Pink is the New Blog | Everybody's Business Is My Business » Alicia Keys

The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards Are Handed Out

It's Trent, Bitch! — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:22:17 +0000

As we are all pretty much aware by now, the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards were handed out at Radio City Music Hall here in NYC last night in a ceremony that was mired in controversy but also featured heartfelt tributes to the late Michael Jackson as well as a few spectacular performances and on stage appearances. Here are a few photos from the red carpet arrivals last night:

But for a few exceptions, most everyone looked amazing on the red carpet. I loved all the shiny bling that some folks were wearing … particularly Kristin Cavallari who wore a simple vintage dress and looked absolutely amazing in it. The show itself was really fun .. the opening tribute performance to MJ was really very cool and except for Kanye West’s douchey behavior, the show was very entertaining. Here are a few pics from the show and some deets about what went down:

Planned and random acts of kindness reigned at the MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday night. Among the planned acts: Janet Jackson’s opening tribute to her brother Michael, whose death at age 50 on June 25 rocked the music world. The production began with Madonna recalling her encounter with Michael and reminding the audience that “Michael Jackson was a hero.” And while “he seemed otherworldly,” she added, “he was also a human being.” And then, the performance began. Dancers crept up on stage with original Thriller video airing in the background. The dancers’ moves duplicated the ones being performed on the video. Then a sequence of Michael’s hits played. Bad and Smooth Criminal led to Scream, his duet with Janet, who broke through glass to make her way onstage and sing along with the video. The loud, almost angry performance had the audience on its feet. After the tribute, Madonna said backstage that “it was good to finally get to say my piece.” And then near the end of the show, in a gracious act of kindness, video-of-the-year winner Beyoncé offered young country music star Taylor Swift a second chance to say her piece with an acceptance speech. The moment came after Kanye West took everyone by surprise early in the show when he went onstage to interrupt Swift’s acceptance speech for best female video for You Belong With Me … The teen country star returned for her live performance of You Belong With Me later in the show. Celebrities reacted backstage. Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong said, “Well, you know, she’s young, I think she’ll get over it. I think he needs to get it over it also. It was very uncomfortable sitting there.” “I feel bad for Taylor,” said Kristin Cavallari. “I think it was really disrespectful” … Other music-related news items had guests talking at the awards show, too. American Idol’s Kara DioGuardi was asked about her new colleague at the judges’ table, Ellen DeGeneres. “I feel fantastic. I feel ecstatic. I can’t wait for January, when we can all be on the panel.” DioGuardi added that she has been in touch with former judge Paula Abdul. “I’ve spoken to her, and she seems to be doing really well, and that’s what matters.” Abdul is set to play host at the VH1 Divas special on MTV’s sister network on Thursday night (9 ET/PT). Faye Dunaway had two divas she was looking forward to seeing on Sunday at the VMAs. “Lady Gaga and Beyoncé. How could you not love Beyoncé?” Dunaway asked. Ne-Yo echoed Dunaway’s sentiment. When asked who he was rooting for, he replied, “Besides myself?” and then added, “I’m here to see Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Pink, everyone. I’m here just to enjoy the electricity.” And the atmosphere was electric, with returning host Russell Brand doling out his brash brand of humor. Among the stars: Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, Eminem, Jermaine Jackson, Katy Perry, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner.

For me, the live performances were the highlight of the entire night. After the jump, check out a few photos from the press room and watch a couple of my fave performances from the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards …

As usual, Beyoncé put on a killer performance … here is video of her performance of Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) which took home the biggest award of the night — Video of the Year:

But as great as Beyoncé’s performance was, I think I have to say that P!nk’s performance of Sober was the best of the night. Her ability to sing live and still do feats of high wire acrobatics was really impressive … check it out:

A shout out also goes to our dear Britney Spears who won the VMA for Best Pop Video!! Altho she couldn’t be in NYC to collect her award, she did pretend to be performing in concert elsewhere but gave her thanks anyways (a check of her tour schedule reveals that she did NOT have a concert performance last night even tho she said she did when accepting her award via video) — LOL! Oh, Britney. All in all, I had a great time at the VMAs last night … I’ll have personal photos to share a little later on.

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source, Source]

‘Glamour’ Magazine Salutes Female American Icons

It's Trent, Bitch! — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:48:37 +0000

American icons like pilot Amelia Earhart, athlete Brandi Chastain, First Lady Michelle Obama and the inspirational symbol of female empowerment Rosie the Riveter (who was based on a real woman named Rose Will Monroe) are honored in the new issue of Glamour magazine which has enlisted a group of young Hollywood starlet to portray various female American icons in an amazing new photo shoot. Here is a photo of Lindsay Lohan’s homage to Madonna:

You can do anything! That’s the message of the seven decades of female risk takers, rule breakers and style makers here. We celebrate them with the help of some very-2009 young talents.

What a great idea for a magazine photospread! I love how each iconic woman is represented by a younger member of Young Hollywood to portray her. After the jump, check out a bunch of my fave icons who are featured in this new issue of Glamour along with a short explanation of their iconicness …

Alexis Bledel as Rosie the Riveter

In 1942 the U.S. government commissioned the “We Can Do It!” poster, which featured an image of a character who became known as Rosie the Riveter. Her biceps-revealing shirtsleeves and determined look were meant to motivate American women to step out of the kitchen and into the factory to replace the men who had been pressed into service during World War II. And millions did just that, paving the way for us to pull down paychecks more than 60 years later. “She’s a symbol of women getting things done. It shows that strength is beautiful.”—Alexis Bledel, 27, of this summer’s comedy Post Grad

Alicia Keys as First Lady Michelle Obama

Not only is Obama the first African American filling the position, but she’s already making best-dressed headlines for a style that ranges from couture to J.Crew. Raised in Chicago, Obama, 45, powered on to Princeton and Harvard Law School before beginning a career during which she met, mentored and married our current President. Hail to our newest smart, opinionated, chic First Lady! “She has worked hard for everything she’s accomplished, and done so with grace and humility. So many women and girls can identify with her story.”—Alicia Keys, 28, whose most recent album is As I Am

America Ferrera as Dolores Huerta

A fierce advocate for migrant farmers, Huerta cofounded, with César Chávez, what became the United Farm Workers of America. In 1975 she played a critical role in enacting policies that allowed workers to bargain for better wages and conditions. Today, at age 79, Huerta continues to be active—last year she campaigned for Hillary Clinton’s presidential run. “She saw her own opinion and voice as [something as] powerful as any man’s.”—America Ferrera, 25, of ABC’s Ugly Betty, holding a sign that reads “strike” in Spanish

Hayden Panettiere as Amelia Earhart

In 1932 Earhart—with her leather jacket, scarf and close-cropped hair—became the first female aviator to fly a solo transatlantic flight, redefining expectations of women along the way. Though the 39-year-old disappeared in 1937 during a flight around the world, she still serves as a reminder of female fearlessness. “She proved that anything is possible. If you want to fly a plane, fly a plane…. No one can tell you no.” —Hayden Panettiere, 19, costar of this summer’s comedy I Love You, Beth Cooper, standing on a 1939 Lockheed UC-40A Electra Junior airplane

Elisha Cuthbert as Brandi Chastain

Amazing moment in sports history #1: Chastain, then 31, scores the game-winning penalty kick against China in the first-ever women’s World Cup soccer final, in 1999. Amazing moment #2: Chastain dives to her knees and tears off her jersey in celebration. Newspapers debated whether to run the photo, and commentators were shocked that she exposed her—gasp!—sports bra. But they missed the point: This was a moment when women let out a collective roar of approval and little girls discovered a new hero. “Brandi proves that we should have no excuses as women to go out there and be the best that we can be.”—Elisha Cuthbert, 26, of FOX’s 24

Lindsay Lohan as Madonna

In 1984 Madonna told American Bandstand host Dick Clark that her dream was to “rule the world.” Months later she was on her way—her album Like a Virgin skyrocketed to number one on the Billboard charts. She’s been a pop-culture powerhouse ever since, and last year, Sticky & Sweet was the highest-grossing tour by a solo artist ever. “When I was little, every day after school I would come home and put in her The Immaculate Collection disc and karaoke to it around the whole house.”—Lindsay Lohan, 22, of the upcoming film Labor Pains, re-creating Madonna’s 1984 MTV Video Music Awards performance of “Like a Virgin”

I absolutely love these photos! Again, such a great idea for Glamour to feature this tribute to American icons. While I have MAD LOVE for the fictional character of Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City, I’m not sure I would list her with some of these other amazing and truly iconic women but Emma Stone portrays her in this issue of Glamour mag. Click HERE to see the full collection of tribute photos. Which one is your fave?

[Source]

The 2008 BET Awards Are Handed Out

It's Trent, Bitch! — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:43:56 +0000

BET took over the Shrine Auditorium in LA last night to throw their biggest party of the year … The BET Awards. Covering a range of categories — from music to athletics to comedy to acting — the BET Awards honors the folks who gave us the best performances over the last year … you know, just like pretty much everyone else (from MTV to TV Land) does. Here are a few pics of some of the lovely ladies who made their way down the red carpet last night:

For the most part, all of the ladies who showed up for the BET Awards were lookin’ pretty hot … only Lil’ Kim looked a little peeved at something. She was throwin’ dagger with her eyes all over the place … dunno what her deal was. Nonetheless, there was a whole lotta pretty on the red carpet. Only the guys wore the ridiculous outfits (Chris Brown shopping with Michael Jackson? T-Pain shopping with a blind assistant?). But the BET Awards aren’t only about the fashions … they also had a few awards to hand out to some deserving folks …

Here are a few pics of some of the winners and live performances from last night’s show:

Kanye West, Chris Brown and Alicia Keys were big winners at Tuesday’s Black Entertainment Television Awards in Los Angeles. Kanye West, Chris Brown and Alicia Keys were big winners at Tuesday’s Black Entertainment Television Awards in Los Angeles. West came out a double winner, snagging awards for both Best Male Hip Hop Artist and Best Collaboration for his single “Good Life,” sharing the award with rapper-producer T-Pain. West brought Lil’ Wayne onstage when he accepted the for Best Male Hip Hop Artist, praising the fellow rapper for being his biggest competition. Lil’ Wayne, who sold one million copies of his recent album in its first week, returned the favor when he picked up the Viewers’ Choice Award for “Lollipop.” Brown took home the Best Male R&B Artist award at the star-studded event, hosted by DL Hughley, which boasted an opening performance of “Love In This Club” by Usher. Brown enlisted the help of Ciara for his “Take You Down” performance, while the crooner’s girlfriend Rihanna entertained the audience with her ballad “Take a Bow” … ill Scott, Anthony Hamilton and Maxwell paid a musical tribute to Al Green who received the Legendary Lifetime Award. Actress Queen Latifah presented Quincy Jones with the Humanitarian Award.

The performances were hot — I loved the Ciara and Chris Brown collabo (Ciara is actually one of my fave performers, she doesn’t get nearly as much love as she should). Quincy Jones is seriously the man … he is truly a legend and it’s wonderful that his humanitarian efforts were acknowledged by the folks at BET:

Queen Latifah introduced Humanitarian Award recipient Quincy Jones, calling him “an international artist, an innovator … and a leader.” “He showed us black entertainment is more than just a hustle,” she said. “It’s more than just selling albums. It’s about inspiration.” Jones said growing up on the south side of Chicago during the depression moved him to give back to people in need. “My piece of bread only belongs to me if everybody has a piece to eat,” he said. Receiving the award “is one of the very treasured moments of my life,” Jones said, “and I always hope to live up to this honor.”

Jennifer Hudson, who was in attendance last night, did not perform during the show but she did debut her new music video (her first) for her single Spotlight from her debut self-titled album which is due out in September … check it out:

And lastly, altho Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive presidential nominee for the Democratic Party, was not in the hiz at last night’s awards show, he was deffo the talk of pretty much everyone in attendance, as you may well imagine:

“If we all register and vote, we will have the first black president in the history of America,” Sean “Diddy” Combs told the crowd Tuesday at the Shrine Auditorium before chanting “Obama or Die” — a declarative remix of his neutral “Vote or Die” motto from the 2004 presidential election, when he attempted to boost the youth vote. Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, was just a few blocks away at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for a fundraiser with a Hollywood guest list that included supermodels Heidi Klum and Cindy Crawford, boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard and movie stars Samuel L. Jackson and John Malkovich. While Obama didn’t make an appearance at the BET Awards — either live or on tape — his presence was felt. As she picked up her award for best female R&B artist, Alicia Keys told the crowd that it’s time for black people to erase the word “can’t” from their vocabulary. “Together we can do anything,” she said, playing on the Democrat’s “Yes We Can” mantra before shouting: “Obama y’all!” The presumptive Republican presidential nominee, John McCain, failed to merit a shoutout by any of the BET presenters or performers.

LOL! No love for McCain at the BET Awards? I’m shocked. Hahahahaha! But anyways, the 2008 BET Awards went off without a hitch … and should tide us over until the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, which will take place in Los Angeles, CA, go down on September 7. Click HERE for a full list of 2008 BET Award winners.

[Photo credit: Splash News, Wireimage; Source, Source, Source]