With New CD and Makeover, Houston Has Liftoff

The former diva really needs some help

(NEWSER) - Whitney Houston’s comeback tour is a disaster. Her voice is giving out (she blames a bad air conditioning unit), and critics say she’s not even close to regaining her former glory. How can she step it up? Ami Angelowicz offers a 10-step plan, on The Frisky :

• Hire Justin Bieber as the opening act: This one is just plain self-explanatory.
• Utilize costumes, props, and stunts: Perhaps she should try “dropping down from the ceiling in a hot air balloon. Anything to distract from her piss poor vocals.”

'Come eat my panties off of me' is one of the amazing lyrics

(NEWSER) - The wait is over: Heidi Montag’s debut album finally dropped yesterday, and it’s just as horrible as you’d expect. Case in point: Superficial track “I’ll Do It” includes the lyrics, “Come eat my panties off of me / Do whatever you feel comes naturally.” Nonetheless, Montag called the music “empowering,” Us reports—but not everyone agrees. The song “is so gross I'm starting to second-guess even the non-gross parts,” writes Azaria Jagger for Gawker . More»

Lady Gaga talks new album The Fame Monster and The Monster Ball concerts

(NEWSER) - Lady Gaga's upcoming tour is more than just a series of concerts—it's a pop-electro opera, "a truly artistic experience that is going to take the form of the greatest post-apocalyptic house party that you've ever been to," she tells Rolling Stone. The Monster Ball launches Nov. 27, four days after the release of The Fame Monster, an album she says is "much more personal" than her last. More»

Debut album for Britain's Got Talent star is selling fast

(NEWSER) - Susan Boyle's popularity shows no signs of dying down: The Britain's Got Talent runner-up is releasing her first album Nov. 23, and it has already broken Amazon's record for most pre-orders, the New York Daily News reports. "Although it's normal to see early enthusiasm for artists who have come off of television shows, the response from our customers to Susan Boyle's upcoming album has been unprecedented," says an Amazon exec. More»

'The Voice' is still there, with help from industry giants

(NEWSER) - It’s been seven years since Whitney Houston’s last album, and many younger listeners probably know her better for her recently-troubled life than for her series of huge hits. But her new album, I Look to You, marks a triumphant return, writes Jim DeRogatis in the Chicago Sun-Times. “Houston’s singing is still incredibly powerful—a sublime mix of gospel purity, pop prissiness, and bedroom purr.” More»