Dj Buddy B's Diva Dish 4/5/14

It's all about Love this week, diva devotees! And, of course, by that I mean none other than the Twenty Feet from Stardom diva, Darlene Love. What a success story! What a career! What a life! And now it's coming to cable as a tv-movie. Adapted from Darlene's autobiography, My Name Is Love, the movie is produced by the man behind Twenty Feet, Morgan Neville, and will be on Oprah's own OWN cable channel.

And who will portray Darlene? None other than diva Toni Braxton! Darlene thinks that is, in her words, a "FANTASTIC choice!" Couldn't agree more. Can't wait! Ms Braxton, meanwhile, recently wrapped up her run in After Midnight on Broadway March 30th.

Darlene Love, however, will be singing her last "Baby, Please Come Home" this Christmas season on Late Night with David Letterman. Letterman announced his retirement, this week, as host of the nightly talk/variety show. Love has performed this song on his show every year since 1986 and it sparked her career revival.

This was also a week for birthdays for classic divas of the silver screen. Doris Day, American movie star, recording artist and animal rights activist turned 92 on April 3rd. Nee Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff, she began her professional career as a big band singer with Les Brown and His Band of Renown. She scored her first hit record with Brown, which was "Sentimental Journey." Her clean-cut good looks got her into movies and she became the top-ranking female box-office draw throughout the 1950s and '60s.

Her three comedies opposite Rock Hudson (Pillow Talk, Lover Come Back, Send Me No Flowers) are legendary at this point. The two remained good friends until Hudson's death from AIDS. Day had serious roles as well, notably in Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much (asked how he got such a great performance from the actress, Hitchcock replied, "It wasn't me; it was Doris.") and as singer Ruth Etting in Love Me or Leave Me.

Day received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, an Oscar nomination (for Pillow Talk) and a Presidential Medal of Freedom. She is truly "America's sweetheart" with a squeaky-clean image that, sadly, undercut her being taken seriously as an actress at times. She was offered the role of Mrs Robinson in The Graduate by director Mike Nichols, against type. Day was interested but her husband/manager, Marvin Melchior, turned it down, preferring to cast his golden goose in fluffy comedies that did nothing for her career.

When Melchior died in 1968, Doris Day (who was married and divorced three times) was shocked to discover he had bankrupted her by squandering their earnings she'd worked for. She retired from show buiness in the late 1970s, although, in 2011, Day was the oldest living artist to have a top 10 album in the UK featuring new material. Since the 1970s, Ms Day has been an animal rights and welfare activist until this day, her home in Carmel-by-the-Sea full of well-cared for domesticated animals.

By the way, Doris Day had a very special relationship with Vaseline. Not only did she reportedly slather her face and body in it before sleep every night (to stay young-looking), but Vaseline ~ along with special lens filters ~ were employed to eliminate DD's seriously freckled face on-screen.

April 5th was the iconic Bette Davis' 106th birthday. She left us in 1989, however. Ms Davis' image and film career are so well known, and I've blogged about her so many times, I simply want to acknowledge her birthday and just say ponder how interesting it would have been if she'd co-starred with Doris Day at some point. What Ever Happened to Calamity Jane?

Finally, I leave you with this gone-viral video of Kristen Bell singing "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" (a song she performed in Disney's Frozen) live because it's wonderfully touching, funny and poignant:

The Divas of Billboard's Dance/Club Chart

Hot as the summer itself, here are where the divas that interest me are for the week ending July 21.

Katy Perry's "Wide Awake" is up two notches, currently at third place with the #1 spot (currently occupied by The Wanted's "Chasing the Sun") well within her reach. But there's more than a Firework on its way up her butt as Kylie Minogue's at #4 with "Timebomb," perhaps the hottest song of summer so far (though it isn't summer Down Under). In any case, it's positively incendiary and is Billboard's "Greatest Gainer" pick of the week.

Two of the songs, and the divas, I've been rooting for dipped this week on the chart, much to my disappointment. Because I love these songs and think these women deserve the top spot more than many who've arrived there of late. Debby Holiday's strong, beautiful "Key to Your Soul" (already a gay anthem) dips one rung to the 23rd spot. It's completely possible it could bounce back up, I tell myself. And Katharine McPhee's "Touch Me" (from the NBC-tv series, "Smash") may have peaked at #4 last time as it now has sunken to #9. Still, it had a nice, long ride upward.
http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2012/06/buddy-bs-exclusive-q-with-debby-holiday.html

Jennifer Lopez's "Goin' In" goes up like a rocket, quickly following up on the success of "Dance Again," which reached #1 on the club chart, and on the pop and radio charts as well. "Goin' In" quickly snagged the 18th position last week, and is now all the way in and up at #9.

Kelly Clarkson shows off her "Dark Side" and remixes lift her from last week's #20 to this week's #10. This moved faster than Aretha Franklin devouring a cheesecake (to paraphrase Joan Rivers). Sorry, but I don't think this is anywhere near as good a dance tune as Kelly's last effort, "Stronger," which showed off her Nietzschean side. (I'm so sure Miss Clarkson pours over his philosophical treatises during her free time.)
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Toni Braxton, who took "I Heart You" to #1, has made a graceful deflation off the chart, still nicely sitting at 18.  Carly Rae Jepsen still snug as a bug with "Call Me Maybe" (loving the Almighty UK mix), which peaked at #15. Gossip's "Perfect World" makes a grand entrance into the top 25, at #23 this week, and Scissor Sisters, with power diva Jake Shears, are now at #17, riding "Only the Horses." (I must confess I prefer "Let's Have a Kiki" but have yet to find a decent extended remix.)

Shakira may have told us "Hips Don't Lie," but Nelly Furtado arrives in 25th place with "Big Hoops (Bigger the Better)." And those are the top Divas of the Top 25 of the Billboard dance/club chart this week. Till next time, peace, love and dance your ass off for happiness! Bigger the better.

Below, the video for Scissor Sisters' "Kiki." I love it!

Where My Divas At? Chart Check

Debby Holiday

The phenomenal Debby Holiday has a new song charging up the Billboard dance chart, "Key to Your Soul." Ms Holiday has had ten top-25 hits on that chart so far! Obviously a diva to be reckoned with, she followed her recent top-ten charter, "Never Give Up," made with producer Phil B, with this number produced by the always fabulous John LePage. Available on iTunes with multiple remixes. Just terrific! And currently # 26 with a bullet!

Toni Braxton is back on top (well, almost). She's at  numero dos this week with "I Heart You," buoyed largely by the Mark Picchiotti and Peter Rauhofer club mixes. Expect to hear it when you're dancing at Pride. And expect her to be numero uno by next week; I have it on good authority.

The "Menergy" energy is up to #8 just when you're thinking men men men at Pride Pride Pride, so many good mixes from which to choose, followed by Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe," sporting a great Almighty remix to guide you to the floor. Meanwhile Katherine McPhee takes "Touch Me," from tv's Smash, to #12 from last week's 17. You go, girls!

A diva I have loved for a very large part of my life, Ms Darlene Love, suddenly seems to have become ubiquitous, and that's a good thing. Recently performing at NBC-tv's farewell party for her personal friend, Sue Simmons (a serious icon on New York's tri-state news), I recently caught Darlene's show at Joe's Pub. Besides her annual Christmas performance at BB King's in New York this year, the ex-Phil Spector Crystal and featured performer, Broadway's Motormouth Mable from "Hairspray" and solo vocalist will be doing shows at the new 54 Below (cabaret under the old Studio 54). She also performed recently at the WhyHungry Awards ceremony in NYC. Don't miss this legend when you have the opportunity to see her live. You can find her songs on both iTunes and Amazon. Support our divas!

Until next week, that's Dj Buddy B's Diva Update. Special thanks this week (beyond the always faithful USA, the UK and Canada) to Brazil, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Mexico, Israel, United Arab Emigrates, Morocco and South Korea. Divas spread peace, they unify; dance is the answer; love around the globe to all. Happy Pride around our world; stay united!

I leave you with the outstanding video for "Free Your Soul," with its anti-bullying message and back-up drag queens. Awesome, Miss Debby, and perfect for Pride!

Billboard Blab and Promo Winners

Toni Toni Toni!

Let's talk highlights of the Top 25 Billboard Dance Chart ending the week of June 16, shall we?

While poppy little boppers One Direction took over the top nook with "What Makes You Beautiful," Rihanna sinks like yesterday's beleaguered Battleship to 4th place while Toni Braxton's "I Heart You," however, nicely keeps up its momentum, going from #6 to #3, hopefully on its way to #1, where it deserves to be.

"Dance Again," also once #1, stays put at 8th place, a hit for sure with eight weeks on the chart so far. If I were into numerology, I'd give Missy JLo a head's up about the number 8. Behind it, "Menergy," the Ralphi Rosario remake featuring Shawn Christopher, leaps from 15th place to 9th. Pumping menergy for sure! Many a dj likes Eva Simmons' "I Don't Like You," now in the 10th spot. I don't like her (or it).

Canada's Carly Rae Jepson is at lucky number 13 this week with "Call Me Maybe," babies.  But Katherine McPhee's "Smash" hit, "Touch Me" steams its way up the Dance chart from #24 to #13! Can't touch her, she's smoking hot!

Ok, I didn't need a deadline for my "NYC Pride Anthems 2012" promos (my oversight not to establish one) because I received three correct answers shortly after I announced the totally free giveaways.  The promo-only cd-r's mail out Monday to:

AJ, USA
David, USA
Lucho, Brazil

Congratulations winners & thanks to all who participated!

And Happy Gay Pride to everyone on the planet, damn it!

Gay Pride Promo NYC 2012 + Competition

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Buddy B Eyes the Billboard Dance/Club Chart

Can it truly be the very end of May already? I am eyeing the Billboard Dance/Club chart ending June 9 and feel like I'm being swept through time like a blossom on a summer breeze.

And, more like a heat-seeking missile through the hot summer's air of Cape Canaveral, Rihanna's "Where Have You Been" hits #1 on this week's Billboard, where it seemed bound by its swift trajectory up the Dance/Club chart over the past 16 weeks. Jennifer Lopez further tumbles from that perch, to #5, but still making us want to "Dance Again." At sixth place, Toni Braxton's "I Heart You" catapults from 12th, all in only six weeks. Good show, Toni, you're back!

Last week's #1 dance tune was "Brokenhearted" by Karmin, which now finds itself at 11, a rather precipitous fall. Ralphi Rosario's new version of Patrick Cowley's "Menergy," featuring the vocals of Shawn Christopher, is lifted to the 15th spot from #17 last week. I guarantee you'll be hearing this at Gay Pride festivities everywhere in the upcoming months, and it is included on my brand-new "PRIDE: NYC Anthems 2012" promo cd. Competition to win a free copy to come soon, details on this blog. (NYC's original Pride march and celebration are on Sunday, July 24, incidentally.)

And, in its second week on the chart, another track on my promo-only Pride cd makes it into the top 25. Katharine McPhee's "Touch Me," from the NBC-tv series Smash (Buddy B's favorite new series), is already a smash by leaping from 36th place (now #24) after being on the the chart a mere two weeks. (Remix also featured on my Pride promo.) (Note: my cds are for promotional use only & not for sale. Winners of my competition receive cds and postage free of charge.)

Hear Ralphi's Space Disco Club Mix 2012 on this YouTube link below, where you can download the song:

Divas, Djs, Buddy & Billboard

By and large, the Billboard dance chart and I frequently part company when it comes to top tunes, though there are some things on my turntables that also make it on that chart.

Hey, I'm a populist! Give the people what they want, I concur. But, also, I believe a dj's set should expose people to new music, to help shape tastes and mix things up. Contemporary chart music, underexposed club productions and disco classics can all live in harmony. I think it excites a crowd to hear the unexpected, the fresh, the new and exciting when they're out to dance. Nobody hits the dance floor if he or she is uninspired (unless pleasing a date; Buddy B knows all too well) or gagging on a Billboard hit for the umpteenth time. Throw in a little retro, embellish with some camp, include plenty of uplift in the melody and the messages, give good diva drama, et voila!

So let's begin with a peek at Billboard's top club hits. Billboard says it's "compiled from reports from a national sample of club DJs." But does anyone know who these dj's are exactly?  I'm just going to address the songs from the chart that I, as a dj, like and play. It will prove painlessly brief:

Despite Madonna's record drop in album sales of MDNA, her club-friendly "Girl Gone Wild" is sitting pretty in first place as "Give Me All Your Luvin'" drops, still comfortably entrenched in the 10th spot. That song already ascended to #1 two weeks ago and has made a meteoric rise and fall in just eight weeks.

Melanie Amaro's cover of "Respect" is at 3; Katy Perry's "Part of Me" is one of this week's Greatest Gainers at #6, followed by "Love on Top" by Beyonce, having already topped the chart.

The always welcome Debby Holiday's new one, "Never Give Up," floats like a butterfly to #16; Yoko Ono gets down to #18 with "She Gets Down on Her Knees." And, beyond that, I'm afraid, is where Billboard and I part company.

My divas, oh my divas! I do love my divas. They are almost everything to me in terms of putting across the emotional elements of a song that help make it be exciting. So against diva-wannabe drama in real life, I say save drama for the stage, movie, tv or the disco, where it belongs.

Unlikely, at this point, to make it onto Billboard's top 25 club songs, is Gladys Knight's return to dance floors with her cover of "I Who Have Nothing." This classic tune was composed by Carlo Donida with English lyrics written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and originally recorded by Ben E. King in 1963. Sylvester previously did a disco version of it, and now it's Gladys whose distinctive voice helps make this newly exciting to club-goers. Best remix is by Tony Moran/Warren Rigg. And, truly, Nicki Minaj's pathetic "Starships" beat this on the US dance/club chart? Pshaw!

It was Tony Moran, also, who produced a number that is an instant club classic, in my estimation, though it didn't chart the way I thought it would. "Magic," a true diva thrill-ride sung by none other than Jennifer Holliday, was indeed club magic. Released at the beginning of the year, it was certainly a hit in the gay clubs. So who, exactly, are these Nielsen-family djs? That's what I'd like to know!

Of the latest crop of promos, I am enjoying the 2012 club mix of Rich B's "Revolution" featuring Marcella Puppini (of Puppini Sisters fame, and already discussed in a recent post). "Tonight" is the new dance offering from St Etienne, the original extended mix preferred. I love Sarah Cracknell's voice; it's somewhere between Kylie and Deborah Harry, floating beautifully above her band's dreamy instrumentals.

Again, it's the original extended mix to go with when it comes to the trancey "Sunshine in My Life" by FunkySober with true diva vocals by one Sharlene Hector. Beautifully dancetastic despite simplistic lyrics. (Not always a drawback when you just need to work it out on the disco floor.)

From the tv series, Smash, it's Katherine McPhee who's lifted to disco-diva status at last, just like she was lifted on the show during that number by chorus boys. The original tv episode's version was clearly meant as a club tune. Right now, I'm digging the original extended club mix. Let's hope for brilliant remixes and that this will be a Smash.

Every Carol Hahn song's worthy of a celebration. Her newest release is no exception. "If This Is Love" is a great, contemporary hi-NRG number. Talk about uplift in message and melody, this is brilliant! I like the Julian Marsh mix best, fyi.

"Dance Again," Jennifer Lopez' newest, is a guilty pleasure and sure to pleasure the Billboard crowd. Adam Lambert offers "Better Than I Know Myself," of which I'm loving the Mike Rizzo club mix best. And beloved club divas Toni Braxton and Suzanne Palmer are back, people! And that is good news indeed!

Mark Picchiotti is always brilliant and his re-working  of "I Heart You" by Ms Braxton is no exception. May he guide her to the top where she belongs, at least for the club crowd. Suzanne's soulful "Keep on Keepin' On" is a dance delight with a few good remixes on hand to enhance. Right now, I like Gustavo Scorpio's work the most.

May I add that dancing is not only fun, it unites? Peace and happiness to all! Haters are losers. Clubs are where the happy people go. Thanks to all my viewers around the world. Love to all! Shout outs to Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Singapore, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates and everyone else! It's one world. Love each other, love the music, dance, peace and out. It's all about the music.