Goodbye Stephen Gately

Looking at these pictures literally brought tears to my eyes.

Stephen Gately, former member of the Irish group Boyzone was laid to rest today, a week after he died of natural causes while vacationing in Majorca. The singer was 33 years old.

A private memorial service was held last night for his family and close friends while the funeral service was held today in Dublin, Ireland. Ronan Keating, one of the remaining members of Boyzone broke down in tears while eulogizing Stephen.

"The world has lost one of its brightest stars, we have lost our brother."

The remaining guys also rendered a tribute to their fallen bandmate.

Boyzone was first formed in 1993 by Louis Walsh who is also responsible for putting together my heartstring band Westlife.

For me the group's song No Matter What stands out in my mind as Stephen's Song as his vocals are features prominently.

I can't embed the video but it can be viewed here.

Rest in peace Stephen.

Rihanna in Italian Vogue

Rihanna sent many tongues wagging with her recent spread in Italian Vogue. Some marvelled at how good the Good Girl Gone Bad singer looked while others questioned her image.

Now my take on this is simple. Leave the girl alone!!

If she were walking the street in these clothes I would have a serious problem with it (like I did when she was in Vegas a few months ago ) however, based on the context of this shoot, I see absolutely nothing wrong with it.

She modelled in a haute couture magazine for a fashion sector (Europe) that goes crazy for images like these. When Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks or Giselle Bunchen model this type of clothing no one questions their tact or their images but I find that her "homebodies" are always quick to say something about what they perceive as her negative image.

Vogue is one of the biggest high fashion magazines in the world, coupled with the fact that this version of the mag is marketed to the European market, I think she made an excellent showing for how beautiful Caribbean women are.

Source: Rihanna Daily

SYTYCD Piece

Most people remember Travis Wall as the enviable contemporary dancer from Virginia who was a huge talent on the second season of So You Think You Can Dance (he placed second).

Since then, Travis has been doing some choreography and last week, for the first time since leaving the show, he came back to choreograph a piece for one of the top 10 couples.

His piece was danced by Jason and Jeanine, both contemporary dancers and I think they got his vision perfectly.

No Paula for next Season's Idol

Just a week after it was announced that Ryan Seacrest had scored a deal to make him the highest paid reality show host ever, there seems to be some debate on whether or not Paula Abdul will be returning for season 9 of the highly rated show.

However, fellow judge Simon Cowell told Extra,

"She'll be fine. She'll be on the show, I don't get a lot of say. I've just made it clear that I want Paula on the show."

Paula's manager David Sonenberg raised concern over the weekend, telling the Los Angeles Times that the singer-dancer hasn't been offered a contract yet.

"She's not a happy camper as a result of what's going on. She's hurt," he told the paper.

Mind you, sometimes I personally find Paula a bit over the top, I still can't imagine the show without her.

Source: US Mag

Channing Tatum find his Inner Dirty Dancer

Channing Tatum dons his dancing shoes again 3 years after dancing his way into my heart in a Dirty Dancing parody for MSN.

Channing plays the Johnny Castle who was previously played by Patrick Swayze and Charlyne Yi plays Frances “Baby” Houseman, previously played by Jennifer Grey.

The Dirty Dancing parody airs next Tuesday on MSN.COM.

New New Moon Stills

Edward who????

Seriously, these new promo shots for the New Moon movie scheduled to be released in November are HOTTTT. Taylor Lautner has really come into his own as the werewolf/shape shifter Jacob.

After seeing these I am really excited to see this movie.

Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson Back Together???

For the first time since former Newlyweds Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey divorced in 2006, the pair has found themselves single together and healing from their respective recent breakups.

So I guess it only obvious that the media would be quick to report a reconciliation for the pair who once shared their life to the world via their reality show which was known for Jessica's blonde, southern wit.

Nick however has been quick to dispel those rumours.

"I think it’s fun storytelling, but there's very little truth to any of it. I certainly have heard about her breakup and I wish her the best, as I’ve always done. Aside from that, there really is nothing to say."

The singer went on to say that he has not spoken to Jessica in two years but he wishes her happiness in all that she does.

He was also asked about his recent breakup with former MTV VJ Vanessa Minillo and he said:

"I'm in a good place. I've learned, through years of not only being in this business, but being in relationships, that you have to take it as it goes. With every experience, you learn something about your life, and you try to take that and move on and be a better person because of it. We'll see what happens."