Hit VH1 Series 'Driven' Continues With All-New Episode Looking At The Formative Years Of Superstar Singer Christina Aguilera, Debuting Tuesday, August 6 at 9:00 P.M. (ET/PT)
Latest Episode of New VH1 Series Spotlights Never-Before-Seen Video Footage, Home Movies and Family Photos, Plus New Interviews With Parents, Families, Friends, Music Executives And Others
NEW YORK, Aug. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Like many others, she was born with an indelible talent. Unlike most others, Christina Aguilera knew it -- and honed the amazing vocal gift that would eventually land her a Grammy Award for Best New Artist, beating out Britney Spears, Kid Rock and Macy Gray.
"Driven" brings the music world's biggest icons' unknown pasts to life with video footage and photos that the public has never seen, plus interviews with those special people who played integral roles in their development as artists and individuals, providing a rare glimpse at what they were really like. The hit VH1 series continues with "Driven: Christina Aguilera" on Tuesday, August 6 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT), followed by more all-new episodes premiering on Tuesdays at the same time.
There's no such thing as overnight success -- over time, like a jigsaw puzzle, pieces are added, small breakthroughs are made, and eventually the picture of a pop star begins to take shape. "Driven" traces that process from childhood to the first glimmer of stardom, through the eyes of those who knew the artist best and helped play pivotal roles in their development -- teachers, family members, friends, and creative partners. With each episode of "Driven" dedicated to a single artist, the show looks at the stars' blueprints for success and what propelled them to achieve it despite the obstacles that lay in their paths.
"Driven: Christina Aguilera" returns to the singer's earliest years, from her birthplace of Staten Island, through her years as an Army brat in Texas, Japan and New Jersey, and to her adopted hometown of Rochester, PA, where she first began to uncover and focus the singular talent that would make her a local star, lead her to "The Mickey Mouse Club" ensemble cast (alongside Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake), and, in time, produce a stunning debut album that would climb to the very top of the charts.
"Driven: Christina Aguilera" features rare and never-before-seen video, footage and photos -- spotlighting home movies as well as footage from school talent shows, "Star Search," "The Mickey Mouse Club," local TV and cable shows, live performances (such as singing the National Anthem at the Pittsburgh Pirates season home opener), rehearsals and recording sessions -- plus new interviews with Christina's mother and stepfather, family members, school friends and classmates, fellow performers, management, producers, and talent scouts, including former Mouseketeer Nikki DeLoach, RCA Music Group chairman Bob Jamieson, superstar songwriter-producer Diane Warren, "Mulan" writer-producers Matthew Wilder and David Zippel, "Genie in a Bottle" writer-producers Steve Kipner and David Frank, RCA Records V.P. of Video Lou Robinson, and many others who were part of Christina's towering success.
Highlights of "Driven: Christina Aguilera" include:
* Christina's mother Shelly Kearns: "Mom was the first one who brought my
attention to Christina's singing. I was so focused on existing, and
trying to survive my marriage, that it never dawned on me that this was
an extraordinarily talented little girl."
* Former Pittsburgh TV show host Larry Richert: "She was not only singing
the song, but she had the moves, her body was just going with the
song ... And I thought, 'There's no way this kid is nine ... This is
some type of trick.' "
* Shelly Kearns: "Christina definitely used music to block out the
scariness, the yelling, the fighting ... She kind of focused into it,
and it was a saving thing for her."
* "The Mickey Mouse Club" casting director Matt Casella: "She pretty much
kept her eye on the ball, and knew it was a job, and knew she was there
to do her best."
* Shelly Kearns: "If you have a large enough talent, where people
around you notice, it really kind of ticks people off, for some
reason ... People started to get jealous ... Christina was so hurt."
* RCA Records senior A&R V.P. Ron Fair: "I listened to the demo tape, and
there was nothing particularly remarkable about any of it -- until the
song called 'Obvious.' The song made me freak out."
Viewers can go online to VH1.com and check out a photo flipbook of rare photos, scrapbooks, and exclusive video clips of "Driven" subjects in their early days plus additional features and info on all the artists included in the series. The series' next episode, "Driven: Notorious B.I.G.," premieres on August 20.
Posted by Jen on Thursday, August 1, 2002 @ 01:02 p.m.
At least she didn't give 'em the bird on her way out.
Already under fire for flipping off photographers last week, Britney Spears bailed on her concert Sunday night in Mexico City--exiting the stage without explanation after just five songs.
But Spears and concert organizers said Monday that diva-like behavior wasn't to blame for the abrupt end: They called off the show after thunderstorms posed too much of a safety concern.
"The Mexican fans are some of the best in the world," she said in a statement. "However, for the security of my company and the audience, as well as for the show's quality, I had to suspend my performance."
Spears had completed the first four songs of her set and had begun performing a fifth, "Stronger," when she stopped cold. "I'm sorry, Mexico," she said, according to Mexico City's Milenio newspaper. "I love you. Bye."
With that she left the building, the house lights went up, and a P.A. announcer told the 50,000 fans to exit the Foro Sol stadium. The crowd went cuckoo, with several concertgoers hurling Britney merchandise and shouting "fraud, fraud," according to the paper.
And mad they should be. They missed out on the typical Spears concert experience, which runs a brisk 90 minutes and features 14 songs, a dozen or so costume changes, lasers and a bevy of shapely background dancers.
Concert organizers, however, said fans will be able to get full refunds starting Thursday.
Mexico City was the final stop on her Pepsi-sponsored North American tour. Any goodwill the Mexicans had for Spears went out the door last Tuesday, when, shortly after arriving in a Mexico City-area airport, she was caught on film giving the middle finger.
Spears immediately went into spin control, saying the gesture wasn't aimed at local fans, but at the swarming shutterbugs.
"Actually what happened was, I got off the plane and everyone was driving really recklessly around me, all the paparazzi. And they almost hit our vehicle and they kept on getting out," Britney explained at a press conference Friday. "But I love my fans here, I embrace them completely. It was the paparazzi that I was mad at.
"I'm human, too. I get mad like everyone else."
It's been a tough year for the "Oops" girl. Aside from flipping the bird and dissing concertgoers, the former Mouseketeer was caught--gasp!--smoking. (We should have seen this coming last year when she dropped the F-bomb during a soundcheck without realizing her microphone was on. The recording became a huge hit on Napster ( news - web sites).) Her parents have separated, and she broke off her long-running relationship with 'N Sync ( news - web sites)'s Justin Timberlake in March.
Despite her newfound rebellious streak and personal issues, Spears managed to top the Forbes list of most powerful celebrities released last month and has been busy opening a restaurant and trying to launch a movie career. She can currently be seen in a cameo in Austin Powers in Goldmember, as well as an Austin-themed Pepsi commercial. She's also slated to appear at the MTV Video Music Awards August 29 in New York.
All in all, it's a rough life for a 20-year-old popster, and Spears told reporters last week that she's looking forward to shutting things down for a bit.
"I think I am just going to take six months off and just have Britney time and just do what Britney wants to do."
Posted by Jen on Thursday, August 1, 2002 @ 12:19 p.m.
(7/31/02, 1 p.m. ET) -- Backstreet Boy Nick Carter's debut album as a solo artist, titled Now Or Never, is set for release on October 22, according to Jive Records. Carter recently launched his own website in support of the upcoming album at n-carter.com.
The singer told LAUNCH that making the transition from recording with the Backstreet Boys ( news - web sites) to recording as a solo artist has been quite interesting: "It's different because a lot of decisions have got to come from my mind: videos, concepts, and all these things. I think that's also cool, too, because fans get to see a side of me that I've been holding in for a long time."
Carter added that the group dynamic is a lot different than being out there on your own. "There was a lot of stuff that in the Backstreet Boys--when I was with them--that I wasn't able to get out. Like when we would decide videos or something like that, I was, like, 'Maybe this would be cool.' And you know, being the fact that it's a group and you've got five different opinions, it doesn't always work out."
Carter also assured LAUNCH that Backstreet Boys fans should not worry about Carter's solo album being the beginning of the end of the group. The Backstreet Boys, including Carter, will be back with a new album shortly, although no exact release date for the set has been announced as yet. "I have been recording for a while now, and that's why it's (my album) further along and the Boys album's not further along. I'm recording with them, too, and we're doing both."
-- Jason Gelman, New York
Posted by Jen on Thursday, August 1, 2002 @ 12:13 p.m.
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