Catherine - Duchess of Cambridge
Catherine in 2008
Spouse : Prince William, Duke of Cambridge
Full name: Catherine Elizabeth
House : House of Windsor (by marriage)
Father : Michael Francis Middleton
Mother : Carole Elizabeth Goldsmith
Born : 9 January 1982 (1982-01-09) (age 29)
Reading, Berkshire, England
Religion : Anglican, Church of England


Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (Catherine "Kate" Elizabeth, née Middleton; born 9 January 1982) is the wife of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. Through marriage, she is also the current holder of the titles Countess of Strathearn and Baroness Carrickfergus.

Catherine grew up in Chapel Row at Bucklebury, a village near Newbury, Berkshire,[1] and studied in Scotland at the University of St Andrews, where she met Prince William in 2001. They started a romantic relationship that continued until a break-up lasting for several months in 2007. However, they continued to be friends and rekindled their relationship later that year.

Prior to her wedding, the Duchess attended many high-profile royal events. She has been admired for her fashion sense and has been placed on numerous "best dressed" lists. Once their relationship became public, Catherine received widespread media attention and there was much speculation that she and Prince William would eventually marry. Their engagement was announced on 16 November 2010, and they married on 29 April 2011, at Westminster Abbey.

Early life and family

Catherine was born at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading on 9 January 1982, and christened at St Andrew's Bradfield, Berkshire on 20 June 1982.[5][6]:32 She is the eldest of three children born to Carole Elizabeth (née Goldsmith), a former flight attendant and now part-owner of Party Pieces with an estimated worth of £30 million,[7] and Michael Francis Middleton, who also worked as a flight attendant prior to becoming a flight dispatcher for British Airways, currently also an owner of Party Pieces. Her parents married on 21 June 1980, at the Parish Church of Dorney, Buckinghamshire,[8] and in 1987, founded Party Pieces, a successful mail order company that sells party supplies and decorations.[9][10] Catherine's two siblings are a sister, Philippa Charlotte, known as "Pippa" (born 1983),[11][12] and a brother, James William (born 1987).[11][13] The family has complained about press harassment of Pippa and their mother since Catherine's engagement.[14]

Catherine's paternal family came from Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, and her great-grandmother Olivia was a member of the Lupton family, who were active for generations in Leeds in commercial and municipal work.[15] Her ancestors include The Rev. Thomas Davis, a Church of England hymn-writer.[16][17][18][19] Carole Middleton's maternal family, the Harrisons, were working class labourers and miners from Sunderland and County Durham.[20]

Catherine's parents were based in Amman, Jordan, working for British Airways from May 1984, to September 1986, where Catherine went to an English language nursery school,[21] before returning to their home in Berkshire.[22] After her return from Amman, Catherine was educated at St. Andrew's School in the village of Pangbourne in Berkshire, then briefly at Downe House.[23] She continued her studies at Marlborough College, a co-educational independent boarding school in Wiltshire,[24] followed by the University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland where she met William. She graduated with a 2:1 (Hons) in the History of Art.[25]
Career

In November 2006, Catherine accepted a position as an accessory buyer with the clothing chain Jigsaw.[26] In September 2007, it was reported[by whom?][citation needed] that Catherine was planning to give up her job as an accessory buyer to become a professional photographer. It was announced[by whom?][citation needed] that she intended to take private classes with photographer Mario Testino, who had taken several well-known photographs of Diana, Princess of Wales and her sons. Catherine and Testino apparently were introduced by Prince William. Testino later denied that Catherine was going to be working for him.[27]
Public image and style

Catherine has been featured in several best-dressed lists and was selected by The Daily Telegraph as the "Most Promising Newcomer" in its 2006 list of style winners and losers.[28] Tatler placed her at number 8 on its yearly listing of the top ten style icons in 2007.[29] She was featured in People magazine's 2007 and 2010 best-dressed lists.[30] Catherine was named as one of Richard Blackwell's ten "Fabulous Fashion Independents" of 2007.[31] In June 2008, Style.com selected Catherine as its monthly beauty icon.[32] In July 2008, Catherine was included in Vanity Fair's international best-dressed list.[33] In February 2011, Catherine was named the Top Fashion Buzzword of the 2011 season by the Global Language Monitor.[34]
Relationship with Prince William

Catherine's status as the undeclared girlfriend of William brought her widespread media coverage in Britain and abroad and she was often photographed on her daily outings. On 17 October 2005, she complained through her lawyer about harassment from the media, stating that she had done nothing significant to warrant such publicity.[35] In February 2006, it was announced that Catherine would receive her own 24-hour security detail supplied by the Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department. This fuelled further speculation that she and William would soon be engaged, since she would not otherwise be entitled to this service.

No engagement was forthcoming and Catherine was not granted an allowance to fund this security. Media attention increased around the time of Catherine's 25th birthday in January 2007, prompting warnings from both Charles and William and from Catherine's lawyers, who threatened legal action. Two newspaper groups, News International, which publishes The Times and The Sun, and the Guardian Media Group, publishers of The Guardian, decided to refrain from publishing paparazzi photographs of her.[36] Catherine attended at least one event as an official royal guest, William's Passing Out Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 15 December 2006.[37] In December 2007 it was reported that Catherine had moved in with Prince William at Clarence House, the residence of the Prince of Wales in London.[38] Clarence House later denied this.[39]

On 17 May 2008, Catherine attended the wedding of William's cousin Peter Phillips to Autumn Kelly, which the prince did not attend.[40] On 19 July 2008 she was a guest at the wedding of Lady Rose Windsor and George Gilman. William was away on military operations in the Caribbean, serving aboard the HMS Iron Duke.[41] In 2010 Catherine pursued an invasion of privacy claim against two agencies and photographer Niraj Tanna, who took pictures of her over Christmas 2009.[42] Catherine obtained a public apology, £5,000 in damages, and legal costs.[43]
Breakup and reconciliation
Catherine with Prince Harry, June 2008

On 14 April 2007 The Sun newspaper broke a "world exclusive" suggesting that Prince William and Catherine had split up.[44] Other media outlets, such as the BBC, confirmed the story as the day progressed. The couple decided to break up during a holiday in the Swiss resort of Zermatt.[45][46] Clarence House made only one comment about the relationship's end, according to The Times, stating, "We don't comment on Prince William's private life."[47] Newspapers speculated about the reasons for the split, although these reports relied on anonymous sources.

The original report in The Sun quoted a "close friend of the couple" as saying that Catherine felt William had not been paying her enough attention. The paper highlighted reports that William had been spending time with other young women and said the Prince, aged 24 at the time of the split, felt he was too young to marry.[48] A report in the Daily Mail blamed a desire by royal courtiers not to "hurry along" a marriage announcement, and William's desire to enjoy his bachelor status within his Army career. The Mail also suggested that a friend of William encouraged the Prince to take a "careless approach" to relationships. The same article suggested that Catherine had "expected too much" in wanting William to demonstrate his commitment to her.[49]

In June 2007, Catherine and William insisted they were "just good friends" following reports of a reconciliation.[50] Catherine and her family attended the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium, where she and William sat two rows apart.[51] The couple were subsequently seen together in public on a number of occasions and several news sources, including the BBC and the Daily Mail, stated that they had "rekindled their relationship".[52] Catherine also joined William and Charles on a deerstalking expedition at Balmoral[53] and attended the wedding of William's cousin, Peter Phillips, even though William, due to a prior commitment, did not. In April 2008 Catherine accompanied William when he was awarded his RAF wings at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell.[54] On 16 June 2008, Catherine attended William's investiture into the Order of the Garter, along with the Royal Family.

Date of Birth: 1 March 1994, Stratford, Ontario, Canada

Birth Name: Justin Drew Bieber

Nickname: JBiebs

Height: 5' 5" (1.65 m)

Facts:

- Discovered by Scooter Braun, who is also his manager.

- Usher Raymond signed him to Island Def Jam Records, and beat out Justin Timberlake's hopes of signing the young singer.

- Often wears purple.

- Taught himself four instruments including the piano, guitar, drums. He hopes to learn the violin.

- Has a high GPA.

- Can moonwalk.

- The Dream record produced and wrote his songs Baby and One Time.

- His single "Baby" debuted at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

- Moved to Atlanta, Georgia to pursue his music career.

- Comes from Stratford, Ontario in Canada.

- The craziest gift from a fan that he received was a rubber golf club.

- Bought a Macbook Pro with his own money - one of his biggest purchases.

- Likes the show "Smallville".

- Started out by posting youtube videos in 2007.

- His debut album was "My World".

- His mom travels with him all the time.

- Likes to play video games.

- Has a signature hair style.

- Met Celine Dion at a New York Knicks basketball game. She approached him and said my son loves your songs.

- Plays guitar at many of his concerts.

- Has performed with Rihanna at the Super Bowl Weekend concert in Miami.

- Likes to play hockey and basketball.

- Recorded a few songs with fellow singer Sean Kingston.

- Has one day a week where he just relaxes.

- Recorded "We Are The World" for Haiti. He got the opening verse which was previously sung by Lionel Richie.

- Dad still lives in Canada.

- Wrote the song "Down To Earth" about his parents' divorce.

- The executive producer of his first record, My World was LA Reid.

- Has a twitter which he updates daily.

An old soul is the last thing you would expect to find inside Justin Bieber. But all it takes is one listen to the 15 year-old soul-singing phenomenon to realize that he is light years ahead of his manufactured pop peers.

After posting dozens of homemade videos on YouTube in 2007, where the multi-talented Bieber put his impeccable spin on songs from artists like Usher, Ne-Yo and Stevie Wonder, Justin racked up over 10,000,000 views purely from word of mouth.

"I started singing about three years ago," says the Canadian native who grew up an only child in Stratford, Ontario. "I entered a local singing competition called Stratford Idol. The other people in the competition had been taking singing lessons and had vocal coaches. I wasn’t taking it too seriously at the time, I would just sing around the house. I was only 12 and I got second place."

In an effort to share his victory with his loved ones, Justin began posting his performance footage online. "I put my singing videos from the competition on YouTube so that my friends and family could watch them," he says. "But it turned out that other people liked them and they started subscribing to them. That’s how my manager found me. He saw me on YouTube and contacted my family and now I’m signed!"

Seven months after Justin started posting his videos online, former So So Def marketing executive Scooter Braun flew the then 13-year old singer to Atlanta, GA to meet with his elite colleagues. As if Justin’s natural singing talent wasn’t enough to impress Scooter’s inner circle, Braun knew Bieber was also a self-taught musician who plays the drums, guitar, piano and trumpet.

"Right when we flew into Atlanta, Scooter drove us to the studio and Usher was there in the parking lot," remembers Bieber. "That was my first time ever being out of Canada so I went up to him and was like, ‘Hey Usher, I love your songs, do you want me to sing you one?’ He was like, ‘No little buddy, just come inside, it’s cold out.’"

All it took was a short time online for Usher to realize he was in the company of a future superstar. "A week later Usher flew me back to Atlanta," says Bieber. "I sang for him and his people and he really wanted to sign me then and there but I still had a meeting with Justin Timberlake who also wanted to sign me. It turned out Usher’s deal was way better. He had L.A. Reid backing him up and Scooter had a lot of really good connections in Atlanta. I always tease Usher now and remind him he how he blew me off the first time we met."

In October of 2008, Justin Bieber officially signed to Island Records. His debut album, My World is an intimate look into the mind of a budding young renaissance man. With production from star hit men like The Dream and Tricky Stewart who produced "Umbrella" for Rihanna and Beyonce’s latest smash, "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)," Justin has everything he needs to achieve pop supremacy.

His first single, "One Time" produced by Tricky, is about one of Justin’s favorite topics, puppy love. Usher joins Justin on "First Dance" where the two share verses on a song that Bieber describes as, "A slow groovy song that people can dance to." On the Midi-Mafia produced "Down to Earth" Justin digs deep to talk about growing up. "Bigger" finds the teenaged singer maturing at a steady rate, while motivating his listeners to strive for their goals.

"I’m looking forward to influencing others in a positive way," says Justin. "My message is you can do anything if you just put your mind to it. I grew up below the poverty line; I didn’t have as much as other people did. I think it made me stronger as a person it built my character. Now I have a 4.0 grade point average and I want to go to college and just become a better person."

A virtually untapped well of natural artistic talent, Justin Bieber is primed to be a solid force in music for many years to come. "I think older people can appreciate my music because I really show my heart when I sing, and it’s not corny," he says. "I think I can grow as an artist and my fans will grow with me." And just think, he’s just getting started.

Early life

Bieber was born on March 1, 1994, in London, Ontario^[13] and was raised in Stratford, Ontario. Bieber's mother, Pattie Mallette, was 18 years old when she became pregnant with her son. Mallette, who worked a series of low-paying office jobs, raised Bieber as a single mother in low-income housing. Bieber maintains contact with his father, Jeremy Bieber, who married another woman and had two children.^[14][15] Bieber's paternal great-grandfather was a German immigrant to Canada.^[16]

During his childhood, Bieber was interested in hockey, soccer, and chess; he often kept his musical aspirations to himself.^[14] As he grew up, Bieber taught himself to play the piano, drums, guitar, and trumpet.^[17][18] In early 2007, when he was twelve, Bieber sang Ne-Yo's "So Sick" for a local singing competition in Stratford and placed second.^[5][18] Mallette posted a video of the performance on YouTube for their family and friends to see. She continued to upload videos of Bieber singing covers of various R&B songs, and Bieber's popularity on the site grew.^[10]

Career

2008–09: Discovery and My World

While searching for videos of a different singer, Scooter Braun, a former marketing executive of So So Def, clicked on one of Bieber's 2007 videos by accident.^[14] Impressed, Braun tracked down the theater Bieber was performing in, located Bieber's school, and finally contacted Mallette. Mallette was reluctant because of Braun's Jewish religion; she remembered praying, "God, I gave him to you. You could send me a Christian man, a Christian label! ... you don’t want this Jewish kid to be Justin’s man, do you?”^[14] However, after praying with her church elders and receiving their encouragement, she permitted Braun to fly Bieber, then 13,^[10] to Atlanta, Georgia, to record demo tapes.^[14] A week after arriving, Bieber sang for R&B singer/songwriter Usher.^[19] Bieber was soon signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between Braun and Usher.^[9] Justin Timberlake was also reportedly in the running to sign Bieber, but lost the bidding war to Usher.^[9][20] Usher then arranged an audition with Antonio L.A. Reid of Island Def Jam Music Group, who signed Bieber to Island Records in October 2008 (resulting in a joint venture between RBMG and Island Records).^[5][9][10] At that point, Bieber and his mother moved to Atlanta, also the home of Usher and Braun, to base his career.^[9] Braun became Bieber's manager.^[10]

Bieber's first single, "One Time", was released to radio while Bieber was still recording his debut album.^[21] The song reached number 12 on the Canadian Hot 100 during its first week of release in July 2009,^[10] and later peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. During fall 2009 it had success in international markets.^[22] The song was certified Platinum in Canada and the US and Gold in Australia and New Zealand.^[23][24][25] Bieber's first album My World, was released on November 17, 2009. Three consecutive singles, "One Less Lonely Girl", "Love Me", and "Favorite Girl", were released exclusively on the iTunes store and charted within the top forty of the Billboard Hot 100.^[22] "One Less Lonely Girl" was later also released to radio and peaked within the top fifteen in Canada and the U.S., being certified Gold in the latter.^[22] My World was eventually certified Platinum in the US and Double Platinum in both Canada and the UK.^[25][26][27] To promote the album, Bieber performed in several live shows such as mtvU's VMA 09 Tour, European program The Dome, YTV's The Next Star, The Today Show,^[28][29] The Wendy Williams Show, Lopez Tonight, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, It's On with Alexa Chung, Good Morning America, Chelsea Lately, and BET's 106 & Park with Rihanna. Bieber also guest starred in an episode of True Jackson, VP in late 2009.^[30]

Bieber performed Stevie Wonder's "Someday at Christmas" for U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama at the White House for Christmas in Washington, which was broadcast on December 20, 2009, on U.S. television broadcaster TNT.^[31] Bieber was also one of the performers at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest on December 31, 2009.^[32] Bieber was a presenter at the 52nd Grammy Awards on January 31, 2010. He was invited to be a vocalist for the remake of We Are The World for its 25th anniversary to benefit Haiti after the earthquake. Bieber sings the opening line, which was sung by Lionel Richie in the original version.^[33] On March 12, 2010, a version of K'naan's "Wavin' Flag" recorded by a collective of Canadian musicians known as Young Artists for Haiti was released. Bieber is featured in the song, performing the closing lines.

2010–present: My World 2.0 and My Worlds Acoustic

"Baby", the lead single from the second half of his debut album, which features Ludacris, was released in January 2010 and became his biggest hit thus far, charting at number five in the U.S. and reaching the top ten in seven other countries.^[22] Two digital singles, "Never Let You Go", and "U Smile" were top thirty hits on the U.S. Hot 100, and top twenty hits in Canada.^[22] According to review aggregator Metacritic, the album has received "generally favorable reviews".^[34] It debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, making Bieber the youngest solo male act to top the chart since Stevie Wonder in 1963.^[35] My World 2.0 also debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, Irish Albums Chart, and Australian Albums Chart, and the New Zealand Albums Chart^[22] and reached the top ten of fifteen other countries.^[36][37] To promote the album, Bieber appeared on several live programs including The View, the 2010 Kids Choice Awards, Nightline, The Late Show with David Letterman, The Dome and 106 and Park.^[38] On April 10, 2010, Bieber was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live.^[39] On July 4, 2010, Bieber performed at the Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular in New York City.^[40] The second single from My World 2.0, "Somebody to Love", was released in April 2010, and a remix was released featuring Bieber's mentor Usher. In June 2010, it reached 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.

On June 23, 2010, Bieber went on his first official headlining tour, starting in Hartford, Connecticut, to promote My World and My World 2.0.^[41] In July 2010, it was reported that Bieber was the most searched for celebrity on the Internet.^[42] That same month his music video, "Baby", surpassed Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" to become the most viewed, and most disliked YouTube video ever.^[43] In September 2010, it was reported that Bieber accounted for three percent of all traffic on Twitter, according to an employee of the social-networking site.^[44]

Bieber began recording his second album in July 2010 in New York City.^[45] At this point, because of puberty, his voice was deeper than it was when he recorded his first album. In April 2010, the singer discussing his vocals remarked, "It cracks. Like every teenage boy, I'm dealing with it and I have the best vocal coach in the world. [...] Some of the notes I hit on "Baby" I can't hit anymore. We have to lower the key when I sing live."^[46] British singer/songwriter Taio Cruz confirmed in July 2010 that he is writing songs for Bieber's next album.^[47] Hip hop producer Dr. Dre produced two songs with Bieber in July 2010^[48] but it is unknown if they were made for the album, which is currently due for a 2011 release.

Bieber guest-starred in the season premiere of the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, aired on September 23, 2010. He played a "troubled teen who is faced with a difficult decision regarding his only brother." Bieber will continue to appear in later episodes of the season as his character's story progresses.^[49] Bieber will also star in a 3-D film about himself directed by Step Up 3D director Jon Chu and scheduled for a February 2011 release.^[50]

Bieber performed a medley of "U Smile", "Baby," and "Somebody to Love" and briefly played the drums at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010.^[51]

Bieber announced in October 2010 that he would release an acoustic album, called My Worlds Acoustic.^[52] It was released on Black Friday in the United States and featured acoustic versions of songs from his previous albums, and accompanied the release of a completely new song titled "Pray".^[53]

Image

The Observer newspaper in the UK published a report indicating that Justin Bieber is more influential in the social networking sphere than Barack Obama or The Dalai Lama.^[54] According to Jan Hoffman of The New York Times, part of Bieber's appeal stems from his YouTube channel. Long before he released his EP, My World, in mid-November, the YouTube videos attracted millions of views."^[14] Braun recognized the appeal. Prior to flying him to Atlanta, Braun wanted to "build him up more on YouTube first" and had Bieber record more home videos for the channel. "I said: 'Justin, sing like there’s no one in the room. But let's not use expensive cameras.' We'll give it to kids, let them do the work, so that they feel like it's theirs," recalled Braun.^[14] Bieber continues to upload videos to the same channel and has opened a Twitter account, from which he interacts with fans regularly;^[10] his account was reported in November 2010 to have over 6 million followers.^[55] The accounts also serve marketing purposes; for example, Bieber's music video for "One Time" only began selling quickly after it was uploaded to YouTube.^[56]

Usher comments that while he and Bieber were both signed at the same age, "I had the chance to ramp up my success, where this has happened to Bieber abruptly." As a result, Usher, Braun, Bieber's bodyguard Kenny, and other adults surrounding Bieber constantly coach him on handling fame and his public image.^[14] After signing Bieber, Usher appointed one of his former assistants, Ryan Good, to be Bieber's road manager and stylist. Good, once nicknamed Bieber's "swagger coach", created a "streetwise look" for the singer which consisted of baseball caps, hoodies, dog chains and flashy sneakers. Amy Kaufman of The Los Angeles Times comments, "Though a product of a middle-class suburban upbringing in Stratford, Ontario, Bieber's manner of dress and speech ("Wassup man, how you doin'?" or "It's like, you know, whateva' ") suggest he's mimicking his favorite rappers."^[57]

Bieber is often featured in teen magazines such as Tiger Beat,^[14] and has been labeled a "teen hearthrob".^[58]

Bieber is a practicing Christian.^[59]

Bieber has released a collection of nail varnishes with OPI to raise awareness for charity. ^[60]

Crowd control problems

Bieber's popularity has caused safety concerns. While promoting My World, Bieber was scheduled to appear at Long Island's Roosevelt Field Mall, but the performance had to be cancelled.^[61] The event got out of control, and over 35 units from the Nassau County and Garden City police departments had to be called in. Several fans received minor injuries. The police arrested an Island Records senior vice-president, James A. Roppo, reportedly for hindering the police's crowd control efforts by not sending a timely message on Twitter as instructed by the police.^[61] James Roppo pleaded not guilty to all charges.^[62][63] On March 24, 2010, Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun, was arrested on one count of second-degree reckless endangerment and one count of second-degree criminal nuisance related to the incident. Braun pleaded not guilty to both charges and was later released.^[64]

On April 26, 2010, a scheduled promotional performance was cancelled by Australian police after several girls were injured in a crowd crush. Bieber was scheduled to sing three songs for the Channel Seven program, Sunrise. In a Twitter message after the incident, Bieber said: "I want to make this clear... I don't cancel." Bieber's tweet continued, stating: "I woke up this morning to the police canceling the show for safety reasons. I'm very happy about the welcome and the love from around the world, but I want everyone to still remember my fans' safety comes first. At the end of the day I want you all to enjoy the music."^[65]. The incident did not deter Justin Bieber from scheduling a five-city tour in Australia, as announced on December 2010.^[66]

Target for critics, pranksters, and parodies

Bieber has often been criticized for looking and sounding younger than his age, his teen-pop music, image, and frequent media attention.^[67] He has been a frequent target for internet bloggers and message board posters—notably by users of internet message board 4chan, users of YouTube,^[68] and various Facebook groups. Pranks have included a successful campaign to push "Justin Bieber Syphilis" to the top of the Google Trends Hot Searches list; hacked YouTube videos that were altered so as to redirect users to adult websites or trigger pop-up messages saying that Bieber had been killed in a car accident; his Last.fm photograph being changed to pornographic images; various rumors circulated, from rumors that Bieber had died, joined a cult, or even that his mother was offered $50,000 to pose topless in Playboy magazine—none of which were true.^[69] This all forced the affected companies to update their security protocols to reverse the damage, and Bieber himself tweeted to fans reassuring them that he was still living and that false rumors about his mother "just grossed and weirded [him] out."^[69]

Most notable was the campaign to send Bieber to North Korea as part of his world tour (entitled My World Tour).^[69] This was carried out in part by 4chan, digg, and reddit users voting for the country on the tour's website, for the free competition to nominate a bonus country for the tour—the second-placed country being Israel, which presumably was voted for by Israelis genuinely wishing to attend the concert.^[69] It is highly unlikely that Bieber would actually have been given permission by the North Korean government, or concert organizers and management, to enter the country.^[69] Universal Music Group has denied any involvement in a poll that became the target of an online prank. A spokesperson for UMG told BBC News that it was a "hoax" but declined to give any further comment.^[70] Nick Collins of The Daily Telegraph speculated that "Bieber's character also appears to strike a particularly sour note with his Internet critics, with many remarks commenting on his youthful appearance, his teen-pop songs, his image as a heart-throb to young teenage girls and his manner of speech".^[71]

In 2004, producer Sean "Diddy" Combs returned with Making the Band 3, this time searching for the next female super group.^[4] With the help of choreographer Laurie Ann Gibson, vocal trainer Doc Holiday and talent manager Johnny Wright, he set out on a multi-city search and chose twenty young singers out of almost 10,000 young women.^[4][5] While seven women remained, Combs became discontent with the level of talent remaining in the competition, and eventually decided not to form a band.^[4] He did, however, give a reprieve to three contestants he felt deserved another chance, including then-best friends Aubrey O'Day and Aundrea Fimbres, whose close bond originally formed early in the season.^[4] The three contestants became the first to appear in Season 2 of the show.^[4]

Afterwards, Combs once again pressed his team to audition new young women for the group.^[4] Finally, twenty young women were chosen and moved into a loft in New York City.^[4] Viewers had become invested in O'Day and Fimbres's friendship, naming them "the AUs" and "Aubrea" (portmanteux of their first names put together), as they watched the two compete all over again for positions in the group.^[4][6] As the competition's challenges increased, their friendship seemed to become the foundation upon which the group was being built.^[4] In addition, O'D ay emerged as the show's breakout star.^[4][5]

Just one week before he's officially sentenced following the plea deal he struck in the Rihanna case, Chris Brown appeared at ease as he joined Keri Hilson in Los Angeles on the set of what is apparently Hilson's next video, "Slow Down."

The pair were joined by plenty of musical company: Omarion, Monica, Polow Da Don and Pussycat Doll Melody Thornton were all also on set.

Founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995, the Pussycat Dolls began as a burlesque dance revue based in Los Angeles, spawned a second revue in Las Vegas, grew into an A-list phenomena with a revolving cast of guest celebrities, and eventually became a recording act with a number one dance hit. It wasn't long after launching its revue that the troupe began attracting actresses and models who wanted to become a Pussycat Doll for a night. Christina Aguilera, Pamela Anderson, Kelly Osbourne, Pink, Britney Spears, Carmen Electra, and Gwen Stefani are just some of the names who donned lingerie and pinup costumes and joined the Dolls for their flirtatious shows. An appearance in the 2003 film Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle was followed by numerous television appearances, most with Carmen Electra.