EURweb |
01-02-09 EUR ALL ON ONE PAGE
JENNIFER HUDSON TO SING AT INAUGURATION?: Organizers reportedly want grieving artist to perform national anthem.
*The New York Post is reporting that Jennifer Hudson is being courted to perform at the swearing in of President-elect Barack Obama, in what would be her first appearance since the October murders of her mother, brother and nephew.
"Organizers want Jennifer to sing 'The Star-Spangled Banner' at the Inauguration on Jan. 20," a source told Page Six. "They are talking to Jennifer about it. It would be the first time she performed since the murders. She is from Chicago and a huge Obama supporter."
Hudson sang the national anthem at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August.
The former "American Idol" contestant is already booked to perform on Feb. 6 at the Recording Academy's MusiCares Person of the Year gala honoring Neil Diamond.
BARKLEY PARTIED WITH URKEL BEFORE DUI BUST: Michael Strahan also in the mix at Scottsdale nightclub before arrest.
*TheDirty.com is reporting that Charles Barkley was drinking heavily with actor Jaleel White and retired NFL player Michael Strahan at a Scottsdale, Ariz. bar before the ex-NBA star was popped for suspicion of DUI early Wednesday.
Barkley spent Tuesday evening at nightclub Dirty/Pretty running up a hefty bar tab with White, a.k.a. Steve Urkel from "Family Matters," and former New York Giants linebacker Strahan, the Web site reported.
Sources tell TMZ.com that Barkley had wine coolers and bear claw donuts in the car at the time of his arrest. As previously reported, Barkley told the arresting officer that he was on his way to "get a blow job" from a woman who had given him "the best one he ever had in his life" a week earlier.
According to TMZ, the report says when Barkley was taken to the station, he told one of the employees, "I'll tattoo my name on your ass" if he helped "get him out of the DUI." According to the report, "He laughed and then quickly corrected himself and said, 'I'll tattoo your name on my ass' and then laughed again."
The report also says officers "found a handgun in the vehicle" which was immediately impounded. The report doesn't say if the handgun was legal or not."
PRINCE OUTLINES 2009 SCHEDULE: Artist says he's dropping three albums and will introduce Sade-flavored protégé.
*Prince has revealed that his plans for 2009 include the release of three new albums, including an electro-flavored solo effort tentatively titled MPLSOUND that was recorded at Paisley Park Studios.
"Prince experimented with Pro Tools and 'new ways of recording' on these trippy, experimental pop songs," reports Ann Flowers of the Los Angeles Times music blog Pop & Hiss. "One features a Q-Tip rap; another calls a 'Funky Congregation' to worship and may become a live set piece."
He also plans to drop a guitar-driven album titled 'Lotus Flower,"sometime this year, an album previewed earlier this month on Indie 103.1."Prince said he refocused on his playing while performing live dates with the singer Tamar Davis in 2006; with the spotlight trained on someone else, he could fall back in love with solos and riffs," writes Flowers. "'Lotus Flower' is a varied album, featuring cuts recorded over the course of two years, but standout tracks include some heavy rockers -- especially the apocalyptic 'Dreamer,'" which Prince said was partly inspired by radical comedian Dick Gregory.
This year, the artist also plans to introduce his newest singing protégé. "We got sick of waiting for Sade to make a new album," Prince said, introducing Bria Valente's new album, "Elixir." Flowers writes of the disc: "The tracks are chill, with Valente's buttery voice melding with beats by Morris Hayes and Prince's guitar lines. Some are explicitly sexual."
"This music is nasty, but it's not dirty," Prince said, explaining how sensual music fits in with his much-discussed Jehovah's Witness faith. "There's no profanity. It isn't promoting promiscuity. She's singing about her lover, who could be her partner for life."
He also addressed quotes from a recent New Yorker interview that made national headlines, among them, his refusal to vote in the November election because of his religion.
"I didn't vote for Obama either," he explained to the Times. "Jehovah's Witnesses haven't voted for their whole inception."
Prince felt the New Yorker piece wrongly implied that he supported California's gay-marriage ban. "I have friends that are gay and we study the Bible together," he told Flowers, adding that the two sides fighting "only benefit the third person" who instigated the fight.
DIDDY CANT STOP, WON'T STOP THE BEARCATS: Orange Bowl-bound Cinci coach moved team out of hotel once mogul checked in.
*Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly wasn't taking any chances with his team being distracted by tomfoolery during their final night before the Orange Bowl.
When Kelly heard that Sean "Diddy" Combs checked into the posh Fontainebleau in Miami Beach, where the team was staying, he promptly moved the squad to another hotel for their final night before taking on Virginia Tech in last night's game.
Diddy was headlining one of several New Year's parties at the celeb-favored establishment. So while some of Cincinnati's support staff remained behind to enjoy the fun (including hearing Maroon 5 jam by the pool), the Bearcat players were moving to quieter digs.
"See, I don't know how you've got 'P. Diddy,'" Kelly said, gently and comically chiding a reporter Wednesday for not knowing the superstar's most current moniker. "To me he's Diddy."
In other Diddy news, fragrance company Danica Aromatics has been threatening to sue Sean Jean Fragrances since the launch of "I Am King," claiming that it's too similar to their product labeled "I Am."
In a preemptive strike, Diddy launched a suit asking a judge to establish that his company does not conflict with them, in hopes that there will be no lawsuits by the company later, TMZ reported.
'NO WOMAN NO CRY' SONGWRITER DIES: Jamaica's Vincent Ford succumbs to complications from diabetes.
*Vincent Ford, a songwriter credited with composing the Bob Marley reggae classic "No Woman, No Cry," died Sunday at a hospital in Jamaica of complications from diabetes. He was 68.
The song, which appeared on Marley's 1974 "Natty Dread" album, was inspired by the Kingston ghetto of Trench Town where Marley and Ford lived in the 1960s, reports the Associated Press.
Although Ford is credited with the song, some critics believe that Marley penned it himself but gave Ford the credit to help his friend support himself with the royalties.
Ford, who ran a soup kitchen and lost both his legs to diabetes, is also credited with three songs on Marley's 1976 album "Rastaman Vibration."
CARDINALS RECEIVER ACCUSED OF DOMESTIC ABUSE: Playfight between Larry Fitzgerald and baby mama turns ugly.
*Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald has been ordered to stay away from the mother of his 11-month-old son after he allegedly assaulted her at his Phoenix home in October.
According to court papers revealed by TMZ.com, Angela Nazario claims she brought their son to visit Fitzgerald when the former lovers began arguing. She said a playful altercation with the athlete escalated when she swung at the receiver and "may have hit his face."
Nazario, a former Oakland Raiders cheerleader, alleged that Fitzgerald pushed her to her knees, "grabbed me by my hair with both hands on the back of my head very very hard and tossed me across the room."
When she tried to leave, Nazario alleged that Fitzgerald "grabbed the back of my neck and slammed me down on the marble floor ... [I] was disoriented for awhile and could not get up, I remember he mumbled something about 'that's what happens when you try taking my son away from me.'"
Fitzgerald caught 96 passes for a career-high 1,431 yards this season. The Cardinals won the AFC West and host the Falcons on Saturday in a wild-card matchup.
EUR MOTIVATIONAL NOTE
"Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus." — Alexander Graham Bell
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Jan 2: Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. is 41. Actor Chris Spencer is 41. Taye Diggs is 37.
Jan 3: Sportscaster Pam Oliver (FOX) is 34. Singer Kimberley Locke is 31.
Jan. 4: Actress Jill Jones is 34.
WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
There's a new movie critic in town at www.reelmarla.com and she has a sista swagger with spoil-free reviews.
Submit your favorite Web site to us along with a 15-20 word (or less) description to info@eurweb.com.
BLACK HISTORY
Jan. 2, 1800: Antislavery petition from Free Blacks of Philadelphia presented to Congress.
Jan. 3, 1621: First African American, William Tucker, was born on this day.
Jan. 4, 1920: Andrew "Rube" Foster organizes the first black baseball league, the Negro National League. (Source: www.BlackFacts.com)
Click for the latest Obama - Political headlines
Share and Bookmark |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
