Thursday, November 17, 2016

Today's Blind Items - Family Casting Couch - Anniversary Month

At one point in time, this singer was A list or really close. For about a year I would say she deserved A list status. Now? You all know her name, but she has not done anything noteworthy in so long that I guess she would probably be a C lister. Only her name and the fact you all know it keeps her from obscurity. She didn't have to be relegated to the whatever happened to pile, she chose to go that route and I know why.

It must be six years ago now that I got a chance to hang out with her. There was a group of six of us having dinner and she came along with one of the six. I remember it was raining that night and the dinner lasted for hours because no one wanted to go out in the rain. Yes, we will melt if rain touches us here in LA. At that point, she was still in the music industry.  I mean, she is today too, but her last success had been five years earlier and it was already in decline at that point. At the time of our dinner she said she was working on a new record. Singers always say that. It does not mean it will happen. In fact, it was another five years or so after that dinner before she released another record. It did awful. Her most recent record before the dinner did awful too.

She was legal when she signed her first record deal. She didn't get that deal though until she had sex with almost every guy on the label who wanted a turn with her. They didn't beat around the bush with her. They said if you want to sign, you will need to have sex with any guy at the label who wants you. Sometimes these guys would have sex with three or four wannabe singers a day.

During the recording of her first record she was told if she wanted the best songs and producers and promotion she would have to sleep with all of those people too. She did. She did everything they told her to do.

That first record was a monster smash. It was huge. The record company made a ton of money off her and wanted another record as quickly as possible. Because they wanted it so quickly, they didn't make her sleep with anyone. They didn't want to take a chance on something going wrong. They just wanted to exploit her success. The second record came out really quickly and was a big success. Not a monster, but the record company still made a ton of money off her, of which she really never saw very much.

The record company then wanted her to record a Christmas record and to do it quickly so again, they didn't ask anything of her. This was not to say they weren't screwing her over in every other way they could.

Fast forward a year or so and after making a lot of money from her while she toured, the record label wanted a new record. Our singer thought it would be the same as it was for the second record and the Christmas record because she was a star now. Nope.

She tried to protest but each time she did, they would suddenly give one of her songs to someone else on the label. She finally gave in to their demands, but waited so long and protested so much there was nothing much left on the record that could be considered a hit. Plus, she waffled on having sex with the promotional team. Her A list boyfriend wouldn't step up for her. He said it was part of the game and he was doing the same thing to women he was signing or thinking about signing.

The new record did well. It made the label money, but it really only did well in the US. When she said she would never sleep with anyone again at the label, they dropped her. When they did, no one would sign her. Also, the label put out the word that no one should do any projects with her which featured her even doing background vocals. Nothing.

Fast forward two a couple of years before our dinner. She is basically out of money. She gets paid a fraction of what she used to get paid to perform. Plus, no one really wants her. She needs to do a new record. The thing is though, even though she was willing to have sex with whoever a new label said, they just were not all that interested in her any longer. One executive though said he liked our singer's sister. So our singer offered her sister up  and made her sister have sex with everyone. It took some time, but the record got made. It bombed though and no matter how much she begged or said she would sleep with someone, the label didn't want her any longer because she wasn't selling records.

Her telling of this story took a good hour and a ton of names were dropped. If she wrote a book just about that hour conversation, it would rock the music industry. Not that they don't know it goes on, but because of the names she named. Their perversions and kink. It is an amazing story.


28 comments:

  1. sandybrook2:26 AM

    Tiffany?

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  2. longtimereader2:28 AM

    So basically the story of pretty much every attractive, young female singer who doesn't write or produce or have a strong manager looking out for them?

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  3. MontanaMarriott2:35 AM

    Ashanti?
    Rumor was she slept with everyone on the label.

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  4. Barbara RiceHand2:36 AM

    Oh I was thinking Jessica Simpson. Only bc of the sister thing.

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  5. CrashDiego2:36 AM

    Toni Braxton?

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  6. Josh Baskin2:37 AM

    I'm thinking Ashanti. A list boyfriend being Nelly. Plus the whole not even being a guest on a song thing. I think she was almost more famous for being on other Los now famous duets. Plus she's made a Christmas album.

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  7. Derek Harvey Closted Heterosexual2:43 AM

    I originally thought Debbie Gibson

    I'm sure this happens to all of them, even Britney. No wonder she's manic.

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  8. AyyyPapi2:44 AM

    Carly Rae Jepsen? Sister being Katie Jepsen?

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  9. I was thinking of her too, and she pretty much fits except that she put out 3 albums, then a Christmas album, and then she switched labels. Pretty close, though.

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  10. PossibilitiesEndless2:51 AM

    Breaking down the timeline and all...Kelly Clarkson seems like a strong possibility.

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  11. longtimereader2:57 AM

    Debbie gibson actually wrote her songs fyi. *admits to owning her first album*

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  12. @MontanaMarriott - Ashanti is who I thought of as well. And, Enty has referred to some kind of arrangement she has had with P.Diddy/Combs/P-Poppa-Diddy-Pop (whatever the hell his name is today) where she has been working off some kind of debt to him. Not sure how that factors into this story, but it seems to be in the same shady line...

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  13. Lapsed Lurker3:52 AM

    Her Christmas album was her sixth album not her third.

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  14. Salaam4:01 AM

    Another reason this points to Ashanti - younger sister, who is known on the party circuit. Google shia Douglas.

    Pretty sure it is her. I don't think a lot of people ever expected Michel'le to open up about Dre the way she has, so maybe one day Ashanti will spill tea.

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  15. Juicy!! I need a good old fashioned tea party with Ashanti :)

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  16. Would say Ke$ha, but she doesn't have a sister.

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  17. Eric J.5:29 AM

    Currently C list? Dropped by her label? No.

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  18. This fits Ashanti spot on, the 1st three albums, and the long breaks between other albums. Really gross story.

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  19. talldark&handsome8:01 AM

    Definitely Ashanti
    Boyfriend is Nelly
    Label Murder Inc. (producer Irv Gotti)
    Sister Kenashia (Shia) Douglas did the song "Colors of the Wind" from Pochohantas Movie and Disneymania Concert
    5 yr gap btwn her last Album for Murder Inc (where she was dropped by a public statement from Irv Gotti -what an asshole by the way) not sure she is broke , has done quite a few films and television. and is a philanthropist.

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  20. Whatever8:49 AM

    Ashanti is a great guess. I thought her initial success was rather surprising; nice looking girl but very mediocre voice and not a huge amount of charisma or stage presence.

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  21. back again12:54 PM

    Gretchen Wilson

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  22. back again1:08 PM

    but @Montana Marriott got this with Ashanti!

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  23. Ashanti is touring this year with Ja Rule.

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  24. What about Cristina Aguilera for this? Third album was a Christmas album, and she has a younger sister. I did very little research for this guess, but those two items fit, at least.

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  25. RenShaw9:05 AM

    This could be just about anyone especially in the rap game. Wrested business. She should write that book.

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  26. AyyyPapi10:50 AM

    Matches well with the 2nd album closely following the 1st and her 3rd being a Christmas album. She's never really dated anyone A list though.

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  27. Bubbles9:48 PM

    Except where were all of these huge smashes Jessica Simpson supposedly had? And she wasn't legal when she signed

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  28. Bubbles9:50 PM

    But Dre being a notorious woman beater was hardly a secret.

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