BEYONCE STUNNINGLY ADDRESS HER LIP-SYNCING CONTROVERSY _ In New Orleans, Beyonce opened Thursday's press conference about the Super Bowl halftime show with a performance of the national anthem and finished by asking, "Any questions?" Her rhetorical question was in response to her lip-syncing controversy that surfaced after she performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Barack Obama's presidential inauguration. Despite the a cappella opening, media prodded Beyonce to answer whether any sound came out of her vocal cords during her inauguration performance earlier this month. "Typically, they have you sing a pre-recorded track, so I did sing along with the pre-recorded track," she said, noting that she didn't have time to practice with the U.S. Marine Band.
... The Marine Corps Band confirms that there was "no opportunity for Ms. Knowles-Carter to rehearse with the Marine Band before the Inauguration so it was determined that a live performance by the band was ill-advised for such a high-profile event."
... Beyonce said she will "absolutely be singing live" at the Super Bowl halftime show.
VANESSA WILLIAMS: I LIP-SYNCED AT THE 1996 SUPER BOWL _ Vanessa Williams said Thursday that she too lip-synced the national anthem when she performed at the 1996 Super Bowl, which some have called one of the top renditions ever. Vanessa explained: "Whitney [Houston] had done hers before me and the network wants you to pre-record, so you pre-record with your orchestra. You lay down the track. Then when it’s time to perform you lip sync, because you’ve got flyovers with the jets, you’ve got pyrotechnics behind you and you want to make sure that the sound is consistent. And that’s what the network asks of you. So, there’s no 'Can she sing it? Can she not? Is it live or is it not?' There’s no way you’re gonna get a live orchestra on the field at the same time and that’s part of what they want as a network."
SUPER BOWL MOVIE ADS _ Super Bowl Sunday is fast approaching and that means new movie trailers. Word is there will be six this year: our first look at Fast and Furious 6, new ones for Star Trek Into Darkness and World War Z, and three from Disney: Iron Man 3, The Lone Ranger, and Oz The Great And Powerful.
NEW RED CARPET "TELL-ALL" BOOK _ There's a new celebrity "tell-all" book from a guy who's escorted famous people down red carpets. Sounds exciting, doesn't it? Christopher Gaida's new book Arm Candy: A Celebrity Escort’s Tales From The Red Carpet reveals shocking gossip like:
-- Helping calm down Megan Fox at the 2007 Teen Choice Awards when she allegedly “freaked out” backstage.
-- Walking three feet in front of Sharon Stone and not looking back per her request at the 1999 VH1 Vogue Fashion Awards.
-- Remaining calm while Julia Roberts yelled at him at the 2000 GQ Men of the Year Awards. When he meet Julia again ten years later, she apologized.
TRACY MORGAN AND FIANCEE EXPECTING FIRST BABY TOGETHER _ Tracy Morgan and his fiancée Megan Wollover are expecting their first child together. It will be the comedian’s fourth child.
DONALD FAISON AND WIFE EXPECTING BABY _ Donald Faison and CaCee Cobb are expecting a baby. Cobb tweeted on Thursday, "Looks like @donald_faison and I r going to have a little stormtrooper of our own!" along with a photo of a light blue T-shirt with a small Star Wars figure on it. Faison -- who starred on the sitcom Scrubs -- is a huge Star Wars fan. Cobb and Faison got married in December at the home of his Scrubs co-star, Zach Braff.
LINDSAY LOHAN FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST FASHION BOSSES _ Lindsay Lohan has filed a lawsuit against her former fashion label collaborators, accusing them of selling products under her leggings brand without her permission. The troubled actress claims bosses at D.N.A.M. Apparel Industries have continued to design and sell products under the 6126 Collection banner without her input -- and they haven’t offered her a cut of the profits. She also alleges they failed to expand the line to include swimwear and other apparel, as agreed when the deal was first signed. Lindsay's seeking at least $1 million in royalties for breach of contract, and fraud and trademark infringement.
GERALDO RIVERA CONSIDERING RUN FOR SENATE _ Geraldo Rivera says he's thinking about running for Senate. Geraldo told his radio audience that he had contacted local GOP officials in New Jersey, where he is considering a run for office in the next election cycle in 2014.
SPEIDI SAYS THEY SPENT $10 MILLION ASSUMING THE MAYAN APOCALYPSE WAS REAL _Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt are coming up with a new way to try to be relevant. They claim that they spent $10 million dollars believing the Mayan Apocalypse was drawing near. Spencer says, "We made and spent at least 10 million dollars. The thing is, we heard that the planet was going to end in 2012. We thought, we have got to spend this money before the asteroid hits."
