Every 3 minutes in the UK, someone dies from heart disease. Every 6 minutes, someone in the UK has a heart attack. 1 in 3 people who have a heart attack die before they reach a hospital. More than a quarter of all deaths in the UK are down to coronary heart disease.
I don’t buy books unless I’m sure. They generally have to pass a test – would I want to pass them on to my future generation? If not, I take them out at the library. Of course, the popularity of Fifty Shades Of Grey ensured that it was not available in my library for months and I was too curious to wait, so I picked up the trilogy from a book store and got stuck in.
Most readers would say it wasn’t written for literary merit, it was written for enjoyment, and that’s evident in its blatant tribute to Twilight and the constant use of ‘mercurial’ and ‘inner goddess’. But it was Christian Grey’s control issues that I couldn’t get my head around. Continue reading →
On October 12 I ventured down to the SEE Arena in Wembley – it was the first time I had been to the Wembley Arena, and I understood why on my journey – it’s MILES AWAY from where I live, near Croydon. But I thought Kevin Hart‘s HartBeat Weekend was worth trekking down to Wembley for – on a Sunday, in the rain…
Tulisa has been moving onwards and upwards since N-Dubz split up, spending lots of time in America and recording her first solo album alongside continuing her role as a judge on the UK’s X Factor. Unfortunately, an X-rated tape has been leaked online as a horrifying reminder of her past…
The video shows Tulisa when she was still a blonde, previous to her X Factor makeover which saw the singer get her teeth corrected and become a brunette. The tape doesn’t feature any actual sex, but shows Tulisa performing an intimate sexual act…
Although initial reports stated that it wasn’t her, she has now released a video speaking about the matter, which you can see above.
The film in question seems to have been shot by the male who she is performing the sex act on, showing her face throughout the entire duration of the tape. The website that leaked the video stated that apparently the video was filmed backstage at a concert on a blackberry and featured a rapper called MC Ultra, which Tulisa has now confirmed.
The revealing tape must be mortifying for the star; but Tulisa has never been one to keep quiet, so good for her for making a video and getting her side of the story out there.
*UPDATE: I was asked to remove the link to the video by some higher powers…*
When production duo Da Internz told MTV News that the forthcoming remix of Rihanna’s ‘Birthday Cake’ would “shock the world”, speculation began immediately that the collaborator would be her ex, Mr Chris Brown. After all, unless Ri shot the video stark naked, how much more shocking could she be? [‘S&M’, ‘Te Amo’… need I continue?]
It turns out we were right about this collaboration…
After their altercation before the 2009 Grammy’s, fans have been after Chris’s blood, understandably. However, he did his time in community service (which he is still completing) and appeared genuinely in turmoil over his actions.
The couple were seen leaving the studio a few weeks ago, and the result is the remix of Chris Brown’s ‘Turn Up The Music’ and of course Rihanna’s unfinished album track ‘Birthday Cake’. At the end of ‘Turn Up The Music’ you hear Ri say affectionately “you make me laugh”.
The new blonde is also heard saying “I love you baby” – which caused commenters to angrily (I assume) write “was that necessary?”
I can’t help but find it cute – the pair make a sweet team and after listening to these tracks, they clearly make sweet music.
Chris Brown also wished Ri an happy birthday on Twitter yesterday [February 20], apparently unbothered by the public’s reaction.
Chris is still with his girlfriend, model Karrueche Tran. Chris reportedly left her in the car whilst he went to Rihanna’s birthday party, however, the model is determined not to seem bothered by her boyfriend’s mega star ex, and confirmed they are living together. The couple jetted off to Miami for Valentine’s day after Chris attended Ri’s party.
Watch this space – although I think the whole world is going to be keeping an eye on this love triangle/affair situation. For the haters who think Rihanna has made a bad decision with the colloboration – I reckon this would be her response.
The world was shell-shocked when over the weekend we received the tragic news that Whitney Elizabeth Houston had passed away – at just 48-years-old. The singer enjoyed a legendary career, defining and dominating the 80’s and 90’s with hits such as ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’, ‘I Will Always Love You’ and countless others.
Music was as natural to Whitney as breathing. Trained in gospel, New Jersey-born Whitney was the daughter of the gospel star Cissy Houston, goddaughter of Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick’s cousin – she was quite literally born into a world of legends.
Her phenomenal talent meant that her career flew with the ease of a bird; however humble Whitney had no idea what kind of impact she was making. She released her debut album, self-titled ‘Whitney Houston’ in 1985, which featured ‘Saving All My Love For You’ and other classics, winning her her 1st Grammy. At the time, the New York Times said that Houston “possesses one of her generation’s most powerful gospel-trained voices.” Rolling Stone also chipped in, adding that she is “obviously headed for stardom”.
Houston had a knack of delivering draw dropping vocals with ease, not only jaw dropping in sound, but extreme in lyrical content. The singer set a trend by making her music epically inspiring; discussing love as if she could, and would, beat all the cruel odds of the world. Her love songs weren’t half hearted – Whitney gave it her all or nothing at all.
Whitney broke down many doors accidently by blowing them down with her voice. At a time when black artists were struggling to make it onto mainstream radio and TV, Whitney broke the mould and became the first black woman to regularly feature on MTV. A US magazine editor labelled her “the first black America’s sweetheart”. She opened the doors for artists we could imagine not having now – Mary J Blige, Destiny’s Child, Erykah Badu.
An unconscious feminist, Whitney also broke many records for women in a time where ladies were decidedly, and visibly, inferior. According to the Guinness Book of Records, she was the most awarded female artist of all time. Her bold attitude and voice also meant that she was credited for inventing the ‘pop diva’ culture that has continued to inspire female artists to this very day. In her sweet and turbulent life she won 415 Awards, 2 Emmys, 6 Grammys, 22 American Music Awards, 30 Billboard Awards and sold 300,000,000 albums.
With Houston breaking records and performing worldwide, she inevitably became very rich. 3 albums later, Whitney decided to embark on an acting career and starred in ‘The Bodyguard’ – one of the most famous films of the 90’s. It was at this time she married the love of her life, Bobby Brown and shortly afterwards gave birth to their only child, Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown. Her career continued without any glitches until the late 90’s, when Whitney would arrive hours late for shows and interviews and was seen in public looking gaunt and pale.
In 2002 things were still visibly unstable for Whitney, with rumours of domestic violence and drug abuse occurring within the celebrity marriage. Although Whitney said in a TV interview that “crack is wack” it was no secret in Hollywood that the couple were addicted to cocaine and marijuana. Whitney once described the union between the two as: “The princess marries the bad boy.”
She eventually kicked the habit and divorced Brown in 2006. She said her drug addiction came easy as “there was so much money” and she “didn’t think about the singing part anymore.” It was clear to see the abuse had affected her abilities, when her comeback tour in 2010 caused concern for the breathless Whitney we saw on stage – she wasn’t glowing the way she did prior to the substance abuse.
Whitney endured another period in rehab this year, and also featured in a remake of the 70’s movie ‘Sparkle’ with Jordin Sparks. Tragically and ironically, the film covers the effects of fame and drugs. It will still be released in August of this year.
The day before the Grammy Awards, on Saturday 11 February, Whitney Houston was getting ready for her mentor’s Clive Davis‘s pre-Grammy party which was happening downstairs, in the Beverly Hilton hotel in LA. Before the event, Whitney’s aunt Mary Jones went to check on Whitney, finding that she had passed away in the hotel’s bathtub.
Family sources told TMZ that although it has not been confirmed what caused her death, the L.A County Coroner officials have said it was not from drowning in the bath, but from a combination of Xanax and other prescription drugs mixed with alcohol.
Whitney Houston is survived by her mother, two brothers and daughter. Like she once said “We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.” I pray that she rests in peace knowing that she certainly did achieve that.
This piece is an amended version of my feature on Whitney on MTV.co.uk, which can be read here.
Since the most talked-about birth of the noughties happened, we’ve only seen Beyonce and Jay-Z step out into the public eye but we hadn’t seen a glimpse of their first born daughter, who was born on January 7.
Beyonce and Jay-Z released pictures of their baby girl Blue Ivy Carter over the weekend along with a handwritten note, which welcomed us to share their joy. It was an admirable thing that the couple decided to share their child to the world on their terms, in their time and without attaching a price tag to it, like so many other celebrities do.
Celebrity stylist June Ambrose has met Blue and mama B; she spoke to US weekly about Bey’s choice to maintain her privacy:
“Beyoncé really, really thought about this, and she really wanted to do it this way. She just couldn’t imagine selling pictures of her baby.”
Amber also said of baby Blue: “She’s definitely very alert, you can see from the photos, you feel like she’s been here before… she’s always in a loving environment, and you can see that she’s born into greatness. I think that’s what those photos really say. She’s a good baby.”
Just by looking at the pictures, you can see Blue got her mother’s good looks. Even Amber said: “A girl with big full lips, she’ll be a supermodel. And her eyes – she’s gorgeous!”
Speaking of gorgeous, Beyonce has been seen out on the town twice since giving birth and has looked absolutely stunning. Its great to see she isn’t losing weight in a hurry like some (*cough* Victoria Beckham) celebrities; not that she needs to – she carries it amazingly.
