In an unusual development on the pop album charts, veteran rock band the Eagles were awarded the No. 1 spot on Tuesday after a last-minute rule change relegated Britney Spears to second place.
The Eagles' first studio release in 28 years, "Long Road Out of Eden," sold about 711,000 copies last week, according to preliminary data released by tracking firm Nielsen SoundScan. Spears sold a modest 290,000 copies of her album, "Blackout."
In a normal world, the Eagles would be No. 1 and Spears No. 2, but the Eagles album was available only through Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which traditionally does not report data to SoundScan. Additionally, trade publication Billboard does not allow such exclusive releases to appear on its flagship Billboard 200 chart, which is compiled from SoundScan data.
That meant Spears would have been No. 1 upon the release of final SoundScan figures on Wednesday morning. However, Billboard said late Tuesday that it had changed its rule and the Eagles would indeed be No. 1. The rule was imposed at the request of retailers and labels shortly after Billboard started using SoundScan data in 1991.
"We know that some retailers will be uncomfortable with this policy, but it was inevitable that Billboard's charts would ultimately widen the parameters to reflect changes that are unfolding in music distribution," said Geoff Mayfield, Billboard's director of charts.
He said Billboard had become aware only within the last 24 hours that Wal-Mart would be willing to share the sales data for the Eagles album with Nielsen SoundScan. A Wal-Mart spokeswoman was not available for comment.
The retailer had said earlier in the day that the Eagles album generated the largest first-week sales of any music product at the company in two years
Tuesday, 27 November 2007
She earns more: Britney ordered to pay K-Fed's legal costs
POP singer Britney Spears, who is fighting former husband Kevin Federline for custody of their two children, has been told to pay his legal fees because she earns more money.
Superior Court Commissioner Scott M Gordon ordered Spears pay the $US120,000 ($A129,779) Federline owes his lawyer, because he "indicates that he does not earn any income".
Gallery In pictures: Britney and Kevin in love
Gallery In pictures: Britney's performance at the MTV awards
A former back-up dancer and rap hopeful, Federline has custody of two-year-old Sean Preston and one-year-old Jayden James after an earlier court ruling.
The $US20,000 a month spousal support Spears pays Federline is set to end on November 15.
She also pays $US15,000 a month in child support.
Spears, who shot to fame in 1999, has been plagued by drug rumours but her first album in four years has been hailed by critics.
Superior Court Commissioner Scott M Gordon ordered Spears pay the $US120,000 ($A129,779) Federline owes his lawyer, because he "indicates that he does not earn any income".
Gallery In pictures: Britney and Kevin in love
Gallery In pictures: Britney's performance at the MTV awards
A former back-up dancer and rap hopeful, Federline has custody of two-year-old Sean Preston and one-year-old Jayden James after an earlier court ruling.
The $US20,000 a month spousal support Spears pays Federline is set to end on November 15.
She also pays $US15,000 a month in child support.
Spears, who shot to fame in 1999, has been plagued by drug rumours but her first album in four years has been hailed by critics.
Britney Spears Runs Over Officer's Foot, Has the Hots for Kim Kardashian
People with feet, beware! Britney Spears has your number. The second victim of her driving antics is a police officer, who was run over earlier today when the pop star was leaving the L.A. County court house after one of her many custody hearings. The LAPD is has subsequently started an investigation into the incident after a "traffic collision complaint" was submitted to the Sheriff's Department in response to Britney running over the foot of a L.A. County Sheriff Deputy, reports TMZ. This, of course, comes just weeks after Britney ran over her first foot--one attached to the leg of a photographer. And now, it seems she'd like to run over the foot of Kim Kardashian. OK, not really, but that was my attempt to segue into a rumor that Britney's looking to hook up with the raven-haired socialite by using a nonsensical euphemism for sex. Reportedly, Britney revealed her desire to engage in a lesbian love affair with Kardashian during a game of what I'm guessing was probably Truth or Dare. This is what Britney is rumored to have said:
"I really love Kim's butt, skin and hair. Kim is a real woman. She is a real horny beast."
And then someone dared Britney to run over a cop's foot. And she did.
"I really love Kim's butt, skin and hair. Kim is a real woman. She is a real horny beast."
And then someone dared Britney to run over a cop's foot. And she did.
Britney Spears is Elvis
Britney Spears is in fact Elvis seems to be the thrust of this piece today.
It is 1977. On stage, the performer in the tight spangly outfit is barely recognisable: doped up, spaced out, the once sleek physique swollen and spread, the singing slurred and unintelligible. The audience is aghast yet mesmerised. These are the dying days of Elvis Presley. Skip forward 30 years, and Britney Spears appears at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards to unveil her new single, Gimme More. The response is not good: "Spears was stuffed into a spangled bra and hotpants," jeers the New York Post, "and jiggled like Jell-O as she sleepwalked through the song."
Hmm, I think we can tell how this comparison between Britney and Elvis is going to turn out, can't we?
The similarities between the lives of Britney and Elvis, two of the most successful acts in the history of pop music, are striking. Born in Mississippi more than 45 years apart, their lives have followed a similar course, encompassing not only No 1 singles, Grammys, wealth and fame, but substance abuse, divorce and a dubious attraction to Las Vegas. Last week, Spears launched her new album, Blackout, to critical applause, but after a year of increasingly unpredictable behaviour, failed rehab stints, attacks on the paparazzi and an ongoing child custody battle, it remains to be seen whether the Princess of Pop can navigate the immense celebrity - and attendant excesses - that destroyed the King.
It's that both Britney and Elvis were/are fat, drugged and divorced. I'm sure there needs to be a little bit more to it than that though. Otherwise we'd all be expecting to hear that Don Simpson died in his bathroom too. Oh, he did you say? Well, better watch out for that porcelain then Britney!
It is 1977. On stage, the performer in the tight spangly outfit is barely recognisable: doped up, spaced out, the once sleek physique swollen and spread, the singing slurred and unintelligible. The audience is aghast yet mesmerised. These are the dying days of Elvis Presley. Skip forward 30 years, and Britney Spears appears at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards to unveil her new single, Gimme More. The response is not good: "Spears was stuffed into a spangled bra and hotpants," jeers the New York Post, "and jiggled like Jell-O as she sleepwalked through the song."
Hmm, I think we can tell how this comparison between Britney and Elvis is going to turn out, can't we?
The similarities between the lives of Britney and Elvis, two of the most successful acts in the history of pop music, are striking. Born in Mississippi more than 45 years apart, their lives have followed a similar course, encompassing not only No 1 singles, Grammys, wealth and fame, but substance abuse, divorce and a dubious attraction to Las Vegas. Last week, Spears launched her new album, Blackout, to critical applause, but after a year of increasingly unpredictable behaviour, failed rehab stints, attacks on the paparazzi and an ongoing child custody battle, it remains to be seen whether the Princess of Pop can navigate the immense celebrity - and attendant excesses - that destroyed the King.
It's that both Britney and Elvis were/are fat, drugged and divorced. I'm sure there needs to be a little bit more to it than that though. Otherwise we'd all be expecting to hear that Don Simpson died in his bathroom too. Oh, he did you say? Well, better watch out for that porcelain then Britney!
Britney Spears 'Laughs At' Missed Birth Control Pills, Say Pals
Singer Britney Spears sparingly took birth control tablets because they made her gain weight, according to reports.
The Toxic singer - who reportedly suffered a miscarriage at the beginning of the year (07) - was receiving Depo Provera injections, but switched to tablets after piling on the pounds.
But Spears continues to forget to take the contraceptives, leaving her vulnerable to pregnancy.
A source tells website Life Style Extra, "She's constantly forgetting where she put them. She seems to find it amusing - she laughs at how scattered she is.
"She seems to think that just because she isn't in a formal relationship, that she's somehow immune to getting pregnant."
The Toxic singer - who reportedly suffered a miscarriage at the beginning of the year (07) - was receiving Depo Provera injections, but switched to tablets after piling on the pounds.
But Spears continues to forget to take the contraceptives, leaving her vulnerable to pregnancy.
A source tells website Life Style Extra, "She's constantly forgetting where she put them. She seems to find it amusing - she laughs at how scattered she is.
"She seems to think that just because she isn't in a formal relationship, that she's somehow immune to getting pregnant."
Stop the presses: Good news for Britney
Britney Spears (Jive Records)
Just when it seemed safe to write off Britney Spears as a punch line only capable of entertaining people through tabloid escapades, she goes and gets all musically relevant on us. "Blackout," her first studio album in four years, is not only a very good album, it's her best work ever - a triumph, with not a bad song to be found on the 12 tracks.
Granted, a Spears rave should be put in its proper context - it's not like we're talking Bob Dylan here. Spears is a lightweight singer who only flourishes when she has great songs and great producers to supplement her minimal vocal talent.
But when she has that help, she's fierce. And she gets that boost on every track on "Blackout," a sizzling, well-crafted, electro-pop dancefest that should return her to pop's elite.
It seems amazing that this walking disaster even found her way to a recording studio, let alone did anything of value while in it. But Spears emerges on "Blackout" as the antithesis of her tabloid persona - confident, sensual, and in control.
"I got my eye on you," she coos on one of the album's best tracks, "Radar," a sexy techno groove that you can't help but bounce to - a feeling that permeates all of "Blackout's" tracks. You won't find any saccharine ballads or fluffy pop on this disc - it's all about generating heat on the dance floor.
No, Spears hasn't completely lost it, and yes, her career has a flicker of fire left - actually much more. - Nekesa Mumbi Moody, The Associated Press
Just when it seemed safe to write off Britney Spears as a punch line only capable of entertaining people through tabloid escapades, she goes and gets all musically relevant on us. "Blackout," her first studio album in four years, is not only a very good album, it's her best work ever - a triumph, with not a bad song to be found on the 12 tracks.
Granted, a Spears rave should be put in its proper context - it's not like we're talking Bob Dylan here. Spears is a lightweight singer who only flourishes when she has great songs and great producers to supplement her minimal vocal talent.
But when she has that help, she's fierce. And she gets that boost on every track on "Blackout," a sizzling, well-crafted, electro-pop dancefest that should return her to pop's elite.
It seems amazing that this walking disaster even found her way to a recording studio, let alone did anything of value while in it. But Spears emerges on "Blackout" as the antithesis of her tabloid persona - confident, sensual, and in control.
"I got my eye on you," she coos on one of the album's best tracks, "Radar," a sexy techno groove that you can't help but bounce to - a feeling that permeates all of "Blackout's" tracks. You won't find any saccharine ballads or fluffy pop on this disc - it's all about generating heat on the dance floor.
No, Spears hasn't completely lost it, and yes, her career has a flicker of fire left - actually much more. - Nekesa Mumbi Moody, The Associated Press
Britney loves Kim Kardashian's 'butt, skin and hair'
London, Nov 3 : Britney Spears admits that she has a crush on Playboy model Kim Kardashian.
Apparently, the troubled pop star had admitted her pining desire while playing a game of a tell-all with her friends.
"I really love Kim's butt, skin and hair," The Sun quoted her, as telling her pals.
"Kim is a real women. A real horny beast," she said.
Kardashian, who currently posed naked for Playboy, is one of the biggest stars in the US.
Apparently, the troubled pop star had admitted her pining desire while playing a game of a tell-all with her friends.
"I really love Kim's butt, skin and hair," The Sun quoted her, as telling her pals.
"Kim is a real women. A real horny beast," she said.
Kardashian, who currently posed naked for Playboy, is one of the biggest stars in the US.
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