Alizee Jacotey

Alizée Jacotey (born August 21, 1984) is a French singer. Born in Ajaccio, Corsica, she goes by the stage name Alizée—the feminine form of alizé, the trade wind. She was discovered by Mylène Farmer, following her winning performance in the talent show, Graines de Star, in 1999. While collaborating with Mylène Farmer and Laurent Boutonnat, Alizée came up with two albums—both of which were hits inside and outside of France. Alizée entered the music business in 2000. She has since released three studio albums - first two of which were composed by Laurent Boutonnat and written by Mylène Farmer. Her first album was Gourmandises, which received Platinum certification within three months of release. Gourmandises was a success both in France and abroad—after it had its international launch in 2001—earning Alizée the distinction of being the highest selling female French singer in 2001. The album featured her most successful single "Moi... Lolita" which reached number one in several countries in Europe and East Asia. The marketing campaign around the single affixed Alizée's image as that of a seductive lolita. Gourmandises was followed by a second studio album, Mes Courants Électriques in 2003, which was also quite successful, though not as big a hit as Alizée's debut album. Following its release, Alizée toured France during the fall of 2003, performing in 43 concerts throughout France, along with Belgium and Switzerland. Alizée married fellow French singer Jérémy Chatelain in late 2003. Since her marriage she took a break from singing, but returned with a new album, titled Psychédélices on December 3, 2007. Alizée is also known by her nickname Lilly, Alizée started dancing early in her life, and by age four was already proficient. A year later, she was enrolled in Corsica's renowned dance school, École du Spectacle de Monique Mufraggi, and trained there until she was 15. In 1995, at the age of eleven, she won a coloring competition organized by Air Outre Mer, a former French airline now partly acquired by Swissair. Her design won first prize and was reproduced on the cabin of one of the airline's aircraft. The aircraft was subsequently named after her and for her efforts, Alizée won a trip to the Maldives. In 1999, she appeared on the TV talent show "Graines de Star", broadcast on Métropole 6. She initially intended to sign up for the programme's dance contest. However, the dance category was reserved for groups only. Alizée therefore participated in the singing category instead, performing the song Ma Prière. She went on to win the "Meilleure Graine" award for most promising young singing star of tomorrow.
Her winning performance was seen by veteran Canadian-born French pop diva Mylène Farmer and Laurent Boutonnat, who were looking for a young, fresh voice to partake in their new project. They approached Alizée and she was selected after studio auditions. The duo arranged her debut with a meticulously orchestrated launch, controlling her image and public appearances. In 2000, they produced her maiden album, Gourmandises which was a great success in France, Germany, Mexico, Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom. The first single was Moi... Lolita, which some say portrayed Alizée as a Lolita who was capable of "melting the hearts of the local male population". Others recognized her great variation in tone and artistic talent. Alizee won the M6 award in 2000. She returned with a follow up album, Mes Courants Électriques, in 2003. This second album was also quite successful, though not to the same extent as Gourmandises. It was followed up with a live album of her countrywide tour.
Even though the albums have portrayed her in a sexy, lolita-like image, Alizée had a "squeaky-clean public image as the perfect teenager" during her teens. Though described as a very shy and a reserved person, she likes performing in front of audiences. Although she has a singing career, Alizée prefers dancing, and is quite proficient in classical dance, jazz, ballet, tap and flamenco. Alizée also likes football (soccer). She is a supporter of AC Ajaccio (Corsica), and was once invited to kick off one of their matches. Alizée is actively involved in charity work through Les Enfoirés, a group of French celebrities who organize fund-raising concerts every year. The proceeds from these concerts go to Les Restaurants du Coeur. The organization, set up by French comedian Coluche, helps feed the poor. Alizée participated in these concerts in 2001, 2002 and 2008. Alizée married fellow French singer Jérémy Chatelain, whom she met at the Eurobest awards function in 2003. They were married on November 6, 2003 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The couple had their first child on April 29, 2005—a girl they named Annily (often called Anny-Lee). She currently resides in Paris, France. Alizée debuted in 2000 with the album Gourmandises. It went on to become a hit both in Europe and outside. The album reached top five in charts in France, Germany, Mexico, Asian Countries and others. It was followed up with a studio album in 2003, Mes Courants Électriques, and a live album—Alizée En Concert—in 2004.

Alizée has sold nearly five million albums & singles around the globe. She has taken part in various stage shows and live performances throughout Europe and Russia. She has also starred in a Japanese commercial. Though not nearly as popular in North America as she is in much of Europe, Alizée's dance from "J'en Ai Marre" was the influence for the Night Elf female dance in Blizzard Entertainment's best-selling game World of Warcraft. Following her marriage in late 2003, Alizée had taken a hiatus from singing and had avoided appearing in the media since, with her older official site being offline since summer of 2005. Her first television appearance since then was on MTV France on February 18, 2006. She resumed media appearances in the second half of 2007 for promotion of her third studio album, Psychédélices.

Alizée made her debut with the single, Moi... Lolita (2000), her most successful to date. It enjoyed success throughout most of Europe and parts of east Asia, reaching number one in several countries. Indeed, Alizée's image was that of a seductive Lolita character, referring to the novel by Vladimir Nabokov. The video for the single, which incidentally was the first to be filmed on her, showed Alizée as a village girl visiting a night-club. The song was later used in the UK trailer of the 2006 film, A Good Year, and was a part of the film's soundtrack. The single was from her debut album, "Gourmandises" (2000), which translates to "Delicacies" in English. The album, written by Farmer and composed by Boutonnat, sold over 850,000 copies in France. It went Platinum in just three months. In 2001, the album, most of whose songs featured "risqué lyrics", was launched internationally, and she became the highest-selling female French singer in 2001. The album went on to sell over 2 million copies worldwide. Farmer and Boutonnat kept a tight rein how the album was marketed and controlled the image in which Alizée was portrayed. In the mean time, Alizée gave very few interviews, and even when she did, they did not stretch beyond 20 minutes per journalist. Neither did she agree to any photoshoots.
Her second single L'Alizé (2000), also from the same album, followed soon after. It was also successful in hitting number one in France, and gained some success internationally. The video of the "sexily alliterative" song shows Alizée amidst soap bubbles against a pink backdrop singing about herself. The video was shot in a studio in Brussels—which had a 25 metre by 10 metre painted canvas to serve as the background—with real bubbles. This single was followed up with another single from the same album - the title song, Gourmandises. The video, which shows a group of young boys and girls out on a picnic, was shot in a day. The last single from this album was Parler Tout Bas (2001), which deals with the theme of dreams and a loss of innocence. In France, "Parler tout bas" was the third single, then followed by the release of "Gourmandises".
Despite marketing hype and commercial success, there were mixed critical responses to the launch of Moi... Lolita, Alizée's first single. The critics felt that the similarity in style to that of Mylène Farmer was too striking. Some felt that her Lolita image overshadowed her singing prowess—describing her as "desperately trying to be sexy", and many were ready to write her off.[ Still, to others Alizée appealed because of her deep voice, and her ability to "demonstrate her impressive vocal range", a trait for which she is often praised. Some of her songs have been described as "sweeping, atmospheric ballads" whose "melodies are so sparkling and beguiling", and from which Alizée manages to "squeeze more emotion than the usual pop package". Alizée's two albums include a wide range of songs, from catchy pop tunes to soulful ballads. Radio France Internationale featured Gourmandises as their CD of the week, stating.

Adriana Lima

Adriana Francesca Lima born June 12 1981 is a Brazilian supermodel. Lima is best known for her modeling work with Victoria's Secret and Maybelline. Lima was born in the northeastern coastal town of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil on June 12, 1981. Her parents are Nelson Torres and Maria da Graça Lima, a social worker. In late 2007, she told a reporter at the Hollywood Walk of Fame that she has two half brothers, aged 7 and 11.

When she was six months old, her father walked out on her and her mother. She has since had an estranged relationship with her father, although recently she has been making attempts to reconcile with him. According to her, she is of African, Native South American and Swiss descent

Lima was discovered while shopping at a local mall at the age of 13. At the age of 15, she entered and finished in first place in Brazil's Ford Supermodel of the World Search. She subsequently entered the 1996 Ford Supermodel of the World contest and finished in second place.

Three years later, she moved to New York City, and signed with Elite Model Management. Lima’s modeling portfolio began to expand exponentially, appearing in numerous international editions of Vogue and Marie Claire. As for fashion shows, she has walked the catwalks for big-name designers such as Vera Wang, Christian Lacroix, Emanuel Ungaro, Giorgio Armani, Fendi, Ralph Lauren, Valentino, among others. Lima then became a GUESS? girl appearing on GUESS?' Fall 2000 ad campaign. She also appeared in the book 'A second decade of Guess? Images. In 2001, Lima starred in BMW short film, The Follow alongside actors Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, and Forest Whitaker. The film was directed by Hong Kong film director and internationally renowned auteur Wong Kar-Wai.
Lima continued to build upon her entry, doing more print work for Maybelline, bebe, Mossimo, BCBG and gracing the cover and editorials of more high fashion magazines such as Harper's Bazaar, ELLE, Vogue, GQ, to name a few.

Her April 2006 GQ cover was the highest-selling issue of the year. Her other notable works include the Pirelli Calendar 2005 and the face of Italy’s big cell phone carrier Telecom Italia Mobile, where she became known as the "Catherine Zeta-Jones of Italy."
Lima is probably best known for her work with Victoria's Secret. She first graced the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in 1999 and has appeared on subsequent shows ever since. Her most notable walk down the runway was in 2003, where she was the show opener. Lima had

appeared on several television ads for the brand but her most memorable one, was appearing alongside the legendary rock musician Bob Dylan in 2003 Victoria's Secret Angel in Venice commercial which received both praise and criticism. She is currently a contract "Angel" and spokesperson for the brand. She appeared in Victoria's Secret's Super Bowl XLII ad.

Lima is also a spokesperson for cosmetics giant Maybelline New York. She is the world's fourth highest paid supermodel as of 2007

Lima is fluent in three languages - Portuguese, Spanish, and English. In her free time, she loves reading a novel by her favorite author, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Lima has admitted that she was shy around boys when she was younger, not receiving her first kiss until she was 17 years old. In an interview with GQ April 2006 issue, Lima told the magazine that she is a devoted Catholic who attends church every Sunday and is a virgin. "Sex is for after marriage," she explained. "They (men) have to respect that this is my choice. If there's no respect, that means they don't want me." US GQ dubbed her as "The World's Most Voluptuous Virgin."

Lima has been romantically linked to other celebrities in the past, including rocker Lenny Kravitz, New York Yankees superstar Derek Jeter, Prince Wenzeslaus of Liechtenstein, and Denny of Timbalada.
Currently Lima is dating Serbian basketball player Marko Jarić of the NBA Minnesota Timberwolves