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This video seems to be a hot commodity online. It first went live on Monday, and was quickly removed by YouTube. I’ve uploaded it myself, so we’ll see how long it lasts online. I won’t say his name because I don’t want it to come up in search results, but let’s just say he’s a well-known singer, best remembered for “Living La Vida Loca”. This video was used as a backdrop on his summer tour, and it was [allegedly] created by the same company that did video for Madonna’s Re-Invention Tour. It doesn’t show any actual nudity, but I do find it mildly sexy.
While performing at London’s G-A-Y club this weekend, Enrique Iglesias called a guy onstage to being serenaded while he performed “Hero.” Enrique even held him in his arms throughout the song and kissed him. *sigh* I’ve always loved Enrique, but this video definitely takes him to a new level with me. God bless camera phones.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we? The year is 1998. It’s summer. I’m a teenager, living in a small Illinois town. I’ve developed a knack for creating websites on this amazing thing called the internet. The internet has been growing in popularity for several years, but it’s still very new and not widely accepted outside the circle of technology nuts like myself. One industry that really neglected to jump on the bandwagon was the music industry. But I had bright ideas for the future. One of my favorite singers was a young R&B diva. I won’t say her name because Google is very quick to pick up keywords from my blog. But she shared the same first name as a woman with the last name Lewinsky. Ring a bell anyone? Anyway, her sophomore CD was coming out that summer and she had a huge #1 hit duet, which later won a Grammy. This singer had absolutely no presence on the internet. Her record label, Arista Records, didn’t seem to think the web was a useful place to promote music. I decided to take matters into my own hands and create a fan site for her. I posted everything I could find about her, including pictures, audio, and video. I also kept up on exclusive news as soon as it rolled in. By 1999, I had built the largest, most comprehensive web archive of this singer. I orchestrated a huge internet campaign for a single that I firmly believed would be a hit. It was released as a promo to radio stations, but it received hardly any airplay and was very slow to take off. In fact, the label canned the plan to release it commercially. But I forged ahead and kept the buzz going. It jumped right to #1, was released as a video, and the single finally saw the light of day. I truly believe I played a role in this. Arista finally took notice of my tactics. They caught on that I had this huge internet following when they didn’t even have a website for her. They contacted me personally and gave me the title of “Official Fan Site”. There was a banner on their website, and I received all promotional material as soon as it was available. That summer, 1 year after I’d started the site, I was given a backstage pass to meet this singer when she played in St. Louis. When we met, it was a dream come true for me. That sad thing was that she didn’t seem to know who I was, or have any idea that I had built such a massive internet fan base for her. But I was blinded at that time. Afterall, here I was meeting my favorite singer. In 2000, I decided to take bold steps. She was working on a new CD and I believed I should take this to the next level. I contacted my connection at Arista and negotiated access to her manager’s private phone number. I called her manager and told them I wanted to handle the internet marketing for her next CD. They thought it over and agreed. This was it! I was going to be set for success! I had just graduated from high school, and this was my big break into a career in music. I was so happy. A couple of things took place in this singer’s personal life and her CD was delayed until 2003. When I started hearing buzz about it, I immediately called her management. But something had changed. They no longer returned my calls, I no longer received updates about her career. Her new CD came out that summer, complete with a very crappy website design, done by somebody else. I tried to be cool about it, but I wasn’t. I took it as a very personal rejection because I had been a very dedicated fan, I was far more capable than the designer who created the site, and I just didn’t understand what happened. Looking back, I realize it probably wasn’t personal at all. The designer probably had some type of contract or agreement with the record label. I noticed he had worked on other sites for their artists. But rejection is never an easy pill to swallow, especially when you invest your heart into something. I didn’t like the flakiness of her management. They could have returned my calls and just told me what happened. I don’t believe being a celebrity excuses you from common courtesy. So that’s my story about music and how it changed the course of my career. It’s amazing to think that if things had gone a different way, I may have been in a completely different place now. I’m quite happy with my life, though. So I guess all’s well that ends well. It’s funny what comes up when you set your iPod to shuffle. Every decade needs its own dance craze to look back and laugh at. What’s the one for this decade? No, that “dirt off your shoulder” move does not count as a dance.
I try my best to not listen to the lyrics of songs. If I do, I often find myself laughing. Are people really saying these things? Let’s take “Fergalicious” for example. Is she really talking about how tasty her pussy is? That’s just scary. How does she know what it tastes like? *shudders to imagine* Hey, maybe I’m wrong. I’ve just heard it a few times. I know that song’s a hit. Is anyone listening to the words? Whenever I hear Beyonce’s song “Irreplaceable” I say “Uh oh, Beyonce’s directing traffic again.” When she sings “To the left, to the left” I just imagine her in a police uniform during rush hour traffic, directing cars away from a wreck. Oh, and what about Justin Timberlake’s “My Love”. Can we talk about the rap segment from T.I.? He’s saying this girl already has a boyfriend, but she can leave with him on a vacation instead. Or she can stay. It doesn’t matter to him. He “ain’t gonna cry” and if she doesn’t come he “ain’t gonna die.” Gee, that’s romantic. So you’re asking her to leave her boyfriend, but you really don’t care either way. Sounds solid to me. Am I the only one who notices these things?
There are many TV shows that push the envelope with gory dead bodies. I’m always amazed that conservative groups haven’t complained. But you put a woman on a cross and everyone goes apeshit? That just doesn’t make sense. Furthermore, does NBC really think religious groups are going to be watching the concert anyway? Why should they cater to a group that has no interest in Madonna to begin with? People who are fans of Madonna are not offended by the crucifixion, they understand why she did it and why it is part of the show. These are the people NBC should be catering to. These are the people who will be watching. It’s funny… I identify myself as Catholic, and I’m not even offended by it. Stupid conservatives.
So I was writing a letter to my girl Janet, and I told her that I just saw the new cover to her CD, 20 Y.O., over at Popbytes. And I was telling her how much I love the photo, but then said how I hate the typography. Come on Janet, what’s going on with this font? And why is it gold? That’s so 1999. Sometimes it’s trendy to bring back elements from yesteryear, but gold fonts haven’t quite made their comeback. I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong about everything. Maybe I’m too old, or too white, to appreciate the duet with Nelly, the terrible CGI music video, or the flashy gold type treatments. Or maybe you should have just called me before you started working on this new album. Time will tell. [ P.S. - Okay, so nobody is going to ask why I’ve started my last 3 posts with “So I was writing a letter to my girl Janet”? Oh fine, I give in…. I’ll tell you. It was an inside joke. My friend Pete thought it would be funny if I started all my posts that way. It just makes everything sound like a personal letter, doesn’t it? ]
There have been rumors about Lance and Reichen for quite awhile now, but Lance is finally coming out and confirming the rumors. Now a lot of people respond to news like this by saying “Yeah, we all knew it. So what?” But actually, I think it’s very relevant. In the entertainment industry, just about everyone is rumored to be gay at some point. Most of them really aren’t gay. So yeah, we can easily say Lance is gay, Darren Hayes is gay, and nobody really seems shocked. But when the person actually goes on record and confirms they are gay, it sends a very strong message. I am so glad that all these singers are coming out lately. I do believe that singers have an impact on society. If they pretend to be straight, they are indirectly saying that being gay is something shameful that should be hidden deep in a closet. But when they officially come out, audiences are forced to deal with the reality. Good for you, Lance.
In 2002, he went solo and released 1 CD in the U.S. called Spin. It never picked up much steam in the U.S., and his second CD Tension and the Spark wasn’t even released here. That’s sad because it was actually an extraordinary piece of work. Darren is very popular in other countries, including Australia, where he is from. I’m saying all this to give you some background on him. In any case, fans have labeled Darren as gay from the beginning. It’s pretty obvious. But he’s always denied it, and he was even married to a woman in the 1990’s. So the closet has been a dark place for Darren for many years. But I’m so proud of Darren for finally coming out! He married his partner of 2 years, Richard Cullen, on June 19th in London. Darren has said “I’m proud of who I am, and after what felt like an eternity, I’m finally in a place where my heart is secure and content. And I can finally make sense of all of the searching.” Congratulations Darren & Richard! Everybody deserves happiness, and I’m glad that you’ve found it and made peace with it. Sidenote: Darren Hayes is asking for donations through his website for Positive Kids, which benefits children with HIV/AIDs in Australia. He is also offering a free MP3 of the acoustic mix of his song “Unlovable” to promote the organization. It is a great song and I thought of it as a love song, but it makes perfect sense when applied to children with HIV. Here is an excerpt of the lyrics: You make me feel like my father never loved me You can visit Darren’s website and make a donation via Paypal by going to DarrenHayes.com.
Please stop asking rappers to appear on your songs. You have been singing for 2 decades now. You do not need some dude saying “Yeah, yeah…ugh, yeah…” during your songs. That’s just plain rude. When you are singing, that means everyone else in the studio needs to shut up. I know you’re just trying to stay with the times, but there are some trends that just shouldn’t have caught on…like really talented female singers who hire rappers for their songs. There is simply no point. You have the capacity to carry a tune without any outside help. It’s like Coca Cola and milk. Yes, they are both drinks. And they are both good separately. But together, they make me sick. So please don’t do it, girl! And the same goes for my Mariah, whom I am such a loyal fan of. Ditch the rappers, ladies! You can make it on your own. Love, Nathan
 ©2005-2008 Nathan Exposed . All Rights Reserved Meet the Cast
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1 Comment
It was a treat, any way you look at it.
After months of debating it, NBC has made the decision to remove the crucifixion scene from Madonna’s concert special in November. Religious conservatives got their panties all twisted, and NBC gave in to the pressure.
Lance Bass of the former group ‘N Sync, has finally come out of the closet, and admitted that he is in a “very stable” relationship with Amazing Race winner Reichen Lehmkuhl.
Dear Janet,
