Vocabulary and Cultural Notes:

• little black dress – an evening or cocktail dress, cut simply and often with a short skirt, originally made popular in the 1920s by the fashion designer Coco Chanel. Many refer to it by the abbreviation LBD. The “little black dress” is considered essential to a complete wardrobe by many women and fashion observers, who believe it a “rule of fashion” that every woman should own a simple, elegant black dress;

• orphan [`O:f<sup>ə</sup>n] / [`O:rf^ən] – a person, especially a child, whose parents are both dead; sometimes used of a person who has one parent left alive;

• seamstress [`sem<sup>p</sup>strəs] / [`si:m^pstrəs] – a woman whose job is sewing;

• to throw out (the ideas) – to put forward or offer;

• to deem [di:m] – to consider that someone or something has a particular quality;

• fabric [`fæbrık] – cloth, especially when it is used for making things such as clothes or curtains;

Simon Cowell [`saımən `kauəl] (1959-) is a British music and television producer, who had the idea for the popular television programmes Pop Idol in Britain, and American Idol in the US. He also acted as a judge for these programmes and for World Idol. Simon Cowell started in a mailroom for a music publishing company. He has since become an Artist and Repertoire (A&R) [`repətwα:] executive for Sony BMG in the UK, and a television producer and judge for major television talent contests. He is known for saying cruel things to the people who sing in the competitions, so that he is sometimes called Mr Nasty or Judge Dread. He is also known for saying, “I don’t mean to be rude, but …” just before saying something rude.

Vocabulary and Cultural Notes:

• Pop Idol [pOp `aıdəl] – was a British television series which debuted on ITV on October 5, 2001; the show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer, or “pop idol”, in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. A second series was broadcast in 2003. The Idol series has become an international franchise.

• American Idol – (titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar in the first season) is a reality competition to find new solo musical talent. It debuted on June 11, 2002, and has since become one of the most popular shows on American television. It is a part of the Idol franchise.

• World Idol – was the title of a one-off international version of the television show Pop Idol, featuring winners of the various national Idol shows around the world competing against each other. The performance show was held in the UK on December 25, 2003.

• mailroom [`meı^əlru:m] – the department of a company that deals with sending and receiving mail;

• Artist and Repertoire (A&R) [`α:tıst ənd `repətwα:] – the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and the artistic development of recording artists. It is responsible for discovering new recording artists and bringing them to the record company. They are expected to understand the current tastes of the market and to be able to find artists that will be commercially successful;

• Sony BMG – Sony BMG Music Entertainment – was a global recorded music company with a roster of artists that included a broad array of both local and international superstars, as well as a vast catalogue that comprised some of the most important recordings in history. Sony BMG Music Entertainment was a 50–50 joint venture between the Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann AG. The venture’s successor, the again-active Sony Music Entertainment, is 100% owned by the Sony Corporation of America.

• nasty [`nα:sti] – unkind or offensive; saying or doing unkind things to people;

• dread [dred] – frightening or worrying; annoying or making you embarrassed;

Michael Dell [`maıkəl del] (1965-). With $1,000, dedication and desire, Michael Dell dropped out of college at age 19 to start PC’s Limited, later named Dell, Inc. Dell became the most profitable PC manufacturer in the world. In 1996, The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation offered a $50 million grant to the University of Texas at Austin to be used for children’s health and education in the city.