Taylor Swift Dominates "Billboard" Music Awards with Eight Wins

Posted today at 7:07am

Sara De Boer/STARTRAKS PHOTO via ABC(LAS VEGAS) -- Taylor Swift's night at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas was a success. She led all artists at the Sunday-night ceremony with eight wins, including top artist and top Billboard 200 album, for Red.

During her top artist acceptance speech, Swift thanked her fans for making her music about her crazy emotions the soundtrack to their own crazy emotions. She added that her relationship with her fans was the longest and best relationship she's ever had.

Swift found out she won the top Billboard 200 album category when fans in the mosh pit held up smartphones that spelled out the album title, RED, in big letters. She said, "I'm really happy about this" and went on to thank her fans for the "magical" award.

Swift also delivered one of the more memorable performances of the night, singing her hit "22" in an elaborate production that began backstage and featured several dancers, a bicycle ride and plenty of red balloons.

Click here to see photos of the stars on the red carpet.

Rihanna and Gotye each received four awards. Several artists, including Justin Bieber, picked up three.

Bieber made a bid for musical relevance while accepting the first-ever Milestone Award for musical ingenuity and innovation.

During his acceptance speech, Bieber took the opportunity to address all the tabloid headlines saying, "I'm 19 years old. I think I'm doing a pretty good job, and basically, from my heart, it should be about the music and the craft that I'm making it."

He added, "This is not a gimmick. I'm an artist, and I should be taken seriously, and all this bull should not be spoken of."

Bieber also accepted the top male artist award from Miley Cyrus. Her new song, "We Can't Stop," comes out on June 3.

Prince closed out the night performing a rocked out version of his classic "Let's Go Crazy" backed by his all female band, 3rdEyeGirl. The Purple One, who received the Billboard icon award, was dressed in a fringe jacket and wore his hair in an afro. It was the first full-on rock performance of the show, and he went into the new song, "FIXURLIFEUP," after an extended guitar and bass solo.

Here's a rundown of the rest of the night's performances and winners:

The Performances:

Bruno Mars kicked off the night with a finely choreographed performance of "Treasure." Mars' set looked like it was lifted from classic Soul Train footage with its multiple disco balls and gold flashing lights. Mars worked the stage with him and his band all wearing matching '70s-inspired, red suits.

Selena Gomez heated things up performing a Middle Eastern-inspired dance routine as she sang "Come and Get It." Gomez returned later to introduce Swift's performance of "22."

Swift kicked the song off singing in her dressing room before continuing the performance with a choreographed romp through the backstage area. An entire crew of dancers, showgirls and masked men accompanied Swift as she entered the arena on the back of a bicycle during the second verse. She then took the stage to finish the song out with a dance remix breakdown of the song as red balloons rained down on the crowd.

Country star Jennifer Nettles was on hand to introduce The Band Perry's performance of their number one country hit, "Better Dig Two," which featured a dramatic laser light show. The sibling trio broke it down towards the end with all three members playing individual drums in synch before returning to the chorus.

Carly Rae Jepsen introduced new Swedish pop duo Icona Pop to sing their debut U.S. hit, "I Love It." Psy and host Tracy Morgan had a dance off before Chris Brown hit the stage for a performance of "Fine China." Brown's Chinese-inspired set and costuming were accented by a martial arts-style dance breakdown. Brown even tapped Michael Jackson's former guitar player, Orianthi, to play as he closed the performance with moves reminiscent of Jackson's classic "Billie Jean" routine.

Nashville's Hayden Panettiere introduced Macklemore & Ryan Lewis singing "Thrift Shop" live from the Tryst nightclub at Wynn Las Vegas. Country duo Florida Georgia Line introduced fellow country newcomer Kacey Musgraves' acoustic performance of her debut hit, "Merry Go 'Round."

Bieber emerged from an airplane cockpit to sing and dance his way through "Take You," the song his fans chose via Twitter for him to perform. Bieber returned to perform "That Power" with will.i.am from Will's new album #Willpower.

Ke$ha introduced Pitbull and Christina Aguilera's performance of "Feel This Moment," which includes a sample of the '80s hit "Take on Me" by Norwegian band A-ha. A-ha actually showed up to sing a chorus of the original song to close it out. Pitbull returned later for his latest collaboration with Jennifer Lopez, "Live It Up."

Miguel crooned his breakthrough hit "Adorn" behind a screen projecting evocative images to go along with the sexy song. Once the screen went up, Miguel danced around the smoke-filled stage and even jumped over the fans in the mosh pit to the catwalk, accidentally landing on top of one girl and kicking another in the head.

Ed Sheeran turned in an intimate, solo performance of "Lego House" from the arena's b-stage. David Guetta, Ne-Yo and Akon transformed the MGM Grand into a giant rave with their high-energy performance of "Play Hard," and Nicki Minaj gave Lil Wayne a full-on lap dance during their performance of "High School."

The Winners:

Vegas headliner Shania Twain noted how odd it was that she was presenting the evening's first trophy, top rap artist. Minaj took that award and admitted she didn't expect to win it in her acceptance speech.

Will.i.am confessed his favorite Madonna song is "Like a Virgin" before introducing Madonna herself to accept the top touring artist award for her blockbuster MDNA tour. An extended highlights reel of the show, including a shot of Madonna's bare backside, aired before she took the stage. She joked that it took longer to negotiate whether she could show her bottom in that trailer than it took to rehearse for the actual tour. Madonna took off what she called her "pretentious sunglasses" to thank a few key people in her touring organization, her four children and her fans.

Avril Lavigne and Alyssa Milano presented the digital song award to Jepsen for "Call Me Maybe," which has sold seven million downloads.

Kid Rock got a jab in at people lip-synching to pre-recorded music on the show before presenting the top rap song award to "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. Macklemore thanked Goodwill and Value Village for the win.

Kelly Rowland and Austin Mahone handed the top EDM artist award to Guetta. Fun. took the top rock artist award, and Psy's "Gangnam Style" won honors for top streaming video. Rihanna was named top radio artist, and One Direction won new artist honors.

For a full list of winners, go to Billboard.com.

"Dancing with the Stars" Finals Begin Monday Night

Posted today at 4:25am

ABC/Adam Taylor(LOS ANGELES) -- This week, a new Dancing with the Stars champion will be crowned.

The finals begin Monday night with the four remaining couples -- Jacoby Jones and Karina Smirnoff, Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough, Aly Raisman and Mark Ballas, and Zendaya and Val Chmerkovskiy -- stepping onto the dance floor to perform three times.

First, the duos will have to repeat a dance style as chosen by the judges. Next, the couples will take part in a "cha cha relay," in which they each dance to a different section of the same song. Finally, the pairs will participate in a "supersized freestyle."

Zendaya isn't lacking in confidence; she says she knew from the get-go that she would advance this far into the competition.

The Disney star tells ABC News Radio, "I've always kind of thought I'm here to the end. I'm going to work hard, and it's always been in my thought process."

Olympic gold-medal-winning gymnast Aly Raisman suggests she's just happy to be in the finals.

She comments, "I just really, really wanted to make it to the finals. You know, this competition is so tough. It's going to be a very, very tough final."

Super Bowl-winning football player Jacoby Jones isn't satisfied with his performance yet. He has his eyes on the prize: "I want the trophy. It is a competition at the end of the day, and I am competitive."

Kellie Pickler undoubtedly wants the Mirror Ball trophy, too, but if she does take it, it will have come at a price.

The country singer laments, "My legs are sore. My calf is, we have to do the quickstep this week. That dance is exhausting. My legs, they're like overcooked noodles where they're just like, they're going to collapse at any minute."

The performance show airs Monday on ABC at 8 p.m. Eastern time. The Mirror Ball trophy will be awarded Tuesday night, at the end of a two-hour results show.

Are Kelly Rowland and Paulina Rubio Joining "The X Factor"?

Posted today at 4:23am

Laura Cavanaugh/FilmMagic(LOS ANGELES) -- Has Simon Cowell found two new judges for The X Factor? TMZ.com is reporting that Kelly Rowland is in final negotiations to join the panel of the Fox singing competition, which currently has two vacancies due to the departures of Britney Spears and L.A. Reid.

The one-time Destiny's Child member served as a judge on the British version of The X Factor in 2011.

The website further reports that Mexican singer Paulina Rubio is also close to joining the U.S. X Factor. Both artists reportedly will finalize their deals as early as Monday. The Hollywood Reporter adds that the two should be on board by Tuesday, when auditions will be taped in Charleston, S.C.

If Rowland and Rubio are indeed added to the show, they would sit alongside Cowell and Demi Lovato, who's returning for her second season.

The X Factor will be back on Fox this fall.

"All-Star Celebrity Apprentice" Recap: Trace Adkins Wins

Posted today at 4:18am

Virginia Sherwood/NBC(NEW YORK) -- The All-Star Apprentice's finale aired on NBC Sunday night, and the ultimate ice cream showdown was appropriately a split.

While Donald Trump declared "Maple Macadamia Mashup" creator Trace Adkins the first-ever All-Star Celebrity Apprentice champion, Penn Jillette earned his charity a hundred thousand dollars from Walgreens for having the best-selling flavor -- his "Vanilla Chocolate Magic Swirtle."

Tied into their flavors, the two contestants presented their commercials during a star-studded ice cream social in which they took big dollar donations from their friends.

While Team Trace raked in big checks from the likes of country music stars like Billy Ray Cyrus, and Wynonna, and NASCAR driver Tony Stewart, Jillette used his Sin City connections to attract money from Vegas performers like Wayne Newton, Blue Man Group, former American Idol winner Taylor Hicks.

In the end, it was revealed that Jillette earned $503,655, while Adkins earned $664,000 -- however, donor Tim Tebow showed up past a deadline, meaning his $100,000 donation didn't count towards Trace's bottom line.

Both presentations also featured a live performance -- magic from Penn & Teller, and music from Adkins, playing his hit "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk," which he called the, "nastiest song ever heard at an ice cream social."

The country star also performed "Not Fade Away" for which Gary Busey reprised his Oscar nominated role as Buddy Holly, and the competitors came together to play Adkins' new single "Love Will" with Adkins on vocals, and Jillette on bass.

Trump gave Lil Jon a hundred thousand dollar check for his charity, the American Diabetes Association, in honor of the recording artist's mother, who recently died from complications of the disease. The rapper was moved to tears behind his trademark giant sunglasses.

Trump also doled out $20,000 checks to the respective charities for the stars who hadn't won any money for them during the season, including Busey and Dennis Rodman.

In a tweet before the show's finale aired, the real estate mogul hinted, "The cast for next season looks really good!"

Bill Hader Says Goodbye to "Saturday Night Live"

Posted today at 4:10am

Dana Edelson/NBC(NEW YORK) -- Bill Hader bade farewell to Saturday Night Live over the weekend with one final appearance from his signature character, Stefon.

For the season finale of the NBC sketch comedy show, the "city correspondent" joined Seth Meyers and guest anchor and ex-SNL star Amy Poehler at the "Weekend Update" desk. Eventually Stefon declared that Meyers does not respect him and that he was running away to marry someone who does.

With some prompting from Poehler, Meyers ran after Stefon, discovering him at the altar of a church with Anderson Cooper. It was basically a spoof of The Graduate -- aside from the fact that the wedding guests included ALF, the Smurfs, and an assortment of other random fictional characters.

Hader also appeared in the final sketch, which signaled the possible end of Fred Armisen's run on SNL. The two, along with Jason Sudeikis -- also rumored to be leaving the show -- and Taran Killam, resurrected their fake British rock band The Bizarros for a performance featuring guests such as Armisen's Portlandia co-star Carrie Brownstein and the Sex Pistols' Steve Jones.

Armisen opened the performance by saying, "Well, look it's our last night here." Hader added, "But we're going to keep playing together."

The season finale was hosted by Ben Affleck, who in his monologue poked fun at the fact that, while accepting the best picture Oscar for Argo this year, he referred to how he and his wife Jennifer Garner were "working" on their marriage. The actress herself joined him on stage as they attempted to clarify the comment.

Garner said she wasn't sure why Affleck shared his thoughts on their marriage to a billion Oscar viewers worldwide, noting that she would've called their relationship "a gift," not "work."

Affleck then said, "I want to tell you how I wish I had ended that speech, OK? I couldn’t do any of the things I do without you, without your support. You’re my angel, my life, and my world.”

Garner then pointed out that he was reading off of a cue card.

Affleck told his wife he loved her. She responded by kissing him and saying, "You're a lot of work."

Kanye West was the musical guest, performing two new songs.

Report: Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson Split

Posted today at 3:58am

Ian Gavan/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) -- Kristen Stewart has reason to frown these days. She and her boyfriend, Twilight co-star Robert Pattinson, have broken up.

This is according to People magazine, which cites an unnamed source who also says it would not be surprising if Stewart and Pattinson eventually reconciled.

In a separate People report, an insider is quoted as saying, "Kristen has been in a terrible mood, and it was obvious that things were not great with Rob."

The magazine notes that Stewart did not attend a 27th-birthday celebration for Pattinson at his home on May 13. A source says, "For the past few days, they have not spent any time together."

Us Weekly adds that the two had been "fighting a lot" prior to Pattinson's birthday.

Stewart and Pattinson have dated for more than three years, aside from a brief split last summer, when Stewart revealed that she'd had an affair with her married Snow White and the Huntsman director, Rupert Sanders.

Star Trek: Into Darkness Tops Weekend Box Office

Posted yesterday at 1:13pm

Zade Rosenthal/Paramount Pictures(NEW YORK) -- Spock beat Stark this weekend at the box office, as Star Trek: Into Darkness took the top spot from Iron Man 3.

The second installment of director J.J. Abrams re-booted Star Trek franchise opened on 3,868 IMAX and traditional movie screens across the country in both and 3D and 2D.

Since its opening on Thursday to Sunday the flick has brought in over $90 million, the highest of any movie in the franchise. Adams’ 2009 Star Trek had a weekend debut of $79.2 million.

In third place, The Great Gatsby continues to outperform expectations, offering moviegoers an alternative to the sci-fi and superheroics of the top two films.

Here are the top 10 movies from Friday through Sunday, with estimated ticket sales, according to Hollywood.com:

01    Star Trek: Into Darkness $70.555M
02    Iron Man 3 $35.182M
03    The Great Gatsby $23.415M
04    Pain & Gain $3.1M
05    The Croods $2.75M
06    42 $2.73M
07    Oblivion $2.22M
08    Mud $2.16M
09    Tyler Perry Presents: Peeples $2.15M
10    The Big Wedding $1.1M

'Scandal' Star Kerry Washington Shares Memories From Her College Years

Posted yesterday at 12:19pm

ABC/CRAIG SJODIN(WASHINGTON) -- Kerry Washington may have taken television by storm, playing crisis manager Olivia Pope on ABC's Scandal, but she joked Sunday that she is still haunted by being cast as a frog in a college musical.

"It was not my lifetime dream role to play a frog. In fact, the thought of it terrified me," Washington said in a commencement speech Sunday at her alma mater, George Washington University.

It was Washington's junior year when she was cast as a frog in the musical Croak, or The Last Frog, depicting the journey of Cassandra, the last frog on earth.

As a presidential scholar for the arts, Washington said, she was required to audition for every production at the school in order to keep her scholarship. After being cast in the show, Washington said she took the challenge head-on and spent hours watching frogs, reading about frogs and holding frogs.

"I crossed the threshold into unknown territory," she said with a laugh, adding that of all the roles she has played as an actress, it was still her father's favorite.

The "Scandal" star graduated from George Washington University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts and was named an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts at Sunday’s commencement ceremony.

Washington, whose character on Scandal, Olivia Pope, is having a steamy affair with the president, joked that graduates were probably thinking they were celebrating their achievements "with that lady who is having an affair with the president on that television show."

"In real life, I'm just an actor. I play pretend. I tell stories," Washington said. "So bear with me because that is what I am going to do."

During her four years at George Washington University, Washington designed her own interdisciplinary major, taking acting classes, but also focusing on anthropology, sociology, and psychology.

She recalled "a lot of sleepless nights" and "more than a few drinks" at a bar near campus during her college years.

Since her graduation, Washington has catapulted onto Hollywood's A-list and has scooped up awards for her performances on Scandal and in the movies Ray and Django Unchained.

In 2009, she was named to the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, and last year delivered a speech at the Democratic National Convention.

Washington, who has carved out a unique path in Hollywood, urged graduates to do the same, wherever their dreams lead them.

"Your life is your story and the adventure ahead of you is the journey to fulfill your own purpose and potential," she said.

And for those students with stories that would translate onto the big screen, Washington joked she would be calling to option the rights, because "I am so Hollywood now."

Dwayne Wade Attends High School Senior Prom

Posted yesterday at 12:08pm

Ingram Publishing/Thinkstock(MIAMI) -- A Florida high school senior got a huge surprise Friday night when basketball star Dwayne Wade surprised her at her senior prom.

Nicole Muxo, a senior at Archbishop Colman Carroll High in Miami, posted a YouTube video in April inviting the Miami Heat basketball star to her prom, even sending him a Tweet with the address of the prom in Coral Gables.

Wade decided to show up, calling her at the start of the prom to wish her well - without telling her he was actually there. He said it was fun to suddenly appear, upstaging her actual date.

“To be talking to her on the phone and then um to be able to walk in and see her reaction was awesome,” he recounted later.

Wade had a dance with Muxo, mingled with her family and posed for lots of photos.

“This was definitely the highlight of my senior year,” Muxo said.

Zachary Quinto On Coming Out: I Just Did ItNo One Knew

Posted yesterday at 8:24am

ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- When Zachary Quinto, who plays Spock in Star Trek Into Darkness, came out publicly that he is gay, he gave no warning to his friends, family or publicists.

“I didn’t tell anyone I was going to do it so no one had a chance to [give me advice],” said Quinto in an interview with movie critic Peter Travers on ABC’s Popcorn. “I just did it. No one in my life knew.”

The star’s high-profile ‘coming out’ two years ago, which preceded others like NBA player Jason Collins, seems to have help undermine the prejudice that publicly gay actors won’t be accepted by audiences in straight film roles.

Quinto said he has experienced no adverse effects in his career in the aftermath of his announcement, and thinks people are more accepting of homosexuals and marriage equality than they were a few years ago.

“I felt supported at the time in a really profound way, by fans and people that just know me by my work,” he said. “I think I’m in a really good place.”

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New Teaser Trailer for "Anchorman 2" Hits the Web

Posted Saturday afternoon

Photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) -- Paramount Pictures released a new teaser trailer for the highly-anticipated sequel to the 2004 film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy on Saturday.

Anchorman: The Legend Continues is currently being filmed in New Orleans, and is tabbed for a December release.

The teaser, just over one minute long, features the movie's stars, Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd and David Koechner on a lighted stage. In a similar vain to the previous teaser, the actors, all in character improvise a handful of one-liners.

"Billboard" Music Awards Air Live from Vegas Sunday

Posted Saturday morning

(LAS VEGAS) -- Star-studded collaborations are on tap for Sunday night's Billboard Music Awards, airing live on ABC from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Fans will see solo artists like Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars perform, of course, but they'll also enjoy some musical collaborations during the telecast, which starts at 8 p.m. ET.

Justin Bieber is actually doing double duty Sunday night: he'll sing his song "Take You" solo, and then team up with Will.i.am for their collaboration, "#thatpower." Pitbull is also doing double duty: he'll perform "Live It Up" with Jennifer Lopez, as well as "Feel This Moment" with Christina Aguilera and an unannounced "special guest." We're betting that special guest will be A-ha, the Norwegian '80s pop group whose song "Take On Me" is sampled in "Feel This Moment."

Other collaborations include David Guetta, Ne-Yo & Akon, who'll perform the song "Play Hard," and Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne, who'll perform "High School."

Solo performers on the show include Swift and Bruno Mars -- debuting his new single "Treasure" -- as well as Ed Sheeran, Selena Gomez, Chris Brown, Miguel, The Band Perry, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Icona Pop and even music legend Prince, who will receive the Billboard Icon Award during the telecast.

Other stars who'll appear on the show include Madonna, who'll receive a special award for her top-grossing MDNA tour; and presenters Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Ke$ha, Carly Rae Jepsen, Miley Cyrus, PSY, Kid Rock, Cee Lo Green and Alanis Morissette.

As for the actual awards, Taylor, fun. and Maroon 5 are the leading nominees. Because there are so many different Billboard charts, it's impossible to list who's nominated in every single category, but Taylor, fun. and Maroon 5 are finalists in 11 different ones. Taylor and Maroon 5 also are both competing for the night's big honor: Top Artist of the Year. The other nominees in that category are Rihanna, Justin Bieber and One Direction.

Speaking of Rihanna, she's nominated in 10 different categories, while Carly Rae Jepsen's represented in nine, thanks to the success of "Call Me Maybe." One Direction is represented in eight categories.

Here are the nominees in a few of the biggest Billboard Music Awards categories:

Top 100 Song
"Some Nights"
"Somebody That I Used to Know"
"Call Me Maybe"
"Payphone"
"One More Night"

Top Billboard 200 Album
21
Babel
Red
Up All Night
Take Me Home

Top Duo/Group
Coldplay
Maroon 5
fun.
One Direction
Mumford & Sons

Top New Artist
Gotye
Carly Rae Jepsen
The Lumineers
One Direction
PSY

Top Pop Artist
Maroon 5
Bruno Mars
Adele
Justin Bieber
One Direction

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Report: Beyonce Pregnant; Blue Ivy Becoming a Big Sister

Posted Friday evening

James Devaney/WireImage(NEW YORK) -- If the reports are correct, Beyonce's having another baby. Multiple sources have confirmed to E! that the singer is pregnant.

ABC News has reached out to reps for both Bey and her husband, Jay-Z, for comment; so far, there's been no response.

Rumors that they are expecting their second child began swirling earlier this month when Beyonce showed up to the Met Gala in New York City wearing a belly-concealing Givenchy gown. The buzz intensified when the singer postponed a Belgium concert earlier this week, with her publicist citing "dehydration and exhaustion."

If the news of Beyonce's pregnancy is true, then the timing might come as a bit of a surprise, what with her Mrs. Carter Show world tour under way. Then again, Beyonce revealed in an exclusive interview with ABC a couple of weeks ago that she "would like more children," explaining that she thinks her daughter, Blue Ivy, "needs some company."

Well, now it looks like a new sibling may be coming to Blue, who was born January of last year.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio