Blog Posts by Claudine Zap

Whitney Houston on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in 2009.In a 2009 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Whitney Houston was asked how Michael Jackson's passing affected her -- and the singer's words are particularly chilling given her own untimely death at age 48.

The King of Pop died at age 51 from a lethal dose of the anesthetic propofol in 2009.

Houston told Winfrey that his passing was "devastating".

PHOTOS Whitney Houston throughout the years

With her voice shaking, the troubled songstress added, "I thought, 'This can't be true. This can't be true.' I knew he was on painkillers at one time. I didn't know how far and how deep it was."

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Nicki Minaj, Madonna, M.I.A. Getty Images/Christopher Polk

Madonna admitted she was missing in action when it came to M.I.A's hand gesture at the Super Bowl last week. The megastar said on the radio show "On Air With Ryan Seacrest," "I was really surprised. I didn't know anything about it."

The megastar's halftime show at the Super Bowl has been overshadowed by M.I.A.'s digit malfunction. Not surprisingly, the Material Girl -- who has known her share of controversy -- was still not happy about it, saying, "I understand it's punk rock and everything, but to me there was such a feeling of love and good energy and positivity, it seemed negative. It's such a teenager-irrelevant thing to do." The 53-year-old added, "There was such a feeling of love and unity there, what was the point? It was just out of place."

The show certainly got the attention of viewers on the Web, who looked up "m i a gesture" at a furious pace. Also popular: "madonna halftime show" and "madonna super bowl."

Despite the glitches —- Madonna

photo: Kevin Mazur / WireImage.comIt's official: Britney Spears is engaged to be married to her longtime boyfriend, Jason Trawick. The 40-year-old agent confirmed to "Access Hollywood" that he and 30-year-old Spears are to be married.

The performer hinted on her Facebook page of the big event, posting on her wall, "OMG. Last night Jason surprised me with the one gift I've been waiting for. Can't wait to show you! SO SO SO excited!!!! Xxo."

Warning: This video may blow out your speaker system. Well, not really. But the short is a demonstration of some serious megabass. We have no idea how this happened, or even if it's possible. But the amped-up car stereo seems to be so powerful, it creates some kind of a wind tunnel inside the car, causing a woman's long blond hair to blow upward whenever the ear-deafening bass roars: It seriously gives new meaning to the term "hair band."

What's 40,000 RMS? Well, we're no sound engineers. But our translation: It's really, really loud. A typical stereo system is usually around 100 watts and can withstand brief moments of 10,000 watts of sound. But this souped-up stereo can clearly handle a supercharged bass.

We have no way of knowing exactly how "mega" the megabass really is. But as long as nobody's eardrums were harmed in the process, the video sure is entertaining.

Of course, anything this powerfully loud is getting some mega attention. The YouTube video has already caught on with

Vegetarians, beware: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is serving up one very famous -- and controversial -- meat dress worn by Lady Gaga at the MTV Music Awards last fall.

The item is part of a new Women Who Rock exhibit at the Cleveland museum. Gaga went from rocking a rack of meat to having it preserved for the ages. Literally. The hand-sewn meat dress is now more of a beef jerky dress. Let us explain.

The Argentinean slabs of tartare may have been barbeque-ready when Gaga put them on last September. The singer modeled the dress when she accepted the Best Video of the Year, "Bad Romance," wearing it to proclaim, as she put it, "I am not a piece of meat." But let's face it: The freshness date of the frock -- and matching meat boots -- have long since passed.

A post on NPR explains the process for preserving the meat dress: The edible fashion statement "was kept in a meat locker, placed in a vat of chemicals and then dried out by taxidermists in California before being transported to

Beyoncé: Pop diva, movie star, and now: gym teacher.

The performer surprised a squealing class of middle-school students at PS 161: Pedro Albizu Campos middle school in Harlem. The students were in the gymnasium, dancing to a choreographed routine to a remix of her hit, "Get Me Bodied."

The singer, wearing sky-high heels, skinny white jeans, and a "Let's Move!" top, joined 85 starstruck students to dance up a storm to the song she adapted for the workout, called "Move Your Body." Despite the appearance of the music icon, the kids kept their cool and kept on dancing -- and Beyoncé barely stole the show from these talented dancers-in-training.

Exclusive video provided by WAT-AAH!, which sponsored Beyonce's "Move Your Body" event.

Middle schools across the country participated in the "dance-in" -- all part of first lady Michelle Obama's anti-obesity campaign Let's Move!. And let's just say, with those moves, Beyoncé is on board.

The school kids, who had the routine down,

Jana Kramer played a sorority girl on "Entourage" and a fallen starlet turned model in "One Tree Hill." Now the 27-year-old will play a country singer in real life: The Detroit native debuted her single "I Won't Give Up" on the CW show.

The song spurred searches on the Web. Lookups hit a high note for "jana kramer," soaring over 1,400% on Yahoo! in just one day. Fans also sought "jana kramer i wont give up lyrics" and "jana kramer songs."

The Los Angles Times blog gushed about the song, "We loved it." And heck, what a way to start a music career: As the story points out, the show has a successful history of launching musical talents, including Wakey!Wakey! and Kate Voegele.

Until now, the TV star has done more acting than singing: Kramer's other roles have included spots on "Friday Night Lights" and "90210." But with a deal signed and sealed with Warner Music Nashville, that may all be about to change.

Once "One Tree Hill" wraps up in March, the Nashville-based Kramer says she

Ricky Martin is happy. Really, really happy. He's got proof: The pop sensation's first music video to come out since he came out, called "The Best Thing About Me Is You," is an upbeat pop tune with a message to match.

[Photos: See Ricky Martin through the years] 

The anthem to his new "be happy" philosophy starts out looking like an "Amnesty International promo clip," as the blog Hit Fix points out, with an ominous black and white look with the words "love, quality, justice, innocence" flashing by.

Ricky Martin appears with a cloth covering his mouth that reads: "you=me." He then removes it and lets rip a "relentlessly earnest and upbeat song" populated with gorgeous people promoting diverse lifestyles, races, and religions. Preachy? Heck, yes.

[Related: Martin among Out Magazine's most tempting guys in Hollywood]

But dang it, it's catchy. The video has already gone viral: YouTube has clocked over 1.4 million views of the clip in the few days since it launched. Billboard noted the