Over the years, we’ve noticed that some of our favorite pop artists have tastes that skew towards the bright, bubbly, and intended-for-children. Cartoon couture is everywhere, from Lil Wayne’s leopard print Mickey Mouse T-shirt to Katy Perry’s Betty Boop-inspired dresses. But what exactly does that say about the pop star in question? Sure, Britney Spears’ mouse ears reference her time spent in the Mickey Mouse Club, but for others the meaning is not so clear. We take a crack at some pop (music) psychology about pop stars and their childhood idols, after the jump.

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Today at Flavorpill, we were blown away by Seth Casteel’s awesome underwater dog photography. We met the oldest thing in the world. We watched Daniel Radcliffe pick up right where Ralph Fiennes left off with the Harry Potter erotic fan fiction. We appreciated Maura Johnston’s handy guide on how not to write about female musicians. We were oddly touched by Chris Gerringer’s illustration of the Hulk and Kermit the Frog bonding over their shared greenness. We wondered how Russell Brand feels about the little smiley face that Katy Perry drew on their divorce papers. We couldn’t believe that it has already been a year since Rebecca Black unleashed her “Friday” virus upon the world. We predicted that Blue Ivy Carter™ champagne will sell like hotcakes. We got 10 tips for writing from advertising big wig and original “Mad Man” David Olgivy. We fell madly in love with the polka dot nails on the Kate Spade presentation. And finally, we decided that Ben Schwartz totally got robbed by Andrew Garfield. Jean-Ralphio was obviously meant to be our next Spider-Man.

Last night Barbara Walters’ annual Most Fascinating People special aired, and as we previously mentioned, it featured a list of celebrities who for the most part seemed a bit dated. The most surprising moment of the evening came when Walters’ revealed Steve Jobs as her pick for the most fascinating person of the year — but only because it had always been her policy to only feature the living. (Walters explained that, taking a note from Jobs himself, she decided that “rules were made to be broken.”) Because we don’t expect you to sit through a whopping hour and a half with Katy Perry and the Kardashian clan, we’ve collected some of the most interesting tidbits from the evening for you after the jump; if you find you need a palate cleanser after, may we suggest Flavorpill’s Most Fascinating People of 2011? Read More »

1. This year’s Golden Globe Award nominations were announced earlier this morning, and while we’ll have more to say about the picks in a bit, in the meantime, you can peruse the full list here.

2. This should be interesting: NBC has announced that Howard Stern will be joining the panel of judges on its summer competition series America’s Got Talent. Stern, who’ll be stepping in to fill the spot recently left vacant by Piers Morgan, still plans to continue doing his radio show. [via Deadline]

3. Lady Gaga, who made an estimated $90 million last year, has topped Forbes’ new list of the top-earning women in music. Rounding out the top five: Taylor Swift ($45 million), Katy Perry ($44 million), Beyonce ($35 million), and Rihanna ($29 million). [via NME]

4. George Whitman, the American-born owner of the beloved Paris bookstore Shakespeare & Company, died yesterday at the age of 98. His West Bank shop, which hosted readings by some of modern literature’s biggest names, was also a place where aspiring writers could find shelter in exchange for a little work. [via NYT]

5. Courtney Love might be getting kicked out of her West Village townhouse. Why? A minor fire last spring, some wall paper she wasn’t supposed to put up, and $50,000 in unpaid rent. [via Daily Intel]

Bonus Buzz: Animated Remake of ‘Raiders Of The Lost Ark’

Where do you like to string your tinsel and LED lights? On your house? On your tree? On your body? This time of year, holiday parties and city streets are overwhelmed with costumes parodying Christmas’s jolliest bearer of gifts. Inspired by Katy Perry’s opening monologue ensemble from the latest installment of SNL, we’ve decided to take a look at an earthlier, rarer costume alternative — the Christmas tree. It’s pretty, it’s bright, it smells good. What’s not to love? Dangle a few ornaments from your ears, coat yourself in lights, and stick a star on your forehead — you’ll light up any office party with an accessible power outlet. The following celebrities know what’s up; take note from some intentional and accidental Christmas tree costumes after the jump. Read More »

This episode of Saturday Night Live was actually much better than we expected, relatively solid all the way through. Sporting a new blond bob that we think makes her look kind of like Emily Blunt, host Katy Perry never let us forget her pop-star status, finding some way to incorporate her singing voice into almost every skit. Kristin Wiig was on top of her game last night, managing to avoid all of her painfully obnoxious characters for a set of fresh, funny ones, and the show was bolstered by a number of charming guest appearances, including Alec Baldwin and Matt Damon. Click through to watch the sketches we thought were the best and those that made us cringe, and let us know your own thoughts in the comments!

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Editor’s note: Welcome to The Fug Report! Each week our fashion blogger friends Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, the sartorial geniuses behind Go Fug Yourself, will feature some of the most memorable looks of the week in this space. We hope you enjoy it!

This week, on Go Fug Yourself, we admired Katy Perry’s new bob, but gave the thumbs down to Leann Rimes’ Muppet-colored poncho. We worried that Lea Michele was thinking about hooking up with Ashton Kutcher, and wished that Bea Arthur would return to this mortal coil to smack some sense into her. We gave big love to Zoe Saldana, and even bigger love to Michelle Pfeiffer. We put Kate Bosworth in a head-to-head battle with Kirsten Dunst, and did the same for Shenae Grimes and Jessica Stroup. Only one of those girls went to a party wearing a bathing suit, but you’re going to have to come by to find out who.

Rumors that Katy Perry and Russell Brand’s marriage is on the rock have been flying — and both the pop star and the comedian have been vociferously denying them. “I am really happily married,” Brand told Ellen DeGeneres last week. “I’m married to Katy. Perpetually, until death do us part was the pledge.” Now, it looks like Perry is running some subtle damage control in a new promo for Saturday Night Live, which she’ll be hosting this week — and which we’ll be watching, if for no other reason than because Robyn is the musical guest. In one of a handful of new clips, Perry does an affectionate impression of Brand, relating the advice he gave her for hosting the show. Watch it, and find yourself entertaining the idea that she may not be such a bad host after all, below.

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Today at Flavorpill, we wondered how long it would take you to make it all the way through the world’s largest gummy bear. We were surprised by how much we wanted to take a ride in this Facebook-themed Volkswagen bus. We looked at some cool hand drawn sketches by Apple Macintosh icon designer Susan Kare. We hoped that Harvey Weinstein’s evil plan to turn My Week With Marilyn into a Broadway musical starring Katy Perry never comes to fruition. We were rather intrigued by these recyclable cornstarch headphones by designer Michael Young. We visualized the exact amount of cassette tape needed to record Kraftwerk’s Computer World album thanks to this eye-catching poster by Stefanie Posavec. We discovered that the odds are that we probably don’t really exist. We wished Doctor Who a very happy 48th anniversary. We were impressed by a few of these relatively vintage tattoos. We read an Occupy Wall Street-inspired fable by Ursula K. Le Guin. And finally, we ended our day by watching Amy Poehler give another great speech, this time while accepting Variety’s Power of Comedy Award. Do you think she’d ever consider running for office in real life? The woman’s got charisma.

Saturday Night Live will see singer Katy Perry on its December 10th show, where she’ll be playing host alongside musical guest Robyn — who has been busy touring with the Teenage Dream artist. Perry’s comedic stints on How I Met Your Mother and a voice part for the newly animated Smurfs film may help her find her funny bone on the live stage. Hubby Russell Brand also hosted SNL earlier this year, so perhaps he has a few pointers to share. Some of Perry’s music videos find her adopting goofy personalities, particularly “Last Friday Night (TGIF)” where Perry becomes her dorky alter ego Kathy Beth Terry who wakes up after a wild night of partying. The character seems destined to make an appearance on the show. Will you be tuning in or staying far, far away from this ep of SNL? [via Rolling Stone]