Then I realized the party was at 1pm, in the Seventeen offices, and there would be children there. A booze-less photo op. This was to be more weird than fun, but interesting nonetheless.

With scenes from How To Lose Friends and Alienate People flashing through my head, I trekked to the massive Hearst building near Columbus circle. Upon entering, I gawked like a yokel at its shimmering, aspirational architecture. Waterfalls. Angles. Just like I’d read about in blogs!

As I ascended one of many escalators to the elevators (escalators to the elevators!), I thought back on the time I’d emerged from my room in PJs to find my roommate’s friend art-directing a photoshoot of young Lydia, clad in nothing but fancy lingerie. The image of her tiny frame ordering massages and petting our cat juxtaposed absurdly with the powerful Death Star into whose maw I was fast disappearing. I felt woozy. The crazy space elevator I was riding in at warp speed didn’t help.

Up on the 44th floor, a publicist showed me into the giant multipurpose room in which the event would take place. A racially diverse squad of cheerleaders from New Rochelle High School (second in the nation!) were practicing their moves, while a small group of Seventeen employees sat picking at fruit plates.

“It’s a surprise for the girls,” the publicist explained. “Why do they think they’re here?” I asked. “Excuse me?” “The cheerleaders, um, if it’s a surprise for them?” She laughed. “No, it’s a surprise for Aly and Ashley.”

Before long, “the girls,” Ashley Tisdale and Aly Michalka, made their entrance, and EIC Ann Shoket introduced them. “You guys know who these ladies are,” she said to the cheerleaders, then beckoned the actresses to sit in chairs and watch them. “Oh my God!” said Aly, black-rimmed eyes widening.

Safety concerns prohibited the team from acrobatics (“We were scared somebody would flip out a window,” one staffer explained), but the routines were nonetheless impressive, making everyone smile. “You guys, like, killed it,” said Aly afterward. “How old are you guys?” asked Ashley, and they all replied at once. “I wish our squad could be that good,” she said.

Next, the actresses posed with Shoket in front of their October issue cover. Ashley looked like the fresh-faced American teen she’s known for playing, while Aly’s poofy white dress and heavy makeup were more, um, adult. “I hurt my foot over the weekend so I can’t wear heels,” the 5’10″ Shoket lamented, as she stood on her tiptoes.

After this, I got to ask the budding TV stars some questions. (I was the only press person there, as far as I could tell.) I found out they’d only done a few of their own stunts so far, but the ones they had done had been “exhilarating.” “I had only my cast members beneath me,” Ashley explained of her basket toss. “I had to trust them.”

“How sexy will the show be?” I inquired of them both. “It’s sexy but it’s tastefully done,” replied Ashley; “it takes the bubblegum out of cheerleading.” “Cheerleading is such a confident thing,” continued Aly. “It’s fierce. It’s going to show the gritty side of cheerleading…like, it’ll show us sweating and working out.” There was more that I didn’t write down, but she definitely said the word “fierce” at least once more.

“Do you think this will grow you up in the eyes of your fans?” I asked Ashley, who is currently best known for her role in the ‘tween favorite High School Musical. “I don’t want to run away from my fans,” she answered, premeditatedly, “but they’re all four years older than when High School Musical started…in my career, I want to take baby steps. The CW is a good place for that. I’m growing up, and I want to take them along with me.” Fair enough. At any rate, the 25-year-old Tisdale’s role as a college girl should be much less ridiculous than the 20-something actors’ portrayals of high schoolers on the same station’s Dawson’s Creek, a show she says she adored as a kid. Whether due to her image or the fact that she looks young, it’s hard for my brain to accept her as her real age.

The actresses then signed magazines and posed for photos with a bunch of young fans, which included some non-cheerleading girls as well. “Who are they?” I asked, gesturing to them. “Friends of Seventeen,” replied the publicist. “Did they write into the magazine? Or win a contest?” “No,” she said, evasively, “we just have a lot of friends of Seventeen…teen readers.” Mysterious.

Before being shepherded out, I scored a signed magazine for my twelve-year-old cousin, who will totally freak when she sees it. “Thanks for coming,” Ashley told her fans. “You look so cute.” And then they were gone.

Post from: Crushable

• Tonight marks the end of Showtime’s The Tudors, which is probably a good thing since Jonathan Rhys Meyers is back in rehab. (Buzzsugar)

• Is Megan Fox pulling an Adrianne Curry? She’s starting to get nerds all hot and bothered by showing off her encyclopedic knowledge of Lord Of The Rings. All we need now is some WoW naked Twitpics and she’s gold. (Popsugar)

• For the upcoming Facebook movie, Network, Jesse Eisenberg‘s already got Mark Zuckerberg beat in the hottie factor. (Vulture)

• White House party-crashers Michaele and Tareq Salahi have basically already been cast as the villains of The Real Housewives Of D.C. Surprised? (Gawker)

• Disney star Aly Michalka of Aly & AJ has a stalker determined to marry the tween actress “no matter what.” Creepy. (TMZ)

• This Jeremy London kidnapping story is getting less believable by the second…now apparently his wife Melissa Cunningham was with him when he was taken, but the kidnappers dropped her off at her house because she started to cry? Okay… (Dlisted)

(Photo via Getty)

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Check out our gallery for all the photos from CW’s upfront’s green carpet!

(Photos by Getty Images)

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• The Vampire Diaries was good to the CW, so next season, it returns on Thursdays to scare the hell out of us.
• 90210 will now air on Mondays as a lead-in for Gossip Girl, which is Jenny Humphrey-less.
• One Tree Hill — why is that show still on? — has survived another year, airing on Tuesdays ahead of the sophomore season of Life Unexpected. Smyze-happy Tyra Banks continues her America’s Next Top Model franchise on Wednesdays.
• Two new shows debut: Nikita, an action series starring Maggie Q as an ass-kicking spy, alongside Shane West and Lyndsy Fonseca (whose name we have a hard time spelling!); and Hellcats, a cheerleader drama about a pre-law student who loses her scholarship and must reconnect with her tumbling roots, starring Ashley Tisdale and Aly Michalka.

Here’s the full schedule, via the CW:

MONDAY

8:00-9:00 PM              90210 (New Night)

9:00-10:00 PM            GOSSIP GIRL

TUESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM              ONE TREE HILL (New Night)

9:00-10:00 PM            LIFE UNEXPECTED (New Night)

WEDNESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM              AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL

9:00-10:00 PM            HELLCATS (New Series)

THURSDAY

8:00-9:00 PM              THE VAMPIRE DIARIES

9:00-10:00 PM            NIKITA (New Series)

FRIDAY

8:00-9:00 PM              SMALLVILLE

9:00-10:00 PM            SUPERNATURAL (New Night)

Post from: Crushable

According to IMDb, the film (which opens August 14th) centers on a high school outcast and a popular girl who form an unlikely bond through their shared love of music. Assembling a like-minded crew of misfits, the friends form a rock group and perform in the battle of the bands competition at their school.

Teenager Will Burton (Gaelan Connell) lives in his head, and his head is filled with music. When his mom Karen Burton (Lisa Kudrow) gets a new job in New Jersey, Will starts his junior year at a new school only to find the old cliques still apply, but rock-n-roll rules the scene. Perpetually a misfit, Will strikes up a friendship with like-minded outsider Sa5m “the 5 is silent” (Vanessa). They are both surprised when the school’s “it” girl, Charlotte (Aly) recruits Will to help assemble a band to compete in “Bandslam,” a battle of the bands that is “Texas High School Football BIG.” Charlotte’s ex-boyfriend Ben Wheatly (Scott Porter) is poised to win with his band Glory Dogs – Springsteen wannabes down to their hats. For the first time in his life, Will finds he is uniquely suited to not only participate in something, but to truly make a difference. With music as the great equalizer, WILL is a movie that proves love, friendship, and music can all rock your world.

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Aly & AJ Michalka upload another vintage video to their Youtube account! They found the video while packing up their Christmas decorations.

“This is us on Christmas morning when Aly was 8 and AJ was 6,” They write. “It was our old dog Saint’s birthday (yep, her birthday was on Christmas) and we made her do some tricks to earn her birthday cake! Also…check out the sweet horses we got as presents. All you had to do was push the saddle to make it run. Sweet!”

You can catch Aly & AJ’s current home this Saturday during Cribs Celeb Teens Countdown on at 12:00 noon on MTV!

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Aly & AJ Michalka show us that they’re still staying in shape even though they’re busy writing songs for their new album.

“After all, we need to be healthy once we’re back on the road touring again…check out our workout we do every morning with our trainer, larry crystal. we know him as our ninja (just check out the part with the swords!) xoxo.”

Total side note, but I love this song!

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Aly & AJ were hanging out at a floating bar on their Aruba vacation and decided to do a little karaoke. First they sang “Drive” by Incubus and then went with an old favorite “Do You Believe In Magic”. How do you think they did?

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Must be nice to be a Disney star and head over to any premiere you feel like attending!! Brenda Song, Demi Lovato, and Aly Michalka all walked the red carpet at the Los Angeles premiere on Twilight on Monday. I wonder if some of the Twi fans even knew who they were!!

Who do you think looks the best? +4 …

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Aly and AJ Michalka decided to take in a bat cave while in ArubA! Here’s what they say. Check out this INSANE cave we got to visit during our Aruba trip. It was super freaky! We went waaaay inside and went face to face with the bats. Make sure to watch the whole thing to check out the bats at the end!

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