A jam packed lineup of top pop stars will collaborate for a remake of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” to raise funds for AIDS victims in Africa.
Included on the lineup which was brought together by Bono of U2 will be Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, *NSYNC, the Backstreet Boys, Destiny’s Child, Alicia Keys, Gwen Stefani and Ja Rule.
The singers will record their vocals separately at a Manhattan Studio and the single will be released soon, organizers say.
The New York Daily News’ cover story this morning was Mariah Carey’s relapse and sources telling them the singer has been admitted to the large psychiatric wing of the UCLA Medical Center in Westwood.
Carey had been spending the weekend at the exclusive Bacara resort in Santa Barbara.
A source revealed to the Daily News Mariah “May have tried to go back to work too soon. She had been meeting with executives at Virgin Records, and apparently she simply wasn’t ready for that.”
The Sun reports Britney was “in floods of tears” following word that she’d have to back out of her scheduled duet with Michael Jackson as lawyers for HBO threatened to sue Spears for millions if she made the appearance.
Michael also was very upset as an insider told the Sun, “He just wept into his phone. He was inconsolable.”
Also hurting Britney was the fact that boyfriend Justin Timberlake would appear with Jackson that night while she wouldn’t.
A pal told Dominic, “She so wanted to perform on stage with Michael but now the men in suits have said she can’t.”
Additional details, or lack thereof, from Cindy from the New York Post as they report the rep saying, “She is resting in an undisclosed location.” When pressed where that could be she said, “She could be in a hotel, on a boat, anywhere. She just needed some time to rest.”
The New York Post reports Britney Spears has been forced to drop out of her planned Michael Jackson performance at the last minute citing HBOs requirement that she cannot appear on any other televised performance within a month of her “Britney Spears Live from the MGM Grand Las Vegas,” special which airs Nov. 18 on HBO.
Spears’ rep Ame Van Iden told the Post, “Britney did have to pull out - and she’s really upset about it.”
Britney originally thought the Jackson special would air before October 18th, but while no date has been set, it appears unlikely that date would be met according to a CBS spokesperson.
August 31, 2001 - The New York Post is reporting Michael almost didn’t get to the NASDAQ market site to open trading on Thursday as he got lost in the adjoining Conde Nast building.
A witness told the Post, “He got lost and ended up in the messenger center, and then all these people started screaming, ‘It’s Michael Jackson!'”
After a crowd developed around him, Jackson reportedly took out an umbrella and threw it over a security camera and ran away “like a scared little bunny.”
August 30, 2001 - The New York Daily News is reporting Michael’s budget to film Thriller is running over $4 million according to a music insider, where he says the original budget was half of that figure.
Jackson also opened trading on the NASDAQ this morning, but it was no help to the battered market as the tech index is retesting its multi-year low.
The Daily News also reports Michael’s original pick to star in his video, Robert DeNiro, had no interest in the project as an insider revealed, “I don’t think he gave it a lot of thought.”
No doubt Brando’s appearance ballooned the budget as he usually commands multi-millions for any appearance on film.
Following the leak of Britney’s I’m A Slave For You, many appear to be disappointed with the song… though some like the direction Britney is heading. On the abstracts.net message board, grandaddy says, “It’s… boring? Honestly i can see why Oops was so popular, because it was so catchy, but this?”
HotStuff113 adds, “hmm i don’t like it..it is boring. i expected better.”
On the LiveDaily board Britina states, I’m disappointed. I don’t like this song at all. Her vocals are really bad…she doesn’t sound “mature””
Some appear to like the track though and do think the song is catchy, as PopFan states, “I like it BECAUSE it’s not catchy and typical POP fare. It’s nothing like OOPS or BABY which is a good thing you guys, it means she’s improving and progessing as an ARTIST.”
What do you think? Post your comments below.
Britney Spears’ I’m A Slave For You has worked its way onto the web ahead of her debut of the song at the VMAs tomorrow. A brief listen to the song shows rumors of ‘orgasmic’ singing is exagerrated.
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AJ returned to New York to perform for the first time since his rehab stint. NY Daily News writer Isaac Guzman reports McLean told the crowd, “I want to thank you for allowing me some time to myself to get better. Today is 62 days sober. It’s like having a birthday every day. It’s wonderful.”
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Mariah Carey cancelled her 20/20 appearance where she was to be interviewed by Barbara Walters citing a need for more rest.
Walters responded to the news saying, “We were concerned to hear that Ms. Carey would be unable to do the interview at this time, and wish her well.”
The New York Post reports PETA has added itself to organizations upset over Britney’s planned use of cheetahs in her VMA performance on Thursday.
PETA’s Dan Mathews released a letter asking Britney to stop her plans saying, “We hope you’ll open your heart to the plight of captive -wild’ animals caged and forced to tolerate bright lights, crowds, and frightening levels of noise.”
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