Red Carpet Report: Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Britney Spears, $800 sundae, Matchelorette
To celebrate the 6th birthday of Celine Dion and the late Rene Angelil’s twin sons Nelson and Eddy, the Caesars Palace headliner took them to Disneyland in California. It was a weekend-long visit to The Happiest Place on Earth.
The superstar took the boys on numerous Dumbo rides as two security guards kept watch down below. Dressed in white pants and white tank top with her hair in a bun, Celine blended in with visitors and in many areas went unrecognized because of her small, tight entourage.
The group stayed in the park until it closed, and eyewitnesses reported that they ate cupcakes, candy and cookies nonstop. It was Celine’s second visit in a year with the twins.
NEW HONOR FOR SHANIA
As part of Billboard’s 2016 Women in Music event, country star and former Caesars Palace headliner Shania Twain will receive its highest award, this year’s Women in Music icon. This week, she was named 2016 CMT Artist of a Lifetime.
Shania, who has won five Grammys, lays claim to the top-selling album by a female artist of any genre of all time with 1997’s “Come on Over.” The Dec. 9 ceremony in New York City will be broadcast on Lifetime on Dec. 12.
Shania says her new album is coming soon: “There’s a lot of variety there. It will be more diverse than any other album I’ve ever done, but it’s what I’ve learned about myself as a songwriter. The emotion and the voice ties it all together as one artist.”
BRITNEY’S CANCER CHARITY MISSION
When Britney Spears spins a 45-minute X Cycle class in Boca Park at noon Thursday, “Extra” host Mario Lopez will be pedaling fast to keep up with her. The ride completes Britney’s initiative with Zappos.com to raise $1 million toward building a new facility for Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation.
To date, the “Britney: Piece of Me” headliner and retailer have raised more than $500,000. It’s expected that Britney will announce crossing the million-dollar threshold at the end of the X Cycle ride from sponsors who have paid big bucks to see if they can outrace her on the 30 bikes in the class. Britney has programmed her music to play while she leads the cyclists.
I’m told that she’s going to try and reach out the moment the race is over to her biggest fan in Asia, 25-year-old Kristine Felizardo of The Philippines who will have undergone her first surgery in Shanghai for a rare blood cancer. Friends of Kristine are raising money for her treatments, recuperation and a hoped-for trip here to see Britney.
BETTING BIG ON MIRACLE MILE
Who would’ve guessed that California would have its giant public pension fund buying Las Vegas real estate to make a winning bet? In one of its largest real-estate deals since the property bust in 2007, CalPERS has chipped in $1.1 billion as a secret buyer of the 200-store Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood.
You would have thought that Gov. Jerry Brown’s socialistic-minded workers would have kept the investment home, but they obviously believe that Las Vegas is a better bet than The Golden State. Reports from Sacramento indicate that the California Public Employees Retirement System lost $11 billion in California property during the crash.
You get an idea of just how wealthy it is to be on the public tax payroll when they disclosed that their real estate portfolio was worth $27.3 billion at the end of July and its total investment portfolio $302 billion.
A DATE WITH THE MATCHELORETTE?
There’s no question that electric violinist Lydia Ansel is talented and sexy gorgeous — and since she’s single, she’s agreed to take part in the Matchelorette competition to be broadcast on Mix 94.1’s Mercedes in the Morning show. Starting Nov. 9, handsome hunks and yours truly will begin the battle to win a date with her on the town.
By Dec. 7, Lydia will have whittled down the contenders to a final three before deciding on a suitor. Go to the Mix 94.1 website if you think that you’ve got the goods.
EXPENSIVE ICE CREAM SUNDAE
I reported on Monday a $50,000 bottle of champagne at “Iron Chef” Morimoto’s new restaurant at MGM Grand. Today I have news of an $800 ice cream sundae. What is happening to menu prices? I recently wrote about the new season of Lavo Party Brunch at The Palazzo and its over-the-top sundae.
It’s a ginormous sundae that features 18 scoops of ice cream, fresh macaroons, waffles, marshmallow, whipped cream, chocolate sauce and sprinkles. I never knew it came with an $800 price tag. It is served in a giant ice bowl and topped with Avion Espresso Liqueur, a blend of Avion Silver tequila and Italian Espresso. It’s a taste treat from heaven.
TENORS OF ROCK
Several weeks ago, I tipped exclusively that the five British music stars known as Tenors of Rock had landed a residency at Harrah’s, taking over the showroom when “Million Dollar Quartet” ends in December.
This morning, Caesars Entertainment confirmed my scoop that the British boys will start their concerts Dec. 28. They’ll bring reimagined versions of the most beloved rock anthems and biggest songs of all time to life with a fresh rock ’n’ roll twist.
