¡viva la graham!

I attended an opening-night screening of the Sex and the City movie yesterday, and I must say that I loved every minute of it. I’m not going to give anything away, but I will say that it’s much better than the critics would lead you to believe. Even if you were only a casual fan of the series, you will leave satisfied.

Last night when we entered the theater full of ladies, one called out cheerfully, “The first boys are here!” We laughed, smiled and waved. They knew that we were just as excited to be there as all of them.

By the way, look for Sex and the City to debut at no. 1 at the box office this weekend, as it has far surpassed expectations and will likely continue to do so (Everyone I know who has seen it plans on seeing it again). Fingers crossed they’ll keep the franchise alive.

 I’m not complaining, even if it comes off as slightly desperate. The U.K. boyband is attempting once again to follow in the footsteps of Take That. Both groups were huge in the ’90s, both fizzled in the following decade, both have launched a comeback, and both have posed wearing next to nothing.

As for the pic above, who knew Ronan Keating (center) was so ripped?? Very nice. And doesn’t openly gay member Stephen Gately (left of Keating) look supremely uncomfortable? He probably always had a crush on the other boys.

Click here for some other new Boyzone pics from their current tour. Below you’ll find a homoerotic shot of Take That back in their heyday. One more after the jump.

I especially like the chain-link speedos. Don’t you agree?!?

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Here’s the clip for Weezer’s current modern rock no. 1 single, “Pork and Beans.” This video includes several YouTube sensations, from the Diet Coke & Mentos experiements to Chris Crocker, from Miss South Carolina to that Numa Numa guy. It’s actually pretty hysterical. For a song with a good non-conformist message but only so-so lyrics, this was a very smart move.

Weezer’s sixth studio album, dubbed the Red album, is due June 3.

As a way of highlighting the dichotomy of my entertainment tastes, here’s the yin to the yang of the post below…

David Cook was named the 2008 American Idol last night, which definitely came as a shock to a lot of people — even the judges thought his competitor David Archuleta would take home the title. I’m not sure how it happened, but there are millions of disappointed tween-age girls (and boys) this morning.

Apparently DialIdol.com predicted Cook would win (they track busy signals during the voting period), but I was still rendered speechless. My favorite going into the finale hasn’t won since Fantasia. Maybe that’s why I didn’t write about this season at all until now.

Anyway, congrats to David Cook. I look forward to hearing what he comes out with — hopefully the Idol svengalis will give him some creative control, because I think he knows what works for him.

As for the rest of the finale, it was wonderful to see my beloved Carly Smithson (pictured below) once again. I know some people didn’t like her, but I hoped she would go further in the competition. I would have much preferred her going head-to-head with Cook at the end (Archuleta is an undeniable vocal talent, but his sugary-sweet delivery didn’t do it for me). Here’s hoping Carly snags a recording contract as well.

The U.K. group is back with its unique brand of moody electro-pop. Ladytron is one of my favorites when I’m in the mood for some danceable goth-lite angst.

Here’s new single “Ghosts” and its creepy video, which finds the band in a desolate valley with hordes of wild animals (most notably, bunnies). I’m sure there’s a clever metaphor in there somewhere, but it’s too early right now for me to figure it out. I’m only on my first cup of tea! Honestly, “Ghosts” doesn’t immediately strike me as genius, but I have a feeling it’s a grower. Check out the clip for my favorite Ladytron track, “Destroy Everything You Touch,” here.

Ladytron’s fourth album, Velocifero, is available on iTunes now.

I always got the gay vibe from Los Angeles-based singer Sam Sparro, but I wasn’t sure. Apparently he’s out and proud, and he’s hoping that gay teenagers look up to him. I’m not a huge fan of his hit U.K. single “Black & Gold,” but I could grow to love him considering his admirable promotion of tolerance. That t-shirt he’s wearing above is pretty awesome, too.

If you follow indie music, MGMT is not news to you. If not, you are in for a treat. These Brooklyn boys are taking the U.K. by storm — and they’ve cracked the U.S. modern rock charts as well — with their single “Time to Pretend.”

The video is kind of ’80s in a good and bad way, and if you can get past that you’ll probably enjoy it. The shirtlessness doesn’t hurt… these boys are hot.

And now we’ve got the photos to prove it.

Blake Lively and Penn Badgley play a couple on the hit CW show, but they’ve denied for a while now that sparks fly off-screen. Perhaps they’ll insist their romantic Mexican holiday was just for research purposes, or they were “shooting a scene.”

Here are some more pics of the pair relaxing in the sun. Why doesn’t Penn go shirtless on the show more often??

If you haven’t been watching Gossip Girl, you should be. It’s only gotten better since the writers’ strike ended. The season finale airs this Monday, May 19.

[via Just Jared via People]

Ok, so Jesse McCartney still looks like he belongs in a boy band, on a soap opera or at a gay bar as a slutty cocktail server… but I must admit this new track is pretty good. He’s doing his best Justin Timberlake impression on “Leavin’,” which is smart since J.T. won’t have an album out anytime soon. Someone’s got to fill the void! I still can’t believe this boy wrote Leona Lewis’ “Bleeding Love.” Perhaps he’ll keep the best tracks for himself from now on…

Remember when Mean Girls came out and Lindsay Lohan could do no wrong? What a difference four years and a lot of drugs makes. Check out this picture of Lindsay with some random chicks modeling her line of leggings (yes, you read that correctly). The best/worst part? The girl on the left has kneepads on hers! I think Dlisted said it best:

“Built-in knee pads can really help a true slut out when she’s in a jam. When you’re in the back alley, about to blow some cock for an 8-ball, you don’t have to worry about looking for a piece of cardboard to put down to protect your knees. She is a genius! I’m sure there’s secret pockets in her leggings to hide a coke baggie, the morning after pill and a tube of KY.”

PS. Why is one kneepad so much higher than the other?!?