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CHRIS BROWN’s breakfast show meltdown appears to have given him a career boost - the temperamental R&B star is on course to end ADELE’s reign at the top of the U.S. album charts next week (30Mar11) and score his first number one.
The Kiss Kiss singer’s career seemed to be over in 2009 after he was convicted of beating up then-girlfriend Rihanna, but the hitmaker has since bounced back and is wowing critics and fans alike with his new release, F.A.M.E.
And even his much-reported tantrum backstage at TV show Good Morning America following a tense interview about his two-year-old assault hasn’t derailed his charge to the top of the charts.
Billboard experts predict Brown’s F.A.M.E. will debut with over 250,000 sales and edge out Jennifer Hudson for the number one spot.

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R.E.M. star MICHAEL STIPE has been added to the line-up for Saturday’s (26Mar11) ALEX CHILTON tribute concert in New York.
Stipe will join Chilton’s band Big Star at Baruch College for a rendition of the group’s Kanga Roo.
The rocker’s bandmate Mike Mills has already signed up to take part in the tribute, alongside Teenage Fanclub’s Norman Blake and Matthew Sweet, among others.
Chilton died a year ago (Mar10).

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Crooner TONY BENNETT is set to celebrate his 85th birthday with a sequel to the DUETS album he released to mark his 80th year.
Mariah Carey, Andrea Bocelli and Amy Winehouse are among the stars who have signed up for the project, which will be released in August (11).
Nora Jones, Sheryl Crow, Carrie Underwood, Josh Groban and Faith Hill have also joined Bennett in the studio, as have Michael Buble and k.d. lang, who appeared on the first Duets album.

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Country star ERIC CHURCH is set to become a first-time father - his wife Katherine is pregnant.
The Love Your Love The Most singer and his wife wed in 2009 and they will become parents this autumn (11).
A statement from Church, obtained by CMT.com, reads, "Katherine and I are very excited and are looking forward to becoming parents. This year has gotten off to an amazing start for us, and this news has made it so much better than we could have ever anticipated."

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Rocker PETE TOWNSHEND regrets forming THE WHO - because he would have been happier going solo.
Together with the late Keith Moon and John Entwistle and singer Roger Daltrey, the guitarist created one of the rock world’s most iconic acts - but he admits if he could live his life all over again, he’d be a solo artist.
Townshend tells Uncut magazine’s special issue The Who: The Ultimate Music Guide, "What would I have done differently? I would never have joined a band. Even though I am quite a good gang member and a good trooper on the road, I am bad at creative collaboration." In the revealing interview, the rocker attributes his hearing loss problems and other health issues to being in The Who.

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JAKE GYLLENHAAL is the proud owner of a rare BANKSY print after his writer mum NAOMI FONER launched a campaign to get her son one for his 30th birthday in December (10).
The movie star and his mum share a passion for the reclusive British artist and when she was in London last year with Gyllenhaal’s sister Maggie, she went out of her way to find Banksy.
The actor explains, "My sister was working in London and my mum babysits my niece a lot… but on her time where she wasn’t, she went to go look for Banksy, because Banksy lives in London.
"It’s very expensive to get a Banksy print, but she found out… that apparently Banksy puts out 350 prints every few months… and people can go online and try and get them for free.
"She went online before my birthday; 75,000 people got online to try and get 350 prints… and she got me a Banksy print. It was pretty amazing."

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Glendale, California officials have confirmed reports ELIZABETH TAYLOR has been interred at the city’s Forest Lawn Memorial Park on Thursday (24Mar11) - a day after her death.
The late, great movie icon was buried in the cemetery’s Great Mausoleum, where celebrities Michael Jackson, Carole Lombard and Clark Gable were laid to rest.
Taylor, 79, died of congestive heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Wednesday (23Mar11).
The actress converted to Judaism in the 1950s and Jewish tradition calls for a burial as soon as possible following the death.
The private family funeral was conducted by Taylor’s longtime friend Rabbi Jerry Cutler.
In related news, the lights on the marquees of Broadway theatres in New York will be dimmed in Taylor’s memory on Friday night (25Mar11).
Paul Libin, Chairman of The Broadway League and Executive Vice President of Jujamcyn Theaters, says, "With her remarkable talent and extraordinary beauty, Elizabeth Taylor lit up the Broadway stage the same way she lit up the silver screen."

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Glendale, California officials have confirmed reports ELIZABETH TAYLOR will be interred at the city’s Forest Lawn Memorial Park on Thursday (24Mar11) - a day after her death.
The late, great movie icon will be buried in the cemetery’s Great Mausoleum, where celebrities Michael Jackson, Carole Lombard and Clark Gable were laid to rest.
Taylor, 79, died of congestive heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Wednesday (23Mar11).
The actress converted to Judaism in the 1950s and Jewish tradition calls for a burial as soon as possible following the death.
The funeral is expected to be a private family affair.

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CHARLIE SHEEN’s plans to release his memoirs have hit a stumbling block after he reportedly parted ways with his literary agent.
The actor teamed up with Peter McGuigan at Foundry Media Group last month (Feb11) to help him secure a deal to release an autobiography, which was reportedly set to be called Apocalypse Me.
Sheen was due to reveal all about his life and his eight years on hit TV sitcom Two and a Half Men, but now the project has stalled after he ended his partnership with McGuigan, according to the New York Post’s Page Six.
The gossip column reports that the madcap star was disappointed with offers McGuigan fielded from publishers.

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BRITNEY SPEARS has been forced to move her upcoming free concert in San Francisco indoors due to the wet weather in California.
The pop superstar had planned to perform outdoors in the city’s Castro district on Sunday (27Mar11) to promote the release of her new album, Femme Fatale, in a taped gig for ABC’s breakfast TV show Good Morning America.
But the rain in San Francisco has prompted organisers to rethink their plans and move the concert to the nearby Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.
A statement from the ABC network reads, "Due to the inclement weather forecast for this Sunday in San Francisco, Good Morning America’s exclusive Britney Spears performance will be moved indoors to the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium to protect the safety of the performers, crew and fans." The gig, which will be broadcast in the U.S. next Tuesday (29Mar11), is free but fans have to apply for tickets to gain entry.
Two DJs at a local San Francisco radio station were given VIP passes to the event, but they chose to auction them off online to raise money for aid efforts in Japan. The two tickets raised $1,136 (£710) for The Salvation Army.

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PARIS HILTON has instructed her attorneys to take legal action against an author who has accused the heiress of making racist comments in an interview - calling the allegations "absolutely untrue and ridiculous".
The socialite hit headlines this week (beg21Mar11) when extracts from Neil Strauss’ book Everyone Loves You When You’re Dead: Journeys Into Fame and Madness emerged online.
The book contains excerpts from an alleged interview with Hilton back in 1999, with Strauss claiming she made controversial comments about her love life.
But a representative for Hilton is adamant the socialite never made the remarks featured in the book and she’s now consulting her lawyers.
A statement from Hilton’s spokesperson reads, "These allegations are absolutely untrue and ridiculous. We have sent these claims to Miss Hilton’s lawyers to respond further. It’s another example of someone making false claims for financial gain."

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Irish pop star RONAN KEATING is set to make a splash for a good cause by swimming the Irish Sea to raise money for cancer charities.
The Boyzone singer is hoping to set a new Guinness World Record for open water swimming when he takes part in the relay with a 10-member team which will also include business tycoon Sir Richard Branson.
And Keating admits he’s nervous about braving the 56-mile (90-kilometre) stretch from Dublin, Ireland to Holyhead in Wales.
He says, "I’m not a strong swimmer so it’s going to be a real challenge for me." The group aims to raise $1.6 million (£1 million) for Cancer Research UK and the Marie Keating Foundation when they tackle the feat in September (11).

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R.E.M. frontman MICHAEL STIPE shunned traditional recording equipment during work on the band’s new album COLLAPSE INTO NOW - he used his iPhone.
The rocker is a big fan of his Apple gadget and used its many features to help him write and record tracks for the group’s recent release.
He tells Britain’s Absolute Radio, "My notepad is my iPhone, and in fact I recorded and wrote this entire record on my phone.
"I love technology for that, it’s so much easier than having scraps of paper everywhere. Of course I write lyrics that I hope would someday see the light of day, more times than not that never happens.
"I see things when I hear music and it’s usually a landscape, and my job as the lyricist is to people that landscape with stories and with narrative and with ideas and with words."

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A lawyer for METALLICA has warned fans about unauthorised concert footage allegedly set to go on sale, insisting the band "owns and controls" all its performances.
Bosses at Writers Group Film Corp. announced on Tuesday (22Mar11) the acquisition of "several hours of unique Metallica 3D and 2D footage" for distribution.
But the Enter Sandman rockers have never heard of the firm, and their lawyer reveals the project doesn’t have their seal of approval.
Metallica’s attorney Peter Paterno says, "Metallica owns and controls its recorded performances and Creeping Death Music owns the vast majority of any music embodied in Metallica recordings. Pretty much any legitimate business would have contacted us to see how Metallica felt about it. Maybe these guys just forgot."

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Campaigners in RINGO STARR’s hometown have failed in their bid to preserve the BEATLES drummer’s birthplace - local authorities are pressing ahead with plans to demolish the house where he was born.
The musician’s former family home in Liverpool, England has been under threat of demolition since 2005 as local councillors made plans to rejuvenate the area.
Fans have been fighting to save the property at 9 Madryn Street and have it turned into a local landmark, but after years of campaigning they have lost the battle with the council.
The leader of Liverpool City Council, Joe Anderson, has confirmed a final demolition order has been submitted and he’s defended the council’s decision to destroy the property.
He tells Clickliverpool.com, "We’re not demolishing things just because we need to demolish them - we are doing it because it’s the right thing to do. To date no-one has come forward with any concrete plans to save (the houses on Madryn Street), and to be quite frank I don’t think anybody will, because quite simply they cost too much to bring back into use… It’s just absolute madness to try and save them.
"I asked them to come up with alternatives and they have not, and that’s their fault and not mine. The community in that area have been waiting for 11 years to have these houses demolished, and I believe they have waited long enough." But Philip Coppell, chairman of the Save Madryn Street (SMS) campaign, is determined not to give up, saying, "Number 9 is a priceless tourist resource that the city would be mad to destroy… We are calling on Beatles fans everywhere and residents in Liverpool to show their opposition to this new crazy new plan to demolish the (street). It must be stopped, otherwise we will all live to regret it."

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Rapper JUELZ SANTANA missed his planned performance at CHRIS BROWN’s album release party on Tuesday (22Mar11) after he was stopped by cops as he headed to the venue.
Santana was due to take the stage with Brown at Webster Hall in New York City but police stopped and searched his car as he drove to the gig.
He missed the show and later took to Twitter.com to voice his disappointment, writing: "Jus go (just got) pulled over… SMH (shaking my head). Was on the way to Webster Hall… never fails." Santana’s representative, Joe Wunstop, has now echoed the rapper’s previous claims that cops have been unfairly targeting him because of his fame.
Wunstop tells the New York Post’s Page Six, "Nobody got arrested. They were just giving him a hard time. By the time they finished searching, Juelz was upset - so it wouldn’t have made for a good show… The guys just follow around and sniff around for something to happen." The hip-hop star is facing gun and drug charges relating to a January (11) raid on his New Jersey studio and is currently free on $125,000 (£78,000) bail.
He alleges officials have been "picking" on him because he is rich and famous, insisting: "I’m definitely a target out here just because of who I am."

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JAKE GYLLENHAAL plans to write and direct movies in the future because he constantly worries about his longevity as an actor.
The Brokeback Mountain star fears his onscreen appeal will eventually wane and he wants to extend his Hollywood career by making his own movies.
He says, "Well, I do have a number of things that I’m developing. That’s probably where the future lies for me - but I’m not going to give up the day job just yet. I’d like to see where it goes.
"You’re always wondering how long this will last. It’s a piece of being an actor. There’s always someone more talented or younger than you. But I also like to write. In years to come, I think that will expand. I won’t just be scrapping for the next job. Maybe I’ll create something for myself."

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NATALIE PORTMAN’s choreographer fiance BENJAMIN MILLEPIED has leaped to the actress’ defence over allegations she relied heavily on a dance double to film BLACK SWAN, insisting "85 per cent" of the work was done by his bride-to-be.
Portman underwent a year of intensive training to play a prima ballerina in the film, a role which won her an Oscar in February (11), but she came under fire from critics who claimed her double, American Ballet Theatre dancer Sarah Lane, was the real star of the show.
But the French dancer, who choreographed the film’s sequences, is adamant Portman deserves plenty of credit.
Speaking about the actress’ performance, Millepied tells the Los Angeles Times, "It was so believable, it was fantastic, that beautiful movement quality.
"There are articles now talking about her dance double that are making it sound like (Lane) did a lot of the work, but really, she just did the footwork, and the fouettes, and one diagonal (move) in the studio. Honestly, 85 per cent of that movie is Natalie." And Millepied, who is expecting a baby with the actress, admits he choreographed easier routines that Portman could achieve.
He adds, "(I made) things fluid and not too complicated. By getting more movement going, which in turn added to the camera movement - that is basically what I did.
"If we had kept things more classical, more restrained, less fluid, it would have been harder to trick the eye."

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