claytonic

Well then, by the same token, Beyonce took the initiative to stand up and hug Jennifer before she went on stage to accept her Oscar. Now why would she hug someone she did not consider a good enough friend to send a message via ANY source at all, about a horrific tragedy that took the life of her mother, a person she had met. The media is the media, and the point isn't that King wanted to discuss it but that Sarah Jessica Parker handled it sensitively. There are varying degrees of "love" and it can mean to care about someone without knowing them intimately. It is possible to connect with someone and care about them even if you haven't known them for long.

See, this makes sense to me, the way Sarah Jessica Parker handled such a sensitive situation. JHud's role in Sex in The City was small compared to her role in Dreamgirls. Beyonce had met Jennifer's mother, that was good enough reason to just reach out and say "if you need anything.....".

Couchie, Superstar James said he held his tongue while listening to tons of people telling him how wonderful it was that Beyonce was at the memorial because that is what was reported in the media. He was there and knew she wasn't there. He must have asked Jennifer if she had heard from Beyonce. I am not making excuses for him, he did the wrong thing, and must have realized it because he removed it fairly quickly but not quickly enough because it had already been copied and pasted to a number of blogs and created a slinging match between pro Beyonce and anti Beyonce bloggers. It is true that some co-stars in a film project don't get close but from all accounts, Beyonce, Jamie and Jennifer became very friendly, they had a lot of scenes together. Jamie Foxx did not contact Jennifer direclty but he sent a personal message to her. To me, it was all very odd, based on the information I had. Celebrities give out their contacts details VERY selectively, for obvious reasons.

I take your point but as I said, I watched a lot of interviews and at all times, Beyonce behaved like she liked Jennifer and seemed very friendly. She jumped up and hugged Jennifer before she went on stage to accept her Oscar. I wonder why she did that if it wasn't sincere. I wouldn't be hugging anyone I didn't like enough to call them my friend, not even if it were the "thing to do". Superstar James meant "everyone" in her circle of friends and associates. I actually PM'd him in YouTube as soon as I read his blog, and said to him, are you sure you haven't made a mistake? He replied, "Trust me, I haven't". He is not her best friend, just ONE of her best friends, he told me. I do agree with you though that he shouldn't have written the blog, but he is younger than Jennifer and I don't think he realized the repercussions. Jennifer and Beyonce cannot avoid each other because they work in the same industry and will see each other at all the usual big entertainment events. SO he wasn't doing JHud any favors but I think his emotions got the better of him. He was also close to the Hudson family so the loss was very personal and devastating to him as well. The victims of the Air Force jet crash also made the news internationally, because it was WAS catastrophic. Hud's news was prolonged because of the missing nephew. As soon as the nephew was found, that was the end of the updates on television here. I get all my news online.

Superstar James did remove the blog because it created an outcry. I suspect Jennifer may not have wanted the uproar, but I am speculating. I am a big fan of Jennifer Hudson, next to Clay, she is the only other Idol I follow closely now (I just don't' "get" Fantasia's new music anymore) , and it became MORE SO when I first discovered she was doing Dreamgirls - I know more about Diana Ross and Motown than anyone else I know, right through the movie I knew which parts were taken right out of Motown and which were pure fiction.... I can rattle off facts and figures like you wouldn't believe!!! SOOOO, Dreamgirls was an exciting project to me, hence I watched numerous interviews of her with Beyonce and Jamie Foxx, and Jennifer made it clear how much she loved both of them. She referred to Beyonce at one point as her "Dream sister". (I also have a friend who sent me anything she came across about Dreamgirls, knowing what a Motown fanatic I was. I do not have the same level of interest in "Bees", even though Jennifer is in it. I barely know about it. Here's the thing, it wasn't like Jennifer's mother had died in a car accident or cancer or something, I mean, that would have been bad enough, and anyone who knows anything about Jennifer knows that she's a mama's girl. When she was nominated for a Golden Globe, the first person she called was her mama. (Jennifer told this story a lot, saying she called her mother to tell her and her mom said "oh that's great baby, er... what's a Golden Globe?" Jennifer could have taken ANYONE to the Academy Awards as her date, but she took.... her mother. Beyonce met Jennifer's mother on at least one occasion. Jennifer had always talked about her family, how important they are to her. Her MySpace friend's page had listed 1. Superstar James, 2. sister Julia, 3. brother Jason. The thing is that her adored mother and brother were murdered in her childhood home, and for 3 days her nephew was missing, eventually found dead. This is a tragedy of catastrophic proportions in anyone's language. Jennifer and Beyonce spent considerable time together during the making of Dreamgirls and then during the promotion. At first I was impressed with Beyonce. I mean, she was supposed to be the star of the movie. But she was pushed aside and ALL the attention for months and months was heaped on Jennifer. Everyone would do the customary interview with Beyonce, and then move on to Jennifer and gush over her. I was impressed that Beyonce seemed to take it in her stride. A co-star in a movie is completely different to a co-worker in an office or any other workplace. The time spent together is more personal and intense because of the nature of the job. Beyonce was the first person to jump off her seat at the Academy Awards to hug Jennifer when her name was announced. I was impressed because I knew it could not have been easy to watch someone like Jennifer to steal all her thunder. Anyway, my point is this, even if they had known each other briefly, they knew each other well enough to have each other's private email and phone number. A number of people had said that they did not try to call Jennifer but they sent messages to her via various sources, not wanting to intrude on her privacy yet letting her know that they were there for her and thinking of her, praying for her. Oprah (apparently) attended the memorial then invited Jennifer and her fiance to stay at her home, somewhere safe and private. Donald Trump apparently accommodated her family at his hotel for a couple of weeks, during the worst time, so that they would have privacy and security. I understand a number of people made sure she knew she only had to ask, if she needed something. I hate to be cynical, but when I heard that Beyonce had said "no, but I've been praying for her", the first thing that came to mind was ..."oh, praying that Jennifer NEVER recovers from this tragedy so that she is no longer a career threat to you?" Sorry but that really did cross my mind. The bottom line is that if you have spent a chunk of time with someone and got to know them on a personal level, and something happens that causes them immense sadness, all it takes (in this day an age), is a few seconds to send them your thoughts. The thing is also that Superstar James wrote his blog because he was angry ... he said everyone knows how much Jennifer loves Beyonce. Regardless of how people react differently to tragedy, the typical thing to do is to let the person know you are thinking of them, and if they are someone who values prayers (as Jennifer does since she is so religious), the offer of prayers are a great comfort to them. It doesn't cost money, it doesn't cost a lot of time, it just takes seconds to offer something that might momentarily soothe someone's pain. especially when you know that person is someone who loves and admires you, Jennifer just happens to be the subject concerned, but I would feel this way about anyone who was snubbed at their darkest hour, by someone they loved and admired, and considered a friend. ETA:: Right now, Beyonce is highly regarded by the UK X-factor people because she was so sweet to Alexandra Burke when Alex broke down and sobbed like a baby after performing with her. She then proceeded to say really lovely things about Alex. Everyone was raving about Beyonce, and if it hadn't been for this Jennifer incident, I would have been impressed too. However, I was cynical.... she had a TV audience of 13.5 million watching her sing with Alexandra and watching her being so sweet to Alex while she was sobbing. Then, still clutching Alex, she confirmed to the host that she would be back in the new year for her tour. She got to sing "If I Were a Boy" on X-factor. Go on, hit me for being so cynical (ducking...)! jmh123 Like you, lots of people have gone searching for the original versions of Hallelujah and the 'purists' aren't at all happy with what Alexandra has done to the song, but I think the younger audience love her version because they aren't familiar with the others. I am just happy for Leonard Cohen... apparently he is broke because he got ripped off by someone ... same old same old story of artists who earned millions during their heyday but were totally blind to scammers because most creative people (well, usually) don't have the kind of brain that involves financial stuff and tend to place their trust and money in the wrong hands. So hopefully Hallelujah will generate some much needed royalties for Mr Cohen.

One of Jennifer Hudson's best friends (called Superstar James who has the top position on Jennifer's MySpace page) finally could not contain himself and wrote a blog on his MySpace saying that he has held his tongue all this time when everyone kept contacting him to say how wonderful of Beyonce to attend the memorial service. He said that in fact, she had not emailed or even sent a text message. The media had it wrong. This was later confirmed by Beyonce herself when in a radio interview (promoting her album), she was asked if she had reached out to Jennifer, and she replied "no, but I have been praying for her". She had Jennifer's email address and private phone number. Go figure. I tend to see celebrities as human beings first. I have worked with enough of them to know that, as Oprah pointed out, the biggest difference between a celebrity and anyone else is that more people know their name. Obama, right in the midst of a presidential election, found the time to reach out to Jennifer Hudson. Now, that's one heck of a human being.

Liney, I think the one you are referring to is Relight My Fire, a song by Westlife, a very successful UK boyband. (She also has a ponytail for "I Wanna Dance With Somebody") Alexandra Burke - Relight My Fire + Intro + Judges Comments (HD) This is a good clip of her journey, gives a good big picture of her performances: The X Factor 2008 - The Winner's Journey: Alexandra Burke List of individual performances, with intro and judges' critiques BACKGROUND: The young woman who introduces Alex and is seated next to Simon Cowell during the live shows is Cheryl Cole, Alexandra's mentor. the judges are incredibly competitive against each other!! Cheryl is a member of UK's most successful girl band, called Girls Aloud. This band was actually created 6 years ago via a reality show called Popstars: The Rivals. Simon practically begged her to join their judges team when Sharon Osbourne quit. Cheryl turned out to be the most popular judge of all this season. The other female judge is Dannii, Kylie Minogue's younger sister, who was a child star in Australia many moons ago. This will give you a good glimpse of what Simon will be bringing to your shores, i.e. Alexandra, who he described as "more versatile than Leona"; that's because of her ability to move on stage and her bubbly personality. I just want to add that she has received some criticism for being overly emotional. In 2005, when she was 16, she made it to the 3rd stage of the X factor auditions and was eliminated. She was devastated and almost quit singing. Her mother and brother convinced her to try again since she had nothing to lose. Because her confidence had been shattered 3 years ago, she was nervous at every single performance despite the judge's glowing comments. I've watched every performance of the whole Xfactor via YouTube. Alex deserved to win but there were some others that were just brilliant as well, namely Laura White and Ruth Lorenzo. ETA: Just HAD to include my very favourite audition. The judges were asked to predict the winner BEFORE the finalists were selected and Simon picked her as the winner. Each judge's prediction was sealed in an envelope and not opened until after the winner was announce. She did make it to the finals but was eliminated fairly early. (No judge picked the winner) Rachel Hylton audition - X factor series 5 episode

Thanks for that! Love his hair color, my favorite is his natural color but that color looks great on him! He looks so relaxed, I guess life is good right now! Jerome sure keeps close to him; wouldn't mind him as my bodyguard if I ever needed one! ETA: Letterman is on, in the background, interviewing Jennifer Anniston. Does Jennifer actually have ears? I've wondered this for a long time....

Did anyone watch the UK X-Factor? X-Factor is a much more interesting format than Idol. For those who don't know, 4 judges have 3 acts each to mentor. They choose the songs, give advice on outfit, style etc etc. The judges then seem to aim their criticism at the mentor of each act, rather than the act itself! It is so much more entertaining than Idol. The 2008 winner is Alexandra Burke and her winner's single eclipsed Leona Lewis' on the first day. Frankly, I prefer Alexandra, while no one can deny Leona is technically superior, to me, she was like Tamyra and Latoya London - BORING... because every song is vocally fantastic, but for me to be entertained, I have to see passion, the kind shown by Fantasia and Jennifer Hudson, and now Alexandra. But Alexandra can also dance and her live gigs will be incredible entertainment. The show is about the X FACTOR, which is what people like Kylie, Madonna etc have... not superior voices but amazing in concert. Before the winner's single was released for download, Simon Cowell predicted that Alexandra will be a bigger star than Leona. And she will be if Simon is determined to make her an international star. The X Factor is Simon's concept, so he won't want to lose face! Here's her winner's single Alexandra Burke - Official Single - 'Hallelujah' Oh, and the most memorable part of the whole competition was her duet with Beyonce, her Idol. My goodness, after singing with Beyonce, she could not stop crying, she could barely speak!. I must say I was impressed with how good Beyonce was to her, although I am not a fan of Beyonce myself, especially after finding out that she did not bother to reach out to Jennifer Hudson at her darkest hour. As far as I am concerned, if you have someone's personal email address and phone number, it takes seconds to send them half a dozen words offering your thoughts and/or prayers. I guess it is easy to be generous to a 20 year old English girl who is no threat, the way JHud was. Sorry for being a B*tch if you like Beyonce but honestly, it is hard to redeem anyone who lacks basic compassion for another human being during an unspeakable tragedy.

Well... erm... I was gonna ask what a Roomba was but decided not to be so fast about revealing my ignorance. So I Googled it and was immediately taken to YouTube. http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=HqhIMFQNGCg Looks like you got a good deal, Scarlett, and I want one of those but does it come with an something that first picks stuff off the floor and puts them where they are supposed to be?

is that Jerome? If it is, my goodness he has doubled in size!!! Also, I am trying to find those YouTube links that someone posted, for the E! thing. I started watching it but it was fairly long and had to stop. But now I can't find the page they were posted on. Can anyone help? Thanks!

Ditto!!!

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld-a7DYz-cs Simon Cowell BEFORE he became Simon Cowell. Simon's TV debut, on a TV quiz show in England, called Sale of the Century. He looks very young and has a captivating smile! Well, I think so.... LOL Looking at him here, it isn't surprising that with that personality, as shown on this show, that he was to become a very successful businessman!

luckiest1, your recaps are GREAT! I guess I just enjoy FCAer recaps more than the recaps from other boards although those are good too.

That pic of Clay, Hannah and Reed, and the one of Clay and Reed at Rosie's Broadway Kids Gala can be found at Reed's MySpace photo album... http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?...endID=119303955 Those two `pics are in (second page) of the second album (black and white pic of Reed): My Photos 27 photos 4 New Photos! [gee that number keeps coming up.... two pics on page 2 of the 2nd album, and the Rosie Gala pic is the 2nd last pic on page 2...] Trivia: I've been watching the UK X-Factor, and just found out Rihanna will be doing a duet on the final show this weekend, with a boy band that is in the finals. I don't really know anything about her except for that Umbrella ella ella eh eh eh song so I went and did a search on YouTube and found this video http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=xsRWpK4pf90 for Don't Stop the Music. You don't need to give it a free hit... my ONLY reason for mentioning it is that it was posted to YouTube 6th August 2007, and today 12 December 2008, it has Views: 76,473,793 I've never seen so many hits for ONE video before!!!

If Clay's happy, I'm happy. Spread the happiness around... ETA: Well, that is incredible that there were more Lycos searches for Clay than Barack Obama in 2008.

Thanks to Lotus, I have just read that outstanding post from Berkeley. It was exceptionally long but it was exceptional in every other way as well.

After reading The Troubled Life of William Balfour, I could not help but feel "sorry" (for want of a better word) for this young man who never had a chance in life. Balfour's father has a 30 year prison sentence, for murder.He idolized his older brother who was also a criminal.He, himself, spent 7 years in prison for attempted murder. (He was on parole when he married Jennifer's sister). His mother is a complete and utter fruitcake. Really, some people just have no business having children. While I do feel that everyone has to take responsibility for their own actions, how does a child who has only ever known anger, violence, cruelty and abandonment evolved into a responsible adult? The above excerpt from the blog cited pretty much says how I feel when I hear of horrific crimes. I am always so shocked at the way people in the USA are able to buy guns, like they were buying the latest gadget. I personally want strict gun laws. My entire life, I have never lived in a house that had a gun in it. I have no idea what it feels like to pick up a gun. As a child, I hated cowboy movies because it involved watching people being shot at. (I did watch Rin Tin Tin but only because of the dog). The idea that people can walk into a store and buy guns and bullets like they were buying an ipod and batteries... well, that just blows my mind. (At least that is how it looked in the documentary I watched recently. Businesses have slowed and people are losing their jobs, YET those with businesses selling arms have reported a 400% increase in business. ) And we are afraid of terrorists with "strange" religions?

Love them, annabear, especially the one about the cat called "Help". What are some people thinking when they name their pets (or children)!!!

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=mD3DqRQ_vPQ This is from the auditions for UK X-Factor #3 (won by Leona Lewis in 2006). It really is quite funny!

annabear, I have felt this way from the beginning, long before the People magazine spread. As far as I am concerned, if someone is rude, inconsiderate and disrespectful enough of another human being's right to privacy, then they don't even deserve the right to be surprised that they are lied to.

Anyone heard of DDA?

Hi Liney, You know, I don't think that at all. I don't always like the clothes he wears but then that's my personal taste, and I've bought clothes for myself that has made me wonder, what the hell was I thinking? Hair .... I am just very conservative with hairstyles, so all I am expressing is my own taste. I also hate tattoos and piercings (except for ear-lobes), that's just my conservative taste, and when I express my opinion on here, it is more about me sharing something about myself rather than having negative thoughts about Clay. I am a very private person so when I venture into expressing a personal opinion, it's giving away something about myself. Whether his hair is purple or brown, ultimately, that is just superficial stuff, even though it has a fairly critical place in life's realities, and even more so in the entertainment business. But the emphasis is that it is just superficial...It doesn't change who he is as one of the most decent people in the entertainment business, and how I feel about his talent, his character and integrity. While I may periodically ruminate about his career, I don't have any real concerns since he is popular amongst his peers and has some important close contacts in the business. So far, I cannot fault his priorities in life because I share his values. I just want to be able to express a superficial opinion without anyone thinking that somehow I am critical of Clay because that would be absurd. Thanks for reading this and I hope you understand what i mean, Liney! Hope everyone had a happy Clay birthday! ETA: Anyone been watching X Factor (UK)? For quite a while, my favourite Somewhere Over the Rainbow version has been the acoustic guitar version by Israel Kamakawiwo Ole However, my new favourite (ahead of Garland, Aiken, McPhee, Leona Lewis, Eva Cassidy, Kim Locke etc etc) is Laura White of XFactor. http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=MXY18noqpBc The way Laura holds the very last note is what clinched it for me. If you are a fan of this song, you won't regret giving 2.35 minutes of your life to her performance.

Well you know, Cindi, there's a saying about this (show) biz, it's better to be talked about, than not! I think we all scrutinize Clay and express our opinion because we are NOT indifferent to him. We take the time and effort to watch everything and notice every little thing and then comment on every little thing. I really didn't like his hair, frankly I was kinda taken aback. And his appearance on ANY show will always be too short for me. I am glad he talked about Parker's illness, I believe he has been open to sharing it for two reasons, firstly because it was such a big deal to him, and secondly because he believes in bringing awareness to children's medical conditions. I honestly don't see it as negative criticism. It's just an expression of personal taste and our beautiful obsession. Sometimes I suspect Clay does these crazy hairstyles just to get us worked up! :cryingwlaughter: ETA: Funny you should say that. I've felt that way about Barbara Wawa for quite a while. I love The View but next time she needs to replace someone, I think it should be HERSELF!!

Re the way Clay looked on here... http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=3op3JtdisnU If my wishes were granted (yeah right!), I would want Clay (when he is not in character) to always have his natural hair colour and his rimless glasses; the hair just blow-dried without any product added to it. For me, his natural look is the best, so why put all that chemical in his hair to make it NOT look like him, and worse still, to make him look less attractive (that's my opinion, of course) I do also like his hair as medium brown; I don't like it TOO dark (or too light) because it just looks artificial against his fair skin. OK, having said all that, I love him no matter what ... but since I like looking at his pics, I would prefer to see his naturally gorgeous self.