entertainmentdissected

Seen here performing on NBC’s Todayshow, Beyonce Knowles has been ubiquitous in the last couple of weeks, actively promoting her new album. The hard work paid off, giving the singer her third No. 1 solo album. (picture courtesy of Reuters/Brendan McDermid)

Beyonce’s third solo album lived up to its title on the charts this week.

The former Destiny’s Child frontwoman’s I Am… Sasha Fiercedebuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling more than 482,000 units, according to Nielsen SoundScan. While a drop from the opening numbers of her last effort (541,000), the sum stands as the second-highest opening week for a female act this year, trailing only Taylor Swift’s 592,000-unit bow last week.

Fierce’ssales comfortably outdistanced runner-up Nickelback, whose Dark Horse sold more than 326,000 copies. That’s in line with the band’s previous opening, though this new effort has some major overall sales to compete with; All the Right Reasons spent around three years on the charts, selling 7 million units in the process. In a struggling albums market, Dark Horse would be fortunate to sell a quarter of that total.

David Cook, last season’s American Idol winner opened at No. 3 with nearly 280,000 units. That tops runner-up David Archuleta’s 183,000-unit opening from last week.

Over on the Hot 100 singles chart, T.I. and Rihanna continue to lead with “Live Your Life,” though Beyonce holds down positions No. 2 and 3, with “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” and “If I Were a Boy.” Of those two hits, “Single Ladies” stands a greater chance at challenging for No. 1, since “Boy” trails it in both airplay and sales.

It’s Beyonce’s world on the music charts- she just may be “Irreplaceable,” after all.

As anticipated, Derek Hough and Brooke Burke took the title on Dancing With the Stars’ finale Tuesday evening. Here, they hoist up their mirror ball trophy in celebration. (picture courtesy of ABC-TV/Associated Press)

Tonight’s showdown for Dancing With the Stars’ seventh season championship ALMOST ended in a surprise.

The three remaining couples- Brooke Burke/Derek Hough, Lance Bass/Lacey Schwimmer and Warren Sapp/Kym Johnson- took to the dance floor for the last dance, dancing what they believed to be their season’s best. Host Tom Bergeron then announced that Bass and Schwimmer were out of the running for the title.

Some gasps likely were let out among viewers and those in attendance. After all, Bass/Schwimmer in recent weeks had emerged as a possible threat to Burke and Derek Hough. So when the pair was eliminated, even Burke had a momentary look of concern- could the big man Warren Sapp pull an upset?

Fortunately, that didn’t happen, once the scores from Monday and tonight were combined with Monday’s viewer voting. Nothing against the self-proclaimed Fat Man, but Burke by and large was the best dancer this season, stumbling just once (in last week’s semi-finals).

Had the entertaining and charismatic NFL tackle won the competition, it just wouldn’t be right- remember  Taylor Hicks winning American Idol? Same notion.

When time came to announce the winner, Burke was in a dandy position with the judges- for both nights, she scored a combined 88 out of 90 from the judges, outdistancing her competitors by seven points (Bass) and eight points (Sapp). And, in the end, she received enough support from the voting public to earn her rightful trophy.

Burke’s win marked partner Hough’s first victory, after witnessing sister Julianne win two championships. Unfortunately for Schwimmer, she couldn’t take the title in her first season competing, like Julianne Hough and Cheryl Burke had done before her.

All of season seven’s contestants returned to dance for the finale, including Cloris Leachman, who undoubtedly was the series’ most colorful- and wacky- participant to date.

Season eight begins in March- whether it lives up to its predecessor’s entertainment value depends on whether producers want to up the ante and find someone to challenge Leachman’s shtick, or Sapp’s irresistibility (the latter, which judge Bruno Tonioli gushed). They may want to, since they could have difficulty finding a contestant to challenge Burke’s impressive technical skill.

Even Carrie Ann Inaba once commented how Burke was on her way to possessing talent on the level of the show’s professional dancers. Whoever emerges as season eight’s champ, there’s no doubt the shadow of Brooke Burke will be lingering…

It’s been all about Derek Hough and partner Brooke Burke this season on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars- tomorrow night, they likely will take their place as this season’s champions. (picture courtesy of ABC-TV/Associated Press)

The Brooke Burke and Derek Hough Show returned to the spotlight tonight on Dancing With the Stars, after the twosome played the unfamiliar runner-up role to Lance and Lacey last week.

The three remaining couples in the ABC dance competition performed a group Samba (for which they were scored as couples) and a freestyle. Burke and Hough scored a perfect 30 for their freestyle routine, which they set to Grease’s “You’re the One That I Want.” (Incidentally, to date, that tune is the only one to be used twice during Dancing’s run; it previously was used during season one.)

The Burke/Hough juggernaut scored a combined 58 out of 60, five points ahead of the 53 that greeted both Bass/Schwimmer and Warren Sapp/Kym Johnson. Sapp earned a 10 from judge Len Goodman, for “pure entertainment value,” which all the judges agree he has no competition in regards to that dynamic. Carrie Ann Inaba went as far as to say Sapp was the most improved dancer, though some (including Goodman) would go with Bass for that distinction.

Regardless of the impressive performances Bass and Sapp enjoy, it’s always been about Burke- out of 11 dance nights, she finished with the highest judges’ score nine times. One week, she lost first place by just one point (to Bass), and the other time- well, that was last week’s competition, when her attempt a the Jive bellyflopped- and hard.

Nevertheless, one bad dance cannot stop the force that is Brooke Burke. Imagine had it been Burke rather than Misty May-Treanor who injured herself and had to leave the competition? Bass and Sapp likely would be a bit more at ease and confident than they may be right now.

Barring some overzealous voting from Bass and Sapp fans, and laxness on the part of Burke fans, Burke should be standing before the judges as one of the final two during tomorrow night’s two-hour finale (which also will feature the return of every contestant- even Crazy Cloris Leachman- from this season).

Is there any way the judges- and America- won’t crown her queen of the ballroom? Maybe if Sapp threatens to tackle them into next week, but otherwise… congratulations, Brooke.

The 36th annual American Music Awards was held tonight- and, once again, like the Grammy Awards (aka Shammys or Grannies), it had nothing to do with what the best music was over the past year.

Rather, popularity dictates the winners, as it often has on the Grammys. The Grammys hold more clout in the industry, because it’s *supposed* to represent the best music in a given year, but that’s another story- and one to dwell on when Grammy nominations  are announced.

Back to the AMAs- the performances often are more noteworthy than the actual awards, just to see who’s got it and who doesn’t.

Christina Aguilera- promoting her hits compilation Keeps Gettin’ Better- opened the show with a medley of seven hits, but it was a bit much, a disjointed mess of sorts. It didn’t help that she experienced what sounded like one long vocal spasm, shouting, oversinging, you name it.

P!nk performed “Sober,” the second single from her latest album, Funhouse. As usual, she emoted better than most who took the stage, and conveys the spirit of a true pop/rock star- in the process, she left Ms. Aguilera in her proverbial dust.

(Rocker Scott Weiland introduced P!nk, and it looked like he was in the midst of some awful narcotic episode, looking completely out of touch with what was going on. Having past problems with heroin addiction, hopefully he’s not having a relapse).

New Kids on the Block- 20 years after first hitting it big with the Hangin’ Tough album- performed a mix of oldies and new tracks. The cheesy nostalgia was somewhat fun, though also a bit of an annoyance, since it reminded some that they’re now nearly the same age as the nost-so New Kids.

Sarah McLachlan performed one of her best hits, the somber “Angel.” None other than P!nk joined her, once again showcasing the raw talent that’s made her one of the strongest pop acts around.

Other bright spots included Beyonce, Coldplay, Alicia Keys (along with Queen Latifah and opera singer Kathleen Battle), Annie Lennox and Kanye West.

Mariah Carey performed the latest single from E=MC2, but in typical Carey fashion, it was a stiff, uneventful hand-waving affair. Also in typical Carey fashion, her chart accomplishments received some notice, right before her performance.

Hanna Montana herself- that would be Miley Cyrus- “rocked” the ceremony, performing “Fly on the Wall,” in addition to celebrating her 16th birthday. Every generation has its “It” girl, though understanding what makes Cyrus the latest one… well, let’s leave that to the tweens.

With the AMAs now a memory, Grammy nominations come next week- that should provide enough fodder for further awards show dissection.

Hilary Duff- seen here  bsckstage at MTV’s TRL finale- is heading back to television after recent disappointments in the music and film worlds. (picture courtesy of Associated Press/Peter Kramer).

Lizzie McGuire herself- Hilary Duff- has a new greatest hits out. No, that is not a typographical error.

The release actually avoids including the words “greatest hits” in its title, rather opting for Best of Hilary Duff, which is Duff’s sixth and final album under her contract with Hollywood Records. Of those six albums, just three were studio efforts, while the remaining three either were a compilation or holiday album.

Duff’s previous compilation- 2005’s Most Wanted- was a mix of her favorite recordings, remixes and oddities. Since then, Duff’s released just one studio album (2007’s Dignity); but, just five Best Of tracks overlap from Most Wanted.

The most perplexing facet about Best of Hilary Duff’s existence lies in the fact that Duff has had just five entries chart on Billboard’s Hot 100- none cracked the top 10 or top 20, and three hit the top 40 (with another, “So Yesterday,” just missing at No. 42).

It’s not like Duff is the first recording act to release a hits compilation, and not have all that many hits. Heck, some acts have had best-of compilations and never even cracked the top 40 (Bjork, anyone?) or even the Hot 100.

When we see hits-challenged acts release compilations, it’s usually a record label’s attempt to cash in one last time on a once-very-popular act, or fulfill contractual terms. In the case of Best Of, the label’s helping Duff fulfill her contract, as she was never a consistently big seller (2003 debut Metamorphosis was her biggest hit,  at 3 million units).

Whatever the case, out of the gate, Best Of has fared much worse than Most Wanted. Best Of recently entered the Billboard 200 at No. 125, selling a mere 5,500 units in its first week. By comparison, Most Wanted debuted at No. 1, selling 208,000 in its debut week.

One factor that helped Most Wanted was “With Love,” which reached No. 24 on the Hot 100. Best Of’s lead single- “Reach Out”- hasn’t come anywhere near reaching the Hot 100.

Now that her music career looks like it’s played itself out, and her movie career producing more recent duds than successes, Duff is returning to the medium that made her a star- television. She recently signed a one-year development deal with NBC, which will have her fronting her own show and making appearances on other NBC programs.

Where Duff fits into the current television landscape remains to be seen. Thetween audience that made her and Lizzie McGuire so popular have moved on to other Disney Channel personalities (Miley Cyrus and Jonas Brothers, among others).

It wouldn’t be all that shocking if former Lizzie fans and audiences in general look at Duff ’s new endeavors and find she’s so yesterday…

Eighteen-year-old Taylor Swift sold a whopping 592,000 copies of her sophomore album Fearless, easily placing at No. 1 on the new Billboard 200. (picture courtesy of Associated Press/Damian Dovarganes)

A country music idol fended off a challenge from a runner-up American Idol to land her first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 this week.

Taylor Swift’s Fearlesssold 592,000 copies last week, according to Nielsen SoundScan, easily outpacing David Archuleta’s self-titled debut album, which sold 183,000. Swift’s total is the largest first-week sales for a female act this year; the last female album to open higher was Mary J. Blige’s Growing Pains last December (629,000).

Furthermore, Fearlessenjoyed the largest debut sales by a country female since Shania Twain’s Up! sold 874,000 in 2002. 

Swift’s debut album still ranks inside the top 40 after 109 weeks, selling more than 3.5 million to date. Nearly every track on Fearless has charted on the Hot 100, thanks to weekly single releases at iTunes.

Yet another entry in the Now! That’s What I Call Musicseries graces the albums chart, as No. 29 sold 172,000. With the advent of iTunes and the ability for consumers to make their own compilation albums, this series has suffered the consequences. Nonetheless, still a respectable number.

Christina Aguilera’s Target exclusive- Keeps Gettin’ Better: A Decade of Hits- sold 73,000 copies, good enough for a No. 9 entry. By comparison, fellow ex-Mousketeer Britney Spears saw her first hits compilation sell just over 250,000 in its debut week back in 2004. Granted, Spears’ album was available at every outlet, but, hey- if anyone wants to get Aguilera’s album and doesn’t want to travel, there’s always target.com, right?

Hits compilations in general just don’t sell like they used to- as with the Now franchise, music buyers can cherrypick what individual tracks they want to buy and make their own hits compilation. A couple of weeks ago, Rascal Flatts’ Greatest Hits Volume 1 debuted with just 89,000, peanuts compared to what the country act’s studio albums sell in their first weeks. And, Celine Dion’s Essential Collection debuted with even less that same week (57,000).

Next week’s Billboard 200 will see some heavy action, with Beyonce’s I Am Sasha Fierce easily debuting at No. 1 with first-week projections in the vicinity of 500,000-550,000. Battling for runner-up slots will be Nickelback, American Idol winner David Cook and, of course, Swift’s Fearless.

However, with the economy in the downward spiral it’s currently in, overall album sales continue to lag behind last year’s numbers. So no matter how fierce Beyonce’s debut numbers are, they likely won’t be fierce enough to lift 2008’s weekly numbers anywhere near those from 2007.

Julianne Hough and Cody Linley- eliminated from ABC’s Dancing With the Stars this week- enjoyed their highest score four weeks ago for their Jitterbug routine. (picture courtesy of ABC-TV/Associated Press)

The youngest-ever contestant in Dancing With the Stars history will be heading back to Hanna Montana without a dancing trophy.

To little surprise, 17-year-old Cody Linley (along with partner Julianne Hough) was eliminated from theABC dancing competition this evening, leaving Brooke Burke/Derek Hough, Warren Sapp/Kym Johnson and Lance Bass/Lacey Schwimmer still in the running- and in next week’s finals.

Linley’s reunion with Hough didn’t ignite the judges as he probably hoped it would, leading to his ejection. Hough’s two-week hiatus from the competition may have hurt Linley’s game, but, in reality, he never was a serious threat to the trophy- at least not as long as Burke, Sapp and Bass were there to overshadow him.

Tuesday’s results show featured performances from Julianne Hough, as well as the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, who sang classics “Chain of Fools” and “Respect.”

Next week’s finale will feature a performance from Linley’s Hanna Montana co-star, Miley Cyrus. In addition, many- if not all- of this season’s contestants should be present (with the possible exception of Crazy Cloris Leachman, who had fallen ill and may have scheduling conflicts).

In any event, whether Burke and Hough can fend off the Bass and Schwimmer Train, we shall see Monday night. If it comes down to those two couples, they better watch out for Sapp’s reaction, and hope he doesn’t dust off any moves from his NFL days…

Maybe it was a bit premature to declare that the Warren Sapp/Kym Johnson Show was waiting in the wings if the dominant Brooke Burke/Derek Hough duo faltered.

Because, tonight, it was all about Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars. The twosome scored a whopping 57 out of a possible 60 for their Mambo and Jitterbug routines- that, even after Bass lost a shoe during the second dance. Host Tom Bergeron commented that Bass’ shoe malfunction probably was the most memorable soldiering-on after losing an article of clothing since Kelly Monaco’s straps broke in season one.

Usual points leaders Burke and Hough stumbled in their first dance (the Jive), scoring a season-low 21. Just as it appeared that Burke had lost all the magic she’s shown week in and week out, she regained her footing with a hot Salsa number- but even a score of 28 wasn’t enough to top Bass’ 29 for his and Schwimmer’s Jitterbug.

Sapp and Johnson tired Burke/Hough with a 49 out of 60, doing nearly equally as well with their Mambo as their Jitterbug.

And despite a much-anticipated reunion with Julianne Hough, Cody Linley ended up in last place, with a two-dance score of 46. The judges weren’t fond of the duo’s Paso Doble, and only awarded a couple more points for the Salsa.

Who’s getting the proverbial ax this week? Linley probably is the “favorite” to go, but a bigger, even more daunting question arises: Are Burke and Hough in danger of being upset by Bass and Schwimmer? And, if so, where does that leave Sapp and Johnson? Stay tuned…

It’s yet another box office smash for 007- Quantum of Solace, starring Daniel Craig and Olga Kurylenko- easily topped the weekend box office. (image courtesy of Handout/Reuters)

No other major motion picture dared open against James Bond this weekend.

Quantum of Solace- the 22nd entry in the Bond franchise, and second to star Daniel Craig-grossed an estimated $70.4 million from play at 3,451 U.S. and Canadian theaters. That total tops the previous biggest-opening Bond movie ever, 2002’s Die Another Day, which opened with $47.1 million. Adjusting for inflation, Quantum’s debut still beats Day by 23 percent.

The most recent film in the series- 2006’s Casino Royale- grossed $167 million, and scored an impressive 81 (out of 100) at www.metacritic.com. Reviews for Quantumhaven’t been as strong- based on 38 reviews, the film currently has a so-so score of 58 at metacritic.com. Nonetheless, the Bond series is virtually critic-proof by now, with fans eagerly anticipating each new chapter in the spy’s capers.

Last week’s top film, Madagscar: Escape 2 Africa, dropped a reasonable 43 percent to an estimated $36.1 million, upping its cume to $118 million.

Bond will face a challenge from the House of Disney next week, when the studio’s 3D animated Bolt enters multiplexes. Based on Disney’s track record, expect Bolt to swipe the box office crown from 007 with relative ease.

Christina Aguilera- seen here performing in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates- is highlighting her last 10 years with Keeps Gettin’ Better- A Decade of Hits. (picture courtesy of Associated Press/Carl Abrams)

Just what is Christina Aguilera’s place in the pop pantheon? We get a chance to ponder that properly with her newly released compilation, Keeps Gettin’ Better- A Decade of Hits.

Following a stint as a Mouseketeer (along with Britney Spears), Aguilera’s first break came in the form of Disney’s Mulan soundtrack. “Reflection” was a top 20 hit on the Adult Contemporary charts, but didn’t cross over to the pop charts.

It was with her 1999 debut album that Aguilera became a teen-pop superstar, following the mold of Backstreet Boys, N Sync and Britney Spears. However, unlike that threesome, Aguilera didn’t have the Max Martin hitmaking production team behind her, and, rather, focus was more on the voice. Part Whitney Houston, part Mariah Carey, Aguilera soon developed a rep for having one of the industry’s most powerful voices.

That was in contrast to Spears, who didn’t display much of a voice and rather relied on her media status and other people for her continued success. Like Spears’ and her breakthrough/signature hit, “…Baby One More Time,” Aguilera had her own with “Genie in a Bottle.” The track was an intentional slice of sexual innuendo, and put Aguilera firmly on the pop map.

“Genie” became her first No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, and Aguilera landed two additional No. 1 hits from her debut album: “What a Girl Wants” and “Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You).” Before issuing her sophomore album in 2002, she released a holiday album, as well as a Spanish-language project. Also, she collaborated with Ricky Martin, as well as P!nk, Mya and Lil’ Kim on a cover of “Lady Marmalade,” the latter which became her fourth No. 1. 

With her second studio release, Stripped, Aguilera got “Dirrty,” but the track- buoyed by a sexually charged video clip- initially tanked in the USA, failing to break the top 40; though over time,”Dirrty” became somewhat of a recurrent favorite. The second single, the Linda Perry-penned ”Beautiful,” fared much better, reaching No. 2 on the Hot 100 and becoming an anthem for self-love and strength.

Strippedconcluded its run with more than 4 million units sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan- roughly half of the debut’s sales, but impressive, nonetheless.

Aguilera’s third studio effort- a double album titled Back to Basics- mixed contemporary sounds with styles of latter years, such as the ’30s and ’40s. The effort sold less than half of its predecessor, but still yielded a top 10 in “Ain’t No Other Man,” and a couple other top 30 hits in “Hurt” and “Candyman.”

Which brings us to Keeps Gettin’ Better- the album collects 10 hits, plus two new tracks (including the recent top 10 title track), plus reworkings of “Genie in a Bottle” and “Beautiful.” The album- a Target exclusive release- provides a pleasant romp through Aguilera’s artistic discovery. She started out as one of the teen-pop crowd, but by adapting a quasi-Madonna approach of re-invention, has distanced herself from that pack.

However, what Aguilera needs to realize is that she doesn’t possess the artistic notoriety- or importance- of Madonna. Not that she needs be as great as her idol, though- she’s probably a stronger artist than a Britney Spears, but if she’s going to talk like she’s the next coming of Joni Mitchell, the material’s gotta be THAT great, and not just acceptable, pleasant pop, which is how most of her music could be categorized.

Based on the new recordings found on Keeps Gettin’ Better, Aguilera’s next studio album may take more of an electro turn. But, the four new tracks/reworkings on the album don’t contain any real magical moments; like the past hits, they’re fine- but certainly nothing to justify the pop-art Aguilera appears intent on making.