Over the weekend, the Post's magical resurrection of the Spitzer hooker scandal hit its peak. Instead of taking our advice and either disappearing or becoming a self-sustaining business mogul via pornography (either one of which would make her the master of her own fate and Money$$), Ashley foolishly chose to "get into bed," HEH, so to speak, with the dirty tabloid, in exchange for some "publicity" for her "musical career." It is a trick, Ashley! Give up this "musical" "career" at once and get as far away from the Post as possible!

The paper extracted the following things from the empowered young woman over the weekend:
1. Sexxxy photos.
2. Exclusive debut and video for her craptastic new pop song.

In return they gave her a puff piece calling her a "poster child for redemption." LOL! Oh and an explanatory piece on her tattoos. That too. And the Post's most painful concession (if you're a music critic): A positive review of her new single, "I Feel So Alive Without You." It's in the paper, but not online. That may have been a concession to Dan Aquilante, the critic forced to write this:

Unlike her first single, "Inside Out," a molasses-tempo ballad, this new tune has youth appeal in its complex melody that segues from a rock opening to a poppy chorus and ultimately plays with an unplugged acoustic bridge. Dupre should consider weaving in a quick rap for good measure.

Yes, weaving in a quick rap usually gives these things a touch of class. Aquilante didn't let this mandatory positive review go through without exacting his revenge in the kicker:

Ask any rock star and they'll tell you it's all about hooks, looks and the smarts to know how to take advantage of an opportunity when it falls into your lap — Miss Dupre has an abundance of all three qualities.

References to hookers and lap dances. You see Ashley, this is just the nature of the game. It was actually impressive when you turned down multimillion-dollar porn offers in the wake of the Spitzer scandal and went quiet for a while. What you don't realize, Ashley: the New York tabloid industry is shadier than the porn industry. And the tabloids don't even pay you.

You would think this "Yigal Azrouël" would be happy for the free PR that up-and-coming singer Dupre brought to his show. But he wasn't:

A no-nonsense, late night press release announced the news: "Following the showing of his Fall Winter 2009 Collection, Yigal Azrouël has decided to fire front-of-house PR Company, People's Revolution, for mismanagement."

That PR company is run by Kelly Cutrone, star of The City. And she couldn't care less about that crappy fashion label client, frankly! Nobody named "Yigal" will come between Kelly and her friend, Ashley Dupre, singer.

"When I met her I was like, you know what, I really like this girl," said Ms. Cutrone. "I'm vehemently opposed to morality, and I think that people who are insistent upon propelling morality ultimately hang themselves."

Got that? She's vehemently opposed to morality. Okay. So anyhow let's get right down to brass tacks and find out from Ashley Alexandra Dupre, hey Ashley, tell us about your upcoming music album will you?

Over pasta and salmon at L'Ulivo in the West Village, Dupre opened up about her hoped-for music career, her love of fashion and how she's dealt with moving on from the Eliot Spitzer scandal. "It's pop-rock, it's going to be deep, not bubblegum. It's definitely a personal record," said Dupre, 23, of the album she is currently recording...But don't expect any Spitzer-related songs. "I think I'll stay away from that, it would be pretty tacky," said Dupre, who is petite, gregarious and blessed with a flawless complexion. "I don't want to sing about it and I don't think anyone wants to listen to it."

Well you are certainly wrong about that! [NYDN, NYO, WWD]

Estelle is now an employee of the Kraft corporation, so she dropped her latest song in honor of Crystal Light, a tasty beverage whose brand she embodies. No surprise, since "MARKETERS are increasingly becoming the Medicis of music," so why doesn't everyone just give up?

"We believe branded entertainment needs to be developed from the brand up rather than from the entertainment down," said Doug Scott, president at Ogilvy Entertainment [which struck the Estelle-Kraft deal].

In other words, the content must "connect with the target audience," he added, which must also perceive the content as "authentic to the brand."

Musicians' job now is simply to create tunes that might catch the ear of marketing agency executives looking for psychological buttons to push amongst their target audience. Singers and rappers looking for inspiration can now choose between Wrigley, Smirnoff, or, if you're really "out there," Crystal Light. But hey, it's just a way for artists to get money so they can get their real music exposure! No, look again; this is their real music. The rest is just to get them popular enough to be signed by Kraft. Sing that soulful ad jingle, edgy young musicians. That's all that's left.

You might as well have been a jock. Music sucks. [NYT]

We thought Australians were all drunken harlots anyhow? We don't follow Aussie pop music but we'd imagine this sort of thing would be almost an imperative. Intoxicated Aussies falling down on the the beach, isn't that how it goes, stereotypically? But since the news broke on Fleshbot, Origliasso's rep has tried to deny the topless photo is her, even though it's part of a set that obviously is her.

More alarming has been the response of the singer's young fans, in an online forum:

The fans on the forum had been planning to send in photos and videos of themselves in bras and bikini tops as a symbolic gesture of support for Jess.

YES GOOD IDEA. Apparently her fans felt that hundreds of photos of female breasts would help cheer up the woman-loving singer (makes sense):

"It isn't fair! We just want Jess to know how "supported" she is and that she has such good fans and like I said before we're all in this together and we just wanna stand by our two favourite girls."

Excellent use of double entendre there, Aussie teenager. Jess herself encouraged her fans not to pursue this boobie picture plan, although I'm sure Fleshbot would be happy to receive the photos in her stead. This seems like a hell of an outcry, though, over what is one pretty tame photo of breasts, that Fleshbot found on a photo service site. Have we in America exported our prudishness to Australia, as part of globalization, in exchange for Fosters beer? It will take many more topless photos to answer this question.

[Fleshbot, Daily Telegraph]

Jossip says that Rosenberg saw a promo spot for a Ciccone interview, became enraged, and promptly made some phone calls to ensure that neither Entertainment Tonight nor The Insider would give his book any coverage. Considering Rosenberg's reputation for pulling strings—and her control of Madonna, a much huger bargaining chip than anything Ciccone could offer on a long term basis—it's plausible.

Now a clip of Good Morning America's interview—they're too big for Rosenberg to cow, apparently:

[Jossip]

Chicago Sun-Times music critic Jim DeRogatis, who first received the infamous R. Kelly kinky child sex tape in the mail, was ordered to testify at the trial. But he refused to show! He's claiming some sort of journalistic privilege to protect his sources, which may or may not actually exist in the eyes of the law. Now the judge is deciding whether to issue a warrant for the reporter's arrest. He could be the Judy Miller of the sex tape circuit!

The whole reason DeRogatis was called in the first place is that the defense team is "interested in what DeRogatis may have done with the tape between the time he received it in early 2002 and when he gave it to police."

As long as he didn't spend that time digitally inserting images of R. Kelly having sex with a minor into it, I don't see how it really matters.

[Tribune]

• I would change the age of consent.

  Two who were kicked off offered this philosophy, one going so far as to suggest that "nature already had an age of [sexual] consent: puberty."

• I (heart) R. Kelly.

  Nothing gets prospective jurors booted faster than telling the prosecution they are a fan of Kelly's. Just ask the woman who called him a "musical genius." When prodded to say something negative about Kelly, the best she could come up with was: "He and [rapper] Jay-Z don't get along?" Prosecutors bounced her soon after.

• I'll change my vacation plans.

  Overeagerness to serve on the jury is a definite red flag to attorneys. When one man offered to rearrange a trip to see his parents, the prosecution bounced him for being star-struck.

• Please call my mom.

  When one juror failed to show up for service, deputies called his house and his mother answered. She told the court that she didn't know where her son was and that he hadn't been "right" since he was shot in the head a while back. The judge and attorneys agreed to let him off the hook.

• I blame R. Kelly for Sept. 11.

  When the judge asked one prospective juror about his feelings regarding Kelly, he cryptically answered: "R. Kelly may have led the Taliban in attacking us on 9-11, but you can't prove it." You're right, we can't. In fact, we're fairly certain that no one has ever tried.

• Dean talks about people he knew who used to frequent a lesbian club in LA. "A few times, I spotted "Asia," a 1990s female R&B singer who had an amazing voice and a number of widely successful ballads during that time. She started as a background singer, but her powerful voice proved she needed to be up front as a solo artist. Her short body was topped with her huge, curly hair. Asia made a number of love songs, and her claim to fame was her rendition of a sexy remake of a song originally done by an '80s icon."
• "There was a beautiful television sitcom actress, 'Daisy,' and her actress best friend, 'Lisa.' These two women have been friends for a number of years and are always together. Daisy had done a number of successful sitcoms and got her start in a Broadway musical. Her multirange vocals were often showcased on one of the sitcoms she co-starred on. She often plays a fiery and fiesty character...However, I suspected that Lisa, a former singer and popular comedic actress, was at the club only as support for her."
• "There were also a host of WNBA players, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. It's always been rumored that most of the women in the WNBA are lesbians."
• "'I don't give a fuck!' a curvaceous woman yelled. 'She better bring her ass over here!' Everyone turned around to see who was making such a fuss. It was award-winning female rapper/ actress, 'Sheena.'...This wouldn't be the first or last time I'd see or hear about this female rapper/ actress attacking her partners...When she made an appearance on Keenen [Ivory Wayans'] show, I couldn't imagine her being as violent as I had seen her that night because she was the nicest and sweetest person. She had a striking presence, but it was really her walk that made her appear as if she was pimping."
• "Lola was an R&B singer/ songwriter who had recently moved to Los Angeles from New York. She was a staple on the New York scene, partying with big name celebrities. Her skills caught the likes of super duper producers DeVante Swing of Jodeci, Stevie J, and Dallas Austin. She'd made a noteworthy album, and the critics were eating her up. Her style was a hard-edged rap with a little rock and R&B. Her new single topped the charts and was receiving a lot of airplay...

  As much as Lola wanted to be a trailblazer and open doors for other gay artists, she was still part of a machine. Lola had to do what the label told her to do. She was still at their mercy and on their dollar. In videos and on album covers, her look was softened with dramatic makeup, luxurious hair, and seductive clothing. It was like night and day seeing her transformation."