Triple threat Spears and new mum Aguilera wow VMAs
One-time pop rivals and former Mickey Mouse Club darlings Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears were the toast of Hollywood on Sunday night (07Sep08) at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Spears opened the show with a toast to the prizegiving on its 25th anniversary and went on to pick up her first of three VMA 'moonmen' prizes for her Piece of Me video.
And new mum Christina Aguilera stole the show with her comeback; in what was her first public performance since becoming a mum in January (08), the busty blonde showed off her new X-Men-style look and disco sound.
Wearing black leather and a black eye mask, the Genie in a Bottle singer stunned with new single Keeps Getting Better.
Other performers, like Pink, T.I. and the Jonas Brothers used the VMAs' Paramount Pictures site to launch into tunes from the studio's backlot.
And the night was full of live collaborations - Kid Rock performed his summer anthem All Summer Long with Lil Wayne, while Rihanna and T.I. teamed up and Leona Lewis tackled the Animals' Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood with Lil Wayne.
Kanye West brought the climax to the show a year after insisting he'd never return to the event after his treatment at the 2007 VMAs in Las Vegas.
The night's winners were:
Best Female Video - Piece of Me by Britney Spears
Best Male Video - With You by Chris Brown
Best Dancing in A Video - When I Grow Up by Pussycat Dolls
Best Rock Video - Shadow of The Day by Linkin Park
Best Hip Hop Video - Lollipop by Lil Wayne
Best New Artist - Tokio Hotel
Best Pop Video - Piece of Me by Britney Spears
Video of The Year - Piece of Me by Britney Spears
Brown to help Spears make comeback album
R+B singer Chris Brown is helping Britney Spears make her pop comeback - he's written two new songs for the star.
The With You hitmaker has already scored a big hit with Disturbia, the tune he wrote for rumored girlfriend Rihanna, and he's been linked to Michael Jackson's highly anticipated forthcoming album.
But he reveals he's also been recruited by his record bosses at Jive to help labelmate Spears return to the charts.
He says, "I actually wrote a couple songs for her now. We're on the same label, so all the executives heard the records and they love the records, so hopefully she'll cut it.
"But if she doesn't, oh well, we'll go back in the studio and still do some more records for her."
Publicist denies Tyga/Wentz baby news
Rapper Tyga turned pal Pete Wentz's baby news into the talk of the red carpet at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday (07Sep08), after revealing the Fall Out Boy star and his new bride Ashlee Simpson are expecting twins.
Speaking at a pre-show party, the rap star told reporters, "They're having twins," sending gossips into overdrive.
But, fearing Wentz would be swamped by questions about Tyga's big reveal as he arrived at the VMAs, where his band was nominated for a Best Rock Video prize, the rocker's publicist was quick to deny the bumper baby news.
She said, "It's not true."
Reporters on the red carpet remained sceptical - because Wentz PR team denied all reports the couple was expecting a child when the rocker wed Simpson in May (08).
The big reveal came 11 days after the ceremony.
Simpson looked very pregnant when she arrived on the red carpet in a flowing black Alexander McQueen dress.
Bow Wow loses Xbox challenge
Rapper Bow Wow owes rival The Game a massive $100,000 after losing their head-to-head videogame clash.
The hip-hop star took exception to The Game's boasts that he was the best celebrity player of football game Madden NFL '09 on the Xbox 360 - and challenged the Dreams hitmaker to a duel.
The rap rivals got together for the showdown in Los Angeles on Friday (05Sep08), with The Game arriving in full get-up, sporting black eye paint and a mouth guard ready for the virtual challenge.
Bow Wow pitted his Cincinnati Bengals against The Game's New England Patriots team, but by the first quarter it was 28-0 to The Game.
The 21-year-old picked his game up and scored in the second quarter, but he was no match for The Game, who won with a convincing 55-23.
And now Bow Wow will have to hand over the six-figure forfeit.
But he jokingly blamed the game's weather conditions for his failure, saying: "I don't care what they say, It was in the snow, first of all. Second of all... nah, I'm just playing. We had a lot of fun doing it. ...Money going to charity. We both winners at the end of the day. It feel (sic) good to come together...
"The Game got me. Of course I gotta pay him. One hundred thousand dollars."
Madonna dedicates Virgin to Pope
Superstar Madonna has been branded "disrespectful" by Catholics after dedicating her risque song Like A Virgin to The Pope at a recent live show.
The controversial singer, who comes from a devout Italian Catholic family but now follows the Kabbalah faith, dedicated her 1984 hit to Pope Benedict XVI at the Rome, Italy stop on her Sticky + Sweet world tour on Saturday (06Sep08).
She told the crowd: "I dedicate this song to the Pope because I'm a child of God. All of you are also children of God."
The Italian media called the dedication to the pontiff a surprising provocation, with Catholics insisting the remark was "disrespectful".
Baldwin says sorry for TV shows slur
Actor Alec Baldwin has apologized for attacking hit shows My Name Is Earl and Scrubs in a row over TV schedules.
The Pearl Harbor star recently blasted bosses of TV network NBC for their promotion of his series 30 Rock, and claimed they were determined to "wring the last drops" out of other shows.
He insisted My Name Is Earl and Scrubs were "done" and "cooked" - and that 30 Rock should have been promoted more heavily instead.
But he has now apologized for the comments, according to celebrity blog PerezHilton.com.
Baldwin says, "My apologies to the cast and crews of My Name Is Earl and Scrubs. In my frustration with NBC's reprehensible promotion of 30 Rock, I took an unfortunate swipe at both of those shows and that was not cool."
But he could not resist a dig at My Name Is Earl creator Greg Garcia, who has previously criticized the actor over the notorious phone message to his 12-year-old daughter Ireland in which he called her a "thoughtless little pig".
Baldwin added: "But, for Earl's creator, Greg Garcia, who referred to me as a 'psychotic', I have only one question: Why are you Scientologists always rendering these medical opinions you aren't qualified to give?"
Colbert to live forever in space
Comedian Stephen Colbert is making a bid for immortality - his DNA has been digitized and will be sent to the International Space Station.
Video game designer Richard Garriott, who is one of few private citizens to travel into space, will visit the station next month (Oct08) - and is taking material with him to create a time capsule of human DNA.
And Colbert is delighted that he has been chosen to contribute to the mission. In a statement, the funnyman references his love for 1968 sci-fi epic 2001: A Space Odyssey, and his dream to have his identity live on in space.
He says, "I am thrilled to have my DNA shot into space, as this brings me one step closer to my lifelong dream of being the baby at the end of 2001."
And Garriott adds, "In the unlikely event that Earth and humanity are destroyed, mankind can be resurrected with Stephen Colbert's DNA. Is there a better person for us to turn to for this high-level responsibility?"
Lost star Dale boycotted his own show
Lost star Alan Dale stopped watching his own show during its third season because he "got sick" of its repetitive script and outlandish storylines.
The Australian actor claims scriptwriters failed to keep him interested during a particularly bad stretch of the hit series.
Dale - who plays Charles Widmore - tells Digital Spy, "I got sick of following it. It went through a lull in scripts in the third season.
"At that point I felt like I had watched them wandering in a line through the forests, a bit sweaty, for the 1,000th time.
"I thought 'I can't watch this anymore'. Then, out of the bushes, came a black cloud, which grabbed a black man and threw him to the ground, and I thought 'I definitely can't watch this anymore'."
Turlington goes back to school
Former supermodel Christy Turlington is to turn her back on fashion and head to college.
The one-time catwalk queen is planning to study maternal and child health at Columbia University in the Big Apple, according to the New York Daily News.
Turlington - who has two children with actor husband Ed Burns - is passionate about maternal care and is an ambassador for humanitarian organisation CARE (Christian Action Research and Education).
She says, "I have explored several career paths and have discovered that in addition to being a mother, a career in service is most fitting."
Parked car smash leaves Mendes driving with a bash
Eva Mendes is driving around Hollywood in a smashed up Toyota Prius after the clumsy actress reversed into a friend's parked car.
The sexy star is still baffled as to how she managed the accident - because she has a reversing camera in her state-of-the-art hybrid.
And she's so embarrassed by her latest "nick" that she's refusing to take the car back to the dealership for repairs.
She says, "I'm not taking it back. I'm so embarrassed. I know those guys are gonna be like, 'Mendes is coming in again,' and there's no way... I'm gonna deal with it. I think I deserve to drive around in a beat-up car."
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