December 2009 Archives

Today Ellen gave her Twitter followers in Boulder, CO a challenge -- with $10,000 in Shell Gift Cards up for grabs. They proved themselves to be a clever group. Take a look now to see what they did to win the big prize.

On the recent season of "Dancing with the Stars," Kelly Osbourne defied expectations and danced her way into the finals. Today she and partner Louis van Amstel told Ellen how the experience has changed her life -- and of course, they performed for everyone. Check it out here.

2/9 - University Park, PA

2/11/11 - Pittsburgh, PA

2/12/11 - Pittsburgh, PA

2/14/11 - Toronto, Ontario

2/15/11 - Toronto, Ontario

2/18/11 - Montreal, Quebec

2/19/11 - Montreal, Quebec

2/21/11 - Raleigh, NC

2/24/11 - New York, NY

2/25/11 - New York, NY

2/27/11 - Washington, DC

3/1/11 - Boston, MA

3/2/11 - Philadelphia, PA

3/4/11 - Uncasville, CT

3/5/11 - New York, NY

3/8/11 - Chicago, IL

3/9/11 - Chicago, IL

3/17/11 - San Antonio, TX

3/19/11 - Las Vegas, NV

3/22/11 - Salt Lake City, UT

3/25/11 - Vancouver, BC

Ellen gave her Twitter followers in Boulder, CO thousands of dollars worth of Shell Nitrogen Enriched Gift Cards today. You can find out more about Shell at their website.

Ellen has had a lot of amazing bands perform on the show, but few get as large a response from her audience as Bon Jovi. It was clear from the start that they would be big, but no one could have predicted just how successful they'd become.

It all started 25 years ago when a 20-year-old guy named Jon Bongiovi was hired by his cousin to work as a janitor at the Power Station, a famous New York recording studio. He took the opportunity to record a few demos for himself. One of them, titled "Runaway," quickly became a hit on local radio. Soon after, he formed the rock group Bon Jovi.

Immediately, the group found their first hit with their own version of "Runaway." After their first two successful albums, Bon Jovi launched to a new level with their third, "Slippery When Wet." It has since sold 28 million copies worldwide and has been certified 12x platinum. The hits kept coming as they continued to release multi-platinum albums. The late '80s brought them hits like "You Give Love a Bad Name," "Livin' on a Prayer" and "Bad Medicine."

In 1990, Bon Jovi went on hiatus, and several of the band members worked on independent projects. Eighteen months later, they returned with a new album, "Keep the Faith," and followed it up shortly after with "These Days." The albums proved that Bon Jovi had the ability to adapt their sound to stay current.

After another hiatus in the late '90s, Bon Jovi came back in 2000 with the huge hit, "It's My Life," ensuring that a new generation of listeners would become fans. For the following 10 years, they continued to release hit after hit.

Bon Jovi also became well known for their extensive touring -- to date they have performed more than 2,600 concerts in over 50 countries and in front of 35 million fans -- and they aren't done yet! They stopped by to sing two of their greatest hits for Ellen. You can watch their performance of "What Do You Got?" right here.

Seven-year-old Xin-Xue Feng is such an incredible Ping-Pong player, Ellen flew her all the way from China to show off her talent here. The adorable girl demonstrates her skills for Ellen, then challenges her to a game! Watch now to see how Ellen did!

Continue reading "Video of the Day: All the Way from China -- Tennis Prodigy Xin-Xue Feng" »

Today, Ellen was honored to be named PETA's Woman of the Year for her support of animal rights issues and treating animals with compassion. Read all of what PETA has to say right here!

Continue reading "Ellen is PETA's Woman of the Year!" »

The show may have gone to commercial, but that doesn't mean Ellen stops dancing! Today Ellen kept the music going during a commercial break, and DJ Tony joined her in the fun. Take a look at their moves now.

When two legendary musicians like Rickie Lee Jones and Ben Harper team up, they end up with a beautiful song like "Old Enough."

Rickie Lee Jones has been creating music for over 30 years, experimenting with different genres and collaborating with a variety of artists. She has always been able to adapt, most likely due to her childhood where nothing was permanent. Constantly moving, she once said that by the 11th grade, she had been to 11 schools. During her tumultuous early life, she turned to music as her escape. In the late '70s, she began performing in clubs and eventually began writing songs professionally. In 1979 she released her self-titled debut album and quickly gained attention. Over the next 30 years, she released a variety of albums in various genres, with both original songs and covers, and won 2 Grammy Awards. Her latest album, "Balm in Gilead" features collaborations with several artists, including Ben Harper.

Like many of today's top musicians, Ben Harper had an affinity for music from an early age. He learned to play guitar and slide guitar while young, and immediately set to work creating music. In his early twenties, he put together an album, which ended up landing him a record deal with Virgin Records. He first became a hit in Europe and the college radio scene in America, and soon built a mainstream American audience. Thirteen albums and two Grammy Awards later, Ben is still going strong. Currently, he has formed a new band called "Ben Harper and the Relentless 7," and has said that it is bringing him back in touch with music.

Both Rickie Lee Jones and Ben Harper came to the show to perform their collaboration, "Old Enough," from the CD "Balm in Gilead." Watch it here.

Ellen has been helping people out with big surprises for months, and today she decided to give another $25,000 to one of her home viewers who has been having a hard time. Watch Ellen change her life now!

Continue reading "Video of the Day: Ellen Surprises a Home Viewer with $25,000!" »

Can you identify the person in the photo with Ellen?

Hints:

She has three dogs -- Loco, Juicy and Minnie Pearl.

Her birth name is Destiny Hope, and in 2008 she had it legally changed to her current name.

Dolly Parton is her godmother.

She was named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People.

Click here to see the answer!

Continue reading "Who's That Multi-Talented Teen Idol?" »

Ellen can't get enough of the hilarious game, Know or Go. Today's theme: 4th Grade Geography! Watch now to see if the contestants know -- or if they go!

With the incredible success of the "Twilight" movies, things have changed for Robert Pattinson and the rest of the cast. Today he tells Ellen about the experience of filming "New Moon" -- and describes what his perfect day would be.

There are 7 differences between these two photos. Click on one to see the full-size versions side by side. Then use your mouse to click on the differences! Can you find them all?