After the new show, “X Factor”, underperformed in its first season, Cowell had to release the hosts Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger.

Cowell blames himself, saying that his expectations were unreasonable, and “It’s only because I opened my big mouth and said we were going to get 20 million [viewers]. If I hadn’t said that, everybody would be saying the show was a huge success.”

Cowell told Extra that he would have liked to keep Abdul on the show, but that she is understanding.

The only judge who remains from the original trio is L.A. Reid, because, in the words of Cowell, “There’s not a record executive out there who is as good as him for the job.”

Cowell mentioned Katy Perry, Madonna and Mariah Carey as potential options for new judges, but everything remains in the consideration stage.

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon welcomed twins after Carey gave birth to a boy and girl on Saturday.

Cannon tweeted, “My wife just gave me the most incredible anniversary gift ever in life.” Since the day was the couple’s third wedding anniversary, Cannon thought it was the greatest anniversary gift in the world by tweeting, “I won’t ever be able to top this!”

Many people congratulated them on Twitter too.

Nicki Minaj said, “Congratulations Mariah & Nick!!!!!!!!! The twins have finally landed on earth!!! Yaaayyyyy!!!!! @MariahCarey mmmuuuuaaahhhh!!!!!!”

Jermaine Dupri also tweeted, “CONGRATS!!! to Nick and @mariahcarey,on the birth of a baby girl and boy.”

According to NY Daily News, the baby girl was born first, weighing 5 pounds 3 ounces, and then her brother, 5 pounds, 6 ounces. They don’t have names just yet.

James Blunt is one of the famous world over for hits such as “You’re Beautiful,” “Goodbye My Lover,” “Wisemen,” “Stay The Night,” and “So Far Gone.”

After releasing his third album “Some Kind Of Trouble” and touring Europe from February to April, now he is getting ready for getting back on the road in the United States. Before his US tour starts, Blast got a chance to chat with him and get his unique music has been coming from.

Blast: You released your latest album “Some Kind Of Trouble” in November last year. What inspired you to make this record?

James Blunt: I’m a musician so music is my passion and it’s like how I express myself. It is kind of a means to express myself. The inspiration, you know, is really…it’s about life. It’s about human condition. It is…to be a conscious human being as well as relationships we have, and dependencies we all have in the world.

Blast: So, your whole life inspired you to make the album?

JB: Yeah, you know? It’s all the experiences you have everyday and it’s all the relationships you have everyday, and friendship. And, definitely…. [it’s about a] relationship. That’s why….yeah, you can relate to the songs yourself.

Blast: Why did you name the album “Some Kind Of Trouble”?

JB: Because it’s all about it (trouble) if you know the songs. Some of the trouble is that kind of trouble I would like to be getting into.

Blast: The first single from the album is “Stay The Night.” Bob Marley is credited as a co-writer. How did his music inspire you to write this song?

JB: Well, I just used one of his lines, [where] it says “We’ll share the shelter of my single bed.” But, yeah, I think he is an amazing performer and songwriter so you know, it’s just kind of exciting and would be pretty cool if he should’ve been writing a song with me!

Blast: I love one of the songs in the album called “Turn Me On.” The song sounds really bluesy. What’s the story behind this tune?

JB: Yeah! That’s what I love too and that’s one of my favorites! I wrote this in about 8 hours with my collaborator Eg White. It’s a really honest and favorable expression of, you know, energy of life.

Blast: You released your debut album “Back to Bedlam” in 2005 after Linda Perry discovered you. How did she find you?

JB: She found me at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival.

Blast: Did she reach out to you after that?

JB: Yeah, she came talk to me and gave me a record deal, yada, yada, yada…

Blast: “You’re Beautiful” from the fist album was an international hit. What was your reaction to that at that time?

JB: Yeah, like I said, I’m a musician so it’s kind of, um, helpful. It’s because it gives you time to spend to tour lots. You know, since then, I’m now with all my fans where I tour and that’s been a core incentive of my career.

Blast: I think your music sound has changed a lot since the first album. Did that happen naturally or did you get some new inspiration for the past 6 years?

JB: You know, I’ve been telling on you, to play [acoustic] guitar is just kind of, you know, a cool way of expressing myself but at the same time, it’s a bit limiting. So this time, I just picked up my old electric guitar, [was] hanging out the outside, and making noise! And, these are the songs that I wanted to write.

Blast: Your love songs mostly tell painful sad stories. But they are great because they are very honest and most people can personally relate to your songs. When performing those songs at shows, what’s usually on your mind?

JB: I’m trying just to keep a really honest performance. I’m full of energy in a show and even surprised by the energy shown from everybody, yeah, it’s an exciting concert. I’m just trying to be….I’m just trying to recall inspiration behind a song!

Blast: By opening up your true self and sharing your own experience through music, what message do you try to tell your listeners?

JB: Either way, it’s not a kind of message. I’m just… I have more questions and answers.

Blast: Is that what you try to tell them?

JB: No. I’m not trying to tell anyone, I’m just expressing myself and people can relate and connect to it. That’s something in my own head and touches other people to think and feel the same way.

Blast: You lived in England, Cyprus, and Germany when you were little. And now you live in Ibiza. How does your international life experience influence your music?

JB: Well, I guess, to me, it doesn’t matter what race or religion, what age, or sex or sexuality, the color of skin, or all of those things. I’ve been seeing [that] common human emotions have the same likes and fears.

Blast: You sold your sister on eBay a few years ago. What was happening with that?

JB: Um, you know, if you put some substance to sell, you can make good money from it online.

Blast: Yes, but you don’t want to sell your sister though?

JB: Um, yeah, you can! If you can make money out of it, you might do as well! (Laughs) I have the second sister I’m trying to sell too!

Blast: OK. (Laughs) So, you just finished your Europe tour on the 9^th. How was it?

JB: We had an amazing experience touring Europe and the UK. And, we are getting to the States now. We’ve just got a 3-day break, so that’s what it is now before the US tour. So, I’ve just had a couple of days just to wash my head.

Blast: You will kick off the US tour on the 20^th. What kind of James Blunt can we get to see there?

JB: You know, it will depend on the stage and it’s gonna be full of energy and excitement! It’s gonna have emotional, um, really depends but, highs and lows. [For] some of the sad songs, people might know from the singles but [there will be] emotional and really upbeat energetic tracks too!

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*James Blunt tour dates in the US*

APRIL

20                    Boston, MA                House of Blues

21                    New York, NY            Beacon Theatre

23                    Philadelphia, PA         Tower Theatre

24                    Montreal, QUE           Place Des Artes

26                    Toronto, ONT              Massey Hall

27                    Ann Arbor, MI             Michigan Theatre

28                    Chicago, IL                  Vic Theatre

30                    Denver, CO                  The Fillmore

MAY

3                      San Diego, CA             Humphrey’s

4                      Los Angeles, CA            Wiltern Theatre

5                      San Francisco, CA        Warfield Theatre

6                      Reno, NV                        Silver Legacy

8                      Seattle, WA                    Moore Theatre

Mariah Carey showing off her baby bump is on the new cover of “Life & Style.” Carey is currently eight months pregnant with twins, a baby boy and a girl.

In the interview with the magazine, the singer said, “Now I have so much respect for mothers everywhere, especially those who’ve had difficult pregnancies or given birth to multiples.”

Simon Cowell may be trying to bring Nicki Minaj to the judging crew of his musical talent show “X-Factor.” The Young Money diva might bring her fresh perspective into the judge panel, which might attract a lot of viewers as well.

L.A Reid, former chairman of Def Jam Records, was confirmed as a judge last week.

Also, Mariah Carey might join them as well, mirror.co.uk reported.

The singer is about to leave Universal Music Group and rejoin Sony Music Entertainment, who have close relationships with X Factor. That could make sense because LA Reid is the singer’s former boss and mentor, too.

LA Reid, Nicki Minaj, and Mariah Carey…that would be beyond interesting.

According to New York Times, Antonio “LA” Reid, the chairman and chief executive of the Universal Island Def Jam Music Group at the Universal Music Group, will take a leave from the company to become a judge on “The X Factor,” a British show by Simon Cowell. The American version of this show will begin on Fox in September.

The show is partnering with Sony Music and giving the winner a recording contract worth $5 million.

Reid has a history of signing and producing star talent such as Mariah Carey, P!nk, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Kanye West, Avril Lavigne, Toni Braxton, TLC, Usher, Ciara, OutKast and more.

Yes, it is official. Even though Nick Cannon, Mariah Carey’s husband, was always denying the rumors, he finally said on his 92.3 Rollin’ With Nick Cannon radio show Thursday morning, “We are having twins.”

And he revealed the main reason why he suddenly ended up admitting the rumors.

He talked about some unexpected story that while performing at TNT’s Christmas in Washington 2010 on Sunday, Carey ran into President Barak Obama and first lady Michelle Obama backstage. Cannon said on the raido, “They, ironically enough, questioned my wife about, you know, ‘So, what are you having, are you having twins?’And at this point she hadn’t told anybody anything because doctors advised us to keep it to ourselves until we get further along. And because of the excitement, because of the emotion, she was overwhelmed (and) she shared with the president and first lady that we are having twins.”

So, obviously everyone was very curious about their babies.

I went to see "Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push,’ by Sapphire," the buzz-worthy film with the terrible title with a certain amount of trepidation. The novel is a tale of woe which buries its protagonist, Claireece "Precious" Jones, in layers of torment and abuse. She’s a morbidly obese black teenager living in the projects in Harlem. She’s been raped repeatedly by her father, eventually giving birth to two of his children. Her mother, who’s defrauding welfare, sexually, physically and emotionally abuses her. She’s illiterate. She’s traumatized. She’s friendless. She’s been kicked out of school.

How do you visually craft a story that has such ugliness, cruelty and melodramatic arc in a way that doesn’t exploit the very people it seeks to uplift? How do you talk about poor urban life in a way that keeps your actors off the soap box? I admit it readers; I thought it was pretty much impossible.

I was unbelievably, gloriously proven wrong.

"Precious," directed by Lee Daniels, and produced by the reigning king and queen of African-American film culture Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey, is not a message movie. It’s not trying to jerk tears out of its audience, or paint its main character as an infant by making her a victim. In short, it’s not doing what years of mainstream Hollywood film making has done to the depiction of urban poor. It is a movie about one young woman’s struggle to survive within the villainy and horror around her. Precious, as played by Gabourey Sadibe, is fierce and breathtakingly fragile. After being assaulted by her mother, we hear her slightly mopey, gravelly voice-over: "I cried today… But fuck that day. That’s why God makes new days."

And what a mother she has. The comedian Mo’Nique brilliantly plays Mary as a roiling, semi-psychotic pool of anger, jealousy and ignorance. She views her daughter as a sexual rival. She berates the girl for what seems like hours or days. Even when she’s just watching TV, her eyes are mean and small, flicking back and forth, looking for something, or someone to blame for the imagined slights against her. Mary is something out of a nightmare, except in your deepest heart you know that there really are women like this in the world.

Mary is juxtaposed by other people who come into Precious’s life, in a series of terrific performances. After the girl gets kicked out of school, she is referred by her principal to a special program meant to help illiterate teenagers get their GED. The class is run by a goddess-like woman named Blu Rain (the wonderful Paula Patton), and the scenes that take place in Ms. Rain’s classroom are a kind of paradise that punctuate the Hell that awaits Precious in her mother’s filthy apartment. Mariah Carey (yes, that Mariah Carey) is unrecognizable as a dowdy, exhausted social worker, and Lenny Kravitz plays the nicest nurse in the whole wide world. Even her fellow students get lovingly rendered personalities. All these people are woven seamlessly into Precious’s life.

The camera is occasionally a little too on-the-nose with the hand-held documentary style. In the better moments, however, it lingers on the people and places. It slides, liquid-like over body parts of the women who dominate the story; lips, nicotine-stained fingers, the soft curvature of hips and breasts. It manages to turn the ugliest sites — the filthy diner down the street, the cold loft building where Ms. Rain has class, the faceless apartment building where Precious lives — into something captivating and even beautiful.

Perhaps the most heart-rending thing about "Precious" is that Sadibe is most likely doomed to the one-night-only style of stardom. She will without a doubt be nominated for her role (as she should be). She might even win. But after that, what kind of work is there for an obese black woman in Hollywood? Hell, what kind of work is there for any black woman in Hollywood? When African-American film is still considered a niche market, when black women are either the standard sassy sidekicks or harping housewives, my greatest fear is that Sadibe’s grace, presence and, yes, beauty, will be put aside.

Miraculously, Daniels appears to understand the need for balance between the horror that is Precious’s life and the small joys and victories that keep her going. Precious does not get a fairy tale ending by any stretch of the imagination: the road ahead of her will be hard. She very well may not make it. But those tiny victories are enough to sustain her — enough to keep her alive. And those moments are precious indeed.

Research from security firm McAfee shows that some celebrities are just dangerous to Google and search for around the web because of the litany of fake websites out there that try to infect your computer with viruses and malicious code as you innocently seek out wallpaper and screensavers of your favs.

Brad Pitt leads the pack on a list that includes Jessica Alba and‚ Katherine Heigl.

“Fans searching for “Brad Pitt,” “Brad Pitt downloads,” and Brad Pitt wallpaper, screen savers and pictures have an 18% chance of having their PCs infected with online threats, such as spyware, spam, phishing, adware, viruses and other malware,” McAfee said. “Cybercriminals are using A-listers’ names and images, like Beyoncƒ© and Justin Timberlake, to lure Internet users who surf the Web for the latest gossip, screen savers and ringtones to “fake” Web sites that look legitimate.”

The list includes:

1. Brad Pitt – When “Brad Pitt screensavers” was searched, more than half of the resulting Web sites were identified as containing malicious downloads with spyware, adware and potential viruses.

2. Beyoncƒ© – Inputting “Beyoncƒ© ringtones” into a search engine yields risky Web sites that promote misleading offers to gather consumers’ personal information.

3. Justin Timberlake – Interest in his high-profile relationships makes him an easy target for spammers and hackers. When searching for “Justin Timberlake downloads” one Web site advertised free music downloads that were flagged as directly leading to spam, spyware and adware.

4. Heidi Montag – “The Hills” star is a popular search term when it comes to searching for wallpaper. A host of wallpaper Web sites contained hundreds of malware-laden downloads.

5. Mariah Carey – Spammers and hackers are using Mariah Carey screen saver Web sites to link to other sites proven to contain spyware, adware and other threatening downloads.

6. Jessica Alba – Red-ranked risky sites were identified when searching for “Jessica Alba” and “Jessica Alba downloads.” The sites contained hundreds of malicious downloads, links to other bad sites, misleading offers to gather information, and a high number of spam emails when an email address was provided.

7. Lindsay Lohan – This young Hollywood starlet is as dangerous to search online as she is famous. Searching for “Lindsay Lohan downloads” resulted in several dangerous Web sites laden with hidden adware.

8. Cameron Diaz – Cybercriminals use download Web sites related to Cameron Diaz’s image to link to other harmful sites containing spyware.

9. George Clooney, Rihanna – The technology found one Web site embedded with hundreds of dangerous wallpaper and photo downloads after inputting “George Clooney downloads.” “Rihanna pictures” was also a risky search term, as McAfee identified a site that spammed its test email address.

11. Angelina Jolie – When “Angelina Jolie downloads” was searched, the software highlighted a risky site with 978 hidden malware-infected wallpaper and photo downloads, as well as links to other potentially dangerous URLs.

12. Fergie – A Fergie screen saver site was flagged as offering 111 risky downloads that could seriously compromise a PC’s privacy with unwanted spyware and adware.

13. David Beckham, Katie Holmes – The “David Beckham” search term generated a great deal of wallpaper and screen saver downloads veiled with malware. Consumers should also exercise caution when searching for “Katie Holmes” online – one download site advertised free screen savers that, if downloaded, would infect your computer with malicious programs like spyware.

15. Katherine Heigl – Hollywood’s big headliner in recent years is now susceptible to Internet lurkers too. “Katherine Heigl” was searched and a site was identified containing hundreds of malware-infected pictures.

‚ ”Cybercriminals employ numerous methods, yet one of the simplest but most effective ways is to trick consumers into infecting themselves by capitalizing on Americans’ interest in celebrity gossip,” said Jeff Green, senior vice president of McAfee’s Product Development and Avert Labs. “Tapping into current events, pop culture or commonly browsed sites is an easy way to achieve this. And because of Americans’ obsession with following celebrities’ lifestyles, they are an obvious target. We have to take precautions in casually navigating the Web since many subtle sites may be rife with malware for consumers’ computers.”

The list was compiled using McAfee SiteAdvisor, which can be downloaded for free at‚ www.mcafee.com/siteadvisor.