Friday 31 July 2015

Paula Deen: TV's Sexiest Female Chef

About Paula Deen:


"I am living proof that the American dream still exists. It is still alive and well. There is only one trick, you have to be willing to roll up your sleeves and work very, very hard."


Paula Ann Hiers Deen (born January 19, 1947) is an American celebrity chef and cooking show television host. Deen resides in Savannah, Georgia, where she owns and operates The Lady & Sons restaurant with her sons, Jamie and Bobby Deen. She has published fourteen cookbooks. Though married in 2004 to Michael Groover, she uses the surname Deen, from her first marriage.

Early Life:

Deen was born Paula Ann Hiers in Albany, Georgia, the daughter of Corrie A. Hiers (née Paul) and Earl Wayne Hiers, Sr. She grew up Baptist, and is still deeply devoted to her faith. Her parents died before she was 23, and an early marriage ended in divorce. In her 20s, Deen suffered from panic attacks and agoraphobia. She then focused on cooking for her family as something she could do without leaving her house. Her grandmother Irene Paul had taught her the hand-me-down art of Southern cooking; one of the only places she felt safe was at her own stove, making thousands of pots of chicken and dumplings. She later moved to Savannah, Georgia, with her sons.


In 1989, she divorced her husband, Jimmy Deen, to whom she had been married since 1965. She was left with only $200 and money was tight raising both her kids and her younger brother, Earl ("Bubba"). She tried hanging wallpaper, working as a bank teller, and selling real estate and insurance. She then started a catering service, making sandwiches and meals, which her sons Jamie and Bobby delivered.

Controversies:
1. Unhealthy Recipes:
Deen has faced extensive criticism for the high amounts of fat, salt, and sugar in her recipes. She faced particularly strong objections with the release of Cookbook for the Lunch-Box Set, a cookbook aimed at children, with Barbara Walters saying of the book, "You tell kids to have cheesecake for breakfast. You tell them to have chocolate cake and meatloaf for lunch. And french fries. Doesn't it bother you that you're adding to this?" Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain commented in 2011 that he "would think twice before telling an already obese nation that it's OK to eat food that is killing us".


"I was determined to share my positive approach and not let diabetes stand in the way of enjoying my life."

2. Type 2 Sugar:
On January 17, 2012, Deen announced that she had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes three years before. It was also disclosed that Deen is a paid spokesperson for the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk. She was called a hypocrite for continuing to promote her high-fat and sugar diet while disclosing her medical condition only when it benefited her in representing the drug company to market their diabetes management program.


"There’s not one food that causes diabetes.What causes Type II diabetes is being overweight... I’ve just come to grips, over the past four or five months, with my diabetes."

3. Racial Epithet Controversy:
In June 2013, Deen was the target of a lawsuit alleging racial and sexual discrimination. It alleged that Deen made derogatory remarks regarding African Americans in the presence of a female employee whose nieces are bi-racial with an African-American father. The case was heard in August 2013, with the judge dismissing the suit with prejudice, meaning it cannot be re-filed. Both sides agreed to dismiss the lawsuit "without any award of costs or fees to any party".

4. N-Word:
Deen stated in her deposition that she had used the "N-word" at times. Specifically, she recalled telling her husband about an incident "when a black man burst into the bank that I was working at and put a gun to my head. I didn't feel real favorable towards him." Asked if she had used the word since then, she said: "I'm sure I have, but it's been a very long time maybe in repeating something that was said to me probably a conversation between blacks. I don't – I don't know. But that's just not a word that we use as time has gone on. Things have changed since the 60's in the south."

5. Endorsement Contracts:
In the time between the filing of the suit and the suit being dismissed, Deen had cookery programs, publishing deals and endorsement contracts cancelled by Food Network, Smithfield Foods, Walmart, Target, QVC, Caesars Entertainment, Home Depot, diabetes drug company Novo Nordisk, J.C. Penney, Sears, Kmart and her then-publisher Ballantine Books. However, several companies have expressed their intent to continue their endorsement deals with Deen.During the same time, sales of Deen's cookbooks soared.

6. Law & Order:
There were echoes of the controversy in a 2013 episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, the fictional story of a southern TV chef, played by Cybill Shepherd.

Former President Jimmy Carter urged that Deen be forgiven, stating, "I think she has been punished, perhaps overly severely, for her honesty in admitting it and for the use of the word in the distant past. She's apologized profusely.


7. Slave-Themed Party:
“The entire waiter staff was middle-aged black men, and they had on beautiful white jackets with a black bow tie. I mean, it was really impressive. That restaurant represented a certain era in America. After the Civil War, during the Civil War, before the Civil War. It was not only black men, it was black women. They were slaves.”

8. Racist Jokes:
 “It’s just what they are they’re jokes. Most jokes are about Jewish people, rednecks, black folks. I can’t determine what offends another person.”

Interesting Facts:
1. Paula suffers from agoraphobia and has regular panic attacks.  She started cooking because it was something she could do without leaving her house.

2. Paula learned to cook from her grandmother Irene.

3. Paula divorced her husband, sausage icon Jimmy Deen, in 1989.  According to Deen, she was left with just $200 to raise her kids.


4. Paula has appeared several times on the Oprah Winfrey Show: First in 2002, twice in 2007 and once in 2010.


5. Deen began working with the Food Network in 1999, when her friend Erin Lewis introduced her to an agent.

6. In 2004, Paula married Michael Groover, a tugboat captain.   The wedding was shown on the Food Network.


Achievements:
1. In June 2007, Deen won a Daytime Emmy Awards (Outstanding Lifestyle Host) for Paula's Home Cooking.

2. In October 2010, she was selected as the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade, and presided over the 2011 Rose Parade before the Rose Bowl Game on January 1, 2011.

3. Deen made her film debut in Elizabethtown, starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst in 2005.

4. She played the aunt of Bloom's character, and her cooking was featured.

5. A Food Network special, Paula Goes Hollywood, aired in conjunction with the film's premiere.


The Story:
Deen's home business, The Bag Lady, soon outgrew her kitchen. She first moved into the Best Western on Savannah's southside on Abercorn Street in 1991 with a restaurant called The Lady. In January 1996, Deen opened her restaurant, The Lady & Sons, in downtown Savannah, on West Congress Street. Within a few years, the restaurant moved to the old White Hardware building on Whitaker. USA Today named The Lady & Sons the "International Meal of the Year" in 1999. The specialty is a buffet of Southern "comfort foods". Every buffet meal includes a salad bar and one dessert. Her sons are also involved in managing the restaurant, which is popular with tourists visiting Savannah.



In 2008, Deen opened another restaurant, the Paula Deen Buffet, at Harrah's Tunica Casino in Tunica County, Mississippi. It has an entrance facade modeled on Deen's home in Savannah and features Southern cooking. As of June 2013, the Paula Deen Buffet does not appear on Harrah's Tunica Casino's website list of restaurants.


In September 2009, Deen announced a new dessert line to be sold at Walmart including signature pies Apple Crunch Top, Dark Rum Pecan, Old Fashioned Fudge and St. Louis style Gooey Butter Cake bars.

In addition to these, Deen co-owned Uncle Bubba's Oyster House in Savannah Georgia. It underwent an "abrupt closure" on April 4, 2014 with a spokesperson saying that there were discussions about development of the waterfront property.


On April 27, 2015, Deen officially opened Paula Deen's Family Kitchen, her new restaurant and retail concept, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.


In 2004, Deen married Michael Groover (born 1956), a tugboat captain in the Port of Savannah, Georgia. Deen has two children from a previous marriage. The wedding was featured in a Food Network show in 2004. Their wedding took place at Bethesda Academy in Savannah. Paula is a supporter of Bethesda Academy, and asked Old Savannah Tours to donate $1 to the organization for each ticket purchased for the Paula Deen Store ticket sale.


Visit:
http://www.pauladeen.com/

#TheUntoldStories

Friday 24 July 2015

Kanye West: The Louis Vuitton Don

About Kanye West:

"If you have the opportunity to play this game of life you need to appreciate every moment. a lot of people don't appreciate the moment until it's passed."


Kanye Omari West  is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and fashion designer. West first became known as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records; he achieved recognition for his work on rapper Jay-Z's The Blueprint (2001), as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His style of production originally used high-pitched vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. He later broadened his influences to include 1970s R&B, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, house, folk, alternative, electronica, synthpop, industrial, and classical music.

Kanye Omari West was born on June 8, 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents divorced when he was three and he and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois. His father, Ray West, is a former Black Panther and was one of the first black photojournalists at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Ray West was later a Christian counselor, and in 2006, opened the Good Water Store and Café in Lexington Park, Maryland with startup capital from his son.


Early Life:
Kanye West's mother, Dr. Donda C. (Williams) West, was a professor of English at Clark Atlanta University, and the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before retiring to serve as his manager. West was raised in a middle-class background, attending Polaris High School in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois after living in Chicago. At the age of 10, West moved with his mother to Nanjing, China, where she was teaching at Nanjing University as part of an exchange program. According to his mother, West was the only foreigner in his class, but settled in well and quickly picked up the language, although he has since forgotten most of it. When asked about his grades in high school, West replied, "I got A's and B's. And I'm not even frontin'."


West demonstrated an affinity for the arts at an early age; he began writing poetry when he was five years old. His mother recalled that she first took notice of West's passion for drawing and music when he was in the third grade. Growing up in the city, West became deeply involved in its hip hop scene. He started rapping in the third grade and began making musical compositions in the seventh grade, eventually selling them to other artists. At age thirteen, West wrote a rap song called "Green Eggs and Ham" and began to persuade his mother to pay $25 an hour for time in a recording studio. It was a small, crude basement studio where a microphone hung from the ceiling by a wire clothes hanger. Although this wasn't what West's mother wanted, she nonetheless supported him. West crossed paths with producer/DJ No I.D., with whom he quickly formed a close friendship. No. I.D. soon became West's mentor, and it was from him that West learned how to sample and program beats after he received his first sampler at age 15.


Controversies:

1. Relationships:
West began an on-again, off-again relationship with designer Alexis Phifer in 2002, and they became engaged in August 2006. The pair ended their 18-month engagement in 2008.


West subsequently dated model Amber Rose from 2008 until the summer of 2010.


West began dating reality star and longtime friend Kim Kardashian in April 2012. West and Kardashian became engaged in October 2013 and married on May 24, 2014 at Fort di Belvedere in Florence, Italy.


They have one child, daughter North "Nori" West, born in June 2013. In April 2015, West and Kardashian traveled to Jerusalem to have North baptized in the Armenian Apostolic Church at the Cathedral of St. James. The following month, it was announced that West and Kardashian are expecting their second child. On June 21, 2015 Kardashian confirmed via instagram that she and West are expecting a boy in December 2015.



2. Petitions:
Music fans have turned to Change.org around the globe to try and block West's participation at various events. The largest unsuccessful petition has been to the Glastonbury Festival 2015 with 133,000+ voters stating they would prefer a rock band to headline. On July 20, 2015, within five days of West's announcement as the headlining artist of the closing ceremonies[234] of the 2015 Pan Am Games (2015), Change.org user XYZ collected over 50,000 signatures for West's removal as headliner citing the headlining artist should be Canadian.


"My music isn’t just music — it’s medicine."

3. Leaked Album:
He recorded the remainder of the album in Los Angeles while recovering from the car accident. Once he had completed the album, it was leaked months before its release date. However, West decided to use the opportunity to review the album, and The College Dropout was significantly remixed, remastered, and revised before being released. As a result, certain tracks originally destined for the album were subsequently retracted, among them "Keep the Receipt" with Ol' Dirty Bastard and "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" with Consequence. West meticulously refined the production, adding string arrangements, gospel choirs, improved drum programming and new verses. West's perfectionism led The College Dropout to have its release postponed three times from its initial date in August 2003.


4. American Music Award 2004:
In 2004, West had his first of a number of incidents involving music award events. At the American Music Awards of 2004, West stormed out of the auditorium after losing Best New Artist to country singer Gretchen Wilson. He later commented, "I felt like I was definitely robbed. I was the best new artist this year." After the 2006 Grammy nominations were released, West said he would "really have a problem" if he did not win the Album of the Year, saying, "I don't care what I do, I don't care how much I stunt – you can never take away from the amount of work I put into it. I don't want to hear all of that politically correct stuff." On November 2, 2006, when his "Touch the Sky" failed to win Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards.


West went onto the stage as the award was being presented to Justice and Simian for "We Are Your Friends" and argued that he should have won the award instead. Hundreds of news outlets worldwide criticized the outburst. On November 7, 2006, West apologized for this outburst publicly during his performance as support act for U2 for their Vertigo concert in Brisbane. He later spoofed the incident on the 33rd season premiere of Saturday Night Live in September 2007.

5. Hurricane Katrina Relief Event:
The concert's most notable moment was rapper Kanye West's controversial statement that President George W. Bush "doesn't care about black people." Controversy arose when Kanye West was presenting, as he deviated from the prepared script, and said:

I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family, it says, 'They're looting.' You see a white family, it says, 'They're looking for food.' And, you know, it's been five days [waiting for federal help] because most of the people are black. And even for me to complain about it, I would be a hypocrite because I've tried to turn away from the TV because it's too hard to watch. I've even been shopping before even giving a donation, so now I'm calling my business manager right now to see what is the biggest amount I can give, and just to imagine if I was down there, and those are my people down there. So anybody out there that wants to do anything that we can help—with the way America is set up to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off, as slow as possible. I mean, the Red Cross is doing everything they can. We already realize a lot of people that could help are at war right now, fighting another way—and they've given them permission to go down and shoot us!

Mike Myers, with whom West was paired to present, spoke next and continued as normal by reading the script. Once it was West's turn to speak again, he said, "George Bush doesn't care about black people." West's mic was silenced, and Myers turned, visibly shocked by the comment.


The camera quickly cut away to the next segment (with Chris Tucker, also visibly surprised), but West's comments still reached all of the U.S. Years later, George W. Bush himself commented on West's statement, saying in a 2010 interview "I resent it, it's not true, and it's one of the most disgusting moments of my presidency."

West returned to NBC one month later, performing on Saturday Night Live‍ '​s 31st season premiere in October 2005. He performed "Gold Digger", "Touch the Sky" and "Heard 'Em Say". Mike Myers appeared in a sketch spoofing the incident during that episode.

6. Jesus Walks, Poses for Rolling Stone:
One-upping John Lennon, Kanye West didn't just liken himself to Jesus  he posed as him. And unlike the Beatle's oft misunderstood remark, this comparison had no larger context to be taken out of: Kanye appeared on a 2006 Rolling Stone cover in a crown of thorns. In the story which ran not long after the rapper's 2005 Grammy win for "Jesus Walks" West defended his healthy ego.
"You want me to be great," he said, "but you don't ever want me to say I'm great?"




"I'll say things that are serious and put them in a joke form so people can enjoy them. We laugh to keep from crying."

7. Touch The Sky:
In December 2006, Robert "Evel" Knievel sued West for trademark infringement in West's video for "Touch the Sky." Knievel took issue with a "sexually charged video" in which West takes on the persona of "Evel Kanyevel" and attempts flying a rocket over a canyon. The suit filed in federal court claims infringement on his trademarked name and likeness. Knievel also claims the "vulgar and offensive" images depicted in the video damaged his reputation. The suit seeks damages and to stop distribution of the video. West's attorneys argued that the music video amounted to satire and therefore was covered under the First Amendment. Just days before his death in November 2007, Knievel amicably settled the suit after being paid a visit from West, saying, "I thought he was a wonderful guy and quite a gentleman."
8. MTV Video Music Awards 2007:
On September 9, 2007, West suggested that his race had something to do with his being overlooked for opening the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) in favor of Britney Spears; he claimed, "Maybe my skin’s not right." West was performing at the event; that night, he lost all five awards that he was nominated for, including Best Male Artist and Video of the Year. After the show, he was visibly upset that he had lost at the VMAs two years in a row, stating that he would not come back to MTV ever again. He also appeared on several radio stations saying that when he made the song "Stronger" that it was his dream to open the VMAs with it. He has also stated that Spears has not had a hit in a long period of time and that MTV exploited her for ratings.


9. Felony Vandalism:
On September 11, 2008, West and his road manager/bodyguard Don "Don C." Crowley were arrested at Los Angeles International Airport and booked on charges of felony vandalism after an altercation with the paparazzi in which West and Crowley broke the photographers' cameras. West was later released from the Los Angeles Police Department's Pacific Division station in Culver City on $20,000 bail bond. On September 26, 2008, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said it would not file felony counts against West over the incident. Instead the case file was forwarded to the city attorney's office, which charged West with one count of misdemeanor vandalism, one count of grand theft and one count of battery and his manager with three counts of each on March 18, 2009. West's and Crowley's arraignment was delayed from an original date of April 14, 2009.


"I was never really good at anything except for the ability to learn."

10. With No Further Action:
West was arrested again on November 14, 2008 at the Hilton hotel near Gateshead after another scuffle involving a photographer outside the famous Tup Tup Palace nightclub in Newcastle upon Tyne. He was later released "with no further action", according to a police spokesperson.


11. MTV Video Music Awards 2013:
On September 13, 2009, during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards while Taylor Swift was accepting her award for Best Female Video for "You Belong with Me".

West went on stage and grabbed the microphone to proclaim that Beyoncé's video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", nominated for the same award, was "one of the best videos of all time". He was subsequently removed from the remainder of the show for his actions. When Beyoncé later won the award for Best Video of the Year for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", she called Swift up on stage so that she could finish her acceptance speech. West was criticized by various celebrities for the outburst, and by President Barack Obama, who called West a "jackass".


In addition, West's VMA disruption sparked a large influx of Internet photo memes with blogs, forums and "tweets" with the "Let you finish" photo-jokes. He posted a Tweet soon after the event where he stated, "Everybody wanna booooo me but I'm a fan of real pop culture... I'm not crazy y'all, I'm just real." He then posted two apologies for the outburst on his personal blog; one on the night of the incident, and the other the following day, when he also apologized during an appearance on The Jay Leno Show. After Swift appeared on The View two days after the outburst, partly to discuss the matter, West called her to apologize personally. Swift said she accepted his apology.

In September 2010, West wrote a series of apologetic tweets addressed to Swift including "Beyonce didn't need that. MTV didn't need that and Taylor and her family friends and fans definitely didn't want or need that" and concluding with "I'm sorry Taylor." He also revealed he had written a song for Swift and if she did not accept the song, he would perform it himself. However, on November 8, 2010, in an interview with a Minnesota radio station, he seemed to recant his past apologies by attempting to describe the act at the 2009 awards show as "selfless" and downgrade the perception of disrespect it created.

12. Paparazzi:
On July 19, 2013, West was leaving LAX as he was surrounded by dozens of paparazzi. West became increasingly agitated as a photographer, Daniel Ramos, continued to ask him why people were not allowed to speak in his presence. West then says, "I told you don't talk to me, right? You trying to get me in trouble so I steal off on you and have to pay you like $250,000 and shit." Then he allegedly charged the man and grabbed him and his camera. The incident captured by TMZ, took place for a few seconds before a female voice can be heard telling West to stop. West then released the man, and his camera, and drove away from the scene.


Medics were later called to the scene on behalf of the photographer who was grabbed. It was reported West could be charged with felony attempted robbery behind the matter. However, the charges were reduced to misdemeanor criminal battery and attempted grand theft. In March 2014, West was sentenced to serve two years' probation for the misdemeanor battery conviction and required to attend 24 anger management sessions, perform 250 hours of community service and pay restitution to Ramos.

13. 57th Annual Grammy Awards:
On February 8, 2015, at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, West walked on stage as Beck was accepting his award for Album of the Year and then walked off stage, making everyone think he was joking around. After the awards show, West claimed in an interview that he was not joking and that "Beck needs to respect artistry, he should have given his award to Beyoncé". On February 26, 2015, he publicly apologized to Beck on Twitter.


"We all self-conscious. I'm just the first to admit it."

Interesting Facts:
1. The name Kanye means "the only one" in Swahilli.

2. He dropped out of college and had a slew of random jobs. He worked as a telemarketer and sold insurance to Montgomery Ward credit card holders. "I was way better than most of the people there," he told Playboy. "I could sit around and draw pictures, basically do other [things] while I was reading the teleprompter."


3. He admits that the idea of becoming a male porn star crossed his mind once or twice before.

4. Chaka Khan initially refused to grant Kanye permission to use the pitched-up sample of her vocals from "Through the Fire" on College Dropout. But according to the video's co-director Coodie Simmons who told ESPN.com , a Sunday barbecue at Coodie's house changed hip-hop history. "Kanye brought Chaka Khan's son and I was like, 'We've got to shoot this video,' so we showed him the "Through The Wire" video. He was like, 'Aw man, I've got to show my mom this and tell her we're trying to get this done.' And I would say about two weeks later, she cleared the sample."


5. He used the money from the "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" music video to raise awareness about blood diamonds and the abuse of human rights that happen in the mining process.


6. He said once in an interview that he prefers finalizing a song in post production more than having sex.


Achievements:
1. As of 2013, West has won a total of 21 Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of all-time.

2. About.com ranked Kanye West No. 8 on their "Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers" list.


3. On May 16, 2008, Kanye West was crowned by MTV as the year's No. 1 "Hottest MC in the Game."

4. On December 17, 2010, Kanye West was voted as the MTV Man of the Year by MTV. Billboard ranked Kanye West No. 3 on their list of Top 10 Producers of the Decade.

5. West ties with Bob Dylan for having topped the annual Pazz & Jop critic poll the most number of times ever, with four number-one albums each.

6. West has also been included in the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world as well as being listed in a number of Forbes annual lists.


7. In its 2012 list of "500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Rolling Stone included three of West's albums—The College Dropout at number 298, Late Registration at number 118, and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy at number 353.

8. The Pitchfork online music publication ranked My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy as the world's best album of the decade "so far" between 2010 and 2014 on August 19, 2014, while Yeezus was ranked in the eighth position of a list of 100 albums. During the same week, the song "Runaway" (featuring Pusha T) was ranked in the third position in the publication's list of the 200 "best tracks" released since 2010.

The Story:

After graduating from high school, West received a scholarship to attend Chicago's American Academy of Art in 1997 and began taking painting classes, but shortly after transferred to Chicago State University to study English. He soon realized that his busy class schedule was detrimental to his musical work, and at 20 he dropped out of college to pursue his musical dreams. This action greatly displeased his mother, who was also a professor at the university. She later commented, "It was drummed into my head that college is the ticket to a good life... but some career goals don't require college. For Kanye to make an album called College Dropout it was more about having the guts to embrace who you are, rather than following the path society has carved out for you.


"People always say that you can't please everybody. I think that's a cop-out. Why not attempt it? 'Cause think of all the people you will please if you try."

West's life took a different direction when his mother, Donda West, died of complications from cosmetic surgery involving abdominoplasty and breast reduction in November 2007. Months later, West and fiancée Alexis Phifer ended their engagement and their long-term intermittent relationship, which had begun in 2002. The events profoundly affected West, who set off for his 2008 Glow in the Dark Tour shortly thereafter. Feeling his emotions could not be conveyed through rapping, West discovered the voice audio processor Auto-Tune to use whilst singing, which would become a central part of his next effort. Recorded mostly in Honolulu, Hawaii in three weeks, West announced his fourth album, 808s & Heartbreak, at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, where he performed its lead single, "Love Lockdown". Music audiences were taken aback by the uncharacteristic production style and the presence of Auto-Tune, which typified the pre-release response to the record.


"Nothing in life is promised except death."

Visit: +KanyeWestVEVO +Kanye West FanPage 
http://www.kanyewest.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanye_West
http://whatculture.com/music/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-kanye-west.php

#TheUntoldStories

Thursday 16 July 2015

Madonna: The Material Girl

About Madonna:

"How could I have been anything else but what I am, having been named Madonna. I would either have ended up a nun or this."


Madonna Louise Ciccone (born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. She achieved popularity by pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music and imagery in her music videos, which became a fixture on MTV. Madonna is known for reinventing both her music and image, and for maintaining her autonomy within the recording industry. Music critics have acclaimed her musical productions which have also been known to induce controversy. Often referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she is cited as an influence among other artists around the world.


Madonna was born to Catholic parents Silvio Anthony "Tony" Ciccone and Madonna Louise Fortin (c. 1933 – December 1, 1963) in Bay City, Michigan, on August 16, 1958. Her father's parents were immigrants from Pacentro, Italy, while her mother was of French-Canadian ancestry. Tony worked as an engineer designer for Chrysler and General Motors. Since Madonna had the same name as her mother, family members called her "Little Nonni". She has two elder brothers, Anthony (born 1956) and Martin (born 1957), and three younger siblings, Paula (born 1959), Christopher (born 1960), and Melanie (born 1962).


Controversies:
1. Like A Prayer:
In January 1989, Madonna signed an endorsement deal with soft-drink manufacturer, Pepsi. In one of her Pepsi commercials, she debuted her song "Like a Prayer". The corresponding music video featured many Catholic symbols such as stigmata and cross burning, and a dream about making love to a saint, leading the Vatican to condemn the video. Religious groups sought to ban the commercial and boycott Pepsi products. Pepsi revoked the commercial and canceled her sponsorship contract.


"Catholicism is not a soothing religion. It's a painful religion. We're all gluttons for punishment."

2. Blond Ambition World Tour:
In April 1990, Madonna began her Blond Ambition World Tour, which was held until August. Rolling Stone called it an "elaborately choreographed, sexually provocative extravaganza" and proclaimed it "the best tour of 1990". The tour was met with strong reaction from religious groups for her performance of "Like a Virgin", during which two male dancers caressed her body before she simulated masturbation. In response, Madonna said, "The tour in no way hurts anybody's sentiments. It's for open minds and gets them to see sexuality in a different way. Their own and others."


"I'm tough, I'm ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay."

3. The Immaculate Collection:
The Immaculate Collection, Madonna's first greatest-hits compilation album, was released in November 1990. It included two new songs, "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me". The album was certified diamond by RIAA and sold over 30 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling compilation album by a solo artist in history. "Justify My Love" reached number one in the U.S. and top ten worldwide. Its music video featured scenes of sadomasochism, bondage, same-sex kissing, and brief nudity. The video was deemed too sexually explicit for MTV and was banned from the network. Madonna responded to the banning: "Why is it that people are willing to go and watch a movie about someone getting blown to bits for no reason at all, and nobody wants to see two girls kissing and two men snuggling?"


4.  Madonna's Book:
The first release from the venture was Madonna's book, titled Sex. It consisted of sexually provocative and explicit images, photographed by Steven Meisel. The book caused strong negative reaction from the media and the general public, but sold 1.5 million copies at $50 each in a matter of days.


The provocative imagery continued in the 1990s with the erotic thriller, Body of Evidence, a film which contained scenes of sadomasochism and bondage. It was poorly received by critics.

5. The Girlie Show World Tour:
In September 1993, Madonna embarked on The Girlie Show World Tour, in which she dressed as a whip-cracking dominatrix surrounded by topless dancers. The show faced negative reaction, specifically in Puerto Rico where she rubbed the island's flag between her legs on stage.


6. The Late Show with David Letterman:
In March 1994, she appeared as a guest on the Late Show with David Letterman, using profanity that was required to be censored on television and handing Letterman a pair of her underwear and asking him to smell it. The releases of her sexually explicit films, albums and book, and the aggressive appearance on Letterman all made critics question Madonna as a sexual renegade. She faced strong negative publicity from critics and fans, who commented that "she had gone too far" and that her career was over.


7. Mismanagement of Resources:
In 2004, Madonna and Maverick sued Warner Music Group and its former parent company Time Warner, claiming that mismanagement of resources and poor bookkeeping had cost the company millions of dollars. In return, Warner filed a countersuit alleging that Maverick had lost tens of millions of dollars on its own. The dispute was resolved when the Maverick shares, owned by Madonna and Ronnie Dashev, were purchased by Warner. Madonna and Dashev's company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music, but Madonna was still signed to Warner under a separate recording contract.


8. The Confessions Tour:
Madonna embarked on the Confessions Tour in May 2006, which had a global audience of 1.2 million and grossed over $193.7 million, becoming the highest-grossing tour to that date for a female artist. Madonna used religious symbols, such as the crucifix and Crown of Thorns, in the performance of "Live to Tell". It caused the Russian Orthodox Church and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia to urge all their members to boycott her concert. At the same time, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) announced officially that Madonna had sold over 200 million copies for her albums alone worldwide.


9. Relationship Problem:
Problems also arose between Madonna and Ritchie, with the media reporting that they were on the verge of separation. Ultimately, Madonna filed for divorce from Ritchie, citing irreconcilable differences, which was finalized in December 2008. She decided to adopt from Malawi. The country's High Court initially approved the adoption of Chifundo "Mercy" James; however, the application was rejected because Madonna was not a resident of the country. Madonna appealed, and on June 12, 2009, the Supreme Court of Malawi granted Madonna the right to adopt Mercy James.


Controversy erupted when Madonna decided to adopt from Malawi again. Chifundo "Mercy" James was finally adopted on June 2009. Madonna had known Mercy from the time she went to adopt David. Mercy's grandmother had initially protested the adoption, but later gave in, saying "At first I didn't want her to go but as a family we had to sit down and reach an agreement and we agreed that Mercy should go. The men insisted that Mercy be adopted and I won't resist anymore. I still love Mercy. She is my dearest." Mercy's father was still adamant saying that he could not support the adoption since he was alive.

"To be brave is to love someone unconditionally, without expecting anything in return. To just give. That takes courage, because we don't want to fall on our faces or leave ourselves open to hurt."


10. The MDNA Tour:
The MDNA Tour, which further promoted the album, began in May 2012 in Tel Aviv, Israel. The tour has received positive critical reception, but featured controversial subjects such as violence, firearms, human rights, nudity and politics. Lawsuits threatened against Madonna have also been engaged from the tour. It was a box office success with a gross of $305.2 million from 88 sold-out shows, and became the highest-grossing tour of 2012 and the tenth highest-grossing tour of all time.


11. Charity Problem:
When Madonna visited the schools in April 2013, President of Malawi Joyce Banda expressed criticism of the star and her charity, accusing her of exaggerating her charity's contribution. Madonna responded by releasing a statement saying she was saddened that Banda had chosen to act negatively about her endeavors. "I have no intention of being distracted by these ridiculous allegations," she added. Later, it was confirmed that Banda had not approved the statement released written by her press team and was "incandescent with anger" over the mix-up.


Interesting Facts:
1. When she was little, Madonna dreamed of becoming a ballet dancer.


2. She was a straight-A student and cheerleader at Rochester Adams High School.

3. Madonna's often-copied signature '80s look was created by stylist and jewelry designer Maripol.

4. Madonna lost her virginity in the back of a Cadillac. It was revealed by her brother Christopher Ciccone in his book, Life With My Sister Madonna.

5. Madonna dedicated her album "True Blue" to then-husband Sean Penn who she called "the coolest guy in the universe".


6. She also dated rapper Vanilla Ice, Tupac, John F. Kennedy, Jr., Antonio Banderas, Lenny Kravitz, Dennis Rodman, and the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.








"I'm anal retentive. I'm a workaholic. I have insomnia. And I'm a control freak. That's why I'm not married. Who could stand me?"

7. In October 2000, Madonna won her fight against a cybersquatter using the domain name madonna.com to operate a pornography website. The UN World Intellectual Property Organization found that site operator Dan Parisi "lacks rights or legitimate interests in the domain name." Parisi claims that he was in the process of handing over the rights to the domain name to a US hospital, Madonna Rehabilitation, which has the domain name madonna.org, when the case started.

8. Madonna's father, Tony Ciccone, decided to advance his winery business by releasing Madonna Wine, which is available in five varieties: Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Gewurztraminer, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay. Prices range from $25 to $40 per bottle.


Achievements:
1. The 1998 edition of Guinness Book of World Records stated: "No female artist has sold more records than Madonna around the world".

2. Madonna has sold more than 300 million records worldwide.

3. The Guinness World Records acknowledged her as the best-selling female recording artist and the fourth best-selling act of all time, behind The Beatles, Elvis Presley, and Michael Jackson.

4. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she is the best-selling female rock artist of the 20th century and the second top-selling female albums artist in the United States, with 64.5 million certified albums.

5. Madonna is the most certified artist of all time in United Kingdom, with 45 awards from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) as of April 2013.

6. Billboard named Madonna as the top touring female artist of all time.

7. In May 2014, the magazine listed her as the fourth highest grossing touring act since 1990, with total earned revenue of $1.14 billion and 9.7 million attendance at her shows.

8. Madonna has been honored with 20 MTV Video Music Awards—the most for any artist—including the lifetime achievement Video Vanguard Award in 1986.

9. Madonna holds the record for the most number-ones on all combined Billboard charts, including twelve number-one songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and eight number-one albums on the Billboard 200.

10. With 45 songs topping the Hot Dance Club Songs chart, Madonna became the artist with the most number-one songs on an active Billboard chart, pulling ahead of George Strait with 44 number-one songs on the Hot Country Songs chart.

11. She has also scored 38 top-ten singles on the Hot 100, more than any other artist in history.

12. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked her at number two, behind The Beatles, on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists, making her the most successful solo artist in the history of American singles chart.


The Story:
she received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. She convinced her father to allow her to take ballet lessons and was persuaded by Christopher Flynn, her ballet teacher, to pursue a career in dance. In 1978 she dropped out of college and relocated to New York City. She had little money and worked as a waitress at Dunkin' Donuts and with modern dance troupes. Madonna said of her move to New York, "It was the first time I'd ever taken a plane, the first time I'd ever gotten a taxi cab. I came here with $35 in my pocket. It was the bravest thing I'd ever done." She started to work as a backup dancer for other established artists. During a late night, Madonna was returning from a rehearsal, when a pair of men held her at knifepoint and forced her to perform fellatio. Madonna later commented that "the episode was a taste of my weakness, it showed me that I still could not save myself in spite of all the strong-girl show. I could never forget it."


"Poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another."

While performing as a backup singer and dancer for the French disco artist Patrick Hernandez on his 1979 world tour, Madonna became romantically involved with musician Dan Gilroy. Together, they formed her first rock band, the Breakfast Club, for which Madonna sang and played drums and guitar. In 1980 or 1981 she left Breakfast Club and, with her former boyfriend Stephen Bray as drummer, formed the band Emmy. The two began writing songs together and Madonna later decided to market herself as a solo act. Their music impressed DJ and record producer Mark Kamins who arranged a meeting between Madonna and Sire Records founder Seymour Stein.

Madonna's look and style of dressing, her performances, and her music videos influenced young girls and women and her style became one of the female fashion trends of the 1980s. Created by stylist and jewelry designer Maripol, the look consisted of lace tops, skirts over capri pants, fishnet stockings, jewelry bearing the crucifix, bracelets, and bleached hair.


"I wouldn't have turned out the way I was if I didn't have all those old-fashioned values to rebel against."

1996 saw the release of Evita, in which Madonna played the title role of Eva Perón. For a long time, Madonna had desired to play Perón and even wrote to director Alan Parker, explaining how she would be perfect for the part. She stated, "This is the role I was born to play. I put everything of me into this because it was much more than a role in a movie. It was exhilarating and intimidating at the same time.

And I am prouder of Evita than anything else I have done." After securing it, she underwent vocal training and learned about the history of Argentina and Perón. During shooting she fell sick many times due to the intense emotional effort required. However, as she told Oprah, she was also pregnant during the filming, which was also a factor: "I was winded after every take. I had to lie on the couch every ten minutes so I could recover from dizzy spells, I was worried that I was shaking the baby around too much and that would injure it in some way." Nevertheless, Madonna managed to find a positive side to those problems, which she wrote in her personal diary at the time: "Ironically, this feeling of vulnerability and weakness is helping me in the movie. I'm sure Evita felt this way every day of her life once she discovered she was ill."


"I am my own experiment. I am my own work of art."

Visit:
http://www.madonna.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna_(entertainer)