1979: Plucky Paula, 17, beats 700 applicants to become an LA Lakers cheerleader. She becomes head choreographer in less than three months. A meteoric rise! 1984: The Jacksons snap her up to choreograph their Victory tour. She also masterminds all routines for Janet Jacksons Control videos and choreographs two Academy Awards ceremonies. 1987: Pint-sized Paula lands her own record deal. April 1990: The single Opposites Attract reaches No.2 in the UK charts. It sees Paula duet with a cartoon cat. 1992: Marries Emilio Estevez. 1994: Divorces him. Has a few more hits. None of them involve cartoon cats and are thus forgotten by the public. 2002: Saint Simon Cowell bestows his blessings on Paula. She becomes a judge on American Idol. But she seems a lot kookier than we remembered... 2004: Paula is involved in a hit-and-run incident, clipping a car on the LA freeway shes fined and given two years probation. January 2007: Rumours that Abdul is a booze-loving pill-popper abound after she slurs during TV interviews. May 2007: She tells the world she broke her nose while avoiding tripping over my chihuahua. May 2009: A US magazine claims Paula told them shes beaten an addiction to painkillers. Two weeks later she denies saying anything of the sort and adds she has never been drunk or abused drugs in her life. August 2009: Announces on Twitter that shes leaving American Idol. Shes reportedly unhappy that producers wouldnt give her $20million for listening to glorified karaoke while host Ryan Seacrest gets $45million. She Twitters: Ill miss nurturing all the new talent but most of all being a part of a show that I helped become an international phenomenon. What next for modest Paula? The dumper beckons... Andrew Williams metro Arts & Entertainment Ash Grunwald In Town Tonight Combining funk, gospel, hip-hop and blues jams, this Australian, who has shared bills with James Brown and Bo Diddley, returns to Dublin as part of a worldwide tour promoting current album Fish Out Of Water Tonight, Whelans, 25 Wexford Street D2, 8pm, 12. Tel: (01) 478 0766. www.ashgrunwald.com Prehistory Of The Crisis (2) A panel discussion chaired by the artists featured in an exhibition which explores how the economic crisis has impacted on attitudes towards minority groups, specifically non-nationals who have been denied the right to work Tonight, Project Arts Centre, 39 Essex Street East D2, 6pm, free. Tel: (01) 881 9613/4. www.project.ie The Girls Of Summer Lunchtime cabaret with seasoned singer and thespian Susannah De Wrixon, wholl bring comic characters to life from desperate housewife to spinster via songwriters including Stephen Sondheim, Nol Coward and Randy Newman Until Sep 5, Bewleys Caf Theatre, 78/79 Grafton Street D2, 12.50pm, 10 to 15. Tel: 086 878 4001. www.bewleyscafetheatre.com life Book Now Chicago Jazz hands at the ready Roxie Hart, Billy Flynn and Velma Kelly are hoofing into town. Rene Zellweger looked like a piece of gristle next to voluptuous-but-slim Catherine Zeta Jones in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical a figure far removed from your average 1920s nightclub broad. Heres hoping that EastEnders Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton) fits the bill as celebrity murderess Roxie who, while on death row, teams up with Velma (Twinnie Lee Moore) and smooth-talking lawyer Billy (Gary Wilmot) Sep 8 to 19, Olympia Theatre, 72 Dame Street D2, times vary, 25 to 60. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.chicagothemusical.com Arts & Entertainment Music Interview Nico Muhly A very composed recocious, perky and prodigious. If he werent so darned likeable it would be all too easy to envy ber- talented New York-based maestro Nico Muhly. Speaking down the line from Tanglewood, Massachusetts the home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra with whom the 29-year-old is currently on a brief teaching stint he sounds particularly chipper. And its hardly any wonder. With a CV that anyone twice his age might covet and veneration from almost everyone within the industry, Muhlys stock could hardly be any higher. Hes currently taking time out from recording a new LP in Iceland, the follow-up to 2008s innovative and eerie Mothertongue. Given that LP drew inspiration from, among other things, Icelandic myths, 18th century choral music and 17th century church politics, Im curious to discover what we can expect from his latest opus. Im only in the early stages, Muhly explains. Im thinking about it now in terms of small acts of manual labour. If youve ever stared at somebody whos a specialist in making food tortellini say and you watch their hands perform the same task over and over again. Well, Im trying to write piano music that sounds like that. Em, OK. If that all seems a little cryptic its entirely in keeping with someone whos never been afraid to embrace his inner kook and whos not shy when it comes to pushing musical boundaries. Its worth keeping in mind that one track on Mothertongue includes the sound of P whale meat being squelched while elsewhere hes incorporated sizzling stoves and hissing showers into his otherworldly sonic landscape. M uhlys also collaborated with some seriously talented, seriously out- there musicians: among them Bjrk (one of the most thoughtful artists Ive ever worked with), Antony Hegarty (a voice of pure ecstasy) and was mentored by none other than Philip Glass, arguably the worlds greatest living composer, whom Muhly assisted on creating film scores. Surely someone as exacting as Glass must have been a hard taskmaster? Not at all, says the Juilliard graduate. Hes a kindly Buddha and working with him was very old- fashioned and very instructive. Philip writes by hand and my job was to fit his scores to whatever film he happened to be working on. And whats the most valuable thing he learned during his time as an apprentice composer? One thing I learned from Philip, he explains was the fact that theres no shame in throwing out music if it doesnt work. Its the biggest thing I learned. If youre a composer and you follow a romantic model of writing you can trick yourself If youre a composer and you follow a romantic model of writing you can trick yourself into believing that everything you write is genius The multi-talented maverick talks to Daragh Reddin about working with some of musics finest artists, ahead of his performance at the Dublin Fringe Festival DOWN THE DUMPER This weeks fickle finger of fame pokes... Paula Abdul 12 metrolife Wednesday, August 12, 2009 The hoTTesT TickeTs in Town We have two pairs of tickets to see NICO MUHLY Sep 6, Spiegeltent, Iveagh Gardens D2, 7.30pm For a chance to win, e-mail your answer to the question below to life@metroireland.ie by noon today with Hot Tickets in the subject line. With your answer please include your name, address and a number where you can be contacted between 1pm and 3pm. Strictly one entry per person; entrants must be aged 18+. Q. Muhly wrote the score for which Stephen Daldry- directed film? A The Reader B Billy Elliot The winners of yesterdays tickets to Luka Bloom are: Pat McAsey, Tom Boyce & Sandra Murdiff index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html