NERD front man Pharrell Williams recently sat down with British Vogue and revealed that he’s using a revolutionary procedure to get rid of his tattoos. Apparently, the ink does go well with the grown up image he’d like to project. You can forget about painful laser procedures, he’s going to have replicated skin over his tattoos. He says “It’s basically like getting a skin graft, but you’re not taking skin from your ass or your legs. These guys actually grow the skin for you. First you have to give them a sample of your skin, which they then replicate. Once that’s been done, they sew it on - and it’s seamless. It’s going to be pricey, but worth it. I got fire on my arms! I’m a grown man!”
Ne-Yo has slammed RnB performers saying the genre has become “boring”. The Closer singer, real name Shaffer Chimere Smith claims today’s artists are too alike.
He told MTV: “RnB today is nowhere near where it used to be back in the day. Everyone’s on this copycat thing right now where all the music is beginning to sound alike and I don’t dig it.”
Ne-Yo also blames the use of the same producers making everyone sound the same.
He adds: “If you go to Timbaland for a song, then he is going to give you a Timbaland beat… No disrespect to Timbaland but if everyone eats at the same place then in a minute it’s going to get boring.”
The Icelandic star has been axed from Serbia’s EXIT festival after dedicating a song to Kosovo.
Bjork angered her Chinese fanbase following a spontaneous “Tibet! Tibet!” declaration during “Declare Independence” when playing in Shanghai. The outburst at the finale of Bjork’s Sunday-night concert has highlighted Beijing’s rule over Tibet.
Bjork’s statement was not reported in Chinese news media but the internet has been awash with angry comment after word leaked out.
Bjork commented: “I have been asked by many for a statement after dedicating my song “declare independence” to both Kosovo and Tibet(amongst others ) on different occasions. I would like to put importance on that I am not a politician, I am first and last a musician and as such I feel my duty to try to express the whole range of human emotions. The urge for declaring independence is just one of them but an important one that we all feel at some times in our lives. This song was written more with the personal in mind but the fact that it has translated to its broadest meaning, the struggle of a suppressed nation, gives me much pleasure. I would like to wish all individuals and nations good luck in their battle for independence. Justice !”
Bjork is the latest of a host of singers to play in China. Until a couple of years ago only the safest pop was allowed. Lately, more risqué acts have come to China but bands like The Rolling Stones have stuck closely to the agreed text to avoid offending their hosts.
Loopy Pete Doherty has reportedly shelled out over £1000 on an arsenal that includes a Samurai sword and antique guns.
Don’t panic; he is not expected to be planning a hold-up. The Babyshambles singer seems to be simply indulging his passion for anything old. He will probably hang the weapons up on the wall of his Wiltshire home; next to the tasteful “art” pieces done in his own blood.
Junkie Pete has become quite a home boy of late – even stopping halfway through the creation of another one of his “art” pieces to call the local radio station and request Beatles song ‘I’ll be back’
He told the DJ, “I am trying to do some painting and that.”
Let’s hope the “and that” doesn’t involve his usual pharmacy of drugs…
R&B superstar Chris Brown is touring all over the US right now but the guy who designed his sets says that the singer forgot to make one destination – the bank! A lawsuit has been filed against the ‘Kiss Kiss’ singer in federal court on Christmas Eve by John Troxtel who designed concert sets for Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Michael Jackson. He says that he was paid for some of his design work but “extra work was required and requested”. Troxtel alleges that an oral agreement was reached but when it came time to pay up, the touring company refused.
Troxtel is suing for breach of contract and unjust enrichment and is seeking damages of up to $1 million.
We’ve already established that Kanye West has a rather large ego on him. For those of you that aren’t aware, pick up the new issue of Spin and take note of the following quote:
“I’m a pop enigma. I live and breathe every element in life. I rock a bespoke suit and I go to Harold’s for fried chicken. It’s all these things at once, because, as a tastemaker, I find the best of everything. There’s certain things that black people are the best at and certain things that white people are the best at. Whatever we as black people are the best at, I’m a go get that. Like, on Christmas I don’t want any food that tastes white. And when I go to purchase a house, I don’t want my credit to look black.”
Celine Dion was photographer with her 6 ½-year old son Rene as she waved goodbye during the final run of her Las Vegas show ‘A New Day’ at The Colosseum at the Caesars Palace on Saturday night.
Since the show opened in March 2003, nearly 3 million people have watched the 39-year old songstress perform 717 live shows. Gross ticket sales have totaled a cool $400 million. For those that missed the show, you can still catch it on the newly released five-hour double DVD ‘Celine Dion: A New Day – Live in Las Vegas’.
Celine will be kicking off the North American leg of her concert tour next month.
At her sold out Wembley gig last night, Rihanna proved she can hold her own against any of the strong female legends of pop as she rocked the stage in some very hot outfits.
The performance certainly drove away any ‘teen-pop’ image she may have been carrying. With awesome stage presence, powerhouse vocals and moves that would have Beyonce shaking in her boots; the fans went nuts.
I doubt the many changes of PVC bondage outfits harmed the effect either.
From one artist’s raised eyebrows to another, here’s a glimpse of your future.
Country crooner turned roasted chicken king Kenny Rogers, along with his taut face, visited Lance Bass and his overdone eyebrows backstage at ‘Hairspray’ on Broadway. I never knew Kenny Rogers was an NSYNC fan much less a Broadway fan.
I wonder if Lance thought “this will one day be me” when he looked at Kenny’s face. It could happen you know. I mean, only time will tell if Lance will morph into one of those men who look like Kenny Rogers. I think he will. He’s already got the raised eyebrows down pat.
There are some things that are inevitable and you know should happen and would happen. It’s just like Madonna being announced to be a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee on Thursday. I think she’s a shoe-in because she’s pretty much the ultimate icon and the most influential woman in pop music.
Madonna was one of five acts chosen for induction at the annual ceremony which will be held on March 10 in New York City. The other artists are John Mellencamp, The Ventures, Leonard Cohen and The Dave Clark Five.
Janet Jackson is officially back and she is on fire! The youngest Jackson singer is ready to toss her hat back in the ring of the music industry with a new album coming out next year. The lead single has already leaked on the internet and it is hot!
‘Feedback’ is the name of the comeback song and here’s some feedback for her, it’s absolutely great! It’s not retro, it’s not futuristic – it’s just now. It’s current, it’s fresh and it’s fun. It’s a classic ‘Janet’ song. It’s also quite smart of her to lead the album with a dance track too.
Mary J. Blige performed on Thursday night at “CNN Heroes: All Star Tribute”. She sang “Come To Me (Peace)”, a new song from her upcoming studio album entitled “Growing Pains”
Rapper Lil Bow Wow, oh wait, I meant Bow Wow. He’s not so little anymore. Anyway, the rapper was rushed to a Cincinnati hospital on Thursday night after he came from a performance there.
His record label issued a statement saying that the 20-year old rapper is suffering from ‘stress and exhaustion’. They also said that while his tour with Chris Brown, Sean Kingston and Soulja Boy prepares to take the stage in Chicago, he won’t be able to make it. The Sony rep does say that “He loves them and will be sure to come back to Chicago soon!”
It’s been reported that Madonna’s next studio album, her last with new material under Warner Bros., will be released in April of 2008 and will carry the title ‘Licorice’. The disc reportedly features collaboration with Kanye West and Pharell amongst others. There’s no word whether a tour will follow but it doesn’t hurt to pray for it.
However, not long after news broke out, Madonna’s publicist Liz Rosenberg has denied reports that the Queen of Pop’s new album will be called ‘Licorice’ and that it’s coming out in April. Music industry insiders are not buzzing that the disc will be called ‘Give It To Me’.
After the success of her album, a lot of people have predicted that Amy Winehouse would be the queen of the Grammy’s. And when the nominations were announced on Thursday morning, that’s what the rest of the world thought too. Wino scored the most nominations for a female with 6 nods. It’s good to know that despite all the trouble in her life, something good can still happen to Wino.Kanye West actually came out with the most nods, with 8. Five acts received 5 nods each – the Foo Fighters, Jay-Z, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and T-Pain. In a bit of an upset, favorites like Fergie and Mika only scored a nomination each.
When you lose someone you love, you just can’t help but grieve. And that’s what the Weslyn ‘Mama Wes’ Monroe, the mom of the late Pimp C, did in an interview with KFDM News.“C’s business manager found his body in his hotel room in Los Angeles and we know he died in his sleep. Past that, we don’t know anything. This is a terrible shock. Mama is just a little tougher than most, but I break too.”
She also added how she has received a great amount of support from family, friends, artists and other entertainers. “The phone won’t stop ringing. It feels good, if anything can feel good now.”
Rapper Spice 1, a legend in the Bay Area, is in critical condition after being shot in the chest. The Hayward California Police Department is saying that the rapper, whose real name is Robert Green Jr., was seriously injured but that the injury is not life threatening.
Police are saying that there is currently no suspect regarding the shooting and no arrests have been made. Investigation on the who’s, how’s and why’s regarding Spice 1’s shooting is currently going on.
Spice 1 has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the rap industry, including Method Man, 2Pac and Ice-T.
The Spice Girls, Seal, Heidi Klum and Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas all had performances at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show last month. But when the special aired on CBS Tuesday night, a performance was clearly missing.
The Spice Girls performed two songs at the show, their hit ‘Stop’ and their new single ‘Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)’. However, only their rendition of ‘Stop’ made it to the broadcast.
I think that’s unfair. Seal had more than one song that made it on the air. Although in comparison to any of the songs Seal performed, ‘Headlines’ was a big bore.
Pink released an album called ‘Missundazstood’ a couple of years back and now, it looks like there’s been a missundazstanding. A musician named Scratch has filed a lawsuit against the pop punk rocker for a featured performance on her hit CD.
In the lawsuit, Kyle ‘Scratch’ Jones claims that he is on Pink’s track ‘Respect’ but wasn’t paid for it. According to the suit, Scratch says he discussed payment with Pink but they never came to an agreement. He’s also claiming that his work was used on her DVD ‘Live in Europe’. He’s seeking $717,600 in damages.
A rep for Pink has released a statement regarding the matter saying “There’s nothing to say on this matter, as it is an unjustified lawsuit.”
Britney Spears is quickly getting known as someone who likes to bail and she almost bailed on her music video shoot for ‘Piece of Me’. That is, until her record label planned to use the dancers and location for her video for a younger rising star.
Page Six is reporting that the pop wreck was supposed to show up at Social Hollywood to shoot her new video but was hours late. When it looked like she was going to be a no-show, Jive decided to refit the set for another act’s video shoot – Samantha Jade’s ‘Eyes on Me’. When Brit got wind of what was going on, the Post says that she finally showed up – twelve hours past call time.
It was a high-end yard sale for Ozzy Osbourne fans this weekend. They showed up in droves to place their bids on items such as a bat coat, skull sneakers, and many other items belonging to the famous Osbourne family.
The sale was run by Julien’s Auctions. Owner of the company, Darren Julien, told reporters that it was a mix of heavymetal fans and art lovers lining up to bid on the items. “For the most part, the metalheads were outbidding the art crowd.”
The items were sold from the Beverly Hills mansion that formerly belong to Ozzy and Sharon. For the most part, the items that were featured on MTV’s “The Osbournes” were in higher demand that other items. Among the items selling were a coat decorated with bats for $3300, sneakers with skulls on them for $2625, a pair of Ozzy’s sunglasses for $5250, and an oversided coffee mug that Ozzy often carried on the show for $1625.
Those who were interested in art looked for items such as a sculpture by Edouard Drouot, which sold for $10,500.
Julien predicted that the auction would bring in about $350,000. At the end of the sale, they made about $800,000. The family is donating the proceeds to the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
That’s one heck of a yard sale! I could sell the contents of my entire home and probably not make that kind of a bundle. Kudos to the Osbournes for donating the money to a worthy cause.
Keyshia Cole is about a week late for Thanksgiving. And I think she has the roles confused. She’s supposed to eat the turkey and not be the turkey. Who the heck told her that it was okay for her to wear what looks like feather fluff? Her stylist needs to be fired!
The R&B singer looked like the stuffed bird that got away from the Thanksgiving dinner table when she was at the taping of BET’s 106 & Park on Wednesday. It’s like a cross of Bjork’s legendary swan dress and the Olsen twins wardrobe from a couple of years ago.
16 people were arrested in Kingsport, Tennessee earlier this week facing drug and possible gun charges. Among them was rapper Birdman whose real name is Bryan ‘Baby’ Williams, one of the founders of Cash Money Records..Birdman was in an RV that was spotted by police as it made an improper lane change. When police approached the RV, the smell of marijuana came from the inside where they found around a pound of pot as well as 2-23 carbine assault rifle, 9mm handgun and magazine for .45-cal handgun. The rapper, his wife, brother and 13 other people were charged with possession of over ½ ounce of marijuana. All 16 people arrested were said to be employed in some way with Cash Money Records.
After a long absence Kylie Minogue is struggling to regain her place on the celebrity podium. Not only is she planning a long and fantastic European tour the next year, but she will also appear on the stage of the honorific Nobel Prize concert to celebrate the winners of 2007. She will be performing for Nobel Prize winners: the climate chance panel of the United Nations and ex-vice president Al. Gore. The prize is offered to the combined parties for their united effort in trying to wake the world up and realize an inconvenient truth: the global warming that is threatening to destroy our planet and our race along with it.
Kylie will join on the stage various celebrity females like Annie Lennox and Alicia Keys. It seems like on December the 11th only women are worthy to honor the giving of a Nobel Prize, as all singers will be members of the beautiful sex.
Can you say pathetic? I can understand love struck but this is just dumb. Amy Winehouse has cancelled her UK tour and all promotional appearances through 2008 because she’s too upset about her husband Blake Fielder-Civil being in jail. Professionalism is definitely not in her vocabulary.Wino released a statement on Tuesday saying “I can’t give it my all onstage without my Blake. I’m so sorry but I don’t want to do the shows half-heartedly; I love singing. My husband is everything to me and without him it’s just not the same.”
The few shows she has done have been slammed by critics and fans. It at least saves everyone else and they get refunds too.
There appears to be congratulations in order for singer Usher and his wife; as their first child arrived into the world at 9.30pm on Monday (26-11-07). Originally, they named baby son, Usher. Usher Raymond V to be precise.
So is that like calling him Junior? Well, if so, little Jr. was a healthy 7lb 9oz; and the couple are overjoyed. “We are so happy and proud of our beautiful son. What a blessing!”
I have to say it’s lovely and refreshing to not be writing about crazy stars doing drug related, alcohol related or generally weird related things for once. I have already mentioned this week the planned wedding of Kanye West and his girlfriend; and now the happy family here. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy… until tomorrow when someone is bound to have done something stupid. Again.
The last time that hip hop artist Lil Wayne was supposed to host an event, he failed to show. But this time, he actually made it. The problem is, it’s not really that much of a good thing.
The eyelid-tatted, blinged-out rapper showed up to perform his hosting duties at Pure Nightclub in Atlanta this past week but he was pretty much out of it. ATLpics.net put up several pictures of Lil Wayne spending most of the night struggling to keep his eyes open.
Whether that’s because of the glare from all his bling or that he’s way beyond drunk, I don’t know and I don’t really care.
The 80’s nostalgia ends up tragically as the lead sing of Quiet riot has been found dead in his home.
Police discovered his lifeless body after performing a search once they got phone calls announcing he was missing. Friends and family are devastated, and former band members show their grief.
The band was currently active, singing from time to time and releasing albums once in a while, so the relationships between him and his colleagues were still good. No one seems to know what happened, but as in most cases when it comes to musicians, I suspect it was a suicide. As police didn’t reveal many details about his death, or the causes, I can’t assume anything or imagine the circumstance. But I think that if they would have found signs of unusual presences in his home or burglar steps they would have announced that.
After a rollercoaster ride of emotions, rapper Kanye West finally buried his mother, Dr. Donda West, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma earlier this week.
The ceremony was held at the True Vine Ministry church which could hold up to 2,500 people. The funeral was attended by members of the music industry as reported by AccessHollywood.com. Beyonce and Jay-Z attended the services where John Legend and Anita Baker performed in honor of Donda.
Kanye reportedly broke down inside the church as he was giving his eulogy and talking about his mother. He said, he wanted her to not “rest in peace, but rest in paradise.”
