Bankrupt Kerry Katona sells 'house of hell'

Kerry Katona finally gets rid of her Cheshire home

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Kerry Katona was caught on camera snorting cocaine in the Cheshire mansion

After 6 months on the market, Kerry Katona has finally sold her 'house of hell', the home she shared with estranged 2nd husband Mark Croft - and her very public meltdown.

Kerry originally put the posh mansion in Wilmslow, Cheshire, on the market for 1.25m - but dropped the asking price to £1.1m in desperation.

'In the end she really hated the house, so she's glad it's now history,' says a close friend.

'The fact she's getting so little out of it hurts, but she's accepted that and just wants to move on.'

Kerry was previously made bankrupt over an unpaid tax bill so will receive less than £125,000 from the sale because of the number of times she had the property re-mortgaged.

Nevertheless, the reality TV star is determined to be debt-free soon.

'I'm still bankrupt,' Kerry, 30, told the Daily Star. 'But people don't understand.

'It doesn't mean you have no money whatsoever.

'I work my arse off but I don't reap the rewards.

'I get pocket money. The rest goes to paying off debts.

'If I keep working, which I will, I will hopefully be out of this within the next 2 years.'

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Madonna's Daughter's Role In 'W.E.' Is Revealed

Lourdes plays 'a super-cute, younger version of my character,' co-star Abbie Cornish tells MTV News.
By Eric Ditzian


Abbie Cornish
Photo: MTV News

Madonna wrapped production on "W.E.," her second directorial effort, in October, and now reports are suggesting she's looking to premiere the movie at the Venice Film Festival, which takes place from August 31 to September 10.

The film's co-star, Abbie Cornish, not only confirmed the possibility of a Venice debut to MTV News, but also revealed the mysterious role Madonna's daughter, Lourdes, will be playing.

"I heard yesterday," Cornish told us about Venice, while promoting her upcoming thriller, "Limitless." "That'd be amazing."

"W.E" follows a "Julie & Julia"-esque dual story line, one featuring Cornish as a contemporary woman obsessed with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and another focusing on the royal couple itself. News that Lourdes would appear in a small role surfaced last fall, when photos of the teen in a schoolgirl's uniform popped up online, but until now the nature of her part was unclear. Cornish's character, it turns out, has a deep connection to that of Lourdes.

"She actually plays a younger version of my character," Cornish said, adding that because they portray the same person, they never got to share actual screen time. "She's a super-cute, younger version of my character."

"W.E." marks Madonna's second feature following "Filth and Wisdom," which hit only a handful of theaters in 2008. The new project, the pop star turned filmmaker said last year, has been an obsession of hers even before "Filth and Wisdom" and took her two-and-a-half years to write. "I made 'Filth and Wisdom' because I realized that I didn't really have a right to make a bigger film until I made a smaller film — and learned how to make a film," she said.

According to Cornish, though, the Queen of Pop is a born filmmaker. "Madonna is a natural director," the actress told us. "It's in her nature. She's a Leo and she really represents the Leos very well. She's a very smart woman, very well read. She really absorbs a lot about whatever she's involved in. I think she really loves learning. It was interesting to see her evolve throughout the filmmaking process. She's such a cool woman."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Julianne Hough Will Join Tom Cruise in 'Rock of Ages' Movie

Julianne Hough Will Join Tom Cruise in 'Rock of Ages' Movie

Tom Cruise was already on board -- and now he's finally found a partner. Onscreen, that is.

Former Dancing with the Stars pro Julianne Hough is slated to costar along with Cruise in the upcoming movie adaptation of Rock of Ages, the Broadway musical which chronicles the life of a rock star wannabe. The score includes classic rock hits from 1980s bands including Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Steve Perry, Poison, Foreigner and Asia.

CNN reports that Hough will play the role of Sherrie, the small-town girl who moves to Hollywood to become an actress but gets sidelined on her way to stardom. Along the way, she meets wild-maned rocker Stacee Jaxx, who will be played by Tom Cruise, and begins a romance with him including one memorable scene in the onstage bathroom. Don't read further unless you want to know what happens, but ultimately Sherrie ends up leaving the washed-up Jaxx for her true love.

This won't be Hough's first appearance on the silver screen; she had a role in Burlesque and will star in the upcoming Footloose remake. Rock of Ages Director Adam Shankman says Hough was "nothing short of a miracle" during her audition, adding, "It was a star-is-born moment."

Ryan Seacrest's main squeeze is filling a role that originally was to be played by Taylor Swift, according to CNN. Also on board for the expected 2012 release are Mary J. Blige, who will play strip club owner Justice and Alec Baldwin, who will play Dennis Dupree, the owner of the club where Sherrie works. Russell Brand is said to be interested in the role of Lonnie, the manager of the club.

The movie is scheduled to begin production in May.

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Robert Plant And Alison Krauss Win Grammy Album Of The Year

Raising Sand, from Led Zeppelin vet and bluegrass superstar, wins five Grammys on Sunday night.
By James Montgomery with MTV News staff


Alison Krauss and Robert Plant accept the award for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards on Sunday
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

"I'm bewildered," Robert Plant said onstage as he accepted the Grammy Album of the Year award with Alison Krauss on Sunday night. "In the old days we would have called this selling out, but it's a good way to spend a Sunday."

He was probably one of the few who were surprised, because Raising Sand, which won five trophies at Sunday night's show, is in many ways the perfect Grammy album. It features two respected veterans, a critically lauded producer, some sandpaper-and-velvet vocals and a baker's dozen of time-tested standards.

You're probably familiar with Robert Plant from his Led Zeppelin days, and you might be aware of producer T-Bone Burnett's work on the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack (it won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2002). And if you don't know who Alison Krauss is, she possesses a haunting set of pipes and is one of the meanest fiddle players in the world. Oh, and she's won 21 Grammys, more than any other female artist and the seventh-most in history.

Really, she's the key to Sand's success, and not just because of her voice (or her fiddle playing). She and Plant first met in 2004, at a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tribute to legendary bluesman Leadbelly, and the former Zeppelin man was amazed by her knowledge of American Roots music — so much so that they began kicking around the idea of recording an album together. Three years later, Sand was released.

And while Plant possesses the more famous voice, the album's finest moments radiate from Krauss. Whether she's getting bluesy on Little Milton's "Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson" or entwining with Plant's husky voice on songs like "Please Read the Letter" and Roly Salley's winsome "Killing the Blues," she more than carries her end of the bargain.

And perhaps that's also due to producer Burnett, who handpicked the 13 songs the duo cover on Sand. His arrangements are sparse — giving the two voices ample room to breathe — yet dense, warm and crackling at the same time. It's a testament to his work that he's often given just as much billing as Plant and Krauss on the project ... and it's certainly justified.

To date, Sand has sold more than 1 million copies, heaped tons of acclaim and actually earned a Grammy last year — "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" took home the award for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals.

One expert was surprised not by the album's success, but by the fact that it's actually quite a good album.

"At first, the album seemed like a vanity project. ... Two names, clearly a one-off record, didn't have to be any good, you know?" New York Times music critic Jon Caramanica said. "Led Zeppelin fans would buy it because of Robert Plant, Alison Krauss would get a check. But it actually turned out to be a really thoughtful, really good record. So when you combine all that with the fact that the Grammys love to lionize one of their own, I could really see it taking home some awards."

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Demi Lovato Opens Up in New Video Message

Having remained mum on her decision to seek treatment since leaving an Illinois rehab center in January, Demi Lovato has finally opened up about her struggles in a newly posted video message.

While she opted to leave out specific details, the "Camp Rock" star did say, "The journey that I've been on has been very difficult over the past few months. I was dealing with issues that I know not only girls just my age but of all ages are dealing with."

The 18-year-old continued, "I can't tell you how much light you guys brought into my life in probably the darkest time of my life. Without you guys, I wouldn't be here today."

Lovato also was sure to thank her many fans for their continued support, as she graciously told, "I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for the support you guys have given me along the way...Your support is what got me through this."

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Adam Lambert's 'Whole Lotta Love': The Story Behind The Cover

Glam rocker tackled the legendary 1970 Led Zeppelin song for 'American Idol' rock night.
By Gil Kaufman


Adam Lambert performs "Whole Lotta Love" on "American Idol" on Tuesday
Photo: R. Mickshaw/Getty Images/ Fox

Imagine a freight train speeding toward you at midnight. Or a rockslide barreling down a hill as you try to outrace it. That's the feeling of the ominous, chugging Jimmy Page riff that kicks off Led Zeppelin's 1970 Stonehenge of rock, "Whole Lotta Love." And that's before singer Robert Plant leans into one of the nastiest, ecstatic rock screams this side of the Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again."

That's the song Adam Lambert chose to sing on "American Idol" rock night Tuesday (May 5), and, needless to say, it was a challenge that the eyeliner-loving Los Angeles stage veteran was more than up for, hitting a series of high notes and rock screams that would have made Plant proud. It was a risky maneuver that paid off for Lambert, who chose a tune that came in at #75 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004.

The legendary British rock act recorded the tribute to Chicago blues icon Willie Dixon during their second U.S. tour after working it out in their live show, including it on their 1969 classic album Led Zeppelin II. Like many of the songs Zeppelin performed early in their career, "Love" was a blues standard turned on its head with a heavy dose of crunching psychedelic guitar and thundering drums, courtesy of late drummer John Bonham. The song was based on a 1962 tune by another blues forefather, Muddy Waters, called "You Need Love," which was penned by Dixon.

For Zeppelin's version, Plant customized the lyrics by adding some lyrical quotes from a few other songs Dixon wrote for Howlin' Wolf, "Back Door Man" and "Shake For Me," nailing the tricky vocal in a single take. It was also inspired by 1966's "You Need Loving" from the British rock group the Small Faces, for whom Zeppelin had great affection, but they also did not credit Dixon for his part in writing the original lyrics. The song became Zeppelin's first U.S. single and their only U.S. top 10 hit. Though their manager would not let them release singles in the U.K. because he thought it cannibalized album sales, the song was finally released as the band's only British single in 1997.

Dixon sued Zeppelin over the song in 1985, claiming it borrowed too heavily from his "You Need Love," and Zeppelin reached an agreement with him, with Dixon using the money he received to set up a program that provided musical instruments for schools. A cornerstone of heavy rock, the tune -- which was the theme song for the long-running British countdown show "Top of the Pops" in the 1970s and '80s -- has been covered by dozens of artists over the years, from Tina Turner and Ben Harper to Prince, Slash, Leona Lewis, Train's Pat Monahan, the London Symphony Orchestra and Jane's Addiction.

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.

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