Whatcha Say: Kylie Minogue, Katy Perry and Stevie Nicks Got Our Readers Talking

Happy Friday, Idolator readers! This week was full of pop highs and lows — from Kesha‘s radiant return to the red carpet, to the announcement of Michael Jackson‘s posthumous record Xscape, to Miley’s heartbreaking on-stage breakdown after the loss of her beloved dog, Floyd. :(

There’s also plenty of promise on the horizon: Three pop divas announced their new singles — Lana Del Rey casually name-dropped her Ultraviolence lead single “West Coast,” Kylie Minogue opted for “I Was Gonna Cancel” and Katy Perry with “Birthday” — while the Mahomies will no doubt be pleased to learn that Austin Mahone’s debut, The Secret, is coming soon.

As always, you guys had plenty to say. Check out some of the week’s best comments below!

:: James K. couldn’t be happier about Kylie‘s new single on Kylie Minogue Reveals That “I Was Gonna Cancel” Is The Next Official Single From ‘Kiss Me Once’: ““I Was Gonna Cancel” is probably one of the top 3 tracks on “Kiss Me Once!” Its joyous message is something that we don’t hear much on the radio, these days. Hopefully, it does well on the radio and charts as it deserves to be a monster hit!”

:: And hkl1204 broke it down like a proper pop nerd: “‘Million Miles’ sounds a bit too generic, it wouldn’t last too long in airplay and sales. It’s missing sass and attitude to it to make it a single…’Get Outta My Way’ and ‘Million Miles’ share the same producer, Cutfather, and GOMW sounds much better. It didnt last long on the charts (we can blame bad promo schedule), which is a real shame. It’s one of my all-time favorite from Kylie.”

:: @ThisIsBillG had their eyes (or, rather, ears) elsewhere while watching Miley’s tearful breakdown on Miley Cyrus Breaks Down At Boston Concert, Hugs Inflatable Statue Of Her Recently Deceased Dog: “While it’s very sad that Miley’s beloved pup has passed away, this clip just shows me that she lip synchs… At least during Can’t Be Tamed. She clearly wasn’t singing and the track was clearly playing… And that was much more than just a backing track. May Floyd RIP.”

:: When it came to Gaga‘s assets, Andy M. was certainly a fan on Lady Gaga Moons Roseland Ballroom, Shows Monsters Her Ass: Watch: “If I had an ass like that, it would be difficult to force me to wear pants.”

:: Romy wasn’t quite sure what to make of the new posthumous Michael Jackson album on Michael Jackson’s ‘Xscape’ Announced: Posthumous Album Out In May: “The album title immediately brings to mind the awesome 90′s girl group. The album cover is just truly awful and creepy. (RIP)”

:: Adam was ready to blow the candles out on Katy Perry Names “Birthday” The 4th Single From ‘Prism’, Unveils Adorable Cover: “Smart choice. Birthday is going to be big, it’s already a PRISM highlight.I was hoping it would be this one as next single. Hopefully she will end the PRISM era with Legendary Lovers or Double Rainbow, or both! Since, truth is, the remaining tracks are plain album fillers.”

:: As was MusicManDave: “Great choice Katy!! “Birthday” is another anthem like “Friday” from her last album. Have Fun and Celebrate!!”

:: Morgan was taken by Stevie Nicks‘ collaboration with Lady Antebellum on Stevie Nicks Teams Up With Lady Antebellum For A New Version Of “Golden”: Listen: “Gorgeous beyond words. What a treat to hear a new recording from Stevie. Her voice blends beautifully with Charles, Maybe he can join Fleetwood Mac? Can you imagine him, Stevie and Christine harmonizing? Lindsay Buckingham’s voice leaves me cold, so I have to fantasize of alternate male voices to go with Stevie’s.”

:: And finally, Lynette had a similar idea: “Absolutely beautiful!!! Stevie just gets better and better. I love hearing her and Hillary, and Charles harmonizing. The harmony is what I love about Lady A, but Stevie brings it to a different dimension. Maybe she should join Lady A. Just thinking…”

Letterman’s replacement: Can he (or she!) please be a grown-up?

That’s Letterman’s greatest skill — convincingly pretending that his three-plus decades and counting on bedtime TV (21 of them on CBS) have been a happy accident that somehow goes out over the airwaves night after night; it’s all been an egregious programming mistake, about which the host is eternally humbled and awfully sorry.


Letterman’s idea of fake humility, rooted in what has always appeared to be a Midwestern sense of self-deprecation, is infinitely preferable to new “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon’s idea of fake humility, which appears more and more to be rooted in the vacuity of show biz, where the kissing-up never stops. (Happily, the host of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” seems unburdened by any need to project false humility. Because it’s funnier that way.)

But Letterman’s aw-shucks nature is not all viewers will miss after the host leaves. As it’s played out, Letterman is the lone grown-up in the broadcast networks’ 11:35 lineup and one of the last hosts anywhere who can engage in what was once known as a light conversation with anyone from freshly hatched starlets to elder statesmen.

A light conversation is not a competition between two people trying to outmaneuver each other, as viewers occasionally see on “Kimmel”; nor is it a clever pantomime of a conversation built on the post-irony of our mutual disdain for media (Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report”); nor is it a preliminary and fawning bit of chitchat that is merely an overture to a game of beer pong or a balalaika-flute jam between Vladi­mir Putin and Sarah Palin — or whatever set of antics Fallon so clearly prefers to actual talk.

Who should replace Letterman? Rumors fly — and quickly flocked Friday to the enormously talented host of “The Colbert Report,” comedian Stephen Colbert, 49, who since 2005 has kept aloft a neocon news shtick long past the George W. Bush era it was meant to lampoon. “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” is admittedly a tantalizing and easily envisioned idea, in which the “Colbert Report” persona would be ditched in favor of a disarmingly funny late-night host.

There’s also an heir apparent, perhaps only in a very technical sense, in 51-year-old Craig Ferguson, who has hosted CBS’s after-Letterman “Late Late Show” for nine years now. Ferguson’s show often exhibits the signs of mania that accompany the fear that nobody is watching. Whether he wants the job or not (or whether CBS will find some way around the protocol of offering it to him), Ferguson’s conversational skills can often be top-notch. (Disclosure: I appeared as a guest on “Late Late” in 2009 when I was promoting a book.)

Should it be a woman? (Ellen DeGeneres? Chelsea Handler?) Should it be someone who isn’t white? (W. Kamau Bell, perhaps? Chris Rock?) Should it be someone who upsets convention? (Bill Maher?) Should it be someone who is most like Dave? (Conan O’Brien? Or Louis C.K.?) Or someone who is the least like him? (Jay Leno — LOL + sad tuba bleat. After all the ink and all the ballyhoo, wouldn’t that outcome serve us right, in a culture that can’t stop making sequels?)

It’s exhausting, making a decision on which we’ll never have any real influence. I’d quietly hoped — and perhaps you had, too — that we’d get at least a year or two of relative calm on the late-night front, enough time to see if Fallon, who will soon turn 40, can sustain the impressive ratings he’s been earning since “Tonight’s” relaunch a mere six weeks ago.

Lately I find myself preferring to watch Kimmel, 46, who traces his desire to be a late-night host back to his teenage years when he would faithfully watch and admire Letterman. Kimmel has steadily and sturdily built a show that appeals to both younger and older audiences. Whatever pleasure I drew from Fallon’s first few episodes of “Tonight” quickly cooled; the show’s youthful energy has become a frenetically grating birthday party that never ends.

Although Letterman presented his retirement to his viewers as a personal decision — couching it in a sweet little story about a fishing trip with his 10-year-old son — anyone who’s paid attention to the late-night wars over the years knows that it also has to do with ratings and the network’s bottom line. It’s likely that Letterman and CBS look at Fallon’s ratings as a wearying challenge; after some 6,000 broadcasts, it’s just another climb up a less attractive mountain. The tweeting, the viral ­video-making, the constant need for fresh buzz — who needs it, at his age?

Letterman, a leading-edge baby boomer, turns 67 next week. That’s retirement age in an ideal world, even if boomers don’t like to be told when to hang it up. As opposed to his 63-year-old rival Leno, who transmitted his resistance to being shown the door once more, Letterman has a Johnny Carson-like opportunity to show an American audience the value in stepping aside and handing off an important piece of our popular culture to the next generation.

I hope that the person who gets his job will, in turn, present a show that looks and feels as if it belongs on CBS. That doesn’t mean old, but it does mean something ineffable and increasingly impossible to describe in an era in which all media formats are in a state of reinvention. I’m simply hoping for a “Late Show” host who knows what it means to be a funny adult.

Viewers like me who have been watching David Letterman for three decades can at long last relate to the ever-fainter nostalgia of Jack Paar fans. You know the usual refrain: An era is going away and taking something with it, and so on and so forth — the very sort of sentimental pap at which Letterman would pretend to mockingly grimace. In the next year or so, I hope he continually reminds us that it’s only television.

23 Beyonce Fan Art Masterpieces That Prove (Once And For All) She's Queen

Beyoncé's trophy cabinet at Casa Carter is an impressively well-stocked piece of furniture, bulging with Grammys and multiple platinum plaques for R&B anthems like "Halo" and "Crazy In Love."
She's also snagged a mega-mogul husband in Jay Z and engages in a hyper-high-end social life that involves pondering whether to postpone Taco Tuesdays for a week and accept another dinner invitation from the Obamas. Beyond the industry awards and glitzy celebrity status though, Beyoncé claims certified iconic standing by the way she inspires fans to pay tribute to her. In that most noble of artistic disciplines: fan-art.
In tribute to her continued reign, then, here are 23 pieces of fierce fan-art that show just why the world is totally smitten with Queen Bey.

1. Women In Crisis

Artist Adrian Valencia put together this slick illustration of a dolled-up Lady Bey hanging on the telephone in honor of "everyone who has been or is suffering because of love." Poignantly, the piece's full title reads Women in Crisis 1: Beyoncé in Why Don't You Love Me?
2. 'Yonce

During a live show in London back in March, Beyoncé spotted one of Anabelle King's banner illustrations being held up in the crowd. Smitten with her interpretation, Bey was moved to halt her performance and exclaim, "It's beautiful. Did you draw this? Wow. It's so pretty!" Naturally, the wow moment can be treasured for all of eternity on Instagram.
3. Draw Your Own Beyoncé!

Drago Art's take on Beyoncé plumps for a soft-focus style that wouldn't look out of place fronting up a YA book about Bey's high-school adventures in love. Handily, its creator has also put together a step-by-step- guide to drawing your own Mrs. Carter! If you were wondering, the key is "nicely arched eyebrows."
4. Slaughterhouse Beyoncé

Scratch that insatiable itch for gore with this image of Beyoncé in the style of a character from a slasher flick. Remember, artwork doesn't only have to exist between you and your therapist.
5. Tribal Goddess Beyoncé

Beyoncé is a frequent muse for fashion-style sketches. Here, artist Hayden Williams has played up the top triller's vivacious side and kitted her out in feisty tribal-style garb. The headpiece confirms her queendom.
6. Mrs. Cater Vs. Vrettos Vrettakos

More fashionista kicks, here with Ryan Monsod showcasing Beyoncé spruced up in a Vrettos Vrettakos outfit at the Brit Awards. It goes without saying that the crystal bling on the dress is real.
7. Single Lady Beyoncé

Step Puki was inspired by Beyoncé's mega-anthem "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" when creating this anime-style illustration of Jay Z's better half. Would work a treat in an animated app game too.
8. Beyoncé Vs. Lady Gaga

A battle of the super-egos: here, Beyoncé and Lady Gaga go head-to-head while wearing butterfly-branded headphones. Obviously, the image is also available to purchase as a fridge magnet.
9. Blue Ivy Eyeshadow Beyoncé

Sometimes it's all about the details, as with SimpleElegantDesign's take on Beyoncé, which plays up a quite freakish blue eyeshadow accent. It's the last time Blue Ivy gets the keys to the Carter family makeup box.
10. Girls Love Beyoncé

It's all about the puckered-up red lipstick-lavished lips in AzaleaPatricia's take on Beyoncé. Would make a bold pairing framed with Blue Ivy Eyeshadow Beyoncé, possibly in an apartment hallway or secondary bedroom.
11. Briah Neale's Beyoncé

Sometime after attending Baltimore City College High School, Briah Neale put paintbrush to paper and created a bright and bold picture of Beyoncé. Despite not being finished, something about the painting caught Beyoncé's eye and she decided to share it via her own Instagram account, showing her appreciation by adding a cute heart and an exclamation mark after Briah's handle.
12. Festival Beyoncé

Going by the artistic name of Darkdordevic, this super-fan was inspired to muster up a slick computer-created rendition of Beyoncé after catching a performance at the mud-splattered Glastonbury festival. The large, illuminated letter B in the background adds to the superstar sparkle.
13. Giclee Beyoncé

The handiwork of artist Joseph Cheridan, this limited edition depiction of Beyoncé was originally created with pencil and cotton paper and is now presented to the world as a giclee print. The look in Sasha Fierce's eyes comes across as one part coy, and one part lusting for world domination.
14. Bobblehead Beyoncé

Simple and effective, here Beyoncé gets the exaggerated bobblehead-caricature treatment. The playful illustration is the work of Miss Matzenbatzen who admits that while she doesn't listen to Bey's music, she "seem[s] to be a very nice person and is absolutely gorgeous." Fearsome forehead, too.
15. Amy Beyoncé

Remember that time Beyoncé was at home sipping dirty martinis while having a torrid argument with her old man Shawn and she managed to somehow look like Amy Winehouse? Artist Klaudia69 certainly does, and has captured it aptly with this thick-outlined image.
16. Lady Diana Beyoncé

The British invasion of Beyoncé continues with fan art disciple Kaesthetics morphing the R&B megastar's face onto the body of Princess Diana. A sterling trans-Atlantic mash-up.
17. Quickie Beyoncé

Working with the PaintTool SAI software, Germ Egg conjured up this watercolor-style take on Beyoncé as "a quickie before bed." That's what Jay Z said.
18. 8-Bit Beyoncé

The elusive BloomSirenix7 went retro with this rendition of Beyoncé, running a picture through a chunky pixellated filter to take her back to the 8-bit video-game days. Computer love!
19. Pencil Sketch Beyoncé

A sketch-tastic take on Sasha Fierce courtesy of Emilie Creations, here canny pencil work and shading musters up an endearingly classy image. Would also work printed up on an oversize white tee.
20. Oily Beyoncé

Created from a photo and manipulated using PaintTool SAI, Marta De Winter has answered the burning question about what a grandiose, old-fashioned oil-painting portrait of Beyoncé would look like. The answer is equal parts regal and piercing, especially with eyes that seem to follow you. Seriously, try it.
21. Beyoncé Mask

Speaking of eyes, this pared-down black-and-white illustration of Beyoncé seems prepped to be printed out and worn as a mask — the clue is in the vacant eye-sockets. A fine facial fit for all girls and boys with dreams of running the world.
22. Greyscale Bey

Ever wondered how long it takes to sketch a snazzy picture of Beyoncé? 16 hours seems to be par for the course, at least according to fan-artist Rukkuss, who dutifully toiled away on this graphic pencil sketch of Lady Bey and her luxurious locks.
23. Our Lady Beyoncé

Sacrilege or the ultimate tribute? That's the artistic dilemma FemmeGod muses on with this depiction of Jay Z's beau as Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Baby Blue Ivy snags the theological assist.

Chinese ship finds 'pulse signal', but no confirmation if linked to MH370

A Chinese ship searching for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 detected a "pulse signal" in the southern Indian Ocean, but it was not yet clear whether it was linked to MH370

STILL SEARCHING. This handout photo taken on April 1, 2014 by Australian Defence shows HMAS Toowoomba (bottom) conducting a replenishment at sea with HMAS Success (top) during the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean. Photo from AFP/ Australian Defence/ Abis Chris Beerens
STILL SEARCHING. This handout photo taken on April 1, 2014 by Australian Defence shows HMAS Toowoomba (bottom) conducting a replenishment at sea with HMAS Success (top) during the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean. Photo from AFP/ Australian Defence/ Abis Chris Beerens

BEIJING, China – A Chinese ship searching for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 detected a "pulse signal" in the southern Indian Ocean on April 5, Saturday, but there was no evidence yet that it was linked to the missing plane, Chinese state media Xinhua said.

The signal picked up by the vessel's black box detector had a frequency of 37.5kHz per second, the official Xinhua news agency said – identical to the beacon signal emitted by flight recorders.

The announcement came nearly a month after the Malaysian jetliner disappeared off radar screens en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board, triggering an unprecedented international search.

Australian and British vessels are currently involved in a round-the-clock underwater search in the southern Indian Ocean, hoping to pick up a signal from the plane's black box recorder, but the battery powering those emissions is nearing the end of its roughly 30-day life span.

Pulse signal

The Chinese search ship Haixun 01 picked up the pulse signal at about 25 degrees south latitude and 101 degrees east longitude, Xinhua said in a brief dispatch.

"Suspected pulse signal picked up by Haixun 01 has not been identified yet," the China Maritime Search and Rescue Center said on a verified microblog.

Australian Defence Minister David Johnston said he had not received a report on the signal and warned that it may not be from the plane.

"This is not the first time we have had something that has turned out to be very disappointing," he told ABC television.

"I'm just going to wait for (JACC chief) Angus (Houston) and the team and my team to come forward with something that's positive because this is a very very difficult task."

Slow progress

Up to 10 military planes, three civilian jets and 11 ships are currently involved in the protracted search for the Boeing 777, but have so far failed to find any sign of the plane.

Authorities still have no idea how or why the plane vanished, and warn that unless the black box is found, the mystery may never be solved.

Earlier in Kuala Lumpur, Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Malaysia would, in line with international agreements, appoint an independent "investigator in charge" to lead an international team to probe what happened to MH370.

The team will include Australia, China, the United States, Britain and France.

Hishammuddin again declined to provide any detail from Malaysia's ongoing investigation, however, saying he remained focused on finding the plane and its black box.

"In spite of (the long odds), our determination remains undiminished," he told a press briefing.

Australia is leading the hunt for the plane, which concentrated Saturday on about 217,000 square kilometres of the Indian Ocean some 1,700 kilometres (1,054 miles) northwest of Perth.

Malaysian authorities believe satellite readings indicates MH370 crashed in the Indian Ocean, far off Australia's western coastline, after veering dramatically off course during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

But no proof has been found that would indicate a crash site, and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has described the oceanic search as "the most difficult in human history".

The JACC said Australia's Transport Safety Bureau was continuing "to refine the area where the aircraft entered the water" using further analysis of satellite data and aircraft performance.

Several nations that normally do not work together -- notably the United States and China -- have rallied to help look for clues in one of the world's greatest-ever aviation mysteries.

Authorities still have no idea how or why the plane vanished, and warn that unless the black box is found, the mystery may never be solved.

The Ocean Shield, which is carrying a US Navy "black box" detector, and HMS Echo, which has a similar capability, are searching a 240-kilometre track of ocean in hopes of detecting sonic pings from the recorder.

However, progress is painstaking as vessels must move slowly to improve readings, and officials have acknowledge there is no solid evidence the plane went down in that stretch of sea.

"The search using sub-surface equipment needs to be methodical and carefully executed in order to effectively detect the faint signal of the pinger," Commodore Peter Leavy said. – Rappler.com