comebacks (61 posts)

Well, what are the chances? Just two days after Rihanna debuted her new single, chronic one-upper (among other things) Chris Brown has rolled out a new song of his own.

And while those looking to link Rihanna's "Russian Roulette" to her Brown beatdown did so courtesy of tenuous lyrical metaphors and heavy speculation, Brown isn't making his listeners work quite so hard with "Crawl."

Interestingly, while RiRi came out fighting, draping herself in barbed wire and peppering her dark tune with gunshots, Brown—still deep in character and career rehabilitation—went the Celine Dion route, releasing a slow jam that paints him as nothing more than a hopeful man who just so happens to be unlucky-in-love.

Well, in his defense, you try finding something that rhymes with "girlfriend-beater."

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She may not have known her own strength, but Whitney Houston clearly overestimated the tenacity of her wardrobe Sunday night.

The comeback queen nearly turned the X Factor into the XXX Factor when she suffered a wardrobe malfunction halfway through her performance on the Simon Cowell-fronted reality show.

While performing her new single, "Million Dollar Bill," on Britain's Idol-esque series—her first U.K. performance, incidentally, in more than 12 years—the back strap of her form-fitting, floor-length gown gave way, and spent the remainder of the song flapping at her sides.

Seasoned pro that she is, she remained unfazed by the clothes call, which, luckily, didn't result in any more skin than usual being exposed.

"I sang myself out of my clothes," she said after her performance.

Houston, who pulled double-duty as the contestants' mentor this week, was later praised by the Ryan Seacrest-alike host, Dermot O'Leary, for her pull-no-punches (think less constructive, more criticism) advice to the wannabes.

"Is that why you call me 'Lippy'?" she asked Cowell. "Simon calls me 'Lippy.' I say what's on my mind just like he does."

For his part, the judge clearly doesn't mind a little sass, deeming her performance "incredible."

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Check out other sartorial scandals with a flip through our Fashion Police gallery.

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Garth Brooks already took Elvis' record. Now he's taking his town. Viva Las Vegas, y'all!

Just hours after the country superstar announced he was coming out of retirement—nine years after trading in his 10-gallon hat for a life of leisure—the honky-tonk ambassador confirmed that he would be taking up headliner residence at the Wynn Las Vegas.

"Steve Wynn has done what I thought was impossible. He has given me a chance to sing again for the people, while at the same time never missing a day with my children," says Brooks in a statement to E! News. "I am naturally nervous, but it feels good to be out from under the low ceiling of 'retirement' I put on myself."

The Sin City gig has long been rumored and, doing his best to play coy as long as possible, earlier this morning Brooks refused to confirm whether he was packing up his stagecoach and heading west.

"It's a proud day for me and my family to announce," he said. "We're going to take the retirement roof off over our head, and I already feel taller…As for touring, if I can't eat it, sleep it, breathe it, then it ain't me."

It also ain't without personal precedent.

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Daughters, lock up your mothers. The Backstreet Boys are back by popular demand yet again.

Apparently, someone forgot to tell them that the only ones who can pull off bubblegum pop these days are Disneyfied tween stars…not borderline irrelevant boy bands old enough to be their target markets' fathers.

But we digress.

Nick, Howie, Brian and AJ have managed to squeeze out This Is Us, their seventh studio album, set for release on Oct. 6. And because they're generous like that, they're already streaming the debut single, "Straight Through My Heart," online and putting the final touches on a yearlong tour.

Somewhere, Kevin Richardson is breathing a huge sigh of relief.

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What's old (in BSB's case, really old) is new again. Check out other pros angling for a resurgence in our Model Comeback gallery.

Is the King of Pop already fizzling out?

No doubt to the delight of British bookies who predicted the shows wouldn't go on—Michael Jackson today announced that he was pushing pushing back his heavily hyped comeback concerts set for this summer in London.

His 50-show residency at the O2 Arena, dubbed "This Is It," had been slated to kick off on July 8. The new start date—at least for now—is July 13.

And what exactly is the reason for the delay?

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Even Mother Nature couldn't handle Amy Winehouse's lackluster comeback gig.

Heavy rains forced the trouble-ridden British singer to cut short a performance at the St. Lucia Jazz Festival on Friday, her first gig in 2009.

"Amy is very disappointed as St Lucia has been wonderful to her and its people have welcomed her with open arms, but circumstances beyond anyone's control meant that this special show did not go as planned," said her spokesman, Chris Goodman.

He said the singer and her band "tried to soldier on" despite the storm causing sound and lighting problems.

Fans, however, couldn't have been more pleased, according to the BBC.

"What a wasted talent," said a male concertgoer. "She is on a one-way road to destruction; it's such a shame."

During the hour-long set, Winehouse forgot lyrics, appeared distracted and inadvertently flashed her underwear before walking off the stage. At one point, the 25-year-old chanteuse even told the audience, "Sorry, I'm bored."

"It was disappointing," said another fan. "It is very sad to see, but she is obviously not fit to be on stage."

Last week, Winehouse collapsed in the Caribbean and was treated for dehydration at a local hospital

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Don't call it a comeback…cause it isn't one just yet.

Just a month after Rihanna was booked for her first public performance since her alleged assault by Chris Brown, the show has been abruptly scrapped.

The 21-year-old R&B star had been scheduled to perform later this month in the United Arab Emirates. But Yassin Matbouly, of would-have-been concert organizer Vibe Entertainment Management Agency, said in a statement that she's not yet ready to return to the stage.

"We want to share with you that Rihanna and her management will not be accepting to hold a public concert at this time as it is not appropriate timing for her," he said.

There was no immediate comment from Rihanna, who is expected to be among the glitterati in attendance at tonight's Costume Institue Gala in New York.

Coincidentally, the next court hearing for Brown's double felony case is also May 28, the same day the concert was scheduled to take place.

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If the name Anna Chlumsky sounds familiar, it's probably because you were among the millions who fell in love with her big green eyes.

18 years ago.

The actress stole hearts opposite Macaulay Culkin in 1991's My Girl, and now the 28-year-old Chlumsky is ready to do it again with two films in this year's Tribeca Film Festival. Needless to say, she's pretty happy about it.

"You plug along and you do your work and sometimes a lot of people see what you do," she tells E! News at the premiere of The Good Guy Sunday. "I think it's so special that people know what I do. It all kind of comes together at once in this moment."

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