Saturday, March 25, 2006

Beat Of My Heart - Karaoke Gone Wrong

This is what the Internet was made for. These kids were bored and so they decided to do a little Karaoke version of Beat Of My Heart. And then they decided to post it on the Internet! Needless to say it's terrible, and hilarious.



You should be able to play the video directly from here, but if you can't, try This Link.

Friday, March 24, 2006

Hilary and Haylie shop at Petco and Bed Bath & Beyond

It appears the paparazzi caught Hilary and Haylie shopping at Bed Bath & Beyond and Petco yesterday. I think if I had as much money and power as Hilary, someone would probably be doing the shopping for me, but who knows maybe not.



Anyways, It's good to see that Hilary actually has some time off and isn't killing herself trying to get a new album or movie out. I mean, I want new stuff from Hilary as much as anyone, but she really needs to take it easy for a while. She's about to go on tour again in Europe, so I hope she gets a week or two of relaxation before heading back across the pond.



Credit WENN for the photos, and Josh at HilaryFan for finding them.

The Oldest Song in the World

Apparently the oldest known song in the world sounds a lot like a Hilary Duff song.

"One intriguing candidate for the Oldest Song in the World was stamped on a clay tablet in the ancient Syrian city of Ugarit around 1400BC. Professor Anne Draffkorn Kilmer spent 15 years trying to crack the cuneiform notation before releasing a simple recording of it, apparently an untitled hymn, in the 1970s. To the post-Disney listener, the number has a surprising rhythmic and tonal similarity to Peggy Lee's Siamese Cat Song. Actually, it sounds more like Hilary Duff's version."

That paragraph was taken from this article which was published in the Melbourne, Australia newspaper The Age. The article talks about today's pop music (especially Britney Spears), and how it can resemble music from the past... the distant past that is.

So, The Siamese Cat song that was recorded by Hilary and also Haylie, sounds a lot like the oldest song in the world. I always thought it sounded a little old fashioned, but who knew it was 3400 years old?


Siamese If You Please

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Miley Cyrus says Hilary Duff is her Role Model

Miley Cyrus has been talked about as the next Hilary Duff for a few weeks now. I even wrote an article about it. Now Miley is confirming that she is patterning her career after Hilary.

In the San Antonio Express-News she said, "I kind of take Hilary as a role model because she started out at about the same age. She hadn't done much before starting her series, and I haven't either."

Miley Cyrus is the daughter of Country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. Their new show Hannah Montana premieres on the Disney Channel on Friday, March 24, at 9:00 pm.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Hershey to stop sales of Ice Breakers chewing gum?

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Wrigley sued to stop Hershey from selling Ice Breakers spearmint chewing gums. Wrigley is claiming that they have an exclusive patent on gums that contain "physiological cooling agents."

Hilary and Haylie Duff are of course spokespersons for the gum. You've probably seen the commercial where the sisters say the gum is "
the frosted cube that is surprisingly cold." Racecar driver Kevin Harvick also endorses Icebreakers.

So will Hershey have to stop selling Icebreakers gum? I doubt it. There will probably be a long court case, and I'm guessing the two companies will reach some kind of agreement. But I'm not a lawyer, so what do I know?


Haylie Duff, Kevin Harvick, Hilary Duff

Hilary Duff Among Rock's Top Thirty Moneymakers

Rolling Stone has come out with their list of The Richest Rock Stars of 2006, and Hilary Duff is #24. The list was compiled based on the artist's earnings coming from touring, record sales, and other revenue like merchandise sales. Touring is where stars make the big money these days, and Hilary's tours have always been very successful.

Rock's Top Thirty Moneymakers
Compiled by Rob LaFranco

U2, $154.2 million
The Rolling Stones, $92.5 million
Eagles, $63.2 million
Paul McCartney, $56 million
Elton John, $48.9 million
Neil Diamond, $44.7 million
Jimmy Buffett, $44 million
Rod Stewart, $40.3 million
Dave Matthews Band, $39.6 million
Celine Dion, $38.5 million
Kenny Chesney, $31.5 million
Green Day, $31 million
Coldplay, $30.1 million
Destiny's Child, $24.8 million
Diddy, $24.3 million
Gwen Stefani, $23.9 million
Toby Keith, $22.2 million
Motley Crue, $22 million
50 Cent, $19.7 million
Bruce Springsteen, $19.6 million
Eminem, $17.8 million
Jay-Z, $17.5 million
Barry Manilow, $17.2 million
Hilary Duff, $17.1 million
Kanye West, $16.9 million
Dr. Dre, $16.9 million
Rascal Flatts, $16.3 million
Aerosmith, $16.3 million
Bon Jovi, $15.8 million
Tom Petty, $14.9 million

Read the full article: Rolling Stone

Cosmopolitan Magazine Covers

Hilary Duff is worldwide. A few days ago I told you about Hilary being the cover girl in the Australian version of Cosmopolitan. Now there are two more versions out, Russia and Europe. Check out all four Cosmo covers:

Russia


Europe


North America


Australia

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Brooks and Dunn Break Hilary's Rodeo Record

The RodeoHouston attendance record that Hilary Duff set in 2005 was broken this year by Country Music superstars Brooks and Dunn. 72,867 people attended the Brooks and Dunn performance this year, which broke Hilary Duff's 2005 mark of 72,843.

This year 69,716 people attended Hilary's performance.

Here are the complete attendance results for 2006:

Brooks & Dunn 72867
Go Tejano Day 70481
Hilary Duff 69716
George Strait 69542
Black Heritage Day 62049
Toby Keith 61042
Pat Green 59036
Alan Jackson 57946
Martina McBride 57628
Clay Walker 55071
Larry the Cable Guy 53807
Gretchen Wilson 53087
Lee Ann Womack 51819
Maroon 5 51598
Lone Star 50954
Lee Ann Rimes 45615
Cross Canadian Ragweed 45174
Melissa Etheridge 44520
John Fogerty 42211
Trisha Yearwood 39335

Brooks and Dunn beat Hilary's record by 24.

Monday, March 20, 2006

Fan Review - RodeoHouston Performance

Written By:
RobotChicken at HilaryFan



FIRST, THE BAD STUFF:

Good grief, but this was SUCH a disappointment.

But I don't blame Hilary and her band. For all I know, they probably did a great show. But because the acoustics in Reliant Stadium are SO FREAKIN' LOUSY, I guess I'll never know.

It's possible it may have simply been because of where I was sitting (the freakin' 5th row), but I truly doubt it. I started to get worried before the concert started, due to this ridiculous echo that made every single word the rodeo announcers said all but unintelligible, but yeah, it only got worse.

Everything the band played was more or less reduced to mud; everything in the low to mid range was a dull rumble, and everything else on top of it (including Hil and her back up singers' vocals, the keyboards, and any guitar solo) was pretty much indistinguishable in the mix. Everything Hil said between songs was indecipherable, and it even sounded at times like someone turned a jet engine on somewhere in the stadium, it was that bad.

It was truly frustrating, because Hil sang a lot of my favorite songs, especially from her self titled cd. It was like she would go into a song I loved, which would then be systematically destroyed by the top notch work done by her sound crew (yes, I'm being sarcastic here).

I don't know if there was anything Hil's sound crew could have even done about the acoustics, but they still receive a freakin' F-minus as far as I'm concerned. Yes, I've witnessed horrible concerts before in similar places (Pink Floyd in the Astrodome rates 2nd, just behind the ridiculous mess I heard last Thursday at the Rodeo), but then again U2's concert I saw in the Astrodome sounded perfect. So yeah, I think something could have been done about the piss-poor sound situation at Reliant Stadium.

As for the question of whether or not Hil sings live, yes, she most definitely does. This was painfully apparent when she sang her high notes at the end of Shine, which were waaaaaay off and woefully out of tune. Then again, I doubt she could even hear herself if the mix on the stage came anywhere close to what I was hearing.

Then there was the stage layout and the seating arrangements. First, the seating arrangements. I was in the 5th row, yet at least 150 freakin' feet from the stage! wtf??? There was one section (I believe the tickets cost something like $300) that allowed you to sit on the field closer to the stage, but they still looked to be at least 50 feet from the stage.

And then there was the stage itself: small and round, they towed the thing out into the middle of the stadium, where it slowly rotated. In theory that sounds like a good idea, the only problem was that the stage had a freakin' backdrop! So - you guessed it - when the front of the stage rotated away from you, you basically couldn't see the band.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Also, the sound got even worse as this happened, and with the front of the stage facing in the opposite direction, it almost sounded like you were sitting in another room and listening to the concert through a wall.

Again...Stupid, stupid, stupid.

So ... is there anything positive I could say? Well, yeah:



NOW, THE GOOD STUFF:

1) Being in the same building with Hil. Yep, although the sound was crapola, it was still pretty cool seeing the Duff in person.

2) Hil is a great entertainer. She generates a lot of energy onstage, and her personality really shines through. You can also tell she truly enjoys performing, and it was fun seeing her bounce around the stage and give 100%. There was one moment where Hil placed one foot on the top of a ramp that led down from the stage, and nearly lost her balance and fell down after her foot slipped. But she quickly recovered in time and kept going as if nothing happened, giving a embarrassed smile which was to die for - cute, cute, cute.

3) Hil looked gorgeous, and it was definitely worth the price of admission just to see her. She wore a black tank top, black shorts, and black boots, and looked deadly.

4) Before the rodeo began (and most of the people arrived) Hil rode in a parade with all the rodeo participants, which was pretty cool. She sat in a horse drawn carriage which slowly circled the field and took her within a few feet of the first row seats, which was the closest she actually got to the fans. I waved but I don't think she saw me.

5) Hil's dancers. I thought they were stupid and unnecessary at first, but after a while I got used to them. I especially liked this goofy little dance they did where they were lined up behind a Hil, and she danced along with them, which made it very cute. I think it may have been during Do you Want Me?, but I'm not sure.

6) Hil's exit was classic. She climbed onto the back of a convertible which took her out of the stadium. Pretty cool.

7) We got free food and drinks where I was sitting.



SO, IN SUMMARY:

For the love of Pete, next time you come to Houston, Hil, PLEASE PERFORM SOMEWHERE ELSE! Anywhere else!!! There are plenty of perfectly good venues you could play in Houston, and even if they don't seat 70,000, you could still play two or three shows and sell out every one. It may be a thrill selling out the rodeo two years in a row, but pleeeeease do your fans a favor and reconsider for next year. Otherwise, I'll be forced to travel to another city to experience your concert the way it should be, which would really be a pain.

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Miley Cyrus - Hannah Montana

The next Hilary Duff? The people at Disney have been trying to find someone who could fill that role for some time now, and they just might have found her. Her name is Miley Cyrus, the daughter of country music one-hit-wonder Billy Ray Cyrus.

Miley is the star of the Disney Channel's newest show. It's called "Hannah Montana" and it's about a girl who lives a double life as a pop star/normal girl. Billy Ray is also in the show, he plays Hannah's father. Yeah, it sounds cheesy but what would you expect from Disney.

Obviously since the show is about a pop star, it gives Disney a great opportunity to promote Miley as a singer. I was curious about this girl, so I downloaded the song that they are pushing for the new show. As much as I hate to admit it, this girl has talent. She can sing. I really like her voice. It's very unique; kind of deep and a little raspy. And the song ("Who Said") is VERY catchy. It has kind of a country / rock / pop blend. It also has a positive message (hmm, where have we seen that before?).

As far as the TV show goes: It's 100% obvious to me that the character of Hannah Montana is based on Hilary Duff. Watch the video for the song... Hannah Montana's band has a female, African-American drummer with crazy hair. I wonder where they came up with that idea.

I don't think the show looks that great, but I think Miley has a LOT of potential. She just may be the next Hilary Duff. She has the look, can sing, comes from a showbiz family, and seems likable. I never watch the Disney channel, but I might have to check out this show just to see how much Hilary/Lizzie influence there is.