Rihanna and Andy Samberg on Saturday Night Live

Ri-Ri and Shy Ronnie
Not so live on SNL
Rihanna appeared on Saturday Night Live this weekend, and as well as performing two so-so songs from her so-so album, she also did a Digital Short with Andy Samberg.

The weirdest bit for me was that she lip-synced the whole thing. Why are her vocals always so processed? I mean, we all know she hasn't got the world's strongest voice, but in the context of a skit it played really weird.

Also: I'm not a fan of her new Military Ho makeover. The idea seems to be to try and make fatigues as slutty as possible (her soon-to-be-released video for "Hard" features her wearing a top made of bullets ... classy!). And the orange hair? Just no. She seems to be making some really odd choices right now music-wise and fashion-wise.

Anyway, watch...

Scott Keenan
Rihanna ... Shy Ronnie ... o'clock

FULL VIDEO Rihanna speaks out

Rihanna: "He had no soul in his eyes"

Snippets of Rihanna's lengthy 20/20 interview with Diane Sawyer about the night that changed her life surfaced on the interwebs over the last week but now the whole thing is online. Check out what she has to say about then-boyfriend Chris Brown's attack...

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:


Part 4:


Part 5:


Brave interview. Naturally, Chris isn't too happy with it and has stated he was hoping the details of the assault would remain a "private matter between us"... except for when he appeared on Larry King, he wrote a song about it and then he pleaded to her via YouTube. Yeah, that's heaps private, dude. Oh, you mean you want Rihanna not to speak about it. I see. That makes sense. Wow. You really are a "Changed Man".

Seriousness aside, "I feel like I went to sleep as Rihanna and woke up as Britney Spears" is one of my favourite quotes of all time. Nice.

--
Carolyn Stewart
"The whole world hates him now"... true dat o'clock, November 8, 2009

HEAR new music: Rihanna's "Russian Roulette" & Lady GaGa's "Bad Romance"

New Song Alert!
All we need is Radio GaGa, Radio RiRi, Radio ... something

Today we present new songs from two of the hottest females on Planet Pop (pause to appreciate word perfect patronising late '90s record company press release jargon). We kick off with the brand new hot-off-the-interweb first single from Rihanna's long-awaited new album. Titled "Russian Roulette" the song has been met with bad buzz on the net, with fans complaining that it is boring. I think it's a decent song, but it sure is an odd lead single. Leaked RiRi songs like "Hatin' On The Club" and "Emergency Room" were both much better. Also, this is the second Ne-Yo-penned Rihanna single concerned with murder (remember "Unfaithful"?), is he trying to tell us something? And is it not a bit weird to have lyrics about guns and the sound of barrels spinning and a shot being fired considering her association with violence this year? A bit creepy, really.

Rihanna has also decided to wear pretty much only barbed wire on the single cover. She seems to get away with near-nudity in a way that not many other mainstream pop artists can. Nobody seems to even bat an eyelid. Good on her. It comes as no surprise, then, that her new album is titled Rated R.

Anyway, have a listen and see what you think.



Our second new song is Lady GaGa's "Bad Romance", which is the first release from her repackaged debut album. Rather than release a whole new album, GaGa is re-releasing The Fame as The Fame Monster with eight new songs.

"I think re-releases are unfair," GaGa pips. "It’s artists sneaking singles onto an already finished piece of work in an effort to keep the album afloat. Originally [my label] only wanted me to put out three songs and now it’s much more than that. It’s a new album’s worth of material."

In the digital age re-packages are even weirder, but I appreciate that she has put in the effort to make it a worthwhile purchase.

The song is a real grower, and let's be honest, much better than Rihanna's effort. Methinks they should work together.



Scott Keenan
Woah you got me hatin' on the club / Because it took my love o'clock

DJ AM video, Chris Brown album finished PLUS get in bed with Kylie Minogue!

MUSIC ROUND-UP!

NEW VIDEO!
DJ AM's memorial video

The touching memorial video from the September 3 service for DJ AM has been posted on YouTube. The homage was put together by friend Mike B and includes AM's Nike ad and Entourage guestie. Check out the video here:

Awww. Sniffle.

NEW ALBUM!
Chris Brown says it's finished

Chris Brown - who fails to mention that he is in his hometown of Virginia paying the price for the horrific beating he gave to then-girlfriend Rihanna - took to his brand new Twitter account to relay very important information to us all. We knew it was important cos it was all in caps, y'all. He says:

GRAFFITI!!!! COMIN SOON.... JUST FINISHED IT...HANDS DOWN ... MY BEST ALBUM... THATS ALL IMA GIVE AWAY RIGHT NOW..

and then updated with more info (still in caps, natch):

I HONESTLY DONT THINK THE GAME IS READY FOR THE RECORDZ I GOT COMING OFF THE NEW ALBUM.... (not tryna be cocky)!!!!lol

Music peeps are concerned that nobody will buy the convicted basher's new album but I say his vocal presence in the JK Wedding Video (CLICK ON ME!) didn't seem to hurt any. Just sayin'....

NEW... BED LINEN??!
Kylie Minogue's new line

Pop princess Kylie Minogue, who would seemingly rather do just about anything to avoid releasing new music, launched the new line from her At Home range at the Grove Hotel in Hertfordshire today.

“I absolutely love designing the ranges and the most rewarding part is knowing that we have inspired people to decorate their bedroom with a touch of glamour from Kylie At Home," said Kylie.

Right, so we can expect new music when?

Guess The 'Brain can't be too mad since she will do something musical this weekend at London's Hyde Park where she will perform as a part of the special ABBA tribute, Thank You For The Music: A Celebration of the Music of ABBA. She'll sing "Super Trouper" and also perform "When All Is Said And Done" with Benny Andersson.

Here's a cute pic Kyles posted on her Twitter from her ABBA rehearsals with the BBC Orchestra to get you in the mood.


Fun! Meanwhile, don't forget to come follow the 'Brain at: http://twitter.com/theunibrain

--
Carolyn Stewart
Neither you nor I'm to blame when all is said and done o'clock, September 9, 2009

LEAK: Chris Brown feels sorry for himself in song

Everybody hates Chris
(His words - please don't hit us!) Poor old Chris Brown.

Just because he beat his popstar girlfriend to a pulp people have turned on him.

This makes Chris sad.

“Everybody hates Chris,” he opines in the third person in a new leaked track called “Changed Man” that has hit the web.

For the record, Chris’s “people” say the song is an “old demo” and won’t appear on his new album Graffiti.

“There are several old demos circulating that are being falsely promoted as new material from Chris,” says Jive Records.

How old? A month? Two?

Are we expected to believe that lyrics like:

What do you do when the truth isn't quite enough?
They looking at you telling you that we need to break it up
You need to do what you do it's me and you in love
But I'mma make it up to you and show the world I'm a changed man

and

I remember your touch
God I miss you so much
Please believe me baby I’m sorry
And all of this money and fame can never amount
To every moment when I see your face

Are in no way related to Rihanna?

If you feel like vomiting today - be it for weight loss or to expel some of the copious amounts of alcohol you imbibed last night, or if you just find it cleansing - then I suggest you give “Changed Man” a listen.

Call me coo-coo, but playing the victim when you’re actually the perpetrator ain’t a good way to win back friends.

Where’s Rihanna’s new single already?

Scott Keenan
Is your man on the floor?/if he ain't let me know o'clock

VIDEO Chris Brown Apology

A message from Chris Brown

It's about "the incident", y'all. Or as others might call it: the bashing.

And as Chris Brown TOLD Rihanna countless times... and now he's TELLING you: he's sorry. I have to say, it's all a bit aggressive, for mine.

Anyway, check it out for yourself... because Chris is TELLING you to.




What do you think? Does that (above) make up for this (below)?



PS: What the hell is he wearing in the video? Is it an old Star Trek costume?

--
Carolyn Stewart
Don't tell me you're sorry cos you're not/And, baby, when I know you're only sorry you got caught o'clock, July 21, 2009

Delta Goodrem Twitters, Rihanna nude, Twilight and more...

So, *that* happened...
A highlights package of some things you need to know about that happened in the world of entertainment today

Delta Goodrem joins Twitter
Following hilarious pressure from fiancé Brian McFadden (CLICK ON ME!), the So Good milk ambassador and part-time popster (whom I heart) caved and set up: http://twitter.com/delta_goodrem The loved-up pair don't shy away from a bit of friendly competition so I can't wait to see the lengths they'll no doubt end up going to in order to get more "followers" than the other. Team Goodrem? Oh, I love them both. I can't decide!

Chris Brown is innocent?
The R&B singer appears to be not guilty of something. He claims he did not leak to the internets the shocking (yawn) nude pics of Rihanna, who he "allegedly" beat up earlier in the year. A representative for the "allegedly" violent star tells Essence.com, "This is both a false and defamatory statement. Chris has not released or 'leaked' any photos of Rihanna (or anyone else for that matter)." In this particular case, I actually think it would be better not to have said anything. It's a bit "thou doth protest too much" given the recent on-again/off-again/we-have-matching-tattoos/punch-up/let's-get-married/what-about-the-court-case? relationship between the pair.

Will Smith for 007
Will Smith is a lot of things and confident is one of them - and good on him for that! The action star has revealed the next thing on his to-do list is to try his martinis shaken and not stirred and be the next James Bond. He then confused things by nominating rapper P. Diddy and fellow actor Jamie Foxx for the role too, saying: "Puff probably lives the most like James Bond. Jamie Foxx got the swag for James Bond. He can sing too, so he can add a new element to Bond. Wooing the ladies...and I think I can guarantee the box office!" Gotta be honest, here. I don't even know what he's saying at this point...

Dakota joins Twilight
Couldn't they find anyone else? Annoying-for-no-real-reason-so-I-hope-I-warm-to-her-eventually Dakota Fanning is officially in the Twilight sequel, New Moon... and there's nothing you can do about it. At all. Sure, she threatened this move for several months but now it's a done deal. The former The Cat In The Hat star has finally arrived in Canada, started filming and has quickly become friends with the hot ensemble cast. Sigh. She plays Jane the Volturi vampire. I guess on the plus side she does already have naturally funny little teeth and may not need to take advantage of the makeup department's astounding array of "teef" to get into character.

--
From the vault
"Gotta Tell You", Samantha Mumba
The year was 2000. The chick in the pink corset was Samatha Mumba (who, reader Amy Vagne, is exactly as you recalled: "Irish-African". A gold star to you and the removal of a gold star from her husband Pete who refuted this).

samantha mumba gotta tell you
Uploaded by magik-man2 - Watch more music videos, in HD!

It still cracks me up when she sings, "Your love for maaaaee..." and also, "You're the one for maaaaeee..." Anyway, since then, Samantha got married to JC from *NSYNC's brother, worked in some films you never saw and looks set to have a new album out next year. She seems to have no plans this year. Man, I envy that. Go the Mumba!

Carolyn Stewart
Dragging myself out of a Logies form slump o'clock, May 11, 2009.

André Rieu on Neighbours and more...

The Five Most Bizarre Things That Happened In The Last 24 Hours

1. André Rieu appeared on Neighbours
The most famous boring person in the world arrived by limo to Ramsay Street tonight and played his violin for Paul and Rebecca. The whole premise was gloriously ridiculous, which I am whole-heartedly for. However, it's just a shame the guest star wasn't someone fun. Meanwhile, I maintain that "André Rieu" is actually Bruce Willis in a wig. Look at the facts: Bruce hasn't worked (in anything worth watching) in recent years. "André's" career has skyrocketed in recent years. Bruce always harps on about loving jazz music but was upset his albums didn't do that well. "André" realises money can't be made off jazz and that the people really want violins. Bruce was born in Germany. "André" can speak German. Bruce is... secretly "André". Think about it.

2. Chris Brown pleaded not guilty
Despite being charged with two felonies for the alleged assault on Rihanna, Chris Brown appeared in court today and actually pleaded "not guilty, your honor." Seriously? We all saw those pictures, right? The fact that Chris himself admitted he was "sorry and saddened" by the incident about a week after it happened doesn't seem to have come up. Unbelievable.

3. Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady's shotgun wedding.
As the good-looking pair - he's totally better looking than she is but I digress - exchanged vows in Costa Rica, one of Gisele's bodyguards fired gunshots - GUNSHOTS! - at the paparazzi eager to get a snap of the proceedings.
“At that moment, I thought was going to die,” says shot-at photographer Rolando Aviles “The bullet went between us, missing our heads. If the bullet had been a little more to the left or right, it would have killed one of us.”
It's dreadful but... I. Love. It. Is that wrong?

4. Wolverine-er Hugh Jackman joined Twitter
I know this is a thing of chocolatey-goodness but it's kinda weird when famous people of employ join. I mean, how will poor Hugh Jackman compete with the inane twittering madness of Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore's 50,000 tweets a day? Anyway, if you wanna find him, tweet on over to: Twitter.com/RealHughJackman. Sample tweet so far: "Great day catching up with family." Yawn. Time to step it up, scissor hands.

5. DJ is all growned up.
Candace Cameron Bure - that's DJ Tanner of Full House fame to you - is 33 today. The sister of Growing Pain's pin-up Kirk's birthday is April 6 so, in the US, she's partying right now. THIRTY THREE. Cut.. It.. Out!
These days, CCB is married, a mother of three and writes a monthly column for Christian Women Online [CLICK ON ME!]. In happier news, she's thankfully returning to TV in the upcoming Perfect 10 about a group of teen hopefuls as they train for the Olympics. Does that sound a bit too much like like the old Aussie Heath Ledger/Martin Henderson show Sweat? Yes, it does. She plays the "step-mom" of someone. Still, whatever it takes to get her back on TV is fine with me. Happy birthday, CCB!

Carolyn Stewart
André Rieu o'clock, April 7, 2009