After slithering her slinky self through countless music videos, pop siren Christina Aguilera will sizzle on movie screens for the first time this fall in the song-filled fantasy Burlesque.
“It’s sexy, it’s sensual,” she promises. “The whole idea of burlesque has always intrigued me. The art of the tease, the dance, beautiful women — need I say more?”
Her Ali might be a showbiz staple as old as greasepaint: a plucky gal from Iowa who runs off to the big city to follow her dreams and lands a job at a struggling nightclub.
Yet it was her character’s heart and grit that caught her eye. Says Aguilera, 29, who has been candid about her own childhood travails: “It wasn’t just a girl who comes to L.A. and makes it big. It was a girl who had suffered and felt pain, been in seven foster homes. She doesn’t let her past make her a victim. And that to me was so appealing.”
Director/writer Steven Antin was impressed by how quickly Aguilera adapted to a new type of performing. “She figured out how it works within weeks. She is a little bit of a freak of nature and a perfectionist. This girl is a movie star.”
The novice actress found the perfect mentors in such castmates as Cher, who hasn’t had a major film role since 1999’s Tea With Mussolini, and Stanley Tucci, recent Oscar nominee for The Lovely Bones.
“I love no-bull-(expletive) women, and she’s the best of the best,” Aguilera says of Cher, who plays Tess, owner of The Burlesque Lounge. “An original trendsetter in her time and a legend in mine. I found her kind and warm. She had helpful advice and stories for days.”
As for Tucci, whose gay stage manager once had a fling with Tess, “he’s such a professional and hilarious to be around.”
Aguilera’s famous pipes get a workout, along with her legs (”I’ve never danced so much in my life”). She wrote four songs for the soundtrack and does an Etta James oldie.
While music will always be her first love, Aguilera is keen on continuing to act if Burlesque manages to seduce the public. “I think people will definitely feel energized and excited.”
Source: USA Today
‘Burlesque’ director Steven Antin proves persuasive
Getting Burlesque off the ground wasn’t exactly an easy task for Steven Antin, whose only other feature-directing experience was a straight-to-DVD thriller with Angie Harmon.
For one, he had to convince Christina Aguilera that his musical fantasy was the right vehicle for her long-in-coming film debut, a decision the pop star is more than pleased about.
“I immediately connected to Steven from the beginning,” she says. “There’s a lot to take on with a musical, but he definitely had a vision going in that spoke to me. He eased me into the process.”
Even more daunting, he had to persuade Oscar-winning super-diva Cher to come out of semi-retirement as a big-screen actress for her first movie musical ever as the owner of a financially strapped Sunset Strip nightclub.
“Her manager loved the script but said: ‘You know how hard it is to get Cher to commit. She is very dubious.’ ” He sent it to her anyway, as did mega-mogul David Geffen, a mutual acquaintance of Antin and Cher’s.
Christina, Eminem to appear as guests on ‘Entourage’ season finale
Eminem will help close out the seventh season of HBO’s “Entourage” with a guest spot on the cable hit’s finale. According to Entertainment Weekly, the rapper will appear as himself on the show, celebrating the success of his real-life album, Recovery, with a blow-out bash. Show creator Doug Ellin told EW that some drama will go down between Em and Adrian Grenier’s character. “He has a little conflict — a little beef — with Vince,” said Ellin.
Even though Recovery dropped just last week, Ellin is confident that the album will be a smash. Ellin told EW that the Eminem scene is set “at a platinum record party for his album, which by the time this airs [on September 12] will be platinum, I’m sure.”
Christina Aguilera will also appear on the “Entourage” finale as a client of Ari Gold. “She’s doing Ari a favor and performing at a party for him,” Ellin said. The season seven send-off is shaping up to be a star-packed episode as John Cleese, Minka Kelly, and professional athletes like Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees and more are set to appear.
Source: MTV.com
Ask Billboard: The ‘Bionic’ Woman
Hi Gary,
I noticed that Lady Gaga’s “The Fame” has led Dance/Electronic Albums for 75 weeks and wondered why Christina Aguilera’s “Bionic” is not on the chart. Is it because the album has ballads on it?
Thank you,
Ryan Eugenio
Philippines
Hi Ryan,
The 75-week reign for “The Fame” on Dance/Electronic Albums extends a chart record. Gnarls Barkley’s “St. Elsewhere” ranks second with 39 weeks on top in 2006-07.
I posed your question to Billboard’s dance chart manager Gordon Murray, who is in charge of flagging titles for the list. Here is his response:
“In a sense, yes, the album’s number of ballads excludes ‘Bionic’ from appearing on the chart. Read the rest of this entry »
Christina Aguilera and more to Pay Tribute to Michael Jackson
This Friday, June 25, marks the one-year anniversary of Michael Jackson’s shocking death at age 50.
CBS News’ The Early Show will celebrate the legendary singer and performer with The King of Pop: One Year Later, an hour-long broadcast tribute (during the 8am hour) devoted to Jackson’s life and legacy.
On hand to remember the superstar? Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, LL Cool J and Smokey Robinson — plus British singer James Morrison, set to perform “Man in the Mirror” live.
The stars shared some of their “King of Pop” memories:
Christina Aguilera: “Music wouldn’t be what it is without someone like Michael Jackson. I remember going to my high school talent show singing ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ and being a huge fan of his album Bad. I know all my dancers wouldn’t be behind me dancing if it weren’t for that.”
Marc Anthony: “A Michael Jackson comes around literally once in a lifetime. They break the mold and I think there’re people who just sacrifice their life, their personal life all for the arts. That’s what Michael did; he sacrificed his life for the arts.”
LL Cool J: “I think one of the coolest things he told me was never limit yourself; the fact that if people can whistle your songs then they can understand it all over the world. Because there are language barriers…People speak different languages all over the world. Melody is king and I think Michael really understood that…What we didn’t lose is his legacy and that incredible catalogue and body of work…We may have lost the man, but we didn’t lose the legacy. The legacy is actually bigger than that one human being. That legacy touched millions.”
Source: Us Magazine
Christina Aguilera confirms new single
Christina Aguilera has confirmed the latest single to be taken from her Bionic album, called ‘You Lost Me’.
The ballad, which has been remixed for its single release, was co-written by Australian soul-pop singer Sia Furler and is described by Aguilera on her official website as the “heart” of the album.
Reports suggest that the song may be a US-only release, with Auspop claiming that the track ‘I Hate Boys’ is being sent to Australian radio stations next week.
The website said: “Despite Christina Aguilera’s own announcement on her official website that the new single from her latest album will be ‘You Lost Me’, news comes from Sony Music locally that ‘I Hate Boys’ will be the second official Australian single release from Christina’s latest album Bionic.
“The track will be officially serviced to Australian radio on Monday next week.”
Source: Digital Spy
‘You Lost Me’ will be released on June 29th, and All Access has premiered a brand new radio mix of the song. CLICK HERE to listen.
‘You Lost Me’ is the next single
According to ChristinaAguilera.com:
There’s no denying it. Christina Aguilera’s new single is an absoule Tour de Force. It’s easy to see why Christina calls the song the “heart” of BIONIC. Christina has been performing the new single all over and we thought it would be nice to compile all her performances in one convienent spot for you to watch.
Christina Aguilera To Sing National Anthem — Again!
Christina Aguilera will be bringing her good luck back to the Lakers!
JustJared.com can exclusively confirm that Christina will be performing the National Anthem at the Thursday (June 17) evening game at the Staples Center, just like she did on Tuesday night.
The Los Angeles Lakers took Game 6 with a score of 89-67 on Tuesday night. They’ll take on the Boston Celtics for the title for NBA champs!
Source: JustJared.com
Christina Aguilera raises $50,000 for Charity
Christina Aguilera put her John Hancock on a 2010 Chrysler 300 Eco Style Edition car for charity — and raised $50,000!
The “Beautiful” songstress personalized the car, which was auctioned off by Stars for a Cause to benefit the United Nations World Food Programme, which is aiding relief efforts in Haiti.
Today, Stars For A Cause co-founders George and Laura Braunstein were able to present $50,000 to Kevin Sturtevant, Vice President for Development, Friends of the World Food Program, the U.S. Branch of the United Nations World Food Programme, for 100 percent of the proceeds from the SFAC charity auction of the Christina Aguilera-autographed Chrysler 300 Eco Style.
Aguilera was selected to personalize this one-of-a-kind, vanilla exterior and cactus interior luxury car. The eco-style edition uses recycled materials, such as recycled rubber for the floor mats, bamboo wood interior, 100 percent recycled metals, and includes a fuel efficiency system that reduces the eight-cylinder engine to four cylinders when necessary.
Launched in 2006, Stars For A Cause is a unique charity fundraiser that has helped raise money for various charities through the help of celebrities and the Hollywood community.
Source: ET Online
Christina and Cher will not be dueting in Burlesque
We’ve got some terrible news to share with you from musical divaland.
Much to our surprise…
Christina Aguilera and Cher will not be dueting in their upcoming movie Burlesque!
“She and I didn’t sing together,” Cher recently told me. The “Believe” diva plays the owner of a burlesque joint where Aguilera is the new girl in town, but Cher does have two numbers with the rest of the girls.
And Cher, like her costars, says the making of Burlesque was quite painful. “It was hard,” she said. “It was sixteen-hour days in six-inch heels.”
She continued, “It was a bitch. I have a broken foot and toe that’s been broken twice so it was really hard for me. I mean, the girls who were 22 were complaining and crying, too.”
Source: E! Online
