Dictator Kim Jong Il fell victim to a death hoax this week, but have no fear the midget despot is doing just fine. To quell speculation, he tweeted a holiday photo of himself alive and well. Also, in an official statement, Kim Jong Il expressed his sympathy to the family of rocker Jon Bon Jovi, who was reportedly found in a coma in a New Jersey hotel and not breathing.
A new season of Oprah's Master Class debuts with Academy Award-winning actress Jane Fonda. Other masters profiled this season will include three additional award-winning actors Goldie Hawn, Sidney Poitier and Morgan Freeman; media mogul philanthropist Ted Turner; acclaimed musicians Reba McEntire and Bon Jovi; and professional athletes Laird Hamilton and Grant Hill.
Bon Jovi performs at MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 6, 2010.
By Delen Goldberg (contact)
Thursday
22 December 2011
5:01 p.m.
The Fremont Street Experience is getting a new video show starring Jon Bon Jovi for the new year.
“Bon Jovi’s Cosmic Concert” will premiere at 10:45 p.m. New Year’s Eve on the Viva Vision screen, Fremont Street’s 90-by-1,500-foot LED canopy.
A digital spaceship will drop members of the band onto the jumbo overhead screen as three classic Bon Jovi songs play — “It’s My Life,” “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” and “Livin’ on a Prayer.” The canopy will flash images of the musicians performing as the music blares.
Bon Jovi himself selected the three featured songs, Fremont Street Experience officials said.
Starting Jan. 1, the show will become a regular part of the Fremont Street entertainment rotation. It will play nightly at 8 p.m., sandwiched between Don McLean’s “American Pie” and the Doors’ “Strange Days in Vegas.” Every hour nightly from 6 p.m. to midnight, the canopy displays a video show set to music from various bands.
New Year’s Eve will transform Fremont Street into “TributePalooza,” a 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. celebration featuring music from Steel Panther, Rock Sugar and 10 tribute bands. Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman will host a midnight countdown, followed by a fireworks show.
The Fremont Street Experience is typically free and open to all ages, but tickets for New Year’s Eve party will cost $30 and be restricted to people 21 or older.
Thanks Erin, I guess this means we're doing a trip to Fremont Street in March. Maybe Lauri will win more money at Mermaids. LOL
Earlier this week, you may have seen the online rumor -- clearly started by some evil, ungrateful little trolls -- that Jon Bon Jovi was dead. Before we knew it, the news had spread all over Twitter, and Bon Jovi fans the world over had commenced crying into their puffed up, acid-washed denim jackets. That was, of course, until the lovable frontman posted a festive photo of himself to prove he had not, in fact, been shot down in a blaze of glory. We have to say, we breathed a rather hefty sigh of relief. We're really glad Jon Bon Jovi is alive (and taking each day and night at a time... ahem.) Here are six reasons why:
1. Bon Jovi's music, goddamnit
Oh, it's never been cool to like Bon Jovi (except for about three days in 1987), but the truth of the matter is, The Jovi spreads joy wherever it goes. Think of the countless karaoke nights that would have been ruined by the lack of "Living on a Prayer"; consider how many cheesy marriage proposals would have gone awry without the aid of "I'll Be There For You"; and think of the parodies and hilarious mockery we'd have missed out on without the overly-dramatic video for "Wanted Dead or Alive." That's just not a world that we want to live in.
2. Bon Jovi makes old people feel like they're still rockin'
When you get to a certain age, it's an inevitability that you lose touch with "the kids." They listen to music you don't get, they wear clothes that make you roll your eyes, they say words you don't comprehend. But for old Bon Jovi fans, it's different. They still get to feel cool. They still get to go to those arenas and listen to all their old favorites because Bon Jovi still loves playing live. Jovi fans still get to feel like they're 15 years old and Slippery When Wet just came out, year upon year, because musically, what Bon Jovi does now is pretty much the same as what Bon Jovi has always done. It's like a time-machine for people who are aging -- which is practically a gift to medical science.
3. Bon Jovi makes people from New Jersey think it's cool to be from New Jersey
No one has done more to boost the egos of Garden State residents than Bon Jovi (except for maybe Bruce Springsteen). What would New Jersey have these days, without Bon Jovi (and The Boss)? A lack of dignity in the eyes of the rest of the world, that's what. Snooki? The Situation? Jerseylicious? Even the Sopranos! All of them are all about how uncool Jersey is. Without The Jovi and ol' Bruce, New Jersey would have an even worse image problem than it already does.
4. Jon Bon Jovi proves that not all rockers are man-whores
Sure, some foolish things took place in the '80s (see above), but you practically had to have a topless girl chained to you back then in order to sell records. Jon Bon Jovi, however, still came out of it all and married his high school sweetheart, Dorothea Hurley, with whom he's had four children. He told the UK's Daily Mail in 2007: "I've not been a saint. I've had my lapses, [but] I wouldn't trade her in for anything. The fact that she's independent and isn't needy or possessive helps and she is just a very strong woman." Aaaaw.
5. 1980s Bon Jovi used to be a musical gateway drug
Transitioning from listening to the pop charts as a tween into having your life taken over by seriously heavy or experimental music as a teen doesn't always make sense. When it happens seemingly overnight, it can be awkward and can prompt mockery from peers. Green Day is the gateway band today to make that transition smoother, but in the late '80s, it was Bon Jovi's job. Bon Jovi took people away from Madonna and flung them in the direction of far heavier metal and beyond. Thanks, poodle people.
6. Uuuuum, the following video
Doesn't matter how many times you see it, this never stops being hilarious. So thank you, Jon and co -- this is the gift that just never stops giving:
OWN: OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK ADDS NEW ORIGINAL PRIMETIME SPECIALS TO ITS JANUARY LINEUP
"Oprah's Master Class" Returns as a Series of Specials Beginning Sunday, January 8 and the Special Event "Oprah and the Legendary Cast of 'Roots' 35 Years Later" will Air on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, January 16
Los Angeles, CA - OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network announced today two new additions to its January primetime programming lineup: "Oprah's Master Class" returns as a series of specials beginning Sunday, January 8 (10-11 p.m. ET/PT) and an OWN special event, "Oprah and the Legendary Cast of 'Roots' 35 Years Later," will air on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, January 16 (8-9 p.m. ET/PT).
"Oprah's Master Class" will debut with Academy Award-winning actress Jane Fonda (January 8). Other masters profiled this season will include three additional award-winning actors Goldie Hawn, Sidney Poitier and Morgan Freeman; media mogul philanthropist Ted Turner; acclaimed musicians Reba McEntire and Jon Bon Jovi; and professional athletes Laird Hamilton and Grant Hill.
There's more on a 35th anniversary of the movie Roots. But to me this was the only part that's interesting.
Jon Bon Jovi appears on stage and describes how he and his teenage children began getting multiple calls and text messages from friends saying they heard a rumor online that he was dead. Bon Jovi performed at The Hope Concert -- a semi-annual holiday show at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank. (12/19/11) Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger
Published: Tuesday, December 20, 2011, 12:34 AM Updated: Tuesday, December 20, 2011, 1:02 AM
By Tris McCall/The Star-Ledger
The wicked Twitterati had him in the grave earlier today. But on Monday night, Jon Bon Jovi disproved rumors of his death at the Hope Concert at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank. The rock star, who was the latest high-profile entertainer to be prematurely buried by pranksters on the Internet, looked and sounded fit as he sang a jazzy version of “The Letter” by the Box Tops, the J. Geils Band stomper “House Party” alongside Southside Johnny, and Bon Jovi hits “Wanted Dead or Alive,” “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” and “Born to Follow.". Backed by longtime sideman Bobby Bandiera -- the evening’s musical director -- and the 14-piece Jersey Shore Rock-N-Soul Revue, Bon Jovi ended the two-hour benefit concert with a flourish.
Jon Bon Jovi returned for a holiday-themed encore set, pulling out his best Elvis impersonation for “Blue Christmas” and splitting microphone time with Nicole Atkins and Gary U.S. Bonds on a raucous rendition of “Run Run Rudolph.”
Atkins, Bonds, Southside Johnny, Brian Fallon of Gaslight Anthem, and Tim McLoone and the Shirleys all lent their strong voices to the Hope Concert cause -- raising money for the Cancer Institute of New Jersey. The benefit, which was the fifth in the series of occasional charity concerts at Count Basie Theatre, brought in $175,000 for the comprehensive cancer center. Unlike most all-star charity shows, the Hope Concert was well paced: No performer outstayed his or her welcome, and the musicians (mostly) resisted the temptation to extend their songs to absurd lengths. Bandiera had his Rock-N-Soul revue drilled, and he proved to be a generous, graceful master of ceremonies.
Like Scott Baio, who was victimized by a similar prank a few days ago, Jon Bon Jovi seemed unnerved by the barrage of Twitter rumors. He referred to the hoax several times, and even pantomimed taking phone calls from concerned friends checking to see if he was still alive. He even felt the need to rehash the old Mark Twain quip about how the reports of his death had been exaggerated.
At the last Hope Concert in 2008, Jon Bon Jovi shared the Count Basie stage with Bruce Springsteen. The Boss did not make a surprise appearance on Monday, but “Thunder Road” pumped over the theatre sound system after the show prompted a compensatory singalong.
