Kim talks divorce number two; Lopez wins award for film; Hawaii erects Presley statue; Nas to launch shoe line; Santana is a restauranteur; Astbury leaves group; Michaels gets reality show.
Kim Mathers talks divorce redux
The girl that Eminem apparently can't live with--or without--took to the airwaves this week to talk about her second divorce from the Detroit rapper. Kim Mathers appeared on The Dr. Keith Ablow Show to talk about her two marriages to Eminem. "When Marshall's first tour started is when his ego just went 'poof,'" she told Ablow. "You know he was untouchable. Like he was God, that's what he thought."
When the couple married for the second time in January 2006, Mathers said she told Eminem, "'Let's just go through the ceremony but not sign the marriage license.' Because I was just afraid of what would happen if we had to go through a divorce, our kids. And then 41 days later, February 25, Marshall left. I believe that Marshall has issues on how to express his love and I don't think he knows how to treat women because he wasn't treated well by his mother. He still had a lot of anger towards her."
J-Lo lands award for Bordertown film
Jennifer Lopez has been honored by Amnesty International for producing and starring in Bordertown, a new film examining the murders of women in a Mexican border city. Lopez told Reuters she felt very humbled to receive the human rights group's Artists for Amnesty award from East Timor's Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace laureate.
The 38-year-old singer-actress plays an investigative journalist reporting on the serial killings of women in Ciudad Juarez, on Mexico's border with the US. Amnesty International puts the number of women and girls killed in Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua since 1993 at more than 400. Lopez described it as "one of the world's most shocking and disturbing, underreported crimes against humanity." Bordertown premiered today at the Berlin film festival.
Hawaii erects Elvis statue
In an effort to commemorate Elvis Presley's landmark 1973 "Aloha from Hawaii" concert in Honolulu, Hawaii is set to erect a life-size bronze statue of Presley. The statue will be erected outside the venue where the Aloha from Hawaii special was filmed and it will depict him as he appeared in that performance, which was one of the first concerts to be broadcast globally via satellite. TV Land is sponsoring the sculpture, with approval from Elvis Presley Enterprises. The statue will be unveiled in late July.
TV Land will show an Elvis-related program every day throughout the month of August, including Aloha from Hawaii and the '68 Comeback Special, as well as Elvis' movies and documentaries about him. "Elvis remains an idol and a hero to so many of us," Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann said told the Associated Press. "Hawaii considers him an adopted son."
Nas to launch shoe line
Hip-hop might be dead, but diversifying your revenue streams certainly isn't. Nas said this week that he will partner with 310 Global Brands, the marketing and merchandising arm of 310 Motoring, to release a signature line of footwear called the Disciple Footwear Collection. The rapper said he will have a role in designing the line, which draws its name from his 2004 album Street Disciple.
"310 is not based on a one-size-fits-all approach," Nas said in a statement. "It's about customization, expressing your own personal style and Disciple Footwear Collection by 310 is born out of this same spirit. I'm excited to design styles that respect that we are not all the same--that we're here to celebrate our diversity, our roots, our history." The footwear line is expected to hit stores in June.
Santana launches restaurant chain
Carlos Santana is set to start a chain of Mexican restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area under the name of one of his hit single with Wyclef, "Maria Maria." The chain, which will feature an "atmosphere inspired by his music," will launch with a restaurant in Walnut Creek, California, to be followed by restaurants in Marin County's Mill Valley in May and Sonoma County's Santa Rosa in June. The 59-year-old musician and his wife, Deborah, announced a partnership this week with Walnut Creek-based Dudum Sports & Entertainment Corp. to turn several existing restaurants into Santana's Maria Maria.
"The passion that we have for food and for creating a unique experience really resonated with Carlos and Deborah," said Jeff Dudum, DSE's chief executive. "I couldn't be more excited about having the opportunity to work with them on restaurants that honor and celebrate Latin American culture, food and music."
The legendary guitarist also said this week that he has no plans to reunite his original Santana band. Appearing on the KGO Radio's Ronn Owens Show, Santana said he would rather "find new kids on the streets" than to reform his band, as he did last year in San Francisco for an annual benefit concert for kids with autism.
Astbury leaves Doors revival group
Ian Astbury is ready for his impersonation of Jim Morrison to end. The British singer said today that he has quit Riders on the Storm, the Doors revival group he formed with former Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robbie Krieger, and intends to resurrect his old band the Cult. Astbury had served as lead vocalist for the Doors revival group, mimicking both Morrison's vocals and appearance. The new group was originally called the Doors of the 21st Century, until Manzarek and Krieger lost a lawsuit filed by former Doors drummer John Densmore, who said the Doors name was being cheapened on the oldies tour circuit.
"I have decided to move on and focus on my own music and legacy," Astbury, 44, said in a statement. "I have enjoyed performing and sharing the stage with Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger immensely. I have learned a great deal from the both of them, and it certainly has expanded my abilities as a performer. This has been a difficult decision to make but I feel I would be holding them back as well as myself if I did not depart at this time."
Poison's Michaels gets VH1 reality show
Bret Michaels aspires to be Flavor Flav. The former Poison frontman will be the subject of the latest VH1 reality series inspired by the runaway success of Flav's Flavor of Love. The cable network is set to debut a 10-episode reality series titled Rock of Love With Bret Michaels in July. The show will feature Michaels looking for a woman who can keep up with his rock-and-roll lifestyle and not become jealous of his one true passion--performing--which is said to be the reason for and destruction of most of his relationships.
The women, who will live with Michaels in his "Los Angeles rock palace," will be put through various challenges in a test of their devotion to him as well as their understanding of everything rock-and-roll. Those who win these challenges will join Michaels on "wild and exclusive excursions," while "those who can't hang like true backstage VIPs will be escorted out in bona fide rock star fashion," VH1 said.