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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2007 > May > 06 > Entry
Ne-Yo excites female fans in Wal-Mart visit
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta’s singer/songwriter Ne-Yo rolled into the College Park Wal-Mart at 11:55 a.m. on Saturday for a noon autograph-signing session and hung out an hour later than his scheduled 2 p.m. departure to accommodate the hundreds of (mostly female) fans.
Rodney Ho / AJC
Sitting on a dais created for him in the Wal-Mart garden section, he grinned for the BET cameras, signed copies of his second album “Because of You,” while answering questions from V-103’s Elle Duncan, and hugged every woman who extended her arms to him.
Riverdale’s Nabia Kanu, 18, became overcome by tears — and she hadn’t even met him yet. “I love everything about him,” she burbled.
The man behind Beyoncé’s irrepressibly catchy No. 1 hit “Irreplaceable,” Rihanna’s “Unfaithful” and Mario’s “Let Me Love You” has good reason to be happy: “Because of You” is slated to bump Avril Lavigne off the top of the Billboard sales charts this week. Based on www.hitsdailydouble.com, first-day sales reports last week estimate he will sell more than 250,000 copies.
ENTERTAINER’S RETURN MAKES ALL FEEL LUCKY
Buzz, a regular visitor to the monthly “Lucky Yates Talk Show” at Dad’s Garage until it ended in late 2003, was delighted to see the puppeteer and entertainer resurrect the show Saturday night in the martini-lounge atmospherics of the Laughing Skull Lounge next to the Vortex in Midtown.
A mix of camp and snarky homages to the talk-show genre, Yates’ re-opening night show featured free tater tots for the sold-out crowd of 100-plus, dancing from the sinfully sexy Luna Luxx (part of the burlesque group Dames Aflame) and a silly game show called “Who Likes Hamburgers?”
Yates also brought back his goofy monologue with jokes mostly too dirty for Buzz to print, his witty sidekick Mr. Magnificent (real name: Bart Hansard) and a couple of guests. Best-selling author and Creative Loafing columnist Hollis Gillespie told the crowd that actress Laura Dern had purchased the TV and movie rights to her two books. The former Delta flight attendant has also started a “Shocking Real-Life Writing Academy.”
Rodney Ho / AJC
Paolo Dalla Zorza of Paolo’s Gelato in Virginia-Highland (left) dishes out some of his frozen treat to entertainer Lucky Yates.
In the meantime, Paolo Dalla Zorza, owner of Paolo’s Gelato in Virginia-Highland, dished about how he got into gelato and then dished out free gelato, including a yummy flavor colored like the Viagra pill.
And actor Hansard — who created a World War II diorama out of pretzel sticks, pimento cheese spread and peanuts — had good news: He had gotten a gig as a fireman on Tyler Perry’s “House of Payne” sitcom, which makes its official debut next month on TBS.
In the audience, Eric Von Haessler, a friend of Yates and former co-host of 96rock’s defunct Regular Guys show, told Buzz he had dropped his brief gig overseeing the Sunday Paper’s Web site. “It was too much work,” he said. “I wasn’t getting any sleep. But I’m still great friends with them.” So radio station execs, take note: Von Haessler is available!
COMEDY NOT SO EASY FOR CAVEMEN TO DO
ABC has turned those Geico cavemen into a sitcom — and they’re based in Atlanta.
But according to Derek Flint, who saw the pilot episode, it’s “astoundingly awful.” He wrote in www.aintitcoolnews.com that “they draw astoundingly leaden parallels to every minority group in the world without a laugh in sight.” Worse, one of the actors (none of whom appears to be from the original ads) “actually reminded me a little bit of Sanjaya.”
RANDOM BITS
An Australian 21-year-old who harassed Snellville “American Idol” finalist Diana DeGarmo received 150 hours of community service last week after being convicted of stalking and blackmail. Tanya Maree Quattrocchi over the past 18 months has flooded DeGarmo with e-mails and text messages, stolen her identity and harassed her friends and family. Diana’s mom Brenda told Buzz recently that Quattrocchi has continued to do so even after the conviction…
Verizon ended its partnership with Atlanta rapper-singer Akon after he allegedly simulated sex onstage with an underaged teen in Trinidad…
HIGH FIVE
Fish 104.7 For the week of April 29 to May 5
1. Jeremy Camp, “Give You Glory”
2. Lincoln Brewster, “Everlasting God”
3. Casting Crowns, “You Alone”
4. Adam Cunningham, “You Are My God”
5. Mark Harris, “Wish You Were Here”
— Mediabase 24/7
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Singer Thelma Houston is 61. News correspondent Tim Russert (“Meet the Press”) is 57. Actress Traci Lords is 38. Actor Breckin Meyer (“Herbie: Fully Loaded,” “Road Trip”) is 33.
Contributing: news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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