day 108

dancing loses 2 stars, gains bunny 

even before the show has premiered, two female contestants have had to drop out of the newest season of dancing with the stars due to knee injuries.  jewel is officially out of the competition, after about a week of speculation that she would have to bow out, as is access hollywood host nancy o'dell, who tore her meniscus.  the alphabet net made the announcement today and confirmed rumors that holly madison of the girls next door will be stepping into jewel's high heels.  as soon as abc made the decision, holly's ex hugh hefner went on record as saying he helped get holly the spot because it's been a dream of hers to dance on the famous stage, which will have a whole new look this season - the entire set has been revamped, according to dancing pro cheryl burke.  so who will take over for nancy o'dell?  that's open to speculation.  no one has been announced and i don't think the network was ready for two female stars to bow out so soon.  there's also talk that gilles marini, of sex and the city: the movie fame, has torn the meniscus in his shoulder.  will he have to step down, too?  as for now, gilles is sticking it out, but an announcement might be made in the next couple of days if he has to pull out, too.  it seems like this season of dancing is quite the cursed one.  we'll see how this all plays out when the eighth edition of the series kicks off monday night.

chris brown, not on lockdown

chris brown is going to have to wait another month until his arraignment.  his official court date was today but the judge is giving the tabloid target until april 6th to find out his fate.  chris did the unexpected and did not enter a plea bargain before court, even though his legal team has been working on various strategies over the past few days.  that pretty much means chris doesn't want to admit that he's guilty.  because of the hearing, the official police report was released today.  the whole incidence did begin because rihanna found text messages from another woman on chris' phone - not because she gave him herpes.  the big news about the whole chris/rihanna drama is that the duo got engaged.  neither star's rep would comment on the impending marriage because of the ongoing trial, which makes me believe that the story is true.  if it weren't, wouldn't you want to deny it? chris is also said to have hired extra security and is halting all communication between rihanna and her family.  this is starting to sound like a britney-adnan-sam lutfi/whitney-bobby thing. leave rihanna alone!

michael jackson's final bow

michael jackson is feeling the pinch of the recession.  the former king of pop is putting on his final ten london performances (ever) - his first in nearly a decade - under the title "this is it" at london's o2 arena, starting in july.  posters went up late last night/this morning at tube stations all over the uk, with a press conference with the strange star happening in the afternoon.  at least wacko jacko was able to put the rumors that he is dying to rest.  this concert series is said to be three years in the making; that's how long it took jackson's team and producers in london to come to an agreement.  i guess that's why he's been so low key the past few years?  he wasn't sure if he would be going on tour or not!  the buzz is that jackson will make $10 million for the performances.  not a bad deal.  jackson's last performance was his solo 20th anniversary concert at madison square garden in 2001, with his last tour having ended in 1997. if you're interested in hopping the pond, tickets for the show go on sale march 13th.