• According to Mezhgan Hussainy, she and longtime boyfriend Simon Cowell are engaged. (RadarOnline)

• Former American Idol contestant Chickezie was arrested for felony identity theft last night after apparently trying to use a stolen credit card. (TMZ)

• American speed skater Simon Cho let it slip that teammate Apolo Ohno plans to retire after the Vancouver Olympics are over. (Yahoo!)

• A new set of Gucci cologne ads featuring James Franco were released today. Do you think these are performance art too? (Allie is Wired)

• Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning are heavily featured on the soundtrack for The Runaways, according to the track listing that was posted today. (Rolling Stone)

• Avril Lavigne was spotted partying with ex-husband Deryck Whibley at the Alice in Wonderland premiere in London last night. (Socialite Life)

Post from: Crushable

(Photos via WENN.com)

Post from: Crushable

Avril Lavigne released her video for “Alice,” the theme song from Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, and it’s so very…Avril-like. Moody, bright colors, kinda angsty and that familiar twangy voice. She’s still got that Rock of Love-style two-tone hair, but the recent divorcee’s long blonde locks resemble Alice star Mia Wasikowska — appropriate, considering Avril’s footage is inter-cut with clips from the movie (which looks breathtaking, by the way). Wonder what Avril’s rumored bf Brody Jenner thinks of the clip.

What do you think of Avril’s new video? Does it make you excited to see Alice?

Post from: Crushable

If there was any doubt about the last statement, this year — Idol’s ninth season — has effectively silenced it. Now that original judge Paula Abdul has packed up her crazy and headed home and co-creator Simon Cowell will be following her at the end of the year, the show has to redefine itself. And, judging by the choices they’ve made so far, the next season of the show could veer wildly off the rails.

While Ellen DeGeneres is a great host and TV personality, her role on Idol still doesn’t completely fit because she’s outside the music industry. Sure, she’s there to represent the voice of the common folk, but the common folk’s voice is well-represented already since they get to vote. Randy Jackson may have experience in the music biz, but he has been useless for about seven seasons now, recycling the same “It was pitchy, dawg” and “Girl, you can saaaang”-type comments for every contestant. This year, because the show hadn’t nailed DeGeneres down as a permanent judge by the time auditions started, a revolving door of celebrities took their turn appraising the wannabe singers. Some of the choices — Katy Perry, Avril Lavigne, a Jonas brother — may not have been the most musically gifted, but their popularity on the Billboard charts at least gave them a reason to be on the show.

Now, though, it looks like Idol is desperate. One of the guest judges for this season is going to be … Paula Deen. As in, the Savannah chef who hosts multiple Food Network shows and is known for her unabashed embrace of the deep fryer. We may like a lot of Paula Deen’s food, but there’s absolutely no reason for her to be on Idol. In the past, guest judges always had some kind of connection — even a tenuous one — to the music industry. Guest judges/mentors like Mariah Carey, Burt Bacharach, and Dolly Parton provided both music advice and industry advice to the show’s contestants and provided them with great material to cover on the show. Quentin Tarantino popped in to guest judge on Season 3, and all they could come up with for his connection to music was that he likes to use a lot of it in his movies. We really can’t wait to see what farfetched reason they come up with to shoehorn Paula Deen onto the show — maybe it will be something borderline offensive, like asking her to guest judge on Country Week or something. Because you know what reminds us of Johnny Cash? Paula Deen. Yep. Totally logical. Replacing one Paula with another Paula is TOTALLY SUBTLE, Idol. Surely we won’t be able to tell the difference between the one with the Southern accent and the one who sounds like she’s drunk.

As for the ridiculous rumor the show was going to replace Simon Cowell with shock jock Howard Stern? It seems surprisingly likely now, considering that the producers are embracing their love of stunt casting.

(Photo by Ray Filmano / WENN)

Post from: Crushable

Jennifer Hudson has been sticking to a weight loss program that has brought her 56 pounds lighter. Jennifer shed the pounds to play South Africa’s Winnie Mandela for the upcoming film Winnie. (Bossip)

In what could be a blow to the prosecution’s case against Charlie Sheen, the actor’s wife, Brooke Mueller, is now in rehab for substance abuse. The criminal case in Aspen comes down to Charlie’s word against Brooke’s — she claims he put a knife to her throat and threatened her life. He denies it. (TMZ)

As one of the most powerful men in showbiz, he once said he would never risk his fortune by getting married. But has Simon Cowell had an astonishing change of heart? The X Factor judge presented new love Mezhgan Hussainy with a huge diamond ring over the weekend. (Mirror)

John Mayer’s disastrous Playboy interview in which he dropped the N-word and told naughty bedroom secrets about Jessica Simpson is too much for even Oprah Winfrey to handle. Oprah’s couch — which has been a platform for dozens of celebrity apologies and explanations — isn’t open to the guitarist just yet. Why? Because O is great pals with one of John’s exes! (PopEater)

Avril Lavigne and Brody Jenner might be Hollywood’s hottest new hookup. Sources say that 25-year-old Lavigne and the Hills star have been seeing each other quietly over the last couple weeks. (E! Online)

Lindsay Lohan wasn’t invited to Jill Stuart’s Fashion Week show because the designer’s team considers her a “brand damager.” “A lot of designers, and especially Jill’s camp, don’t think she’s worth all the press she’d get their show,” an industry insider leaks, although Stuart denies that she banned Lohan. (New York Daily News)

Post from: Crushable

The title of the video is “The day you…. slipped away.” What I like especially about this video is how well the audio of the Marissa and Ryan is done over the music. I’ve never seen it done so well on a YouTube video.

Also, check out this Mischa Barton fan video from YouTube user Jenn Prodz who uses the song “Body Control.” This video has a unique use of color. Wish I could embed this video! This video features some of her more recent magazine photoshoot pictures.

Post from: Crushable