Shining Stars

 

Lady Gaga continues to amaze us with her eccentric wardrobe. But she isn't the first musician to dress up for the fans. Here are some other stars who share Lady Gaga's taste for the theatrical.

Elton John/ British superstar Elton John could probably teach Lady Gaga a thing or two about how to stand out. In fact, Lady Gaga claims Elton to be one of her greatest inspirations. The Rocket Man singer has worn some of the most extravagant outfits in showbiz, including a Donald Duck costume, a Captain Hook ensemble, and a giant dress. He also has a big collection of crazy glasses. But he can’t keep all the items of clothing, so every year he opens a shop (Elton’s Closet), where he sells his second-hand clothes to raise money for charity.

Marilyn Manson. Manson is well-known for his appearance. With a pale, white face and scary black clothing. Sometimes he doesn't wear any clothes at all, regularly appearing onstage completely naked. He wears smart suits as well, which contrast heavily with the other elements of his appearance.

Madonna. Many people have drawn comparisons between Lady Gaga and Madonna. Especially after Lady Gaga released her single Born This Way, which is a bit similar to Madonna's hit Express Yourself. Madonna is most famous for pioneering the cone-shaped bra which became very popular in the 80s, and for wearing lavish hats and hair accessories. Madonna also often wears skimpy outfits onstage.

KISS. One of the most famous bands to wear makeup onstage is KISS. In fact, no one actually saw the band without their black and white face paint until they decided to take it off in 1983. That's eight years of being one of the most successful rock bands without anyone knowing what they really looked like. But even though everyone was desperate to see what they were like without makeup, the band soon went back to wearing it again.

David Bowie has had so many different looks over the years it's hard to keep up. One of Bowie's most striking qualities is that he has one eye with a dilated pupil, but this isn’t a fashion statement. Bowie was punched in the eye by a boy at school during a fight over a girl, leaving him with poor vision in one eye. During the 1970s, Bowie would often dress as a spaceman, painting his face in bright colours. Nowadays, he tends to dress more conservatively.

So, have you picked up any interesting fashion tips?

 

44) Find the words or phrases in the text which mean the following:

1) behaving in a strange way

2) to look very different from most other people

3) a desire for attention

4) clothes

5) something not new that has been owned by somebody else

6) a combination of clothes that go well together (2 words)

7) the world of music \film entertainment

8) a combination of a jacket and trousers of the same material and colour

9) to follow smth

10) combinations of clothing that don’t cover much of a person’s body

11) expensive and extravagant

12) advice about what clothes to wear

13) the expression of some idea through one’s clothes

 

Europe’s greatest song contest

Well, it's that time of year again. Europe is once again about to launch its greatest cultural triumph on the world: the Eurovision Song Contest.

The start. Eurovision is a super-contest for a super-state. Growing from humble beginnings, Eurovision has become a phenomenon. It's one of the most-watched, non-sporting events in the world. Audience figures are between 100 and 600 million worldwide. But why? Well, there are catchy tunes, energetic performances and youthful dreams. Eurovision's glamour and suspense will thrill the world this May. Sure, there are plenty of people who think it is tacky and tasteless. But there are plenty of people who think it's tacky and tasteless and still love it. That's the appeal of Eurovision.

Rocking Finns. Last year, Athens was the host to the fiftieth anniversary of the contest. The winners were the Finnish hard rockers Lordi with their song Hard Rock Hallelujah. Great news, because until last year, Finland had participated the most times in the Eurovision finals without winning. So, this year, the competition finally heads north, to Helsinki. So put on your parka and let's take a trip to the brightest star in the European showbiz galaxy.

How does it all work? Things have changed a bit since the first contest in 1956, which started in Switzerland as a radio show. It began with entries from only seven countries, but now Eurovision has entries from over forty. Here's a look at how the contest works. First of all, Eurovision isn't a competition for EU countries only. Eurovision is the name given to a network of communication channels, the EBU, founded in the 1950s. It links public TV stations across Europe. That's why countries like Israel and Morocco, which are not part of the European Union, can compete in the contest. The format of the show changed in 2004 with the introduction of a semi-final. This year 28 countries will perform in the semi final with the ten highest-scoring countries of these going through to the final. Both the semi-final and final are broadcast live on TV.

Automatic Qualification. France, Germany, Spain and the UK are allowed direct entry into the final because they are major financial contributors to the contest. Aside from these four countries, the winner of the previous year's contest, and the semi-finals will go to the final.

In the past, a country's votes were decided by a jury, but now, citizens of that country can vote for their favourite songs by telephone or SMS. Juries can still be used by each country if there is a communications failure. Whichever method of voting is used (jury, telephone or SMS), it is not possible to vote for a performer from your own country.

Each country is asked to give points to their favourite entry, allocating 12 points to their favourite entry, 10 points to their second favourite entry, 8 to their third choice and so on down to the tenth favourite entry. A country can give its points to any other country. All vocals must be sung live. No voices are permitted on backing tracks. The winning delegation not only wins the accolade of best song for the year, they also host the next Eurovision Song Contest. So, last year hard rockers Lordi won for Finland, and brought Eurovision to Helsinki for 2007.