Taylor Swift enjoyed a REALLY good 2011. Based on U.S. income from tours, album sale and publishing royalties, Billboard has determined that the talented young crooner earned more money than any other musician in 2011. Just how much did Taylor bring in? A cool $35 million. The singer is currently on tour in Australia, meanwhile, looking to get a big, early start in 2012. Here’s a look at the top 10 music money makers from the past year: Taylor Swift U2 Kenny Chesney Lady Gaga Lil Wayne Sade Bon Jovi Celine Dion Jason Aldean Adele
The protracted race for the GOP presidential nomination grew a bit tighter today as Rick Santorum won the Kansas caucuses by an overwhelming margin. With 97 percents of the precincts reporting in the Sunflower State, Santorum earned 51 percent of the vote, with Mitt Romney second with 21 percent. Newt Gingrich with 14 percent and Ron Paul with 12 percent to finish in third and fourth, respectively. Alabama and Mississippi hold primaries Tuesday. Santorum stands to gain a substantial number of Kansas’ 40 delegates, which he called crucial to competitive in the race for his party’s nomination. “We have to do well here in Kansas,” Santorum said this week in Lenexa, Kan., a suburb of Kansas City. “We have to win here in Kansas, and win big.” Romney and Gingrich largely skipped Kansas in favor of the states voting next week. Santorum and Paul had been the most active campaigners in Kansas. Romney began the weekend with 339 delegates, with 107 for Gingrich, 95 for Santorum, and 22 for Paul, according to the Republican National Committee. The RNC totals do not reflect any wins in states where delegates are not bound to the winning candidates, and also differ from various media estimates. Romney remains the odds-on favorite to win the GOP nod and face off with President Obama in the fall, but his opponents clearly aren’t going quietly. With 1,144 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination, it will take many more weeks for Mitt to reach that total, if he’s able to do so at all.
Absence has made Kate Middleton ‘s heart grow fonder. With her husband off in the Falkland Islands on military duty, the Duchess of Cambridge confessed she has been “missing him terribly,” but is keeping busy. Among several successful solo engagements , Kate held her own for the first time as a member of the royal family, celebrating with Queen Elizabeth herself and the Duke of Edinburgh, as the family kicked off the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee tour. Kate isn’t entirely alone with William in the Falklands. She has also had special company to keep her from being lonely in recent days: her new puppy, Lupo . “I’ve got a dog keeping me occupied,” the Duchess told interfaith worker Riaz Ravat at a lunch in Leicester. “I’m getting a lot of me time with the dog!” Lupo, an adorable black cocker spaniel puppy that the pair adopted over the holidays, recently accompanied Kate on a walk through Kensington Gardens. [Photo: WENN.com]
Olivia Wilde was originally slated to star as Linda Lovelace in a biopic of this 1970s porn star. So why did she pull out? “I decided that it should go to someone who is not already sexualized by the public,” the actress says in the latest issue of GQ UK , adding that Lovelace “was an innocent” and saying “Amanda [Seyfried] will do an amazing job” with the role. Wilde says she was “very sexually mature at a very young age,” which caused some problems growing up: “I was very comfortable with it and talking about it, and once someone hears a young woman speak candidly about sexuality, it’s like, ‘Whoa!’ You get labelled.” Currently dating Jason Sudeikis, the 27-year-old bombshell has linked to Justin Timberlake, Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling, among other Hollywood hunks, since her divorce last year from Tao Ruspoli. She sincerely hopes someone else out there is right for her. “You fall in love again,” the actress says. “Oh God, to think that you only fall in love once in your entire life is such a depressing thought.”
The Mother Monster herself, Lady Gaga, has become the first person to attract over 20 million followers on Twitter, breaking the barrier over the weekend. Gaga, 25, has held the title of most followed Twitter user since August 2010, when she surpassed Britney Spears, whose 13.5 million followers are still Top 10. While Spears and most celebs like Kim Kardashian primarily have their manager(s) handle Twitter duties, Gaga has claimed to personally maintain her account. She regularly uses it to interact with her fans, share original pictures and make major announcements, no doubt contributing to her “Queen of Twitter” status. Interestingly, the five most-followed people on Twitter are all musicians, led by Gaga (20 million), Justin Bieber (18 million) and Katy Perry (15.7 million). Gaga’s Twitter growth rate is larger than Bieber’s, too. Shakira (14.5 million) and Rihanna (14.4 million) are fourth and fifth, with Spears not far behind. [Photo: WENN.com]
All the stars are out and about at the 2012 Ratchet Man March in Orlando “The Kang” and his Queen were spotted with new Australian rapper Iggy Azalea in Orlando enjoying the NBA All-Star weekend. Looks like T.I. is really serious about pushing this lil white girl making sure his new artist gets some good exposure. Hit the flip to see the swirly threesome living the rock star lifestyle. Images via Prince Williams/ATLPics
Lil Kim has been “hush hush” since Nicki Minaj’s release of “Stupid Hoe” (which is a subliminal diss on the Queen Bee). Well, Kim has broken her silence and explains how she really feels about the track. Check out the interview. Read more at The YBF
Am I doing it right ? No? Okay, I’ll just start talking about Jeremy Lin . This Chinese American point guard who sleeps on his brother’s couch is all the talk of the airwaves and L-internet. Have people no regard for this streaking team in Detroit that has churned out FOUR straight wins against powerhouse teams, like, Milwaukee, New Orleans, New Jersey, and, uh, New Jersey? (Even the Pistons are caught… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Detroit Bad Boys Discovery Date : 11/02/2012 02:59 Number of articles : 2
Once you’ve already played the halftime show at the Super Bowl alongside the Queen of Pop, where else is there to go? Nicki Minaj is making waves with a slightly younger demographic in her new commercial for the 2012 Kid’s Choice Awards, which takes a sci-fi, Men In Black-like approach as host Will Smith finds … More » Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Idolator Discovery Date : 11/02/2012 16:12 Number of articles : 2
Queen of Pop slips and M.I.A. flashes the bird during performance. By James Dinh Nicki Minaj, Madonna and M.I.A. perform at Super Bowl XLVI Photo: Jeff Kravitz/ FilmMagic During the 13 minutes Madonna took over Super Bowl XLVI for her highly anticipated halftime show, there were plenty of surprise cameos, high-tech stage lights and, of course, some of the biggest classics in pop music. But even though the Queen of Pop’s glitzy show Sunday night (February 5) appeared to run smoothly, the over-the-top theatrics might have shadowed some of the fumbles. Take a look at the list of onstage slip-ups MTV News caught during the pop performer’s set. Madonna’s Almost Fall(s) It was only a few minutes into the show, but Madonna lost her balance and almost fell as she jumped around the flashing bleachers with her dancers during her performance of “Music.” She also teetered a few minutes later while getting up after getting down with LMFAO . Fortunately, the singer found her ground and demonstrated how a professional handles a little performance slipup, continuing without missing a beat. M.I.A.’s Finger Flash Madonna wouldn’t be Madonna without even a little controversy, but this time, it wasn’t even her fault. During the performance of the pop titan’s new single, “Give Me All Your Luvin,” M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj appeared as sideline cheerleaders to spit their rap contribution to the pop gem. Known for her rebellious attitude, M.I.A. flashed her middle finger for a split second that has already fueled headlines all over the Internet. Backing Track While Madge is getting lots of love from celebrities, there are many who are criticizing the Queen of Pop for what appears to be a mostly backing-track performance. However, lip-synching isn’t unfamiliar territory for the Super Bowl. Back in 2009, the championship game’s producer Ricky Minor told the Associated Press that he requested Jennifer Hudson lip-synch her rendition of the national anthem to limit the chances of possible mistakes. Did you catch any other fumbles during Madge’s performance? Tell us below! Related Photos Super Bowl XLVI Performances: Madonna And Kelly Clarkson Related Artists Madonna Nicki Minaj Lmfao M.I.A.
