Many of you have emailed recently about Us Weekly and Janice Min’s fascination with the girls of The Hills – cover after cover, week after week… what’s the story?

Obviously the premiere was last night, and judging by the buzz online and among my own friends leading up to it – The Hills are alive. Even more telling, The Hills is hot - not just among 15 year olds, but among women and gays, mid to late 20s, even early 30s, with or without children, informed, erudite, professional… in other words – a coveted demographic.

Janice Min knows her demographic. Even Mimi is courting that demographic.

So even though the girls are not real celebrities – not on your life – even though the Speidi Rossum is almost as insufferable as the Original Rossum, even though you watch The Hills but you don’t talk about The Hills, the Hills sells at the newsstands. Smut is always about what sells.

Here are the girls at last night’s premiere party in New York.

A few quick comments below:

- Echoing the sentiments of… everyone: how do you work for Teen Vogue and not know how to properly pronounce Givenchy???

- Heidi"s lips in Colorado…hell, Heidi’s entire FACE in Colorado! At dinner with her parents, her lips were practically BLUE!

- I love that Heidi always looks airbrushed…and Lauren doesn’t. Hee.

- Jealous smarmy French dude with his open shirt and chest tufts– they said he plays in a band. Was it Flock of Seagulls? Seriously…what was up with all that hair???

- Must have Whitney’s white boots.

- As pathetically franchophile as I am… I cannot get down with straight dudes in leggings. That’s all.

source TFS