February 02, 2006

Finally the battle for top spot of Billboard 200 between Jamie Foxx and Mary J. Blige has ended as pop-opera group Il Divo sneaks in to take the honor on the chart by Wednesday, February 1 through "Ancora." With 156,000 copies sold for the week ended Sunday, January 29 as counted by Nielsen SoundScan, the record scored a significant note on the chart for its success marks the first time an album topped the Billboard 200 without a radio single since Radiohead's "Kid A" in 2000.

Securing the second rank, Josh Turner came in with his sophomore effort, "Your Man", followed by Foxx's "Unpredictable" on number 3 and Blige's "The Breakthrough" on number 4. Placed in order, the next 6 are "Lights and Sounds" by Yellowcard, "Now #1s" by various artists, "Some Hearts" by Carrie Underwood, "Curtain Call" by Eminem, "Testify" by P.O.D., and "High School Musical" by various artists.

British alternative rock band Radiohead sets to line up with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Elvis Costello & The Imposters, plus Beck to give highlight to the fifth annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, to be held June 16-18 in Manchester, Tennessee.

Originally intended to display the jam-band acts, this year event seems to provide more chance toward both mainstream and indie rock as it also will feature bands like My Morning Jacket, Death Cab for Cutie, or Cat Power among others. Tickets will be available for sale by February 11.

Still dealing with the his October case, Boy George, who is best known for his androgynous persona and Culture Club hits, showed up briefly in Manhattan court to answer charges concerning his drug possession on Wednesday, February 1. The pop singer previously was arrested at his New York apartment after the police discovered a small amount of cocaine there following his 911 call of burglary report which turned out to be false.

Accompanied by his lawyer, Lewis Freeman, George said nothing during the court appearance nor entered a plea during the session yet he, through Freeman, insisted that the drugs were not his. The meeting was finally ended with the Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Anthony Ferrara's decision to postpone the case to March 8.

There will be two Matthew in McG's new project of the untitled college football drama as "Lost" star Matthew Fox has joined Matthew McConaughey to film this Warner Bros production about the 1970 plane crash incident happened to a college football team along with the coaching staff and sports commentators. Fox will portray a coach named Red Dawson who teams up with Jack Lengyel, played by McConaughey, in rebuilding his team.

Looking for a potential film project to be produced under his Cruise/Wagner Production Company, Tom Cruise has been reported to purchase the rights of a romantic love story written by "Serendipity" writer Marc Klein. "We believe Marc Klein has come up with an original and very moving love story," the company's executive, Don Granger, remarked. Well, just wait and see for the movie to come up then.

In just two months after his divorce with Jessica Simpson, Nick Lachey apparently has found a new love in Lizzie Arnold, a 28-year-old brunette who turns out to be the 2001 Miss Kentucky when he was spotted romancing the beauty queen at Los Angeles club Lax a month earlier. "They've been together for about a month," so said a friend of them to In Touch Magazine, insisting that the two have really become an item.

Nick Lachey was having his lunch in Brentwood, Calif. when Internet security expert Parry Aftab approached him and told him that his name is one of the more frequent names used by pedophiles to lure unsuspecting teens. Finding such phenomenon is shocking of course.

Though, the singer has had a way out for that. Teaming up with Aftab, and two entrepreneurs, Lachey co-founded www.yfly.com, a safe Internet chat and networking site created for teens, which blocks uninvited guests. The site reportedly has been launched Feb 2nd, 2006.

"Music and Lyrics" has found its right tunes in Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant as both have been billed to take the leads in this romantic flick as the songwriters who fall in love while collaborating on a music project. Written and directed by Marc Lawrence, this romantic flick will begin the shooting process by the end of March in New York City with Barrymore as the executive producer through her own production company, Flower Films.