Thursday, January 01, 2009

Blind Items Revealed

December 2, 2008

This former A list R&B female singer was a really big thing back in the day. Well after she stopped performing so much she gained a few pounds. Well, more than a few actually. So, when she finally came back and did a new CD, she was a little concerned about the photo on the cover of it. The record label offered to airbrush the photo and make her look as skinny as she wanted to be. Well, she said no, and that she would just go ahead and get some photos taken on her own. A few weeks later the label got some photos of her in the mail. They were great photos. The problem was they had all been taken fifteen years and fifty pounds earlier. She insisted that the photos were taken all in the past week or so and those were the ones she wanted on the cover of the CD. With no choice in the matter, the label did as she said. Then she also decided that she couldn't do any concerts because if she did, people would see she looked nothing like the cover photo, so she did no promotion for the CD at all.

Anita Baker

21 comments:

Geebz said...

OMG...that's too bad because her voice is amazing. I'm not sure her fan base is about her look as it is all about the music. She's never been a 'Janet', 'Whitney', or 'Mariah'. She's appreciated for her distinctive singing voice and smooth style.

ms snarky said...

cool I totally got this one!

Heather Matthews said...

that is both laughable and sad. Unfortunately, society is incredibly hard on women with regard to their appearance.
people are amazingly cruel about weight gain, look at Britney. even tho she was batshit crazy, so much energy went into trashing her looks :)
I think Anita should get a grip, but I can see where that kind of insecurity comes from.

www.heathermatthews.ca

Unknown said...

I have always been a huge fan of Anita Baker, her voice is amazing

Sue T. said...

This blind must be an oldie since Anita's last album came out in 2005 (an Xmas album). I did manage to find one recent photo of Anita.

Jazz Hands said...

photo of her from 2007 here.

p.s. when I googled her, I also found out that she owes a lot in back taxes. Perhaps that explains the new CD?

Ms. said...

According to Wikipedia (I know, I know, don't smack me), she did tour in 2008 and her concert Her "performance at DTE Energy Music Theater on July 12, 2008, was recorded."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_Baker

Also, Anita is performing at Radio City Music Hall Feb 13 & 14.

http://www.coasttocoasttickets.com/concerts/anitabaker_tickets.shtml

Sorry enty, but I think your source is slightly off on this one.

lmnop123 said...

She released an album a few years back which I have and absolutely loved. I wonder if this is old info. because according to Wikipedia her last cd was in 2004.

I have to admit when she put out that cd she looked like a hot mess. Not only had she gained weight but her hair was unkempt and her appearance was one of a has been. I don't think it was the weight gain that embarrassed her but her entire image.

I heard that a long time ago she ruined her career because of drug abuse. I don't know if was true but she definitely has let herself go.

farmgirl said...

I think the blind referred to the last cd - not something current.
Why is everyone getting so hostile around here?
No room for haters - life is hard enough.

Ms. said...

@farmgirl
I don't think anyone's being a hater...on this post. It's written as though it is current and it's obviously three or four years old. I think that threw everyone off a wee bit.

farmgirl said...

I know Ms. - It is on the other posts but this was the most current at the time.
thanks for clarifying!

Jen said...

Anita Baker stopped touring because she had married & started a family (2 sons born in the late 1980's) She wasn't on drugs, but the heavy touring schedule didn't mesh with getting pregnant & raising kids. From what I understood, she was more family focused for about 15 years before getting back to her career. Boring stuff, but not all performers are junkies.

lmnop123 said...

Jen that was the rumor at the time that she stopped performing. According to Wiki she and her husband are divorcing. Do you know if that is true?

Jen said...

Hmm, the rumor I heard was she was having real problems getting pregnant and was touring constantly (which I remember being true). She didn't seem drugged out - I saw her a couple of times in concert and she was great and really personable. She was gaining some weight, but a long way from fat (just not pixie-ish). I live in Ohio and we tended to get some gossip about her from the Detroit area, but it was just regular stuff, not anything but her being sick of the touring & wanting to make babies. I think I've been hearing the divorce thing since she made the '04 album. Not sure if it's true. But in the almost 20 years she's been retired, there hasn't been anything salacious out there. A 45-50 year old woman who has packed on some pounds (but not Aretha pounds, mind you) ain't that uncommon!

Y D Shine said...

Yes, dollar, Baker and Bridgeforth are divorced.

Great job, EL, I'm loving the reveals.

lmnop123 said...

Jen, you had already cleared up the leave of absence before, I was only asking about the divorce rumors but thanks for responding to both.

Jen said...

Glad to be of service, dollar. Guess the Rust Belt gossip mill is still in working order re: the divorce.

Molly said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Molly said...

anita baker didn't fit the clues since she has appearances that weren't canceled. no wonder most of us were thinking it wasn't her.

thnx for the links to her pics- she doesn't look bad, so i don't know why she feels she had to cancel. so she gained a few lbs - she's certainly not aretha franklin size.

j74 said...

That's too bad! I wouldn't have cared about the weight issue! She's so talented

Karmen said...

Thank you so much for revealing this one! It drove me nuts!

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