EARTHA, BABY!!!

The legendary icon Ms. Eartha Kitt left us on Christmas day. She will be greatly missed. She was an ultra modern renaissance woman who crossed the color line, worked and spoke out for human and civil rights for all, was a stage, screen, TV and recording superstar and was a real man-magnet, attracting some of the world's most wealthy and attractive men.

Eartha was far ahead of her time in many ways - she oozed sexuality and sensuality in a time when that was considered improper. It was that raw, unapologetic energy that drew people to her for well over 50 years. Now that is a career, dammit!!! And mother kept that body SNATCHED all those years!!!!!

During her long career, she had more than nine lives thanks to her sold out cabaret act, her Emmy winning TV appearances, her UNFORGETTABLE appearance in Boomerang, her stint as Catwoman (BRILLIANT!) and her brutally honest views on war, homelessness and bad politics. Her truest essence was always put forth at the right moment and those moments kept propelling her forward and deeper into our hearts.

Eartha - you were a one-of-a-kind Lady!!!

NO MO' MO

The new Louis Vuitton ads will feature Madonna. Yes, Madonna of the thin voice, cookie cutter electronic dance grooves and fake Brit accent. YAWWNN.........I think this is absolutely in keeping with LV's choosing celebs having a moment, but it is a little predictable and old hat in my humble opinion. Marc Jacobs, LV's creative directress, stated to WWD that he had seen her in a concert and loved her energy and some things that she said. I am glad that she inspires him because we each get our 'hit' from different places, but she does NADA for me (I am glad that she was an Obama supporter, though).

Her performances and appearances seem to be so robotic and over rehearsed - devoid of passion and spontaneity (Check out Beyonce for the art of passionate performing). Granted, she can't make it up as she goes, but you can't come across as devoid of emotion and heart, either. Nothing about her interests me - not her divorce, her alleged affair with A-Rod, her questionable adoption, her ultra lean physique or her music (and definitely not her acting). For over 2 decades, this woman has represented the dreams and desires of 99.99% of gay men all over the world. Since I am part of the .01% minority and I don't buy Louis Vuitton bags, I guess my opinion is a moot point. And on top of it all, I don't think she has been a true style icon since EROTICA (The MUSIC period was a bunch of hateful ugliness). I am not being a hater. I give her props for her success and brilliant business sense, but that is where my affection for Mo ends.

DIVA DAVANNA

I have truly seen it all. You may remember a post where I described this little girl as the BABY NAOMI, but I had no idea that she has a career modeling!!! Apparently she does children's fashion shows, pageants and she is a member of the House of Jourdan. She is a trophy, prize, crown and title snatcher at age 9!!! She is so adorable and reminds of BABY GIRL from THE BERNIE MAC SHOW. This girl is GENIUS - I LIVE!!!!!!!!!! It is so funny to me to see that a child understands all the little moves, fierceness and attitude (and shade) required to work a runway - but she is a natural born star. What is even better is that on her video comp card, she says that school and church are her 1st priorities - BRAVO LITTLE MAMA!!! Prepare to be served:

INGRID MICHAELSON - BE OK

I really love this song. So simple and straightforward. You know I love a big wailing broad sangin', but sometimes we need a bit of subtlety and mellowness to soothe our throbbing brains that are already filled with enough stuff. This girl reminds me a bit of Norah Jones and early Nelly Furtado with a little dash of Jewel thrown in. Don't we all sometimes just connect with the sad white girl angst? I guess we all have a bit of her in us, and there is nothing wrong with that. Hell, we are ALL connected on some level anyway.

I also love that she is so plain and everyday looking, not made up like a circus pony with drags makeup and wardrobe. She is out of Staten Island and still lives at home in her parents basement. She seems genuine and sometimes that feels more right than a bumpin' beat. Don't we all just want to be OK, if only for today?!?

NEW SLICE

Twenty-three year old Kansas City native Janelle Monae was discovered and launched by Outkast. She is currently signed with Bad Boy Records. I hope they do her justice with some good promotion, because this girl is a star. Interesting sound, downright gorgeous, stylish, a good dancer and extremely individual - let's see where this goes......I think she is MAJOR.

BEFORE STARS WENT CRAZY

Simply divine.......

MUPPET DIVAS

ROSS

LIZA

DIVAS BLACK AND WHITE - PUN INTENDED

EVERLASTING

This is an absolute 70's gem. The incomparable Miss Natalie Cole singing THIS WILL BE. She was always one of my glamour icons. She has always been such an amazingly gorgeous woman and if you can believe it, looks even more amazing today at age 58. In this clip, her look is totally doing it for me. Her afro is a true fashion statement. Gorgeous smile. Beautiful skin. Natural makeup with a dusky blue eye shadow. And the pièce de résistance is that one shouldered, dolman sleeved, crystal detailed and monogrammed palazzo pant jersey jumpsuit - MAJOR!!!

THE GOOD OLD DAYS

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Genius, precocious, glamorous, eloquent, multi-talented, stylish, self confident, fashion forward, forward thinking, reverential, groundbreaking, inspirational, funky, galvanizing, focused, opinionated, gorgeous.......self righteous, hypocritical, off-kilter, ego maniacal, crazy, self loathing, psychotic, erratic, venomous, inconsistent, unreliable and down-right scary.....before Amy Winehouse, there was Lauryn Hill.

JUST SUPER

Simply gorgeous - one of my all time favorite songs. It is at once haunting, brooding, hopeful, desperate, innocent, naive.....

Sung by one of the most beautiful voices ever recorded - Karen Carpenter. Her voice can be described in many ways, but my favorites are heavenly, pure, sincere....her voice touches me so deeply that the sound of it brings tears to my eyes. From the first line - LONG AGO AND OH SO FAR AWAY....I am a captive audience and an emotional fool. Get out the hankies:

Very few artists today could pull off the starkness of the set, the simplicity and cleanliness of the melody, the depth of the lyrics or even the innocence of her divine peasant dress. Her talent spoke for itself - no need for bells and whistles, exploding cannons or interpretive dancers. There was no room for dramatics because her voice and the lovely music filled the stage......and my heart.

THE OTHER PATTI

Patti serving the fiercest 'snatch-back' hairdo, ever in recorded history
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Classic 80's Patti - big hair, full figure and a bright smile
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Anyone who knows me knows that I am a HUGE Patti LaBelle fan. But I have been two-timing Ms. LaBelle with the other Patti, Ms. Patti Austin.

Ms. Austin has one of the cleanest, prettiest and smoothest voices around. She has been extremely overlooked for so long but maintains a big following with her live performances all over the world - from concerts to festivals and TV appearances. Here's one of my faves by her:


This is easily one of the best duets from the 80's - BABY, COME TO ME - sung with the incomparable James Ingram. Both singers were proteges of the genius himself, Mr. Quincy
Jones. Talk about making beautiful music together!!! Check out THE DUDE by Quincy Jones - brilliant CD from start to finish.

Well, Patti has undergone a bit of a transformation. Long gone is the plus size Patti. I got the following in the mail yesterday and said, damn, who is that lady, she's kinda serving (in an old school sorta way). Low and behold...Patti Austin.

Here are some more pics of the new Patti serving svelte figure, sleek hair and that radiant, beautiful face she has always had. One word - WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NEW LOVE, BABY - JODY WATLEY

Jody poured into a Patrick Kelly mermaid gown...

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...rocking marabou, over-the-knee boots and a major 'do.
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and channeling classic Hollywood glamour
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There are very few women who I consider true style icons. The style of today's stars is generally very manufactured and forced. Women like Diana Ross, Sophia Loren, Nan Kempner and Jackie Kennedy are few and far between when it comes to a demonstrative display of individuality and consistent creativity. What appeals to me most is a person with innate, natural sense of style and creativity - not a 'style personality' created by a hired stylist. A true beauty and true style icon that has inspired me greatly with her fearlessness, edginess, beauty and ability to incorporate high fashion into music is the amazing JODY WATLEY. Yes, she of the almond eyes, lush lips and the ONLY cheekbones.

Jody with Shalamar working a cheetah mini-boot
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As a kid, every Saturday morning consisted of a big bowl of cereal, cartoons, American Bandstand and the brilliant SOUL TRAIN. In addition to the new dances and music and being able to see my favorite singers, I would lay in wait to see two of my favorite TV performers - Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniels. They started out as mere teen dancers on the show, but because of their exotic good looks, untouchable dance moves and the creativity that they incorporated in every performance, they hit the big time when they were hired as singers in SHALAMAR, one of the best R&B groups of the late 70's/early 80's. Shalamar went on to great success with some of the funkiest music, brilliant choreography and fierce hair and wardrobes. Jody became the breakout star eventually winning a BEST NEW ARTIST GRAMMY.

Jody's biggest impact on me was her image - she seamlessly intertwined southern California club style, NY edginess and high fashion straight off the runways. She was a staunch advocate for beautiful photography, consistently working with the world's best including Steven Meisel and Patrick Demarchelier. Jody was a true style maven, consistently donning Patrick Kelly, Gaultier and Azzedine Alaia. And she had a hair wardrobe to match - moving from long curly weaves to knee length pony tails to short pixies and overblown afros. Her style mix ways a treat for the eyes.

One of the best of the 80's - BRILLIANT!!!

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Funny enough, Solange Knowles is making her stamp on the music world now, and it is NOT big sis Beyonce that I see shades of in her work - I am seeing a bit of Ms. Watley in her work - the look, the wardrobe and the off-beat sensibility. Work Solange - I am loving it!!!