More Records Being Broken

It seems like every other day a Billboard record is being broken...

This week Taylor Swift sets a new high for biggest opening sales week of a digital song by a female artist, with her new tune "Today was a Fairytale", which sold an impressive 325,000 last week.

That number is good enough to knock former record holder Britney Spears down to the #2 spot. In 2008 her single "Womanizer" debuted with 286,000 when it rocketed to the #1 position.

I know the digital age is still booming, and most "records" will be broken within a couple months of each other, but I think this all delegitimizes some of the feats that have been set in the past.

Things have changed in the music business; a #1 single in 2010 is not the same as a #1 single in the year 2000. Back in the beginning of the decade, albums sold MILLIONS of copies, now most are lucky to break 500,000.

Sad.

(Image courtesy of Billboard.com)

Two of My Favorite Things Combined

The A&E show Intervention takes an in-depth look at what it's like to be an addict, from the alcoholics who drink a gallon of vodka a day to the coke heads who snort until their nose's fall off. The shows riveting to be completely honest, but scary and intense at the same time.

This week, former member of the R&B group City High will be on the episode. Robby Pardlo was riding high with the band in the early 2000's when the group scored a couple of hits "What Would You Do" and "Caramel", earning themselves a Grammy nomination and a gold record.

But things have changed, and Robby is now a full-blown alchy.

The show will feature his family trying to stage an intervention in hopes that he will get his life back on track.

I personally like City High very much; the hip-hop/R&B/pop combo they offered was something I highly enjoyed!!

Who knows, maybe they'll reunite and be bigger than ever!

Haha..oh me and my daydreams.

(Image courtesy of souldiscoveries.files.wordpress.com)

Scaring People is Super Fun

So most of my friends are aware that I enjoy scaring people occasionally, and it gives me great pleasure when someone gets REALLY scared.

That's why I love Ellen Degeneres even more after watching her scare celebrities on her show.

What's great about Ellen scaring the likes of Taylor Swift, David Spade, Kellie Pickler, Christina Applegate is the fact that these celebs become more human; they'll shit their pants just like everyone else if a fake tree on set comes alive and sneaks up behind them.

My two favorites scares are when Ellen hides in the bathroom and screams when Swift comes in, and when a PETRIFYING clown sneaks up to Kellie Pickler.

Check them out!

Ellen scares Taylor

Ellen scares Kellie

(Image courtesy of blogs.venturacountystar.com)

Talking to a Werewolf

Working for a large city magazine does have its perks! Last week I had the opportunity to interview actor Chaske Spencer, who plays the role of Sam Uley in the hugely successful Twilight Saga: New Moon.

He is in town to sign autographs at a Worcester Sharks game and I spoke with him briefly on the phone last week from his NYC hotel room.

Chaske was really nice and a good sport during the interview; Only a year ago he was a little known actor but now he has broken out in a BIG way.

Look for him in New Moon, as well as the upcoming Eclipse, which is set to be released this summer.

And be sure to check out the interview with Chaske in this week's issue of Worcester Magazine!

(Image courtesy of reelmovienews.com)

Cameron Beats Cameron

He's done it! James Cameron's EPIC fantasy flick Avatar has now become the highest grossing international film EVER.

This weekend the film pulled in another $36 million, enough to move past the $1.84 billion record that Titanic held since its release in 1997. Who directed that film? Oh right, JAMES CAMERON.

Domestically, Avatar is still behind Titanic, with a total gross of $552.8 million, compared to Titanic's $600.8 million.

Many people thought that Titanic's gross was unbreakable, but now it looks like Avatar will surpass that in the next couple of weeks!!

(Image courtesy of images.allmoviephoto.com)

SAG's Love Basterds

With awards show season in full swing, it's hard to keep track of who is winning what! But the SAG awards that were broadcasted on Saturday were another step along the way to Oscar glory.

Helping their odds of taking home a golden statue in February is Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, which took home the night's top prize of Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, beating out the casts of An Education, The Hurt Locker, Nine, and Precious.

Also continuing their winning streaks were Sandra Bullock, Mo'Nique, Jeff Bridges, and Christoph Waltz, who all won acting prizes for their roles in The Blind Side, Precious, Crazy Heart, and Basterds.

These four all took home a Golden Globe Award, AND a Critics Choice Award just last week, which definitely makes them all the front-runners for the Academy Award.

(Image courtesy of cdn.showbizspy.com)

Vampires Have The #1 Album in the USA

No, it's no the soundtrack to New Moon. New York rock band Vampire Weekend earn their first chart topper with their sophomore album "Contra" which sold 124,000 last week, good enough for a #1 debut.

The bands debut record has sold almost 500,000 copies in the U.S., not bad for an album released off an independent label.

The #1 debut marks only 12th independently distributed album to claim the top spot on the Billboard 200. so well done boys!

Susan Boyle's monster hit album "I Dreamed a Dream" continues to hold down the #2 spot, and may even return to #1 after her interview on Oprah this week.

The charts are pretty quiet this week, with only one other debut in the top 20, and very little change in the top 10:

1. Vampire Weekend "Contra" (124,000)

2. Susan Boyle "I Dreamed a Dream" (77,000)

3. Ke$ha "Animal" (67,000)

4. Lady Gaga "The Fame" (64,000)

5. Alicia Keys "The Element of Freedom" (48,000)

6. Lady Gaga "The Fame Monster" (36,000)

7. Mary J. Blige "Stronger With Each Tear" (35,000)

8. Taylor Swift "Fearless" (33,000)

9. Soundtrack "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel" (33,000)

10. Black Eyed Peas "The E.N.D." (32,000)

(Image courtesy of Billboard.com)