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As they say, never judge a book by its cover. And that old adage couldn't be more true than in the case of actress Gwyneth Paltrow. The public first became aware of the Oscar-winning beauty's musical chops on the film Country Strong where she sang the film's title song of the same name.
When I first heard Ms. Paltrow sing, I thought, "Hmph, not bad." But, it wasn't until I heard her sing Cee-Lo's popular tune "F**k You" on Glee and at the 2011 Grammy's that I really took notice.
Check out Gwyneth Paltrow on Glee and Grammy'shere and here.
Suddenly, there was some soul there that I hadn't heard or noticed before. I admit, it made me wonder about Ms. Paltrow. On the outside, she appeared to be from a WASP-type pedigree. And, fair or unfair, I don't usually expect persons from such backgrounds to have been exposed to diversity in the true and genuine sense of the word (as in exposure to different persons, cultures, environments, class levels, etc). The type of background, mind you, that typically breeds the soulful sounds routinely found in Gospel, R&B, Soul, Jazz, and some forms of Rock & Roll and Country (yes, country).
As many of you did, I watched the season finale of the Real Housewives of Atlanta (RHOA) this past Sunday. It was a hot mess, of course. Does anyone else think model Cynthia Bailey made the worst mistake of her life by going through with her wedding to Peter? Maybe it was the editing, but I felt like I was watching a modern-day omen of evil or something. Not evil in the traditional God vs. Devil sense, but rather Happy Marriage vs. Bad Marriage with Deadbeat Husband sense.
Don't act like y'all don't know what I mean when I say "Bad Marriage with Deadbeat Husband." These are those relationships where the woman is worse off IN the marriage (or long-term relationship) than as a single woman. Hmph! That saying, 'I Can Do Bad By Myself' didn't come from nowhere.
As a woman, I just didn't like how there seemed to be a lack of communication and trust around the issue of money for the couple. In particular, I didn't like how Peter shut down and didn't want to talk about money whenever Ms. Bailey asked - rightfully so - how they were going to pay for the remaining wedding expenses. Remember now, he closed Uptown Restaurant and Lounge without talking it over with her or letting her in on his plans before the fact, knowing this was how they were going to pay for their wedding. When he finally told her (after already shutting the place down), he just wanted her to accept that he would "figure it out" and "come up with the money." Uh, I don't think so.
Fast-forward to the wedding. Do you think everything was "figured out" money-wise? Nope. Mama Bailey (another woman, of course) was the one that came up with three thousand dollars to cover the wedding bar (a requirement by the venue). 'Cause, of course, it wasn't taken care of. Oh, then there was the case of the wedding bands. Apparently, Peter was in charge of securing these and bringing them to the ceremony. Did it happen? Naw. So, the women were scrambling trying to figure out how they were going to find and purchase a set of wedding bands by the ceremony's start time (in a few hours). In the end, they ended up foregoing the rings so the couple never exchanged them when it came to that point in the marriage vows. Here's my thing: Peter already failed to follow through on this big responsibility, but then he had the audacity to have Ms. Bailey learn about it on their wedding day - a few hours before the ceremony! Hmph. Are you noticing the pattern that I am?
To be expected, I'm not a fan of Peter, by any means. I hope I'm wrong and it was just the editing. 'Cause as it stands, it looks like Ms. Bailey's marriage to Peter was the worst thing she could have done. There just didn't seem to be much happiness in doing it. Plus, there seemed to be too much turmoil about important issues already. We all know that money and sex are two major causes of divorce nowadays. I don't know about the latter, but we already know money is a big problem for the couple. Let's hope this marriage's detractors, myself included, are wrong. Ms. Bailey seems like a wonderful woman. I hope she has the marriage and husband she deserves.
Now, back to what I originally wanted to talk about. In case you missed it, Kandi's protege "Miss Lawrence" Washington released his first single Closet Freak this week. Miss Lawrence is one of RHOA's breakout stars this season. He's Sheree's hairstylist and can often be seen cutting it up with the ladies. Well, he can now add vocal artist to his growing list of talents.
Here's a clip of his first live performance here and here.
The day after Christmas, R&B legend Teena Marie, 54, passed away suddenly in her sleep. As of today, the cause of her death is unknown. According to reports from TMZ, the 'Ivory Queen of Soul' may have died from a grand mal seizure. The songstress apparently suffered from this exact same seizure a month before her death and has a history of seizures, in general.
Teena Marie, born Mary Christine Brockert, first appeared on the scene in 1979 with the release of her debut album Wild and Peaceful. Signed in 1976, Teena Marie was Motown's first white soul artist. Due to careful marketing, fans didn't know of her racial background until her second album Lady T hit shelves in 1980. Her picture graced the cover. Of course, by this time her color didn't matter to fans one bit. Her talent - and authenticity - had already been proven multiple times over.
Almost from the moment Teena Marie burst onto the scene, she has cranked out hit after hit after hit. Remember Square Biz, Fire and Desire (duet with Rick James), Ooo La La La and Lovergirl just to name a few? What's even more impressive is that Teena Marie wrote, produced and arranged almost all of her songs since 1980. Amazing doesn't even come close to describing her talent.
