j14 blog

On October 8 2007, I went to the Apple Store in SoHo in New York City for a special concert featuring an up-and-coming country star. There were only a dozen people in the audience... even the customers in the store barely turned their heads when the young girl started singing. Boy they must be regretting it now.

Flash forward two years and the same young artist is packing Madison Square Garden -- with fans ranging from tykes to grandparents, little brothers to businessmen -- all rockin' out to her first show at New York City's legendary venue.

Welcome to the journey of Taylor Swift... from country teen singer to pop culture superstar.

The first time I chatted with Taylor was just a few weeks before her debut self-titled album was released in October 2006... and I was immediately taken with her genuineness. She was unlike any other star I'd ever interviewed... her enthusiasm was so real and her passion for her music so heartfelt. She was at the airport getting ready to board a flight, talking from her cell, but she just had this energy and spirit that radiated over the phone that made it clear that she was going to be the next It girl.

Sure it took time, but the one thing that always stuck whenever I talked to Taylor over the years was how real she truly is. She always says what's on her mind, and is completely true to herself. None of that fronting for the press or just saying what she thinks people want to hear. And seeing that made it clear that she was no overnight sensation... she put in the hours and made sacrifices in her life to really get where she is today -- and surely deserves every ounce of success she's getting!

And that's why it was especially touching to see her perform again in New York City... but this time instead of 12 people in the audience, there were tens of thousands of people all screaming her name.

The moment was definitely not lost on Taylor... after surprising fans by appearing in the back of the stadium, she walked through the audience, hugging and saying, "I love you" to lucky fans along her path. And when she got back to the front, she just stood there soaking it all in... for a few minutes. She had made it.

Her dreams had come true... and it was obvious every person in the audience could feel that they were part of a special moment in Taylor's life.

xoxo,
Rachel Chang
J-14 Executive Editor

(Me and Taylor, at the Apple Store in 2007 (left) and backstage at Madison Square Garden (right))

Here at J-14, some of us have been able to pick up the pieces of our broken American Idol hearts (sniff, sniff, see you next year, our future beloved Adam/Kris/Allison!) due to the wonderful, amazing, super awesome So You Think You Can Dance! We may even dare to say that Dance is BETTER than Idol. (Feel free to agree/disagree/call us crazy in the comments...)

Last night's elimination show brought the contestant count from ten to eight and was the first time where the judges zipped their lips, (well, at least as much as uber talkaholic Mary Murphy can!) and let us decide who got kicked off. We, your trusty J-14 Dance Fanatics Lisa and Erik, dish below!

Erik: I wasn't too surprised with the bottom two guys (Kupono and Adé) and girls (Randi and Melissa) last night. Adé shouldn't have been there, but it seems like he hasn't grabbed America with his personality. I think he had the best solo Wednesday night but I was a little off-put by how quickly he danced to "Unchained Melody." I thought Evan should have gone -- he hasn't performed as well as I thought he could have lately! The paso doble that Kupono and Randi performed was just not good enough and I guess that's what gave them the least number of votes this week. The best performance Wednesday night was Jeanine and my fave guy Jason's contemporary routine to Jason Mraz's "If It Kills Me." It was so hot and romantic! And it was choreographed by my old favorite Travis from Season 2!

BTW, what did you think of Kupono's latest outfit? Oh, and the opening number to Janet Jackson with the dancers dressed in Japanese kimonos (I think?) was pretty cool and quirky! What did you think about it? What song do you want them to dance to next?
Erik's Fave Girl: Jeanine
Erik's Fave Guy: Jason

Lisa: For the girls, I'm not a Melissa fan, so I really thought it was her time to go last night and was happy to see her in the bottom. I'm bad, I know, I just get attached to my favorites -- like, the crazy talented Kayla and Janette, def tied for my top two! I was sad to see Randi go, especially over Melissa. I wore my black unitard today in honor of her (jk, I wish I could wear lycra one pieces to work)! As for the fellas, I still love me some Evan! He's wildly gifted at what he does, and I think he proved in Wednesday's African routine that he can seriously step it up outside of his genre.

Adé has my heart as of now -- I think his ridic suspended-in-air acrobatics and sweet demeanor is a winning combo. Although, I agree with E -- Jason and Jeanine's contemporary routine blew me away and I fell in love with Season 2 contestant-turned-choreographer Travis all over again! I'm hoping Melissa and Brandon go next week. I gotta go with commenter Jaydee, Brandon is a great dancer, but there's something about his personality that I (and if you remember, during tryouts, Mia Michaels) don't like. Oh yeah, and I miss Phillip -- from yesterday's comments, it looks like he was one of your favorites. I agree! :'(
Lisa's Fave Girl: (so tough to pick one!!) Janette
Lisa's Fave Guy: Adé

Alright, fellow So You Think You Can Dance fans -- comment below and tell us: fave guy, fave girl, and who you want to go home!! And, for some Friday Fun, which show is better: Idol or Dance?

Photos: Courtesy of Fox

Hey guys!
Kristinia DeBarge here! When I came to the J-14 offices for my first official day as their summer intern, I was chatting with one of the editors Lisa about my fave beauty brands (more on that later, but you can read about the beauty trends that I'm into this summer here! Oo! And the pic above is of me in the J-14 beauty closet -- yeah, that's right, girls, there's a whole WALK-IN CLOSET full of makeup and hair products in the office! Heaven, right?)

Anyways, I couldn't remember the name of the product and apologized for pronouncing it wrong. "Um, aren't people always butchering your name," Lisa interrupted me. "I think it's fair if you butcher someone else's for a change!" Yeeeah! You're right, I thought. Come on people, say it with me: Kris. Ti. Neé. A. Kristinia! Everyone says my name wrong aaaalllll the time! I think the funniest is Kristinira -- like, someone decided my name was so difficult they had to add extra letters onto it to make it even harder!

When I first got signed and was working on my album, the record company wanted me to change my name. L.A. Reid (my boss, a big time music guy who has worked with Pink, Usher, and Ciara!) wanted me to change it, but was like, "you're living with it for the rest of your career, so it has to be what you want." He really loved my middle name Jamie and thought it would totally work as my name, but I couldn't do it! I was like, "Kristinia! That's who I am, that's who I've grown up to be and I'm not gonna change my name!" So I fought for it, and I'm really happy I did. I think Kristinia fits - don't you? :) Has anyone ever asked YOU to change something about yourself? What did you do, did you change or did you stay true to yourself?

Hope you're all having fun in the sun!
xoxo
Kristinia

P.S. Great news before I go! My very first album Exposed (featuring my first single "Goodbye") is out July 28 (ah! that's in less than two weeks). I'll keep you guys updated, and for now you can always download "Goodbye" off of iTunes and check it out on MySpace!