Not too much excitement at the record store this week, as we're so close to the end of 2008. The only big release that could rival the return of Britney Spears is R&B singer Akon's latest, Freedom. However, I think Spears will reign supreme, if the current media blitz is any indication.

Britney Spears — Circus (Jive Records)

Whether you think she's nuts or could care less about her woes, the pop star has positioned herself as having a comeback with her latest CD and single "Womanizer." She's embracing the idea that she was a chaotic mess, and claiming to be past it now. As long as she's got all the right people behind her and she can stay away from umbrellas and beauty salons, she could be a success story. … continue reading

This week is full of strong women, and I know none of us will object. If the past few weeks of new releases are any indication, we might have some more top albums on our hands. Right now, Taylor Swift and Susan Tedeschi are topping the charts (Swift for Hot Country Songs and Tedeschi for Top Blues Album). Ne-Yo might be the top R&B crooner for now, but it's possible Sasha Fierce Beyoncé could oust him after this past week's SNL performance.

Beyoncé — I Am ... Sasha Fierce (Music World/Columbia Records)

On the singer's third solo CD, she's going for a concept album. Her alter ego seems to be very similar to the Beyoncé we know and love, with hot singles like "Single Ladies" and "If I Were a Boy" already getting fans excited.

Dido — Safe Trip Home (Arista Records)

Anyone who purchased Dido's previous albums knows she's much more than the girl who lent her song "Thank You" to an Eminem track in 2000. And while her voice is capable of standing alone, collaborations with Mick Fleetwood, Questlove and Brian Eno make her new album even more interesting. … continue reading

My two secret powers are discovering lesbian subtext in everything and mishearing lyrics. So, when I first listened to Beyoncé's new song, "If I Were a Boy" I just wrote it off as my powers acting up.

But then I heard it again, and I thought to myself, "Beyoncé, sweetheart, you don't want to be a boy; you want to be a lesbian."

To wit: these are the things Beyoncé wants to do as a boy:

1) Wear whatever the heck she wants to wear.

2) Drink beer.

3) Chase after girls.

4) Kick it with her loyal friends.

5) Make the rules as she goes.

6) Understand how it feels to love a woman.

I've created a little comic strip called, "If I Were a Gay." It's based on The L Word's fifth season, and all the text is straight from Beyoncé's mouth. I hope to help her find what she's looking for.

If I were gay, even just for a day...

… continue reading

Beyoncé Knowles has set her sights on playing Wonder Woman.

"I want to do a superhero movie and what would be better than Wonder Woman?" she told the Los Angeles Times. "It would be great. And it would be a very bold choice. A black Wonder Woman would be a powerful thing. It's time for that, right?"

Although a lot of people would agree that an African-American, Hispanic or Asian Wonder Woman wouldn't be a shock in this day and age and would probably be welcomed, many people voiced their concern about Beyoncé's skills as an actress. Here are some of the comments from the above-linked TV Guide article: … continue reading

Oh hell no! Don't get me wrong, Beyonce is a beautiful woman and a very talented singer, but she's a horrible actress. And we seriously don't need another Catwoman on our hands. ::shudders::

Beyoncé is a HORRIBLE actress and should not be cast as Wonder Woman. This casting would be a disgrace to the character of Wonder Woman.

OMG NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Wonder Woman can be any race but she CANNOT be Beyoncé !! She has to be played by someone with ACTING talent!!!

Beyoncé was born and bred to be a star. She's managed to emerge from being one-fourth (and, later, one-third) of Destiny's Child to be a household name (the "Knowles" isn't even necessary). It's not just because of her music, though: Beyoncé has crossed over into films, and since her turn as Foxy Cleopatra in Austin Powers 3, her movies have come to utilize both her musical and acting talents. Her new role is no exception, as she's signed on to star in the biopic as Eartha Kitt, the legendary vocalist.

Having recently played the Diana Ross-based character in the film adaptation of Dreamgirls, it seems Beyoncé's singing skills are just as (if not more) important when it comes to her casting (see: Carmen: A Hip-Hopera, The Fighting Temptations and the upcoming Cadillac Records, in which she plays Etta James). … continue reading

We've acknowledged it before: Rock stars have superb senses of style. That must be why several of them have wanted to see us mimic their styles, while also turning a profit.

Sonic Youth frontwoman Kim Gordon is the latest rock lady to make a foray into fashion. She recently launched her line, Mirror/Dash, with friends/designers Melinda Wansbrough and Jeffrey Monteiro.

What's special about Mirror/Dash is that the items will be limited edition, so the first piece (an awesome military-inspired jacket) will only be available to 50 consumers via the website for a cool $415. … continue reading

Subscribers to any Condé Nast magazine will find some extra fun in their mailboxes this month in the form of the publishing company’s fifth annual Fashion Rocks supplement.

The magazine features articles and photo spreads chronicling the decades-long affair between fashion and pop music. Just think back to trendsetters like Aretha Franklin with her Capri pants and big hoop earrings, and you realize that rock stars have been setting fashion trends for generations.

Fashion Rocks takes a look at the history of that affair with a piece juxtaposing pictures of the 1960s girl group The Ronettes (and Amy Winehouse) with a bee-hived Chanel model at a pre-fall collection show. The piece also includes photos of M.I.A., Santogold, Joanna Newsom, Jenny Lewis and a vintage Debbie Harry next to contemporary couture-clad beauties modeling the very same styles those artists made popular.

Check out this gorgeous glamour shot of Beyoncé rocking an Armani suit. … continue reading

Avril Lavigne is a threat to the youth of Malaysia. The 23-year-old pop singer is so smoking hot that members of a Malaysian Islamic opposition party do not want any of their impressionable youth seeing her in concert. Lavigne will have to shake her moneymaker in front of some other country’s young pliable minds because this opposition party isn’t having any of it. The Malaysian conservative group is convinced that her moves are “too sexy” for their teenagers, and they believe her August performance must be stopped.

The group appealed to the Malaysian Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Heritage to cancel the concert and the Ministry agreed. "It is not timely. It's not in the good spirit of our National Day. If we go ahead with the concert, it is contrary to what we are preparing for," said a senior official from the Ministry. Apparently, National Day is a countrywide day set aside to prepare against the evils of wristbands and tube socks.

Malaysia has a history of strict guidelines, which have led many female performers to cancel their shows. The Malaysian government’s rules require that all female performers wear conservative clothing that do not bear any “obscene” images. Additionally, all clothing must cover you from the chest to the knee. (Why am I getting flashbacks of "dress-down days" at my Catholic elementary school?) Beyonce moved her scheduled concert to Indonesia as a result of these mandates, and Christina Aguilera opted to not perform there at all. Gwen Stefani decided to perform, agreeing to cover up her trademark washboard stomach. She called her decision to wear a bit more clothing on stage “a major sacrifice” (and I will add, a terrible loss to that nation). … continue reading

Take a look at Beyoncé. Does she look, um, different to you?

Yeah, something is not quite right. Something like, oh I don't know, the fact that her skin is a good two to three shades lighter than it appears in real life. Last week Beyoncé Knowles' new L'Oréal Paris ads for hair coloring have caused quite a controversy over the apparent lightening of her skin.

Of course L'Oréal spokespeople denied the claim, saying: “We highly value our relationship with Ms. Knowles. It is categorically untrue that L'Oréal Paris altered Ms. Knowles' features or skin-tone in the campaign for Feria's hair color.” Beyoncé's endorsement deal with L'Oréal started in 2001. … continue reading

Filming commenced this month, the first images are out, and here's the proof; Beyoncé really is playing Etta James in the upcoming Cadillac Records. This film is not a biopic of James (though that's not a bad idea), but a chronicle of the fortunes of Chicago record label Chess Records and its musicians. The cast includes Adrien Brody as Leonard Chess and Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters.

So here's a look at Beyoncé and the original.

And here's the first image off the set.

Even though this is not a biopic, the casting, you can imagine, is a topic for fairly ugly debate (even NPR had a blogger roundtable partially devoted to it). I do wonder about the wisdom of the role as a career move, at least for the negative press it's generating, including the inevitable references to the supposed Beyoncé/Jennifer Hudson rivalry following Hudson's Oscar win for Dreamgirls. And much (annoying) speculation about whether Beyoncé will be gaining weight or wearing prosthetics to look more like James. Can I take this moment to say that the young Etta James was no Twiggy, but she was certainly not fat? … continue reading

It seems Aretha Franklin, often called the Queen of Soul, is not pleased that Beyoncé called Tina Turner the "queen"on the Grammy Awards broadcast.

"I am not sure of whose toes I may have stepped on or whose ego I may have bruised between the Grammy writers and Beyoncé," Franklin said in a statement issued by her publicist. "However, I dismissed it as a cheap shot for controversy."

Franklin apparently ended the statement with "love to Beyoncé anyway."

Sheesh, Aretha. It was an intro, not a review. And Beyoncé is a huge fan of Tina, so she was bound to praise her.

Plus, Beyoncé didn't refer to Tina as the Queen of Soul, specifically. She just said, "give it up for the queen."

And I'm happy to give it up, whatever it is, because I thought Tina's performance was incredible. She can still hit those high notes and do the moves — at 68 years old! Wow. … continue reading

So, if you watched last night’s telecast of the 50th Grammy Awards, you probably have some questions. Questions like, who is that guy, and why did he steal Amy Winehouse’s Grammy for Best Album of the Year? Or how is it that the Beatles won only four Grammys when they were together, while Fergie already has three? Or did Amy really thank her husband as “my Blake incarcerated” in her acceptance speech? Yes, yes she did. So without further ado, here are some of your most burning (though hopefully not itching) Grammy questions revealed.

Q: How it is it that the most electrifying performer in the room wasn’t even in the room?

A: Visa problems kept The Winehouse 5,500 miles away in London, but she still electrified via satellite with a performance that was equal parts raw, campy, sassy and defiant. Plus, she brought the one thing the somewhat stodgy awards affair sorely lacked — the air of unpredictability. God bless you, Amy Winehouse. Now get back to rehab and get better. … continue reading

I keep coming across lists I can't really improve on, so I'm just going to list them. In a list. Of lists. (A few of these are via Pop Candy, which is always a good source for lists and, well, just about everything else.)

1. 10 Star Wars toys that unintentionally look like other celebrities

When I was a kid, I often complained that my Princess Leia action figure just wasn't made right — it kept toppling over. And it annoyed me that her gun was so flimsy and useless, especially compared to Chewbacca's giant over-the-arm weapon. But at least the '70s toy version of Leia didn't look like Christian Bale:

And then there's Mon Mothma and Laura Bush:

The list includes other frighteningly spot-on comparisons, like Han Solo/Josh Brolin and Yak Face/Robert De Niro.

2. 13 movies worth preserving

EW.com readers recently named the films they'd like to add to the National Film Registry. I agree with Raising Arizona and The Women — and with the reader who submitted the latter and said, "I can't believe it's not already there." … continue reading

Not many of us even have idols anymore. And for those of us who do still respect our elders and their accomplishments and try to emulate all that is positive about our idols, we don't always get to meet them. And even if we do meet them, we don't usually get to honor them in any public way. And even if we do get to honor them in a public way, they don't come out of retirement to express their appreciation of our worship. So that's why the announcement that Beyoncé Knowles and Tina Turner will duet at the upcoming Grammy Awards presentation made me one "Proud Mary." Well, my name is not Mary, but I am proud. OK, not proud, but excited!

Beyoncé has made it clear that she grew up adoring Tina Turner. Here's her 2005 Kennedy Center tribute performance (please, feel free to ignore all political figures seated next to Tina): … continue reading

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, Beyoncé's little sister, Solange Knowles, released a debut album on the same label as her sister.

Solo Star was moderately successful, but didn't exactly pave a road to stardom. So, Solange got married, had a son and wrote songs for women like Destiny's Child, Michelle Williams, Kelly Rowland — and Beyoncé. … continue reading