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George Strait named artist of decade in TV special

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - George Strait was saluted as the Academy of Country Music's artist of the decade in an all-star concert that aired Wednesday night on CBS.

The show was taped last month in Las Vegas and featured performances by Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Toby Keith, Brooks & Dunn, Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, Jamie Foxx, Alan Jackson, Martina McBride and more.

Garth Brooks, named artist of the decade for the 1990s, presented Strait his award. Strait joins only four other artists who have received this distinction: Marty Robbins, Loretta Lynn, Alabama and Brooks.

Strait's career spans nearly 25 years and includes many classics, including "Amarillo by Morning," "The Chair" and "Give It Away."

Eminem's 'Relapse' tops charts, sells 608,000

NEW YORK - Eminem's new album, "Relapse," has sold more copies in its first week of release than any other album this year.

Nielsen SoundScan says the Detroit rapper's first album in nearly five years sold 608,000 copies.

"Relapse" is Eminem's fifth straight No. 1 album. His last disc, 2004's "Encore," sold 711,000 in its first week - though that was only across four days. It went on to sell 5.1 million copies.

Last week's chart topper, Green Day's "21st Century Breakdown," slid to No. 2, adding 166,000 copies sold to the 215,000 copies the band sold in its initial, abbreviated three-day sales week.

Elizabeth Taylor home from hospital, feels 'great'

LOS ANGELES - Elizabeth Taylor says she's home from the hospital and "feeling great."

The 77-year-old actress sent a tweet to her fans on the Twitter micro-blogging site Tuesday, announcing she was home after a hospital stay. She thanked them "for all the love and support."

Publicist Dick Guttman said Taylor was admitted Friday to an undisclosed hospital "for a routine visit."

Taylor, an avid Twitter user, had sent a tweet Friday asking a friend to get her puppy past hospital security.

Stars react to Calif. court's Prop. 8 decision

LOS ANGELES - George Takei and his longtime love, Brad Altman, are still legally wed. So are Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi. Both couples tied the knot during the five-month window when same-sex marriage was legal in California.

But the state Supreme Court's decision Tuesday to uphold Proposition 8, the gay-marriage ban approved by voters in November, made legal nuptials impossible going forward - and Hollywood isn't happy.

Several of its heavyweights opened their wallets to oppose the measure last year. Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw gave $100,000. So did Brad Pitt. DeGeneres made a public service announcement urging voters to oppose the ballot initiative and purchased $100,000 of television commercial time for her ad.

But on Tuesday, celebrities took to the Web.

Kathy Griffin wrote on Twitter - where the court's ruling was among the top topics Tuesday - that she and her 89-year-old mother planned to protest the decision by marching in West Hollywood, Calif. Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton used his site to call the court's decision "wrong wrong wrong!" and urged his readers to protest.

Here's a look at what some other stars had to say about the court's decision:

_ "It seems that the California Supreme Court justices decided to be indecisive," said Takei, who married Altman Sept. 14, 2008. "Our marriage is intact, but this issue is not settled. Inequality is still the rule of the land."

_ "I'm sure you heard the prop 8 news," DeGeneres wrote on Twitter. "One day when everyone is treated with full equality, we'll look back and realize how wrong this was."

_ "Those full of hate and fear will surely be disappointed that 18,000 same sex couples will be living in wedded bliss, kissing their spouses goodnight, checking off those little 'married' boxes on all those forms we fill out nowadays. That's really going to drive them crazy," Melissa Etheridge, who exchanged vows with her longtime partner in a 2003 ceremony, said in a statement. "I am hopeful as I see more and more states turn to the inevitable future of equality, California will get there. Change takes time."

_ "I blame Miss California," Margaret Cho wrote on Twitter.

_ "That's just awful," Elton John said in an interview on AccessHollywood.com. "When you see places like Iowa saying yes, there's now five states in America (where same-sex marriage is legal). California is supposed to be a progressive state. It defies logic to me. I'm very disappointed."

_ "This really makes me sad," Kim Kardashian wrote on her blog. "I thought we were more forward thinking than this, and I'm disappointed in the Supreme Court for being so closed minded. Everyone... gay, straight, bisexual, transgendered, EVERYONE should have equal rights to marry who they want to."

_ "Gay and lesbian residents of this state are being denied the same rights, privileges and protections that heterosexual couples have when they marry civilly," Hilton blogged. "That is NOT right! That is not fair! That is wrong wrong wrong! This is about equality!"

Promoter: Singer innocent of Braxton scam

PARAMARIBO, Suriname - A concert promoter testified Tuesday that he alone tried to foist off a Las Vegas-based entertainer as six-time Grammy winner Toni Braxton at a show that has since been dubbed the "Phony Toni" concert.

Angel Ventura, 45, told a judge that Braxton impersonator Trina Johnson-Finn was an unwitting participant of his scheme that tricked people in this tiny South American country into paying up to $53 a ticket for the Feb. 28 concert in Suriname's capital.

Disappointed fans had hoped to see Braxton, who is best known for the hit "Un-break My Heart" and appearances on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars."

"I never said to the prosecutor that Trina Johnson knew beforehand that she was part of a scam," he told Judge Robby Rodriguez on the first day of Johnson-Finn's trial on charges of defrauding fans.

But prosecutors contend Johnson-Finn, who has augmented her 20-year singing career by impersonating various stars as a "tribute artist," attempted to pass herself off as the real Braxton, and that Ventura's testimony does not clear her of involvement in the scam.

The concert was a debacle: Numerous people in the crowd of 3,000 began to jeer and pelt the stage with trash when the singer hit a sour note at the beginning of the second song. She was rushed off the stage to a loud chorus of boos.

Johnson-Finn, clad in a black blouse and skirt, sat calmly during Ventura's testimony.

Her Surinamese lawyer, Kathleen Brandon, told the judge the 41-year-old Nevada woman has been unjustly jailed for nearly three months awaiting her trial and called for her immediate release.

"Ventura told her to go all out as an impersonator and play a role in the whole thing. She thought that everyone knew that she was just an impersonator, but Ventura did not tell anyone in Suriname," Brandon said.

But the judge declined to release Johnson-Finn and adjourned the trial until June 2.

Supporters in Las Vegas have come to Johnson-Finn's defense, waging an Internet campaign on her behalf.

Hugh Jackman's son using dad's pedigree on girls

MEXICO CITY - Hugh Jackman's 9-year-old son is using his dad's Wolverine pedigree to woo the girls.

Jackman says his son Oscar, spotting a group of teenage girls one day, turned to him and said, "Hey dad, 2 o'clock, hot chicks."

The Australian actor, chosen People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" for 2008, says the conversation made him squirm. But Jackman says his son marched right up to the girls and declared "Hey, you know that my dad's Wolverine?"

Jackman spoke to reporters Tuesday while in Mexico City to promote "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." The film's Mexican premiere was delayed because of the swine flu outbreak.

Jackman expressed his admiration for the way Mexico handled the outbreak at a meeting Monday with President Felipe Calderon.

'Idol' winner Clarkson is a Susan Boyle fan

HONG KONG - From one talent show contestant to another: well done.

Kelly Clarkson, the winner of the debut season of "American Idol" in 2002, says she's a fan of surprise British singing star Susan Boyle, adding to a growing number of celebrity admirers that already include Oprah Winfrey and Demi Moore.

Boyle, the 47-year-old church volunteer with a powerful voice, overcame a dowdy image to become an Internet sensation after her performance on the talent show "Britain's Got Talent" was posted on YouTube.

"I think it's awesome. I'm bawling whenever I hear her sing," Clarkson told The Associated Press in Hong Kong, saying Boyle's rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" from the musical "Les Miserables" sounded beautiful.

Clarkson was in Hong Kong promoting her new album, "All I Ever Wanted."

The 27-year-old singer said she still tries to catch "American Idol" when she can and defended the show against criticism that it has welcomed candidates with previous record deals or experience in other talent contests. "Idol" rules only require that contestants not be under a record or management contract when they audition.

"I personally think if someone has been affiliated with the industry, who cares? That just means they've been working hard and trying to get in the door," Clarkson said. "Regardless, you're going to be an amateur talent. It's not like you've had a huge record deal and toured the world. It's not like they're going to be some huge threat."

But she said the show' success has put more pressure on contestants.

During the taping of the first season, "No one knew what to expect. No one knew if it was going to be successful," Clarkson said. "But now people know the stakes."

'Slumdog' filmmakers meet poor kid stars in Mumbai

MUMBAI, India - The makers of "Slumdog Millionaire" met the film's two impoverished child stars on Wednesday and reassured them they will soon have new homes. But the father of one of the children stormed out, saying the filmmakers have not done enough to help.

Rubina Ali, 9, and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, 10, both lost their homes this month after city authorities demolished parts of their slum in Mumbai. Rubina has been staying with relatives and Azhar has been living in a makeshift shanty of tarps and blankets with his parents.

"We've been trying for a long time to move them into legal accommodation," director Danny Boyle told reporters at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences on the outskirts of Mumbai, where he and producer Christian Colson met the children and their families.

Relations between the filmmakers and the children's families have grown tense since the phenomenal success of the film, which grossed more than $326 million.

The filmmakers set up a trust aimed at ensuring the children get proper homes, a decent education, a monthly stipend and a nest egg when they finish high school. They have pledged to spend up to $100,000 to buy the two families new apartments and have donated $747,500 to a charity to help slum children across Mumbai.

Colson has described the trust as substantial, but will not tell anyone how much it contains - not even the children's parents - for fear of making the youngsters vulnerable to exploitation.

Nirja Mattoo, who helps oversee the children's trust, said a new home has been found for Azhar's family near to his school and neighborhood. "We are finalizing the deal. Next week it should be done," she said.

The hunt for Rubina's house continues, she added.

But Rafiq Qureshi, Rubina's father, said Boyle has not done enough.

"It's no big deal for them, this kind of money. It's been five or six months we've been living in such difficulty. They should help us," he said in an interview after he cut the meeting short in anger.

"After the Oscars they forgot about us," he added. "For two months we didn't get any money."

Mattoo declined to comment on Qureshi's behavior.

"We're trying our best to get it (a house) as soon as possible," she said by phone.

Boyle said he planned to make two more films set in Mumbai.

Press wire services

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