Melody Plant

Another celebrity baby has been born. A fat and healthy baby boy just entered Usher’s life, as his fresh wife gave birth.

The couple is thriving with joy, and Usher is content with his new found fatherhood. His wife, Tameka Foster, has already 3 children, this is her fourth. A late child for Tameka as she is already 37 years old, in contrast with the young singer who is only 29.

Their whole marriage is wrapped in mystery and no one really know if they got married just because he was pregnant or if the couple really intend of spending their lives tighter. That is for us to see and maybe comment on in the future, for now let’s all welcome usher’s new baby boy.

Kanye West issued a statement on Monday night regard the tragic passing of his mother Donda West. Kanye and the rest of his family were thankful for the outpouring of support and kind words that have come from all over the country.

The rapper also asks that in lieu of flowers, donations can be made in the name of his mother to the Kanye West Foundation/Loop Dreams Teacher Training Institute. Both of which were handled by Donda who previously worked in higher education for 31 years.

I’m pretty sure I haven’t said it before, but better late than never. I’d like to extend my condolences to Kanye and the rest of the West family for their loss.

Jive Records is officially giving up on trying to get Britney Spears to promote her new album. They’re not even planning a tour despite her single “Gimme More” topping the charts. The label realizes that Britney doesn’t care and is apparently becoming fed up with her antics. Her label should understand that she is basically in turmoil right now and she is clearly unfit to be on tour right now. What if she goes on a tour promoting the album and during an interview she starts crying because there is some bad news that coming from her custody trail. Then the media and her record would be at logger heads, her record label would have to defend her because she is in a way representing them when on tour and that paparazzi as usual needless to say would be out there in their full numbers trying to blow up the story by saying she is mentally ill. Best that she doesn’t tour right now.

Roisin Murphy suffered a horrible accident when she was performing at a concert in Moscow on Saturday night. During one of the songs, the singer was rocking really hard and ended up hitting her forehead on a chair that was meant to be a stage prop.

Roisin was rushed to the hospital to get the injury examined. Doctors revealed that she broke her supercilliary bone, which is right above the eye socket.

Get well soon Roisin! Maybe next time you shouldn’t head-bang too hard. I guess we all learned that too much head-banging can literally have you bang your head.

Gwen Stefani was seen leaving her New York City hotel early Friday morning with her 17-month old son Kingston. This was the day after she attended the Black Ball 2007 which was held to honor the work of Bono for the AIDS movement.

Gwen performed at the event and did a duet with Alicia Keys. Rolling Stone reports that their performance was “an elegiac version of ‘Sunday, Bloody Sunday” which was originally done by Bono’s band U2. The magazine also says the Alicia’s vocals lingered in the air and was long, haunting and elegant.

The song was haunting by itself, now I’m curious how Alicia made it even more so.

Mary J. Blige has just released a new video for her new single called ‘Just Fine’. The video is awesome and the song is a great jam. Mary J’s new single is a bit of a departure for the R&B diva. It’s up-tempo and is a feel-good anthem. She most definitely left the gut-wrenching and tortured emotions outside of the recording booth.

Different as the sound may be for all you die-hard fans of Mary J, she’s still the same diva. Except, instead of wanting to wallow in your tears while listening to her sing all her anguish out, she’ll make you want to sing that today is going to be a better day, today is going to be just fine.

Carrie Underwood released her sophomore album on Tuesday of this week. And based on the first day sales and projections, she is headed for the top spot of the charts and could sell up to 450,000 copies in the first week of release.

If you compare those numbers to the numbers of Kelly Clarkson’s latest CD ‘My December’, Carrie clearly wins because Kelly only sold 291,000 copies in its first week and then took a nosedive. Carrie’s radio-friendly disc is expected to ‘have legs’ as music industry people say for albums with longevity.

Congratulations goes out to Carrie and a better luck next time goes to Kelly.

Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter is confident he has learned from his past mistakes – and is keen to rid himself of his bad boy image. The singer hit the headlines after being charged with two counts of DUI in California in 2005 and was ordered to complete a rehabilitation program. Yeah that’s what they want us to believe, he wants us to believe that he is refined and no longer a ‘bad boy’ but they are all a fry cry from what they claim to be. Nick just because someone stops taking drugs or smashing cars on the highways and is low on alcohol consumption doesn’t mean you have become sacred in anyways ok, so stop bullying other about your image. Have you ever been polite to some hungry dog or shaken hands with an AIDS suffering person, no never you can never, you’ve just grown up in the age terms and found newer ways to do all the bad things you previously did only it may be that you make sure no one finds about it.

I did say a few days ago that Jennifer Lopez’s new album ‘Brave’ was expected to bring in low numbers for its first week out. Apparently, even that was an understatement. To make cut it short, the album bombed big time.

JLo’s new album failed to make it to the Top Ten in the US and came in at #12 by selling just 53,000 units. All of the Latin pop star’s six previous studio albums, even her Spanish language one, broke into the Top 10 when they debuted.

LeAnn Rimes, Sara Evans, Kid Rock, Bruce Springsteen, Rascal Flatts and even Josh Groban who released a Christmas album in October beat her to the Top 10. Ouch!

Rocker Sheryl Crow is the latest singer to jump on the celebrity designer bandwagon. Crow is teaming up with Canadian clothing manufacturer Western Glove Works to launch a low budget denim line. Yeah that’s the only thing these failed rockers and artist are left to do, one they have nothing creative left in them they think that the only thing they can best do is create a flop fashion line with some fashion house and dump it in the market with their name on the tag. Since I truly do not believe that any celebrity actually designs their own clothes…I’m going to say designer. Because usually the celeb crap is well, crap. I can give up one example that comes to mind immediately is that of Victoria Beckham, she had a successful career with the Spice Girls, once the band broke up she needed to do something creative and what’s more creative than get herself a fashion line and since then she has been selling some rags with a high price tag, Sheryl think she can do the same.

“The paradigm in the music business has shifted and as an artist and a business woman, I have to move with that shift. For the first time in my career, the way that my music can reach my fans is unlimited. I’ve never wanted to think in a limited way and with this new partnership, the possibilities are endless.” These are the comments that Madonna had to make on her record $120 deal with Live Nation. Once upon a time, a very long time ago, Madonna told Dick Clark she wanted to “rule the world.” Well, I guess she thinks she still can. Madonna should have just retired from the business years ago; she gets more annoying as she gets older. Her real talent lies in the art of self promotion, and she is a master at it. What limit did her music have? It is all over the place, even the crappy music of the last 5 years…and she is using her money to pass on that false religion, Kaballah, especially on the poor, hapless people of Malawi. She bores me.

It seems that the Idols are getting it on with the rivalries as Clay Aiken has had a falling out with fellow American Idol alum Kimberly Locke. Kimberly is quite upset about it and she’s filling everyone in on the cat fight by writing on her official site’s blog.

It seems it all stemmed from the supposed reunion tour that Ruben, Clay and Kimberly were planning. Kimberly talked with Billboard about it but the wrong things got printed and Clay read into it wrong as well.

The gist of it is, Clay is pretty much calling Kimberly a liar and Kimberly thinks that Clay is way too full of himself.

Former Stone Roses star Ian Brown has criticized Kylie Minogue’s musical abilities, branding the pop star a “devil doll” The singer claims Minogue is not talented enough to have been awarded the gong for Q Idol at the Q Awards in London on Monday. Is he schizo? He says she’s a devil doll, that he doesn’t find her cute, and that she isn’t one of the great minds making music, then says he LOVES her…but then says he doesn’t think she should’ve gotten an award. If anyone has problems, it’s this guy. You off your zoloft, dude? And though Kylie doesn’t make intellectual music like sting, and U2, etc., she is a great entertainer in her own right. She’s beautiful, and she and her music are fun. Who are YOU, Mr. Johnny come lately, to think you have the right to criticize her? Ok, she just performs fluffy pop, but she’s lasted a long time…and this shows that people do enjoy her AND her music. Let’s see how long YOU will last.

The Black Eyed Peas had a concert in El Salvador last Friday. However, Fergie was noticeable absent for a good portion of the show. She did come out for a while wearing sweats, a cap and dark sunglasses and told the crowd that she got food poisoning and was not feeling well.

Fergie addressed the crowd and said “I’m not one of those singers that cancels a show due to exhaustion” and then proceeded to wreck her own song ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’. I just gained new respect for her though because she at least tried.

The band has already said they will make it up for it and will schedule another concert in El Salvador real soon.

Girls are known to be shopping freaks, once they have the money in their hands they just keep going on until they are finished with it. That was in the past and things haven’t changed at all, things have got even worse. Girls with the name and the money still shop till they drop but they more often then not do not have any money in their wallet most of the times. Lilly Allen too belong to the later category of girls who might have the money but either forget to carry it or take it for granted that high end market stores would recognize them and let them leave telling them that they could send the money with someone for the bill to be paid. Lilly at times has reportedly taken her credit card that has been rejected for insufficient funds or overuse has blocked the card or nonpayment of previous bills. Well I hope that they consider themselves worthy of a few thousand dollars and the next time she visits a place of credit she knows whether she is window shopping or actually out to buy some stuff.

Since when was posing with a new born baby become the trend in Hollywood or Hollywood types?

Welsh pop singer Charlotte Church and her rugby-playing husband Gavin Henson are featured on the cover of UK’s OK! Magazine with their new bundle of joy, Ruby.

Charlotte gave birth to her baby girl two weeks ago in her home but almost gave birth in a parking lot of a hardware store. Gavin accidentally locked her in when the alarm went off. People started looking at the screeching car and noticed Charlotte. “I was just trying to hide but couldn’t – just sitting there having contractions!”

Charlotte also said that Ruby, named because of her bright red lips, looks like Gavin. Charlotte also spoke of how happy she is about the new arrival and is obviously glowing.

If you ever heard the phrase ‘selling like hotcakes’, this one just has to take the cake. It’s so insane that we may just have to change some words in that phrase.

Tickets for the Spice Girls’ reunion concert at London’s O2 Arena recently went on sale and it immediately sold out. How immediate? Get this, 38 seconds! The demand was so high that they even had to add three other London shows and a second show in Los Angeles. Those dates have already been added with the tickets already going on sale.

Now those are some hardcore fans. Wow!

Pop trio Sugababes have seen off competition from former X Factor winner Shayne Ward to take the number one position in the UK singles chart. Their track, About You Now, outsold Ward’s No U Hang Up/ If That’s OK With You to claim the top spot. Last week’s number one, Sean Kingston’s Beautiful Girls, fell to number four. This group has come from the blue and I never expected them to storm

the charts all the way to the top, this is really a surprise for me and that too a happy one. I haven’t seen the charts lately so I have no idea who has been the movers and shakers this week and the previous week. I also have no idea that where currently singer Rihanna’s hit number Umbrella is placed coz just a month and a half ago it made waves by becoming the first song in over a decade to occupy the number one slot for 4 consecutive weeks. Let’s see how long the Sugababes can hold on to their number 1 position.

Pop star Shakira is donating $40 million from Latin America for Solidarity Foundation (ALAS) – which she co-founded with Nobel Prize winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez to help rebuild areas hit by natural disasters. The ALAS foundation will also invest $5 million into a three-year commitment project for children in the two regions. Now that’s hot! I never thought that a singer who not only sings hot but looks ever hotter can have such a kind heart to donate a massive $40 million. I have maintained and thought always that charity begins at home and there’s no end to charity because the world needs more and more of those who have the resources to come forward and donate generously. It’s just a matter of having the heart in a cause and then charity becomes a way of life. Go on Shakira you rock this way and you can rock with your hips something we all have seen many a times but today I have seen you rocking like never before.

Who’s that girl? To be honest with you, even I don’t know. But it does say that it’s Alli Sims, an overly made-up and airbrushed Alli Sims but Alli Sims nonetheless.

Alli is also known as Britney Spears’ ‘cousin’ and on/off assistant. But did you know that she’s also an aspiring pop star? She even launched a website to help promote her dreams of being a star. The site did go down for a while though but now it’s back up for business. However, it only contains that pic and not much else.

But then again, following Britney around is a job and half. Maybe that’s the reason there’s not much else on her site. She doesn’t have time to update it.