Entertainment News:
Two arrested in Stevie Wonder extortion plot
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Stevie Wonder's nephew has been arrested and charged with an extortion scheme against the singer, Los Angeles prosecutors said on Friday. Alpha Lorenzo Walker, 38, was arrested on May 2, along with another alleged conspirator, Tamara Eileen Diaz. The pair had threatened to reveal information they claimed would be embarrassing to the "Superstition" singer unless he met their demands, the Los Angeles District Attorney's office said. Celebrity website TMZ. ...
"Glee" album a po(m)p and circumstance-themed "Graduation"
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Lest they take over Dick Clark's old title as the "world's oldest teenagers," some of the "Glee" kids are finally graduating (from high school, if not the series). Lea Michele and cohorts will exit William McKinley High in May 22's tassel-tossing season finale, but first comes this week's release of "Glee: The Graduation Album," a complete set of celebratory and/or valedictory songs. Well, nearly complete. Unfortunately, these aging young ‘uns never get around to "My Way. ...
MTV's Video Music Awards get a big new location
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The MTV Video Music Awards ceremony is getting some roomier new digs. MTV's annual awards ceremony is moving to Los Angeles' Staples Center this year, giving it a lot more elbow room than its previous location, the Nokia Theatre. The Staples Center, home venue to the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Kings, has a seating capacity approaching 20,000 for concerts and special events, compared to the Nokia's 7,100 capacity. ...
"Tresspassing" gives glimpses into the true Adam Lambert
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Well, the upcoming movie adaptation of "Fifty Shades of Grey" has its theme song, if it wants one. "Chokehold," a provocative track from Adam Lambert's second album, sounds tailor-made for the S&M occasion: "Sheets are in a knot... I kinda like the pain... I keep running away from you, but I can't stop breaking the chains." Madam Ana, he's Adam. Lambert may play the submissive in "Chokehold," but through the rest of "Trespassing," he's trying to assert himself in a way that he didn't on his debut album. ...
Analysis: Key to Universal-EMI decision: Has music business lost control?
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - On the face of it, Universal Music Group's bid to buy a big chunk of EMI stands to make the world's leading music company an even more formidable force, combining Universal's star lineup of Lady Gaga and Rihanna with the British company's deep library of The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Katy Perry. Certainly the fierce opposition from rival Warner Music Group, consumer groups and independent music companies makes it seem that way. They have all vowed to fight it tooth and nail, telling U.S. ...
"Storm and Grace" best thing from Presley since "Suspicious Minds"
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Some thoughts on Lisa Marie Presley: "Too bad she ain't just like her daddy/Oh what a shame/She got no talent of her own/It's just her name." No, that's not our review. That's Presley anticipating (or reviving) some of the conventional/cynical wisdom about her musical career in "Sticks and Stones," a bonus track on the deluxe version of her new album, "Storm & Grace." She even refers to her own possibly hereditary pout: "She looks bad, she looks mad... ...
Cowell vows to "kick butt" with new "Factor" stars
NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Britney Spears and former Disney Channel star Demi Lovato officially joined the U.S. version of "The X Factor" on Monday, leading creator Simon Cowell to pledge the second season would "seriously kick butt" when it returns in September. Spears, 30, the world's biggest pop phenomenon of the 2000s, and Lovato, 19, will fill the judge's slots left open by Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger, who were both fired by Cowell after a disappointing first season in 2011. Spears and Lovato appeared with Cowell and fellow judge Antonio "L. ...
Carrie Underwood keeps Billboard No. 1, Adele going strong
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Country singer and "American Idol" winner Carrie Underwood continued her reign on the Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday, while British songstress Adele climbed back to No. 2 after 64 weeks on the chart with "21." Underwood's fourth studio album "Blown Away" sold 119,000 copies this week, down from the 267,000 sales debut last week, but enough to keep her No. 1 position on the chart. Grammy-winner Adele's "21" shows no sign of slowing down, selling 101,000 copies over the past week, bringing total sales of the album in the U.S. to more than 9 million. ...
