DC Games '08, Demi/Selena News, & Some Other Stuff

1) Disney Channel Games 2008

I just now saw the first episode of the DC Games. This is the first time I've ever watched the games, so bare with me.

So quickie recap of the first ep: All 37 DC stars on the bus, all giggly and cheerful (you can even hear someone say "Oh, I LOVE that show!!" HAHA). And ooo, I totally spotted Selena Gomez all cozy next to Nick Jonas (*points and laughs at Slimey*). So once they all get there, Brian Stepanek (aka Arwin from The Suite Life) makes the intros, meets and greets with the stars, and shows them all the shiny winner's cup. Then he reveals who's on which teams. The Sprouse twins supposedly missed the bus and are seen trying to rush getting to the games in a limo, thus missing the entire first challenge. Speaking of the first challenge (the "Chariot of Champions"), I would've felt pretty darn retarded if I had to do that. It honestly looked really hard to put all those pieces together! I would've been like, "Yall, seriously?? Do I LOOK like a mechanic to you?!" LOL. But I guess it's good that they not only test physical strength, but mental as well.

Anyway, Team Blue won first round (and besides the 20 pts awarded to them, also had happy hour in the muy special club tent). Then Green took 2nd, Red-3rd, and Yellow-4th. Oh, and Miley Cyrus performed her new song, "Breakout," but I hit the *mute* button so don't ask me how it was, I was just happy she wasn't actually playing in the games (and I bet SHE is too, considering her supposed "rival" is all up on her ex-man, LOL).

Other performers will include Jordan Pruitt (singing "One Love"), Jonas Brothers ("Burnin' Up" and "SOS"), The Cheetah Girls ("Dance Me If You Can," "One World," and "Cheetah Love"), and Demi Lovato ("That's How You Know," "Get Back," and "This Is Me" with Joe Jonas).

For more backstage/info/etc, go to the main DC Games site for the Inside Track: Overtime, hosted by Meaghan Jette Martin and Cody Linley. Oh, and just to warn yall if you haven't been to the site yet: be prepared to get DIZZY when you visit the teams and player profiles. Looks super nifty, but mannn I got DIZZY!

I had no idea they were playing these games for charity, that's nice. The charities are: Make-A-Wish Foundation (Red Team), Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation (Blue Team), UNICEF (Yellow Team), and Boys & Girls Club of America (Green Team).

By the way, if any of yall are curious as to who's all in what teams and when they're showing the next episodes, here ya go:

There'll only be 5 events featured, starting from July 27 to August 30 (the 2nd episode will air August 2, the 3rd on August 9, the 4th on August 16, and the 5th on August 30). Or, for a more detailed list of US airings, please refer here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1229903/episodes.

The Cyclones (Green Team)
David Henrie (Team Captain)
Joe Jonas
Chelsea Staub
Jason Dolley
Jennifer Stone
Dylan Sprouse
Brad Kavanaugh (UK)
Maria Clara Alonso (Argentina)
Ambra Lo Faro (Italy)

The Lightning (Blue Team)
Kiely Williams (Team Captain)
Demi Lovato
Alyson Stoner
Cole Sprouse
Shin Koyamada (Japan)
Isabella Soric (Germany)
Roshon Fegan
Roger Gonzalez (Mexico)
Muhammad Farez Bin Juraimi (Singapore)

The Inferno (Red Team)
Brenda Song (Team Captain)
Nick Jonas
Jasmine Richards
Ana Maria Perez de Tagle
Mitchel Musso
Adrienne Bailon
Jason Earles
Jake T. Austin
Deniz Akdeniz (Australia)
Rafael Baronesi (Brazil)

The Comets (Yellow Team)
Kevin Jonas (Team Captain)
Selena Gomez
Kyle Massey
Sabrina Bryan
Moises Arias
Kunal Sharma (TCG3)
Andrea Guasch (Spain)
Yi-Chun Chou (Taiwan)
Martin Barlan (France)

Oy, wayyy too many people from the DC Games to tag. I really want to find pics of the teams, even just the team logos would be great, but it's so hard to find any. And even when I DO stumble upon some, I can never tell which year they're from.


2) Miscellanous Reminders/Upcoming Projects

- DC Games '08: Episodes
The second episode will premiere this Saturday, August 2 at 8/7c.
Episode 3 = Saturday, August 9
Episode 4 = Saturday, August 16
Episode 5 = Saturday, August 30

- Studio DC: Almost Live
The premiere for this (really weird) show is this Sunday, August 3 at 8/7c.

- 3-Minute Game Show
So here's another (blegh) new-ish show hosted by Meaghan Jette Martin.
It premieres on Saturday, August 9 at 9/8c.
Um, I honestly don't know what in the world this is, nor do I care that much. Apparently it's a game show, and it's 3 minutes long. Supposedly there was a HSM edition of this last year, but I never heard about it. But this year it's the Camp Rock edition and that's pretty much where my attention span stopped during the promo. Sorry.

- The Cheetah Girls: One World
For all those TCG fans out there who surely already know, The Cheetah Girls 3: One World premieres on Friday, August 22 at 8/7c.
Still a bit far but we're seeing more and more promos for this lately so I thought I might as well throw that in too.


3) Princess Protection Program

Famous BFFs, Selena Gomez & Demi Lovato, have a new movie coming out in January 2009 called, Princess Protection Program. Reminds me an awful lot like ABCFamily's original movie that premiered earlier this year, Princess. Anyway, there are LOTS of cast/outtake pics here: http://pure-hollywood.blogspot.com/. It's like the 5th post down.

So, uh, about that pic. That is SOME gown. What's with the red/blue sash thing?? Anyhow, she looks exactly like Belle from Beauty & the Beast! Sorry couldn't find any teaser posters or anything yet. Hopefully there'll be some next time there's an update post on this.

Not to sound racist, but you know how Demi Lovato usually always looks very Caucasian?? Same with Selena Gomez. I mean, if I had no idea what their names were, I'd honestly think they were BOTH white. Maybe it's just me, but for the very first time Demi looks fairly Hispanic in that pic. Both Demi and Selena are typically Caucasian-looking, yet they do still acknowledge their Hispanic and Mexican heritage, respectively. In WoWP, Selena's character is half-Mexican. And in PPP (not to be confused with Potter Puppet Pals, LOL), Demi's character's name is Princess Rosalinda. Also, let's not forget her Camp Rock character's last name of Torres.

I'm not dissing, don't get me wrong. I'm just simply acknowledging a fact that you rarely see nowadays. So many mixed stars acknowledge and emphasize ONLY half of their heritage and completely ignore or disregard the other half. Not mentioning any names, but some celebs who are half black and half white only "act more black" or vice versa. Same with those who are half Asian and half white, etc. I'm not Mexican or Hispanic, and I may not be a huge fan of either girl, but good for them for not being ashamed of their roots.


4) Another Cinderella Story

Also in the aforementioned site are info and pics from Selena's new movie, Another Cinderella Story (aka A Cinderella Story 2), which comes out on DVD, September 16.

Straight to DVD?? Hmm. And it says on IMDb that the release date is September 4, but I guess it got pushed back. I don't really blame them. LOL at the tagline ("Dancing Ever After") and totally say WHATTT at the storyline?! Instead of dropping the phone, she drops her iPod. Oh, and she's a dancer. So basically, Another Cinderella Story = a G-rated Step Up + A Cinderella Story. Wayyy original.

I'm surprised that Drew Seeley is in it. He's like HOW much older than Selena?? A DECADE?!?! Literally, they're exactly a decade apart. Just, EWWW. Seriously. Homie's 26, and she JUST turned 16 (last week, to be exact). That'd be like kissing your best friend's older brother. Wait, no, not even your best friend's older brother. Your best friend's oldEST brother who just finished medical school and is house hunting and getting ready to start his residency in another state while YOU just barely started high school. Meh.

Oh, and I JUST found out that in Princess Protection Program, Selena's character's love interest is 7 years older than her in real life (this dude named Robert Adamson). What is UP with all these OLDER men?! =/


5) Oh, The Tizz...

LOL at Ashley Tisdale. Another tidbit from that site I mentioned above: about 2nd to last post it quotes Tizz saying how much she wants to shed her goody-good image and do more "racy" and "edgy" projects in the near future, a lot like how Jessica Biel broke out after 7th Heaven and did those, well, very naughty pics. =/ Oh, and kids... if you don't know what I'm talking about, just smile and move on. Yeakthx:)

Seriously, I canNOT picture Tizz in that light. Even though she is very well at a reasonable age to do such things if she wants, and I DO think she should grow up a little and stop acting like the tweeny that she NO LONGER IS (homegirl is 23 for goodness sakes, NOT 15!!). But to go in that drastic route is probably a bit too much, and I hope she doesn't go overboard. First, Maxim, and then what?? =/ Too many DC stars go bad nowadays, especially the really young ones, and it'd be a shame to see that happen to Tizz.

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Disney Stars Are Just Like Us, PART TROIS!!

Here we go again... these Disney Channel stars LOVE their video cameras! Now more than ever, our favorite Disney actors are starting to become more transparent with their lives and displaying them to the public. 

Well, it's certainly been working! We know much more now about our favorite celebrities and who we watch on television that we did less than a decade ago, and it's certainly amusing, to say the least!

If these videos have anything to say for it, the third annual Disney Channel Games is by far the most fun and exciting one yet... anndddd I'm kind of jealous. I want to be a Disney Channel star so I can jump on giant air playgrounds and be part of a three-legged race or whatever the heck they do at the Games. It sure beats taking summer classes...

Up first, this is from Alyson Stoner's page... it's really weird to see all of them interacting together. It's OVERLOAD I tell you! What's with the lack of HSM people? Oh wait, they're in Utah right now. Got it. BTW... bring on those international guys!

Secondly, this is from Sabrina Bryan's page. That is some SERIOUS make-upping going on in that bathroom. Sadly this video has disabled embedding but meanwhile you can check it out by clicking here.

Here's a third one... this is Selena Gomez, co-star Jennifer Stone from Wizards of Waverly Place, Moises Arias from Hannah Montana, and other Disney stars on an airplane flying to Orlando for the games. Oh look at them, loungin' in their private jets all fancy.

Up next...

The following is from Alyson Stoner's page. She seems so sweet! I already knew she was a dancer after appearing in Missy Elliott's video as well as Step Up, but it's nice that she's using YouTube as a way to teach dance to others. Not only is it beneficial to those who are viewing it and who are wanting to learn the dance, but it's also beneficial to her to explore this type of teaching at such a young age. It's nice that she has the motivation to take time out of her life to do such a thing (whether or not she looks at it that way specifically...)

BTW... dancing really is harder than it looks! When she did it at first I was like "pshh, that's EASY." Then she broke it down and I was like... uh, woah. Yikes. (Granted, I am THE least coordinated person EVER... no lies. You should see me dancing to Leavin' by Jesse McCartney... nevermind.)

Alright, this one is kind of old, but I just stumbled upon it. This video was right before the Dancing With The Stars semifinal last season. As you may know, Sabrina Bryan was a contestant and she was ousted way before she should have been. However, she and partner (and boyfriend) Mark Ballas came back to the semifinal show to dance their Cha Cha again!

BTW: Looove Mark Ballas. What a goofball. He grew up in England and obviously his mom has an accent from this video. Why doesn't he? Sadness. Also, serious congrats to him for winning this season with Kristi Yamaguchi!

Speaking of Sabrina Bryan, she was in India a while back filming Cheetah Girls 3 (aka... the Cheetahs go Bollywood...) and this was a little video she posted during her time there. I still think Cheetah Girls in India is THE most random thing ever but I do love Bollywood so it's all okay. :) And plus, they looked like they had tons of fun... so bring it on... 

Wow, just realized that's one of their songs. Now it's in my head. grrr.

Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato are supposedly filming the next DCOM on the line called "Princess Protection Program." And here's a little video introducing the new cast...

Selena Gomez really likes her Alicia Keys...

Meanwhile, Demi Lovato loves her new booty... (that's her on the left)

Meanwhile AGAIN... Selena Gomez and Jennifer Stone really love their Jesse McCartney... 

Forget that stupid dance battle with Miley Cyrus going on and which I am NOT keeping up with... this sing-along battle is much more amusing...

Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, Jasmine Richards, and Sarah Francis (all from Camp Rock) are dancin' the Soulja Boy (and I must say, this version is much less annoying haha. I want to jab my ears with two gigantic erasers whenever I hear that song...)

This is Miley Cyrus BEFORE Hannah Montana ever came around... back when all was good and happy and peaceful with the world. (Alright, maybe not. But still.) Okay to me she was still as obnoxious and fug as ever back then as she is now... but you didn't hear that from me.

Seems like Selena is getting fed up with schoolwork! Oh come on, it CAN'T be as difficult as the IB. There, there's my consolation for the day.

Finally... I have no words... except wow, the Sprouse bros are nuts. Who knew? And who on EARTH is that guy? Kinda looks Andy Samberg-ish, except way younger. And frankly, he's creeping me out.

EDIT!!

Alright, Miley and Mandy just put up a new video, and they explained why they made the parody. Glad to know that the "Disney Family" are all on good terms. They're a lot nicer in this video, but they still seem a little fake to me... but oh well, the world still turns. On another random note, Miley's accent is incredibly thick in this video. The Southern twang is OUTTA CONTROL, MAN!!! Or maybe that's just me.

Okay, so I've already written two posts that are kind of related to the post I'm about to write now. The first one dealt with all the Disney Channel stars' youtube, myspace, facebook pages... whatever. The second one dealt with my utter dislike for Miley Cyrus.

First, watch the two following videos... in order.

Yeah, so... I know that BOTH of these videos are made for people with an IQ of like, 2, and both have absolutely no real meaning to them, but I really do think that Miley and her random dancer friend Mandy really sunk to a new low by parodying Selena and Demi. It doesn't matter if it was a complete joke and if the four of them are really good friends, it just doesn't LOOK GOOD. Miley and Mandy, to me personally, made complete fools out of themselves by mocking Selena and Demi. Why do I think this? Selena and Demi make these videos for their fans. They talk about random things, but they're just trying to be likeable to their fans. What are Miley and Mandy accomplishing? Nothing but utter obnoxiousness. It was just tasteless. And that Mandy girl seems like she's a huge bitch. Great way to associate yourself with such friends, Miley. Good job. *eyeroll*

Videos of DC Stars being... "Just Like Us"

Remember back in the day, when forums would be filled with "OMG!! I think I found Hilary Duff's MySpace!!!!!!111111" And someone else would respond, "No, Hilary Duff is famous, she's too busy to have a MySpace."

Well, times sure have changed. Either child stars were reallyyyyy busy back then and have all the free time in the world right now, or new media is getting so popular at this moment that celebrities are finding it acceptable to jump on the bandwagon as well and not shield themselves from so much privacy. I'm guessing it's the latter that's correct.

Selena Gomez from Wizards of Waverly Place both has a public MySpace site as well as a shared YouTube account with her best friend Demi Lovato -- who currently stars on As The Bell Rings on Disney Channel and will be in the upcoming DCOM Camp Rock alongside the Jonas Brothers.

Here's the latest YouTube vid they've got posted up on their page. They're modeling their Powerpuff Girls t-shirts... or something.

See? Disney Channel Stars really are "Just Like Us." Forget about those commercial interviews they used to air (and still do?) on DC. Of course, this is Selena and Demi we're talking about, two girls who really haven't crossed the "Super Fame" line. To me, they look like they have wayyy too much time on their hands right now.... but whatever, they're having fun. Who knows what they're gonna be up to in a few years if they suddenly explode into superstardom.

As for the others...

Miley Cyrus used to have a private MySpace, where pictures of her goofing off with friends leaked online for the world to see (remember the lollipop sleepover scandal? Or maybe that one picture of her lifting up her shirt in the bathroom? ...Yeah.) Either she made a new one and has the security settings on complete RED so people won't find out about it, or she gave up, but meanwhile, she still has time to make silly and insanely random YouTube videos with her friend Mandy...

...Personally, I am totally creeped out by this. But I hate Miley Cyrus to begin with, so maybe I'm just biased. I don't think I am though... I just think this is just really obnoxious and creepy. But so is Hannah Montana to begin with... I guess kids these days really go for the whole obnoxious/annoying thing. Sadly.

Then there's Ashley Tisdale, who uses her YouTube strictly to communicate with her fans. While there's quite a bit of videos of Ashley herself thanking her fans for whatever reason... either coming to her concert, voting for her video, whatever... there's also random videos of her in her "everyday life"... such as the following video.

Sometimes, watching Ashley's videos just make me cringe, because it seems like she's trying way too hard to be a good role model to kids. Maybe that's just me though.

And then of course, how can you forget Raviv "Ricky" Ullman. AKA... Phil Diffy from Phil of the Future. Well... let's just say this homeboy has completely put his Disney image behind him. Yes, the following video from YouTube is old... but let's face it, I really don't think it will ever lose its amusement. And just as a fair warning, there's lots of cussing and drug use.

Last but not least, once we venture across the border to Canada, we can see that those Disney Channel Canadian stars are just as Internet-savvy as the American stars. Actually, the DC Canadian crew posted online videos back in 2006, which is a long time before the rest of the DC stars started to join in as well. Here we have Ashley Leggat, who plays Casey on the Disney Channel Canadian show Life With Derek. The video is actually a video from her birthday that she posted from her MySpace, which she uses to communicate with her fans. Life With Derek itself certainly loves the Internet; currently, the show is heavy on "Video Podcasts" alongside the episodes aired on television, which gives "behind the scenes" interviews and really help fans understand the stars of the show better. I personally really like the idea. Then again, give me anything Canadian and I will love it. ;)

Well, these are just a handful of what Disney stars have been up to. They've been embracing new media just like every other normal teen out there... not hiding themselves behind a shield and only allowing themselves to be seen on interviews and television. Am I really excited that Raviv Ullman is now a pseudo-rapper? Or that I can see even more of Miley than the media already spews out left and right about her? Not really. But at least we all know that these celebs are people, just like everyone else.