Xfactor Madness:US Edition

The fantastic Chris Rene. I think LA Reid wants to sign him!

The charismatic and cheeky soul man Marcus Canty. Lovely musicality!

Single mother Stacey Francis, incredible voice. She's 42 and looks superb!

The US version of Xfactor kicked off last night and it was definitely an interesting watch. In general, I think American acts tend to be way more talented than UK ones. I mean it's a different league, no doubt. As a London chick I can say that without reservation. However, where I think the UK version is stronger is that you get quirkier, more interesting artists overall and the chemistry between the UK judges is better than the US panel. On yesterday's show single mother Stacey Francis gave a stunning performance, what a voice! Her story really touched me, I'm so glad she had the courage to pursue her dream after years of abuse from a horrible partner. That's what abusive men or women do, they put you down as a form of control so you don't leave them because deep down they feel like shit about their lives and want to use their partners as physical and emotional punching bags. Thank God she left. It takes guts to walk away from someone whose treating you horrifically and tell them to f*** off. It's a great feeling.

The mesmeric Marcus Canty was the dude with the moves and voice singing I wish. It was a brilliant audition and I loved his energy and vibe. LA Reid hit the nail on the head when he compared him to Bobby Brown. Bobby Brown was fantastic in his prime and Marcus has those same qualities. But my favourite audition of the night had to be Chris Renee. Wow wow wow, I love this guy. A reformed drug addict, Chris lit the stage up with his own song which he wrote and composed the music for. Honestly, Simon Cowell can be such a dick, his arrogance and colossal ego is just nauseating at times. His smug face when Chris said he was singing his own song Young Homie, he was positively sneering. You could see he thought, this is going to be excruciating and then Chris blew everybody away with his beautiful voice and talent. I would buy that single, that's a hit. I love Chris's personality, his vulnerability, the relationship with his brother and the way he bared his heart on that stage. You could see LA Reid really connected with him. I actually don't want him to win, or for Simon to get his clutches into him, he'd turn him into something bland and predictable, take the cool out of him. Hopefully the buzz about him will give himthe platform to get a record deal with the right label.

Troy Davis

Last night at 11:08pm the state of Georgia killed Troy Davis. A tragedy and travesty of justice. Troy Davis spent twenty years in jail accused of killing a police officer. Despite a lack of concrete evidence connecting him to the crime and witnesses recanting their statements (claiming that police had coerced them into pointing the finger at Davis), he was still killed. Troy Davis maintained his innocence right till the very end. I heard about the case late but the minute I knew he was a black man in the south on death row accused of killing a police officer? I knew it was all over. My heart sank. There was no way the racist juidicial system would have granted him that appeal or admit they convicted the wrong man. In Savannah Georgia? In the south? They live in the past.

Race plays a massive part in this, had Troy Davis been white I don't believe he would have been convicted or killed, not with the huge outpouring of support he had. Black people and other minorities face discrimination and inequality at all stages of the criminal justice system. Had he not been given the death penalty and life instead, he could have continued to challenge the legal system to give him a fair trial. For twenty years a massive movement has been lobbying and fighting for him. Color Of Change, NAACP, Amnesty International, National Action Network, former president of the US Jimmy Carter, Desmond Tutu and former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Norman Fletcher amongst others.The case sparked yet more debate about the death penalty but it's also about oppression and injustice. I hope the movement doesn't end with Troy's death. My heart goes out to Troy Davis and his family, may God eternally punish those who insisted on his death.

Afropolitan

XY Chrmosome Sundae:Thiago Santos

Thiago Santos is a brazillian model. What a stunning man, he has beautiful eyes, skin and a great smile. Nice to see some more black male models coming through. I could look at pictures of him all day. His hair is absolutely gorgeous. He also seems to have a very creative eye and I like his style. Exquisite looking man.

My Fellow American

With the 10th anniversary of 9/11 happening recently, people forget that muslims were victims too and that many law abiding, peaceful muslims have been scapegoated since then. To listen to My Fellow American's message of peace and tolerance visit the website.
http://myfellowamerican.us/

Hang Out Happened

Bjork and Beck, totally cool. They should make a record together, wonder who was on the line.

Visvim

Visvim is a japanese footwear and clothing line run by Creative Director Hiroki Nakamura. The idea is to produce a high quality line that adheres to Nakamura's particular vision of design and environmental standards. Visvim is also available in London, New York, LA, Paris, Berlin, Vienna and Toulouse. Cool cool brand. To have a look at some of their stuff, check out the website

http://visvim.tv/

Beautifully Crazy:Lani Gelera

Lani Gelera is a stuntwoman and actress. She was born in Canada and has performed stunts in many films and tv programmes including X Men, Watchmen and Eureka.

From The Sky

Crushed:Eartha Kitt

The one and only Eartha Kitt, actress and singer.

XY Chromosome Sundae:Paolo Roldan

GODDAMN. The unquestionably gorgeous, sexy mofo that is Paolo Roldan. The 6"2 Filipino model is one strikingly handsome man. He's like an asian Yul Brenner. The Canadian based hottie has modelled for Givenchy and Vogue. He originally had plans to be a pro basketball player but things changed when his modelling career took off. I love his look.