Music Friday: The Band Perry Uses Jewelry Metaphors to Compare a New Boyfriend to the One That Got Away in ‘Postcard From Paris’

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today we feature The Band Perry performing its 2012 country hit, “Postcard From Paris.”

In the song, lead singer Kimberly Perry uses jewelry metaphors to compare her new boyfriend to the one that got away. The catchy refrain goes like this: “Like a postcard from Paris / When I’ve seen the real thing / It’s like finding out your diamond / Is from her old promise ring.”

“Postcard From Paris” ascended to #6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and got as high as #60 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was the fifth single from the band's blockbuster self-titled debut album, which has sold more than 1.5 million copies to date.

Since releasing its debut album in 2010, the sibling trio has become one of country music’s hottest acts. Fronted by Kimberly Perry and rounded out by her younger brothers Neil and Reid, the band notched a string of hit singles, including the quadruple-platinum "If I Die Young,” the platinum "You Lie," and the gold-certified country #1 "All Your Life."

They've enjoyed sold-out headlining dates and a showering of music-industry honors, including multiple Academy of Country Music, Country Music Association and Country Music Television awards, as well as Teen Choice, American Music Awards, American Country Awards and Billboard Music Awards nominations.

We hope you enjoy the video of The Band Perry’s live performance of “Postcard From Paris.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along.

“Postcard From Paris”
Written by Jeffrey Cohen, Kara Dioguardi, Kimberly Perry, Neil Perry and Reid Perry. Performed by The Band Perry.

I remember when my heart caught the fever
You were standing all alone in the summer heat
I was with my boyfriend, my new boyfriend
He was as sweet as he could be

One look at you and I was through
My heart switched up on me

Like a postcard from Paris
When I've seen the real thing
It's like finding out your diamond is
From her old promise ring

A call back from your fortune teller
She read your cards upside down
The meanest thing you ever did is
Come around

And now I'm ruined, yeah
I'm ruined

In the evening you can catch me daydreaming
Did that moment send you reeling just like me
I should have gone over, right over
I should have never let you leave

But it's the never knowing that keeps
This going and drives me crazy

Like a postcard from Paris
When I've seen the real thing
It's like finding out your diamond is
From her old promise ring

A call back from your fortune teller
She read your cards upside down
The meanest thing you ever did is
Come around

Just when I thought things were alright
My eyes played tricks on my mind
Will I ever be satisfied
'Cause all I ever seem to find, is a

Postcard from Paris
When I need the real thing
It's like finding out your diamond is
From an old promise ring

A call back from your fortune teller
She read your cards upside down
The meanest thing you ever did
The cruelest thing you ever did
The meanest thing you ever did
Is come around

I am ruined, yeah
I'm ruined
Now I am ruined, yeah
I'm ruined

59.6-Carat ‘Pink Star’ Expected to Set Record as the Most Valuable Diamond Ever Auctioned; Flawless Gem Could Fetch $60 Million

The “Pink Star,” a 59.6-carat internally flawless fancy vivid pink diamond, is expected to crush the all-time record for the most valuable diamond ever auctioned when it goes under the gavel at Sotheby’s Geneva on November 13. The incredible gem should fetch at least $60 million.

Offered by an unidentified seller, the Pink Star was originally cut from a 132.5-carat rough diamond mined by DeBeers in Africa in 1999. Steinmetz Diamonds formed the diamond into its current oval shape during a cutting and polishing process that took two years to complete. More than 55 percent of the stone’s mass was sacrificed in an effort to attain the most perfect cut, clarity and color.

The Pink Star subsequently earned GIA’s highest color and clarity grades for a pink diamond. It has a coveted Type IIA designation, which signifies a high level of chemical purity and optical transparency.

David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby's jewelry division in Europe and the Middle East, said the Pink Star is "of immense importance" because of its extraordinary size and exceptionally rich color that surpass all others known to exist in government, royal or private collections.

“It is simply off any scale, and passes, I believe, into the ranks of the earth's greatest natural treasures," he said.

How far off the scale is the Pink Star? Consider the fact that it is more than twice the size of the “Graff Pink,” a 24.78-carat fancy intense pink diamond, which set the current record when it sold for $45.75 million at Sotheby’s in Geneva in 2010.

The Pink Star was originally dubbed “The Steinmetz Pink,” but was renamed after it was sold privately in 2007 for an undisclosed amount.

The celebrated diamond will be taking a world tour to promote the Sotheby’s November auction. The Pink Star will be appearing in Hong Kong, New York, London and Zurich before settling in Geneva for the momentous sale.

Sofia Vergara Rocks the Emmy Awards in Emeralds, Rubies, Sapphires and Diamonds Worth $7 Million

Decked out in a red Vera Wang mermaid gown and illuminated by emeralds, rubies, sapphires and diamonds worth $7 million, the stunning Sofia Vergara generated the loudest buzz at Sunday night’s 2013 Emmy Awards in Los Angeles.

The Modern Family actress collaborated with celebrity jewelry designer Lorraine Schwartz to create a Hollywood glam look that the paparazzi and TV cameras could not resist.

Dangling from her earlobes was an irresistible pair of platinum earrings designed in three progressively larger — and varying shape — segments, each trimmed in pavé diamonds. The smallest segment of each earring featured a round ruby, the next an oval sapphire, and the third, a pear-shaped Colombian emerald (a nod to Vergara’s native country). The total weight of the gemstones was 100 carats.

On her right hand was 40-carat Colombian emerald and rose-cut diamond ring, and on her left hand was a 21-carat Asscher-cut diamond ring.

Some celebrity sites assumed the diamond ring on her left hand was the engagement ring her fiancé, Nick Loeb, gave her last summer. But that assumption was wrong. Her engagement ring is reported to be a 7-carat cushion cut with accent diamonds flanking each side.

Although she didn’t win an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, life is still very good for the 41-year-old bride-to-be. Besides starring on a hit TV show, Vergara was recently named the highest-paid actress by Forbes magazine for the second year in a row.

Kelly Clarkson Forced to Settle for a Replica Jane Austen Ring As U.K. Authorities Stymie Her Bid to Keep Their ‘National Treasure’

It’s official. American pop star Kelly Clarkson has been stymied in her bid to claim the 200-year-old turquoise ring once owned by famed British novelist Jane Austen.

Clarkson — an avid Austen fan — had won the ring last summer at a Sotheby’s auction in London, having outbid a cadre of competitors, including the Jane Austen’s House Museum. Clarkson’s winning bid was $235,000 — more than five times the auction house’s high estimate.

But instead of allowing Clarkson to take the ring back to the U.S., British authorities unexpectedly declared the ring a “national treasure” and temporarily blocked its export. If a British patron could match Clarkson’s winning bid before September 30, the singer would have to forfeit the ring so it could stay in the U.K.

Seizing the opportunity to get back into the game, Jane Austen’s House Museum launched an aggressive fundraising appeal through its website and Facebook page. Donations from around the world flooded into the “Bring the Ring Home” campaign, and within a month the museum had an infusion of $253,000 — more than enough to match Clarkson’s bid.

Mary Guyatt, curator of the museum, said she had been "stunned by the generosity" of those who had supported the appeal.

U.K. Culture Minister Ed Vaizey added: "It's clear from the number of people who gave generously to the campaign just how admired Jane Austen remains to this day."

Despite the drama surrounding the Austen ring, Clarkson has maintained a positive attitude. She graciously commented that “the ring is a beautiful national treasure and I am happy to know that so many Jane Austen fans will get to see it at Jane Austen's House Museum."

In the meantime, Clarkson is enjoying her exact replica of the Austen ring — a bauble purchased by Clarkson’s fiancé Brandon Blackstock. She’s worn it to many high-profile events, including the most recent U.S. Presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C., where she performed for dignitaries and a national television audience.

Austen, the author of Pride and Prejudice and five other iconic novels of the early 19th century, died in 1817 at age 41 and left the turquoise ring to her sister; it remained in the family until it was sold at the Sotheby’s auction last year.

Idaho Man Raises the Bar on Super-Cool Marriage Proposals, Asks for Girlfriend’s Hand While Riding a Tandem Wakeboard

Tallying more than a million views in four days, Matthew Gencarella’s amazing tandem wakeboard marriage proposal video is one of the coolest of all time.

While zipping across a lake on a tandem wakeboard, the former gymnast demonstrated tremendous agility — and romantic creativity — by lowering himself to one knee and proposing to his girlfriend, Brynn Hathaway.

In the video one can see the surprised Hathaway nodding her head and saying, “Yes.” At the moment she accepted his proposal, the couple simultaneously released the tow bar and joyously launched themselves backwards into Lake Hayden. A videographer in the side boat captured the precious moment.

“As a man you have one opportunity to do the biggest surprise of your life, your proposal,” Gencarella wrote. “This was my way of creating that once-in-a-lifetime, never-been-done, proposal and having some fun in the process… Brynn Hathaway, I love you!!!”

Gencarella noted that Lake Hayden, near their hometown of Couer d’Alene, Idaho, occupies a special place in couple’s hearts.

“The lake and family and friends are centerpieces of our lives, so with our best friends on the boat, and our parents in a side boat, I pulled it off,” he wrote. “She said, ‘Yes,’ and I didn’t lose the ring! Thank you for sharing this amazing moment!”

If you’re wondering what happened to the ring, it turns out that Gencarella was clever enough to save that part of the proposal for the surer footing of the boat deck.

As Gencarella placed the diamond engagement ring on his fiancée’s finger, the look on Hathaway’s face is heartwarming and priceless. The must-see video is titled “The Proposal.” Click below to share the experience.