California Rumor

According to sources close to Britney Spears, the recovered pop star wrote a track for former paparazzi squeeze Adnan Ghalib on her upcoming album as a gift to him. Nicole Morier of the band Electrocute helped Britney write the song ‘Mmm Papi’ and told Us Weekly that the song is about a certain someone. With lyrics like “You love it when I'm freaking out / Things get rough and there's no doubt / You will always be there for me” it seems a little obvious. A source close to Adnan that the two are still in contact and that they never stopped dating.

American Idol couple David Cook and Kimberly Caldwell was spotted together after sharing a romantic lunch in Santa Monica, California last week. The 25-year old American Idol winner recently sat down with EW.com about his self-titled debut album which will hit stores on November 18. He talked about his so-called rivalry with runner up David Archuleta, his single ‘Light On’ and even his comparison to Chris Daughtry. Of the comparison, he said “I didn’t let it get to me on the show, and I see no reason to let it get to me afterward. I just think this record is me, and if people want to compare it to Daughtry, awesome.”

will.i.am - It's A New Day : OFFICIAL VIDEO

Everyone pretty much has the idea that Miley Cyrus’ ‘7 Things’ is dedicated to her ex-boyfriend Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers. The director for the video, Brett Ratner, recently confirmed to MTV that the song really is about Nick. Brett says “The necklace she’s wearing in the video is the necklace [the boy] gave her. She’s wearing his diabetes or medical necklace.” Nick has Type 1 diabetes for those who don’t know and he’s also a spokesperson for awareness of the disease. Miley must really be thinking of Nick every time she sings “7 things I hate about you” in the song.

After a 4 year whirlwind of writing, recording, and touring, Temecula, California’s Finch have returned with a self-titled EP featuring the band’s potent blend of jagged guitars, propulsive arrangements, and vocalist Nate Barcalow’s always infectious vocal melodies.

Produced by Jason Cupp (The Elected, The Valley Arena) at Sage & Sound Studios in Hollywood, songs like "Daylight" and "From Hell" find the quintet forging their unique writing style ahead while keeping a foot firmly planted in the energy and urgency of their older material.

Britney Spears may not be making any music videos of her own lately but she’s doing cameos for other artists’ music video. The recovering starlet and once pop wreck has recorded her cameo for the Pussycat Dolls’ ‘When I Grow Up’ music video. The group filmed dance sequences in Hollywood on Tuesday and Wednesday while Britney shot her scenes at the WB lot in Burbank on Wednesday. A source told Us Weekly “It was carefully planned out. In the scene shot [Wednesday], Britney is driving in a car. They all wave at each other as they are passing in traffic — that is it. It is genius and you will love it! Of course, Britney looks hot and blonde. It is a very short sequence, but [Britney] had a lot of fun with it. [She] really likes the Dolls’ music and when she saw them on the MTV [Movie Awards], she was totally down to do the video.”

Either David Archuleta is really a saint of a son or he’s brainwashed very well. Even though the American Idol contestant’s dad has been banned from being backstage, David says “I don’t really care what people say, but I know it’s affected him and stressed him out. I’ve heard some weird things that people have been saying, and it’s kind of a bummer. I think I, of all people, would know what’s going on, and he’s been great. He’s given me a lot of good advice and helped me from making any dumb decisions. He understands more than anyone what I want in music, and I’ve felt really blessed to have someone like that.” He’s just too nice!

Amy Winehouse might not look like she’s doing anything productive these days but the ‘Rehab’ singer has scored a spot on this year’s UK Sunday Times ‘Rich List’. Apparently, the Grammy Award winner is worth an estimated $19.7 million. Now that’s a lot of money to buy crack! A Sunday Times ‘Rich List’ editor commented on Wino’s spot saying “Winning Grammys have given her a really good profile in the United States. She has such a smooth voice but let's hope she doesn't blow it all.” I couldn’t agree more. Don’t spend it all on heroin or marijuana now, you hear?!

Mariah Carey struck some fabulous poses as she attends an autograph signing session for her new album ‘E=MC²’ at the Hard Rock Café in Universal City Walk this past Thursday. Mariah’s first single ‘Touch My Body’ which comes off of that album was her 18^th hit to reach number 1 which is a record! She was asked about her thoughts on that to which the 39-year old curvaceous singer replied with “I really can never put myself in the category of people who have not only revolutionized music but also changed the world. That’s a completely different era and time.”

 Mariah Carey was on German Idol this past weekend to “perform” her single ‘Touch My Body’ only to get some harsh criticism. A lot of people, even one of the judges, thought that the curvaceous diva was lip synching. If you get to see a video of the show, it really looks like she got a bit of “help”. That’s not the only time though. She also went on the UK’s Paul O’Grady show and it looked like she totally lip synched on her performance again! I kind of expect more from her. Maybe it’s just one of those things she does in Europe.

Jessica Simpson entered an L.A. hospital for a kidney infection.  She went in after running a fever.  

Her rep now says she "has been released and is doing fine."

Jess was in Iraq earlier this month performing for the troops.  In other time, she is working on a country album.

Willie Nelson is fighting for the cows are the country crooner has joined in on a campaign along with the Animal Legal Defense Fund to raise awareness about cruel- and illegal-living conditions for calves raised to produce milk for dairy products. The campaign is specifically targeting Land O’Lakes and Challenge Dairy to get them to stop using milk from calves that come from California’s Mendes Calf Ranch which confines calves in cramped, filthy crates without room to turn around or lie down and is the subject of a lawsuit brought by the ALDF. Nelson has written a letter to the companies to join the petition which is already at 22,000 people strong.

With Janet Jackson being admitted at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in California for the flu, her appearance on this week’s Saturday Night Live was put in jeopardy. But when one diva goes out, another comes in. Mariah Carey will be the new musical guest this week while Janet nurses herself back to health. Mariah’s appearance couldn’t have come at a better time too as her 11th studio album E=MC² (meaning: ‘Emancipation equals Mariah Carey to the second power’) is due to come out in stores on April 15th. What a great way to promote her new album, eh? Maybe she infected Janet so she could get the spot.

American Idol champ Fantasia Barrino worked her two-toned short hair do at the legendary Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Party which was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Saturday in Beverly Hills, California. At the party, Fantasia reprised her Celie role, which she frequently skipped out on, from the Broadway musical ‘The Color Purple’. 

Who’s willing to bet, that at the rate that Clive Davis’ record company is going and the Idols that have been dropped from their record deals, that Fantasia is soon to follow suit? It’s bound to happen soon. It’s not like she’s made some hits or has a good track record.

 

Vanessa Hudgens was spotted as she arrived at the Rock Mafia Studio in Santa Monica, California on Thursday. It looks like she got her hair straightened in between sessions.

 Apart from ‘High School Musical 3’ and her sophomore album, Vanessa is also set to work on a feature film called ‘Will’. It will be shooting soon and it’s a about a battle of the bands at a high school. Her character is that of an outcast until she partners up with Will on a class project. Friendship and then romance blooms. Her character is brought on as a lead singer for a band that Will is managing and I’ve pretty much said the whole story.

When it comes to raising hell, there’s no doubt that Britney Spears is a marathoner. When you hear that it’s the same for her work habits, you just have to raise your eyebrows. It’s doubtful – very doubtful. But her latest video director Wayne Isham thinks otherwise. The ‘Piece of Me’ director told People that “Her endurance was remarkable, as we had a long day. She almost outlasted me, which is amazing! It was a pleasure to work with her again.” Unlike some of her other work excursions, she actually did what she had to do. I guess miracles do happen.

It’s been rumored that the Jackson 5 are organizing a reunion but you can just forget all about that. Michael Jackson doesn’t share the spotlight nor does he share the paycheck. Jacko is returning to the stage alright, but he’s returning solo.

British media is reporting that the close-to-bankruptcy sometimes singer is really close to finalizing a deal to perform a series of 7 to 10 concerts at London’s O2 arena is February. An insider close to the deal says that “It’ll be just him, his greatest hits and what is going to be the biggest gig of the year. Forget the Spice Girls, this is the comeback.”

The Spice Girls aren’t even halfway through their world tour but a casualty has already been tallied when Baby Spice got and busted her ankle. Emma Bunton suffered a nasty fall during a Las Vegas concert on Tuesday night where she sprained her ankle. She has since been walking around on crutches. 
A concertgoer says that “During the last song they sang - right when they were about to leave - they were walking back to the main stage and Baby Spice fell on the stairs. The other girls helped her get up and walked to their positions before disappearing from the stage.”

Emmy Rossum’s latest single may be entitled ‘Slow Me Down’ but she isn’t really taking it to heart because she is having the busiest weeks ever. It all started on Sunday at the Movie Rocks event and it snowballed from there.

On Monday evening, the actress turned singer performed three songs at the Mikimoto boutique for a private cocktail reception honoring the women on The Hollywood Reporter’s Power 100 List. She sang ‘Slow Me Down’, ‘Stay’ and ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’. Early the next morning, Emmy was at The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment breakfast which honored Jodie Foster and was held at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Once again I am going to talk about the troubled drug lady of the celeb news at the moment. Amy Winehouse has cancelled what remains of her tour, claiming she misses her jailed hubby too much to give it her all. Yeah, Amy, and the fact you have been booed off stage at your last two gigs had nothing to do with it, right?

Amy has also revealed she plans a special gig at London’s Pentonville Prison to lift the spirits of her dearly missed husband and his cell mates. In a move mirroring country legend Johnny Cash, Amy feels the gig will be a fitting tribute to Blake, who is set to spend Christmas in jail after being denied bail last week.

Let’s hope Winehouse can stay straight enough not to slur through her songs like her recent performances; there can’t be anything worse than being snubbed by a prison full of blokes!

Gwen Stefani is a style queen and she’s not about to do anything to tarnish that title. The singer was spotted shopping with her assistant on Wednesday. It’s probably to stock up on the latest fashions.

Gwen was also recently featured in Entertainment Weekly’s List of Rock’s All-Time Best Front Men and Women. “Style and personality — we knew Gwen had it in spades way back when. As talented as band mates Tony Kanal, Adrian Young, and Tom Dumont are, they might have been just three guys from Anaheim were it not for the secret sauce of Stefani, who, besides being an endlessly energetic performer, managed to be both Hollywood glamorous and girl-next-door accessible at the same time. ‘Just a Girl’? We know better than that.”

When you give your word, you better follow through or someone might just come and get you. Just ask 50 Cent.

The Resistance is a Christian media watchdog group that is demanding 50 Cent to retire. The group has already once called the rapper a Satanist and is now urging him to call it a day much like 50 promised should Kanye West beat him in the record sales competition. The group’s spokesperson Mike Dice explained that “It is time for 50 Cent to be a man of his word, and retire. The world will be a better place when this satanic piece of filth retires and stops making music.” Ouch!

If you can’t wait to get a piece of the Spice Girls or you wouldn’t want to be without them every day of the year, why not grab the official 2008 Spice Girls calendar?

A statement was posted on their website last week saying: “It’s time to make a date with the Spice Girls, as their glossy new 2008 calendar is available from this week in the UK. Featuring 12 months of fabulous photographs of the girls, this is your chance to revel in the return of Girl Power and Spice up the year ahead. Emma, Geri, Mel B, Melanie C and Victoria are all proud of the glamorous new photographs that adorn the pages of their fantastic calendar. So, give yourself a great start to the new year and put some Spice in your life.”

Some of the biggest musical stars of the 1960s counterculture gathered in San Francisco on Sunday for a concert to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Summer of Love, yet backstage many voiced disappointment about the era's unfulfilled ideals.

The Summer of Love of 1967 made San Francisco a magnet for youth who wanted to experiment with sex, drugs, rock and roll and an alternative hippie lifestyle.

Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty has been dropped from her first English film after making high pay demands. The actress, 32, was due to be the leading role in the romantic comedy film Quick, Slip Me A Bride but arguments about money have forced them to find another leading star. This is totally unprofessional from the Indian Actress. Once she signed to do the movie she should have stuck with the project, I haven’t seen too many Indians star in British or Hollywood movie and this would have certainly been a golden opportunity for the girl. After winning the reality show ‘Big Brother’ in Britain, I don’t think she has been able to carry on with her success and yeah the many years she’s been acting in Indian movie she never been very successful there too. It could have been a stepping stone for her and she could have gradually increased her salary demands. But now it seems she’s done with her international project. I do not know whether any of the Indian movie stars have a professional approach.