Aubrey O'Day
Aubrey O'Day in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Aubrey Morgan O'Day
Born	(1984-02-11) February 11, 1984 (age 28)
Origin	San Francisco, California, U.S.
Genres	Soul, R&B, Pop
Occupations	Singer, actress, fashion designer, television personality
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2004–present
Labels	Universal Republic, SRC
Associated acts	Danity Kane, Day26, Donnie Klang, Sean "Diddy" Combs
Website	www.AubreyODay.com

Aubrey Morgan O'Day (born February 11, 1984) is an American singer, actress, fashion designer, television personality, and former member of the girl group Danity Kane. Following discord among the group and with her mentor at the time, P. Diddy, O'Day was fired from the group in 2008.^[1] She has since signed a solo record deal and made numerous appearances on reality television shows, including being on the Celebrity Apprentice in 2012.

O'Day has also modeled for magazines such as Blender and Playboy, and has performed on Broadway in Hairspray.

Early life[link]

O'Day began performing at age five. "I lived on the stage, and even at six, slept behind the seats of the theatre," she stated in an interview.^[2] According to her mother, when O'Day was four, she was at a performance of The Nutcracker and started to cry. Her mother asked her what was wrong and O'Day replied, "I'm sad that I'm sitting here and not up on stage." O'Day recalls that moment as the one in which she "officially" realized her love for entertainment.^[2]

O'Day played lead characters in various musical productions, including Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Carmen in Fame, Sandy in Grease,^[3] Liesl in The Sound of Music, Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof, and Mimi in Rent. She also appeared in Annie.^[3] O'Day's childhood leaned heavily toward auditions and acting gigs more than school.^[4] The Notorious B.I.G. and Sean "Puffy" Combs were her primary influences as a child.^[3]

O'Day attended La Quinta High School in the early 2000s. She later majored in political science and drama before dropping out without a degree from University of California, Irvine, and is a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority.^[2]

Career[link]

[edit] 2004–08: Making the Band 3 and Danity Kane

O'Day was discovered in 2004 on the MTV reality show Making the Band 3, founded by Sean "Diddy" Combs, and emerged as the show's breakout star.^[1][3] During Season 2 of Making the Band 3 while the competition was still ongoing, Blender magazine contacted O'Day to pose for their September 2005 issue. The magazine described her as the contestant "who bared calm resolve and tanned hip bones in beating out almost 10,000 girls for the chance at singing and strutting in a P. Diddy–steered girl group".^[3] O'Day expressed anxiety about competing to be in the group. "I’ve been in the ‘cut’ situation several times," she stated. "It’s hard to stand in a room and know that the dream I want is all in [Combs’s] hands."^[3] O'Day had dropped out of college in order to participate in the competition. After seeing her dance, Combs was convinced that O'Day had "Black in her family"^[3] and further expressed this sentiment after watching her sing a version of "At Last" at a club during Season 1 of the show. This, along with what viewers saw as natural charisma, helped endear her to become a consistent favorite among judges and fans.^[3] Former Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync manager Johnny Wright, who served as one of the judges on the show, stated from her first audition in Los Angeles they knew that she was "a star".^[3][5] "It’s extreme," O'Day relayed of the competition. "There’s a lot of ‘I love to be in the spotlight’ types—including myself."^[3] In response to being told that Combs wanted the type of stars who were stars when they were age 2, O'Day stated, "Well, I was Aubrey when I was 2. A diva from the beginning."^[3]

O'Day was eventually chosen to be in the group, and was the first member included. The band became known as Danity Kane, and their first album debuted on August 22, 2006, at #1 on the Billboard 200 charts.^[6] The group was the opening act for Christina Aguilera on the U.S. leg of her Back to Basics Tour with the Pussycat Dolls.^[7]

O'Day's fame and physical features found appealing by magazines helped her broaden her career beyond the group.^[8] In addition to other musical projects, she posed for several "sexy" magazine spreads.^[2][8] On the August 28, 2008, episode of Making the Band, due to being consistently frustrated with O'Day's "oversexed" new image, Combs called O'Day "one of the worst dancers" in Danity Kane.^[9] He told O'Day that she no longer looked like the girl he signed and that she used to be one of the best.^[9] Combs bluntly accused O'Day of trying to expand her fame at the expense of the entire group, and that she liked flaunting her breasts and wearing big hair — referring to an incident where she had rubbed her cleavage on the arm of a television host.^[9][10] Furious, Combs asked himself on television why he was keeping O'Day in the group.^[9]

On the October 7, 2008, episode of Making the Band, after continued debate with O'Day about the well-being of the group, Combs declared O'Day no longer a member of Danity Kane.^[1] An official announcement, however, had not been made from Bad Boy Records. When asked by Boston Herald whether she was still in the group, O'Day was reluctant to answer and stated, "I can’t comment on anything, I’m sorry."^[1]

Speculation arose that Combs firing O'Day was a ratings ploy and that he had no intention of truly dismissing her.^[1] When discussing her career, O’Day would still refer to herself as a "member of a girl band" and "the official party girl of Danity Kane".^[1] On the October 14, 2008, episode of Making the Band, however, O'Day's departure from the group was confirmed, as well as bandmate and then-best friend D. Woods.^[11] In the live section of the episode, Combs explained that the reason he let O'Day go was that she was not the same person he signed, that the fame had changed her.^[12][11] When O'Day came on to reply, she stated: "I would rather be hated every damn day of my life for being real than loved for being something I'm not."^[11] In a backstage interview before the finale, she said:

Tonight is a representation of the end of a chapter in my life; it's not the end of the book. I will do everything possible to make my mark on this industry, and Danity Kane and [Combs] provided me with this amazing opportunity to go out and really touch people's hearts. I think the way that we were able to inspire people was something that I will never be able to achieve in that way again in my life.^[11]

MTV News gauged fan reactions to the dismissals of O'Day and Woods. Fans left impassioned, long and detailed comments on the MTV News site about their discontent regarding the group's breakup.^[13] The 2009 season of Making the Band was expected to include new members auditioning as "replacements" for O'Day and Woods in Danity Kane,^[14] but instead showed the official end of the group.^[15] The complete breakup of the group was originally thought to be the result of O'Day and Woods, along with group member Shannon Bex, declining the offer to return to the series and the group.^[15] This was later argued by O'Day, who stated that while she was unsure if Woods was asked back, she herself was not asked to return.^[16] O'Day said that if offered, she would have returned and is not against returning.^[16] She was officially released from her Bad Boy Records contract by Combs in the April 16, 2009, episode of Making the Band.^[17]

In the April 23, 2009, finale of the show, O'Day returned with three former members of the group to clear up any misconceptions about the group's breakup.^[18] She said that she has forgiven being released from the group, and people who blamed her for the group's demise.^[18] Combs said that if he ever puts the group back together, O'Day and the group's other four members would be returning as Danity Kane.^[18]

2008–present: Solo career and return to reality television[link]

O'Day landed the role of Amber Von Tussle in the Broadway musical Hairspray on July 16, 2008.^[19] She appeared in the 2009 comedy American High School costarring Nikki Ziering,^[20] and is currently reading scripts for consideration in starring in feature films.^[1] Recently, she has been pursuing a solo music career,^[16] and has been in the studio with Shanell Woodgette, as well as producer Maestro, recording a remastered version of Sharam's remix hit "Party All the Time". She released a track titled "Never Fallin", and also joined the cast of Jerry Mitchell's musical Peepshow in the role of "Peep Diva" at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada from September 2009 to late December 2009. Additionally, O'Day was featured on Donnie Wahlberg single "I Got It."

On the April 23, 2009, finale of Making the Band, O'Day revealed that she would have her own reality television show for which she would be filming in the spring of 2010.^[18] The show entitled All About Aubrey premiered on March 7, 2011, on the Oxygen Network.^[21][22] O'Day's debut single, the Adonis-produced "Automatic" was released on April 12, 2011.^[23] O'Day recorded over 50 songs for her debut album on SRC/Universal Motown, which will come out in late 2012.^[24][25] On a video released on UStream, O'Day told her fans she's releasing an EP.^[26]

O'Day was also fired from Donald Trump's The Celebrity Apprentice 5, which premiered on February 19, 2012.^[27] Before being fired, O'Day received a significant amount of criticism for her conduct while competing on the show, being described as "narcissistic, self-centered, evil, and vicious" by the media and viewers of the show, and as "transparent" by Trump's judges. It eventually caused Arsenio Hall to lash out on her in the show's boardroom segment, berating her with the support of his entire team, particularly Clay Aiken. This left O'Day in tears and contemplating to quit the show before eventually being fired by Trump.^{[28] [29] [30]} O'Day ultimately decided to remain on the series, and although she accepted an apology from Hall, she has expressed her dislike of him in multiple confessionals, labeling him and Aiken as "bullies".^[31] She ended up finishing in 3rd place, being the last female contestant standing and getting fired just before the final task for being deemed inexperienced and transparent by John Rich and Marlee Matlin, who served as Trump's viceroys.

On April 23, 2012. A new self-released single "Wrecking Ball", co-written and co-produced by American Idol alumni Pia Toscano was released on iTunes.

Other work[link]

In 2006, O'Day ranked #86 on Maxim's Hot 100 list, #81 on Blender's 100 Hottest People list, and posed for the magazines.^[2][20] She walked the catwalk at Heatherette's Fall 2007 runway show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week held on February 6,^[32] and recorded a song with R&B singer Cupid written and produced by D. Harold; Mischke, and T. Thomas, whose title is "Do Yo Dance" and was the new single from Cupid's album Time for a Change.

In January 2008, O'Day briefly became the face of Famous Stars and Straps.^[33] She later made a cameo appearance in Estelle's music video for "Pretty Please" in August 2008.^[34] Further utilizing her success, she started her own clothing line called Heart on My Sleeve, which features T-shirts and accessories available only online.^[1][35] She posed topless for men's magazine Complex, their November 2008 issue.^[36] The publication stated, "With all due respect to the other girls in Danity Kane, it's easy to see why [Combs] built his group around Aubrey O'Day. Simply put, Aubrey is that chick: the stunner who attracts paparazzi and Broadway producers alike, and the talent least likely to fall into post-reality-show abyss." The magazine additionally commented on the animosity O'Day receives from several outlets, such as blog sites, as well as from message board fans, who have come to despise the attention she attracts from the media and the current image she has crafted of herself.^[36]

In late 2008, O'Day made a guest appearance on the reality show 50 Cent: The Money and the Power. She later agreed to be the covergirl for Playboy for the March 2009 issue.^[37] Additionally, she has been featured on the covers of Jadore, Image, Palm Springs Life, King, Right On!, Dub and Envy.^[2] She has done features for GQ, In Touch Weekly and Us Weekly.^[2]

Personal life and activism[link]

O'Day in February 2011

After graduating from high school and deciding to go to University of California Irvine, O'Day spent a semester at sea.^[2][36] She worked with service organizations while touring in different countries, as well as refugee centers, orphanages, and mostly with children with AIDS.^[2] She volunteered for the The Pink Project (a charity photobook supporting RAINN and the Los Angeles Breast Cancer Alliance), and helped victims of the Hurricane Katrina devastation. O'Day soon created her own organization, called F*A*N (Fighting Aids Now).^[38] The charity's goal is to give therapy and art to children in hospitals.^[2]

While competing to be in the band, O'Day formed a strong connection with fellow contestant Aundrea Fimbres.^[8] The two made it through two seasons together, and gained a large and loyal fanbase before Combs chose them to be in the group,^[2][8] O'Day first and Fimbres last. Viewers named the two "the AUs" and "Aubrea" (portmanteux of their first names put together), and O'Day declared Fimbres her best friend in the Season 2 finale of the series.^[8] O'Day even got Danity Kane's bar codes from their albums tattooed on the back of her neck.^[10] O'Day's friendship with Fimbres, however, later became distant.^[8][39] As of 2010, O'Day and Fimbres have reunited on numerous occasions and have claimed to have always been friends.

On The Wendy Williams Show on August 12, 2008, O'Day stated that she previously dated DJ Cassidy. She dispelled rumors of ever having plastic surgery or dating boss Sean Combs. In addition, she declared then-bandmate D. Woods her best friend and porn legend Jenna Jameson one of her good friends.^[40] In September 2008, she told Complex that she likes to watch porn as a hobby and that her favorite porn star is Jameson.^[36]

In an August 2008 interview with Broadway.com, O'Day stated she was increasingly irritated with people pigeonholing her sexuality; stating that she looks for "incredible passion and honest love" and not at gender.^[41] On December 15, 2008, Fox News reported that O'Day attended a party accompanied with her girlfriend/lover, according to an anonymous friend in attendance.^[42] When questioned by UsMagazine.com regarding the gay rumors, O'Day did not confirm or deny the speculation about her sexuality, and once again stated that she could not say "one way or another" what her sexual orientation is at this point in her life.^[43] In 2009, while on the show Chelsea Lately, when asked about being bisexual, she replied, "Generally, I don't like to label myself... I want to find someone I'm passionate about, and I don't want to limit myself to one segment of the population."^[44]

During the 2008 presidential election campaign in the United States, O'Day supported Barack Obama for President.^[1] She is also a gay rights advocate and chose the "Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN)" as her charity for Celebrity Apprentice.^[27]

Discography[link]

Albums:

• TBA (2012)

Solo Singles:

• 2011: "Automatic"
• 2011: "Heartbreak"
• 2012: "Wrecking Ball"

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Aubrey O'Day on Myspace
• Aubrey O'Day on Twitter

Arsenio Hall
Hall at the 1989 Emmy Awards
Born	(1956-02-12) February 12, 1956 (age 56) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, comedian, television host
Years active	1979[1]–present
Children	Arsenio Jr. (with Cheryl Bonacci)[2]
Website
Official website

Arsenio Hall (born February 12, 1956)^[3] is an American actor, comedian, and former talk show host. He is best known for hosting The Arsenio Hall Show.^[4]

Hall is also known for his appearance as Alan Thicke's sidekick on the talk show, Thicke of the Night. He was the winning contestant on NBC's reality show, Celebrity Apprentice 5, after defeating singer and American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken in the Celebrity Apprentice live finale.^[5]

Early years[link]

Arsenio was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Fred and Anne Hall. His father is a Baptist minister.^[6] Hall performed as a magician when he was a child. He graduated from Warrensville Heights High School in Warrensville Heights, Ohio in 1973.^[7] After he graduated, he attended Ohio University, where he was on the speech team with Nancy Cartwright and Leon Harris.^[3] He then transferred to and graduated from Kent State University.

Career[link]

He later moved to Chicago, and then Los Angeles, to pursue a career in comedy, making a couple of appearances on Soul Train. In 1984, he was the announcer/sidekick for Alan Thicke during the short-lived talk show Thicke of the Night (a role for which he has on occasion noted his confusion with Monty Hall). Arsenio was the original voice of Winston Zeddemore in the cartoon The Real Ghostbusters from 1986–1987. In 1988, he co-starred in the comedy film Coming to America with Eddie Murphy.

Talk shows[link]

In 1986, the Fox network introduced The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers, created to directly challenge The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. After a moderate start, ratings for the show sagged. Behind-the-scenes relations between Rivers and network executives at Fox quickly eroded, and Rivers left in 1987.^[8] Subsequently renamed The Late Show, it featured several hosts including Ross Shafer, Suzanne Somers, Richard Belzer, and Robert Townsend before it was cancelled in 1988.^[9] Hall was also chosen to host the show in the fall of 1987, and his stint proved to be immensely popular, developing a cult following which eventally led to Hall landing his own show on another network.^[10]

From January 2, 1989, until May 27, 1994, he had a Paramount contract to host a nationwide syndicated late night talk show, The Arsenio Hall Show. The show became a breakout, late-night success, especially rating high among the coveted younger demographic and known for its audience's distinctive alternative to applause: chanting "Woo, Woo, Woo!," while pumping their fists. The practice soon became such a ritual that by 1991 had become a "pop-culture stamp of approval"—one that Hall said had become "so popular it's getting on people's nerves."^[11] The gesture made it into films of the time: the title character played by Julia Roberts did it in a polo scene in Pretty Woman (1990), and characters played by Penny Marshall and Michael J. Fox did it in The Hard Way.^[11] In Disney's Aladdin (1992), the Genie character voiced by Robin Williams performs the gesture while mimicking the physical appearance of Hall. This popular gesture can also be found in the 1993 Mel Brooks' comedy, Robin Hood: Men in Tights. It was also seen in the movie Passenger 57, in which an old woman confuses the character played by Wesley Snipes with Arsenio Hall. After saving the day, the passengers on the hijacked plane do the gesture toward the protagonist.

He also had a rivalry with Jay Leno, after the latter was named host of The Tonight Show, during which Hall said that he would "kick Jay's ass" in the ratings game.^[12]

Perhaps one of the show's most noted guest stars was then-Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Bill Clinton, who performed a rendition of Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel on the saxophone during his appearance in June 1992.

However, the ratings for Hall's program began to struggle and he also butted heads with Paramount, his distributor. The tension arose from Hall's invitation to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan in February 1994. Hall gave the entire hour to Farrakhan and did not do anything else besides conduct an interview. The program was canceled in May 1994.

Hall used his fame during this period to help fight worldwide prejudice against HIV and AIDS, after Magic Johnson contracted the disease; Hall and Johnson filmed a PSA about the disease that aired in the early 1990s.^[13]

Recent radio and television work[link]

Since The Arsenio Hall Show ended, Hall has made many appearances on television (including a short-lived 1997 sitcom called Arsenio), starring in Martial Law with Sammo Hung from 1999–2000, and hosting the revival of Star Search in 2003-2004. On the latter program, he tried to popularize the catch phrase "Hit me with the digits!". Hall appeared as himself in Chappelle's Show in March 2004, when Chappelle was imagining "what Arsenio is doing right now" in a dinner scene.^[14] Hall is a guest co-host on Wednesday evenings on The Tim Conway Jr. Show on KLSX 97.1 FM radio.^[15] Hall also hosted MyNetworkTV's comedic clip show The World's Funniest Moments and TV One's 100 Greatest Black Power Moves.^[16] Hall also appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher in May 2012 in a discussion commemorating the 1992 Los Angeles riots.^[17] Hall was considered to be the host of the syndicated version of Deal or No Deal and filmed a pilot (there were six taped).^[18][19] However, by the time the syndicated series began on September 8, 2008, Howie Mandel was the host. After this setback, Hall filed for bankruptcy in 2008. In his bankruptcy petition, he listed just $765 in assets against debts exceeding $190,000.^[20]

He also appeared regularly on The Jay Leno Show, and was a guest on Lopez Tonight.^[21] George Lopez credits Arsenio for being the reason he had a late night show; Lopez appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show more times than any other comedian. Lopez requested Hall be a co-host on Lopez Tonight (November 25, 2009) since he regarded Hall as his inspiration and the first "late night party show host".^{[22][23][24][25][26]} Hall has filled-in as guest host for NBC's Access Hollywood Live (2011) and CNN's evening talk/interview program Piers Morgan Tonight in 2012.

In 2012, Hall was a contestant on the fifth season of The Celebrity Apprentice, which began airing February 19, 2012.^[27] Hall represented his charity, the Magic Johnson Foundation, which is dedicated to advancing economic and social equality by engaging minorities in every aspect of their communities; increasing academic and innovative achievement; and raising HIV/AIDS awareness, treatment and prevention.

On May 20, 2012, in the live season finale, Hall was chosen as the Celebrity Apprentice winner, being "hired" by billionaire real estate investor Donald Trump over the other celebrity finalist, singer Clay Aiken. For winning Celebrity Apprentice, Hall won the $250,000 grand prize for his charity, in addition to any money he won for his charity for tasks he and his team won when he was a team leader on the show.^{[28][29][30][31]}

Awards and honors[link]

Awards[link]

• 1988 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (Coming to America)
• 1989 American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (Coming to America)

Honorary degrees[link]

• Hall received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Central State University, Wilberforce, Ohio, Spring 1992.^[32]

Filmography[link]

Television[link]