DJ AM, Man of Mystery

Jan. 31, 2007 — -- After finding fame by dating lightweight Hollywood heavy-hitter Nicole Richie, DJ AM is in need of a new coattail to ride. His cost for a three-hour session spinning records at events is $25,000, but was his quote that high before he started dating Nicole? It's not as if the whole world knows exactly who he is.

But DJs can attain star status -- if they get a lot of publicity, or date someone who will give them publicity. And let's not discount talent.

Surprisingly, DJ AM has dated a lot of young Hollywood hotties. He's been spotted with Michelle Trachtenberg, Kristen Cavalleri (they say they're "just friends"), model Lauren Hastings and now ... Mandy Moore? That's right. But if you ask makeup-artist-to the-stars Rachel Herrera, you'll find that some hot girls do not pin everything on looks.

"Goes to show that beauty is not only skin deep. They probably have a lot in common since they're both into music," she theorizes.

Though reps for DJ AM and Mandy Moore refused to comment on whether the two were an official item, they have been seen together around Los Angeles and also were together during the Sundance festival.

Young music fan Ashley Curiel, had a different opinion: "Trust me. DJ AM will not make Zach, Andy or Wilmer jealous -- especially Andy." In the looks department, it is hard to compete with Mandy's tennis star ex, Andy Roddick, who's tall, athletic, and conventionally gorgeous.

We know why Mandy Moore is famous. She's cute as a button, and talented to boot. The question is, how does an average Joe like Adam Goldstein, DJ AM's birth name, get all the girls?

Well, he's an ex-rocker, although his band, Crazy Town, was a one-hit wonder. I mean, has anyone actually heard the song "Butterfly"?

But he has that thing that girls are drawn to -- he's good with his hands. It takes coordination to scratch with one hand and have the other hand on the crossfader. It's like watching a guitarist. (If you're a guy, ask one of your girl friends. They can explain it.)

Says Suzy McCoppin, a long time observer of -- and participant in -- the Hollywood social scene: "The attraction to DJ AM is pretty simple: fame. Fame is a greater aphrodisiac than just about anything.

"Remember in high school when people in different cliques couldn't date each other?" she asks. "The prom queen couldn't consort with someone from the chess club. Hollywood is the same. It's the ultimate popular clique. And once a princess -- in this case, Nicole Richie -- gives the frog the kiss of fame, she opens him up to a vast sea of famous options. DJ AM is a top DJ who never would have been famous without Nicole, but being a top DJ gives him indie street cred. And let's face it- Mandy Moore definitely needs to add a little edge to her bubble gum persona." Ah, mutual use-ification.

Here's how it all started. While Mandy Moore was ringing in the New Year in Miami, she was seen with Wilmer Valderrama. But rumor has it she ran into DJ, gave him her digits, and has since begun dating him.

What does the average Hollywood hipster think of this? Danielle Welch, pierced from ear to ear, tells ABC News: "I personally think nerdy is better. I would hate to be with some guy who thinks he is just the coolest. I definitely have to be the cool one in the relationship."

The odd couple was recently spotted on a lunch date in Beverly Hills that raised eyebrows. Then came the real proof. DJ and Mandy were seen sucking face at the Sundance Film Festival -- not exactly a place to hide your personal life. But some question the possibility of a lasting relationship.

Psychologist and relationship expert David Shumway, professor of English and literary and cultural studies director at the Humanities Center at Carnegie Mellon, as well as the author of "Modern Love: Romance, Intimacy, and the Marriage Crisis," says: "What's interesting to me about this Adam Goldstein's success with women is that anyone is surprised by it. The pattern of a plain man with a beautiful woman is a staple of pop culture and ordinary life. The pattern goes back into Hollywood's history. Humphrey Bogart was hardly conventionally handsome, but no one thought it odd that he should be loved by the stunning Lauren Bacall.

"The point is that women are much less likely than men to regard physical appearance as their primary criterion when seeking a mate. They tend to be attracted to power, prestige, skill, and strength."

If you don't have the bucks to hire him for your private parties, like Brad Pitt, you can go to DJ's club in Los Angeles, LAX, on Sunday nights and get a dose of his backspin. Or catch him while he's on tour at clubs like Pure in Vegas. It's a new day in the entertainment world when people schedule their nights around watching ordinary people doing the ordinary -- and sometimes the odd -- on reality shows, and will fly to Vegas to see a DJ spin rather than spend money to see their favorite band in concert in their hometown.

Back to DJ's love life. No matter how you slice it, whether or not you find him as good of a catch as Mandy Moore seems to, everyone interviewed seemed to have the same opinion that DJ's fame came quickly, and could disappear just as quickly without the right press -- whether it comes from having a famous girlfriend or not.

Let's hope, for his sake, that DJ AM and Mandy Moore last long enough to amp up his star power. If not, he could end up having his 15 minutes of fame and a good friend in Kevin Federline.