Will Taylor Swift’s New Album Sell a Million in Its First Week?

Posted on July 28, 2010 by admin

Fan anticipation is already building for Taylor Swift’s “Speak Now,” after the pop-country superstar revealed on Ustream that the follow-up to her multiplatinum album “Fearless” will be out Oct. 25.

But anticipation of a different sort is building among retail and label executives: Can “Speak Now” top U.S. debut-week sales of 1 million units? And if Swift can’t attain that now-elusive milestone, can anyone?

The last album to do so was Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter III,” which sold slightly more than 1 million units in its first week ended June 15, 2008, and has sold 3.5 million units to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Taylor Swift Announces New Album, ‘Speak Now’

Since then, the closest any other album has come to matching that performance was AC/DC’s “Black Ice,” which bowed with 784,000 units in the week ended Oct. 24, 2008, and has sold a total of 2.2 million, according to SoundScan. Eminem’s “Recovery,” the sales champ of 2010 so far, debuted with 741,000 units in the week ended June 27 and has racked up total U.S. sales of 1.5 million, according to SoundScan.
In an informal survey of a dozen recording industry executives conducted by Billboard, Boyle, West and Wayne each drew votes as contenders for million-unit debut weeks. But most say they believe Swift has the best shot.
“It feels like if anybody can do it now, she could be the one,” says Will Botwin, president/CEO of Red Light Management and ATO Records. “She has the sales base and heat from the last few albums. And with all the amazing things she has going on, she is as likely as anybody to reach a million units, especially with the efforts of Big Machine and Universal behind her.”

Posted in Taylor Swift | Tagged | 1 Comment

Vanessa Hudgens Hoping to Surprise HSM Fans With Sucker Punch

Posted on July 28, 2010 by admin

Get ready High School Musical fans, Vanessa Hudgens hopes to surprise you with her badass turn in the stylized action flick Sucker Punch.

The actress talked to E!’s Ben Lyons at Comic-Con last weekend while promoting the upcoming Zack Snyder film, and when asked how HSM fans would react to her hard-core, gun-toting character, Hudgens said, “They’re gonna be like, ‘That’s Vanessa?!’ Hopefully. That’s what I’m striving for.”

Complete persona shifts aside, Hudgens also talked about the insane training regimen she and costars Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone and Emily Browning endured to get in shape for the film—”The first day I was dead lifting 135!”—her love for Halo and why she loves Comic-Con.

Posted in Vaessa Hudgens | Tagged | 1 Comment

Eli Whitney project inches ahead in Port Wentworth

Posted on July 28, 2010 by admin

Before Eli Whitney, farming cotton was a slow, arduous and costly venture – not unlike the process of building a museum in his honor.

In Port Wentworth, near where the revolutionary cotton gin was devised, city and business leaders have slowly begun raising funds for a “Cultural Arts and Recreation Campus,” complete with a museum honoring Whitney and Savannah River plantations.

The project, on a 10-acre tract off Ga. 21, is pegged at $4 million and could take another five years to complete.

The first major fundraising effort has been scheduled for Sept. 17 at the Crosswinds Golf Club, according to Trisha Growe, executive director of the Port Wentworth Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center.

“We know this isn’t going to happen overnight,” Growe said of the museum, which would include a visitors center, library, outdoor gardens, walking track and playground. “But if we’re moving forward and making progress, we’ll get there.”

City and chamber officials had previously met with state legislators in hope of securing financial backing for the project, but so far that’s been hard to come by.

In June, city council members voted down a proposal to impose an additional 1 percent tourism tax on hotels and motels, money that would have gone toward the Eli Whitney complex.

Mayor Pro Tem Vincent Hogan, who introduced the measure, cast the lone assenting vote and was dismayed at the lack of mutual urgency.

“It’s frustrating for me,” Hogan said afterward, explaining the tax would have “opened the floodgates” for corporate sponsorships of the project.

The undeveloped land, purchased by the city two years ago, “is sitting there idling,” Hogan added. “It’s about the historical value and putting Port Wentworth on the map nationally. And it’s a pride thing. It’s a no-brainer to me.”

Other council members countered that regardless of the recent vote, the tax would take months to implement, requiring legislation at the state level.

Other projects, like a beautification effort on Ga. 21 off Interstate 95, also require attention, they said.

“The penny tax was just too soon,” Councilman James Curry said in a statement. “I do believe it will generate funds for future tourism projects, but it does nothing for right now.”

Growe said the lodging tax proposal neither makes nor breaks the museum plans.

“It’d be one of about 10 different revenue streams we’re looking at to fund this project,” she said. “But every little bit helps these days.”

Posted in Whitney Port | Tagged | Leave a comment

Former Teen Star Tiffany Defends Miley Cyrus’ “Sexy” Image

Posted on July 28, 2010 by admin

In her 80s heyday as a teen pop sensation, singer Tiffany favored acid-washed jeans, sneakers, long-sleeved shirts and not too much makeup.

But that doesn’t mean that she disapproves of today’s much less modest generation of singing teen stars — especially Miley Cyrus, 17, who has worn cleavage-bearing dresses and skin-tight bodysuits, danced on stripper poles and simulated lesbian kisses on stage.

“Miley Cyrus is on a great track,” Tiffany, now 38, told UsMagazine.com at Saturday’s EWComic-Con party at Hotel Solamar in San Diego.

“I know that there are a lot of people that say well when you are so young you shouldn’t be sexy,” the “I Think We’re Alone Now” singer conceded.

“I think that in today’s world you kind of have to be [sexy]– to be competitive in the market,” Tiffany told Us.  “I think that she is doing  it appropriately.  And it’s always a fine line there.”

“But I’m a huge fan of hers. I think she’s gonna have a long career,” she gushed, adding praise to Cyrus’ mom and dad, too. “Her parents are guiding her right, and it really matters what base you have around you.  Very much so.”

Although Tiffany stayed buttoned up during her teenage fame, she did pose nude for Playboy in 2002. She has a 17-year-old son, Elijah, from her first marriage, and has been married to second husband Benn George since 2004.

The 80s icon is attending Comic Con to help promote Mega Python vs. Gatoroid — the campy scifi flick in which she costars with her former rival Debbie Gibson.

“It was awesome!” she said. “We were always planning on doing something but I think people were expecting more of a musical… and it’s not.”

Although she and Gibson achieved pop success around the same time, the flick was their first time to bond. “I knew her, but we never really hung out…we have a fond respect for each other but I didn’t know if we would end up being buddies.”

“It’s really nice to be able to say we are really good friends.  Of course we always play up the cheeky side…we had the little catfight — we were loving it!”

Posted in Miley Cyrus | Tagged | 1 Comment

Taylor Momsen Too Young to Be Talking About Sex Toys, Critics Say

Posted on July 28, 2010 by admin

“Gossip Girl” star Taylor Momsen, who turned 17 yesterday, is speaking publicly about her affinity for sex toys.

Momsen, who is not legally of age to enter venues that sell sexual paraphernalia, recently divulged  intimate details to Disorder Magazine. When asked if she is currently single, Momsen confirmed, and also added that she is “bored of men” and that her “best friend is her vibrator.”

So while critics are quick to condemn fellow teen sensation Miley Cyrus for a little dirty dancing or a racy photo or two, is it instead Momsen who people should be questioning?

Shirlee Smith, CEO of the Talk About Parenting organization, thinks so. “In my way of raising daughters, she shouldn’t be involved with ‘men’ and any of these men who have driven her to sexual boredom belong locked up because our society says men having sexual encounters with those under the age of consent are criminals,” she told FOX411.com.

Posted in Taylor Momsen | Tagged | Leave a comment

Taylor Momsen’s looking top dollar

Posted on July 27, 2010 by admin

Taylor Momsen certainly knows how to bring in the money.
She’s just been named the face for John Galliano’s new scent and has been chosen to showcase Madonna and Lourdes’ Material Girl line.
And the Gossip Girl actress , who turns 17 today, is also stacking up the cash… in her shoes. The heels have slots in the bottom with the label, “tips” and can be filled with cash and barely a month ago they had just one dollar note inside.
But performing with her band The Pretty Reckless in Florida over the weekend, her shoe was filled to the limit with money.Along with her trademark shoes, Taylor was wearing her preferred ensemble of stockings and suspenders.


She’s been seen several times before on stag in the get-up, but this time she clearly made a bit of an effort and swapped her usual bustier for a T-shirt with the arms chopped off, revealing a lacy bra.Her make-up was piled on thick, with huge black rings around her eyes.”I shower, then I put on a ton of black on my eyes, then I put lipstick on an a little bit of blush and then, I don’t brush my hair,” she told MTV news last week. Taylor has also admitted she chooses her own clothes after firing her stylist.

“I kind of had a freak out…because I was getting moulded into this thing that wasn’t who I am and it was fitting into the world that can make you popular or something. I was never a popular chick, so I don’t even know what that means!”This isn’t the first time Taylor has made an effort to shock.She recently told how she has a knife collection and “relaxes” by opening and closing a switchblade.

“I have a knife collection. I have my favourite black knife with me all the time. It’s a switchblade. It relaxes me to flick it. I close it and open it,” she told Metro.
Taylor could be forgiven for acting older than her years though. She’s been in the public eye since she was small, starring as the rosy-cheeked Cindy Lou Who in How The Grinch Stole Christmas. – Daily Mail

Posted in Taylor Momsen | Tagged | Leave a comment

Robert Pattinson – Robert Pattinson-Inspired Underwear Created

Posted on July 27, 2010 by admin

A brand of pants inspired by Robert Pattinson is being launched by UK retailer Marks and Spencer.

Robert Pattinson is the inspiration for a new range of men’s underwear.

British brand Marks and Spencer is behind the brand – dubbed the R-Pant – which is designed to be worn underneath skinny jeans and trousers.

Richard Beale, head of merchandising at the store, said: “Over the last three years we’ve seen an increase in the popularity of hipsters. The new range is designed to appeal to a young, fashion-savvy customer.”

Oli Arnold, style director of Men’s Health magazine, told the Guardian: “I hate seeing the waistbands of men’s pants poking out of the top of their jeans. Do Marks and Spencer even sell skinny jeans? Maybe lots of women will buy them for their husbands and boyfriends though.”

Russell Brand and Mark Ronson were also named as inspirations for the brand of pants.

However, British-born heartthrob Pattinson turned down the opportunity to model the underwear.

One in four men in the UK buy underwear from Marks and Spencer, and Pattinson has been seen buying underwear in the store before.

Posted in Robert Pattinson | Tagged | Leave a comment

Selena Gomez’s New Album Features Katy Perry Collaboration

Posted on July 27, 2010 by admin

Selena Gomez is getting a bit of help from a fellow pop star for her next album, tentatively titled A Year Without Rain. The “Ramona and Beezus” star recently shared that her

September release will feature a collaboration with one of California’s most famous gurls.

“Katy Perry gave me a song, and she did background vocals on it,” she told Hollywood Life. “The whole experience was really fun.”

Other details concerning the song with Perry are unknown, but Gomez has said that this next album will focus on her growing up musically. “The title so far of my album — I mean, I’m hoping it will stick — is A Year Without Rain,” Gomez told MTV News. “It’s basically one of my favorite songs on the record. It’s kind of got a more feel-good dance beat and feel. I love it. It’s different; [it] kind of shows my growth of my music.”

Gomez has other favorite tunes on the album. “There’s a song called ‘Intuition’ that’s one of my favorites. The message is basically every decision that you regret or second-guess, [just] do it [anyway]. I love that message so much.”

Not only does she have songs banked for the album, the visuals for it are also in the works. “Shot my album artwork for the next record today!” she tweeted a few weeks ago. “Ah, I can’t wait for yall to see/hear all the new stuff!”

Posted in Selena Gomez | Tagged | Leave a comment

Lindsay Lohan – Lindsay Lohan In Jail Until August

Posted on July 27, 2010 by admin

Lindsay Lohan will not leave jail before August, according to a spokesman at the Century Regional Correctional Facility in Lynwood, California, where she is serving time.

Lindsay Lohan will not leave jail before August.

The 24-year-old actress – who is only six days into a 90-day jail sentence for breaking the terms of her probation for a 2007 driving under the influence (DUI) charge – had hoped to be released this week due to prison overcrowding, but a jail spokesman has confirmed that will not happen.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department representative Steve Whitmore said: “She won’t be released this week.”

Her sentence has already been reduced to 88 days because of time she has previously spent in custody, but overcrowding at the Century Regional Correctional Facility in Lynwood, California, means she could still be released as early as August 1.

Meanwhile, Lindsay received a second visit from her mother Dina and sister Ali yesterday (26.07.10).

The pair were not allowed to see the ‘Mean Girls’ actress at the weekend as they had used up their visiting rights on her first day in prison last Wednesday (21.07.10), and so took the first opportunity they could to see her.

A prison source said: “Lindsay might get visitors after the official visiting hours are over for the other inmates for security reasons. It’s for the safety of everyone.”

Lindsay’s estranged father Michael has also reached out to some Hollywood stars to ask them to help his daughter “get her life back” after she completes her sentence and subsequent mandatory rehab period.

He told Nashville radio station 107.5 The River: “My people are reaching out to Robert Downey Jr. and to Mark Wahlberg. I know both of them and Mark is a tremendous human being.

“Hopefully they’ll see her before she gets out and she’ll get in this rehab and get off these prescription meds, and she’ll get her life back.”

Michael also revealed his daughter is now “only on two medications”.

He said: “She’s only on two medications right now. Ambien for sleeping, I can understand that.

“But this Adderall stuff has got to be stopped. Seven out of 10 kids in college are on this stuff and it’s no more than methamphetamine! It’s speed.”

Posted in Lindsay Lohan | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jaden Smith: I’m As Muscley As Lautner

Posted on July 27, 2010 by admin

The 11-year-old son of Will Smith stars in the upcoming remake of The Karate Kid. Jaden went through weeks of gruelling martial arts training to prepare for the role and says the work-outs have left him more muscular than ever before.

He is so impressed with his new physique he has kept up his training to ensure his muscles stay taut and toned, and has joked the work-outs have left him bulky enough to pass for muscle-bound Twilight werewolf Taylor.

“I want to stay buff, you know,” Jaden told Irish film site movies.ie. “I’m trying to get my Taylor Lautner thing going on. Just in case they need a stunt double or something.

“I’m like, ‘Buff guy, here! Ready for any action, ready to turn into a werewolf at any time!’”

Jaden stars opposite Jackie Chan in The Karate Kid. He loved working with the veteran Chinese actor, and was constantly amazed by how “amazing” the older star is.

“Oh man, he is amazing,” Jaden gushed. “Man, he was just very straight forward and he would get things done when he needed to get things done, you know?

“He was like the most amazing person ever, and like he was always teaching me things, he was teaching me things about how to stretch correctly, and how to like be in a scene correctly, and he would always tell me ‘OK, yeah, you need to focus…’ He was great.”

Posted in Taylor Lautner | Tagged | Leave a comment