Celebrity News

2012 Summer Guide: Summer Movie Preview

Burn! Music's 12 Best Insults & Jabs

One of the not-so-fun things in the world is to get insulted or, in the words of Kelso from That 70's Show, get "burned." Now, let's imagine what it would be like to be insulted by some musician on one of their albums -- that "burn" I can only imagine was magnified by a million. Nevertheless, som ... More >>

Unscripted: Top 10 Actor/Musician Collaborations

Johnny Depp and Marilyn Manson have been hanging out a lot lately. The actor joined the antichrist onstage a couple of weeks ago at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards show in L.A., and played guitar on "Sweet Dreams" and "Beautiful People." Depp also collaborated with Manson on a cover of Carly Simon' ... More >>

Double Duds: The 10 Worst Duets Since "Ebony and Ivory"

Thirty years ago this week, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder hit No. 1 on the charts with their duet, "Ebony and Ivory." The song spent seven weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and the past three decades as a joke. Perhaps history's most hackneyed call for racial harmony (which, admittedly, ... More >>

Girl Gone Wild: Madonna's Top 10 Dance/Club Chart-Toppers

For the past two weeks, Madonna's latest single, "Girl Gone Wild," has been sitting pretty at the top of Billboard's Hot Dance/Club Play chart. That's the chart that tabulates which songs are getting the most spins in discos and dance clubs. It's a cool, upbeat track about losing control of your de ... More >>

Missed Opportunities: 10 Musicians Who Turned Down Big Hits

Have you ever had one of those moments where you thought to yourself, "Why did I do that?" or "Why did I turn that down?" Those kinds of moments happen to all of us. It's part of life, unfortunately. This happens all the time in the movie world, but you never seem to hear about it in the music worl ... More >>

A Very Special Message: The 10 Best Rock-Star Public Service Announcements

Ever since the Ad Council introduced the "Rosie the Riveter" poster, public service announcements have either warned us of the dangers of such risky behaviors as having unsafe sex, as well as reasons you should vote, or even to spay and neuter your pets. As rock and roll became more popular, artists ... More >>

Madonna's New MDNA Is Quality Dangerous Grandmother Monster

Today Madonna's 12th studio album, MDNA, is in stores and on iTunes. It's her first since 2008's Hard Candy, and the album title is already bringing the ire of electronic artist deadmau5, who took exception with what he saw as her excessive use of drug references in tandem with her new sound. The ... More >>

Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend" And The Death Of The Word "Swag"

Sunday night, when Justin Bieber's new song "Boyfriend" dropped, the social-media landscape at large began comparing it to the work of Justin Timberlake, the music industry's somewhat dormant leading man. I was sad, because I like the Timberlake. Justin Bieber, I bought Justin Timberlake records, ... More >>

Law and Order: Top 10 Best (Or Worst) Musicians' Arrests

Nobody is above the law - not even musicians even though some of them may think they are. However, some of their outrageous behavior has become legendary. Others have spawned rumors, killed their careers and/or made them the butt of many jokes. In fact, this makes me wonder why there is not a cele ... More >>

Rumor: Eminem To Perform At Tonight's Shady Records SXSW Party

Most of the world's biggest rappers - Jay-Z, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, T.I., 50 Cent - have performed in Austin within the past week, are about to perform, or are at least in the city partaking in the SXSW festivities. Rocks Off was leaving Stubb's late Thursday night and heard Snoop Dogg performing ... More >>

Pulling A Cee-Lo: 11 More Contemporary Artists Who Need Their Own Vegas Residency

​Cee-Lo Green raised eyebrows a couple of weeks ago when he announced that he was settling down -- in Las Vegas. The Grammy-winning "Fuck You" singer says that his new semi-permanent show, "Loberace," will launch Aug. 29 at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Vegas Strip and run at least throu ... More >>

Alert: SXSW Coverage Ahead -- 50 Cent And Much More

"What I want from each and every one of you is a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area." -- Tommy Lee Jones, The Fugitive You don't have to spend much time at South By Southwest to know that all of the above building ... More >>

Top 10 Possible Future RodeoHouston Performers

The hardest thing about making a list of possible future RodeoHouston performers is making sure to color inside the lines, which means the things that I want probably wouldn't work. Sure, the Black Keys on opening night and the Rolling Stones doing an-all country set to close out the season would be ... More >>

Here's The Pitch: Top 10 Commercials Starring Musicians

Madonna's infamous "Like a Prayer" Pepsi ad, 1989​Every now and then, name-brand companies need a little extra pizzazz when it comes to advertising, and often they turn to the music world to do this. Either way, it's a win-win situation for both the artist and the company because the artist us ... More >>

Shanti: Music's Top 10 Yoga Enthusiasts

This weekend, the Texas Yoga Conference hits town at the University of Houston Recreation and Wellness Center. It's like a big party where everyone practices yoga and learns or improves yoga techniques. At the end of the weekend, there will be musical performances by the Desert Dwellers, Tyagaraja, ... More >>

The Beats Go On As Grammys Take Care Of Their Own

Hands up, everyone who is surprised.​The Grammy Awards on CBS Sunday night could have easily turned into a wake - or worse, a funeral. After Whitney Houston's death Saturday, the mood was appropriately somber until a dance party broke out, or perhaps a coming-out party for dance music. Foreve ... More >>

We Tell You Who Will Win Grammys So You Don't Have To Watch Them

SPOILER ALERT​The best thing about the annual Grammy nominations and awards shows is the clamor of anger that rises up when the mere mention of the event even comes up. Immediately people begin calling it a travesty, trotting out all the people who have been snubbed -- Jethro Tull beats Metall ... More >>

Thelma & Louise

SPOILER ALERT​The best thing about the annual Grammy nominations and awards shows is the clamor of anger that rises up when the mere mention of the event even comes up. Immediately people begin calling it a travesty, trotting out all the people who have been snubbed -- Jethro Tull beats Metall ... More >>

We Get It, Twitter: (Not) All The Tweets About Tom Brady Having Sex With Gisele Bundchen

The twitter world blew up when Gisele Bundchen, supermodel wife of not-so-super QB Tom Brady, endearingly defended her man to boorish Giant fans, throwing his teammates under the bus in the process. But that is apparently not the most important thing to know about Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen. The ... More >>

Bedtime Stories: The Naughtiest Madonna Videos Ever (Semi-NSFW)

This weekend, the grand dame of American pop music, Madonna, will grace the halftime stage at Super Bowl XLVI. This is a major improvement from last year's more-inhuman-than-human Black Eyed Peas performance, which tested the resolve our country, and even the world. But we all survived. Who won the ... More >>

Enjoy Your Lunar New Year With Some Of Music's Greatest Butts

According to Chinese reckoning, today marks the lunar new year. It's the Year of the Dragon. Specifically, the Year of the Water Dragon, which I'm told will bestow a peaceful energy on the coming year, favoring the ideals of negotiation and forward thinking. I know, right? BOOORING. We Americans kn ... More >>

10 Rock Stars the GOP Should Nominate for President

As the 2012 presidential race begins to heat up in earnest, Rocks Off can't help but feel that the front-runners for the Republican nomination are lacking a certain je ne sais quoi. Call it star power. Call it sex appeal. Whatever it is, these guys ain't got it. If the GOP is serious about wresti ... More >>

DVDs & Blu-rays: The Ides of March

The Ides of March stars George Clooney and Ryan Gosling; George Clooney directs. The Setup: George Clooney just took home a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama for his performance in The Descendants, so expect to see lots of coverage of him as the Oscars approach. This review, just to be clear ... More >>

Golden Bozos: Your "Official" Live Blog For The 69th Golden Globes

I know, we're all bummed out the Texans lost. But since you've been drinking anyway, you might as well crack open another one and sit through the one awards show even the People's Choice Awards can look down its nose at. I'll be updating this entry throughout the broadcast, so refresh often and try ... More >>

Lord Lordy, Look Who's Forty: The Best Albums Of 1972

Last week I told you about the best debut albums of 1992, making a lot of us feel old in the process. Hell, I was only nine when those came out and I felt feeble making the list. This week we look at the best albums of 1972, now four decades in the hole, but no less fulfilling and influential. Wha ... More >>

Beyonce's Baby Shower: Celebrity Gift Suggestions

With every gossip site on the planet reporting that Beyonce has given birth to Blue Ivy Carter just yesterday, Rocks Off suddenly realized that we haven't gotten her a thing! While we make a quick Target run, we thought it might be fun to ponder what sort of gifts Beyonce and Jay's rich celebrity p ... More >>

2012 RodeoHouston Lineup Features ZZ Top, Train, Kid Rock, John Legend, Enrique Iglesias

The Houston Livestock And Rodeo continues it's march it's non-country waters with today's musical announcement, with Houston's own ZZ Top (March 8), Train (March 16), Kid Rock (February 29), John Legend (March 2), and Enrique Iglesias (March 6) topping the pop and rock segment of this year's bill. ... More >>

DVDs & Blu-rays: The I Don't Care How She Does It Edition

I Don't Know How She Does It stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Greg Kinnear and Pierce Brosnan; Douglas McGrath directs. The Setup: Sarah Jessica Parker plays Kate Reddy, a woman trying to juggle a demanding job and busy home life, pleasing her boss, husband and two kids all at the same time. Pierce Br ... More >>

Pop Rocks: Katy Perry, Kim Kardashian -- Can the Celebrity Marriage Be Saved?

Sometimes the jokes just write themselves. Russell Brand stands to land $20 million or more from his divorce from wife Katy Perry, reports said Monday. The British actor and comedian told New York magazine last year that he and Perry did not sign a prenuptial agreement. And since the two were marr ... More >>

Pop Rocks: Is No Celebrity Marriage Sacred?

Sometimes the jokes just write themselves. Russell Brand stands to land $20 million or more from his divorce from wife Katy Perry, reports said Monday. The British actor and comedian told New York magazine last year that he and Perry did not sign a prenuptial agreement. And since the two were marr ... More >>

He's Alive! Top 9 Musician Death Hoaxes of 2011

It seems like 2011 was the year of the celebrity death hoax which involved many musicians. We use that term loosely for the sake of this blog. Death is never a joking matter but you can't help but chuckle at the thousands of folk who got punked over fake death reports. Let's run through the most m ... More >>

The Film Issue

Looking back on the year in movies, and what's coming in 2012.

Love, Actually

Looking back on the year in movies, and what's coming in 2012.

Taking Apart Yesterday's Facebook Music Screed

​Yesterday, about a half-dozen of my Facebook friends forwarded a gloom-and-doom listicle from a site called Buzzfeed entitled "12 Extremely Disappointing Facts About Popular Music." Now up to over one million hits, the doom-and-gloom piece is subtitled "This is the saddest thing you'll read a ... More >>

World AIDS Day: Artists Who Have Contributed to the Cause

​Today is World AIDS Day. The theme this year is "Getting to Zero," focusing on zero AIDS related deaths. In hopes of achieving this goal, there has been many a celebrity to endorse AIDS awareness and various charities around the world. Quite a few musicians have used their celebrity status ... More >>

Miley Cyrus Smokes Weed! Pot Party in the USA!

OMG y'all, Miley Cyrus smokes weed, according to this video from the multimillionaire pop and TV star's 19th birthday party last Wednesday. Okay, she's not really a music star, but that whole Hannah Montana dual personality stuff was pretty popular. Truth be told, we think Cyrus has more than earn ... More >>

Your Biggest Fan: When Rockers Get Stalkers

cinemafestival/shutterstock.com​This past week a statement by pop institution Madonna helped put away one of her newest stalkers, Polish citizen Grzegorz Matlok, who broke into Madge's London home and the residence of her ex-hubby Guy Ritchie. Madonna submitted the statement to Southwark Crown ... More >>

Pop Rocks: Totally Serious Career Advice for Lindsay Lohan

And starring as "Vampira"...​Hey, haven't heard much about Lindsay Lohan recently, maybe she's finally on the right...oh: Lindsay Lohan will be headed back to court -- yet again. During a hearing in Los Angeles Wednesday, Judge Stephanie Sautner ordered the actress' probation revoked, and ru ... More >>

Five Musical MILFs Who Rocked Pregnancy

Beyoncé's ever-changing baby bump.​In the world of prominent celebrities, it's headlining news even if that famous person sneezes. So in when Houston's own Beyoncé announced her pregnancy at the 2011 VMA's in August, the media and fans went into a frenzy of reactions. Some were elated, some ... More >>

7 Musician Exes (Or Daughters) Who Should Write Tell-All Books

7. Dita Von Teese (Marilyn Manson): Famed burlesque performer Dita Von Teese (above) met Marilyn Manson in 2001. He proposed in 2004, and the couple wed a year later. Von Teese filed for divorce when she couldn't deal with Manson's alcohol abuse and his extramarital affair with actress Evan Rachel W ... More >>

Father Figures: 100 Famous Musicians' Paternal Professions

If you're a Texan of a certain age, this week you've probably spent some time mourning the death of Jerry Haynes, the children's TV host better known as Mr. Peppermint. Haynes' show on WFAA-TV in Dallas, Peppermint Place, ran from the '60s to the '90s and was widely syndicated across the state, incl ... More >>

When Gravity Attacks: 13 Memorable Onstage Stumbles

Lady Gaga kept a poker face after her Montreal fall.​Concert performances and award shows can sometimes really put the pressure on artists, who often get so nervous or excited that they may just faceplant the stage. We've complied you tube clips of some of the best mid-performance stumbles. So ... More >>

The X Factor Does Dallas (And Miami)

Fox​Audition round two of The X Factor is held in Miami and Dallas, and they tell a different story than Los Angeles. In my first recap, I was impressed with the consistently great talent The X Factor delivered, keeping the freak-show acts to a minimum. When the judges hit Miami, the dearth of ... More >>

And Now, the Least Anticipated Movies of Fall/Winter 2011

​Pop Rocks will return Thursday. The fall/winter movie season kicked off last weekend as Contagion dominated the box office (the highly touted Warrior, not so much). I've already covered, in some depth, those releases coming up in the remainder of 2011 that might merit a closer look. We learn ... More >>

"Change Your Name To A Symbol" & Other Dumb Ways To Derail Your Music Career

brightestyoungthings.comThe sign officially known as "Love Symbol #2"​Sunday marked the 18th anniversary of the date Prince changed his name to that confounded "Love Symbol", and we can't help but wonder if he would have had more success had he waited a decade or two. Like it or not, in toda ... More >>

Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow

brightestyoungthings.comThe sign officially known as "Love Symbol #2"​Sunday marked the 18th anniversary of the date Prince changed his name to that confounded "Love Symbol", and we can't help but wonder if he would have had more success had he waited a decade or two. Like it or not, in toda ... More >>

Pop Rocks: A (Not Really) Canonical List Of Wardrobe Malfunctions (NSFW)

Bad idea.​The "wardrobe malfunction" is a phenomenon I confess I wasn't really aware of until Super Bowl XXXVIII. Half of us at the party were watching the actual Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake halftime show, the other half were watching the South Park (or was it Family Guy?) episode running ... More >>

Pop Rocks: What's Your [Wardrobe] Malfunction? (NSFW)

Bad idea.​The "wardrobe malfunction" is a phenomenon I confess I wasn't really aware of until Super Bowl XXXVIII. Half of us at the party were watching the actual Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake halftime show, the other half were watching the South Park (or was it Family Guy?) episode running ... More >>

What Hip-Hop's Cash Kings Should Buy With All That Loot

​Forbes has unveiled its annual list of hip-hop cash kings. The Top 20 includes 21 big shottas - who said math was a requirement to work at Forbes? - with whom we'd gladly trade bank accounts. Pop the hood to see Rocks Off's breakdown of the Top 10 earners and what they should buy with all th ... More >>