Brandy’s former duet partner (remember “The Boy Is Mine”?) has been ramping up to her album release with a publicity blitz. First, she debuted a reality show on BET, Monica: Still Standing, that followed her as she recorded her new album. It earned massive ratings for the network and was nominated for a NAMIC Vision Award, which honors original multi-ethnic and cross-cultural TV. She’s also already released the first single from the album, called “Everything to Me,” which currently sits at number three on Billboard’s R&B/Hip Hop chart.

To top it off, Monica is going to be everywhere this week as she gears up for the release of her album on Tuesday. She’s taking over BET’s “106 & Park” for two days –where she’ll host and perform. On Tuesday, she’s performing on the “CBS Early Show,” then traveling to her hometown, Atlanta, for an album signing, only to return to New York that night for an album release party.

However, just as her career is about to blow, Monica’s personal life seems to be crumbling. There have been reports that she’s separated from her fiance, Rocko, and MediaTakeOut.com says he’s been cheating — and his mistress and her friends frequently call Monica to laugh and taunt her. Girl just can’t catch a break, can she?

What do you think? Have you ever felt like things were going great for you, only to have one horrible thing bring you crashing down?

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Bounty Hunters Beth Chapman and Duane “The Dog” Chapman signing books in New York. (Photo by Mr Blue/WENN.com)

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• Police were summoned to Jesse and Sandra’s house after Jesse’s older daughter Chandler and one of their neighbors call the cops. The police said members of the media were to blame for the commotion and they cleared the area without making any arrests. [E! Online]
• Although she’s moved out, experts say Sandra can save her marriage. And did she actually know what was going on? [New York Daily News, More Daily News]
• And some say Sandra and her work schedule are to blame for Jesse’s cheating ways. Ouch. [HollywoodLife]
• Meanwhile, more photos and videos of Bombshell have emerged. Here’s a look at her conservative high school photo. [Radar]
• And a video of her showing off her tattoos. But do we believe that she grew up Amish and left the church at 16? No. (Just see above.) [Daily Beast]

(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

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Which Runaway are you? Kristen, Dakota or the Runaway Bride?

How sad are you about Sandra and Jesse’s break up?

Would you enroll in a Marriage 101 class?

How did you spend your St. Patrick’s Day?

And, don’t forget to send us your questions (about anything) to use through our Formspring page.

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Rohin Guha reports from the music scene at SXSW in Austin, Texas. In his latest music discovery, Rohin tracks down an interview with hip-hop artist/rapper K.Flay.

Before stepping out into the world as a forward-thinking rapstress, Illinois-raised K.Flay whiled the hours away in the Stanford libraries. Which explains well her effortless versatility demonstrated on MASHed Potatoes, a mixtape where she spits rhymes over everything from The Gossip to the Black Eyed Peas. K.Flay’s eclectic approach to hip-hop–one that finds muses in NBA players and literary heroines alike–is what makes her one of the unlikelier names on the SXSW bill this year.

Tell me about MASHed Potatoes. How did you figure out which songs you wanted to sample and mix?

MASHed Potatoes was a cool way for me to release something that showcased my production style as well as my songwriting. In terms of picking the tracks, there were two major factors I considered – whether the beat had some dope sections I could sample and whether the song had I title I could mess with thematically. There were a few tracks I thought of sampling immediately, like “Vans” and “Supa Dupa Fly,” but the others just sort of popped into my head.

Many songs on MASHed Potatoes have very forceful, pronounced percussion sections–is that typical of the music that inspires you to write? Why?

I love songs with a strong kick/snare pattern. I listen to a lot of UK hip-hop, and that’s such a huge part of the grime style. On Dizzee Rascal’s “Boy in Da Corner,” the snare is basically slapping you in the face. The first time I heard it I was like, “Ouch that hurt,” but in a good way.

Who were some of your childhood idols growing up? And who are some of your inspirations now?

As a kid I was a gigantic Chicago Bulls fan. So I pretty much idolized the whole team, from Michael Jordan to Tony Kukoc to B.J. Armstrong to Horace Grant–who had the best plastic eyewear on the planet. But seriously, that 72-10 season still blows my mind. Right now I’m inspired by Margaret Atwood, one of my all-time favorite authors. What’s so cool about her is that she writes everything–novels, poetry, short stories, non-fiction, and children’s books–and her ideas are so original and crazy.

Who–dead or alive–would you collaborate with if you could?

I would give my right testicle to record a track with Jimi Hendrix.

Where did you grow up? Tell me about growing up and how you got to the point where you knew you wanted to make music.

I grew up in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. My father taught me to play guitar as a kid, and he and I would jam out to Simon and Garfunkle, Del Shannon, the Beatles, Dylan, all that awesome 60’s and 70’s music. In college, I got into hip hop and started recording tracks on a whim, as something fun. But the more I performed and recorded, the more I realized that this is what I love to do.

How do you decide what you’d like to write about?

Usually, I create the basic skeleton for a track–drums, bass line, synth–and then see what kind of vibe I get. I try to let the music dictate my subject matter, but once I have a concept, I build the rest of the beat around that idea. I almost never sit down and say to myself, “I want to write a song about puppy adoption.” What happens is I create a sixteen-bar
loop and then say to myself, “That sounds like a song about puppy adoption.”

Is this your first SXSW showcase? How do you feel?

This is my first showcase, so I’m definitely excited. I was in Austin last year for the festival, but I was mainly just roaming the streets, eating Cuban food, and soaking up the music. It’s nice to be here in a more legit capacity this time around.

Which performers are you hoping to see?

I’ve decided to adopt a laissez-faire policy at SXSW this year, so I don’t really have a plan of who I’ll be checking out. The plan is to be plan-less and see where that takes me…

K.Flay rounds out her SXSW set with a final show tonight.

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• Shia LaBeouf is planning to run the Los Angeles Marathon tomorrow on behalf of the nonprofit group U.S.VETS. Wonder how that will end up since we always see him with a cigarette in his mouth. [E! Online]
• More info emerges about Kate Winslet’s relationship with Sam Mendes and the events that led up to their break up: tensions were high as they worked together on Revolutionary Road, and Sam was not happy that her role in The Reader overshadowed his project. [Daily Mail]
• Kelsey Grammer’s wife Camille is among the women cast in The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Will actress daughter Spencer also make an appearance? [PopEater]
• An investigation of the pharmacy Brittany Murphy used for years revealed she was receiving hundreds of pills a month including Viocdin and anit-anxiety drugs clonazepam and Klonopin. [TMZ]
• Christina Aguilera is planning to announce “big news” in 2 days. [ChristinaAguilera.com]

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Adam Lambert, singer (@adamlambert):

Conan O’Brien, talk show host (@ConanOBrien):

Nathan Fillion, actor (@NathanFillion):

Tyra Banks, model/TV host (@tyrabanks):

Diablo Cody, writer (@diablocody):

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Today’s PM Crush Links, a daily roundup of the afternoon’s most talked-about celebrity news:

• Michelle “Bombshell” McGee, alleged mistress of Jesse James, said she’s not a Nazi, she just likes posing for fetish photos. She also said that the “W” and “P” tattoos on her legs stand for “wet p&##y,” not “white power.” [TMZ]

• Jesse James‘ dog, Cinnabun, is not missing again as presumed — he was found in an unused storage room at West Coast Choppers. [People Pets]

• Jennifer Aniston told Ryan Seacrest that the part he turned down in her new movie, Just Go With It, was to play Heidi Montag’s husband. [RyanSeacrest.com]

• Since it’s Friday, here’s the trailer for Carey Mulligan’s new movie, The Greatest, about a girl who moves in with her dead boyfriend’s parents after getting kicked out of her own home for being pregnant. It’ll be much more uplifting than that description makes it seem, we promise.

(Photo: WENN.com)

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Source: PopsugarTV

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The Facebook album with car photos is called “Own a Piece of pop culture history !!” and the description reads, “Collectible for sale- Situation’s first BMW before he became a pop culture icon!!!!” Mike neglected to give any specifics, like mileage, model, or how much he wants for the BMW. The license plate says “GTL,” though. We hope that comes with the car. [Facebook]

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