Avril Lavigne Texted Marilyn Manson To Be On Her New Album

Since breaking out in 2002 with “Complicated,” Avril Lavigne has been on a mission to rock out for life. "Here’s to never growing up!” she declares on a song from the Canadian's self-titled fifth album, released last month. “I feel like my fans have grown with me,” she says. "My life has really been documented. It's pretty neat to look back.”

The 29-year-old is the first to admit she's grown as an artist — “I feel like my vocals are definitely stronger now,” she admitted — but Ms. Lavigne still commands arenas with the same aggression as the Dickies-wearing teenager who first conquered the pop charts. Married to Nickelback singer Chad Kroeger, Lavigne recently spoke with us about her new record, her relationship, and texting with Marilyn Manson. (Yes, really.)

How was this album different from your past projects?

When I made this record, I wasn’t actually sure what I wanted to do. So I went in every day fresh and I would just write a song. I wouldn’t even think about it. I wasn’t trying to do anything or [take from] any sounds from the past. I think that naturally happens. Since I’m a songwriter, on every song I’ve released on every record, they’re all coming from me. So there’s gonna be some similarities. When I made my record The Best Damn Thing, I wanted to make a record that was fun on tour. So in that sense, knowing that I enjoy playing “Girlfriend” and “Sk8ter Boi” because they’re up-tempo and they’re anthemic and get the crowd going, I was inspired to do those type of songs with The Best Damn Thing.

What I love is that even though you’ve matured you’ve continued to make music that cuts across age groups.

The audience — they were so young when I first hit the scene. And now I feel like they’re older and I can see it changing. I think there is a consistency with my songwriting: stories and messages. But it’s also been diverse. I have ballads and then I’ve got those pop-rock songs with a certain spirit and attitude. So I have different sides to me. And that’s what’s great about this record: it’s so diverse and you will hear sounds and styles from my past as well as new stuff.

It also allowed you to meet your husband, Nickelback singer Chad Kroeger, who produced this album.

When we first started it was like, "Hi, nice to meet you. Let’s write some songs." We started dating later on. So it’s just been that all we know is working together. A lot of people ask me if it’s strange working with him, because we’re together. But because we started that way, it’s not. [laughs]

I’d have to imagine though there was an immediate musical connection?

If I was just in the studio with a regular producer, that’s one thing. But because he’s a traveling musician in a successful band and he’s a songwriter and he plays guitar, when he recorded my vocals, yes, we definitely were able to have a different type of understanding with each other than I have in the past with other people. He would understand more how I was feeling or what I meant. Or he would just get it without me even saying anything. It’s nice. It’s actually pretty cool. So yeah, it was a different experience.

Besides Chad, the one other guest on the album is pretty surprising. Marilyn Manson!

I wrote [the new song, “Bad Girl”] and [producer] David [Hodges] and I were listening to it one day, just us because Chad had gone on tour. I looked over at David and I was like "Oh my god, Manson would be awesome on this track!" So I texted him and he came over. It just worked out perfectly! It was midnight. I was like, “Hey, I’ve got this song. I’m in the studio. I’m in L.A." He’s like, "Hey, I’ll be there at 4 AM.” [Laughs.] So he gets there at like 4:30 AM. I’m like, "Hey buddy. It’s been awhile." We go back. He played me some of his new stuff. I love Manson. I played him that and I played him a couple of my other songs like “Give Me What You Like.” He really dug that track. And then that night, he went into the booth and he laid down his vocal parts like a pro and nailed it. It took the song to the next level. I love what he did.

On a different note, you’ve had your own fashion line, Abbey Dawn, since 2008. Is it safe to say then that fashion has been a crucial element in both your life and career?

I like to have fun with my fashion. It’s weird for me to say "Oh, I’m this or I’m that." But I guess [my style] would be sort of rock 'n’ roll glam at this stage now. On my first record, I was wearing a lot of Dickies and skate shoes and Converse. That’s more like 2002, high-school skate style, I guess. [Laughs.] I was a tomboy. And then I kind of got into a touch of goth on the second record with the bondage pants, wearing brands like Tripp and Lip Service. And then on my third record, The Best Damn Thing, it was a lot of pink and stars and it was fun... a lot of hoodies. And that’s when I started designing for Abbey Dawn. I was very inspired by the Japanese culture, because I spent a lot of time over in Asia. It’s very bold in Tokyo and Japan. They’re very colorful and vibrant, and they just go nuts with their fashion.

Lorde To Perform At Grammy Nominations Special

Breakthrough singer Lorde will perform at the Grammy Awards nominations special Friday in Los Angeles.

The 17-year-old joins Macklemore & Ryan Lewis for "The Grammy Nominations Concert Live!! — Countdown to Music's Biggest Night," to be held at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live. Her song, "Royals," has held the top spot on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for nine weeks, and could be crowned with Grammy gold.

T.I. and members of Earth, Wind & Fire will perform "Blurred Lines" with Robin Thicke, while Keith Urban will sing Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" with R&B singer Miguel.

Rapper-actor LL Cool J will host the one-hour special, airing on CBS starting at 10 p.m. Eastern.

The show will also feature pre-taped performances by Taylor Swift and Katy Perry.

Ryan Seacrest Moving on With New Blonde

Ryan Seacrest is more predictable than crap in a diaper -- the "American Idol" host has a new lady in his sights after dumping Julianne Hough ... and shocker, she's also a hot blonde.

The girl's name is Shayna Taylor ... she's 23 ... annnnd that's pretty much it.

According to our sources, Shayna runs in one of those hot blonde Hollywood crowds filled with Instagram models who pretty much party exclusively at rich people's houses. And that's how Seacrest met her roughly a year ago.

It's unclear if Ryan and Shayna are boyfriend and girlfriend ... or just "close" friends. 

Fun fact: Shayna's the same girl who was pictured smooching with Terrence Howard last year in St. Barts.

It's unclear exactly how long they've been seeing each other ... but Seacrest has been a free man since March, when he ended things with Julianne.

So now we gotta ask ...


SOURCE:  TMZ

The Pentagon's New Top Woman Inspired Kelly McGillis' Top Gun Role

Christine Fox is set to become the highest-ranking woman in the history of the Department of Defense tomorrow. She is unquestionably uber-qualified—and what's more, her review of Maverick's flight performance was spot on.

Fox is slated to act as deputy secretary of defense, the No. 2 role at the Pentagon, until a permanent successor to the outgoing Ashton Carter is named. It's the culmination of a long and respected career as a naval analyst. But Foreign Policy's profile of Fox this morning reminded readers of another entry on her CV: She was the inspiration for Charlie, the tough-talking ground instructor who fell for Tom Cruise in Top Gun.

It's true, according to a gushy (and gender-norming) 1985 story from People magazine. Fox, a mathematician by training, was a think-tanker detailed to improve the curriculum at the Navy's Fighter Weapons School:

High heels in the hallway. Softer than a sonic boom, less penetrating than an F-14 afterburner, the footsteps of 6' Christine Fox, 30, nevertheless carry the impact of a preemptive strike. "They always know when I'm coming," she says with a sigh, "because I'm one of the few people around here whose heels click."

One of the senior instructors at Top Gun insisted that Fox was a consummate professional—nothing like Kelly McGillis' movie character, getting caught up in unduly familiar relationships with the students: "She's so professional that her looks don't become a point of interest. When she walks in you say 'wow,' but 30 seconds later you're talking business." Another senior instructor gave Fox her naval aviator call sign: "Legs."

Now, they'll call her "ma'am."

Eminem Fans Plaster Afrojack's Facebook Page With 'Who?'s

With more than 3 million Facebook likes, multiple hit records, and a regular presence in the tabloids (thanks to the whole Paris Hilton thing), Afrojack is one of the world's most famous DJs. To judge from the state of his Facebook page, however, he may have something of an image problem. If Paris Hilton is famous for being famous, Afrojack has suddenly become famous for being… Wait, who?

Oh right, Afrojack. You see, for the past few weeks, every comment left on Afrojack's Facebook page reads only, "Who?" or "Who? Who?" or "MR WHO," or some variation about the same. There are thousands of them — tens of thousands, maybe. More "who"s than a Doctor Who impersonators' convention; more "who"s than an old-growth forest teeming with owls.

Has the 'jack been hacked? Who could be behind such a stunt? A quick perusal of the comments soon reveals that many of those "who"s have been stacked like bricks to form larger letters, ASCII-art style: "E," "M," "I," "N," "E," "M."

Him?

Yep, Eminem. The Slim Shady Nation has come in full force in support of their hero after a recent and protracted brouhaha — or, perhaps, whohaha — involving the Dutch superstar DJ and Detroit's most famous technophobe. The spat dates back to November 10, when Eminem was awarded a Global Icon trophy at the MTV European Music Awards. Interviewing the rapper afterwards, Will Farrell (in character as Ron Burgundy) asked how he felt that Afrojack had been "talking shit" about him. Em, cold as an Eight Mile manhole cover in the depth of winter, spat back, "Who?"

Mixmag reported then that Afrojack's Facebook page had immediately been deluged by "Who?" comments. The comments let up after a few days, but the stans are once again going whole hog on their who-larious who-jinks. According to a post on Reddit, the who-ligans even left their mark on Afrojack's Wikipedia entry, as can be seen in this screen grab.

Ironically, the beef between the artists themselves appears to be all but nonexistent. As a Redditor points out, there's no evidence that Afrojack's alleged slur was anything but an invention of Ron Burgundy's (although he did later shoot back with a handheld diss video, featuring Snoop Dogg, set to Em's "My Name Is"). Beyond that, Afrojack hasn't said anything publicly about the wholesale takeover of his Facebook page. (Curiously, his social-media managers haven't deleted comments stretching back two weeks; just as curiously, Afrojack's fans don't seem to have come up with any sort of organized trolling in response.) And the #RAPGOD hasn't taken the spat any further than his lone, monosyllabic query.

Why the new wave of "Who?" Why now? Who knows, but it's a good thing that Afrojack is a headlining DJ these days: If he were still playing warm-up slots, figuring out the lineup might get awfully confusing.

Paul Walker's Memorable Hollywood Moments

The Kardashian Christmas Card is Here — but Where's Kanye?

Now that we are officially in the Christmas season, it's time for a time-honored celebrity tradition — the annual Kardashian Christmas card. E! revealed the new family portrait on Sunday following a special holiday-themed edition of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. While previous editions of the card have included shots of the sisters' significant others, this year's version, photographed by David LaChapelle, doesn't include Kanye West, Scott Disick, or Lamar Odom. Meanwhile, Rob Kardashian and Kim's young daughter North West are also noticeably absent from the family fun. However, Kris Jenner's estranged husband Bruce Jenner does make an appearance trapped in some sort of futuristic tube.

Of course, the card isn't without controversy. The entire scene is staged in a trashed shopping mall, with cutouts of different photos plastered all over the background. One photo, located behind Kylie Jenner, shows a full naked woman while another, located nearby, displays a bare-breasted woman cradling a child. While nudity isn't exactly something that most people associate with the holidays, it's only fitting that the Kardashians stay a little on the naughty side for their special card. Keep reading to see Kendall and Kylie's NSFW shot from the Christmas card.

Source: David LaChapelle

Paul Walker, Known for Fast and Furious, Has Died in Car Accident

Actor Paul Walker was killed this afternoon in a car accident in Santa Clarita, California. He was the passenger in a friend’s Porsche, which hit a light post and tree and then burst into flames, according to the L.A. County Police Department via the Associated Press/Los Angeles Times. Both victims were attending a charity event.

Walker, who began in Hollywood at age 2 and just recently had turned 40, is best known for the recurring role of Brian O’Conner in the Fast and Furious movies, having appeared in all except the third movie, Tokyo Drift. The seventh movie is currently in post-production and set for release next summer, though it’s unknown if he might have been needed for additional work or reshoots. Another film, Hours, which debuted at the SXSW Film Festival this year, opens posthumously on December 13th.

His other movies include Joy Ride, Varsity Blues, Running Scared, Timeline, Takers and another 2013 release, Vehicle 19. He was a great lover of cars, which explains some of his role choices, and that makes the way he died especially tragic.

What is less known about Walker is that he was a founder of the organization Reach Out Worldwide, the organization holding today’s event, an automotive gathering and toy drive. Through ROWW, he physically helped out with earthquake relief in both Haiti and Chile following their devastating back to back disasters in 2010. And since then, it’s been around the world responding to natural disasters, including the recent catastrophic typhoon in the Philippines and tornadoes in Illinois.

Condolences go out to Walker’s friends and family and fans. He entertained the world and did great service to help those in need. May he rest in peace.