Fall Out Boy on high
"Wait, (wasn't) it going to be that Sanjaya guy?" Patrick Stump says, prematurely reacting to last night's American Idol finale. "He was doing great wasn't he?
"To be honest," he goes on, laughing, "my only interest in that show was seeing if he'd win. So when he was voted off, I stopped watching."
It's a Friday morning, and as he steps onto the balcony of his Los Angeles condo, besides forecasting Idol's end, Fall Out Boy's lead vocalist is wondering if it's too early to go shopping for CD's.
"As we speak, I'm looking at the Virgin Megastore, just kind of contemplating," he says. "Should I go over there? Do you think they're open yet," he asks, gazing towards Sunset Blvd.
"I don't think they are," he continues, moving back inside, "but I might walk over there anyway. Everything you want to waste your money on, they have in triplicate. I'm so stoked about it. I could go on forever."
Days away from starting an amphitheatre trek in support of their platinum-selling sophomore disc, "Infinity on High," Stump, 23, pondered the Illinois-foursome's uncanny rise from suburban outcasts to mainstream hitmakers.
Scoring one of the decade's biggest rock singles, "Dance, Dance," the band's major-label debut, "From Under the Cork Tree," moved close to three million copies following its release in 2005.
Bass player, Pete Wentz's lyrics a kaleidoscopic romp through teenage angst, Fall Out Boy found itself shoved from Warped Tour oddities, to trading licks with Jay-Z (on "Thriller") and adding hooks to Timbaland's "One & Only."
"It was right before Christmas when we got the call from Timbaland, and I flew out to Norfolk, Va., with Andy and we were there, we were doing it and everything was awesome," he says, speaking at a rapid pace. "But on the way out, every flight got cancelled and it was almost like 'Home Alone,' where we didn't make it back. I called my mom and said, 'Mom, I might miss Christmas this year. I'm here with Timbaland.'"
Kanye West also got in on the act, producing a remix of "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race," and when the boys asked Babyface to help produce "Infinity on High," he graciously obliged.
"We bluffed really," Stump says. "We were talking to MTV or someone and we just said that Babyface was going to produce some of the songs. Then, when they were fact-checking it, they called him up and he was like, 'Who Out Boy?' But he decided to do it."
Friends since meeting inside the clubs flogging Chicago's hardcore scene, Stump says the band's members gravitated towards one another because of a shared desire to do something different.
After splintering off from the metalcore outfit, Arma Angelus, ex-members Wentz, Andy Hurley and Joe Trohman hooked up with Stump, and the musical bond between vocalist and lyricist was instant. "He writes words and I write background music. We're constantly writing. In fact, we've written three songs since starting this interview.
"He gives me his words and I just start writing melodies around those lyrics," adds Stump. "The first verse of 'You're Crashing, But You're No Wave,' the one about the DA dressed to the nines, I love that. I thought that was such a cool image when I first read that."
Now headliners on the seventh-annual edition of the Honda Civic tour, Stump says that playing in front of 16,000 fans (as they are expected to do this weekend in Toronto) hasn't really fazed them. "We're really just stoked on playing anywhere.
"Our first show was our first big break. It was at DePaul University (in Chicago) in a mess hall in front of a bunch of really mathy, experimental hardcore bands.
"No one liked us, but we were really hyped about it anyways."
In retrospect, though, it shouldn't surprise anyone that record labels were vying for the rights to the band's airtight teen melodramas.
At the merchandise table hawkers sell everything from T-shirts to action figures. "You can't really call them action figures," Stump says, with total seriousness. "Because there isn't really that much action. My guy just stands there.
"However, the real me doesn't get that much action in the first place, and the legs don't move and you can't take the hat off. So, maybe they are just like real life."
Almost as intriguing as the collectibles, however, is Stump's unabashed adoration of singer-songwriter Prince. "I've heard a surprising amount of Prince," he allows.
"I was in Missoula, Mont., walking through a used record store and they had two cassette tapes. Count them, two cassettes in the entire place. One was Dr. Dre's 'The Chronic' and the other was the Time's 'Pandemonium.'
"'Pandemonium' just looked ridiculous and I'd always wanted a copy of 'The Chronic,' so I bought both thinking I was mostly going to listen to 'The Chronic.' I don't think I've ever listened to that copy of 'The Chronic,' though. I exclusively listened to the Time and I got obsessed with that record. Then, I went through all the bands that Prince made and all the bands he put together, working my way back to him."
But with virtually all aspects of the band's personal life made public (anyone recall seeing shots of Wentz's penis on the Internet?), isn't Stump worried that Fall Out Boy are getting too big to stay true to their humble beginnings?
"Chris Rock has a good quote that being famous is a lot like having a girlfriend with a really nice rack," he chuckles. "A lot of people will be really nice to you and give you a lot of attention, but nine times out of ten, they're just looking at your rack."
Here are the remaining dates on the Honda Civic Tour:
May 2007
25 - Montreal, Quebec - The Bell Centre
26 - Toronto, Ontario - Molson Amphitheater
27 - Clarkston, MI - DTE Energy Music Theater
28 - Darien Center, NY - Darien Lakes Performing Arts Center
30 - Saratoga, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center
31 - Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts
June 2007
1 - Camden, NJ - Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
2 - Hartford, CT - New England Dodge Music Center
4 - Columbia, MD - Merriweather Post Pavilion
5 - Wantaugh, NY - Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre
6 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
8 - Noblesville, IN - Verizon Wireless Music Center
10-11 - Chicago, IL - Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island
13 - Charlotte, NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
14 - Atlanta, GA - HiFi Buys Amphitheatre
15 - Tampa, FL - Ford Amphitheater
16 - West Palm Beach, FL - Sound Advice Amphitheater
18 - The Woodlands, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
19 - Dallas, TX - Smirnoff Music Centre
20 - Selma, TX - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
22 - Phoenix, AZ - Cricket Pavilion
23 - Inglewood, CA - The Forum
24 - Las Vegas, NV - The Pearl
25 - West Valley City, UT - The E Center
27 - Tacoma, WA - Tacoma Dome
28 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Pacific Coast Coliseum
29 - Portland, OR - The Rose Garden Arena
30 - Concord, CA - Sleep Train Pavilion
July 2007
1 - Chula Vista, CA - Coors Amphitheater
2 - Anaheim, CA - The Honda Center
Love Kicks Cobain Shoe Ad to the Curb
Thanks in part to an outraged Courtney Love, a new Doc Martens ad has been given the boot.
The 42-year-old entertainer was steamed after learing that a new advertising campaign for the footwear company features late husband Kurt Cobain and other iconic punk rockers modeling boots in heaven.
The print ads, promoting the manufactuer's AirWair line and only approved for use in the United Kingdom, portrayed the Nirvana star sitting in a cloudbank, clad all in white except for a pair of black boots. A tag line in corner reads: "Dr. Martens. Forever." Similar ads featured the Sex Pistols' Sid Vicious, the Clash's Joe Strummer, and the Ramones' Joey Ramone. The photos were leaked earlier this month via the music blog thedailyswarm.com.
"Courtney never approved the use of these images [for commercial gain] nor would she ever approve it. She knew nothing about it," Love publicist Alan Nierob tells E! Online.
The rep said British law, unlike American, appears to allow companies to use the images of dead celebrities without explicit permission from their estates.
Nierob said that Love was having her lawyers double check, but added that any suggestion she'd take legal action at this point was "premature."
Dr. Martens wasn't willing to push the issue. Facing a PR nightmare and backlash from the same fans the company was trying to court, the shoemaker said it was scuttling the campaign.
"Dr. Martens is very sorry for any offense that has been caused by the publication of images showing dead rock icons wearing Dr. Martens boots," the company said in a statement to E! Online. "Dr. Martens did not commission the work as it runs counter to our current marketing activities based on FREEDM, which is dedicated to nurturing grass roots creativity and supporting emerging talent.
"As a consequence, Dr Martens has terminated its relationship with the responsible agency."
The "responsible agency," London-based Saatchi & Saatchi, defended the work, saying the photographs of Cobain and company were legally purchased from Corbis, one of the world's largest stock photo companies.
“We believe the ads are edgy but not offensive. There has been blog commentary both for and against the ads, but it is our belief that they are respectful of both the musicians and the Dr. Martens brand,” said Kate Stanners, the agency's executive creative director.
Earlier, another campaign mastermind explanied the concept behind the ads to British music site NME. com
"We wanted to communicate that Dr. Marten boots are 'made to last' and we discovered that these idolized musicians wore them," copywriter Andrew Petch said. "Showing them still wearing their Docs in heaven dramatized the boots' durability perfectly. And, as images, they feel very iconic."
But Nierob says Dr. Martens made the right move.
"They obviously realized they did something wrong," the publicist said. "It was in poor taste."
Aside from Love, many fans took issue with anti-establishment punkers being used to promote shoes, others questioned the veracity of the ads.
"Kurt wore...Converse. Don’t know about Doc Martens," Ruby 17 wrote on Love's official Website, moonwashedrose.com. "Even so, they could have at least asked permission. Wondered if they asked permission from Joey Ramone’s estate or Sid Vicious estate as well? Does look tacky I agree."
"I can’t say I knew Kurt, but to me he doesn’t seem like the guy that would wanna be a spokesperson for clothing and shoes. Neither does Sid or Joey," a user named Linn added.
Love and Cobain married in 1992 and had a daughter, Frances Bean, before the grunge star killed himself in the couple's Seattle home two years later.
Love controls Cobain's estate and has been very hands-on when it comes to overseeing her late husband's legacy.
But earlier this month, the "Doll Parts" singer announced plans to auction off the bulk of Cobain's belongings.
"I still wear his pajamas to bed," she told spinner.com. "How am I ever going to go form another relationship in my lifetime wearing Kurt's pajamas? Everyone's been positive and behind me on it," she told the site. "We'll make a lot of money and give a bunch of it to charity."
No word yet on a date or which organization/s will receive the spoils. The garage sale comes about a year after Love struck a $50 million deal with Primary Wave Music Publishing for a 25 percent stake in Cobain's music royalties.
Love, meanwhile, has been putting her past drug problems behind her, boasting online that she's now clean and sober, has dropped 44 pounds, has fixed what she said was a botched nose job and is now living on a macrobiotic diet. She's also prepping a new solo album, Nobody's Daughter, which should be out later this year.
Paul McCartney debuts video on YouTube
NEW YORK - Paul McCartney snagged Natalie Portman to star in his new music video — thanks to his fashion designer-daughter, Stella.
Portman, 25, makes a cameo as a ghost in the video for "Dance Tonight," a track from McCartney's new studio album, "Memory Almost Full." The video had its world premiere Wednesday on YouTube.com.
"The connection with Natalie came from my daughter Stella, who makes non-leather shoes that Natalie buys, so I just thought, `Well, I'll ring her up and just see if she'll do it.' So I rang her up and said, `Hey, I'm Stella's dad!'" the 64-year-old former Beatle said in a statement posted on his Web site.
Portman, whose screen credits include "Closer" and "V for Vendetta," plays a "futurist electronic ghost" who is summoned by the sound of McCartney's mandolin.
Filmmaker Michel Gondry ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind") directed the video.
"Memory Almost Full," McCartney's 21st solo album, will be released June 5 in the United States. It's his first release for Hear Music, Starbuck Corp.'s new record label.
McCartney last released the acclaimed "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard," in 2005.
Osmonds reuniting for 50th celebration
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Osmonds will reunite this summer for a TV special celebrating a half-century in the entertainment business.
Seven Osmond siblings — Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, Donny, Marie and Jimmy — are scheduled to be onstage Aug. 13-14 at The Orleans Hotel Showroom, publicist Kevin Sasaki said Thursday from Los Angeles.
Tickets for the live shows range from $75 to $125.
The shows will be taped for "The Osmonds 50th Anniversary," which will air next March on PBS stations.
"At first it was just a tribute to my brothers, but it came together as a celebration of everybody. It's out of control," Jimmy Osmond, producer of the special, said Thursday.
"We started so young, you would think 50 years means we're a bunch of old guys. We aren't a bunch of old guys," he said, noting that family members perform frequently before audiences young and old.
Third "Pirates" sets sail for Memorial Day record
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Spider-Man 3" and "Shrek the Third" may have set opening weekend box office records this month, but Hollywood thinks the latest "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie will steal a hefty chunk of the summer movie season's treasure.
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," which opens on Friday in 102 countries and territories is the final film in a trilogy that has so far grossed $1.7 billion at global box offices and has sold 40 million DVDs and home videos for the Walt Disney Co..
Advance ticket sales for the film were on par with the record-breaking $151 million debut earlier this month for Sony Corp.'s "Spider-Man 3," but the film's length -- nearly three hours with trailers -- will limit the number of times it is shown and could affect its 3-day total, said Jeff Bock, an analyst for box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations.
But "At World's End" will be opening in a record 4,362 North American theaters, about 110 more than "Spider-Man 3" and about 200 more than DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.'s "Shrek the Third," which set an opening-weekend record last week for an animated film at $122 million.
"We are looking at a bow (debut) that's got to be between 'Shrek the Third' and 'Spider-Man 3,' and if everything works out it, could surpass it," Bock said.
"No doubt it will be the biggest Memorial Day opening weekend, eclipsing 'X-Men: Last Stand' with a four-day $122 million total."
Top U.S. online ticket sellers Fandango.com and MovieTickets.com both showed "At World's End" outpacing "Spider-Man" at the same point in the sales cycle.
Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger told attendees at the Society of American Business Editors and Writers this week he was anxiously awaiting the public's reaction to the new film.
"This is one of those weekends where you are on your computer or waiting by the phone to get the results almost on an hourly basis," Iger said.
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," the second film in the series, was the first live-action movie to pass $1 billion in global box-office sales during a theatrical run. Disney has positioned itself to reap the full benefit of what could be the lucrative franchise's final film.
The company enlisted 13 corporate partners -- the most ever for any Disney film -- to promote "At World's End." The partners include Volvo, Verizon Communications Inc., Coca-Cola Co., Circuit City, Best Buy and Toys 'R Us.
Disney has shipped 2.8 million of its new video game and 2 million books from its "Pirates of the Caribbean" series in conjunction with the release of "At World's End." The book franchise, which boasts 60 titles, has already sold 9 million copies.
"Pirates" merchandise is the company's No. 2 selling line from a feature film, behind "Cars," and the company plans to continue with the line of clothing, jewelry, furnishings, toys and collectibles for years to come, a Disney spokesman said.
The Walt Disney World and Disneyland theme parks installed WiFi hot spots that let gamers download exclusive content for the online "Pirates" game. Disneyland retooled its Tom Sawyer Island as a "Pirates Lair" that opens on Friday.
'Star Wars' 30th anniversary marked
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Seventeen hours to go in a darkened theatre not so far away?
Welcome to the "Star Wars" marathon. A free showing of all six "Star Wars" movies began Wednesday morning at the Los Angeles Convention Center and was expected to end at 2 a.m. Thursday. The event kicked off a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the release of the original film.
Several thousand people showed up for the screening, which included brief intermissions.
"Because the saga spans 30 years, it spans multiple generations of fans as well," event spokesman Jonathan Zaleski said. "There are people in costume, families. It's an interesting mix."
"You get the usual assortment of stormtroopers running around," he added. "I imagine its pretty uncomfortable to sit for 17 hours encased in plastic."
Lucasfilm Ltd. supplied the digital prints for the movies and also is involved in "Star Wars Celebration IV" at the Convention Center.
That event, open to fan club members on Thursday and to the paying public on Friday through Monday, was to include costume contests, exhibitions of movie props, autograph opportunities from "Star Wars" celebrities, and even a stormtrooper "Olympics."
Jordin Sparks crowned `American Idol'
LOS ANGELES - Jordin Sparks grew up on "American Idol," watching the show since she was 12 years old and telling her mother it was what she wanted to do.
"Now I'm actually doing it," the 17-year-old told reporters backstage after winning the competition in Wednesday's season finale.
The announcement that the Arizona teenager bested Blake Lewis, 25, the beat-boxer from Washington, came at the end of a two-hour extravaganza at the Kodak Theatre.
"I've just been trying to top myself each week," Sparks told The Associated Press. "I would sing my song and after I was done I was like, `OK, what am I going to do next week that's going to be ... either just as good or better."
Sparks, with a floor-length gown and movie-star hair, gushed like a teenager when her name was called.
"Thank you so much for everything," she told the crowd. "Mom, Dad, I love you. Nana, Papa, P.J., thank you guys."
Then she began "This Is My Now," the tune picked by viewers in a new online "American Idol" songwriting contest. Both she and Lewis performed the track Tuesday, and judge Simon Cowell reiterated Wednesday the song sold him on Sparks.
"If I'm going to call it, based on the last song, congratulations Jordin," Cowell said, before the winner was announced.
The contest came down to the stronger singer, Sparks, or the better entertainer, Lewis. Sparks delivered her songs simply and powerfully; Lewis' flourishes included beatboxing and sharp dance moves.
Lewis said backstage that he didn't mind coming in second.
"I picked Jordin Sparks at the top 24 as the American Idol winner," he said proudly. "I was actually going to try to wear a `Vote for Jordin Sparks' T-shirt last night but they wouldn't let me do it."
Lewis compared his sound to Michael Jackson and Jamiroquai and said his forthcoming album will be "like electro pop, very danceable."
Sparks won a recording contract as part of her "Idol" prize, but Lewis hasn't yet secured a deal.
"Hopefully some creative minds would like to work with me," he said.
The finale pulled out the stops and the stars, with Gwen Stefani, Smokey Robinson, Tony Bennett, Bette Midler, and Green Day among the performers.
Stefani sang her new single, "4 in the Morning," via satellite from a tour stop in Massachusetts.
Midler took the stage as the show drew near its close, singing "The Wind Beneath My Wings."
Past "Idol" winners and this season's contestants got a hefty share of attention, starting with first-season winner Kelly Clarkson. She performed her new single "Never Again," the gritty rock song matched by her black dress and thigh-high boots.
Carrie Underwood, the fourth-season idol, sang "I'll Stand by You" and was honored by legendary music mogul Clive Davis for reaching 6 million in sales for her debut album, "Some Hearts."
Taylor Hicks, last season's winner, also had his moment, as did Ruben Studdard, the winner from year two.
Robinson, a Motown great, performed "Being with You" after the top six male contestants, including fan fave Sanjaya Malakar, sang "Ooh Baby Baby," a hit for Robinson and his group the Miracles.
"All the guys are very nice guys, wonderful young people" Robinson said of the Idol finalists backstage. Sparks deserved to win, he said.
"She is an awesome singer. She sings so good it's hard to believe she's 17," he said. "To sing like that, you would have to have lived for a long time. She's an old soul."
Blake, whose beat-boxing scored with viewers and brought a hip-hop element to "Idol," performed with veteran rapper Doug E. Fresh on his old hit, "The Show." It was a signature moment for a contest that has introduced young viewers to Gershwin and other standards.
"True originals," host Ryan Seacrest said of the duo.
Backstage, Fresh called Lewis "an incredibly talented, good guy."
"He just has such an incredible energy and he loves hip hop so much," Fresh said from behind aviator sunglasses.
Gladys Knight took the stage with the six female finalists, belting out "I Feel a Song" and "Midnight Train to Georgia." Bennett performed a mellow version of "For Once in My Life" that ended with a big finish.
"A true idol, Tony Bennett, ladies and gentlemen," gushed Seacrest.
Melinda Doolittle, arguably the best "Idol" contestant to miss out on the finale, returned to impress the crowd again as she sang "Hold Up the Line" with gospel stars BeBe and CeCe Winans.
"She has proven in the last few months to be spectacular," BeBe Winans said backstage of Doolittle.
The show took a serious turn when Green Day performed "A Working Class Hero is Something to Be," a single from "Instant Karma: The Campaign to Save Darfur," a fundraising album for the embattled region.
Viewers cast more than 74 million votes in making Sparks the winner. Hundreds of "American Idol" fans lined Hollywood Boulevard leading up to the theater before the show.
On Tuesday, judges Cowell and Randy Jackson made it clear Sparks was their favorite. Diplomatic Paula Abdul kept her counsel as usual, praising both singers. Although the judges didn't have a say in the decision, their opinions can sway voters.
Gripping 'Lost' season-ender offers hope
NEW YORK - The good news: The plan hatched by our "Lost" friends to call for help actually worked. The bad news: They may be in deeper trouble than before.
Wednesday night's season finale of ABC's adventure-mystery was terrific, a two-hour testament to being careful what you wish for (even when things seem to go right for the "Lost" crew, they actually get worse).
This season was often slow-moving and unfocused. But the powerful season-ending episode redeemed the series with the shrewdness and intrigue that made it so addictive in the first place. It will be a long wait for smitten viewers until early 2008, when "Lost" comes back for its fourth season.
Spoiler alert: Go no further if you don't want to know what happened in the finale.
The latest opportunity to get off the island had presented itself with the parachute arrival of Naomi and her satellite phone, which could contact a freighter just a few miles offshore.
But two obstacles remained: Rousseau's tape-loop plea for help, which had aired nonstop for 16 years from the island's radio tower and was blocking any sat-phone calls. Worse, the infamous Others were jamming all radio signals from an underwater lab.
Last week, Charlie volunteered to make the perilous dive to the submerged station and disable the jamming device — despite Desmond's premonitions that the excursion would end with Charlie drowning.
Nothing ever happens as expected on "Lost," of course. But despite unforeseen complications, rock star Charlie (played by Dominic Monaghan) shut off the jammer, as he hoped. Then, as predicted, he drowned.
For a while, it appeared that three other regulars — Jin, Sayid and Bernard — were also on the show's hit list: They were taken prisoner during the Others' beach raid, and were thought to have been executed. But by episode's end they were alive and free.
Meanwhile, the main group, led by Jack, made the journey to the radio tower, where Rousseau's message was successfully silenced.
But then, as Naomi attempted to place the sat-phone call to the ship, she was stabbed to death. The killer was none other than Locke, who long ago "went native" and has sabotaged efforts by his fellow plane-crash survivors to flee the island.
Locke's appearance was a surprise: Two episodes ago, viewers saw him shot and left for dead in the jungle by Ben, leader of the Others.
When Jack retrieved the phone from the fallen Naomi, Locke aimed a gun at Jack, threatening to kill him, too, if he made the call.
"You're not supposed to do this," Locke said.
Naturally, none of the survivors bought his argument.
Nor had they believed Ben, arriving moments earlier to implore Jack not to place the call. Naomi wasn't who she claimed to be, he warned Jack. She was "one of the bad guys."
"If you phone her boat," declared Ben, who has been known to lie for his own purposes, "every single living person on this island will be killed."
But Jack completed the call. It seemed that help was on the way.
That is, unless Ben and Locke were right that alerting the boat was a grave mistake — a fear that viewers were starting to share.
"I'm telling you," Ben said, "making that call is the beginning of the end."
Maybe Ben was telling the truth. And with the narrative cutaways throughout this episode, "Lost" may have signaled a shift into a new phase next season, positioning the saga for its end: Instead of the customary flashbacks, viewers for the first time got a glimpse of the future.
And that future guarantees there's life after the island.
The scenes focused on Jack, in miserable shape in Los Angeles. A lost soul, he was drunk and drugged out, barely able to function. When his eye fell on a newspaper story that reported someone's death (just who, the viewer didn't learn), he was nearly driven to suicide.
Then, in the closing scene, he met up with Kate, for whom he seemed to be carrying a torch. Pathetically, he told her he makes a practice of taking airline flights — hoping that the jet will crash and put him back where he thinks he belongs.
"Every little bump we hit, I actually close my eyes and pray that I can get back," he said. "We made a mistake. We were not supposed to leave."
"Yes, we were," Kate said sternly.
"We have to go back, Kate!" Jack said in despair.
Viewers, left mystified and tantalized, won't be able to go back to "Lost" until next year.