The Day in Pop Digest for 2/18/11: (Billboard) We've heard the single, seen the daily video teasers, and anxiously awaited the premiere of Britney Spears' "Hold It Against Me" music video. At long last, the Jonas Εkerlund-directed clip for the first "Femme Fatale" single premiered last night. Check it out here(Jam!) Two computer experts who allegedly hacked into laptops owned by leading record producers had "thousands" of unreleased songs by stars including Mariah Carey, Shakira, and Lady Gaga, according to a report. more
(Billboard) Kanye West may join Rihanna as a performer during the NBA All-Star Halftime Show this Sunday (Feb. 20). more
(BBC) Lady Gaga's latest single makes US chart history as it becomes the 1,000th number one on Billboard's Hot 100 countdown more
(Billboard) A controversial Justin Bieber quote from his upcoming Rolling Stone cover story has been adjusted after an "editing error" by the magazine, according to RollingStone.com. See the full quote and their edit here
(AP) His voice barely audible, the patriarch of the acclaimed 5 Browns classical music group said 'guilty' to each charge of sexually abusing his three daughters when they were children more
(ASB) Not only does Heather Russell have Grammy-winning producer Rob Fusari as her mentor, but also she signs a major deal with music mogul Simon Cowell. The 10-year-old Canadian girl, who is dubbed the female version of Justin Bieber, is hoped to follow the footsteps of the "Baby" hitmaker more
(Billboard) John Strauss, a composer and sound editor whose work includes theme songs from early TV shows and the film and soundtrack for Oscar best picture winner "Amadeus," has died. more
(Billboard) Drake is set to appear on "The LeBrons," an upcoming animated web series spearheaded by Miami Heat superstar LeBron James. more
(AP) Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick will not be appearing on "The Oprah Winfrey Show". A show spokesman said Wednesday representatives of the NFL star called late Tuesday to cancel his appearance for personal reasons more
(ASB) Lil' Kim debuts the music video of "Black Friday" which is 'dedicated' to Nicki Minaj. The video, which is over six minutes, starts with a testimony of how much Kim is loved and the song doesn't start until over a minute. more
(Billboard) The voice of "Star Wars" villain Darth Vader, actor James Earl Jones, paid tribute to Justin Bieber on the Gayle King Show, when he performed a dramatic reading of the lyrics to Bieber's "Baby." Check it out here.... P.S. Darth does not need Auto-Tune.
(Yahoo) When asked about why he thought Piers Morgan's show had rated badly, Larry King said it had been given too high profile a launch. "One of the problems they did was to oversell it -- they said he was going to be dangerous, he was going to be water-cooler talk, it was 'wait till you see me, I'm different.' Well, he's good -- but he's not that dangerous." more [Could also be the fact that it airs on CNN]