Girl World Daily: pop nation

Zac’s Ba-ack!

From the Editors of Girl World Daily

We seriously don’t know one girl who isn’t gaga over Zac Efron. Our fave leading man goes back to school for his new flick 17 Again, but it’s a far cry from East High. In this “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone” comedy, Zac flexes his funny bone and…well, we’ll let him fill ya in on the rest.

Q: In the film, your character, Mike, goes back in time to relive his “glory days.” Now that you’re 21, what would you love to relive from the year you were 17?

A: I remember so many good times. Me and five of my very close friends had an improv troupe, and we traveled across the country to perform in competitions. Also, I was doing speech and debate when I was 17. That was very fun. The highlight was probably taking second place at Berkeley, which is a pretty big competition.

Q: When Mike first goes back to high school, he’s kind of dorky and doesn’t fit in. Have you ever felt that way in real life?

A: Completely. High school is one of those weird times in your life when you become hyperaware of where you are in the social hierarchy. It was my sophomore year when I realized I wasn’t at all the coolest kid in school. I didn’t want to be — I was more focused on grades and things like that. I had my core group of friends, and we were inseparable.

Q: Matthew Perry of TV’s Friends fame plays the older version of your character. Did you find yourself mimicking him, or did you keep your character separate?

A: A little of both. Definitely the hardest thing to imagine was what Matthew would have been like as a 17-year-old, and that was fun to figure out. Talking with him on set, I got the feeling all his amazing wit and incredible timing and trademark smirk would have been more animated as a teenager, so that was the creative license to do an off version of Matthew. That’s what I did. I kind of just hung out with him, got a sense of his personality.

17 Again opens in the United States on April 17, 2009.

Girl World Daily: pop nation

Celtic — and Cute!

From the Editors of Girl World Daily

In case you haven’t heard the name, Celtic Thunder is a group of five male vocalists from Ireland who belt out traditional Irish tunes, as well as some originals and modern classics — and they’re rapidly gaining popularity. We caught up with Damian, the youngest cutie of the clan, as he and his bandmates storm the States.

Ireland Calling
Celtic Thunder is nearing the end of a 48-city concert tour, and Damian is just a tad homesick. Still, he takes the time to phone us up for a chat between calls to his home in Northern Ireland. He misses his family and friends. And he misses his girlfriend Jenna. “I talk to her every few days,” he tells us. “But at the moment, I’m really enjoying my time out here. The tour is ending Dec. 17, then I go home, and I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone.”

Lightning-fast Blast
Damian won’t be home for long before hitting the road again in March 2009. The current tour kicked off in October 2008 at the world-famous Radio City Music Hall in New York City. “My family came to the Radio City show, and it was their first experience of America. It’s kind of weird that their first experience was to see me perform. Our first performance was in Dublin, but we’re focused on America for now. If all goes well, we’ll end up in Europe eventually. Some of the other guys have toured, previous to this, to places such as Germany, Belgium and Canada.”

Doin’ Some Damage
Flash forward to the next evening after our phone call….Celtic Thunder is onstage — another show, another packed arena. And Damian is a standout. Girls in the audience shriek when he steps out onto the stage for solos, particularly during his rendition of ’70s pop hit “Puppy Love.” The adult men of the group look polished in their tailored suits and shiny dress shoes, while Damian is endearingly disheveled. His Converse sneakers peer out from beneath the hem of his baggy dress pants, a left shoelace slightly untied, his white collared shirt not quite tucked in all the way. While the other singers switch up their outfits frequently throughout the show, Damian does only one wardrobe change: For the encore act, he wears a skirt. (OK, it’s a kilt.)

Storm Chasers
One might mistake this for a Jonas Brothers event, as a slew of lucky fans are lined up after the performance for a meet-and-greet with Damian and Keith Harkin, the 23-year-old hottie of the group. Girls are giddy with excitement, clutching their CDs and waiting for Sharpie signatures and snapshots. Outside the venue, another crowd accumulates, hoping to get a glimpse of the guys as they board their tour bus before heading to another city. Next!

The Forecast
We meet up with Damian backstage, and he’s every bit as charming in person. And he’s even cuter close up than he appeared from our seats in the arena. He had told us on the phone how important his education is to him, in case the music doesn’t take off for the long haul, but he says, “A hundred percent, I want to be a singer all my life.” We certainly predict a long-running musical career for this dynamo from Derry, whose charged-up performance ended with a standing ovation.