James Blunt sells sister on eBay

Yes, he did. In an item in British GQ, James Blunt admitted that he actually sold his own younger sister on eBay!

James Blunt with sister Emily. 

The “You’re Beautiful” crooner said: “I came back to the flat where my sister was staying and she was crying because she couldn’t get to a funeral in Ireland. The planes were on strike, the ferry was out of season, and there were no trains.”

So he said he came up with an innovative solution to the problem. “I ended up whacking it on eBay: ‘Damsel in distress seeks knight in shining armor! Desperate to get to a funeral in southern Ireland, please help!’ The bids flooded in and the guy who won had a helicopter.”

And now, the fairy tale has a happily ever after ending: “He flew her to the funeral,” Blunt says. “That was three years ago. This summer they’re getting married. That was the stupidest thing I’ve ever sold on eBay – my sister.”

* Live Earth draws poor TV ratings

The globe-spanning Live Earth pop music extravaganza fell flat for television viewers in the United States and Britain, drawing far smaller audiences than the Princess Diana tribute concert a week earlier.

Clockwise: John Bon Jovi,  Fergie, Madonna, Enrique Iglesias performing live in different venues worldwide during the Live Earth concert last week.
The main three-hour American TV broadcast on NBC averaged a meager 2.7 million viewers, ranking as the least-watched US program on Saturday night and falling below NBC’s summer prime-time Saturday average, Nielsen Media Research reported on Monday.

Even rival network ABC’s rerun telecast of the animated film “Monsters Inc” garnered a bigger audience — 3.3 million viewers. The most watched show of the evening was the CBS news magazine “48 Hours” with 6.5 million viewers.

By comparison, NBC, a unit of General Electric Co., averaged 8.8 million viewers with its hour-long broadcast of the memorial concert for the late Princess Diana the previous Sunday.

This just proves that today’s batch of crooners are no match to their peers in the eighties, seventies and sixties. There’s just too much noise and crazy antics in today’s music scene.

* Avril gives critics a piece of her mind

They’re trying to pull her down, but feisty Canadian pop star Avril Lavigne is kicking back!

Accused of ripping off other artists’ work, a visibly irritated Avril lashed back at her accusers calling their claims false and saying she is considering legal action.

Avril Lavigne

A lawsuit filed last week by two songwriters, claiming her hit “Girlfriend” sounds like a track their California-based pop band, The Rubinoos, recorded in the 1970s, has no merit, she said.

“I had never heard this song in my life and their claim is based on five words! All songs share similar lyrics and emotions. As humans we speak one language,” Avril said in a letter posted on Friday on her Web site, (www.avrillavigne.com).

The 22-year-old star also said she was considering legal action against Chantal Kreviazuk after the Canadian songwriter claimed in “Performing Songwriter” magazine that Avril took an idea from her because a song on her new album has the same title.

“Let it be crystal clear that I have not ripped anyone off or done anything wrong,” she said in the letter addressed to media, fans and friends.

“I do not deserve this negative press and attention,” she said. “I take pride in the songs I write and appreciate the opportunities to work with some great writers and musicians.”

Avril, famed for feisty tunes such as “Complicated” and “Sk8er Boi,” released her third album, “The Best Damn Thing,” in April. It topped the charts in the United States and Britain.

“I would like to say more but my lawyers have advised me not to. Why is it when you get to a certain level people want to attack you?” she said.

It’s the crab mentality among some people, Avril. The best thing to do with these people is to get rid of their pinching power by dragging their crawlers to court!