The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz
The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz |
| Alicia Keys, Katy Perry top bill at Obama inauguration parties Posted: 11 Jan 2013 06:18 PM PST WASHINGTON, Jan 12— R&B singer Alicia Keys, country guitar slinger Brad Paisley and pop star Katy Perry are some of the A-list performers who will entertain partygoers at President Barack Obama's inaugural celebration, organisers said yesterday.  Alicia Keys performs at the 2013 People's Choice Awards in Los Angeles, January 9, 2013. — Reuters pic Other performers include salsa singer Marc Anthony, rappers Far East Movement and Nick Cannon, pop band fun., R&B singers Usher and John Legend, gospel choir Soul Children of Chicago, and members of the cast of the TV show "Glee". Obama's swearing-in ceremony on January 21 is expected to draw up to 800,000 people, less than half of the 1.8 million who flocked to Washington in 2009 to celebrate the United States' first African American president. That historic event featured 10 official balls. This time around, organisers are planning only two — one for members of the military service and one for the public. Organisers also plan a children's concert for the Saturday before the event. Organisers did not say who would perform at which event. The inauguration committee previously announced performers for the swearing-in ceremony. R&B star Beyoncé Knowles will sing the national anthem, while country singer Kelly Clarkson is scheduled to give a rendition of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee". Singer-songwriter James Taylor will perform "America the Beautiful". It will be Beyoncé's third inauguration performance. Four years ago, she serenaded the first couple with Etta James' "At Last" at an inaugural ball, and in 2001 she performed at the children's concert with her band, Destiny's Child. — Reuters |
| Britney Spears calls off engagement, quits ‘X Factor’ Posted: 11 Jan 2013 06:00 PM PST LOS ANGELES, Jan 12 — Pop star Britney Spears yesterday called it quits with both fiance Jason Trawick and as a celebrity judge on "The X Factor" talent show. Spears, 31, and Trawick, 41 — her former agent — got engaged in December 2011. "Jason and I have decided to call off our engagement," Spears said in a statement. "I'll always adore him and we will remain great friends."  Britney Spears and Jason Trawick in this file photo at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles. — Reuters pic Trawick added in a statement: "As this chapter ends for us a new one begins. I love and cherish her and her boys and we will be close forever." The wedding would have been the third for Spears. She divorced dancer Kevin Federline, with whom she had two children, in 2006. The singer also spontaneously married childhood friend Jason Alexander during a trip to Las Vegas in 2004. That marriage lasted 55 hours before the singer annulled the union. Spears and Trawick announced their split the same day that the "Toxic" singer confirmed she was leaving "The X Factor" after just one year as a judge on the Fox singing show, saying it was time to get back to making music. "I had an incredible time doing the show and I love the other judges and I am so proud of my teens but it's time for me to get back in the studio. "Watching them all do their thing up on that stage every week made me miss performing so much! I can't wait to get back out there and do what I love most," Spears said of her "X Factor" departure. Spears' most recent album, "Femme Fatale", was released in March 2011. Celebrity website TMZ.com reported yesterday that Spears was in talks about a long-term residency gig in Las Vegas. The gambling city is already host to stars like Celine Dion and Shania Twain, who perform under long-term contracts. Spears was recruited to "The X Factor" with a reported US$15 million (RM45.4 million) salary after a 14-year singing career that made her one of the biggest pop stars of the 2000s. But audiences slumped and the TV show lost about three million regular viewers from its first season. Many fans and TV critics found Spears bland and boring. The exit of Spears leaves "X Factor" creator Simon Cowell searching for two new judges to lift his show past its NBC rival, "The Voice", in the ratings when it returns in September. Judge and record producer L.A. Reid announced in December that he would be returning full time to his job as the head of Epic Records. Spears took "The X Factor" gig with singer Demi Lovato, 20, in May 2012 to fill the judges' seats left by Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger, who were both fired by Cowell a year ago. — Reuters |
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