Access Hollywood reports that Britney Spears is engaged to her former agent, Jason Trawick. Jason confirmed the news to Access Hollywood?s Billy Bush on December 16. He proposed to Britney the night before as they celebrated his 40th birthday. This will be Jason?s first marriage and Britney?s third.
Madonna has signed a new recording deal with Interscope Records. Billboard reports that the three-album deal is worth $40 million. The deal is in partnership with Live Nation. Madonna signed a 10-year multi-rights contract with Live Nation in 2007. Her first album for Interscope will be released in March 2012. Its lead single, ?Gimme All Your Luvin,? is scheduled to drop in late January.
Michael Buble stays at Number One on the chart for a third week with his new holiday album, . According to Nielsen SoundScan, the set sold 479,000 copies during the past week. Sales of now total more than 1.5 million copies in the U.S.
Four new albums make Top 10 entries on this week?s . The Black Keys? debuts at Number 2, Amy Winehouse?s comes in at Number 5, lands on the list at Number 9 and Korn?s enters at Number 10.
Performing rights organization ASCAP reports that ?Sleigh Ride? is the most-played holiday song for the second year in a row. Mediaguide compiled the Top 10 list after tracking songs played on 2,500 U.S. radio stations. Rounding out the Top 10, in descending order, are ?Winter Wonderland,? ?The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire),? ?Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!,? ?Jingle Bell Rock,? ?It?s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,? ?Do You Hear What I Hear?,? ?It?s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas,? ?Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas? and ?Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.?
Lady Gaga leads Forbes magazine?s 2011 Top-Earning Women in Music list. Her album sales, concerts and endorsements brought in $90 million. Taylor Swift is in second place with $45-million, followed by Katy Perry, who earned $44 million. Rounding out the Top Five are Beyonce with $35 million and Rihanna with $29 million.
Black Entertainment Television (BET) has announced its 2012 BET Honors recipients. They include singers Mariah Carey and Stevie Wonder, writer/poet Maya Angelou, filmmaker Spike Lee, America?s first black military pilots group The Tuskegee Airmen, and inspirational coach Beverly Kearney. The 2012 BET Honors will be presented on January 14 at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C.
?Dreamer the Believer? by Common
?TM 103 Hustlerz Ambition? by Young Jeezy
?The Juice? by Roscoe Dash
?The Rum Diary? the original motion picture soundtrack
Pop star celebrated her 31st birthday on December 18. In 1999, she recorded her self-titled debut album. It featured such hits as ?Genie In A Bottle,? ?I Turn To You? and ?What A Girl Wants,? and also earned her a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. One year later, Christina?s recorded her first Spanish language album, ?Mi Reflejo.? In 2001, she collaborated with Lil? Kim, Mya and Pink on a remake of Patti Labelle?s classic ?Lady Marmalade.? The song was included in the film, ?Moulin Rouge.? Christina supported her 2003 album, ?Stripped,? on a co-headlining tour with pop star Justin Timberlake. In 2004, she recorded a remake of the Rose Royce classic ?Car Wash? as a duet with Missy Elliott. It was featured on the motion picture soundtrack to ?Shark Tale.? Also in 2004, Christina collaborated with hip-hop star Nelly on ?Tilt Ya Head Back,? which appears on his CD, ?Sweat.? In 2005, she married music executive Jordan Bratman, who worked for Christina?s management company. The couple welcomed their son Max in 2008, but separated the following year. Christina?s 2006 album, ?Back To Basics,? reached Number One in 13 countries. She describes the collection as ?a throwback to the 20s, 30s and 40s-style jazz, blues and feel-good soul music, but with a modern twist.? In 2008, Christina signed an exclusive deal with Target for the release of her anthology, ?Keeps Gettin? Better: A Decade of Hits.? Her fourth album, ?Bionic,? was released last year. The set sold very poorly, but generated two Number One hits on Billboard?s Hot Dance chart. Also in 2010, Christina starred with Cher in ?Burlesque.? Christina contributed eight songs to the film?s soundtrack. This year, she was hired as a judge and mentor on the NBC reality show ?The Voice.? Christina will return for the second season, which begins on February 5.