My News Booth

Like the backstabber that he is, he’s not going to give credit to anyone else but himself. As Christopher Ciccone left Mark’s in West Hollywood with one of Madonna’s former backup dancers, the Ciccone family Judas says that the Queen of Pop didn’t ghost write a single word of his money-grubbing book. Who’s going to think that Madonna wrote part of a tell-all book that airs out her dirty laundry anyway? While there may be no such thing as bad publicity for her, I don’t think she would stoop so low to get even more attention on her by writing on her brother’s book.

Britney Spears has received a nomination at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards.

The troubled singer – whose performance of ‘Gimme More’ was panned at last year’s ceremony – is up for the Best Female Music Video award for ‘Piece of Me’.

Britney will go head to head with Rihanna’s ‘Take a Bow’, Mariah Carey’s ‘Touch My Body’, Jordin Sparks’ duet with Chris Brown, ‘No Air’ and Katy Perry’s chart-topper ‘I Kissed a Girl’.

Also announced are the nominees for Best Male Video. T.I.’s ‘What You Know’, ‘Love in the Club’ by Usher, Lil Wayne’s ‘Lollipop’, ‘With You’ by Chris Brown and Flo-Rida’s ‘Low’ are all up for the award.

The only other detail about the Los Angeles ceremony revealed so far is that teenage trio the Jonas Brothers will be among the performers. MTV viewers have been asked to cast their votes to decide the final nominees in the Best Hip Hop Video category and Best Pop Video.

Awards bosses revealed recently that they have not ruled out Britney performing again this year. Van Toffler, president of MTV Networks Music Group, said: “Everyone deserves a second or third chance, right? I’m not sure how we top Britney opening the show. We are working on it every minute of every day.”

The awards ceremony, which will be hosted by British comic Russell Brand, takes place on September 7.

UNICEF Ambassador Clay Aiken recently visited the East African countries of Somalia and Kenya where UNICEF provides children with health care, education, nutrition, clean water and sanitation. The 29-year old singer wrote a series of blogs detailing his experience in the field. In one of his posts, he says “Getting children back to school is vital for their protection, and helps build a sense of normalcy in their lives. The re-establishment of schools in the most difficult circumstances is a testament to the commitment of UNICEF and to Kenyans. Many displaced parents told UNICEF that getting their children back to school was their top priority.” His work is really very inspiring and should hopefully affect more people into wanting to help.

I guess we can officially call Katy Perry’s hit single ‘I Kissed a Girl’ as the song of the summer as it is once again the number one song in America. Her single has been on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks in a row now. Once again, Rihanna’s ‘Take a Bow’ follows Katy in the number two spot. Rihanna once said that her single ‘Disturbia’ will be the song of the summer. Let’s see how it matches up once it’s out. But for now, the throne is all for Katy. Congratulations goes to both though for having great successes with their singles.

Jennifer Lopez is training for a triathlon. The ‘Jenny From The Block’ singer – who gave birth to twins Max and Emme in February – is exercising for two hours a day in preparation for the grueling event in October, which involves running, swimming and cycling.

She said: “I want my babies to be proud of me.”

The Latino star’s husband Marc Anthony will be cheering her on from the sidelines as he rides along on his Segway, a two-wheeled electric vehicle ridden standing up.

He said: “I’m very supportive. I’ll be on my Segway encouraging her.”

Long-time trainer Gunna Peterson added: “The workouts change daily, depending on the day, the time and freedom. She may be the most efficient multi-tasker I know. She literally has every aspect of her life in check. She doesn’t have a nanny, a chef, or a nutritionist. She makes time for the kids. Family comes first.”

Troubled country singer Mindy McCready has checked into rehab under the supposed influence of Dr. Phil. She is seeking treatment after an attempted suicide by chugging down some vodka and Ambien. It’s being said that she tried to take her life last week after suffering a miscarriage. According to an insider, the pregnancy was unplanned and that the father was an unidentified man that Mindy’s been dating for about 3 months. Her reaction to the miscarriage set off some emotions which caused her attempt to off herself. Mindy is said to be receiving treatment for alcohol, substance abuse and emotional issues. She’s expected to stay in rehab for a month.

British singing sensation Leona Lewis has just been named the Goodwill Ambassador for UK-Japan 2008 at the nomination ceremony in Tokyo, Japan on Tuesday. UK-Japan 2008 has been conducted by the British embassy in Japan to mark the 150th anniversary of the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce. When commenting on her new position, the 23-year old beauty said “I’m really honored to become a Goodwill Ambassador for UK-Japan 2008. I recently visited Japan for the first time and I loved it. I’m very much looking forward to exploring such an amazing country further as well as supporting UK-Japan 2008. I’m very happy to have an opportunity to understand more about the wonderful country.”

Alanis Morissette is taking a road trip as she is set to embark on a big three month tour across the US nd Canada beginning in September. The tour will kick off on September 18 in Charlottesville, Virginia at the Charlottesville Pavilion and will wrap up on November 15 in Las Vegas, Nevada at The Joint. She’s got a lot of tour dates set playing mostly in theaters. October is the most packed month so there are plenty of dates to choose from for anyone who would like to see the Canadian singer perform both her new and old hits.

The lead singer from the 90s band Barenaked Ladies was arrested two weeks ago for fourth degree criminal possession of a controlled substance which is said to be cocaine. The band’s official website stated “Steven has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and the validity of the charges against Steven will be strongly contested. While this is happening, it’s business as usual for Barenaked Ladies. We will continue to perform and look forward to heading into the studio later this year to record a new album.” That’s all changed as they’ve already started cancelling shows starting with the shows for Disney. They say “Update to our fans on the Disney Music Block Party Shows. Barenaked Ladies Manager Terry McBride announced today that the band has chosen to cancel its appearances at the Disney Music Block Party planned for late August in Long Island.”

Disney should really think and work hard at replacing Miley Cyrus ASAP. Someone better take the throne as the new Disney tween queen from the ‘Hannah Montana’ star as it seems that people have had enough of her. The 15-year old has vowed to stay a virgin until marriage yet we still see all those provocative pictures. British mothers have gone tired of that as several moms are boycotting Miley by banning her dolls and toys from their homes. They feel that Miley “is now of an unsuitable nature for a 15-year old megastar.” Help get rid of Miley Cyrus by simply saying no.

50 Cent finally wins one over his crazy baby mama Shaniqua Tompkins. The deranged ex, who blames the rapper for burning down his house where she was squatting, was keeping his son Marquise away from him. But now, a Long Island judge has granted 50 an unrestricted visit with his son from August 3 to August 12. Both parents had to take a drug test before the judge would consider visitations. Obviously, 50 passed. Shaniqua tested positive for cough medicines though. Shaniqua also claims that 50 is preventing her from using her Land Rover SUV, which I’m sure was bought by 50, by keeping guards at the site of the house that burned down. That case will continue on September 15.

Rihanna was seen shopping up a storm with fashion designer twins Dean and Dan Caten of Dsquared2 in Milan on Tuesday morning. The day before that, the Barbadian singing sensation was also spotted shopping in a pretty yellow dress with her best friend Melissa and backup singers Ashleigh and Erica. Maybe she was looking for new styles to try on. Speaking of style, Rihanna has signed up to be the face of Gucci’s upcoming ‘Tattoo Heart’ campaign for children’s charity UNICEF. Her ad campaign, which will launch in December, will feature herself sporting a line of limited-edition Gucci products. She’s stylish and she has a good heart!

Lou Pearlman was sentenced to 25 years in prison and he’s still running out of whatever luck he has left. The former boy band mogul was handed down a judgement of $297 million in losses to the people he defrauded. In addition to that, prosecutors are also demanding that he pay $127 million in interest that has accrued since January 1989 to December 2006. However, his lawyer said he will object to having to pay the interest saying “The interest was fictional at best. If Mr. Pearlman made interest on the money, then certainly, I could understand how the victims would be entitled to that.” As of today, only around $5 million has been recovered in Lou’s other bankruptcy cases.

Christopher Ciccone, the author of the tell all book ‘Life With My SisterMadonna’ wrote an excerpt published in the UK’s The Mail on Sunday, explains the role of Kabbalah in his sister’s marriage. It was probably the only good thing he had to say. He explains that the so-called religion has actually kept his sister’s marriage to Guy Ritchie together until now. He wrote “Their life together is sometimes difficult. A Kabbalah rabbi would regularly come down from London to mediate between them. This does not surprise me. I believe that Kabbalah is helping keep Guy and Madonna together.” According to Christopher, Madonna and Guy still love each other and are passionately committed to staying married.

Canadian crooner Michael Buble and his girlfriend, British actress Emily Blunt, have ended their relationship. The singer has confirmed the split via his publicist. Rep Liz Rosenberg, the same one as Madonna’s, said “Sadly, after three years, they have parted ways. They are both extraordinary people with huge talent. Let’s wish them well.” I do wish them both well. They were a pretty quiet couple so no bad things could be said about them. Unless of course someone somehow digs up just what the reason for their split was. There’s got to be something juicy that we can go on.

Miley Cyrus was spotted grabbing a bite to eat at a Malibu restaurant with her mom Tish on Wednesday. In other Miley news, the ‘Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert’ will air on the Starz channel and Starz on Demand at 9PM EDT Saturday, July 26. Beginning on July 27 on Starz on Demand and Starz HD on Demand, it will begin airing in 3D so make sure you have your own 3D glasses made by then. The film was shown in 3D for its theater run and grossed more than $65 million. I wonder how big of ratings the TV airing will rake in.

The Jonas Brothers are well known to be talented musicians and heartthrobs but they also happen to be big-hearted individuals who recently started their own charity to help kids. They say “We started The Change for the Children Foundation to support programs that motivate and inspire children to face adversity with confidence, determination and a will to succeed. And we think the best people to help children are their peers — kids helping other kids who are a little less fortunate… ‘YOU Decide. YOU Donate’ is the first initiative of The Change for the Children Foundation. We have selected 5 amazing charities and we’re leaving it up to YOU to decide which to support. Once YOU Decide, YOU Donate. YOU! With your money saved from your paper route, your allowance, recycled cans or maybe a loan from mom and dad (remember to pay them back! This is about YOU helping to change the world!)”

Jay-Z rung up a $20,000 dinner bill when treating his entourage to a slap-up meal in Paris this week. The big-spender took his 30-people strong crew to dinner at posh eaterie L’Avenue near the Champs De LLeyse to thank them for helping him make his Glastonbury gig last month so ‘historic’.

A source said: “Jay said he thought the set at Glastonbury was emmense, ridiculously good in fact. So he treated the band, management and crew to an elaborate dinner at L’Avenue. He reckons his current tour has been very historic and rewarded everyone accordingly. The bill was very pricey as you can imagine! In the region of $10,000-20,000. But with Jay-Z you’d expect nothing else.”

Faith Hill is about to shower everyone with an early Christmas. The country sweetheart will be releasing her first Christmas album, entitled “Joy to the World”, of her 15-year career the album is set to drop on September 16 under Warner Bros. She says “I love everything about Christmas, and I have wanted to record a Christmas album since the beginning of my career.” The album is actually 3 years in the making but was sidetracked by other projects. When she returned to the Christmas CD she says “We were all commenting on how fresh it was and how exciting it was to be back on the project. You would think it would be difficult with it not being the Christmas season, but when you record something that you’re really proud of, it kind of stands the test of time, any time of the year.”

It looks like former lover Lily Allen and Chemical Brother Ed Simmons have found their way back together. A source cites Facebook as the authority over the matter which came out in a recent report. The two apparently updated they’re profiles to say that they’re in a relationship with one another. If you recall the Glastonbury festival, it shouldn’t come as a shock. When Lily found out about the death of her grandmother, it was reportedly Ed who she turned to for comfort. Here’s to hoping that they last longer this time around. Maybe Ed could knock some sense into Lily and make her work on her music.