Music Friday: Nickelodeon Star Victoria Justice Releases Her Debut Single, 'Gold'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you exciting songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today we feature “Gold,” the debut single from Nickelodeon star Victoria Justice. The song was released on iTunes this past Tuesday.

Called the “perfect summer tune” by MTV Buzzworthy’s Byron Flitsch, “Gold” combines flirtatious, confident lyrics with an upbeat, carefree vibe. Justice told JustJaredJr.com that the song is about a girl trying to tell a guy that she’d like to be more than just friends. “I think it’s an empowering position for a girl to be taking because she’s putting it all out there,” she said.

In the sassy refrain, Justice challenges her guy: “Hey, boy, watcha gonna do. If you want me like I want you. Then man up and make your move. I'm Gold, Gold."

The 20-year-old Justice starred on the hit Nickelodeon series Victorious for three years. With this new single, she follows the lead of fellow Nickelodeon alumnae Ariana Grande and Miranda Cosgrove, who have launched successful musical careers after establishing huge fan bases on teen sitcoms.

Enjoy the video at the end of this post. The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along.

“Gold”
Written by Tove Nilsson, Peter Thomas, Jason Weiss, Sam Shrieve, Ben Camp, Jakob Jerlström & Ludvig Söderberg. Performed by Victoria Justice.

I’ve tried to let it go
But these butterflies I can’t ignore
'Cause every time that I look at you
Know we’re in a catch-22
We’ve been friends for so long but I
Need to tell you what’s on my mind
I’m sick and tired of playing games
'Cause I know that you feel the same

I know you inside out, so I’m asking now
Take a chance on me
How much clearer can I be?

Hey, boy, watcha gonna do
If you want me like I want you, then man up and make your move
I’m Gold, Gold
You, me, good as can be, want to be more than your company
So bet your money on me
I’m Gold, Gold

Do I really need to spell it out?
My heart skips when you're around
I got everything that you need
So come on baby get close to me
So confused that I'm not surprised
From greater bells, and rolled the dice
Know all your moves, don't know why I fall
Should put me out, but I want it all

I know you inside out, so I’m asking now
Take a chance on me
How much clearer can I be?

Hey, boy, watcha gonna do
If you want me like I want you, then man up and make your move
I’m Gold, Gold
You, me, good as can be, want to be more than your company
So bet your money on me
I’m Gold, Gold

Na ra ta la la
I’m Gold, Gold
Na ra ta la la
I’m Gold, Gold

Been to cool just to tell you straight out, but by now I wish you figured it out, I wish you figured it, I wish you figured it, I wish ya
You’re not a fool you see what I’m about, so by now I think you figured it out, I think you figured it out, I think you figured it out, I think ya!

Hey, boy, watcha gonna do
If you want me like I want you, then man up and make your move
I’m Gold, Gold
You, me, good as can be, want to be more than your company
So bet your money on me
I’m Gold, Gold

Na ra ta la la
I’m Gold, Gold
Na ra ta la la
I’m Gold, Gold

Every Overnight Guest Gets a 24K Gold iPad at the World's Most Opulent Hotel, the 7-Star Burj Al Arab

Repeatedly voted the world’s most luxurious hotel, the distinctive sail-shaped Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai raised the hospitality bar still again this month by offering every overnight guest a 24-karat gold-plated iPad that acts as a “virtual concierge.”

Designed exclusively for the Burj Al Arab by Gold & Co. London, the glimmering iPads are engraved with the hotel’s name, logo and slogan, “Stay Different.”

Guests of the 7-star hotel that sits on a man-made island almost 250 meters off the Jumeirah coast can use their gilded iPads to take a tour of the hotel, order room service, make a restaurant reservation or get details about spa treatments and butler services.

They can also sign into their iTunes account and download apps, games and music. A resort-wide wireless network is available for all users.

Hotel general manager Heinrich Morio commented: "Our exclusive Burj Al Arab 24-karat gold iPads epitomize Jumeirah’s philosophy of 'stay different' and further enhance our guests’ experiences during their stay."

Just how luxurious is the Burj Al Arab? Guests who stay in the hotel’s $18,000-a-night Royal Suite enjoy 8,395 square feet of sheer luxury, including marble floors, mahogany furniture, Hermes toiletries, a private cinema and a rotating four-poster bed. They can also request a chauffeur-driver Rolls Royce or helicopter (at extra cost).

Although the opulent iPads will be given out on loan to hotel guests, the devices are available at the hotel boutique for $10,500.

Rare Jadeite Bangles — Barely 2 Inches in Diameter — Sell at Hong Kong Auction for $5.86 Million

On Saturday night at the Tiancheng International Auctioneer sale in Hong Kong, the final lot of the night — Lot 223 — featured perfectly matched miniature jadeite bangles, barely two inches in diameter. Displaying a bright emerald green color and fine texture, the bangles were translucent and showed no veins, blemishes or streaks.

They were so perfect that, to the untrained eye, the rare jadeite could be mistaken for costume jewelry or a kid’s party favor. But the bidders this night knew they had a chance to own something very, very special.

When the gavel crashed down a few minutes later, the jadeite bangles had been sold to a phone bidder for an astonishing $5.86 million.

In explaining the high price, auction officials noted that the matching bangles were not only of superior quality, but they were carved from an unusually large, extraordinarily rare, single piece of unblemished rough material.

In Eastern cultures, top-quality jadeite (the rarest form of jade) is coveted in the same way Western cultures prize gold and diamonds. As the best jadeite mines of Burma (also known as Myanmar) have become depleted, top-grade jadeite has become increasingly rare in the marketplace. The result is skyrocketing prices for the finest specimens.

According to the International Color Stone Association, the value of jadeite is determined according to its color, the intensity of that color, its vivacity and texture, and its clarity and transparency. In the finest jadeite, the color is evenly distributed, as seen in the auctioned bracelets.

When we think “jade,” we usually visualize varying nuances of green, but the gem also comes in shades of white, grey, black, yellow, orange and violet.

As early as 3000 B.C., the Chinese had a special name for jade. They called it “yu,” the “royal gem,” in an uncanny foreshadowing of an auction result 5,000 years later that would yield a king’s ransom.

Letšeng Mine in Lesotho Consistently Produces the World’s Largest Gem-Quality Diamonds; 164-Carat Rough Sells for $9 Million

Completely surrounded by South Africa, its only neighboring country, the diminutive Kingdom of Lesotho is a world-class powerhouse when it comes to producing large, top-quality diamonds.

Five of the 20 largest gem-quality white diamonds ever recorded were unearthed at Lesotho’s Letšeng mine — a mine that consistently yields the highest per-carat value of any kimberlite diamond mine in the world.

Recently, British mining company Gem Diamonds Ltd. revealed still another amazing find at Letšeng — a gem-quality rough diamond weighing in at 164 carats. Despite it being much smaller than its gigantic cousins — the 603-carat Lesotho Promise and the 550-carat Letšeng Star — the newest find was quickly scooped up for $9 million.

Gem Diamonds Ltd. reported that the rough diamond was transported to Antwerp, where gem experts are determining its potential value as a faceted gemstone. In addition to computer analysis, they will be polishing a surface of the diamond to open a clear "window" into the center of the stone.

Depending on what they find, the D-color, Type IIa rough could be divided to yield a number of flawless polished diamonds, or if it is internally flawless, it will likely be kept as one single stone. A flawless diamond of this size has the potential to break previous price records if and when it sells at auction.

At 10,000 feet above sea level, Letšeng has the distinction of being the world’s highest diamond mine. Gem Diamonds Ltd. has a 70% stake in the mine and The Kingdom of Lesotho owns 30%.

Bumbling Husband Is Out of the Doghouse as $23K Ring Accidentally Sold in a Garage Sale for $5 Is Returned to Owner

A two-week nightmare is finally over for a well-intentioned, but bumbling, husband who accidentally sold his wife’s $23K diamond engagement ring for $5 at his neighborhood’s annual garage sale.

After seeing media reports about the lost ring, a super-honest couple came forward on Thursday to return the 3-carat sparkler that had been hidden beneath a pillow compartment of an old watch box.

How did the ring find its way into the old watch box? Here’s the story…

June 1 was a busy day for the Cloutier family. Mom Racquel had just given birth to her fifth child and dad Eric zipped home from the hospital to participate in the community garage sale with the rest of his family. Eric scoured his house to find the right item to contribute to the sale and came up with a rarely used watch box from his closet.

Eric planned to sell the seemingly empty box for $10, but settled for $5. It turns out that the woman who made the deal then gifted the box to her daughter and son-in-law, Andrew and Alyssa Lossau.

When Racquel returned from the maternity ward she discovered that the watch box and her ring were gone. Racquel had taken off the ring and hidden it in the box days before she entered the hospital because her fingers had swollen due her pregnancy.

"It wasn't until that Tuesday [June 4] that I thought to put my ring back on,” Racquel told The Daily News. “I didn't see the box." Then Eric told her that he sold the box at the garage sale. She began crying, "You just sold my wedding ring!"

The couple turned to the media for help. Their compelling story went viral and was soon picked up by high-profile outlets, such as The Daily News and Good Morning America.

The Lossaus from nearby Mission Viejo, Calif., saw the report and contacted the Cloutiers. On Thursday, the couples met in the heartwarming return of Racquel’s engagement ring.

"I couldn't believe that my ring had come back to me. They really found it!" Cloutier told The Daily News.

The Cloutiers said they would make a donation to the Lossaus’ favorite charity to acknowledge their honesty and kindness.

“You just can’t ask for a better ending to a story,” Racquel told Good Morning America. “I don’t think I’ll be taking [the ring] off anytime soon.”