Katy Perry Russell Brand File For Divorce

Posted by Jo in Celebrity

Katy Perry Russell Brand file for divorce after 14 months of marriage.

The couple met in 2008 and famously re-tell the story about their meeting at an award ceremony where Russell Brand was presenting and Katy Perry was in the audience.

Katy Perry & Russell Brand were married in October 2010 on a reserve in India. Divorce papers were filed at the Los Angeles Court citing irreconcilable differences.

Speculation about the state of Katy Perry & Russell Brands marriage has been discussed in the gossip columns of the online and offline press for months.

Katy Perry spent Christmas in Hawaii with friends while Russell Brand was in Cornwall, England. Neither were wearing their wedding bands.

Russell Brand issued a statement saying,

“Sadly Katy and I are ending our marriage. I’ll always adore her and I know we’ll remain friends.”

Perhaps Katy Perry’s latest single “The One That Got Away”, has more meaning that we initially may have thought. A sad way to start a new year.

Photo: Jose Goulao

X Factor USA Results Are In – Melanie Amaro Wins Final

Posted by Jo in Entertainment, TV

X Factor USA results are in and Melanie Amaro has triumphed after beating Josh Krajcik & Chris Rene in the final.

The first ever winner of the X Factor USA, Melanie Amaro, hails from Sunrise in Florida and has a formidable voice.

Her winners story is all the more remarkable because she was initially rejected by her mentor, Simon Cowell, at the judges houses stage of the competition & didn’t make it to the live shows.

However, Simon Cowell later had a change of heart & made a special journey to Amaros home in Florida. He admitted that he had made a mistake & asked her to take part in the live shows. The X factor USA voters obviously responded to her and her voice.

It is these little things that can make a big difference in how contestants are perceived & perhaps this initial rejection from Simon gave Amaro the back story she needed to really make an impact.

You need much more than just a good voice to win these competitions and whatever you may think about these talent shows, with over 100,000 people auditioning no one could ever say that it is easy.

Melanie Amaro walks away from the X Factor USA with a $5 million recording contract & an appearance in a TV ad. Possibly the biggest prize in TV today.

Josh Krajcik was runner up on the night & although he didn’t win he can be pretty sure of securing a contract of his own.

With a very distinctive and soulful voice he would translate to radioplay very easily & Simon Cowell is too savvy to let that slip away.

X Factor USA result & Melanie Amaro Video

X Factor USA – Who was your favorite?

Google Music Store & Blackberry BBM Music Services Launched

Posted by Jo in Entertainment, Music

Google music store launched in the US this week close on the heals of the Blackberry BBM music service UK launch.

The Google music store allows anyone running the Google Android operating system to buy and stream music files to their device.

Most of the major music labels are getting behind Googles music store including EMI, Sony and Universal. These music labels in conjunction with other smaller independents have allowed Google to build up a library of over 10 million songs.

Google are also taking the opportunity to integrate their Google+ social service into the music store allowing friends to listen to your track for free as a one time play.

Prices for songs are similar to the Apple iTunes store starting at $0.69 and will feature some exclusive content from the likes of Coldplay.

A step that the struggling artist will appreciate is the music stores new artist hub which allows artists to create their own page to sell music through for a small fee and 30% commission on any sales.

Google Music Store Promo Ad

Meanwhile on the other side of the Atlantic the Blackberry BBM music service was launched in the UK with a monthly subscription model.

Blackberrys music service is built around their social networking system with each of your BBM music friends able to share 50 tracks with you via the cloud. Omnifone are partnering with RIM to provide the Blackberry BBM music service.

All in all the online music world is hotting up with all the big online companies vying for their share of the market. Google, Amazon, Spotify, RIM, Nokia, Pandora and many others are all after Apples dominant share.

With Google owning the largest portion of the mobile market in the same way that Microsoft did with Windows, who would bet against them?

Michael Jackson Trial: Dr Conrad Murray on Trial

Posted by Jo in Celebrity

Michael Jackson’s trial is underway with Dr Conrad Murray charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Michael Jackson died on the 25th June 2009 after falling unconscious in his bedroom. Dr Conrad Murray was in attendance at the time, in his capacity as Michael Jackson’s physician, and tried to revive the star with CPR. He later died in hospital.

The Los Angeles police interviewed Dr Murray a few days later over Michael Jackson’s death and a month later his house and clinic were raided as authorities looked for evidence of manslaughter.

In Feb 2010 Dr Conrad Murray was officially charged with involuntary manslaughter, he pleads not guilty and is released on bail.

The Michael Jackson trial got underway on the 27th September 2011 and has been broadcast on American TV networks reminiscent of the OJ Simpson case in 1995.

Prosecutors have alleged that Dr Murray gave Michael Jackson a lethal dose of propofol and acted with gross negligence. Dr Murrays defence lawyers are claiming that Michael Jackson himself administered the lethal dosage.

At the time Michael Jackson was rehearsing for what was intended to be his final live concert performances in London with tickets in high demand and selling out in hours. It’s thought that financial worries were behind the decision to go on tour again.

He was rehearsing at the staples centre in LA (footage was later released on DVD as This is It) until late at night. On the night before his death he was working until after midnight. Shortly after noon the next day he was discovered by Dr Conrad Murray lying on the floor unconscious.

The events that occurred between those two times are what this trial is all about and it is not an easy case for either side to argue. Strong evidence either way has been difficult to come by.

Michael Jackson Trial: Dr Conrad Murray. Are you watching or not?

Photo: Alan Light

Virginia Earthquake Rattles Washington

Posted by Jo in Travel

Virginia earthquake measuring 5.8 magnitude yesterday hit the US east coast, shaking buildings in the Washington capital and forcing a Government evacuation.

As a political earthquake shook in Libya, a physical one started to shake the east coast of the US yesterday at about 2pm lasting for about 30 seconds.

Three aftershocks were also recorded, one of which was measured as a 4.8 magnitude earthquake.

The epicentre of the earthquake was in the state of Virginia at a a depth of about 4 miles and 5 miles from the nearest town of Mineral.

The earthquake was felt as far away as Washington where there was some minor damage and a mass evacuation of buildings including the Pentagon.

The earthquake was one of the strongest to hit the US east coast in over 100 years and lasted for about 30 seconds moving buildings from side to side.

People filtered out onto the streets as they were evacuated from buildings in case of any further tremors or structural damage. Most people were sent home for the rest of the day while checks were made and to check out their own premises.

There are plenty of nuclear power stations in the area including New York and some were switched off although the Nuclear watchdog said that no reactors suffered any damage. People are understandably jittery about Nuclear power stations after the events of Japan’s earthquake.

The earthquake interrupted a press conference on the Dominique Strauss-Kahn assault case after he had been released following the dropping of the charges.

Photo: Official U.S. Navy Imagery

Jennifer Lopez Calls Time on Marriage with Marc Anthony

Posted by Jo in Celebrity

Jennifer Lopez has called time on her marriage to Marc Anthony after 7 years together.

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony have 3 year old twins and their marriage has been one of the most high profile showbiz marriages with both having high profile careers.

For Jennifer Lopez it is probably easier to talk about what businesses she isn’t involved in, but she has interests in perfume, fashion, TV production, music, films, restaurant and as a music judge. It is said she is worth anywhere from $150-250 million, depending on who you believe.

J-Lo had been married twice before, to backing dancer Chris Judd in 2001 and a short marriage to a waiter called Ojani Noa in 1998.

She briefly dated Marc Anthony before her second marriage but got together properly in 2004 after recording a duet for the film ‘Shall We Dance’.

Jennifer Lopez got married that year in Beverly Hills, catching even their guests by surprise after they had been invited for an afternoon party.

Marc Anthony was previously marred to ex-Miss Universe, Dayanara Torres, with whom he has 2 children.

Following the announcement of their split the couple issued a statement that they had decided to end their marriage and that they had come to an amicable conclusion on all matters.

We are sure that neither of them will be alone for long, the question is, will Jennifer Lopez ever get married again?

With 3 failed marriages behind her it would take a brave person to try again but of course it is difficult to ignore romance and everlasting love. We say go for it, we might know someone ;)

Photo: jurvetson

Harper Seven Beckham Arrives And The Beckhams Celebrate Their New Baby Girl

Posted by Jo in Celebrity

David Beckham has announced Harper Seven Beckham to the world after Victoria Beckham gave birth to their first baby girl.

David Beckham announced the birth of Harper Seven on his facebook page and said that “I am so proud and excited to announce the birth of our daughter Harper Seven Beckham.”

David and Victoria married in 1999. The high flying couple (David became the most famous footballer in the world and Victoria sold over 75 million records with the Spice Girls) have 3 sons already, Brooklyn is the eldest at 11 years old, then Romeo (8) and Cruz who is 5.

It has been a busy weekend for David, on Friday he met the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on their trip to California, on Saturday he played in an LA Galaxy soccer match where he somehow scored directly from a corner and on Sunday he had a new baby daughter to look after.

The baby was delivered at 7.55 am at the Cedars Sinai Hospital, Los Angeles and weighed a healthy 7 lbs 10 oz. No picture as yet though.

The name Seven is thought to be a reference to David Beckham’s famous No. 7 shirt that he wore while playing for England and Manchester United.

Photo: AshleyCooper

Womens Tennis Launches Wimbledon 2011 With Party in London

Posted by Jo in Sports, Tennis

With the Wimbledon Tennis Championships 2011 about to start in London, the stars of the Women’s tennis tour glam up for a party.

This year the Wimbledon tennis championship celebrates it’s 125th anniversary and the stars of the Women’s game were out and about at a pre-Wimbledon party hosted by Land Rover.

Maria Sharapova looked stunning in red and she was joined by Ana Ivanovic, as well as the up and coming British stars such as Laura Robson and Heather Watson.

You can watch some interviews below, although be aware that there is some flash photography.

It looks like this year will be the year that the new million dollar Wimbledon roof will finally get a real workout, ever since the roof was finished the Wimbledon Championships have been virtually dry.

This year, after a dry spell that has seen parts of the UK issued with drought warnings, it seems as though the weather has turned and they are in for a prolonged showery spell.

The Wimbledon Championships officially get underway on the 20th June and end on 3rd July.

Michael Jackson’s Thriller Jacket Up For Auction

Posted by Jo in Celebrity, Music

The iconic red leather jacket from Michael Jackson’s Thriller video is being auctioned this month in Beverly Hills, do you fancy owning the most famous jacket in music?

If you can see yourself strutting around pulling off those famous moves (or trying to anyway), then donning the actual jacket that Michael Jackson performed in may be the inspiration that you need to pull it off.

The downside? Well you are going to need around $200,000 – $400,000. Someone somewhere will think that is a small price to pay for the most recognisable item from the biggest selling album of all time, selling roughly 110 million copies worldwide, and still going.

Some of the money raised will go to the Shambala Preserve where Michael Jackson’s Bengal tigers have been living since 2006.

A bit cheaper than the Michael Jackson Thriller jacket is another item up for auction which is almost as iconic, a black glove worn by Michael at the 1984 American Music Awards.

It is expected to fetch between $20,000 – $30,000 and a quick search of youtube will show you footage of Michael wearing the glove.

Other items in the auction include Michael Jackson’s wigs and sketch’s, a car that Frank Sinatra used to own, Bruce Springsteen’s denim jacket that he wore on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in 1984, handwritten lyrics from Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley’s guitar.

If you fancy a bit of music memorabilia then the auction is being held on June 25th and you can check out the full catalogue at www.juliensauctions.com.