This Week's Top Pop Stories

Here are the top stories from this week's Day in Pop and the top Day in Pop digest stories

Nude Christina Aguilera Leak- Miley Cyrus Caught Smoking Pot- Aretha Franklin Cancer?- Star Jailed for Child Sex Charges- More Michael Jackson Music Expected- more

The Day in Pop Digest Recap for the week of Dec 9th: (Billboard) Miley Cyrus has once again been caught behaving badly on camera, but this time she's not making out with some boy at her 18th birthday party -- she's taking hits from a bong with her friends. See it here

(Jam!) Christina Aguilera's representatives have vowed to "aggressively" pursue the computer hackers responsible for leaking nearly-nude photos of the singer online on Wednesday. more

(Jam!) Soul singer Aretha Franklin, who recently underwent surgery for an undisclosed health issue, was reported to be suffering from pancreatic cancer, the Detroit News said on its web site. more

(NME) Richard Finch, former bassist with KC And The Sunshine Band, has been sentenced to seven years in jail after admitting to sexually assaulting several teenage boys. more

(NME) A woman who 'slashed' Leonardo DiCaprio's face with a broken bottle in 2005 has been sentenced to two years in prison. more

(Billboard) Katy Perry becomes the first female artist in 11 years to take three straight radio singles from an album to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, as "Firework" lifts 2-1. more

(NME) Willow Smith is on course to top the UK singles chart. 'Whip My Hair' is currently outselling its nearest contender, Black Eyed Peas' new effort 'The Time (Dirty Bit)' more

Stateside, The Black Eyed Peas could manage only a No. 6 start for "The Beginning," which sold just 119,000 copies during the week ended December 5, more

(Billboard) The music video for "Hold My Hand," the first official single off Michael Jackson's posthumous album "Michael" (out Dec. 14), premiered today (Dec. 9) at 12:01 a.m. Check it out here

Cassandra Wilson will be joining Prince on stage at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ on December 17th.

(Yahoo) Oprah Winfrey says she's not a lesbian, not even a little bit. Her long personal and professional connection with Gayle King has sparked rumors that they are gay, but Winfrey denies it in an upcoming interview with ABC's Barbara Walters. more

(Yahoo) Attorneys for the doctor charged in Michael Jackson's death asked a judge on Wednesday to order testing on two syringes and an IV bag found in the pop singer's home that they say are rapidly deteriorating more

(NME) Liam Neeson has talked for the first time about Wrath Of The Titans, the sequel to this year's Clash Of The Titans reboot, confirming that he'll once again play the role of Zeus. more

(FMQB) Katy Perry's next album may feature a slightly different moniker, as the singer plans to take the name of new hubby Russell Brand. more

(Hollywood Reporter) "Eclipse" topped the national home video sales charts the week ending December 5 even though the third film in the "Twilight" vampire saga arrived in stores at midnight Friday instead of the customary Tuesday. more

(FMQB) Rapper Q-Tip appeared as a guest on the Shade 45 Sirius XM channel and discussed his gripe with the forthcoming documentary about A Tribe Called Quest. more

(Yahoo) Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer was honored Wednesday with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and he used the unveiling to remember his publicist, Ronni Chasen, who was slain in November. more

(Yahoo) Police on Wednesday said preliminary ballistics tests showed the gun a man used to kill himself as officers went to talk to him about Ronni Chasen's killing was the same weapon that was used to kill her. more

(FMQB) With the new Michael Jackson album, Michael, coming out next week, producer Teddy Riley says that more Jacko material will be on the way as well. "I look forward to doing the next one and I'm glad I'm on board," Riley told BBC Newsbeat on Thursday more

(Jam!) Mariah Carey's husband Nick Cannon has laughed off rumours his wife is pregnant with twins - insisting the singer simply made a slip-up in a recent interview. more

(Billboard) Justin Bieber was the world's most-streamed music artist in 2010, according to numbers shared by video analytics company TubeMogul. Bieber collected 1.07 billion streams through Dec. 7. more

(FMQB) Prince sent the ladies of The View into a tizzy when he dropped by the show unannounced on Thursday to promote his Welcome 2 America concert dates. View host Sherri Shepherd was the most excited, as she first requested that Prince declare his love for he more

(Billboard) Following her performances as part of the "Rock The Bells" festival, Lauryn Hill is scheduled to play two more shows in the coming weeks more

(BBC) Avatar director James Cameron, Shrek filmmaker Andrew Adamson and Cirque du Soleil are to team up on a series of 3D movies more

(Jam!) A federal judge has rejected singer Carly Simon's lawsuit against Starbucks for a second time. In late 2009, Simon sued the coffee chain after it decided to exit the music business just five days before her latest album was scheduled to be released in its stores. more

(BBC) Wesley Snipes arrives at a federal prison in Pennsylvania to begin a three-year sentence for tax evasion. more

(Yahoo) An injury has forced Dick Van Dyke to cancel his new musical show in Los Angeles. Van Dyke is unable to perform because of an injury to his Achilles tendon more -

Eminem Scores Biggest Selling Album of 2010

iTunes announced yesterday that Eminem's Recovery was as the best-selling album of the year in their Rewind 2010 roundup.

Eminem's sixth consecutive #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart, debuting at the top spot and racking up seven weeks at #1, Recovery has sold more than 5,600,000 copies worldwide.

The album also debuted at #1 on both the Rap and R&B/Hip-hop charts. In addition, Recovery nabbed the #1 slot around the globe, from Australia and Austria to Greece, Canada and the U.K. Eminem has sold more than 85,000,000 albums worldwide to date. - more on this story

Dr. Dre Releasing New Video Today Featuring Snoop Dogg and Akon

Dr. Dre is releasing the video for "Kush," the first single from his forthcoming album Detox featuring Snoop Dogg and Akon. The clip will premiere today (Friday, December 10) on Vevo.com.

About the track "Kush," which is available now, Dre says, "It's a fun song, it's hot and people seem to be loving it and that's an exciting thing because I know if people are loving this song they're going to really get into the record because this is just the tip of the iceberg."

The Joseph Kahn-directed video finds Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg in yet another classic video collaboration but Dre says, "It's not like 'getting together with Snoop again,' we always stay in touch and Snoop is like my little brother so this is just what we do." - more on this story

Madonna Opening Fitness Center in Moscow

Madonna has announced the opening of the second Hard Candy Fitness Center in Moscow which is projected to open in mid-March 2011.

The new facility will be a beautifully designed and unique 35,000 square foot space located near Red Square.

"It's especially exciting to have the second Hard Candy Fitness open in Moscow as I really enjoyed the city and the people when I visited during my 'Sticky & Sweet Tour.' Working in collaboration with the experts at NeV and Irina, I know that we will create the ideal workout environment in Moscow that represents my health and fitness philosophy as well as include innovative and inspiring programs," commented Madonna. - more on this story

Train's Hey, Soul Sister Biggest-Selling Song Of 2010

Train's "Hey, Soul Sister" was the biggest-selling song on the iTunes Store this year. The worldwide smash was named top song in iTunes' "Rewind 2010" year-end roundup.

"Hey, Soul Sister" has reached #1 at radio in the US and in 15 countries abroad as well. "Hey, Soul Sister" was the first single from the band's gold release Save Me, San Francisco.

Earlier this month, the band earned a Grammy nomination with "Hey, Soul Sister," for Best Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. The Awards will be given out in on Sunday, February 13th at 8pm on CBS. They earned two Grammy Awards in 2001 for their song "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)." - more on this story

Hell's Kitchen Voted Top Reality Show

Reality Rocks Expo announces the Top 75 Reality Shows: After 90,000 votes and a month of waiting, the verdict is in on the most popular reality, factual and lifestyle television shows.

Hell's Kitchen has earned the most votes from fans, while Dog the Bounty Hunter tops the list with the most loyal voters. Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Dancing With the Stars, Cake Boss, Teen Mom, Chopped, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, Iron Chef and Bret Michaels: Life As I Know It are also among the top 78 shows that include the top 75 voted shows by fans and three producer picks.

These beloved, top-rated shows will now move on to a second round of voting by category and genre, including: Favorite Female Personality; Favorite Villain; Best Host of Science Reality; and Favorite Food Competition, to name a few, with final nominees to be announced in January. - more on this story

Greyson Chance Debut Coming Next Week

Greyson Chance's debut single "Waiting Outside the Lines" will be released next Tuesday, December 14th.

Greyson's first CD will also include a never before heard version of the song that made him an internet sensation, Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi," as well as a powerful cover of "Fire" by Augustana.

Additionally, the single will feature a bonus video component. "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" will premiere a clip of the video for his single "Waiting Outside the Lines" on her show airing Tuesday, December 14th. That same day the video will premiere in full on VEVO.com. - more on this story

Neal McCoy Releasing A Book

(Webster) After eleven albums, over twenty-five charted singles, and countless fans across the nation, charismatic country music sensation Neal McCoy adds published author to his impressive résumé with the nationwide release of his first book, "A New Mountain to Climb," based on his newest single by the same name.

When McCoy recorded "A New Mountain to Climb," he says he thought of people who have inspired him and changed his life. From there, the idea for the book evolved.

Each chapter of the book illuminates the character of those McCoy refers to as his heroes, those who climb life's toughest mountains through serious physical handicaps, relentless pain, the loss of someone dear, the end of a dream, or leadership under pressure. - more on this story

Carrie Underwood Named Artist of the Year

(Gibson) Carrie Underwood was named Artist of the Year at the inaugural American Country Music Awards held in Las Vegas.

BBC News reports that Lady Antebellum picked up four awards including single of the year for "Need You Now".

The American Country Music Awards differ from other country music award extravaganzas in that winners were decided by online voting. Underwood thanked her fans, saying: "We wouldn't be doing anything if there weren't people out there sitting in that audience. You guys are awesome for supporting us like you do." - more on this story

Susan Boyle Back On Top

Susan Boyle is back on top. Her latest album The Gift, the fastest-selling holiday album in history, has returned to the Number 1 spot on the Billboard 200.

The Gift originally debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard 200 immediately following its domestic release on November 9, retaining its position the following week.

The album is now back for its third week (out of four) at Number 1 in the US, selling 271,500 copies during the past week. - more on this story

LCD Soundsystem Beat Arcade Fire and Kanye West For Album of the Year Honors

LCD Soundsystem's "This is Happening" has been named the top album of the year by the Rhapsody music service.

It was a tight race between "This is Happening" and The National's celebrated "High Violet," which bested third-place contender, "The Suburbs" by Arcade Fire. Other artists on the list include Broken Bells, Janelle Monae, The Black Keys, Robyn, Gorillaz, Kanye West and Vampire Weekend.

Rhapsody will feature these albums, and the rest of the Top 25, with essays and reviews by Rhapsody's music editors, who will delve into the top three albums. - more including the top 10 list

Keyshia Cole Calling All Hearts

Geffen Records will release Keyshia Cole's fourth CD, Calling All Hearts, on December 21, 2010.

The CD is available in both standard and deluxe editions. The deluxe edition will contain 3 additional songs; 11 tracks are on the standard with 14 on the deluxe.

Featuring collaborations with Nicki Minaj, Faith Evans, Tank, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Timbaland, her mother Yvonne Cole and others among the album's 14 songs, Calling All Hearts is an emotional manifesto about life and love in our modern world. Two singles from the album are currently available: "I Ain't Thru" featuring Nicki Minaj and "Long Way Down," which Keyshia recently performed on Jay Leno. - more on this story

Michael Buble Goes High Def This Weekend

(PR) HDNet Concert Series will premiere "Michael Buble Meets Madison Square Garden," this Sunday, December 12 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

The concert, which won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, was recorded at the famed New York arena and features a show-stopping collection of Buble's hits including, "Sway," "Save the Last Dance for Me" and "How Sweet It Is," as well as selections from his new album "Crazy Love."

The Canadian native who has won three Grammy Awards and ten Juno Awards has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide, and continues to gain accolades for his unique vocal style. - Preview

G. Love Hitting The Road

(Fresh and Clean) G. Love is pleased to announce the first leg of his U.S. tour in support of his new country blues and roots album, Fixin' To Die, set for release on Brushfire Records on February 22, 2011.

Recorded at Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville, NC, and produced by Scott and Seth Avett, the album is arguably G. Love's most sincere and candid work to date. - more on this story