Shakira wants to start a family after her next tour

Shakira is looking forward to starting a family with her long-term fiance Antonio De La Rua. The singer is hoping to settle down but needs to fulfill her commitments first.

"Do I have any plans for children? Little wolves? Yeah, of course. I'd really like to have kids, but first I need to go on tour and release this new album - and then we can sit down and talk about it," Contactmusic quoted her as saying.

The 33-year-old star told the Big Issue magazine that even though she and Antonio got engaged over four years ago, marriage is no longer high on her list of priorities.

"Maybe 15 years ago, I'd dream about wearing a white gown, a wedding cake and a room full of guests and me feeding them canapés," she said.

This is It features stand-ins, not MJ, claims family

Michael Jackson's family claims that the late singer's film This is It features stand-ins, not the real star.

The documentary's promo posters boast MJ "like you've never seen him before".

However, the late King of Pop's father Joe and sister La Toya accuse Sony Pictures of "fooling" fans by using his impersonators.

Joe, who has seen 12 minutes of This is It, said, "This movie features body doubles, no doubt about it. I think people will tear this movie apart."

And La Toya's business partner Jeffre Phillips told News of The World, "I see all these great movements in the trailers but I don't believe most of those shots were Michael. He wasn't well enough. I've seen clips where I even thought, 'That's not Michael's voice.'" It's very upsetting for La Toya."

US concert promoter Terry Harvey said, "From what I can see, Michael wasn't even singing live in a full segment. He was struggling. I was told he had his vocals sequenced on stage so if he didn't want to sing live, they just switched on the tape."

Essex Jacko impersonator Navi Parasram, 36, turned down an invite to appear in the film.

He said: "They asked me to do long shots, visuals, placements."

Janet Jackson eyes personal tell-all book

Janet Jackson is reportedly planning to write a personal tell-all book, in order to help herself cope with the grief of her brother Michael's death.

The songbird will purportedly also detail her own battle with issues like self-esteem and weight, along with the family's struggle to come to terms with the loss of the King of Pop.

"She is going to talk about Michael's death and how it's affected her and his children and the rest of the family... A lot of it will focus on her battle with self-esteem and weight," Contactmusic quoted a source as having told In Touch Weekly.

"She's a huge success. But that's not always what she has seen when she looks in the mirror, so the book will talk about how she has coped, and about her family relationships. She wants to help other young women out there," the source added.

Govt reception for Rahman

Oscar award winner musical maestro A.R. Rahman was honored, with a reception by the State government here on Sunday. The function at Kadavu Resorts, which was conducted a few hours before his Jai Ho concert, was well attended with ministers like Elamarom Kareem, Benoy Viswam and MN K Premachandran waiting for hours for the Madras Mozart to complete his rehearsals before the concert.

Rahman who appeared in a blue jeans and white Kurta was presented with a memento, jointly by the three ministers, on behalf of the State Government. Rahman, in hi short speech expressed his happiness to be in Kerala, where he was longing to perform for the last 15 years.

Kozhikode Mayor M. Bhaskaran, District Collector P.B. Salim, P. Sathi Devi, MP P.V. Abdul Wahab, MP and chairman of Global Kerala Initiative – Keraleeyam (the organiser of the ‘Jai Ho’ show); Deputy Speaker Jose Baby; MLAs A. Pradeep Kumar and P.M.A. Salam and the former Minister M.K. Muneer were also among the celebrities who attended the function.

Spice girl scares soon to be mom Mel C

Former Spice Girl Melanie Chishholm also known as Mel C is nervous about giving birth to her first child after listening to the hospital horror stories that her bandmate Melanie Brown told her.

The British singer who is expecting her first child in February next year said in an interview to 'Reveal' magazine that she has heard terrible tales about having a baby from mum-of-two Melanie Brown also known as 'Scary Spice'.

However, the singer insists she has not been put off and the rest of her bandmates have offered her the support she needs.

She tells 'Reveal,' "The girls are really excited and supportive. I've seen quite a lot of them lately, except Victoria, obviously, because she's out in LA a lot. Mel B has been talking me through all the fine details of giving birth and has told me loads of horror stories. Well, she is Scary isn't she? So I suppose it's her job to scare me a bit."

Mel C is the last of the erstwhile all girls pop group 'Spice Girls' to become a mother. Melanie also revealed in the interview that her former bandmates have already started baby shopping

Britney's New Year's resolution - stop biting nails

Britney Spears has kept a rather nail-biting resolution for the New Year-the popstar wants to quit chewing her fingernails in 2009!

The 'Womanizer' singer wants to take better care of her hands starting New Year - because she longs for manicured and attractive hands.

And thus she is determined to quite her dirty habit as well as get rid of the reason behind it-not to worry anymore, reports.

"Next year, I have to learn to stop biting my nails! I would like to stop worrying so much, because I worry all the time. And to learn how to be happier, just in general. I have to learn to take things not so seriously," she said.

However, the pop superstar is not sure if she'd be able to stick to her promise, as she doesn't have a good history of keeping her resolutions.

"I end up breaking them. It's hard," she added.

Madonna biggest 2008 N. American tour attraction

Madonna's "Sticky & Sweet" concert tour was the biggest-grossing music tour of 2008 in North America, raking in $105.3 million, concert tracking magazine Pollstar said on Monday.

The Material Girl, whose 58-show world tour finished in Brazil last week, was closely followed by another solo diva -- Canadian-born Celine Dion, who made $94 million in North America from her first tour since ending an almost five-year residency in Las Vegas a year ago.

Rock veterans The Eagles were third on Pollstar's list, grossing $73.4 million for their tour to support possibly their last studio album "Long Road out of Eden".

Country music star Kenny Chesney ($72.2 million) and rock band Bon Jovi ($70.4 million) came in fourth and fifth.

The Top 10 grossing tours of North America were rounded out by Bruce Springsteen and the E street band ($69.3 million), Neil Diamond ($59.8 million), Rascal Flatts ($55.8 million), The Police ($48.0 million) and veteran rocker Tina Turner ($47.7 million).

Pollstar's Top 10 list did not include global tour earnings for the year.

Brown is named artist of the year

R&B singer Chris Brown has been named Billboard magazine's artist of the year for the second time.

The 19-year-old also won the accolade in 2006.

Rapper Lil' Wayne, whose hits this year include Lollipop, was the number two artist with Brown's girlfriend Rihanna at three.

Billboard's artist rankings are determined by album sales as well as digital downloads, radio airplay and internet streams.

Rounding out the top five were Alicia Keys and country singer Taylor Swift.

'Unexpected'

Brown has had a successful 2008 with solo hits With You, Forever and No Air, a collaboration with American Idol winner Jordin Sparks.

Last month, he also won three awards at the American Music Awards, including artist of the year.

But the star says he's still not used to all the honours.

"It's bigger than what I can ever imagine. It's unexpected totally, so it's a surprise," he said.

Billboard named Low, by Flo Rida, as the year's top song, followed by Leona Lewis's Bleeding Love.

Rockers Bon Jovi were also named 2008's top touring act in the world, based on data reported to Billboard Boxscore.

More than two million fans attended the 100 sold-out dates on the band's Lost Highway World Tour.

Madonna gives Guy £50m in divorce

Madonna has paid former husband Guy Ritchie around £50m as part of their divorce settlement.

The pop star's US spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg told The Associated Press (AP) the figure included the value of the couple's Ashcombe home in England.

She said the financial part of the settlement had been worked out but custody of the couple's children had yet to be finalised.

"I'd assume it's one of the largest payouts ever in a divorce," she said.

The payout is much larger than the £24.3m Heather Mills received from Sir Paul McCartney earlier this year.

Ms Rosenberg told AP that Ritchie had been given £50-£60m ($76m-$92m).

In an e-mail to BBC News, she said she was confirming an earlier report, which said he would get $60m-$70m (£39-£46m). She declined to give further details and was unavailable to clarify the discrepancy.

When the divorce was made official last month, Ritchie told the Daily Mirror the split was "never, ever about money".

The couple, who wed at Skibo Castle in Scotland in December 2000, were granted their divorce at the High Court in London.

A sworn statement released by the court showed the pop star petitioned for divorce on the grounds of the film director's unreasonable behaviour.

Madonna also said in the statement that they had not been living at the same address for the six months before the date of the petition.

At the time, the couple had reportedly agreed to share custody of their two boys, Rocco, eight, and three-year-old adopted David Banda, while it was reported that Madonna's daughter from an earlier relationship, 12-year-old Lourdes, would stay with her.

The singer is currently on her Sticky and Sweet world tour, and is due to perform in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Monday.


Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7784519.stm

Universal Music heads to Bollywood

Universal Music has joined forces with UK-listed Indian film company Eros International to launch a joint-venture artist-management agency to "groom and promote" Indian pop talent globally.

Eros International will provide Universal with access to Bollywood talent, which Universal will in turn be able to develop and promote.

Kishore Lulla, the chief executive of Eros International, said: "Music and films are naturally intertwined, so the synergy is unmistakable. As we continue to expand our film slate, we are constantly searching for new talent.

"Our tie-up with Universal, and their expertise in pop music talent management, is perfectly complimentary with Eros' ability to offer a credible platform for such talent through its films or worldwide distribution network. The possibilities for Indian and international collaborations are very exciting."

EMI Music and Warner Music Group separately announced that they had agreed to extend their existing marketing and distribution partnership in India and the Middle East and enter into their first partnership in Turkey.

Under the multi-year license agreement, EMI will continue to serve as the local physical distributor of WMG's repertoire in India and the Middle East - a role it has had since 2005 - and will become WMG's local digital distributor as well. In Turkey, where WMG previously licensed to a local physical distributor, EMI will become WMG's new local physical and digital distributor.

John Reid, Vice Chairman, Warner Music International, said: "With us currently serving as EMI's distributor in South East Asia, and with EMI serving as our distributor in India, the Middle East and Turkey, we have developed a strong partnership that we're pleased to be expanding with this deal."

Pussycat Dolls keen to work with Britney Spears

Pop band Pussycat Dolls are desperate to work with Britney Spears, after the star’s cameo in one of their videos was cut out.

The ‘Button’ hitmakers were left thwarted when Britney’s appearance for their ‘When I Grow Up’ promo was axed by the music bosses.

However, the Pussycat Dolls are still hopeful of collaborating with the ‘Hit Me baby One More Time’ hitmaker, as they have been signed to open up in her upcoming world tour.

"She's such a legend... She's making her way. And she's the Queen of Pop, along with Madonna, and we want to follow into those footsteps. So, we're excited,” Contactmusic quoted Melody Thornton, as telling MTV.com.

"Most definitely. We love Britney. She's a friend of ours, and she's a really cool girl. She's down to earth, so we support her,” Nicole Scherzinger said when asked about the probability of working with Britney.

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Jennifer Lopez selling Los Angeles home

Actress-singer Jennifer Lopez has put her luxurious home in Los Angeles' Bel Air neighbourhood up for sale for $8.5 million in a move that suggests she could be leaving the west coast for New York, the Los Angeles Times reported on Monday.

J-Lo, her singer husband, Marc Anthony, and their nine-month-old twins currently live in the French farmhouse-style home, but have been the subject of ongoing sightings in the Long Island community of Brookville.

The Bel Air house that the pair just listed has four bedrooms and over 700 sq metres of living space.

Kylie Minogue to sing for Rahman

Just her fees and recording of the video will add around Rs 10 crore to the already sky high budget of Blue

Madonna didn’t respond because she was going through a bitter divorce, Rihanna asked for a sum that was not affordable, so finally it is Kylie Minogue who’ll be making history as the first international A-list pop star to lend her voice for a mainstream Bollywood music director.

According to sources, the Australia-born crooner who has sold more than 60 million records, has agreed to sing for AR Rahman. Kylie will be coming to India by January 2009 with her entourage to record the song with Rahman. She has reportedly charged the producers of the film about Rs five crore as her fees ($1 million).

“The song will be recorded for the film Blue, which has Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt and Lara Dutta. The producers also want Kylie to make a music video of the song. In all probability, the song might be shot in Hollywood,” says the source.

The total cost of hosting the star in Mumbai and recording the song and music video could well cost the producers an extra Rs five crore. The company negotiating with Kylie confirmed that they are very close to inking the deal.

“We are negotiating with an international artist. Within two to three weeks, we’ll make a formal announcement,” said Rajnigandha Shekhawat of Nine Winds, which is handling the film’s communications. Sources also revealed that there were a fresh round of negotiations last week. The singer, sources say, is not afraid of visiting Mumbai though she is well aware of the recent terrorist attack.

The production cost of Blue is already hovering around Rs 130 crore - without the expense they are incurring for Kylie’s song. With the last leg of shooting left, at Rs 140 crore-odd, Blue might race past Rajnikanth’s Endhiran to become the costliest film to be produced in India.

Toshi Sabri sings in 'Raaz - The Mystery Continues'

Singer Toshi Sabri, who enthralled TV viewers with his soulful and powerful voice on music reality show “Voice of India”, has now teamed up with his brother Sharib to score a song for forthcoming thriller “Raaz - The Mystery Continues”.

While Sharib has composed the music for the opening song “Maahi” for the film, Toshi has lent vocals to it. The song is a haunting melody picturised on the lead actors - Emraan Hashmi and Kangana Ranaut.

“It was our dream to become a part of Bollywood and when we got this opportunity, we really couldn't believe our good fortune. We truly feel blessed and extremely lucky,” Toshi said in a statement.

Toshi, who hails from Rajasthan, has participated in three major TV reality shows - “Voice of India”, “Ustadon Ke Ustad” and “Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar”. Despite his popularity among the masses, he failed to win any of these.

Mukesh Bhatt, who has produced “Raaz - The Mystery Continues” said he is quite impressed with the song which Toshi and his brother have worked upon.

“We try to give a chance to budding talents so that our audience gets something new and refreshing all the time. A well-made film means one which scores high on story, acting as well as the music.

“I think both Sharib and Toshi are fantastic musicians and it's been a great pleasure working with them for our film,” Bhatt said.

The music album of the film will hit stores Wednesday. Directed by Mohit Suri and co-presented by music label Sony BMG, the film is expected to release in January next year.

Music and politics should remain separate: Sachin

With tensions between India and Pakistan rising over the Mumbai terror attacks, Hindi film music director Sachin Gupta feels that music should not become a victim of hostility between the neighbours and should be kept away from politics.

The music director, who has worked with famous Pakistani singers like Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Atif Aslam, said, "Music has nothing to do with politics. All I have to say is music and politics should remain separate."

Sounding quite contrary to singer Abhijeet, who had once said that all Pakistani artists should be banned here, Gupta said, "Music cannot be branded Indian and Pakistani."

Gupta has scored the music for the film Dil Kabbadi, a romantic comedy starring Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen, Rahul Bose and Soha Ali Khan. The film, which has eight songs, was released on December 5.

Reacting to the observation that the music in Dil Kabaddi has a Pakistani feel, he said, "Such observations come from people who are ignorant of music. The so-called Pakistani sound in Atif Aslam's songs are created by me. I gave the music for his hit Doorie. But just because the singer is from Pakistan people say it sounds Pakistani."

Sachin, who has worked on many albums with artistes like Alisha Chinai and Apache Indian, said working on Dil Kabaddi was a great experience. "Dil Kabbadi is one of the best things that has happened in my life. It's a good break. I was making the track Ehsaan for my band when the producer of the film Shailesh heard it and said the song fits in well with a situation in the film. That's how it all got started." Gupta has also sung the track in the film.

Jacko soundalike sought for stage

Producers of a West End show based on pop singer Michael Jackson are to hold open auditions to find a young actor to play the musical legend on stage.

The wannabe star, aged between 11 and 15, will take the lead role in Thriller Live when it opens in January.

Producers want a black or mixed race boy with "an excellent unbroken pop/rock voice with a high range".

Singers will be required to perform Ben, I Want You Back, or I'll Be There at the auditions on 23 November.

Tribute

The casting session will take place the Lyric Theatre, which is where the production will be staged next year.

The show has already been seen in Germany, Holland and Scandinavia and travelled on three UK tours.

It is billed as a tribute to the hits and career of pop star Jackson and The Jackson 5.

The star himself is not involved in the musical, but Sony, which owns his back catalogue, is supporting the show.

There has been speculation that The Jackson 5, who last performed together in 2001, will be reuniting next year with the former King of Pop among them.

However, the 50-year-old star, best known for hits such as Bad and Smooth Criminal, has denied the rumours.

Last month he issued a statement, that said he "no plans to record or tour" with his siblings.

Thriller - Live opens on 2 January, and features hits such as Can You Feel It, Rock With You, Beat It, ABC and Billie Jean.

Boys' joy at playing idol Jackson

Three teenagers who are to play Michael Jackson in the new West End show Thriller Live have spoken of their excitement at portraying their idol.

Layton Williams from Bury, Sterling Williams from London and Kieran Alleyne from Leicester - all aged 13 - will play the pop superstar in rotation.

They appeared at the Lyric Theatre dressed in 1970s clothes and performed Jackson 5 hit I Want You Back.

"It's quite scary that we have to be him as he was so amazing," said Layton.

'Overwhelmed'

Layton, the most experienced performer of the three, was the first black Billy Elliot.

"I'm just going to have to do my best," he added.

"I really like just getting on stage and, when I finish, for the audience to appreciate it and applaud you. It's a really good buzz.

"Working on stage is what I want to do for the rest of my life."

Sterling, who has played Simba in Lion King in the West End, said: "I love singing his [Jackson's] songs, so this is the perfect role for me."

The less-experienced Kieran beat 60 other hopefuls in open auditions to become one of the Michael Jacksons.

"I've always looked up to Michael Jackson. He has always been an idol to me and I've always been trying to follow in his footsteps and to get into a singing career.

"I'm really overwhelmed to be performing in a show which is a tribute to him," he said.

The opening performance of the show, which celebrates Jackson's career and features his hits, will take place on 2 January.

The singer is not involved in the production.

Boy George: A real life chameleon

At the height of his fame in the 1980s Boy George was described as one of the world's most recognisable faces, but how many people recognised the picture painted of him in court over the past fortnight?

In the dock George O'Dowd came across as a lonely, paranoid man struggling to find his place in the world. His 1980s heyday is a long way behind him, after all.

He was described as an artist by his counsel, but instead the court was given a picture of a life spent trawling the Gaydar social networking site to find men willing to be photographed nude in all night "fashion shoots".

And for someone who won his place in the nation's affections by being an arch performer, it was odd that he chose not to give evidence in his own defence.

Perhaps it was because his sharp wit has landed him in trouble so many times in the past, earning him a media reputation as a bitch for public spats with Elton John, among others.

His lawyer, Adrian Waterman QC, put a different spin on it: "This is not about performance, it's about his life, it's about being charged with a criminal offence."

A criminal offence of which he has now been convicted.

Of course, it was not his first brush with the law. In 2006 he was found guilty of wasting police time by falsely reporting a burglary at his New York apartment.

Cocaine was found in the flat and he was arrested, but the drug charge was dropped and he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of wasting police time. He was ordered to spend five days sweeping the streets of New York as a punishment.

Drugs have been a consistent theme with Boy George.

Snaresbrook Crown Court heard how he took cocaine with Audun Carlsen, the man he was found guilty of imprisoning, although press interviews he gave in late summer and autumn - prior to the trial - suggested he was clean.

At the height of his success with Culture Club he began using heroin, and indeed, the band's keyboard player Michael Rudetski, died of an overdose in George's home.

In 1995 he told of his substance addictions in his autobiography Take It Like A Man. It seems that ever since he has been on and off the wagon.

Earlier this year he told Q Magazine: "I've been strung out on drugs for the past five years. But this time I'm clean for good. I don't want to die."

Boy George also said: "Getting clean at the end of 2007 was a very big thing."

He credited his return to sobriety to visits to Narcotics Anonymous.

Yet, bizarrely it seems that during a large part of his addiction he has been on a strict macrobiotic diet of the type followed by Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow.

And he famously told late chat show host Russell Harty he would rather have a cup of tea than sex, which was strangely at odds with our impressions both of him and what it means to be a pop star.

Just two more contradictions in the life of the man who sang: "I'm a man without conviction, I'm a man who doesn't know how to sell a contradiction."

There are many labels that could be applied to Boy George these days - DJ/singer/fashion designer/photographer/impresario/author/food guru/addict - and now we can add convict.

Yet none of them really fairly reflects just how successful he was with Culture Club, who notched up seven British and nine American Top 10 hits such as Karma Chameleon and sold more than 50 million records.

Without the mask of make-up on his face during the hearing, there was no glamour about Boy George and the evidence in the case certainly didn't give any sense of there being much glamour left in his life.

It was all so different when he burst on to the scene as an exquisitely made-up, fresh-faced teenager exuding youth, energy and boasting a trim figure. In court he looked fat and exhausted.

Even his lawyer said he had gained so much weight since his heyday that he would not have stood a chance in a fight against Mr Carlsen.

Now that the verdict is in, Boy George faces up to 15 years in prison and the comeback he has been working on will hit the skids. He released a new single in October called Yes We Can.

He was also due to go back on the road next year as a singer, as opposed to as a DJ, where he has managed to carve out a successful niche for himself.

It is perhaps ironic that Culture Club's first massive hit was Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? In this case, it appears he did.

Singer Webbe leaves jungle show

Singer Simon Webbe has become the eighth person to be voted off I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

The former member of boyband Blue said he felt "relief" at leaving and did not think he'd last as long in the jungle.

Despite going on the show to face his fears, he confessed he was still "terrified of spiders" and had not conquered his fear of water.

He backed Wimbledon ace Martina Navratilova or former EastEnders actor Joe Swash to win the reality show.

Speaking to hosts Ant and Dec after his eviction, he said: "Ever since I was in there I didn't think I'd last this long.

'Pressure cooker'

"I really enjoyed it, but it wasn't what I expected - I didn't think I'd snap as much as I did. I'm normally a cool character, I know how to keep my temper in check, but I felt my buttons were being pushed," he said.

The singer said the bush tucker trials were harder than he thought they would be.

Despite his fear of water, Webbe won six out of seven stars for the camp on the underwater Last Gasp trial, but had to receive oxygen from medics on site afterwards.

The star added the camp was a lot smaller than it looked on TV: "You're living on top of each other and that's a pressure cooker in itself."

But he also described ex-Dollar singer David Van Day as "a nice guy underneath it all", although he was "here to play the game".

Navratilova, Swash, Van Day and Star Trek actor George Takei remain in the show.

The winner, voted for by the public, will be revealed during a live show on Friday night.

Bono joked about suicide

Rocker Bono jokingly threatened to slit his wrists if Welsh singer Tom Jones didn't record a new song he had written.

Jones asked the U2 star to come up with a song but did not assure him that the song would be featured in his new album "24 Hours". Bono was ecstatic and came up with a biographical song "Sugar Daddy" and was very happy with his effort. And he wanted to make sure that Jones would add it to the album, contactmusic.com reports.

Jones said: "The note that came with the demo said, 'I hope you like it, Tom, and I hope you record... No big deal if you don't, I'll just slit my wrists'."