Blog Posts by Chris Willman

Karen CarpenterWhen Karen Carpenter 's death shocked the world on Feb. 4, 1983, awareness of the life-threatening severity of eating disorders had truly "only just begun." And though she hardly could have foreseen or wanted a messianic role, the notion that self-starvation could kill even the biggest of superstars has contributed to saving countless lives in the 30 years since that jaw-dropping day.

In the interim, dozens of mostly female stars have spoken up about their past or sometimes ongoing bouts with bulimia or anorexia. Jane Fonda dealt with her 30-year battle with eating disorders in her memoir, My Life So Far. Former teen stars Justine Bateman and Tracy Gold became activists on the issue. Others who've been candid about their own struggles include singers Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson, Lily Allen, Fiona Apple, Katherine McPhee, Nicole Scherzinger, and Paula Abdul, along with other celebs like Katie Couric, Mary-Kate Olsen, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Calista Flockhart, Kathy Griffin, and even the

When it comes to celebrity renditions of the national anthem, examples of "what so proudly we hailed" seem a lot less common than examples of "the perilous fight." Just look at the backlash against Alicia Keys' version of the tune before the Super Bowl if you want a good example of bombs bursting in air.

Alicia Keys... creative anthem champ or dirge singer? (Getty Images)The immediate reaction to her languid and jazz-influenced take on "The Star Spangled Banner" from fellow singers as well as critics seemed almost universally positive. "One of the great renditions," tweeted Elisabeth Hasselbeck. "Yes lawd," gushed Spike Lee, suddenly getting religion. Keys "killed it," declared Idol judge Randy Jackson.

But then the general public had its say... and there were plenty of naysayers to complain that Alicia Keys had somehow betrayed Francis Scott Key.

Suddenly Keys found herself joining a not-so-exclusive club of stars who've been excoriated for tackling The Anthem, whether they were similarly polarizing, a la Christina Aguilera and Beyonce, or universally

Most of the big names weighing in on Beyonce's Super Bowl halftime performance loved it so much, they would gladly have put a ring on it. Or even volunteered to personally hold the giant fans that kept the Grammy-winning diva's flowing locks in perpetual motion.

The miming-to-tracks "scandal" of the inauguration appeared all but forgotten, except to note how little it mattered in the wake of the corset-clad queen's friendly takeover of Planet Earth. Here are some of the instant reviews from celebrities and pundits that came in via Twitter and other media:

Beyonce at the Bowl (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)Samuel L. Jackson: "I'm in the DON'T GIVE A F--- IF IT'S PRE-RECORDED OR NOT club!! B's putting' in WURK!!!!"

SNL's Seth Myers, after her strutting opening: "When they invented walking they never dreamed it could ever look that good."

Neil Patrick Harris: "I thought Beyonce crushed it. Amazing. Though I did feel a bit bad for the poor person getting flogged by her hair at the end…"

Former halftime performer Justin Timberlake: "Yes, B.

The pre-Super Bowl XLVII suspense is a killer. The bookies have laid down their odds, and sports fans in every home, school, and workplace across America are placing their own bets over the hotly anticipated outcome. Will the winner be... live, or Memorex?

Grammy-winning superstar Beyonce enters the halftime show of this Sunday's game with the eyes and ears of an overly attentive nation upon her. After her initially acclaimed rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the inauguration suddenly turned into Mimegate, the heat is on. She can either deliver the fully live goods, or...she can lip-synch and still be one of the richest, prettiest, most powerful, and most beloved entertainers in America, notwithstanding the further wrath of a million bloggers. The choice is hers.

Good luck, anyway, finding anyone at this point who'll bet more than a buck on Beyonce's mic being in the off position. Whether the controversy has become overwrought or not, she's surely got too much pride in her

Adam Levine is among the very select group of singers who've hosted Saturday Night Live without also singing—the last example of which was Katy Perry in 2011. Levine had a good excuse for taking the night off as a musician: Maroon 5 was the musical guest just two and a half months ago. But never let it be said he's not a workhorse; Kendrick Lamar's two performance slots represented just about the only post-cold-opening bits in which Levine wasn't being trotted out on screen.

We all know Levine has moves like Jagger, figuratively speaking. But does he also have moves like Justin—as in singer-turned-funnyman Timberlake ? Or like Bruno Mars, who just about set a new gold standard when he hosted SNL (and got huge ratings) in October?

Levine's hosting gig probably won't be as well-remembered as Mars', if only because he went less for mugging and more for the deadpan, which leaves less of a lasting impression. But Levine evidenced even better acting chops than Mars, even if he was mostly

Andrew RidgeleyAndrew Ridgeley used to be the world’s most famous second banana, as the “why’s he up there, again?” member of Wham! These days, though, he’s utterly content to be a non-banana.

As Ridgeley turns 50 this weekend, the one thing former Wham! fans can be assured of is that any celebration will be private. Any insecurity that may have built up as pop fans joked about his lesser role in Wham! didn’t translate into any lasting need to prove himself artistically or even continue to be any sort of public figure. Ridgeley’s been retired, if not an all-out recluse, since his sole solo album came out 23 years ago. And despite persistent rumors of a one-time Wham! reunion, nothing looks to roust him from his cozy nest in the English countryside.

If Ridgeley has a theme song nowadays, it might be something like “Wake me up before you go-go… into town for a pint of milk.”

Blake Shelton is suddenly in hot water—as in not just boiling or steaming but scarring, scalding water—with country music traditionalists. A comment he made on a GAC special has come back to haunt him, as he seemed to be suggesting that folks who are partial to classic country are "old farts" and "jackasses" who should stop complaining, get out of the way, and make way for the new guard.

Blake Shelton... anti-traditionalist?There's something strangely ironic here. Shelton established himself early on in his career as a neo-traditionalist, himself. So how'd he come to suddenly be pilloried as the enemy of classic country?

The risible quote in question comes from a GAC Backstory special on Shelton that aired in December. Toward the end of the show, he declared: "If I am Male Vocalist of the Year, that must mean that I’m one of those people now that gets to decide if it moves forward and if it moves on..." (The interview was apparently taped before Shelton won an even higher plaudit, Entertainer of the Year, at November's

Until a few weeks ago, David Bowie seemed like the most reliably retired major rock star. It turned out he was faking us all out, having been working on a new album under a veil of sworn secrecy and non-disclosure agreements.

So now the mantle of hardest-retiring man in show business may fall to ex-Journey singer Steve Perry, who continues to show few visible signs of coming out of his shell as he turns 64. If you want to see Perry out on the road, it may be time to… you know… stop believin’.

Steve Perry (Jason Kempin/Getty Images)Perry hasn’t released any fresh music since his 1996 swan song with Journey… or done concert dates since his last solo tour wrapped up in early 1995. Fans will recall that, prior to that brief period of mid-‘90s activity, he’d disappeared from the music scene for seven years, while at the height of his fame. Clearly, this homebody was a Journey-man in name only.

No wonder he’s been called “the Howard Hughes of rock.” The analogy falls down only when Perry resurfaces to do interviews—as he did in