GRAMMY-WINNING HILL IN PRISON: DANBURY, Conn. (AP) — Grammy-winning singer Lauryn Hill began serving a three-month prison sentence in Connecticut on Monday for failing to pay about $1 million in taxes over the past decade. Hill reported to federal prison in Danbury, said Ed Ross, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Prisons. Hill, who started singing with the Fugees as a teenager in the 1990s before releasing her multiplatinum 1998 album "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill," pleaded guilty last year in New Jersey to failing to pay taxes on more than $1.8 million earned from 2005 to 2007. Her sentencing also took into account unpaid state and federal taxes in 2008 and 2009 that brought the total earnings to about $2.3 million.
DION HELPS LAUNCH ARTIST ON STRIP: LAS VEGAS (AP) — Perched atop the performer hierarchy in Las Vegas, where she holds court in the Caesars Palace Colosseum, five-time Grammy winner Celine Dion could quite easily sit on her laurels. But the 45-year-old mother of three is using her influence on new projects, working on a new album due out in October and co-producing the show of a fellow French Canadian songstress setting up shop across the street at Bally's. Veronic DiCaire — a winsome blonde from Ontario with boundless energy and just a wisp of an accent — previously opened for Dion during a 2008 tour stop in Montreal. In late June, she launched a two-month run of "Veronic Voices," in which she impersonates 50 female artists ranging from Whitney Houston to Carrie Underwood and Lady Gaga.
BON JOVI GIVES $1M TO SANDY RELIEF: SAYREVILLE, N.J. (AP) — Jon Bon Jovi went home Monday to present a $1 million check from his band to a fund to help New Jersey recover from Superstorm Sandy. The rocker joined Gov. Chris Christie and first lady Mary Pat Christie to announce the donation during a ceremony where the native son rocker got bigger cheers than the popular governor. Bon Jovi, who has long had philanthropic interests, has been highly visible in his home state since the storm hit. Days after the October 2012 storm, he visited washed out Sayreville, a flood-prone blue-collar community along the Raritan River. It was the town's third devastating flood in three years. He was a headliner of a relief concert and is, along with Bill Bradley, Bruce Springsteen and others, a co-chairman of the storm relief fund overseen by Mary Pat Christie.
KID ROCK ANNOUNCES CRUISE SHIP TRIP: DETROIT (AP) — Kid Rock is inviting fans to set sail with him on his fifth annual Chillin' the Most Cruise next year. In a Web posting, the Detroit-area musician promises "a mind-blowing lineup" and "rockin' activities" on the Norwegian Pearl. The ship departs from Miami on March 3 and will stop at Key West and the Bahamas before returning on March 7.
STATUE OF MR. DARCY RISES FROM LAKE: LONDON (AP) — It's Colin Firth, but not as we know him. He's 12 feet (3.7 meters) tall and made of fiberglass. A statue of brooding Mr. Darcy, the character played by Firth in "Pride and Prejudice" was installed Monday in London's Serpentine lake. The figure shows Darcy emerging from the water in a soaked shirt, recreating a scene from the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's novel. The scene helped turn Firth into a sex symbol and is regularly voted among Britain's most memorable TV moments.
KRIS JENNER WILL ROTATE CO-HOSTS: LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kris Jenner isn't going it alone on her new talk show: Joan Rivers and Sean "Diddy Combs" will be among the co-hosts sharing the stage with Jenner. The show's producer said Monday that Jenner will be paired with a different co-host for each episode of the daytime show, titled "Kris." Others in the lineup include Kathie Lee Gifford, Morris Chestnut, NeNe Leakes, Tom Bergeron and Ryan Seacrest, who produces "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," which features Jenner and other family members. Khloe Kardashian-Odom, one of Jenner's daughters, also will be a "Kris" co-host. The talk show gets a trial run starting next week on selected Fox stations.
