Apparently while we’re still polishing off Thanksgiving leftovers, Hollywood’s already gearing up for 2011.  And they just announced the first pot-stirrer of the New Year: who’s nominated for February’s Grammy’s…and who isn’t.

Big Turkey Sandwich with All the Fixings

1. The full list of 2011’s Grammy Award Nominees has been announced.  And guess who’s leading the pack with noms? Uh, Eminem.  Following him with the most are Lady Gaga (duh), Jay-Z, and Bruno Mars.  Because none of us are sick of hearing “Love the Way You Lie” and “Bad Romance” on the radio…

2. Oh no.  Could it be?  A preggers Jessica Simpson? Well, I guess that would explain the expedited wedding plans.

3. Jake and Taylor are still going strong. Swift showed Jakey around Nashville and they were quite the lovey-dovey pair.  Can someone remind me how big the age gap is here?  I’m a little confused as to how this is actually happening.  In other news, can’t wait til they break up and Taylor releases a tell-all song!

4. The Victoria’s Secret Fashion show once again proved that those little undies will never look as good on us as they do on a 5’11, 100 lb Brazilian model.  Such is life.  At least Katy Perry was there to give me a reason to get up and dance…and burn a few calories.

5. Lady Gaga has announced the first single off her new album will be released in February.  But what I’m really excited for is the music video.  She’s already conquered fake blood, cigarette sunglasses, and meat dresses.  Wonder how she’s going to raise the bar this time, Little Monsters.

Lean Cuisine

1. Channing Tatum has been selected to reprise Johnny Depp’s classic role in 21 Jump Street. The 80s TV show is going to be made into a movie and will also star Jonah Hill as Tatum’s high school crime-fighting partner.  Innnnteresting.

2. Love you some Vampire Diaries?  Well, you’re in luck because talks of a “companion show” are swirling.  Info’s currently limited, but it is said that the VD’s writers and producers will be working on the new show, too.

3. Dancing With The Stars is trying to get the First Dude of Alaska, Todd Palin, to trade in his snow boots for some dancing shoes next season.  No word yet as to whether he’ll accept the spot, but producers are gunning hard knowing he’ll do wonders for the ratings.

4.  Snoop Dogg recorded an “anthem” for Prince William’s bachelor party.  Of course he did.

5. Michael Douglas is said to be feeling better after receiving intensive treatment for throat cancer.  He’s even accepted a role as Liberace in an upcoming movie about the famed pianist.  What better way to show America you’ve recovered than by donning sequins and playing a guilded piano?

Just when you thought Maroon 5 couldn’t get any cooler, they turned down the temperature a little more. (Bad analogy? Whatever. It’s Sunday.)  And I’m not talking about their sick new album, Hands All Over, or their sexy music videos. These guys are just great. Don’t let their rock star persona fool you; they’re down-to-earth, chill, funny and, well, normal (despite the fact that they are Grammy-winning musicians). Yes, they too belt out their favorite songs on the radio and have absolutely no idea where life will take them in 10 years.

How do I know this? Because Mickey Madden, bassist for the band, sat down with us and answered the questions that CollegeCandy readers (myself included!) have been dying to know.

Read on – I know you’re curious.

5 Questions We Ask Everyone

1. What is your favorite college memory/most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?
Well, when I was 20 I was arrested for stealing furniture from the foyer at a UCLA extension classroom. There were some appropriate legal consequences for that.

2. What are 5 things you can’t live without?
I’d like to flatter myself by thinking that I could technically live without anything but the bare essentials, but for the purposes of the interview I’ll say: music, books, good food, booze, and a consistent sense of pleasant surprise.

3. What is the motto/advice you live by?
‘We have everything to gain and nothing to lose but boredom’ – R. Vaneigem

4. What is your favorite song to belt out in the bar/in the car/for karaoke?
A friend and I recently did a pretty spirited rendition of ‘The Whole of the Moon‘ by the Waterboys. That’s a good one for belting.

5. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Looking back on my predictions from 2010 and laughing.

5 Questions Just for Mickey

1. OK, so originally the band was called Kara’s Flowers. What’s wrong with Kara and her flowers? What made you choose Maroon 5 as a name?
We needed a fresh start when we changed the name. We added a new member, a new direction.  We were all older and into different things. It made the most sense for us, to shed the Kara’s Flowers name and start fresh.  As for the name Maroon 5, it’s a secret that only the band and Billy Joel know the answer to.

2. Oooo, mysterious! Well, it worked and now you guys have toured the world.  What is your favorite performance memory?
We played Seoul in early 2008 and the arena was arguably the liveliest we’ve ever played for. Almost everyone in the audience was waving a multicolored glowstick in time with the music, which looked absolutely mind-blowing from on-stage.

3. Maroon 5 has gotten a lot of publicity for the explicit content in your music videos. Why make such steamy videos?
Most of the songs deal with sex or lust on some level, thus the videos reflect that. Also Adam is an exhibitionist.

4. Yeah, I’m not complaining at. all. Moving on, most of your fans expect the success and popularity that came with Songs About Jane for your new album, Hands All Over.  Do you think this album will live up to the success that your other albums had? If so, why? What makes this new album different and/or better?
I certainly hope this record finds a big audience, as we’re very proud of it and put a lot of love and energy into it. It’s hard for me to say how it’s different or better since I’m so inside of the process of making it… I can say that Mutt Lange is an exacting and extraordinarily gifted producer, and i do think his fairy dust is present on these recordings.

5. For you, what is the best part about being in Maroon 5? The fans? The guys?
It’s being able to grow up and play with my best friends for the last 15 years.  We’re beyond family members at this point. We’re just a blanket together – well worn and built to last.

And last they have. Grab your pre-order copy of Hands All Over right now.

Since Tragic Kingdom, my girl crush on Gwen has only grown.  She’s rocked steady alongside No Doubt since 1986, despite her relationship with band mate Tony Kanal ending, proving that you can remain friends with your exes.  No Doubt continued to pump out hits, until they hit a rough patch with their fourth album, Return of Saturn.  Between this and recording Rock Steady, Gwen appeared on tracks for Moby and Eve – the beginning of her career separate from No Doubt.

With the help of band mate and former flame, Gwen decided to release a solo, dance record.  The result was bananas (b-a-n-a-n-a-s) – Love. Angel. Music. Baby. was a hit, selling over 300,000 copies in it’s first week out.  With the launch of her music career, came the arrival of Gwen’s Harajuku Girls.  While their inability to talk in public is a little odd, these ladies are very talented dancers.

Gwen has won awards for both her work with No Doubt, and her solo career.  She’s won three Grammys; two with No Doubt for Underneath it All and Hey Baby; one for her first collaboration with Eve – Let Me Blow Ya Mind. She’s also won numerous MTV Video Music Awards and Teen Choice Awards – proving this women has talent.

And not just with music.

Drawing from her unique style as inspiration, Gwen has produced two clothing lines.  The first, L.A.M.B., is a high fashion line that can be seen on the runways during New York fashion week.  Her lower-end line, Harajuku Lovers, is  more casual, and often features cartoon pictures of Gwen and her Harajuku girls. I love them both almost as much as the woman herself. Hell, if I can’t actually be Gwen Stefani, at least I can dress like her.

However, if you play your cards right, you can find great success after college. Sure, some of us will spend years after college struggling to pay off student loans and going on interview after interview, sometimes for entry-level jobs we are overqualified for but still can’t seem to nab. But some of us are on the brink of making headlines, like these uber-successful post-grad powerhouses have done in recent years.

1. Lin-Manuel Miranda

Lin-Manuel Miranda went to Wesleyan University in Connecticut, a school where tuition runs at over $38 grand a year, plus $10-12,000 for room and board expenses. While attending Wesleyan, Miranda, a native of Inwood, New York City, turned his life experience into a theatrical production that has exploded since his graduation from the University in 2002. Miranda is the composer and lyricist behind the smash hit musical In the Heights, which was produced at Wesleyan, picked up for off-Broadway, and transferred to the Great White Way in 2008. Miranda, an actor-slash-rapper who originated the lead role, Usnavi, in his own show, picked up a Tony award last spring and is currently slated to reprise the role when it hits the silver screen.

2. Mark Zuckerberg

Love Facebook today, hate it tomorrow. Either way, Mark Zuckerberg is rolling in dough. Zuckerberg actually dropped out of Harvard to focus on the social networking site that changed the face of the internet forever (saving over $30,000 a year in tuition). This May, Zuckerberg will celebrate a milestone birthday- the quarter-century mark, and with an estimated networth of about $1.5 billion, it’s bound to be one kick-ass party. Check your mini-feed for event details.

3. Fred De Luca

Fred De Luca didn’t become an entrepreneur in college; he opened his own sandwich shop at 17 to raise money to pay for college. When De Luca graduated from the University of Bridgeport with his Bachelor’s degree, his Subway sandwich shops were already taking over Connecticut, and today the chaine consists of over 30,000 stores worldwide. Today, the University of Bridgeport isn’t too daunting, with the relatively low tuition rate of about $23,000 per year- a mere fraction of the $1.5 billion De Luca has netted through his enterprise.

4. Alice Sebold

Alice Sebold didn’t find financial success as quickly as Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mark Zuckerberg, or Fred De Luca, but after being violently raped at Syracuse University as a freshman, she made several amazing accomplishments that have led her down the path of a bestselling author. Not only did Sebold finish her degree from $45,000-a-year Syracuse, but she faced down her attacker in court and later developed the real-life story into her acclaimed memoir, Lucky. Sebold’s next book, and most well-known work, is The Lovely Bones, a film version of which will be released later this year.

5. Stephanie Joanne Angelina Germanotta

This former student at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts now goes by the stage name Lady Gaga. Before she could legally drink, Gaga was working as a songwriter at Interscope Records, penning hits for the Pussycat Dolls. Gaga studied music at Tisch, but showed off her smarts in several classes (hey she was paying like $40 g’s in tuition, might as well take advantage), writing research papers on topics such as art, religion, and socio-political order. Now a mega popstar, Steph is also quite the philanthropist, who has made donations to help raise money for schools in Los Angeles affected by educational budget cuts.

These are just a few major names who hit big before, during, or after college by combining their education and talent to explode into household names. Think you have what it takes to start up your own business? Check out the top most profitable businesses for college entrepreneurs. Relying on your talents to pay the rent? Use your time in college to work on your skills– as Norah Jones did. “In college I had a weekend gig at a restaurant, a solo thing that was the best practice I could have ever had. That’s where I learned to coordinate my singing and my piano playing,” the Grammy-award winning singer has stated.

President Obama lamented on the huge rates of both high school and college dropouts in his speech last night. You’re already winning the battle – you’re enrolled! – SSo take advantage of your higher education and maybe we’ll see you on the cover of Forbes in a few years.

Very few stars these days can legitimately claim to be top-notch actors and musicians, but Harry Connick, Jr. is certainly one of them. A stylish crooner with a killer smile to boot, Harry puts the swagger in suave. His dinner-jacket-and-slacks style makes me want to slip into my best little black dress, some Chanel No. 5, recline on a velvet chaise…and eff his brains out.

Originally a professional jazz pianist, Harry got his big break arranging the soundtrack for everyone’s favorite rom-com, When Harry Met Sally. Seriously, hottie Harry’s eff-me-tender tunes made WHMS my number-one rainy-day chick flick, hands down. His work even won him his first Grammy! To date, he’s released several albums of music, from jazz to Christmas classics. Harry’s the kind of guy who will take you by the hand and sing your sweet little soul to the heavens of effable merriment, a true gent if I do say so myself.

Of course, his acting career has truly taken off over the past few years. His guest-starring stint on Will and Grace had me so glued to the television (Sexy Harry? My fave sitcom? Almost better than a good, long eff.) that I totally bought the series on DVD to relive every effable moment at my convenience.  Meanwhile, he’s broken out onto the big screen, with starring roles in Hope Floats, P.S. I Love You, and his latest release, New In Town, which opens today.

And of course, Harry wouldn’t be a great eff if he didn’t have a heart. He’s been a huge supporter of disaster relief programs in his native New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  Yes, I know he’s married with children, but I’ve gotta say, if you ever need some (effable) relief of your own, Harry, you know who to call.

I have to confess that I’m a sucker for talent. I mean, who isn’t? If all these dancing/singing/acting/yadda yadda reality shows are doing so well, then the American public is certainly thirsty for some grade-A pizzazz. But while the hometown hotties on such shows are nice, what’s really effable is someone who’s taken time to hone their skills and grow into the limelight. A self-made man. And who’s a better example of that than Mos Def?

This week, he’s totally tops on my effable charts.

The Brooklyn hip-hop lyricist, born Dante Terrell Smith, first started recording music alongside his brother and sister as part of a group called Urban Thermal Dynamics. He has since broken off as a solo artist, and his 1999 album Black on Both Sides was his breakout achievement. He has also collaborated with such big names as Talib Kweli, Kanye West, and Common. And his slick, sexy, introspective side acquired a lot of recognition for his work on Russell Simmon’s Def Poetry on HBO. Confidence + smooth delivery= ultra-effability.

But that’s not all. He’s a respected actor whose Hollywood resume includes roles on The Chappelle Show, The Italian Job, and the newest Michel Gondry flick, Be Kind Rewind. Mos Def has been nominated for an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and multiple Grammys. Yeah, you could say he knows his way around the entertainment industry. Meow!

Mos Def’s newest film, Cadillac Records, opens today. How am I excited? Let me count the ways: 1) It’s a ’50s period piece (retro movies are always fun), 2) there’s sure to be a great soundtrack (it’s about a recording studio!) and 3) Mos Def plays Chuck Berry, the dynamic early rock-n-roll star. So while my man will be singing “Johnny B. Goode,” I’ll be thinking: Mos Def, be good to me tonight!

Santa Claus is scary (but totally hilarious)!

Proposition 8, The Musical.

The perfect anti-flu remedy.

Check out the Bromance trailer. It’s gonna be good.

Is Spencer drugging Heidi!?

Self-mutilation takes on a new form.

Madonna is the new face of Gucci.

Ew, shag sweaters?

A few final exam tips.

Fashion reared its fabulous head last night where you would least expect it. The CMA Awards in Nashville, TN had some of the hottest women and men in the entertainment biz, not to mention some of the best dressed.

Remember years ago, as a hip and trendy youngster, you wouldn’t have been caught dead listening to country music? It made your ears bleed, not to mention it was hick-like. Well, country music has changed its tune and is no longer a place for ugly plaid button up shirts, clunky belt buckles, or square dancing. Country music now produces extremely popular and beautiful people who are sweeping the music scene, the big screen, and the fashion business.

This is a mini recap of some of the popular folks who walked down the red carpet (yes, there was a red carpet) at the CMA awards last night. All the people chosen were chosen because of their terrific fashion sense and for their ability to capitalize on the changing face of country music.

Taylor Swift has been in the news this week, a lot. Unfortunately, it was because of her recent breakup with one of the Jonas Brothers, bummer. Taylor’s music album, Fearless, has been a huge hit and she has turned into quite the business woman. She has partnered with L.e.i. Brand (you know, the jeans) to be the new face of their product. She rocked an amazing Kaufman Franco gown last night. She looked great.

Carrie Underwood fell into our lives on the fourth season of American Idol and everyone immediately loved her. Since then, she has had quite the career winning Grammys and many CMT and CMA awards. She has been twice named “World’s Sexiest Vegetarian” by PETA and is an avid supporter of the Humane Society of the United States. We are glad to see she is putting her popularity and fame to good use! She rocked this yellow Escada dress last night at the CMA awards! Considering she was the host she had to look extra amazing.

We can’t say Billy Ray Cyrus has ended world hunger or gives his life tirelessly to charity, but we can say he sure knows how to market his “image.” He fell off the face of the planet after his huge hit Achy Breaky Heart but has now returned offering his family on a silver platter for all television viewers to enjoy. He has turned his daughter into a huge Disney sensation and has since himself risen into the limelight again. Way to go Billy Ray! Both Billy Ray and his daughter Miley looked fashionable on the red carpet.

Country music has turned super cool, even among the Hollywood elite. Reese Witherspoon, a native of Tennessee, left the Hollywood spotlight for the night and was one of the presenters at the CMA awards last night. Perhaps she is so comfortable around these country stars because of her popular country-themed movies, Sweet Home Alabama and Walk the Line. As College Candy said before, off the shoulder dresses are so in and Reese rocked the look in her Marchesa black lace dress.

Another Hollywood starlet made an appearance in Tennessee last night in support of her husband. The big screen actress, Nicole Kidman, probably would have never showed her face at such an event if she weren’t married to the famous country singer Keith Urban. At least she got him to wear something other than a cowboy hat and spurs.

]]> http://collegecandy.com/2008/11/13/fashion-goes-country-and-looked-great/feed/ 1 ccandystaff cma.jpg line2.jpg taylor-swift.jpg line.jpg cma-carrie-underwood.jpg line1.jpg untitled-2.jpg line3.jpg reese-final.jpg line4.jpg nicole-final.jpg http://collegecandy.com/2008/07/14/one-collegecandy-editors-dream-a-chat-with-oar/ http://collegecandy.com/2008/07/14/one-collegecandy-editors-dream-a-chat-with-oar/#comments Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:30:06 +0000 Lauren - University of Michigan http://www.collegecandy.com/reality/10392 ]]> If someone were to ask me to list my favorite bands, Of A Revolution (O.A.R.) would most definitely be at number one. Which is saying a lot, considering I am a Michigan grad and the boys of O.A.R. got together at Ohio State, a school I have learned to loathe in the deepest part of my core. But I can’t help it; these guys are good. Really good. And no matter what is going on in my life, popping in one of their 6 albums always makes me feel better.

Imagine my excitement, then, when I found out that their newest album, All Sides was coming out July 15th (tomorrow!), I was going to be able to listen to it before it was released, and I was going to be able to interview them! Life doesn’t get much better than this. Below is my dream realized – a jovial chat with Jerry DePizzo, the ridiculously talented man behind the sax for O.A.R.

CC: I have been listening to the new album-I think it’s fantastic. Why did you call it, All Sides?

O.A.R.: Well, we wanted to make it self-explanatory, we always kind of like to – not necessarily wear our emotions on our sleeves – but kind of let everything hang out. It just means you see all sides of the band, what we can do musically and stylistically and different subject matters of which we speak out. It’s an all-encompassing perspective of OAR.

CC: In your earlier albums, you took a lot of inspiration from college, and growing up–what was your inspiration for the songs on this album?

O.A.R: Well, it’s always life experiences. Mark always takes experiences either he’s gone through himself, or people close around him have experienced and puts them into words that people can really relate to and connect with.

CC: How have those life experiences changed since you guys recorded your last album?

O.A.R.: Nothing really has changed as far as this record, other than the fact that we’ve gotten a little older, hopefully a little wiser. The 1st couple records were of wonderment and soul-searching, wondering what’s out there.

CC: Putting together an album is obviously a lot of work; what is your process? How do you decide what you want on an album?

O.A.R.: We wrote a whole batch of songs. God knows how many; 25 or 30, and we narrowed it down to 15 or 16 that we were gonna record. We wanted each one to have really a specific purpose to it and show a specific side of who we are.

CC: What was the biggest challenge for you guys when you were working on the album?

O.A.R: You know, our core audience is like 16-22, that “just getting out high school, getting into college”-aged people–and it’s pretty easy to relate to someone like that when you’re that age. As you get older, you’re obviously gonna lose touch. So, the challenge on this record is to write music that really speaks to us, and tells really what we’re dealing with and going through, but also tells it in a way that our audience really connects with us.

CC: You guys have sold over a million records in your career – what’s your next big goal?

O.A.R.: Goals change as you kind of evolve and go through things. There’s a lot of different goals that I have: I’d love to sell a million of one specific record, and I’d love to sell out stadiums and arenas and tour all over the world. I’d love to get a Grammy–all kinds of different things like that–and be recognized by our peers, and get the cover of Rolling Stone. But really, what I’d honestly love to do more than anything is just keep doing this as long as I want to do it.

CC: Do you ever think to yourself that you never want to play “A Crazy Game of Poker” again?

O.A.R.: I never want to play it the same way. We play that song every night, and if we played it the same it would be boring and uninspired, and you guys probably wouldn’t like it too much either, because it would show.

CC: So, how do you keep from getting bored with it?

OAR: We try to do it differently every night, something new and fresh–it’s kind of self-serving, but it helps you guys as well, because if we come up with something new and fresh and exciting and that we’re inspired by, we’re gonna play it all the more inspired. It’s gonna translate more, and you’re gonna be like ‘Wow, that’s awesome,” and “that was worth the $30 to go see them play that one song.’

CC: I’ve seen a lot of shows in my time and I have always thought it was worth the money. You guys always look like you are having the best time. Do you have as much fun onstage as you seem to, or are you playing it up?

O.A.R.: Oh, I have a blast. It’s hard to tour; if it weren’t the most fun I could ever conceive of having, it wouldn’t be worth it, to be honest. It’s pretty taxing on the people around you – you see the wear and tear it takes on your family and relationships. After a while, you question yourself: is it worth it? Then you get out on that stage and go, “Yep, definitely worth it. 110%” We really do enjoy what we do, we love what we do and love playing for people. It’s a great experience.

CC: OSU is a huge football school; were you a big Buckeye fan?

O.A.R.: I was never a guy who tailgated and stuff–I waited tables in college, and if we weren’t out touring, game days were really a good day to work because you made a ton of money. I’d buy tickets and then hawk ‘em or whatever.

CC: You’ve never been to a game??

O.A.R.: I only went to one game, and I wasn’t even in college when I went. I went to Texas-OSU game at the Horse Shoe. It was great, it was an awesome experience–people are goings nuts, you can’t help yourself but take part in it and feel a part. And when they win, and you feel like you willed them to victory. And when they lose, they take a piece of you with them.

CC: So, you didn’t do football Saturdays; what was your college experience like!?

O.A.R.: Well, we had such a unique experience, almost like an athlete really, because we went to school–most of us at least went to class–Monday through Thursday or Friday, and then Friday nights we’d go out on tour, and we did that for like three years. It was a pretty unique college experience. It’s not your norm, I’ll say that.

CC: What did you learn at school that you think everyone should take to heart?

O.A.R.: I imagine at orientation, when everyone goes and you sit down, the Dean of Students or something, or president of university, will give you some sappy speech about bonds for life and meeting people, that the people you meet in college will be around and surround you for the rest of your life, and the ties that you have will be there forever. It’s sappy and completely cheesy, but it’s 110% true.

CC: I agree. Any other truths you learned in college?

O.A.R.: College is a time to really find out who you are as a person and who you want to be. It’s funny how you figure that out and move on from it, and it sticks with you.

CC: What are you guys most excited for right now?

O.A.R.: We have this new record coming out. We’re just immensely proud of it and we hope everyone enjoys it as much as we do. I hope we’re able to reach a broader audience and kind of show everybody everything we’re capable of and not just be pigeonholed as a band that people really like to drink beers to. I think there’s a lot more substance to this band and if you give it a listen, you’ll see that.

CC: I think anyone who picks up this album will fall in love. What do you think it is about the band that makes you so successful?

O.A.R.: I was trying to figure it out for years–what is it that set O.A.R. apart? What is it that we do that people really gravitate towards and connect to? And it took me forever, and I just figured it out a couple months ago–it’s not rocket science and it’s not some crazy formula: it’s just the fact that we make people feel good when we play music. We make people feel good, regardless of what we really talk about in the songs.

]Editor’s Note: All Sides is O.A.R.’s best album yet. This is a must-have. Go get it!]