THE FIELD NARROWS
More than 11 million American Idol fans picked Fantasia Barrino, 19, and Diana DeGarmo, 16, as the show's first two finalists. (I hope someone's keeping a close eye on my girl Jennifer Hudson. The poor dear looked hungry for a Shards O' Glass Freeze Pop.) The next batch of eight perform on Tuesday. In other Idol news, Tuesday's performance edition ranked as the night's top program with more than 26 million viewers. UPN's America's Next Top Model, meanwhile, scored its largest audience to date — 7.13 million viewers. And ABC cheered the return of NYPD Blue after a 10-week break. The cop drama — which wisely chose not to blow up the incomparable Charlotte Ross — drew a season-high 11 million viewers. |
NASTY GIRL
Janet Jackson has experienced another wardrobe malfunction, but this time it has disappeared altogether. The Boobygate star appears topless on the cover of her new album, Damita Jo, due in stores March 30. Clad only in jeans with her arms covering her breasts, Jackson was going for a "simple and youthful picture that she felt people would like," her rep tells USA Today. |
DIVINE INTERVENTION
Here's proof that God is a hopeless romantic: Chris Marquette — who recurs as Amber Tamblyn's sometime lab partner/love interest, Adam, on CBS' heavenly drama, Joan of Arcadia — has been promoted to a full-fledged series regular. Word is the man upstairs has big plans for these two. Now, if only he would ditch those lame crime subplots... |
WHERE'S THE LOVE?
A Beverly Hills judge briefly issued an arrest warrant for Courtney Love Wednesday after the troubled singer skipped a court hearing on drug charges. But the warrant was put on hold after Love's attorney explained that his client — who is charged with illegal possession of two painkillers — was MIA due to a "security" issue. The hearing was postponed until Tuesday. |
BATMAN CASTING
Liam Neeson is in talks to join the cast of Warner Bros.' upcoming Batman flick. It's not clear who the Oscar nominee would play, but this much we know: Christian Bale stars as the Caped Crusader and Michael Caine will appear as Alfred the butler. |
WHAT'S THE TWIST?
The WB, the only network without a hit reality franchise, has green-lighted Big Man on Campus — a six-episode dating show set at a university. The series comes from producer Mike Fleiss (The Bachelor). |
SUN RISES
Kenny Chesney's When the Sun Goes Down entered Billboard's album chart at No. 1 with sales of 551,000 copies — the biggest debut of the year. Incubus' A Crow Left of the Murder opened at No. 2 with 332,000 copies sold. |
CASE CLOSED
Art Garfunkel pleaded guilty to drug possession in upstate New York and paid $200 in fines. Police stopped Garfunkel's speeding limo last month and caught the singer with 6 grams of marijuana. |
LORDY!
In a bit of an upset, the London Film Critics named Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World — and not the latest Lord of the Rings flick — the best picture of the year on Wednesday. |
