- Title: VARIOUS: SHOWBIZ REVIEW OF THE YEAR - PART TWO - ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE
- Date: 1st January 2000
- Summary: MANCHESTER, UK (JULY 14, 2000) (REUTERS) SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) ALICE COOPER SAYING " Alice Cooper was something that we came up with thirty years ago that was, there were too many rock heroes, we needed a rock villain, and I was more than happy to be that villain. "
- Embargoed: 16th January 2000 12:00
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- Location: COLOGNE AND BERLIN ,GERMANY, STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, TOR DI VALLE AND MILAN,MODENA , ITALY ,LONDON AND MANCHESTER ENGLAND, MADRID,SPAIN, TORONTO,CANADA ,GRONINGEN,NETHERLANDS, ,MONTREUX,SWITZERLAND, LOS AN
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- Country: USA
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA2Z6XKY5T3JR4GGH8ANFJJZFXJ
- Story Text: There's no business like showbusiness - everyone wants to be a star. But life at the top isn't easy - there are theaters to fill, stadiums to sell out, awards to win. With their creative talents and personal lives all subject to intense media perusal, the life of a showbiz superstar is tough! But whether they are teenage wannabes or veteran players, they all get their fifteen minutes (or in some cases fifteen years!) of fame thanks to the Reuters Showbiz team! Here's a selection of some of the hottest showbiz stories of the year - rarely serious, sometimes controversial, and occasionally just plain bizarre...
Whether it be screamadelic pop stars, or high-brow art, Reuters has covered the whole spectrum this year - bringing you pictures from around the world of the stars everyone loves - and the ones they love to hate!.
Riding high in the charts this year was teen-queen Britney Spears, the all-American superstar may be the "wholesome" face of bubblegum pop - but she certainly isn't afraid to shake her thang in a raunchy outfit or two.
Providing an antidote to the sanitized world of mainstream pop was Eminem - the controversial rapper has barely been out of the headlines - not only for record-breaking album sales, and a clutch of awards - but also for facing law suites from his estranged wife and his own mother, and being charged with gun offenses. Parents may be up in arms - but it seems that the kids just can't get enough of Slim Shady.
The original girl band - the Spice Girls - finally released their third album, after all taking time out to work on solo projects. The album did not reach the dizzy heights in the charts that the girls are used to - and rumours are rife that the band will soon split.
Meanwhile - the artist formerly known as Ginger Spice, Geri Halliwell, does not seem to have suffered from her split with the band - she has successfully continued her pop career in her own inimitable style - as well as grabbing headlines for, amongst other things, a supposed romance with Robbie Williams - more about him later.
Boy band of the moment is Irish group Westlife - they have dominated with UK charts with every one of their singles, and their second album, going straight in at number one. They may seem squeaky clean, but have engaged in a war of words with both the Spice Girls and Steps. But watch out America - the boys' next ambition is to conquer the States.
Robbie Williams well and truly proved that there is life after boy bands - the former Take That heartthrob continues to churn out hit after hit - and take every opportunity to drop his trousers.
But music event of the year was a concert given by a 42 year old mother of two in front of just 3,000 people at a small London venue - yes Madonna is back with a vengeance (not that she ever went away) - and retains the hard earned titled of Queen of Pop.
Latin music has reached an unprecedented popularity this year - influencing new acts, and giving the old hands a chance to shine.
Guitar legend Santana has has huge success with his collaboration album "Supernatural" featuring tracks with Wyclef Jean and Rob Thomas.
Puerto Rican sex-god Ricky Martin shook his bon-bon all over the place, including at the MTV Europe Awards in Stockholm, where he scooped Best Male.
Eros Ramazotti is one of the world's most successful singer-songwriters - it may surprise you to learn that the Italian crooner has sold more records than Madonna.
But those sexy Latin rhythms aren't just for the boys - Christina Aguilera went back to her Ecuadorian roots and recorded an album in Spanish.
Proving that you're never to old to cha cha - the Buena Vista Social Club, average age 65, took their Cuban grooves round the world on a sell-out live tour.
The world of music may be fickle - today's chart heroes can soon end up in the bargain bin - but some people just have what it takes to go the distance.
Elton John threatened to retire, but then decided he didn't mean it after all...
But Tina Turner threw in the towel for good - there will be no more live shows by the girl from Nutbush.
Veteran rockers Deep Purple wowed the crowds at Montreux - and even drafted in the services of a young guitar whizz that they claim to have found in the boot of their car.
Eternal bad guy Alice Cooper took his hew album on tour - complete with the beheadings and other high-camp horror that we have come to expect from the ultimate rock villain.
And Tom Jones demonstrated that not all granddads have no rhythm, thrusting his way through a triumphant return to sex-symbol status with his latest album Reload.
But there's more to showbiz than music....
London's West End was invaeded by Hollywood, and it seemed that everyone fancied a run in a London Theatre.
Musical impresario Cameron Mackintosh's adaptation of the hit film The Witches of Eastwick brought film to Theatreland, and gave actor Ian McShane a chance to try his hand at a musical for the first time.
A different kind of debut was made by French heartthrob Sacha Distel - he may be a veteran crooner, but he has never appeared in the West End before - he took on the role of Billy Flynn in Chicago.
Another tale best known as a film is "The Graduate"
- the new stage production became the hottest ticket in town as first Kathleen Turner and then Jerry Hall stripped off to play the role of middle-aged seductress Mrs. Robinson.
Seduction was also on the agenda in Madame Melville - as a young boy is beguiled by his teacher. The play starred Macaulay Culkin - yes - the child star of the Home Alone films - who came out of 'retirement' to tread the boards.
Also new to the stage was Daryl Hahhah who took on the role immortalized by screen goddess Marilyn Monroe in "The Seven Year Itch". Hannah was said to be so nervous about performing that she resorted to hypnotism to cure her stage fright!.
If you are going to spend you career in the public eye - you have to expect that your private life becomes public property - for better or worse. Amongst those to tie the knot this year were Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston, Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas (shortly after the birth of their son). And all eyes will be turned to Scotland on December 22nd for the marriage of Madonna to the father of her new baby, film director Guy Ritchie. But there won't be any wedding bells for the former celebrity couple extraordinaire - Liz Hurley split from long-time boyfriend Hugh Grant - but they insist they are "still friends".
And finally...you might think you have seen it all in the wacky world of showbusiness - but there is always someone out there with a new idea - from avant-garde performance art, to Eastern takes on Western culture, new ways with Shakespeare to a twist on the classics - here's a took at the more unusual stories we've seen this year...
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