Fan Fare
Entertainment behind the scenes
from UK News:
Raging against the X Factor machine
Simon Cowell says the Internet campaign to keep X factor winner Joe McElderry from the coveted Christmas No. I spot is aimed at him rather than the type of music the show produces.
He calls the campaign stupid.
But critics of the show loathe what they call the "karaoke" of X Factor and thousands have backed the push to get an anti-establishment track by American rockers Rage Against the Machine up into the top slot next week.
The band's guitarist Tom Morello told the BBC: "I think people are just fed-up of being spoonfed some overblown sugary ballad that sits on top of the charts. It’s a little dose of anarchy for the holidays, it’s good for the soul.”
It's good for Sony too, analysts have noted, since both records are on its label.
Kanye West death hoax hits the Web
Kanye West is alive and well, despite an Internet hoax suggesting that the rap star died in a Los Angeles car crash on Tuesday.
A fake story was circulated via e-mail and on social networking websites saying that West was killed in a collision that left a second person injured, a third arrested for manslaughter and a fourth person detained by police.
Gwyneth tells us: “Make your life good”
Gwyneth Paltrow might be wishing she had never ventured into the world of online lifestyle advice.
Her new site, goop.com, has irritated commentators on both sides of the Atlantic who say that the pearls of wisdom she shares with us are, at best, rather general, and at worst downright smug.
