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LA Reid Confirms New Fiona Apple Music Is On The Way

Posted 1/24/12 12:13 pm EST by in Music

Good news!

LA Reid hit Twitter to pump up the spring slate from his Epic Records and in the process revealed that Fiona Apple's long-finished follow-up to 2005's Extraordinary Machine will finally he hitting stores – perhaps very soon!

"Lots of good music coming from @Epic_Records in the next few weeks," Reid tweeted. "Stay tuned music fans. Welcome back Fiona! #BeEpic."

When asked by one of his followers, Reid went on to clarify that, yes, he was indeed referring to Apple. Billboard reports that her album was originally due out in the spring of last year but has been held up for unknown reasons. During a November concert in Los Angeles, the always-frank singer-songwriter told the crowd that she wasn't able to remember how to play any of the songs on the new album because "they've been done for a f**king year."

We're pretty excited for new music from Fiona! Are you? Let us know in the comments below!

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Aretha Franklin Calls Off Engagement

Posted 1/23/12 4:56 pm EST by in Celebrity

Aretha Franklin

Bad news! Aretha Franklin has called off her engagement to Willie Wilkerson.

"Will and I have decided we were moving a little too fast, and there were a number of things that had not been thought through thoroughly. There will be no wedding at this time," Franklin said in a statement. "We will not comment on it any further because of the very personal and sensitive nature of it. We appreciate all of the many well wishes from friends."

The pair announced their engagement just after New Year's, telling the press that Franklin was "considering Donna Karan, Valentino and the queen of wedding dresses, Vera Wang, to design her gown" and jokingly reassuring everyone that the "Respect" singer was "not pregnant."

Franklin and Wilkerson had been friends for years and boasted that their relationship was so strong because they were pals long before things turned romantic.

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President Obama's Reelection Campaign Turns His Al Green Solo Into a Ringtone

Posted 1/23/12 2:53 pm EST by in Obama

Obama

President Obama's campaigners have always had their finger on the pulse of America's young people. Just check out that "wish list" of celebrities they hoped would publicly endorse and campaign on behalf of the POTUS; all of the cool kids are there, including Jay-Z, Vampire Weekend, Janelle Monáe, Neil Patrick Harris, Anne Hathaway, Jack Johnson, the Jonas Brothers, Mila Kunis, Blake Lively, Lea Michele, Sarah Jessica Parker, the Roots, Wilco and Arcade Fire, among many others.

(We secretly suspect Obama's hot young speechwriter Jon Favreau had something to do with the list. We know the president likes himself some Jay-Z and Wilco, but Favs strikes us more the Vampire Weekend/Arcade Fire/Jack Johnson type. Would you agree?)

So it should come as no surprise that they're taking one of Obama's most viral moments and transforming it into an even bigger boon to the campaign. Recently, the president decided to sing a bit of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" during a speech at New York's Apollo Theater, and now the clip has been converted into a ringtone that is available on his website.

"President Obama was inspired to sing a bit of Al Green during a recent campaign stop at the Apollo Theater," the site reads. "And now you can have his rendition of 'Let's Stay Together' as a ringtone."

It's a bit of genius, don't you think? Read More...

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Rihanna Bests Lady Gaga To Become Most-Viewed Female Artist On YouTube

Posted 1/23/12 9:16 am EST by in Lady Gaga, Rihanna

Rihanna

Well, she's just lining up records left and right, isn't she?

Pop princess Rihanna has now passed Lady Gaga in total number of YouTube views, making her the most-viewed female recording artist on the go-to video viewing network. Over the weekend, RiRi boasted 2,068,076,591 (yeah, that's billion with a capital "B") official views to Gaga's 2,044,728,691. Digital Journal reports Rihanna has been attracting over 3,000,000 views daily for most of the late fall and early winter on the strength of her singles from Talk That Talk, including an impressive 115.3 million views for her chart-topping smash "We Found Love."

Gaga, by comparison, has seen her YouTube dominance dwindle. Recent singles "You and I" (49.4 million) and "Marry the Night" (31.3 million) are far from her 2010-11 peak, when one-time record holder "Bad Romance" commanded a staggering 443 million views and songs like "Telephone" (132.1 million), "Alejandro" (162.5 million) and "Born This Way" (88.3 million) regularly tallied massive numbers.

Neither starlet, however, has been able to catch up to the young king of YouTube, Justin Bieber, who has 2,275,845,406 views.

Rihanna can add this latest achievement to her growing list of honors. Read More...

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Paul Rudd Will Return To 'Parks and Recreation' For At Least Three More Episodes

Posted 1/20/12 10:02 am EST by in Television

Paul Rudd

Good news!

America's former stepbrother it now has a crush on, Paul Rudd, will appear in a multi-episode arc on our favorite show on network television, "Parks and Recreation." Rudd debuted on last night's episode as Bobby Newport, Leslie Knope's (Amy Poehler) opponent for city council and an heir to the Sweetums fortune.

Talking to New York Magazine, showrunner Mike Schur said, "He's going to be in a minimum of three episodes, and hopefully more. It depends on his schedule, and whether we can grab him and hold him down until he does more."

Schur also revealed that the character was created specifically for Rudd after he agreed to appear on the show and that the usual casting process wasn't employed when courting Rudd to join the "Parks" team. Rudd has co-starred on the big screen with multiple "Parks" regulars – including Poehler ("Wet Hot American Summer"), Adam Scott ("Our Idiot Brother") and Rashida Jones ("I Love You, Man" and "Our Idiot Brother") – who Schur had contact the star to persuade him to appear. "A bunch of people just e-mailed him and asked if he had time. That's sort of the way we prefer to do it here," Schur said.

Rudd's busy film schedule (he has four films in various states of production) makes setting up times to film difficult, but Schur is willing to work around it. "We broke the episode so we could do a ton of stuff in a short amount of time," Schur told NY Mag. "We did two big scenes and then got him in a room to shoot, like, 50 campaign ads."

What Rudd's run on the show means for Leslie's city council chances remains to be seen… Read More...

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Rihanna Shows Off Fit Physique In Bikini Pics From Hawaiian Vacation

Posted 1/19/12 9:27 am EST by in Rihanna

<i>Rihanna, Twitter</i>

Rihanna, Twitter

Rihanna is on a much-deserved Hawaiian vacation and girl is out to have fun!

Earlier this week, nosy photogs caught her, er, enjoying island life and she even went swimming with sharks, tweeting that the experience was "one of my favorite things I’ve ever done." The Barbadian pop sensation is taking a break after her massive "Loud" tour, which took her to over 20 countries on three continents and grossed over $90 million, and the release of her album Talk That Talk.

RiRi has been tweeting photos of her getaway to her eager 12 million Twitter followers and this morning launched a full-on photo assault, posting six new pics to her feed that feature the star looking unbelievably hot in a barely there bikini while hanging with her girls and working out on an elliptical.

<i>Rihanna, Twitter</i>

Rihanna, Twitter

Check out more pics from Rihanna's Hawaiian vaycay below! Read More...

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'Downton Abbey's' Lady Mary And Lady Grantham To Record an Album … Together

Posted 1/17/12 2:28 pm EST by in Music, Television

Now this is a bit of unexpected news that warmed our hearts a bit.

It seems the fantastic Elizabeth McGovern , Cora, Countess of Grantham on our favorite show in the entire world ever, "Downton Abbey," has a bit of a side career as a singer-songwriter with the band Sadie and the Hotheads, and her "Downton" co-star Michelle Dockery (Lady Mary) likes to join her and her bandmates down at the pub to perform some jazz.

(That we would love to join them both at the pub is another story entirely.)

But now comes word that McGovern, who you might also remember from her turns in 80s hits "She's Having a Baby" and "Once Upon A Time In America," and Dockery are checking their corsets at the door to hit the studio … TOGETHER! The pair are recording an album!

"It’s going to come out later in the year,” McGovern told the UK Telegraph at a private screening of "My Week With Marilyn." Dockery added, “It’s been so much fun. Elizabeth is a great songwriter."

Our head just exploded.

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What Are You Looking Forward To Most On Tomorrow's 'American Idol' Premiere?

Posted 1/17/12 12:57 pm EST by in American Idol, Newsroom Poll

American Idol

"American Idol" returns to FOX tomorrow night to begin the audition phase of TV's most popular singing competition. The judging team that helped the show win its first season-over-season ratings gain in five years returns intact alongside host Ryan Seacrest to help decide which wannabe singers have what it takes to be national superstars.

Are you ready?

Well, whether you are or not it's coming, so do what you must to prepare. In the meantime, let us know in the poll below what you are most looking forward to as "AI" comes back for its 11th season.

Read More...

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Michelle Williams Opens Up About Blue Ivy At BET Event

Posted 1/17/12 11:36 am EST by in Beyonce, Music

Destiny's Child

Former Destiny's Child Michelle Williams already let us know that she does not need to congratulate her friend Beyonce on Twitter when she can do it in person, #thankyouverymuch!

So when Williams hit the red carpet for this weekend's BET Honors, reporters were curious if she'd met little Blue Ivy Carter. Well, she has and had nothing but glowing things to say. "She is absolutely gorgeous. We were all in love," Williams told USA Today on the red carpet. "They [Beyonce and Jay-Z] have already settled into their role of being parents, and it's just awesome to see. They might have inspired me a little bit, but this ring finger got to get a little more heavy first!"

Williams' happy words come on the heels of a Twitter tongue-lashing after she was criticized for not offering well-wishes on the social network following Blue Ivy's birth. "Let's get ONE thing straight....I do NOT have to say congrats to someone when they're NOT on twitter...ESPECIALLY when I talk or email them all the time....or when I'll be physically present as well," she wrote. "This is a beautiful, precious, private time between two people and excitement is to be expected but NOT disrespect! #churchdismissed"

Also on hand at the BET Honors was Kelly Rowland, who was a little more coy about B.I.C. Read More...

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'Jersey Shore' Remix: Pauly D Burnt His 'Whole Face Off'

Posted 1/13/12 9:04 am EST by in Jersey Shore, Video

In last week's premiere, the cast of "Jersey Shore" returned to Seaside Heights after their season four excursion to Florence, Italy, and got right back to it, fist-pumping the night away and GTL-ing all day long. But last night's second episode was a tumultuous one – Vinny left the house because "he had to go home to recharge," which was particularly hard on his best bro, Pauly D.

So what's a happy-go-lucky guido like Pauly D to do when the going gets tough? Turn to comforting things, of course, and for Pauly D that means the tanning bed. But there was one big problem and it's one those of us with fairer skin than the "Shore" crew can relate to – a little too much sun (or bulb) exposure can leave you feeling pretty raw!

"I got no tan in Italy so I got a little excited," Pauly said of his return to Jersey. "I went tanning in Jersey, went tanning, went tanning, went tanning, went tanning. I burnt my whole face off."

Pauly's pain was our gain and it translated into one of our favorite moments from last night's show.

This is definitely a "Pauly D problem" and we've remixed it for you below. Enjoy!

Read More...

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