Legendary radio personailty Harold “Hal” Jackson, the first black radio announcer on network radio whose career spanned 70 years, died Wednesday at age 96. Sunday Classics with legendary radio personality Hal Jackson ran for decades on WBLS in New York City. On Wednesday the soft-spoken voice went silent as Hal Jackson died in the hospital from an undisclosed illness. He had been on the air as recently as a couple of weeks ago, hosting his Sunday show on WBLS. Hal Jackson was the godfather of black radio. His longevity, his breaking down the doors and breaking the color barrier, really made it possible for Black-Americans to work in the broadcast medium. Read the rest
Get ready to celebrate! Whitney’s got one more gift to give back to us. We’ve got the world premiere of the very last song she recorded before she passed away: Celebrate a duet with Jordin Sparks. It was produced by R. Kelly for the movie Sparkle, which will hit theaters August 17th. In the movie Whitney plays Jordin’s mother. It will be great to see Whitney’s face on the big screen one last time. Listen to Whitney and Jordin’s duet — after the click…. And I must warn everybody that the song is poor sound quailty — it’s rip from the oringinal verison. I almost didn’t post it! Read the rest
Arsenio Hall and Clay Aiken – squared off for the title of Celebrity Apprentice on Sunday night, seeking to be Donald Trump’s latest favored protégé. The task at hand was to create a celebrity variety show and a 30-second public-service announcement for their respective charities. In a close race, Arsenio, ended up winning after producing a comedy show with his team. It was déjà vu for Clay Aiken all over again. Nine years after Clay lost to Ruben Studdard in the American Idol finals, the crooner again had to settle for reality show runner-up honors, as Arsenio Hall was named the winner of The Celebrity Apprentice. Read the rest
It was a night of tributes at the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday. The evening’s most emotional moment came during a tribute to the late Whitney Houston. While Jordin Sparks performed the singer’s iconic hit I Will Always Love You and John Legend crooned, The Greatest Love Of All — Whitney’s daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, broke down in tears before taking the stage to accept the Millennium Award on her mom’s behalf. “I really want to say thank you to everyone who supported us through it all,” said Bobbi Kris, who stood alongside Whitney’s manager and sister-in-law Patricia Houston. “Not just from when it was good but when Read the rest
Stars braved the steamy temperatures in Las Vegas to celebrate music at the Billboard Music Awards and show off the latest styles. However, not everyone was up for the task – stars like Beyonce, Rihanna and Nicki Minaj skipped the event. But, there were enough style standouts to keep us happy — and this year hot couples ruled the red carpet. Alicia Keys and hubby Swizz Beatz were there, as well as Jordin Sparks and her boyfriend Jason Derulo. However, dressed in a gorgeous white gown and high platform leopard pumps, singer Monica, stole the red carpet with her NBA baller husband Shannon Brown on her arm. Check out all the red carpet action — after the click: Read the rest
Bobby Brown pours cold water on the rumors suggesting that his newly-released song Don’t Let Me Die is an ode to his ex-wife Whitney Houston. The New Edition member denies the report through his representative. Bobby’s rep clarifies that the song was written a while back before the New Jersey singer passed away. Its music video was filmed six months ago and it will feature his fiancee Alicia Etheridge. The clip was previewed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show recently, and is expected to come out sometime soon. The song will be included on The Masterpiece, his first solo studio album since 2007’s Forever. The CD is scheduled to be released on June 5th. Take a listen to the song after the click: Read the rest
LisaRaye McCoy covers this week’s issue of Jet magazine. LisaRaye may be the former first lady of Turks and Caicos, but one title still reigns in the brassy actress’ DNA: Queen of Candor. The Chicago native is funny and refreshingly authentic in a girlfriend-giving-it-to-you-straight type of way. In the magazine article, LisaRaye talks about her personal life, as well as life on set of her hit VH1 series Single Ladies. You’ll be happy to know that she finally reveals what went down on set between her and former co-star Stacey Dash, who reportedly got fired at the end of last season. Check out some highlights — after the click… Read the rest
Afunny thing happened while on the way to the Moscow premiere of Men in Black III. Will Smith slapped a male television reporter who he said tried to kiss him on the lips as he walked down the red carpet for the premiere. The reporter from the Ukrainian television channel 1+1, Vitalii Sediuk, made headlines at the Venice Film Festival last year when he presented a bouquet hydrangeas to Madonna. Supposedly, it’s common knowledge that she hates hydrangeas (in her words, “loathes” them), and he purposely presented her with the flowers to get a rise out of her. Will Smith was even less charmed by the reporter, who approached him on the carpet outside the movie theater on Friday night and tried to kiss him. Check out the video of the slap, heard across the nation — after the click: Read the rest
Pastor Marvin Winans was assaulted and carjacked Wednesday afternoon at a gas station in Detroit on the city’s west side. The attack happened about 3:20 p.m., and the suspects fled with a wallet containing $200, a $15,000 rolex, and his 2012 Infiniti QX56 SUV. Pastor Winans, of Perfecting Church, says he went inside the gas station to pay when he noticed a group of young men hanging inside the store not buying anything. He said he thought it was strange, but he went about his business. One young man approached him, “engaged him in conversation about the music he had on the radio,” then told him gas was spilling from his tank. Read the rest
Rapper 50 Cent was admitted to the hospital yesterday, for unspecified reasons. Although, it has been reported he was seeking treatment for a stomach virus — Floyd Mayweather, 50 Cent’s friend told Ryan Cameron on Atlanta’s V103: ”Please keep 50 Cent in your prayers he is in the hospital and he is extremely sick … we will remain positive.” Floyd wasn’t specific about his pal’s illness. 50 Cent still appears to have a sense of humor, posting an image of himself in a hospital bed with an over-sized stuffed giraffe to his right, a large stuffed lion to his left and a stuffed elephant perched on his legs. Check out the pictures after the click: Read the rest
Donna Summer — the Queen of Disco — died this morning in Florida after a long battle with lung cancer. The singer was trying to keep the extent of her illness under wraps. Donna had been living in Englewood, Florida with her husband Bruce Sudano. Born in Boston on New Year’s Eve, Donna, with her dance hits and mezzo-soprano voice, define the music of a generation. The five-time Grammy winner leaves behind three daughters, Mimi, Brooklyn and Amanda; her husband, Bruce, as well as four grandchildren. We’re told she was focused on trying to finish up an album she had been working on. She was 63 years old. Read the rest
Will Smith isn’t just supporting President Obama‘s call for higher taxes among the rich, he’s also backing the POTUS in his stance for same-sex marriage. While promoting Men in Black III in Berlin, Will told reporters that legally allowing gay people to marry is “about semantics” and that Obama’s support for same-sex marriage was a “brave” move. “If anybody can find someone to love them and to help them through this difficult thing that we call life, I support that in any shape or form,” Will said. Just last week Will also praised Obama’s plan to raise taxes for the wealthy. “I’m very Read the rest
Despite the media being banned from hearing all of the gory details concerning Usher and Tameka Raymond’s custody battle, some information is still manging to leak. Tameka’s attorney, Lisa West called Marriage Therapist Sola Winley to the stand during the child custody proceedings. Winley gave direct testimony as to why he believed Tameka Raymond was under a great deal of stress. One of the things that stood out in his testimony was the fact that Tameka told him that Usher had slept with two of her bridesmaids. This revelation apparently didn’t go well with Usher as he stormed out the courtroom during a recess mumbling the words, Read the rest
Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose will be out approximately eight to twelve months after undergoing surgery to repair his left ACL, said Dr. Brian Cole, who performed the surgery on Saturday. That means Derrick is likely to miss at least the first two-plus months of next season, or he could miss the entire season. The 23-year-old Derrick tore the ACL on April 28th during the first game of the Bulls’ Eastern Conference quarterfinals series against the Philadelphia 76ers. “Derrick is doing great,” Dr. Cole said Tuesday at a news conference at Rush University Medical Center. “The surgery went extremely well. Really no surprises. It was pretty routine. Read the rest
It was a bottle of bright red nail enamel which first inspired Christian Louboutin to coat the soles of his vertiginous stilettos. Now things have come full circle, as the footwear maestro has announced he will be launching his first cosmetics line next year, Christian Louboutin Beaute. The venture seems like a natural fit for the 49-year-old Frenchman who proclaimed “the beauty adventure is the natural extension for someone like me, who likes to empower women.” The shoe designer has declined to specify which categories the brand will cover, but he has promised that the goods will come with as much luxury as his shoes.
Whitney Houston will be posthumously honored with the Billboard Millennium Award on Sunday night, the magazine announced Tuesday. Whitney’s daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown and sister-in-law Pat Houston will accept the honor at the Billboard Music Awards on May 20th. John Legend and Jordin Sparks, who plays Whitney’s daughter in the upcoming film Sparkle, will perform a tribute to the late singer during the ceremony, which will air live from Las Vegas on ABC. Watch singer Bobby Brown sit down with Ellen for a heartfelt conversation about his longtime partner Whitney Houston — after the click: Read the rest
