Michele
DesRochers

With rumors running rampant that he had become a
bloated, bald, and drug-addled hermit (due to the fact that he did not grant a
single interview between 1994-1999, staying completely out of the spotlight),
Rose continued to work on GNR's next release himself. 1999 saw GNR's first new
song released in nearly eight years, the industrial rocker "Oh My God" from the
End of Days soundtrack, as well as a live compilation of old-school GNR tracks,
Live Era: '87-'93, yet both came and went without much fanfare. But all that
changed when Rose and his new cohorts (which included ex-Nine Inch Nails
guitarist Robin Finck, mask-wearing solo guitarist Buckethead, ex-Replacements
bassist Tommy Stinson, ex-Primus drummer Brian Mantia, plus longtime GNR
keyboardist Dizzy Reed) played their first live shows together in early 2001,
receiving unanimously favorable reviews. With a world tour booked and album
nearing completion (reportedly to be titled Chinese Democracy), the GNR/Axl Rose
hype machine appeared to be building up to a feverish pitch once again. ~ Greg
Prato, All Music Guide

It only made Rose seem more out of touch from
reality when he would hold the band up from going on-stage, resulting in
ridiculous multi-hour delays. His public image took a few more shots when
several concerts were marred by audience riots caused by Rose's notorious
hijinks and when he tried to pick a fight with Nirvana leader Kurt Cobain
backstage at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards for disparaging (yet quite on the
mark) remarks Cobain made about Rose in the press. When the tour finally ground
to a halt in 1993, GNR issued a lukewarmly received collection of covers, The
Spaghetti Incident?, and took a well-deserved rest. But after numerous aborted
writing/recording sessions for their third proper studio album, the remaining
other two original members (Slash and McKagan) either quit the band or were
dismissed by Rose. Rose had been granted full ownership of the name Guns N'
Roses, so he slowly formed a whole new band around himself.

Michele
DesRochers

By this point in time, 50 Cent's fame overshadowed his
music, thereby predicating "street" credibility issues that would haunt him in
the years to follow. For instance, the marketing rollout of The Massacre carried
over into ventures such as the video game 50 Cent: Bulletproof, the
semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin', and the soundtrack to that
film -- all released in 2005, along with other product. The fallout from 50
Cent's overexposure was evident via the singles from the film soundtrack
("Hustler's Ambition," "Window Shopper," "Best Friend," "Have a Party"), which
failed to gain much traction in the marketplace, charting modestly relative to
past singles. The next round of G-Unit solo releases (Tony Yayo's Thoughts of a
Predicate Felon, 2005; Mobb Deep's Blood Money, 2005; Lloyd Banks' Rotten Apple,
2006; Young Buck's Buck the World, 2007) didn't perform commercially well,
either, and it's wasn't entirely surprising when plans for another, Olivia's
Behind Closed Doors, were shelved. The grim outlook didn't bode well for 50
Cent's next album, which was pushed back repeatedly and retitled a couple times.
The final title, Curtis, was inspired by yet another feud, this one with
Cam'ron, who taunted 50 Cent, somewhat oddly, by addressing him by his born
name. After a pair of lead singles, "Straight to the Bank" and "Amusement Park,"
failed to connect in the marketplace, Curtis was reworked one last time and
pushed back from a summer release date to a fall one (i.e., the memorable date
September 11, which -- to the glee of industry observers -- pitted the album
against Kanye West's Graduation). A second round of singles, "I Get Money" and
"Ayo Technology," was released in the latter half of the summer, while the video
for a fifth single, "Follow My Lead," was leaked to the Internet -- to the
frustration of 50 Cent, who reportedly cursed out Interscope for endangering the
commercial prospects of his album -- over a month before street date. ~ Jason
Birchmeier, All Music Guide

Spears' public image was dealt more blows in
early 2008, when she lost custody of her children, made several court
appearances, and was placed on involuntary psychiatric hold two times in one
month. Blackout nevertheless won several MTV-sponsored awards, including "Album
of the Year" from the Europe Music Awards in November 2008. That same fall, the
leadoff single from Spears' next record, "Womanizer," became her first number
one single in nearly a decade. The full-length Circus arrived in December,
featuring a mix of syrupy ballads and uptempo dance numbers that were designed
to fuel Spears' comeback. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide

Adams was
rewarded with yet another No. 1 hit, as well as a Grammy nomination for Best
Male Pop Vocal Performance and his second Oscar nomination for Best Song. An
18-month world tour followed and the album soon went platinum in the U.S. The
singles "Lets Make A Night To Remember" charted briefly in the Top 40 and the
provocatively titled "The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You" proved to do
well outside of the US, but didn't dent the US charts, perhaps due to the fact
that his record company (A&M) transferred his contract in the middle of the
release to independent rap label, Interscope Records. Adams filmed an appearance
for MTV's popular Unplugged series in the fall of 1997, and it was released as
an album in December. It was a modest success, and served as a stopgap until the
appearance of his next studio album, On a Day Like Today, which was released in
October 1998. Overseas, the disc featuring the Melanie C duet "When You're
Gone", reached the UK No. 3 spot in December of 1998 and spent 10 weeks in the
Top 10. This was followed by the Top 10 dance re-mix of "Cloud Number Nine". The
album also hit No. 3 in Canada. In November 1999, Adams issued a second hits
compilation, The Best of Me, but the American branch of A&M/Interscope
declined to release it. The title track "The Best Of Me" charted all over Europe
and in Canada. Adams returned in the spring of 2002 collaborating with Hans
Zimmer on his first full-length song score for a film, the animated DreamWorks
feature Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. The soundtrack made it into the Top 40
and Adams and Zimmer earned a Golden Globe Nomination for their collaboration.
His most recent work is entitled Room Service, which was released in September
of 2004 where it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard European Top 100 albums
Chart.

Michele Des Rochers
The rest of the afternoon featured "Toy Story" soldiers descending from the
rafters, rock/blues legend Dr. John performing a song from "The Princess and the
Frog" and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson unveiling an exclusive trailer from March's
"Race to Witch Mountain," which Cook mistakenly introduced as "Return to Witch
Mountain."

"Um, hi, Dick," the Rock teased his boss. "You greenlit the
movie!"

The trailer felt much darker than expected, with an emphasis on
the film's science-fiction elements. Opening with a dark road, ominous
voice-over and black helicopters, the film features a stubble-faced Rock as a
surly taxi driver. Soon enough, the audience caught glimpses of superpowered
kids, spaceships, black-clad super-soldiers and Garry Marshall imploring: "If
you're planning on visiting Witch Mountain, don't! This place is fortified up
the ying-yang!"

Ironically enough, the movie-within-a-movie spoof "Bolt"
pokes fun at the very same black-clad villains, space invaders and explosions
that were featured throughout the "Witch Mountain" trailer.

While her
inclusion on the movie's soundtrack failed to chart nationally, Beyoncé's
full-length solo debut, 2003's Dangerously in Love, reached multi-platinum
status. Featuring collaborations with Sean Paul, Missy Elliott, OutKast's Big
Boi, and romantic interest Jay-Z, the album spawned a total of four Top Ten
singles and garnered the singer five Grammys. Destiny's Child reconvened the
following year to release Destiny Fulfilled; upon completing the resulting tour,
the group issued one final album, a greatest-hits compilation entitled #1's, and
subsequently disbanded. Beyoncé turned her full attention to her burgeoning solo
career, releasing the sophomore effort B'day in September 2006 and, three months
later, turning in an award-winning performance for the movie musical Dreamgirls.
The singer then embarked on the Beyoncé Experience concert tour, releasing a
live DVD in November 2007.

At the beginning of 1996 Adams released a new
album 18 'Til I Die. The album featured the flamenco-tinged "Have You Ever
Really Loved a Woman?" from the Johnny Depp/Marlon Brando film Don Juan DeMarco.