Santa slammed on the brakes and made an early stop at the Pepsi Coliseum, Indianapolis,
Indiana, delivering a stage-full of the season’s hottest pop musical acts
to both good little boys and girls. Billed as the Santa Slam, courtesy of 93.1
Radio Now, six acts hit the stage on a ‘bust-ery,’ sorry,
blustery winter’s night…Santa’s elves sure have changed…
The lineup included The
Click Five, The
Pussycat Dolls, Nikki Flores, Rihanna,
Hope Partlow, and Howie Day. The Veronicas were scheduled to appear but had
to cancel due to illness.
Pussycat Dolls
The ‘naughty but nice’ Pussycat Dolls were created in 1995 by choreographer
Robin Antin in a LA garage with a little help from her roommate, Christina Applegate.
Hoping to recapture the excitement of a live burlesque show, Applegate suggested
the urban cabaret perform at the Sunset Strip’s renowned Viper Room. Combining
a Bob Fosse-like performance costumed in sexy lingerie proved to be a winning
combination as the Pussycat Dolls became the Thursday night opening act for
the next six years.
Antin’s formula offered an outlet for Hollywood hotties to perform as
sexy burlesque-style dancers for a night. But the focus changed to musical performances
when No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani came to a show and said she’d like
to do a guest spot, not just to dance but to sing and Christina Aguilera followed
suit. In 2002, the show needed a bigger venue so The dolls packed up the troupe
and landed at The Roxy. For two shows a week, for seven weeks, The Roxy was
sold out. Over time, other guest performers have included Carmen Electra, Brittany
Murphy, Charlize Theron, Kelly Osbourne, Pink, Nikka Costa, Paris Hilton and
Pamela Anderson. All of the ‘pussycats’ appeared just for fun and
the notoriety of purring in good company…no monetary catnip accepted.
The
Pussycat Dolls Photo Gallery
Proving that sex will always sell, the Pussycat Dolls has diversified and has
turned into a brand name. They’ve got a record deal with Interscope Geffen
A & M with a little studio help from the Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am and
producer Timbaland. The Pussycat Dolls recorded their full-length debut, PCD
in the summer of 2005 and the debut single, "Don't Cha," featuring
Busta Rhymes, hit the air this summer.
On Monday December 19, 9PM/NBC, the Pussycat Dolls will be showcased on the
Radio Music Awards. The girls will perform Stickwitu and a special holiday song
with Snoop Dogg. The Dolls will also increase their worldwide exposure by performing
during Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.
The Pussycat Dolls is now offering a line of makeup from Stila and The Pussycat
Dolls Lounge opened in April 2005 inside Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas,
featuring a different roster of performers. Futures may hold a line of clothing,
lingerie, perfume, videogames, TV and movie projects, and other lounges. Meow.
The Pussycat Dolls
Nicole Scherzinger
Ashley Roberts
Melody Thornton
Kimberly Wyatt
Carmit Bachar
Jessica Sutta
Rihanna
Rihanna and her very appropriately named debut CD, Music of the Sun, was a welcomed
ray of warm light into the winter wonderland of the Mid-West. A drop-dead gorgeous
green-eyed Caribbean Diva hand delivered a bit of the islands to the Santa Slam.
No beach required.
Nominated Best New Act by MTV Europe Music Awards, Rihanna is striving to bring
her 2005 debut album, Music of the Sun, into the US spotlight. Rihanna’s
name fits her well as her name implies her fairly tale like rise to stardom.
Born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on the Caribbean island of Barbados, Rihanna was introduced
to music producer Evan Rogers while he was vacationing on the island. Rogers
helped Rihanna record demos which eventually led her to Def Jam Recordings where
she was signed by CEO Jay-Z. Pon De Replay, the first single from the album
could easily be considered as one of the hottest, most fun dance songs of the
year.
Rihanna
Photo Gallery
The Tour
12/15: Philadelphia, PA
12/16: New York, NY
12/17: Miami, FL
12/19: Las Vegas, NV
12/20: Toronto
12/21: Ottawa
12/22: Montréal
The Click Five
Clearly The Click Five was the night’s house favorite. The combination
of their ‘beatle-esque’ wardrobe, harmonizing lyrics, and their
sheer enjoyment of performing translated well with the screaming audience. Performing
material from their debut album, Greetings from the Imrie House, The Click Five
proved that they are more than just another boy band.
The
Click Five Photo Gallery
Formed in Boston, MA in 2003, The Click Five has had a busy 2005 fronting for
Ashlee Simpson and Aaron Carter and received worldwide exposure via Macy’s
Thanksgiving Day Parade performing ‘Catch Your Wave’ from their
debut album, Greetings from Imrie House.
Two of the five band members, Eric Dill, lead vocals, rhythm guitar & Joey
Zehr, drums and backing vocals, call Indianapolis their hometown.
The Band
Joe Guese-Guitar
Eric Dill-Vocals, rhythm guitar
Joey Zehr-Drums
Ben Romans-Keyboards
Ethan Mentzer-Bass
The Tour
12/15/05 Buffalo, NY
12/16/05 New York, NY
01/14/06 St. Louis, MO
01/15/06 Cincinnati, OH
01/16/06 Columbus, OH
01/18/06 Towson, MD
01/19/06 Philadelphia, PA
01/20/06 Providence, RI
01/21/06 Hartford, CT
01/22/06 New Haven, CT
Howie Day
Singer, songwriter Howie Day emerged from Bangor, ME into Boston coffeehouse’s
and quickly catapulted his career with his self-produced release, Australia.
Howie bounced back and forth from the road to the studio in an effort to complete
his Australia on his own as finances were tight. After touring full-time with
the likes of the Wallflowers, Shawn Mullins and David Grey in an effort to get
noticed, it didn’t take long for Day to appear on Sony’s radar screen.
Day also released the Madrigals EP, a collection of live tracks and demos that
were produced in his living room. As a result, a new and improved version for
Australia was released under the Epic Records imprint and financing was no longer
an issue.
The key to Day's growing success has been strong grassroots support from enthusiastic
fans that helped spread the word about his music. It began with the Rep Program,
an innovative approach to marketing. Through the program, fans that came to
Day's first shows were given an opportunity to take 10 copies of Australia-on
the honor system-to sell. Members who sold all 10 discs were allowed to attend
Day's shows for free.
Howie Day
Day's latest, Stop All The World Now, was recorded at Olympic Studios in London,
England during the spring of 2003. He spent three months recording 16 songs,
11 of which included on the album, with guitarist Jay Clifford from Jump Little
Children, ex-Verve bassist Simon Jones, Los Angeles keyboard player Les Hall,
and London drummer Laurie Jenkins. Stop All The World Now explores Day's experiences
from the road as he toured for four years as a solo artist and opened for artists
like Sting, Jack Johnson, Sheryl Crow and Tori Amos.
The Tour
12/16 Wichita, KS
Discography
Australia- 2000/2002
Madrigals-2003
Stop All The World Now-2003
Hope Partlow
At seventeen, Hope Partlow is ready to fulfill a lifelong dream. Growing up
on a 100 acre produce ranch in Drummonds, TN, she has country roots underneath
the pop and her musical influences are clearly heard on her debut album, Who
We Are. With the help of a songwriting aunt who lives in Nashville, they put
together a demo of a country rockabilly tune called Red Limousine. The demo
was so well received by Virgin Records; the then fourteen year old had a record
deal.
Hope has been on the Wal-Mart Tour and opened for teen heartthrob Jesse McCartney.
She’s also been on The Jay Leno Show promoting the second single off the
album, Sick Inside.
Hope Partlow
Nikki Flores
At sixteen years old, Nikki Flores either wrote or co-wrote most of her debut
album, This Girl, released in 2005 by Epic Records. The Fontana, California
budding singer/songwriter shows promise. Nikki got her first break when she was featured on Ed McMahon’s “Next
Big Star’ contest in 2001. Inspired by her parents who both sing and play
keyboards - and her grandparents who built a reputation for their performances
at the Padua Hills Theatre in Claremont, Ca., Nikki has the benefit of musical
genetics and the added bene of a family home studio. Ms. Flores wrote her first
song ‘Cry’ by the age of twelve which helped her land Epic Records
in December 2003. After she was flown to New York for a live audition for top
Sony BMG music execs, she sang ‘Cry’ and accompanied herself at
the piano.
Nikki Flores
By: Gwyn Tyme
