"Bachelorette" Again?

Season 8 of The Bachelorette stars, for the first time ever, a single mom: Emily Maynard. Indeed, she has a 6-year old daughter named Ricki. When Emily was 19, she was engaged to NASCAR racer Ricky Hendrick. However, before they ever got married, Hendrick died in a plane crash. A few days later, Emily found out that she was pregnant with Hendrick's child, that she named after him.

Later, Emily actually won season 8 of The Bachelor, when Brad Womack gave her the final rose. They ended their engagement before getting married however, and Emily was publicly heartbroken. Speculations of unfaithfulness on both sides have been flying around, although official details about the breakup remain vague.

Now, when Emily got her second (third?) chance at love by being selected as the Bachelorette, many people were rooting for her. Personally, I can't help but wonder how many women have had the chance she had. Heartbreakingly, Hendrick passed away before their wedding. However, unlike most women in this horrendous situation, part of Hendrick lives on, because Emily has his daughter. Instead of being completely alone, she has the child of the (supposed) love of her life. How many brokenhearted fiances have the incredible comfort of finding out that they are mothers, right after finding out that they are would-be widows? For this reason, I find it hard to sympathize with Emily's vain quest for Prince Charming. Out of respect for the deceased man who was her fiance, for his parents, and for his daughter, she could have stayed out of the spotlight. Yes, it is incredibly unfortunate that Hendrick passed away. However, isn't incredibly selfish for Emily to try to replace him -- on national television no less? How many soul mates can one person have?

Not to mention that reality television shows are the last place to find lasting love. The great majority of "matches" made on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette barely make it to the end of the season. Without going into an in-depth analysis, it should be pretty obvious a) that it's pretty unlikely that one's soul mate happens to be a contestant on the show at the exact right time and b) that it's hard to create a long-lasting relationship when the Bachelor(ette) is inevitably cheating on the chosen contestant by getting to "know" the other contestants. Also, contestants, winners, Bachelors and Bachelorettes are recycled for every new season -- like in Emily's case, for example. Her engagement with the actual Bachelor didn't work out the first time? No problem, let's try another batch, but this time, she gets to pick.

Hey, if this doesn't work out either, she could always try again on season 17 of The Bachelor.

"Call Me Maybe"...and Maybe Not?

Carly Rae Japsen's "Call Me Maybe" needs no introduction. Catchy? Yes. Overrated? Maybe. However, this song paints a painfully accurate picture of the mind of a girl. This is evident from the chorus. "Hey I just met you": Girl getting excited about a guy before he gives her any legitimate reason to do so. "And this is crazy": Girl aware of the imprudence of behaving this way. "But here's my number": Girl consciously deciding to pursue the imprudent infatuation. "So call me": Girl making the first move on this stranger. "maybe": Girl throwing in attempted indifference. Not only attempted, but failed indifference: "You took your time with the call; I took no time with the fall". Yes, Girl is actually hurt by the actions/inactions of this new acquaintance. And surprise, surprise, the guy actually sensed it. Somehow, the 'maybe' didn't make him feel like he'd better hurry up before Girl finds something better.

This song actually gives pretty good insight into a guy's mind, too. "Your stare was holding; Ripped jeans, skin was showing; Hot night, wind was blowing; Where you think you're going, baby?" Yes, the guy totally returned the stare that hooked Girl, while still considering himself free enough to walk away without committing to her. How could he?

Also, "Before you came into my life; I missed you so bad" just screams loneliness issues. It doesn't even matter who this guy actually is, Girl just needs an uninterested guy to long for, in order to feel complete.

Of course, Girl has to be stubborn too. "And all the other boys; Try to chase me; But here's my number; So call me maybe". Give Girl all the other boys in the world, and she'd still be grieving the aforementioned guy.

Maybe all the other Girls should stop relating to this song so openly.

"Somebody That I Used to Know" but Never Cared About?

One of the most popular songs for a while now is "Somebody That I Used to Know," by Gotye, featuring Kimbra. At the time of this writing, it is number 3 on the iTunes charts. From the title, before hearing the song, I assumed that it deals with growing apart from an ex that the person hasn't gotten over. I was right -- partially.

The song is constructed in a he said/she said fashion. The male's point of view is expressed first. They obviously broke up since the first verse begins with, "Now and then I think of when we were together". He also knows the girl was head over heals in love with him: "Like when you said you felt so happy you could die". Now here's the weird part: He didn't feel the same way. As he remembers the relationship, he recalls loneliness, aches, sadness, resignation. When he thinks about the breakup, he says, "Well you said that we would still be friends; But I'll admit I was glad it was over".

The girl, who was clearly in love with him, apparently feels betrayed by him, since she says: "Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over; But had me believing it was always something that I'd done". It seems she's the one who broke up with him, and that he was fine with it. This makes sense since he was obviously miserable in the relationship anyway. She says, "But I don't wanna live that way; Reading into every word you say; You said that you could let it go; And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know". Basically, she's telling him that she doesn't like the way the relationship is going. He, instead of doing something about it, is perfectly fine with letting her go. At that point, she has no further obligation towards him, since he showed he doesn't care about her. He said it black on white that she'd be just a part of his past, somebody that he used to know. So don't complain when she moves on, buddy.

In a normal relationship, I could understand being upset, even after breaking up, that the other person moved on so quickly. Yes, it could be insulting that she had her friends take back her records and that she changed her number. Except, when he says, "But you didn't have to cut me off; Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing," it doesn't apply to this case. Because, HE was the one treating her like she was nothing when they were together.

The way I see it, it's the classic case of the lovesick girl falling for the insensitive jerk. The twist is that the audience is expected to pity the jerk. Yes, the guy's the one who's surprised that the girl wants nothing to do with him. He says, "And I don't even need your love; But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough". He doesn't need her but he's still upset that she doesn't actually still want to be friends with him? Let's see: they're together, she's on cloud nine, he's unhappy; he consequently doesn't treat her the way she would like to; she breaks up with him; he's relieved. Why does he even want to still have any kind of relationship with this chick, if she was such a source of melancholy? And he's still the one whining "Now you're just somebody that I used to know".

Personally, I don't have any sympathy for this guy.

"Boyfriend" False Advertisement

Of course Justin Bieber has a VEVO channel on youtube. But his first, original channel -- which launched his career -- is "kidrauhl". On this channel was posted, on April 18th, a 45-second teaser of the much-anticipated music video for his single Boyfriend. When the official video finally premiered on May 3rd (on his VEVO channel), it took a completely different direction than the one suggested in the teaser.

Now, from my understanding, a "teaser," in this case, would have been a short, representative segment of the actual music video, to get people curious/interested in watching the whole video when it premiered. My problem with Bieber's teaser is as follows: The first 20 seconds of both the teaser and the actual music video are identical. Then, in the real video, the focus is zoomed out and the "teaser" is continued on an iPod held by two girls in a car. The clip goes on for a few more seconds (viewed on the iPod), the screen goes black, and then the song starts over with a completely different scenery altogether, which has nothing to do with the teaser. Basically, the remaining seconds of the 45-second teaser never actually make it onto the real music video.

This bothers me for a number of reasons. For one thing, I am positive that many people who contributed to the 78 million views of Boyfriend clicked because they wanted to see how the teaser developed in the full music video.

My impression of all this was that the music video was already made a certain way, and then, to be able to say that the teaser actually was part of the real video, a 30-second clip  was glued on at the beginning. My impression is supported by the fact that earlier, on March 30th, "kidrauhl" released a 20-second teaser of Boyfriend, from later on in the song, very similar to the April 18th teaser, with the small exception that it technically isn't featured in the music video at all. In fact, in the 45-second teaser, at the second where it stops being featured in the music video, you can actually see the superposition of two images (second 32). The clip that is glued on is actually part of the first, 20-second teaser released in March.

In this way, the longer teaser released 2 weeks after the first one basically serves as a transition from the first teaser to the full music video. However, the contents of the first teaser never actually make it onto the real video. The fact that a second teaser is released so soon after the first one definitely makes it seem like someone was trying to cover a mistake. In this way, the second teaser contains elements from the first teaser and from the real music video.

Besides all these technicalities, both teasers were misleading. The final music video is a whole different concept altogether. A teaser should give the viewers a glimpse of the real music video, not trick them. By creating a fake story line, Bieber may have intrigued people enough to watch his whole music video, but the result is counterproductive. In fact, they may end up preferring the teaser(s) to the music video.

In any case, false advertisement won't make new fans.

Megan Fox's Pregnancy, Whose Secret?

There have been rumours speculating that Megan Fox might be pregnant. As of yet, the rumours are neither confirmed nor denied. They continue to be fuelled, as usually happens in these cases, by close-ups on Fox's stomach, which can then be analyzed by whoever cares to do so. Each passes verdict as to whether her belly grew or not. Of course, she also told Cosmopolitan in April, "I want at least two, probably three kids. I've always been maternal," which doesn't really tip the scale, since she doesn't say when she would like to have those kids.

Now, in May, Entertainment Tonight was granted an interview with Fox -- on the condition not to discuss her personal life. The sly interviewer manages, however, to bring up the subject in a not-so-sly way. After asking her about her must-have gadget, he shifts the conversation by asking, "Do you know the ultimate gadget that every man wants? A baby." Fox then responds: "A baby? Oh, I know where you're going with this. Okay, all right, go. Where do you want to go?" The interviewer asks (while Fox is  talking), "Any plans to give anybody a baby?" She then responds "no," seeming to squash the pregnancy rumours. However, it is not perfectly clear whether Fox even heard the interviewer's question. In any case, before he can get more details, a voice off-camera -- presumably Fox's manager -- interrupts: "You have to stop. Stop. Sorry, no." 

Many of the comments on the video discuss Fox's appearance. Some of them condemn the interviewer's sneaky methods. More still bring up invasion of privacy. However, I expected people to comment on the fact that Fox's own will was overridden by that of her people.

Of course, whether Megan Fox is pregnant or not, she has no obligation to share that information with the world. However, in the interview, yes, the subject was brought up despite the request not to do so. But the question is, whose request? Fox seems more than willing to discuss the matter, as she invites the interviewer to pursue the subject. In her line of work, she is very capable of refusing to answer a question, as celebrities often do. Therefore, why should Fox's entourage get the right to decide for her what to divulge and what not to? She is a grown woman. This baby, if it exists, is developing in her body. Basically, Megan Fox said yes, her people said no. The answer was no. That is abusive because the people managing Fox's image are there to guide her according to what they consider her best interest, not to force her to do as they say.

Hey, who knows? Maybe they even get to decide whether she has a baby at all.

Lindsay Lohan's Lie

Last week, Lindsay Lohan had a car accident as she crashed into a dump-truck.

The newest twist in the story, however, is how she allegedly lied to police officers by claiming her assistant was driving. Since lying to cops is illegal, it seems that she could potentially be sent back to jail, because she is still on probation. In other words, because of the results of her necklace theft case, Lohan can only stay out of jail if she doesn't break the law (until May 2014). Therefore, if she really did break the law by lying to the police, she could end up back in jail.

Now, there are many inconsistencies in this story.

For one thing, it is not proven that Lohan lied in first place. Her assistant said Lohan was driving. Lohan said the assistant was driving. Yes, Lohan has less credibility because of her past. That precisely seems like an excellent backdoor for the assistant to blame Lohan. Lindsay, on the other hand, having so much riding on this, really has no motive to lie to the police and get herself into trouble.

Furthermore, is this assistant a man or a woman?

According to DailyMail, "Eyewitnesses say both women hoped out of the passenger side of the vehicle". According to Yahoo's omg! now, "Lindsay made the questionable decision to drive herself and a male assistant".

The said decision is questionable because, according to the producer of Liz & Dick, Larry A. Thompson, Lindsay shouldn't have been driving that day. She is usually chauffeured to set in a limo. His words: "When they went to pick her up today, for some reason she decided they would get in her own car, so the limousine driver followed them". This checks out with the testimony of the dump-truck driver, James Johnson, who refers to the car behind Lohan's Porsche as precisely a limo. Oddly enough though, Yahoo and TMZ refer to the vehicle tailing Lohan's as a Cadillac Escalade. TMZ even accounts for this inconsistency by writing: "Lohan was trailed by a Cadillac Escalade (which James refers to as a limousine)". Really TMZ? The grown man couldn't tell the difference between a limo and a SUV?

Kinda makes you wonder who exactly is lying.

Jojo, Which Way?

I have been a fan of Jojo's ever since her debut self-titled album in 2004. (Her twitter name is @jojoistheway.) She proceeded to release a second album, "The High Road," in 2006. Ever since then, she has been struggling with her third album, originally called "All I Want is Everything" and now promoted as "Jumping Trains". Although the exact nature of the conflict isn't explained in great detail, it appears she has had legal troubles with her record company, who somehow, won't let her release this album, for some unknown reason. Many of her recorded songs have been leaked and she herself even released a mixtape in 2010 (meaning the songs are free). Then, a few days before the release of her single "The Other Chick," in 2011, it was leaked. This was supposed to be the lead single off her third album, but became a buzz single instead (again, publicity only, so no earnings from it). Afterwards, a less clean version of "The Other Chick" was leaked, which seemed to cause some embarrassment. She even shot a music video for this song, which hasn't been released yet. Later in the year, she finally released a single, "Disaster," for this new album. She also released a music video later on. I remember her gushing over it, so I expected a masterpiece. The video makes very little sense though (I could write a whole post on that) but it seems mostly that there was a story line that was cut and that the video only shows fragmented scenes of the original concept.

During this lengthy process, however, Jojo, the child with the powerful voice, has matured into a young lady. She is no longer at her Sweet 16, but approaching 22 years old. This wonderfully well-spoken woman has even abstained from attending University to focus on her career, even though she was accepted in 2009. Although she stated her intention of eventually returning to University, she is at present but a high school graduate chasing the Hollywood dream.

I have heard her explain on several occasions how it has been her dream to become a real singer ever since she was a little girl. She wanted to get to the top thanks to her amazing voice and nothing else. She even turned down the role of Hannah Montana. Yes, she was originally offered the role that made Miley Cyrus an international superstar. This persevering integrity that she had only saddens me more. Yes, she had integrity. She even had success at the beginning of her career. However, she won't let go.

I understand that we have to fight for the things we want in life, but we also have to choose our battles. When does perseverance become sheer stubbornness? She sacrificed her teen years for this dream, how much more is she going to sacrifice? What she doesn't seem to realize is that even if she does become the most successful person tomorrow, she wouldn't be fulfilling her original dream anyway. Because she agreed to sell out. Understandably, the long process may have made her somewhat desperate, but I doubt that little Jojo ever envisioned becoming a singer the way she has been doing for the past few years. Her outfits are plain trashy, she displays her body, she takes on the most degrading roles that are sent her way (In Clinton Sparks' music video "Suck To Be You," she plays the desperate ex-girlfriend; In Keri Hilson's music video "The Way You Love Me", she plays the stupid white girl in one of most tasteless music videos of all time).

I know Jojo is worth so much more than this. I also understand that opportunities diminish the longer you stay out of the spotlight. I just wish she would walk away. Live a normal life. Sometimes, you have to know when to give up. I can see how quitting would seem like letting "them" win. But wasting your precious youth on a childhood dream seems like a much greater loss.