In this week’s edition of “Trend Hungry Tuesday” – Resident Fashionista Jessie Holeva highlighted a trend perfect for prom season, foldable flats.

Visit Trend Hungry to find the latest fashion 411 on a skinny budget, and catch Jessie every Tuesday evening on “The Ralphie Radio Show.”

The Ting Tings are managed by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. Jay is an artist who has managed to stay true to himself while maintaining relevancy. Jules de Martino and Katie White hope to do the same, and that alone could explain the four-year gap between the duo’s breakout debut We Started Nothing and its latest release, Sounds From Nowheresville.

“We have to tour this record for two years because of the time we took and probably the awkwardness that we behaved like almost to get it done,” White told me during my sit down with the English band. “We feel like we have something to say, which is [important] to us.”

The singer said she would have hated the alternative: to release an album that the band simply couldn’t or wouldn’t want to speak about.

“We wouldn’t have been able to tour,” she said. “We wouldn’t have been able to do interviews.”

Surely that thought crossed de Martino and White’s mind a few years ago. After a recording session in Berlin that yielded countless songs, the group played its record label 10 final tracks. Columbia executives were excited beyond belief; the duo was far from satisfied.

“We weren’t not feeling them because [Columbia] loved them,” White clarified of the songs. “We just felt like we had more to do really.”

A single from that session, “Hands,” would eventually make its way on to radio. The Calvin Harris-mixed track serves as the bridge between what was The Ting Tings’ first album, what could’ve been its sophomore LP, and what is Sounds From Nowheresville.

“We totally respect dance music and what it does,” de Martino noted. “What we didn’t want to do is just jump on a bandwagon of fads and trends.”

So the group took its rhythm-based, multi-instrumental act to Spain and wound up recording its second album amidst isolation.

“We started to realize we wanted to make a record that represented music how we listened to it,” de Martino explained. “We felt that this record we made represented a playlist of lots of different genres of music.”

But the playlist isn’t exactly on shuffle: there is cohesiveness to Sounds From Nowheresville. During the interview de Martino mentioned The Killers’ Hot Fuss and the rollercoaster of emotions and stories the album takes its listener on from start to finish. That idea is certainly mirrored in Sounds: the ride begins slowly with Silence, and seems to hit full steam by track three, the catchy in-your-face single “Give It Up.” Energy peaks two songs later in the defiant “Guggenheim.” From there, the tempo slows gradually to a near halting stop on the final track, “In Your Life.” Coincidentally enough, the group wrote that song in Berlin, and recorded it in one take.

“I really wanted to make [Katie’s singing ability] prominent on this album,” de Martino said. “So to contain it we felt well why not a nice way to end is rather than end on a big track, why don’t we just let the album live there in this space, so people can sort of reflect on it, and talk about it.”

The plan worked with me, as I asked the question de Martino hoped for: Why did you end the album on such a soft note? Thankfully for de Martino and White, neither will mind having that conversation for years to come.

Life & Style Weekly broke more news on Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s engagement! Senior News Editor Jordi Lippe also talked about Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez’s divorce and the romances brewing ath the Coachella Music Festival.

Some are questioning whether Christina Aguilera is too harsh on contestants she coaches with NBC’s “The Voice.” Aguilera responded to those criticisms on Hollyscoop.com.

Holyyscoop.com’s Diana Madison talked about Aguilera and Hollyscoop’s recent interview with Backstreet Boy Nick Carter.

As reunited boy bands like New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys continue to tour the globe, other boy bands like 98 Degrees contemplate a reunion, and new boy bands like The Wanted and One Direction find success in the States, there is yet another group that is still plotting its comeback.

“We’re in the process of getting [the reunion] green-lit by MTV,” Alex Solowitz revealed to me on “The Ralphie Radio Show.” Alex played Mickey Parke in the faux-boy band 2Ge+her. Yes, the reunion you heard about last November still has a very real chance of happening. “We have all the original songwriters… everybody is on board. All the producers that we had are on board.”

It seems as if the last piece in the puzzle is the network. Solowitz said MTV likes the idea, and is just waiting to see how much more interest the guys can generate.

“I think there’s a good place for us at MTV,” Solowitz said. “We can have some pregnant teenagers, if they want. We can get some ‘Jersey Shore’ dudes too.”

Nice to see that Solowitz hasn’t lost his sense of humor or that edge that his character Mickey displayed over 10 years ago with 2Gether. Noah Bastian, Evan Farmer, and Kevin Farley are also on tap for the reunion. Michael Cuccione passed away after a battle with cancer in 2001. He died just eight days after his 16th birthday. Solowitz said in a previous interview that a portion of the proceeds from the group’s return would benefit Cuccione’s foundation. And one of those performances is right around the corner.

“We’re doing a little teaser show May 4 at the Jon Lovitz [Comedy Club],” Solowitz said. “Evan can’t make it because he’s having a baby, he’s got a new born coming.”

Who would’ve thought that you plus me would end up equaling a baby?

How hands-on is Antonio “L.A.” Reid with the artists on Epic Records? In the case of “The X-Factor” finalist Chris Rene, very.

“It’s track by track,” Rene said of the Chairman and CEO of the label’s involvement with his forthcoming album. “It’s like, I’m not going to make a track that I’m not happy with or that I don’t think represents me fully. He wants the same thing.”

From a technical standpoint, the formula worked because Rene is only a track away from the LP’s completion. The singer believes the album does represent him as a whole, for both better and worse.

“It’s not just all going to be one thing,” Rene said of the song content. “It’s going to be a mixture of all kinds of different things… the highs and the lows.”

Rene has experienced both during his career, which started as a young teen. His path took a detour when he became a trash collector in his hometown of Santa Cruz, California. Then, he battled a drug addiction that landed him in rehab. But just 10 weeks after exiting the program, Rene found himself auditioning for a show that would yield his big break.

“It’s been a trip,” Rene said succinctly. “Going on to ‘The X-Factor,’ coming off, signing with Epic… it’s crazy, it’s a whole another life.”

The singer isn’t trying to exit stage right from the lifestyle anytime soon either – his track “Young Homie” is gaining traction and available on iTunes now, and his almost-finished album should drop before the end of the year.

By the way, Rene plans on keeping his personal lifestyle intact as well. His one-year sobriety anniversary is April 20.

In this week’s edition of “Trend Hungry Tuesday” – Resident Fashionista Jessie Holeva went eco-friendly and wallet friendly with a new trend in fashion, upcycling.

Visit Trend Hungry to find the latest fashion 411 on a skinny budget, and catch Jessie every Tuesday evening on “The Ralphie Radio Show.”

Hot Chelle Rae seems pleasantly surprised at how well the band’s career continues to progress.

“It’s everything that we thought it would be, but it’s also surprising at the same time,” lead singer Ryan Follese told me backstage over the weekend. Hot Chelle Rae was on one of its many sold out stops for the “Beautiful Freaks” tour. “To be able to have this job and have it take us to the places we’re going, it’s incredible.”

Case in point: the band recently wrapped a tour through Australia and New Zealand supporting fellow Nashville musician Taylor Swift. Follese said the band and Swift simply had one of “those moments.”

“We were on this boat with Taylor, and we were all just sitting there, trolling about in Sydney Harbor,” the front man recalled. “I was actually standing next to Taylor, and I was like, ‘This job is amazing.’”

Swift concurred.

“As big as she is, she knows too,” Follese said. “The fans are unreal. This whole thing is just incredible.”

Guitarist Nash Overstreet used similar adjectives to describe the tour itself.

“They’re very, very polite and welcoming,” Overstreet noted of the band’s New Zealand fans. “They’re stoked that you’re in their country, they’re stoked that you’re playing.”

But the fans overseas didn’t just make HCR feel welcome by acting as tour guides during the day, or using “please” and “thank you” when asking for photos.

“They knew every word to every song, not just the singles,” Overstreet said. “It gives us a validation of songs we wrote that haven’t been on the radio yet, and to see them fall in love with those is really cool.”

Hot Chelle Rae has charted two tracks from Whatever on pop radio, and a third could be on the way with “Honestly,” a break-up anthem with a music video that features “Pretty Little Liars” star Ashley Benson.

“I think somebody from a show like that is always a really cool edge to add to the video,” Follese said of Benson’s role as his eventual ex-girlfriend. “We reached out to her and she was down to do it.”

Of course, it wasn’t that simple. The actress was getting ready to shoot a movie, and HCR was on tour. All parties involved found one 24 hour window to film. The final piece took 17 hours. Benson left after for her movie; Hot Chelle Rae flew to Australia the next day.

In the end, the guys found a way to make it work. You can’t be surprised at that.

Life & Style Weekly independently confirmed that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are engaged! Events Editor Juliet Izon dished the details.

Looks as if Britney Spears may have “The X-Factor” after all. Entertainment Reporter Jill Wilderman talked about the alleged $15 million deal to bring the pop star aboard Simon Cowell’s show.

Wilderman also chatted about a recent singer that Elton John discovered while vacationing in Hawaii – and she’s only 12 years old!

Check out Jill’s blog here and follow her on Twitter here.