People: Williams shows karaoke chops at Delta event
Serena Williams replaced her tennis racket with a microphone at a karaoke event a week ahead of the U.S. Open.
The top-ranked athlete performed “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” on Wednesday night at Arena in New York City. She danced and swayed her hips in a mini dress as she sang the song in falsetto and attempted high notes.
Williams told the crowd before she began: “I’m really nervous.”
She was joined by fellow tennis player Jack Sock, “Orange Is the New Black” stars Laverne Cox and Uzo Aduba, “Glee” actor Darren Criss and comedian Kathy Griffin at the event for Delta Airlines.
Williams, a karaoke enthusiast, called the singing sport “my favorite thing.”
“I do like ’80s, ’90s rock because it’s good for my voice,” she said before she performed. “The thing about karaoke is picking a song that works for your voice, that way if you sing like a cat – like I do – you can still sound pretty good.”
Aduba, who recently won a Creative Emmy, didn’t take the stage, but her co-star Cox drew in the small crowd at the private event with a rendition of Whitney’s Houston “One Moment In Time.”
“Pease don’t put this on YouTube,” she said, laughing.
Cox joined Criss and Griffin onstage when they sang “Say My Name” by Destiny’s Child.
“Everybody, Beyonce Knowles!” Criss yelled, introducing Griffin.
Cohn seeking more than change
ESPN anchor Linda Cohn is suing a suburban New York hockey rink over a painful off-ice injury.
Cohn says a heavy change-making machine fell on her arm at Hudson Valley’s Brewster Ice Arena and sliced her so badly she needed 25 stitches.
The 54-year-old Southbury, Connecticut, resident raised the allegations in a lawsuit recently served on the rink’s owners. She’s demanding unspecified damages plus costs and expenses.
Cohn’s lawyer says it happened in March in an arcade area of the rink as she was getting ready to practice for a promotion with a New York Rangers minor league team.
Cohn posted a picture on Twitter showing her stitched-up arm looking like a baseball.
The birthday bunch
Actress Valerie Harper is 75. Actress Cindy Williams is 67. Country singer Holly Dunn is 57. Rock musician Vernon Reid is 56. Country singer Collin Raye is 54. Actress Regina Taylor is 54. Rock singer Roland Orzabal (Tears for Fears) is 53. Rock musician Gary Lee Conner (Screaming Trees) is 52. Singer Tori Amos is 51. Actor Ty Burrell is 47. Rock musician Paul Doucette (Matchbox Twenty) is 42. Singer Howie Dorough (Backstreet Boys) is 41. Comedian-actress Kristen Wiig is 41. Rock musician Jeff Stinco (Simple Plan) is 36. Actor Brandon Adams is 35. Actress Aya Sumika is 34.