Taylor Swift takes Album of the Year at the Grammy’s
Taylor Swift topped all at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards winning Album of the Year for “Fearless.” With over five million albums sold, Swift had it in the bag, but her night didn’t just end there. Swift ended up walking out with a total of four wins out of eight nominations for categories like Best Country Album and Best Country Song.
Two-hour telethon makes history in Haiti relief efforts
The two hour telethon, Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief, was reported as the most widely distributed telethon in history. The music world came together for this event to raise money and spread awareness about the devastation in Haiti. Artists like Wyclef Jean, a Haitian native, performed and spoke to the public, while actors like Mel Gibson and Reese Witherspoon manned telephone lines. Broadcasting from New York, Los Angeles, London and Haiti, it comes as no surprise that the telethon was the biggest in history. Organizations like the Wyclef’s Yele Haiti Foundation and the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund will be sending all the proceeds to Haiti. iTunes has even joined in by selling the performances from the night and donating the money towards Haiti relief.
Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’ now a musical
Members of Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’ Musical performed alongside the band at the Grammy’s. The musical tells of a search for meaning in a chaotic world. There is talk that they want to debut sometime in April in Manhattan’s St. James Theatre, but no confirmed dates of the play have been set due to the fact that they are still holding a casting call. Included in the musical are songs from Green Day’s newest album, “21st Century Breakdown.” Michael Mayer will direct the musical.
Michael Jackson’s doctor charged with manslaughter
The family of Michael Jackson wants harsher charges against his physician, Dr. Conrad Murray. The prosecutors plan to seek charges of involuntary manslaughter for the reckless dispensing of dangerous medicines such as sleeping pills. The family believes it is only a slap on the wrist since the most time Murray could face would be four years in prison. Jackson hired Murray when he began preparing for a series of strenuous comeback performances. Murray gave the chronic insomniac proposal and two other sedatives, which, according to the coroner’s office, was the cause of his death. The case is still up in the air as Murray prepared by hiring a new staff of attorneys.
Autopsy results released for Brittany Murphy, Casey Johnson
The autopsy results for Brittany Murphy and Casey Johnson were released this week. Johnson, the heiress of Johnson & Johnson, who is best known for her recent, spur of the moment engagement to “Shot at Love” star Tila Tequila, passed away in early January. Toxicology results reported that the cause of her death was “inconclusive”, with no evidence of trauma to the body. Murphy’s death was caused in part by drug intoxication, and pneumonia. Murphy leaves behind husband Simon Monjack, who has been accused of foul play.
