3 Doors Down frontman Brad Arnold, 29, is rekindling an old flame after his six-year marriage to wife Terika ended in 2007. His girlfriend, Jennifer Sanderford, 25, is a childhood pal who moved away.

“My best friend is her first cousin, and me and him got divorced about the same time,” Brad tells me. “Jen was actually bringing one of her friends down the coast to go out with my best friend. But he didn’t want to go by himself. He was like ‘will you go on a double date with me tonight?’ and I was like ‘with who?’ He was like ‘You remember Jen, right?’ and I was like ‘well hell yeah!’ We went out and we just hit it off. I love her with all my heart. She’s a sweet girl. She’s my angel.”

Jennifer recently joined her man on the road.

“When we were leaving the house to go down to start our tour in Panama City, I knew it was going to be hard on her to come home by herself,” he tells me. “I left her a little notepad on the bed that said ‘I love you every day.’ I knew she’d see it when she got home and I knew she’d smile. She said she enjoyed it.”

Why are they good together?

“She inspires me. She makes me want to be a better person. I love everything about her. I love to wake up in the morning and see her still asleep beside me. I love to lay down by her at night. She makes me feel good all the time. She never, never judges me and only encourages me. She’s quick to point out the good and not quick to point out the bad. There’s a lot of things I love about her.”

The couple resides in Nashville.

 

3 Doors Down's self-titled disc is in stores Tuesday.

Deborah Gibson’s three-week run at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., has been on my calendar for months, so I am overjoyed when my night finally arrives. (As a kid, I was a member of DGIF -- the Debbie Gibson International Fan Club. She was a huge inspiration!)

Prince Charming and I trek down to the casino, and greet Deborah backstage before her Pop Goes Broadway performance. She insists I come back again after the show!

During the high-energy spectacle of show tunes and pop hits, Deborah delights with audience participation and lively conversation. We are sitting a few rows from the stage, so it’s a close call every time they look for volunteers. (Ah!) I’m in good company. The guy beside me is holding an “Electric Youth” sign and the girl next to us went to Calhoun High School with Deborah.

“This is my dream come true in terms of combining all my pop hits with all of my highlights of my Broadway career,” Deborah, 37, tells me. “In the audience, there’s really everyone from 8-80. They’re children of the '80s and people in their eighties. For the older people who probably don’t know my pop career, they get all the familiar Broadway songs. And the people who come here get the Broadway songs plus the more current burlesquey hot numbers from Cabaret and Chicago.”

What’s her favorite thing to do in Atlantic City?

“Just being near the water and walking near the water has been my favorite thing,” she tells me. “My room is literally on top of the water. I feel like I’m on a cruise ship when I look out the window.”

Her dancer from 20 years ago, Buddy Casimano, joins her in this elaborate stage production. What happened to the famous black hats? She has hundreds -- thousands -- in storage.

“Ryan Seacrest’s sister caught my hat,” Deborah tells me. “I met her once with him, and she was like ‘Oh my God, I caught your hat at your concert in a 20,000 seat arena.’ Isn’t that funny? There are probably 100 people floating around with one of my black hats.”

Most prized these days is the cap given to her by her 90-year-old uncle Joe.

“He recently gave me his real, old-school cab driver newsboy cap,” she says. “He’s worn it every day of his life. All of my other old relatives are like ‘Joe, are you sure you want to part with this?’ He’s like ‘yeah, I want Deborah to have it.’ That’s probably now my most special hat. They live pretty close to Atlantic City. Grandpa was one of 13, and all the generations are getting on a bus and coming to the show soon. [laughs] They come to see everything I do. They come to New York to see me on Broadway. It’s amazing.”

After the show, we wait at the door and fans ask if I’m Deborah’s sister. (Wow! What a compliment.) We nosh on cheese-and-crackers and sip Pinot Grigio with her momager Diane and business partner Jimmy Van Patten (son of Dick – they’re working on a musical together!) as Deborah greets well-wishers. She returns for conversation and good times before our night ends with hugs. I feel like the luckiest person in the world.

Catch Deborah performing Pop Goes Broadway at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City through May 24.

While Miley Cyrus gets her beauty rest to gear up for the Disney Games concert, her fellow Disney Channel stars wake up bright and early for Disney Games.

Later, she’ll rock the house in her first appearance since the Vanity Fair scandal. Miley opens the rain-soaked show ahead of Jordan Pruitt, Demi Lovato, Cheetah Girls and Jonas Brothers.

“I see a sign in the crowd that says ‘Miley I'm praying for you’ -- thank you,” she tells the crowd at Disney's Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. “I couldn't be more appreciative of that.”

Until then, her channelmates bide their time participating in Olympic-style challenges during Disney Games. The Florida sun is hot, but the stars keep cool in a shaded tent. And get this! Disney Channel has flown in their stars from 15 countries. Hello, Berlitz!

One person who misses Miley is her Hannah Montana co-star Moises Arias. What advice has she given him?

“It’s very important to learn how you hang around with the fans, and how you deal with the fans. She told me ‘don’t get too rushed. Listen to everybody. Be patient. Be really cool with everybody. Make them feel special.’ We’re like brother and sister.”

In fact, Moises can’t wait to join Miley for a spin on Disney Hollywood Studios ride Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster and Animal Kingdom's Everest. Woo-hoo!

Mob scene! The Jonas Brothers take a break from the Games to do interviews. What’s the hardest part about being famous?

“Staying true to who you are as a person,” Joe Jonas says.

Next up is Chelsea Staub, who will appear with the Jonas Brothers on their upcoming Disney Channel show J.O.N.A.S.

“Everything they do is a blast,” she tells me. “I had a scene with Joe one time, and we’re supposed to have a little action in the background before the camera comes into our scene. Joe passes me a note halfway through it, and we’re in a school hallway, where there’s lockers everywhere. I open it up, and it says ‘see you in math.’ Then he walks off. He’s funny.”

Nick Jonas is drinking a Coke while Selena Gomez signs autographs in the blazing Florida sun.

Jennifer Stone appears with Selena on the Wizards of Waverly Place. What’s Selena really like? “She and I will talk about boys. She’s just as insecure about guys as we all are – but she seems so comfortable with guys. And she eats everything. She’s a human vacuum. She will eat any kind of food. I’ve seen her drink pickle juice before. It’s gross but she likes it. She’s a huge pickle fan.”

Camp Rock’s Alyson Stoner looks up to Hilary Duff as her Disney role model. “She designed the formula for Disney kids,” Alyson tells me. “She was the first one to break away from Disney and tap into other things. She did her music, her clothing, her perfume, she’s a beautiful person and still so down-to-earth. I look up to her.”

What’s the best thing about being a Disney star for Camp Rock’s Meaghan Jette Martin? “Everything!” she tells me. “We went to Magic Kingdom last night, and I was walking around the park, don’t have to wait in line, just walk on the ride. Then the fireworks show started at Epcot, and we drive over the Epcot. We’re standing in the VIP section watching it, and I’m like ‘I love my life.’ Disney is like one big family. All the other Disney Channel stars are so nice. We joke that we attend Disney High School ‘cause that’s kind of what we do.”

 

During my downtime, I catch up with friends at the Magic Kingdom and Disney Hollywood Studios. Love the park-hopper pass! I was in the Walt Disney World College Program. It’s great to get back to Hollywood Boulevard at the Disney Studios. Seems like I was sweeping streets just yesterday – even if it was years ago. :)

The Disney Channel’s brightest stars descend upon Epcot in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., for a party to celebrate the Disney Games. While Miley Cyrus is tending to the fallout from her Vanity Fair scandal, the other kids are focused on being good role models.

“We’re in the limelight all the time, so we try and do our best,” Kevin Jonas tells me.

What’s the best part of being a Disney star for the Sprouse twins?

“Disney World – definitely!” Dylan tells me. “Disneyland, Disney World, incredible rides, it’s awesome.”

“The only problem is it makes you never want to wait in line for a Disney ride again,” Cole laments. “Once you get that deluxe treatment, it’s hard.”

Hannah Montana’s Moises Arias tells me he loves to slumber party at Miley’s. They always order pizza and play tag. There’s a pillow fight in the offing when the first person falls asleep! Co-star Mitchel Musso saw Miley the night before, and they watched Maid In Manhattan.

Wizards of Waverly Place beauty Selena Gomez, 15, tells me she’s allowed to date but doesn’t have a boyfriend. Her dream man? “Shia LeBeouf . Not only is he a phenomenal actor, but he’s got the nerdy-cool guy going on. I like that about him very much.”

Anna Maria De Tagle appears with the Jonas Brothers in Disney’s forthcoming megahit Camp Rock. (This will be the next High School Musical – I saw the screening at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.) “They won’t be scared to tell you if you’ve got a bat in the cave,” she says.

Camp Rock’s Meaghan Jette Martin looks forward to being an inspiration to kids everywhere. What’s her message? “Don’t let anyone get you down because people will tell you that you can’t do it, and know all your life that you can – you absolutely can.”

“I love OK! Magazine,” Camp Rock’s breakout star Demi Lovato says.

Cheetah Girl Adrienne Bailon quashes engagement talk, even though she’s wearing a diamond-encrusted gold band on her ring finger.

Time to step inside where there’s a buffet of free-range chicken, Mickey-roni, rolls, potato wedges and Mickey Mouse-shaped Rice Krispy treats with chocolate on the ears.

The Jonas Brothers’ dad is in front of me while waiting for a drink at the bar, and their little bro, dubbed Bonus Jonas, is doing the Running Man near the dance floor.

 

The D.J. calls all the Disney Channel stars out to the dance floor for Fergie’s G.L.A.M.O.R.O.U.S., and the kids get down to Usher’s Yeah! and Beyonce’s Crazy In Love. This must have been pre-planned – they’re all line-dancing to the Cuban Shuffle.

Oops! Around midnight, I miss the media shuttle and wind up with a surprise visit to Epcot. It takes a Disney tour bus to get back to my Saratoga Springs hotel. ☺