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Katie Melua Takes New York

Roger Friedman
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Have you heard of’Katie Melua? Perhaps if the airwaves weren’t cluttered with junk, you would know this 24 -year-old’s clear and vibrant voice. She’s a musical descendant of’Stevie Nicks and’Natalie Merchant. Last night the 24 year old from Georgia (in Russia, not Atlanta), who was raised in Belfast and London, wowed a packed house at the Highline Ballroom. She’s on an acoustic tour of America, not to be missed.

Melua sang songs from her new live album, played guitar and piano (standing, hello!) and was basically very impressive. Melua’s on’Mike Batt’s very cool indie label, Dramatico, which is distributed in the U.S. by Universal (of course).

At last night’s show, Melua’who is cute as a button and tiny, with a huge pile of brunette locks’sang several songs from her American release, “Pictures,” including “Sailboat”’-which should be on the radio, and “What I Miss About You,” which was lovely.

She also has a song about’silent film legend Mary Pickford that name-checks the movie stars who created United Artists in th3 1930s’Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, and’D.W. Griffith. UA should build a whole campaign around it. It’s much nicer than “Valkyrie.”’ Check out this video for more info on that.

One poignant note: there were a lot of Georgians in the audience last night. They all sang along to a Russian song at the end of the show, very quietly, in and out of tune. They all know about her and are very proud.

Jay-Z in Record Cliffhanger

Roger Friedman
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Something funny ‘ and I don’t mean humorous ‘ in the world of hip-hop magnate Jay-Z. Sony Music thinks they’re signing to distribute his latest album, “The Blueprint 3,” for their Epic label. But yesterday, the fun folks at Warner Music Group planted a story in a New York Daily News gossip column that they were secretly negotiating with Jay-Z to do the same thing. The story was so glowing about WMG that it was a bit hard to swallow: Why would smart Jay-Z want to go where no hits exist? WMG has even had trouble delivering on Green Day’s new album.

jay z 300x214 Jay Z in Record CliffhangerBut there’s more: Jay-Z bought back this CD from Universal Music Group for $5 million after making an overall deal with Live Nation. With Live Nation, Jay-Z ‘ real name Shawn Carter ‘ is partners in everything including his Roc Nation label.

But Live Nation, which has deals with Madonna, U2, Nickelback, and Shakira, is not a record label. It’s a concert promoter. For example, with U2, Live Nation is also in business with Universal’s Interscope to release U2 albums. This means that the other acts ‘ including Madonna ‘ will need similar deals to put out albums. Madonna and Nickelback have each left Warner, so their deals will presumably be elsewhere or otherwise.

In Jay-Z’s case, he and Epic’s Amanda Ghost share a manager. Jay-Z’s wife, Beyonce Knowles, is a Sony star. So making the Sony-Epic deal seems right. Joining Lyor Cohen and Kevin Liles at WMG does not.

(Cohen, by the way, celebrated WMG’s lack of chart hits last week by going to the Cannes Film Festival with girlfriend Tory Burch. Cannes, he didn’t seem to know, is a FILM festival, mostly in French, and so having nothing to do with the AMERICAN RECORD business. WMG stockholders would do well to check that expense account. Hotel rooms for CEOs during the festival start at $1,000 a night.)

But the Jay-Z/WMG story had its desired effect, moving the recently miraculously and mysteriously revived WMG stock up 16 cents to close yesterday at $6.52. In February, when the company had just as few hits, the stock bottomed out at $1.74.

Jacko Nanny Starts Her Own Charity

Roger Friedman
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Grace Rwaramba, the Neverland office assistant who worked her way up to being the nanny for’Michael Jackson’s kids, has started her own charity.

Rwaramba has just put up a website named for the cause, World Accountability for Humanity. Yes, it’s a mouthful, and a little highfalutin’ considering once you get there. it’s not completely clear what’s going on.

Grace ‘ who’s been a surrogate mother to’Prince, Paris and Blanket Jackson ‘ does reveal a little about herself. Whether or not it’s completely true is another story altogether. But she does say she was born in Uganda, not Rwanda, as previously thought. She was sent to live with older siblings in the U.S. when she was small, and attended a boarding school in Connecticut. She says she received a B.A. in Business Administration from Atlantic Union College.

She did turn up at Neverland circa 1994, where she worked in the office. In short order, she was caring for Prince, Jackson’s first child with’Debbie Rowe. By the time Rowe had Paris, Grace was the full-time nanny.

jacko 203x300 Jacko Nanny Starts Her Own CharityAn email sent through the website to Rwaramba yesterday was not answered. I did ask her how and where and for what purpose she was collecting money.

Most of the information on World Accountability ‘ or WAFH ‘ is vague. It seems to be about “transparency for donors and recipients.” I’m not sure if the donations are transparent, or the people giving or getting the money. In the past, Rwaramba’s critics have said, however, they could see right through her. In columns at foxnews.com, I wrote often about how the nanny isolated Michael Jackson from his family, including his beloved mother. When Jackson appeared drugged or woozy, Rwaramba was often blamed by insiders and observers on the scene for his condition.

It’s certainly interesting that since Grace is gone (to recall an unfortunate movie title), Jackson appears mostly well and is working on his London concerts.

Here’s my idea for Grace, and anyone interested in helping people in the Third World: I’ve put up a link on this page (to the left) for’Kiva. This is a wonderful organization that lends money to Third World entrepreneurs. They make sure the money arrives, and gives a full accounting of where it’s been used. It’s an in-place, working charity. Rather than start yet another new bureaucracy, why not explore Kiva instead?

As for Jackson, he continues rehearsing for his shows.

Phil Spector’s Murder Victim Spoke From the Grave

Roger Friedman
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spector 249x300 Phil Spectors Murder Victim Spoke From the GraveLegendary record producer Phil Spector‘s lifelong reign of terror came to an end today. He was sentenced to 19 years to life for the February 2003 murder of actress Lana Clarkson. Fifty years of waving guns in the faces of women came down to this.

Spector will now be remembered more for the murder than for creating the lush, magnificent ‘Wall of Sound,’ and producing records that are the bedrock of rock and roll.

Clarkson is dead, but she lives on; she speaks thanks to the Internet. The Spector defense in two trials tried to paint her as depressed and suicidal. They argued that she took her own life. It’s hard to imagine this gorgeous, sunny, blonde, five foot eleven woman wanted to be alone with the rodent-like Spector even for a minute. But for some reason, she went back to his house on the night of February 3, 2003. It was the worst mistake she could have made.

I wrote about Clarkson in the hours after she was reported dead. Luckily, she left behind a website with a message board that still exists on the Internet. Her last post was on January 30, 2003. You could see she was thrilled to interact with her fans who loved her B movies like ‘Queen of the Barbarians.’

Earlier, on January 8, Clarkson answered a message from a fan who wanted to know what kind of men she liked. This is what she wrote:

‘Hi Valeri,

I am automatically physically attracted to tall men. Being that I am six feet tall, it is nice to date men that I can look up to. This does not mean however that I am opposed to dating men with whom I see eye to eye, so to speak. I’ve had plenty of boyfriends who were 5′10 or 11. I am fond of a twinkle in the eye and a spring in the step. Someone with confidence, sensuality and a great sense of humor. As I am a firm believer that laughter is a healing force, I tend to do a lot of it and try to be around positive dynamic individuals that are interested in life and the pursuit of happiness! I am a spiritual person so I like to be with someone who has some sort of spiritual practice, likes kids, does volunteer work and likes to travel. I hope to make some sort of difference in this lifetime… I’d like to find a partner who has the same aspiration. I could go on but these are some general attributes that I find attractive and hope to have in my life.

Good question, thanks for stopping by.

Best, Lana’

None of those attributes described fits Spector, a self-centered egotistical recluse who terrorized his children, wives, girlfriends, and associates.

Clarkson routinely answered questions from her fans, and did so with aplomb. She admired Marilyn Monroe. She wrote: “this is not to imply that I wish to live the sort of lonely and narcotics-shrouded existence she did. What I love about her is her essence, her work and her commitment to it. She was an ACTRESS with a capital ‘A’!” she wrote in one posting. She concluded: “I have been blessed to work in an extremely difficult industry, but in my opinion have not even begun to reach my full potential. I have been pounding my head against a plexiglas ceiling trying to break through to a completely different level for a while now. God willing, this is the year it will happen. Keep your eye out for a new quality of work from Ms. Clarkson!”

It didn’t sound, when I cited it on February 4, 2003, the morning after her murder, like a woman who planned to commit suicide.

In another posting, Clarkson described her long haul as a ‘C’ level actress: “I’ve always been fortunate to make a living as an actress. However, I have done other jobs to supplement my taste for producing, writing and directing. I’ve worked as a standup comic, a model, a producer, a travel agent, done trade shows, worked for a jewelry company and teach image enhancement workshops for the corporate world. I also occasionally teach acting.”

She did not care to share her personal life with her fans, however. “Thanks for stopping by. I am dating, but don’t feel comfortable sharing that part of my life,” she wrote to one fan. “I prefer to keep my love life private!” She then adds eerily: “As far as past relationships, there have been some great loves (some of them famous), but you’ll have to read about them in my book. That won’t be completed for a couple of years yet.”

SEE STING PROMOTE ‘POLICEMAN’S BALL FILM FESTIVAL’

Roger Friedman
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It’s the 30th anniversary of the “The Secret Policeman’s Ball” benefit shows that raised money for Amnesty International. This alone is a frightening thought — really, 1979 was 30 years ago? Seems like yesterday.

Anyway,’Martin Lewis’has organized Los Angeles and New York film festivals that are not to be missed. You can see’Sting’s witty, self-effacing promo for it, and the whole thing can be accessed here. The films are out on DVD, too, but so much nicer to see on the big screen. The versions of “Roxanne” and “Message in a Bottle” are remarkable — and only available here since the CDs for both “Policeman’s Ball” albums are out of print.

P.S. There’s also a new, funny message from Monty Python’s’Michael Palin posted here.

Tom Cruise: A ‘Wichita’ Lineman?

Roger Friedman
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Tom Cruise’is trying to make a comeback. Will he succeed? There are various reports today that he’s signing on to film “Wichita,” an action comedy, co-starring’Cameron Diaz. Not surprisingly, the deal is at 20th Century Fox, the studio that had foreign rights to “Valkyrie.” As it turned out, the loathsome Nazi film did better internationally than it did domestically with United Artists.

You remember United Artists? That was the studio Tom and’Paula Wagner’were going to revive a couple of years ago. Now the once great UA — sullied during this debacle — is adrift. They’re advertising DVDs of their eight Best Picture winners from their glory days — like “Annie Hall,” “Rocky,” and “Rain Man” — on their website. “Valkyrie” is not one of them.

Can Cruise have a comeback? If “Wichita” is made, it won’t be released until summer 2010 at the earliest. Another if: If Cruise can keep his strangeness to himself, a comeback is possible. The public has a short memory. But right now, a new younger generation doesn’t relate to him. If he needs proof of how that works, just ask Julia Roberts.

Eminem: How Soon Before More Lawsuits?

Roger Friedman
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eminem 267x300 Eminem: How Soon Before More Lawsuits?Rapper Eminem has triumphantly returned to the charts–he’s No. 1 this week with over 600,000 copies of “Relapse.”

But how long before a new defamation lawsuit is filed by a family member? Back in 1999, Debbie Mathers Briggs — Marshall Mathers’ infamous mother — filed an $11 million suit against her son. She came away with just a $25,000 judgment and netted $1,600 after paying her lawyer.

Now, on a new track on “Relapse” called “Insane,” Eminem recalls in graphic detail rape and sexual abuse at the hands of a man he refers to as his stepfather. It’s unclear which of’ Mathers-Briggs’ three ex-husbands (after Eminem’s actual father), or even a boyfriend — Eminem is referring to.

Whichever one it is, the “Insane” lyrics are certainly a potential place for a legal battleground. If the story is true, and so far Eminem’s childhood stories have unfortunately proven that way, “Insane” is the most frightening and awful “song” ever to appear on a popular CD.

And just to show you how bizarre the digital world is, it’s being advertised as a ringtone.

More on the Eminem front: I was the first to confirm back on February 9th that “Relapse” would have a Part 2. The sequel is ready to go this summer or fall when “Relapse” starts to fade.

“Relapse, Part 1″ — with obnoxious call-outs to Mariah Carey, Amy Winehouse, Kim Kardashian, Jessica Alba and Ellen Degeneres among others — is the biggest hit so far of 2009.

Speaking of those call-outs– if Eminem thinks he’s hurting these people, guess again. He’s reconfirming their pop culture status. But that’s another story.

JACKIE O’S SISTER LOVES DREW

Roger Friedman
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At the famed Chez Georges, the cheek-by-jowl diners paid little attention to Jackie O’s sister, Lee Radziwill, who came in on Monday night with a friend and had the best table in the house. She told me she loved the HBO film “Grey Gardens” about her cousins, the Beales. “Drew was marvelous,” she said, and reminded her of her cousin Edie. Lee is one of the great beauties and survivors, with a Hollywood history: she was marrried to the late great director and producer Herb Ross. Long may she rule!

NO STRESS FOR FEDERER

Roger Friedman
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The French Open is on, which means the tennis players are in Paris. Roger Federer put in an appearance at Le Stresa last night, shaking up the 40-seat hot spot like crazy. He signed the famous guest book, which famed publicist Yanou Collart showed me at dinner, that includes original art work by the likes of Jeff Koons and autographs of everyone from Sting to Sean Connery…

CANNES CATFIGHT, PART TROIS (OR THREE)

Roger Friedman
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huppert 258x300 CANNES CATFIGHT, PART TROIS (OR THREE)The radio gossips in Paris are not being kind to Isabelle Huppert after her debacle in Cannes.

First of all, the talk is that the rest of the jury “hated” her. Yes, we know, we’ve heard that over and over.

But it’s worse: Huppert is also being accused of playing favorites like crazy. While the rest of the jury wanted “A Prophet” to win the Palme d’Or, Huppert, they say, pushed Michael Haneke’s “The White Ribbon” until it won.

The reason? Huppert’s greatest success came in 2001 at Cannes for her performance in Haneke’s “The Pianist.” She won Best Actress by acclaim. The film won, and so did Haneke.

“Sacre bleu” means “oy vey” in French, you know.

Not only that: Apparently Huppert wanted to play the Diane Kruger role of the movie star in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds.” Sources say she went to the German set and talked to Tarantino, but things didn’t work out.

Who knows what role that incident played in the final voting? (And no, this item did not come from that movie’s studio!)

And: we did wonder where festival chief Gilles Jacob was on the closing night. Thierry Fremaux stood at the top of the stairs with the mayor of Cannes, with no Jacob in sight. There’s an unconfirmed rumor going around that the white-haired director was struck by a car on Sunday and was bruised badly enough to skip the proceedings. Said one French waguette: “Maybe he was trying to commit suicide after having to deal with Huppert.”

Catch up on Parts Un and Deux of Cannes Catfight.

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