‘Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show’ viewers down 29% from last year

The 2015 “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show,” which aired Tuesday night on CBS, took a big tumble in the ratings.
The special attracted 6.6 million viewers compared with 9.3 million for last year’s broadcast. It also posted a 2.3 rating in the adults 18-49 category, vs. 3.4 last year, according to Headline Planet.
Despite the steep decline, the lingerie-themed event was No. 1 in its timeslot for adults 18-49, the demographic advertisers crave.
So, what’s behind the ratings decline?
For starters, CBS aired reruns leading into this year’s “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.”
Second, the show lost its superstar musical headline act when Rihanna backed out one week before the show’s taping in New York City. The producers had to scramble to replace RiRi with Ellie Goulding. (Depending on the media reports, Rihanna either canceled because she needed to work on her new album or was miffed that producers cut her model friend Jourdan Dunn from the show.)

Attending the show live

The 2015 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was the lingerie brand’s 20th anniversary show. It was taped Nov. 10 at the 69th Regiment Armory in Manhattan. It was the third VSFS I was able to attend in person.
I was there for the afternoon run of the show, which is performed in front of L Brands executives, Victoria’s Secret retail employees, news media and invited guests. The evening show is the one where celebrities attend and is used for the broadcast.
The show itself lasted only 39 minutes live including short breaks between sets. The hour-long broadcast was padded with interviews with models and other behind-the-scenes footage.
Ellie Goulding performed two songs: “Army” and “Love Me Like You Do.” Unlike the other two musical acts, Selena Gomez and The Weeknd, Goulding had a teleprompter with her song lyrics. But she didn’t appear to use it. Perhaps it was there because of her short prep time for the show.
Selena Gomez performed “Hands to Myself” and “Me & My Girls.” The Weeknd performed “In the Night” and “Can’t Feel My Face.”
In the warm-up to the show, a DJ played club remixes of mashed-up songs. For instance, one track merged “What a Fool Believes” by the Doobie Brothers with “Finally” by CeCe Peniston. Another mixed “Give It to Me Baby” by Rick James with “Gimme Shelter” by the Rolling Stones.

United Nations of beautiful women

The Victoria’s Secret Angels are like a United Nations of beautiful women because they come from so many different countries worldwide.
“Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon cracked a joke about that fact on Wednesday.
“Hey last night was the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show over on CBS, and it featured models from Brazil, Sweden, and Portugal. Or as Donald Trump put it, (TRUMP) ‘I’ve changed my mind on immigrants,’” he said.
Check out this graphic from Graphiq that visualizes the VSFS 2015 models by country.

Photos: Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2015 models Candice Swanepoel (top) and Behati Prinsloo.

‘Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show’: The most Christian Christmas special

While conservative pundits complain about the removal of Christ from Christmas, the “reason for the season” was on display during this year’s “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show,” which aired Tuesday on CBS.
Yes, the show is mostly a celebration of beautiful sexy women, lingerie, fun fashion and pop music. But during this year’s broadcast, three presumably Catholic supermodels were shown making the sign of cross before they walked out on stage in lacy underwear. (Maybe they were asking God for forgiveness for being a little sinful.)
For the record, the demonstrably Christian supermodels were Adriana Lima, Daniela Braga and Izabel Goulart, all Brazilians.
Also, during one behind-the-scenes segment on the show, supermodel Behati Prinsloo recounted a story about playing Mary in a Christmas play.
So take that, non-denominational, winter holiday specials.

Photos: “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2015” models Adriana Lima, Daniela Braga and Izabel Goulart (top to bottom). 

Peter Pan, Victoria’s Secret and Grumpy Cat among big holiday TV specials

With Thanksgiving out of the way, the Christmas season has officially begun. And so have all the holiday season TV specials.
There are several that I’m interested in watching.

Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever

“Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever” is almost certain to be terrible. But hopefully it’s so bad it’s great.
The made-for-TV movie premieres Saturday on Lifetime and features Aubrey Plaza of “Parks and Recreation” as the voice of Grumpy Cat.
I love cats, so I’m along for the ride.

Toy Story That Time Forgot

“Toy Story That Time Forgot” is the latest special based on the beloved Disney-Pixar “Toy Story” movies.
I loved last year’s Halloween-themed special, “Toy Story of Terror!” So I’m really looking forward to this show. It premieres Dec. 2 on ABC.

Peter Pan Live! 

Last year’s “The Sound of Music Live!” was a ratings smash, so NBC is following it this year with “Peter Pan Live!”
This production stars Allison Williams as Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up. I think NBC is trying to sexually confuse me by casting an attractive 26-year-old woman as a young boy.
It also stars the incomparable Christopher Walken as Captain Hook. Am I the only one who thinks he looks like Lo Pan from “Big Trouble in Little China”?
And did I mention this grand musical theater production is live? So anything could happen. It airs on Dec. 4.

The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 

The annual “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” airs on Dec. 9 on CBS.
This year’s show was filmed in London and features musical performances by Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande and Hozier.
 Oh, the show also has some of the world’s most beautiful women parading around in underwear. So there’s that.

Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show: Soft-core porn or mainstream entertainment

There was a difference of opinion in my household tonight about whether the “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” is legitimate mainstream entertainment.
I think it is, but my wife called it “soft-core porn.”
Although the annual show contains no nudity or sexual situations, the idea of attractive young women prancing around in underwear creates the impression that it only appeals to prurient interests.
The show, which is basically a one-hour commercial for the Victoria’s Secret lingerie brand, is packed with pop music and crazy fashions that marry haute couture with Las Vegas showgirl wear. It’s a spectacle of sights and sounds.
This year’s show, which aired tonight on CBS, featured musical performances by Taylor Swift, Fall Out Boy, A Great Big World and Neon Jungle.
Standout performances included Swift and Fall Out Boy joining up for the latter’s hit single “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark” and Ian Axel of A Great Big World singing “Say Something.”
In years past, the show featured some great song mash-ups, but they’ve mostly given way to live performances recently. I did enjoy the use of the (censored) Miley Cyrus tune “F.U.” and the David Guetta track “I Wanna Go Crazy” with Will.i.am this year.
I like the combination of pop music, stage theatrics and over-the-top costumes with wings, feathers and lace. And yes, the pretty ladies are nice to look at too. But it’s not soft-core porn.

Photos: Behati Prinsloo struts past singer Taylor Swift (top); models Adriana Lima, Candice Swanepoel and Prinsloo at the 2013 “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.”

10 celebrity-related Tumblr blogs

Continuing my tour of interesting websites, here are 10 celebrity-related Tumblr blogs.

Awesome People Hanging Out Together

Awesome People Hanging Out Together features photos of celebrities just casually spending time with each other like it’s no big deal.

Awesome People Reading

Awesome People Reading runs photos of celebrities reading books, newspapers, etc.

Rides a Bike

Rides a Bike features photos of celebrities and public figures riding bicycles.

Mugshot Doppelganger

Mugshot Doppelganger features 1920s mug shots merged with modern-day celebrity mug shots. The photos are the work of Michael Jason Enriquez.

Celebrity Close-Up

Celebrity Close-Up features extreme close-up photos of actors, singers and other public figures. The results are often not flattering.

Rappers Doing Normal Shit

Rappers Doing Normal Shit posts photos of rappers doing everyday things, just like you and me.

Victoria’s Secret Babes

Victoria’s Secret Babes features photos and GIFs of Victoria’s Secret models.

I Am Kelly Brook

The official Tumblr page of Kelly Brook, featuring photos of the vivacious British model.

Kate Upton

The official Tumblr page of model Kate Upton.

Rihanna Glam

Pop music star Rihanna has lots of fans on Tumblr. Rihanna Glam and Hell Yeah Rihanna Fenty are two blogs that post a lot of photos and GIFs.

Photos (from top): Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger; Mick Jagger, Catherine Deneuve and Andy Warhol; Marlon Brando reading; Grace Kelly riding a bike; Lindsay Lohan mug shot merged with 1920s mug shot; Katy Perry close up; Jay-Z on the New York subway; Candice Swanepoel; Kelly Brook; Kate Upton; and Rihanna.

Documenting my life on Twitter

Most of my posts on Twitter are to share weblinks to news articles. But occasionally I’ll tweet something personal or make a pithy observation.
In April 2011, I compiled a sampling of the latter from my first two years on Twitter. I wanted to see what parts of my life I was documenting on Twitter. With this post, I’ll cover the next two years of my Twitter posts.
Many of the personal posts included photos, but I won’t run those here.

Living in Connecticut 

Rainy day in CT, so took the family to see “Rio.” The kids liked it and that’s all that matters. $36 for 4 tickets, $20 for concessions. (April 16, 2011)

At New Canaan, CT, library to hear ESPN and ABC Sports President George Bodenheimer speak. (May 1, 2011)

Just plucked two ticks off my daughter. The scourge of Connecticut ticks continues. (May 14, 2011)

Moving to Virginia 

Stopped to see the Liberty Bell on the drive from Conn. to Va. Beautiful day in Philly. (Aug. 19, 2011)

Seeing Tysons Corner, McLean and Vienna, Va., for the 1st time in 12 yrs. I hardly recognized the area where I used to live. (Aug. 19, 2011)

Moving into new house in Vienna, Va., today. As usual, I think we have too much stuff. (Aug. 23, 2011)

5.9 magnitude earthquake in Va. Typical overreaction in DC. (Aug. 23, 2011)

Vintage Chicago Bears glasses survive another move. If only the team were as tough. (Aug. 27, 2011)

Glad I’m not in New Canaan, CT, now. 70% of village without power, many roads closed. Been there, done that too many times. (Aug. 28, 2011)

Favorite websites in review, part 5

These websites have been featured on Tech-media-tainment and bear the TMT stamp of approval.
This is the fifth set of 25 favorite websites.

101. The Huffington Post’s 7 Sites You Should Be Wasting Time On Right Now
102. Hot Chicks of Occupy Wall Street (hotchicksofoccupywallstreet.tumblr.com)
103. Shit That Siri Says (shitthatsirisays.tumblr.com)
104. [sic] Humor (sichumor.tumblr.com)
105. CAPTCHArt
106. New Condoms
107. Letterheady (www.letterheady.com)
108. Scandybars (scandybars.tumblr.com)
109. Presidential Pickup Lines (presidentialpickuplines.tumblr.com)
110. Reasoning with Vampires (reasoningwithvampires.tumblr.com)
111. Replaceface (replaceface.tumblr.com)
112. Animals Being Dicks
113. Starbucks Spelling (starbucksspelling.tumblr.com)
114. The Lisa Simpson Book Club (lisasimpsonbookclub.tumblr.com)
115. Posing With Friends
116. Unnecessary Journalism Phrases (unnecessaryjournalismphrases.tumblr.com)
117. Google Images (www.google.com/imghp)
118. VSholic
119. VS All Access
120. Steve McGhee
121. Everything Is A Remix (everythingisaremix.info)
122. Museum of Endangered Sounds (savethesounds.info)
123. Fake Follower Check
124. Reflections of a Newsosaur (newsosaur.blogspot.com)
125. NewspaperAlum (newspaperalum.com)

Photo: Victoria’s Secret Angels Candice Swanepoel, Karlie Kloss and Alessandra Ambrosio showcase the latest styles of the Victoria’s Secret swim collection in Los Angeles. Photo from VSholic. 

Shazam is handy app when watching the 2012 ‘Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show’

Despite my concerns that this year’s “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” would be a continuation of last year’s decision to focus more on the guest music acts, the 2012 special struck a nice balance.
I could have used a little less of Justin Bieber leering at the sexy lingerie models, but his performance was actually quite good. The other musical acts, Bruno Mars and Rihanna, were excellent. Overall, they were a marked improvement over 2011’s rougher-edged music acts, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Maroon 5 and Nicki Minaj.
One of the things I love most about the annual “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show,” besides the lovely women, is the selection of music played while the models are strutting their stuff.
This year I used the Shazam app on my iPhone 4 to identify some of the music played during the show. I was pleased to see that Shazam identified the show I was watching and provided a special section that featured music, in order, from the broadcast.
It showcased about 50 songs used during the show. Some of my favorites (excluding the live performances) were “Midnight City” by M83, “Young Blood” by the Naked and Famous, “Pound the Alarm” by Nicki Minaj, “State Trooper” by Drop the Lime, “Advice of Tomorrow” by Ciuju Nelabai and “Brokenhearted” by Karmin.
The feature called Shazam For TV works like a second screen app for TV viewing. It not only displays music in the show, but offers trivia, celebrity gossip and tweets about the show and cast.
The 2012 “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” aired Tuesday night on CBS, but will be rebroadcast on Wed. Dec. 12 at 9 p.m. EST on the CW.

Photo: Erin Heatherton walks on the runway at the 2012 “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.” See photos at UPI. Screenshot of Shazam app below.

‘Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show’ at risk of becoming a generic pop music concert

A year ago, I expressed a concern that the annual “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” was at risk of becoming just a run-of-the-mill pop music concert with supermodels as eye candy.
Last year’s show featured musical performances by Maroon 5, Nicki Minaj, and Kanye West with Jay-Z that overshadowed traditional aspects of the program.
Music has always been an important part of the show along with the crazy spectacle of themed lingerie costumes, dancers and wonderful set design.
About half of the models’ runway walks traditionally have been set to recorded music (often great D.J. mixes) and the rest were set aside for one, or maybe two, live music acts. But now the scales have tipped in favor of live music performances.
Last year’s show got great ratings so the producers used the same formula this year. The 2012 “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” features performances by Rihanna, Bruno Mars and Justin Bieber. It airs tonight on CBS at 10 p.m. EST.

Big ratings for Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show

The annual “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” on CBS delivered its largest audience since 2002 and its best performance ever in the key demographic of adults 18-49.
The show was seen by 10.3 million viewers Tuesday night, EW reported. You can watch the full special online at CBS.
For fans of the show, a great resource is VSholic, which has photos and videos of the Victoria’s Secret fashion shows starting with 1998. Also check out Victoria Secret’s own news site called VS All Access.
You can check out photos from the 2011 show at Popoholic, the Superficial, E Online, the Fab life and CBS News.

Photo: Model Candice Swanepoel at the 2011 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

Victoria’s Secret lingerie models like smartphones, social media

When Victoria’s Secret taped its annual fashion show earlier this month in New York City, I had the chance to interview some of the models about their use of social media.

Chanel Iman

U.S. model Chanel Iman, 20, is hooked on Twitter. She uses the microblogging service “all the time every day” to express herself, she says.
“I love Twitter,” she said. “I use Twitter just to get out my thoughts and opinions on my life … I really do it for my fans. But sometimes I’ll go through all my different tweets that I have tweeted and it’s like memory. It’s almost like a journal. It’s documenting my life and the different points that intrigue me.”
Iman has nearly 103,000 followers on Twitter.
Iman has avoided joining Facebook. Twitter satisfies her urge to share and it’s so darn simple to use, she says. “It’s easy, just a few words and a picture and you’re done.”
Iman also uses Tumblr, which has become a hot platform of late.
“Social media is a big part of our generation and how we connect,” Iman said. “I think it’s a great way to connect with people. I use it every day.”
On the go, Iman uses a touch-screen smartphone from Vertu, a maker of luxury mobile phones based in Church Crookham, England. Vertu is a unit of Finnish cell phone giant Nokia.

Behati Prinsloo

Behati Prinsloo, 22, of Namibia uses social media more for keeping in touch with friends than building her personal brand and interacting with fans.
“I’m not a really self-promotional person,” she said. “Facebook I use more to keep in contact with my friends back home because I’m so far away … I try to keep it for friends and people I know.”
She started using Twitter at the suggestion of Victoria’s Secret officials.
“At first, it was really weird,” Prinsloo said. “I was like – what do I say? ‘Hey, I’m walking down the street going to work.’ But you can use it for good. I hate on Twitter when people just say, ‘Hey, have a great day.’ I mean, use it good. Don’t fill up space on my BlackBerry. Give me something. I think it’s a great thing. If you use it right. It can be an advantage.”
Research In Motion’s BlackBerry is her smartphone of choice because she likes the physical keyboard. Prinsloo says she’s more comfortable with hard buttons than touch-screens.
Prinsloo also has a Tumblr page, which she uses to post personal photos.

Liu Wen

Liu Wen, 23, of China has used a Twitter-like service in her home country called Weibo for about three years. Weibo is hugely popular in China and owned by online media company Sina.
She says she only started using Facebook a week before the Nov. 9 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show taping. “We can’t really use Facebook in China,” she said.
She is using Facebook to connect with her friends and fellow models in the East and West. Like Prinsloo, Liu isn’t much interested in using social media for self-promotion at this point.
As for mobile devices, she has both an Apple iPhone and a RIM BlackBerry.

Photos from the 2011 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

Musicians take limelight off Victoria’s Secret models, fashions at apparel maker’s 2011 show

The annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show airs Tuesday night on CBS and it’s sure to be a slick, entertaining production, as always.
For the second year in a row, I attended the show in New York City when it was taped on Nov. 9 at the 69th Regiment Armory. It was a very entertaining production, but a slight letdown from prior years.
I felt that the live musical performances by Kanye West, Jay-Z, Maroon 5 and Nicki Minaj took over the show and pushed the fashion aspects into a supporting role.
The gorgeous Victoria’s Secret Angels should be the stars of the show. The musical guests are a nice treat, but the centerpiece should be the models and their fantasy bedroom apparel.
I can only hope that when the show is edited for broadcast that the focus will return to the Victoria’s Secret Angels. Because the live show belonged to the guys and they weren’t even dressed up for the occasion. In their performances, Adam Levine of Maroon 5 and Kanye and Jay-Z were wearing street clothes when they should have been in formal wear, even if that’s not their normal style.
I appreciated the music selections more in prior years. Usually they’d include one or two cool club mixes of hit songs that would blow me away. But not this year.
Personally I think bouncy dance music goes better with supermodels strutting the runway than rap or rock.
Kanye performed “Stronger” and was joined by Jay-Z for a version of “That Shit Crazy.”
Maroon 5 performed “Moves Like Jagger,” with Levine performing all vocals, including the verses done by Christina Aguilera on the radio track.
Nicki Minaj performed her hit “Super bass.” More like “Superb ass,” given the stunning models walking the stage in lingerie. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
Recorded music for the show included “Make Me Wanna Die” by The Pretty Reckless, “California King Bed” by Rihanna, and “Secrets” by OneRepublic. The encore featured snippets of “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga, “Run the World (Girls)” by Beyonce and “S&M” by Rihanna.
Two songs by Rihanna. Come to think of it, she would have been perfect for the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Rihanna is sexy, fashion-savvy and has topped the pop music charts all year. But she was probably booked.
My favorite ensemble of the night was Adriana Lima wearing a Victoria’s Secret Very Sexy Corset and Matching Panty, black boots and lacy gloves, topped off by huge black feather wings. Love those angel wings.

Photo: Supermodel Candice Swanepoel wearing Victoria's Secret lingerie and wings.

2011 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show raps, then wraps up; Will air on CBS Nov. 29

As a member of the press, I had the priviledge of attending the 2011 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in New York City. It was taped tonight at the 69th Regiment Armory in Manhattan. The video will be edited for a one-hour prime-time special to air Nov. 29 on CBS.
It was another great production for Victoria's Secret, a unit of Limited Brands. This year's show was highlighted by musical performances by Maroon 5, Kanye West and Nicki Minaj. Rapper Jay-Z made a surprise appearance to perform a number with West. Cee Lo Green was on the bill to perform but backed out and was replaced by Minaj.
The show boasted a bevy of beauties modeling Victoria's Secret's sexy garments. They included supermodels Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Miranda Kerr and Chanel Iman.
I'll have more to say about the show later.

Photo: Ticket to the 2011 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

History of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show

The annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is a global event. It’s the most-watched fashion show worldwide, seen in more than 90 countries.
Victoria’s Secret is the only fashion retail company to have its own television special. The 2010 show airs Nov. 30 on CBS.
I was fortunate enough to attend the taping of this year’s show on Nov. 10 in New York City. I also got a chance to interview some of the models during their hair and makeup sessions.
I asked model Edita Vilkeviciute of Lithuania if the show could be too sexy.
“Never. Come on. Everybody likes sexy,” she said.
The first Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was held in 1995. This year’s show is the 15th overall and the 9th to be broadcast on network TV.
The following is a timeline for the show, with information supplied by Limited Brands.

Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show timeline

1995
Model Stephanie Seymour opens the first Victoria’s Secret Fall Lingerie Show with a cotton white bralette and black stretch bikini dressed up with naughty black vinyl go-go boots and a low slung belt at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. (New York)

1996
The Victoria’s Secret Spring Fashion Show returns to New York City and is covered by media in cities such as London, Tokyo and Sydney. (New York)

1997
The Annual Victoria’s Secret Spring Fashion Show becomes one of the most widely anticipated fashion events in the world. (New York)

1998
Media from all over the world travel to New York City to cover the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Hollywood celebrities and Wall Street stars fill the audience. (New York)

1999
Victoria’s Secret announces the first live webcast of its Fashion Show with a commercial during the Super Bowl, which immediately drives millions to VictoriasSecret.com. The show and webcast made fashion, advertising and Internet history with an audience of a billion people in over a hundred countries. (New York)

2000
Victoria’s Secret and Miramax Films partner to hold the spectacular Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and Webcast at the Cannes International Film Festival to benefit amfAR’s Cinema Against AIDS 2000 in France, raising a record amount of about $3 million for Cinema Against Aids. (Cannes, France)

2001
Victoria’s Secret debuts its first-ever television broadcast of the Fashion Show with a 1-hour special on ABC drawing the network’s largest audience and highest ratings of the season for that time period. Supermodels make appearances on several shows including “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” raising thousands for charities. The show is held in November to kick-off the holiday season. (Bryant Park, New York)

2002
“The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” jumps to CBS and airs on Nov. 20. The show coincides with the opening of the world’s largest Victoria’s Secret store in Manhattan’s Herald Square. (New York)

2003
“The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” returns to CBS and airs on Nov. 19. The Broadway-spirited show was hosted by supermodel, Heidi Klum, as well as some of Victoria’s Secret’s other well-known Angels, and featured musical performances by Sting and Mary J. Blige. (New York)

2004
No fashion show this year. Fallout from Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl stunt prompted the cancellation of the show. Instead, the Angels (Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, Gisele Bündchen, Adriana Lima, and Alessandra Ambrosio) did an Angels Across America Tour, visiting four major cities: New York City, Miami, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

2005
The holiday-themed show marks the final “Victoria’s Secret Fashion show” for Tyra Banks and the first post-pregnancy runway appearance for Heidi Klum. It also debuted the next generation of Victoria’s Secret “Angels” Selita Ebanks and Izabel Goulart, and featured musical performances by Seal, Ricky Martin and Chris Botti. (New York)

2006
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show takes place in Los Angeles at the legendary Kodak Theater featuring the “Angels” and musical performances by Justin Timberlake. It aired on CBS on Dec. 5. (Los Angeles)

2007
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show returns to the Los Angeles Kodak Theater. It aired on CBS on Dec. 5. The show featured celebrity “Angels” and musical performances from the Spice Girls and Seal. Plus, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Victoria’s Secret, the Hollywood Historic Trust and Johnny Grant, the late Honorary Mayor of Hollywood, presented the Victoria’s Secret Angels with its “Award of Excellence” and a star on Hollywood Boulevard. (Los Angeles)

2008
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion show takes place at the legendary Fontainebleau Miami Beach, an iconic resort re-opened after a $1 billion renaissance. It aired on CBS on Dec. 3. The show included Grammy Award-winning superstar Usher as the sole musical guest, red carpet interviews, model profiles and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the world’s most celebrated fashion show. (Miami)

2009
The Fashion Show returns to New York for a holiday-infused lingerie runway show. It aired on CBS on Dec. 1 and included red carpet interviews, model profiles, and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the celebrated fashion show. The sole musical guest was three time Grammy Award-winning superstars, The Black Eyed Peas. The show’s producers conducted their first-ever Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show model search – an innovative cross-country hunt using open casting calls to find a runway model sexy, sophisticated and beautiful enough to walk in our world-famous fashion show. (New York)

2010
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is headlined by supermodels Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio. The show featured musical performances by Katy Perry and Akon. (New York)

See also:

Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show on Wikipedia

Victoria’s Secret on Facebook

Victoria’s Secret website

Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2010 another winner; Airs Nov. 30 on CBS

The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2010 took place Wednesday in New York City and it was another top-notch production.
The show featured a bevy of lingerie-clad beauties, including Adriana Lima and Candice Swanepoel, and musical guests Katy Perry and Akon. An edited version will air on CBS primetime on Nov. 30.
The show was performed twice Wednesday at the 69th Regiment Armory in Manhattan – 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Each performance lasted 45 minutes. It was a swift-moving affair with quick set changes and musical performances taking place while the models changed outfits.
More than 1,000 invited guests were seated at each of the two performances. The auditorium was decked out in pink and divided by a long sparkling runway. One end of the runway was shrouded by a pink curtain adorned with a large Victoria’s Secret banner.
This year’s show included six segments for displaying sexy lingerie, corsets, gowns, shoes and boots. The segments were “Tough Love,” “Game On,” “Country Girls,” “Heavenly Bodies,” “Wild Things” and “Pink Planet.” In all, the models showed off 64 different outfits.
Newlywed Perry performed her hit single “Firework” and a medley of “Teenage Dream,” “'Hot N Cold” and “California Gurls.”
Akon fittingly sang “Angel.”
I always enjoy the dance remix numbers that play as the Victoria’s Secret Angels prance on stage. This year’s remixes included Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” with elements from LL Cool J’s “Momma Said Knock You Out” and Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger.”
Yet another cool remix blended Muse’s “Uprising” with Blondie’s “Call Me.”

There’s been lots of media coverage about the show on the Web today.

Here’s a sampling:

‘Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show’ Live! Where models earn their wings (Zap2it)

Victoria's Secret takes it over the top (Toronto Sun)

Victoria’s Secret Angels Take to the Stage in Lingerie (StyleBistro)

The 2010 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show (Fox News)

Photos: Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show with Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, and more (New York Daily News)

Adriana, Alessandra, Rosie and More Take Over the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show (Pop Sugar)

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2010: Angels, Akon, and Katy Perry! (Real Beauty)

The 2010 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show (The Superficial)

Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2010 [Pictures]: A Dance Party With Katy Perry and Akon (CBS News)

And just for fun …

Play Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show Bingo! (Vanity Fair)

Sorry, Wonka, the real Golden Ticket is entrance to the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show

I hung out with the Victoria’s Secret lingerie models today. What did you do?
With all due respect to “Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” the real Golden Ticket isn’t a tour of some weird candy factory, but entrance to the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
I was lucky enough to snag a ticket to this year’s show, taped at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York City. (It was official press business. I swear.) Musical guests were Katy Perry and Akon. But the real stars were the Victoria’s Secret Angels, including Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio.
I also got a chance to interview four of the Victoria’s Secret models back stage, including Ms. Ambrosio, during their hair and makeup session.
The show airs on CBS on Nov. 30. I can’t wait to see the finished product.
More thoughts and observations on the event to come.

Photos: Ticket to the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2010 (top) and Willie Wonka’s Golden Ticket (below).

I watched the ‘Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show’ for the music … all right, and the pretty ladies

I watched the 2009 “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” the other night and thought it was great. Believe it or not, I was interested in more than seeing beautiful women parade around in skimpy lingerie. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. As I wrote last year, I love the spectacle of the show – the music, the staging, the art direction. This year’s show was one of the best in recent memory because of the music, which included live performances by the Black Eyed Peas and club mixes of Kings of Leon and the Police, among others. Great music and gorgeous ladies striding confidently on stage in fantasy clothes are a killer combination. I’m a sucker for those angel wings. The 2009 show wasn’t perfect though. The first set of outfits, which were space-age themed, were ugly. Some of the models looked anorexic. I also could have done without the competition for the next Victoria’s Secret angel. All I want to see is the show itself, with some backstage action for good measure. Victoria’s Secret, a subsidiary of Limited Brands, started its annual fashion show in 1995. The show was broadcast to the public starting in 1999 with streaming video on the Internet. It was an Internet event for two years. Then it made the leap to network television in 2001. I’d love to see a DVD featuring the best of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Shows. For a good history of the show, check out the Wikipedia pages on Victoria’s Secret and the Victoria’s Secret models, as well as this TVAcres.com retrospective. You can still watch the 2009 show online at CBS.com and at the Victoria’s Secret website. Photo: Marissa Miller at the 2009 “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” in New York City.

It must be Christmastime; the 'Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show' is back

Of all the holiday traditions, there is one that is particularly close to men’s hearts.

I’m talking about the "Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show." It was filmed Thursday in New York City and will air on CBS on Dec. 1 at 10 p.m. (9 p.m. Central). Check out the promotional Web site.
The Black Eyed Peas are the musical guests for this year’s show. The supermodels, a.k.a. Angels, include Doutzen Kroes of the Netherlands, Miranda Kerr of Australia, Alessandra Ambrosio of Brazil, Behati Prinsloo of Namibia, and Marisa Miller of the U.S. A United Nations of beautiful women.
The Associated Press covered the event so it must be news, right?

Photos from The Superficial and I Don’t Like You In That Way.

Top: Alessandra Ambrosio

Bottom (literally): Miranda Kerr

‘Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show’ warms my heart

Forget “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” or “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Hands down the best Christmas special for my money is the annual “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.”
The “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” doesn’t teach morals, but it hints at a few immorals. It’s a holiday show for red-blooded American men.
It teaches us about foreign countries and cultures. (Where is the eastern European country that hot model is from? Why are there so many gorgeous women from Brazil?)
In fact, the show is a virtual United Nations of beautiful women. There are ladies from Germany, Brazil, the Netherlands, Australia, the Czech Republic, the Cayman Islands and Namibia. I say put these ladies in charge of the U.N. and we’d have world peace. And quick.
But seriously, I like the music, the production values, the spectacle and those angel wings. Love those wings.
The 2008 “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” aired Dec. 3 on CBS. An encore presentation is scheduled for Dec. 17 on the CW. Or watch it online here. But not at work.
Victoria’s Secret, a unit of Limited Brands, also has set up a pretty neat interactive Web site about the show and the performers.

For more photos from the show, check out: Idontlikeyouinthatway.com and thesuperficial.com.