It looks like this just might be the summer of musical tours of returning artists.
First Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z announce their summer tour and now another absent artist is joining the tour circuit.
John Mayer has announced his first tour in three years. Beginning in April his performances will run all the way until October and headed to 48 stops across the United States. Although Mayer has had a number of hits after his 2003 Grammy winner, “Your Body is a Wonderland” he has made at least 8 new albums, and won a number of awards.
Not only has Mayer been known for his music, but in the past few years he has also stirred up headlines due to what some would call his juicy romances with countless celebrities including other artist such as Taylor Swift (and the supposed inspiration for her song “Dear John”. More recently Mayer however was known for his relationship with singer Katy Perry. Rumors had these two going as far as getting engaged before Perry and Mayer officially separated at some point this past year.
Whether this heartbreak is the reason that Mayer has decided to travel across the country, or it is because of his more recent recover from vocal surgery that left the singer mute for three months, one can only speculate.
The tour will officially kick off on April 12 and will also be headlines by American Idol winner Phillip Phillips. Official information and tickets can be found at http://johnmayer.com/tour
The Carrie Diariesmay be the hottest new show on the CW. The show, set in 1984 in New York, is a prequel to Sex and the City. Anna Sophia Robb plays a young Carrie Bradshaw, before her career as a writer and New York fashion icon. In The Carrie Diaries, Bradshaw juggles schoolwork, an internship at a law firm in Manhattan, and all of the daily drama of high school.
Carrie tries to win over the affections of Sebastian, the new guy at school, while mean girl Donna is hot at her heels. Her girlfriends, Mouse and Maggie, have their own boyfriend troubles and often look to Carrie for advice. Meanwhile, the Bradshaw family is still learning how to function without Carrie’s mother, who passed away prior to the pilot episode. Tensions between Mr. Bradshaw, Carrie, and Dorrit, her little sister, are at an all time as they cope with the loss of Mrs. Bradshaw.
Don’t be fooled by Carrie’s high school status; The Carrie Diaries is just as juicy as SATC. Throwback tunes, a cast of emerging stars, and colorful 80s fashion make The Carrie Diaries a fun study break.
Finally after a six year break, Justin Timberlake is back again. Although the former N-Sync member has managed to stay relevant in the past few years through his acting, it hasn’t been since 2006 with his Future Sex/ Love Sounds album that Timberlake released some new tunes.
This all changed in January when Timberlake released the new song, “Suit & Tie” ft. Jay-Z, as a teaser for his new album, The 20/20 Experience. Since the release of his single, the artist has continued to gain attention for his numerous musical appearances and exciting announcements.
February was also a huge month for Timberlake beginning with his Grammy performance of Suit & Tie with Jay-Z. From there the month only got more exciting as JT teased fans with an early release off one of his new songs, “Mirrors.”
Just when it seemed like there could be no more great news to share, at the end of February news was released that beginning on July 17th, Timberlake and Jay-Z would be pairing up for the “Legends” tour. Lasting one month and spanning across 12 cities including Chicago, IL, New York, NY and Detroit, MI this may just be the biggest concert of the year.
While tickets for the tour are hard to come by, this concert would be the perfect addition to any summer plans. In the meantime, remember that JT’s new album will drop on March 19th, right when we get back from spring break. This record may be the perfect tool for staying motivated until summer arrives!
Just because Valentine’s Day is over doesn’t mean that anyone needs to lose the romance in their lives, at least not for a few hours. To anyone who balled their eyes out while watching The Notebook or if your heart melted during Dear John, there’s good news!
For all the loves of these stories, Safe Haven, starring Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough, will be right up your ally.
Based on the novel written by Nicholas Sparks, Safe Haven tells the tale of a young, mysterious woman named Katie who just moved into a small town in North Carolina. Although determined to keep to herself and avoid personal relationships, Katie finds herself slowly drawn to Alex, a widow store owner with two children of his own.
Over the course of their relationship the couple must work to overcome secrets from the past. Filled with plot-twists and the romantic theme that resonates throughout all of Sparks’ movies, this movie is guaranteed to warm your heart.
Having hit theaters on February 14, it is not too late for you to drag either your boyfriend or a close group of friends along to experience this unique story of love.
Check out the trailer for a hint of what to expect.
On February 18, the French rock band Phoenix released a new single, Entertainment. The song is available on iTunes, and the band created a lyric music video to announce their new single and upcoming album. Bankrupt! is expected to release on April 22.
Phoenix, consisting of Thomas Mars, Deck d’Arcy, Laurent Brancowitz, and Christian Mazzalai, is from Versailles, France. The band members have been together since 1995.
The group gained international attention after the release of their album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix in 2009, which won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.
Phoenix is known for their upbeat pop sound that rivals American bands like Vampire Weekend. Their music is energetic and crisp, and their new single is no different.
Phoenix has a tough act to follow after Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, but there are high hopes for Bankrupt! after a promising start with Entertainment.
Get your tickets online at http://www.ticketfly.com/event/194615 or at the door for only a few dollars more the night of the show. Big Gigantic was formed by Boulder, Colorado natives in 2008. It consists of saxophonist/producer, Dominic Lalli, and his skilled drummer, Jeremy Salken. This duo has created their own rendition of electric music and made their name BIG in the music world.
Big G’s sound is inventive and unique to the dynamic duo. If your style is to get away from pop and the status of radio, Big G won’t disappoint your expectations. Get ready for a night to remember, or not to…
“Another One Bites The Dust” may be the next song we hear Christina Aguilera singing. The former Mickey Mouse Club vocal powerhouse has been replaced on next season’s “The Voice” by non other than exotic vocalist, Shakira. Usher has also been selected as a new judge, and will take over Cee Lo Green’s chair on the March 25th premiere. Both former judges say they are leaving to work on “outside projects”.
The coaches are past filming the blind audition phase, and Ushermadmitted it wasn’t easy. Usher makes a confession to Access Hollywood that one of the contestants on this upcoming season use to sing background for him. Unfortunately we’ll just have to sit tight in own chairs for a few more moths until the season kicks off!
A sister act worthy of recgonition this holiday season is Elle and Blair.
The fashion and beauty obsessed pair are to be praised for their superabundant gift ideas found on their site, http://elleandblair.com.
The site was launched with the intention of being a haven for trendsetters to find and discuss beauty buys, glam tutorials, and style suggestions (just to name a few functionalities)!
The duo are an inspiration to the blogging team at UP for their domination of social media and the large-scale impact their YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and blog posts have had. The sisters starting taking their passions to the Internet four years ago when they began posting makeup tutorials on YouTube. Given the response to the tutorials, they decided to expand their reach and marketability creating an Elle and Blair online empire.
“ElleandBlair.com is your instant access to our personal opinions and researched recommendations. Think of us as your super savvy big sisters”.
Brilliant features the site offers include creating your own profile page and interacting with other “glambitious” women looking to connect with fellow stylista’s and share their own personal tricks of the trade.
Yes, the holidays may be over, but that doesn’t mean birthdays, graduations, and other special occasions won’t arise this year.
As an out-of-the box gift idea, consider the following website, ipsy (launched last December). Ipsy, described as a “an online community that inspires women around the world to express their unique beauty” is a site I was introduced to this site this past holiday season by my younger, way more fashionable than me, sister.
When thinking of the perfect holiday gift for her beauty-obsessed sister (me), she discovered Ipsy (comparable to Birchbox services). Ipsy customizes beauty items for the individual based on a quiz designed to personalize one’s beauty likes called YouMatch. With YouMatch, Glam Bag products are selected based on one’s quiz results and activity on the site, http://www.ipsy.com/.
Once your beauty likes are sorted, you can subscribe yourself, friend, or family member for the Glam Bags at just $10 a month! To give you an idea of what product to expect I’ll let you in on what glamorous products were in my Glam Bag this month.
Inside of a shimmery silver makeup bag I was overjoyed to find a black Urban Decay glide-on eye pencil, Mai Couture Highlight Paper (which I am newly obsessed with), Mirabella primer for face and eyes, Be A Bombshell lip-gloss in the “Hot Mess Color, and NYX eye shadow in Ultra Pearl Mania.
With ipsy’s services, beauty fiends alike can connect with one another, share styling tips, and moreover expand their product collections.
The creator, Michelle Phan, and her team of expert stylists test a surplus of products and the ones they love most are selected for ipsy subscribers to try themselves and gift others. Each month, subscribers will receive a new Glam Bag with deluxe samples and full-sized beauty products inclusive of free shipping!
Get your “ipster” on and order your first Glam Bag right in time for those UP and coming New Years fêtes!
Not only is the feud between Instagram and Twitter of the latest tech news on the Web, but Facebook’s similarities to Snapchat’s recent renovations are also garnering the attention of smart phone users.
While we all are well aware of the copious amount of Snapchats we share with friends “on the reg”, it should come as no surprise to us that over 50 million “snaps” are shared daily. A major update was posted by Snapchat on their blog December 14th discussing the addition of video snaps (it was only a matter of time, right?)! Rationale behind the new changes were upon us seeing as, “Snapchat is all about sharing moments as they happen, and video is a great way to capture those moments”.
Amongst the video capabilities, other new features exist such as a full-screen preview of pictures and landscape captions. Snapchats improvements can be gawked over in this clip, v=r4237MZIb8g&feature=youtube_gdata_player.
While this video innovation has users applauding, just last week on December 21st, Facebook came out with a Poke application with analogous features. The free application called Facebook Poke allows one to send timed messages, photos, videos, and pokes up to 10 seconds to Facebook friends. What makes this app even more strikingly replicant of Snapchat is that one can add doodles or text on top of the image that one takes and you can also select multiple people to send the messages to. Also worth noting is that Facebook notifies the sender when their photo has been screen shotted; a direct copy of what Snapchat claims to do.
It is evident on Miami’s campus that Snapchat has become a trend, but is Snapchat likely to take a backseat to Facebook Poke in the new year?
Happy Holidays readers! We can now officially cheers a peppermint mocha to winter break.
With the Victoria’s Secret Fashion show behind us, we all catch ourselves wondering what the angels are up to on a daily basis- what their fitness routine is, where they are jet setting to, and what they are Instagram-ming. Luckily a blog exists to satiate our model appetites: Modelinia.
This blog was created because of the constant model thoughts we all have, which unite us both online and offline. Modelinia is described as a daily addiction in which the writers describe and inform us of model-worthy news such as, “new campaigns, inspiring covers, amazing editorial spreads, and monumental moments in te lives of models”.If you feel as thought you didn’t get your fill of pics from the Victoria’s Secret Fashion show, this blog is abounding with backstage TwitPics and even a post on how to get the makeup looks from the show, http://www.modelinia.com/blog/backstage-beauty-get-the-complete-2012-vs-fashion-show-makeup-look/43377.
Modelinia is your inside source as to who the latest pregnant model is, the model style report, model-approved workouts, and so much more! Sections of the blog include fashion, beauty, lifestyle, and charity (the models really do it all!). Check out the site or download the app for the latest on all of your favorite beauts such as Karlie Kloss, Candice Swanepoel, and of course, Heidi Klum!
The University of Michigan and Syracuse University both have started a Modelinia branch on their campus. Could Oxford, Ohio be next on Modelinia’s fashionable map?
Have you heard the good news? This season, not only is Santa Claus coming to town, but a unique collaboration between Target and Neiman Marcus is as well. The dynamic collab officially launched online and at Target and Neiman Marcus stores Saturday, December 1st. For this 50-piece holiday bonanza, 24 CFDA designers created limited-edition items.
Therefore we strongly advise you to take a well-deserved study break and get shopping, because items such as the Tory Buch printed lunch box and canteen are flying off the shelves. Of the collection, Eddie Nunns, the VP of Neiman Marcus Brand Creative raved, “We have a long tradition of exciting and wowing our customers during the holidays and I think this just takes it to an entirely new level”. Laura Cashill, the Senior Manager of Design Partnerships for Target also weighed in on this magical partnership saying, “Target has a pioneer in the design partnership space and this is yet another evolution of that design partnership model”. Check out Neiman Marcus’ mod and super fun 2012 Christmas Book Animation, illustrated by Elvis Swift, featuring products from the collection and the flawless Karlie Kloss, who is the effortless face of the campaign: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSwta7quyuo&feature=endscreen&NR=1 I seriously can’t get enough of her or this animation (so cute)!
I still cannot get over the reality that participating designers include Diane von Furstenberg, Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Derek Lam, Jason Wu, Marc Jacobs, Brian Atwood, Prabal Gurung, Proenza Schouler, Rag & Bone, Robert Rodriguez, Rodarte, Marchesa, Tory Burch, Alice + Olivia and many more (it’s just all a little too good to be true)! There will be men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing and accessories, as well as lifestyle items, such as pet, sporting, and home goods. Most items in the collection inclusive of women’s, men’s and children’s apparel, accessories, home and lifestyle items cost a mere $60 (this is not a joke). What makes the steal all the more worth it is that Target and Neiman Marcus will donate a total of $1 million dollars to the CFDA (Diane von Furstenberg is the president of the organization FYI). The full 50 piece collection can be scoped out on Fashionologie and purchased both online and in stores. Tis’ the season, but view with caution readers! http://www.fashionologie.com/Target-Neiman-Marcus-Holiday-CFDA-Collection-2012-23925051
Not only does UP fancy Lana Del Rey (who first came onto the music scene in 2010) for being the face of H&M’s fashion collections this fall and winter 2012, but also due to the fact that she has strikingly similar facial features to Julia Roberts (too perfect)
Ultimately, we revere Del Rey for her unique song-writing abilities. Just last week news surfaced that her Extended Playlist (EP) “Born To Die- The Paradise Edition” slid into spot 10 on the Billboard 200 charts and sold a impressive 67,000 copies within its first week on the market (that being November 13th). Her previous album Born To Die” hit the music-sphere on November 13th and was sold with her new album “Paradise”- marking her third EP.
The re-release features nine chilling songs by the titles, “Ride,” “American,” “Cola,” “Body Electric,” “Blue Velvet,” “Gods and Monsters,” “Yayo,” “Bel Air,” and “Burning Desire”. Del Rey stated in an interview with JustJared “that her risque track “Cola” is the next single slated to promote her Born To Die re-release The Paradise Edition” (fun fact: “Born to Die” was one of the best-selling albums of 2012…take that J Biebs!). Below you’ll find a preview of the 26-year-old’s confident and sultry new hits that will for sure have you hooked: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GpJUm5C07_0
As one can see, “Paradise” opens with “Ride,” a song representative of past album themes such as parental problems, alcohol consumption, and loneliness. It’s safe to say that UP’s favorite track is Del Rey’s cover of the 1950’s classic, “Blue Velvet”. Here’s a sample of our favorite song (the video is from her H&M campaign), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLEA3bc-3p0.
We highly encourage listening to her new tracks, especially if you’re looking to be teleported back to the 1950’s and 60’s, era’s that Del Rey tends to embody in her music.
You may have seen her in the November 26th issue of US Weekly’s Music Special in a spread called “What’s In My Bag”, or maybe you recognize her from the track “We Are Young” by Fun. Apart from those accomplishments though, Janelle Monáe has also been named the new face of CoverGirl! In an interview with CoverGirl, the Grammy-nominated vocalist said, “I love CoverGirl’s mission statement that every woman is a Cover Girl”. It’s the every woman-ness about this Kansas City beauty that makes her a perfect face for recent CoverGirl ads. Janelle joins an impressive list of African American influencers to also represent the brand, such as Tyra Banks, Queen Latifah, and Rihanna. In her ads, Janelle dons her classic and crisp onstage uniform- a tuxedo with matching saddle shoes pulled together by a pompadour. In a press release Janelle shares her admirable intentions for the CoverGirl ads saying, “Becoming a CoverGirl is truly an honor and a gift: it opens up a new platform for me to inspire women to feel stronger, braver and more beautiful inside and out”.
Her motives for being involved in this project are reflected in the following quote from Vogue, “I believe in the idea of every woman finding their own beauty superpowers”. Because of her vision and undying support for her fans, she is helping redefine the norms of the implications of being a strong woman in both the music and fashion worlds. Her humble beginnings and positive persona is both inspiring and uplifting to young women everywhere!
“Another One Bites The Dust” may be the next song we hear Christina Aguilera singing. The former Mickey Mouse Club vocal powerhouse has been replaced on next season’s “The Voice” by non other than exotic vocalist, Shakira. Usher has also been selected as a new judge, and will take over Cee Lo Green’s chair on the March 25th premiere. Both former judges say they are leaving to work on “outside projects”.
