ABC/Tim OgierAdele's album 21 has set a record for the largest post-Grammy sales bump ever, racking up 730,000 albums sold in the week following the awards show telecast, according to Nielsen Soundscan. But she's not the only one who reaped great rewards from exposure on the show.
Despite six nods, Bruno Mars didn't win any Grammys, but his show-stopping performance of "Runaway Baby" on the telecast led to a 133 percent sales increase for his album Doo-Wops & Hooligans -- it went from #30 to #8 on the Billboard chart. Lady Antebellum, who did win, saw their album Own the Night move from #17 to #9.
The late Whitney Houston was saluted at the Grammys a day after her death by Jennifer Hudson, LL Cool J and others, and her Greatest Hits album rose to #2 from #6; six other Whitney albums are also in the Billboard Top 200 chart this week.
Here's a look at some of the other sales increases from Grammy winners and performers on this week's chart:
Coldplay'sMylo Xyloto: 26%, #14 to #11
Rihanna'sTalk that Talk: 11%, #18 to #17
The Band Perry's self-titled album: 22%, #24 to #19
Foo Fighters'Wasting Light: 134%, #59 to #21
Taylor Swift'sSpeak Now: 60%, #42 to #25
Best New Artist winner Bon Iver's self-titled album: 61%, #49 to #29
Emma Summerton/EMI Music North AmericaKaty Perry's own marriage dreams may not have worked out, but that doesn't mean she wants to be a downer for other young women in love. People magazine reports that when Katy and friends were having dinner in her hometown of Santa Barbara, California recently, a "new bride," as the magazine described her, approached the singer's table and asked if she would pose for a photo with her. The blue-haired star, who was trying to be incognito in thick glasses and a beanie, said yes.
Art Streiber/NBCWho knew that Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks has time to sit around and watch reality singing competitions on TV? The New York Post reports that earlier this week, Adam Levine was having breakfast with a magazine editor at a New York City hotel when Hanks interrupted the meal to tell Adam he was a "die-hard fan" of his show The Voice. Spies told the Post that Hanks added, "I sit home with my wife and watch the show.” Hanks didn't say which coach's team he's rooting for, however.
Meanwhile, Adam has responded to Simon Cowell's suggestion that the winners of The Voice, X Factor and American Idol should all compete together in one big "super-final." He told Access Hollywood, "Simon's just so clever. He’s so hell bent on competing with other shows. We’re not really interested. In a way…that’s kind of a cool idea, actually, but I’m not so sure we’re totally interested in what everyone else is doing...we just want to do what we do."
Dave M. Benett/Getty ImagesMadonna's movie W.E. was disliked by critics, but it did receive an Oscar nomination -- for Best Costume Design. And its chances of winning that particular award this Sunday night may have have increased, now that it's just picked up an honor at the 14th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards, held Tuesday night in Beverly Hills.
Deadline.com reports that W.E.'s costume designer, Arianne Phillips, received the award for Excellence in Period Film, since a large portion of the movie takes place in the 1930s.
EMI Capitol MusicCongratulations to Katy Perry -- her new single "Part of Me" has debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. This is just the 20th song in that chart's 53-year history to premiere in the top slot. The last single to debut at #1 was Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," a year ago. Overall, this is Katy's seventh #1: she scored five from Teenage Dream, and one from her debut album, One of the Boys.
By the way, this song does not mean that Katy Perry has broken Michael Jackson'srecord for most #1 hits on a single album. "Part of Me" comes from Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection, an expanded version of Teenage Dream that is being counted as a separate album by the chart gurus at Billboard.
But remember that you can't have a discussion about chart success without mentioning Adele these days. The British Grammy Queen now sees all three of the singles from her album 21 land in the top 10 simultaneously. "Set Fire to the Rain" was already there, but "Rolling in the Deep" and "Someone Like You" have both jumped back in. This makes Adele the first female artist ever to have three top 10 hits at the same time and be the lead artist on all three.
Frank Micelotta/PictureGroupFollowing her well-received guest turn on How I Met Your Mother last year, Katy Perry is returning to the world of sitcoms for another go-round. Katy will guest-star on the March 6 episode of the Fox comedy Raising Hope, playing a prison attendant named Rikki who claims to be a friend of Sabrina's -- played by Shannon Woodward -- from back in the day.
How did Katy hook this up? In a statement, she said, "Shannon Woodward is my best friend. A couple weeks ago, I was home, just toasting up a frozen chicken fillet when she called me up and asked if I wanted to do something ‘fun’ for a change and try out a guest role on her TV show. I thought, ‘Sure, I have nothing else to do, and I like chillin’ with my best friend.’" No wonder Katy and Shannon exchanged tweets earlier this week alluding to something big they had to tell fans.
The show's executive producer, Greg Garcia, said in a statement, "She came in and did a terrific job. She was hilarious. And now people are telling me that Katy is also a singer. I sincerely hope that her appearance on the show helps her get her singing career off the ground. It's a tough business.”
In the episode, Sabrina gets arrested after taking part in an Occupy protest, and gets sentenced to two weeks in prison. Rikki, played by Katy, is determined to make her stay behind bars as horrible as possible -- until she remembers they were childhood friends.
Blue Note/EMINorah Jones has announced that her new album, Little Broken Hearts, will hit stores May 1. As previously reported, the album is a collaboration with Danger Mouse,the acclaimed producer who with Cee Lo Green comprises the award-winning duo Gnarls Barkley, of "Crazy" fame.
According to Norah, the album's cover was inspired by the vintage movie posters that Danger Mouse, whose birth name is Brian Burton, has hanging in his studio. One in particular, for a film called Mudhoney, became the basis for the cover design. "I always was looking at it and thinking 'That’s so cool I want to look like [the girl on the poster!],’" says Norah in a statement. "I remember staring at [it] the whole time we made the record. It’s a great visual."
Norah will debut her new songs during a series of performances at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas nexst month.
Here's track listing for Little Broken Hearts:
"Good Morning" "Say Goodbye" "Little Broken Hearts" "She's 22" "Take It Back" "After the Fall" "4 Broken Hearts" "Travelin' On" "Out on the Road" "Happy Pills" "Miriam" "All a Dream"
Lauren Dukoff/Columbia RecordsAdele made headlines Tuesday night in London when she flipped the bird onstage at the Brit Awards -- the UK equivalent of the Grammys -- after her acceptance speech was cut short by the show's host. Now, the BBC reports that ITV, the network that aired the awards show, as well as the Brit Awards organizers, has issued an apology to the singer.
According to the BBC, ITV said in a statement, "The Brits is a live event. Unfortunately the program was over-running and we had to move on. We would like to apologize to Adele for the interruption."
A spokesperson for the Brits, meanwhile, added, "We regret this happened and we send our deepest apologies to Adele that her big moment was cut short. We don't want this to undermine her incredible achievement in winning our night's biggest award. It tops off what's been an incredible year for her."
Adele won Best British Album and Best British Female Artist at the awards show Tuesday night.
Facebook.com/TheBeatlesNow, instead of saying "hello" and "goodbye" on your mobile phone, you can have the Beatles do it for you. For the first time ever, Beatles ringtones are now available -- you can buy them exclusively on iTunes. Twenty-seven of the band's classics have been turned into ringtones, including "Hello Goodbye," "From Me to You," "Let It Be" and -- especially for those calls you make to apologize to your significant other for being a jerk -- "We Can Work It Out."
Here's the full list of Beatles ringtones available:
1. "Love Me Do" 2. "From Me To You" 3. "She Loves You" 4. "I Want To Hold Your Hand" 5. "Can't Buy Me Love" 6. "A Hard Day's Night" 7. "I Feel Fine" 8. "Eight Days a Week" 9. "Ticket to Ride" 10. "Help!" 11. "Yesterday" 12. "Day Tripper" 13. "We Can Work It Out" 14. "Paperback Writer" 15. "Yellow Submarine" 16. "Eleanor Rigby" 17. "Penny Lane" 18. "All You Need Is Love" 19. "Hello, Goodbye" 20. "Lady Madonna" 21. "Hey Jude" 22. "Get Back" 23. "The Ballad of John and Yoko" 24. "Something" 25. "Come Together" 26. "Let It Be" 27. "The Long and Winding Road"
ABC NewsBefore her tragic death, Whitney Houston was excited about the release of the movie Sparkle, which would've marked her return to the silver screen as an actress. But now comes word that Whitney was also planning another movie -- one that would've told her life story.
Actress Meagan Good, who stars in Californication, tells E! Online that she and Whitney were discussing a biopic before her death, and Good would've starred in it. "We were fairly in the beginning stages," Good tells E! Online, noting that she and Whitney were supposed to have met Monday about the project.
Good also reveals that the plan was for the movie to end on a high note. "My feeling is because she has the film Sparkle coming out and she's brilliant in it and she looks beautiful and healthy, my feeling was that's how we should end the movie -- as a new beginning for her," Good toldE!.
Good says it's too soon to start thinking about making the movie, but she says if it did come to pass, she wouldn't attempt to do her own singing in the project. "When people see someone's life story they want to hear that person's voice because they connect with it, in their spirit and their soul," she explained. "So you would have to use her voice."
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty ImagesA Los Angeles judge on Tuesday dismissed concert promoter AEG Live from a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by Michael Jackson's father over the King of Pop's passing. The judge cited a law requiring all heirs file a single wrongful-death complaint. Michael's mother, Katherine Jackson, has also filed a wrongful-death suit.
AEG Live organized the London concerts Michael was rehearsing for at the time of his death.
Joe Jackson's lawsuit still lists as defendants Conrad Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Michael's death, and Applied Pharmacy Services in Las Vegas, which sold the powerful anesthetic propofol to the doctor. Michael died of acute propofol intoxication in June of 2009.
Also on Tuesday, Los Angeles prosecutors responded to Murray's request to be released from jail while he appeals his case. According to TMZ.com, prosecutors argued that he could pose a danger to the public if he were to be released.
Columbia RecordsTrain will start the promotion ball rolling for their new album California 37 in a very appropriate place: California. The group has announced that they'll be doing six intimate club performances in their hometown of San Francisco, starting April 10 and wrapping up April 15. Ticket information will be available soon.
A portion of the ticket proceeds from these shows -- dubbed the San Francisco 2012 Tour -- will go to Family House, a San Francisco-based charity which provides temporary housing to families of seriously ill children. That's the same charity that benefits from Train's signature wines: Drops of Jupiter, Calling All Angels and the new one they're getting ready to release, California 37.
The album California 37 is due in stores April 17. The band has also revealed the cover art for the disc, which features an old-fashioned car driving down a highway, past a road marker that reads "California 37."
Here are the San Francisco 2012 tour dates:
4/10 -– Cafe Du Nord 4/11 -– Great American Music Hall 4/12 -– Bimbo's 4/13 -- Slim's 4/14 -- Independent 4/15 -- Fillmore
Dan MacMedan/WireImageAdele's trophy shelf is already groaning under the weight of the six Grammys she won earlier this month, but now she's got two more bits of hardware to add to it. The singer picked up two honors at the Brit Awards, the British equivalent of the Grammys, which were held Tuesday in London. Her album 21 was named Best British Album, while she was named Best British Female Artist at the ceremony.
According to the BBC, Adele, who performed "Rolling in the Deep" at the ceremony, told the audience, "Nothing makes me prouder than coming home with six Grammys and then coming to the Brits and winning album of the year. I'm so proud to be British and to be flying our flag." Unfortunately, someone then came up to her on the podium and cut her off in mid-speech. She accepted the diss with a smile, but threw her middle finger up. According to Idolator.com, she said afterwards, "It was for the suits, not for my fans. Sorry if I offended you."
Other winners at the Brit Awards included Bruno Mars for Best International Male, Rihanna for Best International Female and Foo Fighters for Best International Group. Coldplay took home the award for Best British Group, while Internet sensation Lana Del Rey was named International Breakthrough Act.
13 ManagementTaylor Swift and Zac Efron appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show Tuesday to promote their new animated movie, Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, in theaters March 2. During the interview, Taylor cleared up rumors she and Zac are in a relationship.
"We are not a couple," Taylor told Ellen. "He is awesome. We are not a couple though."
Taylor says it was really improbable that she and Zac would fall on love on the set since The Lorax was animated. She joked about it saying, "Like, 'Oh my God, as we were recording our voiceovers on separate coasts, we really connected.'"
Taylor and Zac are good friends though, and she even taught him how to play the Foster the People hit "Pumped Up Kicks" on guitar. The co-stars performed the song for Ellen, but then changed the words up to talk about some of the weird pranks Ellen has played on them over the years.
Romain BlanquartThe 2012 inductees for the Songwriters Hall of Fame have been announced: they include Bob Seger, Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Steinman, the team of Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt and Don Schlitz.
While Bob Seger needs no introduction, Canadian music icon Gordon Lightfoot is best known for his hits "If You Could Read My Mind," "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" and "Sundown."
Jim Steinman's achievements including writing all the songs on Meat Loaf's classic album Bat out of Hell, and its sequel, Bat out of Hell II: Back into Hell. Among Steinman's other compositions: Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart," Air Supply's "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" and Celine Dion's"It's All Coming Back to Me Now."
Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones wrote the music for The Fantasticks, the longest-running musical in history, as well as other Broadway shows. Don Schlitz's best known composition is "The Gambler," which Kenny Rogers turned into a smash hit. He's also penned a string of other country music classics, recorded by big names like Reba McEntire, Randy Travis, Alabama, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Garth Brooks, Tanya Tucker and the Judds.
This year's inductees will receive their honors at a gala ceremony in New York City on June 14.
Tommaso Boddi/FilmMagicKatyPerry unloaded her husband, Russell Brand -- now she's getting rid of some real estate. The Dailyreports that Katy is selling the deluxe penthouse she purchased in New York City's TriBeCa neighborhood 18 months ago. She's asking the same $2.75 million that she initially paid for the property, which features two bedrooms, two bathrooms, great views, a heated bathroom floor and a cherrywood staircase. Katy bought the property in September 2010, before she and Russell were actually married.
Leon Neal/AFP/Getty ImagesAfter saying that comments attributed to him in a British paper regarding a performance with Queen had been taken out of context, Adam Lambert has now confirmed that he will, indeed, be singing with the legendary British rockers.
He wrote on Twitter Monday, "As many suspected, I can finally confirm: I have been invited by Queen to sing one very special concert! Sonisphere at Knebworth July 7th!" He added, "Sorry to be coy about the details the past few weeks, but I made a promise to keep it under wraps as best I could. Gonna be a surreal night!"
The performance is scheduled for July 7. The Sonisphere Festival, a touring festival which will take place this year from July 6 to July 8 in Knebworth, England, was the site of Queen's final performance with their lead singer Freddie Mercury. That performance came in 1986; Mercury died of an AIDS-related illness in 1991.
Adam has performed with Queen twice: once during the 2009 American Idol finale, and last November at the MTV European Music Awards.
In a statement posted on his official website, Adam says, "I'm completely in awe of the Queen phenomenon. The thought of sharing the stage for a full set is so beautifully surreal. I'm honored to be able to pay my respects to Freddie's memory. He's a personal hero of mine and I am deeply grateful for the chance to sing such powerful music for fans of this legendary band."
Rebecca Taylor/MSGIf you're an Elton John fan who's been saving all your ticket stubs from his concerts over the years, the folks who run his archives want you to get in touch.
A request has been put out on Elton's official website for ticket stubs -- not the actual stubs, but scans of them. Specifically, the archive is looking for hi-res scans of Elton ticket stubs from any of his concerts, anywhere in the world, but particularly ones from the seventies. Since Elton has performed more than 3,000 concerts in his career, that's a lot of stubs. The collected scans will be used to compile a "visual history" of Elton's live work, so if you've got stubs rotting away in a shoebox in your closet, haul them out, scan them and email them to Editor@website.eltonjohn.com with the subject line "Ticket Scans."
Not long ago, the website appealed to fans for scans of tickets from Elton's first-ever performances in Las Vegas, and got a great response, which is why they're reaching out once again.
Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty ImagesMariah Carey was among the first to tweet a heartfelt eulogy for Whitney Houston a week ago when the singer passed away, and Carey later canceled an appearance on Good Morning America because she said she was still mourning for her late friend. After attending the star's funeral on Saturday, Mariah finally made her appearance on Good Morning America Tuesday, during which she spoke about Whitney.
At first, she declared herself "almost incapable of talking about this, still," but then, she told ABC's Robin Roberts, "We all loved her. We were all inspired by her, and we all loved her. May she rest in peace, and her legend's gonna go on forever."
Asked what it was like to work with Whitney on their hit duet "When You Believe," Mariah said, "It was great and I don't think people could ever understand our relationship. There was always this supposed rivalry in the beginning, and then we did the duet and we became friends. I saw her toward the end and...I loved her." Mariah later tweeted a link to a YouTube video featuring a montage of her and Whitney singing together.
Mariah also talked about her husband Nick Cannon, who recently announced plans to quit his radio show after struggling with health issues that included kidney failure and blood clots in his lungs. "Nick is doing well," said Mariah. "The best thing, I think, was the choice that he made to leave the radio show and just focus on [America's Got Talent] and Up All Night."
She added, "The thing is, he's a young, healthy person and it's about changing the lifestyle...it's just a lifestyle choice, and an awareness of what can really happen to you no matter how young or in great shape you are So I think he's gonna, like he always does, turn something that happened into a positive thing."
The topic of lifestyle choices also fit neatly into Mariah's main reason for the GMA appearance, which was to promote a new heart health initiative that she's involved in, through Jenny Craig and the American Heart Association. She also debuted her new PSA that she co-directed and starred in, in which she says, "Did you know that every 34 seconds, someone has a heart attack? Every 40 seconds, someone has a stroke. But it doesn't have to be that way. Every day, there's hope...Get serious about your heart and your health."
Mariah also revealed that she's working on some new music -- specifically, she mentioned a song that she wants to get done next week. "It just happened and I feel like it's appropriate for the moment right now," she said.
Facebook.com/TheFrayThe Fray's tour in support of their new top-10 album Scars & Stories is now underway. The band says their approach to playing live was hugely influenced by some dates they did last year as an opening act, for U2.
Last May, the Fray performed with Bono and the guys during four dates on U2's massively-successful U2360 tour, and Fray guitarist Joe King says watching Bono in action really inspired them in terms of how to connect with the audience. "Each night they, obviously, are playing for 80,000-plus people in these massive stadiums but they break it down to the individual," Joe explains. "And Bono, his whole thing is picking out one person that he's going to sing his whole show to."
Joe adds, "There will be someone [in the audience] that'll catch [Bono's eye] and the whole show, in his head and emotionally, is directed to that person...everything becomes about that one individual and that's how they connect, and I think by doing that every person in that stadium feel like it's theirs." The Fray may not be playing to 80,000 people, but realizing how the biggest band in the world can make a show feel intimate is the true lesson learned.
Another thing the Fray picked up from U2 was the concept of group unity. According to Joe, that's how the band keeps things interesting, even when they have to play "How to Save a Life" every night for what seems like the zillionth time. "You keep it fresh by doing things that you enjoy offstage, 'cause it's not just about onstage," he says. "The more tight you are as a group backstage and outside of that stage, that's what makes the stage unique and strong and powerful. That was another thing I learned from the U2 guys."
Joe explains, "Every time before the show, [U2] just made sure things are right...they made sure they were all good and it's unified. And that makes the difference."
The current leg of the Fray's tour runs through the end of this month, and then picks up again in April, finishing up in May in their home state of Colorado.
Alexander Tamargo/Getty ImagesThe first-season winner of The Voice has agreed to share a stage with champions of TV's other popular singing competitions, American Idol and The X Factor, in an attempt to prove which one is the best.
It's all a pipe dream for now, but Simon Cowell, the creator of The X Factor, planted the seeds last week, when he tweeted, "Maybe the winner of [The X Factor] this yr should compete with winner of The Voice & Idol in a super final. Just a thought. I'd be up for it."
The reigning champion of The Voice, Javier Colon, is also up for it. He tweeted Monday, "I respect the other winners a lot but if U want a battle I'm IN!"
Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe also chimed in on Twitter, and took a playful jab at the other shows in the process. He wrote that Cowell "suggests the IDOL winner should take on the voice and x-factor winners. The problem is the Idol winner will be a star by then."
Scotty McCreery is the reigning Idol champion. Melanie Amaro won the debut season of The X Factor in December.
Adam Rose/FOXThe Glee cast will have the summer off after taking their act on the road the past two years. A rep for 20th Television, the studio behind the Fox series, tells The Hollywood Reporter that there are no plans to schedule a 2012 edition of the Glee Live! In Concert! tour.
The Hollywood Reporter says Glee creator Ryan Murphy had a hand in ensuring the cast wouldn't have to tour this summer. Rather than have the show's stars perform in several U.S. cities, Glee producers are reportedly mulling the possibility of holding a one-night-only concert at the Hollywood Bowl this fall to raise money for the arts education charity Glee Give a Note.
Last year's Glee tour earned more than 40 million dollars with stops in North America as well as in England and Ireland. Its movie spin-off, Glee: The 3D Concert Movie, only grossed 11.86 million at the domestic box office.
Big Machine RecordsThough Taylor Swift wasn't even born when Whitney Houston's career launched in the mid-80s, the late superstar had a big impact on her. "I was a huge fan of Whitney," Taylor told E! at the L.A. premiere of her new movie Dr. Seuss's The Lorax. "And I was also a fan of her spirit. She was always smiling and I just always felt like she was relatable."
Like Whitney before her, Taylor has crossed over into the film world, and Taylor was reportedly in talks to appear as Eponine in the upcoming film adaptation of Les Misérables. That role went to another actress, but Taylor isn't losing any sleep over it. She says, "Things sometimes don't happen, and it happens all the time that things don't come together. But the thing about my life is that everybody seems to know all these different versions of stories that may or may not be true."
Taylor voices the character Audrey in Dr. Seuss's The Lorax, in theaters March 2.
EMI Capitol RecordsKaty Perry didn't win any Grammy awards on February 12, but her appearance on the show has paid off big time. After she gave a show-stopping performance of her new single "Part of Me" on the Grammy telecast, sales of the track have exploded. Billboardreports the single is predicted to sell more than 400,000 copies, which would make her a shoo-in for a #1 debut on the Hot 100. If this happens, it'll be only the 20th song ever to bow at #1 in the 53-year history of the chart.
In addition, if those sales predictions hold, "Part of Me" will have the highest opening-week sales of any song since Lady Gaga's"Born This Way," which sold 448,000 copies a year ago, according to Nielsen Soundscan. Not coincidentally, Gaga debuted her single on the Grammy awards last year. "Born This Way" was the most recent song to enter the Hot 100 at #1.
Meanwhile, Adele'sGrammy-winning album 21 is on track to get an enormous sales bump too. According to Billboard, the album is predicted to sell somewhere between 650,000 and 680,000 copies this week. If the numbers hold, that means 21 will have its biggest-ever sales week since it first entered the chart exactly a year ago. It'll also pass the seven million mark in U.S. sales, and secure its 21st week at #1.
ABC/ Lou RoccoWith more than 19 million followers and counting, Lady Gaga is one artist who knows how to harness social media in the promotion of her music and message. Now, according to Billboard.biz, the singer's manager Troy Carter has raised $4.5 million from Silicon Valley investors to co-found the digital startup Backplane, which Gaga will use to further her digital footprint.
The first project for Backplane is LittleMonsters.com, Gaga's invitation-only social networking website, where fans will be able to share and post photos, videos and promote other content, similar to Pinterest and Reddit. LittleMonsters.com launches this spring but you can request a password now to get a look at the beta site.
ABC/ Ida Mae AstuteSeveral dresses that belonged to the late Whitney Houston will go on the auction block in late March. Julien's Auctions, based in Beverly Hills, has announced that its "Hollywood Legends" auction will also include earrings that Houston wore while shooting her 1992 film The Bodyguard.
Though Houston died just over a week ago, Darren Julien, the owner of Julien's Auctions, says the timing of the sale is a coincidence. He says, "This is an auction that we've been planning for over six months so some of the items we've had in our auction and consigned to us prior to her passing." He says the items in the auction from The Bodyguard set were consigned by an anonymous person who worked with Houston on the movie.
Julien expects the dresses to raise at least a couple of thousand dollars each. Other items in the auction are expected to fetch much more than that -- for example, a Batman costume from the 1992 film Batman Returns is expected to bring in between 60 thousand and 80 thousand dollars.
The "Hollywood Legends" auction will also feature items connected to Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, Judy Garland and Charlton Heston, among others. The live/online auction will be held March 31 and April 1.
Julien says his company will auction off more Whitney items in the future. He says, "We have over 50 requests from people wanting to consign other items, but it's past our catalog deadline, so we'll put those in a future auction."
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesThough Aretha Franklin was unable to attend Whitney Houston's funeral for health reasons, she saluted the late singer over the weekend both in concert and in a column published by the New York Post.
Aretha missed Whitney's funeral in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday due to what she described as "terrible leg spasms and locked leg muscles." However, she felt well enough to perform later that day at New York City's Radio City Music Hall, where she sang a piano-driven version of "I Will Always Love You." She said, "We'll always remember her kindness, her grace, her smile, her dynamic performances."
The following day, the New York Post published Aretha's memories of Whitney. She recalled her first meeting with Whitney, when the latter was just nine years old. Aretha wrote, "I didn't know then that she had aspirations as a singer, but I should have guessed."
Aretha wrote that she "fell" for Whitney's voice after hearing "Saving All My Love For You," and made note of Whitney's "quick wit" when they worked together in 1989 on the song "It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be."
Aretha concluded her column by writing, "Whitney was one of the brightest stars in our universe, and she passed too soon. I’d like to caution other young artists in the business as my father cautioned me and I would have liked to caution Whitney: No matter how successful you are, one day the applause is going to die down. The amens and the hallelujahs will be silent and even the money will stop flowing. When that happens, you’ve got to know who you are and what you’re going to do."
Whitney's ex-husband, Bobby Brown, also paid tribute to Whitney on the day of her funeral. Bobby, who left the funeral early, claiming later on that security needlessly asked him and his children to change seats multiple times, performed with NewEdition Saturday night in Connecticut, telling the audience, "Blessings to my ex-wife, Whitney Houston. I love you."
Pastor Joe Carter, who is with the church where the funeral was held, says Bobby left the funeral after he brought too many guests into the area of the church reserved for family members. He says, "We asked him to stay but to tell his company, those who were in the party, we were going to get seats for them, but he categorically said no and he left."'
The ReverendMarvin Winans, who delivered the eulogy, is proud of how many people turned out for the funeral. He says, "Love is always a choice. People don't have to be nice. People don't have to show up. There would have been a million excuses and all of them would have been acceptable."
Whitney was laid to rest Sunday at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, New Jersey, where her father is also buried.
NBCUniversal, IncMonday night's installment of NBC's The Voice featured its fourth round of blind auditions as the judges/coaches Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton got another chance to build their teams in advance of the live battle rounds.
Here’s what happened:
First up was Ducky, a mural painter who figured being the winner of The Voice would help fund his wedding to his girlfriend. He sang "Tighten Up" by The Black Keys. None of the judges was suitably impressed enough to take Ducky on, even though they agreed he had talent.
Next was Jonathas Ojeda who was born into poverty in Brazil but has built a life in the U.S. and has a young family of his own. He sang a version of Usher's "U Got it Bad." Cee Lo and Christina both turned their chairs around and had a playful fight over who needed Jonathas the most. He made the choice to join Team Christina.
Monique Benabau told how she helped nurse her mother through breast cancer. She said her music got her through. She sang Kelly Clarkson's "Mr. Know It All." Blake didn't turn around, but he talked Christina into doing so, which she did. Monique joins Christina's coaching group.
Street musician Nala Kete was seeking a way to validate her musical career. Blake was very quick to press his red button, as she sang a version of "The Lazy Song" by Bruno Mars. Cee Lo also wanted to get into the Nala action but Blake told her that he fell in love with her voice. Cee Lo wanted her energy on his team. Faced with making the choice, Nala chose to join Blake's team.
Eric Macek sang his heart out on a version of Tom Petty's "Free Fallin' but failed to join up with any of the coaches.
Before undergoing serious jaw surgery, Charlotte Sometimes was in danger of never singing again. Singing "Apologize" by OneRepublic, she caught the attention of all the judges. Christina thought she had a consistent song, while Blake knew within the first two lines that he wanted Charlotte on his team. Cee Lo called her graceful, and Adam said she was amazing. With a big decision to make, Charlotte eventually joined Team Blake.
Next up was Broadway singer Tony Vincent, who wants to carve out a pop-rock career. He also has a pregnant wife. He sang Queen's "We Are the Champions." Cee Lo was the only judge to press his red button and so by default, Tony joins Cee Lo's coaching team.
Christina thought that Anthony Evans had a great voice. He's a gospel singer and real-life "son of a preacher man." He sang Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" and Christina was happy to have Anthony join her team.
Sandwich shop worker Jamie Lono had a rough childhood, including a bout with pneumonia that caused him to have half of one lung removed. He was in fine form for his audition, singing "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash. It prompted interest from Adam and Cee Lo. Cee Lo joked that he was a sandwich-eater and Adam promised Jamie that he would not have to make a sandwich ever again. Jamie chose to join up with Cee Lo.
Dylan Chambers has a lot to live up to, as his mom is a musical theater coach. He chose to sing a take on "Valerie" by The Zoutons/Amy Winehouse but, in spite of a solid performance, he was told the bar was set just too high this season for the 19-year-old.
Family man Justin Hopkins is a former member of the house band on NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly. Carson, of course, is now also the host of The Voice. Justin performed a take on David Gray's "Babylon." He was happy to join Cee Lo's team in order to polish up his already accomplished act.
Country singer and piano player, Nicolle Galyon had Adam Levine turning around quickly to put a face to the voice he was listening to. Nicolle sang Kenny Chesney's "You Save Me." She now moves on to the live battle rounds with Adam as her coach.
Eric Tipton is a soul singer who recently repaired a rocky relationship with his father. He sang the Daryl Hall and John Oates song "You Make my Dreams." Sadly, Eric did not have quite what it takes for this season's show.
Mathai has put plans for medical school on hold to put all her efforts into her singing career. Singing Adele's "Rumour Has It," she quickly got the attention of Adam, then Blake, then Cee Lo. Blake called her "a star" and Adam agreed that she had a unique voice. Cee Lo said she had the whole thing going. Faced with the choice of the three male judges, Mathai chose Team Adam.
The Voice will air again next Monday on NBC at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Joseph Anthony BakerTaylor Swift says many people think her Grammy Award-winning tune “Mean” is about her being bullied in high school, but it’s actually about a music critic. During an appearance Monday on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Taylor acknowledged the song has become tied to bullying since its release, but told Jay, “I actually wrote the song about a critic who kept giving me really bad reviews.” Taylor says she finally overcame the negative reviews by singing about it, adding, it won two Grammys and “Now I feel better.”
Taylor acknowledged the power of song, telling Jay, “You can be going through a break-up and...then you write a song and it...goes out and helps people. It’s cool.”
Taylor is featured on the cover of the new issue of Vogue, and Jay asked her about a quote in the magazine interview in which she proclaims, “I’m smart, unless I’m in love.” Taylor told Jay, “When I’m in love, I’m stupid about it and I trust people, constantly.”
Taylor says she tries to change after getting burned in a relationship, saying to herself, “I’m not going to trust people anymore, I’m going to be one of those twisty girls who guys love because they’re all guarded and stuff." The singer says it never works out for her that way because she's always optimistic, adding, "I just trust people again.”
