ASSIDUOUS (adj) Hard-working
Sentence: Jason raised his grades from a C to A. NO shortcuts, just assiduous studying.
Trenyce ‘Misbehavin’; Lillias White in NYC; Diddy headlines CTV Festival; Travis McCoy ‘kissed a girl’; visas stop Eddy Grant September 2, 2008
Season Two “American Idol” finalist Trenyce has been cast in the forthcoming revival tour of “Ain’t Misbehavin,” joining fellow “Idol” veterans Ruben Studdard and Frenchie Davis. According to Jawn Murray of AOL Black Voices, the singer has shifted her career focus to acting after signing with Vincent Cirrincione Associates, the Hollywood management company that reps Halle Berry and Taraji P. Henson.
*Tony Award winner Lillias White returns to the Triad Theatre in Manhattan Sept. 1 for a series of Monday-evening concerts. Part of Lee Summers’ “Just a Piano” series, the actress will perform Mondays at the Triad beginning at 9:30 p.m. She will be accompanied by pianist Mike Dalto. The Triad Theatre is located in Manhattan at 158 West 72nd St. There is a $40 cover charge and a two-drink minimum. Call (212) 868-4444 for reservations or visit www.smarttix.com. For more information visit www.triadnyc.com or call (212) 362-2590.
*Diddy has been tapped to headline Canada’s CTV’s eTalk Festival Party, to be held at the network’s Queen Street headquarters on Friday, Sept. 5. The artist will be featured in a live, open-air performance before thousands of fans. eTalk’s Ben Mulroney and Tanya Kim, along with reporter Lainey, host the event while a vast array of CTV media properties cover all the action along with throngs of international media gathered for the Toronto International Film Festival.
*Pop star Katy Perry, who recently spent a stint atop Billboard’s Hot 100 chart with her breakout hit “I Kissed A Girl,” is reportedly dating Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes. Gossip blogger Janet Charlton says the pair spent the summer touring together and most recently showed up at the opening of Rok nightclub in Las Vegas.
*Reggae star Eddy Grant has cancelled several U.S. concert dates after visas for members of his band were repeatedly delayed. The “Electric Avenue” singer is touring for the first time in 20 years – but October’s U.S. leg has had to be cancelled over paperwork problems. “He tells WENN: “The band are waiting for their visas. It has just taken longer than everybody imagined. They are all sitting in Johannesburg (South Africa) waiting for the visas. We are hoping they will turn up next week or so. We kept putting the shows back and postponing and postponing and in the end it didn’t make sense. So we have cancelled the shows and will put them back in for next year.”
USHER ALREADY EYEING SUPER BOWL GIG: Singer booked to perform at Thursday’s NFL kickoff concert September 2, 2008
Usher, who is helping to launch the new NFL season on Thursday, hopes to close out the league’s 2008-09 run as well with a plum gig at Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa Bay.
“I don’t think it’s too early to consider it,” Usher told the Associated Press. “Certainly being associated with the organization makes that a lot more possible. There have been conversations for a lot of years about me being part of a performance at a Super Bowl.”
He added: “I’m hoping that this leads, definitely, to that. This whole process is basically you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”
As previously reported, Usher will perform at the season’s kickoff concert on Sept. 4 in New York’s Columbus Circle along with Keith Urban and Natasha Bedingfield. The 3 p.m. show will be held just before the season opener, when the Washington Redskins take on the Super Bowl champion New York Giants.
At the kickoff concert, which will stream on NFL.com, Usher plans to perform “Here I Stand,” “Changing Places” and “What’s Your Name” with guest star will.i.am.
THE GAME HIT WITH ASSAULT CHARGES: Rapper back in the system over alleged funeral scrap with cousin September 2, 2008
The Game was recently charged with criminal battery for allegedly punching his cousin at a family funeral.
According to TMZ.com, the Hawthorne City Attorney brought charges against the artist for allegedly striking his cousin over an argument about money. As previously reported, the cousin accused Game of going back on his promise to pay for the service.
The Compton-born rapper is currently on probation for assault after he allegedly pulled a gun during a celebrity basketball game. If he’s convicted of this new charge, a judge could rule he’s in violation of the probation and toss him in jail.
• A judge has ordered the rap star to consider mediation in a civil suit stemming from the assault case. The lawsuit was filed in March by pro-amateur coach Shannon Roderick, who accused Game of assault, battery, negligence and civil rights violations after the rapper allegedly retrieved a gun from his vehicle during an altercation at the basketball game. Roderick’s lawyer Portasha Moore said she will follow the judge’s order to seek mediation.
OBAMA: ‘LEAVE PALIN’S PREGNANT DAUGHTER ALONE’: Plus, Van Halen’s mad at McCain; Miss Alaska winner; Fat Joe blasts Daddy Yankee September 2, 2008
.jpg)
While the country was focused on tracking Hurricane Gustav’s path through the Gulf Coast yesterday, John McCain’s camp announced that the unmarried, 17-year-old daughter of his running mate is five months pregnant.
The timing of the news was aimed at squashing rampant Internet rumors that Gov. Sarah Palin’s 4-month-old son Trig is actually her daughter’s child.
When asked to comment, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama told reporters that the teen’s pregnancy has no relevance to the campaign and should not be discussed.
“I have said before and I will repeat again, I think people’s families are off limits,” Obama stated after attending a Labor Day picnic here. “People’s children are especially off limits. This shouldn’t be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin’s performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president. So I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories.”
He continued, “You know, my mother had me when she was 18. How family deals with issues and teenage children, that shouldn’t be the topic of our politics. I hope that anybody who’s supported me understands that’s off limits.”
.jpg)
Bristol Palin holds her baby brother
McCain’s campaign said that Bristol Palin will keep her baby, due in late December, and marry the child’s father.
“Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We’re proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents,” Sarah and her husband Todd Palin said in the brief statement.
“Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family,” they added.
In other election news…
• TMZ.com found the woman who beat Palin in her now-infamous 1984 Miss Alaska pageant. Turns out McCain’s running mate was the runner up to Maryline Blackburn, an African American who, according to her her Web site, is “a singer with a wide spectrum of performing experiences.” Click here for photo.
• The rock group Van Halen is outraged after McCain used their song, “Right Now,” during his appearance in Dayton Ohio on Friday to announce Palin as his running mate. “Permission was not sought or granted nor would it have been given” to use the song, Van Halen’s management told TMZ.com.
• After announcing his support for McCain, Reggaeton star Daddy Yankee has incurred the wrath of fellow Puerto Rican music star Fat Joe, an avid Obama supporter. “Put this in the MTV News headline: ‘Fat Joe Says Daddy Yankee Is a Sellout,’” the MC told the network. Joe was offended by Yankee’s endorsement of McCain at an Arizona high school in recent weeks. “I opened the newspaper and got sick to my stomach,” Joe continued. “I felt like I wanted to vomit when I seen that. The reason why I called him a sellout is because I feel he did that for a [publicity] look, rather than the issues that are affecting his people that look up to him. How could you want John McCain in office when George Bush and the Republicans already have half a million people losing their homes in foreclosure? We’re fighting an unjust war. It’s the Latinos and black kids up in the frontlines, fighting that war. … I feel real disgusted that Daddy Yankee would do that. Either he did that for a look, or he’s just not educated on politics.”
Halle Finally Shows Off Nahla – And A Ring September 2, 2008
After months of hiding her daughter Nahla Ariela from the public’s prying eyes, Halle Berry finally displayed her five-month-old bundle of joy at the Los Angeles Zoo on Saturday. Halle’s mother Judith also enjoyed the outing. The baby wasn’t the only thing on show. Check out Halle’s ring.
But don’t read too much into the jewel. Halle’s been wearing a ring on her wedding finger on and off for sometime now. It was reported back in January that her baby daddy Gabriel Aubry gave her a $10,000 Cartier pave diamond eternity platinum ring to celebrate the upcoming birth of Nahla, who arrived March 31.
“Gabriel gave Halle the ring to symbolize their commitment,” an insider told In Touch Weekly at the time.
And then in May the ring popped up again but with a different story in People.
“It’s not an engagement ring,” a source close to the Oscar winner tells PEOPLE. As for reports suggesting that the ring, designed by Amrapali, was a gift from boyfriend Gabriel Aubry, “Halle just saw it and thought it was beautiful so she bought it for herself.”
Whether it’s the same ring and whether it’s a gift or a purchase by Halle herself, chances are the beauty won’t be exchanging wedding vows any time soon.
