[OPE] The heights of American culture: Dupre becomes a star

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NEW YORK (AP) -- The prostitute identified in court papers as Kristen is an aspiring musician named Ashley Alexandra Dupre. Her identity was only first reported Wednesday, but already her fame is skyrocketing. Curious about the woman so integral in the New York governor's downfall, many have flocked to MySpace to view her photos, music and biographical information. That material was removed Thursday after over more than 5 million visited her page. (...) Dupre had also posted two songs at the music sharing site Aime Street, which allows musicians to earn a 70 percent cut of download fees, which are determined by their popularity. The songs, "What We Want" and "Move ya Body" are dance-pop tunes a la Britney Spears. On "What We Want," she sings: "I know what you need/Can you handle me?"  As of Thursday evening, the songs had been listened to by some 200,000. Downloads were selling for 98 cents each, though "What We Want" had previously been selling for less than 20 cents. That song was also making it onto the nation's radio airwaves. "After the first play, a lot of the reaction was negative," said Sharon Dastur, program director of New York's Z100 (WHTZ-FM). "But after the second play, it became, 'Play that song again,' and 'Hey, that song's not bad." (...) There is one surefire avenue for Dupre to cash in, should she choose to: adult men's magazines. Penthouse and Hustler are already knocking on her door. "We would love to have her in the magazine," said Diane Silberstein, president and publisher of Penthouse Magazine Group. "We would even consider offering her a cover. We think we could also be very helpful to her in her music career." Hustler Publisher Larry Flynt sounded doubtful about his chances, though, suggesting that by the time Dupre starts talking, she may be too big a media phenomenon for a simple magazine spread. "She is no doubt going to do a book. There will probably be a movie," he said. "I think she is going to have so many offers coming in that it will probably be wishful thinking just to get in the door." http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/14/kristen.music.ap/index.html

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