Review: Luke Bryan keeps party going on new album (AP)

By MICHAEL McCALL, For The Associated Press Michael Mccall, For The Associated Press – Mon Aug 8, 2:03 pm ET

Luke Bryan, "Tailgates & Tanlines" (Capitol Records Nashville)

Nearly every photo of Luke Bryan shows him flashing a bright smile, and at his best, his music captures the easy-going personality that makes the Georgia native as appealing as the sing-along party songs he favors.

Recently voted top new artist by fans during the Academy of Country Music Awards, Bryan kicked his career in gear over the last year with a couple of back-to-back No. 1 hits. Along the way, he has cultivated a reputation as a good-time guy known for upbeat tunes, even releasing a series of EPs with "spring break" in the titles.

"Tailgates & Tanlines," his third full-length album, builds on his status as country music's "Mr. Fun-in-the-Sun," as indicated by the rocking first single, "Country Girl (Shake It For Me"), a top 10 hit.

As likable as he is, Bryan occasionally tackles songs he can't handle, as in "I Don't Want This Night to End," in which he struggles to keep up with the song's fast-rolling phrasing. He also strains to lend believable weight to a serious song, such as "You Don't Know Jack," about a conversation with a homeless alcoholic.

With "Tailgates & Tanlines," Bryan proves once again he can get a party started. But he still needs to prove he can communicate the nuances of what happens when the party is over.

CHECK OUT THIS TRACK: Bryan can even make a love song sound like a lighthearted celebration, as he does on the mid-tempo "Drunk On You," which features his most engaging vocal work on the album.

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Colbie Caillat keeps her sunny demeanor (AP)

NEW YORK – It's not as if Colbie Caillat has never had her heart broken, experienced a major letdown, or had a low point in her life. But instead of wallowing in sorrow through her songs, she prefers to have her music focus on whatever positive lessons can be taken from a setback.

That's why the singer-songwriter, who broke through with the hit "Bubbly," tends to have song titles like "Think Good Thoughts," "What If" and "Dream Life, Life," all featured on her third and latest CD, "All of You."

"I think that music is therapy," the 26-year-old said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. "So when I write a song, I write from exact moments that I go through, and I know that everyone can relate, because everybody goes through the same situations in life. ... When you can tap into that and people can relate to it, then it connects you to them."

Caillat, who kicks off a U.S. tour this month, has certainly connected with music fans. She has a gold and platinum album to her credit, and recently, she got visual proof of her impact when a fan revealed a new tattoo: Caillat's name on their body.

AP: Are you amazed at how far you've come since your debut?

Caillat: I performed at the White House a few months ago. I met the first family and I sang the national anthem on the White House balcony. ... I was so emotional that day, I couldn't believe that I had the opportunity to be there with the president and the first family, and that I've won two Grammys, and I've written with Common and Jason Mraz and Taylor Swift. When I think of these things, I have to pinch myself, because I would have never have imagined this to happen for my career when I was younger.

AP: "Bubbly" rocketed you to fame. Do you ever try and recreate that moment?

Caillat: I think as an artist, I think you have to know how to stay true to who you are and your music, because your fans fell in love with you for a reason. They like a certain style and a sound that you have. But you also have to grow as an artist and a musician, so with all of my records, I definitely have learned from the producers around me and the musicians that come in to play, and the writers that I get to work with, and artists that I work with, so I think you have to develop. ...This record is more up-tempo, and I added more electric guitars and programmed beats under the real live instruments, and I did a hip-hop collaboration with Common, and we have the ukulele in it.

AP: You've been criticized at times for being too cheery. How do you respond to that?

Caillat: Everyone has a different taste, everyone has a different style and that's what I've learned. You can't be upset if one person doesn't like your music or your song, because hundreds or thousands of people do love it. ... I think that you should write from your heart, write from what you're feeling, write songs that will help people get through life situations, because we all need help, we all need reminders, and we do need that optimism. ... There's so much stress and clutter and craziness going on, I think people need a clearer vision.

AP: You've found love with Justin Young, who is a singer-songwriter, and a guitarist in your band. Is it difficult having a relationship with someone you work with?

Caillat: I feel lucky that I get to work with a person that I'm in love with. He's my best friend and we get to travel the world together and play music together and write songs together. It's so much fun, and when this job stresses me out or I need a break or I need someone to look to that can comfort me, he is right there, and we can do that for each other. Of course with anyone you are with too much, you can get a little on each other's nerves. But it lasts for like five minutes, and then you're over it and you're happy again that they're there with you.

____

Online:

http://www.colbiecaillat.com

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Nekesa Mumbi Moody is the AP's music editor. Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/nekesamumbi

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Jennifer Aniston Keeps It Simple at the "Horrible Bosses" Premiere (Fashion Wire Daily)

Los Angeles – Summer is in full swing in Hollywood, which made it simple for Jennifer Aniston to get dressed for the premiere of her raunchy new comedy "Horrible Bosses." The actress slipped into a glittery little black minidress and a pair of strappy black sandals, and she was good to go on Thursday, June 30, off to Grauman's Chinese Theatre along with her new boyfriend, actor Justin Theroux.

But Theroux avoided the red carpet frenzy and slipped in a side door, as Aniston joined "Horrible Bosses" director Seth Gordon and her gang of co-stars on the extra-long walk into the theater. There are so many popular actors in "Horrible Bosses" who came out for the party, including Jamie Foxx, Jason Bateman, Julie Bowen, Jason Sudeikis, Isaiah Mustafa, Lindsay Sloane, Ioan Gruffudd and Charlie Day, that it took longer than usual for the photos and interviews to finish up.

Aniston, who plays a foul-mouthed, sexually inappropriate dentist, and a very bad boss in the film, loved getting the chance to change things up, starting with her look and finishing with a very bad attitude.

"I knew I wanted her to look different. I wanted her to have dark hair," Aniston told reporters at an earlier press conference. But that idea didn't go over very well with the executives at New Line Cinema, who wanted her to keep that signature hair of hers, despite the fact that she plays a despicable person, a character that is nothing like the Aniston audiences usually see on screen.

"We had this wonderful period of time that we called 'Hairgate,' because the studio was refusing, they did not want me to wear the dark wig, like, 'Nobody will know who you are!' I'm like, 'What do you mean? They'll know who I am because of my name in the credits, I hope.' I said, 'There's just no way I can be saying these words and playing this woman and not look somewhat different.'" Obviously, Aniston's star power won out, and she's a dark brunette in the movie.

Other comedy fans on hand for the premiere were Aniston's best girlfriend Chelsea Handler, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jenna Elfman and Alyssa Milano.

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Ex-'Hills' star Patridge keeps momentum going (AP)

DETROIT – Bikini-clad Audrina Patridge was soaking up some sun by a pool in Los Angeles a few years ago when a reality TV producer spotted the aspiring model-actress. It was a chance meeting that ultimately led to a six-season run on the smash MTV series "The Hills."

These days, Patridge has traded her MTV gig in Hollywood for a web series in Detroit. Yet the 26-year-old beauty continues to attract attention — and maybe an occasional fan melee.

Last week at an airport in Mexico, she was overrun by fans, and earlier this week in Detroit, Patridge had an encounter with a group of prom-going teens at a bakery in the city's Greektown section.

"This one girl in particular came up to me and she started hyperventilating. . Just seeing that, it's like, `Wow,'" Patridge said. "A lot of people, they think they already know me."

That may because her public profile hasn't lessened all that much since "The Hills" wrapped last summer.

Patridge quickly signed up for ABC's "Dancing With The Stars," hoofing her way to a respectable seventh-place finish on the hit show last fall. Patridge currently can be seen in "Audrina,'" her reality series on VH1, and as the face of Bongo clothing, which put a building-sized billboard of Patridge along a main L.A. thoroughfare a few months ago.

Recently, Patridge has been in Detroit filming scenes for a web series called "Dream Maker," which will air on YOBI.tv, a site that hosts online talent competitions. Winners in acting, singing, comedy and filmmaking contests have earned spots in "Dream Maker," which stars Patridge as Tracy Jacobs, a Hollywood talent manager.

Patridge's character is inspired by the economic downturn to start a new firm in Detroit to foster fresh talent and contribute to the rejuvenation of the hard-hit city.

"A few years ago, I never would have imagined that I would have had all of these opportunities that I've had," Patridge told The Associated Press in between scenes. "It's been so amazing. I'm very blessed. I've been very busy with work. My dreams are coming true."

On set in a suite on the 28th floor of one of Detroit's casino-hotels, Patridge patiently waits for writer-director K. Asher Levin to set up a shot that involves her looking into the camera and swinging her hair back and forth.

"It should be like Tawny... (pause). You know, from the Whitesnake video," Levin says.

"Kitaen," Patridge says, smiling.

"Tawny Kitaen. Yeah, yeah, yeah," Levin says. "OK. Action on the Tawny stuff!"

Patridge and the rest of the cast and crew have been putting in 12- to 14-hour days, but the experience has "been amazing," she said.

Patridge's co-stars sing her praises, saying she insists on being treated like just another cast member despite her fame. Lisa Mason Lee, who plays Jacobs' receptionist on the show, describes Patridge as being "as sweet as pie" and "classy, charming, charismatic."

Meanwhile, the first season of "Audrina," which chronicles the namesake star's interactions with her Orange County, Calif.-based mother, father and three younger siblings, soon will be coming to a close.

Patridge said it's been an eye-opening experience, because after "The Hills" finished, she "kind of forgot how you have to re-live everything, sometimes through the editor's point of view. It's hard, for my family especially. But it's been really fun.

"We'll see if we get a second season. We don't know yet."

While that return to reality TV might still be in the cards, she'd also like to give scripted work a shot as well, having enjoyed her experiences both on "Dream Maker" and in the 2009 horror flick "Sorority Row."

As for the longer-term future, "In five years, I'll be 31. Gosh," she said, smiling. "Hopefully, I'll be married and starting a family, and I really would love to start my own line, whether it be a bikini line, or something that I'm passionate about, be creative with. I'd love to do another movie or more hosting jobs and traveling the world. I just live day by day and see what comes."

That could very well include running into more fans at airports and bakeries.

"I love talking to people and hearing their stories," she said. "I'm not the type to run from fans. I'll take pictures and sign things and talk to them."

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Cruz keeps 'Pirate' berth afloat through pregnancy (AP)

CANNES, France – There was no way the commanders of "Pirates of the Caribbean" were going to make Penelope Cruz walk the plank off the franchise's latest picture after she told them she was pregnant.

The filmmakers wanted her aboard so badly they charted a fresh course on the latest installment — "On Stranger Tides" — to accommodate Cruz's condition so she could shoot the film, which has its Cannes Film Festival premiere Saturday before sailing into theaters worldwide starting Wednesday.

Carrying her first child with husband Javier Bardem a year ago, Cruz broke the news to "Pirates" star Johnny Depp, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Rob Marshall not long before the shooting began.

"I just wanted to make the decision with them, with Rob and Johnny and Jerry," Cruz said in an interview in Los Angeles before heading to Cannes, where she will join Depp on the festival's grand red carpet. "They had been incredibly kind with their response and protective and generous and really caring at every single step of this, the process of making this movie."

Cruz had thought the filmmakers might fear that her pregnancy could hinder the action scenes of the high-seas spectacle, in which she and Depp engage in elaborate sword battles, shipboard stunts and treks through jungles and caves.

In fact, the filmmakers themselves were worried that Cruz herself might jump ship, deciding against such an arduous shoot while pregnant.

Bruckheimer said he had Cruz's photo on the drawing board while first developing her character, the fiery daughter of pirate Blackbeard, who's sailing his ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, in search of the fountain of youth.

Bruckheimer says he never imagined another actress than Cruz going head-to-head with Depp's woozy buccaneer Jack Sparrow.

"I was worried that she would back out. Fortunately, we talked to her and she said, 'No, I'll do it. I would love to do it. I can't wait.' I said, 'Great.' That was my biggest concern," Bruckheimer said. "I do a lot of television, and we've had so many actresses who get pregnant during their series and we figure out how to do it. So that didn't concern me."

The filmmakers adjusted the schedule so more of Cruz's scenes were shot early, before she began to show. And while she did all her close-up action scenes, more work was done by a stunt double in the wider shots.

"I only did what was safe," Cruz said. "That was also very important for them, not just for me."

Co-star Geoffrey Rush, reprising his role as Sparrow's foil Barbossa, said any alterations made to accommodate Cruz were worth it.

Rush is a big fan of Woody Allen, whose "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" earned Cruz a supporting-actress Academy Award, and he said Cruz's versatility added great energy to the latest "Pirates" flick.

"You had the fiery Latin temperament in 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona' turned into high art, high comedy in Penelope's hands, but then you see her in a Pedro Almodovar film and you go, 'She's the world's greatest dramatic actress,'" Rush said. "Having that come on to the Queen Anne's Revenge, it's as good as it gets."

Cruz gave birth to her son last January.

"On Stranger Tides" director Marshall, who also directed Cruz to an Oscar nomination in the 2009 musical "Nine," said he likes to imagine that while the actress was eating for two, she also may have been acting for two.

"She had a little boy," Marshall said. "I love the fact there might have been some of that little masculine energy in there, this little pirate in there, helping her be like a tomboy pirate. So maybe it was sort of fortuitous."

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