Over the last five years, Taylor Swift has made her mark on country music. Having pursued a musical career since she was a child, the 22 year old is at the top of her genre, and rightfully so. According to Forbes magazine, Swift earned $18 million in 2009,$45 million in 2010, $45 million in 2011, and $57 million in 2012, and 2012 isn't even over yet! That's a lot of millions of $.
In bringing her sound to the masses over the last five years, Swift has taught a generation of kids to appreciate country music. Now, she’s donating $4 million to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum to make sure that the education continues. I'm not sure if she's thought this through.
Hip hop superstar Jay-Z has come out in support of gay marriage. This follows President Obama's announcement last week that he supports same-sex unions. That was the first time in history that an American president has put his support behind the idea.
Jay-Z told CNN on Monday that backing gay marriage is "the right thing to do."
"I’ve always thought of it as something that was still holding the country back," he said. "What people do in their own homes is their business and you can choose to love whoever you love. That’s their business. It’s no different than discriminating against blacks. It’s discrimination plain and simple.”
Well, like all good things, this one had to come to an end. Several months ago the internet was abuzz because Rihanna and Chris Brown were not only hanging out together, but collaborating on each other's singles. This was news, of course, because Chris Brown had (in)famously physically beaten Rihanna in 2009, when they were dating.
It seemed that the two were determined to be friends, if nothing else, and move forward. Brown is said to be in a relationship with Karrueche Tran, although rumours have suggested that the arrangement is "open." Rihanna has been linked in the press, whether accurately or not, to Ashton Kutcher, NFL star Darren McFadden, and rapper Meek Mill.
Now it seems that things have taken a turn for the worse (which I actually thought happened in 2009, but...). Last night Chris Brown released a remix of the Kanye West song "Theraflu", now just called "Cold," in which he seems to be majorly dissing Rihanna.
So, you want to look like Courtney Love? Who doesn't?! The former Mrs. Kurt Cobain gave New York Magazine's Grub Street the rundown of her weekly "New York Diet." Here are a few exerpts. It's... kind of weird.
Friday, April 27
"Every day I have my house manager, Hershey — who I stole from the Mercer Hotel with André Balazs's blessing — wake me up with a hot washcloth for my face, a leg rub, and a plate of toast soldiers.
Then someone always gets chicken potpie and potato salad from D.D., you know, Dean & Deluca. If I can't afford D.D., I just don't eat.
One thing from living next to Paris Hilton in L.A. ... she always had a fresh cake in her house. So I make sure someone gets a full, fresh new one every day, like marzipan. My house manager tries to put it in the fridge, but I don't like refrigeration. I know, so 'Portlandia' of me. But I'm sorry, I'm from Portland!"
"That's what I eat. Every day. And then I need sugar from 4 a.m. to 5 a.m.."
Hip hop pioneer Adam Yauch, aka MCA of the Beastie Boys, has died at 48. Having fought cancer since 2009, his death doesn't come as a shock, but it does come with sadness.
Yauch did not attend the Beastie Boys' induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last month, and his illness delayed the release of the band's most recent album, Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2. The Beastie Boys have not performed live since 2009.
Yauch co-founded the Beastie Boys with Mike "Mike D" Diamond and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horowitz in 1979. Starting off as a hardcore punk band, they soon began experimenting with hip-hop.
The band broke big with their first proper album, Licensed to Ill, and it's single "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)" in 1986. Subsequent albums Paul's Boutique, Check Your Head, and Ill Communication brought the band critical accolades, making them a group whose influence has reached throughout the hip-hop world and into modern music in general. The band won three Grammy Awards.
In addition to his career with the Beastie Boys, Yauch was heavily involved in the movement to free Tibet and co-organized the Tibetan Freedom Concerts of the late 1990s. In 2002, he launched the film production company Oscilloscope Laboratories.
Canadian pop star Justin Bieber not only put his foot in his mouth late last week, but nearly swallowed it. When asked about a song on his new album, Believe, Bieber described it as being recorded in some "random country."
"I recorded it in a studio. Some little place," Bieber said. "They didn't know what they were doing."
The problem is that the "random country" is Indonesia, with a population of 240 million people. It has the third largest Facebook community in the world, and the fifth-biggest number of Twitter accounts.
So, I was going to write about how, despite denying rumours that they are dating, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have been spotted spending even more time together than most "friends" would. I wrote last week about how silly it is to assume that two people who have known each other for years are dating simply because they went to dinner together. Now it seems that the two are continuing to spend time together.
According to People.com: "The longtime friends and That '70s Show costars went on a three-day getaway to the coastal town of Carpinteria, Calif."
So who knows what's going on there. I'm not going to speculate any further, mainly because I sort of don't care...
...because in more dependable Hollywood news, there was a flash mob Carlton dance-off!
My kids (5 and 8) recently attended their school's dance-a-thon. When asked how it went, my son complained that they didn't play any of the songs he and his friends requested. Apparently they had asked to hear "I'm Sexy and I Know It" by LMFAO, but instead got "I'm Elmo and I Know It" by...well, Elmo.
So here's a version of LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" with some major Imperial choreography to make up for it. Every kid loves Stormtroopers, right?! Right??!! Or is it just me?
The Summer Olympic Games are being held in London, England this year. It has been confirmed that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will officially open the games, and Daniel Craig will play James Bond in a short film during the opening ceremony.
Closing the ceremonies, August 12, will be the Symphony of Rock, a celebration of British pop culture, and will feature musicians who have brought British rock 'n' roll to the world. Sirs Paul McCartney and Elton John are rumoured to be playing, along with the Rolling Stones, Adele, and... er... the Spice Girls.
One thing British rock gave the world were some excellent drummers, so why not include one of those? Since Led Zeppelin's John Bonham is dead, why not get the legendary Who drummer Keith Moon? That's exactly what the Olympic organizers sought to do. Which makes sense...except Moon has been dead for 34 years. Oops.
A few weeks ago I wrote about Madonna being called out by Deadmau5 for talking about drugs during a festival appearance in Florida. Madonna was making reference to "Molly," slang for MDMA, a key ingredient in the drug ecstasy. It seemed that the one time Material Girl, now 53, was trying to seem hip to a younger crowd, although Deadmau5 claimed her drug reference was lame, and irresponsible.
Madonna's new album MDNA is an obvious play on MDMA, and the singer has only been making a few appearances to promote the album, most notably the Super Bowl. The album debuted strongly in it's first week, but it's second week has seen it plummet at a record breaking pace. According to Forbes magazine, MDNA is set to be the biggest second week sales flop in history, with an 88% drop, from 359,000 copies in its first week, to close to 46,000 in its second week in stores. That's quite an achievement.
