It is now official, one of the popular or once popular shows on MTV is signing off. And for the last show of TRL, it seems like the popular show of old. And for a few more hours, the show relieved its time of influence; the time when the show was music’s most powerful force and also a dominant part of the pop culture. MTV pulled the plug on this show, after TRL submitted declining ratings for the past few years.

For the last show of TRL, some of pop’s most important and biggest stars paid respect to the show that helped launched their careers. Eminem was interviewed thru phone and the rap singer narrated that it is like his home being taken down. For P Diddy, it was a bitter sweet moment. P Diddy was one of the more regular guests on the show. MTV has many other important shows that changed the music industry, but none can replace and can match the influence of TRL. The show debuted in 1998 and this was the time when the teen pop phenomenon was about to explode. This was the time when the rap-rock hybrid was bubbling over and Destiny’s Child was considered as emerging acts.

The concept of a video countdown was not a new tool for TRL, but what made the TRL stands out were the presence of the live show and an audience full of very enthusiastic kids and the presence of the viewer feedback. This helped energize the teen fan base and made these people music’s tastemakers. Thanks to the recipe used by TRL, the show launched and boosted the careers of superstars like Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, Nsync, Eminem and Christina Aguilera. It its prime, the show has the American Idol-like influence.

Popularity: 13% [?]

This lost Beatles track may be released after all. The announcement was made by Paul McCartney. This track was recorded by the band in 1967 and was performed in public once. The track called ‘Carnival of Light’ is a 14-minute experimental track that was recorded during the height of the band’s musical experimentations with psychedelia. The track was also inspired by avant garde composers like Karlheinz Stockhausen. The band’s experimentation with this kind of music was considered as too adventurous for the mainstream audience.

The track was first planned to be included on the 1990 album of the band, the ‘Anthology’ collection. But in an interview with the BBC radio, McCartney said that his band mates and their producer has vetoed for the inclusion of the song. The Beatles singer said that he still owned the master tapes and he suspected that time has come for it to get its moment. Almost every recorded tracks from the Beatles since their early years have been released to the public to satisfy the appetite of fans for Beatles songs. In fact anything that has been linked to the band has been received well by the fans. The existence of this track from the Beatles has been the subject of talks among fans who discusses if indeed the group has ventured into other forms of music. The presence of the track provides the necessary evidence that indeed, the band had experimental ambitions beyond their commercially successful pop career. The new and improvised track that is expected to be released include distorted electric guitars, discordant sound effects, a church organ and gargling that is interspersed with McCartney and John Lennon shouting. It will be heard that Lennon and McCartney were shouting random phrases like Barcelona and ‘Are you all right’? Of course, for the track to be released, McCartney will need the nods of Yoko Ono and the widow of George Harrison.

Popularity: 10% [?]

The King of Pop is in trouble once again. This time he is up against the son of an Arab monarch. It was reported that the son of an Arab monarch is taking Michael Jackson to court over an album and an autobiography he was allegedly paid but he never produced. Sheikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa is seeking $7 million from the singer at the London’s Royal Courts of Justice. The lawyers for the Sheikh said that the money was intended as an advance on a joint recording project. The singer on the other hand claimed that the cash was a gift. The singer and Al Khalifa were not at London’s Royal Courts as the trial opened.

Al Khalifa wanted to work with the singer on rebuilding his career. To ensure that, the Sheikh spent millions paying Jackson’s legal fees, moving him to Bahrain and supporting the singer’s family and entourage. The expenses shelled out by the Sheikh included $350,000 for a European vacation for Jackson and his associates.

The lawyer for Khalifa said that the singer and the Sheikh became close and at one time were living in a palace in Abu Dhabi owned by the Sheikh’s father. The singer moved to Bahrain after being acquitted of child abuse charges. His finances fell apart after he was arrested in 2003 over allegations he molested a 13-year old boy. Just last week, he was forced to give up the deed on his ranch, a miniature amusement park in California. On the latest development on the case, the lawyer for the singer said that his client is too sick to travel to London just to testify in court. So instead of a personal appearance in court, the singer will testify on video.

Popularity: 10% [?]

The other day, the two studios were ecstatic and expected that the new James Bond movie is set to take $70.4 million. But a day after making that pronouncement, the two studios lowered their expectations and said that the ‘Quantum of Solace’ opening number will be $67.5 million. This is around $4 million lower than the original projection. Well even though the figures for the new James Bond were revised, this was still a record opening in US and Canada for the franchise that stars the British spy.

The figures submitted by the new Bond movie with Daniel Craig easily beat the ‘Die Another Day’ movie that starred Pierce Brosnan. This movie with Pierce Brosnan earned $47.1 million on its first week of debut in November 2002. The new Bond movie that opened last week also topped the first Bond movie that starred Daniel Craig. ‘Casino Royale’ which is the first Bond movie for Craig took in $40.8 million. The lowered expectation for the new James Bond movie this well exceeded the expectations of pundits and observers’ forecast of a debut or around $60 million. The figures released for the US and the Canadian markets are just a topping for the studios since the movie is a big hit internationally. The movie banked around $250 million about two weeks of showing in major international markets. The movie is billed as a partnership between Columbia Pictures, which is a division of Sony Corp’s Sony Entertainment and closely held Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. Columbia studios oversaw the production of the movie, its marketing and its distribution in the US. The MGM on the other hand has ancillary rights like the DVD distribution of the movie. It is expected that the movie will continue to earn more in the market in the coming weeks.

Popularity: 13% [?]

The newest installment of the James Bond franchise arrived a little late in the year in the US, but this did not stop the fans of the movie to troop to the movie houses and make the movie the top dog at the box office. The move by the studios to delay the showing of the movie in the world’s largest movie market perhaps shaped the destiny of the movie at the box office. By effectively delaying the showing of the movie in the US, the two studios stoked an online frenzy.

According to studio estimates the movie’s global cumulative gross through Sunday was pegged at $322 million. According to a studio executive, the figures are a manifestation that the audiences have accepted Daniel Craig as their new James Bond. The strong sales of the movie in the US and in other countries are a big relief for the two studios since the two studios spent large amount of money on the said movie. According to some estimates, the combined budget for the movie is pegged at around $400 million. Sony places the figures much lower due to tax credits.

If the fans and the viewers loved the new movie from James Bond, the critics thought otherwise. Critics bashed the movie and complained that the filmmakers veered away from the franchise’s signature story elements. The movie talks about a bitter James Bond seeking revenge for the death of a lover and assisted by a Russian-Bolivian agent, he stops a criminal from taking control of the country’s water supply. The domestic sales of the ‘Quantum of Solace were sharply higher than that of ‘Casino Royale’, the movie that marked the entry of Daniel Craig as the new James Bond. The previous high mark for the franchise was the ‘Die Another Day’ movie which starred Pierce Brosnan.

Popularity: 12% [?]

If Angelina will have her way, her stint in show business will not last that long. For her, her acting career will give way to more important events and happenings in her life. What is now important for the actress is to spend more quality time with her six kids and try to fade away from acting. But her pronouncements in one of her interview stopped short of pledging to quit her craft for good.

In an interview with BBC, the actress said that she doesn’t plan to keep acting very long, and she added that she is ready to do a few things now and fade away and get ready to be a grandma someday. The interview was conducted by a British broadcaster and the interview contents were posted on the BBC website. Jolie and her equally-famous partner Brad Pitt have emerged as the Hollywood’s power couple, and together they are raising six kids and three of them are adopted. When asked the question on whether she will give herself a cut-off age where she will stop acting, the actress said she would not make a pledge to completely stop acting. The actress who stars in the movie Changeling from director Clint Eastwood said that she has not worked on a movie for a year and said that she is starting another movie project by February next year. But she added that she will not work a year after that movie has been finished. It is part of her plans to make a movie at least once a year, or once every three years and just naturally she will just fade off from the scene. If indeed the actress plans to push thru with this, then she will not be the only young fine actor who have left and retired early.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Aretha Franklin will be named as the greatest singer of the rock era, and that is according to the poll conducted by Rolling Stones. The 66-year old singer best known for her song Respect topped the list of 179 musicians, producers and other music industry insiders. Ray Charles comes in at number two, Elvis Presley was voted third with Sam Cooke following next with John Lennon of the Beatles rounding up the first five.

The voters who took part in the survey are all music industry insiders, performers and producers. Some of the more famous voters in the survey conducted by Rolling Stone include Keith Richards, Iggy Pop and James Blunt, the pop singer from UK. Other than Aretha Franklin, the other living people in the top ten lists include Bob Dylan that landed at seven and Stevie Wonder who landed at number nine. Michael Jackson is also included on the list and in fact was the youngest artist on the list at age 50. The king of pop is in the Top 25 of the said list. The list of Rolling Stones includes the 100 best singers of all and this will be published in the magazine’s next issue which will be out this Friday. Aside from the listing of the best and the well-regarded singers, the magazine will also include testimonials from musicians, including the one from R&B singer Mary J Blige who mentioned that Franklin was the reason why women want to sing. Robert Plant, the former front man for Led Zeppelin said that Elvis Presley’s voice was confident, insinuating and taking no prisoners. Before being labeled by Rolling Stones as the greatest singer, she was first called the Queen of Soul. She was brought up in Detroit where she began singing in her father’s choir.

Popularity: 13% [?]

The youngest son of singer Britney Spears has been released from the hospital after the child has been treated for some kind of reaction. According to the update that can be seen on the singer’s website, her 2-year old Jayden James has left the Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center and the child is doing fine. A representative for the family said that Jayden was admitted to the hospital Sunday, after the child had a reaction to something that he ingested. The hospital where the boy was taken is near Spear’s home in Kentwood, Louisiana where the singer was reportedly staying with the family.

Kevin Federline on the other hand appreciated the efforts of the singer. Federline appreciated Spear’s good decision making after their son was rushed to the hospital following the allergic reactions. The rapper said that he is happy with regards to the child’s swift medical treatment and he added that he has no immediate plans to seek an investigation into the matter. Federline was quoted as saying that he was pleased that someone was aware enough to see that the child was having some sort of allergic reaction and do the necessary actions like bringing Jayden to the nearest hospital. Federline added that he will not jump into conclusions at this moment. In other Britney news, it was reported that the singer has been working on a new project. Aside from the fact that the singer will release her new album on December 2, in time for her 27th birthday, it was learned as well that the singer has been honing her dances and her dancers. The dancers are part of the secret project that the singer and her manager have been planning. The training for the dancers is linked to the Circus promotion that will happen next month.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Who will handle ‘Captain America’? Well the latest buzz is that a director has been selected for the job, and the job goes to Joe Johnston. Johnston’s credits include ‘Jurassic Park III and ‘Jumanji’ has been recently signed to direct the comic-book adaptation of ‘The First Avenger: Captain America’. The news was announced by Marvel Studios Monday. The movie is scheduled to be released in May 6, 2011. It is the same weekend that Marvel scored monster hit with ‘Iron Man’ that stars Robert Downey Jr. another ‘Iron Man’ movie is set to be released in 2010, at the same weekend the first movie made a big impact at the box office. The new movie about Captain America is distributed by Paramount Pictures.

The movie is based on the Marvel Comics character Steve Rogers who volunteers for a research program that transforms him into a patriotic super-soldier. The actor who will play Captain America is not yet known. There were rumors that indicated that Nick Cassavetes might actually get the directing job but it was noted that Marvel executive Kevin Feige had been talking to Johnson for a couple of years before actually sealing the deal over the weekend. According to the Marvel executive, the guy chosen was the one who designed the vehicles for Star Wars. And he added that from Rocketeer to October Sky, to ‘The Wolf Man’, people can actually look at the pieces of his past movies and how these movies has led to this newest project. Some of the possible contenders for the lead role include Mathew McConaughey and Leonardo DiCaprio. Marvel is also teaming Captain America with Iron Ma, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and other superheroes for another movie, ‘The Avengers’ which is due in theaters in July 15, 2011. Johnston is currently working on ‘The Wolf Man’.

Popularity: 12% [?]

It is a family weekend once again as movies for families took the top spot at the box office. It was a smashing take for the animated sequel ‘Madagascar: Escape to Africa’. The movie led the pack with around $63.5 million according to studio estimates. The take that was recorded for the weekend surpasses the take of the first ‘Madagascar’ movie that debuted over the Memorial Day Weekend where the movie took home $47.2 million and the figure by the sequel to the movie also beat the $61 million gross that the first movie took in over that full-four day holiday weekend.

For the head of the marketing department of Dream Works Animation, this goes to show that people wants to have an escape and wants to have a good laugh. Majority of the audience for the movie were parents with their children. But other than this expected crowd, the movie also drew teens and adults who also made up half of the audience. The number movie is a new release for the week and that movie took home a respectable $19.3 million. The movie is from Universal Pictures called ‘Role Models’. The movie stars Sean Williams Scott and Paul Rudd about immature adults that were sentenced to community service as mentors for two misfit youths. Other movies in the top 10 include ‘High School Musical 3’, ‘Changeling’, Zack and Miri Make a Porno’, ‘Soul Men’, ‘Saw’, ‘The Haunting of Molly Harvey’, ‘The Secret Lives of the Bees’ and ‘Eagle Eye’. Eagle Eye’ made $2.6 million for the week. The other new release for the week was ‘Soul Men’ that opened weakly with $6.5 million despite the presence of Samuel L Jackson and his late co-stars Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes. Jackson and Mac play an estranged singing tandem on a reunion road trip to a memorial concert.

Popularity: 58% [?]