One in Four Men Fakes Orgasms
LONDON (Reuters) - Women are not the only ones to turn on the acting abilities in the bedroom, said a survey released ahead of the world's largest adult festival in London.
The survey of 2,500 Britons, by organizers of the Erotica 2002 festival, said 23 percent of men claimed to have faked an orgasm, compared to 56 percent of women.
Almost half of the participants confessed to enjoying threesomes, the survey added.
Erotica said in a publicity statement sent over the weekend its survey had destroyed the myth the British are a nation of prudes. "Orgies, lust, cheating and faking it -- you name it, the British are doing it," the statement said.
Organizers of the festival, which begins on Friday, expect more than 60,000 people to attend the three-day event, where tantric sex tutors will be schooling willing pupils in the arts of sexual awareness and non-tactile arousal.
"The mass love-in will be closely monitored by security guards to stop things getting out of hand," Erotica's publicity statement added.
Ashanti Leads American Music Award Contenders
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - R&B singer Ashanti, who made a big splash this year with her debut album, led the contenders for the 30th annual American Music Awards, picking up nominations in five categories, organizers said on Tuesday.
Rappers Eminem and Nelly will go head-to-head in four categories, while Latino star Enrique Iglesias, country trio the Dixie Chicks and rock band Linkin Park were among the 10 acts with two nods each.
The awards will be presented on Jan. 13 during a nationally televised ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles. Heavy metal maven Ozzy Osbourne and his family, stars of the MTV reality series "The Osbournes," will host the three-hour event.
Ashanti (last name Douglas), 22, was nominated for favorite album and favorite new artist in both the pop/rock and hip-hop/R&B categories. Additionally, she will compete for favorite female hip-hop/R&B artist.
After shooting up the charts with a series of high-profile duets with the likes of Ja Rule and Fat Joe, the New York native released her self-titled debut album in April. It has since sold about 2.9 million copies in the United States.
Eminem (aka Marshall Mathers) and Nelly (aka Cornell Haynes, Jr.) were nominated for favorite male artist and favorite album in both the pop/rock and hip-hop/R&B categories. Eminem's "The Eminem Show" is the biggest release of 2002 with sales of more than 6.6 million units, while Nelly's "Nellyville" has shifted four million copies.
Other acts with two nominations each included pop singers Pink and Celine Dion, rookie hip-hop combos B2K and Nappy Roots, country singers Alan Jackson and Toby Keith, and rock band Creed.
Winners are determined by a survey of about 20,000 members of the public; the nominees are drawn from retail sales and radio airplay data. The more prestigious Grammy Awards, which will be presented on Feb. 23 in New York, are determined by music industry voters.
Michael Jackson Thriller: Dangles Baby Out Window
BERLIN (Reuters) - Singer Michael Jackson briefly dangled a barefoot baby over the railing of his fourth-floor hotel window on Tuesday, providing a momentary if odd thriller for fans waiting on Berlin's central square below.
The "King of Pop" arrived in the German capital after three days of testimony last week in California in a $21 million lawsuit by a German promoter over canceled concerts.
A crowd of screaming fans greeted the reclusive entertainer, in town to receive a lifetime achievement award at a ceremony on Thursday night, in front of the Adlon Hotel.
When he got up to his room, Jackson opened his window and held a light-skinned baby, a white towel over the tot's head, briefly over the metal railing. He held the baby with one hand.
Jackson also showed off another child who was about four or five years old. The child, whose face was also covered in white, waved to the crowd below.
A spokeswoman said Jackson was traveling with his children.
Jackson has three children, two by ex-wife Debbie Rowe, five-year-old son Prince Michael and four-year-old daughter Paris. He also has a baby who is less than one year old.
Jackson arrived to the hotel wearing a white surgical mask over his mouth and nose, but later removed it.
Victoria's Secret to Keep Heating Up the Networks
NEW YORK (Reuters) - It is the kind of ratings battle that could only take place on American television: the finale of "The Bachelor" versus the second annual televised "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" -- or, to put it another way, true love versus skimpy underwear.
In some households there may be a battle for the remote. At network CBS, it was a fight to find a time slot when it realized that rival ABC was presenting the last chapter of "The Bachelor" from 9 to 11 p.m. on Wednesday when it had planned to reveal Victoria's risque secrets starting at 10 p.m.
The Viacom Inc. -owned network, which has come under fire from women's groups and family values proponents, yanked the program from its 10 p.m. slot and in favor of the 8 p.m. slot, prime-time for mom, dad and the kids to watch TV.
That idea didn't last long and the program now struts down the runway at 9 p.m. competing against the start of "The Bachelor" and NBC's "The West Wing," which contains neither nudity nor much romance, mostly just politics. NBC is owned by General Electric Co.
Victoria's Secret, a unit of Columbus, Ohio-based Limited Brands Inc., has spent $7 million to produce the show, operating on the theory that audiences can never tire of gorgeous women stalking around in high heels and scanty lingerie.
The show was taped last Thursday in New York City's 69th Regiment Armory before a crowd of celebrities, investors and paparazzi, and it reaped immediate attention after anti-fur protesters jumped on the runway to heckle Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen, who has a contract with a mink company.
Amid the confusion, some observers wondered if the interruption was actually a planned part of the production but Chief Marketing Officer Ed Razek rebuffed the suggestion, saying that part will not be shown.
DENIGRATING?
Last year, the first time the show was televised, it drew 12.4 million viewers to Walt Disney Co.'s ABC network. It also drew the ire of some feminist and media watchdog groups, who considered the material either denigrating to women or too risque for network TV. The Federal Communication Commission received hundreds of complaints.
But Razek said the show meets broadcast standards.
"The level of exposure is controlled by standards and practices at the network. It's not something that we do, it's CBS' domain. And I really thought last year's show was very modest, particularly the show that got on TV."
He added that this year's show was just as restrained.
"There was no nudity, no bare breasts, nothing to have a significant concern about."
The TV special is hosted by German model Heidi Klum and singer Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray, and will feature musical performances by Destiny's Child, Marc Anthony and Phil Collins. Victoria's Secret has also promised red carpet interviews, model profiles and behind-the-scenes segments.
The most extravagant ensemble of the night on the show was the $10 million "Star of Victoria" bra and panty ensemble that features a 60-carat pear shaped diamond at the center of the bra. A rose and leaf pattern of rubies, emeralds and diamonds covers the rest of the bra and embellishes the waist of the panty, for a total weight of 168 carats.
With 2001 sales of $3.3 billion, the brand's message of over-the-top glamour and femininity has certainly taken hold. Victoria's Secret has grown to more than 1,000 lingerie stores, and the catalog has a circulation of 375 million, far exceeding the population of the United States.
Sharen Turney, chief executive of Victoria's Secret's direct selling arm, said the company plans to keep televising the show annually, and it is also in talks with CBS about possibly doing a swimwear show around February.
She said the company's $7 million investment comes back five-fold in marketing value. That's especially important as the company heads into the holiday season, a crucial selling period that specialty retailers are approaching with caution in the current economy.
Victoria's Secret does 35 percent of its business in the fourth quarter, which includes the holidays.