Avril Lavigne is a threat to the youth of Malaysia. The 23-year-old pop singer is so smoking hot that members of a Malaysian Islamic opposition party do not want any of their impressionable youth seeing her in concert. Lavigne will have to shake her moneymaker in front of some other country’s young pliable minds because this opposition party isn’t having any of it. The Malaysian conservative group is convinced that her moves are “too sexy” for their teenagers, and they believe her August performance must be stopped.

The group appealed to the Malaysian Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Heritage to cancel the concert and the Ministry agreed. "It is not timely. It's not in the good spirit of our National Day. If we go ahead with the concert, it is contrary to what we are preparing for," said a senior official from the Ministry. Apparently, National Day is a countrywide day set aside to prepare against the evils of wristbands and tube socks.

Malaysia has a history of strict guidelines, which have led many female performers to cancel their shows. The Malaysian government’s rules require that all female performers wear conservative clothing that do not bear any “obscene” images. Additionally, all clothing must cover you from the chest to the knee. (Why am I getting flashbacks of "dress-down days" at my Catholic elementary school?) Beyonce moved her scheduled concert to Indonesia as a result of these mandates, and Christina Aguilera opted to not perform there at all. Gwen Stefani decided to perform, agreeing to cover up her trademark washboard stomach. She called her decision to wear a bit more clothing on stage “a major sacrifice” (and I will add, a terrible loss to that nation). … continue reading

Say you happen to be hanging out at a Starbucks in Turkey and you want to impress the exotic barista making your latte. Stop for a moment, listen to the music and, if a woman is singing, ask, "Is that Sezen Aksu?"

Even if it turns out to be Hepsi instead, the lovely woman behind the counter will be duly impressed with your knowledge of Turkish music.

The next weekend, you're off to Borneo and want to load your iPod with tunes the Malays love. Go with the top two female vocalists in Malaysia.

I know it's not a mix tape made in heaven, but Avril and Mariah are among the top five most downloaded artists in the country, according to my newest addiction, Gracenote Music Maps. … continue reading

Last night’s Teen Choice Awards could have been called the More Evidence That High School Musical Is Taking Over the Universe Awards. But I guess that would be too long to fit on the trophies. While South of Nowhere lost the Choice Breakout TV show award to Heroes, fellow AfterEllen.com reader favorite Degrassi won the Choice Summer TV award. See the complete list of winners here. In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll admit that I did not watch the show. I’m so far out of the teen demographic that to tune in would have been mildly creepy. However, I have no problem scanning the pictures afterward. Voyeurism, journalism — it’s a thin line. And with that, I give you my completely unprofessional, randomly snarky thoughts on the stars of the Teen Choice Awards.

Hilary Duff and Eve: Is this too much back and front for these ladies to be showing at a show for teenagers, or am I just a being a prude?

Ashley Jensen and America Ferrera: These two are causing me to have some decidedly R-rated thoughts during an entirely PG-rated show.

… continue reading

I haven’t been to an all-day concert in years. Eight years, to be exact, when the final Lilith Fair came to town. The sun, the music, the women in tank tops ... it was lesbian heaven. Now, in what’s being described as a latter-day Lilith Fair, Sheryl Crow, Avril Lavigne and Fiona Apple are teaming up for a new all-female musical event called Girlfrenzy.

Girlfrenzy is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, Calif. It features an all-day slate of well-known and up-and-coming women artists including Colbie Caillat, Sara Bareilles and Antigone Rising. A portion of the profits will go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The concert finds Crow, a breast cancer survivor, returning to music after a short break following the adoption of her son, four-month-old Wyatt Steven. Before that she was touring for the environment with Laurie David, extolling the use of one square of TP per restroom visit. So if you see her, congratulate her on the adoption — but you might want to pass on the handshake.

For Lavigne, one of Lori’s Hot Rocker Chicks, Girlfrenzy will be her first U.S. show after three October concerts in Mexico. Lavigne has had an up-and-down year. The Best Damn Thing hit No. 1 on U.S. charts in April, but she’s been busy defending herself against allegations of plagiarism. You know, I’d like to know for sure who wrote "Girlfriend" so I can curse the right person when I can’t sleep because the refrain is stuck in my head. … continue reading

I spend most of my time hiding my iPod from Sarah since she tends to "borrow" it for my '70s, '80s and 90s music. But she recently found where I'd hidden it and teased me about one of my playlists, "Hot Rocker Chicks." What can I say, the women rockers in this playlist are hot!

Since I can't find a way to talk about hot rocker women on our video blog "She Made Me Watch This" (we only discuss TV shows and movies), I thought I'd share my Hot Rocker Chicks playlist here. As a pre-emptive disclaimer, I don't consider these guilty pleasure songs, but if that keeps me from looking too shallow, then they are!

"Kiss Me Deadly" by Lita Ford

Sarah and I were in Palm Springs with scribegrrrl when scribegrrrl posted "These '80s sisters are twisted" and added "Kiss Me Deadly." Sarah had to listen to scribegrrrl and me go on and on about how hot Lita Ford was in the video.

I'm not a fan of Sarah's guilty pleasure song, "Close My Eyes Forever" by Lita Ford and Ozzy Osbourne — the only Lita Ford song I play and watch is "Kiss Me Deadly." Have you seen Lita slink around at the beginning of the video? She's in black. Has long, blond hair. And she's hot! I'm a sucker for blondes with long hair dressed in black (that's how Sarah got me).

Here's the video: … continue reading

As Time magazine points out, MTV isn't anyone's primary source of music videos these days. But the Video Music Awards still have a home on the channel. This year's nominees include Beyoncé (seven nominations), Rihanna (five nominations) and Amy Winehouse (three nominations). Those three are nominated for Female Artist of the Year, along with Fergie and Nelly Furtado.

The Best New Artist nominees include Winehouse, Lily Allen and Carrie Underwood. Meanwhile, Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" is nominated for Monster Single of the Year, which seems perfectly appropriate to me, especially in the sense of City-Eating, Village-Decimating, Brain-Sucking Single of the Year.

If Rihanna wins, she'll match her Moonman statuette:

Beyoncé's slew of nominations include four for "Beautiful Liar," her duet with Shakira. I still don't really know what the "Liar" part is about, but the "Beautiful" is clear.

And here's Amy Winehouse in the "Rehab" video, which is nominated for Video of the Year. Yes, yes, yes. … continue reading

Avril Lavigne has probably had better weeks. By now you’ve probably heard about the 22-year-old’s “Girlfriend” troubles. The punk pop singer is being sued for plagiarism by the '70s band The Rubinoos.

The group claims Lavigne lifted the chorus from its 1979 song “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” off its Back to the Drawing Board album. The songs share a similar refrain of “Hey, hey. You, you”… “I want to/wanna be your boyfriend/girlfriend.” Let’s take a listen to both, shall we? … continue reading

Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend” has to be the most maddeningly hum-along-able song of the year. That catty chorus will haunt you in your dreams only to taunt you as you brush your teeth the next morning. “Hey, hey. You, you. I don't like your girlfriend. No way, no way…Nooooooooo!”

Now comes the inevitable remix. Because in this day and age, no purely pop confection can exist without an accompanying urbanized update for maximum street cred. Word. Avril’s remix comes courtesy Dr. Luke (mixologist) and Lil Mama (pint-sized rapper). … continue reading