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| | Milli Vanilli's Fab Morvan has a Grammy nom, 35 years after his Grammy was revoked | | Added 2 hours ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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Grammy nominations came out on Friday. Many of the names on the list were not big surprises, like Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, and Bad Bunny. A clip of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande finding out in real time that they had been nominated circulated online all weekend. However, there was one unexpected yet notable nominee that has people talking: Fab Morvan of Milli Vanilli fame.
It?s been 35 years since Fab and his former bandmate, Rob Pilatus (RIP), rocked the music world with a lip-syncing scandal that resulted in MV becoming the first and only Grammy winners to have their award (for Best New Artist) revoked. Fab?s nomination, which is his first since then, is for Best Audio Book, Narration and Storytelling Recording. That audio book he?s narrating? It?s a memoir about what happened with MV, titled, You Know It?s True: The Real Story of Milli Vanilli.?
?People always thought they knew the story, but my story has never been told,? Morvan told PEOPLE in October 2023, ahead of the release of his documentary, Milli Vanilli.
For his part, director Luke Korem was inspired to make the documentary, which was later followed by a biopic directed by Simon Verhoeven and a memoir penned by Morvan, to expose the truth behind the duo?s complicated story.
?I watched a YouTube video of Fabrice telling his story at The Moth in New York City, and at the end he sang,? Korem explained at the time. ?He had this beautiful voice, and I thought, ?Wait a minute. I thought the story was that these two guys were talentless frauds. I didn?t know he could sing.? ?
As for what actually led to Milli Vanilli?s rapid downfall? Morvan had met label executive Frank Farian in 1987, who soon after offered him and Pilatus a record deal. So, the pair allegedly signed the deal without reading it ? only to later realize that Farian had no plans for them to sing. Rather, they had agreed to lip sync to songs already recorded by American vocalists Charles Shaw, John Davis and Brad Howell.
?Every time we came to the studio we tried to look for people. There was nobody there,? Morvan emphasized to PEOPLE. ?They made sure that we never came in contact.?
As soon as their ?secret? was outed to the public, the duo became the subject of hate, racism and scorn. ?We went from being these loved characters to being laughed at and ridiculed,? Morvan added. ?We were the butt of all the jokes and easy targets. It was ugly. Rob took it really personally.?
After decades of being shunned by the public, Morvan has been sharing the story behind the fall of Milli Vanilli from his perspective in addition to releasing new music and performing as a solo artist. He also released a new version of ?Girl You Know It?s True? in August 2024.
?I never really think about fame, but I do come from a family of musicians. People don?t know that ? traditional Caribbean music,? he told Interview magazine that December. ?I have a lot of composers in my family, so it was in the DNA. When it comes to what I am musically, you will discover that you haven?t seen anything yet. It?s something I was born with, and when you?re born with something, it stays with you forever.?
[From People]
The other nominees in Fab?s category are the Dalai Lama, Kathy Garver, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Trevor Noah, so it?s a pretty stacked list. I was too young (six) to know anything about the Milli Vanilli controversy while it was happening, so most of my knowledge and opinion comes from what I?ve watched and read about it. As an adult, I know that the music industry has more than its fair share of shady and controversial behind-the-scenes stories. It wouldn?t surprise me if Fab?s account about his and Rob?s experience was closer to the truth than the ?official? narrative has led us to believe.
Regardless, Fabs nomination has a very full-circle feel to it. It would be some crazy Universe karma if he ended up winning a Grammy for narrating a book that tells his side of the story about having his only previous Grammy revoked. I actually had no idea that he had a memoir out, so even this nomination alerting people about it is a PR win for him. I know Fabs been trying to have a proper comeback for years. I wonder if getting his side of the story out there will be the catalyst he needs to stage a comeback.
Embed from Getty Images
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| | Ariana Grande wore vintage to the Paris 'Wicked ' For Good' premiere | | Added 2 hours ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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The promotion for Wicked For Good has begun in earnest. Thankfully, the publicity team seems to understand that they probably went way overboard last year, because it genuinely feels like Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande have not been everywhere 24-7 for months now. The sequel comes out on November 21st. I?m assuming, then, we?re just getting a more traditional three-week promotional blitz. Fine with me. Ariana skipped the Brazilian premiere last week, but on Friday, she showed up for the Paris premiere. Ari is being styled by Law Roach these days, and Law found a vintage Lili?s Diamond dress from 1950 for Ariana.
Meanwhile, the NY Times recently profiled Ariana ahead of the Wicked sequel?s release, and she comes across really well here. I?m still amazed by all of this, btw. Ariana and Cynthia Erivo both seemed like such tricky customers, but there was something about these movies which allowed both of them to get a mulligan and completely remake their images. Even better, it genuinely seems like Cynthia and Ari care about each other and have a real friendship. Anyway, this Times piece says that Ari?s Glinda is more central to the sequel, and it?s more of her story than Elphaba?s. Some quotes from Ari:
Ari can?t wait for people to see this one: ?I have been quietly very eager this whole time for people to see the rest of her journey because she has a big arc in the first movie, and it?s just that much bigger in the second one,? Grande said.
She really had to become an actress: ?I don?t know that the projects I have acted in before required the range or the skill set that this one did. I was on children?s television and then swept away by pop music for a long time, then I landed this extraordinary role and I wanted to earn it.?
She studied the Stella Adler acting technique: ?This is my first time talking about it. I just wanted to design this person inside and out, even if none of it was necessary for a scene, so that I could reference it for myself and leave my own stuff at home. So every time something had to trigger Glinda, it was a Glinda trigger that I used, not an Ariana one.?
Wanting to step into her own power & charisma: ?I?m sort of working through that as well, the permission to step into your own magic. It?s so funny because in my work, I?ve always given myself that permission to kindly and lovingly ask for what I need. But when it comes to my real life, that is where I don?t know how. It?s been a work in progress for years.?
Going back to pop music and touring: ?There was something broken about my relationship to pop music that was healed recently through the time away,? she said. When I asked what exactly it was about her pop career that needed mending, Grande laughed softly: ?How much more time do we have?? Then she paused for a long time, her composure slipping. ?I think it got away from me in a way I didn?t expect,? Grande said, tearing up. ?There?s a thing that comes along with your dreams coming true that feels dangerous at times. Nothing prepares you for what comes with it. Until quite recently, it was really hard for me to navigate and I think it stripped a lot of joy out of this for me.?
Firing Scooter Braun: ?And by the way, I have a different team now,? she said, alluding to her split from longtime manager Scooter Braun. ?Said with love, but that was a piece.?
[From The NY Times]
She left Scooter Braun when all of his other clients left too, like Justin Bieber. For Ariana, it felt like she had outgrown him, or she needed someone to manage every part of her image, life and career, which Scooter wasn?t really doing (or he was doing it badly). Ariana?s affair with Spongebob (Ethan Slater) highlighted that dysfunction at a moment when she needed serious crisis management, Scooter was in the wind. As for the rest of it? everyone says that Ariana wants another Oscar nomination, or maybe the Oscar itself. I don?t know. She impressed me in the first movie, but I wonder if she will get much awards buzz for the sequel.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Backgrid.
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| | Kim Kardashian didn't pass the California Bar exam, she plans to retake it | | Added 2 hours ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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Months ago, we learned that Kim Kardashian had completed her ?law studies? course. Not to be confused with actual law school Kim does not have a JD (Juris Doctor) degree, she has what amounts to a certificate of completion for her makeshift law studies. Still, that certificate was enough to get her a place to take the California Bar Exam, which she did about two months ago. She just got the results back in recent days. She did not pass. Which isn?t a huge surprise, considering Kim was literally just talking about how she used ChatGPT for ?legal advice? on her law exams.
Kim Kardashian says shes not a lawyer yet. Months after taking the California bar exam on July 29 and July 30, the SKIMS founder and reality star, 45, revealed her results on Saturday, Nov. 8.
In a candid Instagram Stories post, Kim shared that she failed to pass the exam ? but is still determined to achieve her goal.
WellIm not a lawyer yet, I just play a very well-dressed one on TV, she wrote. Six years into this law journey, and Im still all in until I pass the bar. No shortcuts, no giving up just more studying and even more determination.
Thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged me along the way so far. Failing short isnt failure its fuel. I was so close to passing the exam and that only motivated me even more. Lets go! she added.
Given just twice per year, the California bar exam consists of five one-hour essay questions, one 90-minute performance test and 200 multiple-choice questions.
According to the California State Bars website, approximately 16,000 people take the exam each year. The two-day test is rigorous, with a pass rate of 63.6% for those who took the exam in February.
[From People]
For some reason, I always had the belief that the California Bar was ?easier? compared to some other states? bar exams. Isn?t New York?s Bar notoriously difficult? Let me look it up? while New York?s Bar exam is supposed to be really tough, California actually has the hardest exam, at least according to Google. So? Kim flunked a hard test after cheating and using AI on some of her law-studies tests. It is what it is. The only nice thing I?ll say is that it?s good that she?s not dissuaded she?ll probably keep retaking the Bar until she passes. Study harder next time, Kim!
Photos courtesy of Kim?s IG.
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