American Idol hosted a 2 night special to raise money for relief programs in America and Africa. So far over $70 million has been raised by viewers and corporations. The show, co-hosted by Ryan Seacrest and Ellen DeGeneres, who herself donated $10,000, boasted a variety of special guests. The list included Madonna, Josh Groban, Earth, Wind & Fire, Ben Stiller, Kelly Clarkson and other celebrities.Funds are slated to go to “Charity Projects Entertainment Fund” and are to be distributed to multiple charities across America and Africa.

In keeping with the night’s theme of charity, none of the remaining contestants were sent home. However, next week will see two of the remaining six contestants voted off as votes from the two weeks will be combined to determine the bottom two.The remaining contestants are: Melinda Doolittle, Lakisha Jones, Blake Lewis, Chris Richardson, Jordin Sparks and Phil Stacey.

Guest mentor next week is Jon Bon Jovi who will perform live on the results show Wednesday.

Message boards loved her or hated her but Heather Mills, soon to be ex-wife of Beatle Paul McCartney caused a stir on Dancing with the Stars this season.

Mills garnered attention for being the first contestant with a prosthetic limb. The attention didn’t help her last through the 5th week of competition though.

Monday’s show had Mills and her partner, Jonathan Roberts, performing the Paso Doble but judges found they failed to bring the passion needed and scored only 23/30 points. Mills also fell during the final moments of the routine.

The low score and fall found them in the bottom two with John Ratzenberger and his partner, Edita Sliwinski, who, though having scored only 19 points from the judges were spared from leaving by the viewing audience.

Top marks this week went to Apolo Anton Ohno and his partner with 28 points for their rumba and to Laila Aliand her partner, also with 28 points, for their performance of a cha-cha. Former N’Synch singer Joey Fatone and his partner were close behind with a 27 for their samba performance. Scoring a 24 for performing the Paso Doble were Ian Ziering and his partner. Billy Ray Cyrus who created some of his own dance moves in what he called the “Bubba Chicken”, something that was “three-quarters jive and one-quarter bubba” he explained scored 21 points.

Next week the couples will be performing both a Latin and a ballroom routine.

Divorced couple, Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin, are fighting in public again.The couple who married in 1993, separated in 2000 and after 2 years of bitter battle were divorced in 2002. They have since engaged in a bitter custody battle over their daughter, Ireland.The latest chapter of the battle comes in the form of a recorded voicemail message that was leaked to the press. The message, from Baldwin to his daughter, had him lambasting her for not answering his scheduled phone call. The rant included name calling and profanity.

Baldwin has accused Basinger of leaking the tape against court order which Basinger denies. He has also publicly stated that he had apologized to his daughter and on his web site he said,”Naturally, it is not best for a parent to lose their temper with their child. Everyone who knows me privately knows that I have endured a great deal over the last several years in my custody litigation. Everyone who knows me privately knows that certain people will go to any lengths to embarrass me and to disrupt my relationship with my daughter. I’m sorry, as everyone who knows me is aware, for losing my temper with my child. I have been driven to the edge by parental alienation for many years now.”Basinger has hired bodyguards for herself and her daughter in response to the media attention to allow them to maintain their regular routines.

Baldwin has been court ordered to stay away from his daughter pending a May 4 hearing.

Basinger is also facing 12 unrelated misdemeanor counts of criminal contempt for allegedly ignoring court order concerning Baldwin’s visitation rights.

Richard Gere is not the most popular person in India right now. In fact, the burning effigies of him might make him “public enemy #1″. Gere swept Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty into his arms and kissed her several times during a HIV/AIDS awareness event in New Delhi.

The photographs of the embraces were splashed across Indian newspapers causing public outrage in a country where public displays of affections and sex are taboo. People took to the streets burning effigies of Gere and setting fire to photographs of Shetty.

Shetty is known for her part in the reality show “Celebrity Big Brother” where another contestant allegedly made racist comments towards her. Gere is known for his activism and his roles in “An Officer and a Gentleman”, “Pretty Woman” and “Chicago.”

CMT Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony where the fans decide the winners. This year Carrie Underwood, winner of “American Idol” won “Best Video of the Year”, “Best Female Video” and “Best Directed Video” for the video of her song “Before He Cheats”. Kenny Chesney, former husband of Renee Zellweger won for male video for “You Save Me” and Rascal Flatts won for group vide for “What Hurts the Most.”Breakthrough video of the year went to teen newcomer Taylor Swift for her song “Tim McGraw.” Actor Kris Kristofferson, writer of songs like “Help Me Make it Through the Night” and “Me and Bobby McGee” won the Johnny Cash Visionary Award.

Clyde Drexler and his partner, Elena Grinenko, were the latest couple eliminated from “Dancing with the Stars. “Tuesday night’s rumba performance earned them 13 points and harsh criticism from the judges. “You’re the worst dancer in this competition,” said judge Carrie Ann Inaba. Drexler graciously thanked the fans for voting and keeping him in the competition stating, “Lord knows they were keeping us in”. Lisa Rinna, a previous contestant, gave a preview of her performance of Roxie, from her Broadway musical “Chicago” and Grammy winning Macy Gray performed her new single “Finally Made Me Happy.”

Next weeks show will have contestants performing routines and a group swing dance performance.

Larry Birkhead, DNA confirmed father of Anna Nicole Smith’s baby girl, Dannielynn, has said that Howard Stern has been nothing but helpful. Birkhead, photographer and ex-boyfriend of Smith’s stated that Stern invited him to meet Dannielynn about a month ago. Stern has been helpful is acclimatizing the child to Birkhead and has been giving him tips on how he should do things where the baby is concerned.

Birkhead was not as complimentary with his comments about Virgie Arthur, Smith’s mother. He claims to be puzzled by her public displays of affections that are countered with behind the scenes attacks by her lawyers. Arthur is apparently trying to get custody of Dannielynn and comments are flying about Birkhead being a one night stand and simply a sperm donor.Birkhead and Dannielynn are featured on the cover of this month’s issue of OK! magazine. While is known that the magazine pays for its exclusive interviews, the amount paid to Birkhead was not disclosed.

Drew Barrymore joins the likes of Tyra Banks, Christie Brinkley and Queen Latifah as the newest CoverGirl. “I am honored to be associated with a brand that has been at the forefront of their industry for almost 55 years,” Barrymore said in a release.

CoverGirl is the sponsor of the modeling reality show, America’s Next Top Model, and gives the winner a $100,000 contract. Barrymore is known for her roles in films such as Charlie’s Angels, 50 First Dates and The Weddings Singer. Her latest film was Music With Lyrics in which she co-starred with Hugh Grant.

Procter and Gamble, brand owner of CoverGirl, announced that Barrymore has just finished the TV and prints ads that will start appearing in January 2008.

Nations sighed in relief as the voting public finally got it right. Sanjaya Malakar was voted off American Idol last night. Malakar who has inspired extreme reactions from the voting public, having one viewer go so far as to claim to go on a hunger strike until he was voted off. His singing and weekly survival frustrated judge Simon Cowell enough to declare that he would not return next season should Sanjaya win. While his singing was weak and childlike, his stage persona was ever changing. His most notable and most talked about appearance had him sporting a pony-hawk. Perhaps the bulk of his support came from shock jock Howard Stern and web site “Vote for the Worst”. Both supported him to go to the finals not because of his talent but as a mockery to American Idol’s premise that only the best win. This week was country week with guest coach Martina McBride. A surprisingly poor performance of “Jesus Take the Wheel” by LaKisha Jones landed her in the bottom two with Sanjaya. Another surprise in the bottom 3 was Blake Lewis.

Next week’s result show will feature “a star-studded extravaganza of celebrity artists performing at both the American Idol stage and prestigious Disney Hall, including: Sacha Baron Cohen, Michael Buble, Kelly Clarkson, Celine Dion, “Il Divo”, Josh Groban, Annie Lennox, Pink, and Gwen Stefani”. This event is in support of “Idol Gives Back with sponsors making a donation for every vote called in on Tuesday night.

Willa Ford, singer, will play the late Anna Nicole Smith in an independent movie that is set to begin filming next week. Keoni Waxman will direct the film that follows Smith’s life from age 17 until her death February 8, 2007 at age 39. The film will include segments on her life as a Playboy Playmate, Guess? jeans model and her career as a model and actress. Also included will be her marriage to billionaire J. Howard Marshall II, the birth of her daughter and the death of her son. Ford, best known for her part in last year’s dancing competition, “dancing with the Stars” and her 2001 album, “Willa Was Here.”Like Smith, Ford was a playboy bunny in the March 2006 issue.Currently, she is engaged to hockey player, Mike Modano and is working on her next album.