#he LOVES Mariah and the only person that comes close is Beyoncé

[whoblewboobear]

Freshly resurrected Jace wine drunk and singing along to ‘We Belong Together’ by Mariah Carey pretending that Porter isn’t dead and that this is just a bad break up

[csirism]

╰「 ⊱ INTRODUCTION TASK. ⊰」

                 below the cut, you’ll find out just who your local basketball agent, osiris malandro, is. labeled as “the magnet”, his natural progressiveness and his aloof aura draw people in. 

stats:

name: osiris ture malandro.

reasoning: as the only son of his parents, he was given the name behind the egyptian god, who died and was reborn every year.

nickname(s): ozzy (mother only), sy, o mally.

age: 27.

astrological sign: aquarius.

sexuality: heterosexual.

physical desc: 6′4. defined abdomen. large hands. freckles that seem to continue to appear at his big age. long legs.

the man behind the freckles: being the only son in his household, osiris learned quickly how to respect and treat women, something he still prides himself on today. basketball was at one point his only mission in life, but fate saw to it that it wouldn’t be as osiris had envisioned. after his car accident, there was damage done to his spianl cord, an injury that would ultimately end his career and change his life. he lost his girlfriend, but easily replaced her with the pills he’d been prescribed to deal with the physical pain and emotional trauma he’d endured. yet, still refusing to be unsuccessful, the young man buried his head in the books and chose to redirect his career. with a drive that had been instilled in him at a young age, those close enough to him are aware of the darkness that now plagues his life. true to his name, parts of osiris die to be reborn as something better. at least that’s what he tells himself.

vices: pills (more of a dependency at this point). alcohol. cursing. cocaine.

hobbies: reading sport business journals. playing basketball in his neighborhood’s court. long drives with the windows down.

sense of humor: white humor (think the office or parks and recreation). problematic humor (think family guy).

most at ease when: asleep.

nervous ticks: pacing. baling and unballing his fist. drumming his fingers.

inspirations: ll cool j, rich paul, b.j. armstrong, devante swing.

favorite songs: my heart belongs to you — jodeci. calling on you — jon b. no role modelz — j. cole. housequake — prince. breakdown — mariah carey (feat. krayzie bone + wish bone). come over — aaliyah. dough — key glock. ready or not — after 7. murder she wrote — tay-k. why don’t we fall in love — amerie. be with you — beyoncé. perm — bruno mars.

favorite movies: menace ii society. atl. saving private ryan. the dark knight rises. get rich or die tryin’. above the rim.

career:

after ending his playing career in 2013 at the university of michigan, he graduated with a degree in sport management two years later. having to redirect his career goals, he opted to attend law school at duke university, where he obtained his j.d. having the ability to connect with athletes at duke, he formed personal relationships that were able to mold into professional ones. forming a clientele base, his friends could see his drive and hunger; and with his dedication to being the best agent for his clients, he makes sure that get what they deserve, as well as what they want. despite being young for his career, he has managed to secure some of the hottest new talent in the league, as well as make a name for himself.

current clients:

jayson tatum

de’aaron fox

jordan clarkson

adonis morales

trae young

john collins

inside his phone:

most texted contact: tatum. young. big red. thing 1 + thing 2. mr. rosewater.

most phone calls: mommy.

most used features:. email. imessage. twitter. facetime. chase bank. edward jones.

what’s hidden?: nothing to hide.

[randomvarious]

S Club 7 - “S Club Party” Now That's What I Call Music! 6 Song released in 1999. Compilation released in 2000. Pop

We love the overly transparent crass commercialism of the 90s and early 2000s, don’t we folks? S Club 7 were the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed septet of British teens and 20-somethings that were concocted in a lab and thrust upon hordes of impressionable tweens across the world. The story of S Club 7 is a rather gross one that consists of young and attractive, moderately talented people being taken advantage of by their manager and his company to churn out gobs of content without just compensation. If you’re an American of a certain age, you probably know a little something about S Club 7. Their ballad, 2000′s “Never Had a Dream Come True,” peaked at #10 and #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Mainstream Top 40, respectively. Two of S Club 7′s other biggest global hits, the Jackson 5-inspired “Bring It All Back” and “S Club Party” never charted in the US, but lots of Americans still seem to be familiar with them.

S Club 7 was the brainchild of Simon Fuller, one of history’s most successful music  managers, who had managed the Spice Girls. Fuller was known for manufacturing a bunch of British boy and girl bands throughout his career and, at the time, also managed Annie Lennox of the Eurythmics and athletes, too. After helping the Spice Girls skyrocket into global superstardom as a brand that sold itself on a gimmicky blend of “girl power” and quirky British-ness, Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice) orchestrated his firing. Citing his unbearably controlling nature and his marketing schemes, the Girls decided to proceed without Fuller.

But the day after his firing, Fuller was back at it. This time, he decided he would start a new band, but rather than it being a boy band or a girl band, it would be a boy-and-girl band, modeled after an idea put forth by another British group, Steps. Steps are a quartet, and while they’ve achieved little to no success in the US, they have enjoyed wild success in Europe, especially in the UK. And they’re still around. After a five year hiatus that followed a twelve year hiatus, Steps released an album in 2017 that reached #2 on the UK charts. 

But they weren’t a Fuller group. Fuller seemed to have the connections and gravitas that Steps’ managers didn’t. To start his new group, Fuller held an audition of an astonishing 10,000 people, which eventually was culled down to seven. These seven would then be formed into a group and be dubbed S Club 7. None of the members had known each other prior, but according to all the articles I could find, they hit it off and they all became close friends.

With this crop of kids, Fuller saw dollar (or pound or Euro) signs. S Club 7 were going to be way more than just a pop group; they were going to be a marketable brand. And to achieve that goal, the first thing they were going to do was not get into the recording studio, but instead shoot a fictional TV series to air on CBBC (Children’s BBC) to introduce themselves to British pre-teens. Each character would have their own personality, which would be loosely based on their true selves, and together the group’s adventures would strengthen their bond. And each episode would consist of a choreographed song performance, too. The first season, set in Miami, would depict the seven constantly being exploited by a seedy hotel manager and made to perform housekeeping duties.

Unfortunately, these fictional circumstances were loosely based on their own reality. Over twelve weeks of shooting in Miami, the group worked tirelessly for eighteen hours per day, and after a long day’s work, would have to take care of their own cooking and laundry. Fuller and his company, who were flush with cash, didn’t provide S Club 7 with any of these needed amenities. The S Club 7 TV series would become an immense hit in the UK and ended up being sold to 120 different countries. As a result, each group member pulled in 52,000 Euro; a total pittance compared to the total sum of all the TV contracts the show received.

Seven months after its UK debut, the S Club TV series would make its way stateside on kids’ TV purgatory, Fox Family. Formerly The Family Channel, which was founded by horrible and insane Christian shitbag grifter, Pat Robertson, it would be acquired by NewsCorp. Fox would control the network’s programming, save for some hours in which Robertson’s daily spoonful of Christian conservative nonsense, The 700 Club, would air. Admittedly, for a time, I was an avid viewer of Fox Family (except when 700 Club was on), but I’m pretty sure I was rare. Year after year, Fox Family would try to replenish its lineup with new shows to attract new viewers, but they failed to peel many eyes off of the likes of Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and the Disney Channel.

The release of the S Club TV series in the U.S. coincided with the group’s debut album. And maybe it was the fact that they only managed to get on Fox Family that led to them peaking at an unimpressive #112, but back home, they topped charts. The TV series-first formula more than paid off (for Fuller, though. Not so much for S Club 7). “Bring It All Back,” the group’s first single, which was released two months after the TV show’s debut, went to #1 in the UK. Its follow-up, “S Club Party” topped out at #2. And their debut album reached #2 as well.

And along with the TV show and the music came all the merchandise. Dolls, makeup, perfume, clothes, school supplies, a PC game, you name it. If there was an object that a kid could use, Fuller wanted it to bear the S Club name. There were also more seasons of TV and movies, too. And Fuller would reap great profits from all of it, but once again, S Club 7 saw minuscule returns from their name and likenesses being marketed and sold. 

Fuller’s cartoonishly-evil-yet-real-life-record-executive persona became more than apparent during a meeting between he, S Club 7, and some of the members’ parents. Asking how they could receive such little compensation as Fuller and his company made millions off of their efforts, Fuller told the members that he could replace them on stage with cardboard cut-outs and it wouldn’t make a difference. Fuller would also be publicly shamed by a radio DJ when it was revealed that while the S Club kids were traveling the world and making him literally millions, he flew them in economy class. Only after his miserliness was made public did he bump them up to business class.

And although Fuller knew the right people to get his band spoonfed to British kids, it didn’t mean S Club’s songs were bad for what they were. They were well-produced bubblegum pop. Five songs on the debut album ended up being produced by a Norwegian duo called Stargate. Total unknowns at the time, Stargate went on to write or produce for some of the pop world’s most successful groups and artists, including Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Lionel Richie, Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Selena Gomez, Janet Jackson, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Sam Smith, Mary J. Blige, Ne-Yo, Katy Perry, Coldplay, P!nk, Sia, Kylie Minogue, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Charli XCX. Throughout their careers, Stargate have managed to rack up a whopping seventeen Grammy noms, including four wins  But before building up that long list of accolades, they began with S Club 7. 

The first single Stargate ever produced was “S Club Party”. A piece of sunny and breezy, anthemic kids’ pop, this song is a natural earworm. Underneath mostly loud and shouted vocals, Stargate weave a celebratory, feelgood g-funk whine throughout the choruses as a series of electro-funk synths and string and horn stabs predominate the rest. The first verse, sung solo by member Jo, proceeds from relative sparseness to an addition of hand claps and a simmering choir of backup vocals, before launching into the undeniably catchy chorus. The four female members soothe in unison as the boys contrast with revelrous chants. In the post-chorus, the girls get in on the chanting, too. The second verse, which packs more energy than the one that precedes it because it’s sung in unison, introduces each member of the group with a simple rhyme. Following the bridge, the song undergroes an unexpected key change, which raises the enjoyment, and as the song fades out, Bradley, the group’s lone black member, does some light scatting. 

You know, Fuller admitted that since he was fired by the Spice Girls, there were some ideas he had had for them that he wasn’t able to use, and instead used for S Club 7. Maybe musically, he wasn’t quite finished with that g-funk infused pop sound. The Spice Girls’ “Say You’ll Be There” has that summery g-funk pool party vibe much like “S Club Party” does. Just a thought.

Here’s the music video, which shows the group transporting back to a California desert in 1959 to race a bunch of people. A choreographed song and dance seemingly materialize out of thin air, too: It comes from the movie they shot called Back to the ‘50s.

For the next few years, S Club 7 continued to release high-charting hit after high-charting hit in the UK, but in 2002, band member Paul decided to leave. This ultimately resulted in possibly the worst sentence ever written on Wikipedia:

Talking about his former musical venture three months before he left S Club 7, Paul Cattermole described his school nu metal band — called Skua— as having a "Limp Bizkit vibe" as well as comparing their style to Rage Against the Machine.

Wat.

Following Paul’s departure, S Club 7 shortened their name to S Club and continued to make hits. However, their star was clearly fading, and in 2003, they agreed to a mutual split. In 2008, some of the members got back together and formed S Club 3. In 2014, they expanded by a member and became S Club Party. Eight months after that, all seven members regrouped for a reunion tour to cash in on some nostalgia. Needless to say, Simon Fuller was involved, and hopefully, the contracts weren’t as exploitative this time around. In the meantime, Fuller would continue unabated, amassing management deals with the likes of Carrie Underwood, Amy Winehouse, and Kelly Clarkson. In 2001, he launched Pop Idol, which would be imported to the States as American Idol.

Now you know more than you thought you’d ever know about S Club 7. It’s tragic how Fuller treated them, but the group is responsible for some great turn-of-the-millennium pop hits, despite how manufactured and seemingly preordained their success was. Oh well, we can’t help what we listened to when we were kids and nostalgia has a way of making us love things we definitely wouldn’t as adults. Nothing wrong with coming to terms and embracing that fact.

Stay the fuck inside you freaks.

[lilmajorshawty]

PLUTO THE UNKIND(Pluto through the houses)🦂🌑

First housers:

First house Pluto natives, are a presence to behold both in their expression and their dominating personalities to match. Since we are in the house of the “self” and Pluto is the planet of “death and rebirth” there is a continuous emphasis for make overs and transformations in the lives of these people. Often times they have alpha personalities without trying and tend to put a crowd in silence when they enter a room. They are strong in will and have a very blunt and straightforward means of expressing themselves. They can have sharp and eagle like features(this can be doubled depending on how strong Pluto’s influence is) and they can have structured and noticeable jaws! The eyes can be dark in color and very intimidating. The hair is thick and for some it’s curly in nature. The skin can also be oily and acne can be a thing in the early years-and these people have beautiful skin! Olive and or Carmel in complexion in some cases. They tend to walk like serpents and can have a defensive way of moving that creates space from their surrounding environment. They’re very intense and have a naturally magnetic Aura about them.

Sex: in your face, powerthemes-who’s in control you or I? Feel my body-let’s fight for he pleasure. (Aggressive and raw sex:sex that has an explosive and animalistic edge) hair pulling.(Can have very bare sexual organs! Kind of look like they should just be naked all together)

-Leonardo DiCaprio, Beyoncé knowles, Britney Spears, Keanu Reeves, Justin Bieber.

🥀Beyoncé ghost/haunted.

2nd housers:

Second house Pluto natives are paradoxical in nature, they can be very secretive when it comes to their items and possessions, be it lovers/close family/their own resources like clothes or money or even themselves as a whole. They always maintain some amount of emotional and sentimental distance from outsiders and can have clannish tendencies towards those they don’t know well as opposed to those whom they’ve been close to for years. They have a intensified sensuality about them and can prioritize the more physical and earthy aspects of relating to others and tend to judge and observe how others react to situations and life situations on a “close up” level. They have an intense relationship with money and may have struggled with it being taken from them or being scarce during the early years which causes them to hold it near and dear to them as they age. These natives love very hard and can be paradoxical in the sense that they’re either slow moving and passive in romance or they’re intense and overwhelming.

Sex: sensual and an exploration of the body, how do you ignite my senses? How do I become your aphrodisiac. Teasing and prolonged touch. Oral sex and neck stimulation. (Can have heavy set/really thickesh looking sexual organs that are very beautiful to look at)

-Johnny Depp, Uma Thurman,Bill gates, Harry styles, Emma Watson,Mark zuckerberg, Arnold Schwarzenegger

🥀bonobo x Andreya Tirana eyesdown.

3rd housers:

Third house Pluto natives are what I like to call “heavy talkers” they talk and think with a deep and cutting intensity that is both noticeable in the words they speak and the ideals they cling too. They tend to be fixed in their own beliefs and not in a close minded way or a my way or the high way mentality either-it’s in a more moralistic standard type of way. They don’t like foul treatment and have a notable disgust towards those who over extended their power for bad reasons. They have a natural power and authority to their words and have a 1 on 1 way of speaking even if it’s a crowd that happens to be their audience. They hold people to no expectation and view everyone as there bare and raw selves but that being said that makes them in a way hard to reach on an intimate level due to their aversion to the more superficial aspects of life. They can be immensely intellectual and practically genius when it comes to human nature-they just know how to work a person in their favor. The why and how of things runs through their mind often and they can be quite sexually minded but have an easy time of presenting a stone face even when thinking the most grotesque of scenes.

Sex:stimulate me, the subversive lingo and enticing wordplay. Talk to me dirty-sexting and telephone sex. Nudes and provocative webcaming. Hand jobs and fingering come to mind here. Anything involving time and hands-think quickies. (Can have thin/skinny sexual organs)

-Angelina Jolie, Martin Luther king, Julia Roberts, Justin Timberlake, Napoleon |

🥀 Kendrick Lamar ADHD

4th housers:

Pluto in the fourth house natives are as one would say emotionally transformative. Unlike Lilith in the 4th that can come across as emotionally detached and in a sense aloof-those with Pluto in the 4th can seem almost too emotionally present and can have a way of surrounding a room in their aura of depth no matter their environment. There is a tendency for them to be straight faced in the face of others yet those who cry in the silence of their own comfort. They are extremely resilient and even more privy to the manipulative and exploitative nature of man and because of this they’re not only protective of themselves but those whom they hold dear. They can have very complex emotions no matter their moon sign and can have a very scorpionic themed childhood full of secrecy,loyalty,deception, early sexual influences and strong female guidance and seeing women as a powerful and sole providing source. Mother may have been obsessive and maybe overly intrusive but was intensely loving in her own way and held the child close even at times if it were too close.

Sex: very emotional in nature-very dependent on the mood and often times can shed tears depending on how intense the connection. May fall in love or grow attached after sex and will have a hard time letting go of the person. Likes positions that require intimacy and face to face. Breast and for men also the breast and the face. (Soft and thick sexual organs.)

-Selena Gomez, Kanye West, Ben Affleck, Tyra Banks, Charles Manson.

🥀 lil Silva ft sampha salient Sarah

5th housers:

Pluto in the fifth housers are extremely self aware, in fact one of their most standout qualities is their atmospheric energy-they naturally encompass intensity and have a residual darkness about them. Most cases they have a strong relationship with their sexuality and at times naturally express this via body movement and the way they go about doing things. They’re no stranger to obsession and even less a stranger to thrill. They live their lives in a daring fashion and have a willful personality that can undermine even the highest person in power-they don’t stand down and hate being ordered about no matter who you are. Both men and women here have a thing for earned dominance and prefer to be in the presence of people whom are authentic and aware-they don’t do well with people who “act” or “wear mask” and have a tendency to ice these people out. They have a naturally overwhelming energy and for some it can be intimidating and nerve racking being in their presence early on due to how “them” they are. Relationships are often HEATED. And often times they attract people and lovers from a last life. A lot of their “flings” get serious and end up becoming really passionate love affairs that also tend to burn out after the karma is dealt with. People crave their energy and often times they attract a lot of strong Saturn and Pluto energy. They can obsessed over their creative endeavors and can also be moody in how or when they feel like being “creative” they are some of the most amazing artist and performers!! But once again they’re moody and it really depends on when they feel like expressing their artistic side. Relationships take a tol on them and when they fail it can serve as a medium for transformation for these individuals!

Sex: passion,Passion, PASSION. An insatiable and primal encounter-sex to the point of exhaustion and intoxication. This is a deep penetration placement and these natives tend to crave deep intimacy in sexual endeavors. Back and spine. (Can have natural looking and a bit on the more wild side looking sexual organs)

-John Lennon, Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey, Robert Patterson, Adele, Coco Chanel

🥀Rihanna question existing

6th housers:

For natives with Pluto in the 6th house there is a strong projection of the will in the workplace. Honestly the work place can be shady and downright agitating for these natives. Your workers can and tend to be of a more private and serious nature and at times can either demand to much of you or do much behind and out of your line of sight. Caution is advised here with being to trusting of your co workers because let’s just say-some of them are out to get on top. Work is also the source of greatest spiritual growth and transformation and often times you learn and get a lot of life lessons from work for better or worse. Their might often be some more intimate and sexual themes that play out at work such as workers using sex as a bargaining chip to get a position, such as office sex and or sexual manipulation such as pimps and prostitution(this is not set in stone or guaranteed by the way-it’s just one of the ways this aspect may manifest) people view many of these natives as indefinite and immensely capable-you’re a juggernaut when it comes to getting your job done and these natives have a noticeable coldness to the way they express themselves rooted in excellence and superiority. Might be the types to love aggressive and or scary animals as pets-and animals many be intense towards these individuals and vice versa!

Sex: this can point to a need for sex in the day to day or some sort of physical release for health reasons and just to overall feel good! Sex to please and sex with unequal themes invited such as worship or satisfaction of the partner. Anal sex is sometimes a commonality here. The lower and upper stomache area.(can be petite in appearances and look very neat sexual organs wise)

-Michael Jackson, George Clooney, Shakira, Miley Cyrus, Lana del Rey, Amy winehouse, Kristen Stewart, Demi Moore.

🥀donny Hathaway someday we’ll all be free.

7th housers:

These natives are VERY VERY PASSIONATE. Since the 7th house not only rules the house of marriage and partnership on a 1-1 setting romantic and otherwise, these natives approach these themes in a very Plutonian fashion. They crave deep intimacy and usually unconsciously attract and seek out this intensity-but be it that this is the house of reflections and shadows these natives often are frightened of what comes there way and the depth and passion they’ve invited to their doorstep. For better or worse they want a soul reaching love and one that allows them to let their walls down and merge on the deepest of levels with their s/o but it takes many years upon years to open up to this concept on a realistic level. This is mainly because love scares them and truly leaves them at their most vulnerable as often the house Pluto is in even more than the moon shows where your soul is at its most weak. They want and crave solace and often times are scared of it simultaneously. Being with these natives is going to be a trial but one worth your wild if you’re willing to put up with their behavior that is purely done out of fear. They’d do anything for those they love and place a high value on love even though it depletes them and leaves them drained. They can be harsh to those whom them really love and can be very difficult when they love you-but they’re love although complex is SOO deep and SOO sincere. “They don’t really think they’re that intense-it’s everyone else that’s taking things to seriously”

Sex: very mutual based-I want to please you, I want to love you-when you’re happy so am I-you climax-I climax. Sex is both passionate and emotional-take on the feelings of the partner. Positions that allow mutual intimacy and eye to eye. The buttocks.(very pretty looking sexual organs-can be petite or thick depending)

-Barack Obama, Rihanna, Mahatma Ghandi, Ryan Gosling, David Bowie, kourtney Kardashian, Naomi Campbell, anti-Christ(supposedly)

🥀yaeji passionfruit (this is so good)

8th housers:

These natives are the equivalent of there ever was one of hell. They’re the embodiment of tribulation and rebirth and can be some of the most powerful and intense souls you’ll meet. Despite contrary belief since Pluto is at home these natives tend to have a very free and almost whimsical attitude about themselves-they’re confident and self assured and carry themselves strong. They don’t allow they’re emotions to freely devour them nor do they wear it on their face. They usually have an intimate relationship with their own personal feelings and prefer to handle their more darker tendencies alone. They have a non trusting personality and are the hardest people to get to know out of all the Pluto in the housers. They can have a very loner attitude and dislike anyone for any reason feelings as though they’re relying on them. They’re both self sufficient and driven and have a very GUARDED presence. Despite their carefree side they’re very intimidating and have very black or white views on how they interact with others. Intimacy is seen by them as something that demands maturity and restraint and they have an immense amount of sexual control. Sex runs rampant in their minds in some cases-or not at all there is no inbetween. And sex here takes on a life force and these natives at times use sex as a weapon and can be very easily manipulative and perceptive beyond anything you’d be able to see coming. They embody Pluto yet the scary thing is that you’d never know.

Sex: intense and emotionally incredible. Serpent movements and speed. Sensuality and losing control. There can be a death like feeling during sex once climax is reached and albeit sex is powerful with these natives it’s draining on their bodies so all though it may not happen often it’s an intense scene to behold. Lumbar region and upper thighs. Oral and cullingas. Also another deep penetration placement. (Sharp looking sexual organs and may be veiny if male)

-Jesus Christ(wow yas figures!), Adolf hitler, Christiana Aguilera, Elvis Presley,Marlon Brando, Oprah Winfrey, Bruce lee.

🥀snoh aalegra worse

9th housers:

Okay, these natives have a strong moral constitution-and what’s even more so many of them are immensely mature beyond their time. They approach life with a grounded and serious demeanor and aren’t the types to joke or play with the idea of morality or the concepts of others or themselves. They are usually private about religion and often have complex and even dubious relationships with it. It’s not something as simple as bending a knee nor is it’s something as simple as a holy building to them it’s something much more and something in which many spend much time trying to understand. Much like Pluto in the first these natives undergo many changes of the ego and can seem like A different person at many points in there life. A noticeable theme here is comfortability. Many natives with this placements have a deep understanding of themselves-even on a sexual level. Many aren’t threatened by the “if” factor and most don’t feel threatened by others beliefs of feelings of them. They know who they are and no one living or dead will change that.

Sex: bountiful and vast. Tend to have a hug appetite for sex but see sex as something fun and playful rather than an obsession or need. Thighs and oil/lubricant items. (Says some may have bigger sexual organs than usual)

-Nicki Minaj, Hilary Clinton, Brad Pitt, Ellen Degeneres, Winona Ryder, Demi lavoto.

🥀sza drew Barrymore

10th housers:

The ELITE and the SUPERIOR is how I’d describe those with this placement. There’s a very powerful and commanding nature about these individuals. They come across as very earthy and connected to their environment and bodies and have a pretty acute awareness of their crowd and those around them. They feel the changes and the shifts in the actions and natures of those around them. They take life itself seriously not just the world of the public and I’ve noticed many of them to have good relations with their family yet completely disconnected in the sense that their family seems to not really know who they are deep down. They can have a more explicit and intense internet persona and public look. They can have naturally earthy beauty to them be it makes or female and have a very naturally sensual look to them! They’re hard to read and don’t easily involve their emotions in anything they do-so it can be hard to gauge their level of emotional investment in anything they’re doing. They do not fuck around(excuse my language) when it comes their public image or jobs and hate being the topic of discussion.

Sex: the theme of control runs strong here. There’s a tendency to challenge their lovers and those they get sexually involved with-the idea of being unable to hold up their persona-the idea of submission in the face of domination. Bdsm. (The knees and the middle to lower thigh. )(can have an earthy and polite look to the sexual organs! They can be soft much like the 4th house)

-Tom Cruise, Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian, Eminem, Prince, Ariana grande, Paris Hilton.

🥀charlotte Gainsbourg rest.

11th housers:

This is kinda a “your friends are not my friends” placement and these natives can have very high priority on their friendships that often can cause a lot of damage and wounding to them if their friends aren’t as loyal and protective of their friendships as they are. They tend to show they’re more intense and brooding qualities around they’re friends and due to Pluto’s influence here they also attract the same type of energy back. Their views towards groups and revolutions can be baffling and many have a more odd and out their approach when it comes to groups and communities. They may even outright seek to control them. They also tend to have a sometimes harsh view towards order and structure and may periodically struggle with relating to the idea of it and them in the same sentence. They sometimes mix sex and friendships together and this is at times a bad idea because a lot of the time it not only makes things develop into something neither party was asking for but it can also alienate you from your friend-groups. The friends tend to be strong in nature and can have magnetic and captivating personalities! And these natives are also usually popular and have an easy time getting a following because of their own innate captivating personality that often infatuates many for better or worse.

Sex: Power is a theme for sex here-disputes the airy nature of this house, sex that allows them to be on top or feel above fulfills some here. Sex with friends and or those whom they’ve crushes on-as well as being turned on by lower vibration and higher vibration conversation and communication. That weird stuff. Imagine a boiling room party-with the Florecent blue to yellow lights. (So here is the calves and ankles and inbetween the breast and the pecks.)(can have an angular look to them! Can look like bananas for guys and may have something unique about them for males and females)

-Scarlett Johansson, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Anniston, Bruce Willis, Bill Clinton.

🥀disclosure boiling

12th housers:

These natives are what I like to call an enigma. They often portray themselves in a way that is completely opposite from who they really are. They often present an easy going and passive demeanor and one that is both compressed and non-explosive as a means to control themselves. This is not to say they’re not beautiful and kind hearted; they truly are immensely healing and tender hearted people with a love as expansive as the universe itself but there’s often another side to them that many with this placement either choose to ignore or that they choose to disengage with. And for those aware of it there can be a tendency to be frightened of their more “powerful side” they have powerful emotions and at times these emotions can overwhelm even them. They’re not open by any means and out of all the housers dare I say even Pluto in the eighth they loathe opening up and hate anyone seeing the more intense and deep side of them. They are both extremely resilient and stronger than any in terms of what they’ve been through and what they can tolerate. They constantly rise from the ashes behind the shadows and deal with some of life’s most vicious of karmic lessons. They have an almost breathtaking intensity hidden below there cheery smiles and can often have a resting face that shows their true feelings with out them realizing it. They’re unconscious movements are aggressive and at times come across as very intense and agitated.

Sex: a world separating experience and can often have a romantic and seemingly soul touching level of depth to it. Can be sacrificial in sex but despite this they might sleep around in an attempt to find true peace through the act but a lot of them get used sexually and it truly hurts them.(the feet! Aha and really the finger tips and the lips) (can have very sensitive and translucent sexual organs! Can be undefinable or look different depending on the viewer)

-Marylin Monroe, Donald trump, Madonna,Steve jobs, Katy perry, Kurt kobain, Freddie Mercury.

🥀Florence + the machine long & lost

[legrandepapillon]

Hamilsquad & the Music They Listen To

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette

• Beyoncé (Sasha Fierce is his fav album)

• Ke$ha

• Lady Gaga

• Mariah Carey

• Cardi B

• Cher

• Has a LOT of Wiz Khalifa??? Don't question him it makes him happy

• Bops heavy to old school rap like Ice Cube, Snoop, Pac & Biggy (mostly because of Herc smh)

• Also listens to like French Pop music?? But not as much since he moved to America & Thomas is the only other person that can stand most of it

• Britney Spears

• Madonna

• Has the Anything Goes Soundtrack MEMORIZED

Hercules Mulligan

• 90s - early 2000s rap buff

• Nas, Eminem, Snoop, Pac, Biggy, Jay Z all 'nem.

• Also likes country music? Dont tell no one but hes a Stan

• Low key bops to Beyoncé but likes to mess with Laf by saying she's trash (he knows she isn't tho)

• Got Laf into the Black Eyed Peas too they're his shit & he refuses to believe they're gone

• Doesn't really like New Age rap, but likes Lil Dicky & some underground rappers like Watsky

Alexander Hamilton

• EDM. 24/7. Its annoying because he blasts this shit everywhere they go

• TØP to the grave he's a stan

• Melanie & Lana too

• Also Son Lux / Until the Ribbon Breaks type shit

• Low key likes JB even tho he knows they're problematic

• Basically his music is either REALLY REALLY HYPE or REALLY REALLY SAD there's no in between help him

John Laurens

• Lana, TØP, Halsey, Melanie

• He's the one that got Alex into them

• But also new age rap like

• He loves himself some mumble rappers because he believes its not about what's being said but how it makes you feel

• Herc wholly disagrees catch them arguing in the chips aisle over whether or not Nas would get the same hype in 2017 as he did back then

• Also a fan od early 2000s - 90s girl groups

• TLC, Destiny's Child, Spice Girls

• Aminé is 45% of his music playlist and every time he gets the aux he plays STFU at least once

• And musical nerd bc of Laf

• Hairspray is his fav but Chicago comes close

• Is 100% tired of RENT tho Laf pls

[roughsexwithgaga]

Stop Running Away pt.5

Pt.1 | Pt.2 | Pt.3 | Pt.4

February

Lady Gaga was sitting on the patio in the back garden of her Houston Airbnb and nearly spat her coffee all over the table. ”Is she for real!?” she yelled and everyone turned their heads in her direction. ”This… This… bitch!”

”Is she late or is she late?” Mariah shook her head and looked at Sarah. Exactly everyone in the whole world had been gasping over Beyoncé’s pregnancy announcement for two hours. ”I think she’s the last person on the planet to find out.”

Gaga, who had been eyeing herself in the mirror every day to look for signs of her own growing baby, a thing that everyone took for vanity since no one except Ashley knew, felt like Beyoncé stole more than her moment in the spotlight on stage. ”I swear she’s doing it on purpose, I mean seriously, she has every week of the whole year to announce her baby-”

”Babies,” Mariah and Sarah corrected her. ”She’s having TWINS!”

”I don’t care if she’s giving birth to Jesusa Christ,” Gaga muttered and eyed them both. ”But she absolutely has to do it the very last minute before MY moment. I can’t believe it!” Gaga ranted for several minutes and kicked the large flower pot behind her - it didn’t budge – walked around in a circle with her hands on her head and kept spitting out curses.

When she finally calmed down she handed Mariah her phone. ”Time to steal the thunder back,” she said and muttered about some people just never knowing when to stop with their over saturation and then she, in her own usual non-subtle way, wrote a caption about Houston looking beautiful and added the Beyoncé patented bee-emoji. Because, hello, she was pissed off and it really hurt to write congratulations right now but she still needed to show that she wasn’t out of the loop.

”It’ll drive them up the walls speculating.” She laughed a flat, hollow laughter and then she suddenly stopped. ”Wait!” She stared into the oblivion. ”What about Coachella? The woman is huge!” She turned around to run inside the house and nearly fell over the pot behind her. ”CHRISTIAN!” Time to show you’re useful for more than booking Airbnbs, she thought. ”When Coachella calls, because they will, you better tell them I’m fucking ready,” she shouted into the large mansion.

The aggressive competitor inside her made her forget everything else and then she decided to focus on herself and all the people involved in her big weekend. She would thank them all, and tell them exactly how important they all were to her this moment. ”I’m taking the world back,” she said. ”And you’re all part of it. We, together- fuck. I have to make a speech.” She sent Mariah inside her bedroom to get her MacBook and then she gathered her employees.

\o/

”It’s wild,” Lukas Nelson said when he saw her new Lamborghini Huracán. ”It suits you.”

Gaga could hardly breathe when she heard his voice and threw herself at him so hard he coughed and dropped his bag on the ground to wrap his arms around her. It took several seconds before she let him go. When she finally allowed him to breathe he saw Christian stand in the open door and he didn’t look like he enjoyed what he was seeing. His eyes were dark and he was fiddling with something in his hands. Lukas saw it was the match day passes.

”Stef,” Christian said and Gaga turned around. Lukas saw his cold eyes turn warm when he looked at her. ”We have to get ready.”

Gaga turned to look at Lukas again and took his hand to pull him inside. ”We still have a few minutes, Lukas can leave his things here,” she told Christian and turned to Lukas again. ”You’re probably the first one who doesn’t look like I’m about to kill myself driving it,” she said and laughed.

”I would trust you with anything,” Lukas gushed and instantly felt something vibrate in the air as Gaga looked back at Christian. A feeling of submission and guilt. ”Are you two, like a thing now?” Lukas leaned down and whispered into her ear while she pulled his arm. He noticed her face turn red. ”I’m not judging, I’m just c-”

She put a hand up like she didn’t want to talk about it and he stopped.

Christian’s eyes measured him when they walked past him. Lukas didn’t understand what he ever did to make him so dismissive about him. ”Nice to see you, Lukas,” he said and smiled that cold smile, that made him look like he had no teeth, the one that never reached his eyes and Lukas nearly shuddered. He raised his hand in a salute.

Gaga decided to give Lukas the guided tour around the house herself because she wanted to show him how much she missed him. ”This will be your room. There’s a bathroom over there and my room is down the hallway over there. My parents-”

”Stef,” Lukas said and she turned around to face him. ”I missed you. You look amazing. You’re gonna kill it today, I know it.”

Gaga looked at him for a few seconds. Her blonde hair was pulled together in a messy bun, she wore a black top and a skirt, with a slit almost all the way up to her pleasure zone and he observed her adjust it just as he laid eyes on her muscular thighs. She inhaled and looked lost, then she found herself and stepped up to him.

”Don’t you dare come here and tell me you missed me, that you approve of how I look. Do you know what I’ve been through?” Her voice was low, yet powerful. He nearly expected her to put a warning finger up in the air in front of his face when she instead shook her head and sat down on the bed behind her.

”I’m sorry, Lukas, I’m sorry. I-” she nearly told him about the baby but bit her tongue. Not today.

”It’s ok, I get it. You’re right. And I have no right.” He walked up to her, caressed her cheek and nearly expected her to slap him but instead she leaned against it and closed her eyes. Inhaling his manly smell, his warmth and his kindness. The father of my baby, she thought and she sat like that for a few seconds before she sensed Christian getting restless outside the door.

\o/

When Gaga caught the football, landed among the soft foam squares and heard the people roar she knew she made it. Everything had been so perfect, absolutely everything had went as expected and when she was pulled out on the pitch again she looked up at the spectators with glossy eyes and was escorted outside down into the culvert into the arms of her mom and dad. She felt their hearts exploding with pride, just like hers.

Nothing can ever tear me down, she thought. Every time they think I’m done, I come back harder. She never really knew who ”they” were, but they were out there, waiting for her to fail. It was a never-ending competition, a battle, a war to prove herself over and over. Because I’m a woman.

It had been the longest day and when she was finally back at the house she rented, she was exhausted. Ashley had snuck her non-alcoholic drinks all evening while the others partied and no one had seemed suspicious. She saw Lukas stand in the garden with a bottle and walked up to him.

He had already congratulated her multiple times and understood that Christian had made a point when he had kissed her cheek on the pitch in front of all the cameras. The news would be out, and she was clever to keep it under lids until now. No distractions before the big moment, he thought. It hurt, but he had let her go and had to live with that decision.

She had moved on so quickly. Like she couldn’t be single for a few seconds and instantly picked the nearest available person. Lukas wasn’t sure Christian was good for her since he felt a dominating and destructive side from him that he didn’t like. On second thoughts, who was he to tell her how to live her life? Maybe he was just jealous of Christian.

Lukas smiled at her when she stopped next to him. ”Thank you for letting me be part of this, Stef,” he said and observed her side profile. Her slanted forehead and her magnificent nose, the pouty lips and her sunken cheeks. Her shoulders pulled forward, like she was cold. A small breeze through her frail hair and he caught a whiff of her perfume and closed his eyes, dreaming of her soft body in his arms.

”You’re my friend, Lukas. Of course you’re part of it,” she replied.

He felt her fingers touching his. ”You know where my room is, Lukas.”

Before he got a chance to reply she had left his side and gone inside again. She left because she was afraid of the ’no’ she knew she was going to get from him and she didn’t want to hear it. This way she could keep hoping. I’m nothing compared to her, he thought.

He looked at her back as she disappeared around a corner. Lord knows he wanted to, but he couldn’t allow himself to fall in love again and lose her. And Christian was there. What if he showed up, or maybe that’s what she wanted. He wasn’t tired and he knew he would have a hard time sleeping only a few feet away from her while knowing she invited him to sleep with her. So he sat down on the couch in the TV-room, where someone watched Gaga’s performance on repeat and a few others joined him, they sat chatting a while before they dropped off and Lukas was alone again so he decided to go to bed as well anyway.

He must’ve dozed off because he woke up to something that sounded like a giggle. Stef, he thought. That’s her laugh. Grunts. Lukas got out of bed and left his room. He might have been the one calling it off, but no way he’s listening to her having sex. He paced around in the kitchen before curiosity took him back into his room where he heard her before. It must be some vent or something that carried the sound. He listened to what he thought was rhythmic thrusts and almost started to turn green with envy wondering whether Christian was some superman who kept going on forever until he realized it was the ceiling fan that was spinning and the damn thing wasn’t properly aligned. I’m paranoid, he thought and left the room to seek refuge in the room facing the patio where he sat earlier. Away from the sounds and maybe other sleepless people would be there.

\o/

Gaga was in bed and nearly asleep the second she put her head on the pillows when she heard someone enter her room. She knew it wasn’t Lukas because Koji snarled and that meant it was Christian. The sound of clothes being taken off and placed on a chair, and then cold air as someone raised the comforter to crawl into bed with her.

”Christian, I’m really tired.” She felt his kisses on her neck. Koji made a snorting sound and jumped out of the bed to find some privacy. She heard his claws smattering against the floor as he probably went to find Ashely.

”Yes, of course you are. It’s tiring to win back the approval of the general public, even for someone as talented as you,” he mumbled into her ear and she felt his hand on her hip, traveling into her panty and a finger slipped between her pussy lips. ”You’re wet. Now, how is that?”

First she went stiff because she thought Christian was going to start complaining about Lukas and whether he’d been in here, but then she realized he was so sure of himself he didn’t even think about Lukas. She sighed and didn’t see the point in lecturing a 50 year old experienced man about female anatomy and her body functions right now. He probably thought she sighed because it felt good so he started rubbing a little harder. And obviously that made it impossible to resist.

She rolled over on her belly and he tossed the sheets away. Her black panty was the tiniest one he’d seen. It barely covered her fit, soft butt cheeks and they looked deliciously round and irresistible in the pale light. He slipped a finger along the cheek fold and inside the leg of the panty. The warmth from her body and her sudden wetness made him hard in seconds. He gave her cheek a quick slap and watched it jiggle.

“Ouch! What the fuck,” she said and slapped him back on his arm. He was lying on his side, leaning on one elbow and she could see the satisfied smile on his face.

“What?” he chuckled then he groped her ass hard and she felt his fingers dig up her crack and massage her whole butt cheek with greedy fingers. He suddenly slapped her ass again and she turned around to play-fight him, but then he got up and moved between her legs to pull her panties down.

”Christian, no! I-” she reluctantly giggled when his tongue tickled her waist and squirmed to avoid it. She felt his warm breath and a brief second later his tongue lap against her clit. “That’s right, you son of a bitch!” she moaned as his teeth sunk into the skin on her inside of her thighs and he continued kissing her skin up towards her tits. They looked heavy and full and he pinched one of her erect nipples between two fingers.

”I want you to lick my nipples, suck them hard.” She exhaled and pulled her legs up and she reluctantly grunted loudly as it hurt when he placed his wet mouth all over her left nipple and nibbled it. Shoving him away with both hands, she made him dive into her now flooded slit again. His tongue circled her clit, sucked her folds and he forced two fingers inside her. She grunted and felt him curl the fingers inside her. The feeling was sensational and she heard herself moan and beg for more.

She placed both hands over her mouth to muffle her moans. Her mind was full of Lukas, who she knew most likely was aware of what she was doing right now. He wasn’t naive and she felt like absolute trash. She didn’t deserve him, how did she ever think that a man as pure and loving would want her? Everything I am, all I have and is able to buy with my money and my name, and he’s rejecting me because of who I am. It makes no sense, she thought. What am I doing wrong? I love him, I showed him how much I love him, I’m a nice person. I love, I try not to hate, I treat people with respect. I do good things. What is it that he doesn’t like?

Gaga was doing her head in thinking of Lukas and nearly lost her breath when Christian decided it was time to push inside her. She arched her back and let her nails dig into his shoulders. Everything was different. It felt different. She angrily closed her eyes when Christian thrusted inside her and tried to remember Lukas’ smell, but wanted to cry when she couldn’t because Christian’s smell was all over her.

On her back, with her legs spread, she let her new lover do as he pleased. She felt his hands around her neck, his thrusts harder and faster. She gasped for air and felt her vagina contract, the orgasm like a warm shower, emerging from between her legs all the way down to her toes. She raised her thighs and bucked her hips, her field of vision narrowed as she nearly passed out from lack of oxygen and heard herself shout ”Lukas!” with the last amount of air in her lungs.

Christian shot out of the bed, left her lying naked with her own hands around her neck, breathing rapidly and staring back into his eyes. His eyes glittered in the dark and she felt so weak and helpless. He took a step closer to the bed and she prepared to fight him but he bent down and grabbed his clothes. Then he exited her room and left Gaga panting on the bed like a scared animal.

Gaga was certain he wasn’t aware he nearly choked her, but was upset and angry because she had shouted Lukas’ name. Christian obviously didn’t want to kill her, she thought, it was a mistake. It had to be a mistake. Her heart was beating out of her chest, she felt the panic creep up her back and she never felt so exposed, undignified and lonely in her life. She pulled a blanket around her and left her room. She needed to find another person right now, to feel normal, someone to cling to. To feel ordinarity again and not this bubble of desolation floating around in nowhere. Ashamed of herself she wandered out into the spacious living room which served as the heart of the house.

She saw Lukas sitting, asleep, on the couch with his legs on the table. His head was tilted to the side and his jaw slacked.

”Sssch,” she said when he woke up and looked at her through a foggy, surprised gaze. ”Please, just let me lie here with you. You don’t have to do anything. I just want to be near you, Lukas.” Her voice, a whisper, but so lovely he thought he was dreaming until he felt her hands touching him. She smiled and crawled into his lap.

”Sure, sweet thing,” Lukas had no idea what she was on about but opened his arms, let her lie down with her head on his lap and wrapped the blanket around her. She didn’t say anything else, she just closed her eyes and held on to his shirt as if he was going to fly away. She looked so frail and lost, the blue veins on the back of her hands, the tiny hairs on her arms. He caressed her cheek, and let a finger run along her temple down to her neck. She swallowed and her huge, shiny eyelids covered her eyes, he touched her eyebrows, corrected a stray hair and watched her lips. The corners of her mouth, always slightly raised. He thought it was so sexy. You are so beautiful, he thought.

He kept quiet and let her rest, felt her pulse slow down and her breathing get heavier. When she fell asleep he lifted her up and carried her into her room, saw Koji stand outside and when he put her into the bed the dog jumped up as well. ”Some guard dog you are,” Lukas joked. He sat down on the couch by the foot of the bed and fell asleep again while he watched her worriedly shift around in the bed.

Pt. 6

[businessliveme]

How Beyonce & Mariah Carey helped turn Airbnb into a luxury brand

(Bloomberg) –For one week in the summer of 2015, consumers of celebrity gossip news couldn’t escape Mariah Carey’s trip to Malibu, California. Her stay at an Airbnb there, which she chronicled on Instagram, made headline writers swoon. It was covered in TMZ (“Mariah Carey: I USED AIRBNB… For My Sick Malibu Rental”), Page Six (“Inside Mariah Carey’s $10K-a-night Airbnb rental”) and PopSugar (“Mariah Carey’s $10,000-a-Night Airbnb Is the Ultimate Fantasy,” along with a slideshow).

But the pop star didn’t just happen to see the listing idly scrolling through the app. Carey was a test run of what would become a wildly successful celebrity marketing campaign for a young, scrappy startup. Airbnb Inc. covered the cost of the Malibu stay, and it was just the beginning. The company had relationships with about 65 celebrities and went on to provide free lodging for several of the world’s biggest stars, including Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé.

All the company asked for in return was that, if they had a good time, they consider posting about it online.

Today, influencer marketing is a more than $6 billion industry. A single post can command upward of $1 million. But the lucrative practice has attracted scrutiny from U.S. regulators as influencers and celebrities blur the lines of content and advertising. Instagram recently came under fire over influencers shilling diet teas with ingredients approved for use only as laxatives. The Federal Trade Commission issued new guidance for social media disclosure this month.

Read: Luxury resort Dusit Thani Maldives sweeps five global awards

But Airbnb’s celebrity marketing program, the details of which haven’t been previously reported, started before most people knew what an influencer was. It was a harbinger of the celebrity marketing bonanza to come and played a role in setting up Airbnb as an alternative to high-end resorts—now a key part of the company’s strategy as it seeks to justify a $31 billion valuation and go public next year.

As public investors look less kindly on money-losing tech companies, it helps that booking a beach-side villa is far more profitable than renting a spare bedroom in Queens, New York. To bolster that strategy, Airbnb made one of its largest-ever acquisitions in 2017 for a business called Luxury Retreats and introduced a mansion-rental service in summer 2018 called Airbnb Luxe.

“The Mariah relationship has become legendary for Airbnb,” says Jonathan Mildenhall, who was Airbnb’s chief marketing officer at the time.

Airbnb declined to provide details on its relationships with celebrities. “As a hospitality company that embraces hosting, we work with a number of celebrities and public personalities and often pick up the tab,” a spokeswoman wrote in an emailed statement.

Before a company can get a star to use and endorse its products to millions of followers, though, it has to get an introduction. At the time, Airbnb didn’t have the budget to go through the typical gatekeepers. Talent agencies that might broker a traditional sponsorship deal were prohibitively expensive, Mildenhall says.

So Brian Chesky, Airbnb’s chief executive officer, offered an unconventional idea. There was a guy in Las Vegas who ran a nightclub packed with celebrities, who were his friends; he hosted their parties; and they might just listen to his recommendations about a house-rental app. “Go and check this guy out,” Mildenhall recalls Chesky telling him. “See if it’s authentic.”

Chesky’s guy was Jeff Beacher. His nightclub, Beacher’s Madhouse, was the stuff of Las Vegas legend. Beacher himself was a nightlife institution, dubbed at different times a “celebrity showman” by Rolling Stone, a “great innovator” by Entrepreneur and a “corpulent clown prince” by the Las Vegas Weekly.

Beacher’s Madhouse started getting attention in Las Vegas in the mid-2000s. It was a vaudevillian bacchanal, with Beacher onstage as emcee often wearing a red satin ringmaster’s vest. The show featured little people costumed as Oompa Loompas dangling from the ceiling on zip lines to deliver bottles of Champagne to tables. There were sword swallowers, live goats, contortionists and performers known as Mini Britney Spears and Mini Donald Trump. At points, the show also claimed to feature the world’s smallest and the world’s oldest strippers.

Read: 33 genius travel hacks to upgrade your holiday trips 

But the most remarkable feature of Beacher’s Madhouse was the patrons: Celebrity news sites chronicled appearances by Bieber, Bradley Cooper, Leonardo DiCaprio and Mick Jagger at its Las Vegas and, later, Los Angeles locations. Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas all threw birthday parties there. “You have this seven-and-a-half-foot transvestite and all these wild performers doing all kinds of crazy things like getting into washing machines and, you know, crushing hands with their giant boobs,” says Larry Rudolph, the talent manager for Britney Spears. “It was just a party.”

Beacher was, in short, just the kind of unconventional power broker Airbnb needed. His friendship with Mariah Carey was well documented. Beacher made the introductions, and after Carey’s first stay in July 2015, she traveled to another Airbnb a few months later. The following year, the singer again stayed with Airbnb in a $22 million Colorado mansion during an Aspen getaway.

Soon after Airbnb started working with Beacher, the startup knew something had clicked. Mildenhall, who ran marketing from 2014 to 2018, “realized that there was this authentic relationship between him and Mariah,” he says. “It wasn’t financially driven.”

Airbnb hired Beacher as an outside “entertainment relations consultant.” Here’s how it worked: Unlike the influencer marketing that’s become standard today, Mildenhall says no financial contracts were drawn and no money changed hands—unless you count the cost of the rental. (Which, to be clear, the FTC would.) The arrangements were largely informal. “It’s not, ‘Wear this handbag; I’ll give you $10,000,’” Mildenhall says. “If they enjoy it, if they have had a good experience, then they talk about that on their own social media platforms.”

Soon, Airbnb was racking up celebrity appearances: It housed Kylie Jenner in a $50 million, 23-bedroom complex in Turks and Caicos. It put up Spears in a $6,000-a-night Malibu villa for Valentine’s Day. And it sheltered all three Jonas brothers in a New York townhouse that had a pool with a waterfall.

But it was in 2016, less than a year into Beacher’s consulting contract, that the startup scored a real coup. After playing to more than 115 million people at the Super Bowl Halftime Show, Beyoncé retired to an opulent mansion in Los Altos Hills, California, equipped with an infinity pool, a chicken coop and 60 fruit trees. She posted a picture of herself on Facebook, sitting near a sleek outdoor fireplace at night, writing: “It was a super weekend Airbnb.”

There were dozens of articles about the exploit. E! News noted the property’s livestock, while the Washington Post and BuzzFeed raised questions about whether the post was sponsored. Either way, the hit turned into a streak. The following year, Lady Gaga posted a picture of herself in a different opulent mansion after her 2017 Super Bowl performance. She wrote: “Thank you @airbnb for the gorgeous home in Houston for #SB51.”

There are rules around disclosing sponsorships. The basic premise of the guidelines demands a “clear and conspicuous” disclaimer of any commercial relationship with the poster and the brand they’re posting about. But the rules leave room for interpretation and have historically not been stringently enforced. As a result, they’re routinely ignored. Ambiguous sponsored content, whereby a social media user receives pay or free goods that they then post about online, has “run rampant,” says Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a digital rights group.

In its work with celebrities, Airbnb says it was careful not to run afoul of regulators. “We adhere to FTC guidelines by incorporating them into our engagements with these individuals,” a spokeswoman wrote in an email.

Still, particularly in the early days, some celebrity posts about their Airbnbs occupied a gray area. In 2016, around the time the FTC stepped up enforcement of sponsored posts, Truth in Advertising, a consumer advocacy group, sent a letter to members of the Kardashian and Jenner family complaining of “a multitude of posts” about shoes, food and other products that did not clearly disclose commercial relationships, prompting the family to revise many of them. In one, wherein Kylie Jenner stood statuesquely in a white bathing suit above a sun-soaked pool, the text changed from, “Thanks for the birthday home, @airbnb,” to: “Thanks for the gift of a lovely birthday home, @airbnb.”

Lady Gaga similarly edited her original Super Bowl post to clarify that the Airbnb home was a “gift.” And after reporters asked if Beyoncé’s Super Bowl post was sponsored, she eventually deleted it.

More recently, as the FTC has updated its guidelines on what disclosures are required, celebrities’ simple thank-yous to Airbnb have generally been replaced with more explicit language, like the caption in this post from Bieber, which reads, “Thanks for hooking me up, @airbnb.” Instagram has also changed its policies to help address disclosures of commercial relationships for the burgeoning influencer marketing industry. An executive at the Facebook Inc.-owned app recently said there’s no evidence disclosure detracts from a campaign’s effectiveness.

“When Airbnb started working with celebrities, the guidelines weren’t clearly established,” Mildenhall wrote in an email. “We worked closely with the FTC to evolve our approach so that the posts clearly referenced that Airbnb had gifted the home for the duration of the stay. This is now commonplace practice for all celebrity endorsements.”

Beacher also says he made sure his deals were compliant with the “constantly evolving landscape” of FTC requirements, adding, “Each company I worked with has very black-and-white and strict policies when it comes to following FTC regulations.”

Last year, Mildenhall left Airbnb and started his own agency called TwentyFirstCenturyBrand. Beacher also ended his work with Airbnb in 2018, after a roughly three-year collaboration. Over that time, technology startups became a significant part of Beacher’s business. He served as a consultant for Lyft Inc. for two years and says he helped build out its celebrity marketing efforts. A Lyft spokeswoman says Beacher started working with the company’s culture and entertainment team a couple of years after it was formed and that the group is “thankful for his support.”

In conversation, Beacher is given to grand pronouncements. (“I am very good at the media,” he says.) But he is loath to talk about the specifics of his business relationships and is constantly worried about violating non-disclosures agreements. Asked for comment about the mechanics of his deals with Airbnb, Beacher wrote in an email: “The No. 1 rule of celebrity endorsements is to never discuss either side of an endorsement deal and always keep yourself behind the scenes.”

He is more open about his enthusiasm for vitamin drips, a procedure popular with such stars as Chrissy Teigen and Kendall Jenner, who once ended up in the hospital as a result, according to reports. Beacher, who now embraces a health-conscious lifestyle, often speaks publicly about how his time in the entertainment industry almost killed him.

In 2014, after more than a decade running Beacher’s Madhouse, he was depressed and gaining weight. “I got really crazy fat,” Beacher says over an arugula salad lunch in San Francisco, “like, morbidly obese, 440 pounds.” He blames the breakdown on the death of his business partner, stress and various medications he was taking at the time. “My friends gave me, like, a fat intervention,” Beacher says. He went to a raw vegan retreat in West Palm Beach, Florida, got gastric bypass surgery in 2015 and took a hiatus from work.

After that, Beacher pulled back from the fast-paced, late-night world of club-running and turned to more corporate pursuits. As Beacher began connecting celebrities with tech companies, word got around. “He became known in some of these circles as a person with connections to Silicon Valley,” says Rudolph, who has managed both Spears and Miley Cyrus. Beacher was the person to call, Rudolph says, “if somebody wanted to get in touch with Lyft or something like that.”

Today, Beacher says he’s working with about 10 companies. One of those is Wheels Labs Inc., an electric mini-bike rental startup founded by the brothers who created the dog-walking app Wag Labs Inc., where he was also a consultant. Wheels last month raised $50 million. A spokesman for the company says it has worked with Beacher to create more than a dozen customized bikes for celebrities.

But the world of online advertising has changed a lot since Beacher started. “Now it’s like every publicist in the world with a generic pitch deck using buzzwords is pitching big, five-, ten-thousand-dollar retainers,” he sighs. “It’s just very, very saturated.”

These days, Beacher says, he’s spending more time on other endeavors such as investing. For example, he holds stock in scooter startup Lime, most recently valued at $2 billion, as well as Health House LLC, a fitness chain co-founded by the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and backed by the Winklevoss twins. Beacher recently got back from another vegan retreat, lost 20 pounds and over the summer was spotted on Rebel Wilson’s Instagram feed, cavorting at Walt Disney World.

In the Instagram photos, Cinderella’s Castle rises picturesquely in the background. Wilson’s caption reads: “Thanks to everyone at Disney for this incredible day.” Representatives for the actress and Walt Disney Co. didn’t respond to requests for comment as to whether the post was sponsored.

The post How Beyonce & Mariah Carey helped turn Airbnb into a luxury brand appeared first on Businessliveme.com.

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[cynthiajayusa]

Honestly Loved: Olivia Newton-John Talks Gay Adoration, Dream to Cure Cancer

“My dream is to see an end to cancer in my lifetime,” Olivia Newton-John told me at the end of April, just weeks before announcing that she’d been diagnosed with a recurrence of breast cancer that has spread to the sacrum bone in her back. The entertainer and Grease star first battled breast cancer in 1992, and lost her sister to brain cancer in 2013. She turned her personal loss into a universal catharsis on her October 2016 release, LIV ON, a collaborative album featuring singer-songwriters Beth Nielsen Chapman and Amy Sky.

 Scheduled as a preview for her summer tour, which has since been postponed due to her health, Newton-John was in good spirits during our recent interview. Expectedly, the 68-year-old Aussie singer-actress exuded warmth and humility – and, as she reflected on queer-aligned moments in her career, the kind of charming laughter that’s made her one of the most approachable icons of our time.

 “I love you guys,” Newton-John said, doting on her vast gay following. “You’re so loyal and lovely to me, and I appreciate you.”I told her we honestly love her back, and we talked about her professional highs and personal passions – and how cancer, which she is now suddenly battling, is what she’s determined to help cure.

 How would you compare yourself as an artist now versus when the world first met you in Grease and Xanadu?

 I think I’ve been through so many different eras. With Grace and Gratitude (2006) and my Gaia (1994) albums, both were kind of mellow, so I have done this before. (It’s) usually on albums that have a theme to them, or when I’ve gone through some kind of crisis, which are those two albums and this one. This album was born out of me losing my sister. It was kind of inspired by that, and it was just important to me to make this record to help heal ourselves and help other people, because I think grief is not something that is talked about enough. It can lead to depression and anxiety, and people don’t even realize that they’re sad, and so they use other means to cover it up and they don’t talk about it because people make them feel they should be over it. There’s no time when there’s a loss. Loss is different for everybody. The people you’ve lost, they’ll always be in your life; they’ll always be there, in your heart.

 What was your first introduction to the gay community? Did you know gay people growing up in the U.K.?

 I probably did, but I probably didn’t decipher between them and anybody else. They were all just people. I had very loving parents who were very open, so I don’t think I ever thought about it that much. In the ’70s, I was very close to my hairdresser/makeup person who sadly died of AIDS and that was a terrible, terrible shock. In show business, there’s a very high percentage of gay people, so I’ve just always been around them.

 If a gay fan stops you on the street, what project of yours are they most likely to gush over?

 Sordid Lives. (Laughs) But it depends! It’s hard! Because there are many, many gay men and women, and they all love something different – they’re just people, so they all have different taste. But a lot of them have been touched by the message in Sordid Lives if they had or have a problem coming out to their family.

 Where does playing a tattooed lesbian ex-con in that movie rank on your list of accomplishments?

 (Laughs) It was fun! I did it for fun! Because I love (writer and director) Del Shores, who is my friend. He was actually my sister’s best friend – that’s how that came about, because of their friendship. If my sister hadn’t known Del, I wouldn’t have gone to the play and then I wouldn’t have said, “If you ever make this into a movie, think of me.” It was all kind of in fun, and then it happened.

 Like many gay men of my generation, my introduction to you was the “Physical” video. I remember being surprised seeing two gay men walking out of the gym together, holding hands. Considering being gay was more taboo during that time, how do you reflect on that groundbreaking moment when it comes to gay inclusivity?

 You know what, I don’t think I even realized it at the time. I just thought it was extremely funny. Whenever someone tells me that “Physical” is sexy, it makes me laugh because, to me, it’s just funny, you know? And the director really should take credit: Brian Grant, an Englishman who was great fun and did nearly all my videos at that time. Of course, the choreographer (Kenny Ortega) is gay, and all the boys were our friends. And it was hilarious! We just had a blast, and until you said that I hadn’t really thought of it as being groundbreaking. It seemed quite natural at the time. But I thought it was a very funny twist at the end.

 The video came out in 1981, when there was still a lot of resistance regarding gay issues. Gay marriage wasn’t, obviously, legal.

 That is true. I don’t even know if it was being talked about then. It was just part of my life.

 As kitschy as it is, it still put gay people in many living rooms across the world.

 Looking back now, I realize that. But I was so busy doing what I was doing – working. I didn’t reflect on things as much then. I was too busy doing them!

 What’s it like when you perform “Physical” these days? Are you surrounded by shirtless, sweaty gay men?

 Only in the audience if they choose to do that! (Laughs) But no, just my singers on stage come and jump around, and my guitarist comes forward and we do the guitar solo. We just have fun. I try to get the audience to have fun.

 Do you strip it down? Do you do a cabaret version of the song?

 No, no; we do it like the record. They want to hear it like it was. I always remember going to see a famous artist when I was a young girl, and when she did sing her songs, she changed them. I remember making a note: If I’m ever lucky enough to be that successful, I’m going to do them the way they were done. That’s what people wanna hear.

 Which artist are you referring to?

 Oh, it’s an artist and I don’t want to mention her name. Her whole show was not – it was just, I was anticipating all the hits and they didn’t come, and then when she did them she changed them up. That was just an important lesson for me.

 It’s Pride season. As someone who’s been a mainstay on the Pride circuit, can you reflect on some of your most memorable experiences at Pride?

 I have been a part of many Mardi Gras celebrations in Sydney, and I can never remember places, so you have to forgive me, but it was off New York and that was the night gay marriage was passed. It was incredibly exciting. Everybody was celebrating. So those are the two that stick out for me. And I’ve done other ones too with incredible crowds. A lot of fun. My gay fans are a lot of fun.

 What was going through your mind when marriage equality became a reality that day?

 I was just very happy for them and happy for the gay community that they have equality. I’ve always said this and I’ll say it again: Love is love. That’s all it is.

 You were one of the first stars to speak out on marriage equality in Australia. How are you feeling about the fact that it’s still not a reality there?

 It’s ridiculous. I hope a change is made. And it is really silly and it needs to change, and I hope it does. I don’t get involved politically, really, but I just think this issue is obvious – it’s ridiculous. If people love each other, they should be able to form a partnership and that’s that.

 It seems so simple when you put it like that.

 It is simple.

 I came across a video of you acknowledging lesbian rumors that were circulating about you in the ’80s. I had no idea people ever thought you were a lesbian.

 Yeah, I remember that. It was very odd. I couldn’t figure out why, but it didn’t do me any harm, obviously. (Laughs)

 Actually, I think it might’ve benefited you.

 I think it was probably a good rumor! It was a nice rumor, not a mean rumor.

 Do mean rumors about Olivia Newton-John actually exist?

 I’m sure there have been some! I try not to tune in to negativity. I tune that stuff out, so I don’t know.

 What is left for you to accomplish?

 Everything now is icing on the cake. I thought I was gonna retire in 2000, and here I am. I’m still going. And doing the Sydney Olympics (in 2000) was like, “Wow, nothing can be better than this.” Then I built my hospital (Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre in Melbourne, Australia, where she will receive treatments for her new cancer diagnosis) and I think that was probably the greatest achievement in my life, to have helped raise the money to build this amazing cancer center that’s helping so many people. And to have Gaia, my wellness retreat – that is also helping to heal people. So, I feel very grateful for all that I have achieved. The wonderful thing about these achievements is that it’s giving back to people – it’s not just about me. It’s helping other people move forward in their lives, for their future, which is much more important.

 More important than…?

 Than fame. It’s a different kind of fame; it’s something that’s gonna help people’s lives and quality of life. The cancer center and wellness program are my babies, and I really care deeply for cancer patients, having gone through it myself. Now, we have an amazing research center at my cancer center and we just did some groundbreaking research that was published in Australia, so we’re doing amazing things there. My dream is to see an end to cancer in my lifetime and that the hospital becomes a wellness center, just focusing on wellness – that’s my dream.

 As editor of Q Syndicate, the international LGBT wire service, Chris Azzopardi has interviewed a multitude of superstars, including Meryl Streep, Mariah Carey and Beyoncé. Reach him via his website at www.chris-azzopardi.com and on Twitter (@chrisazzopardi).

source https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2017/07/04/honestly-loved-olivia-newton-john-talks-gay-adoration-dream-to-cure-cancer/ from Hot Spots Magazine http://hotspotsmagazin.blogspot.com/2017/07/honestly-loved-olivia-newton-john-talks.html

[demitgibbs]

Honestly Loved: Olivia Newton-John Talks Gay Adoration, Dream to Cure Cancer

“My dream is to see an end to cancer in my lifetime,” Olivia Newton-John told me at the end of April, just weeks before announcing that she’d been diagnosed with a recurrence of breast cancer that has spread to the sacrum bone in her back. The entertainer and Grease star first battled breast cancer in 1992, and lost her sister to brain cancer in 2013. She turned her personal loss into a universal catharsis on her October 2016 release, LIV ON, a collaborative album featuring singer-songwriters Beth Nielsen Chapman and Amy Sky.

Scheduled as a preview for her summer tour, which has since been postponed due to her health, Newton-John was in good spirits during our recent interview. Expectedly, the 68-year-old Aussie singer-actress exuded warmth and humility – and, as she reflected on queer-aligned moments in her career, the kind of charming laughter that’s made her one of the most approachable icons of our time.

“I love you guys,” Newton-John said, doting on her vast gay following. “You’re so loyal and lovely to me, and I appreciate you.”I told her we honestly love her back, and we talked about her professional highs and personal passions – and how cancer, which she is now suddenly battling, is what she’s determined to help cure.

How would you compare yourself as an artist now versus when the world first met you in Grease and Xanadu?

I think I’ve been through so many different eras. With Grace and Gratitude (2006) and my Gaia (1994) albums, both were kind of mellow, so I have done this before. (It’s) usually on albums that have a theme to them, or when I’ve gone through some kind of crisis, which are those two albums and this one. This album was born out of me losing my sister. It was kind of inspired by that, and it was just important to me to make this record to help heal ourselves and help other people, because I think grief is not something that is talked about enough. It can lead to depression and anxiety, and people don’t even realize that they’re sad, and so they use other means to cover it up and they don’t talk about it because people make them feel they should be over it. There’s no time when there’s a loss. Loss is different for everybody. The people you’ve lost, they’ll always be in your life; they’ll always be there, in your heart.

What was your first introduction to the gay community? Did you know gay people growing up in the U.K.?

I probably did, but I probably didn’t decipher between them and anybody else. They were all just people. I had very loving parents who were very open, so I don’t think I ever thought about it that much. In the ’70s, I was very close to my hairdresser/makeup person who sadly died of AIDS and that was a terrible, terrible shock. In show business, there’s a very high percentage of gay people, so I’ve just always been around them.

If a gay fan stops you on the street, what project of yours are they most likely to gush over?

Sordid Lives. (Laughs) But it depends! It’s hard! Because there are many, many gay men and women, and they all love something different – they’re just people, so they all have different taste. But a lot of them have been touched by the message in Sordid Lives if they had or have a problem coming out to their family.

Where does playing a tattooed lesbian ex-con in that movie rank on your list of accomplishments?

(Laughs) It was fun! I did it for fun! Because I love (writer and director) Del Shores, who is my friend. He was actually my sister’s best friend – that’s how that came about, because of their friendship. If my sister hadn’t known Del, I wouldn’t have gone to the play and then I wouldn’t have said, “If you ever make this into a movie, think of me.” It was all kind of in fun, and then it happened.

Like many gay men of my generation, my introduction to you was the “Physical” video. I remember being surprised seeing two gay men walking out of the gym together, holding hands. Considering being gay was more taboo during that time, how do you reflect on that groundbreaking moment when it comes to gay inclusivity?

You know what, I don’t think I even realized it at the time. I just thought it was extremely funny. Whenever someone tells me that “Physical” is sexy, it makes me laugh because, to me, it’s just funny, you know? And the director really should take credit: Brian Grant, an Englishman who was great fun and did nearly all my videos at that time. Of course, the choreographer (Kenny Ortega) is gay, and all the boys were our friends. And it was hilarious! We just had a blast, and until you said that I hadn’t really thought of it as being groundbreaking. It seemed quite natural at the time. But I thought it was a very funny twist at the end.

The video came out in 1981, when there was still a lot of resistance regarding gay issues. Gay marriage wasn’t, obviously, legal.

That is true. I don’t even know if it was being talked about then. It was just part of my life.

As kitschy as it is, it still put gay people in many living rooms across the world.

Looking back now, I realize that. But I was so busy doing what I was doing – working. I didn’t reflect on things as much then. I was too busy doing them!

What’s it like when you perform “Physical” these days? Are you surrounded by shirtless, sweaty gay men?

Only in the audience if they choose to do that! (Laughs) But no, just my singers on stage come and jump around, and my guitarist comes forward and we do the guitar solo. We just have fun. I try to get the audience to have fun.

Do you strip it down? Do you do a cabaret version of the song?

No, no; we do it like the record. They want to hear it like it was. I always remember going to see a famous artist when I was a young girl, and when she did sing her songs, she changed them. I remember making a note: If I’m ever lucky enough to be that successful, I’m going to do them the way they were done. That’s what people wanna hear.

Which artist are you referring to?

Oh, it’s an artist and I don’t want to mention her name. Her whole show was not – it was just, I was anticipating all the hits and they didn’t come, and then when she did them she changed them up. That was just an important lesson for me.

It’s Pride season. As someone who’s been a mainstay on the Pride circuit, can you reflect on some of your most memorable experiences at Pride?

I have been a part of many Mardi Gras celebrations in Sydney, and I can never remember places, so you have to forgive me, but it was off New York and that was the night gay marriage was passed. It was incredibly exciting. Everybody was celebrating. So those are the two that stick out for me. And I’ve done other ones too with incredible crowds. A lot of fun. My gay fans are a lot of fun.

What was going through your mind when marriage equality became a reality that day?

I was just very happy for them and happy for the gay community that they have equality. I’ve always said this and I’ll say it again: Love is love. That’s all it is.

You were one of the first stars to speak out on marriage equality in Australia. How are you feeling about the fact that it’s still not a reality there?

It’s ridiculous. I hope a change is made. And it is really silly and it needs to change, and I hope it does. I don’t get involved politically, really, but I just think this issue is obvious – it’s ridiculous. If people love each other, they should be able to form a partnership and that’s that.

It seems so simple when you put it like that.

It is simple.

I came across a video of you acknowledging lesbian rumors that were circulating about you in the ’80s. I had no idea people ever thought you were a lesbian.

Yeah, I remember that. It was very odd. I couldn’t figure out why, but it didn’t do me any harm, obviously. (Laughs)

Actually, I think it might’ve benefited you.

I think it was probably a good rumor! It was a nice rumor, not a mean rumor.

Do mean rumors about Olivia Newton-John actually exist?

I’m sure there have been some! I try not to tune in to negativity. I tune that stuff out, so I don’t know.

What is left for you to accomplish?

Everything now is icing on the cake. I thought I was gonna retire in 2000, and here I am. I’m still going. And doing the Sydney Olympics (in 2000) was like, “Wow, nothing can be better than this.” Then I built my hospital (Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre in Melbourne, Australia, where she will receive treatments for her new cancer diagnosis) and I think that was probably the greatest achievement in my life, to have helped raise the money to build this amazing cancer center that’s helping so many people. And to have Gaia, my wellness retreat – that is also helping to heal people. So, I feel very grateful for all that I have achieved. The wonderful thing about these achievements is that it’s giving back to people – it’s not just about me. It’s helping other people move forward in their lives, for their future, which is much more important.

More important than…?

Than fame. It’s a different kind of fame; it’s something that’s gonna help people’s lives and quality of life. The cancer center and wellness program are my babies, and I really care deeply for cancer patients, having gone through it myself. Now, we have an amazing research center at my cancer center and we just did some groundbreaking research that was published in Australia, so we’re doing amazing things there. My dream is to see an end to cancer in my lifetime and that the hospital becomes a wellness center, just focusing on wellness – that’s my dream.

As editor of Q Syndicate, the international LGBT wire service, Chris Azzopardi has interviewed a multitude of superstars, including Meryl Streep, Mariah Carey and Beyoncé. Reach him via his website at www.chris-azzopardi.com and on Twitter (@chrisazzopardi).

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2017/07/04/honestly-loved-olivia-newton-john-talks-gay-adoration-dream-to-cure-cancer/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.tumblr.com/post/162632555200

[hotspotsmagazine]

Honestly Loved: Olivia Newton-John Talks Gay Adoration, Dream to Cure Cancer

“My dream is to see an end to cancer in my lifetime,” Olivia Newton-John told me at the end of April, just weeks before announcing that she’d been diagnosed with a recurrence of breast cancer that has spread to the sacrum bone in her back. The entertainer and Grease star first battled breast cancer in 1992, and lost her sister to brain cancer in 2013. She turned her personal loss into a universal catharsis on her October 2016 release, LIV ON, a collaborative album featuring singer-songwriters Beth Nielsen Chapman and Amy Sky.

  Scheduled as a preview for her summer tour, which has since been postponed due to her health, Newton-John was in good spirits during our recent interview. Expectedly, the 68-year-old Aussie singer-actress exuded warmth and humility – and, as she reflected on queer-aligned moments in her career, the kind of charming laughter that’s made her one of the most approachable icons of our time.

  “I love you guys,” Newton-John said, doting on her vast gay following. “You’re so loyal and lovely to me, and I appreciate you.”I told her we honestly love her back, and we talked about her professional highs and personal passions – and how cancer, which she is now suddenly battling, is what she’s determined to help cure.

  How would you compare yourself as an artist now versus when the world first met you in Grease and Xanadu?

  I think I’ve been through so many different eras. With Grace and Gratitude (2006) and my Gaia (1994) albums, both were kind of mellow, so I have done this before. (It’s) usually on albums that have a theme to them, or when I’ve gone through some kind of crisis, which are those two albums and this one. This album was born out of me losing my sister. It was kind of inspired by that, and it was just important to me to make this record to help heal ourselves and help other people, because I think grief is not something that is talked about enough. It can lead to depression and anxiety, and people don’t even realize that they’re sad, and so they use other means to cover it up and they don’t talk about it because people make them feel they should be over it. There’s no time when there’s a loss. Loss is different for everybody. The people you’ve lost, they’ll always be in your life; they’ll always be there, in your heart.

  What was your first introduction to the gay community? Did you know gay people growing up in the U.K.?

  I probably did, but I probably didn’t decipher between them and anybody else. They were all just people. I had very loving parents who were very open, so I don’t think I ever thought about it that much. In the ’70s, I was very close to my hairdresser/makeup person who sadly died of AIDS and that was a terrible, terrible shock. In show business, there’s a very high percentage of gay people, so I’ve just always been around them.

  If a gay fan stops you on the street, what project of yours are they most likely to gush over?

  Sordid Lives. (Laughs) But it depends! It’s hard! Because there are many, many gay men and women, and they all love something different – they’re just people, so they all have different taste. But a lot of them have been touched by the message in Sordid Lives if they had or have a problem coming out to their family.

  Where does playing a tattooed lesbian ex-con in that movie rank on your list of accomplishments?

  (Laughs) It was fun! I did it for fun! Because I love (writer and director) Del Shores, who is my friend. He was actually my sister’s best friend – that’s how that came about, because of their friendship. If my sister hadn’t known Del, I wouldn’t have gone to the play and then I wouldn’t have said, “If you ever make this into a movie, think of me.” It was all kind of in fun, and then it happened.

  Like many gay men of my generation, my introduction to you was the “Physical” video. I remember being surprised seeing two gay men walking out of the gym together, holding hands. Considering being gay was more taboo during that time, how do you reflect on that groundbreaking moment when it comes to gay inclusivity?

  You know what, I don’t think I even realized it at the time. I just thought it was extremely funny. Whenever someone tells me that “Physical” is sexy, it makes me laugh because, to me, it’s just funny, you know? And the director really should take credit: Brian Grant, an Englishman who was great fun and did nearly all my videos at that time. Of course, the choreographer (Kenny Ortega) is gay, and all the boys were our friends. And it was hilarious! We just had a blast, and until you said that I hadn’t really thought of it as being groundbreaking. It seemed quite natural at the time. But I thought it was a very funny twist at the end.

  The video came out in 1981, when there was still a lot of resistance regarding gay issues. Gay marriage wasn’t, obviously, legal.

  That is true. I don’t even know if it was being talked about then. It was just part of my life.

  As kitschy as it is, it still put gay people in many living rooms across the world.

  Looking back now, I realize that. But I was so busy doing what I was doing – working. I didn’t reflect on things as much then. I was too busy doing them!

  What’s it like when you perform “Physical” these days? Are you surrounded by shirtless, sweaty gay men?

  Only in the audience if they choose to do that! (Laughs) But no, just my singers on stage come and jump around, and my guitarist comes forward and we do the guitar solo. We just have fun. I try to get the audience to have fun.

  Do you strip it down? Do you do a cabaret version of the song?

  No, no; we do it like the record. They want to hear it like it was. I always remember going to see a famous artist when I was a young girl, and when she did sing her songs, she changed them. I remember making a note: If I’m ever lucky enough to be that successful, I’m going to do them the way they were done. That’s what people wanna hear.

  Which artist are you referring to?

  Oh, it’s an artist and I don’t want to mention her name. Her whole show was not – it was just, I was anticipating all the hits and they didn’t come, and then when she did them she changed them up. That was just an important lesson for me.

  It’s Pride season. As someone who’s been a mainstay on the Pride circuit, can you reflect on some of your most memorable experiences at Pride?

  I have been a part of many Mardi Gras celebrations in Sydney, and I can never remember places, so you have to forgive me, but it was off New York and that was the night gay marriage was passed. It was incredibly exciting. Everybody was celebrating. So those are the two that stick out for me. And I’ve done other ones too with incredible crowds. A lot of fun. My gay fans are a lot of fun.

  What was going through your mind when marriage equality became a reality that day?

  I was just very happy for them and happy for the gay community that they have equality. I’ve always said this and I’ll say it again: Love is love. That’s all it is.

  You were one of the first stars to speak out on marriage equality in Australia. How are you feeling about the fact that it’s still not a reality there?

  It’s ridiculous. I hope a change is made. And it is really silly and it needs to change, and I hope it does. I don’t get involved politically, really, but I just think this issue is obvious – it’s ridiculous. If people love each other, they should be able to form a partnership and that’s that.

  It seems so simple when you put it like that.

  It is simple.

  I came across a video of you acknowledging lesbian rumors that were circulating about you in the ’80s. I had no idea people ever thought you were a lesbian.

  Yeah, I remember that. It was very odd. I couldn’t figure out why, but it didn’t do me any harm, obviously. (Laughs)

  Actually, I think it might’ve benefited you.

  I think it was probably a good rumor! It was a nice rumor, not a mean rumor.

  Do mean rumors about Olivia Newton-John actually exist?

  I’m sure there have been some! I try not to tune in to negativity. I tune that stuff out, so I don’t know.

  What is left for you to accomplish?

  Everything now is icing on the cake. I thought I was gonna retire in 2000, and here I am. I’m still going. And doing the Sydney Olympics (in 2000) was like, “Wow, nothing can be better than this.” Then I built my hospital (Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre in Melbourne, Australia, where she will receive treatments for her new cancer diagnosis) and I think that was probably the greatest achievement in my life, to have helped raise the money to build this amazing cancer center that’s helping so many people. And to have Gaia, my wellness retreat – that is also helping to heal people. So, I feel very grateful for all that I have achieved. The wonderful thing about these achievements is that it’s giving back to people – it’s not just about me. It’s helping other people move forward in their lives, for their future, which is much more important.

  More important than…?

  Than fame. It’s a different kind of fame; it’s something that’s gonna help people’s lives and quality of life. The cancer center and wellness program are my babies, and I really care deeply for cancer patients, having gone through it myself. Now, we have an amazing research center at my cancer center and we just did some groundbreaking research that was published in Australia, so we’re doing amazing things there. My dream is to see an end to cancer in my lifetime and that the hospital becomes a wellness center, just focusing on wellness – that’s my dream.

  As editor of Q Syndicate, the international LGBT wire service, Chris Azzopardi has interviewed a multitude of superstars, including Meryl Streep, Mariah Carey and Beyoncé. Reach him via his website at www.chris-azzopardi.com and on Twitter (@chrisazzopardi).

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2017/07/04/honestly-loved-olivia-newton-john-talks-gay-adoration-dream-to-cure-cancer/

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Grammy Predictions: Who Will Win?

The 59th annual Grammy awards ceremony is creeping up on us, and it’s going to be a close race this year amongst all of the contenders. The ceremony, hosted by James Corden, will be held on Sunday, February 12, and will feature performances by current nominees Adele, Carrie Underwood, and The Weeknd, to name a few.

Let's take a second and breakdown the Big 4 categories (Album, Record, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist) and determine who we think will take home Grammy gold.

 Album of The Year

This award is arguably the biggest award given every year. It’s gone to such pivotal albums in the past as Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette, 21 by Adele, and Rumours by Fleetwood Mac. It’s meant to go to the album that represents the year in music and stands out amongst its competitors. The Recording Academy vote using this mantra: The Album of The Year is awarded to honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position.

The Nominees:

-       25 (Adele)

-       Lemonade (Beyoncé)

-       Views (Drake)

-       Purpose (Justin Bieber)

-       A Sailor’s Guide To Earth (Sturgill Simpson)

 Who should win?

-       Beyoncé should take home the award this year without question. Her album pushed boundaries and expanded the level of artistry that she had hit before. It doesn’t hone in on any one specific genre, but rather takes highlights from pop, rock, R&B, country, alternative, and hip-hop. Lemonade is set up in a perfect story arc and has phenomenal features that only push the album forward. It was the 2016-year-end number one album for over 20 different music publications for a reason. Queen Bey is overdue for this award and it’s about time we rectified that.

Who will win?

-       The Grammys have been known to surprise us before and give this award to someone completely left field (yes, I’m referring to the 2015 ceremony where AOTY went to Beck rather than Beyoncé.) While the award should go to Beyoncé, we can’t count out any of the other nominees. Adele is a Grammy favorite (she has 10 awards already) and took home AOTY once before in 2012. 25 was a massive commercial success, selling 3.8 million copies in its first week, making it the best sales week for any album ever. However, Adele’s third album was not nearly as critically successful as 21, so she might not get the win due to voters preferring her past album. While we shouldn’t count Drake or Justin Bieber out, their albums didn’t receive as much praise as the other three. That brings us to Beyoncé’s biggest competition this year: Sturgill Simpson. His alt-country album will most likely satisfy the older Grammy voters who feel that less songwriters and producers makes for a better album. When you break it down, Sturgill will most likely get most of the rock and country vote, Beyoncé and Drake will split the hip-hop and R&B vote, and Adele and Justin Bieber will split the pop vote.

 Song of The Year

Song of The Year is awarded to the songwriters each year and is a highly coveted win. It’s meant to go to the song that proved the most artistic and structurally the best. It has been awarded to some massive songs before like “Always On My Mind” by Willie Nelson, “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion, and, most recently, “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran.

The Nominees

-       “Hello” by Adele (written by Adele Adkins and Greg Kurstin)

-       “Formation” by Beyoncé (written by Beyoncé Knowles, Khalif Brown, Asheton Hogan, & Michael L. Williams II)

-       “I Took A Pill In Ibiza” by Mike Posner (written by Mike Posner)

-       “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber (written by Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, & Benjamin Levin)

-       “7 Years” by Lukas Graham (written by Lukas Forchhammer, Stefan Forrest, Morten Pilegaard & Morten Ristorp) 

 Who should win?

-       The two most qualified to win this award are Adele and Justin Bieber. Adele’s soaring “Hello” topped the charts all over the world and satisfied the public’s need for more of her melancholy breakup tracks. It debuted at #1 in the United States and the UK and is already certified platinum. It is a massive arrangement and the songwriting is expert. Bieber has a slight hand up on Adele because he hasn’t won this award before. The Recording Academy seem to always look at artists who haven’t won the award before, especially when their new work is such a jump forward from their past releases. Bieber probably deserves to win a little more than Adele for the sheer fact that he stepped out of his usual pop/R&B spectrum and produced an acoustic pop track that dominated airwaves.

Who will win?

-       Since the Grammys are so unpredictable, the award really could go to anyone. With that being said, it looks like Adele and Bieber might be the frontrunners still. Beyoncé’s “Formation” is a bit too politically charged/controversial so it’s not likely to take home this one. “I Took A Pill In Ibiza” and “7 Years” are left-field contenders but don’t count them out just yet. It’s really anyone’s game for this one.

 Record of The Year

            This award is the more commercially packed one of them all, usually nominating and awarding songs that are popular and successful to the public. To break it down, this award goes to the most popular of songs, and is awarded to the artist, producers, and engineers. Some of the past winners include “Beat It” by Michael Jackson, “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston, and “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum.

The Nominees

-       “Hello” by Adele

-       “Formation” by Beyoncé

-       “7 Years” by Lukas Graham

-       “Work” by Rihanna (featuring Drake)

-       “Stressed Out” by Twenty One Pilots

 Who should win?

-       This is one of the categories where the award could go to anyone. The two biggest songs from the list (based on charts and commercial success) are “Hello” and “Work”. The latter might have a hand up in this category because Rihanna was excluded from the Album and Song of the Year categories this year. It was a massive success and even managed to be a critical one as well. If we’ve learned anything, though, it’s not to count out Adele at any point. She could easily snatch this trophy.

Who will win?

-       Since this category is such a hard one to pinpoint, lets break it down. “Formation” and “Work” will battle it out for the hip-hop and R&B voters’ decision, while “Hello” and “7 Years” will definitely battle it out for the pop vote. “Stressed Out” stands alone in the alternative and rock votes and could easily claim their first win in this category. Since there are no country songs nominated, which usually doesn’t happen, all of those votes will be distributed amongst the nominees, where Adele will most likely take the bulk of those votes due to widespread appeal. This category really is up in the air.

 Best New Artist

            Arguably one of the more crucial awards, this one is going to be a challenge. A person can only be nominated once in their career, and that means they have to have a massive debut. With only five nominees every year, they are almost always at the top of their prospective genres and that makes for a very tight race. Some of the past winners in this category include The Beatles, Mariah Carey, Carrie Underwood, and Sam Smith.

The Nominees

-       Maren Morris

-       Chance The Rapper

-       The Chainsmokers

-       Kelsea Ballerini

-       Anderson .Paak

Who should win?

-       Chance The Rapper deserves to take home this win. His monumental mixtape, “Coloring Book”, is a magnificent, unprecedented hip-hop release and touches on Chance’s personal life while maintaining a level of wit and cleverness that fans have come to expect from his music.

Who will win?

-       Like we’ve said, the Grammy voters are hard to follow. They USUALLY give the award to the biggest new artist of the year (Adele in 2009, Sam Smith in 2015) but they can definitely come out and give the award to someone that most pop culture savants don’t know as well (Esperanza Spalding in 2011, Bon Iver in 2012). While Chance The Rapper is a standout in the hip-hop world, Maren Morris and Kelsea Ballerini dominated the country music scene, Morris more so than Ballerini, and The Chainsmokers had one of the biggest songs of the year and dominated pop radio. Anderson .Paak is this year’s left field contender, but that doesn’t mean that the R&B/funk artist won’t take home the trophy. No matter how it goes, all five artists are deserving of this award.