Month: October 2006

Janet has signed a personalised duck in order to help raise money for breast cancer awareness. All money from the eBay auction goes to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Bid now at eBay.

A new episode of Janet’s MySpace journal is online now for fans to watch. In it she dines at Megu, goes to a Johnta Austin concert and flies back to LA on board her private jet during which they secretly film her sleeping! Watch it now at Janet’s official MySpace page.

Janet’s customised Doc Maarten boots that we featured on the site last week have been sold for £155.00 (around $300.00). The money will go to support the National Aids Trust which aims to prevent the spread of HIV and Aids, ensure people living with HIV have access to treatment and care, and stop HIV discrimination.

Janet’s boyfriend, Jermaine Dupri, has confirmed that he has stepped down as head of Urban Music at Virgin Records with immediate effect. In a statement to the Associated Press, his short statement emphasises that it was his choice to leave the company and that he was not pushed.

NEW YORK (AP) — Jermaine Dupri — superproducer, rapper, and the boyfriend of Janet Jackson — has confirmed to The Associated Press that he has quit as a top executive at Jackson’s label, Virgin Records, amid disappointing sales of Jackson’s new album.

“Since there are so many rumors running rampant about my position at Virgin Records, I feel that it is necessary to set the record straight,” Dupri said Wednesday in a statement released to the AP. “I was not forced out of the company, I made a decision that it was in my best interest to leave.”

Dupri became head of urban music at Virgin, a unit of EMI Group PLC, just last year. His abrupt departure comes after the underwhelming performance of Jackson’s latest release, “20 Y.O.”

Jackson’s album failed to debut at the top of the charts last month, then steadily fell to her current No. 19 position on the Billboard 200. Dupri was an executive producer of the record and helped determine its creative vision, along with Jackson and her longtime producers, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

Coming after the flat performance of 2004’s “Damita Jo” and Jackson’s infamous Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction, “20 Y.O.” was seen as an opportunity for Jackson to re-establish herself as the multiplatinum hitmaker she has been for most of her 20-year-plus career.

Dupri, who declined further comment on his departure, has produced a multitude of hits for other artists, most notably last year for diva Mariah Carey. His work on her multiplatinum, Grammy-winning “The Emancipation of Mimi” was widely credited as being a chief reason for her comeback. He also was a top producer on Usher’s eight-million selling “Confessions” album.

So Excited will be released in the UK on November 27th contrary to rumours circulating on the internet. This is the first confirmed release of the single anywhere in the world.

Janet arrived in Japan safely yesterday when she will be promoting the single and album. Check out a video of her arriving on the EMI Japan website.

Janet appeared on BBC Radio 1Xtra when she was last in the UK for promotion. In the interview she talks about her relationship with Mariah Carey, Tupac Shakur and much more. Listen to the interview now.

The second single from 20 Y.O. will get a UK release. So Excited will be released in the UK on November 27th.

“‘So Excited’ is how I feel about this entire project”, Janet says in her quietly enthusiastic way. “I’m excited that Jimmy and Terry and I have worked together for so long and so well. I’m excited that Jermaine, who is my heart, has added his own genius to the mix. I’m excited to mark an anniversary of an artistic career that has been my life and my joy. And I’m excited—and so lucky—to have fans whose devotion has sustained me over two amazing decades”.

Janet has specially customised and signed a pair of Dr. Marten shoes for a British AIDS charity. The National AIDS Trust will benefit from the money that is raised from the auction that will take place on eBay starting tomorrow.

Doc Martens boots customised by stars such as Madonna and Mick Jagger are to be auctioned for charity.

The items will appear on eBay from today to mark the start of National Giving Week.

Boots signed by All Saints, Oasis and Janet Jackson are among the 25 pairs going on sale.

The customised and signed Dr Martens boots were originally part of a collection put together for World Aids Day in 1998.

National Giving Week is organised by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) to encourage people to give something up and donate the saved money to charity instead.

CAF spokeswoman Sheila Hooper said: “If people raid their wardrobes, cupboards and attics to find items they no longer need but could sell on eBay for a favoured organisation, we can make a real difference.”

Money raised through the week-long eBay sale goes to various different charities.

Funds raised via the Doc Martens boot collection will go to the National Aids Trust.