1. Earplugs to come with new cd releases of Rihanna, Chris Brown, Keisha Cole and Kanye live performances.
Christopher Nolan's box office blockbuster "The Dark Knight," was named best picture of 2008 by the African American Film Critics Assn. today. The Batman thriller also won in the best supporting actor category for the late Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker.
Frank Langella was selected best actor as former President Nixon in "Frost/Nixon, and Angelina Jolie won best actress as a single mom trying to find her missing son in "Changling." Viola Davis earned best supporting actress for her turn as the mother of an altar boy in "Doubt."
Danny Boyle was named best director for the indie critics' darling, " Slumdog Millionaire."
The AAFCA, made up of African American media professionals across the U.S., also gave its Special Achievement Award to groundbreaking filmmaker Melvin van Peebles of "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" fame.
Rap-Up.com has exclusively learned that Ciara has chosen “Never Ever” featuring fellow ATLien Young Jeezy as the next single from her third LP Fantasy Ride. The track was co-produced by Polow Da Don and Elvis “BlacElvis” Williams (the same duo responsible for Ciara's hit "Promise”) and will be released to radio in early ‘09, while the album will follow in spring.
The American Idol finalists are on the move! Kristy Lee Cook and Blake Lewis made record label moves and now season six American Idol champion, Jordin Sparks is doing it to. “Jordin and 19 Management are parting ways,” Jordin Sparks’ mom Jodi wrote this month on her daughter’s MySpace blog. “It is a mutual decision and we are looking forward to the future!”
Jordin Sparks has only been with 19 Records/Jive records since May of 2007 and only released one record with the label.
Jordin Sparks’ mother wrote on the blog that Jordin is working on her second album. “Jordin (is) writing and recording starting in January,” wrote Jodi on the MySpace blog. “Hopefully new album out by summer. Expect more upbeat dance tunes!”
So how did Keys come out on top? The Billboard chart year strongly favored Keys. The chart year began the very week that As I Am hit the chart, with impressive first-week sales of 742,000 copies. That "start date" cut off the first five weeks of Noel's sales, a period in which it sold 379,000 copies. Groban was also hurt on the back end. In the four most recent weeks (including this week), which are not counted in the year-end tally, a seasonally-reinvigorated Noel has sold 509,000 copies, compared to just 21,000 copies for an out-of-gas As I Am. Noel's uncounted sales on either the front end or the back end are more than enough to offset As I Am's 144,000-copy lead during Billboard's official chart year. (If the chart year had started and ended one week later than it did, Groban would have beat Keys handily. His total would have been 3,341,000 copies, to her 2,892,000 copies.)
Billboard didn't deliberately favor Keys: The 2008 chart year adheres to the magazine's usual practice. Why, you may wonder, doesn't Billboard's year-end issue just conform to the calendar year? It's a matter of production logistics. The year-end issue is typically the magazine's biggest issue of the year (this year's edition runs 178 pages). The staff needs the extra time to assemble the issue and, not least of all, sell ads.
Doing her part to help out, Kim Kardashian was busy giving back to the community for the holidays on Wednesday afternoon (December 17).
The "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" starlet teamed up with designer Christian Audigier to visit Amino Locke 2 High School in Compton to gift the honor students with Ed Hardy skateboards and goody bags.
Not too far behind.......
50 steps out looking hawt in his lil suit. Although I'm not sure about the color scheme. Uh that man is hot.
