Billboard Awards - Kesha Bleeds on Stage

2016 Billboard Awards were a night of extremes. Here's my brief thoughts as a former singer, actress, performer, dancer and all round noisy pants with opinions:

These opinions, as always, are my own and not those of the dogs lying at my feet or the teenagers nearby complaining about never having enough snacks in the house.

Britney Baby - She wasn't drunk, high, and her hair extensions survived the stripper-like choreography and hair swishing. Highly entertaining and even though she wore little more than pasties and a thong, Brit has never pretended to be anything other than a sex symbol. She doesn't try to be a role model for young women anymore. Her Vegas show is full of expletives and stripper poles, apparently. Two words to describe her extremely suggestive set: sexy and powerful.

Justin Beiber - Love the Biebs! He's a cutie with oodles of talent and did a good job last night. His set wasn't flashy, he didn't beg us to like him, he lip synced to his own track as well as singing along (unlike Britney, I believe) and as a performer who was nominated in several categories this year and had a great chance of winning something, I was happy to see him dance. Two words to describe his enjoyable set: capable and understated.

Kesha

Kesha - What can I say about this artist who hasn't performed in 5 years because of her legal battles with her record label? Dr. Luke allowed her to perform tonight and we're glad he did. Dressed in a white suit and tie, the artist performed the show-stopper of the night--a version of Bob Dylan's "It Aint Me Babe," lyrics that begged Dr. Luke to let her go without her ever mentioning the man she accuses of so many more things than mismanagement. I teared-up with Kesha's raw rendition. Had she been on her knees it wouldn't have been any more clear. It was like she was bleeding all over the stage. #FreeKesha Two words: Heart Wrenching

Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani - A muchly anticipated duet by The Voice sweethearts who kept their relationship secret for a long time and aren't seen in public much. He looked like a country star, she wore a beaded gown and movie star hair with pink eye shadow (?) and they sang in harmony staring at each other nervously. They did not look like they were having a wonderful time at all but who knows. Two words: Disjointed and anticipated

Meghan Trainor - This once country (?) singer looked like a cross between Britney and the new Taylor Swift in her choreography and song choice. I believe Ms. Trainor has abandoned country officially with her new song, No, a great message for young women. I like her. I liked her transition and admire her spunk. Two words: Brave and Tuneful

Nick Jonas - He sang beautifully. And Live, not Lip Syncing! I doubt he wore makeup and he def has never worn braces. This guy is the real deal. His duet with Tove Lo, Close, was well done although she was a little pitchy, then the set rotated and we got Devi Lovato who I love! She was awesome, hitting high notes that shouldn't even be notes, strutting and selling her new song Cool for the Summer. Two words: Nick: Real Demi: Showful

Ciara

Ludacris and Ciara - As hosts they did a good job but they are no Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, or most other duos who get the honor to host a major awards show. Ciara changed gowns and hairstyles every time we cut to commercial which made it more interesting but the chemistry between the two hosts was just lukewarm.

Ariana Grande - Great performance, gorgeous voice, fun ponytail. She reminded me of a female Justin Beiber. She wasn't overly sexual, like Brit, and she didn't stand at the mike like Kesha but it was somewhere between both those performances. Two words: Entertaining and Talented

Rhianna - Amazing rendition of a blues number, Love on the Brain by an incredible talent. Loved everything about this performance! I'm a big blues fan but her vocal interpretation was incredible and reminded me of Whitney Houston Two words: Absolutely Spellbinding


Madonna - I have been a big fan of Madge in the past but last night she looked frozen, terrified, stiff, overly suited up, and wooden. Probably she was scared of ruining a Prince song seeing she's not known for vocal perfection but rather as a performing artist. Thus, her performance could've leaned a bit towards the Britney camp with more movement, showmanship and less starched tuxedo and hairspray. Two words: Disappointing and Stiff

Pink - Along with Cirque style trapeze work, Pink did an amazing job of Just Like Fire, proving that you don't have to show a lot of skin and dance provocatively to be artistic. Two words: Daring and Artistic

The Weekend - He did not perform but was up for a ton of awards, mostly for his song I Can't Feel My Face, which I sang along to in the car all last summer. His hair is his brand. He spoke well even though he gushed about how well he knew Prince but said he'd never met him. I was happy to see that Bieber and Adele won some awards as well but The Weekend was the big winner last night, apparently. Two words: Hair, Catchiness

Notes: Taylor Swift was absent, Wiz Kalifah was eloquent, Celine Dion was choked up and Joe Jonas is in DNCE!

Kim Hornsby is an Amazon Bestselling Author, having shared the top five list with Stephen King and Dean Koontz in Psychic Suspense. Find her books and bio on Amazon,

Juan Pablo has chosen his Queen

Filming of The Bachelor 2014 has finished, if you can believe that.
The first night at the Bachelor Mansion in Los Angeles was September 17th in Agoura Hills (near Britney Spears house) in California. The scoop is that they stayed briefly in the L.A. area, after the opening night, had a few days/dates and left for Utah. Juan Pablo loves to ski and on his Bachelor application, he said that his favorite place to go was skiing in Utah, so this is no huge surprise.

But the next location was a HUGE surprise to me, if the rumors are correct. The whole show picked up and left for South Korea, where they filmed a spot with a dance duo who has millions of hits on YOUTUBE. Really? Okay, I'll wait to see this. Then they went to Vietnam, apparently and ended in Miami after hometowns. If you love spoilers, check out Reality Steve who seems to have a spy on the inside of The Bachelor. Chris Harrison, are you moonlighting?
One of the oldest contestants was eliminated in Miami, leaving 3 gorgeous women to go to St. Lucia with Juan Pablo.

You have to think this man is trying to find someone compatible with being a part time mommy. It would totally suck if he thought with his 'heart' instead of his head. I know someone who made the first choice and the children are virtually ignored now. Very sad. I think Juan Pablo is smarter than that.
I can't wait to see this all play out on Monday nights in January. CAN;T WAIT! As I type this Juan Pablo presumably has proposed to someone and is waiting out the three months to be with her. How frustratato! That's my attempt at Spanish. Luckily we have Thanksgiving and Christmas to distract us before the regular Monday nights resume and we find ourselves planted in front of the T.V. hoping Juan Pablo finds his true love. It's something to look forward to in January which has the highest suicide rate of all the months. Oops. Did I say that?
If you find it hard to wait, like I did, you might want to take up reading. I'm an author and created my own little Bachelor world in these stories.

I recently wrote a short story (2-3 hour reading time) where I used Juan Pablo as the hero. I made him French but still very sweet, compassionate, parental and sexy. It's #1 on Amazon Christmas stories this week in Anthologies. My story in the book is Christmas in Whistler.
Also, check out my Pinterest board for this story. I loved writing it and paired him with Julianne Hough.

 I think they'd make a cute couple. What do you think?