No Contest: Rihanna Tops Chris Brown in 2009
No question, this was not a good year to be pop singer Chris Brown. He started off the year with a bang with a world tour that sold out everywhere. Brown and his then girlfriend Rihanna were considered royalty to the paparazzi who couldn’t get enough of them. The cute couple were set to perform their hits on the Grammy Awards in February when tragedy struck.
Brown was accused of beating, punching and kicking Rihanna in the pre-dawn hours of February 9, 2009 following a pre-Grammy party. Then TMZ.com “acquired” a police evidence photo of a bruised and bleeding Rihanna. The public backlash against Chris Brown was immediate and the course of Brown’s career was altered forever
Both artists released albums late in the year and Rihanna’s album, Rated R, topped Chris’ album ‘Graffiti’ in sales almost 2-1. Graffiti debuted at #7 selling a meager 107,000 copies — a total flop by todays industry standards.
Rihanna’s ‘Rated R’ came in at #3 with robust sales of 181,000 in the first week. Brown was expected to best Rihanna’s sales as he rode a groundswell of sympathy from his fans who believed that cock and bull story about Rihanna hitting him first (a man should never hit a female under any circumstance).
Additionally, Brown received nearly unprecedented pre-sales national network press coverage following appearances on CNN’s Larry King Live and Good Morning America. As a result, Brown was expected to best Rihanna’s first week sales by at least 200,000 copies.
Brown’s numbers were so shocking that the “Run It” singer went into a tailspin. His poor impulse control got the best of him and he experienced a melt down on social micro-blogging site Twitter.com, blaming his poor sales on WalMart not stocking his album (a complete lie).
Brown’s record label had no choice but to force him to shut down his Twitter page. His reputation is so irreparably damaged that rumor has it Brown will be dropped from his record label after the first of the year.
Nick Cannon Responds To Post About His Shoe Size
Entertainment mogul Nick Cannon felt some kind of way about my post last week on the size of his feet. I imagine that men can get a little sensitive on the subject of their size. Nick, who is vacationing in Aspen with his wife Mariah Carey, took time out from his vacation to tweet the following message on Twitter.com:
Well, I asked around and no one could recall hearing about Nick being a legend in the streets (or the sheets for that matter).
One Twitterer responded that Nick Cannon was a legend on Sesame Street. But maybe Nick wasn’t referring to his shoe size in that tweet?
So I sent Nick a message on Twitter asking for Photo verification of his claims. But so far, I have not received word back from him.
The picture wasn’t Photoshopped and anyone with eyes can see how tiny Nick’s feet are. So unless they make a size 12 for boys, this case is closed.
Mariah stepped out without Nick to do a little shopping on Christmas eve in Aspen.
Celebs Out & About: Rihanna, Kanye and Amber Rose
Does Barbadian pop singer Rihanna have a bad case of the crabs?
If her bikini was too tight, maybe she should have slipped into a bikini more appropriate for her ample assets?
The Superstar could not resist digging for gold while vacationing with her family in Barbados over the Christmas holiday even with children in full view.
Troubled rapper/producer Kanye West spent the weekend in LA with his boyfriend, er, I mean manly girlfriend Amber Rose. I honestly didn’t mean to type “boyfriend” but you can easily see how I would make that mistake, can’t you? Kamber were spotted shopping and taking in a movie at The Grove in LA yesterday.
Tyra Banks Bites Oprah Again; Says Goodbye To Talk Show
Talk show Diva Tyra Banks is biting Oprah again after Oprah made a headline grabbing announcement that her popular talk show would end its run in 2011 (two years from now).
Tyra, who has been accused of biting Oprah’s ideas such as her popular “favorite things” show, is now announcing the end of The Tyra Show.
“This will be the last season of The Tyra Show,” Banks tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I’ve been loving having fun, coming into your living rooms, bedrooms, hair salons for the past 5 years.”
Wrapping at the end of its fifth season in the spring of 2010, it will be lights out for the show that brought viewers memorable weave-exposing, cellulite-revealing and tear-jerking moments.
Banks will focus on the launch of Bankable Studios, a N.Y.-based film production company currently reviewing possible projects. Sticking to her mission, Banks aims to bring “positive images of women to the big screen,” says an industry insider.
“My next huge steps will allow me to reach more women and young girls to help us all feel as fierce as we truly are,” Banks says. Read More…
Apparently, Tyra misses life in general and is tired of the daily grind of a TV talk show. There’s no mention of her ratings as the primary reason for her show’s ending.
Obama Linked To Wealthy Terrorist Bomber
The world media assembles outside the posh, multi-million dollar former London residence residence of terrorist bomber
For some reason, the world media has decided to connect US president Barack Obama with the Nigerian terrorist who attempted to bring down an American airliner with a semtex bomb strapped to his thighs last week.
The suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23-year-old son of a wealthy former Nigerian banking official, was arrested and charged with attempting to detonate a bomb on board Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas Day as it approached Detroit for a landing. Abdulmutallab tried to light an explosive strapped to his thighs by injecting a liquid detonator into it. But the bomb didn’t explode as expected. Instead, the flaming liquid dripped under the seat setting the man’s legs and the carpeting on fire.
Passengers said they saw a flash of light and heard what sounded like a firecracker going off inside a pillowcase. An alert passenger jumped over seats and other passengers to subdue Abdulmutallab who was taken to the first class section where his pants were ripped off of him.
Bot the bomber and hero sustained 2nd and 3rd degree burns.
The quiet, unassuming baby faced student lived like royalty in a posh $3 million London townhouse. Former college friends say he was a loner who didn’t have a girlfriend. His parents financed his lavish lifestyle, but after graduating from a London University, Abdulmutallab moved to Yemen and broke ties with his family.
His father Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, a former Nigerian minister and chairman of the First Bank of Nigeria, warned the US about his son’s extremist views but Abdulmutallab was granted a US travel VISA anyway. Abdulmutallab’s name was added to a terrorist database but apparently he was not given “no-fly” status.
This story has topped the world headlines for days and has received 24-hour wall-to-wall coverage on US news networks. But why attach Obama’s name to the incident?
Some say Obama has so far ignored calls to suppress Al Qaeda cells in Yemen where Abdulmutallab allegedly received the bomb and his instructions. Many members of Al Qaeda have fled the war zones and moved to Yemen and Somalia, both Muslim countries that Obama is wary of criticizing.
Obama has already promised $70 million to the Yemen government in its fight against terrorist groups. But some say that’s not nearly enough.
As Sen. Joe Lieberman told Fox News on Sunday, “Iraq was yesterday’s war. Afghanistan is today’s war. If we don’t act preemptively, Yemen will be tomorrow’s war.” [link]
The call has gone out for Obama to consider preemptive (military) action in Yemen and other Muslim countries harboring Al Qaeda terror cells. But so far Obama has resisted.
According to a British paper, Abdulmutallab bragged to the FBI that there are “25 more” terrorists just like him ready to bomb commercial airliners in the US.
Did Mary J Blige Really Punch Kendu Out?
Twitter was all abuzz this weekend with the news that legendary singer Mary J Blige put the smack down on her husband Kendu Isaacs for eyeballing waitresses at her album release party last week.
Page Six gossip column was the first to report the blow up, but MJB’s camp quickly went into damage control denying the slug fest ever occurred (which makes you wonder if they were there to witness the fisticuffs?)
If the punch out really did go down, it’s about time that an industry wife put her foot on her man’s neck and checked his azz in public. Rumors abound about Kendu’s roving eye and the fact that he’s a cheater. Mary J don’t play that! Maybe this will send a warning to other industry husbands to toe the line or get some of what Kendu got. How embarrassing for a man to be b*tch slapped by his wife at an industry party.
Nicki Minaj and Tyrese At Atlanta Nightspot
Hip Hop fraud Nicki Minaj and sexy singer Tyrese partied at an Atlanta nightspot after the Hot 107.9 Jingle Jam, which I heard was a huge success. Lmao, Nicki looks like she borrowed her lacefront wig from Necole B.
I like the fact that Nicki poured out expensive champagne and Patron liquor for her fans who paid to party with her. That was a nice touch. Maybe she’s not so bad after all. I wonder why none of these other so-called ballers thought of giving back like that?
They say Lil Wayne, the Young Money Clique, Usher, Keri Hilson, Trey Song, Nicki, Young Dro, Plies, and more, all turned the Jingle Jam out!
Sorry, I don’t have a concert recap for you guys because the promoter only gave me a single ticket even though I asked for an additional ticket for my good girlfriend. So we left after standing in the cold night air for over an hour. What was I supposed to do, pay for her ticket?
The good news is the promoter came through with tickets for my readers. So, it’s all good!
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