Season-nine winner’s album was lowest-selling by show champ. By Gil Kaufman Lee DeWyze Photo: Christopher Polk/ Getty Images Season-nine “American Idol” winner Lee DeWyze has set a couple of records since taking home the title two years ago over dreadlocked rival Crystal Bowersox. Unfortunately for him, though, they’re not the kinds you want to brag about. After landing the worst-selling debut album from an “Idol” winner in history, the soft-spoken rocker has quietly been dumped by his label, RCA Records , after just one release. The singer and former paint-store clerk failed to catch fire with an audience while selling just 168,000 copies of his 2010 major-label bow, Live It Up. With only sporadic touring and no single topping the charts, DeWyze was largely off the radar in the months following the album’s release as he kept a much lower profile than previous winners. He becomes only the second “Idol” winner to be dropped after a single album, following in the footsteps of season five’s Taylor Hicks, whose Arista Records debut sold more than 705,000 copies. While a spokesperson for RCA could not be reached for comment at press time, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the news. In an interview with the trade magazine last week, newly appointed RCA Records CEO Peter Edge let slip that Illinois native DeWyze, 25, is no longer on the label’s roster. DeWyze’s option with the label expired in September, and his season was the final one of a nine-year partnership between “Idol,” 19 Recordings and RCA’s parent company, Sony Music. While DeWyze has been let go, a number of previous “Idol” winners remain on the RCA roster, including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks, David Cook and Kris Allen. An unnamed rep for the singer told THR that DeWyze is in a “good place right now” and he is reportedly working on new music and planning his upcoming wedding to model Joanna Walsh. For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines . Related Videos Lee DeWyze Talks New Album ‘Live It Up’ Related Artists Lee DeWyze
Movieline hero Tyler Perry may be busy filming I, Alex Cross and blogging to his choir, but his wisdom never ceases to spread throughout the land, as in trailer for Lionsgate’s holiday-timed DVD and Blu-ray release of A Madea Christmas . Hallelujer!
Just when you thought that the trailers for Steven Spielberg’s upcoming The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn couldn’t get any more action-packed, Paramount and Columbia have unveiled a brand new peak at the highly-anticipated motion capture 3-D film that will have you frantically etching the release date — December 23 in the U.S. — onto every available calendar surface. Just like you’ve already done for Adam Sandler’s Jack and Jill .
“It’s an amazing story… what is quite clear is that her [Princess Diana’s] life was an amazing life. She was a wagonload of monkeys but she was also an amazing, fascinating, ballsy woman.” Producer Stephen Evans, talking to Screen Daily, explained why his $50M take on Princess Diana’s life — leading up to her divorce from Prince Charles, ending before her Dodi Al Fayed years — is such a no-brainer. “”You don’t often get a movie like this where you know, that if you can make it work, it is bomb proof.” Classy! [ Screen Daily ]
Bill Gates, will.i.am, Ellen DeGeneres also remember the late Apple co-founder. By James Dinh Steve Jobs Photo: Getty Images Shortly after Apple announced Wednesday (October 5) that co-founder Steve Jobs had died , celebrities of all kinds — including the president himself — are paying tribute and mourning the loss of the technology giant. “Steve was among the greatest of American innovators — brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it,” President Obama said in a statement. “By building one of the planet’s most successful companies from his garage, he exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity. By making computers personal and putting the internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun. And by turning his talents to storytelling, he has brought joy to millions of children and grownups alike. … The world has lost a visionary.” Nicki Minaj took to Twitter to remember that visionary. “An innovator. Contributed so much to this generation & beyond. RIP Steve Jobs,” the Young Money MC wrote shortly after the announcement. Steve Jobs almost singlehandedly brought the music industry into the future — here’s how. Jobs’ longtime rival in the digital race, Microsoft’s Bill Gates, released a heartfelt statement after Apple’s announcement: “I’m truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs’ death. … Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives. The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come. For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it’s been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely.” The Black Eyed Peas’ will i am urged : “i hope the youth chooses to be like steve jobs…we need more innovators.” Remember Steve Jobs’ many innovations by flipping through this photo gallery. Ryan Seacrest offered his remembrance with a quote from the businessman himself, writing , ” ‘Have the courage to follow ur heart & intuition. They already know what u truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.’ – Steve Jobs.” Ellen DeGeneres learned of the news shortly after wrapping up her talk show. “I just finished my show and I heard the news about Steve Jobs,” the comedian tweeted . “He was an amazing man with an incredible vision. He changed the world.” Pharrell Williams referred to Jobs as “our modern day Leonardo da Vinci” on Twitter . “From Apple to Pixar, what a great life lived. He will be missed.” Tyra Banks used one of Apple’s many revolutionary products to mourn the news, tweeting , “As I type on my iPhone, tears spring2 my eyes4an amazingMan I never met. His genius has touched us all. Steve Jobs, you will b/with us 4ever.” The Roots’ ?uestlove remembered Jobs as more than just the Apple co-founder: “Adopted. DropOut. FontLover. LSDlover. Dreamer. Innovator. Fired from his own Apple 1ce. Pixarlogist. 338 PATENTS! philanthropist. #JOBS.” Steve Jobs changed the world, but how did he change you ? Tell Us on Facebook. Related Photos The Steve Jobs Legacy
Late Apple co-founder almost singlehandedly brought music industry into the future. By Gil Kaufman Steve Jobs Photo: Justin Sullivan/ Getty Images Few people can legitimately claim to have changed the course of history. Apple’s Steve Jobs is one of those people. The pied piper of the digital revolution and co-founder of Apple Inc., started in his parents’ garage in the mid-1970s, died Wednesday at the age of 56 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. If Jobs had only co-founded Apple — the technology company with the highest valuation on earth at the moment and the one that taught the world to use a mouse, touch a screen to make a phone call and store a lifetime of music on a pocket-size device — that would be enough. But Jobs did much more than that. He changed the course of history with a series of science-fiction-like leaps that left his competitors in the dust, scratching their heads at how they went from having him in their rearview mirror to sprinting just to stay 10 steps behind him. Tell us how Steve Jobs changed your life. There had been any number of MP3 players on the market in the years before Jobs unveiled the iPod in 2001. But none had the signature elegance and ease of use that Jobs brought to his version of the portable digital-music device. From the iconic rotating wheel, simple scrolling menus and clean design of the first iPod, to later iterations such as the miniature Shuffle and the finger-swiping iPod Touch, Jobs pushed his design team to ever-greater heights of innovation. Like Kleenex, iPod became the shorthand for an MP3 player, a badge of honor that people wore proudly, signified by the 2001-style white earbuds that became ubiquitous on college campuses and subway trains and in gyms. As the devices got more complex on the inside, like a technological Willy Wonka, Jobs made sure that they got simpler and more elegant on the outside, always counting on intuition to win out over bells and whistles. And while iPods soon became the category killer when it came to MP3 players, it was Jobs’ next brainstorm that took a slumping music industry beset by illegal downloading woes and plummeting album sales and gave it the first ray of hope in years. The launch of the iTunes Store in 2003 took the traditional music-industry model and turned it completely on its head. Remember Steve Jobs’ many innovations by flipping through this photo gallery. For generations, a handful of major record labels had a lock on the distribution of music. They paid to have albums pressed, sent them to stores and dictated the prices. But after making a deal with Jobs to have their music appear on this new virtual platform, the labels quickly learned that they were now partners in their own game with a man whose vision for their business didn’t always mesh with their own. Until just a few years ago, Jobs held firm that downloads on his store should be priced at 99 cents each, beating back efforts by the labels to offer more pricing tiers. There was something about that round-looking number that seemed to appeal to him — and to the millions who gladly plunked down a dollar to get their daily fix. In the interim, the iTunes Store become the #1 destination for legal music downloading, holding between 70 and 80 percent of the market and consistently beating back efforts by retail giants and computer rivals to grab some of the digital gold. Piracy was (and still is) rampant, but enough people had been convinced by the ease of use and smart interface of the store to turn to the light side of the force and pay for that Black Eyed Peas hit or that Beatles classic. President Obama, Nicki Minaj, Bill Gates and more remember Steve Jobs. As of February 2010, the iTunes Store had sold 10 billion songs while revolutionizing the way every new generation buys, interacts with and experiences music. Yes, some claim the store has created a world of musical grazers, fans who pick and choose the hot hits one or two at a time over buying entire albums. But it has also trained a constantly wired generation to legally download music on their iPads, iPhones and a myriad of other devices, providing a rare bright spot for a music industry that has seen record sales, and profits, cut in half since a 1999 peak of $14.6 billion. With the recent introduction of the iCloud, Jobs did it again, waving his wand and giving his adoring minions the ability to access their music anywhere in the world. Think back to when MP3 players held 100 songs just over a decade ago. Now imagine having thousands, tens of thousands, potentially millions of songs at your fingertips from your backyard to the rainy jungles of Brazil and the mountaintops of Nepal. We may not have those jetpacks we were promised, but Steve Jobs did his best to ensure that, at least when it came to music (and movies and apps and games), the future was now. Steve Jobs changed the world, but how did he change you ? Tell Us on Facebook. Related Photos The Steve Jobs Legacy
West explains his Fashion Week debut in Paris. By James Montgomery Kanye West at the Dw by Kanye West show during Paris Fashion Week Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/ Getty Images Reviews of his Fashion Week debut may have been mixed, but Kanye West isn’t letting the critics slow him down … because, really, why would he start now? That was the takeaway from West’s speech at the afterparty for his show on Saturday night, in which proudly proclaimed that he poured his heart and soul into his debut collection. For a detailed account of all the looks, check out the MTV Style blog, which kept a running diary of West’s fashion debut. “Thank you for anybody that didn’t believe, because they motivated us to break our boundaries,” West told the celeb-packed crowd at Parisian hot spot Club Silencio, according to Women’s Wear Daily . “We don’t know what the reviews will be, we don’t know what they will say, but I got a chance to go to Italy and feel those fabrics. “I begged Louis Vuitton to let me do more shoes after my shoes sold out in two weeks, and they did not,” he continued. “I begged Nike, I begged this company to let me do it. And I took out motherf—ing loans to get the best models, to get the best designers, to get the best venue. I gave you everything that I had.” West then turned his attention to the fashion critics, some of whom seemed to focus less on his collection and more on his celebrity. “This is my first collection. Please be easy. Please give me a chance to grow. This is not some celebrity sh–. I don’t f— with celebrities. I f— with the creatives in this room, the amazing people who spend every day of their life trying to make the world a more beautiful place,” he said. West reportedly then wrapped up by once again thanking those in attendance and promised that there were only big things ahead … both for him and his rapidly expanding fashion empire. “I thank anybody who came to this party, everybody who supported, everybody who believed, because people thought it was a joke, and maybe people still do,” he said. “But I can only grow from this point.” Related Photos Kanye West Debuts ‘Dw’ Line At Paris Fashion Week Related Artists Kanye West
This is just wonderful to see. Jesse LaGreca, also known as the Daily Kos blogger MinistryOfTruth , gets in front of a Fox News reporter and lets him know what he and the other 99 percent think of their news coverage. Here’s the transcript: Fox: Jesse, so Ray, your partner here, your .. Ray: comrade. Fox: Your colleague, she’d seen the protests in Greece and Europe and elsewhere. Did you guys take… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Crooks and Liars Discovery Date : 03/10/2011 07:13 Number of articles : 4
What-thee-fizzuck?!?!?! A former model convicted of killing her husband, then cooking and eating his remains wants to get out of prison early. Omaima Aree Nelson is seeking early release from her 27-years-to-life sentence for murdering William E. Nelson, 56, over Thanksgiving weekend in 1991. Nelson is scheduled to appear at a parole board hearing next Wednesday in Chowchilla State Prison in Central California. Her first bid at parole was rejected in 2006. Nelson, who worked as a parttime model and nanny in Egypt, immigrated to the U.S. in 1986. She was in her 20′s when she killed her husband and then dismembered and cooked parts of his body in their Costa Mesa apartment. The couple had been married for about a month. After the murder, Nelson cooked her husband’s head on the stove, skinned his torso, fried his hands in oil, Senior Deputy District Attorney Randy Pawloski, who prosecuted the case, told the Daily Pilot. Nelson then drove garbage bags filled with the body parts to various ex-boyfriends, asking them to help dispose of the evidence and offering $75,000 for help, Pawloski said. Neighbors at the time said the garbage disposal was on for “a long time” and “constant chopping sounds” were coming from the home, according to the newspaper. In court, a psychiatrist testified that Nelson put on red shoes, a red hat and red lipstick before spending hours chopping up her husband’s body. According to Pawloski, Nelson was the first defendant to used the “battered wife” defense in Orange County, claiming her husband raped her the night before she killed him. She also told psychiatrists and her attorney that she had been the victim of sexual abuse as a child in Egypt where she was molested, beaten and forced to undergo female circumcision, a mutilation of the female genitalia. Talk about a crazy broad!!! Source
