ibloggie

The general rule is that if you give birth to some man’s baby, you get the big bucks. That is what Kelis had learned recently when the singer won big time at the custody hearing which went down last Thursday morning against her estranged husband Nas. The judge ruled that the rapper is expected to pay $55,000 to the singer in combine spousal and child support a month, plus pay the mortgage on their LA home. It now officially sucks to be Nas. One thing that he would have learned through all of this is that cheaters never win. There have been reports that Nas cheated on Kelis which led to their split.

Madonna, whose adoption bid was refused because she didn’t meet Malawi’s residency requirements still plans to appeal the judge’s decision for not allowing her application to adopt the three-year-old Malawian orphan girl named Mercy James.

The judge had said in his ruling that allowing Madonna to adopt Mercy could encourage child trafficking. Malawi’s laws on adoption are vague but prospective parents are supposed to be residents in the country for an 18- to 24-month assessment period.

That condition had been previously waived to allow her adoption of David Banda back in 2006.

Judge Chondo in his reasons said:

“By removing the very safeguard that is supposed to protect our children, the courts by their pronouncements could actually facilitate trafficking of children by some unscrupulous individuals who would take advantage of the weakness of the law of the land.”

Peter Baneti, who is the uncle of Mercy James, said the family were extremely upset that the little girl would now miss out on a privileged upbringing with Madonna.

Mr Baneti, 41, told The Sunday Telegraph:

“We as a family discussed this and agreed that it is in the best interests of Mercy to have her adopted, so why should the judge stop this if the family is OK with it?”

It is so very sad to me that the little girl isn’t living with any of her family members but has been in an orphanage all her life. It’s my understanding that her mother died shortly after her birth and the little girl’s father has been out of her life completely.

Trying to short-circuit the procedure worked for Madonna the first time but as disappointed that she is she wasn’t able to have things go her away again, she’ll no doubt do what has to be done to be allowed to adopt the child. She now plans on building a home in Malawi in addition to the school for girls that is currently in development according to reports by The Sun.

A source told the newspaper:

“Madonna has a big, beautiful plot of land over there already. She’s planning to build a girl’s school in the Chinkhota village and those designs are well under way, but she’s gone back to the designers and asked if they could accommodate a family home on the plot or on adjacent land.”

She is also building the home so that her adopted son David Banda “can maintain a stronger connection to his homeland.” I read that she arranged for her adopted son to have a visit with his birth father.

Which was nice.

Eminem’s new video for “We Made You” started playing on MTV today.

He mocks Lindsay and SaMan, Aniston & Mayer, Sarah Palin, Jessica Simpson as Daisy Duke, Amy and Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake just to name a few.

This isn’t exactly the most “relevant” video- it’s still slightly amusing, and makes a lewd time capsule for 2008.

He’s looking good though.

I’m not a fan of using Old English script in all caps, or the over-done making fun of Kardassian a**, bald Brett Michaels, Star Trek bits and the “Jailhouse Rock” homage. When Em first came out it was edgy to say crass things about people but now it just seems so dated.

It’s hilarious that Em thinks he is way more relevant than the people he is trying to make fun of!

Take a listen to the clip below, it’s also been posted on TMZ.

It’s apparently of Britney Spears leaving a voicemail message for an attorney back in January. Not sure if it is her, because if it were, what attorney would release something like this… he could be disbarred.

The clip was posted by a guy who has a Britney fansite. Pappy Spears is in the process of trying to have the site taken down and has threatened legal action. Since the guy couldn’t put the clip on his own site, he posted it on JFXOnline.

Britney’s ex bf, paparazzo Adnan used to do work for JFX, so that’s how the tape surfaced.

Britney’s deal with her dad seems to be working. She needs supervision, otherwise she’ll go off her meds and become bat shit crazy again which would result in her saying “bye bye” to having access with her kids. Her only really obvious choice is to keep the conservatorship, stay on the meds, and enjoy her supervised life.

Mariah Carey has been shopping for the last 3 months looking for a love nest and she reportedly wants to buy the world’s most expensive mansion which is named, the Fleur de Lys in Beverly Hills California. The selling price for the luxury home is listed at $125 million, but Mariah’s actual offer has not yet been revealed.

The mega mansion was built by Texan billionaire David Saperstein. The design was inspired by the Parisian palace Vaux le Vicomte. The lavish estate even hosts a 3,000 sq ft manager’s house and staff quarters for 10!

It sits on 5 acres, has 15 bedrooms, a spa and pool with a pavilion, a championship tennis court, a nine-car garage and a private jogging track.

Mariah who is now 39-year-old and hubby Nick Cannon are planning to leave New York to focus on their careers.

A source said: “They want to move to Los Angeles permanently. She wants to act more and she has to be on the West Coast to do that. And well, then, he’s got his career to think about.”

Michael Jackson may be in the money again from concert ticket sales in London but his Neverland Ranch is still going to be sold.

Last fall Jackson and Colony Capital became partners in the ranch, with Colony holding a $23.5 million note. Neverland Ranch’s name was changed and it is now called Sycamore Valley. Michael received several million dollars in refinancing and Colony also added its name to the lease.

Well it seems that new buyers are interested in the property. It’s a lucrative offer where they’d pay back Colony in full as well as Michael with several million dollars.

There is a snag though. The new buyers had wanted the estate complete with all of its original artifacts but with the upcoming auction that is scheduled for April 21-25 that creates a problem. Catalogs have already been printed. Next week in New York Julien’s Auction house is planning to exhibit some of the items in the auction.

It’s estimated the auction could bring in somewhere between $10 million and $20 million. Jackson has already publicly promised a portion of the proceeds to the charity MusiCares, which is part of the National Academy for the Recording Arts, or NARAS, the organization that organizes the Grammy Awards. MusiCares helps indigent musicians.

As it stands now, April 3rd has been set as the court date where both sides will argue their positions about the auction. If the proposed Neverland buyers haven’t come to an agreement with Julien’s to sell them the contents of the ranch or reach a settlement with the auction house and give Jackson’s contents back to him, a judge will probably rule that the auction can proceed.

Julien’s Auction House has a signed agreement with Jackson’s MJJ Productions and Tohme Tohme, Michael’s manager dated August 7, 2008. This was signed eight months before Jackson agreed to put tickets on sale for concerts.

The contract states:

Consigned property: All movable and removable personal property located at Neverland Ranch that we take possession of, and any other property that you might choose to deliver to us.”

Paragraph 10 of the agreement entitled “Withdrawl” [sic] states “You may not withdraw your Property from sale after the date upon which you sign this Agreement or Consignment Receipt, whichever is earlier.”

Julien’s Auction House’s lawyers want to question Tohme and a business partner, James R. Weller, some time this week.

Should be interesting!

A hotel manager named Marc Marrouche was arrested on March 5th after he tried to sell Paris Hilton’s cell phone on Craigslist, the New York Post is reporting.

The buyer just happened to be an undercover police officer who offered to pay $5,000 for the phone.

Marrouche’s ex-girlfriend found Paris’ cell at Manhattan nightclub Marquee back in 2005.

Marrouche has been charged with criminal possession of stolen property and could get up to a year in the slammer. I’m surprised that’s all he was charged with. Why not more since there is the high probability of exploitation and extortion involved? Or how about invasions of her privacy and for whoever else’s number is in her phone?

TMZ is reporting that their sources have confirmed to them that the woman who sent the text message to Chris Brown on THE night that resulted in the assault against Rihanna was from his manager Tina Davis. Apparently, it was she who had sent him a 3 page text message to his cell phone suggesting they hook up later. When Rihanna read it, she did the freak (slapped him first) and things escalated from there.

The detective’s affidavit stated the text was:

“from a woman who Brown had a previous sexual relationship with.”

Davis who will be turning 40 years old this month has been rumored to have had a relationship with Chris when he was 16… although both of them have denied it.

In other Chris Brown related news:

Even after receiving thousands of requests to remove Chris Brown from the nominee list, the team over at Nickelodeon are allowing his Kids Choice Awards nominations to remain.

Chris is nominated for Favorite Male Singer and also for “Kiss Kiss” for Favorite Song.

It is very upsetting that the network has not taken a more pro-active stand against domestic violence because the evidence is overwhelming. It not only includes pictures and Rihanna’s own words in the police report, but a text from Brown himself to her manager admitting and apologizing for his actions saying he was going to get help for his anger issues.

E! is reporting that Chris and Rihanna are planning to record a duet together for his Greatest Hits Album.

The drama continues…

Michael Jackson held a press conference today to announce his comeback tour which he called “This Is It”. The series of concerts will be held at the O2 Area in London, England. The concerts kick off on July 9th after which 10 shows will go on sale March 13th and more may be added.

It was quite the spectacle as all things related to wacko Jacko usually are. He spun around, punched his fist into the air and thoroughly enjoyed the screaming and adoring fans going crazy at the mere sight of him!

A new album is also in the works for the former King of Pop!

The artist formerly known as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince has announced that he will be releasing a three-disc CD album collection package sold exclusively through Target and Target.com for only $11.98.

The three-disc set will include two new studio albums from the music master and pioneering music distributor: LOtUSFLOW3R and MPLSoUND as well as a full length album Elixer from his latest discovery, unknown new artist Bria Valente.

The set will be on sale at Target March 29th.

Prince’s offerings these past 5 years has been fairly solid in my opinion, Musicology and 3121 were intentionally commercial. I am disappointed that Prince won’t embrace iTunes but I am thrilled he is willing to try different distribution models.

I’m liking what I’ve heard so far on his website so a shopping trip to Target is a yes for me!

Here are the brothers as they hit the red carpet last night. They made another of their 3D Surprise Theater Invasion Tour appearances in Dallas, Texas.

It’s being reported that the brothers have had a disappointing opening at the box office for their Jonas Brothers 3-D Concert Experience even with their “surprise personal appearances” at various screenings throughout the U.S.

The 3-D Concert Experience did not rake in the projected $30-$40 million at the U.S. box offices, instead it earned Disney an estimated $12.7 million dollars.

It’s probably because many parents do not have the extra cash to spend on their kids right now in this economy. 3D = $15 per person, plus popcorn and drinks! Most likely, 11 year old girls don’t have that kind of spending money to blow on a movie as that is what their allowance is for two weeks!

As a comparison, Miley Cyrus’s Hannah Montana 3-D earned almost three times that amount in it’s opening weekend – and it was only played in about half as many theaters.

Britney Spears’ official website has just posted the artwork for her latest single “If U Seek Amy.”

The song will be the third single to be released from her sixth studio album Circus. The track was co-written and produced by Max Martin, who also wrote “…Baby One More Time” and “Oops!… I Did It Again”.

An unnamed source told In Style Magazine that she did the shooting for the video outside Malibu in Pacific Palisades California earlier this month. The insider who was an eye witness had this to say:

“The dancers are all dressed in metallic colors, and shiny tights. They look awesome, with sequins all over their outfits” .

A Los Angeles woman named Lucie J. Kim has filed a class action suit against Miley Cyrus, claiming she made fun of Asians by slanting her eyes in the picture above. She wants $4 billion.

Lucie J. Kim is stating she is representing more than 1 million Asian Pacific Islanders who live in L.A. County. Her document also claims when Miley posed for the photo, she “knew or should have known that her image would be publicly disseminated via the media, which Cyrus knew focused on her private life, specifically TMZ.”

In her lawsuit that she filed today in L.A. County Superior Court, she claims that each Asian Pacific Islander is entitled to the minimum damages for a civil rights violation which amounts to $4,000, which when added up would total $4 billion!

Miley has apologized twice for the photo, the second apology coming after her first one didn’t cut it. The second apology while sounding more sincere, apparently still hasn’t appeased many in the Asian community.

Kim said in her lawsuit papers that Miley’s “just a kid” apology is not acceptable. She says it is similar to Paris Hilton claiming to be just a kid. What else is not acceptable according to many others is that 16 year old Miley is sitting on the lap of an adult at a party with other adults who are drinking what appears to be alcohol.

I wonder about the other kids in the picture doing the same face, are they being sued as well? I’m thinking no since none of them are as wealthy.

Miley’s reps have not yet released a comment.

Chris Brown and Rihanna canceled their Grammy appearances yesterday and the reason is because they had a fight that turned physical with RiRi ending up with “visible injuries.”

The picture above was taken earlier in the evening and it was in this rented Lamborghini as they were on their way back to their hotel that they started arguing. They got out of the car, argued, things got physical, she was injured and he split the scene. Someone in the neighbourhood apparently heard her screams and called 911. Police came, pictures of her injuries were taken, and a warrant was then issued for his arrest after the ‘victim’ as she was initially referred to by the police identified him as her attacker.

He was then later driven to the police station by his high powered celebrity attorney Mark Geragos and surrendered to LAPD on Sunday evening. He was taken into custody at 6:30 p.m. and was officially booked at 7:41 p.m. He has been charged with one felony criminal threats charge after an alleged assault and his bail was set at $50,000. If the D.A. files the case, domestic violence charges may possibly be added.

The bail was paid and Chris was released shortly after being booked. The vehicle is still sitting in an impound lot. Since it was a rental, Chris is going to have to pay the rate of 2k a day until it is released.

Check out an older clip of Chris talking about domestic violence. He as a child experienced the pain he felt when his mother was abused:

Reps for Rihanna, released a statement saying:

“Rihanna is well. Thank you for your concern and support.”

Update on Rihanna’s condition:

TMZ is reporting:

“that her injuries were severe — two “huge contusions” which swelled up on both sides of her forehead. We’re told she also suffered “a bloody lip and nose.”

One of the law enforcement people put it this way — the contusions “look like an MMA fighter or something … [It] looked like she was growing devil’s horns.”

More info just released from TMZ:

As we reported, the photos show major contusions on both sides of the singer’s face — there is serious swelling and bruising. Her lip is split and her nose bloody. We have now confirmed there are bite marks on one of her arms and on several fingers.

Osama Lutfi, Brit’s former manager who just had a restraining order filed against him by her the other day has filed a lawsuit of his own today. He is suing Britney and her parents, Jamie & Lynne Spears for defamation.

All the claims of libel and defamation are from what was written in mama Lynne Spear’s book, “Through the Storm.” Lutfi says since the book came out, he:

“has been subjected to unfathomable amounts of ridicule and public scorn.”

Lutfi is also stating that Britney broke a contract with him and owes him unpaid management fees. He claims he had an oral agreement with Brit to manage her for 4 years while earning 15% commission. What were his management credentials anyways? Instead of a written contract, does he think an “oral agreement” with someone who was legally determined incapable of handling her own affairs is legally binding?

Lutfi’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, gave the following statement to PerezHilton.com:

“This lawsuit is being brought as a result of the defamation, ridicule and harassment of Sam Lutfi by Jamie Spears and Lynne Spears. A thorough investigation has revealed overwhelming evidence from independent witnesses, showing that Lynne Spears knowingly and maliciously publicized devastating false information about Lutfi which destroyed his reputation, irreparably harmed his career, and subjected him to constant scorn and humiliation.

At the time of the trial in this action, the jury will have an opportunity to weigh the credibility of the witnesses. In doing so, it will be faced with two threshold questions: Why would a supposedly loving mother write a tell all book about the sordid details of two of the most devastating nights of her daughter’s life and go on countless talk shows for her own profit? And why would a loving father who deems his daughter to be incompetent, thrust her into a massive world tour only to subject her to the very limelight that threatened to shatter her life, for something other than his own personal gain?

The facts of this case will reveal Jamie and Lynne’s conduct in light of these questions. It will unequivocally explain the motivation of two people who are seemingly willing to destroy anyone and anything that gets in the way of their ability to control and profit from their daughter. Through this action, the truth about Jamie, Lynne and their relentless desire to control Britney Spears and her fortune will be revealed.”

I still can’t get over that Lufti called in to a radio station to talk about her and he made comments about walking in on Spears while she was nude!

It’s so very disturbing that while Lufti was acting as Britney’s manager, he didn’t obtain “help” for his mentally ill “client”. He would hide her dog and make her search for it, he removed the batteries from her cell phone and her cars so others couldn’t contact her, he admitted to administering medicine to her, and he allegedly stole artwork from the home when he left.

The guy seems dangerous. Very dangerous. I can see him losing this court case and then writing a tell-all book.

Madonna tops the new list of highest earning musicians.

After combining total ticket, album, and download sales to calculate which music acts were the year’s most popular among the “broadest swath of music lovers,” Madonna, the Material Girl came out on top.

Despite having one of the highest ticket prices in this economic downturn, it’s no surprise she earned the most, a reported $120.1 million domestically plus $281.6 million worldwide. Very impressive since she only toured for like, 4 months!

Here are the remaining 9 artists and their earnings. Surprisingly, Beyonce did not make this list:

2. Celine Dion ($106.8 million)
3. Kenny Chesney ($95.7 million)
4. Eagles ($90.7 million)
5. AC/DC ($82 million)
6. Coldplay ($81.6 million)
7. Bon Jovi ($81.4 million)
8. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band ($79 million)
9. Jonas Brothers ($77.9 million)
10. Rascal Flatts ($77.1 million)

Rapper DMX, real name, Earl Simmons is sitting in jail waiting to be sentenced for theft, drug convictions and animal cruelty. The rapper who made millions from sales of his records as well as earned big bucks playing roles in several movies, now has his valley home in foreclosure.

Andrew Wheeler, the agent who is selling the shell of the once former prestigious home on behalf of the bank had this to say:

“It’s very nerve-racking, sometimes I think he’ll just show up, this was probably his pride and joy.”

A SWAT team raided the home last May and it’s now in shambles. The carpet and tiles are charred as well as doors and windows damaged and blown out. The raid left the house unsecured which allowed thieves to rob the place and toss things into the pool.

Wheeler said:

“I think people showed up, walked the house and took what they wanted.”

The panoramic views from the property are the primary selling feature, the same feature DMX in his reality show said as to why he bought the place .

DMX paid around 600k for the property back in 2003, and it is now listed for the bank set sale of $429k.

Soulja Boy’s rep has confirmed that the rapper’s home was robbed on Dec. 30th. The rep refused to corroborate the thugs’ video’s statements or provide any concrete details, claiming only that the crime is “a serious situation.”

Interestingly enough, an online video was released the next day where two guys wearing masks claimed responsibility for the robbery, bragging that they stalked Soulja Boy before the attack by attending his album release party and then following him back to his home. They also say that they were the only two involved and used just one weapon.

Stupid move on their parts… besides the release of their homemade video, there had to have been video, cameras, paparazzi at the party. Shouldn’t take long for the cops to find/figure out who they are.

Reminds me of Soulja Boy’s video where he was relaxing at his home, and six guys with pistols and AK-47s broke in and ransacked the place.

Beyonce’s video for “If I Were a Boy” has been watched by more than 34 million on YouTube while her hit “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)”has had at least 22 million views and spawned countless copycat versions.

She has talked about how amazed she is by all the imitations and was also on the “Saturday Night Live” parody of the video with Justin Timberlake and cast members Andy Samberg and Bobby Moynihan and that video has also been watched by millions online.

Beyonce and her record label, Sony/BMG, are hoping her latest video, “Diva,” also generates the same impact. It was released on Dec. 24 and has so far had one million views on YouTube.

Beyonce joins and may soon surpass other high profile musicians that have made their presence known on YouTube: Soulja Boy, Rihanna, the Jonas Brothers and Chris Brown.

The results for who had the highest grossing tours of 2008 are in at Billboard, and Bon Jovi’s Lost Highway international tour brought in $210.6 million, with second place going to Bruce Springsteen’s Magic Tour, which grossed $204.5.

Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet earned $162 million giving her 3rd place, although she is still performing dates around the world, so she has a wee bit of time left to see if she catches up or surpasses either of them.

Celine Dion made the list, as did The Police and the Spice Girls with their comeback tours. Neil Diamond earned himself a spot as well.

Here are the top ten grossing tours of 2008:

1) Bon Jovi – $210.6 million

2) Bruce Springsteen – $204.5 million

3) Madonna – $162 million

4) The Police $150 million

5) Celine Dion – $91 million

6)Kenny Chesney $86 million

7) Neil Diamond $81.2 million

Spice Girls $70 million

9) The Eagles $56.6 million

10) Rascal Flatts $55.8 million