President Obama cameup a few times in music news last week. Jay-Z and Shakira both name-dropped the President, but only one of the pop starsactually made a trip to the White House.
While in Londonfor the Brits awards, Jay-Z appeared on TheJonathan Ross Show and discussed his connection with the U.S.'scommander-in-chief.
In addition to performing at Obama's inauguration, Jay-Z revealedthat the President was listening to his music when he received the Democraticnomination. But he has yet to visit the residence on Pennsylvania Ave.
Shakira, who also performedat the inauguration, however, not only visited the oval office Monday, she wasthere to discuss big business-fighting poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The "Hips Don't Lie" singerdiscussed with Obama and Vice President Biden the works of her organizationLatin America In Solidarity Action (ALAS). "We agreed that investing in ourchildren is the smartest strategy governments can use to boost economic growth,fight poverty, and promote global security and peace," Shakira said in astatement.
The Colombia-bred artist thenclosed out the week with a new sexy video that pairs her with tennis superstarheartthrob Rafael Nadal, and lent her voice to a Spanish rendition of "We AreThe World."
Rock stars Nickelback didn't reference Obama last week, but the Canadian band found themselves the topic ofa tongue-in cheek Facebook battle, "Canthis pickle get more fans than Nickleback?" The contest was started as ajoke by a Facebook user named Coral Anne, but it received millions ofresponses.
Last weekend, Nickelback lostin the head-to-head Facebook battle, "Canthis pickle get more fans than Nickleback?" The contest was started as ajoke by a Facebook user named Coral Anne, but it received millions ofresponses. Thought it was close, thepickle came out on top with 1.4 million fans verses Nickelback's 1.38 million.Coral Anne purposefully misspelled Nickelback's name in the contest title toavoid copyright infringement.
Inspired by another comicalFacebook contest, "Can this onion ring get more fans than Justin Bieber?,"Coral Anne said the game was all in fun.
"I am not using this page toendorse any hate toward the band Nickelback...," Coral Anne wrote on the fan page."[I] hope they would see the same humor in making this page as I have."
Well, good luck withestablishing your rapport with the band Coral Anne, but your new fans at Yahoo!think you are awesome. But don't entertain the thought of starting up a "Canthis floppy disc get more fans than Yahoo!?" campaign against us. That would notbe funny.
R&B legend Anita Bakerwas in the midst of a feud this week. It was not with a vegetable or anothercelebrity, but her ex-husband. The former couple has been disputingover her royalties for two albums she released during their marriage.
Baker was given Wednesday asthe deadline to sign legal documents that would allow a court-appointed musiccontract expert access to her records. When Baker missed the deadline, shefaced potential jail time.
Fortunately, both partiesreached an agreement Friday. "I'm so happy," Baker said about the resolution."We don't intend to ever be in such a position ever again."
Dr. Conrad Murray, the doctorfor the late Michael Jackson, might not be so lucky. According to reports thisweek, he may be caught in a contradiction. Murray claimed that the King Of Pop was not dead whenparamedics picked him up on June 25, the day that he died. But this is contraryto a 911call medics made after placing Jacksonin the ambulance.
According to a tape of a 911call from medics, Jacksonwas already deceased. "Patient is Michael Jackson, the pop star singer," thevoice on the tape said. "No pulse, no breathing. Unresponsive. Tried toresuscitate him. Unsuccessful. We've done everything we can. We should be therein five minutes. It doesn't look good. It doesn't look good."
An LAFD spokesperson couldnot confirm that the voice on the tape was an ambulance worker.
There was no denying,however, that it was in fact Whitney Houston's voice that prompted somedisappointed concertgoers to walk out of the singer's concert Monday at Australia'sBrisbane Entertainment Centre. Reportedly, during theopening night for Houston's"Nothing But Love" world tour, she missed notes, took long breaks, and coughedthroughout her set. Local news outlets ran interviews with fans who complainedabout the show.
Houston's tour publicist refuted the criticisms, though, andsaid, "Whitney is in great health and having a terrific time on her tour andwith her fans."
Well, we applaud Houston for her effortsto make a comeback, and wish her the best. The same goes for Anita Baker.That's going to round things up for this week.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend,and we will reconvene next week.
THIS WEEK'S TOP 10 NEWS STORIES
1) WorthThe Wait? - Whitney disappointsAustralian concertgoers.
2) KingOf The Hill - U2 tops moneymakerslist with $108 million earned.
3) CaughtOn Tape - Incriminating evidenceagainst Dr. Conrad Murray surfaces.
4) A Few Good Men - Shakira meets with Obama,releases video with Nadal.
5) BitterSweetLove - Anita Baker avoid jails inroyalty dispute with ex-husband.
6) HoldThe Pickle - A pickle beats bandNickelback in Facebook contest.
7) NashvilleStar - Four artists to beinducted into Country Music Hall of Fame.
8) FightFor Your Right - Clay Aiken takesNC stage for gay rights.
9) Jenny'sOff The Block - Jennifer Lopezparts ways with Sony Music.
10) TwoHeads Are Better Than One -Radiohead's Thom Yorke names new band.