Rihanna

Rihanna
Rihanna (born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, currently living in San Diego, California.

Early Life of Rihanna
Rihanna was born in Saint Michael, Barbados, as the oldest child to Ronald Fenty, her Barbadian father (of African and Irish ancestry), and Monica Fenty, her Guyanese(of an indian descent) mother. She has two younger brothers named Rorrey and Rajad. Rihanna went to Charles F. Broome Memorial School, a primary school in Barbados, and then on to one of Barbados' Grammar (older secondary) schools, the Combermere School, where she formed a musical trio with two of her classmates. In 2004, she won the Miss Combermere Beauty Pageant and performed in the Colours of Combermere School Show, singing Mariah Carey's "Hero". At the age of 15, Rihanna received her big break when one of her friends introduced her to music producer Evan Rogers, who was vacationing in Barbados with his wife. Rogers, along with his partner, Carl Sturken, helped Rihanna record material in the U.S. which was sent to various recording companies. One copy of Rihanna's work was sent to Jay-Z, who eventually signed her to Def Jam Records. Rihanna cites Alicia Keys, Beyoncé Knowles and her Caribbean background as major musical influences. Rihanna also stated in an interview that her friend and former Island Def Jam record label artist Fefe Dobson was someone that she admired and looked up to, having a fellow artist writing, singing, and performing the music she truly loves.

Music Career of Rihanna
Music of the Sun - Rihanna's debut album, Music of the Sun, was released August 30, 2005 from which, further singles were released, the first being "Pon de Replay" which was released on October 11, 2005 and reached position #2 in both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, the UK Singles Chart due to considerable airplay and gained several #1 positions in various niche charts. The single itself was written by Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers alongside Rihanna herself and described by Rolling Stone magazine as a "poppy piece of dancehall reggae with slapping, syncopated beats recalling big-band jazz." However, despite Pon de Replay's commercial chart success, the album itself was rated 2½ out of 5 stars by Rolling Stone Magazine and described as lacking the replay value, ingenuity and rhythm of the single with "generic vocal hiccups and frills" of US R&B inflecting upon her "caribbean charm". Since its release, the album reached the top 10 in both US and Canadian charts, gaining gold certification from the RIAA from selling 500,000 units and subsequent platinum certifications for selling 2 million units in various other countries. To further promote the album, Rihanna toured as an opening act for American pop singer Gwen Stefani.

A Girl Like Me - In 2006, Rihanna participated in several endorsement deals, including for Nike and J.C. Penney. She released her second album, A Girl Like Me, in April 2006; less than eight months after the release of her first album. The album debuted at number five in the U.S. and number four in the UK. The lead single, "SOS", was used in her endorsement deal with Nike. The song became Rihanna's first number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also debuted at number one on the Hot Digital Songs chart. "SOS" peaked at number one in Australia and number two in the UK. The second single, entitled "Unfaithful", was written by R&B singer Ne-Yo, and addresses the feelings of guilt that the protagonist of the song faces as she cheats on her boyfriend. The song became her third top ten hit in the U.S. and in the UK. The third single, "We Ride", wasn't as successful as her previous releases, failing to chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, however, it became her fifth UK top 20 single, where it peaked at number 17 on that chart and peaked number one on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart. Rihanna's fourth single from the album, "Break It Off" featuring Sean Paul, had already climbed to number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 based solely on airplay. It was released as a digital download on February 19, 2007, which made the song jump from number fifty-two to number ten and then eventually peak at number nine.

Good Girl Gone Bad - Rihanna went into the studio in early 2007 with Ne-Yo, Stargate, and Timbaland among others to record her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad. The album was released on June 5, 2007. It features Jay-Z and Ne-Yo as featured artists. The first single, "Umbrella", featuring Jay-Z, was released on March 29, 2007, reaching number one in various countries, including the U.S. "Umbrella" was the #1 single in the UK for 10 consecutive weeks. It was the longest running #1 single since "Wet Wet Wet's¹" single "Love Is All Around", back in 1994, and the longest running #1 by a female artist since Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You", which also topped the chart for 10 weeks in 1992. It was produced by Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The-Dream" Nash. Umbrella was set at #2 at the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart, behind Beyoncé's Irreplaceable. However, Umbrella is the most succesfull song of 2007, getting 8,182,000 points on the United World Chart. Then her second single, "Shut Up and Drive", was sent to radio stations on June 5, has so far peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her club airplay third single, "Don't Stop The Music" was premiered on BET's 106 & Park on July 20, 2007 and was released only in Canada. The song is also going to be released in the UK. However, the single was also released in parts of Europe, where it was a huge succes. The song peaked at #1 in countries like Germany, France, The Netherlands and Austria. The fourth single, "Hate That I Love You" featuring Ne-Yo, was released on August 21, and so far has peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Rihanna her sixth top ten hit. Rihanna's fifth single will be Breakin' Dishes according to Billboard and has so far peaked on #25 on the Hot Dance Club Play. However due to the high serge in airplay and digital sales of "Don't Stop the Music", which was never released in the US, it might be replacing "Breakin' Dishes" as the fifth single.

Rihanna worked with Timbaland on three songs in the album. Justin Timberlake co-wrote and provides background vocals on "Rehab" and "Sell Me Candy". In interviews, many have questioned the meaning and reasoning of the album title. The album title reflects the difference between the old and new Rihanna. "Bad means cool, bad means funky, bad means having an attitude, bad means being edgy. This album is definitely a great representation of who I am now, and where I am in my career," she says. Seven weeks after the album was released, it had gone gold in the United States and Platinum on the United World Albums Chart.

Also in 2007, Rihanna won World's Best-Selling Pop Female Artist & Entertainer of the Year at the 2007 World Music Awards. On November 18, 2007, she won Favorite Female Artist - Soul/R&B at the 2007 American Music Awards.

Starting September 12, 2007, Rihanna toured Canada and the United States in support of the album with several shows and then crossed to Europe. It is called the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour which will be released on DVD in early 2008 and feature the show performed at the Manchester Evening News Arena on 6th December 2007.

Rihanna received six Grammy Awards nominations: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (for Umbrella), Best R&B Song, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals (for Hate That I Love You) as well as Best Dance Recording (for Don't Stop the Music).

Britney Spears

Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American pop music singer, songwriter, dancer, actress and author. Her debut album Baby One More Time, released in January 1999, propelled her to international stardom. It spawned five singles, including "...Baby One More Time", which topped the Billboard Hot 100. She released her second studio album Oops!... I Did It Again in May of 2000 with similar success. Her third album Britney was released in November 2001, followed by the release of her fourth album In The Zone in November 2003. The album's breakout single "Toxic" was an international success and has won Spears her first Grammy Award. The collection Greatest Hits: My Prerogative was released in November 2004 followed by a remix album B in the Mix: The Remixes a year later and a brief career break. Her fifth album Blackout was released worldwide in October 2007, with the lead single "Gimme More" earning success on worldwide charts.

Britney Spears has sold over 83 million records worldwide according to Zomba Label Group. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) ranks her as the eighth best-selling female artist in American music history, having sold 31 million albums in the U.S. Spears's fame in the music industry has led her to experiment with other forms of media, including film and television. As an actress, she is most noted for her starring role in the 2002 movie Crossroads. Spears has also made guest appearances in various movie and television programs. Her success as a singer led her to several high-profile advertising deals and endorsements, including her own perfume line.

Spears's personal life has gained much attention from the media as a result of her stardom. In particular, her marriage to Kevin Federline in 2004 has been the topic of numerous articles. She gave birth to her first child, Sean Preston, in 2005 and to her second child, Jayden James, in 2006. The couple's divorce in November of the same year was highly publicized, followed by an ongoing legal battle for the custody of their two sons. Throughout 2007, Spears has been the subject of intense media scrutiny due to her controversial public behavior.

Childhood and Discovery of Britney Spears
Britney Spears was born in McComb, Mississippi but was raised in Kentwood, Louisiana as a Southern Baptist by parents James Parnell Spears, a building contractor, and Lynne Irene Bridges, a former grade school teacher. Spears's brother Bryan works as a manager for the Spears family interests and her sister Jamie Lynn is an actress and singer. Her maternal grandmother Lillian Woolmore was an English war-bride, born in Tottenham, London who met Spears's grandfather Barnett O'Field Bridges in England during World War II. Her paternal grandparents were June Austin Spears and Emma Jean Forbes.

Spears was an accomplished gymnast, attending gymnastics classes until age nine and competing in state-level competitions. She performed in local dance revues and her local Baptist church choir. At age eight she auditioned for the Disney Channel series The New Mickey Mouse Club. Although she was considered too young to join the series at the time, a producer on the show introduced her to a New York City agent. Spears subsequently spent three summers at NYC's Professional Performing Arts School and also appeared in a number of off-Broadway productions, including 1991's Ruthless!. In 1992, she landed a spot on the popular television show Star Search. Though she won her first round in the competition, she ultimately lost. At age eleven, Spears returned to the Disney Channel for a spot on the The New Mickey Mouse Club in Lakeland, Florida. She was featured on the show from 1993 to 1994, until she was 13. Other future celebrities on the show included fellow pop singer Christina Aguilera, 'N Sync members Justin Timberlake and Joshua Chasez, Felicity actress Keri Russell, and The Notebook star Ryan Gosling. After the show ended, Spears returned to Kentwood and entered high school for a year.

In 1997, Spears briefly joined the all-female pop group Innosense. Later that same year, she decided to go solo. After recording a demo, she was signed by Jive Records. She began touring American venues for a series of concerts sponsored by American teen magazines, and eventually became an opening act for 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys.

Products and Endorsement of Britney Spears
Spears's success had made her notable in the music industry as well as popular culture. In early 2001, she caught the attention of Pepsi who gave Spears a multi-million dollar promotional deal which included numerous television commercials, point-of-purchase promotions and Internet ties between Spears and the company. She has had four books published including A Mother's Gift, and seven DVDs released, including her self-produced 2005 reality series Britney & Kevin: Chaotic. Spears has also released several other products, including a doll and a video game. She participated in seven tours including "The Onyx Hotel Tour" in 2004. She has grossed over US$150 million from tour ticket sales and over $45 million in merchandise from her tours.

Spears endorsed an Elizabeth Arden fragrance, "Curious", for which she earned a reported $12 million. After one year of sales, the product netted more than $100 million, and was named the best selling perfume of 2004. Following the success of "Curious", Spears released her next Elizabeth Arden fragrance, "Fantasy", in September 2005, with equal success. She launched "In Control" in April 2006, closely followed by the release of another perfume, "Midnight Fantasy" in December. Spears's newest Elizabeth Arden fragrance, "Believe", was released in September 2007.

Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Dee Lohan (born July 2, 1986) is an American actress and pop music singer. Lindsay Lohan started in show business as a child fashion model for magazine advertisement and television commercials. At age 10, she began her acting career in a soap opera; at 11, she made her motion picture debut by playing identical twins in Disney's 1998 remake of The Parent Trap.

Lohan rose to stardom with her leading roles in the films Freaky Friday, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Mean Girls and Herbie: Fully Loaded. Her subsequent roles include appearances in A Prairie Home Companion and Bobby. In 2004, Lohan launched a second career in pop music yielding the albums Speak (2004), A Little More Personal (Raw) (2005) and is now back in the studio recording her Third Album.

In recent years, Lohan has been the subject of media scrutiny focusing on her personal life.

Early Life of Lindsay Lohan
Lohan was born on East 236th Street in the Woodlawn section of the Bronx and grew up in Merrick and Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island. She is the eldest child of Donata "Dina" (née Sullivan), a former Rockette, and Michael Douglas Lohan, Sr., a onetime actor. Lohan has three younger siblings, all of whom are actor-models: brother Michael Jr., whom she affectionately calls "Punk," appeared with her in The Parent Trap as the "Lost Boy at Camp"; sister Aliana had a small role in Freaky Friday, as did brother Dakota, the youngest Lohan child, whom she once saved from drowning.

Lohan is of Irish and Italian heritage and was raised as a Catholic. Her maternal family were "well known Irish Catholic stalwarts" in Merrick, with her great-grandfather, John L Sullivan, being a co-founder of the Pro-life Party in Long Island. In 2005, Lohan explained to a TEENick audience that she had decided to use Morgan as her middle name because it sounded more professional.

Lohan attended public schools on Long Island, including Sanford H. Calhoun High School. She finished her studies at home through Laurel Springs School of Ojai, California.

Her family was financially comfortable. Her mother was a Wall Street analyst before becoming Lohan's manager. Dina also claimed that she worked as a Rockette, though Radio City Music Hall records have not verified this claim.

Michael Lohan inherited his family's pasta business, which he later sold to trade in futures (briefly becoming President of New York Futures Traders). Sentenced to four years in prison in the late 1980s, he spent much of his daughter's preteen years in prison for securities fraud. More recently, he worked as an investment banker, securing funding for independent films. In 2005, he was sent back to prison for nearly two years, released in March 2007, for "aggravated unlicensed driving" and attempted assault. Michael currently works with Teen Challenge.

Music Career of Lindsay Lohan
Hoping to become a "triple threat" (actor/model/singer) like her idol, Ann-Margret, Lohan began by showcasing her singing talents through her films. For the Freaky Friday soundtrack, she sang the closing theme, "Ultimate"; she also recorded four songs for the Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen soundtrack.

Producer Emilio Estefan, Jr. signed Lohan to a five-album production deal in 2002. "The minute I heard her sing, I knew she was gifted," he said, "and [she] has an incredible ability to connect with her audience. I am very excited to be working with her." Lohan — who said she was "extremely excited" — added, "I am surrounded by a group of very talented people." Two years later, Lohan signed a recording contract with Casablanca Records, headed by "diva-maker" Tommy Mottola.

Fergie

Fergie
Stacy Ann Ferguson (born March 27, 1975) better known by her stage name Fergie, is an American pop, hip hop, and R&B singer, songwriter, and actress. She is a former member of the kids' television series Kids Incorporated, and the girl group Wild Orchid. Ferguson was also a co-host of the television show Great Pretenders. She is currently a vocalist for the hip hop/pop group the Black Eyed Peas, of which she is the sole female member, as well as a solo artist, releasing her debut album, The Dutchess, in 2006. The album has so far spawned three U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number one singles and five Top 5 hits, making The Dutchess only the seventh album from a female artist to spawn five Top 5 hits.

Early Life of Fergie
Ferguson was born in Hacienda Heights, California to Terri Gore and Patrick Ferguson. She has one sister, Dana, who is an actress. Her parents were Catholics of Irish, Scottish and Mexican descent and worked as schoolteachers. Ferguson had a strict Catholic upbringing. During her youth, she was "involved" with members of the Mexican gangs in Hacienda Heights, California. Ferguson attended Glen A. Wilson High School. She was also a Girl Scout.

Acting Career of Fergie
As a child actress, Ferguson appeared on the television program Kids Incorporated for several years with Renee Sandstrom, who became a fellow member of Wild Orchid. Ferguson's well-scrubbed image on that show presents quite a contrast with the "ghetto-funk" image she has more recently begun to cultivate. Ferguson was the voice of Sally Brown in two Charlie Brown specials: It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown (1984), and Snoopy's Getting Married, Charlie Brown (1985). She also voiced Sally in the 1985 version of The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show.

In July 2005, Ferguson had a guest role on the Rocket Power special, Reggie's Big Beach Break, on Nickelodeon; she voiced a fictitious pop music star named Shaffika. Ferguson returned to acting in 2006, appearing in a minor role in the film Poseidon. She later appeared in 2007's Grindhouse.

Personal Life of Fergie
Since September 2004, Ferguson has been dating actor Josh Duhamel, who stars in the television show Las Vegas. She appeared in the series, along with the Black Eyed Peas, in an episode titled "Montecito Lancers", which originally aired on November 1, 2004. She and Duhamel have recently purchased a house together.

In April 2007, she gave an interview in which she admitted that she went on a sex and drugs spree when she turned 18, saying: "I have had lesbian experiences in the past. I won't say how many men I've had sex with—but I am a very sexual person."

Ferguson was featured on Maxim's Hot 100 Women of 2006, and voted in at position #36. In 2007, she was voted in at #10.

Recently, Ferguson has been alleged to have had plastic surgery. She denied the allegations and has said that they drove her to seek therapy. Along with other celebrities, she is now assailing the credibility of US Weekly Magazine.

Music Career of Fergie
Ferguson was a member of the female trio Wild Orchid, which she fronted with Stefanie Ridel and fellow Kids Incorporated star Renee Sandstrom. Wild Orchid released two albums, but after completing a third album, their record label declined to release it, and she left the group shortly thereafter. Her disappointment with Wild Orchid led to an addiction to crystal methamphetamine. In September 2006, Ferguson talked with Time about quitting her crystal meth addiction. "It was the hardest boyfriend I ever had to break up with," she says. "It's the drug that's addicting. But it's why you start doing it in the first place that's interesting. A lot of it was being a child actor; I learned to suppress feelings."

In 2003, Ferguson took over the lead female vocal duties for the Black Eyed Peas, replacing background singer Kim Hill, who had left the group in 2000. Ferguson recorded five songs with the group before she was invited to join them permanently. Ferguson's addition to the band, which had enjoyed underground success until then, helped them quickly grow into mainstream popularity.

In 2005, Ferguson inadvertently urinated on stage during a performance at San Diego's Street Scene festival. Ferguson later commented on the incident: "I had a few drinks before the show, but I didn't think to go to the bathroom before we went onstage. We were jumping around... and my bladder just started."

In December 2007, Blender picked Ferguson as their woman of the year.

Carmen Electra

Carmen Electra
Tara Leigh Patrick (born April 20, 1972), professionally known as Carmen Electra, is an American glamour model, television personality, dancer, singer, and actress.

Early Life of Carmen Electra
Patrick was born in Sharonville, Ohio (a suburb of Cincinnati), the daughter of Patricia, a singer, and Harry Patrick, an entertainer and guitarist. Her mother died of a brain tumor in 1998. Her older sister, Debbie, who died from a heart attack, also in 1998. Tara graduated from Princeton High School in Sharonville. She has Irish, German, and Cherokee ancestry.

Career of Carmen Electra
Patrick moved to California in 1991, where she met Prince who persuaded her to change her name to Carmen Electra. Soon after, she signed a recording contract with Prince's company Paisley Park Records, marking the start of a short-lived singing career.

In 1995, Electra started appearing in various television programs. Then, in May of 1996 she was featured in a nude pictorial in Playboy magazine, the first of several. This exposure led to higher profile television appearances, including Baywatch (cast member from 1997-1998) and MTV's Singled Out. She returned to Baywatch for the 2003 reunion movie, Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding.

Electra became so popular among readers of Playboy that she was featured in the magazine three more times, with her second appearance in June 1997. She subsequently graced the cover twice, in December 2000 and April 2003. In the Playboy Cyber Club, she was the first woman invited to be a celebrity guest photographer; she chose Playmate Jennifer Walcott as her subject model.

Electra has appeared in several films, such as Good Burger (1997), The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human (1999), the horror spoof Scary Movie (2000) and also appeared in Scary Movie 4 (2006), Epic Movie (2007), Date Movie (2006), the remake of the 1970s TV show Starsky & Hutch (2004) and Cheaper by the Dozen 2. She won an MTV Movie Award (best kiss) for Starsky & Hutch. Her acting work is generally panned by critics.

In 1999, she appeared in the Bloodhound Gang's music video of "The Inevitable Return of the Great White Dope." In 2005, she joined the voice cast of the animated series Tripping the Rift, replacing Gina Gershon as the voice of the sexy android "Six". Also in 2005, she began the Naked Women's Wrestling League, acting as the commissioner for the professional wrestling promotion. In late 2006, Carmen began to be featured in commercials by Taco Bell.

Electra is the current spokesmodel for Ritz Camera Centers, appearing in their television and print ads with CEO David Ritz. She is featured in some video spoofs of Lonelygirl15 that are advertising Epic Movie. Electra has her own line of prepaid and gift MasterCards and is a spokeperson for Payment Data Systems, Inc.

She is a playable character in the video game Def Jam: Fight for New York and is one of the celebrity challenges in the video game ESPN NFL 2K5, along with Steve-O, Jamie Kennedy and others. Electra has been confirmed as a competitor on NBC's Celebrity version of The Apprentice. This version of The Apprentice is currently scheduled to begin in early 2008 as a mid-season replacement.

Other Work of Carmen Electra
Electra portrayed Velvita, a.k.a. lonelygirl362436, as a spoof of lonelygirl15 as an Epic Movie teaser. Carmen Electra Aerobic Striptease is a five-disc DVD exercise series that combines teaching classic stripping moves with a low impact cardio workout.

Embrace is a comic book putatively written by Electra for London Night Studios. "Glam Slam Ulysses" Interactive Musical Theatrical Production,” conceived by Prince, choreographed by Jamie King. Debuted at Prince's legendary Glam Slam L.A. nightclub.

Electra also appeared in commercials for Maxim Men's Hair Color products (2004-2005) and Taco Bell (2006-2007).

Personal Life of Carmen Electra
Electra's first rock and pop star relationship was with Prince, though the relationship was short lived. Electra was previously romantically involved with rap star B-Real of Cypress Hill from 1995 to 1998. It was revealed when B-Real and Electra were both on The Howard Stern Show that B-Real had bought her breast implants.

Electra achieved publicity during her on-again, off-again marriage to basketball star Dennis Rodman from 1998 to 1999. The wedding to Rodman took place at Little Chapel of the Flowers in Las Vegas, Nevada. Later, she had a brief affair with Tommy Lee, the ex-husband of Pamela Anderson.

On November 22, 2003, Electra married Dave Navarro, former lead guitarist for the rock bands Jane's Addiction and Red Hot Chili Peppers. The couple documented their courtship and marriage in an MTV celebreality show called 'Til Death Do Us Part: Carmen & Dave. On 17 July 2006, she and Navarro announced their separation. Their rep confirmed their separation to Star Magazine. Electra filed for divorce on 10 August. It was finalized on February 20, 2007.

In 2006, Electra stated that when she was eight years old she had a "little girl crush" on Joan Jett. In 2007, tabloid sources linked the two of them together romantically. However, Electra's spokeswoman has insisted "They are just friends." In June 2007, talk show host Jimmy Kimmel asked Electra if her relationship with Jett was romantic. Electra stated; "We're just friends". She went on to say that she collects tabloid articles that suggest she and Jett are dating because she is a fan of Jett and finds them amusing as well.

Pamela Anderson

Pamela Anderson
Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-born actress, sex symbol, glamour model, producer, TV personality, and author. Pamela Anderson holds both American and Canadian citizenship. For a time, she was known as Pamela Anderson Lee after marrying the drummer for Mötley Crüe, Tommy Lee.

Early Life of Pamela Anderson
Anderson was born in Ladysmith, British Columbia, 90 km northwest of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, the daughter of Carol, a waitress, and Barry Anderson, a furnace repairman. Her great-grandfather, Juho Hyytiäinen, was Finnish, a native of Saarijärvi, and left Finland in 1908 changing his name to Anderson when he arrived as an immigrant. Anderson has Dutch ancestry on her mother's side.

The newborn Anderson won fame as Canada's "Centennial Baby", because she was thought to have been the first baby born on Canada's Centennial Day (she was born at 4:08 in the morning). However, the Campbell River Upper Islander of July 5, 1967 reported a baby born two hours earlier on the same Canada Day. After her birth, her parents and her brother, Gerry Anderson, moved to the town of Comox with Pamela.

Career of Pamela Anderson
After graduating from Highland Secondary School in 1985, Anderson moved to Vancouver and worked as a fitness instructor. During the summer of 1989, Pamela went with her friends to a BC Lions game at BC Place; at some point during the game she was shown on the stadium screen wearing a Labatt's t-shirt, causing the crowd to cheer for the 21-year-old Anderson. She was taken down to the field to get an ovation from the crowd. Labatt's immediately offered Anderson a modeling contract and she accepted. In late 1989, Pamela decided to model for Playboy magazine: she appeared on the October 1989 cover (credited as Pamela Anderson Ilicic) and decided to move to Los Angeles to continue her modeling career. She was the February 1990 playmate and has appeared in Playboy several times in the 1990s and the following decade.

Charitable Work and Activism of Pamela Anderson
Anderson is a vegetarian, an advocate for animal rights, and an active member of the animal protection organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), taking part in several campaigns for animal rights. She became a vegetarian in her early teens when she walked in on her dad slaughtering an animal he had just hunted.

One of Anderson's campaigns as a member of PETA has been against the use of fur. In 1999, Anderson received the first Linda McCartney Memorial Award for animal rights protectors, in recognition of her campaign against fur. In 2003, Anderson stripped down for PETA's "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" advertising campaign. On June 28, 2006, Anderson posed naked with other protesters on a window display of the Stella McCartney boutique in London, England. It was a PETA gala event before the PETA Humanitarian Awards. Anderson went inside the boutique and said she would take her clothes off if the event raised enough money for PETA, which it did.

She has also actively campaigned against Kentucky Fried Chicken. In 2001, Anderson released a letter in support of PETA's campaign against Kentucky Fried Chicken, stating "What KFC does to 750 million chickens each year is not civilized or acceptable." She later made a video about KFC's treatment of chickens. In January 2006, Anderson requested that the Governor of Kentucky remove a bust of Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC, from display but her request was refused even when she offered her own bust in exchange. In February 2006, Anderson decided to boycott the Kentucky Derby because of its support for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

She has also campaigned against seal hunting in her native Canada. In March 2006, Anderson asked to speak to Prime Minister Stephen Harper about the annual seal hunt. Her request was refused. In May 2006, she petitioned random individuals on the street for their opinion on the Canadian Seal Hunt.

Most recently Pam has joined forces with PETA in a campaign calling for the boycott of fruit-juice maker POM. The "Pom Horrible Campaign" has resulted in response to the company's refusal to halt animal tests.

In March 2005, Anderson became a spokesmodel for MAC Cosmetics's MAC AIDS Fund, which helped people affected by AIDS and HIV. After becoming the official spokesmodel, Anderson raised money during events in Toronto, Tokyo, Dublin, and Athens.

Anderson became the celebrity spokesperson for the American Liver Foundation, and served as the Grand Marshal of the SOS motorcycle ride fundraiser.

Kanye West

Kanye West
Kanye Omari West (born June 8, 1977) is an American record producer and rapper who rose to fame in the mid 2000s. Kanye West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, and his third album Graduation in 2007. His first two albums received numerous awards (including six Grammys), critical acclaim, and commercial success. West also runs his own record label GOOD Music. West's mascot and trademark is a teddy bear, which has appeared on the covers of his three albums as well as the single cover for his song "Stronger".

Life and Career of Kanye West
West was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he lived with both of his parents. When he was three years old (as mentioned in "Hey Mama") his parents divorced, and he and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois. His father was Ray West, a former Black Panther who was one of the first black photojournalists at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and is now a Christian counselor. Kanye's late mother, Dr. Donda West, worked as a Professor of English at Clark Atlanta University, and the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before retiring to serve as Kanye's manager. He was later raised in an upper middle class background, attending Polaris High School in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois after living in Chicago.

After attending The American Academy of Art, a Chicago art school, West attended Chicago State University but eventually dropped out due to poor grades and in order to continue working on his music career. While attending school, West produced for local artists. He later gained fame by producing hit singles for major hip hop/R&B artists, including Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Cam'ron, Paul Wall, Common, Mobb Deep, Jermaine Dupri, Scarface, The Game, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson and John Legend among others. He also "ghost-produced" for his once mentor Deric Angelettie according to his song "Last Call" and the credits of Nas' "Poppa Was a Playa."

West's style of production often utilizes pitched-up vocal samples, usually from soul songs, with his own drums and instruments. The first major label song he produced was The Truth by Beanie Sigel, and his first major release featuring his trademark vocal sampling style was "This Can't Be Life," a track from Jay-Z’s The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. West said he sped up the drum beat of Dr. Dre's "Xxplosive" to use as a replacement for his drums on "This Can't Be Life."

West has said that Wu-Tang Clan producer RZA influenced him in his style, and has said on numerous occasions that Wu-Tang rappers Ghostface Killah and Ol' Dirty Bastard were some of his all-time favorites. Said by Kanye West: "Wu-Tang? Me and my friends talk about this all the time… We think Wu-Tang had one of the biggest impacts as far as a movement. From slang to style of dress, skits, the samples. Similar to the [production] style I use, RZA has been doing that."

Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. (born September 27, 1982 in New Orleans, Louisiana), better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper.

Personal Life of Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. was born to Jacida "Cita" Carter and Dwayne Michael Turner. Jacida Carter was 19 at the time, graduating from high school, and involved in an abusive relationship with Turner. Turner abandoned the family soon after the birth. Jacida later became involved with Reginald "Rabbit" McDonald who moved the family from Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans' 17th Ward to East New Orleans. It was around the time of the move that Dwayne Carter began to get deeper involved in rap music, signing with Cash Money at the age of 11. A year after his move to East New Orleans, Carter accidentally shot himself in the chest with McDonald's .44 Taurus Magnum, he would subsequently be on life support for two weeks. A year later Jacinda would demand Carter stay away from Brian "Baby" Williams, having gone to school with his older brother Ronald "Slim" Williams, both founders of Cash Money Records. The separation would only last a year, as Carter returned to Cash Money after the death of Reginald McDonald on March 7, 1997.

At the age of 16 Wayne had a daughter with Antonia "Toya", his high school sweet heart, Reginae Carter. They later divorced.

Lil Wayne later enrolled and is currently attending the University of Houston in Houston, Texas since early 2005, where he is majoring in political science. According to the Cash Money Records website, Wayne later switched his major to psychology.

It is confirmed that Lil Wayne was engaged with "Superhead" but they canceled it. Wayne is now rumored to be engaged with Lauren London.

Rap Foundation of Lil Wayne
Wayne's first contact with hip-hop was listening to local Cash Money Records artists like Pimp Daddy and U.N.L.V., whom he would later credit as his earliest influences. Wayne began rapping at block parties as a child. His performance at one of the parties caught the ear of Lil Slim, a Cash Money rapper from the neighborhood, who gave Lil Wayne his phone number. He went on an autograph-signing session with Lil Slim, and there met Cash Money Records owners, "Baby" and "Slim". His free styling abilities impressed the Williams brothers, but they were reluctant to sign him. Eleven-year-old Wayne started to record freestyles on Baby's answering machine and would frequently visit Cash Money offices. When Baby saw so much engagement in the young rapper, he signed him. Wayne later was hooked up with another newcomer, Lil' Doogie (who would later become as famous as B.G.), to form The B.G.'z. The group released their first and only album, True Story, in 1995.

In 1997, Wayne formed the Hot Boys along with Juvenile, Turk, and B.G., and they released their seminal debut CD Get It How You Live. The record's success earned fans throughout the South and Midwest. He further distinguished himself on the Hot Boys' multi platinum-selling Universal debut, Guerrilla Warfare, which was released in 1998 and was followed by their 2003 release, Let Em Burn.

Other Groups of Lil Wayne
Recently Wayne was recruited by the Boyz n da Hood as their fourth member after Young Jeezy left the group to pursue his solo career. He would never be formally named an active member of Boyz N Da Hood due to scheduling conflicts involving the promotion of Tha Carter II.

Solo Career of Lil Wayne
Wayne launched his solo career in 1999, with Tha Block Is Hot. Wayne later followed up his successful debut with the Gold selling albums Lights Out in 2000 and 500 Degreez in 2002, a reference to Juvenile's 400 Degreez. In the summer of 2004 Wayne released Tha Carter. Often cited as a highlight of his career, Tha Carter gained Wayne significant recognition, selling 878,000 copies in the United States. On December 6, 2005, Wayne released Tha Carter II. The album was notably lacking the prominent beats of Mannie Fresh. Tha Carter II sold more than 238,000 copies in its first week of release, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart. The lead single, "Fireman" featuring Sabotage of the EX Thugz-2-Life, became a hit in the US, peaking at 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The second single, "Grown Man", failed to receive any attention. The third single "Hustler Musik" received a video and gained moderate airplay.

Cartoon Debut of Lil Wayne
Lil' Wayne has a guest appearance in the Cartoon Network hit television series The Boondocks in the "Invasion of the Katrinians" episode.

Eminem

Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), better known by his stage names Eminem and Slim Shady, is an Oscar and multiple Grammy Award winning American rapper, record producer, and actor. Having sold over seventy million albums worldwide, Eminem is one of the highest-selling musicians of the early 2000s thus, making him one of the highest-selling rap artists of all time. Eminem was discovered by rapper and producer Dr. Dre. Dr. Dre later signed Eminem to his record label, Aftermath Entertainment.

Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney has praised Mathers for his "verbal energy" and for arousing popular interest in poetry and lyrics. Eminem is infamous for the controversy surrounding many of his lyrics. With the success of his highly acclaimed album, The Marshall Mathers LP and its subsequent nomination for four Grammy awards including Album of the Year, critics such as GLAAD denounced his lyrics as homophobic and misogynist, while others claimed that it promoted violence. In 2002, he starred in the semi-autobiographical movie 8 Mile.

Early Life of Eminem (1972-1994)
Eminem was born in St. Joseph, Missouri to Deborah (née Nelson) and Marshall Bruce Mathers II, of Scottish, German, and English descent. Shortly after his birth, his father walked out, leaving Debbie and Marshall alone. Until he was 12, he and his mother moved to and from between St. Joseph and Warren, Michigan, a Detroit suburb, where he met D12 rapper Proof. He was reportedly interested in hip hop from a young age. Because he was small for his age and he was one of the few whites that lived in an African American neighboorhood he was reportedly picked on. Mathers decided that even though he was too small to fight back he would instead retaliate with words. Learning how to "battle" his foes with rap music gave him an outlet for his anger. Mathers began performing as early as 13 in a group called Bassmint Productions where they produced an EP called Steppin' onto the Scene.

Eminem as a Producer
Mathers is also active as a producer of rap records. Besides being the executive producer of D12's two albums, Devil's Night and D12 World, he has also executive produced Obie Trice's Cheers and Second Round's on Me as well as 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' and The Massacre. In addition, Mathers has produced and appeared on several songs by other famous rappers, such as Jadakiss' "Welcome To D-Block", Jay-Z's "Renagade" and "Moment of Clarity" Lloyd Banks' "Warrior Part 2", and "Hands Up", Tony Yayo's "Drama Setter", Trick Trick's "Welcome 2 Detroit", and Xzibit's "My Name" and "Don't Approach Me". Most of The Eminem Show was produced by Mathers himself, with co-production from longtime collaborator Jeff Bass. He also split the production with Dr. Dre on Encore. In 2004, Mathers was the Executive Producer of 2Pac's posthumous album Loyal to the Game with 2Pac's mother Afeni Shakur. He produced the UK #1 single "Ghetto Gospel" which featured Elton John. On certain tracks on the album, 2Pac's voice was slowed down and digitally altered to match the beat and make him say things like "2005" and "G-Unit", angering many fans. He has also produced "The Cross" off Nas's album God's Son. On August 15, 2006, Obie Trice released Second Round's on Me. Eminem produced 8 tracks on the album. He was also featured in the song "There They Go".

Acting Career of Eminem
Mathers made his Hollywood acting debut with the semi-autobiographical 8 Mile, released in November 2002. He has said the movie is not an account of his life, but a representation of growing up in Detroit. He recorded several new songs for the soundtrack, including "Lose Yourself", which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song; it was not performed at the ceremony, reportedly because ABC wanted him to perform an edited version. Mathers voiced a character in 50 Cent: Bulletproof, who is an aging corrupt police officer that speaks in Ebonics. He has also done some voice acting, both on Crank Yankers and a web cartoon called The Slim Shady Show, which has since been pulled off-line and is instead sold on DVD. Eminem will star in the upcoming film Have Gun — Will Travel in which he will play a bounty hunter called Paladin. He will also be involved in either the soundtrack or scoring. He has also stated a movie production company called “Interscope/Shady/Aftermath Films” with Dr. Dre. The company has worked on 50 Cent's debut movie Get Rich or Die Tryin' and will work on Eminem's next movie Have Gun — Will Travel.

Sean Kingston

Sean Kingston
Kisean Anderson (born February 3, 1990 in Miami, Florida) better known by his stage name Sean Kingston, is a Jamaican American reggae singer and rapper. Although he was born in the United States, he was predominantly raised in Kingston, Jamaica, the island nation's capital, after moving there at the age of six. His stage name "Sean Kingston" pays homage to Kingston, Jamaica. Reggae superstar, Buju Banton is a close friend of Sean Kingston's family and gave him advice upon entering the music industry.

Career of Sean Kingston
Sean Kingston, through a venture between Epic Records and Koch Records, released the single "Beautiful Girls" in Summer 2007. The single, based on the bass line and lyrical "association" of the 1961 hit "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King, reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and topped the UK Singles Chart. Similarly, the song "Me Love" is a loose derivative work of Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er", off of their 1973 album, 'Houses of the Holy. The song also debuted at number one in Australia; where it knocked off Fergie who had been number one for nine weeks. The song stayed on the Canadian Hot 100 number one spot for over six weeks before getting knocked down to third place by the Plain White T's. "Beautiful Girls" was the longest a song has ever stayed at the number one spot in 2007, in Canada.

In October 2007 Kingston was the opening act for Gwen Stefani's The Sweet Escape Tour. In 2007 he appeared in an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba.

Soulja Boy

Soulja Boy
DeAndre Ramone Way (born July 28, 1990 in Chicago, Illinois), better known by his stage name Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, or simply Soulja Boy, is an American rapper. In September 2007, his single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. At age six, Way moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where he became interested in rap music. At age 14, he moved to Batesville, Mississippi with his father, who provided a recording studio for Way to explore his musical ambitions. He became known nationally for his song "Crank That (Soulja Boy)", which he initially self-published on the Internet, as it became a number-one hit in the United States for two weeks in September 2007.

Career of Soulja Boy
In November 2005, Way posted his songs on the music-based social community SoundClick. Following positive reviews on the site, Soulja Boy then established his own web pages on YouTube and MySpace. In March 2007, he recorded "Crank That" and released his first independent album Unsigned and Still Major, followed by a low-budget video filmed demonstrating the "Soulja Boy" dance. By the end of May 2007, "Crank That" received its first air play and Soulja Boy met with Mr. Collipark to sign a deal with Interscope Records.

On August 12, 2007, the song appeared on the Emmy-award winning HBO series Entourage, and by September 1, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot RingMasters charts. Way's major label debut album Souljaboytellem.com, which was reportedly recorded using just the demo version of FL Studio, was released in the United States on October 2, peaking at #4 on both the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.

On December 9, 2007, Way was sued by William Lyons (aka Souljah Boy of the Mo Thugs) who claims he first created the stage name 'Souljah Boy'.

Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian
Kimberly Noel Kardashian (born October 21, 1980 in Los Angeles, California) is the daughter of attorney Robert Kardashian and Kris Jenner. Kim Kardashian is best known for her adventurous social life, scandals and her new reality show Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

Personal Life of Kim Kardashian
Born in Los Angeles, California in 1980, Kim is of Irish, Armenian and German descent. Her father, Robert Kardashian, died September 30, 2003 when Kim was 22 years old. Kim's mother, Kris Jenner, divorced Robert in 1989, and is currently married to Kim's stepfather, former Olympian Bruce Jenner. Kim has two sisters, Kourtney and Khloe, and one brother, Robert. She also has three step-brothers, including reality TV star Brody Jenner, one step-sister, and two half-sisters, Kendall and Kylie.

In 2000, Kim married music producer Damon Thomas, though the couple divorced in 2004.

Kardashian is also known for her sex tape scandal with ex-boyfriend R&B singer Ray-J and her spread in Playboy. Kim is often rumored to be dating many male celebrities but denies these rumors and says she is trying to focus on her career.

Jenna Jameson

Jenna Jameson
Jenna Jameson (born Jenna Marie Massoli on April 9, 1974) is an American pornographic actress and entrepreneur who has been called the world's most famous porn star and "The Queen of Porn". She started acting in erotic films in 1993 after having worked as a stripper and glamour model. By 1996, she had won the three top newcomer awards from pornographic film industry organizations. She has since won more than 20 adult film awards, and has been inducted into both the X-Rated Critics Organization (XRCO) and Adult Video News (AVN) Halls of Fame.

Jameson founded pornographic entertainment company ClubJenna in 2000, with Jay Grdina, whom she later married. This business was initially an individual website, which expanded into managing similar websites of other stars and began producing pornographic films in 2001. The first such film, Briana Loves Jenna (with Briana Banks), was named at the 2003 AVN Awards as the best-selling and best-renting pornographic title for 2002. By 2005, Club Jenna had revenues of US$30 million with profits estimated at half that. Advertisements for her site and films, often bearing her picture, tower on a forty-eight-foot-tall billboard in New York City's Times Square. Playboy TV hosts her Jenna's American Sex Star reality show where aspiring porn stars compete for a Club Jenna contract.

Jameson is also noted for her relative success in crossing over into mainstream celebrity, starting with a minor role in Howard Stern's 1997 film Private Parts. Her mainstream appearances continued with guest-hosting E! television, an award-winning voice role in the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and a recurring role on the 2003 NBC television series Mister Sterling. Her 2004 autobiography, How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale, spent six weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Early Life of Jenna Jameson
Jenna Marie Massoli was born on April 9, 1974 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her father is Lawrence Massoli, an Italian American program director for an NBC affiliate and a police officer. Her mother was Judith Brooke Hunt Massoli, a Las Vegas showgirl who danced in the Folies Bergère show at the Tropicana Resort and Casino. Her mother died of skin cancer on February 20, 1976, before Jenna Massoli's second birthday. The cancer treatments bankrupted the family and they moved several times, including living in a trailer and moving in with her father's mother. Her father spent most of his time at work at the Las Vegas Sheriff's Department, and she became very close to her brother, Tony Massoli. She was a frequent entrant in beauty pageants as a child, and took ballet classes.

In her autobiography, Massoli writes that in October 1990, while the family was living on a cattle ranch in Fromberg, Montana, she was beaten with rocks and gang raped by four boys after a football game. She says she was raped a second time, while still sixteen, by her boyfriend Jack's biker uncle, Preacher. (Preacher has denied this.) Rather than tell her father, she left home and moved in with Jack in her first serious relationship.

Jack was a tattoo artist, and gave her the first of a series of tattoos, one which would become her trademark tattoo, double hearts on her right buttock. According to E!, Massoli's brother Tony, who later owned a tattoo parlor himself, added the inscription "HEART BREAKER".

Early Career of Jenna Jameson
Jenna Massoli tried to follow in her mother's career as a Las Vegas showgirl, but most shows rejected her for not having the required height of 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm). She was hired at the Vegas World show, but left after two months stating that the schedule was brutal, and the money was terrible.

Massoli's boyfriend Jack encouraged her to apply for jobs as a stripper, and in 1991, though underage, she began dancing in Las Vegas strip clubs using a fake I.D. After she was rejected from the Crazy Horse Too strip club because of the braces on her teeth, she removed them with a pair of needle-nose pliers and was accepted. After six months, she was earning US$2000 per night, before finishing high school.

Her first stage name as a stripper was "Jennasis", a name she later used for incorporating as "Jennasis Entertainment". She chose the name "Jenna Jameson" to use as a model after scrolling through the phone book for a last name that matched her first name, before finally decided on Jameson for Jameson Whiskey, which she drinks.

Besides dancing, starting later in 1991, she posed for nude photographs for photographer Suze Randall in Los Angeles, hoping to get into Penthouse magazine. Jameson was paid $300 per day, without rights to the pictures. After her photos had appeared in several men's magazines under various names, Jameson stopped working for Randall, feeling Randall was "a shark", and had been taking advantage of her.

While still in high school, Jameson began taking drugs — cocaine, LSD, and methamphetamines — accompanied by her brother (who was addicted to heroin) and at times her father. Her addiction became worse during her four years with her boyfriend. She eventually stopped eating properly and became too thin to model; Jack left her in 1994. She weighed 76 pounds (less than 35 kilograms) when a friend put her in a wheelchair and sent her to her father, who was then living in Redding, California, in order to detox; her father did not recognize her when she got off the plane.

Tila Tequila

Tila Tequila
Tila Nguyen (born Thien Thanh Thi Nguyen October 24, 1981), better known by her stage name Tila Tequila, is an American model, entertainer, and singer residing in West Hollywood, California. She is known for her appearances in Stuff, Maxim, Time, Penthouse, her role as host of the Fuse TV show Pants-Off Dance-Off and her position as the most popular artist on MySpace (according to page views) as of April 2006. She was raised in Houston, Texas. Her MTV show A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila premiered on October 9, 2007.

Early Life of Tila Tequila
Nguyen was born in Singapore, where her family had emigrated from Vietnam after the Vietnam War. When Nguyen was a year old, she and her family moved to Alief, a suburb of Houston, where they lived until they were admitted to a gated community run by a strict Buddhist temple. The family left the community when Nguyen was eight.

As soon as she entered middle school, Tila Tequila developed a tomboy attitude and got in fights. Her behavior eventually got her sent to a boarding school for six months before being transferred to another school. As soon as she reached high school, she used her sister's identification card to enter nightclubs, where she began recreational drug use and joined a gang. In an interview with Import Tuner, Nguyen said she had been searching for a sense of identity: "I was really confused then, 'cause at first I thought I was black, then I thought I was Hispanic and joined a cholo gang". Later she made some friends outside the gang who briefly helped turn her life around, however her past caught up with her, and she fled to Queens, New York at the age of 16.

Modeling and Acting of Tila Tequila
Nguyen's career began at the age of 18 when she was discovered at the Sharpstown Mall by a Playboy scout and was offered a chance to model nude for the magazine. She did a test shoot, then eventually moved to Southern California and was featured as Playboy's Cyber Girl of the week on April 22, 2002, and soon thereafter she became the first Asian Cyber Girl of the Month.

Tila Tequila gained further popularity through the import racing scene. She has been featured on the cover of Import Tuner magazine, at car shows such as Hot Import Nights, and in the video game Street Racing Syndicate. In 2003, she was a contestant on VH1's Surviving Nugent, a reality TV show where participants performed compromising tasks and stunts for rock star Ted Nugent. She was also the most frequent host on the first season of Fuse TV's dance show, Pants-Off Dance-Off, on which a group of contestants strip to music videos. Tila has also previously worked with VH1 as a commentator on WebJunks's 40 Greatest Internet Superstars.

Nguyen was featured on the cover of the April 2006 issue of Stuff magazine; in the interview, she claimed that her nickname "Tila Tequila" came about when she experimented with alcohol in middle school and had a severe allergic reaction. She was later included in Stuff's 100 Sexiest Women Online. She appeared on the August 2006 Maxim UK cover, was named #88 in their Hot 100 List, and also appeared in the December 2007 issue.

Tila Tequila made an appearance as one of the 12 strangers in the first game on the April 6, 2007 episode of NBC's game show Identity. Her identity was that she has "over one million MySpace friends," a number which, as of that date, stood at 1,771,920. On March 4, 2007 Nguyen made a cameo appearance on the show "War At Home."

Chris Brown

Chris Brown
Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989), better known as Chris Brown, is an American pop and RandB singer, dancer, and actor who released his Billboard Hot 100 number-one debut single "Run It!" in 2005, which was produced by Scott Storch and featured Juelz Santana. His self-titled debut album spawned four successful top ten and top twenty hits in the United States. To date, the album has sold three million copies worldwide and 1,920,665 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Early Life of Chris Brown
Brown, one of two children, was born and raised in the small town of Tappahannock, Virginia, the son of Joyce Hawkins and Clinton Brown. Brown was influenced by the artists which his parents played on the home radio, such as Michael Jackson and Sam Cooke. A dancer since the age of two, Brown was not aware of his vocal talents until the age of eleven. Before becoming a vocalist, he was interested in becoming a rapper. At thirteen, Brown was discovered by a local production team who visited his father's gas station searching for new talent. Since then, he began his recording career and moved to New York, staying there for two years.

Music Career of Chris Brown
Brown left school in late 2004 to begin working on his self-titled debut album, Chris Brown, which was released on November 29, 2005. His debut single “Run It!”, was #1 in the United States, New Zealand, and Australia. Following “Run It!”, “Yo (Excuse Me Miss)” became Brown’s second top 10 hit in the US, peaking at #7, and #13 in the UK. It has been certified platinum by the RIAA. His third single “Gimme That” was released in March 2006 which featured Lil’ Wayne for a remix, originally not featured on the Chris Brown album, but was later included. The single debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at #80 and climbed the charts quickly. Chris also co-directed his music videos for “Yo (Excuse Me Miss)” and “Gimme That”. His fourth single is the ballad “Say Goodbye”, which is also a part of the Step Up Soundtrack. On June 13, 2006, Brown released a DVD entitled, Chris Brown’s Journey, which shows footage of him traveling in London and Japan, getting ready for his first visit to the Grammys, behind the scenes of his music videos and bloopers.

On August 17, 2006, Brown and Ne-Yo co-headlined the 28-city Up Close and Personal Tour.

Shortly after ending his summer tour with Ne-Yo, Brown quickly began production for his second studio album, Exclusive, which was set to be released on August 28, 2007 until it was pushed to November 6, 2007.

According to MTV News, Brown stated: "I am still going to keep it so my younger fans can continue to listen to my music, but I got a couple of joints on there that's for some of the older people." The single, "Wall To Wall", debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #96, and has since risen to #79 and #22 on the Billboard RandB and Hip-Hop Chart being his lowest charting song to date. The song "Kiss Kiss", featuring and produced by T-Pain, was chosen as the second single. The music video was filmed entirely at Florida International University in Miami, Florida in the Summer of 2007. The song has so far been much more successful than "Wall To Wall", which has peaked at #1 on the Hot 100, matching Brown's highest position since his debut single "Run It!."

Acting Career of Chris Brown
Brown has made appearances on UPN's One on One and The-N's The Brandon T. Jackson Show on its pilot episode. In addition, Brown landed a small role as a band geek in the fourth season of FOX's The O.C. in January 2007. Brown then made his film debut in the dance movie Stomp The Yard, alongside Ne-Yo, Meagan Good and Columbus Short in January 2007. Brown next appeared in This Christmas, a family drama starring Regina King, released on November 21, 2007. On July 9, 2007, Brown was featured in an episode of MTV's My Super Sweet 16 celebrating his 18th birthday in New York.

Timbaland

Timbaland
Timothy Z. Mosley (born March 10, 1971) better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American musical composer, record producer, singer, and rapper. With partner Magoo, he is a member of hip-hop duo Timbaland and Magoo.

Timbaland has been considered similar to producers such as Brian Eno, Phil Spector or Norman Whitfield in that he helped to redefine the sound of an entire genre of music with an immediately recognizable production style. The songs he produces feature unorthodox arrangements, sounds, and instrumentation, tied together by a trademark sense of space and rhythm. Like Spector and Whitfield, Timbaland's production sometimes overshadows the credited performer and becomes the actual "star" of the song. With songwriters Steve "Static" Garrett and childhood friend Missy Elliott, Timbaland has helped to create some of the most successful songs in modern pop music and urban music, including singles for Missy Elliott, Aaliyah, Björk, Brandy, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Lil' Kim, Utada Hikaru, Ludacris, 50 Cent, The Game, Nelly Furtado, Ginuwine, OneRepublic, Dima Bilan and The Pussycat Dolls.

Personal life of Timbaland
In November 2007, it was confirmed that Timbaland has become a father for the first time. Timbaland issued a statement that he would take responsibility and have an active role in his child's life. He and the mother, publicist Monique Idlett (who works at Timbaland's Mosely record company), have been dating for two years and will marry in 2008. Timbaland proposed to 33-year-old Idlett at their baby shower in October.

Beyonce Knowles

Beyonce
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (born September 4, 1981) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, music video director, actress, dancer, and fashion designer. Beyonce rose to fame as the creative force and lead singer of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child, the world's best-selling female group of all time.

After a series of commercially successful releases with the group, Knowles released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love, in June 2003. The album became one of the biggest commercial successes of the year, topping the albums charts in the U.S. and the UK. It also spawned the number-one singles "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy" and earned Knowles five Grammy Awards in a single night in 2004. Knowles' second album B'Day was released worldwide on September 4, 2006, coinciding with her twenty-fifth birthday. The album spawned the UK number-one singles "Déjà Vu" and "Beautiful Liar", as well as the worldwide hit "Irreplaceable". It also earned Knowles her seventh solo Grammy Award (she has won ten in total).

Knowles also achieved success in the film industry, starring in such Hollywood films as the 2006 comedy The Pink Panther and the 2006 musical film Dreamgirls, which earned her two Golden Globe Award nominations—one for acting and other for the song "Listen".

Early Life of Beyonce
Knowles is the elder of two daughters born to Mathew and Tina Knowles in Houston, Texas. Her parents decided on her first name as a tribute to her mother's maiden name. Her maternal grandparents, Lumis Beyincé and Agnéz Deréon (a seamstress), were French-speaking Louisiana Creoles. She is the older sister of Solange Knowles, cousin to Angela Beyincé (her personal assistant and song co-writer), and aunt to Solange's son Daniel Julez Smith, Jr. By age seven, she was attending dance school and was a soloist in her church's choir. Her dance instructor took an interest in Knowles and took her star student to various competitions. Knowles went on to win over thirty local singing and dancing competitions.

As a teenager, Knowles attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, where she showed her musical talents. She later went to Alief Elsik High School, in the Alief neighborhood of Houston.

Philanthropy of Beyonce
Knowles, music producer David Foster, and his daughter, Amy Foster Gillies, wrote Destiny's Child's single "Stand up for Love" for World Children's Day, an event which takes place annually around the world on November 20 to raise awareness and funds for children's causes worldwide. Destiny's Child lent their voices and support as global ambassadors for the 2005 World Children's Day program.

Knowles and Kelly Rowland, along with Mathew Knowles, Tina Knowles, and sister Solange Knowles announced the formation of the Survivor Foundation, a charitable entity set up for the purpose of providing transitional housing for 2005 Hurricane Katrina victims and storm evacuees in the Houston, Texas area. The Survivor Foundation extends the philanthropic mission of the Knowles-Rowland Center for Youth, a multi-purpose community outreach facility in downtown Houston.

Knowles had food drives during her The Beyoncé Experience tour in Houston on July 14, Atlanta on July 20, Washington, D.C. on August 9, Toronto on August 15, Chicago on August 18, and Los Angeles on September 2. "I want my tour and Survivor Foundation to encourage people to get involved in the fight against domestic hunger, Pastor Rudy's ongoing mission to help the least among us, and the work of America's Second Harvest. Any help—donating time, money or food—will make an enormous difference", she stressed.

The Survivor Foundation announced a new project called "Knowles-Rowland Temenos Place Apartments", in support of St. John's Downtown and Temenos Community Development Corporation. The housing development is the result of a collaboration with House of Deréon founders Tina Knowles and Beyoncé Knowles, Survivor Foundation, Inc., the City of Houston, and St. John's Downtown (church home of the Knowles family). The project was designed to provide permanent living accommodations for women and men who are taking significant steps in improving their lives after the traumatic effects of personal and natural disasters in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

On October 20, Knowles performed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as part of the nation's millennium anniversary celebrations. While there, she was welcomed by President Girma Wolde-Giorgis, who gave Knowles a brief cultural and history lesson. Knowles responded by saying that, in the future, she will return to Ethiopia with a focus on humanitarian efforts.

Avril Lavigne

Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne Whibley, better known by her birth name of Avril Lavigne, (born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian rock/punk-pop singer, musician and actress. In 2006, Canadian Business Magazine ranked her the seventh most powerful Canadian in Hollywood, and in 2007 she won ninth place in the Jabra Music Contest for the Best Band in the World, based on fan votes from around the world.

Lavigne's birth surname is usually anglicized as IPA: "La-Veen". Avril is French for "April", while la vigne means "the vine" or "the vineyard".

Lavigne's debut album, Let Go, was released in 2002, and went on to sell over 18 million copies worldwide. and was certified six times platinum in the United States. Her second and third albums, Under My Skin (2004) and The Best Damn Thing (2007), respectively, reached number one on the U.S. Billboard 200. Lavigne has scored five number one songs worldwide to date and a total of eleven top ten hits, including "Complicated", "Sk8er Boi", "I'm with You", "My Happy Ending", and "Girlfriend". She ranked # 50 on VH1's "50 Greatest Women Of The Video Era" show list.

Background
Avril Lavigne was born in Belleville, Ontario to a devout Christian family. Lavigne's musical talent was first spotted at the age of two when her mother says Lavigne began singing along with her on church songs. The family moved to Napanee, Ontario, when Lavigne was five years old.

In 1998, Avril Lavigne won a competition to sing with fellow Canadian singer Shania Twain on her first major concert tour. She appeared alongside Twain at her concert in Ottawa, appearing on stage to sing "What Made You Say That".

She was discovered by her first professional manager, Cliff Fabri, while singing country covers at a Chapters bookstore in Kingston, Ontario. During a performance with the Lennox Community Theatre, Lavigne was spotted by local folk singer Steve Medd (a relation of the influential Canadian journalist, Ben Medd), who invited her to sing on his song "Touch the Sky" for his 1999 album Quinte Spirit. She also sang on "Temple of Life" and "Two Rivers" for his follow up album, My Window to You, in 2000.

At the age of sixteen she was signed by Ken Krongard, the artists-and-repertoire (A&R) representative of Arista Records, who invited the head of Arista, Antonio "L.A." Reid, to hear her sing at the New York City studio of producer Peter Zizzo. She then completed work on her first album, Let Go. The Matrix, who worked extensively with Lavigne on the album, commented on her songwriting, saying, "We conceived the ideas on guitar and piano. Avril would come in and sing a few melodies, change a word here or there."

Personal Life
Lavigne has a star tattooed on the inside of her left wrist that matches the style of the one used for her first album artwork. It was created at the same time as friend and musical associate Ben Moody's identical tattoo. In late 2004, she had a small pink heart-shaped tattoo featuring the letter 'D' applied to her right wrist—thought to be a reference to husband Deryck Whibley, with whom she has bought a house in Bel-Air, previously owned by another famous couple: Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler for $9.5 Million. The house has 8 bedrooms, 10.5 bathrooms, an office, elevator, a high-tech kitchen and a 10-car garage.

In February 2004, she began dating fellow Canadian singer Deryck Whibley, the lead singer/guitarist of pop punk band Sum 41. On June 27, 2005, Lavigne and Whibley became engaged. Whibley proposed to Lavigne by surprising her with a trip to Venice, a gondola ride, and then a romantic picnic.

The couple married in a Catholic ceremony attended by about 110 guests on July 15, 2006 at a private estate in the California coastal city of Montecito. When asked if they were ready for kids the couple said "not right now but somewhere down the road."

Music Career
Let Go (2002–2004) - Let Go was released on June 4, 2002 in the United States, reaching number two there and number one in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. This made Lavigne, at eighteen, the youngest female soloist to have a number-one album in the UK up until that time.

Just over one month after its release, Let Go reached multi-platinum status in late-August, and was certified triple platinum two weeks after. Before the end of 2002, just six months after its debut, it was certified four times platinum by the RIAA. It sold a total of 18 million copies worldwide. It was the best selling album of the year for a female artist and for a debut album in 2002.

Four singles from the album were released. "Complicated" went to number one in Australia, while reaching number two on the U.S. Hot 100, and it was one of the best-selling Canadian singles of 2002. Lavigne tied a record set by Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn" when "Complicated" held the number one spot on the contemporary hit radio chart (which tracks air play on the radio) for eleven weeks in a row. "Sk8er Boi" reached the top ten in the U.S. and Australia, "I'm with You" reached the top ten in the U.S and the UK, and "Losing Grip" reached the top ten in Taiwan and the top twenty in Chile.

Lavigne was named "Best New Artist" at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, won four Juno Awards in 2003 (out of six nominations), received a World Music Award for "World's Best-Selling Canadian Singer", and was nominated for eight Grammy Awards, including "Song of the Year" for "Complicated" and "Best New Artist".

Under My Skin (2004–2005) - Lavigne's second album, Under My Skin, was released on May 25, 2004, in the U.S. It debuted at number one in the U.S., the UK, Germany, Japan, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Ireland, Thailand, Korea and Hong Kong and sold more than 380,000 copies in the U.S. in its first week. Lavigne wrote most of the album with Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk, though some tracks were co-written by Ben Moody (formerly of Evanescence), Butch Walker of Marvellous 3, and her former lead guitarist Evan Taubenfeld. Kreviazuk's husband, Our Lady Peace front man Raine Maida, co-produced the album with Butch Walker and Don Gilmore.

Lead single "Don't Tell Me" went to number one in Argentina and Mexico, the top five in the UK and Canada, and the top ten in Australia and Brazil. "My Happy Ending" reached the top ten in the U.S. and was her third-biggest hit there, but third single "Nobody's Home" did not make the top forty. The fourth single from the album, "He Wasn't", reached top forty positions in the UK and Australia, and was not released in the U.S. "Fall to Pieces" was released as the final single from the album, but did not do as well as previous singles.

Lavigne won two World Music Awards in 2004 for "World's Best Pop/Rock Artist" and "World's Best-Selling Canadian Artist". She received five Juno Award nominations in 2005, picking up three, including "Fan Choice Award", "Artist of the Year", and "Pop Album of the Year". She won the award for "Favourite Female Singer" at the eighteenth Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Lavigne co-wrote "Breakaway" with Matthew Gerard, which was recorded by Kelly Clarkson for the soundtrack to the film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004). "Breakaway" was later included on Clarkson's second album, Breakaway, being released as the album's first single. The song peaked inside the U.S. top ten and provided Clarkson with a substantial hit.

Lavigne went on a "Live and by Surprise" twenty-one city mall-tour in the U.S. and Canada, starting on March 4, 2004, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to promote Under My Skin. Each performance consisted of a short live acoustic set of songs from the new album. She was accompanied by her guitarist, Evan Taubenfeld. The venue in each city was not announced until forty-eight hours before the show. The tour was very popular and was successful in promoting the album. The set at Indianapolis on March 25, 2004, at Glendale mall included "He Wasn't", "My Happy Ending", "Don't Tell Me", "Take Me Away", "Nobody's Home", "Sk8er Boi", and "Complicated". Selections of this tour were released on the Avril Lavigne Live Acoustic EP, which was released in U.S. Target stores.

Lavigne was touring throughout most of 2005, and pursuing her acting and modelling careers. She represented Canada at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, performing her song "Who Knows" during the eight minutes of the Vancouver 2010 portion.

The Best Damn Thing (2007–present) - Lavigne's third album, The Best Damn Thing, was released on April 17, 2007 and debuted at number one in the U.S. The album was produced by Dr. Luke, Lavigne's husband Deryck Whibley, Rob Cavallo, Butch Walker and Lavigne. Travis Barker recorded drums for the record. The first single from the album was "Girlfriend", which became Lavigne's first single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. On Ryan Seacrest's radio show Lavigne said that "When You're Gone" would be the second single.

Lavigne has been doing a small tour to promote The Best Damn Thing, with tickets available only to members of her fan club. She began the tour in Calgary, Alberta, and played for a crowd of around two hundred. This show was aired on television on April 2, 2007, on the CBC Network.

On May 25, 2007, Lavigne, her co-songwriter Lukasz Gottwald, and her record label were sued by songwriters James Gangwer and Tommy Dunbar over claims that her song "Girlfriend" infringes on their 1979 song "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend", originally performed by The Rubinoos. In June 2007, Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk, with whom Lavigne wrote the majority of her second album, Under My Skin, spoke to Performing Songwriter magazine about Lavigne's songwriting, saying, "I mean, Avril, songwriter? Avril doesn't really sit and write songs by herself or anything. Avril will also cross the ethical line and no one says anything. That's why I'll never work with her again. I sent her a song two years ago called 'Contagious', and I just saw the tracklisting to this album and there's a song called 'Contagious' on it—and my name's not on it. What do you do with that? See, I won't [call the lawyers], I'll just tell you. Art should not be subject to that kind of controversy." On July 6, Lavigne denied both accusations in an open letter on her website, claiming that she had "never heard the [Rubinoos] song in [her] life" and also that she is considering taking legal action against Kreviazuk with regards to her allegations, which she considers "damaging to my reputation and a clear defamation of my character". On July 10, Kreviazuk made a full public apology and retracted the statements made in the aforementioned interview.

The song "I Don't Have to Try," also stirred up controversy. Similarities between this song and Peaches' 2003 song, "I'm the Kinda" has sparked further plagiarism speculations.

Lavigne recorded a cover of the John Lennon song "Imagine" as her contribution to the album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur.

Jessica Simpson

Jessica Simpson
Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10, 1980) is an American pop singer and actress who rose to fame in the late 1990s. She has achieved seven Billboard Top 40 hits, and has three gold and two multi-platinum RIAA-certified albums. Jessica Simpson starred with her then-husband Nick Lachey in the MTV reality show Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. She has also begun working as an actress, and is the older sister of Ashlee Simpson, a pop rock singer.

Career
1999-2001: Rise to fame
1999 saw the arrival of pop princesses Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, who each received multi-platinum certificates. Simpson's label hoped for the same with her. As 1999 came to a close, Simpson released her first single, "I Wanna Love You Forever," which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Soon afterward her album Sweet Kisses was released. Simpson toured with boy band 98 Degrees to promote her new album. She was given a role in the music video for 98 Degrees' hit song "My Everything," playing Nick Lachey's love interest. At that time she and Lachey began dating. After dating for two years the couple cooled their relationship, stating that the "break" allowed them to concentrate on their music careers. Then on September 11, 2001, Lachey was supposed to be flying out of New York City with his group 98 Degrees. When Simpson heard of the attacks on the nation coming from the airport she immediately phoned Lachey to learn his whereabouts. After this scare the couple rekindled the relationship.

Meanwhile, Simpson's album Sweet Kisses had gone double platinum thanks to the success of her follow-up singles "Where You Are", 1999, and "I Think I'm In Love With You, 2001." The latter became Simpson's biggest radio hit at that point and was her first release of an uptempo single. But although her debut album sold 2 million copies, sales fell far short of those achieved by Spears and Aguilera, and unlike the two pop princesses, Simpson was not a worldwide household name. Columbia Records officials reportedly decided Simpson needed a change for her second album.

In 2001, Simpson recorded a follow-up album with what Columbia considered more radio-friendly, up-tempo tracks; the studio also encouraged her to lose weight in order to fit in with her competitors. The result in that was Irresistible, released in mid-2001 on the heels of the title-track first single. The new sound and image helped make "Irresistible" one of the biggest hits of her career; it peaked at #15 on the Hot 100. "Irresistible" debuted at #6 in June 2001 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart, and has sold 825,000 copies to date.

2002: Marriage to Nick Lachey and TV success
During the summer of 2003, the reality show, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, starring Simpson and her new husband Nick Lachey began airing on MTV. Simpson's third album, In This Skin, was released in August of 2003 to coincide with the series premiere of Newlyweds.

The show quickly became a pop culture phenomenon and is credited with making her a household name, even among those who did not follow pop music or MTV. “I never knew that just doing the show would give me that pedestal to step on,” Simpson told Blender magazine in a March 2004 feature.

On May 30, 2004, Simpson was chosen to sing the National Anthem at the Indianapolis 500.

Later that summer, Simpson won three Teen Choice Awards: Female Fashion Icon, Choice Hottie Female, and Female Reality/Variety TV Star for Newlyweds.

Throughout the run of four seasons, Simpson epitomized the stereotypical dumb blonde, most notably when she asked Lachey whether the Chicken of the Sea tuna she was eating was in fact chicken or fish. She also indicated that she believed that buffalo wings were made from actual buffalo. She thought that platypus was pronounced as platymapus and then wondered whether the correct pronunciation was always platypus or platymapus as well. Her Hollywood brat behavior helped turn the show into a huge hit, with an average rating of roughly 1.4 million viewers, while reaching a series peak of approximately 4 million viewers.

The associated album, In This Skin, debuted at #10 on The Billboard 200 album chart, with sales of 64,000 in its first week. It rebounded after a special collectors' edition was released in April 2004 and subsequently reached a peak of #2. It was eventually certified quadruple platinum. It contained the hits "With You" and a cover of the Berlin song "Take My Breath Away", and a lesser hit, a cover of the Robbie Williams song "Angels", which charted just outside the Billboard Hot 100.

The couple starred in the television special The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour, which aired in 2004 and was compared to the Sonny and Cher show. Simpson released ReJoyce: The Christmas Album in late 2004, which peaked at #14 on the album chart and was later certified gold.

In 2005, Newlyweds won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Reality Show before wrapping shortly after.

Move to film
In the summer of 2005, at age 25, Simpson made her first appearance in a motion picture as Daisy Duke in the movie remake of The Dukes of Hazzard. The film was #1 at the box office its opening weekend, although it had little or no competition (the only other new film opening that weekend was a low-budget independent film), and grossed $30.7 million on 3,785 screens. It also had an adjusted-dollar rank of #14 all-time for August releases. The film eventually collected $110.5 million world-wide, although it was much less financially successful outside the U.S.

Simpson also appeared on the film's soundtrack, releasing "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'", a cover of the 1966 Nancy Sinatra hit. The song peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Song from a Movie in 2006. The song's video featured Simpson as Daisy Duke. It contains scenes of her flirting and singing in a bar and then later washing her car in a pink string bikini. In some countries the video was banned for its overtly sexual content.

Simpson's second film, Employee of the Month, was released October 6, 2006. Despite poor reviews, the film took in nearly $12 million in its opening weekend, debuting at #4 just behind "Open Season." The movie was made on a $12 million budget, and it finished with a little over $28 million in the United States.

Simpson's third film, Blonde Ambition, is set to be released in 2008. Filming for the movie "The Witness", a spy comedy, had been scheduled for the same time but has been postponed.

2006-2007: Music and movies
November 2005 brought confirmation of rumors that Simpson and Lachey were breaking up. On June 30, 2006, their divorce was finalized. Simpson hosted the Teen Choice Awards in August 2006, and appeared on The View in September 2006 as the first choice of new co-host Rosie O'Donnell.

Simpson then returned to the recording studio, switching labels from Columbia to Epic Records. Her fourth album, A Public Affair, was released on August 29, 2006 via Epic Records. The album debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200 with 101,000 copies sold in its first week. The first single, "A Public Affair", reached the Top 20 of the Hot 100 but quickly fell off the charts. The music video for "A Public Affair" featured Eva Longoria, Christina Applegate, Christina Milian, Maria Menounos, Andy Dick and Ryan Seacrest. A second single, "I Belong To Me," was also released through her website and is now included on the CD itself. The single's video appeared on TRL countdowns, but quickly fell off.

In December 2006, while performing a tribute to Dolly Parton at the Kennedy Center Awards, she botched the lyrics, getting flustered in front of a crowd that included prominent persons such as Steven Spielberg, Shania Twain, and President George W. Bush). Afterward, during the final tribute to Parton, Parton's "biggest fan" Reese Witherspoon and her second cousin Jessica Savelli gave a tearful Simpson a comforting hug. Though Simpson was given the chance to redo the song for cameras, ultimately her portion was edited out of the CBS broadcast.

Luke Wilson co-starred with Simpson in her third film, Blonde Ambition, due out in 2008.

Simpson recently said she is due back in front of the cameras filming her next movie role in "The Witness." She also said she will be publishing a book containing selections from her personal journal and photographs, titled "Look Up To the Sky." Simpson has also been confirmed to be in studio recording with Eddie Galan and Drew Lane.

Jessica's father Joe Simpson stated to People Magazine on September 11, 2007 that Jessica is considering doing a country album. Joe told People that Jessica is "talking about doing a country record and going back to her roots, being from Texas."

Vanessa Hudgens

Vanessa Hudgens
Vanessa Anne Hudgens, (also known simply as) Vanessa Hudgens, (born December 14, 1988 in Salinas, California) is an American actress and singer. She made her screen debut in 2003 and appeared in the Hollywood films Thirteen and Thunderbirds, before reaching fame in the 2006 hit Disney Channel film, High School Musical. Hudgens also began a music career and released her debut album, entitled V, in 2006. In 2007, Hudgens became the spokesperson for Neutrogena.

Early life
Vanessa Hudgens was born on December 14, 1988; her younger sister, Stella Hudgens, is also an actress. She has been home-schooled since after her seventh-grade year at the Orange County High School of the Arts. Her parents are Greg Hudgens and Gina Guangco. In regards to her ethnic background, Vanessa was quoted:

"Pretty much I'm Filipino and Caucasian, but within that, I'm Spanish, American Indian, Irish."

Starting at the age of eight, Hudgens performed in musical theater as a singer, and appeared in local productions of Carousel, The Wizard of Oz, The King and I, The Music Man, and Cinderella, among others. Hudgens successfully auditioned for a commercial and subsequently moved to Los Angeles with her family, with whom she is still close.

Career
Film and television: Hudgens began performing at an early age, appearing in musicals starting at age eight, by taking over a friend who couldn't go to the audition, and moved to Los Angeles after winning an audition for a commercial. She scored roles on shows such as Quintuplets, Cover Me, and Still Standing, then made her feature debut in Thirteen as Noel and appeared in the 2004 film Thunderbirds as Tintin. Her television appearances include guest roles on Quintuplets, Still Standing, The Brothers Garcia and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, as Corrie, a classmate of Maddie and London. Hudgens also appeared on Drake & Josh, playing Drake's girlfriend, Rebecca.

Hudgens' largest role among teenage audiences has been starring in the Disney Channel movie High School Musical, which premiered in January 2006; BBC News said that the film's success turned Hudgens into a "household name" in North America. Hudgens and Efron had won "Best Chemistry" award at the Teen Choice Awards for their roles.

As a result of the film's popularity, Hudgens was offered a contract by Old Navy to appear in multiple commercials for the company. Hudgens had previously appeared in a swimwear commercial for the company in 2005. She also appeared in a Blockbuster commercial for no late fees, as the teenage daughter. Also, Hudgens is set to be the new face of Neutrogena in 2007, appearing in both film and print ads. Hudgens is also an endorser of the Ecko line. Hudgens participated in the Disney Channel Games 2006, which was filmed in April 2006 and aired two months later.

Hudgens finished filming High School Musical 2 on April 13, 2007, in St. George and Salt Lake City, Utah. In both films, Hudgens stars as shy, intelligent Gabriella Montez. The film premiered on the Disney Channel on August 17, 2007.

The first High School Musical spawned a hit soundtrack, a worldwide concert tour, a show at Walt Disney World, and even a book series that helped Hudgens land in Forbes magazine's list of top-earning stars under 21." In the list, the 18-year-old Hudgens was No. 7 with estimated earnings of $2 million.

Music: Hudgens' debut album, entitled V, was released in early September 2006. She is signed with Hollywood Records, a Disney-owned record label. A music video for her first single, "Come Back To Me", debuted after the world premiere of The Cheetah Girls 2 in late August. The official music video for her second single, "Say OK", was first shown following the premiere of Disney's Jump In!

"Let Go" and "Let's Dance" have both been used in commercials for ABC, "Let Go" for a Desperate Housewives commercial, and "Let's Dance" for Dancing With The Stars. "Say OK" has also been used in commercials for ABC Family's Lincoln Heights.

Hudgens has stated that she is interested in recording a second album sometime soon. In an August 2007 issue of TV Guide magazine, with the cast of High School Musical on the cover, Hudgens expressed interest in writing songs about the negative side of Hollywood and how it can change people.

In August 2007 at the 2007 Teen Choice Awards, Hudgens was named the Choice Breakout Singer - Female, beating out other noteworthy nominees including American Idol contestant Katharine McPhee, Amy Winehouse, Corrine Bailey Rae and Lily Allen, who all have a decidedly older sound with their music.