Sheryl Crows On and On about Lance
Last night I saw Sheryl Crow at Avery Fisher Hall in NYC. She sounded good -- classic Sheryl. Her new album, Wildflower, isn't as rockin' as her older stuff -- it's more laid-back, mellow, chilled-out tunes. The audience reflected the maturity of the album. It was definitely a 30-and-up set. There were a lot of families, which was interesting. Linda Wells, the editor-in-chief of Allure, sat right near me with her husband and her two sons. (My sister commented that both boys could use a haircut, but I liked their shaggy 'dos.) Another celeb sighting: comedian Gilbert Godfried, who sat directly behind me. He was wearing earplugs at a Sheryl Crow concert. I don't know exactly what he was expecting, but I guarantee that earplugs weren't necessary. Besides, with all the screaming he does during his stand-up you'd think he'd have trouble hearing in the first place.
At 43, Sheryl looks good, sounds good and is just radiating happiness. But she made me a little uneasy. Why? Because I'm a cynical celebrity writer. So when I hear a star go on -- and on -- about her amazing celebrity boyfriend, a red flag goes up and I wanna yell: "Shhhh! Keep it to yourself. You're gonna jinx it." If Sheryl mentioned my husband Lance Armstrong once during the show, she mentioned him six times. She talked about how she spent the last few years going to his bike races. She jokingly referred to the white dress she was wearing as her wedding dress. She mentioned how she's been spending a lot of time with his kids. She talked about how he's an "actor" now. (One hosting gig on Saturday Night Live does not an actor make.) The Tour de France winner even came onstage to bring Sheryl her guitar.
Too much! Too much! Too much!
I give Gwyneth Paltrow a lot of crap because she refuses to walk the red carpet with hubby Chris Martin. But she's actually smart. Now, any little nugget she does share about her marriage makes headlines. And if they split, she really hasn't revealed anything and there aren't a billion pictures of them sucking face on the press line. She learned from bitter bust-ups with Brad and Ben. And you'd think that Lance would know better. After all, he's the one who gushed about his first wife, Kristin: "If you ever hope to meet someone and fall in love, it should happen just as it did for us -- blissfully, perfectly."
Or not.
It's hard for celebrities to find the right balance when it comes to talking about their relationships. But as much as I want to know every dirty detail of their lives and their loves, I think it's smarter when they keep clammed up. Make us wonder. Make us speculate. Make us pore over every minute detail that is revealed.
There's nothing wrong with a little mystery.
