Vanessa Laker Meets Kelly Rowland: The Interview!

It’s easy to see why Kelly Rowland’s glowing from ear-to-ear because, not only is she looking her best, the former Destiny’s Child member has a career which is rocketing sky-high. The R&B diva is currently taking the UK by storm as a new judge on The X Factor, dazzling viewers with her demure glam outfits, while mentoring her girls…

With her new single, ‘Down For Whatever’, and her third solo album, ‘Here I Am’, released later this month, life’s pretty good for Ms Rowland.  Vanessa Laker had an exclusive chat with the Grammy-winning star, at the W Hotel, to talk about her new LP, dealing with drama on The X Factor, her love for fashion, why she’s a fan of Emeli Sandé, plus a lot more.

Vanessa: Hi Kelly! You’ve got a new song coming out called ‘Down For Whatever’. Tell us a bit about it…

Kelly Rowland: ‘Down For Whatever’ came about through RedOne (Lady GaGa, Jennifer Lopez).We were in the studio, it was my first time meeting him, and it was a party from the moment that we met. When I first heard ‘Down For Whatever’, I was just so excited about the record and the UK Universal team heard it and they were like, ‘That’s our first single!’

Vanessa: In the US, you’ve released ‘Motivation’ and ‘Lay It On Me’ – which are more urban-sounding songs – but your UK lead single is much more dance-orientated.  Do you feel that there’s a big difference between your UK and US fans?

Kelly Rowland: Well, I have released many dance songs over here. From having the remix to ‘Work It’, to doing ‘When Love Takes Over’ on a whim, it worked. We’re just following suit. ‘Lay It On Me’ will definitely come out and be a single over here. I think that’s what’s so great about music now and that’s what’s so great about artists, period! Like, look at Chris Brown for example, he’ll have ‘Look At Me Know’, but then he’ll also have ‘Beautiful People’. I think as artists, we’re able to just not have limits and not allow anyone to put limits on us, and that’s what I did on this record.

Vanessa: ‘Down For Whatever’ is taken from your new album, ‘Here I Am’, which is your third solo LP. How do you feel you’ve grown as an artist from your first album, ‘Simply Deep’, all the way to ‘Here I Am’?

Kelly Rowland: Oh my goodness! Well, for one, it’s just being more certain and sure of myself as a woman. I feel like I’ve grown as a woman and I love that feeling, hence the album title, ‘Here I Am’.

Vanessa:  With this new record, there’s this glow and confidence about you. Do you feel that you’ve really come into yourself?

Kelly Rowland: I have, I definitely have. I didn’t know what 30 was going to bring, but it definitely brought a load of confidence and self-assurance, and just feeling like I’ve got my big girl shoes on.

Vanessa: Tell us a bit your new album, ‘Here I Am’…

Kelly Rowland: ‘Here I Am’ is a very grown and sexy album, it’s sensual as well. I found myself being sensual a lot on this record, it just kind of came out. It’s really cool when things just come out on this record. There are moments that make you dance, moments that make you reflect, like ‘Heaven And Earth’, and there are moments that make you wanna just chill with your boo on a nice little night, like ‘Motivation’ and ‘Feelin’ Me Right Now’.

Vanessa: There’s pretty much a song for every mood…

Kelly Rowland: Exactly!

Vanessa: And how are you finding your new role as a judge on The X Factor?

Kelly Rowland: I’m really excited about my new role as a judge on The X Factor. It’s been quite a journey, especially as the weekend’s progress, but it’s been great. I love it!

Vanessa: Over here, The X Factor hype is pretty crazy – as you’ve now come to find out. Did you know exactly what you were getting yourself into when you signed up for the show?

Kelly Rowland: I knew that it was crazy, but I didn’t know that it was on another level crazy (laughs). But it’s all good, I really do enjoy myself on The X Factor and I’m genuinely having a good time.

Vanessa: There are gossip magazines in America, but the British tabloids are a little bit more intense. How are you dealing with the constant press stories about The X Factor and all of the drama surrounding the show?

Kelly Rowland: They’re just doing their job and you can’t really be upset when someone’s doing their job. I learnt that from someone I admire very much. Whether it’s the paparazzi or a journalist who’s twisting the story, because they can take one nice little one-liner and take it and make it their own, it’s just a matter of knowing that’s their job and understanding that it just comes with the territory.

Vanessa:  And just taking it with pinch of salt as well…

Kelly Rowland: Exactly! I don’t let any of that stuff get to my heart.

Vanessa:  You’ve been a revelation on the show and UK audiences have really warmed to you. Just last week you won Ultimate TV Personality at the Cosmopolitan Women Of The Year Awards. How was that?

Kelly Rowland: I know, right? That was very cool and I’m such a fan of Cosmo. I’m such a fan of Cosmo because of everything they do for females. They empower female and they award females for doing different things in their communities – they just make a difference in people’s lives. It was just really great to get an award on a night, where I’m looking at other women being honoured as well, it was phenomenal.

Vanessa:  Your weekly outfits have taken the fashion world by storm, and style critics have been singing your praises. How important is fashion to you?

Kelly Rowland: I just LOVE clothes! I’m a girl who loves clothes, accessories, shoes, bags and jewellery. I feel as though my style has really evolved as well. When you come over here to London, you just get even more inspired. I also have some wonderful stylists. Between my stylists and my hair and my makeup team, we just sit there and go through magazines – because we’re just fiends for magazines. We’ll sit there and just look at things all day and we’ll have our little magazine parties (laughs). Photography and everyday people inspire us, too.

Vanessa:  Your new judging role means that you’ll be spending a lot of time in the UK. Are you a fan of British music?

Kelly Rowland: Oh, most definitely. Right now I love Tinie Tempah. I love, love, love, Tinie! Oh, and Calvin Harris. Oh wait, there’s this girl, I love her song. OMG what’s her name again? She has the blonde hair…

Vanessa: Emeli Sandé?

Kelly Rowland: Yes! Emeli Sandé, that’s the one. I love her song. That girl sounds amazing live, she can SING. I really like her a lot.

Vanessa:  And when can your UK fans see you performing live?

Kelly Rowland: I’ll be performing at the ‘1Xtra Live Tour’ on December 1 at Brixton Academy, where I’ll be performing some exclusive tracks from my new album. I’m so excited for that!

Kelly Rowland’s new album, ‘Here I Am’, is out now.

Words: Vanessa Laker (@VanessaLaker)

Man of the Month: Ryan Gosling!

We first fell in love with Ryan Gosling in The Notebook (the ultimate chick flick), but 2011 has no doubt been the year of the Gosling. Over the last 12 months the 31-year-old actor has really come into his own. The sexy chizzzle-chest blond star is not only super talented, but he’s also very easy on the eye (which never hurts). Oh, and we can’t forget he’s a good Samaritan as well. Remember that fight in the streets of New York that he broke up? Yep, Ryan truly is a dreamboat.

He may have been robbed beaten by Bradley Cooper to nab People Magazine‘s Sexiest Man  Alive title, but here at Sass and Glide, he’s definitely our Man Of The Month *swoons*

 

Vanessa Laker Talks To Stooshe: The Interview!

Alex, Courtney and Karis, also known as StooShe, are one of the hottest new acts to emerge this year. These ladies are much more outspoken than your average girl group, though. With their official debut single, ‘Betty Woz Gone’, out this week, Vanessa Laker dug a little deeper to find out a bit more about this exciting new trio…

Vanessa: Hi girls! Now, you guys are definitely not your average girl group. In your words, how would you say StooShe differ from other girl bands?

Karis: Heya! All the girl bands that are out at the moment are so different; we’re all just doing our thing. We really try to keep our music/ style really fresh and new, whilst obviously taking inspiration from old school artists. Doing what we do is our dream, so there is a lot of passion in StooShe world! We talk about real life things that we hope people can relate to. The main thing for us is having fun, no rules.

Vanessa: You don’t mince your words and have some pretty explicit lyrics, which some people may find quite shocking. Do you feel that there’s a double standard with females/males and rappers/singers when it comes to using profanity in songs?

Alex: It’s always gonna be more acceptable for men to talk about certain issues than it is for woman. We don’t go out of our way to be explicit, it’s not contrived, and not all of our songs are explicit. We just write songs about everyday life and if that means us talking about a having a quickie, or a Betty-type woman, then so be it! We all swear in everyday life, so sometimes it will just slip out in the booth while were catching a vibe, so it will stay in the track because that’s just us. We will always have clean versions and radio edits for innocent ears.

Vanessa: You’ve got a new single coming out soon, ‘Betty Woz Gone’. Tell us a bit about the song…

Courtney: Well, it’s based on a true story, but she isn’t called ‘Betty’ and she didn’t die (laughs). It’s basically us telling her life story in a short and narrative way. She was always up to no good, had a load of kids that she couldn’t look after, took drugs and drank alcohol. She’s the kind of woman that would take young boys virginity (laughs). So while she had other teenage kids looking after her own kids, she was out and up to no good! Eventually, as we said in the song, ‘Betty’ was brown bread. Although we tell the story in a really narrative ‘StooShe’ way, it’s a really serious issue and we just wanted to get across that what ‘Betty’ does isn’t cool.

Vanessa: ’Betty Woz Gone’ racked up 100,000 views in 24 hours of it going up on YouTube and became the day’s most viewed music video in the UK! Were you slightly taken back by the overwhelming response to the song? 

Alex: Just a little bit. It was amazing! ‘Betty Woz Gone’ is only a soft release and we didn’t at all expect it to be picked up on like it has. Thank you so much to everyone who has shown support.

Vanessa:So, how did you guys get together?

Courtney: We were working with the same producer and wanted to jump on the same track. Before you know it, StooShe was born.  

Vanessa:‘StooShe’, how did that name come about?

Karis: We all loved the word ‘stoosh’, just because of all the different meanings it has: stashed away, stoned, a mystery, expensive, and also the meaning that people will be the most familiar with, someone who thinks they’re a bit too nice. We’re aware there’s already an artist called Stush, so we wanted to switch it up a bit and added the ‘she’ on the end to rep for the ladies!

Vanessa: Even though you guys are completely different to them, there’s a slight Salt-N-Pepa essence about you. What’s your take on the comparisons?

Alex: We’re really over whelmed by all of the comparisons, because they’ve all been super successful. No pressure! (Laughs) It’s amazing that people think that and we hope we can deliver as well as they did.

Vanessa: All three of you come from very different musical backgrounds. How would you describe your sound, collectively?

Karis: We always say ‘urban-pop’ because we feel we’re the more extreme urban that pop can go, and the most extreme pop that urban can go. On the album we’ve also have funk, pop rock, R&B and more. We all love different types of music: I love hip-hop and rap music, Alex loves R&B and slow jams and Court loves Motown. Collectively, we try to cover as many aspects as we can and we love experimenting with music. Ultimately, the main thing for us in terms of music is having fun with no rules.

Vanessa:Growing up, which artists inspired you?

Alex: I loved Motown music! My mum is a singer, so I took a lot of inspiration from her as well. We all loved the Spice Girls, Salt-N-Pepa, Destiny’s Child and En Vogue. Strong work ethics inspire us, we appreciate the time and effort people put into their craft and aspire to be like that.

Vanessa: And which UK acts are you rating at the moment and why?

Karis: Wretch 32! He was always an underground MC and I’m so proud of him for having so much focus and drive and experimenting with all types of music and crossing over and, of course, having a number one. Ed Sheeran is an amazing artist and songwriter, I wish we could bring him and his guitar with us on road trips (laughs). Our boys, Rizzle Kicks, we love what they’re doing, they have fun and stay real to themselves and they’re genuinely lovely guys. Their music always has our bums wiggling! There’s so much talent in the UK and everyone is doing so well, so we hope that we can be part of that movement.

Vanessa:Your fashion style is quite quirky and fun. How would you describe your personal fashion style?

Courtney: There’s a brand who tweeted us a few times called ‘Ghettro’, which is a mix between ghetto and retro and I love that! I love experimenting with new styles and I just love swagged-out items.

Karis: My style is really girly and colourful, but then my 18 tats and crazy personality give it more of an edge, I think. I love pin-up girls and burlesque-style clothing, but then I also love wearing bright colours, and 50s-style things.

Alex: My style is ghetto fab. I like tight and sexy stuff. Even though I’m not a size 6, it doesn’t bother me that I’m not skinny. I love leotards, leggings, catsuits, bodycon, high-tops and loads of bling! 80s/90s hip-hop kinda swag.

Vanessa: What’s the best thing about being in a girl group?

Karis: For me, it’s that I get to share this amazing experience and journey with two girls that I class as my sisters. We’re more than friends and I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else. We have little rituals and things that we keep just between us three, private jokes that could have us laughing for days and I like it like that. I couldn’t imagine being solo. Plus, we’re all the same shoe size! If we like a sick pair of trainers, we just by one pair of each and rotate (laughs).

Vanessa: What’s the worst thing about being in a girl group?

Alex: I don’t know about other girl groups but, for us, it’s probably the fact that we’re all in-sync with each other – same time of the month (laughs).

Vanessa: And what’s the plan for 2012? 

Courtney: To have lots of fun, release more singles, release an album and do loads of gigs and tours.

StooShe’s new single, ‘Betty Woz Gone’, is out now. 

Stay up to date with StooShe on Twitter – www.twitter.com/StooShe

Words: Vanessa Laker

Follow Vanessa on Twitter –> (@VanessaLaker)

This interview was condutced on behalf of MTV: The Wrap Up.

The Beckham’s Glide in the UK, Vogue Style!

Victoria Beckham recently won British Designer Of The Year and it seems style runs in the entire family. The beautiful Beckham clan were spotted at LAX airport as they made their way to the UK to spend Christmas in good old Blightly and the airport runway looked more like a catwalk runway.  As always Posh looked super glam in her 6 inch heels. Dressed in all black, the 37-year-old mum of four looked every inch the fashionista. I recently took an 8 hour flight to the US and I looked rougher than rough, so I don’t know how she stays looking so glam whilst traveling.

Not to be out-done by his wife, hubby David looked dapper in jeans, a navy jumper, slicked back hair and uber stylish specks (YUM). And it seems the children are equally as fashionably creative as their mega famous parents. Brooklyn, 12, was casually dressed in a chilled plaid shirt and jeans, while Cruz, 6, looked suave in a khaki coat and jeans. But it was 12-year-old Romeo who really raised the style stakes  in a trilby hat and trench coat.

And as for little Harper Seven, she’s simply adorable.

And the award for most stylish beautiful family goes to….

The Beckhams!

Beyonce Announces Pregnancy At MTV Music Video Awards!

The ‘Single Ladies’ singer made the announcement at last nights MTV VMA‘s in Los Angeles, telling reporters her and hubby Jay are expecting their first child together.

Beyoncé – dressed in a flowing orange gown and sporting a noticeable baby bump – declared: “I have a surprise!” The star’s rep later confirmed the pregnancy to US Weekly.

At the end of her performance of ‘Love on Top’ during the show, Beyoncé unzipped the jacket she was wearing and rubbed her stomach as the crowd cheered in support.

“Tonight, I want you to stand up on your feet,” she told the audience. “I want you to feel the love that’s growing inside me!”

Aww I feel so happy for Bey like she’s someone I know. A huge Congratulations to the happy couple.

Drake Speaks Out On Lil Wayne/Jay-Z Diss Track!

As you may or may not know, Lil Wayne and Jay-Z are possibly in the midst of a brewing beef. Well in case you don’t know, here’s the 411…

Last week Weezy took a few swipes at Jigga on a new track titled ‘It’s Good’ – which was conveniently leaked online just before the release of the Cater 4 (I’m just saying).

Anyway, on the track, Wayne raps “talkin’ ’bout Baby money? I got your Baby money/ Kidnap yo’ bitch, get that how-much-you-love-your-lady money.”

Now Lil Wayne wasn’t just taking shots at Jay for no reason, the record is a response to Jay’s verse on ‘H.A.M’, where he takes a few shots at Weezy’s mentor Baby: “Really, half-a-billi?’ N—a, really, you got Baby money/ Keep it real with n—as, n—as ain’t got my lady money,” Jay raps.

So, a beef between Jay-Z and Lil Wayne? Well the problem is Drake and Jadakiss also feature on the supposedly diss track ‘It’s Good’. Although Drake and Kiss don’t actually say anything negative, some spectators may claim that them featuring on a track that disses H.O.V is still disrespectful – espeially considering Jay-Z and Drake are good freinds.

MTV US recently caught up with Drake to find out his thoughts on the record:

“I just got a beat and did a verse over it. Whatever any other individual has to say, you have to ask the man himself. I just did what I know how to do. I just got on a record. I heard the beat, did a verse and heard the final product.[...]At the end of the day, rap is an individual art. You express yourself and whatever you wanna say, you say it, so I guess that’s a question for Wayne more than me.”

While Drake was a bit more shy diplomatic with his answer, Jadakiss on the other hand was a bit more outspoken. The veteran rapper took to Twitter to air his opinion on the subject matter.

Yall hating ass c*cksuckers better chill..they only sent me a track wit NO verses and I recorded that verse 3 months ago! #leavemeoutofit.

When I DISS n*ggas or have a problem Wit ANY RAPPER I SAY THere NAMES without hesitation and YALL know this already!”

And that’s the story so far…

Jennifer Aniston & Boyfriend Justin Theroux Move In Together!

It seems like Jennifer Aniston just may have found her Mr right. Following her very public break up to Brad Pitt six years ago (yep, it really has been six years), the former Friends star has had a string of failed relationships, including romances with Vince Vaughn and John Mayer.

But now Jen’s love life is on a very positive high. The actress and her boyfriend  Justin Theroux have reportedly moved in together, according to People Magazine. A source tells the mag, ”they decided to rent a house together while they keep searching for the perfect [one] to buy….Jen and Justin are very excited about living together in their new home.”

Aww she deserves all the happiness.

Tulisa Describes Fazer As ‘The Best Boyfriend’

She’s the new darling of X-Factor, but when it comes to her love life  Tulisa Contostavlosis extremely private.

Up until now, the 23-yea-old singer has vowed never to talk publically about her relationship with fellow N-Dubz bandmate Richard ‘Fazer’ Rawson, as she wants all the attention to be on their music and not on their romance. But in a interview with the Sunday Mirror, the X-Factor Judge describes Fazer as the ‘best boyfriend’ she could have.

Despite being coy in the chat and not directly naming Fazer, the Camden star gushed about her blossoming love, decribing him as her “rock”.

Tulisa admitted, “I’m really happy and have the best boyfriend – he’s really supportive in what I’m doing with the show [X Factor].

“He’s my rock, he’s been there for me throughout the past few months. I couldn’t be doing what I’m doing without him.”

The pair have reportedly been dating since May of 2010 and they sure do make a sweet couple.

Rihanna Made A Sex Tape with J Cole According to Hustler!

I don’t believe this for one second, but Hustler magazine is claiming it has a sex tape featuring Rihanna and J Cole.

The Roc  Nation label mates travelled across America together earlier this year as Cole supported RiRi’s “LOUD” tour and now the porn company has told RadarOnline that they are in possession of a sex tape of the two stars.

“Hustler are in possession of the Rihanna and J-Cole tape,” said a rep for the adult company. “We have seen it and we do not know what we are going to do with it yet.”

While they refused to disclose any further details of the tape, the fact that it exists is sure to have Rihanna quaking in her stilettos.
However, despite Hustler’s claim about the pair, a source close to Rihanna is still denying it exists.

“Rihanna is surprised because there is no sex tape,” they told RadarOnline.com.”

Rihanna took to Twitter to deny the bizarre story, tweeting, “We don’t believe U, U need more people…AND ofcourse an actual sextape! #slownewsday.”

V Festival 2011 with Eminem, Rihianna & Elie Goulding: The Review!

V Festival 2011

Chelmsford, Essex

When it comes to festivals, the line-up doesn’t come more pic ‘n’ mix than Virgin Media’s V Festival. And while V (generally) opts for commercial acts, when it comes to genres, the bill is about as randomly diverse as a night bus stop in central London.

Over the weekend the likes of Manic Street Preachers, Hanson (Yep, those guys are still around), N-Dubz, Pendulum and Tinie Tempah all graced the stages at Highland Park and Chelmsford for the annual late summer festival. And while there’s something in there for everyone, this trait has its cons, as well as pros.

Arctic Monkeys were Chelmsford’s Saturday headliners and injected some much needed rock ‘n’ roll to the weekend. And while the weather was unpredictable and rainy the previous day, Sunday is the definition of summer, as the sun beams down in Essex.

Spread out over four different locations across the park, acts of all genres take to the stage. Ellie Goulding is an early crowd pleaser. Songs such as Starry Eyed set the tone and the petite singer proves a hit with revellers.

In general scheduling and timetables clash heavily, meaning you have to choose between many top acts. A large amount of audiences at the Script’s set seem to be Rihanna fans who turned up early to the get a good spot for the Bajan stars set.

Although it provides a wide range of music, V Festival generally caters to pop fans and Rihanna’s appointment is a fine and fitting one. Dressed in a pair of the tiniest black leather hot pants, fishnets and a tied up denim shirt, the 23-year-old sizzles as she churns out hit after hit of her chart-topping songs. While her vocals are not the strongest, the likes of Disturbia, S&M and Rude Boy have the crowd joyously singing along and waving their hands. A rendition of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song is well received, but it’s the finale performance of Umbrella that garners the biggest applause and prompts many revellers to erm… get out their umbrellas.

Rihanna’s set is a perfect warm up for the main man Eminem, who closes the show with an impressive 90 minute performance of songs from a career that spans over a decade. The Detroit MC was reportedly paid £2 million for his two day’s at V Festival and while I can’t say it was a £2 million worthy performance, Marshal Mathers rarely comes over to the UK, so it was a rare opportunity for fans to get a glimpse of arguably the best rapper of our generation.

Dressed in his trademark casual attire, Em’s set gets off to a slow start, but quickly picks up paste. Joined by his hype man, early tracks The Way I Am and My Name Is have the crowd amped up, but recent tracks such as Not Afraid and No Love from 2010’s Recovery also receive an equal level of applause. When Em brings out D12 for their hits Purple Pills and Fight Music, a moment of nostalgia kicks in and for a second I felt as though I was back in Secondary school.

At 38-year-old Eminem’s wild hell raising days are well and truly behind him (there were no chainsaws or cursing of other acts), but his stage presence was still very much in tact and 13 years down the line he’s still one of front runners in contemporary music.

The down point of the set was Em’s mic being too low, which meant at times his vocals were drowned out. Also the US star constantly referred to the crowd as ‘London, UK’ – someone clearly forgot to tell him we were in Essex. But even a technical fault and a slight geographical error wasn’t enough to ruin this memorable performance. Stan was a magical moment and reminder of Eminem at his very best. When Rihanna came back out on stage for the pair’s duet Love The Way You Lie, the crowd screamed with glee. Closing song Lose Yourself was a general crowd favourite and a fitting encore to an impressive show.

Although the Eminem of today’s live show is not quite on the same level of his performances of the past, fans were treated to something quite special and it’s clear to see just why Rolling Stone magazine recently named him the “King of Hip-hop.”