Luxe Life Blog
Gretchen Rossi will be ‘Unbreakable’ with gay fans tonight at Krave
Gretchen Rossi of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" at Bare Pool Lounge at the Mirage on July 4, 2011.
The last time blonde bombshell Gretchen Rossi of “The Real Housewives of Orange County” was in Las Vegas, she stripped down to stockings, high heels and a bustier as a guest Pussycat Doll in the Pussycat Dolls Burlesque Saloon in Gallery Nightclub at Planet Hollywood.
This weekend, she plans to keep her clothes on even though she says that her sexy image will still shine through. Gretchen is set to premiere her single “Unbreakable” at Krave in Planet Hollywood’s Miracle Mile tonight.
“It will be my debut of the song in a club, and it’s very much a club anthem type song, so I think it’s going to do very, very well. I know that Krave has a large gay fan base, so I’m excited about that because that’s a huge fan base of mine. I have no problems breaking ‘Unbreakable’ there.
“My gay fans and my friends in the gay community are some of my dearest friends, and any time that I walked into any club that is predominately gay, the people just freak out and the fans freak out, and they’re always so loving and wonderful. So I’m thrilled to death that I’m doing the debut at Krave.”
Gretchen also has no problems with her blonde bombshell image. “People describe me as that. I enjoy taking care of myself and looking good, being able to look good in a bikini, but there’s a lot more to me than just looking hot in a sexy swimsuit. I’m an entrepreneur, and I’ve got the Gretchen Christine Collection that’s done really well. I have a handbag line and a makeup line underneath that brand, and it’s been very successful, and I continue to build that empire.
“But I’ll admit I wasn’t shy about showing off the bikini body as a guest star at Pussycat Dolls. It was my first live performance on a Las Vegas stage, and I happily got up onstage to sing and dance and strut my stuff. [Pussycat Dolls founder] Robin Antin was wonderful, and all the club people there really embraced me. (Robin, incidentally, toasts her birthday at Gallery on Saturday.)
“I was in a very sexy little burlesque costume with all the push-up bras and little short shorts. But I made sure that nothing was G-strings or anything like that. But, yes, corset, garters and stockings. Robin is so good at making you look very, very sexy, but still keeping it classy. It was really a fun night. I just love Las Vegas. Vegas is one of my favorite places to go and hang out and party and get to do really fun things. I just love your city.”
I asked Gretchen if she saw herself more as a reality TV star, singer or businesswoman. “I definitely see myself more so as a businesswoman. When I was first asked to do ‘Real Housewives,’ I really had no interest with the celebrity and fame that came with it. I was very clear on my goals and my operations within creating a business. I knew I always wanted to be in the fashion industry, and that’s what I’m really focused on. I’ve been able to create a successful brand around that.
“The singing is something that I really enjoy doing; I actually enjoy writing more than singing, and it’s something that I’ve always done kind of on the side. It’s just a hobby that I really enjoy, and I’ve had some great opportunities come my way because of the show. I hope to continue singing, but I’m definitely not looking to be the next Britney Spears. It’s really more about taking my life experiences and bringing them to the fans and to the world through music.
“This song ‘Unbreakable’ that I’m releasing this weekend has a lot of back-story to it. My partner Slade’s son Grayson was diagnosed with brain cancer at age 6, and he’s been through 10 major brain surgeries and a lot in his life. He’s 12 years of age thankfully now, and it just really inspired me to write a song about this kid who’s spirit has been so unbreakable despite everything that he has gone through.”
Gretchen says she’s unbreakable, too, having lost her first fiance, and her songs have come from life experiences. “My first song ‘Nothing Without You’ was written after Jeff passed away. Obviously, the title sums it up; that’s how I felt, and it was a dedication to him. … I love it when I know the songs that I’m writing are truly touching people. I don’t want my song to just be a party song or just be a hit. I really want to know that it’s touching people on a deeper level.
“My song ‘Revelation’ was really more about people having a revelation that I am something more than just what people see on TV. A lot of people see the five percent of your life on TV or the five minutes that you’re on every week, and they make an assumption of who you are. ‘Revelation’ was really revealing that there’s a lot more to me than just what the TV shows.
“When I first came on the show, there was a lot talk around the fact that I was with an older man and that I was possibly with him just for the money and that I was a gold digger and that I wasn’t able to take care of myself. What a lot of people didn’t hear was that I was a self-sufficient woman.
“I had been a really successful real-estate agent in the Orange County area, and I did well for myself. I bought my own home, I bought my own car, I took care of myself, I was very self-sufficient. I just happened to fall in love with a man who did have some money and liked to give me nice things. But, unfortunately, they didn’t show anything other than just that.”
Gretchen Rossi of Bravo TV's The Real Housewives of Orange County at Bare at The Mirage.
Gretchen didn’t audition for “Housewives”; she was invited to join the cast in Season 4. “To be honest, at first I really didn’t want anything to do with the show. I spoke with my fiance, and he said, ‘Every day has been about the cancer and it’s been about doctors, and this sounds like a really fun opportunity to get to travel and do something other than it being about the cancer.’ So he was really the one who encouraged me and pushed me to do the show.
“It has directly touched my life, obviously with a lot of friends and people that I know that have had the disease and survived the disease. My grandfather had cancer four times in his life, so it’s definitely something that hits home. Just recently with Gretchen Christine Collection, I developed a collection called the Pink Collection; I did it in honor of the breast cancer charities of America.
“It’s really important for me that I’m involved and give back to the community and give back to the foundation that really helped me through difficult times in my life. I’m nominated for Woman of the Year by the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, and I raised a lot of money in honor of Jeff.”
What’s next for Gretchen? “The world is my palette, to go out there and do anything and everything I want to do. I’m continuing to grow my companies and my brands. I’m going to be back on Shop NBC with the new handbag collection soon. I still have a lot of music to write. I have a diary full of songs and life experiences I want to get out to people. I have books in the works.
“I just have a lot going on that I’m very excited to continue to share with everybody. I hope people view me as the bombshell beauty with brains -- and they come party with me in Las Vegas this weekend!”
Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.
Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.
Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.
Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.
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