Joaquin Phoenix Retires

At the tender age of 34, Joaquin Phoenix of Walk the Line fame has decided to retire from movies and become a musician.

After filming Two Lovers, his final film co-starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Vinessa Shaw, Phoenix will be pursuing music, a passion of his since learning how to play guitar for the role of Johnny Cash in Walk the Line. "It's Casey [Affleck]'s time now," he stated when explaining his retirement.

Casey Affleck, brother-in-law of Phoenix, confirms the statement, saying that Phoenix is indeed working on an album.

Two Lovers is slated for release on February 13, 2009.

Britney Spears Not to Perform at VMAs

According to her manager, Britney Spears will not be performing at this year's Video Music Awards, which will air September 7th at Los Angeles's Paramount Pictures Studio. Larry Randolph, her Jive Records manager, stated that Britney's focus will be in the studio as she works on recording her next album.

However, MTV Networks Music Group president Van Toffler stated that the network wouldn't entirely rule out a Britney appearance in some form, as there have been confirmed talks about a Britney appearance. In fact, her video for "Piece of Me" has been nominated for the prestigious Video of the Year award.

Beyoncé Pale?

Accusations have rolled around L'Oreal, the world's largest cosmetic maker, of lightening Beyoncé's skin for a recent ad. But L'Oreal denies the accusations, stating the value of the relationship the company has with its celebrity client, who has been a celebrity spokeswoman for the company since 2001.

But, perhaps it isn't L'Oreal who lightened her skin for its Feria hair color campaign. It could be the caramel hair color she's sporting in the ad, featured in a current issue of Elle magazine, that's making her skin look lighter. After all, the caramel hair color does wash her out. Or she could have been sick when the pictures were taken.

"I Kissed a Girl" Kissed the #1 Spot Goodbye...

...and probably didn't like it.

That's right. Rihanna's hit "Disturbia" takes the #1 spot, beating out Katy Perry's tongue-in-cheek experimentation hit "I Kissed a Girl." I imagine "I Kissed a Girl" enjoyed those six weeks it was #1 on the Digital Songs chart while they lasted. I also imagine it had a summer fling with the Jonas Brothers' song "Pushing Me Away" and a brief coffee date with "Burnin' Up," also by the Jonas Brothers. Next up will be a girlfight with "Disturbia," as it and "I Kissed a Girl" vie for the attention of digital music downloaders/listeners worldwide. Stay tuned, folks.

While "I Kissed a Girl" is a catchy tune, I figure the reason why it was #1 for six straight weeks was because so many people wanted to write parodies to it. One parody I saw (and watched) was "I Kissed a Dude" on Ebaumsworld. (I imagine it will be available on YouTube as well.) Another was the hilarious "I Kissed a Squirrel," courtesy of cabaret artist Jackie Beat and popular celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, who was kind enough to provide the laugh. (I have yet to join the entourage so I can post a comment.)

Perhaps I will give "Disturbia" a listen so I can post my vote within the coming days.