Guess Camille Grammer couldn’t quit the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills after all. An E! source says she will, in fact, return to the Bravo hit for its third season. Grammer, who all but officially left her role as a series regular on the program earlier this year, is now heading back to the reality show in some capacity. She will be making cameos throughout next season, reports say, including an appearance at Kyle Richards’ birthday party, which she attended last weekend. Over the coming weeks, Kelsey Grammer’s former wife is expected to continue to shoot even more scenes for next season. So much for Camille being fired. “I didn’t want to expose my personal life so much anymore,” the 43-year-old explained last month regarding her departure from the highly-rated reality series. “I had done that and was over that. I care very much for my children, and that show tends to take me away from them. I really want to focus on them right now.” Well, at least to a point. What do you think of Camille Grammer returning to the show she helped catapult to the top of Bravo’s roster of programming devoted to wealthy snobs? Discuss!
Over the weekend Patrick Schwarzenegger, the son of Arnold, Tweeted a photo of himself experiencing a typical teen rite of passage: his senior prom. The 18-year-old attended with another celebrity offspring, legendary music producer (and American Idol mentor) Jimmy Iovine’s daughter Jade Iovine. Check out their cute Instagram prom photo below: In addition to being a student, Patrick is a model, aspiring actor and a designer for the charity-driven clothing line Project 360. Not bad for a teenager. In the pic, classmate Jade, in a white, strapless dress, pins a boutonni
Jay-Z, Diddy and 50 Cent released “I Get Money (The Forbes 1-2-3 Billionaire Remix)” in ’07, a celebration of their inclusion atop Forbes Hip-Hop Cash Kings list. Five years later, the same three artists are in a more exclusive group – the Forbes Five, a list of hip-hop’s wealthiest moguls – though no longer 1-2-3 in that order. Which of the three earns the most? And who else made the Top 5? Diddy is the closest to becoming a billionaire, with a net worth of $550 million . The Bad Boy Records founder has been a mainstream mainstay for 15 years. Thanks to his knack for self-promotion and outside business deals with Ciroc vodka, Sean John, Enyce, Blue Flame and other tech startups, he gets money. A lot of it. And he’s not even done. Diddy signed a deal with Comcast to launch cable channel Revolt in 2013. He’ll own the channel outright. Cha-ching. Jay-Z is #2 at $460 million . Unlike his fellow Forbes Five members, he still churns out music and goes on tour, most recently with pal Kanye West. He sold his Rocawear clothing label for $204 million in 2007, signed a 10-year $150M deal with Live Nation in 2008, and co-owns the New Jersey Nets. There’s also his 40/40 Club chain, his ad firm Translation, cosmetics company Carol’s Daughter and other businesses too numerous to list. Very rich. Dr. Dre ranks third with $270 million , boosted by the sale of a 51% stake in Beats Electronics – a company he founded with Jimmy Iovine – to HTC. Sources say each owned a third of the company before the deal, placing Dre’s cut at $85 million after taxes. Not a bad addition to his net worth. Birdman , surprisingly clocks in at No. 4 with a fortune of $125 million . He cofounded Cash Money Records with brother Ronald “Slim” Williams. The label’s value soared with the success of rappers Drake, Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne (who shares ownership of sub-label Young Money). That’ll do it. 50 Cent and his $110 million rank fifth. The business-savvy Queens-born rapper earned $100 million for his Vitaminwater stake alone in 2007. Fiddy also made tens of millions from touring, record sales and clothing, but spends freely on cars and renovations to his mansion in Connecticut. Still, a nice nine-figure cushion remains from his back catalog, acting gigs and 50 Cent themed videogames, shoes and books, and headphone line SMS. [Photo: WENN.com]
Remaining seven get current Wednesday night, taking on hits from this decade with surprisingly great results. By James Montgomery Joshua Ledet Photo: Getty Images On Wednesday’s “American Idol,” the crowd was crazy (except for poor Hollie Cavanagh), the judges slightly cracked (comparing Phillip Phillips to the lovechild of Steve McQueen and Johnny Cash) and the music actually current. Shoot, for a second there, you probably thought you were watching “The Voice” or something. Yes, it was a big night in “Idol” land, as the top seven took on songs from this decade with surprisingly good results. Most soared and scored, and though we can’t believe no one did an Adele tune, we’ve gotta say, the remaining contestants definitely brought the goods. Perhaps they should just sing contemporary songs every week? But whose performances earned the highest marks? Who fell to the back of the class? And what the heck was going on with the crowd after Hollie’s performance? For answers to all of those questions and more, here’s our “American Idol” report card: Jessica Sanchez: Her family is officially my favorite ever. Her decision to do Jazmine Sullivan’s “Stuttering” may have mystified Jimmy Iovine, but it was clearly the right call. She split the difference between previous big-voiced stunners and all that Bebe Chez stuff, threw in some stank (and some scatting) and delivered a performance that, quoth Randy Jackson, “Slayed the biggest fish of the night.” So much voice, so emotionally over-the-top, and so diva-riffic — and all seemingly so effortless, Sanchez flexed her talents and fired back after a few weeks in the wilderness. “Every time I hear you sing, I forget where I am,” Steven Tyler said. So, he hears her sing in grocery stores and behind the wheel? A- Joshua Ledet: He acted adorably upon getting a birthday message from Fantasia. He’s clearly found his lane over the past few weeks, and his confidence seems to grow with each subsequent performance. This week, he did Bruno Mars’ “Runaway Baby,” which started vampy, campy and maybe even a tad bit old fashioned (even for a retroist like Mars), but it really picked up speed in the second half, building to a big note and a fiery finish, earning Ledet the night’s first standing ovation. He’s certainly a dynamic performer, but is he also a current one? That might be the only thing standing between him and the title. Oh, and Colton Dixon’s female fanbase. Grade: B+ Hollie Cavanagh: Man, even her hometown visit was boring. Chose to sing Pink’s “Perfect” (or, as she put it, “Pay-feckt”) and, clearly rattled by repeat visits to the bottom three, had the thousand-yard stare going from her intro package onward. But, she delivered the goods onstage, with a performance that was both confident and restrained. And that last note! Apparently, however, my opinion was in the minority, as the judges did everything short of zipping up her suitcases and booking her a window seat. J.Lo gave her the “You look beautiful” and the “We’ll see how it all pans out” (double kiss of death). Steven mumbled something about it “Not being perfect,” and Randy, addressing the odd vacuum of tension in the room, only added, “It’s all of a sudden very quiet in here.” Jeez, this is getting difficult to watch. End it now. B Skylar Laine: Producers introduced us to her new Twitter tag — #skoutlaws — which, upon first glance, looks like “Skoal” (oddly fitting). She played it safe by choosing Kellie Pickler’s “Didn’t You Know How Much I Loved You,” which showed off her vocal range by … uh, displaying how adept she was at playing rhythm guitar. Her performance was proficient, professional and pretty much perfect, but still felt like a step back from last week’s breakout “Wind Beneath My Wings.” Loved the hobo trashcan fires though. B- Elise Testone: She decided to tackle Lady Gaga’s “You and I” ( told you she would ) and was sadly talked out of playing drums by Jimmy Iovine, which probably would’ve been the unintentional comedy highlight of 2012. The performance was passionate, if not particularly polished, but that’s been par for the course with her in recent weeks. She can bring it, for sure, though if (when) she survives, perhaps it’s time to soften things up just a tad? “Elise is back!” Randy enthused. Until next week, of course. B- Colton Dixon: The most famous alumnus of the Middle Tennessee Christian School (go Cougars!) went Apex Predator this week, throwing shade at fellow fella Phillip Phillips and swinging for the fences with Skylar Grey’s “Love the Way You Lie.” With a string section, some smoke and a soaring-for-the-sake-of-soaring bridge, Dixon was clearly in it to win it, though thanks to the arrangement’s languid pacing and CDix’s longing stares into the camera, this one very nearly veered into self-parody. The girls loved it, of course. Oh, and any time Steven and Randy compliment your choice of jacket, well, perhaps it’s time to fire your stylist. C+ Phillip Phillips: “Idol” producers played up his rural roots and pawn-shop past by piping the theme from “Sanford and Sons” into his hometown package. Classy. Phillip refused to take part in Iovine’s Machiavellian scheme to pit him against Colton, which automatically makes me like him 10x more than CDix. His version of Maroon 5’s “Give a Little More” featured all the usual Phillips’ trademarks (grouting, foot shuffling, forehead-veining) though, credit where credit is due: Thanks to the addition of a sax player, he basically turned this into a Dave Matthews Band performance. “I think we’ve seen that a couple times,” Randy said. Yeah, dawg, like on Under the Table and Dreaming. C Get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Share your reviews of this week’s “Idol” performances in the comments section below! Related Photos ‘American Idol’ Season 11 Performances
‘Back in the day, everybody was a falsetto singer; it’s just so unappreciated now,’ latest castoff tells MTV News. By James Montgomery, with reporting by Kelly Marino DeAndre Brackensick Photo: MTV News On Thursday night, “American Idol” bid adieu to its most follicly accomplished contestant, DeAndre Brackensick (no offense, Colton), who was given the boot following his performance of DeBarge’s “I Like It.” After his exit, Brackensick spoke to MTV News , expressing “no regrets” about anything he did during his run on “Idol” and remaining adamant that his falsetto — which somewhat mystified mentor Jimmy Iovine — wasn’t the reason for his departure. “Everyone has their opinion; my voice is one of the voices where either you love it or you can’t stand it, and I think Jimmy didn’t really have a feel for my voice,” he said. “But it’s fine, because I take everything he does say to me to heart, and I try to put it toward the next performance. I have much love for Jimmy.” And in keeping with both the “no regrets” sentiment and his belief in doing things his way, Brackensick said that he didn’t take his ouster — or the judges’ refusal to save him (no matter how hard Jennifer Lopez protested) — personally. After all, he feels he can leave the show with his head held high. “You always hope for the save, because [you] want to be with each other for another week,” he sighed. “But the saves happen for a reason; I’d already been saved once, so I can’t really be saved again. You only get so many chances in life. I’m just proud of myself and the accomplishments I’ve made already.” He’s hoping he’ll keep accomplishing things post-“Idol.” Like, for example, bringing back the sweet falsetto sounds of classic R&B and the genuine emotion of music — both of which he said are sorely missed in today’s music. “That R&B soul is just lacking nowadays in music. Back in the day, everybody was a falsetto singer; it’s just so unappreciated now,” he said. “That was one of the reasons why I wanted to sing an Eric Benet song. There’s so many talented people that are not getting the love they should, and I want to bring that old sound back. I don’t even want to be a huge star. I just want music to be known, and I want messages to be getting through, like it was back in the day.” Get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos ‘American Idol’ Season 11 Top 13 Contestants
We speak to box-office experts about whether the ‘Games’ will continue to rule over the weekend. By Kevin P. Sullivan Jason Biggs in “American Reunion” Photo: Universal Pictures Almost three weeks into “The Hunger Games” ‘s run at the box office, two worthy competitors have stepped up to challenge the aging champion. “Titanic 3D” and “American Reunion” pose the first real threat to “The Hunger Games” and its reign as the top money maker of the weekend. “The Hunger Games” has, however, performed strongly all week and could very well earn a third straight victory. We spoke with box-office experts to see where they think “The Hunger Games” will land come Monday and whether “Titanic 3D” or “American Reunion” could rule the weekend instead. James Cameron ‘s 3D conversion of “Titanic” got an early start on the competition with a Wednesday opening to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the tragedy. Right out of the gate, “The Hunger Games” was keeping pace, winning the day by a little over $200,000. Then Katniss went on to double Jack and Rose’s earnings on Thursday. ” ‘Hunger Games’ hasn’t hit lean times at the box office by any stretch this week, easily taking the top spot through the week and averaging around $5 million,” said Jeff Bock, a box-office analyst from Exhibitor Relations . According to Phil Contrino from BoxOffice.com , the weekday competition between the two movies and the wins by “The Hunger Games” have spelled an early victory for Katniss and the other tributes, but he notes that the other competition shouldn’t be counted out. “I expect ‘Titanic 3D’ to surge during the weekend, but it looks like ‘Hunger Games’ will beat it now,” Contrino said. “The dark horse here is ‘American Reunion’ — it shouldn’t be overlooked.” The “American Pie” series has always opened relatively strong. The first two films debuted with $45 million and $33 million, respectively, and to date, the series has totaled $352 million in the United States. With the competition at the box office caught in such a tight race, Bock concluded that now, as always, it’s just up to the audience. ” ‘Hunger Games’ will likely three-peat, but ‘American Reunion’ may have the nostalgia factor going for it and also come close to $30 mil this weekend,” he said. “I guess it depends if audiences are in the mood for apple pie or not.” Check out everything we’ve got on “The Hunger Games,” “Titanic 3D” and “American Reunion.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘American Reunion’ Related Photos The Hunger Games
‘She seems to lose confidence by the week,’ said ‘Idol’ blogger MJ Santilli about Hollie Cavanagh. By Gil Kaufman DeAndre Brackensick and judges Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez on “American Idol” on Thursday Photo: Fox In years past, booted contestants offered bland platitudes about the helpful judges and their “amazing journey” on “American Idol” and how they’ve grown and learned so much from the show. But this season the gloves appear to have come off, with some singers flat out accusing Randy, Steven and Jennifer of messing with their heads by offering head-spinning advice that sends them sprinting in one direction one week only to turn around and jet the other way the next. “They are hurting the contestants with confusing advice,” said MJ Santilli, founder of the popular “Idol’ blog MJsbigblog . “What makes it worse are the ‘battles’ between the panel and mentor Jimmy Iovine. The finalists are often hearing one thing in the studio with Jimmy and his guest mentors, and something entirely different from the judges.” Aside from the seemingly horrible sartorial advice they’re also getting from fashion mentor Tommy Hilfiger, MJ said the mixed career messages are impacting the singers in widely different ways. They don’t appear to be messing with the head of self-assured growly rocker Phil Phillips, who she said may actually be hurting his own chances by arrogantly ignoring every note he gets from the show’s experts. But they’ve definitely made for some up-and-down weeks for the likes of potential R&B star rocker Elise Testone, country belter Skylar Laine and they are clearly hurting the teenage girl contestants. “Hollie Cavanagh is obviously not growing from her ‘Idol’ experience,” Santilli said of the 18-year-old who has a powerful voice, but a shaky stage presence that appears to be on increasingly rockier ground after weeks of confusing notes. “She seems to lose confidence by the week. And [just eliminated contestant] DeAndre Brackensick had potential, but the advice he was getting wasn’t focused enough to really help him.” The contestants themselves have even said it. “I felt confused every week, I’ll be honest,” Erika Van Pelt told MTV News after she was booted two weeks ago. “I felt there was a lot of contradiction, and as an artist and someone who takes their singing very seriously, it’s hard for me to take critique of my work, period , and then when you feel like you sorta have people telling you one thing and then telling you something completely different the week after, it’s hard.” EVP had plenty of experience singing in front of audiences, but her frustration with the mixed messages from the trio behind the judge’s table, not to mention often contradictory words of wisdom from mentor Jimmy Iovine, was unabashed. “Because constructive criticism to me is something I can go home, work on, fix and come back and say, ‘Here, I fixed it,'” she said. “I feel what happened to me in this competition was I would take all the advice, I’d work on things, I’d bring something different to the table, and they’d tell me the complete opposite. It’s been really hard for me, I can admit that.” Brackensick appeared to have solved that problem by taking Phillips’ path and ignoring all the competing voices. “I’m just following what I want to do, not listening to what someone’s telling me to do,” he told MTV News after his elimination about his up-and-down ride on the show. Hollywood Reporter music editor Shirley Halperin said she’s definitely noticed some mixed signals from the judges, but she doesn’t necessarily put the blame on them. “In a way, the judges are not as connected with developing an artist as Jimmy Iovine is,” she said of the legendary Interscope label head who has helped guide the careers of Eminem, Lady Gaga and 50 Cent and whose opinion she often finds herself agreeing with. “Maybe they [the judges] can’t be that critical because they’ve never been in that position of developing an artist. That’s what Jimmy does for a living.” The judges, she said, have to face the camera (and the in-studio audience), while Iovine doesn’t, which is why his rougher criticism rings more true. She pointed to Iovine’s harsh predictions about Brackensick’s fate on Thursday’s elimination show as an example of how Jimmy can smell the career potential and talent of an artist in a way Steven, Jennifer and Randy can’t, and then pull no punches in evaluating their chances. The advisory disconnect is clearest for those who might also be tuning in to NBC’s rival show, “The Voice.” Instead of bland platitudes, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton are busy giving their charges good, constructive, specific advice on how to be better, more effective singers. And you see it in their performances from week-to-week, as the singers take the building blocks and incorporate them into their routines. “Idol” has gotten plenty of flack this season for the everyone-gets-a-trophy comments from the judges and the B-list talent in the finals. But considering that so many of its contestants are less seasoned that those on shows such as “The Voice” and “X Factor,” if “Idol” wants to keep pace with the competition nipping at its heels it needs to up the mentoring and spend more time shaping its charges instead of spinning them around like a prime-time game of pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey. Get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.
‘That would work for me,’ Rosado jokes to MTV News about his awards-filled, post-‘Idol’ plans. By James Montgomery Jeremy Rosado Photo: MTV News Jeremy Rosado wasn’t exactly surprised to hear his name called during last week’s “American Idol” elimination show — telling USA Today he had a “gut feeling” that his time was up — but he was rather shocked to hear “Idol” mentor Jimmy Iovine’s criticisms of his performance … mostly because he didn’t think they were warranted. “I didn’t think that it was as bad as a couple of them were saying; but, you know, Jimmy’s a great guy, and he was hoping for the best … unfortunately I guess to him it didn’t turn out the way he wanted,” Rosado told MTV News. “But, I’m grateful, and I’m grateful to [“Idol” judges] Randy [Jackson] and Steven [Tyler] as well. No matter what happened, there were 112,000 people that auditioned for the show, and praise God, they chose me to be in their top 13, you know? I couldn’t be more grateful.” Of course, Rosado is most grateful to “Idol” judge Jennifer Lopez, who not only seemed to be his biggest supporter on the show, but coined his now ubiquitous nickname: Jer-Bear. And then, after he had been eliminated, well, she helped change his mood considerably. “Jer-Bear, yeah, I think I’m going to try and get it copyrighted or something,” he laughed. “Jennifer gave me a kiss on my check twice, and I got eliminated that day, but she made me feel a little bit better … a lot bit better. And to think someone like her or [last week’s mentor] Mary J. Blige [could] fall in love with my voice, and with me as a person? That doesn’t happen every day, so I’m forever grateful.” And though he’ll be the first to admit that his nerves got the better of him last week — “Not being voted into the top 13 definitely played with my head a lot,” he said — he’s already realizing the benefits that being showcased on “Idol” are pretty great … and he’s looking to take full advantage of them. “I love acting, and singing is definitely my #1 passion; I’m definitely going to continue to sing,” he said. “And hopefully, this is the huge dream, I’m just going to lay it out for you: I’m going to be on a TV show, I’m going to be in a couple movies, I’m going to win an Oscar — this is what I want — I want to win 17 Grammys and, I think that’s good. … That would work for me.” Get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos ‘American Idol’ Season 11 Top 13 Contestants
Thank you, Diddy. Thank you. The rapper has, for whatever reason (not that he needed one) released a new coffee table book titled Culo, which means buttocks in Italian. You can guess what’s in it. Diddy, record executive Jimmy Iovine and photographer Raphael Mazzucco teamed up to compile an artistic, memorable 248-page pictorial expose on female butts. Chief among them? Lady Gaga. Girl’s got back, who knew! Lady Gaga was born this way, baby. Well, sans tattoo . Yeah. After all her ridiculous fashion over the years, who would have guessed one of the more shocking Lady Gaga photos out there would feature her wearing nothing. “Raphael is a true artist,” says Diddy of Mazzucco, the man behind the image above. “He relies on pure instinct, capturing a raw, natural sense of beauty through his lens that celebrates the female form. His work is passionate and powerful.” That’s a verbose way of spinning a book about asses, but we’ll buy it. Actually, no. Sadly, Pippa Middleton does not appear. Boycott it.
Singer will debut her first single, ‘This Time,’ on the American Idols Live! Tour. By Kara Warner Pia Toscano Photo: Getty Images The rumors have been swirling since the day after her shocking “American Idol” exit back in April, but Pia Toscano has officially been signed to Interscope Records. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the “Idol” songstress will release her debut single, “This Time,” on July 12 and perform the song as part of her set during this summer’s American Idols Live! Tour. “This Time” was written by hitmaker Esther Dean, who is responsible for Rihanna’s hit singles “S&M,” “Rude Boy” and “What’s My Name.” Dean’s musical stylings can also be heard on Nicki Minaj’s smash “Super Bass.” “This Time” is surprisingly not a ballad — which was Toscano’s specialty during her short-lived time on “Idol.” Instead, it is said to be an acoustic-guitar and beat-driven track. “I am thrilled to be joining the Interscope and 19 Recordings family,” Toscano said in a statement released to The Reporter. “[Interscope Geffen A&M Chairman] Jimmy Iovine was an amazing mentor during my time on Idol and I’m looking forward to working with him and everyone at Interscope Records and 19 Recordings. This is a dream come true.” When Toscano stopped by the MTV Newsroom earlier this year, she was coy about the Interscope rumors. “I don’t know yet what’s going on with that,” Toscano said. “Hopefully good things.” She did open up a bit about her hopes and dreams, career-wise, in addition to possibly re-teaming with her “Idol” producers sometime soon. “Rodney Jerkins was my dream. Harvey Mason Jr., amazing. Ron Fair is incredible, and those were the three producers I’ve always wanted to work with, that I’ve always dreamed of,” she gushed. “And this made it all possible. I definitely want to work with Ryan Tedder, Evan Bogart,” she added. Toscano went on to say that she’d be “totally” into doing a few duets. “I would love to do a duet with Alicia Keys, Christina [Aguilera], people that I’ve looked up to,” she said. “Jay-Z would be cool.” What about one with rumored love interest, “Dancing With the Stars” pro/ aspiring musician Mark Ballas? “Ha, totally,” Toscano agreed. “Mark is very, very talented, so it could happen.” Get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.
