Rihanna and Chris Brown stun fans with reconciliation

Fans of singers Chris Brown and Rihanna expressed dismay on Saturday at reports the couple had reunited just three weeks after Brown was alleged to have assaulted her.

Celebrity magazines People and Us Weekly said that the R&B stars were spending time together at the Miami home of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs -- and that Rihanna's father was supporting her decision.

"I love my daughter with whatever road she takes. I'm behind her win or lose. I will be supportive. If that's the road she wants to choose, I'm behind her," Rihanna's dad Ronald Fenty told Us Weekly from his Barbados home.

Fans could scarcely believe the news that came a week after a picture, showing the 21-year-old "Umbrella" singer with bruises to her face and swollen lips, was leaked on the Internet.

"All the abusive men are celebrating," Highroller33138 wrote in a posting on the MTV.com website. "It sets a terrible example for women everywhere. Rihanna really disappointed me."

"Stupid, really stupid. ... I hate women like this," wrote ladyofthelake in a posting on TVGuide.com.

On Friday, People quoted an unidentified source saying the couple, who had been dating for about a year, were back together.

"They care for each other. While Chris is reflective and saddened about what happened, he is really happy to be with the woman he loves," the source told People.

Representatives of Brown, 19, a clean-cut teen artist whose hits include "Run It!", declined comment on the reports. Rihanna's publicist were also not commenting.

Los Angeles prosecutors have yet to decide whether to file charges against Brown after his arrest on February 8 on suspicion of making criminal threats against a woman.

The alleged assault on the eve of the Grammy Awards caused both stars to cancel their scheduled appearances. Brown issued a statement a week after the incident saying he was "sorry and saddened" and seeking counseling.

It's Ike and Tina all over again... Thoughts?

A jest or an insult? EU divided over controversial sculpture

A new art installation that went on display this weekend at the European Council building in Brussels has sparked outrage by lampooning EU member nations.

Commissioned by the Czech Republic, which holds the EU presidency, it was supposed to be a joint artwork by 27 European artists.

Instead, the eight-tonne work, titled Entropa, was created by Czech artist David Cerny and two associates.

It portrays Romania as a Dracula theme park, Luxembourg as a little lump of gold marked "for sale" and Italy as full of soccer players.

France is a hollow covered with a sign reading "on strike," Germany is a network of motorways vaguely resembling a swastika and Britain, which is notoriously ambivalent about the EU, is missing altogether.

Poland's entry mimics the famous photo of U.S. troops raising the American flag at Iwo Jima, with a group of monks erecting the rainbow flag of the gay community.

The whole sculpture resembles a giant model kit, with snap-out features representing each country.

Agence France Presse reports that officials in Brussels found the sculpture quite amusing after it was unveiled this weekend.
But Bulgaria, which was depicted as a toilet, has summoned the Czech ambassador to Sofia to explain.

The Czech government is reviewing what to do about the work and issued a statement blaming the artist, according to Reuters.

"An agreement of the office of the government with the artist clearly stated that this will be a common work of artists from 27 EU states," Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra said in the statement.

"The full responsibility for violating this assignment and this promise lies with David Cerny," he said.

In fact, Cerny presented the work with biographies and co-ordinates of the 27 artists he claimed created the work.

They all proved to be fictional.

"We knew the truth would come out. But before that, we wanted to find out if Europe is able to laugh at itself," Cerny said, acknowledging he had made up the artists' names.

The Czech government says it will make a decision on whether to remove the sculpture by Thursday.

Is this art? is it an insult? What do you think??

The piece does do everything that art should do, provoke reactions from those viewing it... But there's always a limit on how far something can be taken.

Then there's the part about the artist's deception - providing fake biographies of fictional artists and, likely, pocketing the commission which had been intended to proliferate through the arts community. That's a down-right fraud and is shameful reason enough not to display this work of art. His motives (to see if the countries could laugh at themselves) are irrelevant.

But it just an uneasy feeling, with how this supposed artist who acted more like a propaganda-monger, belittling some countries he obviously did not have (well, let's say at heart). In addition this so-called artist was also ultra dishonest making up names and so on and has simply "pooped" on the trust that was bestowed upon him by many. This guy is a fraud!

Having not seen the entire piece, I'd like to know how the artist represented his homeland, the Czech Republic. If he lampooned his home country to the same extent as the others, An argument can be made to keep it. If he omitted the Czech Republic or portrayed it in more of a positive light then the others, then remove the piece all together.

I'm all for artistic license, but it is just insulting to have your country depicted as a toilet, let alone as a series of roads forming a swastika.
I support the artist's right to create and show there work, just as I support the EU's right to put it in the trash bin.

What the EU should do is not pay the "artist" for this work of "art" at all, and return it to him... let him do what he wants with it afterwords, he can hang it up, stare at it, and laugh at it all he wants in his own time and away from everyone else.

Thoughts???

Madonna pulled from YouTube

Madonna's record label is pulling her videos from YouTube.com

Several artists, including Madonna, Led Zeppelin and James Blunt, are seeing their videos vanish from the popular video sharing website (one of my favorites as well!) YouTube, following a dispute between their record company and the site, reports FemaleFirst.

Management at Warner Music has decided to remove the artists' promotional videos, after negotiations failed for a new contract with site's owners regarding downloading rights. "We simply cannot accept terms that fail to appropriately and fairly compensate recording artists, songwriters, labels and publishers for the value they provide," folks at Warner Music stated.

But let's hold up for just a second...Time out! everyone back to there own corners...

Not fairly compensating What the artists, songwriters, labels and publishers provide? What about what the website DOES provide to them? it can be argued that today, more then music videos on MTV/MuchMusic, or the radio... People are turning to the web for information on the newest releases by the artists. Youtube is an invaluable marketing source for the artists, labels and publishers in getting the word out about the newest hits. One of the best things about it? It costs nothing to upload the videos as opposed to buying airtime on the television and radio stations. They are also able to reach a far wider audience through the website then they would have through the television and radio spots (where they would have to hope that people are listening to those particular stations, or are tuned to those particular channels at the time that the videos and songs are airing) With Youtube, people would be coming online looking for them, guaranteeing that the video is seen, and the song is heard.

Instead of arguing with each other, and complaining back and forth, instead recognize that in the 2.0 world that this is the way to now reach there intended audience and embrace it.
Instead of complaining when public users are posting videos of there favorite musicians hottest videos, the artists, labels and publishers need to "beat them to the punch" :

- Have there own account on youtube.com

- Upload the videos on there own when new songs and videos are released, or promotional videos when one is about to come out, create a real buzz about it, give people a taste of the upcoming release.

- Watermark each of there own videos so that people know that this is an official, approved release by the artist / label / publisher.

- promote there other videos and artists through there accounts, as I said before, no real worry about the videos not being seen because people that WANT to see them, WILL come see them!

The same people that are viewing the videos on youtube, are the same people that are going to the concerts, buying the tickets, filling the seats, buying the merchandise, standing in long lines for when there favorite artists are in town for any reason, be it a concert, an autograph signing, or just there!

These fans are what "make" the artists.

They are the ones who decide who's hot, and who's not.

Without these fans buying the tickets, without them filling the seats at the concerts, the merchandise, being at autograph signings... The artist wouldn't have a career, they'd be a bust!

Youtube has kept alive, elongated (and maybe, in some cases, even revived) the careers of some of these artists.

It can be argued (quite strongly) that without youtube, many of these artists's (including some of the ones that are complaining about there music being on the popular website) careers would already be over. Considered a part of the past, With the way entertainment is now, with youth being a really big thing (you may not want to, but you have to admit it, youth rules the industry)

These artists are still around, in part due to the popularity of Youtube.
The fans that have been following them throughout there careers over the years and decades, have continued to follow them, and kept them as popular as ever, online.

You can still find older hits from the artists (arguably there best, or more better work) on youtube.

Youtube is another reason why Elvis, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and so many others still have growing fan bases even today, on the heels of 2009!

But for now... The gloves are off...