I promise that this is my last post about Britney Spears’ choreography. I’ve said it twice already, and I’m only saying it a third time in hopes that her people come across this blog and fix the issue. I have no idea why Britney Spears cannot dance anymore. I originally thought it was nerves, but I’m starting to think she lost her edge. I know her album is great, and I’m still a fan. But there is an astronomical difference in her dance quality from when she first entered the business versus now, and it’s almost bizarre. Has she forgotten how to dance? Her choreography is incredibly easy, and her movements still aren’t crisp. She’s walking around the stage while occasionally moving her arms around. I’ve always defended her lip-syncing, because it was virtually impossible to sing live while executing her dance-heavy movements, but at this point, there’s no excuse. Either sing live while surrounded by professional dancers, or actually dance. It’s one or the other. Watch her appearance on Jimmy Kimmel below, and then watch her vintage David Letterman appearance to see the difference.
Category: General
Miley Cyrus Rejects You Tube Stars — What About Famous Daughters?
In a recent interview, Miley Cyrus complained about You Tube stars, such as Justin Bieber and Rebecca Black, saying, “It should be harder to be an artist. You shouldn’t just be able to put a song on YouTube and go out on tour.” Really Miley? You don’t want musicians to have a short cut into the music business? So what about your career? Do you think having Billy Ray Cyrus as a dad perhaps helped speed up your success a bit? Would you have had scored the same high-profile Disney audition otherwise? For years, Hollywood has been an impenetrable members-only club that excludes great talent because of limited opportunity for exposure. You Tube breaks that barrier. At least those guys did it on their own, without the nepotism.
Update: Miley Cyrus insists she was misquoted and she “loves Rebecca Black.” Yeah — sure she was.
Enrique Iglesias Cancels Britney Spears Tour — Is His Team Sloppy?
Rumors are circulating that Enrique Iglesias bailed on Britney Spears’ upcoming tour because he was upset over money and billing. Apparently, he wanted a larger percentage of the ticket sales, and he felt that the tour was promoted as if Enrique was opening for Britney, instead of co-headlining with her. If this is true, then he should have a long talk with his team, because there’s no excuse for bailing on a tour this late in the game over a contract dispute. I highly doubt Britney would have announced the tour on Good Morning America unless the deal was closed. So did Enrique want to renegotiate his deal after hearing the public’s reaction to the announcement? I’m not sure. His people have since stated that he simply “didn’t need the tour,” as he’s “already on a sold out tour.” Yeah — sure that’s true. That’s why he started negotiating this in the first place. All I know for sure is that this is extremely sloppy, and either Enrique or his representatives need to be more professional. You don’t have your co-headliner announce a tour at one of the biggest shows in the United States, only to subsequently bail. It makes everyone look bad.
‘Dancing With the Stars’ Repeats Yesterday’s Show — I’m No Fool
Want to know an easy way for a television network to pocket a ton of ad revenue without doing any work? Run a clip-show! Tonight’s Dancing With the Stars “results show” consisted of an hour long recap of yesterday’s show, and I found myself completely baffled. “At some point they have to have original content,” I thought. No such luck. At the very least ABC could air back-stage material or dress rehearsal footage for the first hour. Instead, the entire hour consisted of the brilliant Tom Bergeron wasting his skills on just introducing yesterday’s dances, which I could have easily watched online instead. I understand that ABC wants to maximize their best product, but isn’t it possible to have original content for that initial hour? Sure, it’s possible. But it’s also expensive, and I’m guessing the theory at ABC is — why do it if we don’t have to? I know your tricks ABC.
Britney Spears on GMA — Choreography Still Not Good Enough
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. No one is a bigger Britney Spears fan than The Dishmaster. When she launched her comeback and turned her life around, I was extremely happy for her, and I cut her a lot of performance-slack. It’s been a few years since that comeback, and I’ve officially raised my standards. Her performance on Good Morning America was sub-par at best. You cannot put on a sparkly leotard and walk around the stage while your dancers do all the heavy lifting. Britney Spears launched her career as a dancer/performer, so it would only make sense to have challenging choreography. So what’s the problem, and will we ever see Britney execute the same power moves as she did in her early days? I can’t help but wonder if the true genius behind Britney Spears’ career-best days was Wade Robson, and his departure has changed Britney’s caliber forever. Unless she starts to do more than wave her arms around and walk from one side of the stage to the other, I’m unsatisfied. Watch the video below to see her GMA performance, and watch the second video to see how she used to dance.
Star Jones/NeNe Leakes Feud: My Favorite Part So Far
On this week’s Celebrity Apprentice, the task was to create a commercial to promote a new RCN video phone. True to form, Star Jones and NeNe Leakes didn’t get along. In the video below, Star Jones coached NeNe on her presentation, and Star insisted that NeNe was “too sexy.” Star also kindly took the time to point out that she could have easily presented without NeNe’s help, but “she thinks it’s important to support and encourage her teammates to shine.” Man — Star Jones sure is charitable. Watch the exchange below.
Britney Spears Performs in Vegas — Where’s Her Choreography?
If you’re a fan of The Dishmaster, then you know what a huge Britney Spears fan I am. Having said that, I’d like to take this opportunity to insult her for just a moment. She performed in Vegas over the weekend to promote the launch of her new album, Femme Fatale, and after watching her concert videos, it’s clear she’s not back to her career launching status. When Britney first entered the business, her performances were heavily danced focused, with Wade Robson choreographing all of her concerts, videos, and live performances. Since Britney’s comeback and Wade’s subsequent departure, she hasn’t returned to her original caliber. When you lip-sync, you have to dance. There’s no way around it. You can’t simply put on a sparkly outfit and walk slowly around the stage while sporadically moving your arms around. I need more than that, especially when you’re known for performances alone. I hate to pick on her, because I’m very happy for her comeback success, and I love every one of her songs. But enough is enough. Start dancing. I’d encourage you to watch the video below sans sound. It’s low quality, but you’ll get my point.
Movie Review — The Adjustment Bureau
I refuse to spend an entire movie wondering what’s motivating the characters’ behavior. In Adjustment Bureau, there’s a team of people with fashionable hats and trench coats trying to keep Matt Damon from the girl he loves (Emily Blunt), and for what feels like an eternity — we don’t know why. When he asks, he’s only told that his wishes “deviate from the plan.” So what is this “plan,” and who are these guys, and why do they care who Matt Damon sleeps with — or loves for that matter? This is the part of the review where I usually tell my reader to watch the movie for fear of spoiling it, but I’m afraid the movie provides little answers. The script is basically a poor man’s play on free will, only it makes zero sense because it’s not your “plan” if everyone is deliberately putting obstacles in your way. To clarify, allow me to use a specific example. If it’s my destiny to be a stripper, and every time I’m about to enter the stage to perform I’m met with five guys who block the stage, does it really make sense to justify that behavior with “it’s not part of the plan?” It’s is my plan to be a stripper, but you clowns with stupid hats ruined it!! If my analogy didn’t make sense, I’d encourage you to avoid the film, because their explanation is far worse than my example. In addition to the terrible writing, the movie is filled with extremely boring chase sequences, which involve Matt Damon tracking down Emily Blunt while simultaneously trying to avoid a lobotomy (no, I’m not kidding). I’d first like to note that if I personally had to choose between love and a lobotomy — I’d keep my brain in tact. But that’s just me. Second — if you’re going to write a terrible film, can you at least provide me with some special effects? This is a big budget movie, so at least throw in some Mission Impossible gadgetry to keep my attention. OVERALL RATING: DISHSATISFIED
The New York Times Launches Paywall — Nothing in Life is Free
My father always told me that nothing in life is free. I used to listen until he’d say, “money doesn’t grow on trees,” at which point my eyes rolled out of my head. With the launch of the New York Times paywall, it seems my father was right. To put their new venture in a nutshell, you’re only entitled to read 20 articles on the New York Times website for free. After that — you must pay. There’s predictable outrage about this announcement, and I’d like to squash that outrage by repeating my father’s annoying words. Nothing in life is free. The New York Times is a business, and they’ve been hit with the same tough economy that we all have, and they have a right to charge their customers whatever they like. If their new model doesn’t work, the market will adjust their choice, and they will become free again. Yes, we’d all like to think that the news is free. But someone (who I don’t envy) is responsible for gathering that news, and then some other jackass is responsible for ripping off the New York Times and repeating that gathered news for free. Deal with it. And stop complaining.
‘Teen Mom 2’ Star Brutally Beats Another Teen — This Show Must Die
When Teen Mom first began, the story was uplifting. You had a group of girls that got pregnant at a very young age, and although their struggle was hard, they handled it. They were interesting to watch, and I never felt as though MTV was promoting teen pregnancy. They were simply documenting struggles, while allowing you to root for these people at the same time. Because MTV felt that the original group’s story-line became stale, they decided to follow an all new group of teens. My guess is that MTV figured they’d not only freshen up the format by selecting new people, but they’d also save money, considering the longer you employ people, the more you have to pay them. Unfortunately, the new group sucks, and it’s time to pull the show off the air. In case you didn’t hear, Jenelle Evans (one of the stars of Teen Mom 2) was captured on camera beating up another girl — and the video is violent. She’s since been arrested for the fight, but the damage is done. If MTV wants to turn their show into Jerry Springer, then feel free to keep this on the air. But if they want to maintain the show’s original integrity, then make a few phone calls to the original cast.