Share the stage with Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi is in the midst of "The Circle" Tour, and the band is looking for Charlotte fans to share in the limelight during its April 22 concert.

Fans can upload a video of themselves singing “Livin’ On A Prayer,” and several performances will be selected to appear on Time Warner Cable Arena’s giant video screens while the band plays its 1986 hit.

In addition to seeing themselves on the big screen, the winners will receive a prize package featuring a VIP messenger bag with limited edition tour souvenirs and other commemorative items. To learn more, click here.

To be eligible for the prize, videos must be uploaded by Saturday, April 17.

It's Bobcats Fan Appreciation Night

When the Charlotte Bobcats close out the regular season tonight against the Chicago Bulls, the first 10,000 fans through the gates will receive a free "FAN" T-shirt courtesy of Sprite.

Tickets are still available for the final game, including $6 seats in the upper level, $23 seats in the lower level, and $82 club seats. Click here to purchase, or for more information.

How excited are you about "Glee"?

You've memorized all of Sue Sylvester's best lines. You've practiced singing "Take a Bow" into your hairbrush while staring into the mirror. You're so excited for April 13 that you can hardly get through a day without re-watching this.

Sound like someone you know? Good! Because in honor of the insanely popular Fox TV series, "Glee" -- which returns for nine new episodes next month -- I'm trying to track down some of the show's biggest Charlotte-area fans so I can get their answer to one simple question: Why do you love this show so much??

If you're a "Gleek" (or know someone who is), please e-mail me at tjanes@charlotteobserver.com ASAP ... and you might wind up being a part of a "Glee"-focused story that will appear in an upcoming edition of The Charlotte Observer!

Intimidated? You should be.

Thrill-seekers who got a sneak peek Friday at the Carowinds’ brand-new Dale Earnhardt-themed “Intimidator” ride weren’t just on a literal roller coaster, but an emotional one as well.

Among the feelings elicited by what’s billed as the tallest, fastest and longest coaster in the Southeast:

Regret. “About halfway up, I thought we’d made a mistake,” said Rock Hill resident Mike Daly, 62. The ride starts with a long, slow climb to a huge initial drop, which measures 211 feet and dives at a 74-degree angle.

Disgust. “I had to close my mouth because I wasn’t feeling too good,” said Colton Clyburn, 11, also of Rock Hill. (He ended up reboarding at least two more times after that.)

Fear. Said Kelsey Peigler, a 17-year-old Olympic High School student: “I thought I was gonna fall out of my seat!”

The $23 million steel coaster – which boasts almost a mile of track and surges to speeds up to 80 mph – is being unveiled today, when Carowinds opens for the season.

Oh, and just remember: Once the safety restraint locks into place and the train begins to glide forward, you’re not getting off the ride for another 3 minutes and 33 seconds. No matter how much or how loud you scream.

Carowinds theme park is open from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. today and from 10 to 6 Sunday. Tickets are $22-$55. Details: 704-588-2600; www.carowinds.com.

He's got plenty of 'Jersey' pride now

Rick Elice was born in Manhattan, and as a kid growing up in New York, he didn’t care much for New Jersey.

He only had to put up with the Garden State when his parents would make the 45-mile drive down to see his aunt and uncle’s family in Middletown. But he hated it.

“New Jersey was always associated, for me, with very, very bad smells, very, very claustrophobic car rides, and varying degrees of nausea because of the smells and the car rides,” Elice says.

Then he co-wrote “Jersey Boys” with Marshall Brickman. And now?

“Oh,” he says, “it’s my favorite place in the whole world!”

The hugely successful and popular Broadway musical – which begins an all-but-sold-out three-week run at Belk Theater in Charlotte on Wednesday – centers on the rise and fall of The Four Seasons. The pop-rock group was founded by Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio in Newark, N.J.

Elice and Brickman wrote the book for the show and received a Tony Award nomination in 2006 for their efforts, but Elice says it’s the music that ultimately makes the play work.

“The connection that I see in the theater between people and the songs is really palpable, and very, very moving, and blasts the show into that rarefied place of real smash hit. I’d like to take credit for it … but the fact is, when those songs start coming, the audience goes into almost like a feeding frenzy.

“I imagine that almost anybody could have written this show, and I’m just glad that we did.”

In Sunday’s Carolina Living section in the Charlotte Observer, hear more from Elice and get the dirt on N.J. from four real-life Jersey boys.

O.A.R. plans another visit to Charlotte

O.A.R. has announced it will return to the Uptown Amphitheatre at The N.C. Music Factory on Friday, Aug. 13. The rock band also played the outdoor stage there in October.

Fans will not only hear hits like "Shattered," "That Was a Crazy Game of Poker," and "This Town," but they will also be treated to brand-new music from O.A.R.'s forthcoming seventh studio album. Citizen Cope will open the show.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, April 16 at LiveNation.com, the amphitheater box office, Ticketmaster, or charge-by-phone (1-800-745-3000).

Best movie strip scenes ever

This is straight from a press release sent today by a publicist at 5wpr in New York:

While various "Best Movie Striptease Scenes" lists pop up around the web, they're typically ranked by the Web sites themselves. What's a better way of finding out if the actors were realistic in their portrayals than to ask strippers themselves?

In light of this, SCORES, the world famous gentlemen's club in New York City, has ranked the Top 10 Best Striptease Scenes in Movies, as chosen by its dancers. Below, please find the results of the poll taken by SCORES girls.

1. Demi Moore in "Striptease"
2. Jamie Lee Curtis in "True Lies"
3. The Men of "The Full Monty" in "The Full Monty"
4. Salma Hayek in "From Dusk Till Dawn"
5. Natalie Portman in "Closer"
6. Jessica Alba in "Sin City"
7. Daryl Hannah in "Dancing at the Blue Iguana"
8. Elizabeth Berkley in "Showgirls"
9. Kim Basinger in "9-1/2 Weeks"
10. Elisha Cuthbert in "The Girl Next Door"

(Blogger's note: Sorry, you'll have to find the clips on your own...)