Lady Lala

Lorraine Russell has been there, done that and bought the t-shirt. Having worked as a stylist in the music industry with some serious A list stars, she has built up a tremendous amount of experience not to mention some great contacts. She has put these great contacts to use in her blog, The Lala Report which covers news and events in popular culture focusing specifically on music and fashion. She started the blog last August as an outlet for her love of the entertainment industry and since then it has gone from strength to strength.

What made you start blogging?
Outside of blogging, I also work as a freelance fashion stylist, primarily in the music industry.  The blog was set up due because of a few reasons;  My friends use to refer to me as "The News of The World", because if they wanted to know the latest in popular culture, they would ask me. They also encouraged me to set up a blog, as they were tired of getting random emails about the all the celebrity gossip that was happening across the globe (even though they have admitted to to loving my many random emails lol). I also wanted to use the knowledge that I had developed over my working years in the music and fashion industry in another way other than styling,

Describe the concept behind The Lala Report.
The concept of The Lala Report is just reporting to readers what's happening in the latest in music and fashion, on both sides of the Atlantic. I feature new music video, fashion trends, music and fashion news, sometimes things "in between".

Over the last year bloggers have really made their mark in the fashion and music industry, how do you think they will continue to push the boundaries over the next few years?
With the demise of many publications, the internet has become the quickest, easiest and most cost effective way of getting whatever information you need to get.  Blogs allow not only you the "blogger" to have a format where you can express your opinion, but the general public can also to have access to sharing their opinion on whatever topic mostly interest them, whereas before this was not possible with "hard copy" magazine publications. This makes your blog develop a character and can pre-determine what subject matters you write about, by what your subscribers show interest to.  Hard copy magazine prior to the invention of the internet would dictate what they would write about, there wasn't that much involvement with the reader. I think bloggers will have as much influence as major publication editors (i.e. Anna Wintour, US Vogue editor).  Some have already carved out successful career of the back of there blogs (i.e. Perez Hilton).

You come up with a lot of topical issues on your blog, how do you get your inspiration?
I get my inspirations from the "main" stories of the day, or just stories that interest me. As I have been running my blog from August 2009, I feel that I know my readers well, and I know what they would be interested in hearing about. I also see what being talked about on networking sites like "Twitter" and Facebook.

What do you do when you are not working on your blog?
I always work on my blog, its a daily thing for me.  I am currently working on some up and coming projects which I will talk about on my blog in the next few months.  Both are very exciting and challenging. I also have a weekly slot on Bang 103.6 FM where I do a weekly entertainment roundup on the drive time show with Mr Silk. I have been working with Bang since October, and its a format that has worked very well for both of us.  My first show invited interest from an online US site called Udub News. They had asked me to become the face of their section called "Girl, Did You Know".  My blog page is now linked to that site, which has increased my subscribers, and introduced my alter ego "Miss Lala" to a new US audience.

Describe a typical day in the life of Lorraine Russell.
Blog, project 1, project 2, gym, blog. Not necessarily in that order. lol.

What are your favourite glossy magazines?
Grazia, Heat and Now.

Name five blogs that you read religiously
Mad News, Concreteloop, Punchbowl Blog, The Urban Gentleman and Bossip.

How do you see The Lala Report evolving over the next two years?
Jeeze, I tend not to think about that, as I do this primarily for the love.  Its been good to me so far, bringing me lots of opportunities.  Hopefully it will continue to bring me more great projects and opportunities to work on.

You can read Lorraine's blog here.

You can follow her on Twitter here.