Two very different islandistas are covering the latest editions of two very different magazines. 

The amazonian and fiery Jamaican-Brit Naomi Campbell is on the Fall/Winter 09 cover of Flaunt magazine in a vivid, colour-drenched and dramatic shoot by star photog David LaChapelle entitled ‘The Rape of Africa’. 

photo credit: David LaChapelle/Flaunt Magazine

Some folk are pissy that you can see her nipple … like we haven’t all seen a nipple before. *roll eyes* 

On the flip side, the pixie-like sci-fi heroine Domican Zoe Saldana is featured in a futuristic, stark spread in Complex magazine that features mostly black white and silver as its colour theme. 

Check a few of the pics below. 

Photo credit: Gavin Bond/Complex Magazine

Rumours have been buzzing around Barbados for the last 24 hours that local girl Rihanna may be performing in the island for Old Year’s Night.

The talk raised eyebrows initially because of the small matter of the US$500, 000 show she is scheduled to do in Abu Dhabi the same night.

However, more details are coming out on the top Ri-ri fan site Rihanna Daily, which reported just a while ago that the big show is set for Harbour Lights and that the “8 hour time difference” is how “it’s made possible”.

The price tag for the event is reportedly BD$250 (US$125) for a ticket.

We’re not quite ready to sign off on this one yet but we’ll give you more details as they come to hand…

Word also is that Ri-ri will get to taste her mother’s pepperpot after all because she is indeed home for the holidays. Again, more details when we get them…

UPDATE 12/27:  So scrap that… information reaching islandista is that no such event was ever in the works… seems Kedrew was throwing out a sprat… again. But I guess that is the job of official twitterers/tweeters?

Ri-ri did manage to make it to Barbados for the holidays though and has been seen out partying at Models & Bottles and hitting the beach.

The triumvirate of track. (All photo credits: trackalerts.com)

It was solid gold night on Sunday night in Kingston when Jamaican track star Asafa Powell hosted his charity event ‘A Night on Tracks with Asafa Powell and Friends’ at the Indoor Sports Centre.

And those friends? Pure stars.

Talk about stars! Both on and off the stage it was a night of island fabulousness at its best – in attendance were a bevy of Olympic and World Chamionship medalling islandistas, including an Islandista favourite, the cute likkle Shelly-Ann Fraser, Brigitte Foster-Hylton and Shericka Williams.

Go dehhh Shelly in your hot red and leopard print dress!

Brigitte Foster-Hylton kicks it with Gay.

Shericka Williams (at left) with a friend, enjoying the show.

Of course, the big man Usain Bolt turned out to support his friend, as did the other sprinter right up there in the triumvirate of elite male sprinters right now, American Tyson Gay… who we surprisingly actually really like, despite not having much fondness for American sprinters in general. He just seems like a really gracious and good guy, especially coming after a long line of cocky chest pounders like Mo Greene and slimy drug cheats like Tim Montgomery and Justin Gatlin.

Jamaican socials also came out like Chris Dehring (the real big man if you talking bout loading money hand over fist) and the ever-popular former Miss Jamaica World, Yendi Phillips.

Yendi Phillips (center) hangs out with Powell (left) and Gay (right).

LIME VP Chris Dehring (left) with Gay and a friend.

They also had some of our favourite islandista singers on the stage – Tessanne Chin (our favourite of the Chin/Chyns, if truth be told), Alaine and Cherine Anderson.

Cherine Anderson performing.

Alaine was there too.

The fabulous and talented Tessanne Chin.

Fantastic. Loves it.

You can check out the full photo gallery at Trackalerts.com.

Photo credit: Dan Smith/News of the World

One of our favourite British islandistas, singer Alexandra Burke is looking absolutely fabulous in Britain’s News of the World.

The glamourous shoot is surprisingly classy for NOTW, which is your typical brash British celeb tabloid magazine – and we love the look – very Russian princess with dramatic white dresses, diamonds and even wolves!

An extensive interview accompanied the spread, where Alex spoke at length about growing up as the little woman of the house when her mother, Soul II Soul lead singer Melissa Bell was on tour.

“At 12 I was like an adult. I’d take my brothers to school and me and Sheniece would do their homework with them. My grandad would cook but we’d do everything else.

“I now think Mum was amazing because she worked her bum off for us. It was hard on our birthdays when Mum wasn’t with us. But she’d send us love and money and we just had to get on with it.

“I learnt from a young age that you just have to accept the cards you’re dealt and try to make the best of it. I had a wild side, but I was sensible because I had to be.”

Photo credit: Dan Smith/News of the World

She was also refreshingly candid about her enthusiasm for freebies, freely admitting that by celeb standards she is still skint.

“Kate Moss told me not to accept everything. But I haven’t taken her advice. When it comes to freebies, I’m the girl who can’t say no!”

But the freebie affinity is for a good reason – Alex is saving for a house of her own.

“I’m on a tight budget, I want to buy a house in the country next year because London is too expensive – and I want to buy a car, so I’m saving. That’s why I didn’t listen to Kate and I love my freebies so much. I even got a free Mini Cooper this year. How mental is that?”

Alex, whose shape is a very West Indian size 10, also spoke about body image and what it means in her business.

“I don’t think I’ve got the perfect body because I’ve got a big bum and big thighs, but I think men like a bit of meat and all that nonsense of being super-skinny is so over.

“Give us girls a break – we’re meant to have curves, not bones. When I shot my latest video I insisted on having girls in it who were plus-sized, mixed in with models. I wanted women of all sizes and all different colours because I don’t want young girls watching my videos and thinking you have to look a certain way to be hot.”

A plate of pepperpot would make Christmas right for islandistas Melanie Fiona and Rihanna. (Photo credit: Cynthia Nelson/Tastes Like Home)

The Guyanese-Canadian singer, who received her first Grammy nomination earlier this month, told Rap-Up.com about her Christmas plans. Like most West Indians the Toronto-born singer has family all over and is going to spend part of Christmas day with relatives in Miami.

And just like Guyanese-descended Rihanna, who was earlier this month mourning that she may not get pepperpot for Christmas, Melanie Fiona’s hoping for some traditional Guyanese Christmas fare too, saying:

“My family is Guyanese, so every Christmas morning we have pepperpot and garlic beef or garlic pork, and my mom makes homemade bread. Anything to do with my heritage is what is my fondest memory… All the crazy stuff that comes with being West Indian, I love it.”

No … we love it!

Our favourite islandista supermodel (well after Naomi) gave birth to her baby boy on Tuesday.

The still unnamed baby weighed in at a healthy just-over-seven pounds, reported Vogue.com.

“Jourdan is really well and super happy,” a spokesperson for her agency, Storm, revealed.

Tuesday seems like it was a day for supermodel babies as Brazilian super Gisele Bundchen also gave birth to a baby boy that day as well, with hubby Tom Brady.

We already know that islandistas embody and exude the spirit  and tempo of the Caribbean woman… but we’d like to learn more about our readers!

We’d appreciate if you took our survey below so we can get a better idea of who you are, what you like and what we can do to make your islandista reading experience even better!

FYI It’s completely anonymous – we only see the results, not the IP addresses, email addresses, nothing else but your answers! So please feel free to answer openly and candidly!

Photo credit: Marcio Madeira/style.com

Why didn’t anyone think of this before?!

Vogue UK is reporting that Naomi Campbell is “set to become the UK’s answer to Tyra Banks”  as talks are in the works for her to host her own modelling reality show.

According to Vogue:

“The proposed show would see Campbell take on a group of budding young models, offering them advice and criticism and whittling them down to a winner.”

We say to this… hell, yeah!

Naomi Campbell + reality show = ratings gold as far as we’re concerned. Can you just imagine it?

Think of all the cat fights and bitching you get on Top Model and oh… just about any semi-competitive reality show. Then throw Naomi’s legendary temper in the mix. I would love, love to see some of these stroppy, egotistical chicks that are on the reality shows get into it with Naomi – yes please!

Her spokesperson told the Daily Mail:

“Naomi has been approached with an offer, which we are talking about and discussing. An initial approach has been made. We are discussing that offer, but nothing is set in stone yet.”

Why not? What are you people waiting for?

Young islandista singer Vita Chambers, the youngest member of the ‘Bajan Invasion’ of pop (Rihanna, Shontelle, Hal Linton, Livvi Franc, Jaicko) going on right now, is making some major moves of her own lately.

Along with Hal and Shontelle, she was part of the Motown 50th anniversary tribute show at the halftime of the NFL’s Detroit Lions v Green Bay Packers game.

Now, her video for Young Money has dropped today. It’s very teenaged rock and roll – lots of jumping and moshing and jamming with the band.

Check it out below and tell us what you think.

Many black models (and some wannabe arm candy-turned models) have tried but few have truly managed to carry off the numerous Grace Jones tribute fashion editorials that fashion mags are so fond of.

Photo credit: Paola Kudacki/Paris Vogue

But Rose Cordero comes pretty close in the latest issue of Paris Vogue. The Dominican (Republic that is, not the Eastern Caribbean island) model’s photo spread, styled by Melanie Huynh and photographed by Paola Kudacki, channels the freaky but stylish androgyny of the famed Jamaican singer/model/actress/muse/baddest bitch.

However, try as she might and as fierce as the spread is, Rose just doesn’t have the fierce intensity of Grace… but then again, does anyone?