As soon as Jessica Simpson’s name was noticeably removed from the websites of Sony Music Nashville and Columbia Nashville, blogs started buzzing that she had been dropped by her Country Music label … and it turns out that that’s exactly what happened. While Simpson’s PR person is trying to spin the story by saying that Jessica was only “on loan” to the Country Music label, the result is the same … she is no longer with Sony Music Nashville. She’s been canned, y’all:

Looks like Jessica Simpson’s country crooning days are over. The singer, 28, is no longer with the Sony Nashville label, her rep confirms to Usmagazine.com. Earlier today, blogs were abuzz that Simpson was dropped from the label after her name was noticeably missing from both the Columbia Nashville and Sony Music Nashville websites. Simpson also skipped Sunday’s Academy of Country Music Awards, even though she announced the nominees earlier this year. But the singer’s rep tells Us, “She was on loan to Sony Nashville for her country album.” Simpson, who has released pop albums on the Epic label, “is and has always been an Epic artist,” her rep adds. “She continues to be on Epic’s label.” Although Simpson’s country debut, Do You Know, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard country charts, it only sold 172,876 copies as of February. Simpson also struggled as she opened for Rascal Flatts this year, often flubbing lines or forgetting lyrics altogether. (It didn’t help that critics seemed to focus more on her weight gain than her singing.)

It seems clear to me that if Jessica Simpson had been a successful Country Music artist, she would not have been dropped by the label — but the “loan” excuse is a good one. It remains to be seen if this setback will result in the end of her career in Country Music but, to be honest, she really hasn’t had much success with any aspect of her music career. Well, at least she has acting to fall back on … er, tho, she hasn’t had much success there either. HMMM … what else is Jessica Simpson good at … does anyone know? Mebbe if that little thing can get figured out then she can plan her next step. One thing’s for sure, State Fairs and Hot Dog Eating contests are sure gonna be lonely in the foreseeable future without Jessica Simpson there to perform anymore :(

[Source]

Former Lost hottie Ian Somerhalder has been out of the limelight for the past year or so but has just this week surfaced in Vancouver, Canada to press the flesh and sign a few autographs for fans. Last month we learned that Somerhalder has signed on to appear in the upcoming new series Vampire Diaries which is set to debut on The CW this Fall. Methinks that this surfacing is just the first in a slew of new sightings leading up to the debut of this new CW series:

Ian Somerhalder, who played Boone on ABC’s hit “Lost,” has joined the cast of the CW’s drama pilot “Vampire Diaries.” Variety says that Somerhalder is set to play Damon, a smug vampire who can go from playful to evil in a split second. Also joining the cast are Zach Roerig (”Friday Night Lights”), who will play the jock Matt, and Kayla Ewell (”Entourage”), who will play Matt’s sister. Previously announced cast includes Nina Dobrev and Steven R. McQueen. “Vampire Diaries,” based on a series of books from Alloy Entertainment, centers on a woman who falls for two vampire brothers – one good and one evil.

Thank Jebus, this man deffo needs to be back on the TV airwaves. I’m thinking that The CW is hoping that Vampire Diaries will be the Twilight of TV. They’ve scored a real boon (pardon the pun) by getting Somerhalder on board. I’m sure his return to television will be heralded by all the fangirls/boys out there how have been missing his rosy-cheeked countenance on the small screen. I am very much looking forward to more Ian Somerhalder in the weeks and months to come.

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin; Source]

Yesterday we saw photos of new couple Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jamie Kennedy making their public debut as a romantic unit at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas, NV over the weekend and I couldn’t help but notice that the pair opted to wear matching, totally white (wedding-like?) ensembles. Since the ACMs, J. Love and Jamie made their way back home to SoCal and were spotted out and about — once again — wearing matching outfits:

Clearly, they want us to know that they are SO in LOVE that the only way that they can possibly express to the outside world how much in LOVE they are with one another is to venture out in public wearing MATCHING OUTFITS. A love like that is rare, it is a precious commodity that should be cherished … or mocked, I can’t really be sure. Thoughts?

[Photo credit: X17]

Sydney, Australia was the lucky city to host the official world premiere of the new JJ Abrams prequel film Star Trek last night but the folks in OZ were not the first ones to be able to watch the film in full. An even luckier group of folks in Austin, TX who were told they’d be seeing a preview of clips from the film were treated to a full showing of the film … AND Leonard Nimoy (the original Spock) was in the hiz to introduce the screening. But, we’ll get to that in a sec. Co-stars and jogging buddies Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto were joined by Eric Bana, John Cho and Abrams on the red carpet in Sydney last night … here are a few photos:

The 11th Star Trek movie in 30 years had its world premiere on Tuesday, its markedly younger cast boldly going along the red carpet to a makeshift cinema in the Sydney Opera House. Chris Pine, 28, who plays a cadet-aged James T. Kirk, admitted he’d never met William Shatner, who starred as the original Captain Kirk in the television series dating back to 1966 as well as the first Star Trek movies. But he said he watched the TV show “quite a bit.” “All it was doing was making me think about what the best way I could do a William Shatner impersonation,” Pine said. “It wasn’t helping bringing this story to life.” Hundreds of fans, including one wearing “Spock” ears, waited for hours to meet the leading men who spent nearly an hour walking the red carpet, signing autographs and talking with journalists. “It’s hard to believe Eric Bana plays a meanie when he comes across as such a nice guy,” said Alicia Wetherley, who drove from central Australia to the Opera House for the premiere. Bana plays Nero, the film’s heavily-tattooed Romulan villain bent on avenging the destruction of his planet. He said all the film’s cast “did everything they could” to come up with something fresh this time around. The plot follows the young lives of the original cast from Gene Roddenberry’s TV show as they find their places on the flight deck of the U.S.S. Enterprise as junior officers. It was directed by J.J. Abrams, director of “Mission Impossible III” and “Lost.” “I was never a huge Star Trek fan growing up and so what I hope people will experience when they see the movie is one that stands on its own,” Abrams said. “It’s a huge action spectacle but at the core it is got a big heart,” said Abrams. Zachary Quinto plays Spock, the role made famous by Leonard Nimoy, 77, who has a cameo in the film. Nimoy had joined a campaign for the movie to hold its premiere in the small farming town of Vulcan in Alberta, Canada, that was unsuccessful, partly because the town has no cinema.

LOL! Well, since Nimoy couldn’t get the premiere to take place in Vulcan, he decided to surprise a group of fans in Austin, TX for a screening of Star Trek that took place even before the Oz premiere went down:

While a world of Trekkers believed the new J.J. Abrams Star Trek would premiere in Sydney, Australia Tuesday, Leonard Nimoy made a surprise appearance in Austin, Texas Monday night to screen the film for an unsuspecting audience. A theater full of Trek fans showed up in the Texas capital thinking they were going to see a new print of the classic Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and 10 minutes of Abrams’ reboot, all organized by Ain’t It Cool News. But, Nimoy shocked the house by announcing they would in fact see the entire new movie just hours before it made its international bow in Sydney. The early fan reviews on Twitter are running almost entirely positive so far.

Click HERE to read some of the Twitter posts that came from last night’s Austin surprise. Kudos to Paramount for really capitalizing on getting the buzz for the film going right. Orchestrating a splashy premiere and a surprise screening on opposite ends of the globe all almost the same time is pretty brills. I know I’m amped to see the film … even without all this hoopla … but the word of mouth can only help the film when it opens in May. I’m sure we’ll be seeing the new Trek crew trek the world for other premieres in the weeks to come … but it’s all foreplay to me. I want the real goods and I want them now!

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source, Source]

Trent Reznor is featured on Digg.com today in a new interview with the site. TR’s Digg Dialogg is the fourth interview to come from the site after Vice President Al Gore, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican House Leader John Boehner. The Digg Dialogg is set up so that site members can submit their interview questions and then everyone votes for their fave questions … the guest then gets asked the Top 10 most Digged (popular) questions. Here are a few screencaps from TR’s Digg Dialogg interview and the Top 10 Questions that he was asked:

1. Your business model still primarily involves selling music either digitally or physically. Why haven’t you embraced advertising as a business model? (+710 diggs, submitted by Kethinov)
2. What is the most embarrassing song on your iPod? (+571 diggs, submitted by lindbergrm)
3. What advice do you have for up and coming bands who chose the internet for distribution over traditional channels? (+463 diggs, submitted by chris4404)
4. What tech gadgets, hardware, software, can you not live without? (+448 diggs, submitted by kevinrose)
5. Have the plans to release a Year Zero mini-series on HBO fallen through? Or can we still look forward to a video representation of the album? (+389 diggs, submitted by halofourteen)
6. What is your favorite thing you have seen done with your music by a fan of NIN? (+335 diggs, submitted by JCrichton)
7. What are some of your favorite video games? (+287 diggs, submitted by christoscamaro)
8. Will any of the records of your side project Tapeworm, with TOOL frontman Maynard James Keenan, ever be released? (+251 diggs, submitted by metalchik)
9. Since you are a tech artist, are you planning an online concert? (+251 diggs, submitted by jacobo)
10. Is there tension between art director Rob Sheridan and basist Justin Meldal-Johnsen over coverage of the Scientology protest? (+222 diggs, submitted by YourMomsAnAnon)

These questions were all very good but Trent Reznor’s answers were just wonderful. He gave well thought out and careful answers to every single question which made the whole interview extremely enlightening. As much as I loved my interview with the man back in December (for obvs reasons), I think this Digg Dialogg interview is my new fave TR interview. I was SHOCKED to learn that TR is a fan of the CeCe Peniston song Finally … I guess we have more in common than I previously thought. He also gave really helpful and, IMHO, important advice to unsigned bands who are starting to form their careers. This interview is a MUST WATCH for any fan of Reznor or NIN — hands down.

Additionally, TR released a video yesterday that explains in pretty great detail what will be offered by the new Apple iPhone NIN application that is due for release “any second now” (all that is required is the final approval by Apple). Here are a few screencaps from that vid:

Once again, TR and co. have the fans’ best interests at heart with this new app … which will provide a new way for NIN fans to interact with NIN.com and with each other mobilely. After the jump, check out TR’s Digg Dialogg interview video in full as well as this new NIN iPhone app video …

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So, my day yesterday pretty much consisted of laundry and TV … in that order. Because I am a huge procrastinator I tend to group my chores into lumps that get taken care of on particular days. Sunday was all about the dishes and kitchen, yesterday was about the laundry. Today will be about putting things away and packing for this weekend’s trip … but that will come in due course. I managed to get all of my laundry done yesterday which meant that I had a free night to sit in front of the TV. I am very pleased that HBO’s amazing series In Treatment has returned with their second season.

While the first season eps aired in 30-minute eps 5-days a week, this season all 5 weekly eps air over two days — 2 on Sunday, 3 on Monday. BUT, HBO reairs the Sunday eps before the Monday eps so I can now look forward to 5 eps of In Treatment every Monday evening. Yesterday’s batch of eps were so good. The writing on that show is superb, you must watch. Dianne Wiest is the BEST thing about the series, I live for her eps.

I also enjoyed the new ep of 24 and kinda enjoyed The Hills. I’m sorry, that show has gotten so far from reality that I have a hard time watching it with any seriousness anymore. I mean … it’s basically turned into this:

Kinda funny and wholly ridiculous. That being said, I did Twitter the hell out of last night’s ep … so that was fun but, alas, I’m kinda really over The Hills. I’ll still watch (and will prolly live Twitter) future eps but … meh. If I want to watch scripted TV, I’ll go for the shows that have the best writing (see In Treatment above).

Other than that … ’twas a quiet night. I curled up in bed with my Kindle 2 for some reading to close out the night. I’m trying to make the most of my alonetime this week but I’m missing David. I can’t wait to see him on Thursday.

I might be more social tonight, I have a hankering for some popcorn … HMMMM.

• Congrats goes out to the Tarheels of the University of North Carolina on winning the NCAA Basketball Championship; much love also goes out to my Spartan buds at Michigan State University for one helluva run!
• Nicole Richie is planning to auction off Harlow Winter’s baby clothes.
• Kal Penn leaves the FOX TV series House for the White House.
• Coldplay goes to court to deny that they stole their song Viva La Vida.
• At least Ryan Reynolds is cute.
• Eric Balfour looks great in neoprene.
• Kawasaki, Japan really loves penis.
• The District of Columbia will recognize same-sex marriages from US States where it is legal.
• Click HERE to watch Spencer Pratt get aggro on last night’s 5th season premiere ep of The Hills.
• Adriana Lima shows off her undies.
• Tri-ass-alon?
• Click HERE to watch some of Levi Johnson’s chat with Tyra Banks.
• Click HERE to watch Eminem’s new music video We Made You.
• Has Jessica Simpson been dropped by her Country Music record label?
• Russell Crowe is 45, Jackie Chan is 55, John Oates of Hall and Oates is 60 and Francis Ford Coppola is 70 years old today. Click HERE to see who else is celebrating a birthday today.
• The folks who created Coraline: The Musical will sit down for a tête-a-tête with fans.
• The Beatles catalog will be remastered for digital release.
• The Twilighters were unable to petition Saturday Night Live to have Robert Pattinson host SNL.