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Ryan Seacrest has been named the permanent co-host of ABC's "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve," reports Hollywood Reporter. The move comes three years after the syndicated radio personality stepped into the role when Clark suffered a stroke.
Christina Milian is trying to recoup her losses after getting sued over her 2004 hit "Dip It Low." According to TMZ.com, the singer has now filed her own lawsuit against the song's producer. Milian claims Poli Paul assured her there were no samples used in "Dip It Low." However, she was sued in 2005 by a trio of men who said Milian's song used portions of their 1983 tune "La Sirena." Milian claims she spent over 300-thousand dollars on her defense before settling the matter out of court. Christina now wants Paul to cover her losses. Paul's camp has not responded to Milian's lawsuit. "Dip It Low," which featured rapper Fabolous, reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 2005 Grammys.
Joshua Allen, a 19-year-old who hails from Fort Worth, Texas, became the winner last night on Fox's "So You Think You Dance.” Joshua is the first street dancer in the show's history to win the title.
A New York crowd just witnessed the first performance of a tune that could be on Jay-Z's next album. Billboard.com reports Jigga appeared at Kanye West's Madison Square Garden Wednesday night. 'Ye first asked the crowd if they'd like to hear one his new beats that he called "Jockin' Jay-Z." As the music started, Jay took the stage and began rapping. His lyrics made reference to his recent appearance at the Glastonbury Festival, and the public criticism by Oasis' Noel Gallagher. Memphis Bleek told Billboard that Kanye has several beats he's given to Jay-Z's next album, titled "The Blueprint 3." Timbaland has also said he's producing tracks for the disc. "The Blueprint 3" is scheduled to be Jay's last CD for Def Jam. After that, he'll begin recording under his reported 150-million-dollar deal with Live Nation.
Miley Cyrus is not only admitting that she and Nick Jonas were once an item, but she says they were very much "in love." "People" magazine reports the 15-year-old says of the youngest member of the Jonas Brothers, quote, "he was on a quest to meet me, and he was like, 'I think you're beautiful and I really like you.' And I was like, 'Oh, my gosh, I like you so much.'" She says the two loved each other and they still do but the breakup was particularly hard on her. She said, quote, "at first I bawled for a month straight. I was so sad. I just went into this weird funk. And I dyed my hair black." The two reportedly broke up at the end of 2007 and rumors are now flying that Nick is dating another young Disney star, Selena Gomez. Cyrus seems unfazed by the rumors saying that, since their breakup, she has met many great guys. She added, quote, "I like being the girl nobody can have. No one can touch me, no one's mine. I'm myself. I think it's sexy to do your own thing." Cyrus spills all about the relationship in the September issue of "Seventeen" magazine that hits stands August 12th.
Selena Gomez is preparing for her debut album, but she is assuring everyone it's not going to be all about her. MTV News reports the 16-year-old Disney star said, quote, "I'm going to be in a band - no Selena Gomez stuff. I'm not going to be a solo artist. I think that I don't want my name attached to it." Gomez says her album will have a pop and rock feel to it and she intends to play some instruments on several of the tracks. She added, quote, "I basically want to make music that is fun and that parents and kids can jump around to and have a good time to." Rumors are flying that Gomez is romantically involved with the youngest member of the Jonas Brothers, Nick. She assured the band and her good friend Demi Lovato, who also sings, that she will not be copying their style or doing anything that they have already done.
It was birthday cheers all around for Samantha Ronson in the early hours of Thursday morning. "People" magazine reports the deejay rang in her 31st birthday with constant gal-pal singer-actress Lindsay Lohan at a Los Angeles nightclub. Twenty-two-year-old Lohan reportedly spent the evening close to Ronson who spun some deejay sets while a table of friends sat close by. At around five minutes after midnight, Lohan silenced the club and led the crowd in a chorus of "Happy Birthday." She then presented Ronson with a cake and what "People" describes as "a lingering kiss." The couple has not confirmed that they are a romantic item, although they've been spotted all over the country constantly at each other's side. The two recently defended themselves by firing back at the Los Angeles police chief's comments that Lohan had, quote, "gone gay." Lohan told reporters that the police chief needed to mind his own business.
"American Idol" winner David Cook took to a different kind of stage Thursday. ETOnline reports the pop singer threw the first pitch at a New York Mets game. He said, quote, "I'm a huge sports fan, a big baseball fan and so to be able to do anything like this is always really cool." The Mets third baseman David Wright invited Cook to the Shea Stadium. Wright is the founder of the David Wright Foundation and reached out to Cook specifically during "American Idol" whose older brother is battling a brain tumor. Cook said Wright, quote, "really wanted to try to help out to get my older brother out to the finale and stuff." Although Cook is currently traveling with the "American Idols Live" tour, he is also working on his solo album that is set for release sometime in November.
Pink showed no mercy with the lyrics of her new single "So What" that debuted Thursday morning. "People" magazine reports Pink pelts out during her song, quote, "And I don't need you/And guess what/I'm having more fun/And now that we're done/I'm gonna show you tonight/I'm all right, I'm fine/And you're a tool/So so what?" The song comes on the heels of Pink's estranged husband Carey Hart saying he misses, quote, "everything about" Pink and he believes the two still love each other. The singer is dispelling rumors that her lyrics are written about Hart by writing on her Myspace blog that Carey likes the song. She wrote, quote, "Glad you likey's. And don't worry - Carey likey's too. We are insane." The video for "So What" will premiere later this month on MTV's "FNMTV."
If you've been wanting to add a little Sheryl Crow style to your wardrobe, now's your chance. "People" magazine reports the singer launched her new clothing line yesterday in Dillard's department stores. Crow says the line, called "Bootheel Trading Co.," is very Americana. She said, quote, "I gravitate to pieces that are American by nature, either western or Depression-era." The 46-year-old went on to say she does almost everything in jeans and she wants her denim-based line to be affordable. She said, quote, "denim has become so high-priced as of late. My friends back home don't want to spend 250 dollars for a pair of jeans. I want them to be able to walk into a medium-priced store and be able to afford a cool pair of jeans for less than 100 bucks." Jeans in Crow's line do not hit the 70 dollar mark and her shirts start at 29 dollars.
Teen pop star Jordan Pruitt has partnered with Kimberly-Clark and their "Rock Your School Sweepstakes." Pruitt says the Sweepstakes are really easy to enter and have some great rewards. The Box Tops for Education fundraising program supports schools with grades K through eight by providing cash for each Box Top consumers send in from specially marked packages of participating Kimberly-Clark brands. Pruitt will release her sophomore album "Permission to Fly" on September 9th. She says she had a "five-second-rule" when it came to picking the songs for the disc. She added, quote, "if I didn't feel it or if it didn't feel magical to me then, I was just like, 'no, it's out.'"
A new book is on the way about the late Godfather of Soul. Don Rhodes' "Say It Loud! My Memories of James Brown, Soul Brother No. 1" presents a biography of James Brown from an insider's perspective. Rhodes friendship with the soul icon dates back to the 1960s, and his reflections are described as a, quote, "sensitive but candid look" at the singer's life. The book explores both Brown's personal and professional sides, including his marriages and other relationships, his legal troubles, his activism, his musical evolution, and his international celebrity. It also includes a number of previously unpublished photos. The Lyons Press is handling the publication. "Say It Loud!" is slated to hit stores on September 2nd.
L'Oreal is responding to allegations that the company distorted the image of pop star Beyoncé Knowles in a new ad campaign. According to "E! News," the cosmetics company has issued a denial following reports that the singer's skin tone was lightened in a recent ad for L'Oreal's Feria hair coloring product. L'Oreal said, quote, "We highly value our relationship with Ms. Knowles." They added, "It is categorically untrue that L'Oreal Paris altered Ms. Knowles' features or skin tone in the campaign for Feria's hair color." Beyoncé's camp has yet to comment on the photo. L'Oreal's controversial ad is being featured in the current issues of "Elle," "Allure" and "Essence" magazines. A spokesperson for Hachette Filipacchi Media, which publishes "Elle," said they planned to look into the matter.
Morgan Freeman is out of the hospital and "doing very well." In a statement released to "People" by his rep, the actor says he feels "real good" and offers his thanks to the staff at the Elvis Presley Hospital in Memphis where he was treated. Seventy-one-year-old Freeman was seriously injured in a car crash Sunday night and needed surgery to repair damage to his left arm and hand. His attorney says that Freeman will now need to wear a neck brace for the next six to eight months. Freeman was driving in Mississippi when his vehicle went off the edge of the road and flipped several times before coming to a stop. Emergency crews needed the jaws of life to remove Freeman and his female passenger, friend Demaris Meyer, from the car. Both were airlifted to the hospital in Memphis. This week it was announced that Freeman and his wife of 24 years, Myrna Colley-Lee, are divorcing.
The investigation into the death of actor Heath Ledger has been closed. "People" magazine says federal prosecutors in New York will not bring any charges in "The Dark Knight" star's accidental prescription drug overdose. The U.S. Attorney's Office will also not enforce a subpoena from a federal grand jury for actress Mary-Kate Olsen. She was the first person called after a masseuse discovered Ledger's body in his New York apartment in January. Olsen had reportedly refused to cooperate with investigators until she could work out a deal for immunity in the matter. Olsen's attorney, Michael Miller, has insisted his client, quote, "had nothing whatsoever to do with the drugs found in Heath Ledger's home or his body."
A dream once held by late actor Heath Ledger will soon become a reality. Ledger's business partner, Jud Mongell, tells "Life & Style," that the restaurant-bar he and Ledger had planned on opening together should open later this summer. The establishment, called BrightSide, is located in Brooklyn, New York, where Ledger once lived. Mongell says Ledger drew the floor plans for the eatery and picked its name. He says a chessboard will also be engraved in one of the tables, because Ledger "was a big chess player." Mongell says the whole idea behind BrightSide was, quote, "to make it a spot for us. We wanted to make it our own space to hang out."
Bernie Mac is said to be "responding well to treatment" following his hospitalization for pneumonia. A spokeswoman for Mac says he hopes to be released in a few weeks from a Chicago-area facility where he is in stable condition. Danica Smith says his treatment for pneumonia is not related to an earlier diagnosis of sarcoidosis, or chronic tissue inflammation. The 50-year-old Mac starred in his own TV sitcom on the Fox network and has appeared in films such as the "Ocean's Eleven" trilogy and "Guess Who."
For the first time in show history, a woman is the "Last Comic Standing." Iliza Shlesinger beat out her four male competitors in last night's season-six finale of the NBC competition. For her win, the Dallas native picked up 250-thousand-dollars and an exclusive talent deal with the Peacock network. Iliza also scored a Honda car and a starring gig at the Jubilee! in Las Vegas. The sixth season of "Last Comic Standing" featured the stars of various NBC shows judging the competition during the audition rounds. Bill Bellamy once again hosted the show, but this time with the help of British presenter Fearne Cotton. NBC has yet to announce a seventh season of "Last Comic Standing."
The father of "Hairspray" movie star Nikki Blonsky is due in court today in Turks and Caicos to answer charges related to his alleged involvement in an airport brawl on the Caribbean island last week. Carl Blonsky has been jailed since the July 29th altercation, and is charged with "grievous bodily harm." "People" says his hearing today will address his bail situation. Nikki Blonsky and "America's Next Top Model" contestant Bianca Golden were also arrested in connection to the incident, but remain free on bail. Both were charged with "actual bodily harm," a charge which carries a sentence of up to two years in jail. Local police say the fight between the Blonsky and Golden families began in the airport's departure lounge. Nikki is due in court in Turks and Caicos in December.
A man has been arrested in connection to the murder of a women last seen at rapper Lil' Kim's New York City birthday party. According to the "New York Post," 24-year-old Rahman Syed, a bartender's assistant at the club where the bash was held, has apparently admitted to killing 24-year-old Ingrid Rivera. She was reportedly kicked out of the party for being too intoxicated. Her body was later found on a deserted area of the roof of the club. Investigators are now conducting tests to see if Syed's fingerprints match those found on a champagne glass and champagne bottle also found on the roof. Lil' Kim's rep tells TMZ.com in a statement that the rapper, quote, "mourns the death of Ms. Rivera. She knew nothing of this incident until she heard media reports."
Mary J. Blige is being sued for allegedly stealing music for her most recent number one album. According to a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Federal Court, and obtained by the "New York Daily News," the singer, producer Theron Feemster and Geffen Records, are accused of wrongly using the song "Work That." Although the tune was written by Feemster, Dream Family Entertainment Inc. apparently owns the right to the tune. Dream claims the song was, quote, "used without permission in a Mary J. Blige release recording," including on an album, as a single and on a commercial. The company is asking for two-million-dollars in damages. An attorney for Dream says that it is unclear whether or not Blige was aware that "Work That" belonged to someone besides Feemster.
Nicole Kidman has made an appeal to the Australian media. During an interview with Sydney radio station 2DayFM, the actress asked for, quote, "a little space" during her visit there. Kidman is in the city with her husband, country singer Keith Urban, and their one-month-old daughter Sunday Rose, who was born in Nashville, Tennessee. Kidman also shared that her family needs to be left alone, quote, "so we can walk around Sydney and show the baby our town." Urban told the station that the photographers need to not get, quote, "right in her face or in our faces because it's scary for her." The couple has previously said that they do not plan to sell the first public photos of their daughter, as celebrities often do.
One member of the Dixie Chicks has quietly split with her husband. The "San Antonio Express-News" reports that the divorce for 35-year-old Emily Robison and 43-year-old Charlie Robison was finalized this week. The couple first filed for divorce in January. That filing claims that their marriage of nine years had, quote, "become insupportable because of discord or conflict of personalities." Emily and Charlie have three children, including a five-year-old son and three-year-old boy and girl twins. Emily is the sister of fellow Dixie Chick Martie Maguire, who recently welcomed her third daughter with husband Gareth Maguire. Lead singer Natalie Maines makes up the rest of the Grammy-winning country group the Dixie Chicks. She is married to actor Adrian Pasdar who stars on the NBC series "Heroes."
"Entourage" boss Mark Wahlberg is hanging with the crew on the small screen again. Wahlberg, who serves as the executive produce on the HBO comedy, tells the "New York Post" that he will make his second guest appearance on the series during its new season. The actor says although he did one cameo for the show's pilot, he regrets not getting a chance to share a scene with "Entourage" actor Jeremy Piven who plays Hollywood agent Ari Gold on the show. Wahlberg says, quote, "This time it's me and Piven going at it, so it was fun." "Entourage" follows a rising actor and his friends as they ride the wave of fame. The cast also includes Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Kevin Connolly and Jerry Ferrara. The fifth season of "Entourage" is set to premiere on HBO in September.
Tom Selleck may compete on Dancing With the Stars. A source says, "Executives wanted an older hunk to bring in the baby boomer audience. Tom is incredibly popular with women 40 through 65, and producers were ecstatic when, at Steve's urging, he expressed interest in competing on the show."
MSNBC reports Paris Hilton had to use a teleprompter to get through her John McCain ad. A source says, “She couldn’t recite her address without a Teleprompter. If she’s wearing a designer label that has two names, like Dolce & Gabbana, she can only remember the first one. There’s no way that she memorized that whole spot. She’s excellent when she’s surrounded by excellent people. The problem is she surrounds herself with morons most of the time. She’s capable of being every bit the celebrity she wants to be.”
InTouch Weekly reports Britney and KFed's son, Jayden James, may be autistic. A family friend says, “He plays alone a lot. Jayden often starts crying for no apparent reason. Kevin wants Jayden tested to rule out any developmental problems.”
E! may cancel Denise Richards' reality series. A source says, "The numbers started out pretty good - just over 1.5 million tuned into the premiere episode. But the audience has dropped off. Denise has turned into an unappealing reality star.Viewers were disgusted that a mother of two young girls would use such foul language."
Grey's star T.R. Knight and his 19-year-old boyfriend, Mark Cornelsen, may adopt a child. Cornelsen says, "One of our friends is in the middle of it right now, and it's been fun to see the whole process."
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