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QUChronicle.com
September 22, 2010
DANCING WITH THE
HAS-BEENS?
Brandy, Hasselhoff, “The Situation” take on dancing show
Kathy Griffin should be ecstatic because the 11th season premiere of “Dancing with the Stars” By Nicole Fano added a slew of Associate A&E Editor new celebs to the “D-List.” The Sept. 20 season premiere featured 11 new celeb contestants, including Bristol Palin, Florence Henderson, David Hasselhoff, Jennifer Grey, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Brandy, and Audrina Patridge. What do they all have in common? Their 15 minutes of fame have already expired. Bristol Palin is no stranger to failure. Did she beat teen pregnancy? No. Is she the U.S. Vice President’s daughter? No. Could she make her relationship work with her baby’s daddy, Levi Johnston? No. “I just wanted to get out of Alaska for a few weeks,” Palin said in an interview with ABC. Perhaps the Alaska native thought “Dancing with the Stars” would help her tarnished public image. “Jersey Shore” personality Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino is also using up his remaining time in the spotlight. “The Situ-
ation” is no stranger to the dance floor, but there is a slight difference between ballroom dancing and fist-pumping. If he incorporates some shirtless performances, hopefully he can win a few points from judges Carrie Ann and Bruno. If “The Situation” performs well, perhaps Snooki will be a shoo-in for next season. In addition to career highlights like “Baywatch” and “Knight Rider,” David Hasselhoff can now add “Dancing with the Stars” to his prodigious resume. But after four years of judging “America’s Got Talent,” perhaps “The Hoff ” does have an eye for talent. This time he’s on the other side of the judging panel. “All the people that we voted off are going to buzz us out quick,” Hasselhoff joked in an interview with ABC. In the 80s, Jennifer Grey scored big roles in “Dirty Dancing” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” Once her career took off, Grey thought a nose job would change her appearance for the better. Instead, it changed her career for the worst. “Dirty Dancing” proved that Grey could dance. But will she remember those moves 20 years later? Out of all the contestants, she probably has some of the best potential. Let’s just hope the viewers can still recognize her.
Previous seasons of “Dancing with the Stars” featured a mix of actors, singers, athletes, and models. Audrina Patridge is none of the above. Patridge rose to “celeb” status after six seasons on “The Hills.” With an MTV reality show as her only claim to fame, Patridge has a disadvantage in the competition. The only thing that may save her from elimination in the early rounds is her dance partner, Tony Dovoloni. Florence Henderson won over audiences as Carol Brady in the 1970’s hit “The Brady Bunch,” but it may be difficult for her to gain young to middle-aged voters. As this season’s oldest contestant, Henderson hasn’t regularly appeared on mainstream TV since 1974. Despite their ages, past contestants Cloris Leachman and Buzz Aldrin still held their own in the competition. Henderson may get votes, but they will most likely be from older people. Brandy is best known for her 90s R&B music career. Brandy even made Billboard’s list of top 20 pop stars of the 1990s. Brandy’s musical performance background puts her at an advantage in the competition. It’s not the most star-studded season of “Dancing with the Stars,” but the typical mix of reality stars, athletes, and washed-up singers and actors in search of their comeback is always entertaining to watch.
Robyn’s techno hits addicting
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Michael Bolton and Chelsie Hightower Brandy and Maksim Chmerkovskiy Margaret Cho and Louis Van Amstel Rick Fox and Cheryl Burke Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough David Hasselhoff and Kym Johnson Florence Henderson and Corky Ballas Kyle Massey and Lacey Schwimmer Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas Audrina Patridge and Tony Dovoloni Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino and Karina Smirnoff Kurt Warner and Anna Trebunskaya
“Dancing with the Stars” airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC
Weezer’s ‘Hurley’ a breath of fresh air
By Bridgette Fossel Staff Writer Dance to the beat of Robyn! Earlier this month, Swedish pop singer and songwriter Robyn released “Body Talk Pt 2,” which contains a variety of beats and lyrics that are difficult to forget and easy to dance to. “Body Talk Part 2” reached number eight on iTunes as the second album of her three part “Body Talk” series. The electronic techno rhythms that almost every song expresses, along with their catchy and more than satisfying choruses, could make a night at Toad’s a great one. You may have heard Robyn’s hit from the mid-90s, “Show Me Love.” And since 2005, she has been trickling back into the pop scene. Most recently, she has hit the ground running with this three-part series. In “Body Talk Part 1,” the first single, “Dancing on My Own,” is a complete adrenaline rush when heard live, and is a recognizable hit. “Hang with Me,” the single for “Body Talk Pt. 2,” is a fun jam that shows Robyn’s desire to be with somebody, perhaps in a more casual manner.
Dance Pairings:
By Reid Engwall Staff Writer
Like most of Robyn’s albums, she expresses her frustrations with what seems like years of lust, love and heartbreak through a diverse stream of electronic-pop tempos matched with some Swedish-influenced sounds. This is most notable in “Love Kills” and the explicit track on the album, “U Should Know Better” featuring Snoop Dogg. This album is worth a listen or two, and a definite satisfaction guarantee for your $7.99. Keep an eye out for the final album of the series which will be dropping this December. Robyn fans may also like Florence + The Machine, La Roux and Marina and The Diamonds.
Weezer has been making music since 1993, releasing seven studio albums for Geffen Records, along with various solo works of the band’s previous and current members. The release of “Hurley” on Sept. 14 marked the band’s eighth studio album as well as their first effort with Epitaph Records. One aspect that stands out with the latest Weezer album is the unusual cover, which depicts the face of actor Jorge Garcia smiling. Many are familiar with Garcia, who played the character Hurley on the ABC hit show “Lost.” So when lead singer and guitarist Rivers Cuomo decided to use the face of Garcia on the album, it was only natural to use the name people would think of. Of course in this society’s drama-crazed fashion, the album cover
sparked controversy with some claiming that the Hurley clothing company gave money to Weezer to use their name. Rivers denies the allegations and has since ironically released a clothing line with Hurley. The album itself is a breath of fresh air for Weezer fans that miss the 90s metal feel that the group used to be all about. In nearly every track, listeners can enjoy a poppy guitar riff backed by the steady power chords of rhythm guitarist Brian Bell. The album also holds true to front man Cuomo’s notoriously quirky lyrics, as seen in the word play of the track “Where’s My Sex,” in which Rivers says, “I can’t go out without my sex, it’s cold outside and my toes get wet.” Weezer continues to make the music that they want, while scoring hits with songs like the opening track of this album, “Memories.” For those that miss the pure rock from Weezer in the past, “Hurley” has a lot to offer.