Free Lady Gaga For Christmas

Gaga is currently in Japan, where she updated fans with this Tuesday tweet: "Sipping tea in Japan with Haus. Feeling so grateful. We sold about 1 million albums a month worldwide since the release of BORN THIS WAY." more on this story

Melanie Amaro Wins First American X Factor

(superLOUD) Melanie Amaro was announced as the winner of the first season of X Factor in a 2-hour finale episode on Thursday night.

She will receive a $5 million dollar recording contract as well as star in an upcoming Pepsi commercial.

The runner up was the soulful Josh Krajcik, mentored by Nicole Scherzinger in the "over 30's" category. Chris Rene of L.A. Reid's "boys" team rounded out the top 3.

Melanie Amaro was originally cut from the X Factor competition by Simon Cowell before the live shows began. more on this story

Michael Jackson's Brothers Plan Tour?

(TMZ) Michael Jackson's brothers Marlon, Tito and Jackie Jackson were so thrilled with the way they performed during a recent concert in Japan ... they've decided to take their show on the road ... TMZ has learned.

Jackson family sources tell us ... the brothers will be embarking on an 18-20 show concert tour that will span across Europe.

We're told the idea came together just two weeks ago ... when the guys were performing in Tokyo with a Japanese pop star named A.I.

The brothers had such a good time on stage together ... that when the idea of a tour came up, they all jumped at the opportunity!

Plus, the guys were so impressed with A.I., they've invited her to join them on the road.

Sources tell us the Jacksons are hoping to get the tour launched by next month -- but we're told their team is still trying to nail down the schedule ... so it could be pushed back by a few weeks.

So far, we're told Jermaine will not be joining the rest of the family ... but we're guessing he could change his mind ... if the price is right. more on this story

Britney Spears Scores Rolling Stone's Top Song of 2011

(popmusiclife) It wasn't a single, but Britney Spears' "How I Roll" has been named Top Song of 2011 by Rolling Stone.

The track, from Britney's "Femme Fatale" album, took top spot in the magazine's Pop Life column by Rob Sheffield.

The list is made up of Sheffield's "25 favorite songs of 2011, including but not limited to: hits, obscurities, disco jams, guitar monsters, boof-boof chants, pelican-fly rappers and karaoke-room-clearers. And Stevie Nicks, obviously." more on this story

Brigitte Nielsen Hospitalized After Crash

(TMZ) "Rocky IV" star Brigitte Nielsen was rushed to the hospital after a 3-car smash-up in L.A. Wed night -- and cops believe the person who caused the wreck was driving while hammered.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Nielsen was a passenger in a 2006 Porsche Cayenne ... which was struck from behind around 10:20 PM by a woman driving a Toyota Matrix.

We're told the Porsche was knocked forward ... striking the car in front of it. Cops and paramedics were called to the scene -- and the Matrix driver was arrested for DUI. Sources tell us the woman blew WELL ABOVE .08 on a breathalyzer test.

Nielsen -- who sustained injuries to her neck and back -- was transported to a nearby hospital, where doctors performed X-rays.

A rep for Nielsen tells us ... "She is back home. She's sore and resting." more on this story

'Just the Two of Us' Song Writer Ralph MacDonald Dead at 67

(Gibson) Ralph MacDonald, an esteemed percussionist and composer who co-wrote the hits "Just the Two of Us" and "Where is the Love?," died on Sunday (December 18) of lung cancer. The Connecticut resident was 67.

Born in New York City, MacDonald played steelpan percussion in Harry Belafonte's band for a decade before striking out on his own. His big break came in 1971, when Roberta Flack scored a hit with "Where is the Love?" – a song MacDonald had written with William Salter. Ten years later, Bill Withers and Grover Washington Jr. reached #2 on the Billboard charts with "Just the Two of Us," another co-write of MacDonald's and Salter's, which went on to win a Grammy.

MacDonald's recording credits numbered in the hundreds. His distinctively Caribbean-flavored percussion work can be heard on such tracks as David Bowie's "Young Americans" and Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville." Despite being in-demand among such stars, MacDonald remained true to his roots, and often traveled to his ancestral home of Trinidad and Tobago. His devotion to calypso remained evident in his work throughout his career. more on this story

My Sharona Digital Battle

(TMZ) Music doesn't pay like it used to -- at least according to the sister of deceased Knack drummer Bruce Gary ... who is now suing Capitol Records, claiming the company is screwing her out of hard-earned digital download money.

Gary's sister -- Felice Catena -- inherited the rights to Bruce's music after he passed away in 2006.

Now, she's filed a lawsuit in L.A. County Superior Court, claiming Capitol is shafting her ... paying only a teensy-weensy fraction of what she's owed on download proceeds for Knack hits like "My Sharona" and "Good Girls Don't."

According to the complaint, Capitol owes Catena not 12% ... not 25% ... but 50% of net receipts from sales of his music by iTunes, eMusic, Amazon, and others.

You see, back in the day -- recording contracts didn't contain provisions for digital downloads (obviously) ... so once iTunes came around, it wasn't clear whether to pay the artist their sale fee (around 12%-18%) or their licensing fee (around 50%).

Felice claims sales through digital distributors are actually licenses -- and she should be paid accordingly. Eminem infamously sued his record label for the same thing back in 2007 ... and won.

Good news for Ms. Catena. more on this story

Hype Jones Remixes Jessie J

(popmusiclife) Jessie J has a new remix track on her hands. Hype Jones has reworked the UK singer's "Domino," morphing the pop song to a full-on dance club rave-up.

The original song is featured on Jessie's "Who You Are" album.

Jessie recently joined Kelly Clarkson, Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson and more at the VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul concert special; the event was recorded at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom. Listen here.

Pink Saves Puppy

(TMZ) Pink just came through with a canine Christmas miracle -- shelling out $5,000 to pay for emergency life-saving surgery on a puppy that had been tossed in the L.A. river and left for dead.

Sources tell TMZ ... P!nk was surfing the Internet recently, when she stumbled upon a story about a puppy that had been thrown off an L.A. overpass ... and suffered 3 broken legs when it landed in the L.A. river.

We're told the dog was in bad shape ... and required major surgery FAST ... or else. That's when Pink sprung into action -- contacting the Ace of Hearts animal rescue organization and offering to pay for any medical expense it took to save the dog's life.

$5,000 later ... the dog went under the knife -- and recovered!!

And it gets better -- we're told the dog has since been adopted by a loving family ... and will probably get a big, juicy bone for Christmas. more on this story

Nedry Giving Away Two Tracks From Forthcoming Album

Nedry have set a worldwide March 12, 2012 release date of their sophomore album In A Dim Light via Monotreme Records.

But as a early treat to fans, two album tracks, "Float" and "Post Six" are available to stream/download here.

Drawing on the gothic undertones of David Lynch - and at points, absorbing T.S. Elliot's 'Four Quartets', vocalist Ayu Okakita revels in ruminations urging acceptance of the shadows; to permit the darkness to settle around her. more on this story

Feds Vs Sons of Guns

(TMZ) The star of the Discovery reality show "Sons of Guns" has been forced to surrender his Federal Firearm License after government officials discovered a bunch of his weapons had mysteriously gone missing ... TMZ has learned.

The man caught in the crosshairs is a famous gunsmith named William Hayden -- who founded Red Jacket Firearms in Baton Rouge Louisiana ... and hired his daughter Stephanie to help run the business.

Things went swimmingly until 2009 ... when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms conducted a routine inspection of RJF and discovered 10 guns registered to the company could not be accounted for ... a big, BIG problem.

We're told the feds pinned the blame on William and Stephanie -- and were looking to take serious action that could have resulted in the end of RJF.

But law enforcement sources tell us ... the Hayden's struck a deal with feds in 2010, in which the two agreed to surrender their gun-making licenses ... and in exchange, they could appoint a LICENSED person to take over the company.

It didn't take long for William and Stephanie to pick their successor ... they went with Vincent Buckles -- another gunsmith often featured on the reality show.

William and Stephanie went back to work for the company -- but since they are no longer allowed to own the gun business, they are working as employees.

Reps for the Haydens, RJF and Discovery all had no comment.

TMZ has learned Vincent Buckles has since left the company -- and two other licensed people are currently in charge of the business. more on this story

Mario Batali's Restaurant Hit With Sexual Harassment Case

(TMZ) Mario Batali's name has been dragged into a sexual harassment lawsuit in New York -- in which an ex-waiter claims the famous chef stood by for months ... while his fellow workers tortured him with butt slaps and masturbation stories.

Eugene Gibbons filed the suit in NY Supreme Court, claiming several co-workers ruthlessly harassed him while he worked at Batali's Babbo Restaurant in NYC -- co-owned by "MasterChef" judge Joe Bastianich. (Batali and Bastianich were not named as defendants.)

According to the suit, Eugene's co-workers "smacked his buttocks on a weekly basis," repeatedly grabbed his genitals, and made crude sexual comments ... including one instance when an employee told Eugene he masturbated to Eugene's pictures after his wife went to sleep.

Eugene claims Batali and Bastianich were fully aware of the harassment -- butt did nothing to stop it ... the suit claims ... by their inaction the two chefs condoned the campaign of humiliation.

Eugene ultimately quit -- he's now suing his former co-workers and the restaurant for unspecified damages. Calls to Mario and the restaurant were not returned. more on this story

Toddlers & Tiaras and Hooker Insults

(TMZ) Humanity reached a new low this week ... when a 5-year-old "Toddlers & Tiaras" star TRASHED a rival 3-year-old beauty queen ... saying she DRESSES LIKE A HOOKER.

5-year-old Isabella Barrett was leaving a spray tanning sesh in NYC -- again, she's 5 -- when she went off on 3-year-old Paisley Dickey for allegedly copying her spray tan ways.

Barrett (presumably with her mother's coaching) told TMZ ... "Last time I was here, Paisley was trying to copy me ... but MY mom doesn't dress me up as a hooker."

Barrett (and her mother) are referring to the infamous "Toddlers" episode ... when Paisley dressed up like Julia Roberts as a prostitute in "Pretty Woman" for a beauty pageant.

But Barrett's insult raises some questions -- namely, how the hell does a 5-year-old know the word "hooker"?

Based on how Isabella looks to her mother for approval throughout the video, you'd think her mom coached her to say it ... but that's ridiculous, right?

What mother in her right mind would teach her 5-year-old daughter ... to say another little girl dresses like a sex worker? more on this story