The film about Pulp
Paris Hilton in a Barbie world
Paris Hilton may have slipped under the radar for a while, but a rare interview with London’s Daily Telegraph has proved she’s still very much alive and little changed.
The 33-year-old socialite turned DJ is living the “Barbie American dream”, surrounded by a collage of self-portraits on every wall and printed on every cushion in her Beverly Hills mansion.
Here are nine deliciously tacky highlights of her latest chat about her life.
SHE’S GENUINE, LIKE, CHILL
She lives in a mansion with a private nightclub, describes herself as the “closest thing to American royalty” and has an entire room of Jimmy Choos. But Paris Hilton still thinks she is a normal human.
It’s all just perception, says the self-described Princess Paris. “The princess Barbie (image) is a fun character but in real life I’m very chill and down-to-earth normal,” she says.
HER HOME IS A SHRINE TO HERSELF
Almost every square inch of wall is allegedly covered with pictures of the one and only, shown in every one of her many facets – covered in gold paint, greeting fans, with Elizabeth Taylor.
Prints adorn cushions, a giant image of her made up of thousands of tiny images covers an entire wall, while a portrait overlooks an opulent staircase.
“I like it because it looks very regal,” she says of the snap.
“In movies everyone always has an elegant picture painted of them and I was like, ‘I need one of those’.”
HER DOGS LIVE IN A VILLA
It’s Italian, and it’s in her room, which boasts a black and gold bed and a terrace overlooking her swimming pool.
The dog kennel – if kennel is an appropriate description – is complete with cornicing, a black crystal chandelier and designer furniture.
“Hi baby, I love you,” she coos at one of the pooches which has appeared on its own miniature balcony.
SOMETIMES HER WARDROBE OVERWHELMS HER
Hilton has hundreds, if not thousands of designer dresses, including a custom-made bejewelled mini dress from India that “just blings”.
“It gives me a panic attack sometimes,” Hilton says says with all the choice, as she apparently sinks theatrically into a rail of frocks.
SHE WEEDS THE HUNGRY TIGERS OUT
She used to cry and call her mum every time she read something critical about her. But now she’s honed her skills in identifying who her true friends are.
“So many people have bad intentions, so many girls want to hang out (with me) to be someone,” she crows.
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“I weed those people out of my life. I call them hungry tigers.”
THAT SEX TAPE WASN’T HER FAULT
Hilton still remembers the sex tape that went viral under the title One Night in Paris when she was a teenager.
She describes the tape, filmed by former boyfriend Rick Salomon, as “devastating”.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fully trust any man again after that,” she says.
“It was just the most hurtful and awful thing that anyone could do to a little girl. I was very young, it wasn’t my fault.”
SHE’S A TRUE AQUARIAN. LIKE EINSTEIN.
“Aquarius(es) are social butterflies, humanitarians, geniuses: Einstein was one,” Hilton says.
Whether or not Einstein believed astrology had the power to inextricably link him to the heiress is another matter altogether.
SHE’S AIN’T NO HILTON. JUST PARIS.
She may be the great-granddaughter of the founder of Hilton hotels, but Paris says her success has come entirely through her own means – as a model, actor and professional poser.
She launched a jewellery line and perfume, and even launched herself as an international DJ last year at Ibiza’s Amnesia nightclub and according to her she “killed it”.
She did it all alone, with no financial assistance from her family.
Recently Hilton cemented her individuality by opening her first hotel in the Philippines.
“It’s called Paris, not Hilton, just me,” she says, “because I don’t want people to think it’s my family’s. It’s mine.”
SHE’S BEEN A BUSINESS SUCCESS FOR A REASON
“It’s like a kind of Barbie American dream. I have that childlike quality to a lot of little girls especially (like me). I’ve always been a kid at heart. I think I always will be.”
Unless of course, you are a hungry tiger.
– AAP
The Voice winner saved by public vote
Teenager Anja Nissen can now quit cutting onions for a living after winning The Voice Australia and being offered a record deal by her coach and The Black Eyed Peas star Will.i.am.
Nissen, who was the only solo female artist in Monday night’s grand final, beat Victorian’s Jackson Thomas and Johnny Rollins, who finished second and third respectively.
Thomas was coached by Ricky Martin and Rollins was under the wing of Kylie Minogue.
Duet ZK (Kristal West and Zaachariah Fielding) and arena anthem specialist Frank Lakoudis were equal fourth.
Nissen has been slicing onions at her parent’s vegetable cutting business in country NSW to make ends meet while she tried to forge out a singing career.
Now the 18-year-old need not pick up a knife following her stunning victory which netted her a recording contract with Universal Music, $100,000 prize money and a Ford Eco Sport.
To top it off, her coach Will.i.am offered to sign her to his label.
“She’s awesome,” Will.i.am said.
“We signed Cody (Wise) and he had a number one and I’d like to sign Anja.”
Nissen’s beaming smile lit up the stage as she tried to express her gratitude and excitement of winning against the odds.
Had the rules of the Nine Network reality show not changed this season she would have missed the grand final.
Only the top four made it through to grand final in 2012 and 2013 but last week there was a change in format and the viewers got to pick a fifth act which happened to be Nissen.
“It’s surreal,” she said upon winning.
Minutes before the announcement she said that Will.i.am had taught her to push herself and trust her own ability and judgment.
“He taught me to believe in myself.”
Nissen is the second female act to win The Voice and it’s also the second time Will.i.am has coached an artist to victory this year.
He guided Jermaine Jackman to victory in the UK version of The Voice.
The previous female winner of The Voice in Australia was singer song writer Karise Eden, who won in 2012, while Harrison Craig won last year.
Both of those artists, like Nissen, got all four judges to turn their chairs during the blind auditions.
If Will.i.am has the lucky touch, not much can be said for Joel Madden.
For the third straight season, Madden’s pupil has finished fourth.
He took Sarah De Bono (2012) and Danny Ross (2013) as far as fourth place and that’s all he could steer Lakoudis to as well.
Lakoudis at least could have taken delight in Will.iam’s duet with Wise for the hit song It’s Your Birthday. There was not one, but four Will.i.am’s visible during the performance.
There were three on stage with Wise playing instruments and another Will.i.am was bopping along in the crowd in a film clip that is bound to go viral.
It certainly got fingers twitching on Twitter.
“Everyone thought the Madden twins were cool until will.i.am quintuplets came along,” tweeted Jai Higgs.
Another fan wrote: My head is exploding over the will.i.am performance.”
But Will.i.am’s brilliant pre-recorded film clip also showed that a live final is not always live.
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“How is this live I AM NOW QUESTIONING EVERYTHING I SEE ON LIVE TV,” tweeted Jenna Gui
– AAP
Paris Hilton as blonde as ever
Paris Hilton may have slipped under the radar for a while, but a rare interview with London’s Daily Telegraph has proved she’s still very much alive and as blonde as ever.
The 33-year-old socialite turned DJ is living the “Barbie American dream”, surrounded by a collage of self-portraits on every wall and printed on every cushion in her Beverly Hills mansion.
Here are nine deliciously tacky highlights of her latest chat about her life.
SHE’S GENUINE, LIKE, CHILL
She lives in a mansion with a private nightclub, describes herself as the “closest thing to American royalty” and has an entire room of Jimmy Choos. But Paris Hilton still thinks she is a normal human.
It’s all just perception, says the self-described Princess Paris. “The princess Barbie (image) is a fun character but in real life I’m very chill and down-to-earth normal,” she says.
HER HOME IS A SHRINE TO HERSELF
Almost every square inch of wall is allegedly covered with pictures of the one and only, shown in every one of her many facets – covered in gold paint, greeting fans, with Elizabeth Taylor.
Prints adorn cushions, a giant image of her made up of thousands of tiny images covers an entire wall, while a portrait overlooks an opulent staircase.
“I like it because it looks very regal,” she says of the snap.
“In movies everyone always has an elegant picture painted of them and I was like, ‘I need one of those’.”
HER DOGS LIVE IN A VILLA
It’s Italian, and it’s in her room, which boasts a black and gold bed and a terrace overlooking her swimming pool.
The dog kennel – if kennel is an appropriate description – is complete with cornicing, a black crystal chandelier and designer furniture.
“Hi baby, I love you,” she coos at one of the pooches which has appeared on its own miniature balcony.
SOMETIMES HER WARDROBE OVERWHELMS HER
Hilton has hundreds, if not thousands of designer dresses, including a custom-made bejewelled mini dress from India that “just blings”.
“It gives me a panic attack sometimes,” Hilton says says with all the choice, as she apparently sinks theatrically into a rail of frocks.
SHE WEEDS THE HUNGRY TIGERS OUT
She used to cry and call her mum every time she read something critical about her. But now she’s honed her skills in identifying who her true friends are.
“So many people have bad intentions, so many girls want to hang out (with me) to be someone,” she crows.
Ad Feedback
“I weed those people out of my life. I call them hungry tigers.”
THAT SEX TAPE WASN’T HER FAULT
Hilton still remembers the sex tape that went viral under the title One Night in Paris when she was a teenager.
She describes the tape, filmed by former boyfriend Rick Salomon, as “devastating”.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fully trust any man again after that,” she says.
“It was just the most hurtful and awful thing that anyone could do to a little girl. I was very young, it wasn’t my fault.”
SHE’S A TRUE AQUARIAN. LIKE EINSTEIN.
“Aquarius(es) are social butterflies, humanitarians, geniuses: Einstein was one,” Hilton says.
Whether or not Einstein believed astrology had the power to inextricably link him to the heiress is another matter altogether.
SHE’S AIN’T NO HILTON. JUST PARIS.
She may be the great-granddaughter of the founder of Hilton hotels, but Paris says her success has come entirely through her own means – as a model, actor and professional poser.
She launched a jewellery line and perfume, and even launched herself as an international DJ last year at Ibiza’s Amnesia nightclub and according to her she “killed it”.
She did it all alone, with no financial assistance from her family.
Recently Hilton cemented her individuality by opening her first hotel in the Philippines.
“It’s called Paris, not Hilton, just me,” she says, “because I don’t want people to think it’s my family’s. It’s mine.”
SHE’S BEEN A BUSINESS SUCCESS FOR A REASON
“It’s like a kind of Barbie American dream. I have that childlike quality to a lot of little girls especially (like me). I’ve always been a kid at heart. I think I always will be.”
Unless of course, you are a hungry tiger.
– AAP
Katy Perry’s MH17 Twitter gaffe
Katy Perry has posted a well-intentioned but misleading tweet in an attempt to offer her condolences to the victims of MH17.
“So INCREDIBLY sad to hear that there were 100 volunteers for UNICEF on flight MH17 Sending our prayers to all the families effected [sic],” she wrote to her 54 million followers.
However local Unicef representatives have confirmed no staff or volunteers were on board the flight which claimed the lives of 298 people when it was shot down over the Ukraine on Friday.
Katy Perry’s confusing tweet in support of MH 17 victims.
George Clooney says it’s fun to slap bad guys
George Clooney likes to “knock around” tabloid reporters every now and then.
The Hollywood star earlier this month wrote a scathing op-ed piece for USA Today, taking aim at a British newspaper which had published a report claiming his future mother-in-law was opposed to his marriage to fianc
Window into modern recording
Starring now on a website near you: Britney Spears, raw.
We are not talking about “raw” meaning “in the flesh.” Any of us who cares to has likely already seen plenty of Ms. Spears’ largest bodily organ. And she is showing lots more skin, reports say, during her current Las Vegas musical residency. You don’t compete with Miley Cyrus, Beyonce and Rihanna by layering up in gingham and ribbons.
What’s really raw – and interesting – about Spears is the samizdat recording that’s been released of her singing. You read that correctly: an American pop star, circa 2014, actually singing.
The audio portion of a YouTube video posted anonymously has her warbling Alien, the first track from Britney Jean, the album the fading superstar put out in 2013. What’s unique about this recording, which spent last week being featured on pretty much any website that wanted a traffic boost, is that Spears gets no vocal help from her usual good friend, the pitch-correction software Auto-Tune.
It was surely released “in a spirit of unkindness,” as the song’s producer, William Orbit, said in a statement on Facebook that also, indirectly, vouches for the recording’s authenticity. The vocal track web gawkers hear, Orbit said, is more “warm-up exercise,” a musical place holder, than attempt at a finished track. None of us, he says, should judge what we hear harshly.
Still. Even granting that she was merely in the on-deck circle, these are some pretty weak swings.
Where you can still find the recording – it seems to have been taken down for copyright violation in most places – you’ll hear that her voice is “pitchy” at times, to use a phrase I think I understand after hearing Randy Jackson use it approximately 9700 times on American Idol.
She’s flat-out flat most of the time. When Spears hits the big chorus – what is supposed to be the big chorus – she sounds like a bored Valley Girl on karaoke night who knows she doesn’t need to impress vocally. She’s got other charms.
This all reminds me of one of the great underground artifacts of 1980s pop culture, known to some admirers as The Tape of Only Linda. Passed around on cassette tape, it purported to be a soundboard recording of Linda McCartney’s microphone as she sang backup, very badly, during a concert performance of Hey Jude by her husband, Paul, and his band Wings. Think a person surely couldn’t screw up the song’s “na-na-nas”
Think again. I can’t remember how I got hold of the tape, but I know it was one of the treasures of my 20s, right up there with high metabolism and many years ahead of me. I played it for anybody with half an interest, and we all enjoyed this proof, exciting and illicit, that talent wasn’t strictly necessary in big-time show business.
Call the Alien track The Tape of Only Britney. Listening to it alongside the official Alien release provides a fascinating window into modern recording, into the unabashed artificiality that the mass market has come to accept, even expect. This is especially true in the pop realm, where, it seems, no vocal note shall be allowed to sound authentic.
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Fans of Spears even extol Auto-Tune, or whichever pitch-correction software her producers choose, as the signature of her sound. This would be like me touting spell check as a signature part of my writing. What do you know: Britney Spears and I both have software that keeps us from sounding stupid.
But here is Kevin Fallon, writing about the raw track in Daily Beast, lauding Britney on Auto-Tune: “It’s how she gets the supersonic, sort-of-extraterrestrial, almost inhuman sound that’s so interesting and cool and uniquely hers.”
Hers, perhaps. But unique If sounding faintly robotic is unique. If filtering your voice through crushed silicon chips and the bottled tears of Nat King Cole is unique. If doing exactly what Katy Perry and Ke$ha and a big chunk of the rest of the Top 40 do is unique.
I have another related artifact: Miss Fortune, the 2002 LP from the first-rate Americana singer and songwriter Allison Moorer. On it, Moorer had stickers placed that read, “Absolutely no vocal tuning or pitch-correction was used in the making of this record.”
It was a winning stance, especially for people already growing tired of robosingers. It was not, alas, an influential stance. But Moorer could (and can) hit the notes. These days you get the feeling that a lot of singers who could also sing on key don’t bother.
Indeed, you wonder if singers who know they’ll get the “benefit” of Auto-Tune even try anymore.
Does the process work better when it starts with something that’s almost there Or is Britney Spears’ official Alien an entirely plausible result of the unofficial version that is now out in the world
We probably won’t know. In Vegas, according to those who have seen the show, Spears lip-syncs her way through her hits.
But we do have this new Alien, the one that sounds, at least, human.
– Chicago Tribune
Paris Hilton as blond as ever
Paris Hilton may have slipped under the radar for a while, but a rare interview with London’s Daily Telegraph has proved she’s still very much alive and as blonde as ever.
The 33-year-old socialite turned DJ is living the “Barbie American dream”, surrounded by a collage of self-portraits on every wall and printed on every cushion in her Beverly Hills mansion.
Here are nine deliciously tacky highlights of her latest chat about her life.
SHE’S GENUINE, LIKE, CHILL
She lives in a mansion with a private nightclub, describes herself as the “closest thing to American royalty” and has an entire room of Jimmy Choos. But Paris Hilton still thinks she is a normal human.
It’s all just perception, says the self-described Princess Paris. “The princess Barbie (image) is a fun character but in real life I’m very chill and down-to-earth normal,” she says.
HER HOME IS A SHRINE TO HERSELF
Almost every square inch of wall is allegedly covered with pictures of the one and only, shown in every one of her many facets – covered in gold paint, greeting fans, with Elizabeth Taylor.
Prints adorn cushions, a giant image of her made up of thousands of tiny images covers an entire wall, while a portrait overlooks an opulent staircase.
“I like it because it looks very regal,” she says of the snap.
“In movies everyone always has an elegant picture painted of them and I was like, ‘I need one of those’.”
HER DOGS LIVE IN A VILLA
It’s Italian, and it’s in her room, which boasts a black and gold bed and a terrace overlooking her swimming pool.
The dog kennel – if kennel is an appropriate description – is complete with cornicing, a black crystal chandelier and designer furniture.
“Hi baby, I love you,” she coos at one of the pooches which has appeared on its own miniature balcony.
SOMETIMES HER WARDROBE OVERWHELMS HER
Hilton has hundreds, if not thousands of designer dresses, including a custom-made bejewelled mini dress from India that “just blings”.
“It gives me a panic attack sometimes,” Hilton says says with all the choice, as she apparently sinks theatrically into a rail of frocks.
SHE WEEDS THE HUNGRY TIGERS OUT
She used to cry and call her mum every time she read something critical about her. But now she’s honed her skills in identifying who her true friends are.
“So many people have bad intentions, so many girls want to hang out (with me) to be someone,” she crows.
Ad Feedback
“I weed those people out of my life. I call them hungry tigers.”
THAT SEX TAPE WASN’T HER FAULT
Hilton still remembers the sex tape that went viral under the title One Night in Paris when she was a teenager.
She describes the tape, filmed by former boyfriend Rick Salomon, as “devastating”.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fully trust any man again after that,” she says.
“It was just the most hurtful and awful thing that anyone could do to a little girl. I was very young, it wasn’t my fault.”
SHE’S A TRUE AQUARIAN. LIKE EINSTEIN.
“Aquarius(es) are social butterflies, humanitarians, geniuses: Einstein was one,” Hilton says.
Whether or not Einstein believed astrology had the power to inextricably link him to the heiress is another matter altogether.
SHE’S AIN’T NO HILTON. JUST PARIS.
She may be the great-granddaughter of the founder of Hilton hotels, but Paris says her success has come entirely through her own means – as a model, actor and professional poser.
She launched a jewellery line and perfume, and even launched herself as an international DJ last year at Ibiza’s Amnesia nightclub and according to her she “killed it”.
She did it all alone, with no financial assistance from her family.
Recently Hilton cemented her individuality by opening her first hotel in the Philippines.
“It’s called Paris, not Hilton, just me,” she says, “because I don’t want people to think it’s my family’s. It’s mine.”
SHE’S BEEN A BUSINESS SUCCESS FOR A REASON
“It’s like a kind of Barbie American dream. I have that childlike quality to a lot of little girls especially (like me). I’ve always been a kid at heart. I think I always will be.”
Unless of course, you are a hungry tiger.
– AAP
NZ Simpsons’ fan sets tattoo record
No beer makes Homer Simpson go crazy. But Auckland Simpsons fanatic Lee Weir, 27, gave up beer for a year to pay for his world record breaking 41 tattoos of Homer.
Weir, has set a new record for most tattoos of the same cartoon character tattooed on the body, devoting one of his arms to the appreciation of Homer, according to Guinness World Records. The record was verified last month.
He went alcohol-free last year, using the money he would have spent on beer to pay for his tattoos.
Weir dubbed his father the ‘‘real-life Ned Flanders’’ and was not allowed to watch the cartoon, the Daily Mail online reported.
‘‘He wouldn’t let me watch as it depicted the father and the head of the household to be a buffoon. But I’ve always enjoyed watching the show in later life and it feels incredible to be a record breaker,” he said.
The tattoos include Homer as a jack-in-the box, the Grim Reaper, in an elephant suit, as the Hulk, and even Homer as a donut.
The Homer sleeve took more than 25 hours to complete and Weir had to show a dermatologist report to Guinness World Records officials before the record could be confirmed, according to the Daily Mail.
The Simpsons is a record-holder in its own right, with world records for both the longest-running sitcom on US TV (546 episodes), and the most Emmy Awards won by an animated TV series (28 awards).
Weir is not the only The Simpsons fanatic who has earned a Guinness World Record. Cameron Gibbs from Australia owns the largest collection of The Simpsons memorabilia with 2,580 items.
Meanwhile, Jeremiah Franco and Carin Shreve, both from California, US, set a new benchmark for the longest marathon watching television in 2012
Zac Efron teams up with Bear Gryll
Zac Efron has taken his shirt off and stepped into the wild with Bear Grylls.
The Bad Neighbours star often gets topless and this time he sheds his shirt to scale a cliff with survival specialist Bear Grylls.
Efron joins the likes of Ben Stiller and Channing Tatum in stand-alone episodes of Running Wild with Bear Grylls.
In Efron’s episode, he scales down terrain in New York’s Catskill Mountains.
Grylls and Efron stand at the top of a cliff and Grylls decides they should take their shirts off, put them in their backpacks and throw the backpacks into the water so they will have dry clothes waiting for them at the bottom.
Running Wild with Bear Grylls premieres on NBC July 28.