The Texas Tiger Chronicles

Monday, October 03, 2005

Gossip Round Up

This Gossip nuggest is from my TEXAS role model Liz Smith of the NY Post

'NO" IS Beyoncé Knowles answer to the question of whether she is married to Jay-Z. Is she engaged? "No." Does she know there's a rumor that the two are secretly married? "No, I didn't . . . I'm not. But I'm 'engaged' and 'married' at the same time? (Laughter)"

So goes the 23-year-old singer's chat with writer Lisa Robinson in the coming Vanity Fair music issue for November. This thing may be embargoed to the hilt until midweek or later, but we've had an advance peek.

Robinson calls Beyoncé "a supremely talented singer, dancer, songwriter, producer and actress who started performing at the age of 7 and has, in just 16 years in show business, absorbed a lifetime's worth of focus, determination and discipline."

Beyoncé's mom, Tina, has a cute story to tell about her child's famous name. "I saw Chris Rock on TV and he said, 'Black people make 10 steps forward, and then we take 12 steps back . . . after 'Roots' we had Kunta, and then what do we do? We go and name our kids 'Beyoncé.' I just laughed because I'm sure he thought it was a name I made up, like Tanifa or something. He didn't know it was my [maiden] name."

Beyoncé herself has a lot to say herein about rumors of how her life and career are said to be manipulated. "People expect me to be a certain way, like a Diana Ross. And they expect my father to be like Joe Jackson, because that's been the pattern when parents manage children. People think that he just controls everything and does everything, but I actually control everything. People think I have the same story as the Jackson Five, and I have a completely different story. I had a very healthy, happy childhood. My mother made sure of it, and I love her for it."

Maybe this article will relax some of the absurd speculation about Beyoncé and Jay-Z. The following is author Robinson's verdict and this reporter knows everything there is to know about the pop- music scene. (Why do you think Vanity Fair puts her in charge of the annual big money-making music issue?) Says Lisa: "Here's what you have never seen with these two (Beyoncé and Jay-Z): A reality show where they eat with their hands and discuss bodily functions; Beyoncé kissing Madonna on TV; Beyoncé throwing plates in a hotel in the midst of a drunken crack-up, or having a drunken crack-up; Beyoncé racing into her boyfriend's arms as he's released from jail, or having a boyfriend in jail; Beyoncé and Jay-Z fleeing the police after a shootout in a nightclub. There are no drug rumors. No quickie Las Vegas marriage or annulment. No 'pimps up, ho's down' jackets worn at a wedding rehearsal dinner. No jumping on sofas during 'Oprah.' Beyoncé — she of the 'bootylicious' sexy dances, still manages to wear her success well while maintaining a sense of decorum in a world gone absolutely mad. Beyoncé Knowles is very much a lady. And when was the last time anyone used that word to describe a superstar?"

I asked a music-savvy colleague his thoughts on Beyoncé. He said, "I think maybe she's a little bit 'over.' " Then he added, "Wait, that's not fair. She has a lot of film potential. 'The Pink Panther' is coming soon, and if she ever gets to do 'Dreamgirls,' she might turn into what Diana Ross didn't — a genuine singing/dancing movie star. That's what she really wants, anyway."





This portion of today;s gossip comes from NY Daily News and Black Voices writer Jawn Murray who has a MUST READ column than I live by. He is my black Liz Smith. And his Tamyra Gray interview is good!

Here goes:

Dream Catcher
By Jawn Murray, AOL Black Voices columnist
Her untimely exit from 'American Idol' made Tamyra Gray a household name. Now the former Miss Atlanta wants to captivate audiences with her acting as well as her singing. The recently engaged entertainer -- she won't say to whom -- gives an impressive performance for her feature film debut in the Sony Screen Gems/Rainforest Pictures film, 'The Gospel,' a role that allows her to showcase both her singing and acting abilities. "It's always nice to be able to showcase what it is you do first, in something that you're trying to venture out into. What I hope, in the long run, is to achieve roles that don't have singing," said Gray, during our conversation at Atlanta's The Ritz-Carlton Buckhead hotel.

In music news, Gray recently parted ways with both 19 Entertainment, the management arm of 'American Idol,' and the company's music division, 19 Records, which released her debut album, 'The Dreamer.' "My new manager Lisa Braude used to be [European pop star] Anastasia's manager," she announced.
The 26-year-old singer said her goal is to sign with a major label this time; however it's unlikely that it will be J Records. Gray was signed to the Clive Davis label, but was dropped after being labeled difficult by executives.

"I did hear that I was difficult," she confessed. "What happened was, basically, the songs that I was given are the same songs that are on Fantasia's album. Can you imagine me singing the 'Baby Mama' song?"
Not at all!

"Right! That's exactly what I said," she continued. "I'm like, you're giving me these types of songs and basically, you're setting me up to fail. That's not believable. It was more of a thing where they were like, 'This works! This is what we've been making records with, with our black artists. We want them to be ghetto. This is what is selling and what we need you to do.' Alicia Keys' style was more of the style I was trying to do, but there was an argument about that."
Gray divulged that she shared her feelings with the label about the direction they wanted to go in. "I was like, 'I will flop.' People will look at me and say, 'That's not her.' If you flop on your first album coming out, on a major [label], and you have the exposure of the number one TV show in the country, then basically people will look at you and say ..." she paused, to refrain from calling names.
I suggested: "Say that you're Justin Gaurini?"
"Yeah," she shot back. "Clearly, I was just not trying to say that

Gray shared that the label also discouraged her from writing her own music. "I was told I couldn't write. I was told, well Whitney [Houston] didn't write and Aretha [Franklin] didn't write, so you don't need to write," she recalled. She would later pen Fantasia's hit single 'I Believe,' but the label was initially unaware that she wrote it. "They didn't know I wrote it in the beginning. It was kept a secret until they said, 'Yes,'" she smiled sheepishly.

Now the experience is just a memory for Gray, who said in closing, "I loved the thought of working with Clive Davis. To me, it was like if anyone was going to get me, he's going to get me."
Now, let's just hope some other executive gets her.
tiful and talented woman. I have such a huge crush on her, and she
inspired me to write this song about her."

Can't Say Names
A source at a newly launched magazine said a cover shoot with a cantankerous C-list actress was the most arduous job their staff has ever endured and mainly because of the actress and her publicist's "blatant disrespect for black media." The TV and film actress and her handler made the photographer stop after every shot to review each image, while the actress smirked and reminded, "My publicist only does this for black publications." The source fumed, "It's sad that this black actress would let her white publicist completely disrespect us like that. They would have never done that to Jane, Glamour, Allure or In Style. Those magazines probably wouldn't even cover her, let alone put her on the cover."

My guess is NIA LONG.


Posted by Texas Tiger in NYC :: 12:48 PM :: 3 Comments:

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