight.
The 42-year-old actress, who recently starred in panto in Wimbledon, London, was hosting the Gridlock event at Paramount Studios in Hollywood when the wardrobe malfunction occurred.
She had come on stage for the final minutes of 2009 to count down to midnight.
But as she took to the stage with a man dressed as a dalmatian and another as a demon as well as American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert, she was thinking more about toasting 2010 than her dress.
The controversial singer, who affronted his audience when he kissed his keyboard player and performed sexy moves with men at the American Music Awards, had to step in to help her.
Earlier on in the evening she had been pulling up her white dress to ensure it retained some element of modesty.
The 27-year-old attempted to pull up her top, but Pamela seemed to think he was trying to get a feel, and at first held his hand away.
Despite the faux pas, the actress, who is due to appear in Celebrity Big Brother on Sunday, looked pretty in her white dress even though she wore a sparkling sequin glove on one hand.
She also covered herself in gold body glitter, while Adam Lambert went for glitter around his eyes and told the crowd he had gone for a 'firework' look.
Tags:
'Worst dressed WAG' Yulia Voronin reclaims the limelight in yet another revealing bikini
She is determined to do anything to get the attention of the camera lens.
And if that means flaunting her curves in yet another bikini on Miami Beach, then WAG Yulia Voronin will do just that.
Yulia, and her Liverpool player husband Andriy, have been relaxing in Florida over the last week, with Yulia showing off a number of somewhat garish swimsuits.
And yesterday was no exception, as she started the New Year seeking out the paparazzi in a bright green two-piece.
On New Year's Eve, she had some stiff swimwear competition from fellow WAG, Christian Vieri's girlfriend Melissa Satta.
While Yulia opted for a more traditional string bikini, Italian model Melissa gave fellow beachgoers an eyeful with her magenta thong bikini.
While Yulia was in the company of her Liverpool player husband Andriy Voronin, Melissa was soaking up the sun with a large group of Italians, including long-term love Christian.
Despite Miami experiencing 27C temperatures on the last day of the year, many sunworshippers stayed out of the unusually chilly water.
But Yulia, 25, decided to brave the cold sea and ventured in for a quick dip, before deciding it was too freezing and ran into the waiting arms of husband Andriy, 30, who had been practising his ball skills on the beach.
However, 23-year-old Melissa decided to stay out of the water and was spotted strolling up and down the beach talking to a female friend.
Over the past few days in Miami, Yulia has been enjoying the attention of the paparazzi in a skimpy red bikini and bright pink velour shorts and t-shirt.
Meanwhile, her boyfriend Vieri, 36, was showing off a slight paunch as he relaxed on the beach in a pair of black swimming trunks.
Vieri retired from football last October after leaving his contract with Italian club Atalanta.
Yulia and her husband have become renowned for their outrageous fashion sense since they moved to the UK in 2007.
The mother-of-two was dubbed 'worst dressed WAG' in 2008 when she stepped out wearing a leopard-print velour tracksuit with PVC stiletto heels, while her husband wore a shiny shellsuit.
She angrily hit back at her critics, pointing out the tracksuit in question was from Dolce & Gabbana and cost £1,000.
She said: 'The British press criticised me for a bad taste in clothes. It's just laughable.
'The Brits are horrendously conservative. Of all the colours, they like only black and grey.'And I was wearing bright and tight clothes, walking in high heels - and evidently looked more colourful than them.
'We would never be so rude in Ukraine. Leopard-print is not old-fashioned there, it's a classic look.'
Meanwhile, Melissa is more famous in her native Italy for wearing very little clothes.
The US-born brunette is popular pin-up and played a dancing showgirl on satirical Italian TV show Striscia La Notizia (The News Slithers).
She has previously dated AC Milan striker Marco Borriello and Italian model/actor Daniele Interrante before meeting Vieri in 2006.
Posts
