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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 2004)
■ Reporter’s notebook Britney Spears' shotgun wedding: is it a publicity ploy ? The pop princess' marriage to Kevin Federline continues a singer-weds-backup dancer trend BY AMY LICHTY PULSE REPORTER Supermarket newsstands. TV shows. Newspaper reports. It’s hard to avoid the news about Britney Spears getting hitched to fiance Kevin Federline in a surprise cere mony in Studio City, Sept. 18. What you may not know, however, is who Federline is and how he managed to marry one of pop culture’s most fa mous women. Federline has one of the most sought-after jobs for anyone wanting to date a famous singer. He’s a backup dancer. After incredibly famous women such as Janet Jackson, LeAnne Rimes and Jennifer Lopez married unknown backup dancers, it only seemed natural that Spears would follow the trend. She isn’t even the only pop princess to find love grooving behind her. Rival Christina Aguilera dated backup dancer Jorge Santos for two years before breaking it off in 2001. Even Justin Timberlake fell for Jenna Dewan, a backup dancer for *NSYNC, shortly after his breakup with Spears. But Federline isn’t Spears’ first taste of backup dancer love. Her messy 2002 breakup from Timber lake was sparked by rumors that she cheated with dancer/choreographer Wade Robson, which is still just spec ulation. Shortly after, she had a fling with backup dancer Columbus Short. They were spotted making sweet mu sic together for a short time, despite the fact that Short was married and reportedly expecting a child. Fast forward to April 2004. Four months after her infamous Las Ve gas nuptials to childhood friend Ja son Alexander, Spears and Federline made their first public appearance at a beach in LA’s Pacific Palisades area. No one knew at the time who Federline was, but that changed quickly as his history was plastered all over the pages of Us Weekly and People magazines — including the fact that he had a pregnant girlfriend at the time, who he had a two-year-old child with. Regardless, the relationship blos somed and turned into an engage ment this July. But with all the hoopla, reports are surfacing that this marriage was a hoax. According to Us Weekly, this “wedding” was a fake, partially because the two “newlyweds” couldn’t come to an agreement on the prenuptial details. They say they hold a document that states: “Brit ney Spears and Kevin Federline... agree that they intend to participate in a ‘faux’ wedding on September 18, 2004; however, they do not in tend to and shall not validly marry one another on said date.” People magazine, however, got the exclusive on both the engagement and the wedding, and they stick by the story that this is the real deal. Federline even told People: “Basical ly, those reports that we didn’t legally wed are bullshit.” Spears added: “I’m really upset that somebody someplace decides to write a false headline about a special day that I’ve dreamed about since I was a little girl. It’s too bad. I don’t understand the thinking behind it.” Why would Spears fake her own wedding anyway? Well, there are cir cumstances that could possibly indi cate this was a publicity stunt. It just so happened that’s Spears’ newest single, “My Perogative,” a cover of the song Bobby Brown made fa mous in 1988, recently hit the radio. Even more suspicious is that the video for the song, which shows SPEARS, page 13 Sound: Collins, Louque pale in comparison to Green Day Continued from page 7 opera” and “perfect pop-punk record” used to describe “American Idiot,” but considering what is a steady decline in quality since the re lease of its breakthrough album, “Dookie,” this seemed impossible. Besides, “Idiot” is about as novel as a pop-punk band can get. Teetering skillfully on the brink of overproduction, “Idiot” doesn’t so much depart from the pop-punk for mula as much as create a pastiche of influences using the formula as a framework. The album kicks off with the unapologetically Costello-esque title track, followed by "Jesus of Sub urbia,” the first of two tracks that be lie an affinity for the rock-operas of Pete Townshend. At about nine min utes apiece, these five-part ditties can be considered nothing less than epic when stacked up against the average four-chord fare of Green Day’s peers. From there, the album goes on to de liver an intelligent but undeniably pop-sensible selection, occasionally flirting with the street-punk sound of Green Day’s youth, with more than a nod and a wink to The Clash, The Kinks, Husker Du and even Meatloaf along the way. The most notable aspect of this al bum is that each song possesses its own personality, yet contributes to the whole, which is the mark of a classic. Even lyrically, this album is difficult to criticize. While the title suggests that the listener is about to be subjected to yet another barrage Courtesy Singer Phil Collins scrapes the barrel with “Love Songs,” his newest album. of rehashed, anti-Bush rhetoric, vo calist Billy Joe Armstrong manages to deliver a fairly personalized impres sion of the post-9/11 paranoia and hysteria, complete with character portraits and a semi-coherent plot line. Fans expecting more of the same will be disappointed, and that’s why this album is good. Last, and least, is Louque’s album, “So Long," yet another mediocre turd in the seemingly endless torrent of fe cal matter released by Lava Records. If this band were even slightly memo rable, it would matter that its name is impossible to pronounce, but don’t worry because you’ll never have any reason to talk about them. Imagine a bland Jack Johnson with electric drums, and your expectations are al ready way too high. ryanmurphey@dailyememld.com o LUNA open Tuesday through Saturday at 4 pm 30th East Broadway 1541) 434-LUNA Event info and more at www.lunajazz.com LUNA Late Night Menu Open Tuesday Through Saturday Live Music Thursday Through Saturday! 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