No Miss SA pageant this year

 

Johannesburg – Melinda Bam, 2011 Miss South Africa and this year’s FHM Sexiest Woman in the World, has been appointed as National Executive of the Miss SA pageant.

This move comes from owner Sun International’s concerted effort to revamp the brand name in order to appeal to a younger audience.

Another change made by the hospitality giant is that the pageant has been moved from its yearly December slot to March, which also means that the next crowning will only be happening next year. Current reigning Miss SA Marilyn Ramos is excited about her extended reign, which will hold until the March 2014 crowning.

Sue Klerck, Sun International executive, believes that this move makes the most sense.

“It allows the title holder to compete internationally at the Miss World and Miss Universe pageants which are typically held during the last two months in the year of their reign. Also in previous years, our current title holder has been away competing internationally and was unable to attend the pageant to hand over the crown to the new Miss South Africa.”

Rebranding beauty

The brand seeks to market itself as a platform for developing potential among South African women who have a drive for success and facilitating social change, moving away from it's out-dated reputation. Bam does not consider beauty pageants a thing of the past, and hopes to grow the brand with her experiences and insight.

“I was proud to be crowned Miss South Africa. I believe in what it stands for, that beauty only enhances the qualities that are of much greater importance like having the drive to make a success of your future, living a generous life that impacts on someone else's and making a tangible change.”

Online entries for the 2014 pageant open on 8 July, which you can also enter on their Facebook page. Entries close on 31 August.

Darren Bent's new wife Kirsty Maclaren gets acquainted with a monkey as she tops up her tan in zebra-print bikini

Darren Bent's new wife Kirsty Maclaren seems to have quite the penchant for animal-print bikinis as she relaxes on their honeymoon.
So it looks like the wild print is creating quite a bit of animal magnetism for the model as she got acquainted with a hairy new friend.
The mother-of-two, 25, looked relaxed as she met one of Barbados's famous green monkeys on the beach.

Just chilling: Kirsty Maclaren looks relaxed as she chills out on the beach in Barbados with a monkey named Sameera

'Er, darling, there's a monkey on your lounger': Darren Bent looks amused as his wife lets the monkey play with her hand

As her Aston Villa striker husband, 29, lay back under the lounger and watched his wife, she happily let the monkey walk on her towel as she chatted to the animal's minder.
Sameera the monkey is a regular visitor to the beaches of Barbados's West Coast and has been photographed with several celebrity holidaymakers.
Monkey business aside, newlywed Kirsty has been steadily working on her tan in a selection of bikinis over the past week or two.

Busting out: The model's zebra-print bikini on Thursday barely contained her ample curves

Too hot: Kirsty drags a floating device into the sea so she can cool off from the hot sun

On Wednesday, she opted for a leopard-print two-piece, followed by a zebra design on Thursday.
The couple, who wed in a lavish ceremony at Ely Cathedral on June 15, have been enjoying the first couple of weeks of married life in the Caribbean.
After sharing their nuptials with 200 friends and family, the couple hopped on a plane to enjoy a holiday at Sandy Lane hotel.

Time out: The couple are enjoying some rare alone time on their honeymoon without Kirsty's two children

Gimme shelter: The couple shade under the floating device

The model was previously engaged to Liam Ridgewell – a centre-half with Villa’s bitter rivals West Bromwich Albion – but dramatically ended their relationship eight days before their £170,000 wedding.
The former couple are parents to children Luca and Eva Summer, who now live with their mother and Bent at a new home in Birmingham.

Keeping everything in check: Kirsty adjusts her bikini

Kiss me quick: The couple married earlier this month after a whirlwind one year romance

No missing him in those trunks! Darren stood out in bright pink swimming trunks

The luxury hotel on Barbados's West Coast is currently overrun with footballers.
Darron Gibson, Phil Neville and Michael Carrick are all also enjoying a break there.
Everton midfielder Darron's new wife Danielle Carter was showing off her ball skills on the beach.

Wild thing: The 25-year-old seems to have quite the fondness for animal print

Beach life: Kirsty kept covered up at some points of the day in a white kaftan

Passionate: The newlyweds enjoy a kiss and cuddle on the beach

That will make for interesting tanlines! Darron Gibson's new wife Danielle wore a revealing strapless swimsuit

Darron's not the only one with ball skills: Danielle enjoys a kickaround

Tatt's all folks: Darron shows off his body art collection as he tops up his tan

Kim's baby daddy can't raise a smile on first outing since birth of North

His girlfriend Kim Kardashian welcomed their first child, a daughter named North, into the world on June 15.
And on Thursday Kanye West was seen for the first time since becoming a new father.
The rapper was spotted stepping out in Los Angeles with Kim's mother Kris Jenner.

Debut: Kanye West was spotted for the first time since becoming a father in Los Angeles on Thursday

And it seems even the joys of bringing a baby into the world can't lift the famously grumpy star's spirits.
Kanye was congratulated on his happy news by a photographer, but the 36-year-old simply snapped 'don't say anything' in response as he marched past.
'You know what I'm saying, don't talk to me,' Kanye added.

Face like thunder: The rapper couldn't raise a smile despite North West being born on June 15

On a mission: Kanye was joined by girlfriend Kim Kardashian's mother Kris for the outing

When the X17Online photographer said, 'I hope Kim and baby are good,' Kanye hit back: 'Don't talk to me.'

Kris kept her distance from Kanye and walked a few metres to the side of him as they went on an unknown mission together.
While the Kardashian matriarch is usually a media darling, she played down her love of the cameras in Kanye's presence, but couldn't help flashing those pearly whites.

Playing nice: Kris and Kanye famously don't have the smoothest of relationships

It's a match: It almost looked as though Kris was attempting to coordinate her outfit with Kanye's

Making a statement: Both stars wore neutral outfits with bright pops of colour for the outing

The two notoriously don't have the smoothest relationship, but appeared to be playing nice.
Kanye must have been boiling under the scorching sunshine in his favourite leather trousers and a black hoodie over his head.
He also sported red high-top trainers, a black T-shirt and a gold chain around his neck.

Praise Yeezus: Kanye's new album has topped the Billboard 200 chart after selling 327,000 copies in its first week

He must be boiling: Kanye wore a black hood over his head despite the scorching heat

Bad mood: Kanye told a photographer not to speak to him when he was congratulated on his happy news

The star, whose album Yeezus has just topped the Billboard 200 chart after selling 327,000 copies in its first week, later pulled down his hood but was still attempting to keep a low profile.
Meanwhile Kris, 57, almost looked as though she had tried to coordinate her outfit to match the hip hop star.
The momager wore a black blazer, trousers and tennis shoes, along with a white tank top and burnt orange handbag.

Keeping their distance: Kris walked a few metres away from her daughter's boyfriend

She can't resist: Kris tried to downplay her media darling status but couldn't help but smile

It came after a rather awkward moment between Kanye, 36, and Kris was witnessed by W magazine's writer Chris Bagley and published in the interview with the rapper.
Bagley describes a scenario in which he arrived at Kanye's Paris apartment at 10pm at night to find some of the Kardashian clan in the house, including Kim's brother Rob and her mother Kris.
Kris is looking around the apartment for the first time, and admiring the finery, including a set of designer ceramic cups, the interviewer notes.

Picking up supplies?: Kim and baby North presumably were resting at home as Kris and Kanye ventured out

Pretending it never happened: Kanye appeared to diss Kris in a recently published magazine interview

Then Kanye plays her some of his unfinished songs, 'including [the track] Awesome which is clearly about Kim,' Bagley writes. Kris then exclaims: 'Great job.'
However, it seems Kanye didn't find Kris' simplistic critique quite lyrically pleasing enough.
As Bagley observed: 'He raises his eyebrows. "Great job?" he says and sets off on a comic riff that cracks up everyone in the room.

His favourite: Kanye was wearing a pair of leather trousers even though the temperatures were rising

'Great job!': An extremely awkward moment between the pair was documented by W magazine

'Toasting with his champagne glass, he says, "Great job, Baccarat, for making a glass that can hold liquid!" He looks down at his waist. "Great job, belt loops, for keeping my pants up!"'
Jenner laughs politely, shortly afterwards hugging West goodbye and tells him: 'I love you. You know where to find us, at the George V. Call us tomorrow, if you want.'
However Bagley notes in an aside: 'It seems apparent to everyone, including Jenner, that West will not call.'
It is understood that Kim, Kanye and North are living with Kris until renovations on their $9million Bel Air mansion are complete

Quite a contrast: Kris flashed a smile while Kanye remained stony-faced

Hosting: It is understood that Kim, Kanye and North are living with Kris until renovations on their $9million Bel Air mansion are complete

ndra Bullock's Disneyland nightmare

 

Los Angeles - Sandra Bullock says bad karma caused her to run into a wall at Disneyland. 

The 48-year-old actress exchanged playful barbs with The Heat co-star Michael McDonald during a recent trip to the children's theme park in Anaheim, California, with pals including Melissa McCarthy, as well as her three-year-old son Louis and she thinks the wall incident was cosmic retribution.

She explained: “We went to Disneyland - Melissa McCarthy and I - we took the kids, took a couple friends of ours from the film. Michael McDonald, who's in our film, he's very funny and he's just mean. He's mean - and it's towards me that he's mean, so I just decided I was going to be mean back. And so, he would do something and I would say something mean, but every time I did it something horrible would happen to me.

“I fell over the railing once. That was funny until I did it again. Then, after going on Space Mountain, all I remember is turning my head and there was a blinding light, a crack in my head, and allegedly my knees buckled. I ran into the wall. It was because I was being mean back and I guess he has a karma thing.”

Potential head injury

Although she may have suffered a potential head injury, the 48-year-old beauty admits she was too embarrassed to seek medical attention because child-friendly Disneyland is known for its tight safety measures. 

She quipped: “You don't own up to something like that. You don't say, 'I cracked my head at Disneyland.' I still have the lump. You play a nurse in films, you don't need a hospital - I can self-diagnose.”

Sandra's run of bad luck doesn't end there, however. The actress reveals that there were many freak occurrences on the set of her new comedy - in which she plays a straight-laced FBI agent opposite Melissa's foul-mouthed police detective - including a scary shootout.

More drama

Speaking on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, she said: “The first week of shooting, a bus ran into our camera truck. Then, that same location, there was a stabbing. Where we were shooting, the police precinct was right there, so the stabbing happened right there and then the attempted murder was caught right there. It was an exciting couple of days.”

Mariah Carey sings her heart out in sexy red gown for Macy's Fourth of July spectacular

There may be only one other diva who can give Beyonce's rendition of the National Anthem a run for its money.
And for this upcoming Fourth of July, Mariah Carey might be preparing to show that she's up for the job.
The 43-year-old songstress pre-taped a segment in New York on Thursday for an upcoming NBC special, Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular.

Lady in red! Mariah Carey pre-taped a segment on Thursday for Macy's 4th Of July Fireworks Spectacular

Though the show - hosted by husband Nick Cannon - is set to air at 8pm EST, the pop star got to work a bit early in Liberty State Park.
Fitting for the American holiday, Mariah donned a vibrant red gown for the taping.
Its train added an extra layer of glamour that the singer threw in the air with a flourish as she sang.

Raise your voice: The 43-year-old pop star was fully committed to her performance

Lady Liberty: The New Yorker wore a sexy red gown for her pre-taped segment for the NBC special

Side cut-outs accentuated Mariah's enviable curves, while a diamond cuff boosted her sparkle factor.
As she exercised her five-octave vocal range, her long locks blew in the wind - only making her performance that much more Mariah.
The esteemed singer recently pushed back the release of her upcoming album.

Getting vocal: The pop star put her five-octave vocal range to good use

Windblown: The pop star's long locks swirled around her face as she wrapped her segment

She shared on Monday that she's holding off on releasing The Art Of Letting Go for artistic reasons.
'While making this album, I got so immersed in the creative process that I just don't feel I would be doing it justice to release it on 7/23,' she wrote on her Twitter page.
She went on to say: 'I'd rather not exclude meaningful songs. I want to give you this album as it's meant to be heard. When I'm ready, you'll be the first 2 know!'
The whole album will feature her Billboard hit #Beautiful, featuring Miguel.

All business: Earlier on Thursday, Mariah wore a black trench coat, slim pencil skirt and patent leather platform slip-ons for a NYC outing

Snoop Lion grins as Regina King is ravishing in red dress at BET Experience film premiere

If he wasn't already on a high, Snoop Lion had plenty to smile about on Thursday.
It seems it was the racy ensembles, particularly that worn by Regina King, that put Snoop in a good mood.
The rapper-turned-reggae artist couldn’t help but grin as he graced the red carpet for a film premiere in Los Angeles, California.

Ravishing in red: Regina King attended movie premiere for Let Me Explain by Kevin Hart in Los Angeles, California

Happy man: Recording Artist Snoop Lion grinned on the red carpet at the event

The 41-year-old smiled widely as the event as part of the 2013 BET Experience at Regal Cinemas L.A. Live.

He festively donned a large crocheted hat and a T-shirt with a motif of a derriere-showing woman on her knees smoking a large spliff, while the character - formerly known as Snoop Dogg - stands outside of a kennel.
Meanwhile female guests gave him plenty more eye candy.

Daring decolletgae: The actress showed ample cleavage during the 2013 BET Experience at Regal Cinemas L.A. Live

Rapper style: He donned a controversial T-shirt with baggy trousers and trainers

Rastafarian accessories: The star paired his clothing with a crocheted hat

Regina looked ravishing in a bandeau red dress which showed off ample cleavage.
The 42-year-old paired the sexy number with open toe high heels to watch Kevin Hart’s Let Me Explain.
Actress Holly Robinson Peete, 48, also put on a chesty display, wearing a short grey dress with plunging neckline to the stand-up show screening.

Plunging necklines: Holly Robinson Peete and actress Kimberly Elsie also showed some cleavage

Smart attire: Actor Boris Kodjoe donned jeans and a white T-shirt with cream blazer

Actress Kimberly Elsie fashioned a while floor-length gown to see the comedy flick.
Actor Boris Kodjoe and America’s Got Talent presenter Nick Cannon followed suit with the light hues as they wore trousers and smart blazers.
This weekend in what is being dubbed as the ‘greatest celebration of black music, entertainment and culture ever’, a whole host of stars are involved.
Beyonce Knowles will perform inside the Staples Center on Friday while Mike Epps and Erykah Badu can be seen on the Club Nokia stage.
The music artists including Snoop, Kendrick Lamar, Miguel, Nelly and The Roots will be at the event in Downtown Los Angeles on Saturday.
Plus Kirk Franklin, R. Kelly and The Jacksons will entertain on Sunday.

Showing some support: TV personality Nick Cannon was also there to watch the comedy movie

Passion for fashion: The star wore a pinstripe jacket with his crisp button-up shirt and light trousers