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Usher Talks About Building A Lifestyle Brand

by Samantha Critchell | AP Fashion News

Usher knows his stuff when it comes to fashion.

The R&B singer describes his style as "flashy classy" and he is known for seamlessly moving between three-piece banker suits and leather jackets. He admires edgier designers such as Rick Owens, Marc Jacobs and Kris Van Assche.

Usher has enough business savvy to say it's not the right time for him to launch his own label, but he is in New York to promote his new fragrance, Usher VIP, a follow-up to Usher He, which ranked in the top 40 of men's prestige fragrance sales this year, according to market data researcher NPD.

This is all moonlighting for him, though. Musically, Usher had the No. 3 hip-hop song according to Nielsen/BDS with "Papers."

On this day Usher is in a luxurious hotel suite wearing a long blue cardigan sweater, dark jeans and black leather boots to answer fashion questions from The Associated Press:

AP: What's the most important element of your look?

Usher: It's about how you feel, not about `fashion.' It's about healthy living, the combination of foods you eat. ... Those ancillaries are what lead you to `fashion.' Fashion can be a beautiful scarf, soft cashmere sweater or cool boots.

AP: Where do you find inspiration for your style?

Usher: My taste develops the more I'm introduced to things, the more I travel and experience different lifestyles. I always go out and embrace where I am — I don't stay locked up in a hotel room. I am an eclectic spectator.

AP: Why isn't there an Usher fashion label yet?

Usher: I'm building a lifestyle brand and I'm not rushing to do clothes. I feel like I'm speaking to my customer now with the fragrances, and, in this economy and with my style and attention to detail, my clothes won't come cheap. It's not the right time.

AP: What did you wear when you sang at President Obama's holiday concert earlier this month?

Usher: I worked with the president's tailor. I wanted an edge but be appropriate and I wanted to be warm. The scarf I wore was attached to the jacket, which was cashmere and had waxed silver thread. I wore a slim pant that was dressy and well tailored — and I'm in good shape now so I didn't mind showing off a little. I wore black boots that were like spats with French buttons by Dsquared2. ... It was all new for the president.

AP: What's with the beard?

Usher: It keeps me warm.

Is Mariah Carey Back On Drugs? Check Out This Interview

Let's face it.  One of favorite pop divas, Mariah Carey, has gone bonkers and needs help -- mentally.  Her career steadily languishes as she continues to expose herself to be clowned by the bloggers, critics and fair-weathered fans.  The aforementioned are justified because we want to see the crazy pop singer be a sophisticated, singing diva the world grew to love through the early 90's and in 2005.  Instead, Ms. Carey-Cannon prefers to be an aging 39-year-old wearing unflattering outfits that look better on 18 year-olds and whispering throughout childish lyrics rather than belting out soulful tunes that her made the reigning pop queen for many years.

Check out this interview on "Live With Regis & Kelly" that took place yesterday.  There are many things wrong with this interview for Mariah.  First, with her worst selling album of her career continuing to be unnoticed, Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel got less than five seconds of promotion while its was overshadow by conversations about her 2008 marriage to Nick Cannon and her mini-performance on the critically acclaimed film Precious.  Apparently, the TV hosts were not interested in her music like the majority of the people that bought The Emancipation Of Mimi.  However, that was not the most startling situation in this interview.

Did Mariah answer questions as if she was inebriated or drugged up?  Also, what is up with her diction?  In her earlier days as a songwriter, Mariah used plenty of collegiate words in her lyrics effortlessly, yet in this interview, she mention how she "was like" every time she wanted to express herself in conversations with others.  This was no MTV interview as the target audience of "Regis" are baby boomers rather than teens.

When will Mariah learn that she will continue to fail when does not submit to the easy demands from her fans?

TV Host Bryant Gumbel Reveals Having Throat Cancer

 

Bryant Gumbel is being treated for a malignant tumor, the former "Today" show anchor revealed on "Live! With Regis & Kelly" Tuesday morning.

The sportscaster and TV host, 61, said he had surgery last month to remove the tumor in his chest, a revelation prompted when Kelly Ripa asked Gumbel, subbing for Regis Philbin, to dance – and he begged off. According to Gumbel, part of his lung was removed, and he will be seeing his surgeon next week.

"We had told a few people, we told my family, obviously. I even kept it from my staff at "Real Sports." So I'm okay for the time being," he said. "I'm hoping they green-light me to play golf again."

Jennifer Hudson Talks Baby's First Christmas On "Oprah"

New mom Jennifer Hudson proudly shows of photos of her son David Jr. on the "Oprah" as she explains all the neat ideas planned to celebrate the holiday season with him and her husband.

"I'm gonna go crazy," she told Oprah Winfrey on her show Monday after proudly sharing new pictures of the 4-month-old bundle of joy. "He's very aware, but he's young and it's his first Christmas, so you have to go all out. I kind of want to bring him his own Santa Claus and have a toy store in the house, full of things. It's my warm-up, though, for the years to come, when he's older and he can enjoy it."

Don't you wish you could be Jennifer's child?

Enjoy!

Coolio Remembers His Ugly Days

Apparently, rapper Coolio think that his stringy braids and his lack of style are very attractive because he recalled this days as an ugly youth.  Check out this quote from a radio interview from this rapper-turned-reality TV star.

"I was an ugly-duckling kid. Nobody liked me. My lips were this size when I was 12. You can imagine what I looked like. I had a big-ass head, big lips, and I used to like to read so much that I would walk down the street literally with my head in a book, only looking up to cross the street. They used to call me 'Old Man Artis' " -- Coolio, real name Artis Ivey Jr., on the Radio Happy Hour on DrBlog stein.com

SMDH