'Client 9' callgirl now an online music star

MySpace.com

"KRISTEN": Ashley Dupre, reportedly the prostitute who led to the downfall of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.

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With Penthouse and Hustler already knocking on her door, the woman linked to the downfall of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has become, through the power of the Web, an overnight music sensation.

Ashley Alexandra Dupre aka Kristen, a budding R&B singer, placed her first song up for sale on the independent music download store Amie Street, which prices songs based on supply and demand.

Before the scandal erupted and Dupre's identity was revealed, the song What We Want was free.

Now it is on sale for the site's maximum price, 98 US cents, and has been played by the most popular radio station in New York.

Dupre, 22, whose MySpace page received two million page views in under 24 hours and is now pushing six million views, has since uploaded a new song, Move ya Body, which is also selling for 98 US cents.

It is not clear how many songs she has sold but Amie Street's figures show Dupre's tracks have had 209 548 "listens". The site's most popular act, Barenaked Ladies, had 494 378 listens.

Hustler and Penthouse said they were keen to contact Dupre, a high-priced callgirl, with offers to appear in their magazines.

Dupre, whose arrangements for a rendezvous with Spitzer at a Washington, DC hotel were secretly monitored by the FBI, appears to be taking the advice of one of her MySpace friends: "I guess one good thing came out of this. You became an overnight star. Now run with it."

The Spitzer scandal has also sparked a modern-day gold rush as internet domain name traders race to register hundreds of web addresses related to Spitzer and "Kristen".

They include client9spitzer.com, governorspitzerporno.com, spitzerringtones.com, spitzerswallows.com and kristenspitzer.com. A full list is available here.

Others are attempting to profit by selling T-shirts on sites such as cafepress.com and zazzle.com. One simply has "Client 9"with a large lipstick smooch over the top, while another has "Just Call Me CLIENT 9".

Facebook groups have already sprung up in support of Dupre under names such as "Ashley Alexandra Dupre is the next American Idol", "I want Ashley Alexandra Dupre in the oval office!" and "Leave Ashley Alexandra Dupre Alone".

Google Trends show "ashley alexandra dupre" was the most searched for query on Google on March 12, the day the story broke. On March 13 it was the 10th most popular query.

On the Yahoo search engine, Dupre's name is the second most popular term, while "Spitzer" ranks fourth.

The New York Times, which broke the news of Spitzer's involvement in a prostitution scandal, said it saw a 60 per cent increase in web traffic after the story was published.

Most of Dupre's biographical information on her MySpace page has now been removed. She said she left a broken home in New Jersey to pursue a music career on her own in New York.

"I have abused drugs. I have been broke and homeless. But, I survived, on my own. I am here, in NY because of my music," she wrote.

- © Fairfax NZ News