Music News: Pharrell Launches News Web Site for Teens

Between writing and producing hits for the likes of Madonna, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, designing a successful clothing and shoe line and prepping his own band N.E.R.D.‘s disc for this summer, who has time to watch the news? Pharrell Williams, that’s who.

However, the award-collecting rapper doesn’t have his sights focused on his own news intake. Oh, no: He’s producing something very special for young adults by creating Kidult.com, an online venture inspired by his teenage fans to report on politics, technology, health, fashion, science, business, environmental issues, sports, gaming and entertainment news geared just for them. The site’s staff includes a team of young writers doing interviews with celebs and “cool job” professionals including Justin Bieber, Will.I.Am, Miranda Cosgrove and the head costume designer of American Idol!

But there’s more: Political polls are conducted regularly, and users can even listen to President Obama‘s weekly radio address or learn how to pay off credit card debt (even I need that!).

“Kidult is a reliable news source that speaks directly to teenagers,” says Williams. “It also gives them a chance to get involved and speak to other young people about issues they care about. Kidult is the site I wish I had when I was in high school.”

Visit the site at www.Kidult.com for more information.

Source: OMG!

Music News: VMA Breakdown

It was an intense and exciting Sunday evening as the “2009 Video Music Awards” took over New York City, causing quite a stir with Kanye West‘s outburst, Madonna‘s surprise appearance, Janet Jackson‘s tribute performance to her brother Michael and the cast of ‘Twilight”s big reveal of their extended ‘New Moon’ trailer.

Madonna opened the awards show, paying tribute to the late Michael Jackson.

Madonna called Michael Jackson a “hero,” a “king” and a “human being” as she paid tribute to the King of Pop at MTV’s “2009 Video Music Awards,” prior to Janet Jackson‘s anticipated performance.

“When I was six, my mother died. I think he got the shorter end of the sick,” she says of the music legend. “I never had a mother but he never had a childhood.”

Madonna said when she learned of Michael’s death while preparing for her tour, she felt as if she had “abandoned him.”

“I know his pain,” she said, referring to the constant media attention the King of Pop received.

Madonna said his legacy lives on, starting with her two sons who are big fans of the late singer. “There’s a whole lot of crotch grabbing and moon-walking in my house,” Madonna joked.

She concluded her tribute saying, “He was a king, but he was also a human being. … Long live the king.”

Following her words, dancers made their way to the stage to perform to Michael‘s acclaimed song “Thriller.” Janet Jackson followed that performance up with her own tribute, singing the song “Scream,” a duet she recorded with her brother.

Taylor Swift then went up onstage to accept the award for Best Female Music Video from Taylor Lautner and Shakira, but her speech was cut short when Kanye West grabbed the microphone from her, declaring that Beyonce’ Knowles had the best music video of the year.

Swift was also amongst the performers of the night, in addition to Green Day, Pink, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys and Kid Cudi. Cudi dedicated his performance to the late Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein, while Pink performed high in the sky with a trapeze artist.

The show concluded with a preview of Michael Jackson‘s anticipated documentary ‘This Is It.’

Here is the list of Moon Men winners at the 2009 VMA’s:

Breakthrough Video- Matt and Kim, “Lessons Learned”

Female Video- Taylor Swift, “You Belong with Me”

Rock Video- Green Day, “21 Guns”

Pop Video- Britney Spears, “Womanizer”

Male Video- T.I. featuring Rihanna, “Live Your Life”

Hip-Hop Video- Eminem, “We Made You”

Best New Artist- Lady Gaga

Video of the Year- Beyonce’ Knowles, “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”

Check out more photos below from last night’s VMAs.

Source: theInsider/MTV

Celebrity News: More Celebrities Speak Out About Michael Jackson’s Death

Madonna

“I can’t stop crying over the sad news… I have always admired Michael Jackson… The world has lost one of the greats, but his music will live on forever!… My heart goes out to his 3 children and other members of his family… God bless.”

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Lisa Marie Presley

“I am so very sad and confused with every emotion possible. I am heartbroken for his children who I know were everything to him and for his family. This is such a massive loss on so many levels, words fail me.”

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Justin Timberlake

“I can’t find the words right now to express how deeply saddened I am by Michael’s passing. We have lost a genius and a true ambassador of not only Pop music, but of all music. He has been an inspiration to multiple generations and I will always cherish the moments I shared with him on stage and all of the things I learned about music from him and the time we spent together. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones.”

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Brooke Shields

“My heart is overcome with sadness for the devastating loss of my true friend Michael. He was an extraordinary friend, artist and contributor to the world. I join his family and his fans in celebrating his incredible life and mourning his untimely passing.”

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Sean “Diddy” Combs

“Michael Jackson showed me that you can actually see the beat. He made the music come to life! He made me believe in magic. I will miss him.”

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Hugh Hefner

“Michael’s first date was in the grotto at the Mansion. All quite innocent, he assured me.”

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Britney Spears

“I was so excited to see his show in London. We were going to be on tour in Europe at the same time and I was going to fly in to see him. He has been an inspiration throughout my entire life and I’m devastated he’s gone!”

.¸¸.·`¯`·.¸¸.ஐ:

“To read what more celebrities had to say check out Access Hollywood.”

Gracing Pages: Glamour Magazine Honors American Icons

Paula Patton as Billie Holiday

As an aspiring singer, Holiday suffered sexual abuse, struggled with a drug habit and encountered racism everywhere. But the late Lady Day—one of the first African American women to sing with an all-white orchestra—translated all of that pain into some of the most achingly personal songs ever recorded. (Download “Strange Fruit,” which she sang at her 1948 Carnegie Hall concert, and listen for yourself.)

“You can imagine that women at home hearing her songs on the radio felt her vocalizing their emotions and their struggles.”—Paula Patton, 33, of the upcoming drama Push, wearing Holiday’s trademark gardenia in her hair

Chanel Iman as Althea Gibson

After years of playing segregated tennis, the late Althea Gibson tore down the color barrier of competition in 1950, when, at age 23, she became the first African American to compete in major U.S. championships—and, in 1957, the first to win Wimbledon. In her crisp whites, “the Jackie Robinson of tennis,” as she was known, won 11 major titles.

“She showed women…you can be sweaty, be gorgeous and do a great job.”—Chanel Iman, 19, cohost of MTV’s House of Style.

America Ferrera as Dolores Huerta

A fierce advocate for migrant farmers, Huerta cofounded, with César Chávez, what became the United Farm Workers of America. In 1975 she played a critical role in enacting policies that allowed workers to bargain for better wages and conditions. Today, at age 79, Huerta continues to be active—last year she campaigned for Hillary Clinton’s presidential run.

“She saw her own opinion and voice as [something as] powerful as any man’s.”—America Ferrera, 25, of ABC’s Ugly Betty, holding a sign that reads “strike” in Spanish

Lindsay Lohan as Madonna

In 1984 Madonna told American Bandstand host Dick Clark that her dream was to “rule the world.” Months later she was on her way—her album Like a Virgin skyrocketed to number one on the Billboard charts. She’s been a pop-culture powerhouse ever since, and last year, Sticky & Sweet was the highest-grossing tour by a solo artist ever.

“When I was little, every day after school I would come home and put in her The Immaculate Collection disc and karaoke to it around the whole house.”—Lindsay Lohan, 22, of the upcoming film Labor Pains, re-creating Madonna’s 1984 MTV Video Music Awards performance of “Like a Virgin”

Alicia Keys as First Lady Michelle Obama

Not only is Obama the first African American filling the position, but she’s already making best-dressed headlines for a style that ranges from couture to J.Crew. Raised in Chicago, Obama, 45, powered on to Princeton and Harvard Law School before beginning a career during which she met, mentored and married our current President. Hail to our newest smart, opinionated, chic First Lady!

“She has worked hard for everything she’s accomplished, and done so with grace and humility. So many women and girls can identify with her story.”—Alicia Keys, 28, whose most recent album is As I Am.

Source: Glamour Magazine

“These images are amazing!” I’m going outt o buy this issue. This is going to be one-of-a-kind.” For more on the magazine check out Glamour.com.

Designer Love: Madonna

Madonna’s Doing a Clothing Line With Christian Audigier…

Madonna’s collaborating with Ed Hardy on a fashion line, according to the Mirror. Known for its tattoo prints, the label is owned by Christian Audigier, who’s also designing an outfit for Michael Jackson’s comeback tour. Working with the two of them at once must be a real headache treat. Audigier approached Madonna about the line after he spotted her wearing Ed Hardy. The Mirror reports:

He offered a six-figure deal and put on a private catwalk show to inspire Madonna, telling her to “Express Yourself”.

But he needn’t have worried. Her Madgesty, 50, thinks Christian is a true fashion innovator and jumped at the chance to work with him.

We’ll have to agree to disagree with Madge on that. But it’s good to know that if we went up to her and said “express yourself” she wouldn’t slug us. Her designs include tattoo-inspired T-shirts and diamante-encrusted bodices (Pussycat Dolls, control yourselves). We’re glad to hear veering young doesn’t stop with her love life.

Source: nymag.com

Music News: Flo Rida Topping Charts!

Flo Rida’s “Right Round” tops the 1 million mark in paid downloads in just its second week of release, which makes it the fastest million-selling download ever. This shaves three weeks off the old record, which was set in November by “Live Your Life” by T.I. featuring Rihanna. “Right Round” debuted last week with sales of 636,000 downloads, by far the biggest one-week total ever. This week, it sold 460,000 downloads, the third highest one-week total ever. In second place: Flo Rida’s previous smash “Low” (featuring T-Pain), which sold 467,000 downloads during Christmas week 2007. Flo Rida doesn’t get one-tenth of the mainstream media exposure of Kanye West or even Lil Wayne, but based on these numbers, I’d say he deserves to have a higher media profile.

The record for fastest-selling download has been broken several times in the past year. “Love In This Club” by Usher featuring Young Jeezy set a record when it topped the 1 million mark in its seventh week in April. It was broken two weeks later when “4 Minutes” by Madonna featuring Justin Timberlake rang the bell in just six weeks. At the rate we’re going, we will soon get to the point that high-demand songs sell 1 million copies in their first week of release. This is the second week in a row that rap or hip-hop artists have held down the top three spots on Hot Digital Songs. “Right Round” holds at #1, “Dead And Gone” by T.I. featuring Justin Timberlake inches up to #2 and “Crack A Bottle” by Eminem, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent dips to #3.

Source: Yahoo!

Wire Talk: Weekly Rundown in the News

Elisabeth Hasselbeck Pregnant Again!
The View host just announced on the show that she’s three months
pregnant with her third child. Mazel tov, Lizzie. You know, “Palin” could work as a boy’s name or a girl’s name, just sayin’.

Megan Fox: Like Angelina Jolie, Only Not Terrifying…
Megan Fox supposedly will make the next Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie, which inspires the News to make a list of what she has in common with Angelina Jolie.

Former New Jersey gov Jim McGreevey says it’s not true that he tried to bribe his way into a Hannah Montana show for his daughter, and he has the ticket stubs on his fridge door to prove it.

New Citigroup chair Richard Parsons took Amtrak to D.C. for a meeting with Obama, doing the budget-y right thing after that whole flap about that $50 million jet the bailed-out company just canceled.

RFK Jr.‘s daughter, Kick, who goes to Stanford, has supposedly moved to New York to intern for Jann Wenner at Rolling Stone.

Cindy Adams says who the big inside-knowers think are going to get the major Oscars. Adams also says that John Updike, who just died, “wrote trillions of words.” C’mon, lady. The man was prolific, yes, but trillions?

Then Liz Smith says something about Daniel Radcliffe inviting Sasha and Malia Obama onto the Harry Potter set.

Hilary Swank’s ex Chad Lowe and his girlfriend are apparently expecting a baby girl in May.

Drew Barrymore and Justin Long are no longer dating but still hanging out and laughing together. Nice!

Sly dog Jean-Paul Belmondo, 75, dates a hot Belgian nightclub owner named Barbara Gandolfi who’s 33!

Jessica Simpson may not really be a size 2.

Stephanie Meyer, the Twilight vampire-books writer, says she won’t finish the fifth book in the series because she’s bummed someone put the unfinished version online.

Michael Cera will supposedly do the Arrested Development movie, which is supposedly going to happen after all.

Jeremy Piven took back his promise to take (sort-of?) girlfriend Ashley Chontos to the Golden Globes, so he took her to the SAG Awards, but she didn’t even get to sit with him there.

Guy Ritchie‘s dad said he hopes his son never gets back together with Madonna.

Michelle Obama will be the third First Lady after Jackie and Hillary to have a wax version of herself at Madame Tussauds.

50 Cent says he’s coming out with some kind of dietary supplement.

All On The Cover: Madonna Covers Vogue Brazil

In her signature black boots and fishnets, the singer was captured during the recording of the Get Stupid clip by fashion photographer Steven Klein for Vogue Brazil December issue.