Ke$ha

Why Is She Famous?

Don't look now, but it appears as though 2010 has found its first bona fide pop star. With her boozy banger "Tik Tok" searing the charts, and her best-selling debut album, Animal, loaded with potential singles, Ke$ha (nee Kesha Serbet) is poised to become the music industry's next pop princess. Her unique brand of pop swagger is one part Britney, one part Lady GaGa and one part Katy Perry; a literal amalgam of the industry's most surefire tropes. But if you tell her she's no more than a manufactured pop pastiche, expect a bottle to the face and a closed fist to the gut. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Success

Ke$ha has come a long way since her days of living out of a car in L.A. After an uncredited guest vocal on Flo Rida's smash single "Right Round," the aspiring singer couldn't even afford a taco, but the stardom seed had been planted. Having already topped many international charts, her fist single "Tik Tok" became Billboard's first No. 1 song of 2010 and is currently the highest selling digital download ever by a female artist. Her debut album, Animal, fared even better, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard album charts and toppling the juggernaut that is Susan Boyle. Though "Tik Tok" is the only single that's been officially released, several more songs have already begun charting. Ke$ha has also been making the rounds on late-night television and has been booked for the new incarnation of Lilith Fair. Oh yeah, she can now buy all the tacos she wants.

Sexiness

Don't expect her to hold your hand for a walk by the lake, and don't expect her to make you chicken soup when you're feeling under the weather. That's what Hilary Duff is for. But if you want to spend the night in a booze-soaked dream with a provocative, young blonde who may or may not leave you with a black eye, then Ke$ha is the girl for you. Her glammed up trailer-trash-meets-club-goddess look is the perfect elixir after a year dominated by the Taylor Swifts and Miley Cyruses of the world.

Quotes
"I just really wanted to embody the lifestyle that I live. We're all young and broke and it doesn't matter. We can find clothes on the side of the street and go out and look fantastic, and kill it. If we don't have a car that doesn't stop us, because we'll take the bus. If we can't afford drinks, we'll bring a bottle in our purse. It's just about not letting anything bring you down."
- Ke$ha
Biography
Born in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, Ke$ha and her brother were raised by a single mother whose singing and songwriting earned just enough for the family to stay afloat. In 1991, they moved to Nashville, where Ke$ha would spend quality time in the studio with her mother, learning to sing and write songs. The family played host to Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie for their reality show The Simple Life (Ke$ha would go on to puke in Paris' closet years later), before Ke$ha was convinced by super producers Dr. Luke and Max Martin to move back to L.A. to pursue a career in music.
ke$ha struggles in los angeles
If you watch an interview featuring Ke$ha, the odds are that the reason behind the dollar sign in her name will come up. So who are we to not partake in the decoding? The story goes like this: When Ke$ha dropped out of high school and moved to L.A. to pursue a music career, she adopted the life of a vagabond, living with her estranged father, a boyfriend, with some roommates in a Laurel Canyon house, and, at one point, even in her car. Though she sang backup vocals for Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, Ke$ha was unable to obtain the stardom she craved. Even when the rapper Flo Rida overheard her in the studio and enlisted her to sing the hook on his ubiquitous single "Right Round," Ke$ha still lived in relative anonymity and without a record deal. She famously said that although she would hear her voice on the radio all the time, it was ironic that she didn't have enough money in her pocket to buy food, hence the dollar sign in her name.
ke$ha releases "tik tok"
With the help of producer Dr. Luke, Ke$ha signed a deal with RCA records, and began work on her debut album. Her first single, the frisky party anthem "Tik Tok," in which she introduced the playful rapping style she's now known for, started charting overseas before gaining recognition in the States. Eventually, the infectious track about libation-fueled late-night shenanigans and the mornings after reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the first song of 2010 to do so. "Tik Tok" also became the highest selling digital download by a female artist ever, solidifying its status as a genuine phenomenon. Of the songwriting process, Ke$ha has said: "One morning I just woke up, and I live in this house with I don't even know how many roommates -- it's this Laurel Canyon house with seven rooms and roommates fluctuating monthly. I woke up one day after we went to a party, and I was surrounded by 10 of the most beautiful women you've ever seen. And I was like, I'm like P. Diddy -- there's no man like this in the entire world."
ke$ha releases her debut album, animal
It's hard to believe that an album that details such events as puking in Paris Hilton's closet was seven years in the making, but that's how long Ke$ha's debut effort Animal has been gestating. Ke$ha claims to have written over 200 songs for the album although only 14 made the final cut. When Animal debuted on January 5th, it overtook Susan Boyle for the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Album Chart, proving that irreverent party music still has a place in our culture. Duh.

Gillian Jacobs

Why Is She Famous?
Gillian Jacobs is making school cool again thanks to her role as a sassy student with something to prove on Community. The smartly written sitcom has already won fans from coast-to-coast and has transformed Jacobs into one of television’s most talked about new starlets. “We’re so thrilled about this show and thankfully people seem to be excited about it too,” she says. “If we can maintain [the program’s] high level of quality and keep me consistently employed so I don’t have to go back to babysitting, then I’ll be a happy girl!"

Success

Gillian Jacobs is used to being recognized. Unfortunately for her, it’s not always for being an actress. "I was at a bar [recently] and this guy says, 'You look familiar,'" she recalls. "I got secretly excited and thought, 'This is my first big moment of someone recognizing me!' Then he says, 'I asked you out once and you never called me back.' We both smiled uncomfortable smiles and walked away." Encounters like that should soon be a thing of the past as folks from Maine to California start recognizing Jacobs for her role as Britta on NBC’s Community. Although the sitcom is overflowing with talent, Jacobs is primed to become the show’s breakaway star thanks to her irresistible blend of beauty and sass.


Sexiness

For a woman who insists she isn’t a bad girl, Gillian Jacobs is awfully good at playing them on screen. Since gradating from Juilliard in 2004, this Pittsburgh native has delivered one titillating performance after another as an oversexed drug addict in The Little Flower of East Orange, a teenage prostitute in Gardens of Night, an exotic dancer in Blackbird, and a pole-twirling stripper named Cherry Daiquiri in Choke. "I thought I was going to be the ingenue, playing Juliet in Romeo and Juliet or some innocent young thing, and instead I'm playing these lost girls,” she says. “I've snorted fake coke, smoked fake heroin. It's been an education." It’s also been a pleasure to watch, as the aforementioned roles have required Jacobs to show off her fabulous figure in various states of undress. Although she isn’t likely to snort coke or perform any lap dances on Community, Jacobs will continue to make us watch her every move thanks to her beautiful bedroom eyes and seriously sexy swagger.

Quotes

"I had play rehearsal at Juilliard while the MTV Awards were filming at Lincoln Center. You're trying to get to class and it's like, 'Out of my way, Whitney Houston!'"
- Gillian Jacobs
Biography
Growing up in Pittsburgh, Gillian Jacobs never let anything get in the way of becoming an actress. Not even the city’s notoriously inclement weather. “I remember one time there was a really heavy rain and my mom said, ‘You’re not gonna be able to go to acting class today because there’s flooding on the bridges,’ and I was like, ‘We're going!’” Jacobs’ commitment to her craft elevated her to the top of her class and before long she was starring in a number of prominent productions at the Pittsburgh Public Theater. She remained at the theater until 2000 when she left the Steel City for the bright lights of New York to attended Juilliard. “I got no academic education,” she says, “but I got very intense acting training. I was basically locked in a room with 15 people for four years.”
Gillian jacobs makes her big screen debut
Gillian Jacobs graduated from Juilliard in 2004 and made her big screen debut the following year in Building Girl, a charming romantic comedy about a pair of young lovers in Manhattan. Unfortunately, the film received minimal distribution and Jacobs retreated into the theater later that year where she performed in Chris Denham’s psychosexual thriller Cagelove. Jason Zinoman of The New York Times was particularly complimentary of Jacobs’s performance, urging readers to “Remember the name of Gillian Jacobs, a stunning Juilliard graduate who has the glow of a star in the making.”
gillian jacobs stays up all night
Gillian Jacobs received more rave reviews for her work in 2007 thanks to a pair of strong performances in the gritty independent drama Blackbird and the amusing comedy Up All Night, a made-for-TV movie about a group of regulars who hang out at their favorite watering hole until the wee hours of the morning. She also returned to the theater in The Fabulous Life of a Size Zero, an off-Broadway production brimming with sharp dialogue and racy characters.
Gillian jacobs stars in choke
Gillian Jacobs received her big break in 2008 when she was cast in Choke, an inventive comedy about a con-man who plays on the sympathies of those who rescue him from choking to death. Written by Chuck Palahniuk and starring Sam Rockwell and Anjelica Huston, the film received the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to enjoy a successful run in theaters across North America. It also gave Jacobs’ career a tremendous boost and she cashed in with a starring role in Gardens of the Night, a gripping drama about a pair of teenage exiles attempting to survive life on the street. The film became a huge hit on the festival circuit and earned director Damian Harris major awards from the Deuville Film Festival and the Mons International Festival of Love. Jacobs capped off her career year in 2008 by starring in The Little Flower of East Orange, an off-Broadway play directed by Academy Award-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Gillian jacobs is cast in community
Gillian Jacobs came charging out of the gates in 2009 with a trio of well-received guest-starring roles in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Royal Pains and The Good Wife. She also found a recurring gig as a series regular when she was cast as a former high school dropout in the NBC sitcom Community. “I read the pilot and I loved it,” she recalls. “It was the sort of girl who I’d want to play and want to watch. So I was really excited about the script in terms of the project.” Jacobs has also been excited about the chemistry the cast has developed. “All of us just seem to genuinely get along and like each other… and thank god, since we’re an ensemble show!” she says. “But you can’t really plan that. So I feel really lucky to be a part of this cast.”

Indian communist leader Basu dies

Veteran Indian communist leader Jyoti Basu has died at the age of 95.

He led the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) and was chief minister of West Bengal state from 1977 to 2000.

Jyoty Basu was credited with restoring stability to the state, and bringing in land reforms. He died in Calcutta after a long illness.

In 1996 he was offered to lead the federal government as PM in a left-of-centre coalition, but his party chose to support it from the outside.

Mr Basu described his party’s decision decision not to join the coalition as a "historic blunder." New Delhi, Jan 17(ANI): Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Sunday deeply condoled the demise of former West Bengal Chief Minister and senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Jyoti Basu, who died at the AMRI Hospital in Kolkata of multiple-organ failure.

“It is a sad day for us as we remember the great son of India. He has served for many decades, not only the people of West Bengal, but India…he dedicated his entire life to the nation. He was a great patriot, great democrat and a great human,” Chidambaram said.

“He suffered a lot for the last fortnight. I am deeply sad and offer my sincere condolences to the people and government of West Bengal,” he added.

Basu was admitted to the hospital on January 1 with acute respiratory failure bordering on pneumonia. He was also undergoing treatment at the hospital for age-related ailments.

On Friday, doctors at the hospital said in a medical bulletin that his condition was very critical and hope for his survival was receding.No sooner were the reports of Jyoti Basu's death at the age of 95 confirmed that Mamata Banerjee proclaimed him 'the first and last chapter of the Left Front government'. He had a strong camaraderie with even her, and his towering leadership over the Bengal Communist party cadre was in a large part responsible for the 23 years of uninterrupted rule of the CPI(M) in West Bengal.

While West Bengal might have fallen behind in the developmental race, Jyoti Basu's land reforms and labour movements made a strong mark on West Bengal. The inability of the party and ideological freeze made it impossible for Jyoti Basu and the state to move into the market-led economic transformation in the nineties. Nevertheless, his legacy extends beyond strikes and industrial inaction.

His biography is almost a chronicle of international Communism, from his student organizing activities in the United Kingdom during the War. The Communist Party was declared illegal in India between 1940 and 1951, and Comrade Basu continued to work behind the scenes to facilitate underground leaders' meetings and interactions with the Congress Party. When the CPI split in 1964, he opted for the CPI(M) and joined the Politburo. He was first elected to the West Bengal Assembly in 1946, and became Deputy Chief Minister in 1969. His first stint as Chief Minister of West Bengal commenced in 1977, and he ruled uninterrupted upto 2000, when he retired for health reasons. He almost became the Prime Minster of India in 1996, until the Politburo vetoed the idea, which he termed a 'historic blunder'.

The Left Front is at a crossroads, with declining vote shares and the prospect of losing its home base, West Bengal, in the Assembly elections next year.