Here is an AP interview with Vanessa Williams about the upcoming season of Ugly Betty (premiering this Friday, October 16).
 

First off, there are some scenes from the new season interspersed with the interview. 
Vanessa talks about the physical changes in Betty, and gives some specifics (I like the phrase “her silhouette is changing”).  She says the socks are going to go (I guess that will be later this season) and that we’ll see Betty’s legs for the first time.
She hints about “a couple of relationships from her past” – these are Connor and Nico, I’m guessing.  She says that Grant …read more

It would be incredibly wrong of me to go one more minute without posting a couple of pics of Ugly Betty’s Vanessa Williams at the Emmys this past Sunday.

Wow – what an absolutely beautiful, classic dress.  It’s from Rafael Cennamo, and this color is not only daring, but quite perfect for Vanessa.
But, what absolutely makes this look work is the incredible makeup by Sam Fine.  For an in-depth look at how Fine worked around the challenge of not only a very hot day, but this wonderful dress as well, check out this post.
“Because Vanessa’s dress choice was such a …read more

Here is the wonderful opening number Ugly Betty’s Vanessa Williams performed at the 36th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards last night.

 
Basically, Vanessa sang a re-worked version of Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You”, with new lyrics singing the praises of various daytime stars.
The coolest part was the video playing simultaneously that inserted Vanessa into all of the shows she was singing about.  Some of the video work was VERY good, in others it was obvious that Williams was inserted.
The best line (and scene) was probably “I know that Ellen approves”.  Vanessa really showed of her comedic skills at …read more

 Ugly Betty’s Vanessa Williams will be hosting the 36th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards from the Orpheum Theatre in Hollywood this Sunday.
I normally skip the Daytime Emmys, but I’m not going to miss this one.
Vanessa is going to dance with Dancing With The Stars runner up Gilles Marini.  Also, in addition to introducing guests who will hand out 17 awards, she will open the telecast with a parody number.  Vanessa has become quite the comedienne.
On top of that, the award ceremonies have moved from the Kodak Theatre to the downtown historic landmark, where Judy Garland performed her vaudeville act in the …read more

Here are some photos of Ugly Betty’s Vanessa Williams and her daughter Jillian at last week’s New York premiere of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

I love Vanessa’s casual look. She always looks fabulous in jeans – that vigorous workout of hers really pays off with this look.
And Jillian?  To paraphrase Herman’s Hermits:  Miss Williams, you have a lovely daughter.  She (Jillian) is 20 years old, and takes after her mother in the beauty department.

Jillian (Hervey) is Vanessa’s daughter, along with sister Melanie (22) and brother Devin (16), from Vanessa’s former marriage to then-manager …read more

Ugly Betty’s Vanessa Williams spent time yesterday helping a very worthy cause, Dress For Success.  Here is an on-the-scene report.

Williams was at Grand Central Station yesterday, encouraging women  to donate their clothes to Dress For Success, an organization that donates clothes and gives advice to women to help them succeed in the workforce.
Vanessa said, "I am representative of working women, of women that want to look their best, who want to look and express their success in the way that we can and we want to help women that are in need and give them a start to look their …read more

Here are a couple of pics of Ugly Betty’s Vanessa Williams at the launch party for Sam Fine’s “The Basics of Beauty” DVD.  Fine is a legend in celebrity makeup, as you can tell by one of his clients – Vanessa!

I lovelovelove this dress!  Perfect length, perfect cut, and I’ve always loved gradients in dresses.  As usual, Williams looks absolutely beautiful.
The launch party was held at Warren Tricomi salon in NYC, and many celebrities were there; not only Vanessa, but Taraji P. Henson, Iman, Deborah Cox, RuPaul, Wendy Williams, Cynde Watson, Llyod Boston, Mikki Taylor, AJ Crimson attended, amongst …read more

Here is video of Ugly Betty’s Vanessa Williams performing at her CD celebration at Greenhouse in NYC (hat tip: vivalariviera.com)

I absolutely LOVE the title track from Vanessa’s CD (The Real Thing).  The more I hear it, the more I want to hear.  She also performs Just Friends, which is also a nice groove.
The feedback trouble at the beginning of Just Friends was unfortunate, but it happens to the best of sound techs in smaller rooms.
Ana Ortiz can bee seen in the crowd shots thoroughly enjoying herself.  Michael Urie, seen briefly, also seems to be enjoying the music.
It occurred to me …read more

OK, the VAF (View Annoyance Factor) was minor, so here is the video of Ugly Betty’s Vanessa Williams singing “Just Friends” from her album “The Real Thing” on The View.

This one she performed as more of a duet, with Darius de Haas.  I thought he did a fantastic job on the harmonies.
I didn’t realize till I heard this performance that this was a “cheatin’” song.  Being from Nashville, I’m kind of a connoisseur of these things -  Just Friends sets the perfect tone, allowing for the balance between guilt and desire.  And, once again, you can hear Babyface’s touches all …read more

Check out the video of Ugly Betty’s Vanessa Williams singing the title track from her new album, The Real Thing, on Good Morning America:

This is a wonderful song – my favorite so far from Vanessa’s new album.  What a true diva!  (And I mean that in the best sense of the word).
She has not lost any of her wonderful, crystal clear voice.  In fact, it might have even improved with age.  I know only a few singers who can keep pitch so perfectly in a live performance.  In fact, I had to watch twice to make sure she wasn’t lip …read more