HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE NEW YORK PREMIERE (JULY 9, 2009)

About 1000 Harry Potter fans lined 54th Street on Thursday afternoon, to get a glimpse-- and possibly some autographs-- from the stars of the latest Harry Potter installment. Some fans were dressed in robes, others wore wizards hats and others donned Harry Potter scars and black-rimmed glasses.

There is no archetype for a Harry Potter fan. Soccer moms, college students and small children were scrunched together in the barricades across the street from the Ziegfeld Theater. Some people had come from as far as Chicago to see the red carpet arrivals. One girl, named Marjorie, arrived at 5:15sm to get a prime spot. She was able to deliver a fan letter to Rupert who said "thanks mate."

In the hours leading up to the premiere, fans chanted "Dumbledore" and "Severus Snape." They also cheered if a car honked. The police who were monitoring the crowd seemed tickled by all the potter spirit. One officer took a few pictures of the crowd.

A little after 6pm the stars started arriving. Lance Bass, Vanessa Williams+daughter, Marcia Gay Harden+kids, Diane Sawyer+kids, Chevy Chase, Michelle Trachtenberg, Michael Gambon (Dumbledore), Kelsey Grammer+family, Ashanti, Dennis Leary, Gina Gershon and Eric Mabius all walked the carpet.

Bonnie Wright aka Harry's Girlfriend in the movie, was one of the first stars to arrive. She was dressed in a little black Prada number. While she did not come over to greet the fans, Daniel Radlcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint came over to sign autographs and thank the fans. Alan Rickman waved to the fans from the red carpet. He spent a quite few minutes chatting with Diane Sawyer and her daughters who were hanging around the carpet. Marcia Gay Harden also hung around the carpet with her small daughters, who were dressed like wizards. No star is above Harry Potter! Tom Felton snubbed the crowd only singing for a small group of Malfoy Fans.

Overall, it was a night to remember.

FALU: INDIAN MEETS ROCK (7/7/09)

"Falu" performed at Joe's Pub on Tuesday evening. The concert was sold out. A whole group of fans elected to stand by the bar in order to see the show.

The band "Falu" is fronted by lead singer Falu Shah. She is a classically trained musician from India, but she has been in the states since 2001. The band also consists of Gaurav Shah (flute and vocalist), Tewar (guitar), Borham (keys) and Justin (bass). They performed many of the songs from their self-titled debut album.

"Falu" is unique because some of their songs blend hindi and english verses ("Without You"), while other songs are traditional hindi songs "O Lal Meri." Falu has a great stage presence and a tremendous range. She also has an infectious smile.

Two special guests came through to play for the crowd. The first was Grammy Award winner Jason Miles and the second was saxaphonist Topaz. On the eve of Michael Jackson's memorial, it was fitting that Miles had worked with Jackson on "HIstory." Falu made a point of mentioning this to the crowd.

The band played a mix of light songs and up tempo songs. At one point audience members were dancing between tables. Overall, it was a great show.

"Falu" has slowly been building a following. They worked with Wyclef Jean on music for Angelina Jolie's directorial debut, "A Place In Time" and most recently Falu sang "Jai Ho" with A.R. Rahman at Time's 100 Most Influential People's Gala. Falu thinks that the success of the film "Slumdog Millionaire," and the soundtrack has definitely made her group more marketable, more in demand and more popular. M.I.A. and Timbaland are two acts that come to mind when one thinks of blending Indian flavored music with western sounds. "Falu" falls into its own category and you definitely look out for this band.

Here is some of the show/my interview with the band backstage!

Falu Performs at Joe's Pub (7/7/09) from ShainaTV on Vimeo.

SPOTTED: SERENA VAN DER WOODSEN aka BLAKE LIVELY (6/25/09)

The same day of the Vicio concert another star studded event was going on in the City! I read online that Blake Lively would be hosting the Swarovski Crystallized store launch in Soho. I tried to RSVP for ShainaTV, but the PR person respectfully said that the carpet was full. Since I was in the area, I decided to see if I could catch a glimpse of any of the people walking the red carpet. Since it was in the street, I just hung around with my video camera.

Blake Lively, Evan Rachel Wood, Lucy Liu and Chloe Sevigny all attended party. The small red carpet in front of the store (located on 499 Broadway) was packed with photogs. The sidewalk was nearly blocked off and the police were not happy. They tried to direct the flow of traffic, while PR assistants told onlookers that this was a private event.

Once Blake stepped onto the carpet everyone went crazy crying her name repeatedly. Lively, who hosted the party, was dressed in a backless Roberto Cavalli number (Gossip Girl Chic!). Swarovski teamed up with the charity "Water." 100% of the preceeds from the “Divine Rock" necklace will go to this awesome cause.

Lively was also wearing a Swarovski crystal heart bracelet. Shoppers can customize their own jewelry or pick up a piece from one of the designer collaborations. The trendy two-level store is definitely a must see!

Although I did not get to interview Blake I was able to get some awesome footage since I was standing a few feet away from her!! Enjoyyyyy!



Look out for the cast of Gossip Girl around NYU because many of the characters are headed to college there.

VICIO PERFORMS AT DON HILL'S (6/25/09)

A few weeks ago I attended a really awesome concert for this new band called Vicio. They were at "The Ultimate Prom," but I didn't get to interview them. Their manager David Waechter, who is also the CEO of Imagine Music, was nice enough to let us cover the event, which was hosted by Micah Jesse. Ally Shapiro Zarin (Jill Zarin's Daughter) from Real Housewives of New York City also came to see the concert with some of her friends. I hung out with the band before the show. They were chilling in their U-Haul truck, which serves as their tour bus (for now). They are all really nice people!

Vicio consists of Samira Ashley (lead singer), Rickardo Diniz (guitar). Matthew Rullo (drums)and Corey Hanna (bass). They are rock stars. They have "the look" and a great pop-rock sound. Their guitar rifts are catchy and get stuck in your head--in a good way! "I Woke" and "Knock One Two" are two of my favorite songs! Their live show was full of energy. Everyone in the room was dancing! Definitely look out for this band because they are about to blow up!

Check out my interview with the band:

Amreeka

A few days ago I attended a film screening for "Amreeka" (Directed by Cherien Dabis). I absolutely loved this movie and highly recommend it. The film is partially in Arabic and partially in English. It is about a Palestinian mother and son who receive a U.S. Green Card and leave Palestine to live with their family in Illinois. While this is a story about immigration, the conflict in the Middle East serves as a backdrop and propels the dramedy forward. Muna Farah, played by Nisreen Faour, is initially reluctant to leave the West Bank, but after guards harass her son at a checkpoint she decides maybe change could be good. Once in America, Munah and her son Fadi (Melkar Muallem) try to adjust to their new lives. They are broke because Muna lost all of her money at the airport. Muna is forced to work a menial job--although she is educated-- and Fadi begins to become more "American," which may not be such a good thing. Her sister Raghda (Hiam Abbass) and her doctor husband Nabeel (Yussef Abu-Warda) live in a small town and their family faces racism because their neighbors believe they are terrorists who work for Osama Bin Ladin. Fadi also struggles with being mistreated. Will this family overcome these hardships? You have to watch to find out!

"Amreeka" was screened at numerous film festivals including Sundance and Cannes.

http://www.amreeka.com/

Kevin Cossom

Yesterday I served as videographer for an interview with Kevin Cossom. Look out for it in the coming weeks on www.thesource.com! He is a talented songwriter who wrote "Go Getta," for Young Jeezy/R. Kelly. He also wrote Keri Hilson's "Knock You Down," which is his first number one hit! He is ecstatic. He got into the music industry when he was 17 years old as a songwriter, but he is also a singer and dancer. He is signed to jive records and hopes to hit it big with his debut album. I heard a few of the tracks from his album and they are really good! Look out for him!

http://www.myspace.com/kevincossom

THE ULTIMATE PROM (6/5/09)

Last year St. Francis Prep kids enjoyed a star-studded prom with performances from Ashanti, Lloyd and JoJo. This year almost 800 students at Fashion Industries High School won “The Ultimate Prom.” Akon, Ryan Leslie, Kat Deluna and Kid Cudi came out to congratulate these seniors on their graduation. The event took place at Pier 60 in Chelsea, NYC.

Mypromstyle.com featured a reality series, which followed three girls from the Fashion Industries High who competed to design the dress Kat Deluna would wear to their prom. Both Kat and Ryan Leslie revealed to “ShainaTV,” that this was their first prom. Kat had to miss her prom because she was busy launching her career, and Ryan decided to skip his senior year of high school to attend Harvard University early.

Akon didn’t perform, but he came to introduce the show and thank the kids for all of their support.

DJ Cassidy and O'neal McKnight also came to party with the lucky high schoolers. McKnight performed a little bit of “Check Your Coat” and “Champagne red lights,” but he debuted “Prom Song,” which was produced by DJ Cassidy.

Kat Deluna performed some of her biggest hits like “Wine-up.” She also got the crowd moving with “Dance Bailalo” and “Unstoppable,” which features Lil’ Wayne from her latest album “Inside Out.” She worked with RedOne and Scott Storch on her on her sophomore album.

Finally, the kids went wild when Kid Cudi performed. He was supposed to be a surprise, but everyone knew he was coming. Rocking his glasses and a leather jacket Cudi put on a high energy show. He sang “Dat new New.” This was surely a prom to remember.

Look out for new artists Jimmy Robbins and Tina Parol:

Also check out my interviews with Connor Paolo (Gossip Girl), Katrina Bowden (30 Rock), Forever the Sickest Kids, Celebrity Chef Greg Grossman, and Ally Zarin & Victoria De Lesseps from (Real Housewives of New York City)!