Julianne Hough

Adorably bubbly, blue-eyed and blond, with a body like a bursting stick of dynamite, singer and dancer Julianne Hough joined ABC’s Dancing with the Stars as a professional and remained with the show for three seasons, winning once each with partners Apolo Ohno and Hélio Castroneves. In those two seasons alone, Julianne Hough led her partners to nine perfect scores.

Not yet 21 years old, this highly accomplished performer has now turned her boundless energy and cheer team optimism toward a career in country music. Her self-titled debut album was released in 2008.

We will miss seeing Julianne Hough on Dancing with the Stars. Her personal pyrotechnics never failed to dazzle us on the dance floor, but if country music is her destiny, we wish her the best. Any way we look at it, Julianne Hough belongs in our spotlight.

M.I.A.,

Born as Mathangi Arulpragasam in London, England in 1977, singer-songwriter and visual artist M.I.A. spent her childhood in her parents' native Sri Lanka after her father moved the family there so he could support the Tamil independence movement. Much of her lyrical content and visual graphics are influenced by the political struggles she witnessed both as a child, and later, as a refugee on a South London council estate following her mother's return to England.

 She began exhibiting her paintings in 2001, before recording a demo tape of her tunes in her bedroom. XL Recordings issued her debut album Arular in 2005, followed by Kala in 2007. The single "Paper Planes" benefited from its inclusion in trailers for Pineapple Express, as it became a Top 5 hit in the U.S. during the summer of 2008.M.I.A. began 2008 on a high note, as her critically acclaimed sophomore album, Kala, was selected as one of the best albums of 2007 in many prominent year-end surveys, including being named Album of the Year by both Rolling Stone and Blender.

M.I.A. created the N.E.E.T. record label and also modeled for Marc Jacobs this past year. "Paper Planes" became a phenomenon, bounding up Billboard's Singles chart to No. 4. In addition to its appearance in Pineapple Express, it was also heard in Hancock and Slumdog Millionaire, and it made it to No. 1 on TRL. The L.A. Dodgers borrowed the track as their victory song, and Rihanna sang it in concert as well. To cap it all off, "Paper Planes" earned her a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year in December. M.I.A. and fiancé Benjamin Brewer are expecting their first child in 2009.

Leona Lewis Biography

At the BRIT School in London, Leona Lewis excelled on the guitar and piano, and was writing songs by the time she was 12 years old. After saving up to pay for recording time, she produced her demo album, Twilight, and with a boyfriend's encouragement, she tried out for The X Factor.

After she became the first female on The X Factor to win a record deal, Leona Lewis's first single, "A Moment Like This," was released. The single was downloaded 50,000 times in the first 30 minutes it was available online, and went on to become the most downloaded song in 2006. The complete album, Spirit, hit North America in 2008, leading to even more fanfare and recognition for this talented Brit.

Leona Lewis dominated 2008 on the musical front. Singles like "Bleeding Love" and "Better in Time" from her album Spirit made a killing across worldwide charts, and she shared a stage with Jimmy Page, Mariah Carey, Beyonce and Carrie Underwood at an anti-cancer event at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Leona Lewis closed out the year with three Grammy nominations.

We'd also like to mention that Leona Lewis was selected by PETA as one of its Sexiest Vegetarians of 2008. Audiences are waiting to hear more of Leona Lewis' incredible voice when her next album is released in 2009.

Alicia Keys Info

The mean streets of Hell’s Kitchen have produced their fair share of thugs and lowlifes. However, on January 25, 1981, the planets aligned and a beautiful, angelic soul rose from the urban decay. She was named Alicia Augello Cook, but we know her as Alicia Keys. She began playing the piano at age 7 and quickly showed a deft musical ear. So deft, in fact, that she left university after just four weeks to focus on music. That appears to have been a good decision -- she has since sold over 30 million albums worldwide and has the only duet in Bond soundtrack history to her credit (the theme song to Quantum of Solace).

No offense intended, but the resumes of some women considered beautiful in our culture are a bit lacking. Heiress? Reality TV star? Then you’ve got Alicia Keys -- a singer, songwriter, pianist, cellist, author, producer, and actress with multiple Grammy Awards under her belt. Her silky vocals and classic looks have made her a superstar, one truly deserving of the fame, fortune and everything else that comes with the territory. Alicia Keys doesn’t run over paparazzi, get arrested or date thuggish point guards -- she just keeps her head down and makes great music. And there are few things sexier than that.

Graham Coxon bans fans from Twitter

Graham Coxon has blasted Blur fans.

The 40-year-old guitarist - who is set to reunite with the band for a series of shows this summer - has banned his followers on social networking site Twitter from asking about the group, insisting their questions are dull.

He wrote: "dumbo questions about blur will result in blockage, dont bother, its boring (sic)."

Graham launched the rant after he was subjected to a series of strange questions by one of his fans.

In the first, Danomind wrote: "midlife?? Midwife?? Midlife Crisis at 40? U kidding? Did you choose the name? Please shed some light! (sic)."

Already losing patience with him, Graham replied: "did i choose the name? are you mad?? there are 4 people in the group, theres a management company, a record label....blaah (sic)."

Danomind then appeared to criticise Blur, writing: "ps there's nothing for us fansters :( hope there'll be more (sic)."

A confused Graham was forced to admit he had no idea what the comment referred to, prompting Danomind to explain: "um...guess not, the name doesn't matter much anyways, baah, who needs record companies nowadays?? Baah, 40 is not old mr!

"no live demos or anything, just good ol tracks.except course we'll buy it anyways, being total completists! For the new fans! (sic)."

Heather Mills has charity request snubbed

Heather Mills claims her request to donate money to charity was rejected.

The former model was asked to promote a computer game featuring a one-armed hero but when she asked the manufacturers to give her fee to a good cause they reportedly turned her down.

Heather - who lost her left leg below the knee in a motorbike accident in 1993 - wrote on her social networking website Twitter: "Got offered to promote an amputee bionic computer game, from a wealthy computer games company I said if you donate a large sum to charity.

"The stingy company came back saying they couldn't, what happened to charitable businesses, seems they just want to exploit and give nothing."

It was previously claimed Heather - the ex-wife of Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney - demanded a six-figure fee to front Capcom's 'Bionic Commando' advertising campaign.

She also reportedly incensed game bosses requesting her likeness be included in the game.

A source said: "She was insistent she wouldn't do it for a smaller fee and said the producers should make her the star.

"The request was way, way over their budget and they certainly weren't keen on basing the game on her."

Pink stops swearing at her pet

Pink claims her dog has calmed down since she stopped calling him F**ker.

The 'So What' singer was forced to change her pet's obscene name to Fred when her dad took charge of the animal.

Pink is quoted as saying: "My dog was called F***er. My dad adopted him and changed his name to Fred. He is a much happier dog now. He still responds to both names but he's happier."

This is not the first time Pink's choice of pet name has caused a problem.

She once shocked a packed restaurant in Beverly Hills by repeatedly calling out "F**ker" after she lost the canine in the upmarket eatery.

An onlooker said: "Suddenly she started screaming, 'F**ker! Here f**ker! Come to Moma, F**ker!'

"People were almost choking on their food. There were kids at the tables but she didn't care.

"It was outrageous - and nobody had the nerve to tell her to shut up."