Top Story
Three weeks after Destiny’s Child lead singer Beyoncé Knowles announced the R&B trio was parting ways to pursue solo projects, their manager Mathew Knowles issued a statement saying her remarks were misinterpreted. “Destiny’s Child has no intention of breaking up. The ladies of Destiny’s Child did talk of taking a ‘break’ but never used the word ‘break-up,'” he said. According to Reuters, the group is sticking with plans to tour next year but probably will not record as a group again before 2003.
In General
Clint Eastwood visited the fire scene in North Vancouver where a Christmas Day fire gutted the home of his former companion and their 8-year-old daughter Francesca, Reuters reports. The actor said he wanted to thank the neighbors who came to their aid. Fire officials said it could be several days before they determine the cause of the fire.
During the first week of sales, New Lines Home Entertainment’s Rush Hour 2 DVD beat out Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s Jurassic Park III. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rush Hour 2 also topped VidTac’s list of the top 10 most rented VHS and DVD videos for the second week in row.
CBS easily won the ratings race for the week, averaging 11.9 million viewers in prime time, The Associated Press reports. New episodes of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Everybody Loves Raymond were the only two programs with more than 20 million viewers. Mariah Carey‘s CBS television special A Home for the Holidays however, finished a dismal 75th place in the ratings.
The Beatles 1, a collection of 27 U.S. No. 1 singles, tops Billboard’s album of the year chart. The magazine said it is the first time in chart history that the Fab Four have the No. 1 album of the year. The greatest-hits collection spent eight weeks in pole position on The Billboard 2001.
Year-end reports of online behavior point to teen pop idol Britney Spears as 2001’s most searched-for people at AmericaOnline, Ask Geeves, Lycos and Yahoo! According to The Hollywood Reporter, other popular Internet celebrities include Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Lopez, Martha Stewart, Aaliyah, Lil’ Bow Wow, Eminem and Pamela Anderson.
The Miss America Pageant, which has been held in Atlantic City, N.J., since it began 80 years ago, will remain there, AP reports. Last week pageant officials had threatened to move the pageant to Nevada, Florida, California or Connecticut because of high costs associated with staging the event at Boardwalk Hall.
Elizabeth Jagger, Rolling Stone frontman Mick Jagger‘s 18-year-old daughter, has broken up with her South African male model boyfriend Damien Van Zyl. Her mother Jerry Hall told the London Express, “She’s finished with him. She’s in the process of deciding whether to see someone else now…she doesn’t have one-night stands.”
Mad Magazine named the Reverend Jerry Falwell the “dumbest person of 2001” for blaming the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on gays, lesbians, feminists and other groups. The distinction was part of Mad‘s year-end review of the 20 dumbest people, events and things of 2001. Rapper Sean Combs came in 12th for changing his name from Puff Daddy to P. Diddy.
