The public memorial service for Michael Jackson at Los Angeles' Staples Center on Tuesday will feature some of the late singer's closest collaborators, friends and fans paying tribute to the King of Pop. Among the stars expected to appear (and possibly perform) at the public event — which will take place after a private memorial earlier in the morning — are Jennifer Hudson, Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, Usher, John Mayer, Lionel Richie and Motown founder Berry Gordy, according to an statement from a spokesperson for the Jackson family.
The list does not specify which of the attendees will perform, but Carey is reportedly slated to reprise her famous cover of the Jackson song "I'll Be There" at the public ceremony and CNN has reported that Oscar-winning actress/singer Hudson will also sing at the event. Wonder was a contemporary of Jackson's on the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Usher has often stated how influential Jackson was on his career, and Mayer performed the iconic guitar solo in "Beat It" on Fall Out Boy's 2008 cover of the song.
Among the other confirmed participants in the tribute to Jackson are Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, "Britain's Got Talent" finalist Shaheen Jafargholi — who toured as a young MJ in the "Thriller Live" show and sang classic Jackson 5 cover version of "Who's Loving You" on the "BGT" show to great acclaim — the Andrae Crouch Choir, Lakers icon Magic Johnson, Martin Luther King III, Motown legend Smokey Robinson, Jackson family friend the Reverend Al Sharpton and Jackson's longtime pal, Brooke Shields. The statement said the lineup was preliminary and subject to change, but noted that no further information will be released regarding the program before Tuesday's event.
Though she will not appear at the Los Angeles event, Madonna paid tribute to Jackson during one of her shows at the O2 Arena in London over the weekend — where Jackson was slated to kick off a 50-show run on July 13 — with one of her dancers interpreting some of the King of Pop's most famous dance moves to a medley of "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Something."
While those events are unfolding in Jackson's adopted home of Los Angeles, a memorial service in the singer's hometown of Gary, Indiana is also taking shape. The reported that Mayor Rudy Clay has announced that another Gary-born singer, Deniece Williams, best known for her 1984 "Footloose" hit, "Let's Hear it For the Boy," will be among the performers at a July 10 memorial at the U.S. Steel Yard baseball stadium.
Other plans for the event include a performance from Indiana's first black Miss Indiana, Kellee Patterson, who kept in touch with Jackson after both left the city, and a 500-member choir singing "We Are the World."
MTV's live coverage of the Michael Jackson public memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles will begin on Tuesday at 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT.
For complete coverage of the life, career and passing of the legendary entertainer, visit "Michael Jackson Remembered."
Source: MTVNEWSRead more…
The lack of hardcore hip-hop has seemingly coincided with rappers being exposed in the last two years.
Though not a rapper per se, Akon’s street credibility took a hit when thesmokinggun.com reported that the hookman’s rap sheet was fabricated back in April 2008. Kon had reportedly only spent a few months in prison for stealing one BMW rather than serve a 4 1/2 years term for being the ring leader of a car theft ring. Meanwhile, three months later, Plies, hip-hop’s self-proclaimed “goon” came under fire for allegedly being a college kid who lied about his criminal past. Last but not least, Rick Ross was outted for being a correctional officer the same month. Presently on a campaign to bring hardcore hip-hop back, 50 Cent weigh in on the correlation between rappers’s questionable street creds and the lack of interest in gangsta rap.
“With Plies, if you say he’s a college kid, so what?” the Queens rapper told XXLMag.com. “I wish I was a college kid. I wish I didn’t grow up under the circumstances I had to grow up under. I would have liked to just go to college and study business.”
“I see him rap about the girls a lot, so that’s true,” he continued. “From my perspective, Plies, his strong hit records are about females…and ‘Bust It Baby’ and that type of material. To me that’s authentic. He gon get the girls. You see him, decked out, he’s right, girls like him. That’s official.”
As expected, Fif had a different take on the Rick Ross controversy. “What was awkward was being part of law enforcement and completely writing drug dealer material and the biggest drug dealer in the world material,” Fif explained. “That was a little bit fictional. I mean hip-hop in general…I don’t think anybody is actively out, anybody with good sense ain’t actively out doing exactly what they said on the record or they won’t actually last cause you’ll get attention from law enforcement based on what you saying.”
“Can you imagine what it’s like…when you convince the general public that you’re that person, you’re also convincing law enforcement,” Fif added. “This is why you don’t see me out and about as often as you see these other guys at frivolous events, just wherever. I’m not with it.”—Bruce Moses
Source :XXLRead more…
He'll be the King of Chaos.
Authorities fear that up to 1 million Jackophiles will descend on Los Angeles tomorrow and wreak mayhem, even though only a tiny fraction of them will actually have tickets for the Michael Jackson memorial at the Staples Center -- which were being offered on eBay for up to $20,000 late last night.
Airlines and hotels have reported being in the grip of Jackomania as momentum builds for the big day among lucky ticketholders and wannabes.
Adding to the frenzy was news that the 8,750 ticket winners, who landed two free ducats apiece, could peddle their extra one.
Last night, several scalpers attempted to sell codes that can be used to pick up wristbands for both tickets to the service today. Many of the offers were taken down from the site. An eBay spokesman did not return calls for comment.
As for the ticket winners:
"It's surreal!" squealed Deka Motanya, 27, of San Francisco, who got an e-mail at 4:35 p.m. telling her, "Congratulations, your application was successful."
That prompted her to immediately Twitter, "OMG OMG OMG OMG i got tickets to the michael jackson memorial service!!!"
Local hotels were already filling up yesterday.
The Wilshire Grand Los Angeles, with 1,000 rooms, was at nearly 90 percent capacity, a rep said.
British Airways said it had a "huge influx" of reservations over the past few days from Brits hoping to make their way to the event -- at an arena that can accommodate only 20,000 people.
Local cops yesterday were building barriers around the center, and repeating their apparently unheeded advice to watch the event on TV.
Jackson died June 25 at his rented LA mansion from a suspected overdose of painkillers. A judge yesterday signed off on three more search warrants in the case, apparently to dig for more information on doctors who may have given Jackson drugs illegally.
But the probe was far from the minds of his mourners, who were planning a send-off fit for the King of Pop.
Jacko's BFF and mentor, Diana Ross, may wind up kicking off the ceremony.
And Jacko's idol, Stevie Wonder, Justin Timberlake and Jennifer Hudson will perform, a source told The Post.
Longtime Jacko pal Elizabeth Taylor reportedly will read the eulogy, while other guests may include Whitney Houston, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Lionel Richie, Liza Minnelli and Aretha Franklin.
NBC, ABC, CNN, MSNBC and E! Entertainment announced live coverage of the event, slated to start at 1 p.m. (EDT), for a reported global viewing audience of 750 million.
Michael's brother Jermaine said there will be a private ceremony tomorrow for family before the memorial. The service will be held at Forest Lawn cemetery.
The family -- including Jacko's three children, Prince, 12, Paris, 11 and Blanket, 7 -- will then reportedly go by motorcade from the cemetery in the Hollywood Hills to the arena.
Meanwhile, Jacko's 79-year-old mom, Katherine, is due in probate court today to deal with the late star's will.
As for the children, they're "playing with their water pistols out back and holding up the best they can," said one family source.
Source: NYPOSTRead more…
Singer Chris Brown may have scared off some women by beating up his ex, Rihanna, but Kanye West's on-and-off girlfriend, Amber Rose, apparently isn't one of them.
Brown and Rose locked lips at the July 4 White Party thrown by Sean (Diddy) Combs and Ashton Kutcher in Beverly Hills, spies tell the Daily News.
Brown, 20, arrived at the party with singer Teyana Taylor, an 18-year-old Rihanna look-alike, but is said to have hooked up quickly with Rose.
"Diddy announced the deejay would do a tribute to Michael Jackson," said a guest. "Chris did an amazing impression of Michael's moonwalk. It wasn't long before he was dancing with Amber."
Later, as the party wound down, the pair nestled on a couch in the backyard of the Beverly Hills mansion.
"They were holding hands and making out in the shadows," said a witness. "She had her hand on his leg."
Taylor is said to have been irked by the amount of time Brown spent with Rose, but still accompanied him to an after-party at the club Guys.
There, Brown again got upclose and personal with Rose, who is 26.
"They were kissing on the dance floor in front of Teyana," said a witness. "But he and Amber left separately."
Some wondered whether the flagrant display was a defiant message both to Rihanna and West. Rihanna dumped Brown, who last month pleaded guilty to assaulting the Grammy winner.
West, who has said he was "devastated" by Brown's attack on a woman who was like "my little sister," has run hot and cold on Rose lately. Although he reportedly broke up with her last month, they came together at last week's BET Awards show.
A rep for Brown had no comment. Reps for Rose and West couldn't be reached.
Source: NewYorkDailyNewsRead more…
Former Washington Mayor Marion Barry is in another jam.
The trouble-prone pol was arrested Saturday night on stalking charges after a woman accused him of "bothering her" in the capital's Anacostia Park, police said.
Barry, 73, now a D.C. city councilman, was arrested after a woman flagged down an officer around 8:45 p.m. Saturday and complained about him, U.S. Park Police said.
His spokeswoman said yesterday that Barry is not a "Peeping Tom" and that the stalking charges are bogus.
"Council member Barry is no stalker," Natalie Williams said.
Officers interviewed the woman - identified as Donna Watts, 40, a friend and companion of Barry's for several years - then took Barry to the park police station. D.C. police interviewed him again, and then charged him with a misdemeanor count of stalking.
Barry was released and is expected in court as early as this week.
Barry supposedly met Watts earlier in the day for lunch. Barry then attended other Independence Day events and "ran into" Watts on his way home, Williams said.
In 1990, the four-term mayor was videotaped in a hotel room smoking crack as part of an FBI sting.
He served six months behind bars, then returned to the mayor's office in 1994.
He was arrested in 2002 when traces of marijuana and cocaine were found in his car after cops pulled him over in D.C.
Barry claimed the drugs were planted by cops, and no charges were filed.
Barry is currently on probation for failure to pay taxes.
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The wife of slain quarterback Steve McNair may have only learned about the gridiron star's affair with a gorgeous young woman after the clandestine couple's grisly deaths, sources close to the football player said Sunday.
"She's blindsided by this," one source said of Mechelle McNair, who was holed up in her family's home just 6 miles from the condo her husband used to bed his mistress. "She's crushed. Her whole world is shattered."
Nashville cops confirmed that Steve McNair, 36, was killed by four bullets fired at close range, two of which hit him in the head, and ruled his death a homicide.
His lover, Sahel Kazemi, 20, died of a single gunshot from the same semiautomatic found on the floor under her body, police also said.
They stopped short of calling the slayings a murder-suicide carried out by Kazemi, but said they are not looking for any suspects.
Cops ruled McNair's death a homicide and have not ruled on Kazemi's death, citing the need for more tests.
Kazemi and McNair, a dad of four boys, were dating for several months, friends told cops; McNair apparently kept the affair a secret from his wife.
Photos obtained by TMZ.com show a smiling McNair parasailing on a recent tropical vacation with the curvy Kazemi, whom he met as she waitressed at a Dave & Buster's sports bar.
"He started to talk to her a little," Kazemi's aunt Sepideh Salmani told The Tennessean newspaper. "They exchanged phone numbers, and started dating from there."
Salmani said her beautiful, raven-haired niece believed that McNair was in the process of getting a divorce.
Kazemi's sister told The Florida Times-Union of Jacksonville that Kazemi had expected to wed McNair.
"She said they were planning to get married," Soheyla Kazemi told the paper."
County records do not indicate that a divorce is pending, but the McNair family home is up for sale for $3 million.
Investigators said McNair had been drinking at a pair of Nashville bars - Blue Moon Lagoon Bar and Loser's Bar - into the early-morning hours of Saturday and then returned to the downtown condo he shared with a pal.
Although neighbors have not reported hearing gunshots, cops believe McNair and Kazemi died about 2 a.m., nearly 12 hours before their bodies were found.
There was no sign of forced entry at the condo, and investigators are checking whether the couple had been having a "lovers' quarrel," cops said.
It was not immediately known whom the pistol belonged to, although McNair did have a permit to carry a gun, police said.
Kazemi, who was raised by an aunt in Florida after her parents were killed in Iran, moved to Nashville with her ex-boyfriend, Keith Norfleet.
Norfleet, whom investigators want to interview, had a "volatile" relationship with Kazemi but was trying to win her back from McNair, Norfleet's stepmother said.
"They had a lot of jealousy in their relationship and they'd fight and break up a lot," said Trudie Norfleet. "He loved her. ... He's awful torn up about it."
The quarterback, renowned in Nashville for his extensive work in the community, rented the condo overlooking the Titans stadium with sporting goods dealer Wayne Neeley, who called McNair's best friend after seeing the bodies sprawled on a couch.
"It's a picture I'll never get out of my head," a weeping Robert Gaddy told the Daily News. "It's the most terrible sight I've ever seen."
"This was a great man, a man who'd do anything for you," said Gaddy, who had been friends with the Heisman finalist since meeting him at Alcorn State University.
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The 4th of July box office of 2009 saw a tie between alien robots and prehistoric creatures, as the "Transformers" sequel and the new "Ice Age" film were dead even according to estimates on Sunday (July 5).
While final numbers on Monday will show which actually came in first, initial numbers indicate that "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" pulled in $42.5 million a piece over the weekend for a tie.
According to box office experts, it's rare that box-office rankings are so close, particularly in summer, when movies typically have huge opening weekends then trail off to make way for the next blockbuster.
After debuting at #1 last week with $201.2 million, "Revenge of the Fallen" held up well during its second weekend, while animated sequel "Ice Age" packed in family crowds. After 12 days "Transformers" has earned $293.5 million at the box office, making it the year's highest-grossing movie. It's the sequel to the first film, reuniting human stars Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox with shape-shifting robots in a war against evil machines.
The other wide release this weekend was Universal's crime saga "Public Enemies," starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. It debuted a solid #3 with $26.2 million.
At #4 is Sandra Bullock's "The Proposal" with $12.7 million; "The Hangover" grabbed #5 with $10.4 million taking its total over $200 million; #6 was "Up" with $6.5 million; #7 is "My Sister's Keeper" with $5.2 million; #8 was "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" with $2.5 million; and the last top 10 spots are held by "Night At the Museum" and "Year One" with $2.1 million a piece.
Next weekend, the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy "Bruno" hits theaters, as well as "I Love You Beth Cooper" starring Hayden Panettiere of the hit TV series "Heroes".
Source : BallerstatusRead more…
This woman, 20 yr-old Sahel Kazemi, was with the married Steve McNair when he was murdered yesterday, his body shot several times. The woman had a boyfriend named Keith and we have more pics and details under the hood
According to reports, Steve McNair was telling Sahel he was going to be leave his wife and they were going to be together. McNair met her at Dave & Buster’s where she was a waitress. Police found the gun next to her body, not McNair’s. Was it a murder suicide? Some speculate this was a ‘passion murder’ either by McNair’s wife or a jealous boyfriend. Did his wife hire someone to take him out for cheating? Check out the message on Keith Norfleet’s Myspace:
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