The Weekly News Roundup - week of February 21 - 25

BiebOHMYGOD WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR HAIR??

- Bieber got a haircut, and it practically crashed the entire internet. Now that is true power. I hope Oprah is taking notes. All those chopped locks went to good causes - they were given to various charities to be auctioned and raise money. (JSYK)

- Also up for auction: the futuristic duds that Bieber and Ozzy wore for their Super Bowl ad. Funds raised will go to Sharon's cancer charity. (Cambio)

- But there is a down-side to chopping off that hair - as soon as Bieber showed off his new 'do on the Ellen show, he lost 80,000 Twitter followers. I'm going to take that to mean that his career is now doomed. (4TNZ)

- The hosts of The Talk surprised Bieber this week when, during their chat with Bieber, they brought on hockey legend Wayne Gretzky. Gretz played some air hockey with the Bieb, and then presented him with an autographed jersey. Bieber was suitably star-struck. (Cambio)

- "Never Say Never: The Remixes" debuted at #1 on the Billboard top 200 albums chart, with over 161,000 copies sold. And the album is all remixed versions of old songs. No new material. #1. Kids these days... (MTV)

- And just in time for the limited release of "Never Say Never 2.0", you can buy your purple Never Say Never-brand 3-D glasses at Toys 'R Us. (BieberArmy)

- JB's 17th birthday is March 1st (we're throwing a party, right?), and he says he'll be spending the big day at home with his family, especially his grandparents because his grandmother makes the BEST cherry cheesecake. (PopEater)

- Madame Tussaud's has finally gotten around to making a wax Bieber. Copies of the likeness will appear in London, Amsterdam and New York in March. Guess we here in LA will just have to wait. (JSYK)

- Justin Bieber told Selena Gomez he loves her, and now they're both saying it like all the time. (MTV)

- But despite that, Bieber asked out Rihanna when they were sitting next to each other at a basketball game. She declined. (Cambio)

- I wish I were kidding, but there is now an app called Bieberhead, which will paste Justin Bieber's head onto any photo. They're even going to offer a free upgrade with photos of the new haircut. It's terrifying. (Tech Digest)

- And you think you're a Belieber? Well when Biebs didn't win a Grammy, a true Belieber took out a full-page ad in the New York Times to air his displeasure. Amazing. (Business Insider)

- His most recent appearance on CSI will probably be his last - Bieber's character was killed in a shoot-out with police. But CSI isn't above the old identical-twin gimmick, so who knows. (TV Squad)

Movies

- "Beastly" had its premiere at the Grove on Thursday, and star Alex Pettyfer had to leave early because his house had caught fire and he needed to take care of it. Seriously. Or maybe the movie was just that bad... (JJJ)

- Robert Pattinson is a hoarder - he has unworn clothing in stacks all over his homes and storage units, and he can't bring himself to get rid of any of them. So, moral of the story is that hoarding is apparently super sexy from now on. (Cambio)

- A teenager in Albuquerque, NM, was fined $2,900 for illegally downloading "The Hurt Locker," because one solitary cautionary tale like that will stop all teenagers from illegally downloading movies forever. (JSYK)

TV

- Glee will start doing some original songs, instead of just doing covers. Ladies and gentlemen, start your TiVos! (Cambio)

Music

- Last night was The Motown Sound concert at the White House, hosted by Jamie Foxxand featuring performances by Motown legends Nick Jonas, Sheryl Crow, Seal, John Legend, and others. (Cambio)

- During the Asian leg of her world tour, Taylor Swift dressed up as a geisha, wig and all. (JJJ)

- Lady Gaga will do a duet with 10-year-old Maria Aragon, whose cover of "Born This Way" rapidly became a YouTube favorite. The duet will be during Gaga's upcoming Toronto concert. (Cambio)

- David Archuleta has been dropped by his label, Jive Records. (4TNZ)

- Selena Gomez will release her new single "Who Says" on March 10th. (JSYK)

- Friend of the show Cody Simpson has released the video for his song "All Day." (AOL Music)

- Adele's latest album was released this week. Girl can siiiiiing. (AOL Music)

Trends

- The awesomest dad in the world made a playable Angry Birds birthday cake for his 6-year-old son. If you haven't already seen the video, do yourself a favor and watch it now. (JSYK)

- The newest bracelet fad is the purple Bieber Fever wristband, with proceeds going to Pencils of Promise, Bieb's charity of choice. (JBSource)

- An Egyptian man named his newborn baby daughter "Facebook" in honor of the website's role in the revolution. That girl will either be the coolest one in school, or will have to change her name. (JSYK)

- And there's a new app called the Breakup Notifier, that does exactly what you'd think: you tell it who you want it to Facebook-stalk, and it notifies you the second they become single. Creeeeeepyyyyyy. (JSYK)

- Alyssa Milano is pregnant. Yes, this is a trend. (Cambio)

Doing Good

- Paris Hilton's $3,200 birthday cake was stolen during her birthday party, but it's ok - the perp brought it to skid row and handed out slices of red velvet to the homeless people there. And to that, I say bravo. (Cambio)

Movies Opening This Weekend (imdb)

Drive Angry 3D

Hall Pass

Of Gods and Men (NY/LA)

Heartbeats (NY)

The Grace Card

Top 10 in the box office last weekend (imdb)

1. Unknown

2. Gnomeo & Juliet

3. I Am Number Four

4. Just Go With It

5. Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son

6. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never

7. The King's Speech

8. The Roommate

9. The Eagle

10. No Strings Attached

The Weekly News Roundup - week of February 14 - 18

The DaBieber Code

- Lots of buzz about the Bieber cover-article in Rolling Stone, mostly about their partial-quoting of his position on abortion and how it totally changed the meaning of what he said. He does talk about other things, but why would we pay any attention to any of it when his words about abortion could be twisted to sound awful? (RollingStone)

- Bieber has been wearing an awful lot of Dolce & Gabbana lately, leading to speculation that he may become the new face of D&G. Personally, I hope he starts his own D&G line that will be available exclusively at Wal-Mart. (JSYK)

- The Bieb was not impressed with Chord Overstreet's dancing when he covered "Baby" onGlee, but he did say in a tweet that he was honored that Glee was using his music. Way to soften the criticism. (Teen)

TV

- Jack Black will host the Kids Choice Awards this year for the third time. (TweenTribune)

- Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new Wonder Woman. NBC cast Adrianne Palicki (of Friday Night Lights fame). Only time will tell. (Cambio)

- Because there clearly wasn't enough controversy about the show yet, the cast of "Skins" posed for Elle Magazine in their underwear. Could have been worse. Could have been like that Glee photo shoot. (Teen)

- Glee is doing a show about teen drinking next week, and so obviously they're coveringKe$ha. Can't wait for them to do a show about salvia abuse, featuring some Hannah Montana songs. (JSYK)

- Speaking of which, Billy Ray Cyrus said in a GQ interview that Miley is in "danger", and went on to blame the presence of Satan in Los Angeles. Because it had nothing to do with his parenting. (JSYK)

- Meanwhile, Miley told Marie Claire magazine that she's losing sleep over global poverty and wants to go to Indonesia to help build wells in impoverished villages. Ummm, something tells me they can't both be telling the truth. (Cambio)

- And speaking of trouble, Letterman's people announced that Lindsay Lohan would appear on the show, but it turned out they'd been duped by someone who wasn't actually one of Lindsay's people. Oops. They apologized for the mix-up. (Cambio)

- Chelsea Staub changed her name to Chelsea Kane, because Kane is her middle name and everyone kept mangling the pronunciation of "Staub." Understandably. Also, she now sounds like a superhero's alter-ego. (Cambio)

- Lady Gaga is taping a performance special for HBO. (TweenTribune)

Music

- Lady Gaga says she spent 72 hours in that egg before arriving at the Grammys. Proving once again that she is a sane person. (4TNZ)

- The cast of Glee has now had more singles on the Billboard chart than anyone, including Elvis, The Beatles, and Michael Jackson. And unlike those previous record-holders, they're still alive and making music. I'd say they pretty much win. (TweenTribune)

- Bruno Mars is going on tour with Janelle Monae starting in May. (Cambio)

- Nick Jonas, Jordan Sparks, and Amber Riley will perform at the White House as part of "The Motown Sound" on February 24th. Jaime Foxx will host the event. (Cambio)

- The video for Miranda Cosgrove's song "Dancing Crazy" is now online. (JSYK)

- The Ready Set released a special Valentines Day music video for their song Love Like Woe. (JSYK)

- The trend continues! Simon Cowell just signed a 10-year-old YouTube sensation named Heather Russell. Could she be the next Bieber? Well, she is Canadian... (Cambio)

- And Britney Spears released the video for her song "Hold It Against Me." FINALLY. (Cambio)

- Kim Kardashian is recording an album. Any chance we can schedule 2012 to arrive earlier? (Cambio)

- Jasmine V, formerly of Bieber fame, has released the video for her song "All These Boys." She says it's not about having a lot of suiters and being conceited, it's about all the other fish in the sea. (Cambio)

Movies

- The blogs are going crazy over "I Am Number Four." I, on the other hand, still completely fail to see the draw. (JSYK)

- Amanda Seyfried and Ryan Phillippe have broken up. Whyyyyyyyyy? And just when I learned from that headline that they were dating in the first place! Does nothing ever last in Hollywood? (Cambio)

- 2011 has already set a box-office record: there are 27 sequels slated for release, which breaks 2003's record of 23 sequels. Yeah, take that, 2003! (Cambio)

- Jessica Alba is pregnant with her second child. (Cambio)

- Columbia Pictures announced this week that the new Spidey movie will be called "The Amazing Spider-Man", just like the comic book. As we know, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone will star, with a supporting cast that includes Rhys Ifans, Dennis Leary, Campbell Scott, and Martin Sheen. (JJJ)

Technology

- Whaaaaaaat? LG just unveiled its new phone, and I don't know what's cooler: the fact that it has a 3-D screen and camera, or the fact that they called it "Optimus." I made up exactly none of that. Seriously. It's just awesome. (JSYK)

- A computer named Watson (not Sherlock??) completely crushed his human competition onJeopardy this week. Mark it on your calendars, and all hail our computer overlords! (Cambio)

- Twitter usage has a marked increase during episodes of Glee, according to the Twitter CEO. He says fans use Twitter as a "second screen," socializing the TV-watching experience. You know, instead of actually gathering in groups to watch the show and have a real social experience. (JSYK)

Selling Out

- Emma Watson just signed a 6-figure contract to be the new face of Lancome. (JJJ)

- The Atlanta Zoo named its new baby panda "Po" after Jack Black's character in "Kung Fu Panda 2" (not for the original), in exchange for a little money to help offset the cost of leasing the panda from China. It's such an odd arrangement. (TweenTribune)

Movies Opening this Weekend (imdb)

I Am Number Four

Unknown

Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son

Vanishing on 7th Street (NYC only)

I Am (limited release)

Immigration Tango (LA/NY)

Even the Rain (LA/NY)

Brotherhood (limited)

Top 10 in the Box Office last weekend (imdb)

1. Just Go With It

2. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never

3. Gnomeo & Juliet

4. The Eagle

5. The Roommate

6. The King's Speech

7. No Strings Attached

8. Sanctum

9. True Grit

10. The Green Hornet

The Weekly News Roundup - week of February 7 - 11

The Republic of Biebistan

- Quick, find a Wal-Mart! A new expanded version of the Justin Bieber comic book, "Fame: Justin Bieber" is now available, but only at the Wal-Mart. And while you're there you can also pick up the latest colors of his nail polish line. Just sayin. (JSYK)

- And in case you wanted a Bieber doll with touchable hair, the wait is almost over! In August, we'll all be able to buy JB dolls with "real" hair, red carpet duds and casual wear, and accessories like a skateboard or sunglasses. (JSYK)

- A new track called "Dr. Bieber" has been leaked online. Instead of talking about babies, it discusses the epidemic of Bieber Fever sweeping the nation. Shawty Mane reports. (JSYK)

- Bieber is on the cover of Mad Magazine. Or, the Mad guy is, but with a Bieber haircut. Either way, it's kind of awesome. (JSYK)

- Guess who has been asked to be the littlest Harlem Globetrotter! Well, he'll be a "Junior Globetrotter", sitting on the bench for the game and meeting all the players. Adorbs, as the kids say. (Cambio)

- JB and JS (Jon Stewart) swapped bodies for a Very Special Intro to the Daily Show. Twitter reference! (Teen)

- Continuing his media blitz, Bieber taught Regis and Kelly how to dougie. (video here, dancing kicks in around 12:15) (Cambio)

- And then he went over to Jimmy Kimmel where he got his head "shaved." (Cambio)

Movies

- Emma Watson confirmed she's been cast in the movie "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," which will film this summer. (JSYK)

- Selena Gomez has been cast in the movie "13 Reasons Why", which is based on the YA novel by Jay Asher. (4Tnz)

- "I Am Number Four" co-stars Diana Agron and Alex Pettyfer are a real-life couple, but contrary to other rumors, they are not engaged. Yet. (Teen)

- The new "X-Men: First Class" trailer is out, and it promises to at the very least be a lot better than X3. (Cambio)

- And the new trailer was released for Disney's "Prom." (Cambio)

Music

- Big Time Rush just released a music video for their newest single "Boyfriend," featuringSnoop Dogg. (JSYK)

- After 3 years, Panic at the Disco finally has a new single called "The Ballad of Mona Lisa", and they've released the video for it, too. (JSYK)

- During his concert at Madison Square Garden on Monday, Prince pulled someone namedKim Kardashian up on stage out of the audience. The fan was too shocked to dance, but so are a lot of people when they meet celebrities. (Cambio)

- Lady Gaga's new single "Born This Way" came out today, and according to every single person in my Facebook News Feed, it's a complete ripoff of Madonna's "Express Yourself." (Cambio and Facebook)

- Ashlee Simpson filed for divorce from Pete Wentz. I guess that counts as "music" "news." (Cambio)

TV

- Miley Cyrus will host SNL on March 5th, but is not slated to be the musical guest. I wonder if they could get Hannah Montana to play a few songs... (JSYK)

- Glee is back on tour this summer. The kids will be on stage starting May 21 in Las Vegas, and ending June 18th in the booming metropolis of Uniondale, NY. (JSYK)

- The series "Teen Wolf" will premiere June 5th on MTV, right after the MTV Movie Awards. (JJJ)

Video Games

- The iconic game Guitar Hero is being discontinued, losing the battle to Rock Band and to pretty much any game involving guns. (TweenTribune)

Trends

- A study shows that teens who have dogs get more exercise than teens who do not. No word on whether the study was sponsored by the Department of Common Sense. (JSYK)

- Building off the success of her line of shoes, Jessica Simpson is now designing prom dresses for the masses. (Cambio)

- The Kids Choice Award Nominees were announced this week. Voting begins March 1, with the ceremony on April 2 hosted by Mr. Jack Black. Full list of nominees here. (Cambio)

Doing Good

- A group of elementary school and secondary school students in Canada did a flash-mob at the Oakridge Center mall in Vancouver, but what made this one special was its message. Wearing pink shirts with the word "acceptance" on it, the kids danced to Bruno Mars' song "Just the Way You Are", all to spread an anti-bullying message. (JSYK)

- David Beckham made a more personal impact this week. A car carrying a Dad and his two kids broke down in the middle of a busy roundabout near Beckham's home in England, and Becks helped push the car to safety. (Cambio)

Magazines

- Chord Overstreet (Chord? Really? Who names their kid (or themselves) Chord??) has an extensive spread in the new issue of VMAN. (JSYK)

- There's a lovely article about Willow Smith in the March Teen Vogue (Teen Vogue)

- Miley Cyrus is on the cover of Marie Claire (Cambio)

- Vanessa Hudgens is in InStyle, but Julianne Moore is the one on the cover (JJJ)

Movies Opening this Weekend (imdb)

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never

Gnomeo and Juliet

Just Go With It

Cedar Rapids (limited)

The Eagle

Top 10 in the Box Office Last Weekend (imdb)

1. The Roommate

2. Sanctum

3. No Strings Attached

4. The King's Speech

5. The Green Hornet

6. The Rite

7. The Mechanic

8. True Grit

9. Black Swan

10. The Dilemma

The Weekly News Roundup - week of January 31 - February 4

You Can't Stop the Bieb

- Justin Bieber is not only providing the vocals for the chorus of Sean Kingston's new song "Won't Stop" - he's also rapping in it. And here I was hoping his whole "Shawty Mane" persona was just a joke. (JSYK)

- "Never Say Never" had its Toronto premiere on Tuesday, and its NYC premiere on Wednesday. And here I thought the Snowpocalypse had shut down travel across North America.... (JJJ)

- Bieber tweeted a link to a video he did for the Grammys, where he talks about his early influences and does a cover of "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman. (JSYK)

- He won't confirm or deny that they're dating, but JB will admit that Selena Gomez is one of his best friends. Under some circumstances, that would be a bit of a red flag. (Teen)

- Bieb taught Regis and Kelly how to Dougie. Anyone else hope that when Reg retires this year, JB takes his spot? (Cambio)

- On Letterman this week, Justin denied allegations that he was manufactured by music industry bigwigs. He is a free-range organic pop star. (Cambio)

- To help boost interest in his upcoming film, the young Justin Bieber is releasing a 7-track album called "Never Say Never - The Remixes". Guest artists featured in these remixes include Usher, Miley, Jaden Smith, Rascal Flatts, and others. (Cambio)

TV

- ABC Family has green-lit three new series: "Switched at Birth", "The Great State of Georgia", and most importantly "The Nine Lives of Chloe King," starring the one and onlySkyler Samuels! (Cambio) Chloe King pix here (JJJ)

- It seems that Miley Cyrus has gotten her 4th tattoo. It's on her rib cage, in case anyone cares. (X17)

- Pay close attention to the Super Bowl commercials - the ad for "Rio" will include a special code that will unlock a special level in Angry Birds. Sweet! The actual Angry Birds Rio game will be available in March, and will have 45 levels. (JSYK)

- For the first time in its 45 years, the Super Bowl will have no professional cheerleaderswhatsoever. The cast of "Hellcats" are upset, presumably because now no one will ever want to see cheerleaders ever again. (Cambio)

- Lifetime is making a TV movie about the upcoming royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton. No announcement yet on whether they'll also make a movie about Hugh Hefner and his blushing bride-to-be. (Cambio)

- Chloe Moretz just taped a guest spot on 30 Rock, which is apparently located on the corner of Awesome St and Badass Ave. (JJJ)

Music

- Mindless Behavior will open for Janet Jackson on her North American tour. (Cambio)

- The band Hey Monday is releasing a new version of their song "Candles" on iTunes. Yay. (JSYK)

- Selena Gomez uploaded a video of herself rapping along to Nicki Minaj. She's clearly bored and needs a productive hobby. (JSYK)

- Demi Lovato's album "Don't Forget" has gone gold. Not bad for a first album. I mean, it's no platinum... (Cambio)

- Joe Jonas filmed a video for Funny or Die. Keep an eye out for that one. (Cambio)

- According to Perez Hilton, the rumors that Britney Spears had to use a dance-double in her latest music video are completely unfounded. They had to use a double for the scene where she fights herself, but Brit did all he dancing on her own. Whew. (Cambio)

- Gwyneth Paltrow and Cee-Lo will do a song with the Muppets at the Grammys this year. Did that sound like a Mad-Lib to anyone else? (Cambio)

- Also, Selena Gomez will be a Grammy presenter. (JJJ)

- The Academy of Country Music Award nominations were announced this week. If this is in any way relevant to your life, you can check out the full list of nominees here. (Cambio)

Movies

- Henry Cavill will play Superman in the upcoming reboot, but Kristin Stewart will not be his Lois Lane (not because she turned down the role, but because she hasn't been approached to play it yet). (Cambio)

- Halle Berry had to drop out of the film "New Year's Eve" due to an upcoming custody battle, and Katherine Heigl stepped up to take her place. The movie is a sequel to "Valentine's Day" and will star Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Biel, Zac Efron, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Lea Michele. (Cambio)

- Mark Wahlberg has decided to get his high school diploma, and has hired a tutor to help him reach his goal before his kids get their own diplomas. His lack of education certainly hasn't stood between him and success, but it's great that he still wants to go for it. (Cambio)

Extraordinary Ordinary Kids

- A 19-year-old Massachusetts boy saved his 97-year-old neighbor from a house fire. He saw smoke while he was taking out the trash, so he broke into his neighbor's home and guided her outside to safety. Pretty brave, if you ask me. (JSYK)

Doing Good

- Kat Graham is asking fans to join her in donating to The Water Project, a charity that helps communities in underdeveloped countries get access to clean water. Her goal is $5,000. (JSYK)

- Natalie Portman has teamed up with Free the Children, a charity that helps empower girls around the world through education. She is spearheading a new fundraising push that will send girls to FtC's new all-girls high school in Kenya. (Cambio)

- When a 7-year-old iCarly fan couldn't make it to Miranda Cosgrove's concert in Chicago because she couldn't leave the hospital, Miranda brought the concert to the fan, singing three songs just for her in the little girl's hospital room. So sweet. (JJJ)

- Hansen (yes, the band from the '90s) played a free concert at the 100 Club in London, as part of an effort to save the legendary venue from shutting down due to rising rents. So, in order to raise money, they didn't charge anything for tickets. I'm no math scientist, but that just doesn't add up. (Cambio)

Magazines

- Miranda Cosgrove is on the cover of Seventeen

- Ashley Greene will be on the March edition of Teen Vogue.

Movies opening this weekend (imdb)

Sanctum

The Roommate

Cold Weather (NYC only)

The Other Woman (LA/NYC)