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

Michael Jackson Committed Suicide?- Usher Ripped Off The Simpsons?- MTV's Teen Mom Assault- Teena Marie's Death A Mystery- Kanye Kardashian?- Billy Taylor RIP- more

The Day in Pop Digest for 12/30/10: (Yahoo) The defense for the doctor facing trial for involuntary manslaughter in Michael Jackson's death will suggest the singer actually killed himself, a prosecutor said during a hearing Wednesday. more

(BBC) Executors of Michael Jackson's estate ask the Discovery Channel to cancel plans for an "insensitive" show re-enacting the late singer's autopsy. more

(Jam!) R&B star Usher has been accused of stealing from The Simpsons - DJs in America have allegedly found similarities between his hit track OMG and a comedy Christmas carol featured in the animated show. more

(Billboard) Kim Kardashian, who is supposedly working with The-Dream on her debut album, may have another rap collaboration up her sleeve -- with Kanye West. The two were spotted Tuesday (Dec. 28) outside a Culver City, Calif. recording studio more

(Yahoo) Prosecutors in central Indiana have filed felony domestic battery and child neglect charges against a star of the MTV reality show "Teen Mom." Anderson police began investigating 20-year-old Amber Portwood after a September episode showed her slapping, choking and kicking the 24-year-old father of her daughter. more

(Yahoo) Investigators say an autopsy on R&B singer Teena Marie revealed no signs of trauma, but it likely will be weeks before a cause of death will be determined more

(Billboard) Taylor Swift's "Speak Now" continues to reign on the Billboard albums tally with 276,000 according to Nielsen SoundScan, while over on the Digital Songs chart two songs notch historic sales weeks. more

(Yahoo) Billy Taylor, an acclaimed jazz pianist and composer who became one of the genre's most ardent advocates through radio, television and the landmark Jazzmobile arts venture, has died at age 89. more

(Billboard) Bruno Mars becomes the first male act in over 13 years to take his first two charting radio singles as a lead artist to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 more

(NME) Pixar movie Toy Story 3 has been named the highest-grossing film of 2010. The final installment in the franchise raked in over $1.06 billion at the worldwide box office following its summer release. more

(NME) A remake of the 1990 American sci-fi action film Total Recall has been announced. Len Wiseman, who directed the first two Underworld vampire films is set to direct the movie and he's revealed that he's approached Irish actor Colin Farrell to play the lead role, originally played by Arnold Schwarzenegger more -

Kanye West Monster Video- New Britney Spears Next Week- Katy Perry Leak- Cee Lo Teams With Gwyneth Paltrow- Bobby Farrell Dies- Annie Lennox Royal Honor- more

The Day in Pop Digest for 12/31/10: (Antiquiet) What's clearly an unfinished version of Kanye West's Monster video has begun making the rounds, but it's interesting enough to warrant a sneak preview here

(Billboard) Britney Spears fans may still have a few months of anxious waiting before her seventh full-length's March release, but the pop star is reportedly dropping her first piece of new music "Hold It Against Me," on Jan. 7 more

(Billboard) "Part of Me," a new dance track from Katy Perry, made a splash on YouTube when it leaked online yesterday (Dec. 29). more

(Yahoo) Bobby Farrell, of the 1970s European chart-topping group Boney M, was found dead in his hotel bed Thursday while on tour in Russia, his agent said. He was 61. more

(Billboard) After Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow performed a show-stopping cover of Cee Lo Green's "F**k You" on "Glee" earlier this fall, the R&B singer has confirmed that he and the actress are working together. more

(Jam!) Dave Navarro has sparked speculation he's dating Charlie Sheen's estranged wife Brooke Mueller after the pair was spotted "making out" in Aspen, Colorado. more

(NME) Acting legend Robert De Niro has died more times on screen than any other Hollywood actor, according to a new survey. more

(Yahoo) Sweet dreams are made of this for Annie Lennox, honored by Queen Elizabeth II in the monarch's New Year list of awards. She was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, or OBE, for her work with charities fighting AIDS and poverty in Africa. more -

Lady Gaga The Biggest Seller of 2010

(Gibson) In 2010, Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster sold more copies – 5.8 million – than any other album in the world, according to German website MediaTraffic.de's United World Chart.

The chart takes into account the weekly charts from January 16, 2010 through January 8, 2011, so there is still a week left for additional sales to alter final figures.

U.S. acts dominated the best-selling list in 2010. Hot on Gaga's trail was Eminem, who moved 5.7 million copies of his comeback album Recovery. Next in line was Justin Bieber with 5.6 million copies of My World, Lady Antebellum with 3.6 million copies of Need You Now, and Taylor Swift with 3.5 million copies of Speak Now. - more on this story

Black Eyed Peas Billionaire New Year's Eve Gig

(Gibson) Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, best known as the owner of U.K soccer giants, Chelsea FC, is having the Black Eyed Peas play at his private party, says the New York Post.

The Post says the Russian mogul is planning on spending millions on food and drink for guests. Fergie may want to avoid too much of Roman's food. She just lost the pounds she packed on for a role in the movie Nine. She told Now magazine, "I actually gained 17 lb. It was easy to put it on, it was fun and I loved it! I ate fried foods, everything, I just didn't work out at all. I didn't care, I didn't even think about it."

The downside of course, was getting the weight off. "When I started working out again it was a big deal and it took me a while mentally to get back into that routine," she said. "So now I have a trainer which is great and keeps me motivated." -

Anniversary of Hank Williams Death

(Gibson) It wasn't until the early morning of New Year's Day, 1953, that anyone realized that country music great Hank Williams was dead. Williams' driver Charles Carr was taking Hank Sr. from Knoxville, Tennessee, to Canton, Ohio, for a New Year's Day concert. Carr knew that the singer hadn't moved for hours in the back seat of the car but did not realize that the country icon was dead.

Williams, after all, was sickly and had long-term drinking and drug abuse problems. It wasn't unusual for him to be found passed out. But when Carr finally checked on Williams in Oak Hill, West Virginia, the singer was cold, blue and stiff. He was dead, at the age of just 29.

Official documents, naturally enough, state that Williams died on January 1, 1953, but the exact time of his death (and where he actually passed away) has been shrouded in mystery for years. - more on this story

Top Slacker Songs of 2010

There is a new (and free) Slacker Radio station rolling out just in time for all those New Year's Eve parties featuring the Top Slacker Songs of 2010 Countdown.

The first ever Slacker Radio countdown station features DJ intros and commentary on the most popular Slacker Radio songs of 2010, as determined through a combination of total plays and user ratings. The station includes 2010 faves by Rhianna, Ke$ha, Eminem, Lady Gaga, Far East Movement, B.o.B. and many more.

Available for free everywhere you listen to Slacker, the Top Slacker Songs of 2010 Countdown station is now live - here

Public Enemy's Chuck D Says Albums Are Outdated

(Gibson) Public Enemy's Chuck D says the album is an outdated concept and he's in no rush to return to the studio for an extended collection of songs.

Speaking to The Age, Chuck D says he feels albums have been an outdated concept since the turn of the century. "I just do one song at a time," he said. "I don't believe in, like, there's got to be an urgency behind recordings just because the industry says. What's the rush?"

He says the web has allowed the band to have a healthy year despite leaving the corporation of Def Jam and Universal. "Everybody's trying to figure out: how did we do it?" he says. "We've pretty much done it with our own rules." - more on this story

Merle Haggard Beating Cancer

(Gibson) Country music legend Merle Haggard is beating his battle with cancer. Britain's Daily Express reports that the singer has just been given an all-clear after a tough two-year fight.

Haggard had part of his lung removed in 2008. He told RollingStone.com: "It took a long time to get over that surgery. It took the best part of two years and I'm just now feeling like I might be able to reach over and pick up a garbage can with the right arm.

"They removed an upper lobe of my right lung, and they had to go in underneath my arm. It's quite painful and irritating to have that. You know how tender that is underneath your arm. To have that heal up, it takes a couple of good years. I think I'm all right now." - more on this story

What's Up with American Idol's Ayla Brown?

Boston Magazine has an in-depth article/profile with American Idol's Ayla Brown. Here is part of it: Before her dad went from obscurity to Senate sexpot Scott Brown, Ayla Brown was the most famous member of her family, a multitasking overachiever who'd made a name for herself as a record-breaking high school basketball star and American Idol finalist. The latter accomplishment led to so many gigs singing the national anthem at Boston-area sports events, concerts, and fundraisers that the local press dubbed her "the Anthem Girl." Other extracurriculars included reviewing episodes of Idol for the Boston Herald, and, after her father was elected, doing semiregular segments as a correspondent for CBS's Early Show. Her first big interview: Scott Brown.

The music thing used to be a part-time gig. She recorded and independently released harmless, generic pop singles like "I'm So Happy" and "Sugah" during breaks and summer vacation. (User reviews on iTunes range from "You are very talented" to "These are some of the worst songs I've ever heard.") But since graduating in May, Ayla's entire focus has been her singing career. Now she logs up to 70 hours a week writing, networking, tweeting, making appearances, and performing live shows wherever she can get them: at malls, fairs, festivals, games. She spent the summer touring New England to promote Circles, her latest self-released EP; signing CDs; and selling Ayla Brown T-shirts, posters, and other merchandise. All those $5 laminated backstage passes add up. She's been able to buy her own condo (though she rents it out and, like a good girl, continues to live at her parents' house in Wrentham).

In August, however, in the middle of her curiously named "Fizzically Fit" tour, Ayla made an announcement: She was giving up pop and going country. Her abandoning a genre that tends to celebrate — or at least pay more attention to — boobs and bad behavior has nothing to do with her father's conservative politics, she insists, though she does make an effort in interviews, and in life, to be wholesome. - Check out the full article here

DJ Enferno Remixes Jared Evan Hit

If you thought DJ Enferno was done for 2010. Guess again...a new remix has been released.

DJ Enferno has a last minute addition to your New Years Eve mix with the official DJ Enferno remix of Jared Evan "In Love With You"

DJ Enferno is fresh off hitting the #9 spot on Billboard's Year-End Dance/Electronic Artists Chart and following a fourth quarter run that included two of the hottest mixes of 2010.
- Check it out here

Mario Lopez: Saved By The Baby and Big Friggin Wedding Finales on Monday

Vh1 sent over some info on "Mario Lopez: Saved By The Baby" And "My Big Friggin Wedding" Finale Monday, which takes place on January 3rd.

On the finale of VH1's "Mario Lopez: Saved By The Baby" and "My Big Friggin Wedding," three couples take the next step in their lives by bringing home their baby and finally saying "I do." While these two milestones may be considered the biggest day of their life, not everything goes smoothly or according to plan. Tune in to VH1 on Monday, January for the finale of "My Big Friggin Wedding" at 9:00 PM ET/PT and "Mario Lopez: Saved By The Baby" at 10:00 PM ET/PT.

"My Big Friggin Wedding" Finale Monday, January 3 @ 9:00 PM ET/PT "Any Friggin' Objections?" – No one is safe as Tammy goes on her wedding day rampage. She takes out anyone and everyone who tries to ruin her special day, including her wedding coordinator, the MC and her soon to be husband. On Alyssa and Tyler's wedding day, their wedding planner gets so fed up with the couple that he tries to sabotage the reception, while Alyssa's mother and stepfather continue to test the patience and sobriety of everyone around them. - more on this story