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WICKED PARTY
Inside Ariana Grande’s secret Oscar party in swanky London restaurant – with £6,000 worth of sushi & cocktails
During her whirlwind tour of London last week, Ariana also stopped at a Wicked screening in Battersea
ARIANA GRANDE treated her team to a Wicked night out to celebrate getting an Oscar nomination.
Insiders tell me the US pop star — who got a Supporting Actress nod for her role as Glinda the Good Witch — hired out The Aubrey in London’s Knightsbridge for a party, where she picked up the entire tab that came to more than £6,000!
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A source said: “Ariana is riding so high at the moment and she wanted to share the love with her team, who work so hard for her.
“She hired out The Aubrey, which is a really posh sushi restaurant, where they put on a private dining experience.
“As well as marking Ariana’s Oscar nomination, it was her manager’s birthday, so Ari made it a double celebration.
“She had the Ukiyo room hired just for them.
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“They were served specially selected dishes like slow-cooked lobster and Wagyu with caviar.
“The drinks were flowing too, with champagne and cocktails.
“The bill came to more than £6,000 and Ari picked up the entire tab.
“It was such a special night for them all and marked a celebration of everything Ariana and her team have achieved over the past year.”
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During her whirlwind tour of London last week, Ariana also stopped at a Wicked screening in Battersea, South London, and appeared on The Graham Norton Show.
She also talked about the pressures of being a child performer, having started her singing career at the age of eight.
Arina Grande kisses SNL co-star as she returns to hosting the show with shock election prediction
Ariana, whose boyfriend Ethan Slater co-stars with her in Wicked, said: “There were so many beautiful things that we learned.
“But I think being in this industry, you need that support.
“Every single thing about it is quite strange and is quite alien.
“Even just the experience of acting, you’re not yourself.
“It’s a very strange thing.
“Just working like an adult as a child is an adjustment as well.
“Doing school in a little tiny room and having to take certain exams to graduate early so you can work adult hours sooner.
“These are all choices that we made.
“But I think, this industry should be a more protected place for kids, for adults, for anyone.”
Hear hear.
Rochelle’s day scoff
ROCHELLE HUMES is a girl after my own heart.
The This Morning host and Saturdays singer Just Can’t Get Enough of her French crepe as she takes a bite on the sweet snack.
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Rochelle was spotted enjoying a day out in Hampstead, North London.
Dressed in a brown Prada jacket, Rochelle was in high spirits as she hung out with French influencer , who is married to West Ham goalie Alphonse.
Full of the Joys of string
ANYA TAYLOR-JOY had no hassles with tassels as she joined celebrities for the start of Haute Couture Fashion Week in Paris.
The Queen’s Gambit actress got plenty of attention in this black dress as she attended the Christian Dior show.
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Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan also opted for an all-black look, while Pamela Anderson chose a quirky woollen suit.
Zooey Deschanel appeared to be channelling Kylie Minogue’s Padam Padam outfit as she dressed in bright red for the Patou Menswear show.
Vogue chief Anna Wintour was also spotted on the first day, as Kendall Jenner stole the show for Schiaparelli, strutting down the catwalk in a bizarre “deconstructed dress”.
It just looked unfinished, if you ask me.
GAGA MAYHEM IS A ‘CHAOTIC’ RETURN
LADY GAGA is back – and returning to those quirky roots that made us all fall in love with her in the first place.
The Just Dance hitmaker has announced a seventh album, called Mayhem.
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It is her first studio record since 2020’s Chromatica.
The album, which contains hit singles Disease and Die With A Smile featuring Bruno Mars, plus others called Perfect Celebrity and Garden Of Eden, is due for release on March 7.
Gaga said of the record: “Something I’m definitely exploring right now is sort of the art of intensity.
“It’s nothing like Chromatica.
“The album is chaotic from a genre perspective.
“It is genre-bending, and I think in that way is a deeply personal look into my mind as a producer and the way I think about music.”
Gaga previously revealed it was husband, Michael Polansky, who encouraged her to go back to her pop roots.
I told yesterday how she is being lined up to make a surprise performance at the Grammy Awards on Sunday.
Gaga is nominated for two awards, thanks to Die With A Smile being up for Song of the Year and Best Pop Duo.
SCOTT’S ROCKING WITH ROB
SCOTT MILLS vowed to cheer up the nation as he kicked off his stint as host of the Radio 2 breakfast show.
And he absolutely nailed it, with Robbie Williams joining him live on air to help celebrate his first day in the hot seat.
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He played Robbie’s new version of Rock DJ from his Better Man film, prompting the singer to get in touch.
“I’m just ringing you because I know today’s your first breakfast show on Radio 2, and I have just woken up to loads of messages from people going, ‘Scott’s playing the new version of Rock DJ, it’s his first song’, so thank you’,” Robbie said to Scott.
He went on to invite Scott to perform on his upcoming tour, asking him: “Do you want to come and spin some tunes before I go on?” to which Scott replied: “That sounds like it’s a deal.
“I’ll check the dates.
“Love you loads and don’t forget to come and see me on Europe’s biggest breakfast show Robbie Williams, which I’ve got to crack on with now, all right?”
Scott, who has taken over from Zoe Ball, went on to tell listeners: “This might be the best day of my life, apart from getting married.
“This is all a bit overwhelming but let’s go with it.”
Knock ’em dead, Scott.
After more than a quarter of a century at the Beeb, he’s earned his stripes to make a great show.
GWILYM ‘REBRAND’
BOHEMIAN Rhapsody actor Gwilym Lee considered changing his name when he started out in the industry.
The actor, who has Welsh parents, also recently starred in TV’s SAS Rogue Heroes.
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He told Something About Rocks mag: “Gwilym still feels like quite an odd name.
“I thought about rebranding.”
On playing Queen guitarist Brian May in the biopic alongside Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury, Gwilym said: “Everyone from the Bohemian Rhapsody film actually became best friends.
“And Bohemian Rhapsody was obviously a big one because it really captured people’s hearts.”
SMOKEY ON GLASTO LIST
SMOKEY ROBINSON will play Glastonbury – after telling Bizarre last March that he was in talks to play the festival.
I can reveal he has signed up for the June event, his first UK performance in 12 years.
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The Motown great has never played there, in a career spanning seven decades.
Organiser Michael Eavis said in 2007 that Smokey was “set to confirm an appearance” but it didn’t end up happening.
Smokey’s appearance will come ahead of a string of shows in July – in Glasgow, Birmingham, Cardiff and London, plus the Love Supreme Festival in East Sussex.
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Speaking to Bizarre last year about when he’d next sing in the UK, he said: “We’ve been talking about that for the past two weeks – probably soon.”
On Glasto he added: “That is one of the things we’ve been talking about.”
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