Celebrity Brands :: Fashion, Beauty, Cosmetics, Lifestyle
Archive for Music
August 17, 2008 · Filed under F & B, Music
American R&B singer-songwriter, pianist and actress Alicia Keys was recently confirmed as the face of Glaceau’s Vitamin Water brand in a deal reportedly worth $50 million to the star.
With this, Alicia, 27, will follow in the footsteps of Jennifer Aniston and rapper 50 Cent, who made $400 million from his deal with the company last year. The ‘No One’ singer said she decided to partner with the drinks company after finding she couldn’t stop drinking the unique-tasting beverages.
“I don’t partner with anybody, but this really was natural for me because I’ve been a fan from the beginning,” she said. “I love their personality. Have you ever read the bottles? Don’t you just feel naturally smarter when you read it?”
Meanwhile, Alicia also hit the headlines last week with the news of her collaboration with White Stripes frontman Jack White to record “Another Way to Die”, the theme song for the new James Bond movie, “Quantum of Solace” due for release this November. This will be the first time a duet will be singing over the opening credit lines of a 007 film.
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August 7, 2008 · Filed under Accessories, Fashion Line, Music
Grammy Award-winning Mexican-American rock musician and guitarist Carlos Santana has been making women feel good, and now women have yet another reason to cheer–Carlos by Carlos Santana handbags are on way.
The celebrated musician has teamed up with New York-based L & Leung Design Group to design and distribute his capsule collection of handbags called Carlos by Carlos Santana.
“As an artist, I’m inspired by style, color and passion,” said Santana, now 61. “I have found that it is wonderful to celebrate those qualities — which I most often express in my music — through fashion.”
The debut fall collection has distinctive bright color combinations reminiscent of the 1970’s rock ‘n’ roll flavor. The collection of six groups will hit Macy’s in a couple of months. Wholesale prices are expected to be around $60.
“Carlos is all about making women feel good, so the collection had to be upbeat,” said Lisa Nunziata, L & Leung Design Group president. “I cold-called him, and we talked about a way to develop a line that reflects his taste. It was very important to Carlos that the bags be colorful.”
And colorful and bright and cheerful-looking they certainly are:
July 30, 2008 · Filed under Apparel, Music
Sean John Underwear has tapped rapper superstar Nelly as their spokesperson for Fall 2008 campaign.
Nelly will model the Sean John underwear and loungewear line which will include briefs, boxer-briefs, boxers, undershirts, pajamas, robes, among other undergarments. The first ads were shot by Randee St. Nicholas and feature Nelly at a modern home overlooking Los Angeles.
“To me, Nelly is the quintessential definition of the Sean John man,” Sean “Diddy” Combs said. “He has the attitude, the swagger and most of all, the physique that our customers can both aspire and relate to. And let’s be honest, all of the ladies out there are going to be thanking us for this campaign. The images are so strong; they speak for themselves.”
“I have been a big fan of Diddy and the Sean John clothing line for years. So, when they asked me to work with them, it was a real honor,” Nelly commented. “I hope my fans will enjoy this campaign as much as I did shooting it.”
With this, Nelly follows in the footsteps of celebrities such as Dwayne Wade, Nas, Snoop Dog, Lil’ Wayne, Penelope Cruz, Cassie, and Lauren London who have modeled for the brand earlier.
This certainly makes Nelly a busy person since he’s also preparing for the September 16th release of his latest album Brass Knuckles.
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January 15, 2008 · Filed under F & B, Music
Pepsi will feature US pop star Justin Timberlake in a “stunt-filled extravaganza” commercial set to air during the Superbowl XLII on February 3 in Glendale, Arizona.
According to sources, Timberlake has been shot doing a number of stunts such as high flying and low rolling for the spot created by BBDO NY. The commercial is expected to demonstrate how “Pepsi Stuff” brings people, music, merchandise and apparel closer.
In other words, beginning February 1, Pepsi consumers can redeem Pepsi points for prizes including DRM-free MP3 music downloads, electronics and apparel, as well as enter a daily sweepstakes for free tickets to the Super Bowl, the MLB All-Star game and the Daytona 500 and cash.
“Justin Timberlake is one of the biggest stars in the world, what better way to launch our biggest promotion ever than with him on the Super Bowl,” said Cie Nicholson, SVP and chief marketing officer, Pepsi-Cola North America.
This ‘mega’ advertisment is rumored to be Pepsi’s biggest promotion to date.
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January 4, 2008 · Filed under Charity, Music
U2 rocker Bono became the 25th musician to team up with Hard Rock International to produce a garment for their Signature Series.
The Hard Rock initiative, which was started in 1990, channels the proceeds from the shirts will go to the artist’s charity of choice, and Bono’s choice was the Wildlife Conservation Society, which helps educate impoverished African farmers.
The T-shirt, made entirely from African cotton, features an image by Bono – a fish soaring through the moon and stars, with the words “Fish Can Fly . . .” and his signature. The shirts will be available in blue on a white background for women and red on black for men.
The shirts are being produced by EDUN — the socially conscious clothing company founded by Bono and run by his wife Ali — and will be available online as well as at Hard Rock locations worldwide.
With this, Bono joins the list of musical celebrities such as Sting, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, Shakira, Green Day and Ozzy Osbourne.
December 19, 2007 · Filed under F & B, Music
Cadbury has signed singer Joss Stone to be the new face–and the first non-model–of its famous ‘Flake Girl’ TV ad campaign.
The 20-year-old Devon singer, who has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide, will star in commercials for the crumbly chocolate bar which are scheduled to show in the spring.
Advertisements starring Flake girls began airing in the late 1950s and have featured a string of models, including the 1969 Miss World, Eva Rueber-Staier.
“Joss Stone reflects the Flake girl’s attitude to life, in a fresh take on Flake’s iconic advertising,” a spokesperson from Cadbury said.
Stone’s appointment as the latest Flake girl was revealed in trade magazine The Grocer.
Meanwhile, Stone is also set to hit the charts with a new single ‘Baby, Baby, Baby’ hitting the scene mid January.
Stone is seen trying a Flake bar while in a recording studio, singing the famous “Only the crumbliest, flakiest chocolate” jingle. Watch it here.
May 21, 2007 · Filed under Fragrances - Female, Music
Veteran musician Prince will release a perfume called 3121 for women and and according to his publicist it will be “Xquisite, Mysterious, Xotic” and will smell like a “kaleidoscope of rich florals”.
The Purple Rain star is naming his fragrance 3121 - the same title as his last album. He is also charging just GBP31.21 for tickets in honour of his album and Las Vegas club of the same name.
The fragrance will be available to buy on 7 July (07/07/07), the same date as global Live Earth charity concerts, which are taking place in eight cities across the globe, including London, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro, and Prince is rumoured to be headlining one.
Last week, 48-year-old pop star announced he is to perform 21 spectacular concerts in London this Fall, before taking time off to study the Bible. The 21-night extravaganza will reportedly be the last time he ever performs his greatest hits. Prince is expected to switch up the style of his show each night so that his die-hard fans at the who attend multiple shows will have 21 completely different experiences.
Prince (real name Prince Rogers Nelson) has had many hits during his long and successful career, including Purple Rain and When Doves Cry. His songs have been featured in many movies including the 2006 animated feature, Happy Feet.
May 19, 2007 · Filed under Celebrity Websites, General, Music
I used to imagine that celeb websites were all the same—until I visited ActuPeople.fr. The difference is that while it is about celebrities, it’s also much more than that, covering a broad cross-section of what’s happening in the world of music, movies and TV.
In most celeb sites, you could easily get lost in the areas they’re trying to cover. Not so with ActuPeople.fr—the home page itself obvious that clearly marked sections for News, Flash News briefs, This Week in Cinema, a review of the latest in music, biographies of celebrities and a unique Zoom People section.
While the News column details the latest occurrences in the celebrity world, the Flash News provides interesting snippets with links to previous stories. However, both the news sections are covered in the top menu bar link if you wanted to take in all at once.
A celebrity site is never complete without photos, and ‘Zoom People’ does more than full justice to it. Matter of fact, I don’t quite recall any celeb site with such a massive database of the latest photos of the most popular and the hottest celebrities. Listed alphabetically, there are thousands of high-quality photos. To give you an idea, I found 148 latest photographs of Avril Lavigne alone.
And if you want to add any of these photos in your blog, ActuPeople.fr makes it incredibly simple to do so. No downloading, no cutting and pasting. You click and enlarge the photo you need, and conveniently beneath the photo you’ll find a script that you can simply copy and paste on your blog post and voila! You got it!
The biographies section is also alphabetically listed, and I tried the letter S which listed over 45 celebs, from Salif Keita and Sara Forestier to Sophie Marceau and Sylvester Stallone. The information is well covered, but I hope the publishers will soon add filmograhy stats, trivia or claim-to-fame categories to the profile pages.
The music area singles out and reviews some of the latest albums. The day I visited, Mutya Buena’s “Real Girl” was the featured album on the home page, followed by other top albums including Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Me And My Imagination” Maroon 5’s “Makes Me Wonder” among many, many others..
Movies of the Week featured “El Cielo dividido”, “Heroes Fragiles”, “Shinobi” and more, all of them new releases and were presented with reviews. The TV section is maintained on a daily basis with schedule of programs from top French channels like the Ce soir sur TF1, France 2, France 3, Canal+, Arte and M6.
ActuPeople.fr is a website in French, but it has a lot offer a worldwide audience. Not being able to understand French, what I really missed on the site was a facility to translate the content into other languages. However, there’s no need to despair. Here’s a tip: Do a Google for “actupeople”, and you’ll see ActuPeople.fr listed no.1 on page no.1, and you’ll also find the ‘Translate this page’ link next to it. Hit it, and ENJOY!
This is an ActuPeople.fr sponsored review.
April 11, 2007 · Filed under Fragrances - Female, Fragrances - Male, Music
R&B hunk Usher has finalized plans to offer his fans an opportunity to smell like their idol. The 28-year old singer-actor has signed a deal with Liz Claiborne to create his fragrance brands, consisting of scents for both sexes.
Yeah! singer Usher, real name Usher Raymond IV, has a duo of fragrances ready for launch this coming September. The celebrity line will include:
Usher She, an Eau de Parfum “has top notes of red currant, pink freesia and apple blossom.” Usher He is an Eau de Toilette and the notes include “blue lavender, white pepper and violet leaf, and a drydown of amber wood, black suede, sandalwood, sensual musk and guaiac wood”.
Usher stated the women’s scent “represents a woman of mystery and confidence; a woman who exudes sexuality,” and the masculine counterpart “for me, represents something I would wear — with everything from a tux to a pair of jeans.”
Both fragrances will be made by Liz Claiborne Cosmetics under the multi-million dollar deal.
The women’s lineup will consist of eaux de parfum in two sizes, 1.7 ounces for $52 and 3.4 ounces for $68. A 0.5-oz. parfum will retail for $120, and three ancillaries will be offered: a body lotion, body cream, and a shower gel.
The men’s collection will include eaux de toilette in two sizes, 1.7 ounces for $50 and 3.4 ounces for $65. Four ancillaries include an after-shave tonic, after-shave balm, deodorant, and shower gel.
But is Usher stopping here? Most likely not. The fragrance line appears to be the celebrity’s first step in moving in the fashion industry — the R&B superstar says he’s also planning to put out his own range of clothing and accessories.
March 23, 2007 · Filed under General, Music
Paul McCartney becomes the first artist to sign with Hear Music, a brand being created by Starbucks.
The anouncement was made toward end of the coffee giant’s annual meeting in McCaw Hall at the Seattle Center. Chairman Howard Schultzoward announced that Paul McCartney would be the first artist for Starbucks’ new record label, Hear Music.
“It’s a new world now,” said the rock icon said during a video chat from London with Schultz, conducted in front of over 6,000 people at the annual shareholders’ meeting. “People are thinking of new ways to reach the people. For me, that’s always been my aim.”
“Let’s get on with it, man,” McCartney told the crowd as he held two thumbs up. He said that the new album would reflect the past and that he was excited to be a partner with Starbucks.
The new yet-to-be-named album would be distributed in early June in 13,200 Starbucks stores in 39 countries and other retail outlets.
The take on McCartney represents a sort of return to Starbucks’ earliest — and most successful — marketing strategy: putting together new music and a familiar name. For those of you who can recall, Starbucks promoted the Ray Charles album “Genius Loves Company”, which went on to sell more than five million copies.
Schultz also said the coffee giant would open 10,000 more stores in the next four years. Company executives went on record saying that Starbucks would be in Russia and India by the end of this year.
