Better Off As Blair? Leighton Meester Attempts Pop Stardom

Leighton Meester is generally quite amazing. Everybody knows she is the real star of Gossip Girl (so sick of hearing about Blake "American Sienna" Lively) and she has the laidback charm many a starlet lack these days (her co-star Taylor "Little J" Momsen springs to mind with her faux Courtney Love carry on.). She has brought one of the most enjoyable bee-otches on TV to life, has a pleasingly barmy sense of style and generally seems not to give a shit. These are all good things.


Leighton has also spent the last while trying her hand at being a popstar. I can't decide where I stand on this. In one sense why shouldn't she try her hand at new things? But then on the other it seems like a campaign that might never get off the ground. There was some initial leaks last year including a rather lovely cover of Bette Davis Eyes which lead to Miss Meester being signed to Universal. Soon after that she appeared on Cobra Starship's Good Girls Go Bad which was as far as I'm concerned a fantastic pop tune. The fact that it reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 also gave her a proper hit. Kind of. (There was also another Leighton leak Body Control which I find quite enjoyable, see it here)

Leighton's own debut single with Robin Thicke debuted last October (I've already discussed it being rather lovely and the video here). It didn't make any impact, despite sounding pretty radio friendly. There was also a rather questionable cover of Darlene Love's Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) which I'm going to gloss over. There were some cringe inducing live performaces too (of both the single and a new track which doesn't sound like much cop) including some horrifically cheesy back up dancers. At one point you expect them to high five Leighton. Awful:

There is talk of a new single with Lil' Wayne (who hasn't he a done a song with at this point?) but a new track leaked in the last week said to be the title track for her forthcoming album. "Your Love's A Drug" is straightforward, slightly grating synth pop but also incredibly catchy. 

The songs so far have been good but the time it is taking for anything to come together suggest a classic case of TV actress not being able to properly devote time to her music. Leighton may or may not become a great popstar but in the meantime we can rely on some enjoyable tunes to keep up busy. Your Love's A Drug is ridiculously catchy and the kind of straightforward radio ready stuff that might give her a chance at the top of the pop heap. With a number of big producers (Red One, Polow Da Don, Harvey Mason Jr.) on board it sounds like some big tunes are in the offing. If not at least we'll always have Blair Waldorf.

New US TV Delights: Gossip Girl, The Beautiful Life and Melrose Place

I indulged in some new US TV this week with two newbie shows "Melrose Place" and "The Beautiful Life" (its being called "The Beautiful Life: TBL" but I refuse to acknowledge that awful AWFUL title) and the return of one of my fave's "Gossip Girl".

"The Beautiful Life" was a huge disappointment. The idea is solid, Mischa Barton as the reigning super model/super bitch returning to NYC while newbie models attempt to make their name. Sadly for all the promise of the premise the pilot was mawkish, unconvincing and (worst crime of all!) boring stuff. Biggest offender is Chris, the Iowa bred farm boy who falls into modelling (Ashton Kutcher is an exec producer on this and this incidental detail is a dead giveaway) with scenes so cheesy you half expect the whole thing to be some kind of an elaborate spoof on stupid dramas. But alas its not. Not only is the show incredibly cheesy, it also looks flat and most of the cast don't look like models. There are glimmers of a good show here, Mischa Barton's character Sonja has the potential to be a complex and interesting hellraiser and lead character Raina could be moulded into an interesting heroine with some decent scripting but I can't see the show going that far. With piss poor ratings to start off and such a lacklustre approach it wouldn't surprise me if The Beautiful Life ended up on the CW scrapheap faster than you can say "Smile With Your Eyes".



"Melrose Place" thankfully was a pleasant surprise. Maybe its because I've seen two episodes but I'm already hooked on this show and hoping it lasts the season. A glossy reboot of the 90s hit, in the vein of last year's "90210" remake, this places a bunch of glamorous 20 somethings in a swanky L.A. apartment complex. Within minutes of the first episode, Sydney of the previous incarnation is found dead in the complex's pool and a season long mystery is set in motion. There is a nice array of characters, the obvious highlight being Ella, the bitchy but likeable publicity whose rampant sexuality and sharp tongue set her apart from some of the more drippy characters on display. Ashlee Simpson Wentz (as the credits refer to her as) seems awkward and stilted but this seems like a deliberate move for her twitchy and probably unhinged character Violet. The plot lines are suitably ludicrous too. Before she died Sydney had a connection to everyone in the complex it seems, meaning the season long mystery is sure to have plenty of turns, Lauren the eager med student has accidentally become a high class hooker and we have a feeling that Violet will go fairly psycho by episode 13, if not earlier. This is shaping up to be fantastic trashy drama, not far removed from the slick thrills of Gossip Girl and if it can build a decent word of mouth this could be one of most enjoyable debuts of the new TV season.



Now onto the return of an established fave, Gossip Girl. Although most season openers can be a slow affair the GG crew managed to fit lots in. Without going into too much plot details (to keep things spoiler free) the writers have managed to put a fresher spin on things after the rather muddled and rushed feeling to Season 2. Using last season's "back from summer" device allows us to catch up with the main characters before college comes into change things up. Blair and Chuck are already interesting, equal parts sexy and sweet and a nice change from the Dan and Serena's of this world. Dan is moving on up and Serena is fast becoming a US Sienna in a slightly ludicrous bit of plotting that we hope isn't dragged out all season. And for some reason both Jenny and Vanessa have been subjected to the same, rather horrid Christina Aguilera circa 2003 ratty hair extensions which hopefully will be shorn off soon. This was a bold and fresh opening and I'm quite excited to see where things go this season on Gossip Girl.

Girl Crush X 2

In one way I want to roll my eyes when people talk about girl crushes in magazines. It just seems a bit of a magazine cliche but lately I've realised the girl crush is a great way to sing the praises of someone you might not fancy but might not properly be attracted to. Bearing that in mind I wanted to share two of my own girl crushes.

Leighton Meester

(all images from LeightonFan.net)

Leighton stars Blair Waldorf in teen soap amaze fest "Gossip Girl" (as if you didn't know). As Blair she brings a haughty vulnerabiltiy and a gleeful sense of comic timing to the uber-bitch role that elevates beyond the usual cardboard cutout mean girl. Meester acts her ass off in every scene she gets even when the show is at its most illogical (which is quite frequently). Much is made in the press about how her co-star Blake Lively is the new "It Girl" which to me makes no sense. Yeah sure she dresses like Sienna Miller and is blonde but Leighton is the one to watch. She nails Blair in all her poised insecurity and in real life has an effortless tomboy meets glam image that is impossible to dislike:

Meester has embarked on a singing career which has her lending her pipes to the new Cobra Starship single "Good Girls Go Bad" which is a superstar pop smash waiting to happen. Whether she enjoys success in this arena is still open to debate but Meester will continue to bring the brilliant Blair to life and earn my admiration for awhile yet.

Nicole Richie

I've alway thought she was utterly hilarious on The Simple Life and unfairly maligned as a celebrity who is famous for no reason. Sure Nicole is as famous for being famous as the rest of them but she always had a sense of humour about her and more importantly a realism about what she had been through and where she was going. For all the bad press she got during her uber skinny phase (which was admittedly painful to watch) she was open about wanting to change her figure and get better when many magazines just wanted her to keep skinny and keep selling photos. Since dating Joel Madden and having kids Nicole has developed a funky and effortless style that has made her a fixture of fashion pages and the perfect girl crush for any boho chic wannabes out there

(all Nicole pictures from NicoleRichie.org)

Richie has grown up gracefully the last few years and now busies herself with her jewellery line, being a mother and being one of the funniest celeb twitterers I can think of. There was talk of both an album and a TV series for Richie but neither to materialise although her 2006 book The Truth About Diamonds (a fantastically enjoyable piece of fluff) is being developed for television. Nicole earns a place on my girl crush list for her great style, her comedy timing (see video below though watch it with the volume up!) and more importantly for being a Virgo. Really whats not to love?