Superstar Smorgasbord

The adrenaline and energy surging between stars and reporters during red carpet interviews is amazing. To a red carpet virgin such as myself, I could only imagine that photo and interview ops like the Wrigley’s Spearmint Press Conference are akin to feeding chum to a school of ravenous Great White sharks. Reporters, lured by the scent of expensive cologne, circle the carpet with their tape recorders in hopes of getting a juicy bite for their publication. Here, Blackbook offers you the chum of the day—a succulent stew of Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, and Julianne Hough. Bon Appetit!

Ne-Yo: The perfect gentleman gives a shout-out to Lindsey Lohan. RR: You're looking so rat pack these days. Can you tell me about what you're wearing? Ne-Yo: button down, red shirt, tie, nice fedora. This is my thing--the year of the gentleman.

RR: How did you come up with this concept?
Ne-Yo: Basically, it's me making an assessment of the business and seeing that the essence of what it means to be a gentleman is lacking nowadays. For example, the guy that will pull a woman's chair out for her when they sit down to eat, the guy that will open a car door for a lady, the guy that takes the time to make sure he looks his best when he walks out of the house, that guy is far and few in between. So I'm basically leading by example, trying to show cats what it means to be a gentleman again.

RR: Would you ever consider doing your own fashion line?

Ne-Yo: I don't really have a lot of free time but maybe once I slow down on my artistry.

RR: I know you're working with John Legend, Lindsay Lohan. Are you planning on changing or adding to their respective sounds?

Ne-Yo: John Legend is John Legend. There's no changing that guy--he is who he is. Lindsay Lohan—I didn't really know what to do with her. It was a shot in the dark with that one. We did something a little dancy and tried to bring a little energy to her and she loved it. She cut it and it was fantastic.

Chris Brown: Matchy-matchy in blue and yellow from his flat-billed cap to his Nike sneaks, CB talks shop.

RR: I hear that you're doing your own reality dance series. How is that working out?

CB: My dance series is still in the works right now. It's not gonna be like America's Best Dance Crew even though that's an incredible show. But it’s gonna be different from the more cliché dance shows.

RR: How are they cliché?

CB: Because all of them are based on the same thing: Judges. You know what I'm saying? They get certain people to judge for ratings. This won't be about big judges. No offense to JC Chasez or Lil Mama or none of them. Lil Mama dances to a degree but she's not a trained dancer. JC, he danced in a boy band, so he was taught everything he danced. You know what I'm saying? They need to get the old Gods of Breaking. They need to get legendary dancers that people might not know of, but who are hands on, that do real choreography. Right now, we're thinking it might be called Break Nation. It's grittier, more street, showing the urban elements of hip-hop and b-boy. It's not a bubblegum-type show. I'm just included because I believe in it.

Julianne Hough: Two-time Dancing with the Stars champ trades glittery heels for cowboy boots.

RR: How is your tour with Brad Paisley going?

JH: Oh my gosh, it's unbelievable. He's such an amazing artist, writer and I just think he's a great guy. He's really generous. He lets his opening acts--me, Jewel, Chuck Wicks--we all get to use the stage.

RR: Do you get to do much dancing on the stage?

JH: Not too much. I'm not breaking out into a waltz, or a tango, or a pasodoble, but I'm definitely moving around the stage, having a good time, and getting the crowd involved.

RR: I know you're remaking the gum jingle, but if you were to remake a country song, what would it be?

JH: Re-do a country song?! Oh my gosh, there's so many. Dolly Parton! Nine-to-Five, that would be so fun. Pam Tillis, anything by her, that would be great. I'm just such a big country fan that I would want to collaborate with any of them and maybe do a duet. That would be cool.

RR: If you could two-step with anybody, who would it be?

JH: I would probably say George Strait. He's probably the hottest older man ever.