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The head of Taylor Swift’s record label is defending his superstar against critical comments about her Grammys performance.
“She is the voice of this generation,” Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta said.“This is not ‘American Idol.’ This is not a competition of getting up and seeing who can sing the highest note. It’s not about that technically perfect performance.”
Swift rehearsed her duet with Stevie Nicks twice in front of an audience. Entertainment Weekly wrote of it, “The two women’s voices complemented each other nicely on the harmonies of ‘Rhiannon.’ ”
But on Sunday’s show, Borchetta said, “We had a volume problem in the ear. So, she was concerned that she wasn’t able to hear everything in the mix. ... She couldn’t hear herself.”
James Cameron’s “Avatar” has sailed past his blockbuster “Titanic” to become the No. 1 film on the all-time U.S. box-office chart.
“Avatar” got to $601.1 million this week, putting it ahead of the $600.8 million haul for “Titanic.”
With more than $2 billion worldwide, Cameron’s sci-fi sensation shattered the global box-office record of $1.84 billion held by “Titanic.”
Australian band Men at Work copied a kids’ campfire song for the flute melody in its 1980s hit “Down Under” and owes the owner years of royalties, a court ruled.
“Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree” was written 70 years ago by Australian teacher Marion Sinclair for a Girl Guides competition.
Adam Simpson, lawyer for Larrikin Music, which now owns the song rights, said the company might seek up to 60 percent of the royalties “Down Under” earned since its release – an amount that could total millions.
Socialite Casey Johnson’s death was related to her nearly lifelong diabetes, the Los Angeles County coroner said.
Johnson, 30, an heir to the Johnson & Johnson products fortune, died of diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening condition caused by lack of insulin and sky-high blood sugar, the coroner said.
In December, Johnson announced she would wed bisexual TV star Tila Tequila.
Singer Wayne Newton owes a Detroit-area airport $60,000 after abandoning his plane more than three years ago and leaving it to gather mold, officials say.
Oakland County (Mich.) International Airport President Joe Borgesen says the plane once worth $2 million was flown into the airport to have interior work done that took a year to complete. He said Newton initially paid storage fees but then stopped.
Borgesen estimates moving the non-working plane would cost $30,000.
The Journal Gazette is compiling its annual summer camp guide, a free listing of day and sleepover camps that will run Feb. 28. E-mail details of your camp’s programs – description, dates, fees, ages, location and contact information – by Feb. 15 to Stefanie Scarlett at sscarlett@jg.net or fax to 260-461-8893.
Among celebrity birthdays today: Actress Barbara Hershey is 62. Director Christopher Guest is 62. Actor Tim Meadows (“Saturday Night Live”) is 49. Actress Jennifer Jason Leigh is 48. Actress Laura Linney is 46. Singer Sara Evans is 39.
