'The Voice' recap: How You Like Me Now? - Entertainment Weekly

Tonight on The Voice, Blake Shelton sang a country song called "Over." But just like in country songs, it ain't over yet.

Before the two-part grand finale airs next week, Teams Blake and Xtina had to work their way through a very wholesome-sounding Killers cover. Coaches Cee Lo and Adam had to listen to Christina take credit for their song choices. (Apparently, Christina already performed Juliet Simms' pick at the Grammys, and had already optioned Tony Lucca's pick for her own team member, Moses. Is no song safe?) And the rest of us got to hear some pretty inspired interpretations of James Brown, Journey, and a little-known hipster favorite named Bach. So before Justin Bieber steals their spotlight on May 8, let's get to the semi-finalists.

TONY LUCCA - TEAM ADAM

"TON-ee LOU-cah," growled Cee Lo in his best Godfather accent, "Your performance pleases me." Cee Lo wasn't the only one who felt that way. Tonight, Tony made his best song choice so far with the Heavy's great neo-soul anthem "How You Like Me Now," which clearly has the magical power to make any white man sound 23% cooler.

Wearing a suit and tie, and flanked by two red-lipsticked girls, Tony might've gone a little too Robert Palmer in his tastes. But he ramped up the energy so much with his microphone-stand-leaning, fancy-shoe-kicking performance that even Christina couldn't help but give him compliments. "That was definitely slickly done," she said. "Did Adam teach you those dance moves?" Okay, so they might've been backhanded compliments. But still.

"If this doesn't work out," Christina added, "you and Adam can definitely start a Britney cover band." We know she meant that as a joke, but I'll wait for a few minutes while ten million Tony Lucca fans take to Twitter and petition NBC to make this happen. Seriously. Go ahead. I'll wait.

ERIN WILLETT - TEAM BLAKE

"Think about what this song means to you," Blake advised Erin when she selected "Without You," by David Guetta featuring Usher. Obviously, that's good advice. But it's hard to bring real poignancy to a song about how Usher can't "reign" without his lady. Sorry, Your Royal Dudeness. Maybe you can borrow Christina's tiara and get your kingdom back?

Erin sang the hell out of that song, as usual. ("I would give anything to have a tenth of the talent you have," confessed Blake.) And turning this mellow South Beach club jam into a classy power ballad was an original idea. But I didn't hear any real emotion in it. Erin cried at the end, but it seemed like it was more out of exhaustion than anything. Maybe next time, she'll choose a more affecting Usher song. Might we suggest a two-part ode to hooking up in the middle of the dance floor?

CHRIS MANN - TEAM CHRISTINA

What happened when Opera Man sang "Ave Maria"? First he defended his old-fashioned song choice. ("I don't really care if it's cool," he said, tearing up, "I just want to sing the song!") Then he lit a few aromatherapy candles. Then he wailed on that song as if he were Pavarotti in a titanium jockstrap. Then your mom cried.

Perhaps Christina said it best: "I just felt the heavens open up right now." Running up to the stage, she gave him a hug. From this angle, it looked like she was wearing no pants. So the heavens must've opened up for Chris Mann, too.

NEXT: Closed eyes, open arms, can't lose.

Dancing With the Stars Backstage Scoop: Who's Complaining For More Compliments? - E! Online

ABC/ADAM TAYLOR

Monday night's Dancing With The Stars was on fire!

With the finale less than a month away, there's no room for low scores and heavy criticism. The final seven gave it their all, but not everyone got a glowing review. 

So who did the judges make mad, spiraling them into an angry rant, and what dancing duo was celebrating a season first? We got the stars to spill after the show!

MORE: Scripted TV Is Coming to E!â€"From Notable Names Like Kevin Spacey, Michael De Luca and John Wells

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There's no doubt Derek Hough and Maria Menounos owned the night. Grabbing the season's first perfect score of 30 with a sizzling paso doble, they had major bragging rights. When we caught up with the unstoppable two, they were still on cloud nine!

"It's really crazy, it hasn't even sunk in yet!" Derek told us. "It was just a really, really great night. First perfect score!"

"I think I might bawl my brains out after this," Maria added. "The rumba was one of my favorite dances because I felt like I was in a movie!"

 So what was the secret to their massive success? Derek said it's all in the method to his madness. 

"I break 'em down," Derek joked. "To find this sort of inner demon. I think what it is, I never tell [Maria], 'I think you could get a ten with this dance,' but inside I was telling her that. I think that pressure on myself to wanting to make her good and pushing her [makes it happen]. With all my previous partners, all the weeks I've gotten really hard on my partners and they kinda hated me is weeks when we've done really well." 

MORE: Watch Now! The CW's The Catalina Looks Like a Wild Summer Ride

However, not everyone was riding high at the end of the night. Jaleel White and Kym Johnson told us they felt slighted by the judges and dished about their disappointment. 

"It's a mixed sort of feeling," Kym said. "Because we won the team tango, but didn't do as well on our individual dance. So our scores are not great, we're second to last. We've taken a massive drop." 

Whatever the score, Jaleel says he's dancing for the fans no matter what the judges acknowledge…or not. 

"Ultimately that's what I do it for, that's why I was so pumped up for the team dance, which we won by the way," Jaleel said.  Growing increasingly annoyed, he continued, "We didn't get any accolade for that. They just started playing the music like we were at the Oscars and they wanted to get us off the stage! I'm like, 'Hold on, hold on, we've been working on this team dance for a week! We don't get a hooray at the end or something?'"

Uh oh! Looks like the judges better watch out!

Tomorrow is another elimination; who do you think will be going home? Do you think Jaleel had a right to be mad? Sound off in the comments! 

PHOTOS: Dancing With the Stars: Injured Hoofers

'Avengers' earns $178.4M overseas - GoErie.com

The superhero saga "The Avengers" lived up to its blockbuster buzz with $178.4 million in overseas weekend ticket sales. It opens in U.S. theaters Friday.

The cast includes Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson.

The comedy "Think Like a Man" was No. 1 domestically for the second-straight weekend with $18 million.

Four movies were bunched up for the No. 2 spot in the $11 million range: "The Pirates! Band of Misfits" with $11.4 million; the romantic drama "The Lucky One" with $11.3 million; "The Hunger Games" with $11.25 million; and the romantic comedy "The Five-Year Engagement" with $11.2 million.

Jason Statham's action tale "Safe" from finished at No. 6 with $7.7 million and John Cusack's Edgar Allan Poe mystery "The Raven" ended No. 7 with $7.3 million.

"The Hunger Games" climbed to $372.5 million domestically, putting it less than $10 million behind last year's "Harry Potter" finale.

Usher's songs debut in off-Broadway play

Usher's new songs are making an impression in the new off-Broadway play "Fuerza Bruta: Look Up."

"Fuerza Bruta" is the fast-paced and acrobatic play in which the audience stands as performers dance and jump around on the walls, onstage and on the floor with the crowd.

Usher worked as its lead "Running Man," beginning the show on a treadmill, bursting through paper-made walls as his No. 1 R&B tune "Climax" blasted in the background.

Usher, who debuted 12 songs in the show, said he'll release his seventh album, "Looking for Myself," on June 12.

Fans flock to Reitman's live read of 'The Apartment'

Director Jason Reitman's monthly live reads of well-known plays continue to sell out theaters.

In the latest performance, which was the first to take place in New York, Paul Rudd and Emma Stone channeled Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine in a reading of their 1960s film "The Apartment."

The readings are billed as a one-time only event with no rehearsals and no recordings. Tickets sold out so quickly, a live video simulcast was played in another area of the building for $15 a person.

Reitman took to the stage first and greeted the audience, saying he liked the idea of the live reads because "nothing is live anymore" and that he has "more fun doing this than making movies."

He then introduced the cast which also included Jason Sudeikis, Tom Cavanagh, Cara Buono, David Wain and James Woods.

Nugent miffed over concert cancellation

Ted Nugent says he was insulted by the cancellation of his planned concert at an Army post over his comments about President Barack Obama.

Commanders at the Fort Knox, Ky., post nixed Nugent's segment of a June concert after the rocker and conservative activist said at a recent National Rifle Association meeting that he would be "dead or in jail by this time next year" if Obama is re-elected.

Nugent said his words were not intended as a threat against the president.

"To think that there's a bureaucrat in the United States Army that would consider the use or abuse of First Amendment rights in determining who is going to perform at an Army base is an insult and defiles the sacrifices of those heroes who fought for the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights," Nugent said.

Nugent said he had received messages of support from troops and noted that the Secret Service had met with him and closed its case about the remarks.

Williams supports sister by adopting her new diet

Serena Williams says altering her diet in support of big sister Venus Williams hasn't been much of a hardship.

Serena Williams said she's cut down on eating chicken and fish and is eating more raw foods. Venus Williams, who adopted the change to help her body cope with Sjogren's syndrome, is coping with an autoimmune disease that can cause fatigue and joint pain. But while the new diet has been a big change for Venus, it's not been that big a deal for Serena, she says.

"I've always been a better eater than her, even though I'm a lot, lot thicker," she said, laughing.

Serena said because she lives with Venus, she is mindful to eat foods that won't tempt her.

-- from wire reports

The Voice's Semifinalists Perform to Become Frontrunners - People Magazine

Blake Shelton (left) and Adam Levine

Mario Anzuoni/Rueters/Landov

In what host Carson Daly described as a "pressure-packed night" the remaining eight contestants on The Voice â€" two from each coach's team â€" gave what could be their final performances during Monday's semifinals.

Audience votes plus scores from judges Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine and Cee Lo Green will determine which four singers go home Tuesday night and which four make it to next week's finals. Read on for more.

From Team Blake, Erin Willett became overwhelmed with emotion after a powerful performance of David Guetta's "Without You."

"I just emotionally kind of got lost," a tearful Willet, who lost her father during the competition, told Daly after her performance.

"I would give anything to have a tenth of the talent that you have," her mentor, Shelton, told her. "Your singing is unbelievable."

Shelton, whose own father died in January, added: "But more than that, Erin, I'd give anything to have the strength that you have. … I know what that song means to you. It means the same thing to me right now also. And you held it together."

But it was Team Blake's other semifinalist, Jermaine Paul, whom Shelton described as the competition's "frontrunner," after his heartfelt rendition of Journey's "Open Arms."

"Jermaine is the guy," Shelton told his protégé. "Every time you get on stage, you separate yourself a little bit more from the rest of the pack."

Adam Levine had a different take, telling Team Cee Lo's Juliet Simms, who closed out the evening with James Brown's "It's a Man's Man's Man's World": "You're the one to beat."

Aguilera, on the other hand, had high praise for Team Adam's Katrina Parker.

"I just encourage Adam to really look at you," she told Parker, who tackled The Fugees' "Killing Me Softly." "I know that probably the obvious, predictable choice for Adam would be to be swayed towards [his other finalist, Tony Lucca]. … But I'm telling you, take a look at Katrina Parker because she's a star."

Aguilera, who donned a tiara for the evening, was also enthusiastic about her own protégés.

Chris Mann's operatic performance of "Ave Maria" prompted her to get up from her seat, walk on stage, and give him a hug.

"Your voice is so powerful and so pure and it's perfect," Green told Mann. "I mean, you really are the epitome of this show."

Aguilera also embraced her second protégé, Lindsay Pavao, who sang and played guitar for her take on Bon Iver's "Skinny Love."

Teams who had previously competed against each other in the quarterfinals also combined forces for "super group" performances on Monday.

Team Christina and Team Blake paired up for Lady Gaga's "The Edge of Glory," while Team Cee Lo and Team Adam joined together for a rousing rendition of The Killers' "All These Things That I've Done."

Review: Marvel's 'The Avengers' does it right - San Jose Mercury News

Click photo to enlarge

In this film image released by Disney, Thor portrayed by Chris Hemsworth, left, and Captain America, portrayed by Chris Evans, are shown in a scene from "The Avengers" (AP Photo/Disney)

Not all superhero movies scale great heights. Despite the hype, last year's "Green Lantern" couldn't hold a candle to much of anything, leave alone Christopher Nolan's "Batman" series. "Wolverine" was an outright dog, "Spider-Man 3" a tangled mess.

Now along comes "The Avengers," and we're reminded there's a way to do it right.

Joss Whedon's take on the Marvel collection of good guys is about as great as a superhero movie can get. It's bursting with imaginative action, jacked up on clever dialogue, directed with fanboy exuberance and teeming with well-drawn Marvel comic-book icons -- Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye and Nick Fury.

Most remarkable is its pacing and how

smoothly this mammoth, potentially unwieldy production runs ... and runs ... and runs until it finishes with a smashing special effects smackdown on the streets of Manhattan.

Assembling such a massive cast of larger-than-life characters and actors, some of whom we know can wield superhero egos of their own making, is a risky proposition, ripe with potential for spotlight-hogging. But "Buffy the Vampire Slayer's" Whedon, who directs and co-wrote the hip, frequently laugh-out-loud funny screenplay with Zak Penn, respectfully grants equal playing time to each character. Moreover, the move allows the actors to not only impress us with their lean torsos but demonstrate their acting muscle. The result is one of the most winning displays of

teamwork since the San Francisco Giants captured the World Series in 2010.

After a fast-paced opening, the film does take some time to find its legs, and the exposition seems unavoidable since the superheroes need to be reintroduced. But once it hits the highway, the action moves like a Lamborghini.

The plot is fondly and appropriately rooted in comic book tradition -- there's a power-mad villain out to destroy the world. That part falls on the antlers of Loki (Tom Hiddleston),

introduced last year in the Kenneth Branagh-directed "Thor." Loki, the bad-boy brother of Thor (Chris Hemsworth), plunks down on Earth so he can steal an all-powerful energy source called the Tesseract, which is a big, glowing cube.

In the process, he takes mind control of Clint Barton aka Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Professor Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard). None of that sits well with the crafty Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) from the covert S.H.I.E.L.D. organization. He summons a team of superheroes -- dubbed the Avengers -- to save the world, and maybe set up a sequel -- or three.

As you'd expect, getting everyone on the same superhero page isn't easy, but it's that tension between their dissimilar personalities that gives the story a compelling dramatic arc. It also allows the stars a chance to do some real acting, delineating their character's strengths and weaknesses in a way you can't see when the story's all about just one of them. The friction is particularly evident in the exchanges between Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Captain America (Chris Evans). As the sharply focused script probes the psyches of both men, the cocky, wisecracking Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) clashes mightily with the by-the-book sincerity of Steve Rogers (aka Captain America).

The rest in the cast each holds their own. Scarlett Johansson is sexy and tough as the cunning and acrobatic Black Widow. Renner further cements his new action star status as he slings his arrows. Hemsworth, as Thor, shows why he's one of our more promising talents. And Jackson -- relegated to tiny teaser roles in previous Marvel films -- gets a chance to do more with the crucial Nick Fury part.

The most pleasant surprise, though, is Mark Ruffalo, who is the best Hulk on film to date (sorry Eric Bana and Edward Norton). As the brilliant, seemingly mild-mannered scientist with Jekyll and Hyde issues, Ruffalo makes Bruce Banner an eccentric loner living in fear of himself.

While everyone in the cast suits up like a pro, the person responsible for making "Avengers" such a smashing success is Whedon. He loads this blockbuster with clever, unexpected touches -- like the guy who plays a video game aboard the airborne headquarters of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Even those who don't know a Marvel hero from a DC caped crusader will find themselves having a grand time. That's because Whedon manages to tap the inner fanboy and fangirl dormant in us all.

Marvel's "The AVENGERS"

* * * ½

Rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, and a mild drug reference)
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo
Director: Joss Whedon
Running time: 2 hours, 21 minutes

E! Orders Jonas Brothers Docu-Series, Nigel Lythgoe Music Show - Hollywood Reporter

E! is delving deeper into the music business with opening acts and a Jonas Brother.

As part of its upfront presentation to advertisers Monday, the cable network will announce new unscripted series from Nigel Lythgoe and Ryan Seacrest, in addition to a robust scripted slate. The former, Opening Act, revolves around finding acts to open for some of music’s biggest names; the latter, Married to Jonas, centers on the oldest of the Jonas Brothers, Kevin Jonas and his wife Danielle.

On Act, Lythgoe will usher the cable network into the competitive music competition market with a series that counts Mary J. Blige and Rock Mafia producer Antonina Armato as part of its artist development team. That team will comb the Internet in search of talented amateurs capable of opening for such acts as Nicki Minaj, LMFAO, Brad Paisley, Gym Class Heroes and Jason Mraz. 

Olivia Lee, best known for her hidden camera segments on The Tonight Show, will surprise these unknown acts at their homes to present them with the opportunity. From there, they're brought to Hollywood for a performance boot camp, mentoring sessions and, finally, a one-night only performance that could make or break their career. The series, which is being produced by Nigel Lythgoe Productions, will bow July 9 at 10 pm. In addition to Lythgoe, Steve Schnur, Simon Lythgoe andKary McHoul will serve as executive producers.

“With this unexpected break and whirlwind journey comes raw emotion, nerves and intense preparation. The question is whether or not the opening acts can truly seize the moment and use this extraordinary opportunity as a stepping stone to the career they never thought possible,” says E! entertainment president Suzanne Kolb.

For its part, Jonas will track the young couple as they attempt to balance love, fame and business, a sometimes challenge as the Jonas Brothers head back into the studio to record new music. The show's 10 episode season is set to bow August 19, with half-hour installments airing at 10 pm.

To be sure, the cameras are nothing new for Kevin Jonas, whose every move was captured as he and his two brothers rose to fame on and off the Disney stage. Seacrest, too, has plenty of experience with such peek-behind-the-curtain celebrity docu-series including E’s hugely popular Kardashian franchise. In addition to Seacrest, the project will include Stephanie Bloch Chambers and Adam Sher for Ryan Seacrest Productions as EPs.

"The series presents a unique look at a young couple and their families from two entirely different worlds, one small town and one dealing with international fame, coming together as one and starting a whole new life together,” said E!’s entertainment programming chief Lisa Berger.

Email: Lacey.Rose@THR.com; Twitter: @LaceyVRose

Bobby Brown didn't introduce Whitney Houston to drugs, he says - Los Angeles Times

Who got Whitney Houston started using drugs? Bobby Brown says it wasn’t him, thank you very much.

Houston's drug use started "way before" he entered the picture, he told Matt Lauer in an interview that will air this week on the “Today” show.

"I didn't get high [on narcotics] before I met Whitney," Brown said. "I smoked weed, I drank the beer, but no, I wasn't the one that got Whitney on drugs at all."

He said that watching the reality show they did together in 2005, “Being Bobby Brown,” was enlightening.  “We was able to see that our drug use had affected our relationship, had affected the love that we felt for each other." The couple, who got together at the start of the '90s, split in 2006 and finalized their divorce in 2007.

Brown, who last week pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor DUI charge stemming from a daytime arrest in March, is "very much clean and sober from narcotics," he said. He reportedly gave up cocaine and heroin.

“I'm not the reason she's gone," he added, saying his guess was that it was one bad day with cocaine that killed her, not her body wearing out after years of using the drug.

"It had to be that one, because that's all it takes," Brown said. "One hit, you know ... it could definitely take your life away from you. And, unfortunately, that was it."

This from a guy who claims to have already died three times from drugs, though he was resuscitated each time, according an autobiography he self-published in 2008.

The interview is scheduled to air in two parts, Wednesday and Thursday on “Today.”

RELATED:

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Bobby Brown plea deal: DUI case settled, except for probation

Bobby Brown at Whitney's funeral: What went on inside the church?

Follow Christie D'Zurilla on Twitter and Google+. Follow the Ministry of Gossip @LATcelebs.

'Avengers' shoots higher overseas with $185.1M - CBS News

LOS ANGELES â€" "The Avengers" isn't playing yet on U.S. movie screens, but the superhero dream team already is a marvel at the worldwide box office.

Final figures from distributor Disney on Monday put the overseas haul for "The Avengers" at $185.1 million since it began opening in 39 markets last week. That's nearly $7 million more than the studio had estimated Sunday.

The overseas results for "The Avengers" overshadowed a fairly quiet weekend at the domestic box office. The ensemble comedy "Think Like a Man" remained the No. 1 draw for the second-straight weekend with $17.6 million, holding off a rush of new movies that did only modest business at U.S. theaters.

Among the revenue highlights for "The Avengers": $25.5 million in Great Britain, $19.8 million in Australia, $16.9 million in Mexico and $13.9 million in France.

Based on the Marvel Comics series, "The Avengers" cast includes Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Mark Ruffalo as the Incredible Hulk.

The film opens in U.S. theaters Friday.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com are:

1. "Think Like a Man," Sony Screen Gems, $17,604,141, 2,015 locations, $8,737 average, $60,472,199, two weeks.

2. "The Pirates! Band of Misfits," Sony, $11,137,734, 3,358 locations, $3,317 average, $11,137,734, one week.

3. "The Hunger Games," Lionsgate, $10,814,271, 3,572 locations, $3,028 average, $372,019,021, six weeks.

4. "The Lucky One," Warner Bros., $10,808,023, 3,175 locations, $3,404 average, $39,409,719, two weeks.

5. "The Five-Year Engagement," Universal, $10,610,060, 2,936 locations, $3,614 average, $10,610,060, one week.

6. "Safe," Lionsgate, $7,892,539, 2,266 locations, $3,483 average, $7,892,539, one week.

7. "The Raven," Relativity Media, $7,289,642, 2,203 locations, $3,309 average, $7,289,642, one week.

8. "Chimpanzee," Disney, $5,227,862, 1,567 locations, $3,336 average, $18,920,794, two weeks.

9. "The Three Stooges," Fox, $5,167,421, 3,105 locations, $1,664 average, $36,907,965, three weeks.

10. "The Cabin in the Woods," Lionsgate, $4,619,480, 2,639 locations, $1,750 average, $34,783,320, three weeks.

11. "21 Jump Street," Sony, $3,000,054, 1,820 locations, $1,648 average, $131,937,572, seven weeks.

12. "American Reunion," Universal, $2,907,900, 2,154 locations, $1,350 average, $53,471,735, four weeks.

13. "Mirror Mirror," Relativity Media, $2,232,938, 2,017 locations, $1,107 average, $58,870,360, five weeks.

14. "Wrath of the Titans," Warner Bros., $1,981,008, 1,572 locations, $1,260 average, $80,524,819, five weeks.

15. "Titanic" in 3-D, Paramount, $1,913,733, 1,409 locations, $1,358 average, $56,280,875, four weeks.

16. "Lockout," Film District, $945,406, 1,259 locations, $751 average, $13,334,936, three weeks.

17. "Dr. Seuss' the Lorax," Universal, $848,070, 883 locations, $960 average, $208,435,750, nine weeks.

18. "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island," Warner Bros., $512,212, 401 locations, $1,277 average, $101,883,417, 12 weeks.

19. "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen," CBS Films, $427,518, 335 locations, $1,276 average, $7,777,846, eight weeks.

20. "Bully," Weinstein Co., $327,390, 263 locations, $1,245 average, $2,123,869, five weeks.

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

Carrie Underwood album doesn't blow you away - USA TODAY

By Elysa Gardner, USA TODAY

Updated

Carrie Underwood has a lovely country-pop voice and a winningly sweet, self-effacing manner. Yet you'd be hard-pressed to assign her an artistic personality beyond that.

• 

  Carrie Underwood's singing is impeccable on her fourth album, 'Blown Away,' but there's a lack of excitement.

Carrie Underwood's singing is impeccable on her fourth album, 'Blown Away,' but there's a lack of excitement.

Certainly, the songs on her new album, Blown Away (* * * out of four) cover a range of emotions and experience, and Underwood co-wrote some intriguing ones. In the pulsing Two Black Cadillacs, a man's widow and mistress meet at his funeral after sharing a secret phone conversation; Good in Goodbye charts a failed romance with two happy endings.

Underwood's singing, as usual, is impeccable â€" technically supple and elegant but full of girlish pluck. Even when working a clichéd concept, she's at once impressive and authentic.

• MORE: Underwood ready to cross over

• PHOTOS: Underwood through the years

That's not quite the same thing as exciting. But at 29, Underwood still has a lot of growing to do; Blown Away both reaffirms her natural gifts and makes us continue to root for her to push beyond them.

>Download:Good in Goodbye, Two Black Cadillacs

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The Avengers Blu-ray Titles Thor, Captain America, Hulk and Iron Man Selling ... - TheHDRoom

April 30, 2012 Joss Whedon's The Avengers has sparked renewed interest in the films building up to Marvel's big superhero ensemble extravaganza. Three of the five pre-Avengers titles currently reside on Amazon's top 10 bestselling Blu-ray chart days ahead of The Avengers theatrical release this Friday.

Sitting in position four is the Blu-ray and DVD combo edition of Thor starring Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman. Amazon has it priced at $19.99 or 56 percent off the $44.99 list price. Also of note is the Blu-ray 3D combo pack edition of Thor is currently the fourth bestselling Blu-ray 3D title at Amazon.

Captain America: The First Avenger starring Chris Evans sits a couple spots lower at number six. It shares the same $19.99 price as Thor, more than 50 percent off list. The Blu-ray 3D edition is also a couple spots lower than Thor at spot six on that chart.

Coming in position 10 at Amazon is Iron Man 2 starring Robert Downey Jr. This one is priced a little lower at $14.49, roughly half the $29.99 list price. The original Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk are $14.49 and $12.49 in positions 22 and 21, respectively.

Taking a larger view of The Avengers impact on Blu-ray sales, 20 percent of Amazon's current top 25 bestselling Blu-ray titles are part of Marvel's franchise. These rankings may very well improve once The Avengers is released in the U.S. on May 4.

Click here to purchase Iron Man on Blu-ray for $14.49 at Amazon.com.

Click here to purchase Iron Man 2 on Blu-ray for $14.49 at Amazon.com.

Click here to purchase The Incredible Hulk on Blu-ray for $12.49 at Amazon.com.

Click here to purchase Captain America: The First Avenger on Blu-ray for $19.99 at Amazon.com.

Click here to purchase Captain America: The First Avenger on Blu-ray 3D for $24.99 at Amazon.com.

Click here to purchase Thor on Blu-ray for $19.99 at Amazon.com.

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Judge: Golden Globes broadcast deal with NBC valid - Seattle Post Intelligencer

LOS ANGELES (AP) â€" A federal judge ruled Monday that producers of the Golden Globe Awards acted properly when they negotiated a deal keeping the glitzy gala on NBC through 2018.

U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz's 89-page ruling states that the production company, dick clark productions, has a right to negotiate the deal and work on the show as long as it airs on NBC. That right was a key part of a long-running dispute between the company, known as dcp, and the Globes' organizers, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

The association sued over the broadcast deal in November 2010, but the two sides have worked together on the past two awards shows. The production company has claimed it has a perpetual right to work on the show as long as it airs on NBC, but the association argued that it never agreed to those terms and it was facing the loss of its creation.

The Globes have become big business, with Hollywood A-listers appearing each year. The journalists' group and producer split the multimillion-dollar annual profits evenly.

There was no immediate comment from the HFPA. Matz has said he doesn't expect his ruling will end the dispute, but that it will likely lead to an appeal.

Matz's ruling states the dcp only has a right to work with NBC, but that it does not need to receive approval for its broadcast deal directly from the HFPA anymore because of a 1993 amendment to their working relationship.

"We are pleased the court affirmed our contract and look forward to working with the HFPA and NBC to nurture and expand the Golden Globes franchise for years to come," dcp wrote in a statement.

The judge stated the unusual agreement came about largely because of HFPA's own leadership problems. "HFPA suffered from the absence of sound, business-like practices," Matz wrote.

He noted the group's complicated internal politics and frequent elections, some of which "triggered bitter feelings."

"HFPA members have always been dedicated to the success of the Golden Globes Award Show," Matz wrote. "But often they succumbed to bouts of pronounced turmoil and personal feuds."

The judge's ruling came after he heard nine days of testimony earlier this year over the deal negotiated by dcp. Dick Clark sold the company in 2007, but the dispute focused heavily on events that took place while he still owned it in 1993.

The judge had to determine whether a 1993 agreement between the HFPA and dcp gave the production company the right to work on the show perpetually, provided it airs on NBC. The association contended it never agreed to the perpetuity clause, and that if it were upheld it would the HFPA control over its signature property, the Globes.

Attorneys for dcp argued that the clause was to ensure continuity and protect the production company, which had just negotiated a multi-year deal to return the Globes to broadcast airwaves for the first time since a scandal knocked them from CBS in the early 1980s.

Matz noted the contrast between the production company and the journalists' group in his ruling.

"In contrast, dcp acted in a consistently business-like fashion, and for almost all of the 27 year relationship it had with HFPA before this suit was filed dcp was represented by one experienced executive who was adept at dealing fairly and effectively with the often amateurish conduct of HFPA," he wrote.

The disputed deal is worth $150 million, but the association contends the broadcast rights are worth much more now. The show, while not a reliable predictor of Oscar night glory, attracts the top stars from both television and film and attracts millions of viewers each year. The booze-filled gala is more unpredictable and less staid than other major reality shows, which has only been amplified by host Ricky Gervais in recent years.

Matz noted that the agreement between the HFPA and dcp â€" and his ruling â€" tie the two groups together as long as the show remains on NBC. If the network drops the show, the production company's rights to work on the gala would also end.

___

Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP .

Who Was Best Dressed at the White House Correspondents' Dinner? - E! Online

startraksphoto.com; Getty Images

Washington D.C. shined a whole lot brighter this weekend when Hollywood's A-list descended upon the capital for the White House Correspondents' Dinner alongside Barack and Michelle Obama.

From Kate Hudson to Charlize Theron to Reese Witherspoon and more, the stars dazzled on the red carpet.

PHOTOS: Fashion Spotlight: Kate Hudson

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The Change-Up actress Leslie Mann (aka Mrs. Judd Apatow) was in full bloom in an elegant floral single-shoulder Naeem Khan belted gown. She added fuchsia accessories, including heels, clutch and lipstick, to her bouquet of lovely.

Meanwhile, Kate got jaws dropping in a sparkling purple three-quarter-sleeve Jenny Packham stunner, topped with a high bun and a black Edie Parker clutch. This is the most glamorous the Almost Famous star and mama of two has looked in ages!

PHOTOS: Fashion Police

While most ladies stuck to long and formal gowns, Eva Longoria stood out in a knee-length white Marchesa dress with a draped and pleated skirt. The Desperate Housewives star added a white clutch and simple black pumps to her fashion-forward look.

Charlize opted for pure elegance in a black lace Emilio Pucci gown with a nude underlay and sexy open back. The statuesque blond pulled her hair back and rocked Manolo Blahnik heels and a Judith Leiber clutch.

PHOTOS: Fashion Spotlight: Reese Witherspoon

Hunger Games star Elizabeth Banks kept up her streak of fabulous red carpets by popping in a gorge crimson Antonio Berardi peplum gown paired with gold hoop earrings, cuff and softly tousled 'do.

And last but not least, pregnant Reese glowed in a black Monique Lhuillier gown with sexy straps, turquoise Irene Neuwirth drop earrings and an Old Hollywood-style hairdo that totally completes the look.

All the stars shined bright, but which lady shut it down?

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PHOTOS: 2012 White House Correspondents' Dinner

Royal Baby? Kate Middleton Has Bigger Pressures—Like Pippa! - E! Online

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images; Jon Furniss/WireImage.com

There's more to being a duchess than just looking fabulous every single day (even though Kate Middleton already has that part down).

Heck, it's practically a job requirement that she produce an heir for her hubby, Prince William. And since the duo just celebrated their first anniversary yesterdayâ€"along with those adorable pics of Will holding a babyâ€"we have to wonder whether Kate's feeling the pressure to get pregnant.

But we hear there are bigger things weighing on her mindâ€"like little sis, Pippa Middleton, who's been busy distracting tabloids with more than just her tush.

READ: Happy One-Year Wedding Anniversary, Will and Kate!

If you look at Princess Diana (whom Kate has long been compared toâ€"remember that creepy Newsweek cover?!), she had a bun in the oven within her first year of being a royal. By that standard, Kate is already behind!

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But a palace source tell us Kate's more worried about the family she's already got:

"Personally, I think the biggest pressure on Kate is the dumb behavior of her sister, Pippa, and, now, her brother, James," an insider informed us when we asked whether Kate was feeling the heat to reproduce.

Pippa, of course, recently made scandalous headlines courtesy of a toy gun and some pesky paparazzi. Though one of her pals involved in the incident has since cleared Pippa's name, it certainly made her seem much edgier than her sis.

READ: Kate Middleton and Prince William's Royal Wedding Guests: Where Are They Now?

And Kate's brother has swapped handguns for…horny pastries.

Our source continued, "Did you know that James has a company that produces cakes and sponges bearing 'naughty' icing slogans such as 'Jiggly Jugs' and 'Wriggly Willies'?"

Hardly behavior befitting in-laws to royals, eh?

Here's hoping these chaotic siblings don't damage Kate's spotless reputation! We're itching for a royal bun in the oven, and then we can move on to more important mattersâ€"like, how Kate will manage to make maternity wear royally chic.

PHOTOS: Fashion Face-Off! Kate Middleton vs. Princess Diana

'Mad Men' episode 7 recap: Welcome to the real world, Sally - The Express Times - LehighValleyLive.com

Michael Yarish/AMC Don Draper invites his daughter, Sally, to a grown up dinner where he receives an award.

Sally Draper's growing up.  And maybe a little too fast.  

On last night's episode of Mad Men, "At the Codfish Ball," Donald Draper allowed his 12 year old daughter to enter his world, without makeup on of course.  

The night started with Sally placing a call to her old friend, Glen, you know, the kid who was obsessed with Betty back in season one.  No longer is Glen a shy, misunderstood little boy, he's a cool cat.  Leaning up against wall talking to Sally, he loves that the other boys around him think she's his girlfriend.  And I think they both wish this were true.  

But right in the middle of the conversation, Sally's grandmother trips over the phone cord that was stretched in Sally's room, breaking her foot.  So Don has to take the kids at an inconvenient time as Megan's parents are also staying in the apartment.  

We get a glimpse of Megan's French Canadian parents who to say are dysfunctional would be an understatement.  Right off the bat, Megan's Marxist father loathes Don for his success, but her mother can't stop flirting with him.  "Didn't you notice she touched you six times in an hour?" Megan told Don later that night.  "She's French," Don said. "No, that's not what that is," Megan sighed.  

The next day at work, Megan came up with a brilliant idea for the Heinz beans account.  Perfect timing since a dinner was planned with the Heinz executive later that evening.  Don gushes at her idea, which includes the catch phrase, "Heinz beans, some things never change." 

Later at dinner, Megan and Don impress the Heinz guy with their idea.  But the next day when the couple share the news with their colleagues at SCDP, Megan doesn't take much credit for the huge success, calling it "beginner's luck."  She initially expressed insecurity when pitching the idea to Don, and thought the others would be pissed.  I even thought that they would be jealous, but even Peggy was genuinely happy for her.  

Side story: Peggy's boyfriend Abe asked her to move in together, and she happily accepted, even though she thought he was going to propose.  But when Peggy invited her mother over to dinner to share the big news, she wasn't happy. 

"You are selling yourself short," Peggy's mother scolded her. "You want me to be alone," Peggy said.  "You know what your aunt would say," her mother replied, "you're lonely, get a cat." 

That same night, Don, Megan, Megan's parents, Roger and Sally attended an American Cancer Society dinner where Don would receive an award for his letter he wrote bashing Lucky Strike last season.  Sally gets all dolled up for the occasion in a tight, metallic dress with go-go boots and makeup. The last two pieces of her wardrobe Don vetoed.  

But she did look beautiful, even without the extra flare, and Roger was adorable with her during the dinner, cracking jokes like your inappropriate uncle.   He told her she was his date for the night, and towards the end brought her a shirley temple telling her she needed to taper off.  Oh, Roger. 

All of this cuteness occurred with Megan's mother's flirtatious giggles in the background, and boy did Roger take advantage of her attention later in the evening.  As Sally wandered off to the bathroom, she opened the wrong door, and well let's just say Megan's mom was on her knees.  Welcome to the real world, kid. 

Alone at the table, Megan's father gave her a talk. He mocked her recent success, and told her that she shouldn't let her capitalist husband get in the way of her real dreams, whatever those may be.  

"I always thought that you were very single-minded about your dreams and that would help you through life," he said in English. "But now I see that you've skipped the struggle and went right to the end."  

Once home, Sally called her friend, Glen, again.  She told him she was in Manhattan, and when he asked how the city was, Sally replied with a frown, "Dirty." 

I always knew she was a smart girl.  

Another episode down, and I keep asking myself, when will we see the return of "Fat Betty?" Ok, in all seriousness, I'd love to hear your thoughts.  What does the relationship between Megan and her parents tell us about her? And will Peggy and Abe's new step in their relationship cause more dysfunction?  I seem to think that this is a play by Abe to get Peggy to take some of her attention off work.  But that's just my cynical mind, maybe he really does love her.  

Follow me on Twitter: @samraphelson

Breathing Fire With Ballads - New York Times

“Blown Away,” the new album by Carrie Underwood, the shiny but tough country star, starts out loud, sassy, rollicking and wise. “Good Girl” is the first song â€" a little Pat Benatar, a little Tanya Tucker â€" and it plays out like a sequel to Ms. Underwood’s 2006 smash “Before He Cheats,” except, instead of taking out her rightfully stoked dissatisfaction on her ex, she opts for unity and warns the next woman instead.

After that it’s a one-two punch of brutality: a quick-paced “Blown Away,” in which a young woman hides in her basement, waiting out a tornado that she hopes her abusive, alcoholic father sleeping upstairs doesn’t survive; followed by “Two Black Cadillacs,” in which a wife and a mistress conspire to kill the man they share, not a murder ballad so much as a murder celebration.

Ms. Underwood enjoys rage; her huge voice, both naïve and muscular, is well suited to it. Her best songs have historically been in the range between fury and resentment. “Blown Away” is only her fourth album, but that number belies her concrete-hard place in the country firmament, with a combination of vocal ambition and toughness that recalls a younger Martina McBride.

While the album starts bold and mechanically impressive, it gets progressively quieter over the course of its first half, as if she were taking a break from fire-breathing. “Do You Think About Me” is tepid; “Nobody Ever Told You” is bland and blithe; and “One Way Ticket” â€" part Jimmy Buffett, part Jason Mraz â€" is Ms. Underwood at her least convincing. Relaxation is not her milieu. She needs muscles pulled taut, veins popping through the skin. Hearing her sing about flip-flops and drinks with pink umbrellas is an affront.

“Blown Away” builds steam again from that point. Ms. Underwood holds back her voice on “Good in Goodbye,” which has echoes of “So Small,” her inspirational 2007 hit. But by the rowdy and sinister “Cupid’s Got a Shotgun,” her nostrils are practically flaring:

I pulled out my Remington

And I loaded up these shells

He’s about to find out

I’m a dang good shot myself.

On a few of this album’s early songs , a perplexing number of digital effects are applied to Ms. Underwood’s vocals, processing she neither needs nor benefits from, even if it is par for the course for other country singers. She may be unhappy, but hearing her tense up is half the fun.

CHELLE ROSE

“Ghost of Browder Holler”

(Lil’ Damsel)

“I don’t know who I trouble more / The mean old Devil or the good old Lord,” Chelle Rose sings on her second album, “Ghost of Browder Holler,” and she’s bragging more than worrying. It’s an album filled with rasp, drawl, twang and tenacity.

Ms. Rose (whose first name is pronounced as “Shelly”) grew up in East Tennessee (where Browder Holler is) and lives in Nashville. She released her first album, “Nanahally River,” in 2000, then withdrew into family life. “Alimony” may or may not be a song about what eventually happened; its snarling electric guitars back the tale of a woman who leaves a stultifying suburban marriage to be a musician.

“I wasn’t askin’ for much, just make some noise with my boys,” she sings. “He was supposed to be my lover, we was Hatfield and McCoys.”

As a songwriter, Ms. Rose works in the realm of Lucinda Williams, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, Alejandro Escovedo and other terse, unflinching songwriters on the rock fringe of country. She sings about hard-nosed characters â€" herself, perhaps, among them â€" and ways to face tough situations, and the answer is as much in the grain of her voice and the sinewy guitars as in her words.

The album was produced in Austin by the Texas-based songwriter Ray Wylie Hubbard, who links country to the Rolling Stones, the Band and the Staple Singers. “Rufus Morgan (Preacher Man)” is Southern soul, while “I Need You,” a song by Julie Miller, hints at “Gimme Shelter.”

Although the album was made in Texas, the songs look back to rural Tennessee. Over minor-mode chords, with an Appalachian-flavored melody, Ms. Rose stares down a flood in “Shady Grove Gonna Blow,” advising, “Run down to the graveyard you tell all your kin/River rises up we’ll be together again.”

In “Browder Holler Boy,” a woman’s dreams are haunted by a dead lover: “I tried to save you from the Devil’s violent brew/My skin ain’t soft enough my kisses would not do.”

There’s more sorrow and loss than solace in these songs, but Ms. Rose hasn’t given up on humanity. “If I Could,” a hymnlike song tucked quietly in the middle of the album, offers simple kindness: “Whatever it would take, I’d be willing to give,” she sings, with a stoic reality check, “If I could.” JON PARELES

DIRTY DOZEN BRASS BAND

“Twenty Dozen”

(Savoy Jazz)

Thirty-five years in, the temptation is to see the Dirty Dozen Brass Band as an engine of commerce or a piece of New Orleans culture vulgarized for tourist consumption. “Twenty Dozen,” the band’s new album, doesn’t strain to dissuade you. Recorded at the Music Shed, a prominent hometown studio, it has a bright, clear, presentable mix. It has a lot of crispness and not much grit. It has a version of “When the Saints Go Marching In.”

But to characterize the album as some kind of concession would be missing the point, along with the aspects of “Twenty Dozen” that reflect a band chugging at full steam. Five of the seven original members of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band are still in the group, a remarkable retention rate, even for an institution that runs on collectivity. And those charter members â€" the saxophonists Roger Lewis and Kevin Harris, the trumpeters Gregory Davis and Efrem Towns, and the sousaphone player Kirk Joseph â€" make up the band’s crucial front line. It’s no shock that as a unit, they sound impeccable here.

A lot of the material on “Twenty Dozen” is original, and much of it nods at Caribbean rhythm, from calypso (“Best of All”) to lite reggae (“Tomorrow”). That buoyant feel suits the strengths of the drummer Terence Higgins and the guitarist Jake Eckert; it also clears space for solos.

What’s rarer is the counterpoint that this band can do so well. You hear it on “Jook,” over an Afrobeat pulse, but for the most part the horns move in a coordinated mass rather than a syncopated bramble.

The exception arrives during a medley that represents the band at its crowd-pleasingest: “Paul Barbarin’s Second Line” into “E-Flat Blues” into “When the Saints Go Marching In.” And to carp about that sequence of songs would be to ignore the gusto that the band still manages to bring to their execution.

The album follows “Saints” with another fan favorite, “Dirty Old Man,” featuring a gruff lead vocal by Mr. Lewis. It’s the closest thing to the experience of hearing the band at a bar like the Maple Leaf, where the blurts of the sousaphone lodge in your chest.

But then the Dirty Dozen has long broadcast at multiple frequencies. On Thursday it’s scheduled to play the largest stage at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, in the slot preceding Jimmy Buffett; on Friday it will play d.b.a., a smallish club on Frenchmen Street. And both shows, at this point, are true to the spirit of the band. NATE CHINEN

World Trade Center is back on top in NYC as it breaks above Empire State Building - Washington Post

NEW YORK â€" One World Trade Center, the monolith being built to replace the twin towers destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks, claimed the title of New York City’s tallest skyscraper on Monday, as workers erected steel columns that made its unfinished skeleton a little over 1,250 feet high, just enough to peek over the roof of the observation deck on the Empire State Building.

The milestone is a preliminary one. Workers are still adding floors to the building once called the Freedom Tower. It isn’t expected to reach its full height for at least another year, at which point it is likely to be declared the tallest building in the U.S., and third tallest in the world.

Video

The rebuilt World Trade Center becomes New York City's tallest skyscraper on Monday. Workers will erect steel columns that will make its unfinished skeleton a little over 1,250 feet high, taller than the Empire State Building observation deck. (Editor’s note: no audio)

Those bragging rights, though, will carry an asterisk.

Crowning the world’s tallest buildings is a little like picking the heavyweight champion in boxing. There is often disagreement about who deserves the belt.

In this case, the issue involves the 408-foot-tall needle that will sit on the tower’s roof.

Count it, and the World Trade Center is back on top. Otherwise, it will have to settle for No. 2, after the Willis Tower in Chicago.

“Height is complicated,” said Nathaniel Hollister, a spokesman for The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitats, a Chicago-based organization considered an authority on such records.

Experts and architects have long disagreed about where to stop measuring super-tall buildings outfitted with masts, spires and antennas that extend far above the roof.

Consider the case of the Empire State Building: Measured from the sidewalk to the tip of its needle-like antenna, the granddaddy of all skyscrapers actually stands 1,454 feet high, well above the mark reached by One World Trade Center on Monday.

Purists, though, say antennas shouldn’t count when determining building height.

An antenna, they say, is more like furniture than a piece of architecture. Like a chair sitting on a rooftop, an antenna can be attached or removed. The Empire State Building didn’t even get its distinctive antenna until 1952. The record books, as the argument goes, shouldn’t change every time someone installs a new satellite dish.

Excluding the antenna brings the Empire State Building’s total height to 1,250 feet. That was still high enough to make the skyscraper the world’s tallest from 1931 until 1972.

From that height, the Empire State seems to tower over the second tallest completed building in New York, the Bank of America Tower.

Yet, in many record books, the two skyscrapers are separated by just 50 feet.

That’s because the tall, thin mast on top of the Bank of America building isn’t an antenna but a decorative spire.

Unlike antennas, record-keepers like spires. It’s a tradition that harkens back to a time when the tallest buildings in many European cities were cathedrals. Groups like the Council on Tall Buildings, and Emporis, a building data provider in Germany, both count spires when measuring the total height of a building, even if that spire happens to look exactly like an antenna.

This quirk in the record books has benefited buildings like Chicago’s recently opened Trump International Hotel and Tower. It is routinely listed as being between 119 to 139 feet taller than the Empire State Building, thanks to the antenna-like mast that sits on its roof, even though the average person, looking at the two buildings side by side, would probably judge the New York skyscraper to be taller.

10 Things You Need To Know About The Marvel Universe Before Seeing The Avengers - Cinema Blend

Back in 2008, Marvel Studios began one of the most ambitious projects ever conceived in the medium of film. The plan was to create and release individual movies about Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Captain America and then bring them all together for a team-up film called The Avengers. In that time the studio has had its ups and downs, successes and mistakes, but this Friday it all comes together when the Joss Whedon-written and directed movie arrives in theaters. But while fans have likely been following along these past four years, the truth is that there are probably still a lot of people out there who have no idea what The Avengers is, who the characters are, or what makes the project so special. So I’m here to lend a hand.

Just as I did before the releases of Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger, I’ve drawn up a quick encyclopedia with need-to-know information that will help you better understand not only what’s going on in The Avengers, but what’s driving the various characters. Whether you have no idea what a “Hulk” is or just what to read more about the The Tesseract, this article is for you.

WARNING: This article contains some minor spoilers for The Avengers. While the first nine entries are safe, the last one may affect the surprise element and is clearly marked.

Captain America

Who Is He? Born Steve Rogers, Captain America began life as a sickly young orphan who wanted to do nothing more than fight for his country. When his heart is recognized by a brilliant scientist named Dr. Abraham Erskine, Rogers is given what’s typically known as the Super Soldier Serum, which turns him into the perfect human specimen. He uses these new found powers to fight against the forces of H.Y.D.R.A. and the evil Red Skull. While trying to save the world back in the 1940s, he winds up crashing a large airship into the arctic circle and is frozen alive, only to be brought back when discovered by S.H.I.E.L.D.

How Does He Fit? Even as The Man Out of Time, Captain America is called on by S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Avengers as a natural leader who can bring his team into battle and craft brilliant strategy. He is hampered by the fact that he is lost in our age, but his strength and determination make him one of the greatest weapons (and shields) that our world has ever seen.

Iron Man

Who Is He? Tony Stark is a genius who spent years developing and inventing the most advanced weapons technology our world has ever seen for his company, Stark Industries. When he is kidnapped by terrorist forces, Stark finds himself forced to create a means of escape by inventing the Iron Man suit, an amazing piece of armor that not only protects Stark and gives him the ability to fly, but is also fully equipped with weapons that allow him to take out his enemies. The whole thing is powered by a special piece of technology in Stark’s chest called the Arc Reactor, which also serves to keep dangerous pieces of embedded shrapnel away from the hero’s heart.

How Does He Fit? Stark is one of the earliest super-powered individuals to be recruited for The Avengers Initiative, but that doesn’t make him the perfect candidate. Known for his arrogance and inability/unwillingness to work with others, Iron Man doesn’t like being a government puppet or taking orders, which makes him a poor candidate for the Avengers team, but he is also a man who knows when it’s time to shake off his own personality flaws and become a hero. The new movie also sees him create The Stark Tower, a new building in New York City that is entirely run on pure, clean energy.

Thor

Who Is He? Thor is best known from Norse legend as The God of Thunder. He hails from the mystical land of Asgard where he is next in line to the throne. In addition to his incredible strength and speed, Thor’s power is given to him by Mjolnir, a powerful hammer that the hero can use to conjure lightning and fly. He also happens to be the brother of Loki and they take sibling rivalry to a whole new level.

How Does He Fit? As the only other-worldly member of The Avengers, Thor has somewhat different motivations than the rest of the superhero team as he wants to see the criminal known as Loki brought to Asgardian justice. That said, Thor also sees himself as the protector of Earth and will use all of his powers to help the humans. At the end of his solo movie, the character seemed to be trapped in Asgard and unable to return to Earth, but is told that there are other ways to make it back.

The Hulk

Who Is He? Bruce Banner was a government scientist working in the field of gamma radiation when a secret test went horribly wrong and resulted in Banner being turned into a giant, rage-fueled green monster with inconceivable strength and invulnerability. Not wanting to be turned into a lab rat by the government, Banner went on the run trying to find a way to cure himself of the evil beast within him. The Hulk is triggered by rising blood pressure, meaning that you really don’t ever want to see Bruce Banner when he gets angry. It should be noted that the last time we saw the character Banner seemed to have learned how to control the creature.

How Does He Fit? Banner isn’t brought on as part of the Avengers Initiative for his strength as The Hulk, but rather his intelligence as a scientist. The Tesseract that Loki has stolen (more on both of those things in a bit) gives off gamma radiation and Banner is hired to track it. That said, the nature of Banner’s condition makes him the definition of wild card…

Loki

Who Is He? Like Thor, Loki is an Asgardian of legend, but has a much darker, more complicated background. Born as a son to the Frost Giant King Laufey, Loki was kidnapped as a prize of war by King Odin of Asgard and raised as one of Odin’s sons. Upon learning of his lineage, the God of Mischief is driven mad with rage and becomes not only obsessed with the idea of power, but jealous of everything his brother, Thor, has been given and seeks to destroy it.

How Does He Fit? Loki is the central villain of The Avengers and is quite the powerful one at that. At the start of the film he finds his way back to Earth so that he can claim control of The Tesseract, a powerful device that will allow him to unleash his army on the world (but more on that later). He sees himself as a god and believes that humanity is meant to bow to him. The Avengers are out to prove him wrong.

The Tesseract a.k.a. The Cosmic Cube

What Is It? There are plenty of powerful items and people in the Marvel Universe, but only an minute few stack up against The Tesseract a.k.a. The Cosmic Cube. Its capability is simple: it’s an unlimited source of energy and power that can be used to open portals in space.

How Does It Fit? Best known from Captain America: The First Avenger, the Tesseract was first the ultimate weapon of H.Y.D.R.A. and The Red Skull, but this time around it’s Loki who sees its power. Knowing that S.H.I.E.L.D. is protecting the ancient device (as seen in the stinger at the end of Thor, the God of Mischief steals the cube and uses it so that he can bring his alien army to earth.

Chitauri

Who Are They? Introduced in the Earth-1610 universe of Marvel Comics, the Chitauri are a violent race of aliens originally conceived as alternate versions of the aliens known as the Skrulls. While in the comics they became known for their ability to shapeshift, they do not have that capability in The Avengers. They are, however, very militaristic and outfitted with powerful weapons and vehicles.

How Do They Fit? It is the Chitauri who call on Loki to lead them in a fight for control of Earth. They need Loki to attain the Tesseract and open a portal from their world to ours. But while Loki is the key, the race is actually lead by a mysterious figure who keeps to the shadows and is actually orchestrating everything behind the scenes.

S.H.I.E.L.D.

What Is It? An acronym for the clunkily-titled Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, S.H.I.E.L.D. is like the C.I.A. if not only the agents, but the organization itself was kept a secret. Headquartered in the mobile Helicarrier, a city-sized base that floats in the sky, agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. deal with matters beyond most people's comprehension, from super powered individuals to extraterrestrials. Responsible for clean-up and debriefing after super powered “incidents” they have way more power in world affairs than you could possibly know, and are headed up by one of the most powerful officials in the world: Colonel Nick Fury.

How Does It Fit? If it weren’t for S.H.I.E.L.D. there would be no Avengers. It’s the government agency that both creates and enacts the Avengers Initiative, the protocol that calls for superpowered individuals to be brought together in times of crisis to battle against forces of evil that otherwise could not be stopped. What’s more, key members of the organization, Hawkeye and Black Widow, were agents prior to agreeing to fight alongside Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and The Hulk.

Nick Fury

Who Is He? Played by Samuel L. Jackson, Colonel Nick Fury is the black duster-and eye-patch-wearing director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Stern and serious about protecting the world, he’s on a mission to bring together the most powerful individuals on the planet and form the superhero team known as The Avengers.

How Does He Fit? He’s shown up in bits and flashes in previous films â€" most notably in Iron Man 2, but it’s in The Avengers that Nick Fury finally has time to shine. Though Captain America is the team’s leader in the field, as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury is the real leader, as he was the one who calls for everyone to be brought together. Whether or not he can be trusted at all times is a different story entirely.

SPOILER WARNING

Thanos

Who Is He? Thanos is one of the most powerful, evil beings in the universe. Fascinated by death and pain, the character in the comics is bestowed with many powers, including superhuman strength, stamina, intelligence as well as telekinesis and teleportation. He is best known for his quest to control an item called the Infinity Gauntlet, a glove that, when embedded with the six infinity gems, gives the wearer complete control over the entire universe (the item can briefly be seen in Odin’s treasure room at the beginning of Thor).

How Does He Fit? Remember how I said that the Chitauri were being controlled by a mysterious figure who keeps to the shadows? Well, Thanos is his name. The character appears in the after-credits sequence of The Avengers and smiles when his henchman tells him that anyone who goes up against the humans of Earth and The Avengers is a fool. As of now it’s unclear how Thanos will work into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the assumption at large is that he will be the central villain of The Avengers 2.

Game of Thrones, Season Two, Episode Five Recap - Vanity Fair

BREAKING NEWS: there was no nudity in this week’s episode of Game of Thrones! A lot happened last night. Stannis is murdered, Brienne must flee, Daenerys learns about the city of Qarth, and Cersei is tired of Tyrion’s “schemes and plots.” Those are the same things dear sister, sighs Tyrion. And so they are! But above all else, we can pretty much all agree that it was the lack of boobs, ladies of  the night, and sex that was the predominant theme. At least in our debauched minds. On to this week’s power ranking!

1. Stannis Baratheon
So it’s a little unclear, but it seems that the ghost shadow thing that the red-lady-priestess-turned-lover birthed was maybe Stannis (readers of the books will know that it was), but either way, the shadow stabs Renly through the back (low even for a shadow creature) and in one swoop Stannis has acquired all of Renly’s army except for the Highgarden children. Margaery is distressed, but not quite as much as Loras, who she convinces to escape with her. Littlefinger asks Margaery if she still wants to be a Queen (clearly he has a scheme of sorts) and true to her type casting form, she replies, “I want to be the Queen.” Touché, Margaery. Touché. So now that his army has doubled in size, Stannis comes in at the top of this week’s power ranking.

2. Starks
They are still winning, apparently, according to Tywin’s lamenting, which Arya overhears now that she is cupbearer. They still have the Kingslayer in their possession, and as Tywin explains to his council, Robb’s men love him.

3. Lannisters
They still aren’t winning anything on the battlefield, but they are down one foe, since Stannis killed Renly. They are stocking up on wildfire, which appears to be a napalm-like substance they can fling at approaching ships. Otherwise, its clear the people of King’s Landing despise Joffrey, and unfortunately the tiny Tyrion Demon Monkey they believe is pulling the strings. The upside is, there were lots of Bronn quips in this episode, which are becoming almost as good as Tyrion’s. As one viewer told me, he could always use more Bronn.

4. Daenerys Targareyn
Apparently settling into Qarth, her Dragons are eating and growing, and Daenerys has even been offered a lot of money if she marries the wealthy trader who’s hosting her. Enough money to buy ships and armies, and invade King’s Landingâ€"though as Jorah points out, she’d always be in debt to Qarth, which is not really the best way to take a throne.  Oh, also, he might be in love with her, so there’s that. . . awkwardness.

Also Making Headlines in Westeros:
Mance Rayder is still gathering wildlings North of the Wall. Gendry has a hot bod, though Arya seems only to notice his sub-par dueling footwork (“Practice like you mean it.”) Jaqen H’ghar offers three lives to Arya, for saving him and his two companions from the fire when they were locked in the jail cart during the raid. She can name any three names she wants. Also, he speaks in the third person, which is intriguing for some reason.

Until next week!

Previously: Game of Thrones Season-Two Recaps

Bobby Brown Speaks: "I Wasn't the One That Got Whitney on Drugs" - E! Online

NBC

Bobby Brown says he "didn't get high" before he met Whitney Houston.

Whichâ€"as Today's Matt Lauer pointed out during an interview with Brown, his fiancée and three of his children airing Wednesday and Thursdayâ€"would surprise those who have assumed for years that Brown got the diva hooked on drugs.

"It makes me feel terrible," Brown says of being blamed for the habit that ultimately led to Houston's death on Feb. 11 at only 48 years old. "But I know differently."

So, just how skewed, according to Brown, were those assumptions regarding his and Houston's 14-year marriage?

MORE: Whitney Houston Still Shines in New Sparkle Movie Poster

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"I think if anyone ever knew us, if anybody ever spent time around us instead of time lookin' through the bubble"â€"which, for a time, included the reality show Being Bobby Brownâ€""they would know how we felt about each other. They would know how happy we were together."

"And the reality show gave us a wake-up, because we saw each other inâ€"we looked at the bubble and saw ourselves," Brown, 43, says. "We was able to see what other people were saying about us, you know? We was able to see that our drug use had affected our relationship, had affected the love that we felt for each other."

Brown tells Lauer that he smoked weed and drank beer before meeting Houston, but he "wasn't the one who got Whitney on drugs at all." He doesn't include marijuana and alcohol in his description of the "narcotics" that the couple used during their marriage.

The Bravo show lasted one season in 2005. The couple separated the following year and Houston filed for divorce in October 2006.

MORE: Whitney Houston Final Coroner Report: Bloody Nose, Emphysema; "White Substance" and Mirror Found at Death Scene

Brown says that he was "hurt" when he found out that cocaine use contributed to his ex-wife's death.

"Me being off of narcotics for the last seven years...I felt that she was...I didn't know she was struggling with it still," the New Edition singer says. "But at the same time...listen, it's a hard fight. It's a hard fight to, you know, maintain sobriety that way."

He speaks the truth: Though he maintained his innocence after his arrest, Brown pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor DUI charge last week and was ordered to complete a three-month alcohol program.

Whatever their struggles, the father of 19-year-old Bobbi Kristina Brown says that he has always loved Houston.

"I can honestly say that I love that woman with...everything that I am," Brown says. "And I believe she loved me the same way. We wouldn't have been able to make the most beautiful girl in the world without love. And that's the truth."

(E! Online and Bravo are members of the NBCUniversal family.)

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