All On The Cover: Gwen Stefani Covers Elle

From the new-wave vocal powerhouses to indie-minded breakouts to enduring legends who still rock our world, ELLE honors the women in music sounding off in 2011

On writing hits:

“I do! Why wouldn’t you want that many people listening to the songs that you wrote? There’s no way to go back after you have had it. So the intentions of even the solo records were always about trying to write those guilty-pleasure albums that just get in your head and you can’t get out. I’m not cool, I’m not into the B-sides. Prince, who is one of my idols, gave me some advice when I worked with him: “Have you ever just tried writing a hit? Like, don’t just try writing a song, try and write a hit song.” I remember him saying that and me thinking, Yeah, you’re right. Why would you write anything else?”

On her marriage to Gavin Rossdale:

“The first time we ever kissed was right around Valentine’s Day—we were in New Orleans on tour. So, yeah, I always think about that because it’s unbelievable that we’ve been able to stay together. I feel so proud of us—it’s one of my biggest achievements.”

On performing while pregnant:

“It was horrible. Certain songs would make me want to puke. You feel pretty gross when you are first pregnant. You don’t feel cute, you feel disgusting. You’re getting fat. It was hard. I mean, I’m very vain. That would be my middle name. Of course I am, you know what I mean? I love the visual.”

On whether Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Katy Perry have taken a page out of her playbook when it comes to style:

“Really? I don’t see myself in those girls. I usually put pants on. I see these girls as more going for the sex-symbol thing. I was more, in the band, like a tomboy. Of course, I think every girl is sexy, so there’s going to be a little of that. But I see a lot of younger artists going more toward the sexy thing.”

On pop music:

“When we were growing up, some of the hits were legendary ones that you hear your whole life. But certain songs, I don’t know if you’ll ever hear them again. Because that’s what that music is, like a guilty pleasure, it’s right at the moment. It’s like fashion—it’s now, then it’s gone.”

To read the complete interview, pick up the May issue of ELLE, on newsstands Now!

Source: ELLE.com

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All On The Cover: Nicki Minaj Covers Elle

Nicki Minaj brings her sexy on the cover of Elle’s May Music issue. Nicki leaves behind the colorful wigs and random ridiculous ensembles for a more tamed look. Elle’s Music Issue has a dual cover with star Gwen Stefani on it; the issue features artists Adele, Willow Smith, Jennifer Hudson, Feist, Hillary Scott, Robyn, Stevie Nicks, Florence Welch, and Aretha Franklin.

On being a rapper: “I always wanted to play with the boys. I didn’t want to be a pawn in their game or have a sidekick role. I wanted to be more of a lead character – a superhero.”

On her sense of style: “I tend to like booties…[pause]”—she takes a beat to clarify: no sexual meaning implied—“and really flashy shoes: totally studded out, in five colors with an insane platform.”

On her song “My Chick Bad” with Ludacris: “[I] chose to do punch lines and be comical, to show how bad I am lyrically, as opposed to how sexy I think I am.”

Check out more photos below from Nicki Minaj’s May 2011 Elle magazine spread.

On Stands April 12, 2011. Be sure to pick up a copy! Visit Elle.com for the complete article and more!

Photo source via Elle.com

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Music News: Bruno Mars Speaks to ELLE Magazine About His New Album & On How Kanye Stole His SNL Idea Plus More

Prior to Bruno Mars performing on Saturday Night Live, he sat down with ELLE Magazine and got into depth about his new album, what he thought about Kanye West‘s SNL Performance, and what his future plans are.

Check it out after the jump…

If you don’t recognize Bruno Mars, then just turn on the radio. He’s the R&B mastermind writer/producer behind practically every ounce of DJ-fuel: Cee Lo’s snappy Motown kiss-off “Fuck You,” B.O.B’s sultry single “Nothing On You” and Travie McCoy’s catchy ode to capitalism, “Billionaire.” On Tuesday, the 24 year-old Hawaii native released his solo debut, ‘Doo-Wops & Hooligans,’ anchored by the melodic “Just The Way You Are.” And this weekend, he’ll provide the soundtrack to Saturday Night Live.

ELLE: Even though you were behind some of the biggest songs of the summer, was going solo always your goal?
Bruno Mars: I got signed at a young age, and, it’s not like the movies—you don’t get signed and all of a sudden hit songs falling into your lap, so I had to learn and see the way things were behind the scenes. Luckily, I got a chance to sell one of my records. That helped pay rent, so I figured that I’d just start producing for other acts and then hopefully, one day labels would hear me sing these demos and take a chance.

ELLE: You famously wrote Cee Lo’s “Fuck You.” How did you two meet?
BM: We’re label mates, and I knew that he was working on his album so I just kept putting it in everyone’s ear, like, “Yo, I need to work with him. It’d be a dream come true.” We hooked up at the studio, we started working, we did a couple of records together. We did a record on Travis McCoy’s album called “Dr. Feel Good,” which he’s singing on; he’s on my album, “The Other Side,” so it’s only natural. We all got to the studio and came up with one of our favorite songs.

ELLE: Were you worried “Fuck You” wouldn’t get airplay because of the lyrics?
BM: You know sometimes, you just gotta do things that feel right. And Cee Lo’s the type of artist who’ll say whatever the hell he wants to say.

ELLE: What are you going after sound-wise on your solo album?
BM: I’ve been a songwriter and a producer for a while now and I’m always hopping around from different genre to genre, and I’m hoping “Nothin’ On You,” “Billionaire,” and “Just The Way You Are,” were a warning to people that I might not just stick to one sound. So on [Doo-Wops & Hooligans], I was just really trying to be open. I would just sit down in the studio, pick up a guitar, and write a song, whether it called for a reggae beat or whether it was a ballad. It was kind of a free fall. Let me just do what I want; let me get this out of my system. And I’m already thinking about my second album.

ELLE: You must be excited to perform on SNL this weekend.
BM: Geeze. The first time you’ll see me singing “Just The Way You Are” on TV is on that show, live.

ELLE: Will you try to weasel your way into a skit?
BM: I don’t know how those things work. I’d love to, but I’m fine with just performing.

ELLE: And you’re following the Kanye performance from last week. Did you see it?
BM: Yeah, wasn’t that incredible? That was my idea! I was gonna wear a red suit and have ballerinas dancing to “Just The Way You Are.”

ELLE: You better talk to your stylist, ASAP.
BM: No, I’m just kidding. He was amazing though, definitely, he definitely woke me up. Now you’re making me nervous. What the hell is going on? This is supposed to be a nice, sweet interview.

ELLE: Oh no, didn’t they tell you we just try freak you out here at ELLE?
BM: Right, like, “This is your first big moment. Good luck following Kanye.”

Plus check out Bruno Mars performs “Grenade” in this extended session of Billboard’s Tastemakers series LIVE at Mophonics Studios NY.

Bruno Mars – “Grenade” (Studio Session) LIVE!!!

Source: fashionelle.com, YouTube

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All On The Cover: Jennifer Lopez Covers Elle US

MAGAZINE: ELLE
NEWSTANDS: February 2010
MODELS: Jennifer Lopez
PHOTOGRAPHER: Tom Munro, styled by Joe Zee
WEBSITE: www.elle.com
NOTES: Jennifer Lopez is soooo back!

American singer and actress Jennifer Lopez graces the cover page of fashion magazine Elle US for the month of February 2010. J-Lo talks about on motherhood, heartbreak, and the future of her career, and revealed that she never considered in vitro fertilization because she’s a traditional woman. 

Here are some highlights from her interview. 

On why she never considered in vitro fertilization, like her character in The Back-Up Plan: “When it comes to family and relationships, I’m quite traditional. Just because of the way I was raised. And I also believe in God and I have a lot of faith in that, so I just felt like you don’t mess with things like that. And I guess deep down I really felt like either this is not going to happen for me or it is. You know what I mean? And if it is, it will. And if it’s not, it’s not going to.”

On the merit of her romantic comedies:  “I think Maid in Manhattan and Monster-in-Law are very layered movies. And that’s why they’re so successful. People don’t like shitty romantic comedies. Nothing that’s shitty is going to make $100 million.” 

On hosting a dinner for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor: “She didn’t realize what she was going to symbolize. And it’s always scary to be thrown into it–that’s what I felt like when I did Selena. You’re thrown out there, and all of a sudden you’re not anonymous. You are now known. And that’s a lot to handle. It’s scary at first. Then you get used to it. And so she was in that moment of her life where it’s just like, What the hell? Everybody’s clapping for me. People are writing about me, talking about me, I’m on TV. She was just a judge in New York.”

On competing with twenty-something pop idols as a 40-year-old mom: “This is what I do—what, because I have kids and a husband now I’m not supposed to be me? I’m a more heightened me if anything. Hyper J.Lo. Everything I wanted before, I want twice as much now. And that doesn’t mean material things; it means to explore more, to think more. Being an artist doesn’t start because you’re 21, and it doesn’t end because you’re 51. You are who you are until the day you die.”

On betrayal: “This is something I haven’t been through once in my life. This is something I’ve been through a few times in my life. Where you really have your eggs in one basket and that breach happens and you know you should go but you’re still in love and you just don’t know what to do. It hits you because it’s not like you’re a cheater, and a liar, and I hate you, and you’re no good, and I’m leaving. It’s not that. It’s like, I’m tormented. Even though you’ve done this and I know it, I still don’t know what to do. I know I should go, but I don’t want to. And that’s why it’s such a fucked-up thing.” 

Check out some more photos below…. 

 

Photo credit: Elle.com

Gracing Pages: Justin Timberlake Graces Elle US

Magazine: ELLE US
Newstands: September 2009
Gracing  Star: Justin Timberlake
Stylist: Joe Zee
Photographed by: Carter Smith
Website: www.elle.com
Notes: Justin Timberlake in a fashion spotlight for the September issue of American Elle Magazine, photographed by Carter Smith. Log on to elle.com for more info.

All On The Cover: Lindsay Lohan Covers Elle UK

Lindsay Lohan Sparkles in Photoshoot with Stolen Diamonds…

Lindsay Lohan graces the cover of UK ELLE magazine’s September 2009 issue. The photo shoot took place in London and received a huge amount of media attention when it was discovered that some of the designer jewels from the shoot went missing.

Lindsay is looking sexy in this photosession for Elle. However, her sexuality doesn’t bedazzled the thieves and they managed to steal the Dior diamond jewelery. The only gems left for Lindsay were a couple of bracelets.

It sounds amazing and unbelievable, but police is still investigating the case. Elle magazine has no intention of blaming Lohan for this theft. Lindsay in her turn is furious since she is fed up of being a scapegoat.

The magazine hits newsstands in Britain on Wednesday and in addition to photos, carries a story about the chaotic few days that it took to get the shoot and story completed.

So they say….Lohan IS known to be high maintenance. The ELLE design team gave her high praise for her work on the project.

CLICK THROUGH TO SEE MORE IMAGES OF LINDSAY!

Source: chicstories/bittenandbound

“What do you think of her shoot?”

All On The Cover: Miley Cyrus Covers Elle

Miley Cyrus is gracing the cover and inside pages of the new August 2009 cover issue of Elle magazine, and inside the teen queen poses in black thigh-high boots and talks about her new clothing line with Max Azria for Wal Mart. She is not a kid anymore, even though she’s underage.

On why she’s not a kid anymore

On the value of style: “I would pay $500 for the jeans that we make for $20. I’m really into high fashion.”

On natural beauty: “I like these crooked. I love my teeth. My dad won’t let me fix my teeth or cut my hair. He loves it. He’s like, ‘It’s you!”

On her new line for Wal Mart: “The jeans are my favorite part of the entire line,” Miley told Elle. “Because, like, literally this is going to be good for, like, Middle America, and it will be great for kids that really want to be in fashion but that don’t have it available.”

She also talks about her friendships (and one-time romance) with Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato.

“It’s hard for all of us. There are so many people that could be using you. So me and Nick and Demi, we don’t need anything from each other. We got our own thing going on.”

On Justin Gaston, her boyfriend at the time of the interview: “We’re together, and then again, we’re not. Some people see us more as friends and don’t get why we work in a relationship. They’re like, ‘It’s weird, best friends shouldn’t date!’ But the person that you eventually spend the rest of your life with – I’m not saying it’s him – why are you going to wake up with someone every day and not want to hang out with them?”

About the glamorous life: “The most fun thing about prom is having that one special night when you dress up and you feel like a princess, and honestly, I get to do that one night a lot.”

CHECK OUT THE AUGUST ISSUE OF ELLE FOR THE FULL STORY ON MILEY CYRUS

All On The Cover: Beyonce’ Covers Elle

Beyonce Knowles Elle Magazine January 2009
Click photo for larger view.