White House state dinner crasher Michaele Salahi is apparently old pro (or at least an old cheap hack who needs to be locked up) at whatever it is she does. According to a source, the Real Housewives of D.C. fraud once tried to fake being a cheerleader for the NFL's Washington Redskins ... for reasons unknown. A former cheerleader who worked with the poser at Nordstroms in McClean, Va., from 1989-1994, was shocked to see her at a 2005 Redskins Cheerleader Alumni reunion. The source says she had no idea Michaele Salahi was a cheerleader. That's because she wasn't. Team officials have no record proving her claims of being on the squad. Yet she lied her way into the 2005 reunion anyway. Not quite as serious as somehow posing as a socialite, getting past security and crashing a state dinner at the White House, but equally puzzling. Michaele Salahi met the President of the United States last week. Pretty soon, we imagine she will be meeting with members of the United St

Fans don't appear to be thrilled with the special-effects-heavy fairy tale. By James Montgomery Paramore's Hayley Williams Photo: refused.tv Ever since the release of their Brand New Eyes album, much has been made about Paramore 's evolution from DayGlo-clad pop-punkers to rock artistes (OK, maybe it's not that severe), which Hayley Williams summed up best: "We've matured, not ma-toored. " Anyway, a key step in that transformation is their "Brick by Boring Brick" video , which premiered on the band's site on Monday. As the band went to great lengths to point out, the clip is a bit of a departure for them: The story-driven fairy tale, co-written by the band and director Meiert Avis, is special-effects heavy and features absolutely no footage of the band performing the song (a first for them). Instead, we get to see Paramore playing actual roles — Williams as the narrator, Josh Farro as a gravedigger, etc. — while a plot unfol

'Twilight' star also jokes about taking his shirt off in film. By Jocelyn Vena Taylor Lautner Photo: NBC Sure, there's been loads of talk about Taylor Lautner 's toned body in "New Moon." But it seems the real headline has been hidden until now: Lautner has an uncanny and almost superhero-like ability to catch grapes in his mouth from very, very far distances. It's a talent he can credit Kristen Stewart for. "Usually we'd just use a football, but if there wasn't a football ..." he told Conan O'Brien on "The Tonight Show" Monday about one way he and Stewart would kill time on set. Clarifying that when there wasn't football to toss around, she'd throw grapes in his mouth. And, just to prove that he's not all talk, Conan somehow convinced the "Twilight" heartthrob to demonstrate his skill. Quite impressively, Lautner did it three times without fail, each time from an increasing distance

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'We're in the perfect place, in the perfect city,' Keys says before concluding three-song set. By James Dinh Alicia Keys performs on NBC's "Today" show Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images Early Tuesday morning (November 24), Alicia Keys braved the 49-degree weather to greet fans and perform a three-song set on the "Today" show. The singer's stop at the morning talk show was another mark leading up to the release of her next album, The Element of Freedom, which hits stores on December 15. After dozens of pairs of free "Today" gloves were handed out to the audience, Alicia Keys walked onstage to a roar of applause. Alicia Keys Performs On 'Today' Wearing her shoulder-length hair loose and dressed in a turquoise leather jacket with gold studs, the singer started off her set with "No One" from her last album, As I Am. Keys proceeded with her current single, "Try Sleeping With a Broken Hea

The rapper found the musical about the Nigerian Afrobeat legend 'fascinating.' By Steven Roberts Jay-Z attends the opening night of "Fela!" in New York City on Monday Photo: Bennett Raglin/ WireImage NEW YORK — After having Los Angeles singing about their "Empire State of Mind" at the American Music Awards on Sunday, Jay-Z returned home on Monday evening to share in a different kind of celebration. Along with celebs like Ben Stiller, Harry Belafonte and Gayle King, Jay attended the Broadway opening of "Fela!," a musical celebrating the work of another great man, the late Nigerian superstar Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Jay said that he jumped onboard the project as a producer for its Broadway (along with Will and Jada Pinkett Smith) run because he was inspired by the power of Kuti's music and life story. "It's an inspiration, about the power of music. Here's a guy that's on the other side of the world who was influenc

'I'm just trying to go hard,' he tells Mixtape Daily. By Shaheem Reid Soulja Boy Photo: S.O.D. This Week's Main Pick Street Kings : Soulja Boy Tell'em, DJ Neptune, DJ Whoo Kid, DJ Scream and DJ Holiday Holding It Down For : Hip-Hop's new school Mixtapes : Cortez (Whoo Kid and Neptune), Paranormal Activity (Scream) and DatPiff (Holiday) Real Spit : "Twitter King," "hottest rapper alive" -- Soulja Boy Tell'em is making bold declarations. Now, a couple of months removed from his stint on tour with Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy and Young Money, Mr. Tell'em has been back in the lab. We caught up with him in L.A., where he was working on a track for Rihanna. Her team asked him for a beat, Kanye West asked him for a few beats in a separate instance, while Snoop Dogg, Gucci Mane and Chris Brown have called him for guest appearances. Soulja's next album, The DeAndre Way, isn't due until 2010. In the meantime, the young g

Mentored by one of the bandmate's mothers, T.I.'s fiancée, Tameka 'Tiny' Cottle, the group have already recorded a single, 'Ain't Nobody.' By Gil Kaufman OMG Girlz Photo: Major Productions Taking a break on Monday from a shoot for the second season of her BET reality show, "Tiny & Toya," T.I.'s fiancée, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle , talked up her latest project, a girl group called OMG Girlz. Tiny, who knows a bit about being in a girl group thanks to her 1990s run in Xscape (not to mention her hand in penning TLC's mega-hit "No Scrubs"), said she's helping to shepherd the debut by the group, which features her daughter, Zonnique (a.k.a. Star) as well as the offspring of Lil Wayne and his ex-wife, Antonia "Toya" Carter, Reginae (a.k.a. Baby Carter). The preteen/teen quartet (ages 11 to 13) also includes members Basha (a.k.a. Beauty) and Lourdes (a.k.a. Lolo). They got their start last year when T

Remixed edition will feature collaborations with Swizz Beatz, Tricky, R. Kelly, T-Pain and more. By Jocelyn Vena Mariah Carey Photo: Charley Gallay/Getty Images Mariah Carey is expected to release a remixed edition of her album Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel in February, following the disappointing sales of the original. The album will reportedly be available for an exclusive purchase through Target stores. According to Rap-Up.com , her manager, Chris Lighty, tweeted the news about the album, which was originally released in September. He wrote, "Listen Memoirs remix LP February ... no date set working on Target exclusive." The Web site further reports that the album will feature collaborations with Swizz Beatz and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, as well as Trey Songz, R. Kelly, T-Pain, Gucci Mane and OJ Da Juiceman. "There's gonna be remixes to everything," Stewart recently told Rap-Up. "I'm actually doing some remixing myself cu

We promised we would be bringing you our biggest handbag giveaway â€" ever. The holy grail of handbags. The coveted of the coveted. The classic of the classics. Well, the time has come. Are you ready? We are partnering with Portero.com and our blogger buddy ThePurseBlog for our most amazing handbag giveaway, ever. The Birkin! To be exact, it's a beyond-fabulous black evergrain (feels like butter!) leather 30 cm Birkin, with palladium hardware, preowned, never worn (valued at $8,350), compliments of Portero Luxury. Fabtastic, right? To enter to win, all you have to do is sign up below for the PopSugar Network, PopSugar Daily, Portero.com, and ThePurseBlog's emails - just enter your email below and you will automatically be entered for all four. Hermès Birkin. Unreal. Here are the official rules. Happy holidays and good luck! Just enter your email address below!* *Alternative method of entry: FabSugar Win A Hermès Birkin Bag Giveaway: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO

'She's everything that she appears to be,' 'Nine' star says of Swift. By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Nicole Kidman Photo: MTV News Nicole Kidman is married to one of country's biggest superstars, Keith Urban. And although Taylor Swift beat out her husband at the Country Music Association Awards earlier this month, Kidman has no hard feelings toward the 19-year-old ... in other words, she felt no urge to interrupt Swift's acceptance speech at the awards, as Kanye West did during the VMAs in September. "No!" Kidman laughed when asked by MTV News at the "Nine" junket. "No way!" The actress, who recently sang Robert Pattinson's praises , said Swift is quite deserving of her accolades. "She is a delight," Kidman said. "And she so deserves what's happening to her because, having met her and seeing her actually really become a phenomenon over the past couple of years, she rea

'You don't know me or anything about me,' 'Hills' star says of her new single. By Jocelyn Vena Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt Photo: Akshay Bhansali/ MTV News Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt certainly aren't afraid to defend their reputations. In Heidi's new single, "Superficial," off her forthcoming release of the same name, the "Hills" star, with the support of her husband, says people's image of her is way off. Heidi, who, along with Spencer, is celebrating the finale of another "Hills" season this week, explained that the song is another big step in her pop-music career. "I have my album coming out January 12 ... which I've been working on for three years. ... [I worked with producer] Steve Morales, who did a lot of J.Lo, Celine Dion, Britney Spears. He's done everybody," she told MTV News. "This song is about how everybody just calls me superficial and says that I'm a bitch and

Soon-to-be-divorced reality TV father of eight Jon Gosselin is single and ready to mingle get in the pants of some of the cutest girls in Hollywood. Too bad they'll probably have a say in it and turn down that kind offer, although you never know. The Hills could use a little bit of a ratings boost. According to Star, Jon's made a list, and there's no need to check it twice, because the girls he'd like to bang are all young, Hollywood staples. "What he really wants is to hook up with Lindsay Lohan, Kristin Cavallari and Whitney Port," an insider says of Jon G.'s " hit list " of starlets. MR. COOL : Jon Gosselin aspires to bed Hills stars past and present . We'd imagine Port is out of his league, as she is not desperate. Kristin Cavallari , though? If she'll fake-date Justin-Bobby, Jon might have a chance. Girl clearly has low standards and wants to be famous, after all. “He’s like a kid in a candy store and going absolutely wild,

'I don't think we've ever done anything like this,' guitarist Chris Walla says of the band's inclusion on the blockbuster soundtrack. By Kyle Anderson, with reporting by James Montgomery Photo: Frank Micelotta/ Getty Images Though they didn't walk away with any slabs of timber under their arms, it could be argued that Death Cab for Cutie were the all-stars of the 2009 mtvU Woodie Awards . The awards show that celebrates independent music of all types welcomed back a true rags-to-riches story in the quartet, who toiled tirelessly on the margins for years before graduating to arena-rock size and scope. They delivered the evening's centerpiece performance, a run-through of their current single "Meet Me on the Equinox," which has garnered the band quite a bit of attention as it's on the soundtrack to current box-office juggernaut "The Twilight Saga: New Moon." In fact, the band's newfound vampire-assisted success is just

When a franchise dies, all of Hollywood sheds a tear. But when a franchise dies prematurely, while it still has years of cash to give, Hollywood goes to battle stations. And tonight, Hollywood stands on the brink. Today the news broke that Hollywood 19th highest grossing franchise in all history may be in jeopardy. According to a report on The Playlist blog, director Paul Greengrass , who has shepherded the series through its last two installments, has walked off the film, possibly taking with him star Matt Damon . The story is a tale of runaway egos and runaway budgets colliding in a studio under assault from incoming and outgoing corporate overlords. As reported, Greengrass, one of the contemporary cinema's most celebrated directors, has the expensive habit of "finding a movie" while shooting it; a practice which has clearly served him well, so long as you're not the one writing the checks for his retakes and extra footage. Apparently, there has been simmering fr

Weezy's label wouldn't confirm a Rebirth track list posted by Amazon UK. By Shaheem Reid Eminem Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/ Getty Images Way back in October 2007, Lil Wayne told Mixtape Monday he had the perfect track for him and Eminem to get down on. At the time, Slim Shady was on hiatus from music. But now, with an album already released this year and in the midst of completing another one, Em and Wayne have finally gotten together for a song. Sure, they both had verses on this year's "Forever," but that was a Drake track, and Wayne has said that he wanted Em on his own album. According to Wayne's management, the new Weezy/Em song is called "Drop the World" and will be included on Rebirth, which is now due December 21, the same day as We Are Young Money, the family album from Wayne's Young Money artists. Also on December 21, Em will re-release Relapse, subtitled The Refill, and Relapse 2 is due sometime next year. Amazon U

'I know I'll get a lot of new fans just off touring with her,' Cudi says. By James Montgomery Kid Cudi Photo: MTV News Opening for Lady Gaga is a dream gig for almost any artist — but the trouble is, once you get it, how on Earth do you come up with a set that can compare with hers? That's the problem opening act Kid Cudi was struggling with when we caught up with him last month before Gaga's Monster Ball Tour, which launched Friday night in Montreal. "It's like, man, you know Gaga's gonna do the ill stage set-up and mine's gonna suck. It's gonna be me and this DJ, and I'll be like 'Alright, play the next song ... this is on my album.' I'm gonna be dodging Gaga's equipment and stuff," Cudi laughed before continuing more seriously. "Nah, it's gonna be good, man. I've been working on something just to step my game up from the last tour I did with Asher [Roth]. We've been brainstorming, co

Soon-to-be-divorced reality TV father of eight Jon Gosselin is single and ready to mingle get in the pants of some of the cutest blondes in Hollywood. Too bad they'll probably have a say in it and turn down that kind offer, although hey, you never know. The Hills could use a little bit of a ratings boost. According to Star , Jon's made a list, and there's no need to check it twice, because the girls he'd most like to bang are all sexy Hollywood staples. "What he really wants is to hook up with Lindsay Lohan, Kristin Cavallari and Whitney Port," an insider says of Jon G.'s " hit list " of young starlets. MR. COOL : Jon Gosselin aspires to bed Hills stars past and present . We'd imagine Port is out of his league, as she is not desperate. Kristin Cavallari , though? If she'll fake-date Justin-Bobby, Jon might have a chance. Girl clearly has low standards and wants to be famous, after all. “He’s like a kid in a candy store and goin

It's certainly not a best-case scenario, but in the face of all fears, the end of Jay Leno 's ratings free fall doesn't seem bad. At last there are signs the NBC's Jay Leno experiment may have turned a corner. Granted, if NBC has hit bottom, they've done so in a cavern deeper and scarier than anything they could have imagined a year ago. But like the rest of the nation, when it often seemed that our very foundations were coming undone and that our economy — or NBC's ratings report — would become a desolate wasteland populated solely by marauding cannibals; in the face of that, to find out we've stabilized on "pretty lousy" doesn't seem half bad. Our guess is its a scenario NBC would take in a heartbeat. The first glimmers came last week when the Hollywood Reporter made the dramatic announcement that "NBC's prime time talk show has halted its heavily reported ratings slide. The piece goes on to outline how for eleven straight shows