The giant grandfather clock in the MTV Newsroom will sound its final bells at any moment, which means it's time to remedy that terrible short-term memory and take a look back at the week that was here on the Newsroom blog. As the calendar switched from September to October and the fall weather began to descend, Kanye West remained in the headlines, Madonna ate pizza and zombies were everywhere. Want to have an instant nostalgia trip? Just keep reading.

» The "Fame Kills" tour — starring Kanye West and Lady Gaga — got put on the back burner, but that won't stop Gaga from doing her own shows.

» Madonna and David Letterman had a civil interview and then sat down for a slice.

» Jennifer Hudson celebrated the anniversary of "The Wizard of Oz" with a stirring rendition of "Over the Rainbow" live in Central Park.

» Adam Lambert has already sold a ton of albums, even though the record in question has no title or single. But that's okay, because he's driving people to donate to public schools.

» Before she got sick and had to cancel a bunch of Paramore shows, Hayley Williams wore a tank top on "The Tonight Show" that looked awfully familiar to us.
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To celebrate the 70th anniversary of "The Wizard of Oz," the landmark 1939 film that launched the career of Judy Garland and gave songs like "Over the Rainbow" a permanent place in the American songbook, Netflix threw a party in New York's Central Park. There was a screening of the film (newly remastered thanks to its trip to Blu-Ray) as well as a free concert featuring performances of some of the more iconic songs from the film. The show was headlined by Oscar winner and "American Idol" runner-up Jennifer Hudson, who delivered a soulful, gospel-tinged take on "Over the Rainbow," backed by a band lead by Roots drummer and "The Late Show with Jimmy Fallon" musical director Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson.

The show also featured a performance of "If I Only Had a Brain" (the song made famous by the Scarecrow in the film) care of Julianne Hough, the dancer, singer and two-time winner of "Dancing With the Stars" (with Olympian Apolo Anton Ohno and race car driver Hélio Castroneves in consecutive seasons). Her song was not quite as memorable as Hudson's, but she still captured the delicate combination of whimsy and sadness that makes that song (and many of the tunes from "The Wizard of Oz") so excellent.

Hudson had a lot to live up to, as not only did she have the Garland version of "Over the Rainbow" to live up to, but she also had to contend with Ashanti's version, who performed the song as a cast member of the TV movie "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz." (Ashanti also made her version available on iTunes this week.) What do you think? Did Hudson create the new standard or will nothing ever top the original? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

It seems like the music world is only just recovering from the MTV Video Music Awards, but it's already time to move on to the next huge event on the calendar. Tonight, VH1 brings back "Divas," which will air live from the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, New York, tonight at 9 p.m. ET. The show will feature performances from next-gen divas Leona Lewis, Adele, Jennifer Hudson, Miley Cyrus, Jordin Sparks and Kelly Clarkson. But the entire show may be hijacked by host Paula Abdul, who will be taking part in her first television show since her departure from "American Idol." In the show's history, "Divas" has featured just about every huge female name in music, from Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Tina Turner, Cher, Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige and Beyoncé. But just about every year has one dominant diva, a single lady who sets herself apart from the rest of the pack. Who will stand slightly taller at tonight's show? Will Jennifer Hudson reign supreme or will Kelly Clarkson declare herself queen? Will Miley Cyrus elevate herself to diva status or will Jordin Sparks rise above?

Because there are so many diva experts in the MTV Newsroom, we decided to pass the microphone around the office and get everybody's thoughts on who their favorite diva is.

The fantastically unscientific results are in, and Clarkson narrowly gets the nod with 29 percent, but she has Miley Cyrus nipping at her heels with 26 percent. But looking down the list, there's also a healthy contingent who think Abdul could steal the whole show.

As MTV News reported earlier, tomorrow's Michael Jackson tribute will feature (among others) Stevie Wonder, Usher, Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer and Mariah Carey. Carey has a history with Jackson, having covered the Jackson 5's hit "I'll Be There" on her episode of "MTV Unplugged" back in 1992. The song (and live acoustic video) became a big hit for Carey, hitting the top of the charts shortly after its release. Early rumor suggests that she'll be performing that very song at tomorrow's memorial, which will be a fitting epitaph to Jackson's long and storied career.

We'll have wall-to-wall coverage of the memorial tomorrow, so be sure to stay tuned here, to MTV News and to the network where we'll have constant updates. It promises to be a memorable event — especially if Carey busts out her best pipes and brings duet partner Trey Lorenz along for the ride.

It's no secret that some of the performances on "American Idol" elimination shows are pre-taped. And, most of the time, you can't really tell because of all the flashing lights and carefully choreographed camerawork.

Except last night, when returning "Idol" finalist Jennifer Hudson ripped a hole in the show's space-time continuum by forgetting to pretend she was in the present and speaking about a future that had already happened in the past. Confused? Let us explain.

See, Hudson — who was unceremoniously dumped from the third season of "Idol" in seventh place — reportedly taped her performance of "If This Isn't Love" several weeks ago, around the time she was slated to begin her tour with Robin Thicke. But when host Ryan Seacrest asked her about her first road trip on "Wednesday night," Hudson stammered, saying, "Yeah, starting my tour." Then, looking a bit confused, she added, "Yeah, it's starting, like, in a little bit, yeah, on tour with Robin, so that's very exciting and it's my first tour." Read more...

By Rachel Josue

It was a very exciting 2008 here in the MTV Newsroom. It was a year of triumph and tragedy, a year of secret weddings and pregnancies, a year of overcoming adversity and a year of inspiration and change.

2008 brought us everything from the shocking death of Heath Ledger and the tragedy that befell Jennifer Hudson and her family, to the reinvention of Britney Spears and the successes of "The Dark Knight" and Tha Carter III. Your favorite artists and celebrities eloped (is it legal yet, Speidi?), married overseas (nice tats, Mariah and Nick) and got hitched in secret (thanks for finally admitting to that, Jay and B). They had babies and — in true Hollywood style — named them strange things (I am available to babysit when Bronx befriends Brooklyn and they have a play-date in Manhattan. Just saying.). And, Chinese Democracy actually materialized, to the delight of Dr. Pepper fans.

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The crowd at Pleasant Gift Missionary Baptist Church on the South Side of Chicago spilled out into the streets on Sunday as thousands of mourners gathered to pay tribute to Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and nephew. Hudson did not attend the memorial — a private funeral is scheduled today — but her cousin told E! News that the Oscar-winning actress/singer will likely take time off from acting to be with her family.

Read more about the Hudson memorial service here.

As police continue to gather evidence in the murders of Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew, new reports suggest that investigators believe another person may have been involved in the slayings. Officials are trying to figure out how the car driven by the only person in custody in the case, William Balfour, ended up a mile from the initial murder scene given that they believe the suspect drove a different car to his girlfriend's house on the day of the murders. Corrections authorities have also set up a hearing next month to determine whether Balfour violated his parole for a 1999 attempted murder conviction by missing anger-management and substance-abuse classes.

Read more on the ongoing investigation of the Hudson murders here.

By Christina Garibaldi and Jocelyn Vena

To her, he's just David.

But to the rest of the world, Jennifer Hudson's fiancé is, of course, "Punk" — a.k.a. David Otunga, the former "I Love New York 2" contestant.

Many were surprised when the pair's engagement was announced last month. After all, it's not often you see a contestant from such a show getting hitched to an Oscar-winning actress. However, Hudson is keeping the whole thing in perspective. "I don't think it's fair to judge someone off an experience [like the show]," she told MTV News.

Then again, you might not know that he graduated from Harvard Law School (just like Barack Obama) either — and "American Idol," of course, is a reality show too.
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By Christina Garibaldi and Tim Kash
Yesterday, Tim Kash had the pleasure of talking with Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson about her long-awaited self-titled debut LP. Hudson spoke candidly about the challenges of creating the album, which she described as a personal and intimate disc filled with power ballads and hip-hop tracks. But at the start of the interview, when Tim brought up the song "Pocketbook," he ended up confusing Hudson, not to mention the other women in the room. In the song, Hudson sings, "Don't make me hit you with my pocketbook," to a man who's trying to pick her up. So naturally Tim asked Hudson whether she'd actually done such a thing, saying that it would really hurt to be hit with a laptop. Hold up — a laptop? Clearly Tim is not up on his fashion, but let's give him a chance to defend himself.
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