Lady Gaga apologizes for using the word 'retarded' not thoughfully

Lady Gaga is sorry for saying comparisons between her hit song Born This Way and Madonna's Express Yourself are "retarded" very much.

That's the word she used in a recent interview with NME. But she has now issued a statement to Perez Hilton expressing regret for the remark:

"I consider it part of my life's work and music to push the boundaries of love and acceptance. My apologies for not speaking thoughtfully. To anyone that was hurt, please know that it was furiously unintentional. An honest mistake, requires honesty to make," she said. "Whether life's disabilities, left you outcast bullied or teased, rejoice and love yourself today."

So who better to close out Saturday Night Live on the season finale when Justin Timberlake is the host? Yup, Gaga's rep told ABC News Radio the star will perform on SNL on May 21, just two days before her "Born This Way" album is released. However by her expression it is clear that she is really vary sorry for his unthoughtful speech.

Shakira puts the first brick of new school

Shakira visited Cartagena, Colombia on last Monday, accompanied by the philanthropist Howard Buffett and the mayor of the city Judith Pinedo to lay the first brick of what will be Foundation Pies Descalzos' new mammoth school in an area of high vulnerability and displacement in this coastal town.

The project is set to become an urban milestone, a motor of change for 1,500 boys and girls who will benefit directly and 58,000 residents of the Cerro de Popa community also.


The school and community center, designed by renowned architect Giancarlo Mazzanti, will be built on a site spanning 7,500 meters squared where students and parents will enjoy classrooms, laboratories, technology and audiovisual centers; multiple sporting fields, teachers and administration, as well as ample space for recreation, art and sports in accordance with the educational philosophy of Pies Descalzos.

Shakira said: “I know that the world, little by little will understand that wherever there is a kid who is hungry and can’t attend school…that kid should be a concern to all of us and our duty. I’m sure that this awareness will grow in each one of us, because the world has become a small neighborhood, and we should all be concerned about the issues that others have to face.”

Idol Meter: Week 21st Century

Choosing the right song is key to Idol success, right up there with performing it ably. Contestants can go wrong picking a song too closely identified with a previous Idol, too old or unfamiliar, too worn-out or just plain unsuited for their voices. WhatNotToSing.com is dedicated to building a database that documents which songs work (or don't work) and will join us in determining the best and worst song choices. Inspired choices get 10 points, suitable selections get 5, damaging picks receive a minus 5 or minus 10, and indifferent choices get 0.

Studies by WhatNotToSing.com and others have established that singing first on the show is a clear handicap, while singing last is a big plus and second-to-last a lesser but still significant plus. So show-closers get 10 points, the second-to-last contestant gets 5, the opener gets minus 5, the rest 0.

All the news in our blog

Buzz, judges' verdict and (especially) song choice are vital to a contestant's survival, but none of that would mean a thing without what we watch Idol for: the performance itself. It's worth anywhere from minus 10 to plus 10 points.

Idol is live, and the unpredictable can happen. When it does, we'll dole out anywhere from minus 10 to plus 10 points for incidents including, but not limited to, emotional shout-outs or breakdowns, sickbed performances, superstar stage lighting, forgetting lyrics, false starts, major vocal gaffes, tantrums, overt sullenness, sassing a judge, being adopted as perverse causes célèbres or anything else that might influence for vote.

Respect them or not, the judges' opinions can't help but influence voters. So positive comments from Randy, Steven and Jennifer are worth up to 6 points each, while a negative comment scores as much as minus 6. If a performance receives a unanimous, three-judge, flat-out rave, 3 bonus points will be added for a total of 21. DialIdol.com, which calculates phone-voting strength from busy signals, has had a strong record of predicting eliminations over the years, though its accuracy might suffer this year as online voting is being allowed for the first time. While we monitor the situation, contestants receiving green (or safe) ratings from Dial Idol get 5 points. The lowest-rated contestant gets minus 5; the remainder, in the yellow danger zone, score 0.

Standout performances tend to generate high volumes of post-show online searches, so contestants who spike in Google Trends, Yahoo Buzz, Twitter's popular topics or other queries get 14, 10 or 5 points.

Nothing spells danger for an Idol contestant more than showing up in the dreaded bottom three the previous week. Contestants score minus 5 points if they were in the bottom three or plus 20 points if they escaped. Contestants who elude elimination on their first trip to the bottom three get a one-week bounce worth 5 points.

Gerard Smith of TV On The Radio is No More

Gerard Smith, bass player for who played bass for the Brooklyn band TV On The Radio, died today (April 20) from cancer.

The band’s website announced the news: “We are very sad to announce the death of our beloved friend and band mate, Gerard Smith, following a courageous fight against lung cancer. Gerard passed away the morning of April 20th, 2011. We will miss him terribly.”

Gerard Smith had been with TV On The Radio since 2005 and played on their most recent release Nine Types of Light. Smith had not been on the road with the band, who were touring in support of the album, so he could be treated for his condition.His family is now sorrowful.

TV On The radio want fans to know that the following shows have been canceled:

April 20 St. Andrew Halls, Detroit MI
April 22 Metro, Chicago IL
April 23 First Ave, Minneapolis MN
April 24 First Ave, Minneapolis MN
April 26 Ogden, Denver CO

Ben & Jerry’s are Creating Bonnaroo Ice Cream

As festival season approaches, there’s one act guaranteed to be at one of the world’s biggest, modern alternative music events in a delicious way: Ben & Jerry’s Bonnaroo Buzz ice cream.

The flavor, which was available only in the ice cream company’s Scoop Shops in 2010, is now available nationally in frozen foods freezers across the country, as Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream has chosen it to be one of its pint flavors for 2011.they think it also will be more popular.

How does it taste? The flavor is a sugary blend of light coffee and malt ice cream with a whiskey caramel swirl and English toffee pieces.
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Ben & Jerry’s has long been known for bringingging popular music into its ice cream line, with best-sellers Cherry Garcia and Phish Food. Bonnaroo Buzz was created in partnership with the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, and it will be available at this year’s fest.

Bonnaroo is an annual, four-day, multi-stage camping festival held in Manchester, Tennessee. This year’s fest happens June 9-12, and the lineup features rock, alternative and hip-hop acts including The Strokes, Eminem, Arcade Fire, The Decemberists, Widespread Panic, The Black Keys, Buffalo Springfield, My Morning Jacket, Lil Wayne, Mumford & Sons, Béla Fleck & the Flecktones, Cold War Kids and many more.

Tom Hanks Producing "Green Day’s American Idiot" Movie

After months of rumors and speculation, Green Day’s 2004 album, American Idiot, has been given the go-ahead to be made into a big-screen, feature film.

Universal has officially signed Tom Hanks to produce the upcoming adaptation in partnership with Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool, said Reuters.

Green Day and their label had been in talks for a while about a proposed big-screen adaptation of the Grammy-winning album, following the success of the one-act, all-sung American Idiot Broadway musical, direct it Michael Mayer.

Mayer will also direct the movie, and the creative team is currently in negotiations with Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black to write the script.

Meanwhile, open-call auditions for Green Day’s American Idiot Broadway music tour are underway. Toronto’s auditions are already wrapped up, while Chicago’s auditions happen 11 a.m. Saturday, April 16 at Actors Equity Building including 557 West Randolph Street and Boston’s are slated for 11 a.m. April 30 at Berklee College of Music.He said that it will be more attractive.

Donny Osmond: Kendra's attitude is hurting her

Donny Osmond, the last man to win Dancing With the Stars (Season 9 in November, 2009), predicted today on Good Morning America that "Kendra is going home tonight."


Osmond, who referred to notes he took on his BlackBerry, said, "Kendra, c'mon. Enough with the bad attitude. I think that's hurting her." He said she and partner Louis Van Amstel were just "stomping" around the floor.

"I'm so passionate about this show, obviously since I won it -- hello? I know what everyone's going through."

He said Hines Ward, at the top of the leaderboard, is doing a great job, but "he's got to sustain it," so that's a dangerous satuation.

The other dangerous position is second-to-the-last. "If you're in the last position, the audience rallies. If you're in second-to-last, you get forgotten about."

He suggested that Ralph Macchio needs to "stop flailing those arms." And, "I don't like Chris Jericho or Romeo. Their egos are too large."

Osmond has high hopes for Disney star Chelsea Kane. "Chelsea, watch out for her. I think she could win this matter."