Blog Posts by Chris Willman

In his first hosting gig on Saturday Night Live, Justin Bieber didn't address the Grammy snub that allowed him to be at New York's Rockefeller Center instead of L.A.'s Staples Center this weekend.

But he was plenty willing to make light of two other controversies that have dogged him in the last couple of months: that, post-Selena, he's supposedly turned into a pothead and a womanizer. His attitude, if we can take the evening's comedy sketches as any indication? Guilty as charged on having been ganja-crazy as well as girl-crazy, and sorry about the former, if not the latter.

The pot reference arrived during a "Miley Cyrus Show" sketch in which Bieber played a Miley super-fan guesting with Cyrus (Vanessa Bayer), now showing off her punky blonde mullet, as was dad Billy Ray (Jason Sudeikis). The Bieb got to refer to himself in the third person as a "douche" who "looks like a lesbian." "I heard he still has his baby teeth," said Bieber of Bieber, bewigged and squinting like a younger

Read More »from Justin Bieber Owns Up To Being Girl-Crazy And Ganja-Crazy, Sorta, On ‘SNL’

Pink performs at the 2010 Grammy Awards (WireImage)Attention Grammy performers: The network wants you to cover your behind. Literally.

"Please be sure that buttocks and female breasts are adequately covered," reads a "wardrobe advisory" sent out from CBS' standards and practices department. "Thong type costumes are problematic." Aren't they always?

Don't worry, there are more "problems" to come. "Please avoid exposing bare fleshy under curves of the buttocks and buttock crack. Bare sides or under curvature of the breasts is also problematic." In other words, ladies, CBS would really rather not see your side-cleavage or under-cleavage... and that goes for rear-end cleavage, too, guys.

The memo, as leaked by Deadline Hollywood, does go on. "Please avoid sheer see-through clothing that could possibly expose female breast nipples," CBS tells the performers' reps. "Please be sure the genital region is adequately covered so that there is no visible 'puffy' bare skin exposure."

What hath Beyonce wrought? Memos like these have not been a

Read More »from CBS Warns Grammy Performers: Lay Off The Bare Skin, Beyonce Wanna-Bes!

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

Read More »from Karen Carpenter’s Death, 30 Years On: The Tipping Point For Eating Disorder Awareness

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

Read More »from Is Singing ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ A Sure Recipe For A Backlash? Go Ask Alicia

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.

Read More »from Bowl-Watching Celebs (Mostly) Gush Over Beyonce, Alicia Keys

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

Read More »from Will Beyonce Swim Or Synch? Super Bowl Bettors Lay Odds

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

Read More »from Adam Levine Dishes Up Deep Deadpan As ‘SNL’ Host

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.”

Read More »from Andrew Ridgeley Turns 50: How The Wham!-ster Woke Up And Went-Went