Thursday, January 24, 2008

Beyonce, Foo Fighters, Rihanna, Carrie Underwood To Perform At Grammys

The Grammys may not have any writers, but the February 10 show will have Beyoncé. The former Destiny's Child leader is among the first group of performers who've been confirmed for the ceremony, which recently got a commitment from the Writers Guild of America that it will not picket the 50th edition of music's biggest night.
Also slated to perform is country superstar and former "American Idol" winner Carrie Underwood and the Foo Fighters, who will play their song "The Pretender" with an orchestra led by guest conductor John Paul Jones, bassist for the recently reunited Led Zeppelin.
The show will also feature what's being billed as a "special segment" with Rihanna performing alongside a reunion of 1980s R&B/funk act the Time. A tribute to gospel music will bring together Mary J. Blige, Aretha Franklin, Israel and New Breed, Madison Bumblebees, the Clark Sisters and Trin-I-Tee 5:7.
There was a question about whether the Grammys would happen at all this year, or if, like the Golden Globes, they would end up as a press conference due to the ongoing writers' strike. But on Tuesday, it was announced that the striking union would not protest the show as had been expected, and the Recording Academy still hopes it can get a waiver from the WGA to allow staff writers to contribute to the production.
The only question now is, who else will join the roster of performers? Though People magazine reported this week that reclusive rock legend Tina Turner would be hooking up with Beyoncé for a special performance, a spokesperson for B could not be reached for confirmation. At press time, MTV had learned that Amy Winehouse, up for six awards, had decided to enter a rehab facility to deal with her ongoing drug issues. According to a statement from her representatives, Winehouse decided to enter the facility on Thursday (January 24) after realizing that "she requires specialist treatment to continue her ongoing recovery from drug addiction and prepare for her planned appearance at the Grammy Awards."
More performance announcements are expected over the course of the next few weeks.
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Thursday, January 3, 2008

Paul McCartney had heart operation

Beatles legend Paul McCartney has had a secret heart operation, media reports said Wednesday.
The 65-year-old underwent a coronary angioplasty, a procedure which opens up the arteries to allow greater blood-flow, after complaining of feeling unwell, said the Sun daily.
"Paul had been complaining about not feeling well and and saw a Harley Street specialist at the London clinic," an unidentified source told the tabloid newspaper.
"Tests were carried out and the decision was taken to operate. Paul had the angioplasty in a private hospital. It was all very routine but any work on your heart is a big deal," he added.
The Daily Telegraph's online edition reported that the operation was last autumn. McCartney's spokesman was not immediately reachable, but was cited by the Sun as saying it had been a "routine medical operation."
McCartney, who failed before Christmas to settle an acrimonious divorce from his estranged wife Heather Mills, recovered enough to appear in a televised New Year's Eve show with Kylie Minogue.
"Luckily Paul is in very good shape. He does regular exercise and is fit. He eats well and does not carry any excess weight," the Sun cited a friend of McCartney as saying.
"He has always been in exceptional health, which is remarkable when you think of the rock and roll lifestyle he once had," the friend added.
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Lindsay Lohan scores in Italy

While attending an awards ceremony in Capri this weekend Lindsay Lohan managed to pull three different guys!
Lindsay Lohan got back to what she does best this weekend while attending an awards bash in Capri if sources are to be believed. The freshly rehabbed actress reportedly spent £350 in a night on alcohol and hooked up with three different guys. And fortunately, there’s none of the usual ‘an eagle eyed source claims’ nonsense that is the norm with celeb hook ups, this time there were
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Pregnant Nicole Richie's Health Scare

Nicole Richie is due to give birth any day now with, so naturally she worried those around here when she became ill over the Christmas holiday. According to Star magazine, Richie became dizzy and disoriented the morning after Christmas and had to be rushed off to the doctor. A source tells the magazine, "Her heart was racing - she was swearing and had the terrifying feeling the world was crashing in on her. She was scared to death that her baby's health was in jeopardy. "Thank God Joel was there to take care of her. He immediately called their doctor to say he would bring her in." A few months ago Richie was also rushed to the hospital when she suffered from heavy bleeding. Fortunately, mom and baby are all clear!
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Paris and K-Fed: Just Friends?

BRITNEY SPEARS' ex-husband and former BFF, KEVIN FEDERLINE and PARIS HILTON, were spotted out together for New Year's Eve!
But the two are just friends -- and were among many celebs who partied it up in Las Vegas during the end of the year festivities.
Paris and her sister, NICKY, hosted a jam packed New Year's Eve bash at LAX club at the Luxor Hotel, where the famous father talked to "The Insider" about the end of 2007, saying "I'm trying to ring in the new year with my family, that's it, that's all I could ask for."
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KELLY ROWLAND EXPLAINS SUMMER'S ON-STAGE COLLAPSE

The headlines last summer mentioned dehydration as a reason for Kelly Rowland's collapse on stage during a concert in Lagos, Nigeria, but the singer now says that the six-hour time difference may have also been a factor.
"I was exhausted. Not only that but the time difference threw me off and I was jet-lagged," said the former Destiny's Child singer. "And I stayed up all night on the phone."
Rowland recently competed in NBC's four-night reality show competition "Clash of the Choirs," where fellow celebs Patti LaBelle, Blake Shelton, Michael Bolton and eventual winner Nick Lachey formed choirs in their respective hometowns and battled each other for charity.
The Houston-based choir led by Rowland was voted out in the first round, however, NBC rewarded all four losing choirs $50,000 for their local charities.
Rowland's cash prize went directly to Bread of Life, a non-profit organization associated with her church, St. John's United Methodist. Kelly and Beyonce Knowles donated over $250,000 to augment the church's work and outreach in the community.
As previously reported, the organization now has a transitional housing unit named in their honor, The Knowles-Rowland Temenos Place Apartments, where at-risk families, the homeless, persons with HIV/AIDS, and developmentally disabled receive free temporary or long-term housing.
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Wednesday, January 2, 2008

FERGIE IN NO RUSH TO MARRY

FERGIE is in no rush to walk down the aisle with fiance JOSH DUHAMEL - because the couple live like husband and wife already. The pair announced their engagement on Christmas Day (25Dec07), but the Black Eyed Pea hints it could be a long engagement. She says, "We're practically married anyway." She adds of her fiance, "I'm madly in love with him. He understands how to treat a woman and give me respect."
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Beyonce Shows She Learned Nothing From PETA Cam

Beyonce Knowles apparently learned nothing from her sting encounter by PETA. Back in June of 2006, two undercover PETA members (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) won an eBay auction that offered fans a chance to meet Beyonce. Unbeknownst to the singer at the time, she took two anti-fur protestors to dinner with her at New York City eatery Nobu 57, where she was bombarded with info on the cruelty to animals in the fur industry.Unless she's sporting faux, which we highly doubt, girlfriend hasn't learned a thing from being told that "minks, foxes, and chinchillas are gassed, strangled and electrocuted for vanity."She arrived at the opening of boyfriend Jay-Z's 40/40 club in Las Vegas on December 30th with sister Solange Knowles, and a disgusting little fuzzy carcass purse.I'm just going to go with what singer Pink told UK's News of the World, "I only hope she gets bit on the arse by whatever animal she wears." Oh, and...perhaps nature is getting her back with those...um...what do you call those marks again?
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Eddie Murphy Rings in 2008

Eddie Murphy has made quick work of one New Year's resolution.
The Shrek star swapped vows with fiancée Tracey Edmonds Tuesday on a private island off Bora Bora, reps for the newlyweds confirmed to E! News.
The couple sealed the deal in "an intimate sunset ceremony" on the beach as 25 friends and family members looked on.
Edmonds was sheathed in a custom number by the tandem of Sugia Nazel and Jill Baracci, described in a statement as "off-white with a beaded French lace and silk tafetta ruffled train."
The bride marched down the aisle to the strains of Gladys Knight's "Makings of You," per People magazine, which also reported the wedding party included R&B singer Johnny Gill, who served as Murphy's best man, and actress Nicole Avant, the maid of honor.
The couple had been busy making final preparations in recent days. E! Online senior editor Marc Malkin reported guests arrived in nearby Tahiti shortly after Christmas. Bora Bora is about 140 miles northwest of the main French Polynesian outpost.
This is the second marriage for both.
The 40-year-old Edmonds, a film producer whose recent credits include Who's Your Caddy? and Good Luck Chuck, was previously hitched to Grammy-winning singer-producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. They divorced in June 2006 after 13 years and two children.
Murphy, 46, was previously married to Nicole Mitchell, with whom he has five children. They divorced in April 2006. In the months that followed, Murphy began seeing Spice Girl Melanie Brown. He started dating Edmonds while Brown was pregnant with his child.
Brown gave birth to Angel Iris Murphy Brown. In a bit of karmic coincidence, the infant was born Apr. 3, sharing a birthday with her reluctant father.
Murphy and Edmonds announced their engagement in July, after about 10 months of couplehood.
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Spears' lawyers ask to quit custody case

Britney Spears' lawyers in her custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline are quitting.
The law firm Trope and Trope asked a court Wednesday to be relieved as Spears' attorneys. The firm says there's been a "breakdown" in communication with the pop princess that makes representing her "impossible," according to the filing, obtained by CelebTV.com.
A message left with a publicist for Spears' record label was not immediately returned.
Spears and Federline have been wrangling for months over custody of their sons, 2-year-old Sean Preston and 1-year-old Jayden James.
Federline has temporary custody because Spears, who has limited visitation rights, has defied court orders. The two were married in October 2004 and finalized their divorce in July.
On a separate legal front, an attorney for Spears wants the city attorney's office to prove that the pop star is a permanent California resident and is subject to state laws that require her to have a valid California driver's license.
Spears faces up to a year of probation if convicted in a misdemeanor case of driving without a valid license, a charge to which she has pleaded not guilty. The case stems from a videotaped fender-bender in a parking lot in August. A hit-and-run charge has been dismissed.
Spears attorney J. Michael Flanagan earlier Wednesday requested that prosecutors be required to demonstrate that Spears, who owns homes in Louisiana and Florida, intends to make Los Angeles her permanent legal home.
"If they can establish that Britney is domiciled here in California, that she permanently intends to stay here, then she does have a requirement to get a license," Flanagan said in an interview. "Basically, it's a fix-it ticket."
Flanagan said Spears had a valid Louisiana license at the time of the incident and got a California license six days after the complaint was filed.
A call seeking comment from the city attorney's office was not immediately returned. The next court date is Jan. 25.
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