Duffy looking to prove her mettle with 2nd CD

With her first album, Duffy became a Grammy winner, a platinum-selling artist and an international sensation.

But while the petite blonde from Wales had been working diligently for her moment in the spotlight, when it came, she didn't feel quite like she earned all that adulation.

"I remember playing for 60,000 people thinking, `You only know me for 10 songs,'" she said recently. "I want to show you that there's more. I want to earn that kind of celebration."

She's hoping to do that with "Endlessly." Her sophomore album (a new term for Duffy that she delightfully pronounces "soft-more") is a bit more upbeat than her debut, "Rockferry," and features collaborations with Al Hammond Sr. and ?uestlove from The Roots.

"I'm bringing more aspects of myself to this record," she said. "I'm a catalog artist now! ... It kind of feels surreal."

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The Associated Press: You're working with new people on this record. Why switch things up when the first album was such a success?

Duffy: It would be easy for someone to rest on their laurels. ... But for me, I wanted to keep testing myself, to (keep) challenging myself, and actually it happened quite accidentally that I ended up working with other people.

AP: What did Hammond and ?uestlove bring to the table?

Duffy: Well, it was an interesting mix of people: Myself from Wales, 26 years old; Albert Hammond from Gibraltar, sort of Spanish influence, who is 66; and then you had The Roots, who are a bunch of really cool young guys, notorious for their unbelievable hip-hop rhythm section. I think it was daring but I was very happy with what came back.

AP: You've said that you didn't want to make a sad album. Did you think your debut was sad?

Duffy: I don't want to exploit my music just to release the baggage. I don't want to say the things that I regretted saying or the things that I never said in my music. I want to use it as expression and I want to make people feel good. Whether it's crying, whether it's dancing, I'm very conscious of not plowing too much of the bad times into my music.

AP: Were you worried about following up such a successful debut?

Duffy: If you can be successful in your second record, you've kind of made it, you're kind of in it to stay, I think. So of course there's that element of pressure. But for me personally, I was looking forward to writing new music. I was looking forward to earn the respect that I was given.

AP: Your sound has that retro appeal. Did you consider trying something different with this one?

Duffy: I know I'm always compared to this nostalgic sound. I've often been asked whether me being retro is something that I try to do. But I've always been really old-fashioned. I've always had this way about me and a kind of longing for romance, idealism, the 1950s. I think things were a little safer then. I think it was easier for artists to keep hold of their quality control. I don't think anyone was taking pictures of Marilyn Monroe when she was in a shopping mall. ... I do feel as though I do belong to something nostalgic.

AP: How have you grown artistically since the last record?

Duffy: I've grown in so many ways. The experiences that I've had have been tremendous. The mistakes I've made have been tremendous. The accolades that I've received have been beyond anything that I could have comprehended. ... I'm more experienced with life. I came from a small town before, I really felt like I small-town girl as well. I was constantly saying things that I was embarrassed of in a business meeting. ... I had a lot to learn, and I think you can hear that in the songs that I've learned it.

Carrie Underwood Top Winner At American Country Awards

When it comes to Las Vegas Carrie Underwood is a sure bet. Underwood won her second country music artist of the year award of 2010 in Sin City on Monday night. She earned it at the inaugural American Country Awards about eight months after she won the top honor at the Academy of Country Music Awards in April.

In both cases, fans determined the winner. And when it comes to fan support, Underwood has no match. Her fans vote early and often � a holdover from her time as �American Idol� champion � and she made sure to give a shoutout to her supporters after winning six awards.

�We have had the most amazing year out on the road but we wouldn�t be doing anything if there weren�t people out there sitting in that audience,� Underwood said from the stage at the MGM Grand, where the ACMs also are held. �So to everybody that came out to see us (or) anybody else out here, you guys are awesome for supporting us like you do. God bless the fans.�

Lady Antebellum took home four Fender Stratocasters given out as trophies and Easton Corbin finished with three wins, including breakthrough artist of the year. The two acts were tied for the most nominations with seven.

Along with artist of the year, Underwood won album of the year for �Play On� and tour of the year.

Lady A won single of the year for the trio�s breakthrough, �Need You Now,� and artist of the year: duo or group. Brad Paisley was voted male artist of the year and Blake Shelton and host Trace Adkins won music video of the year.

The show was performance heavy and featured Rascal Flatts and Alan Jackson performing medleys of their hits after tributes, Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan teaming up on �My Kinda Party,� and Toby Keith, Keith Urban, Reba McEntire, Josh Turner and The Band Perry playing recent hits.

Adkins opened the show by declining to wear a pair of �meat chaps� offered by the show�s producers, a la Lady Gaga�s meat dress, in a pre-taped comedy skit. He also appeared to skip the monologue.

�It�s a live show,� Adkins said. �What are they going to do? They can�t fire me right in the middle of it, right?

Brittney Jones Pretends to Be Angry Over Sex Tape Release

Come on, Brittney Jones. We thought you were better than this. Of all the Z-listers to have released sex tapes, Jones - a complete unknown, something willing to say anything in order to keep her name in the news - seemed the most likely to simply own up to her on-camera actions and encourage people to purchase Brittney Jones Confidential.

Instead, she's gone the typical route of acting as if she's horrified at the notion of Vivid Entertainment releasing her sex tape. So horrified, in fact, that she's suing mad!

Lawyers for Brittney have fired off a cease-and-desist letter to Vivid, proclaiming she is "the sole and exclusive owner of the video" and that "any dissemination of the video by Vivid will cause her substantial emotional distress for which she will hold Vivid responsible."

Call us crazy, but we suspect a tidy six-figure settlement will soon be agreed upon, magically curing Jones of any and all emotional distress.

Director Jolie learnt from the cinema greats

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie says she learnt from the best about taking a turn behind the camera and put the lessons to good use in her directorial debut, already making waves before it hits the screen.

"I think actors, because we're in the world of the characters and the movie, we're kind of more isolated," Jolie told reporters, after wrapping up shooting for her film which focuses on Bosnia.

"It was fun to be more of a part of the family of the crew, and be more in the different layers of the process.

"It's a just different level of work that was very exciting for me, and I was very excited to watch other actors work, and do scenes that maybe I would have done different, and then do it better than I could imagine and I'm thrilled."

The film, focusing on a love story between a Muslim woman and a Serb man against the background of Bosnia's 1992-1995 inter-ethnic war, was mostly filmed in October in Hungary.

During a roundtable interview in Paris, Jolie refused to be drawn on the details of the plot, which triggered controversy in Bosnia from women's associations after local media reported rumors that it featured a Muslim rape victim who falls in love with her Serb attacker.

After initial problems winning permission to shoot part of the movie in Bosnia, Jolie sent the authorities a copy of the script which her Bosnian production company said did not include any such rape love story.

"I'm done filming it. I go back to edit in January," said Jolie clad in a classic black skirt and gray cashmere sweater for the interview at the posh Hotel Meurice.

"It was nice to take the spotlight off myself and put it on some brilliant actors from an area... I'm excited to show their work and their talent to the world," she added.

"I'm very proud of what they gave and what they did so I just felt lucky to be there for it."

Jolie said she had drawn on various influences from her stellar movie career as she stepped behind the camera for the first time to film other actors at work.

"I learned a lot from Clint (Eastwood), who is very economic as a director," the actress said, in Paris for a promotional tour for her new film "The Tourist" in which she stars with Johnny Depp, which opens in the US on Friday.

"I learned a lot from Michael Winterbottom, who really gave a lot of trust in the actors and tries to capture them in their space instead of making it look too stagey," she added.

"Working with (Robert) De Niro, it taught me a lot about being an actors' director. Hopefully, I've learned from all of them."

Now a busy mum of six children with her partner and fellow movie star Brad Pitt, Jolie admitted: "It's getting harder to make decisions to work for the sake of working."

Laughingly, the Oscar-winning actress, who can command 10 million dollars per picture for a leading role, described herself now as "unemployed."

"I have to be home and I have to do other things, but I don't have to work as much," Jolie said, adding she liked to find parts that are "extremely challenging or mean something to me deeply."

"I've never done anything for the box office. I've been lucky that I've been able to maintain a career where I don't do well at the box office."

She confessed that some films, such as "A Mighty Heart" in which Jolie played the pregnant wife of American journalist Daniel Pearl who was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan in 1999, took a toll.

"You do the projects you love, knowing that there are... subject matters that not a lot of people are comfortable going out of their way to see and sit through for two hours. It's very hard to do, emotionally," Jolie said.

"It's a very hard story to even talk about, to even remember. And how even it connects with the modern terrorism of today. A lot of people don't want to revisit it or relive it."

And she confessed that for a solitary person, she was surprised how easily she had adapted to family life and having little time to herself.

"You just give that up at a certain point. You even try to take a bath and everybody comes in," she laughed.

"As somebody who likes to be alone, I surprise myself that I'm very happy to be surrounded by everybody in my family. I feel that comfort."

Sharon Stone's Basic Instinct Has Her Plotting The Design Of Killer Jewelry?

Actress Sharon Stone

Don't get scared about icepick flashbacks though. The former Basic Instinct Femme Fatale has teamed up with Damiani Jewelry to create a new line of jewelry to support A Drop In A Bucket, an organization that builds wells in Africa. Sharon's fine jewelry line is called Maji, the Swahili word for water. After taking a trip to Uganda, the film star saw the need for having access to more of it. While many of us take having clean water for granted,  Sharon learned that for the African villages,  it's something that is really needed and a quality of life essential. For the record, the Cityrockajewelry.com Blog loves that. Sometimes, it's not all about taking, but more about giving back. The line will will include rings, bracelets, earrings and pendants with rough diamonds set on burnished gold or silver. Everything will be signed by her and Damiani, and if you purchase it,you'd better not post it on Ebay......Below is an earring photo from the line. No need to thank me. I knew that you wanted to see it. I don't just talk about it folks, I am all about the Jewelry Gossip.

Maji Earrings

Eminem Lady Antebellum likely Grammy favorites

Eminem's Grammy wins are in the double digits, but despite a career that has been as commercially successful as it has been critically acclaimed, he's never won a trophy for album of the year on music's biggest night. On Wednesday, he might get another shot at it. The rapper is a leading favorite when Grammy nominations are announced at the Recording Academy's annual nominations special, broadcast live on CBS at 10 p.m. EST from Club Nokia in Los Angeles. The hourlong show hosted by LL Cool J will include performances from likely nominees Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Miranda Lambert.

Eminem's "Recovery" is the top-selling album of the year so far, with almost three million copies sold. But more than a sales triumph, it's also a creative one, marking a return to form after years of battling prescription drugs, lags between albums, and sub par material with last year's "Relapse." There are no guarantees when it comes to the Grammys, but an album of the year nomination for "Recovery" is about as sure as it gets.

Eminem is also likely to get nominations for either song of the year, record of the year, or both, for hits "Love the Way You Lie," featuring Rihanna, and for "Not Afraid." He's also a virtual lock to be nominated in several rap categories, where he's won the majority of his 11 Grammys.

Lady Antebellum's sophomore album, "Need You Now," was almost as successful as "Recovery" and is the second best-selling album of the year. The country trio is likely to be nominated in their own genre category, but a nomination for song and record of the year for "Need You Now" is also a strong possibility. And they may get a nod in the album category as well. Country singer-songwriter Miranda Lambert may also find herself in the album of the year category for her "Revolver," which won top honors at the Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association awards this year.

Lambert rehearsed for the nominations concert late Tuesday at downtown L.A.'s Club Nokia, backed by a band that included a trio of guitarists as she performed her single "Only Prettier."

"I'm excited to do something for the Grammys," she said. "This is kind of a cool thing for me, an introduction to this world. There's other great artists on the bill, and it's not just country, it's across the board for music genres, and I'm just glad to be here representing country music." Taylor Swift took home the album of the year trophy for her multiplatinum "Fearless" at last season's Grammys. Could 2011 be another crossover year for country artists? "I hope so," Lambert said. "Country music right now, we have a great name for ourselves, and we've all worked real hard to get it out there and make it cool and I think it's working, so I'm glad to be part of it."

Sade is also a key contender for album of the year; her "Soldier of Love" received raves and was a best-seller when it was released in February, her first album in 10 years. Other possibilities for album of the year nominations include Arcade Fire for their CD "The Suburbs" and Jay-Z for "The Blueprint 3," which spawned the massive "Empire State of Mind," another top Grammy contender.

"Empire State of Mind," which features Alicia Keys, could get nominations for song and record of the year. Other possibilities for record of the year include Perry's summer sensation, "California Gurls"; Train for "Hey, Soul Sister"; and two from rapper B.o.B, who had two of the year's biggest hits with "Nothing on You" (featuring Bruno Mars) and "Airplanes" (featuring Eminem and Paramore's Hayley Williams). B.o.B may be nominated for best new artist; rapper Drake is another favorite, along with teen sensation Justin Bieber, a big winner at last month's American Music Awards.

Previous winners from last year, including the Zac Brown Band, Lady Gaga, and Kings of Leon, could also be among the overall nominees. While Eminem, Bieber and Jay-Z are among the biggest names as far as Grammy contenders, mainstream acts represent only a portion of the hundreds of nominees to be announced on Wednesday night in 109 categories ranging from pop to folk to polka to classical and gospel. The Grammys will be awarded Sunday, Feb. 13, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and broadcast live on CBS.

Molly Shannon makes a promising run on Broadway

Molly Shannon wants to show off her toilet. The comedian has a mischievous look as she stands in the cramped little lavatory just off her dressing room at The Broadway Theatre in Times Square. It's nice, all right, but it doesn't look very special.

Then the actress pushes another door and suddenly she's inside the auditorium in a private box high over the orchestra pit.

"Isn't it cool?" she asks. Shannon has been putting her secret passageway to expert use: Her two children � daughter Stella, 7, and son Nolan, 5 � often visit the theater and go through the toilet to get a perfect view of Shannon on stage.

"They can actually sneak through to the box seats and watch me with an audience," she says. "So it's the first time where they're really like, 'Wow, Mommy is an actress.' I don't know if it ever all gelled that way. It's really cool for them."

Stella and Nolan are enjoying front-row seats as Shannon makes her Broadway debut in the musical "Promises, Promises," opposite Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth. Last month, Shannon replaced Katie Finneran, who won a Tony Award in the role of bar fly Marge MacDougal.

"Now, I'm not scared," Shannon says, sipping tea in her dressing room before a recent performance. "Initially, I was really like, 'God, just let me get through this!' Now I'm having a ball."

The role is particularly a good fit for the novice Shannon: She's on stage for only a few scenes, gets to dance on a bar while acting drunk, receives quick laughs and uses the physical comedy skills she honed for six years on "Saturday Night Live."

"It feels like a jewel to me," she says of the role. "For me, this was the perfect way to dip my feet in." Another plus is that she gets to work with friends. She knew Hayes from appearing on "Will & Grace" and he hosted her last episode of "SNL." Plus, she worked with Chenoweth in "The Music Man" on TV in 2003 and then in the series "Pushing Daisies."

Chenoweth calls her new co-star "a comedic genius," who has made Finneran's old role her own. "Working with Molly just makes me happy," Chenoweth says. "Sean and I both wanted this woman. We knew she would kill in the role."

Shannon, 46, says acting on Broadway isn't like her stint on live TV aboard "SNL," where she created such memorable characters as the oddball schoolgirl Mary Catherine Gallagher and the high-kicking Sally O'Malley.

"They're different. This is more like a marathon � it's a longer run so you have to be careful not to pull a muscle or lose your voice," she says. "It's more of a long-distance run whereas 'SNL' is kind of an every-week-up-and-down."

Born in Shaker Heights, Ohio, a young Shannon and her father, James, would travel to New York to catch shows such as "Chorus Line," "La Cage Aux Folles" and "Agnes of God." She and her dad would sing Judy Garland songs at home.

"My dad would have loved to be an actor but he just didn't have the confidence. So I'm sure so much of the reason why I got into that was because he loved that," she says, pointing to a photo of her dad hung with pride in her dressing room. "He would have loved it. I feel him here with me. I kick for him."

Shannon, who earned a bachelor's in drama from New York University, initially considered herself a dramatic actress until she auditioned for a comedy review and friends said she was a natural. "I didn't know myself well enough as a performer so I didn't know what I wanted to do," she says.

Comedy has been her bread-and-butter ever since, with movie roles that include "Superstar," "Talladega Nights," "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," "Analyze This" and the upcoming "Bad Teacher."

Since leaving "SNL" in 2001, Shannon has made numerous TV guest appearances on shows such as "Glee," "30 Rock" and "Scrubs," as well as tried her hand at her own sitcoms, including "Cracking Up" and "Kath and Kim."

After her Broadway run, she'll be starring in an as-yet untitled HBO show by veteran "The Simpsons" writer-producer Tim Long about a nun who decides to leave the convent and confront life outside.

Until then, she's happy to do eight shows a week and host her children when they come to the theater. She says she tries not to peek up at them in the box seats while she's performing, but always looks up during the curtain call.

"I can't see them that well, but I see their little heads a little bit," she says