Victoria Abraham defines one up and coming artist each week so you can impress your friends with your musical brilliance. This week, she tackles Fiona Apple, a lovely singer from New York.
Okay, so technically Fiona Apple isn’t a new artist. She is an artist who blew up on the scene in the mid 90s and early 2000s and then disappeared. But her comeback has been so memorable and massive that I must feature her in this week’s column. Plus her new album has the best title ever: The Idler Wheel is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do.
Origins: Manhattan, New York
Full name: Fiona Apple McAfee Maggart
Known for: Fiona is known for her trademark piano sound and unique contralto voice.
Used in a sentence: Fiona’s lyrics express raw emotion so deeply, they can make even a rock feel something.
File next to: Florence and the Machine, Billie Holiday
Download now: “Every Single Night”
Five fun facts:
1. Fiona got her start in music when she gave her demo tape to a friend who babysat for music publicist Kathryn Schenker, who then passed it on to Sony Music.
2. Her debut album was certified three times platinum.
Lindsay Lohan visited Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night and displayed her poor Pictionary skills. The comeback queen randomly selected pole vaulting but didn’t know exactly what that sport is. Then she went into full panic mode when her partner failed to guess her doodle, which consisted of a long pole and box.
Lohan also reminisced with Fallon about her appearance in the very first Debbie Downer sketch. Fallon has a reputation for laughing during sketches, which often rubs off on his cast mates. Apparently the SNL team could stop laughing at Debbie, especially during her last line “It’s official, I can’t have children,” so they started stuffing waffles in their mouth to prevent outright giggles.
Watch it below:
Pictionary
Debbie Downer
As we know, actress Lindsay Lohan is well into her comeback crusade. She’s faced her share of troubles over the years, so you’d think The Today Show’s Matt Lauer would have a lot to ask her about her jail stints, probation and drug use. Instead, he went straight for the kill and asked Lindsay what she thought about America’s relationship with Pakistan.
Conan O’Brien just couldn’t get over how strange the interview question was. This parody by Team Coco shows what life would be like if Matt Lauer actually asked the gritty questions… instead of questions about condoms like he did with Zac Efron earlier today.
Chris Brown showed off his impressive footwork at last night’s Grammys but his presence left others feeling queasy. His controversial return to the Grammys comes about three years after he assaulted ex-girlfriend Rihanna, a night before he was scheduled to appear at the 51st Grammy Awards. Although the performance was seen as his “comeback” it was also seen as some type of screw you to any women who has experienced domestic violence.
However, some Tweeters released a slew of upsetting posts. If Brown’s performance didn’t upset you, these posts will probably do the job. They’re only a few of the countless tweets.
Demi Lovato is officially back on top, after suffering from a meltdown last year. Her newest tour sold out within minutes.
The last time Demi performed on stage was with the Jonas Brothers in South America in last year. The three upcoming shows sold out tickets within 15 minutes,
She took to Twitter to thank fans, writing, “Wow. Thank You Guys!!!!!! I have the best fans ever ever Ever!”
Remember Milli Vanilli? Well if you are over the age of 25 you probably do. For those of you not old enough to rent a car, Milli Vanilli was a pop act in the late 80′s that turned out to be a fraud, after it was revealed the voices on Milli Vanilli tracks were not their voices.
However Vanilli might be making a comeback with Eminem’s DJ, named The Alchemist. The DJ told TMZ, “I’m working on a joint with Vanilli … Vanilli making a comeback.”
Now this is an unusual union, but was more surprising is Vanilli will be using his actual voice on the tracks! Yes we will finally hear what Vanilli sounds like. Wow, I don’t think anybody really cares anymore what Vanilli sounds like, but the truth of his singing talents will finally be revealed. A little late, but better late than never.
Below is a flashback to one of Milli Vanilli’s big “hits.”
It appears that ‘American Idol’ judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez have succeeded the most out of the singing show, reports Canoe Jam.
Yep, that’s right. Although Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina have both begun their budding careers, it seems as though the two judges have had the ultimate career revival.
While McCreery and Alaina’s singles have both failed to debut in the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Tyler and Lopez have seen a respectable spike in their cool-factor.
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Let’s take a look back. Before ‘Idol,’ Lopez had parted ways with her longtime label Epic Records and hadn’t had a Top 10 hit since 2003. Tyler had spent a good portion of the previous decade in and out of rehab and feuding with his bandmates, who hadn’t put out a CD since 2004.
Now, because of ‘Idol,’ Lopez debuted her ‘On the Floor’ video and performed it live on the show, which lead to a club smash on the top of the charts.
Tyler used his fame for different leverages, though, using the Idol platform to debut the first solo single of his career as well as selling his new memoir, ‘Does The Noise in My Head Bother You?,’ which became a New York Times best seller.
This was definitely a smart career move on their part. It seems as though today’s reality shows are more about reviving the judges’ careers than the hopefuls on the show (The Voice = Christina Aguilera, X-Factor = Paula Abdul, notice a trend?)
Finally, something new from Lindsay Lohan!
Lindsay Lohan has been confirmed for the role of Kim, the wife of John Gotti Jr., in the upcoming film Gotti: Three Generations, based on mob boss John Gotti’s family, reports Perez Hilton.
“I’m really excited to be back on set and clear up all the misinterpretations about me and show this is what I love to do,” dished Lohan to the Associated Press, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “I think it’s such an iconic story. I think it’s a great story to be told. I’m honored to be working with John Travolta and Joe Pesci. [In mob films] You don’t get to see the heart behind the story and the real side of people. I can relate to that because I think that I’ve been portrayed in a certain light. I just want to do my best to show what their family really went through. I think in the past, I had a lot of distraction. I’ve learned a lot. I’ve lived a lot. When I’m on set, it’s about the film.”
Congrats, Lindsay! We think this role can be really good for you, and it sounds like you have the right mind set going in!
Marc Fiore, the movie’s producer, spoke up on casting Lohan for the role, saying, “We’re very pleased to have Lindsay on-board for both of these films. She has been very enthusiastic about the Gotti project, and after resuming discussions with her, we were impressed by her commitment to the film and felt she would be the perfect Kim Gotti.”
Lohan also revealed her excitement about filming the movie in New York. “The energy of filming there — it just brings so much more life to the film,” she said.
It really seems like Lindsay finally has a chance to turn her life around, we really hope it works out for her! What are your thoughts on Lindsay being cast? Do you think this could be a turning point in salvaging her acting career?
Did you miss “Grease” the first time? No problem! A newly restored version of the World’s most successful musical is heading back to the big screen. However there is a catch. You need to demand it comes to your city. Visit the link below to demand “Grease” to come to your city.
Spencer Pratt has made it very vocal that he is not happy Lauren Conrad maybe making a comeback on “The Hills.”
Rumors have been spreading that Conrad could appear in the last 12 episodes of the series. Spencer takes extra offense to this possible development as he has been banned from the show.
To express his anger, Pratt took to his Twitter account, leaving some unfavorable comments about Conrad. “Is it true that you want back to the hills. Nobody cared about you the first round or second. What about your boyfriend u pay?”
He continued with a total of 14 tweets. Some of the highlights include “Just make sure you pack no bikinis for your trip back on the hills. Still sick from photos I saw of u in a gutter 3 years ago.”
Conrad has yet to respond to these comments, which is probably in her best interest. Pratt is either the dumbest guy on Earth or is being paid by MTV to start trouble as a publicity stunt. Let’s hope he’s not that dumb and its the latter.
Conan O’Brien fans rejoice – Conan is coming back. Conan has announced a 30 city comedy tour, but be forewarned, it’s “half-ass.”
Although it’s not clear on what type of material the show will include, Conan says expect a “night of music, comedy, hugging and the occasional awkward silence.”
