Catching a wave of popularity

Perhaps the dress code should have called for board shorts and bikinis at the Teen Choice Awards on Aug. 26 at Universal City’s Gibson Amphitheatre, where winners took home surfboards, not statuettes. 1. Avril Lavigne was riding high after her win for her song “Girlfriend,” which she performed during the show. But teen queen 2. Miley Cyrus edged out the pop-punk princess in the summer artist category and also snagged best TV actress in a comedy honors. 3. Steve Carell picked up two trophies too, while fellow kid at heart 4. John Travolta raised the roof after accepting the summer movie prize on behalf of “Hairspray.”

Jenny Sundel

The San Diego shuffle

It looked more like Sin City than San Diego at the Ivy Hotel’s premiere weekend, where guests partied in poolside cabanas and played in a poker tournament. On Aug. 25, 5. Joss Stone belted out soulful songs from the rooftop, which overlooks city hot spots and landmarks, including the Gaslamp Quarter and the Coronado Bridge. The day before, host 6. Jessica Biel put on her game face alongside 7. Rick Fox, Nelly and poker pros, including winner Doyle Brunson. The moneymakers raised over a quarter-million dollars for Biel’s Make a Difference Network, which links nonprofit organizations with celebs and other supporters. Models strutted in 8. Tadashi Shoji’s dresses during a fashion show, but it was the staff that really turned heads in the designer’s duds: mini-lace dresses for the cocktail waitresses and snazzy suits for the butlers.

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Unmentionables, yet unavoidable

9. Aisha Tyler wore white to the premiere of “Balls of Fury” on Aug. 25 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, but she left the tightie-whitey wearing to her costars George Lopez, left, and Thomas Lennon, who also co-wrote and produced the goofball flick about pingpong. With Lopez wielding a paddle on the red carpet, cast mate Dan Fogler wisely opted for the added layer of protection too. Attendees got in on the action by posing as pongers inside a cutout poster.