andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

Not much has been spilled regarding Lady Gagas much-anticipated appearance on the show, Gossip Girl.

According to perezhilton.com, the cast has only confirmed that she will be appearing and eluded that it will be something pretty spectacular. Lady Gaga, on the other hand, has revealed actual details about the upcoming appearance.

Gaga explained hat if she was going to do the show, she not settling for a randomly inserted musical performance.

“I hate TV series performances, because they kind of come in out of nowhere, and everyone’s, like, really into the story, and then all of a sudden somebody breaks into song. And it has nothing to do with the storyline, and then it screws everything up. I really sat down with the writers. I was like, ‘Look, I want to do this, and the reason I want to do this is because I am trying to say something that is not mainstream in a mainstream capacity. So, if I can say it on your show, that would be, like, a real coup d’état for me as a performance artist.’ ”

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The cast of Gossip Girl spent the summer on extravagant vacations (in both TV-land and reality), but it seems the rest of the world isn’t too interested in their homecoming.

Thursday’s premiere finished with a 36 per cent decrease in viewers, compared to the 2008 premiere. It’s a shocking drop for a show whose cast spent their time off in the spotlight, generating a real-time version of gossip.

Leighton Meester made the music press recording a single with Cobra Starship and launching her personal MySpace with plans for a debut solo album.

Chace Crawford was voted this summer’s hottest bachelor by People Magazine, beating out the smouldering Robert Pattinson and, unexpectedly, Dwayne Johnson (better known as The Rock).

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“Lizzie McGuire” star Hillary Duff is set to join the cast of “Gossip Girl” for a multi-episode arc, according to EW.com.

According to reports, Duff will play Olivia Burk, a movie star enrolled in New York University to get the college experience. She ends up rooming with Vanessa (played by Jessica Szohr) at NYU, the same University attended by characters Blair (Leighton Meester) and Dan (Penn Badgley).

In December, Duff said to E! News she’d become a fan of the show, adding that her favourite character was Chuck Bass. “I don’t know why, because he’s so bad and terrible,” she said. “He is so sad that I feel bad for him,” she admitted.

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It’s no secret the Gossip Girls have it all, on and off screen, but I never imagined there would be the time or talent to squeeze in a music career. Turns out I am sorely mistaken.

Leighton Meester, famously known as the beautiful and bitchy Blair Waldorf of CW’s Gossip Girl, is launching her solo music career and made her first stop a guest appearance on Cobra Starship’s “Good Girls Go Bad”.

Now, I have a very hard time buying into the actor-goes-serious-musician career move considering the track record of oh, say, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Scarlett Johanssen, Lindsey Lohan, ad infinitum. And if all logic prevails, Meester will fare no better. I had my doubts that she would ever become anything more than just a Gossip Girl once the series dried up. But then she appeared on the cover of both Nylon Magazine and Cosmo in quick succession and all of the sudden she was everywhere.

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Leighton Meester is headed for the big screen as the roommate from hell.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Meester, a.k.a. Blair Waldorf on the hit CW show “Gossip Girl,” is in talks to star in the thriller “The Roommate.”

The movie from Sony Screen Gems revolves around Sara, a college student who moves into a freshman dorm with a stranger named Rebecca. Unfortunately for Sara, her new roomie becomes obsessed with her, with deadly results.

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It’s developed a massive fan base over the past two seasons, so it’s no surprise that the CW may decide to develop a Gossip Girl spin-off, according to E News.

The network’s entertainment president, Dawn Ostroff, told the Hollywood Reporter that there’s “nothing really tangible yet, but we’re talking about it. If it’s the right idea, we’d all embrace it and be enthusiastic.”

Given that at least five of the characters—Blair (Leighton Meester), Serena (Blake Lively), Dan (Penn Badgley), Chuck (Ed Westwick) and Nate (Chace Crawford)—are scheduled to graduate high school at the end of the season, at least one departure from the hit show should not be shocking.

Chace Crawford claims he feels “a weight” on his conscience for the scintillating scenes he films for “Gossip Girl.”

“I come from a moral background, and I can see the power of the show, and imagine my old school-teachers cringing, or my grandparents thinking ‘Oh my God’ when they see me, say, having sex on a barstool,” he told The Independent.

However, Crawford was quick to defend the show, saying that the younger viewers should get more credit.

“They’re not stupid, and it’s not like we’re making an instruction manual telling them how to drink and do drugs, or have sex. We’re just laying out how it is… you have to remember, this is not a reality show. It’s supposed to be pure entertainment.”

The CW is currently promoting “Gossip Girl” with steamy photos of the characters all over each other.

Teens know what they want, and what they want is “Gossip Girl” and the Jonas Brothers.

The pop culture sensations each garnered six surfboard trophies on Sunday at the 10th annual Teen Choice Awards.

“Gossip” stars Blake Lively, Chace Crawford and Ed Westick each took home their own awards, for Best Breakout Actress, Actor and Villain, respectively. Lively was also named the best TV Drama Actress.

The Jonas Brothers got an obscene amount of love from the crowd, picking up the titles of “choice breakout group, love song, music single, song of the summer, male red carpet fashion icons and male hotties,” CBC News reports.

Miley Cyrus, who reportedly once dated one the Jonas bros, picked up three awards herself, despite the fact that she was hosting. She won for best TV comedy, best TV comedy actress and best female artist.

Canadian cutie Ellen Page picked up the awards for choice breakout movie female and choice movie actress in a comedy for her performance in “Juno,” which also won for best film comedy.

The “Gossip” just got a lot juicier.

According to the New York Daily News, “Gossip Girl” romantic leads Penn Badgley and Blake Lively are a real-life couple.

The pair have dodged these rumours before, as Lively was in a long-term relationship with model/actor Kelly Blatz.

However, the newspaper stands behind their source, who reported, “No one is really supposed to know that [Badgley and Lively are dating]. I was told by a friend of the family.”

This television season?s biggest mystery: Who is Gossip Girl?

Savvy fans will recognize Veronica Mars herself, Kristen Bell, as the all-knowing voice behind Gossip Girl?s biting narration. Based on the best-selling series by Cecily von Ziegesar, the identity of Gossip Girl is never revealed, while she spills all the secrets of the most popular students at a posh Manhattan prep school on her web site.

Helmed by the acclaimed creators of The O.C., Josh Schwartz and Canadian Stephanie Savage, Gossip Girl promises to be every bit as fresh and juicy as viewers came to expect from The O.C., with some Sex and the City flair and a hip soundtrack.

But Gossip Girl?s drama is on a whole new level than the Cohen family ever dealt with. The pilot, airing at 8 p.m. ET tonight, focuses on the sudden return of Serena Van der Woodsen (Blake Lively, Accepted), whose self-imposed exile to boarding school was at the centre of a falling out with her best friend, Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester, Entourage). While Blair has enjoyed her time as reigning social queen, Serena?s arrival threatens to take away her spotlight – and the affections of her boyfriend, Nate (Chace Crawford, The Covenant).

One person who is pleased to see Serena is Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley, The Bedford Diaries), an outcast at school because of his middle-class background who only has eyes for her. His freshman sister, Jenny (Taylor Momsen, How the Grinch Stole Christmas), is desperate to be accepted and is thrilled by the attentions of bad boy Chuck Bass (Ed Westick, Children of Men).

And of course, every last scandalous detail is provided to the members of this elite and vicious circle via Gossip Girl?s up-to-the-minute messages to their Sidekicks.

You know you love it.

Gossip Girl will settle into its regular timeslot next Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET.