Yesterday was a big day for
Nicole Richie, and it was also a memorable day for her
Simple Life co-star
Paris Hilton.
Once a year, the record labels bring all of their bigwigs to Los Angeles. The marketing and promotions teams gather round and listen to all the upcoming albums on the slate. And, Paris asked Perez to go with her as the folks at
Warner Bros. listened to her album for the first time.
Unbothered by an entourage or bodyguard, just the two of us made our way from P's pad to Sunset Studios, where the
Red Hot Chili Peppers were just wrapping up their listening session.
Surprisingly not nervous, Paris was very excited to be there and meet all the folks that will be working with her to get the record out. "I worked my *** off on this record," said our cuz. "And I'm very proud of it."
Paris was scheduled to fly to Tokyo with
Nicky to celebrate the public offering on the Japanese stock exchange of Hilton's handbag line. However, P thought it was important to be at her listening session and re-arranged her plans to make sure she could be there last night.
And, we were really honored that Paris wanted us with her for support, and we were equally excited to be one of the first to listen to the album, which is still untitled.
We're not saying this because we like her or for spin, but the album is solid. It's really good! It's hard to f*ck sh*t up when you work with the best in the biz, and that's what Paris did.
The album is executive produced by
Scott Storch, who may not be the sexiest motherf*cker, but he does drop the hottest songs, like
In The Club, Candy Shop, and
Lean Back. So, as you can imagine, the album has a very hip hop meets club feel, which is perfect for Paris, who was very hands-on in the whole process and co-wrote most of the songs on the record.
P also worked with
Dr. Dre, Fat Joe, Jadakiss and
Dr. Luke from
Max Martin's camp, the dude that co-wrote
Kelly Clarkson's smash hit
Since U Been Gone.
Sonically, the album most resembles
Gwen Stefani's solo record, a hodgepodge of different styles, hip hop, dance, reggae and pop.
The team at Warner Bros.,
Madonna's label, is so excited about this project that they are - as of now - hoping to release 4 to 5 singles. Cuz the album really is
that good. It's so good, in fact, that there's even talks of releasing the first single as a white label in the clubs around Christmas time, which is SOON. What that means is that DJs will get the song, but the record won't have any information on it, such as who the singers is.
Warner Bros. is hoping the song will pop in the clubs and create some buzz, and then they will release it online for digital download, forgoing the conventional radio first approach. A video is tentatively slated for January, and the single would be serviced to radio in February, with the album release not too long after that.
In addition to the great reggae-influenced song on the album,
Stars Are Blind, which we already told you about, Paris also does a cover of
Rod Stewart's
Do Ya Think I'm Sexy and doesn't f*ck it up by trying to change it too much. Staying true to the original while still updating it for Today, Rod is reportedly so happy with Paris' cover that they are trying to find a time for him to come in and sing on the track with her.
Some of the other song titles:
Turn It Up, It's Like That, Fightin' Over Me, Are You With It?, and a re-recorded and 100 times better version of
Screwed.
The listening session was so hot that the studio seemed to turn into a club. The traditionally stuffy record execs were so into the album that they got out of their seats and started dancing. And, Paris, not just content to sit and observe, put on a mini-show for everyone, singing along to her songs and dancing with Perez as well.
Paris expressed her gratitude to everyone at Warner Bros and re-iterated that she is going to work so hard to promote this album - including a tour - and that she really wants to be involved in every step of the release process.
After the successful listening session, it was time to celebrate! So Paris and Perez hopped in the car and headed over to
Koi to meet up with
Nicky and family friend
John, who - contrary to what some people are reporting - is not dating Nicky. She and Kevin are still together and he is in NY working on a film that his pal,
Leonardo DiCrapio, is producing.
Sitting at the table next to us at Koi was
Drea DeMatteo and her dykalecious crew, including DJ
Samantha Ronson.
On our way out, a fan came towards us, but - to our shock - wanted to say hi to Perez. And what a fan it was: a p*rn star!! So here's to
Erika and her new boobs, which we
just had to touch. Use them with caution!
Perez pulled a Lindsay.
The pap make so much money. You'd think they could afford better clothes?
We're not sure what's cooler: Anthony Kiedis or Urkel?
As George Michael said, listen without prejudice.
Digging the tunes.
Paris could barely stay in her seat; she was so excited.
P and the ladies of Warner Bros. Records.
It's a family affair!
We'd be remiss if we didn't thank our dearly beloved
Dana Dynamite and our very generous friends at
Ben Sherman for Perez's outfit.