OK, I'm not the sharpest pencil in the backpack, so maybe that's why I don't get what the fuss is over this news of deception perpetrated by Miley Cyrus, the 15-year-old star of Disney Channel's Hannah Montana. I mean, I wanted to be outraged and self-righteous when I heard and read the media buzz about another entitled child star doing something unsavory. But after learning what the crime was, I couldn't even muster a disapproving frown or a finger-wagging!

If you haven't heard by now, Cyrus, while performing on stage as her alter ego Hannah Montana, was captured on video by a fan. The video shows Cyrus being whisked offstage while a stand-in skips and dances and prances around onstage to give Cyrus additional time to change from the character into her real self. Of course, my first thought was, "Hold up! Isn't it illegal to videotape a concert? Arrest that fan!" Anyway, Cyrus' representatives quickly confirmed that yes, a "production element" is incorporated into the show to facilitate a quicker costume change. Here's the apparent offense: … continue reading

We're only a week into 2008 and there's already plenty of fodder for our weekly countdown of of dumb entertainment and celebrity news stories — from bad Cashmere Mafia headlines, to an idiotic Texas mom, to teenage slumber parties being turned into lesbian orgies.

And I'll give you $10 (not really) if you can correctly guess what product these women are hawking in this commercial (but no fair guessing if you already know!):

The #1 worst celebrity/entertainment news of the week? You'll just have to watch to find out... … continue reading

If you hadn't read the title of this post, and you were asked to identify the hottest concert ticket this fall, what would you guess? Bruce Springsteen? Annie Lennox? The Police? (I would have picked Springsteen, but that's a personal bias.) If you picked any of the above, you and I would both be wrong. The hot ticket is Disney Channel tween sensation Hannah Montana. Or, more specifically, the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus — Best of Both Worlds Tour.

Tickets for the 54-date tour have sold out in as few as 4 minutes. As insane as this is, it seems to be part of a larger trend based on pre-registering on the Internet for tickets. The first show of the Spice Girls reunion tour sold out in 38 seconds. (Thank you, Jamie, for this tidbit!) Consequently, ticket brokers are having a field day. The face value of the tickets was capped at $65, but the average resale price is $214 (compare to that Justin Timberlake at $182 and Beyoncé at $193). Out of curiosity, I checked StubHub for tickets at the venue closest to me and found a low price of $173 for nosesbleed seats and a high price of $4,500 for floor seats. That's $4,500. For Hannah Montana tickets. I know people who paid less than that for Super Bowl tickets! … continue reading

Since its debut in 2006, Disney's mega-hit show Hannah Montana has been a contender in the TV, music and movie industries, and its young star, 14-year-old Miley Cyrus, is being hyped as an Annette Funicello.

If you don't know the show, here's a primer. "Hannah Montana" is the stage name and secret identity of Miley Stewart, who is a normal girl by day, a pop singing sensation by night. Miley Stewart is played by Miley Cyrus (yep, daughter of Billy Ray). The episodes mix teenage life lesson with rock concert. … continue reading