Live review: Miley Cyrus' 'Wonder World' concert at Staples Center

The tween sensation sings and even raps with ease but offers very few glimpses of a real, more truly compelling Miley.

The last time Miley Cyrus toured North America, in 2007, she didn't make the trip alone. Her money-minting "Best of Both Worlds" road show featured sets by both Cyrus and her Disney Channel alter ego, Hannah Montana, and as is often the case in this town, reality didn't always come out on top.

At a Honda Center stop in Anaheim, Cyrus, then 14, struggled to express herself in a way that lived up to her on-screen persona; when the concert climaxed with a virtual duet between Cyrus and a video version of Hannah, one of the girls seemed more two-dimensional than the other.

Nearly two years later, Cyrus is out on her own on the "Wonder World" tour, which hit Staples Center on Tuesday before a show at Honda on Wednesday. She wasn't in competition with Hannah this time, but Cyrus still had to battle herself.

About halfway through the 90-minute set, after presenting a preview of her upcoming film, "The Last Song," Cyrus sang her tune "When I Look at You" while clips from the movie played on giant video screens positioned around the stage. Once again, make-believe Miley was more compelling than the real thing.

Her problem wasn't a lack of charisma. Cyrus stalked the stage at Staples with superstar authority, executing complicated dance sequences with an effortlessness that suggested this is simply what 16-year-old girls do with their pals.

During a cover of Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'n' Roll," Cyrus rode a candy-apple Harley-Davidson over some audience members' heads, and she seemed so natural on the airborne bike that you wondered how long she's been in the business of flight.

Cyrus' trouble wasn't related to her material, either. Tuesday's show featured no shortage of crafty tween-rock gems, including "Fly on the Wall" and "7 Things," both up-tempo highlights from last year's "Breakout," as well as "See You Again," the first track from her first non-Hannah effort, "Meet Miley Cyrus."

She also performed the best cuts from her new Wal-Mart-exclusive mini-album, "The Time of Our Lives," which was released in conjunction with Cyrus' clothing line for the discount retailer. Her seven-piece band gave "Kicking and Screaming" a surprising hard-rock heft, while Cyrus managed a reasonable approximation of a rapper in "Party in the U.S.A."

In that song Cyrus changed a Jay-Z shout-out to a Michael Jackson one, her second reference to the King of Pop after a brief interpolation of "Thriller" into "Fly on the Wall."

Instead, Cyrus failed Tuesday -- as she did on her last outing -- to give her fans a deeper idea of who she is and what her music means. For all its eye-popping detail, the concert offered nothing that viewers of her TV show or buyers of her records don't already know about her.

Skeptics of computerized pop argue that this kind of music isn't built for meaning, but that's demonstrably untrue. Last week at the same venue, Pink spent two hours fleshing out her persona not by rejecting spectacle but by embracing it. Cyrus, on the other hand, seemed unable, or unwilling, to go beneath the skin.

EXCLUSIVE PICTURES OF MARIAH'S NEW ALBUM

On your right you can see the front and back cover of the Soft Pak CD release of Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel from Hongkong that will be released on September 28th or 29th. Click on the pictures to enlarge. I was able to get these scans and other album details from the local MCA Universal (Mariah's label here) executive.
The said MCA Universal executive also told me that the Philippines and the rest of Asia (not quite sure for Japan though) will get the same Soft Pak CD release of Memoirs and that the Philippine version and the Hongkong version will have the same catalogue number and UPC. The catalogue number for both the Hongkong and The Philippine versions is 0602527204628 and the UPC is 602527204628. The Soft Pak version has 21 tracks in all (17 plus 4 Obsessed remixes). The videos are not on this CD, but you have to put your CD in your computer an go to www.mariahcarey.com/bonus to get access to the videos.
On your right you can also see a promo scan from MCA Universal of the Mariah Carey Designer Pillow that comes with the Memoirs CD when you purchase it during the presale which has already started here in the Philippines. The Philippine Soft Pak release will also include a separate poster according to the said MCA Universal executive. The poster will be released together with the CD on September 28, 2009 here.
Btw, I've also included here a never-before-seen recreated photo for the Butterfly album (I have not leaked this one yet) that will be the pics for the inside portion of the Soft Pak case together with the recreated photo for the Vision Of Love CD Single and the recently leaked recreated photo for the debut album.
One last thing. There will also be a Special Philippines Edition coming out a week after (October 5, 2009) the Soft Pak release. This version will contain 17 tracks only. This will serve as the regular/standard version according to the said MCA Universal executive. The catalogue number for the Special Philippines Edition is 0602527164885 and the UPC is 602527164885.

Justin Timberlake makes history as first 'SNL' host to win Emmy

Six-time Grammy champ Justin Timberlake added a second Emmy to his shelf with his win as guest actor in a comedy series for hosting "Saturday Night Live." In the first year that "SNL" hosts could contend for guest performer, Timberlake was the only one of the 22 to nab a nod.

The odds were against the 28-year-old Timberlake in this category. The guest acting awards have become the Emmy equivalent of the lifetime achievement honors. Indeed, the only guest comedy actor winner younger than him is 2005 champ Bobby Cannavale who was 34 when he prevailed for a recurring role on "Will & Grace."

Timberlake's competition included TV icon Alan Alda, 73, who has already amassed 32 Emmy nominations over the years. He won two lead actor Emmys for "M*A*S*H" as well as trophies for writing and directing that classic comedy series. More recently, Alda won the supporting actor in a drama series Emmy for his work on "The West Wing" in 2006. He was one of three actors nominated this year for guest starring on "30 Rock."

Beau Bridges, 67, contended for his work as the beloved handyman on the 100th episode of "Desperate Housewives." From his previous 11 nominations, Bridges has won three Emmys: lead actor in a movie/mini in 1992 for "Without Warning: The James Brady Story" and two supporting wins in the movie/mini race for "The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom" (1993) and "The Second Civil War" (1997).

Steve Martin, 64, also hosted "SNL" this season but earned his first acting nomination for an appearance on "30 Rock." He won a writing Emmy in 1969 as part of the team on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" and contended twice more as a writer in the 1970s and then again for his performance as the host of the 2001 Oscars.

Jon Hamm was the third "30 Rock" nominee. A decade older than Timberlake, Hamm contends next Sunday as a repeat nominee in lead actor, drama for "Mad Men."

And Timberlake is also in the race for another Emmy next Sunday with two songwriting bids for his efforts on "Motherlover" – a titillating tune he wrote for "SNL" – and the anthem "I Love Sports" penned for the 2008 Espy Awards. Timberlake won an Emmy in 2007 for his work on that devilish ditty "... in a Box" that went from "SNL" Digital Short to YouTube viral sensation.

This year, Justin Timberlake's competition in the songfest includes Oscar winner Paul Williams ("Evergreen") for "I Wish I Could Be Santa Claus" from "A Muppets Christmas," the team behind Hugh Jackman's socko opening number at the Oscars, a comic carol from "A Colbert Christmas," and a second successive bid by the crew at "The Flight of the Conchords."

Unglamorous Carey 'unrecognisable' in new film

Mariah Carey is unrecognisable in her new movie – because she doesn’t wear make-up.

The singer-and-actress had to tone down her glamorous appearance for ‘Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire’ – where she plays a dowdy social worker – and says cast and crew were shocked with the results.

She said: “It was cool, because a lot of people in the film don’t recognise me – they don’t notice me – and that to me, was the great gift that the director Lee Daniels gave me, to be able to go that far away from who I am.

“You can thank Lee. He had a very specific look in mind.”

Despite being pleased with the end results, the 40-year-old star initially put up a fight when she was first told she would have to tone down her appearance.

Mariah turned up on set for her first day with a collection of extravagant hair pieces and cosmetics only to be informed she wouldn’t be needing them for the film – which is due for release on November 6.

She told America’s OK! magazine: “I brought in all my wigs for the character, and Lee was like, ‘No. This is not happening.’ It really brought up what everyone was going through was not about that.”

Madonna (entertainer)

Madonna (born Madonna Louise Ciccone; August 16, 1958) is an American recording artist, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan and raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977, for a career in modern dance. After performing as a member of the pop musical groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her self-titled debut album, Madonna in 1983 by Sire Records.

A series of hit singles from her studio albums Like a Virgin (1984) and True Blue (1986) gained her global recognition, establishing her as a pop icon for pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music and imagery in her music videos, which became a fixture on MTV. Her recognition was augmented by the film Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) which widely became seen as a Madonna vehicle, despite her not playing the lead. Expanding on the use of religious imagery with Like a Prayer (1989), Madonna received positive critical reception for her diverse musical productions, while at the same time receiving criticism from religious conservatives and the Vatican. In 1992, Madonna founded the Maverick corporation, a joint venture between herself and Time Warner. The same year, she expanded the use of sexually explicit material in her work, beginning the release of the studio album Erotica, followed by the publishing of the coffee table book Sex, and starring in the erotic thriller Body of Evidence, all of which received negative responses from conservatives and liberals alike.

In 1996, Madonna played the starring role in the film Evita, for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. Madonna's seventh studio album Ray of Light (1998) became one of her most critically acclaimed, recognized for its lyrical depth. In 2005, Madonna released Confessions on a Dance Floor, which earned the Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album. Her eleventh studio album Hard Candy (2008), became her seventh to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Departing from Warner Bros. Records, Madonna signed an unprecedented $120 million dollar contract with Live Nation the same year.[3]

Madonna is ranked by the Recording Industry Association of America as the best-selling female rock artist of the twentieth century and the second top-selling female artist in the United States with sixty-three million certified albums; she has sold over two-hundred million albums worldwide.[4][5][6] In 2007, Guinness World Records listed her as the world's most successful female recording artist of all time and she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the following year.[7][8] Considered to be one of the most influential women in contemporary music, Madonna has been known for continually reinventing her music and image and for retaining a standard of anonymity within the recording industry; she is recognized as an influence among numerous music artists.

Matt Damon & Brad Pitt Started Gay George Clooney Rumor

fears he and pal Brad Pitt are responsible for prompting an male fan to strip and proposition George Clooney at a recent press conference after suggesting their Ocean's Eleven co-star was secretly gay.

Clooney was promoting his new comedy The Men Who Stare at Goats on Tuesday at Italy's Venice Film Festival when a stripper posing as a journalist professed his love for the Hollywood star.

Video footage of the encounter has popped up all over the internet ever since, and it has forced Damon to make a confession.

Damon admits he fueled gossip Clooney was secretly in love with another man and that the couple planned to marry.

He says, "I was at the Venice Film Festival last week and Brad Pitt was there doing interviews for Inglourious Basterds and I guess people had been asking him, 'When are you and Angelina Jolie going to get married?' and he finally just said, 'Me and Angelina will marry when George Clooney marries his boyfriend!'

"The thing is, you do that in America and they just laugh; you do that overseas and I guess something gets lost in translation, so at eight in the morning, I'm doing interviews and this Italian journalist comes to me and says, 'Matt, is it true what Brad say (sic)?' I had no idea what he was talking about so I just said, 'Of course, yeah.'

"And he says, 'Do you mean George Clooney has a boyfriend?' I'm trying to keep a straight face so I go, 'Yeah, of course he's got a boyfriend,' and he goes, 'You mean, he wants to marry him? You know this man?' And we've been doing this for years so I go, 'Yeah, I know this man, he's great, that's why we want them to get married!'"

But Damon was left red-faced when he realized the ongoing prank may have led to the striptease during Clooney's press chat later.

He adds, "George is coming (to Venice) the next day, I go back to New York and the next day I wake up, turn on the news and on CNN the headline says, 'Man strips for George Clooney'. And there's a video of this guy who stands up and says, 'George, I am a gay and you are gay.' And George is like, 'What's going on?' Then this guy starts taking his clothes off, and goes, 'If you must choose, choose me!'"

Eva Longoria: Med Center Stop

Looking radiant in a long white dress, Eva Longoria ventured out for a midday visit to a medical building in Beverly Hills on Tuesday (September 14).

The day’s outing comes as the 34-year-old actress has been busily working on the set of “Desperate Housewives” - which sees in its latest season’s premiere on Sunday, September 27 at 9/8C on ABC.

Lindsay Lohan: Fashion Week Fabulous

Getting in her fill of fashion week, Lindsay Lohan attended the Alice + Olivia Spring 2010 show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City on Saturday night (September 12).

The “Mean Girls” starlet looked stylish in an all-black ensemble, posing for pictures before heading to her seat to check out the popular designer’s latest offerings.

In related news, Miss Lohan recently opened up about living her life under the spotlight - with others doing all that they can to break her down with scandalous stories.

“I know that I’m a target and I know that I’ve given people a lot of reasons to kind of run with things that have been said,” Lindsay told Access Hollywood. “But I no longer intend on doing that … I’m not perfect.”

Continuing on, LiLo adds, “The second that I decided I wanted to be in front of the camera I kind of, I think I’ve always kind of, you know … I aspired to be like Britney Spears in the tabloids/ So it’s kind of something you sign up for in the beginning and if you really want it … that comes with it.”

Britney Spears 'tried to lure Bekim Trenova' after catalogue search

* Britney "trolls model agency catalogues"
* Reportedly took liking to Bekim Trenova
* New music, music news, music reviews
* Lady Gaga's 'bloody' awful MTV Awards outfit

BRITNEY Spears's probably lives in a world far removed from ours.

For, according to a report in the New York Daily News, she went to find a new boyfriend by simply ordering one.

With her romance to agent Jason Trawick dormant after just a few months, Spears was obviously feeling lonely when she reportedly picked up some modelling agency catalogues and started flipping through the pictures.

According to the New York Daily News, she took a liking to one strapping Ford male model named Bekim Trenova (hair: brown; eyes: hazel; height: 6 feet).

Using back channels, Spears's minions are said to have invited the 24-year-old hunk to "audition" for a music video in LA.

"When he got there, there was no camera crew," the source told the New York Daily News.

"There was just Britney. She was looking sexy. She made it pretty clear that she was less interested in hiring him than in dating him."

Trenova, who had recently dated Victoria's Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, was rather perturbed.

"Bekim found the whole scene very weird. He was polite but not interested. He made some excuse to get out of there," the source said.

Britney's spokespeson insists the story is "completely false. She doesn't know this guy."

A coy Trenova laughs: "I have no comment."

NYT: Jim Carroll, poet and punk rocker, dead at 60

NEW YORK (AP) — Jim Carroll, the poet and punk rocker who wrote "The Basketball Diaries," died Friday. He was 60.

He died from a heart attack at his home in Manhattan, his ex-wife Rosemary Carroll told the New York Times.

In the 1970s, Carroll was a fixture of the burgeoning downtown New York art scene, where he mixed with artists such as Andy Warhol, Patti Smith, Larry Rivers and Robert Mapplethorpe. His life was shaped by drug use, which he wrote about extensively.

Carroll also published several poetry collections, while his 1980 album, "Catholic Boy," has been hailed as a landmark punk record, and he became known for one of its songs, "People Who Died."

But it was "The Basketball Diaries," his autobiographical tale of life as a sports star at Trinity, an elite private high school in Manhattan, that brought him his widest audience. The son of a bar owner, Carroll attended the school on a basketball scholarship.

The book, which began life as a journal, was first published in 1978 and then became even more popular, particularly on college campuses, when it was issued as a mass-market paperback two years later. A 1995 movie version starred Leonardo DiCaprio.

His poetry career started even earlier. Carroll was in his teens when he first received recognition for his poems, especially "Organic Trains" in 1967 and then "4 Ups and 1 Down" in 1970. Among his other works are collections such as "The Book of Nods" (1986), "Fear of Dreaming" (1993) and "Void of course: Poems 1994-1997" (1998).

Carroll left New York in 1973 and moved to California, where he met his future wife Rosemary Klemfuss. They later divorced.

It was Smith who encouraged his music, and he formed the Jim Carroll Band. Among his other albums were the less successful "Dry Dreams" (1982) and "I Write Your Name" (1984).

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Julia Roberts is scared of rats

The actress was filming scenes for "Eat, Pray, Love" in New York with her co-star James Franco when the furry rodent scuttled across her toes, causing her to scream, reported contact music .

"She looked down and saw the glittering eyes of a giant rat! She leapt to her feet and, even though the rat had run away, went into a wild hysterical dance on the sidewalk. She was shrieking so loudly the crew came running," said a source.

The 41-year-old actress plays Elizabeth Gilbert in the film, who realises she is not satisfied with her life and goes on a round-the-world trip.

I'm not dating anyone right now: Miley Cyrus

London, Sep 12 (PTI) Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus has insisted that she's not dating anyone at the moment.

The 16-year-old star split from her model boyfriend Justin Gaston earlier this summer and was later linked to her ex boyfriend Nick Jonas.

She was also snapped kissing actor Liam Hemsworth as she bid him a warm goodbye at the Nashville airport.

Cyrus recent postings on Twitter also sparked rumours that she has rekindled her romance with Gaston, but the young star says that she is too busy focusing on her career to commit to a relationship, Access Hollywood reported.

"There are a lot of people I'm supposedly dating these days. But I'm just kicking it right now, I don't really have time for a huge relationship. There's no dude," Cyrus said.

Swank's Quiet Relationship Began With 'No Spark'

After her 9-year marriage to Chad Lowe ended in 2006, a bummed Hilary Swank needed someone to lean on for support, and that person just happened to be her agent.

Although initially there was "no spark" between the 35-year-old Oscar winner and John Campisi, in time it became clear there was something there. "What's interesting is, there was never anything, it wasn't until we were well into the dissipation of our respective relationships -- going through something so difficult at the same time, we became very good friends," she told Hello! magazine.

After they began dating, they opted to nix their professional relationship.

"We became closer and closer. It was so unexpected. We both recognised that if we were going to take the relationship to the next step, we could no longer work together."

In the few years since they've been quietly dating, Swank has grown close to Campisi's son, Sam, and now is itching to have some of her own.

"I'd most definitely like children of my own. It's something I'd like to do someday. And when that timing is right I'll hopefully know it."

een star Selena Gomez has been appointed as UNICEF's newest (and youngest) Ambassador. The Disney actress and singer spent much of the weekend in Ghana to witness first-hand the stark conditions of vulnerable children that lack vital necessities including clean water, nourishment, education and healthcare.

The actress went to Twitter to upload photos and tell her fans about her travels. "I'm having such a wonderful time helping and learning about this culture and life!" she said. See her photos >>
Gomez will help educate and advocate on behalf of UNICEF and support the organization's mission to help reduce the number of daily preventable deaths of children, from 25,000 to zero.

In her first field mission, Gomez visited Ghana, which is ranked 30 out of 195 countries with the highest mortality rates of children under five.
"Every day 25,000 children die from preventable causes. I stand with UNICEF in the belief that we can change that number from 25,000 to zero," Gomez said.

"I know we can achieve this because every moment, UNICEF is on the ground providing children with the lifesaving assistance needed to ensure zero becomes a reality," she added.

Gomez, who stars in Disney Channel's 'Wizards of Waverly Place,' is the youngest UNICEF Ambassador in the United States and joins a roster of celebrities who have embraced UNICEF through the years, like Joel Madden, Lucy Liu, Clay Aiken, Alyssa Milano and Sarah Jessica Parker among others

VMAs Preview: What's In Store For 2009

Every year MTV has a special way of topping the previous year's VMAs with new moments going down in pop culture history. Whether Britney Spears is caught kissing Madonna or a Rage Against The Machine bassist decides it's a good idea to climb the set fixtures, we're sure this year will have plenty of surprises. After the jump, check out what we think will be the most talked about moments during the 2009 VMAs.

Tears and Tributes at Jackson Memorial

Michael Jackson's star-studded memorial at the Staples Center had many moments of emotion, including a tear-filled message from his 11-year-old daughter Paris in the closing moments of the ceremony.
"I just wanted to say, ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine! I just wanted to say I love him so much," a crying Paris said before diving into Janet Jackson's arms.Paris was flanked by her two brothers -- 12-year-old Michael Joseph and 7-year-old 'Blanket' Prince Michael -- in a rare public moment. Jackson famously shielded his children from the media, covering their faces with veils or masks.
The show, which included performances from performers across many decades, concluded with Jackson's entire family on stage, leaving the King of Pop with their final words.
"Michael, when you left us, a part of me went with you. ... I will treasure the good times, singing, dancing, laughing. ... We will never understand what he endured ... being judged, ridiculed. How much pain can one take? Maybe, now, Michael, they will leave you alone," brother Marlon said as he fought back tears.
Actress Brooke Shields, who was friends with Jackson since both were children, said that "Michael always knew he could count on me to support him or be his date. ... We had a bond and maybe it was because we both understood what it was like to be in the spotlight from a very, very young age ... Both of us needed to be adults very early, but when we were together, we were two little kids having fun. ... M.J.'s laugh was the sweetest and purest of anyone I've known," Shields said.
Jackson's public memorial, watched by millions around the world, struck a tone more spiritual than spectacular Tuesday, opening with a church choir serenading his golden casket and continuing with somber speeches and gospel-themed musical performances."Those young kids grew up from being teenage, comfortable fans of Michael's to being 40 years old and being comfortable to vote for a person of color to be the president of the United States of America. Michael did that. Michael made us love each other. Michael taught us to stand with each other, " Reverend Al Sharpton said during his time on stage.
Millions of fans around the world gathered at odd hours to watch the ceremony, which was broadcast from Tokyo to Paris and streamed everywhere online.
Among those who saluted Jackson were music mogul Barry Gordy, the Rev. Al Sharpton and basketball greats Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant. Jennifer Hudson sang Jackson's hit "Will You Be There" and John Mayer played guitar on a whisper-light rendition of "Human Nature."