Last week I wrote about the rumours that were going around that Rihanna and Chris Brown were reuniting, at least musically. Judging from the comments that I got, very few readers were supportive of the move; in fact most were downright angry. Perez Hilton was one of the only bloggers to post a denial, claiming that the producer of the song in question, Birthday Cake, was tweeting that Brown was not involved.
The main reason it seemed a bit far fetched was that Brown beat Rihanna in 2009, pled guilty for the assault, did community service, and almost wrecked his career in the process. It would seem that, given all the drama and violence, the two would want to stay clear of each other. After all, what would people think about the character of either one of them if they were to act publicly like everything is "all good" between them?
Now it turns out that not only is Chris Brown on Birthday Cake, but Rihanna has added her vocals to Brown's own single, Turn Up the Music. And both singles dropped yesterday, Rihanna's birthday.
On February 8, 2009, Barbadian singer Rihanna was scheduled to perform on the Grammy awards. Her performance had to be cancelled because her boyfriend, R&B singer Chris Brown, had beaten her in a rage after a pre-Grammy party. Brown turned himself into authorities, and although LAPD did not name the victim in the case, stating only that she had "suffered visible injuries", TMZ leaked a picture of a badly bruised Rihanna, and the press went crazy.
Brown, who was also scheduled to perform at the 2009 Grammys, immediately withdrew from public life, serving 5 years of probation, and 6 months of community service. His career, you would think, was basically over.
But Hollywood has a way of turning a blind eye when there is a buck to be made, and somehow Chris Brown is back. The 2012 Grammys were held last weekend, and he not only performed but managed to win Best R&B Album.
Now all that beating and bruising seems to be water under the bridge for Brown and Rihanna. It has been rumoured that the two have been seen together on multiple occasions, that Brown recently attended Rihanna's 24th birthday party, and that they will collaborate on a remix of Rihanna's aptly titled Birthday Cake (Remix). Perezhilton.com has denied the rumour, claiming that the producer of the track has taken to Twitter to say that Brown is not the guest artist who will "shock the world." So who knows about the single, but it's clear that the two are spending time together.
With all the grim news this past weekend about the passing of Whitney Houston, any good news would be welcome. Lady Gaga has announced that her Born This Way Foundation will officially launch on Feb. 29, 2012, at Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre. That's pretty good news, indeed.
The foundation, which will be run by the singer and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, will work to explore ways to reach youth, and create a new culture of kindness, bravery, acceptance and empowerment focusing on issues like self-esteem, anti-bullying, mentoring, career development, and advocacy. The multi-Grammy winner will be joined by policy makers, non-profit organizations, foundation leaders, and young people themselves who are working to create a better world.
Last week One Million Moms, a group sponsored by the American Family Association, called for boycott of department store giant JCPenney if they didn't drop Ellen DeGeneres as their new spokesperson.
One Million Moms is nazi conservative group who have proclaimed theselves the most powerful tool to fight against the immorality, violence, vulgarity and profanity found in today's entertainment media. The group has vowed to protect children from the filth many segments of society, especially the media, are throwing at American children. So Ellen would be OMM enemy #1.
Today, February 8, is Let's Talk Dayat Bell. Aiming to encourage people to talk about mental illness, Bell will donate 5¢ for every text sent, long distance call made, or retweet of their official @Bell_LetsTalk page.
I wasn't asked to write about this. I think it's a great cause, and in participating, you're basically helping generate free money at no real cost to yourself.
Spokesperson Clara Hughes, a six-time Olympic medal winner, has publically spoken about battling depression.
Last year Canadians made a total of 66,079,236 text messages and long distance calls on Bell Let’s Talk Day – meaning the company added another $3,303,961.80 to the $50 million it has already committed to Canadian mental health.
I have written about suffering from anxiety before, and I think that, whether you participate in the Bell event or not, comunication is key in helping to bring people out of the shadows of mental illness. So, today, and any other day, don't be afraid to reach out to someone you care about, or are concerned about, and let them know how you feel.
On a lighter note, here's a dog watching table tennis:
I am by no means a football fan, or a fan of Madonna for that matter, but I joined 111 million people and tuned into the Super Bowl this past Sunday. The main reason I watched was for the famous halftime show, this year featuring Madonna performing a number of her hits, and being joined by guests including Cee Lo Green, Nicki Minaj, and M.I.A..
Being that it was Madonna, I was really hoping for/expecting some sort of controversy from the once self-professed "Boy Toy." While there was a certain degree of sauciness, cheerleaders and pom poms, it was all pretty primetime tame. That was until M.I.A. flipped the entire world the bird.
Last month Lana Del Ray enraged hipsters around the world by performing on Saturday Night Live, and not doing a very good job. I wrote about the performance, and the fallout. Now SNL has weighed in with their own take on it all. Check out Kristen Wiig on Weekend Update. And I know, it's backwards.
And here's LDR on Letterman just a few nights ago. He seemed to like her just fine.
With two hugely successful bands to his name, Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl certainly knows a thing or two about what it takes to survive the challenges of inter-band politics, and the pressures of stardom. So it makes sense that FX, the Fox Entertainment Group cable channel, is developing a 1/2 hour comedy with Grohl and comedian Dana Gould.
The show, yet to be titled, would revolve around a rock band on the verge of stardom and breaking up, all at the same time. The story would show the band seeking professional counselling from a couples' therapist, as they are on the brink of "divorce." Gould would write and executive produce the show with Grohl.
I think it will be interesting, although I have often been disappointed by how bands are portrayed onscreen. Hopefully there will be the right degree of realism, and an avoidance of the classic cliches that Hollywood always assumes are part of the rock musician's life.
Ashton Kutcher has a Twitter following of almost 9.5 million, making him one of the most followed celebrities out there. To put it in perspective, he has more followers than Oprah or Ellen, although Lady Gaga has almost twice as many, clocking in at 18.7 million. Still, @aplusk has considerable reach when he's saying anything of value...which is rarely.
Now it's being reported that Ashton has begun blocking certain journalists from seeing his Tweets. On Monday morning Star Magazine/RadarOnline.com top execs David Perel and Dylan Howard were blocked by the Two and a Half Men star, along with a handful of other journalists. This is presumably because they were the first to break the stories about Ashton's cheating on wife Demi Moore, the dissolution of their marriage, and Demi's health issues.
Kristen Bell stopped by Ellen yesterday and brought footage of her bawling her eyes out. Why was she crying? Well because her boyfriend, actor Dax Shepard, brought home a baby sloth for her birthday, of course.
It turns out that Kristen is obsessed with sloths. So much so that they bring her to tears, which it turns out isn't as rare an occasion for Kristen as it is for most people. Dax decided to have a sloth hang around for her 31st birthday party, and that was enough to set her off.
