On Tuesday we got our first look at the artwork for Christina Aguilera‘s new single Not Myself Tonight, which is the first to be released from her upcoming new album. Yesterday we got to read in full the lyrics to the song. Today, we get our first look at the album artwork for Xtina‘s new album titled Bionic (due for release on June 8) and we learn when we will get to hear Not Myself Tonight. Here is the album artwork for Bionic and the press release announcement regarding the world premiere of her new single:

With 30 million albums sold worldwide and the prestigious honor of being the only artist under the age of 30 included in Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of the 100 greatest singers of all time, 5 time Grammy Award winner Christina Aguilera has already achieved an unprecedented level of success. Aguilera’s been hard at work in the studio for the past year and is pleased to announce the release of her highly anticipated 4th studio album Bionic (RCA Records) this summer. The first single from Bionic is the fiercely energetic anthem “Not Myself Tonight”, produced by Polow Da Don. The song will premiere on ChristinaAguilera.com at 6pm EDT on 3/30, impacts radio on 4/5 and will be available on iTunes on 4/13. Bionic features songs co-written by Aguilera along with her much buzzed about collaborations including Sia, Tricky Stewart, Polow Da Don, Le Tigre, Hill & Switch, and Ladytron among others. Aguilera notes, “Working on this album with so many talented artists and producers that I admire was really an amazing experience. The artists I chose to work with added so many unique sonic layers to Bionic. My intention was to step into their world and what they do combined with my own vision and sound. The results were magic.” The album also features a ballad produced and written by Linda Perry titled “Lift Me Up”. The title Bionic reflects Aguilera’s ability to take her range to new levels and use her voice in various ways never heard before. Aguilera describes the album as a unique mix of many genres and styles of music, “I was able to explore and create a fresh, sexy feel using both electronic and organic elements with subject matter ranging from playful to introspective. I am so excited for my fans to hear the new sound. It is something I don’t think anyone will expect.” In addition to completing the album which was all recorded from her home studio after the birth of her first son, Christina also completed production on her first film, “Burlesque.” The film, which co-stars Cher, Stanley Tucci, and Kristen Bell will be released by ScreenGems this fall.

Okay … at this point, I’m dying the hear the song!! I am really looking forward to 3/30 now. I’m also terribly curious to hear this new album, Bionic, in full. I actually find the album artwork very interesting. Xtina looks like a robot version of Eva Perón. I kinda like the mixture of Fembot meets Evita. While we await the premiere of Not Myself Tonight, let’s discuss the album art for Bionic … what do y’all think? Is it hot or not?

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Very sad news to pass along today … actor Robert Culp, known for his roles in the 60′s series I Spy and the 80′s series The Greatest American Hero, passed away yesterday after suffering a fall during his morning walk here in SoCal. It’s unknown at this time what the cause of death was but I suspect it wasn’t the fall that killed Culp … my guess is that he may have suffered a heart attack which resulted in his his death. Culp was 79 years old:

Robert Culp, the actor who rose to fame as secret agent Kelly Robinson on the groundbreaking 1960s TV series “I Spy” and later played Ray Romano’s father-in-law on “Everybody Loves Raymond,” has died. He was 79. Culp died after falling on a sidewalk near a Los Angeles park, said his publicist, Dick Delson. Delson had no further details. The versatile Culp not only acted in “I Spy,” which aired on NBC from 1965 to 1968, he also wrote several episodes. The series, which also starred Bill Cosby as Robinson’s partner (and, as their covers, trainer to Culp’s globe-trotting tennis player), was the first to feature an African-American in a lead role; Cosby won three Emmys for his work. “I never had so much fun in my life, never, before or since,” he said of “I Spy” in a 2007 interview with the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ Archive of American Television. Culp and Cosby remained good friends after the series left air … Culp collapsed near the lower entrance to Runyon Canyon Park, a popular hiking area in Hollywood, according to a Los Angeles Police official. He was pronounced dead at a hospital a half hour later, Officer Rosaria Herrera said. It was unclear if the fall caused his death, and the coroner has opened an investigation, she said … His notable credits include a co-starring role in the series “The Greatest American Hero” and appearances on “The Cosby Show,” “Columbo,” “Wings,” “Chicago Hope” and “Raymond.” Culp is survived by his fifth wife, Candace Faulkner. His five marriages produced five children and five grandchildren, according to his Web site.

While I am not at all familiar with I Spy, I absolutely have very fond memories of watching Robert Culp star alongside William Katt in The Greatest American Hero (which was an amazing TV series about a hapless guy named Ralph Hinkley who was given a suit that bestowed upon him super powers but came with no instruction manual, so he had to figure out how the suit worked for the duration of the series):

I loved that show so much … Robert Culp always seemed like a really cool uncle to me (yes, I identified with TV characters at a very young age). I always loved it when he would show up in guest appearances on other shows over the years and news of his death is extremely sad to me. My deepest and heartfelt condolences go out to his family. May Robert Culp rest in eternal peace.

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On Tuesday we learned that David Beckham and his father Ted made their way to SoCal from the UK after Becks spent a few days in the motherland to recuperate after undergoing successful Achilles tendon surgery in Finland the week prior. Today we learn that Becks made it home to LA safe and sound … and made a beeline back to the soccer field to try and remain a part of the game. Well, as much as he can while hobbling around on crutches:

11 days after blowing out his Achilles’ tendon, David Beckham returned to the soccer field Wednesday to get a little workout with his Major League Soccer team — there was just one minor problem … he still can’t walk. With crutches on both arms, Beckham limped around to observe the L.A. Galaxy run through drills in Carson, California. Beckham underwent surgery to repair the tendon the day after he tore it — but he’ll still miss his chance to play in the upcoming World Cup tournament.

I have to give it up to Becks for getting back in action (as it were) so soon after undergoing surgery, especially since the poor guy can’t even walk on his own two feet. Some may dismiss this as publicity but I honestly believe that Becks wants to live as much of his life on the soccer field and he won’t let a thing like a reliance on crutches keep him off the field. I doubt any training that he gets done while hobbling around on crutches will be very fruitful … but I do believe that the practice will help him psychologically. Becks has a long recovery period ahead of him … if he keeps his head “in the game” during his rehabilitation period, it’ll make his eventual return to the game as seamless as possible — at least, that’s the hope. Stay strong, Becks! Do your thang!

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

MTV has issued a press release announcement that Season 7 of The Hills, which will begin airing on April 27, will be the LAST season of the series. After 4 years of mostly successful and marginally entertaining drama, MTV has decided to put an end to the pop culture phenomenon known as The Hills. At last, it’s dunzo, y’all!

Over the past 4 years “The Hills” revolutionized reality television and became a pop culture phenomenon. MTV will now redefine how the reality drama all ends in Season 6. The last 12 episodes EVER of “The Hills” will conclude like no other show before. How will it end? What will be revealed? Who will return? How will they say goodbye? The drama begins on Tuesday, April 27th as “The Hills: Final Season” premieres at 10pm ET/PT followed by “The City” at 10:30pm ET/PT on MTV. “We are lucky and honored to have worked with this cast and tell their stories for this long, and we are grateful to the many dedicated fans who have stuck with us over the years. We owe it to those fans, the cast and the show to go out on a high note. And this season will deliver on that goal in terms of drama, story, real emotion and an organic culmination of this saga,” said Tony DiSanto, President of Programming, MTV … Viewers wanting more can head over to http://TheHills.MTV.com to watch full episodes, browse through exclusive cast photo flipbooks and get the latest gossip on the Remote Control blog. Since its premiere in 2006, “The Hills” has been a phenomenal performer on MTV. The previous season ranked as the #3 original cable series of 4Q09 and was a top 10 original series for 2009 among F12-34. The Hills dominated its Tuesday time period, ranking #1 versus all television competition among both P12-34 and F12-34. The series is MTV’s most DVR’d series, averaging a 52% bump when Live+7 ratings are factored in. “The Hills” is created by Adam DiVello. Adam DiVello, Liz Gateley and Sara Mast serve as executive producers. Catherine K. Whyte is MTV’s executive-in-charge of production.

Once upon a time, The Hills was THE show that set the pop culture benchmark for water-cooler buzz but in recent years, it has delved into insipid, scripted and completely unbelievable nonsense that has all but ruined the fun the show used to offer. In all honestly, the show started getting really bad even when Lauren LC Conrad was the star protagonist … but once the focus shifted to other, less likable characters (and you know who I’m talking about) the fun spirit of the show was abandoned in lieu of nasty, really unsavory and totally fabricated drama. I was pretty much over the show by the time Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt got “married” for the third time on the show. The show has been over for a while now … at last, MTV has acknowledged that fact. Peace the Spork Out, Hills … when you were great, you were really fun … but the time has really come for you to be dead and gone.

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