It works for Cyndi Lauper, it works for Nike, and it works for us
Cyndi Lauper became famous long ago for telling us that "girls just wanna have fun." But that was a just a song. When Cyndi gets serious, which she did with Live! Starring … [Read More...]
Glee’s Matthew Morrison: There’s no “one direction”
There is no one direction. That's what Glee star and Broadway veteran Matthew Morrison told us last week on the red carpet. But no worries to all you fans of Harry Styles … [Read More...]
U.S. National Sled Hockey athletes turn disabilities into success
By Natalie Brophy Have you ever met someone with a physical disability that made that person “different” from others? Have you ever thought about how you would act if you … [Read More...]
Cowboy Troy shows off his MuzikMafia ring!
How great would it be to say that out of everybody in the world, you have a ring that links to several famous country musicians? This is reality for Cowboy Troy, the Texas … [Read More...]
All Time Low brings complexity to “Don’t Panic”
This fall, the Baltimore-based- pop punk band All Time Low released their fifth full-length studio album, “Don’t Panic.” After their last album “Dirty Work” was released … [Read More...]
Cody Simpson, Ne-Yo, T-Pain & more tell you how to do it big from the ‘Gig-It’ red carpet
Where better to get advice for aspiring stars than the red carpet, right? Actually, we found a place that’s slightly better: a red carpet event celebrating the launch of a … [Read More...]
The Stars Talk Fame
Zendaya, move over … WE are dancing with Val!
When the world learned that the Nickelodeon star Zendaya from “Shake It Up” will be partnered with Val Chmerkovskiy on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” we had simple thought: That’s cool. But you know what’s cooler? We got to … [Read More...]
Glee’s Matthew Morrison: There’s no “one direction”
There is no one direction. That's … [Read More...]
How can you be a “SMASH” on Broadway? Take Debra Messing’s advice
If you want to star in a musical on Broadway, … [Read More...]
It works for Cyndi Lauper, it works for Nike, and it works for us
Cyndi Lauper became famous long ago for … [Read More...]
Cody Simpson, Ne-Yo, T-Pain & more tell you how to do it big from the ‘Gig-It’ red carpet
Where better to get advice for aspiring stars … [Read More...]
LSY! Team Spotlight
Meet Gabi Hartman, LSY! teen reporter
Neither she nor I knew it at the time, but Gabi Hartman got in on the ground floor of Live! Starring … You! We met three years ago, when she was visiting Buffalo, New York, for her friend’s sweet 16 party, and Gabi took an interviewing workshop I taught with my friend Heather Morris, who plays Brittany on Glee. (Click here to see one of her questions for Heather.)
That concept of having teens doing interviews with people in the spotlight was so popular that I kept it going, and it’s grown into the LSY! program you see today.
Other than connecting on Facebook, however, Gabi and I didn’t keep in constant touch. She lived hundreds of miles away in Charlotte, North Carolina. While I was building up LSY!, she was finishing up high school. We reconnected, though, when Gabi came to New York City for her freshman year at NYU. She got in touch to talk about her aspirations as a singer, and ultimately ended up enlisting as an LSY! teen reporter, too!
Gabi’s first interview was with New York Rangers goalie Martin Biron at Madison Square Garden. That was personal for her, because Gabi’s dad, Mike Hartman, won a Stanley Cup with the Rangers when she was just a baby.
It’s always cool when things come full circle, whether it’s “performing” at MSG like your dad, or helping start an innovative program and then getting a chance to be involved with it again. But for Gabi, this is just the beginning: I know we’ll be reading and watching more great interviews (and hearing some awesome music) from her very soon!
Fun Gabi Facts:
Favorite song: “It’s My Life” by Bon Jovi. There is nothing more liberating than finally understanding that your life is in your own hands. “It’s now or never”– so do what fulfills you!
Favorite books: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Catcher in the Rye, a Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Help
Key fashion item: shoes, shoes, shoes!
What she’d need to survive on a deserted island: Pictures of family, endless supply of chocolate, and a piano. (I don’t play but I’d LEARN).
Biggest inspiration: My dad. He taught me to chase dreams.
Unexpected New York City reality: The amount of smoke people blow into your face and the backbone you need to learn to have in order to tell them not to!
Biggest misconception of living in the south: That we like sweet tea, bacon, and grits. I don’t – ew! Also, I am a vegetarian and bacon is by far the worst food I can imagine a person eating! Strips of pig roasted in its own fat? Really, people?
Favorite TV show: I can quote every episode of Friends. I have the collector’s edition box set! Also, I don’t care how cliché this is: I LOVE TITANIC and my heart will go on forever for Jack Dawson. It was the first movie I saw in theaters and it is amazing.
