01:13 AM EDT 10/08/2008
Ashanti
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Ashanti Opens Up About 'Good Friend' Nelly
Originally posted 06/16/2008 06:45AM
Ashanti has been famously secretive about her relationship with rapper Nelly. But she broke her silence (a bit!) Sunday night, after a sterling rendition of the National Anthem during game five of the Lakers-Celtics championship series.
"Me and Nelly, we're good friends. We kick it – hang out a lot," the 27-year-old told PEOPLE. "The industry is very hard, so it's good to have fun and lighten it up."
As for those persistent rumors that she and the rapper plan to get hitched? Holding up a ring-free left hand, she told reporters, "Oh no. Noooo! No engagement." Then she added with a wicked smile, "But definitely in the future. Ha! Ha!"
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Ashanti: I'm Not Slamming Nelly in My Video
Originally posted 04/17/2008 07:45PM
Is sexy songstress Ashanti's new video for her song "Way That I Love You" a kiss-off to rumored boyfriend Nelly? After all, in the video, a knife-wielding Ashanti gets sweet revenge on a cheating ex.
Ashanti says, "It's not!" She explains, "I wrote that record last summer ... The song is just about real life. It's for every woman who has gone through it."
But that doesn't mean the songbird hasn't experienced the heartache of a good relationship gone bad due to infidelity. "Definitely," says Ashanti, who turns to Mary J. Blige's "Not Gonna Cry" to help her through breakups. "It's a rude awakening when you get used to being happy, but it's a part of life. I didn't kill the person!"
T.R. Knight, Janet Jackson Lend Voices to Anti-Hate Video
Originally posted 03/11/2008 11:55AM
T.R. Knight, Portia de Rossi and Ashanti are just a few of the celebrities that have lent their voices – and support – to a new anti-hate video for Logo, prompted by the murder of 15-year-old Lawrence King, whom friends say was killed because he was gay. "Imagine if wearing makeup or a dress could get you killed," de Rossi says at the beginning of the powerful clip. Adds Ashanti: "When you see someone being made fun of for who they are or how they look, do something about it." And Janet Jackson adds a poignant coda at the end, saying, "None of us are safe until all of us are safe."
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Couples Watch
Originally posted 02/05/2007 06:00AM
Ashanti and her rapper beau Nelly, dining at Beverly Hills eatery Mastro's Steakhouse. The two feasted on steaks and colossal onion rings. "They were laughing and smiling and having a wonderful night," an observer tells us.
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Ashanti Cancels Show After Cousin's Death
Originally posted 04/17/2006 07:00AM
Ashanti cancelled a performance headlining a Divas concert in Johannesburg, South Africa, Saturday after a drunken teen driver killed her 20-year-old cousin and personal assistant.
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Paris & Stavros's Wild Night
Originally posted 12/05/2005 01:00AM
Though she's normally a fixture on the West Coast club scene, Paris Hilton recently hit the New York City party circuit with boyfriend Stavros Niarchos during a whirlwind night out.
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Ashanti's Surprise Birthday Party
Originally posted 10/19/2005 06:00AM
Ashanti thought she was going out for a simple dinner with her family to celebrate her 25th birthday. But instead the R&B singer (whose b-day was Oct. 13) was treated to a surprise party with an all-star guest list of 500 – including her rapper boyfriend Nelly, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Naomi Campbell and Ja Rule – at New York City hot spot Glo.
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Romance for Ashlee Simpson
Originally posted 07/23/2004 06:00AM
Those Simpson sisters, they share everything – including aspiring pop star Ryan Cabrera. Twenty-year-old Cabrera, whose debut album hits stores next month, is opening for Jessica on some dates of her Reality tour … and he's also dating younger sis Ashlee, 19. "I'm with Ryan," she told us at the release party for her own CD, Autobiography, at New York nightspot PM this week. The 5-month-old pair recently reconciled after a brief hiatus, she said, because "we like each other too much." Ashlee, who is finished with her role on The WB show 7th Heaven (though she may go back for guest spots) and is pursuing a movie career, told us she had hesitated to get into the music biz. "I was more shy (than Jessica) about singing," Ashlee says. "I never really knew I could do a record. It's something I always really, really wanted, but I didn't know because I kind of felt like that's her thing, I don't need to do that. But I really wanted to – so I just did it." The two sisters are planning to share something else this holiday season: Their father, Joe, tells us that Ashlee will join Jessica for a duet on her Christmas album.
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Daily Insider
Originally posted 02/19/2004 10:00AM
February 20, 2004SPEAKING IN TONGUES R&B singer Ashanti took on a new language for her first movie, Bride & Prejudice – the upcoming Jane Austen-meets-Bollywood musical from director Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham). "I play an Indian songstress, and I sing in Hindi and in English," says the 23-year-old Grammy winner. "My Hindi part was: 'Payal bajake, ghungroo bajake/ Tujhe divana kari de ga,' which means, 'My little anklets, the bells ringing and the electricity in my eyes will make you crazy.' " After leaving the film's Goa, India, set, Ashanti enjoyed luxe accommodations during an overnight stay in Bombay. "I stayed in President Clinton's suite at this incredible hotel on the beach," she said. "And when I went inside, they put the red dots on our foreheads. It was cool."
Ashanti Ready for Her Movie Close-Up
Originally posted 01/10/2003 12:00PM
Five-time Grammy nominee Ashanti, who is up for the best new artist award, is also adding another new credit to her resume: movie star.
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