The Play House Radio

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Melanie Amaro may have walked off with the top prize of $5 million and the title of ‘X Factor‘ winner, but third runner-up Chris Rene and fan favorite Astro have both signed deals with their mentor L.A. Reid’s Epic Records. It proves you needn’t be the winner to enjoy the spoils.

Rene told EW that he has inked the contract with Epic, which we knew would happen given the singer’s marketability, his underdog history surrounding his battle with drugs and his deft mixture of hip-hop with R&B. “I’ve dreamt about this moment my whole life,” Rene told the publication. “And now it’s here. Working with L.A. Reid — ‘Big Homie’ – is a dream come true; he’s a great man.” Congrats, Chris! We cannot wait to hear your Epic debut.

Rapper Astro, who was voted off earlier in the season and seemed like a lock to sign with Jay-Z‘s label, is also expected to discuss his new contract with Epic today via RapFix Live, according to MTV. Astro was also mentored by Reid, so the mentor is certainly taking care of his boys!

So what about Drew and second runner-up Josh Krajcik? Where will they end up? Hopefully signed, sealed and delivered sooner than later.

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Britney Spears is getting married for the third time — judging from the glow she emits when looking at her engagement ring or talking about fiancée Jason Trawick, this should be her final trip to the altar. Brit’s wedding is going to be a big deal for her, and she’s already mapping out plans. As is the case with most brides, she’s changing her mind as she sorts through her vision of her big day. She’s the bride, so she’s allowed — as long as she doesn’t turn into Brit the Bridezilla!

First, Brit was toying with the idea of a southern wedding, as an homage to her roots and her origin. Now, Radar Online is reporting that Brit is scrapping that idea in favor of something more private, intimate and close to the vest. It’s going to be a destination wedding, where guests travel to a warm, tropical locale to celebrate while Brit and Jason swap vows.

“It’s going to be a very intimate wedding with only immediate family and very, very close friends,” a source shared with RadarOnline. The source continued, “There is absolutely no drama with the planning of the wedding and Britney will probably wear an off-white dress that will show off her killer bod.” Ooh! That’s got us wondering about who will design the gown. Vera Wang? Monique Lhuillier? Someone more unknown and upcoming? Hell, that could be an ‘Project Runway’ challenge. Design Brit’s wedding gown. Could you imagine?

Brit’s sons from her second marriage (the one that lasted longer than 55 hours!) to Kevin Federline will serve as ring bearers in the ceremony.

The wedding won’t happen until Brit’s legal issues, such as her conservatorship, are dealt with. “Britney doesn’t want to get married until all legal matters have been dealt with. She wants to begin her life with Jason on a fresh clean slate,” the source revealed.

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Cocaine arrest? What cocaine arrest? Bruno Mars pleaded guilty last year to cocaine possession, but the charges are being dropped and removed from his record since he went above and beyond in completing his community service requirements.

TMZ has a source who claims the judge in Mars’ case officially dropped the charges today. Despite his guilty plea, Mars was never convicted, since the judge deferred his ruling and allowed the singer to attend drug education courses and complete 200 hours community service.

Mars reportedly completed 230 hours of service time, which included work with children’s charities. He didn’t even have to show up in court to make the charges go away. His representative, celebrity attorney Blair Berk, appeared for him to make the dismissal official.

After appearing in court to represent Mr. Mars, Berk told TMZ, “Bruno earned the dismissal of his charge. He exceeded the expectations of the court in both his service to the community and his counseling.”

The original charges stemmed from a 2010 incident in Las Vegas, when a security attendant spotted Mars doing coke in a bathroom stall at the Hard Rock Hotel. After the arrest, Mars publicly declared that he is not a role model.

Mars will be happy to have this matter behind him as he prepares for the Grammy Awards, where he is nominated for Record of the Year for ‘Grenade’ and Album of the Year for ‘Doo-Wops and Hooligans.’

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Perhaps you hadn’t noticed, but the Grammy Awards have been operating without a host for the last seven years. That’s long enough as far as the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences is concerned, and to prove it, they’ve gone out and enlisted the services of all-world MC LL Cool J, who has spent the last four years hosting the Grammys’ live nominations concert show.

LL Cool J will be the first person to host the event since Queen Latifah did it back in 2005, and will become part of a tradition that includes previous hosts such as Jon Stewart, Billy Crystal, Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnell. He owns a pair of Grammys himself, picking up wins for Best Rap Solo Performance in 1992 and 1997.

“I’m thrilled to be part of Music’s Biggest Night,” LL said in a statement. “I will always have fond memories of my first Grammy Awards and to now be hosting the Grammy show, in the company of so many other incredible artists, is a dream come true.”

This year’s Grammys — the 54th, for those keeping count at home — are scheduled to air on CBS at 8PM EST on Sunday, Feb. 12. The confirmed performance lineup includes Jason Aldean, Kelly Clarkson, Foo Fighters, Bruno Mars, Nicki Minaj, and Taylor Swift.

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Those reports about Avril Lavigne splitting with Brody Jenner, her boyfriend of two years, may have been premature. Both expressed their love for each other yesterday via Twitter, with Jenner in particular taking offense at the breakup rumors.

E! News and Us Weekly were among the outlets claiming to have inside information that the couple was no more, but Jenner responded by writing, “It really upsets me to read all the FALSE!! stories. Avril has always been there for me and is the closest person to my heart. I love her.” Avril retweeted the message and added, “luv u 2!!! @BrodyJenner.”

Jenner seemed a little angry, which contradicts his Twitter profile statement, which reads in part, “I have plenty of room for positive energy and NONE for negative.” However, having the press incorrectly report that you have split with the love of your life would probably upset anyone.

Were the gossip columns totally wrong? Or is it possible Avril and Brody are being coy about their problems — much like Jada Pinkett Smith denying that she and Will Smith are splitting, even though she’s been spotted visiting a divorce lawyer? Only time will tell.

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It pays to adore Rihanna. On Wednesday, the singer took to Twitter to post several photos of herself in the tropics, tweeting one bikini pic directly to a fan.

First, the ‘We Found Love’ singer posted a shot of herself taken from behind with the message: “Wake…Bake…#CAKE.” Moments later, she tweeted another photo, this time replying at an unsuspecting fan.

“@MzCprettyFly just for u,” Rihanna wrote with a photo of herself in a sexy metallic one-piece. The tweet seems to be a random act of kindness as @MzXprettyFly appears to be a Georgia resident with just 307 followers and no relation to RiRi. Her only response to the star’s dedicated message was a retweet from a follower who simply wrote “Jelly.”

Rihanna has been indulging in some R&R in a tropical location, tweeting regularly to her 12 million followers. Not only has the Barbadian beauty posted photos of herself, but she’s also tweeted pics of her surroundings and her chef, calling the latter “hot.”

Rihanna’s vacation hasn’t been without controversy, though. The R&B star was recently snapped smoking a hand-rolled cigarette, and fueled speculation about the substance she was puffing when she quoted Drake‘s ‘Up All Night.’ The tweet read, “Kush rolled, glass full…I prefer the better things!”

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Sounds like Adele indeed turned her sorrow into treasured gold — then into treasured platinum, and next week into a Billboard chart record. Billboard reports that amid a week of few new releases, the British chanteuse is slated to top their Billboard 200 chart for the 16th nonconsecutive week, tying the record previously set by the ‘Titanic’ soundtrack.

The record Adele set with ’21′ was both a long time coming and expected, and it may not be the only one she’llhold. If ’21′ nabs the No. 1 spot for four more weeks, Adele will tie the record set by Whitney Houston for the most weeks at No. 1 by a female artist since 1990 — for which her competition is also a soundtrack, this time to ‘The Bodyguard.’ If she holds out one week longer than that, Adele will tie with M.C. Hammer to be the artist with the most weeks at No. 1 since 1990.

The chart record will only be the latest in a string of great news for the ‘Turning Tables’ songbird. Adele is slated to perform at the 2012 Brit Awards, where she’s also nominated for three awards. She’s also slated to attend this year’s Grammys, though it’s unclear whether or not she will perform at the ceremony (though we certainly hope so!).

All that and a new boyfriend? If Adele thought she could have had it all before, she was right. She certainly seems to have it all now.

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To us, Madonna‘s new album title ‘M.D.N.A.,’ which is due out March 12, looks like a stylized, reduced vowel and consonant version of her name. To anti-drug pundits and crusaders, it was a glaring mistake on Madge’s part, since it’s also a (likely unintentional) reference to a ‘MDMA,’ which is a Class A drug known commonly on the street as ‘ecstasy.’

Lucy Dawe, who reps a campaign group known as Cannabis Skunk Sense, said that the title is “an ill advised decision,” according to the NME. Ill advised? That assumes that Madge is aware that ecstasy, or ‘X’,’ is officially referred to as MDMA and was purposefully playing on that pun. That doesn’t seem feasible.

Despite all the headaches and press generated by the anti-druggists, we doubt Madonna can or will swap out the title or change it at this point. And can we interject for a second here? Madonna doesn’t seem like the type to use her album title to promote drugs. She’s the type to promote herself, so the MDMA hoopla feels a wee bit far-fetched, don’t ya think?

Ethan Miller / Frazer Harrison / Gareth Cattermole, Getty Images

Will it ever end?!

Ever since Madonna hit the road promoting her film ‘W.E.,’ the press has hounded the Material Girl over her thoughts on Lady Gaga. Now, following Madge’s Golden Globe win for ‘Masterpiece,’ two more divas have gotten involved — Elton John and his husband, David Furnish.

Before Madonna accepted her Golden Globe win, John told a reporter that she had “no f—in’ chance” at the award for Best Original Song — for which John was also nominated for his contribution to ‘Gnomeo and Juliet.’ When she did in fact win, TMZ reports that John was in the audience and “seemed p—ed off in the crowd when Madonna’s name was read.” We’ll attribute John’s beef with Madge to sour grapes. No one likes to lose!

However, John’s husband, David Furnish, was even angrier than John seemed to be. Furnish lashed out at Madonna on his Facebook page, posting, “Madonna. Best song???? F— off!!!” But he didn’t stop there. ”Madonna winning Best Original Song truly shows how these awards have nothing to do with merit,” Furnish continued. “Her acceptance speech was embarrassing in it’s narcissism. And her critisism [sic] of Gaga shows how desperate she really is.”

John and Furnish’s relationship with Gaga goes back quite a bit. They’re so close that they even named Mother Monster as their son Zachary’s godmother.

So far, Lady Gaga is the only person involved in this mess to not comment. For that reason alone, she may be the smartest of the bunch!

Will we be expecting to hear some heartbreak tunes coming out of Avril Lavigne in the near future? Maybe so, seeing how Lavigne and her boyfriend of nearly two years, Brody Jenner, have broken up, according to Us Weekly.

The twosome reportedly called it quits last week after the constant battle of finding balance between their relationship and individual careers.

“Every time he wanted to come back and take meetings to get his career back in order, she would make him go to Asia and Europe,” a source tells the magazine. “He hasn’t worked and he wants to. They were both unhappy because he wants to have his career, she wants him to stay with her.”

The source went on to say that in the recent months, Lavigne made her beau turn down several television opportunities after his run on the hit reality TV series ‘The Hills,’ came to an end.

Neither reps for Jenner or Lavigne have commented on the rumored split, but the insider close to the couple says the two remain close and that anything can happen in the future. “There is always a chance they will get back together,” says the source. “Brody is trying to set the ground rules and wants to be able to work. They have to find a balance.”

The singer began dating Jenner following her divorce in 2009 to Deryck Whibley. By August of 2010, the couple were head over heels in love and not afraid to let the world know about it. The son of Bruce Jenner had the letter “A” shaved into the side of his head and supposedly had Lavigne’s name tattooed across his left forearm.

We guess Jenner will now be looking for a new ‘Girlfriend.’