Young Money CEO Mack Maine has revealed that Nicki Minaj has begun worrying about the first-week sales of Pink Friday, as it is scheduled to release next month.
According to Maine, Minaj has looked at labelmate Drake’s initial Thank Me Later sales as an example what her opening sales could equate to.
“She was worrying about first week. She was like, ‘Drake sold [463,000]. What you think I’ma sell? As if she gon’ sell less,” recalls Maine. “I explained to her, ‘You know a lot of the press and the media really got it brainwashed with first week sales.’ Bieber went on to sell 2 million and Bieber might have only sold 17,000 the first week. Juvenile sold like 30,000 his first week of 400 Degreez and went on to sell 6 million…I don’t know what happened to working the record and making sure that the artist reaches a certain point. I rather the end number be higher than the beginning. These days, it’s all about: Let me do 500,000, a million the first week. Don’t get caught up in what Wayne did. You don’t want your pinnacle to be your first-week sales. Then everything’s downhill from there and then what? I don’t care if you sell 10 the first week and you go on to sell 5 million–we did better than the person that sold 300 the first week.”
Fantasia Barrino has admitted she got pregnant by her married lover Antwaun Cook and had an abortion around the time of her failed suicide attempt, TJKS has learned.
The American Idol winner made the sensational confession in a North Carolina court on Monday during Cook’s divorce proceeding with his ex-wife Paula.
Facing questions before a Mecklenburg County Court judge, the famous singer, 26, was pressed on whether she knew Cook was living with Paula when they embarked on their illicit affair.
The Idol season three winner has acknowledged she dated Cook “off and on for about 11 months” but said she believed he had separated from his wife.
In court, lawyers for the scorned wife pressed Fantasia about a hotel rendezvous that took place just a few days after meeting one another.
“Paula’s lawyer is arguing that they got the room because she knew he was still married,” one onlooker – who was inside the court says.
There were no reporters in the courtroom and witnesses were asked to leave as Fantasia took the stand.
But multiple sources, including a Cook family source, confirmed Fantasia’s explosive testimony.
Fantasia became the center of a celebrity cheating scandal when she famously got the name “Cook” tattooed on her collarbone in honor of Antwaun.
As TJKS previously reported, Fantasia – who is still dating Antwaun – attempted to kill herself in August by taking an overdose of aspirin after reading a court complaint filed by Paula naming her as a home wrecker.
“It just became heavy for me, so I just wanted to be away from the noise,” Fantasia said in a television interview.
Paula is now considering suing Fantasia over the unique Alienation of Affection law.
Alienation of Affection is a law still recognized by only seven states – one of which is North Carolina – where an abandoned spouse can file lawsuit against the party responsible for the failure of their marriage, typically the adulterous spouse’s lover.
Fantasia and Paula recently failed to settle their differences through private mediation after a marathon 12-hour session on November 1.
“Paula is not doing too well, having to hear all this in court and replay it all over, she’s emotionally torn,” one source close to the woman says.
There is a lot of anticipation surrounding the release of Nicki Minaj’s debut CD “Pink Friday.” And there should be.
This year, Minaj’s had 15 songs appear on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with seven of them hitting the Top 40. It’s a feat that few artists — regardless of genre — have accomplished. She’s advanced songs she’s costarred on, boosting rap jams like Ludacris’ “My Chick Bad” and Diddy-Dirty Money’s “Hello Good Morning.” And on “Monster,” Minaj’s 80-second closing verse easily outshines that of Jay-Z, Kanye West and Rick Ross.
While Minaj’s proven she can jump on someone’s song — or idea — and get the job done, on her own songs, she struggles to make something to call her own.
“Pink Friday” is a 13-track set that is full of songs that either showcases Minaj’s cockiness or her vulnerability. You’ll listen to the songs and wonder: Do you have anything else to rap about?
The album opens with “I’m the Best,” where Minaj boasts about her standing as rap’s top female act — and she does it again on “Roman’s Revenge” and “Did It On’em.” Other tracks are also sprinkled with similar rhymes — and they get old.
When Minaj is not caught up with being No. 1, she shines. On “Save Me,” she strips down and presents a more humble side of herself. The Drake-assisted “Moment 4 Life” has Minaj excited about her accomplishments — and cherishing her winning moment. As she should be. We are waiting on them sells and they better be tight or else Lil Kim is gonna blast it.
“At this point, they say that I’ve been pregnant like eight times, so I am kind of used to it,” the 29-year-old singer said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I just hope that one day when I decide to be pregnant that people are happy for me. … One day hopefully I will be. It’s part of being a celebrity, I guess.”
Beyonce is delivering something else – a concert DVD titled, “I AM … WORLD TOUR,” which goes on sale Friday. Footage from the DVD will air on Thanksgiving in her second prime-time special on ABC (9:30 p.m. EST), “Beyonce’s I Am … World Tour,” but this time, she shows a more personal side.
“I felt like I’ve done so many different things, it’s time for me to show a bit of who I am. The hardest thing was showing that, because a lot of things that I filmed, I filmed in my computer, and I would never have gotten so open if someone else was in the room,” she explained at her DVD premiere Sunday.
Beyonce produced, directed and edited “I AM,” which follows the singer on her world tour, which started in March 2009 and ended in February.
She’s thrown herself into her work to nurse her broken heart since splitting from the man she thought was ‘The One’.
But what Rochelle Wiseman from The Saturdays has really needed is a girls night out on the town to let her hair down and embrace the single life again.
And this past saturday night that’s exactly what she did as she and her friends partied in central London. Rochelle, 21, split from her JLS beau Marvin Humes last week after eight months together.
They blamed differing work commitments and their petty squabbles for their eventual break-up but insisted they will still remain friends. Well there goes another one that let a diamond slip through his finger….Hey Rochelle (CALL ME MA!!!)
Usher and the Black Eyed Peas captured the first honors at the American Music Awards on Sunday night, with Usher beating out Alicia Keys and Sade for R&B/Soul album of the year.
“All of my team back in New York City, I’m bringing this home for you,” the leather-clad crooner said as he held his trophy high.
The Black Eyed Peas won best pop/rock band, duo or group. While they didn’t give a noteworthy speech, frontman will.i.am wore a memorable outfit: A hat and a necklace made out of what appeared to be Legos.
Usher and the Black Eyed Peas captured the first honors at the American Music Awards on Sunday night, with Usher beating out Alicia Keys and Sade for R&B/Soul album of the year.
“All of my team back in New York City, I’m bringing this home for you,” the leather-clad crooner said as he held his trophy high.
The Black Eyed Peas won best pop/rock band, duo or group. While they didn’t give a noteworthy speech, frontman will.i.am wore a memorable outfit: A hat and a necklace made out of what appeared to be Legos.
The performance-driven show got off to a colorful and sexy start, courtesy of flaming redhead Rihanna, who performed a medley of songs from her latest album, including the No. 1 hit “What’s My Name,” wearing a bustier and what seemed like a scarf wrapped around her backside.
Eminem and Lady Antebellum were both up for a show-topping five awards apiece. Other major nominees included Ke$ha and Katy Perry.
A cold Los Angeles night didn’t stop the stars from showing a little skin as they arrived for the awards at the Nokia Theatre.
Wesley Snipes was ordered on Friday to start serving a three-year prison sentence for a felony tax conviction after a Florida judge rejected his bid for a new trial.
“The Defendant Snipes had a fair trial … The time has come for the judgment to be enforced,” U.S. District Judge Terrell Hodges said in his ruling.
He ordered the star of the “Blade” trilogy to report to prison as directed by the U.S. Marshal’s Service or Bureau of Prisons, but it was not immediately clear when or where Snipes would begin serving his time behind bars.
Snipes had already lost his appeal of the prison sentence stemming from his conviction in 2008 in an Ocala, Florida, court on three misdemeanor tax charges for failing to file income tax returns for 1999 through 2001.
In seeking a new trial, Snipes’ lawyer, Daniel Meachum, had argued that jurors in the original trial were biased and that the prosecution’s star witness had his own criminal problems.
At his sentencing in April 2008, prosecutors said Snipes, a resident of Windermere, Florida, had earned more than $38 million since 1999 but had filed no tax returns nor paid any taxes.
Will Smith has started working on “Men in Black 3” as he was spotted on the set on Wednesday, November 17 morning. He suited up to reprise his role as Agent Jay after earlier the day he was seen running around the shooting location in a white T-shirt. Splash New Online, which obtained the set pictures, reported that the actor was covered in slime during the filming that day.. With all of the whipping of the hair that his daughter Willow is doing pretty soon Will won’t ever have to make a movie.
Earlier this month, his co-star Tommy Lee Jones who returns as Agent Kay had been seen hitting the set in New York City. On the same day, new cast members Emma Thompson and Nicole Scherzinger were seen on the spot as well, dressing in their characters costumes. In the set photos, The Pussycat Dolls singer sported a thick make up, tight pants and knee-high boots, while Thompson donned a formal outfit.
Scherzinger previously revealed she lands a small villain role named Lilly. Thompson, in the meantime, is said to portray the head of MIB. Moreover, Josh Brolin and Jemaine Clement are said joining the cast ensemble, with the former reportedly playing a younger version of Agent K and the later portraying another villainous character.
Production for “Men in Black 3” will last through the week of Christmas before taking a nearly two-month hiatus. Some said the hiatus stems from creative difficulties but producer Walter Parkes claimed it is solely because they want “take advantage of New York State tax incentives, but we also needed to be able to shoot certain exteriors in warmer weather.”
Director of previous two “Men in Black” films, Barry Sonnenfeld, is back on the director’s seat for the third time. Etan Cohen and David Koepp team up to write the script and Columbia Pictures eyes to drop the action sci-fi film in theaters across the nation on May 25, 2012.
Beyonce’s new ad for her fragrance, Heat, is so hot it has been banned from daytime television in the UK.
The Advertising Standards Authority deemed the ad, in which Beyonce writhes around in a low-cut dress, “unsuitable to be seen by young children,” according to the Guardian.
ASA’s statement follows:
“Beyonce’s body movements and the camera’s prolonged focus on shots of her dress slipping away to partially expose her breasts created a sexually provocative ad that was unsuitable to be seen by young children. We considered that the ad should not have been shown before 7.30pm due to the sexually provocative nature of the imagery.”
Kanye West has backed out of a scheduled performance on NBC’s “Today” show after getting upset with how his interview with host Matt Lauer this week was handled. West’s record company confirmed the cancellation to “Today” on Friday after the rapper said on his Twitter account that he wouldn’t perform. He was scheduled to appear Nov. 26, part of a promotion drive for his new disc, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” which is being released Nov. 22.
During the interview, which was taped Tuesday and aired Thursday, West appeared thrown when “Today” aired a video clip of an embarrassing moment – when he grabbed a microphone from Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards and said Beyonce should have won an award instead of Swift.
West tweeted this week that he felt “set up” by the interview and that Lauer tried to force his answers. His cancellation notice was accompanied by mixed messages.
“Much love to Matt and the whole Today show,” he said in a Twitter message. “I accept ya’ll future apology in advance LOL!”
In the interview, West talked about former President George W. Bush’s angry response to West saying after Hurricane Katrina that Bush “doesn’t care about black people.” “Today” played a clip of Bush speaking about it in his recent interview with Lauer. In seeking a reaction, Lauer noted that it was the most emotional Bush had become during three and a half hours of talking with him.
“Don’t even listen,” Lauer said. “I want you to look at his face.”
That appeared to upset West, who looked away.
“I don’t need you guys to show me the tape in order to prompt my emotion about what I’m going to say,” he said.
Later in the interview, punctuated by pauses where West appeared to be searching for words and Lauer looked perplexed, West became angry when the Swift video was shown. Lauer explained that it was common to show video of an event when it is referenced in an interview, but West complained that he could hear it and wondered how he was supposed to talk over it. Lauer ordered the sound of the tape be turned off.
“Please don’t let that happen again,” West said. “It’s, like, ridiculous.”
Lauer said later that “there was nothing improper about it, nothing unusual about it.”
West’s decision could be a lose-lose situation. It deprives “Today” of an appearance from one of music’s most popular performers on the day after Thanksgiving, when many people are off from work and school.
From West’s standpoint, he was due to perform on Black Friday on the nation’s most-watched morning show, when New York streets around the “Today” studio will likely be clogged with holiday shoppers who might be persuaded to add his disc to their lists.
WATCH: Kanye West’s Today Show Interview w/ Matt Lauer (full version)
I do not blame Kanye for cancelling. I watched the Bush and Kanye interviews and Kanye’s interview definitely had a touch of ambush journalism in it. It really felt like media pimping when they closed the segment by announcing Kanye would perform live on Friday.
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