Celebrities are always coming up with side projects and trying to explore new creative genres. It’s certainly not a new phenomenon — think the Rat Pack — although we do think in the modern era there’s probably some building pressure to “expand the brand” across industries. However, some celebs, though often beloved in one area, can branch out a little to quickly or a little too far, and well, embarrass themselves. Hey, it happens to the best of us (obviously, because James Franco is on this list), but that doesn’t mean we can’t judge. Click through for our roundup of the most embarrassing celebrity side projects — and let us know if you have any famous fails to add to the list.
Leighton Meester hasn’t even released an album yet, but the Gossip Girl star may already have the most schizophrenic career in pop music. Her first single, “Somebody to Love,” was an R&B-flavored confection that kicked off with a “Vogue” rip-off. The next cut, “Your Love’s a Drug,” was diva-tastic dance-pop. And Meester recently put out a perfectly respectable country single, “Summer Girl,” from her movie Country Strong.
None of these will prepare you for “Front Cut,” her brand-new ode to bypassing the velvet rope. (Sample lyrics: “Don’t tell me I gotta wait in the line/ I said fuck the front door, I should go in through the side.”) The track has the woman best known as Blair Waldorf rapping — God help us all — sort of like Ke$ha but possibly with even more help from the studio, if that’s possible. It looks like we can blame Meester’s pal, Clinton Sparks, for writing, producing, and contributing some unintentionally funny vocals of his own to the song. Listen to it here, if morbid curiosity is your thing.
Sex and the City is dead, and Michael Patrick King killed it, with the awfulness that was Sex and the City 2. No matter. King is still planning to resurrect its stinking corpse for The Carrie Diaries, a prequel that tracks our over-analytical heroine from high school in the ’80s through her early days in New York. And now, there’s a rumor spreading that Blake Lively will play the young Carrie. Although we don’t dislike Lively as much as most people seem to, we think that if this project really is happening, she would be an awful choice for Carrie. So the news that her people are denying she’s been cast gives us hope. After the jump, we cast the prequel, based on the potentially misguided belief that the young Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte will also be making appearances.
1. In case you missed it last night, here’s President Obama’s interview on The Daily Show. Our favorite part had to be when Jon Stewart referred to the president as “dude.”
2. Despite our issues with this week’s Rocky Horror-themed episode of Glee, we’ve got high hopes for this coming week. Rumor is that Kurt will have his first kiss! [via Ask Ausiello]
3. Brian Eno’s new record Small Craft On A Milk Sea is streaming in full at NPR. [via Pop Candy]
4. Hear Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester do her best Taylor Swift impression. OK, not really. It’s a song she recorded for her upcoming movie Country Strong, which also stars Gwyneth Paltrow. [via Idolator]
5. New Line has offered Tom Cruise a role in the film adaptation of Rock of Ages. He’d be playing a singing bartender. This is not a joke. [via Deadline]
If you haven’t already heard, it looks like America’s favorite performance artist Lady Gaga — she of the fashion envelope pushing — is definitely ineligible to for a Best New Artist Grammy when the nominees for 2009 are announced early next year despite reports to the contrary. Why, you ask? Because she was already nominated last year for “Just Dance” back when her only fans were clubgoers and the gays. Gaga lost then to Daft Punk, but she’s poised to be a major contender this year in other categories if not a shoo-in for the category she lost in 2008.
As for the gaping hole in the Best New Artist category that she leaves behind? Here’s a look at the acts we’ll be rooting for when nominations are announced.
On Monday night, the New York Public Library held their largest event of the year — its annual Library Lions dinner —at the main branch on 42nd street. Candles lined dramatic marble staircases that were strewn with rose petals as socialites and celebrity guests made their entrances. We were there rubbing elbows with Bryant Gumbel (who looks a lot meeker in person) and Henry Kissinger (who looks surprisingly vital for an old war horse). The event honored three NYPL librarians alongside Mayor Bloomberg, Hilary Knight, and Annie Proulx.
Raditude, Weezer’s questionably-titled seventh album, hit stores yesterday — and it is silly pop music. But that’s okay, because Leighton Meester is on board. Come on, Blair! Don’t you know it’s so not cool to like a band’s recent work? You have to roll your eyes and talk about how only their old stuff is good. And like any group of self-respecting elitists, the Pitchfork reviewers (primarily Rob Mitchum, but the two other dudes who have reviewed Weezer albums in the last ten years too) hate hate hate every Weezer album after Pinkerton. Hate them.
When it comes to finding ways to make sure your new album gets press, Rivers Cuomo is a true master. Yes, you rolled your eyes over the name “Radtitude,” but it became a story. How many album names can you say that about? Then there was the buzzed about Lil Wayne collab on “Can’t Stop Partying.” But what better way to make sure Weezer’s name gets out there to a generation of kids too young to know every word to “Buddy Holly” than bring to their queen — Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester — up on stage for a duet?
Today, Gossip Girl became a little more entangled with two big musical moments: Sonic Youth’s appearance last night, and then today’s leaking of Blair, err, Leighton Meester’s first single.
First up, there’s that Sonic Youth appearance.
Brows furrowed when it was announced that Sonic Youth would be appearing in this third season of Gossip Girl. The tween girl audience cooing over Dan couldn’t possibly be old enough to understand the New York musical behemoth that is Sonic Youth. They know who Kings of Leon are, but the brand of alternative rock Kim Gordon and gang helped herald is just another category in Wal-Mart’s music section.
