Susan Boyle's debut album tops Britain's charts

LONDON – In the contest, she finished second. But on the charts, she's number one.

Susan Boyle's debut record, "I Dreamed A Dream," entered the British album chart in the top spot Sunday. The 48-year-old Scottish songstress famously finished second on "Britain's Got Talent," but the variety show launched a career that has seen her win success on both sides of the Atlantic.

According to the Official Charts Company, which tracks music sales in Britain, the more than 410,000 copies of "I Dreamed a Dream" sold since its release Nov. 23 make it the fastest selling album so far this year, and are the largest first-week sales for a debut album in U.K. chart history.

Millions of people have seen an online clip of Boyle auditioning for the judges. Wearing a somewhat dowdy frock and with a halo of untidy hair, Boyle told judge and producer Simon Cowell that her dream was to be a professional singer. "I've never been given the chance before, but here's hoping it'll change," she said then.

She sang "I Dreamed a Dream," from Les Miserables, and her soaring vocals earned a smile and raised eyebrows from Cowell — and a standing ovation from the audience.

"In 'Britain's Got Talent' she opened her mouth and the world fell in love with her, which is why her album has been the fastest selling of any woman making her debut," Cowell said. "She's amazing."

Since the show — in which she eventually finished second to a dynamic dance troupe called "Diversity" — Boyle has become one of the more recognizable faces of British music, both at home and abroad.

Though she was taken aback at first by her fame, Boyle has since had a glamorous makeover, been photographed by an upscale fashion magazine, and been profiled for "NBC's People of the Year" special in the United States. In Britain, she's appeared as a special guest on a wildly popular talent show, "The X Factor."

"I accept now that my life will never be the same. And I don't want it to end," Boyle told Matt Lauer on the special, according to an NBC transcript.

Of her number one album, Boyle said only, "it's fantastic" in a statement released by her record company.

"Everyone expected this to be a big record, but not as big as this," said Martin Talbot, managing director of the Official Charts Company. Of the more than 410,000 copies — both physical and digital — sold in Britain, he said the majority of buyers purchased the CD. In the United States, Amazon Music it was the largest pre-order in the company's history.

Boyle's cover of the Rolling Stones classic "Wild Horses" debuted in the ninth spot on Britain's singles chart.

Gennaro Castaldo, spokesman for the HMV music store company, said Boyle's record could challenge for the top spot at Christmas — a highly coveted position in Britain's showbiz world.

He said Boyle's frequent appearances in Britain's newspapers likely helped boost her sales, along with her reality television background. Shows like "Britain's Got Talent" and "The X Factor" — which produced last week's chart-topper, Leona Lewis — help viewers bond with artists, he said. Fans follow the artist's career from the start, "so when the album comes out, quite a few of them will go out and buy the album, too," Castaldo said.

Swiss ready Polanski's chalet for house arrest

GSTAAD, Switzerland – Security experts on Saturday started preparing Roman Polanski's Alpine chalet for the movie director's house arrest while Swiss authorities consider whether to extradite him to the United States.

A Hummer bearing the sign in French "DR Securite Services" was parked outside the empty three-story building Saturday morning, while three men and a woman took photographs of the property and spent about an hour inside.

They declined to say what they were doing, but the company handles a range of services from video surveillance to alarm installations and armored doors.

One of the key court-imposed conditions of Polanski's house arrest is that he be fitted with an electronic monitoring bracelet that would detect if he tries to leave the chalet, which would cost him the $4.5 million bail he is required to post.

Authorities require that the bracelet be working before Polanski is moved to the chalet, probably Monday. Until then, Polanski would remain in a jail outside Zurich, Justice Ministry spokesman Folco Galli said. Officials declined to say how they would transfer Polanski.

An AP photographer was ordered to leave the area near the chalet Saturday. "You are on private property," a man from the security group said.

Two local government workers were checking that the fire hydrant was working in the garden of the home, which is called "Milky Way" and has a stunning view of the surrounding Alps.

The 76-year-old director has been in Swiss custody for two months after being arrested Sept. 26 on a U.S. warrant as he arrived in Zurich to receive a lifetime achievement award at a film festival.

The Swiss Justice Ministry is still deciding whether to extradite him to the United States for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl. Authorities in Los Angeles want him sentenced after 31 years as a fugitive.

Polanski was accused of raping the girl after plying her with champagne and a Quaalude pill during a modeling shoot in 1977. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy, but he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse.

In exchange, the judge agreed to drop the remaining charges and sent him to prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation. The evaluator released Polanski after 42 days, but the judge said he was going to send him back to serve out the 90 days.

Polanski then fled the U.S. on Feb. 1, 1978, the day he was to be formally sentenced. He has lived since then in France, which does not extradite its citizens.

Polanski claims the U.S. judge and prosecutors acted improperly in his case, and his attorneys will argue before a California appeals court in December that the charges should be dismissed.

White House: State dinner crashers met Obama

WASHINGTON – A reality TV hopeful and her husband who crashed a presidential dinner met President Barack Obama in the receiving line, the White House said Friday, as a "deeply concerned and embarrassed" Secret Service acknowledged its officers failed to check whether the couple was on the guest list.

The White House released a photo showing Michaele and Tareq Salahi in the receiving line in the Blue Room with Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in whose honor the dinner was held. Obama and Michaele Salahi, a candidate for Bravo's "The Real Housewives of D.C.," are smiling as she grasps his right hand with both of hers and her husband looks on. Singh is standing to the Obama's left.

The Secret Service earlier this week had said the president was not in danger because the Virginia couple — like others at the dinner — had gone through magnetometers. But in light of their close proximity to the president, no such claim was made Friday.

The Salahis were not on the guest list and should have been prohibited from entering last Tuesday's dinner on the White House South Lawn for the prime minister of India, said Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan.

On Friday, Sullivan was apologetic in a written statement, saying the agency that protects the president is "deeply concerned and embarrassed" that procedures were not followed.

"As our investigation continues, appropriate measures have been taken to ensure this is not repeated," Sullivan said.

Secret Service spokesman Jim Mackin said officers at the checkpoint had a clipboard with names of the invited guests. Even though the Salahis names weren't on it, they were allowed to proceed. The officers should have called either someone on the White House staff or Secret Service personnel before allowing them past the checkpoint, Mackin said.

Earlier, Mackin said the Secret Service may pursue a criminal investigation of the Salahis.

Sullivan said, "The preliminary findings of our internal investigation have determined established protocols were not followed at an initial checkpoint, verifying that two individuals were on the guest list.

"Although these individuals went through magnetometers and other levels of screening, they should have been prohibited from entering the event entirely. That failing is ours," he said.

Sullivan said it wasn't good enough that his agency screened more than 1.2 million visitors last year to the White House complex and protected more than 10,000 sites for the president, vice president and others.

"Even with these successes, we need to be right 100 percent of the time," he said. "While we have protocols in place to address these situations, we must ensure that they are followed each and every time."

It is unclear what the couple told officers at the checkpoint that allowed them to go through the security screening. Federal law makes it a crime to knowingly and willfully falsify statements on matters within the federal government's jurisdiction.

"As this moves closer to a criminal investigation there's less that we can say," Mackin said. "I don't want to jeopardize what could be a criminal investigation. We're not leaving any option off the table at this point."

White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said the Secret Service will take appropriate action once the review is completed.

"The men and women of the Secret Service put their lives on the line everyday to protect us. They are heroes and they have the full confidence of the president of the United States," Shapiro said.

The Salahis lawyer, Paul Gardner, posted a comment on their Facebook page saying, "My clients were cleared by the White House, to be there." He said more information would be forthcoming.

Several messages left at Gardner's law firm on Friday were not immediately returned.

Bravo Media has confirmed that Michaele Salahi is being considered as a participant in the upcoming "The Real Housewives of D.C." program and on the day of the dinner was being filmed around Washington by Half Yard Productions, the producer of the program.

"Half Yard Productions was told by Michaele and Tareq Salahi that they had been invited to the State Dinner. We took them at their word and filmed their preparations for the event. Half Yard Productions had no part in planning their presence at the event," said Abby Greensfelder of Half Yard Productions.

Photos on the couple's Facebook page they previously had gotten close to Obama. One photo, apparently taken in the days before Obama took the oath of office, shows the Salahis in a group shot with Obama and some of the musicians who performed at an inaugural concert.

Other photos show the Salahis in the empty, glass-enclosed box from which the Obamas watched the concert and, according to the caption, "backstage with the Secret Service at the Lincoln Memorial during the Presidential Inauguration." Undergoing MyBlogLog Verification

Swiss OK Polanski move to house arrest in Alps

GENEVA – Roman Polanski will be moved from jail to house arrest at his Alpine chalet as soon as he posts $4.5 million bail and meets other conditions set by a Swiss court, the Justice Ministry said Thursday.

The ministry said it would not appeal a decision by the Swiss Criminal Court to release the 76-year-old director, adding that he can leave jail after his pays bail, surrenders his identity documents and has an electronic monitoring system installed and tested.

The announcement means Polanski will be able to continue his fight against extradition to the United States in a 1977 sex case from the comfort of his $1.6 million chalet in the exclusive winter resort of Gstaad. Authorities in Los Angeles want him sentenced for having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

"He must not leave this house," the ministry said in a statement. Should he violate the terms of release, the bail will be forfeited to the Swiss government.

Ministry spokesman Folco Galli said the release would be handled quietly.

"We don't want to show him off like an exotic animal," he told The Associated Press.

The bail decision was a major win for the director of "Rosemary's Baby," "Chinatown" and "The Pianist" after a series of legal setbacks following his Sept. 26 arrest on a U.S. warrant as he arrived in Zurich to receive a lifetime achievement award at a film festival.

Polanski was accused of raping the girl after plying her with champagne and a Quaalude pill during a modeling shoot in 1977. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy, but he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse.

In exchange, the judge agreed to drop the remaining charges and sentence him to prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation. The evaluator released Polanski after 42 days, but the judge said he was going to send him back to serve out the 90 days.

Polanski then fled the United States on Feb. 1, 1978, the day he was to be sentenced, and has lived in France since. He claims the U.S. judge and prosecutors acted improperly in his case, and his attorneys will argue before a California appeals court next month that the charges should be dismissed.

The Swiss will decide on extraditing Polanski in the next "couple of weeks," Galli said. Extradition would also be subject to appeals.

The Swiss court last month rejected Polanski's first bail request offering his Gstaad chalet as collateral. Before Wednesday's decision, Polanski offered a bank guarantee that would cause him to sacrifice his family's home in Paris if he flees justice again.

"I am very happy and relieved," Mathilde Seigner, Polanski's sister-in-law told Le Parisien daily, adding that the director's imprisonment had "enormous consequences on a psychological level" for his children. When Polanski is released, "we're going to drink a nice glass of champagne and toast together," she said.

Polanski has been held in a Zurich-area prison, believed to be in Winterthur, but Warden Walter Vogt told the AP on Thursday that Polanski "could be here or he could be in Bern," Switzerland's capital.

Authorities have declined to say how they will transfer Polanski to his chalet called "Milky Way," which has a stunning view of the surrounding Alps, including the strikingly snowcapped Ruebli peak. The three-story building with a white stucco wall and wooden upper floors appeared deserted Thursday.

Some people weren't pleased with the attention in the village famous for its discretion, where Elizabeth Taylor and Roger Moore have lived and which remains popular with celebrities and royalty.

"I don't want to talk about what he did," retired dairy farmer Martin von Gruenigen said as he walked his dog in front of Polanski's home. "I have little contact with the rich. Life is quiet here, but there are things I don't like at all here. Like the rich buying all the houses, so we locals can't afford to buy a house."

Lambert says he got carried away, but not sorry

NEW YORK – Adam Lambert admits he got carried away with his sexually charged American Music Awards performance, but he's offering no apology.

The glam rocker from "American Idol" said on "The Early Show" that his performance would not have caused as much controversy if he weren't openly gay. He also said there were other "adult" moments on the show that caused no outrage.

"I admit I did get carried away, but I don't see anything wrong with it," he said Wednesday. "I do see how people got offended and that was not my intention. My intention was to interpret the lyrics of my song and have a good time with it."

Lambert kissed a male keyboard player, dragged a female dancer around by the ankles and had a dancer simulate oral sex on him while performing "For Your Entertainment," a song with a sexual edge. ABC received many complaints about the performance and that network's morning show, "Good Morning America," canceled Lambert's scheduled appearance on Wednesday because it said it couldn't trust what he would do.

"The Early Show" on CBS, perennially third in a three-network morning show race, happily gave him a platform and milked it — interviewing him, having him interact with fans and asking him to sing. One of the show's hosts, Harry Smith, tied the flap to rock history, noting that camera operators were only allowed to shoot Elvis Presley from the waist up during a network TV appearance generations ago.

Lambert admitted he didn't rehearse some of the more risque elements of his award show performance — a point that particularly upset ABC, which said it was taken by surprise by what he did. In the future, he said he'd try to get these issues cleared before the show.

But he noted that Lady Gaga smashed whiskey bottles during her performance, Eminem rapped about rape and Janet Jackson briefly groped a male dancer.

"Janet Jackson, crotch grab," he said. "I haven't heard one peep about that."

He said that "if it had been a female pop performer doing (his) moves that were on the stage, I don't think there would be nearly as much of an outrage."

"I think it's because I'm a gay male," he added.

Offered a chance to apologize, he declined. He said he didn't consider that there may have been children watching because his American Music Awards performance came at nearly 11 p.m., and that it's a parent's job to monitor what their children are watching on TV.

"I'm not a baby sitter," he said. "I'm a performer."

Asked what he'd do differently if he had the chance, Lambert said, "I would sing it a little bit better."

"I guess I have a tendency to divide people," he added. "Apples and oranges — you either like it or you don't."

"For Your Entertainment" is the title cut and first single from Lambert's new album, which went on sale Monday. He didn't perform that on "The Early Show," opting instead for the songs "Whataya Want From Me" and "Music Again."

He said before performing, "Parents, this is appropriate, I promise."

Lambert took questions from fans surrounding CBS' midtown Manhattan studio, including one who said she had traveled from Japan to see him. None of the questions were about Sunday's performance.

His mother, Leila Lambert, came on stage between his two songs, and was asked what she thought of her son at the American Music Awards.

"I was a little taken aback," she said. "But, you know, I just went with the flow. It's all good."

Donny Osmond wins `Dancing with the Stars'

NEW YORK – Donny Osmond was declared the new champion of "Dancing with Stars" on Tuesday night, taking home the show's mirror ball trophy in the season finale of the ABC contest reality program.

Osmond, the former teen pop star of the singing Osmond family, said the show has been a highlight in a career of ups and downs.

"I did it!" Osmond exclaimed. He promptly rushed to the audience and plucked out his wife, Debbie, whom he carried across the stage.

Helping push Osmond over the top was his performance Tuesday: an Argentine tango, performed with his professional dancing partner, Kym Johnson. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba hailed it as "artistry in motion." It earned the top score of the final performances Tuesday.

Three celebrities made it to finale of the show's ninth season: Osmond, the singer Mya and Kelly Osbourne, the daughter of Ozzy Osbourne. The show picks a winner with a combination of judges' scores and viewer votes.

Mya entered as the favorite, having won the highest scores on Monday's show. Dancing with Dmitry Chaplin, she performed a jive.

"I'm just so happy to have made it to the finals," Mya said after the loss.

The 30-year-old singer is most famous for collaborating on the Grammy-winning hit "Lady Marmalade" from the soundtrack of 2001's "Moulin Rouge!"

Osbourne was the first of the three eliminated.

With her famous family — Ozzy, Sharon and Jack — looking on, Osbourne and professional partner Louis Van Amstel danced to a cover of Ray LaMontagne's "Trouble." The 25-year-old was clearly moved and began crying after her last dance.

She thanked the audience and said she had "grown so much" during the show. Co-host Samantha Harris said Osbourne had become "a swan."

The finale culminated a season of good ratings for "Dancing with the Stars," which consistently ranked as one of the most-watched shows of the fall.

The contestant who grabbed the most headlines, former Congressman Tom DeLay, had to withdraw in the third week of competition because of stress fractures in both feet. A healed DeLay returned Tuesday night to dance the Texas two-step routine he had hoped to perform.

All the former contestants returned, including former Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin. Waltzing to the theme of "Monday Night Football," he performed a dance-off with another NFL receiving great: Jerry Rice, a contestant on the second season of "Dancing With the Stars." The judges declared Rice the winner.

Pop singer Aaron Carter, voted off this season, performed a dance to the theme of "The Muppet Show." Animal took the drums, while Miss Piggy lurked backstage.

Mistakes on the dance floor weren't the only missteps of ABC's live broadcast. At the top of the show, as highlights from Monday's show ran, the video froze on shot of Miss Piggy, prompting host Tom Bergeron to remind viewers that the broadcast was live — and send the show to an early commercial break.

Whitney Houston also made a guest appearance to perform her "Million Dollar Bill" and the fitting "I Wanna Dance with Somebody."

The gymnast Shawn Johnson won last season's "Dancing with the Stars."

ABC can expect high ratings for Tuesday's finale. Last week's results show attracted an audience of 16.2 million.

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On the Net:

http://abc.go.com/shows/dancing-with-the-stars

Mya is 3 points from perfect at 'Dancing' finale

LOS ANGELES – Mya is poised to take the "Dancing With the Stars" title after finishing three points away from perfect during the final night of competition Monday.

She made it clear that she intends to claim the show's mirrorball trophy.

"I haven't worked this hard for this long not to win this thing," she said Monday. "That trophy is mine."

The singer scored 87 out of 90 points for her three dances with professional partner Dmitry Chaplin. The pair was perfect on their paso doble and bested their fellow finalists with a perfect score during the megamix challenge, which saw them dancing side-by-side with Donny Osmond and Kelly Osbourne. Mya's "Hairspray"-themed freestyle dance didn't dazzle the judges, who gave it 27 out of 30 points.

"I was expecting something a little bit more spectacular," judge Bruno Tonioli said.

Osmond finished in second place with 85 out of 90 points. He and professional partner Kym Johnson earned a perfect score of 30 for their Broadway-inspired freestyle routine, which head judge Len Goodman called "an absolute show-stopper." The couple collected 27 points for their cha-cha and 28 during the megamix challenge.

Despite the second-place finish, Osmond said he still wants to become the "Dancing" champ.

"I want to win this mirrorball so badly," he said Monday. "Because if you had a sister named Marie and she was going to rub it in your face your whole life, you'd want to win, too."

A slim and smiling Kelly Osbourne finished third with 76 points out of 90. She and professional partner Louis Van Amstel collected 26 points each for their Argentine tango and megamix performance. The couple's glittery freestyle dance to the '70s classic "I Will Survive" earned 24 points — along with glowing praise from the judges.

"One thing is for sure," Tonioli said. "You never looked more beautiful than tonight."

Osbourne said she exceeded her own expectations on the ABC show.

"I didn't think that I really could do it, but this was my opportunity to show people that I have grown up," the reality star said Monday. "Every single dance we've done so far in this competition has been such a learning process and an adventure for me. I never thought we were going to get this far, but I'm so glad we did."

Each will perform again on Tuesday's episode, when a new "Dancing" champ will be crowned.

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On the Net:

http://abc.go.com/shows/dancing-with-the-stars

Taylor Swift wins five American Music Awards

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Country crossover star Taylor Swift overshadowed the late Michael Jackson at the American Music Awards on Sunday, winning five prizes including artist of the year.

Jackson, who had been expected to enjoy a clean sweep, ended up with four awards. He and Swift went head-to-head in the artist of the year race, the ceremony's final prize.

Other multiple winners included hip-hop acts Jay-Z and the Black Eyed Peas, with two each.

Swift, 19, was also named favorite female artist in the pop/rock and country categories, and favorite adult-contemporary artist. Her 2008 album "Fearless," the best-selling release in the United States this year, was named favorite country album.

She accepted her awards live via satellite from backstage at London's Wembley Arena, where she will perform a concert on Monday.

"Music has never been ultimately about competition," Swift said, after winning the artist of the year prize. She said it was an "unimaginable honor" to be cited in the same category as Jackson, and thanked the Jackson family.

Jackson was named favorite male artist in the pop/rock and soul/R&B categories, while his 2003 hits collection "Number Ones" was named favorite album in both those categories. The album is the No. 2 seller this year in the United States.

His brother Jermaine, accompanied by sons Jeremy, Jaafar and Jermajesty, accepted on his behalf. At one point, he thanked Allah "for blessing my entire family."

Rapper Eminem, making a rare awards-show appearance in the wake of his four nominations, went home empty-handed. Glam-pop singer Lady Gaga, rock band Kings of Leon and jailed rapper T.I., who earned three nominations each, were also snubbed.

The Black Eyed Peas were named favorite group in both the pop/rock and soul/R&B categories. Jay-Z won favorite male artist and favorite album in the rap/hip-hop categories. His wife Beyonce, who was performing a show in Dublin, was named favorite female artist in the soul/R&B category.

Punk rock trio Green Day won the favorite alternative artist. Rascal Flatts won favorite country group for the fourth year in a row.

The performance-heavy show included some notable scenes. Openly gay "American Idol" runner-up Adam Lambert kissed a keyboardist of indeterminate gender and rubbed a male dancer's face in his crotch. Jennifer Lopez, meanwhile, landed on her bottom after jumping off the arched back of one of her dancers.

Nominees are determined by radio airplay and retail sales, while members of the public determine the winners through online voting. That's why Jackson got so many nominations, even though he didn't release any new material.

Tween Justin Bieber fans lose control at NY mall

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – New York police shut down a mall appearance by teen pop singer Justin Bieber (BEE'-ber) after thousands of young girls showed up and got a little too wild.

Nassau County police say girls and adults in the crowd of nearly 3,000 started pushing and shoving as they waited for the 15-year-old sensation to arrive Friday at the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City.

Five people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries.

Police arrested a vice president from Bieber's record label, Island Def Jam Records. They say he wasn't cooperating with attempts to disperse the crowd.

Some fans had camped out overnight for the event.

Bieber never made it into the building. He told WBLI radio that police turned him away.

Bieber's debut album, "My World," was released Tuesday.

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Information from: Newsday, http://www.newsday.com

Parker-Broderick surrogacy case jury breaks

ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio – The jury in the trial of an Ohio police chief accused of breaking into the home of a woman who carried twins for Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick ended five hours of deliberations Friday without a verdict.

The jury in the case of suspended Martins Ferry Police Chief Barry Carpenter began deliberations about 4:30 p.m. and ended for the day five hours later. Deliberations are expected to resume Monday morning.

Carpenter is accused of taking items related to pregnancy and the surrogacy from the home and scheming with the police chief of a neighboring town to sell them to celebrity photographers.

Earlier Friday, a prosecutor in closing arguments said Carpenter abused his authority and tried to "blame it all on being a joke."

Carpenter testified Friday that he never discussed selling items from the home to paparazzi. He went into the woman's home after he saw a basement door open while on routine patrol and took a photo of a surrogacy file that contained two ultrasound pictures and of a plaster cast of a pregnant stomach. He says he showed the photo of the cast to paparazzi and to several other people.

When his lawyer asked if he was just "messing" with the photographers, Carpenter said "absolutely."

Assistant Attorney General Emily Laube argued to jurors that Carpenter never filed a police report about Ross' home.

Carpenter "abuses his authority ... and tries to blame it all on being a joke," she said.

Defense attorney Dennis McNamara said Carpenter made bad choice.

"Barry admits that he acted very stupidly, but denies that he acted criminally," he said.

Carpenter testified that he met with the photographers after being called by Police Chief Chad Dojack of Bridgeport.

"I walked up, and the first thing I told them is, 'You're wasting your time,'" Carpenter said.

He testified that he had looked inside the surrogacy file when he was in the home out of "general interest" and said he did not go through other personal items.

He said he never took anything out of the home.

Winfrey to announce Friday show will end in 2011

CHICAGO – "The Oprah Winfrey Show," an iconic broadcast that grew over two decades into a daytime television powerhouse and the foundation of a multibillion-dollar media empire, will end its run in 2011 after 25 seasons on the air, Winfrey's production company said Thursday night.

Winfrey plans to announce the final date for her show during a live broadcast on Friday, Harpo Productions Inc. said, bringing an end to what has been television's top-rated talk show for more than two decades, airing in 145 countries worldwide and watched by an estimated 42 million viewers a week in the U.S. alone.

A Harpo spokeswoman declined to comment Thursday on Winfrey's future plans except to say that "The Oprah Winfrey Show" will not move to cable television.

Winfrey, 55, is widely expected to start up a new talk show on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, a much-delayed joint venture with Discovery Communications Inc. that is expected to debut in 2011. OWN is to replace the Discovery Health Channel and will debut in some 74 million homes. An OWN spokeswoman declined comment Thursday.

CBS Television Distribution, which distributes "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to more than 200 markets blanketing the United States, held out hope that it could continue doing business with Winfrey, perhaps producing a new show out of its studios in Los Angeles.

"We know that anything she turns her hand to will be a great success," the unit of CBS Corp. said in a statement. "We look forward to working with her for the next several years, and hopefully afterwards as well."

Winfrey's 24th season opened earlier this year with a bang, as she drew more than 20,000 fans to Chicago's Magnificent Mile on Michigan Avenue for a block party with the Black Eyed Peas.

She followed up with a series of blockbuster interviews — Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, exclusives with singer Whitney Houston and ESPN's Erin Andrews, and just this week, former Alaska governor, GOP vice presidential candidate and best-selling author Sarah Palin.

Over the years, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" grew from a newcomer that chipped away at talk king Phil Donahue's dominance into a program that turned inspirational. The show covered a gamut that ranged from interviews with the world's most famous celebrities to an honest discussion about her weight struggles.

"As that show evolved, it really kind of dressed up the neighborhood of the daytime talk show," said Robert Thompson, professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University. "There was a seriousness to it, as though what she was doing was a calling and not just a television show."

In 1986, pianist-showman Liberace gave his final TV interview to Winfrey, just six weeks before he died. In a widely viewed prime-time special aired in 1993, Michael Jackson revealed he suffered from a skin condition that produces depigmentation.

Tom Cruise enthusiastically declared his affection for the much-younger Katie Holmes on the program in 2005 — and jumped on the couch to prove it.

In 2004, Winfrey unveiled her most famous giveaway, when nearly 300 members of the studio audience opened a gift box to find the keys to a new car inside. The stunt became a classic show moment as much for Oprah's reaction — "You get a car! You get a car! You get a car! Everybody gets a car!" — as its $7 million price tag.

The show also became a launching pad for Oprah's Book Club, and authors whose books were selected became best-sellers. The titles ranged from "Song of Solomon" and "Paradise" by Toni Morrison to Wally Lamb's "She's Come Undone" and Elie Wiesel's "Night."

For others, the selection backfired. "A Million Little Pieces" exploded in sales after Winfrey chose the James Frey memoir in fall 2005. Soon after, it was revealed as a fabricated tale of addiction and recovery, and Winfrey later chewed out Frey on her show.

"She's been a great inspiration, a great support for all the shifts in politics and social consciousness and consciousness in general," said hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons. "I call her 'Queen of the New Consciousness' because she did so many things to change lives, the books that she promoted."

The loss of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" would be a blow to CBS Corp. because it earns a percentage of hefty licensing fees from TV stations that use it; the show is largely seen on ABC affiliates. On a conference call with analysts two weeks ago, CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves said the contract with the show runs through most of 2011 and "if there's a negative impact, it wouldn't hit us until '12."

"Oprah's been a force of media and there's really no person you can look to out there who you could say, `That's the heir apparent,'" said Larry Gerbrandt, an analyst for the firm Media Valuation Partners in Los Angeles. Gerbrandt noted many stations built their schedules around Winfrey's show and used it to promote other shows.

"It's a big loss, but not as huge as it would have been 10 years ago," he said. "However, it still commands the biggest audience and ABC station competitors are licking their chops."

Talk of the show's end often has accompanied impending contract negotiations for Winfrey. Before she signed her current contract in 2004, she had talked about quitting after the 2005-2006 season. As far back as 1995, she had called continuing "a difficult and important decision."

CBS continues to sell several top shows into syndication, including "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy." But many TV stations are struggling with falling advertising revenue and were unlikely to pay the same fees as in the past for Winfrey's show, which has seen ratings slip 7 percent from a year ago and saw its average viewership slip below 7 million last season.

Winfrey started her broadcasting career as a teenager in Nashville, Tenn., reading the news at WVOL. Two years later, Winfrey started co-anchoring news broadcasts on WTVF-TV in Nashville. In 1976 she moved to Baltimore to anchor newscasts at WJZ-TV before becoming host of the local talk show "People Are Talking."

In 1984, she relocated to Chicago to host WLS-TV's morning talk show "A.M. Chicago" — the show was became "The Oprah Winfrey Show" one year later. She set up Harpo the following year and her talk show went into syndication.

Powered by the show's staggering success, Winfrey built a wide-ranging media empire. Harpo Studios produces shows hosted by Dr. Phil McGraw and celebrity chef Rachael Ray, and O, The Oprah Magazine was the nation's 7th most popular magazine in the first half of 2009.

"I came from nothing," Winfrey wrote in the 1998 book "Journey to Beloved." "No power. No money. Not even my thoughts were my own. I had no free will. No voice. Now, I have the freedom, power, and will to speak to millions every day — having come from nowhere."

Earlier this year, Forbes scored Winfrey's net worth at $2.7 billion, even as the magazine knocked her from atop its list of the world's most powerful celebrities. The honor went to Angelina Jolie, but Winfrey was still No. 2 on the annual Celebrity 100 list — and the top earner at $275 million.

Janet Jackson: Michael in denial over drug problem

NEW YORK – Janet Jackson says she recognized her brother Michael's drug problem, and tried to help him, but that he rebuffed those attempts to intervene.

"You can't make 'em drink the water," Jackson told ABC News in an interview airing Wednesday.

When asked if her brother was in denial about his addiction, she replied, "Possibly."

"I wish he could answer this question for you and not me," she told ABC's Robin Roberts. "I felt that he was in denial."

She blames Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson's personal physician, for his death June 25.

Prosecutors in Los Angeles are weighing charges against Murray, who told police he administered a powerful anesthetic to the singer shortly before he died.

During the interview, the 43-year-old Janet Jackson spoke of her upcoming diet book, "True You," which chronicles her lifelong struggle to control her weight.

She has gained some mastery over her self-image, she said, after years of "just picking yourself apart all the time because you're so used to being kind of picked apart."

She said she hasn't seen "This Is It," the new documentary film spotlighting her late brother as he prepared for the concert tour that would've taken place last summer.

"I definitely won't, not right now," she said. "I don't know if I will ever see it."

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ABC is owned by the Walt Disney Co.

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NY paparazzo testifies in Parker-Broderick case

ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio – A paparazzo testified Tuesday that an Ohio police chief told him he had access to ultrasound photographs belonging to the woman who carried twins for Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick.

Justin Steffman of New York testified that suspended Martins Ferry Chief Barry Carpenter also said that he had access to a plaster cast of surrogate Michelle Ross' stomach, a contract between the woman and Parker and several documents.

A special prosecutor has said Carpenter entered Ross' home in Martins Ferry in May and removed items that identified her as the surrogate. He and Police Chief Chad Dojack from nearby Bridgeport are accused of scheming to sell the items.

Steffman said Dojack offered to sell him the surrogate's address and contact information for $1,000. He said he met Carpenter in a post office parking lot, when the chief showed him a cell-phone photo of the cast.

During cross-examination, Steffman said he did not see the items the chief claimed to have.

Carpenter's attorney, Dennis McNamara, has said that the chief entered Ross' house but did not take anything and that he joked with photographers about having access to the home.

Steffman said he never thought Carpenter was joking and that he acted arrogant, aggressive and "like a bully."

Steffman also said he tracked down Ross through her MySpace page and let her know about the conversations he'd had with both chiefs.

Carpenter accessed a law enforcement database from his home to obtain Ross' personal information, including her driver license information, Social Security number, address and driving record, according to testimony from Lisa Sprague of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.

A sheriff's deputy testified that signs of a break-in at Ross' home included missing personal files, disheveled boxes of photographs, an open bathroom cabinet and the belly cast at the bottom of the stairs instead of where it had been left in a bedroom.

Carpenter faces several felony charges, including burglary, receiving stolen property and theft in office. He could face 21 1/2 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

Dojack faces counts of complicity to burglary and complicity to receiving stolen property. His trial is set for January.

Wicker Man, Equalizer actor Edward Woodward dies

LONDON (Reuters) – British actor Edward Woodward, best known for roles in 1973 cult classic "The Wicker Man" and U.S. television series "The Equalizer," died Monday aged 79.

His agent Janet Glass said the veteran of stage and screen had been ill for several months and passed away in hospital surrounded by members of his family.

"I knew him a very long time and he was a superb human being," Glass told Reuters.

"That integrity shone through in the roles he played. I can't ever remember, in all the productions he undertook, anyone having a bad word to say about him and he never had anything bad to say about anyone else either."

Woodward played police sergeant Neil Howie in occult thriller The Wicker Man, a story of his search for a missing girl on an isolated island.

The movie, famous for its final scene in which Howie is burned alive, also starred Christopher Lee and Britt Ekland.

That part came in the wake of his appearances in the British spy series "Callan," Woodward's big breakthrough into television and movie acting.

In the series, which ran from the late 1960s to the early 1970s, Woodward played a rebellious British secret agent in a role that echoed his most successful U.S. venture, playing Robert McCall in the hit 1980s show The Equalizer.

The show won him a Golden Globe in 1987 for best performance by an actor in a television drama series, although according to the BBC, the actor regretted making The Equalizer because of the toll it took on his health including a major heart attack.

Woodward also earned acclaim for the 1980 Australian film "Breaker Morant," about the murder trial of a lieutenant serving in the Second Boer War.

As well as on-screen success, Woodward was a proven singer and stage actor, and was singled out by Laurence Olivier to appear in the title role of a National Theater production of "Cyrano."

According to Glass, Noel Coward also chose the actor to star in the Broadway show "High Spirits," the musical version of "Blite Spirit," and Woodward recorded 12 solo albums.

The actor's final on-screen appearance was earlier this year in the popular British soap opera "EastEnders."

Woodward is survived by his wife, the English actress Michele Dotrice, and four children -- one by Doltrice and three from a previous marriage.

`Twilight' hunks part of film's heartthrob history

LOS ANGELES – Fifteen-year-old Chloe Bates is in love.

A 10th-grader at an all-girls Catholic school, she lights up when she talks about her handsome 17-year-old honey. Chloe doesn't know too many boys, so she still gets a nervous, buzzy feeling whenever she thinks about HIM. Her friends know all about this guy — he's a regular text and telephone topic between school, homework and dance practice.

Chloe keeps a few pictures of him on her bedroom wall, scattered among snapshots of her and her friends. She also writes about him in her journal. But she can't really get close to him. It's like he doesn't know she exists.

Chloe is in love with Taylor Lautner, one of the hunky stars of the "Twilight" films. And she's not alone.

Girls have been falling in love with movie stars since the dawn of cinema. When teenagers became Tinseltown's prime marketing target, Hollywood delivered handsome heartthrobs any girl could love.

James Dean. Frankie Avalon. David Cassidy. Rick Springfield. Johnny Depp. There are teen icons for every generation. For Chloe and millions of girls around the world, it's Lautner and Robert Pattinson of "New Moon," the latest installment in the "Twilight" series.

These girls aren't just experiencing a movie-star crush, they're participating in a uniquely female rite of passage: The birth of romantic fantasy. And today's technology — online fan forums, Twitter, an endless Web stream of photos and videos — lets them get closer than ever.

Before real boyfriends and first kisses, girls' imaginary relationships with their heartthrobs provide a precursor to adult romance — a love before they know what love might be.

"They're practicing feelings of love and attachment and attraction and romance," says Los Angeles psychologist Wendy Walsh, whose own 11-year-old daughter also loves Lautner. "These are all new feelings, and what a safe way to play them out — in the privacy of their own room with a poster of Taylor Lautner."

The "Twilight" series itself is about first love. "New Moon" centers on Bella Swan, an ordinary teenager in love with the mysterious Edward Cullen (Pattinson), who comes from a family of vampires. Edward is romantic and otherworldly, and though he literally hungers for her, he's gentle and protective. But he leaves and Bella finds comfort with her loyal, longtime friend Jacob Black (Lautner), whom she later discovers belongs to a lineage of werewolves.

"It would be so fun to be Bella," Chloe says wistfully. "I love the idea of having two super-hot mythical creatures fighting over me. I just think that would be incredible."

Chloe hasn't had a real boyfriend yet, but she thinks Lautner would be perfect because he's "that fun, hang out, let's-play-video-games kind of guy that I think would be really fun right now."

Like practically everyone at school, Chloe has read all four novels in the "Twilight" series. She spotted Lautner when she saw the film last year and recognized him from a kids' movie she'd seen a few years earlier.

"Now he's hot," she says. "He's really hot."

Besides his looks, Chloe loves the character he plays: A kid-next-door type who's sweet, funny and just a tad awkward.

"I like him because I can feel like that might actually happen, like this guy could be real," she says.

Pattinson is really hot, too, but Chloe finds his character's infinite devotion to Bella "kind of unrealistic."

Fans of the series fall on two sides: Team Edward and Team Jacob. Chloe aligns firmly with the latter, but "it's pretty much half and half at my school," she says.

Each has his charms. On screen, Pattinson plays a dashing vampire. Off-screen, the British actor is shy and soft-spoken, humbled by all the "Twilight" attention. He's 23, lanky and pale, with thick, tousled hair he constantly runs his fingers through.

Lautner is buff and bronzed, with a gregarious personality, dark eyes and an easy smile. To reprise his character in "New Moon," he packed on more than 20 pounds of chiseled physique.

Pattinson and Lautner may be slightly sexier than teen idols past, but they're cut from the same teen-heartthrob cloth as their predecessors: Smooth-faced stars who seem wholesome — and just a touch away from attainable.

Heidi Hurst, executive editor of teen pinup magazine Tiger Beat, notes that since the magazine was established in 1965, the guys on its pages have been "non-threatening, more on the boyish side of good looks." The November issue features Lautner and Pattinson on the cover.

Most Tiger Beat readers, who range in age from 8 to 16, "still aren't dating boys in real life and this is their first exposure to boys as in `They're cute. I like them,'" Hurst says.

Chloe buys Tiger Beat when it has a good Lautner spread. She'll also Google him from time to time and, until recently, kept a "very hot, shirtless picture" of him as her computer screen-saver. But she's not as obsessive as some of her friends, who check YouTube for him daily and follow various "Twilight" fan sites.

She and a dozen of her friends are planning to make their own Team Jacob T-shirts and see "New Moon" when it opens Friday.

Chloe's mom, Jill Mullikin-Bates, approves of her daughter's love for Lautner, calling the young actor "a wholesome, realistic role model."

"He's the right age and super cute," says the 47-year-old mother of two. "It totally brings me back to when I was that age and having those fantasies."

Mom's teen heartthrob? Leif Garrett, a late-1970s icon adored for his feathered, Farrah Fawcett-style hair.

Fawcett, of course, was the most popular pinup of her day. But the boys who bought her iconic poster related to her in a completely different way than Chloe does, because they typically don't have relationships with their on-screen idols the way girls do. Most guys want to get physical with their love objects, where girls fantasize about their heartthrob becoming their boyfriend.

"Pinups are more explicitly eroticized where a heartthrob ... is about feelings, being able to imagine romance rather than just sex and sexuality," says Karen Tongson, a professor of English and Gender Studies at the University of Southern California.

Former heartthrob Rick Springfield says he never believed his adolescent female followers were attracted to him sexually: "If they were confronted with this older man and they saw all this body hair and whiskers, they'd probably completely gross out."

He theorizes that young, screaming fans are merely responding to fledgling feelings of attraction they can't yet define. "They're just letting out all this new energy that they're discovering," he says.

Chloe says if she ever met Lautner in person, she'd be "freaking out on the inside but trying to act cool on the outside." Sometimes when she's with her friends, "we pretend what we'd say to him if we were more confident."

As if adolescent emotions weren't enough, today's heartthrob crushes are supported by all manner of merchandising and gadgetry.

"It's so much more elaborate than it used to be," says USC cultural historian Leo Braudy. "Every movie comes fit with its posters and its icons and its bobbleheaded dolls."

Where Chloe's mom had to wait for the latest Tiger Beat to get new photos of Leif Garrett, the media empires that create the latest teen idols are ready with an array of products for every Zac Efron around — albums, posters, ring tones, T-shirts, tote bags and more. Then there's the life-sized cardboard cutout of Lautner that Chloe's mom and dad recently bought for her.

One day the doorbell rang at Chloe's San Fernando Valley home and cardboard Lautner was standing there, wearing a T-shirt and jeans and his trademark sweet smile.

He now stands in her bedroom, near the window and the little table where she writes in her journal — her first vision every morning and the last thing she sees each night.

Lauren Bacall, Roger Corman to get early Oscars

LOS ANGELES – The Academy Awards won't be presented until March, but the first Oscar statuettes of the season were being handed out Saturday night at a private, black-tie dinner in Hollywood.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is breaking with tradition and presenting its honorary Oscars away from the televised ceremony. Actress Lauren Bacall, producer-director Roger Corman and cinematographer Gordon Willis were to each receive Oscar statuettes at the inaugural Governors Awards event.

The winner of this year's Irving J. Thalberg Memorial Award, producer John Calley, was to also receive his trophy at the star-studded dinner. Each of the four recipients were chosen by the academy's Board of Governors.

Annette Bening, Tom Hanks, Kirk Douglas, Anjelica Huston and Quentin Tarantino signed on as presenters for the evening, which included 600 invited guests celebrating at the Grand Ballroom above the Kodak Theatre, the same room where the annual post-Academy Awards Governors Ball is held.

Morgan Freeman, Alec Baldwin, Steven Spielberg and other guests were serenaded by a violin quartet before the ceremony began in a room decked out in bronze and silver curtains with a giant Oscar statue at the center.

Bacall made her screen debut with Humphrey Bogart in "To Have and Have Not" in 1944. She went on to star in more than 30 films, including classics such as "The Big Sleep" and "Key Largo."

Corman has directed more than 50 films and produced more than 300 during his five-decade career, including "It Conquered the World" and 1960's "The Little Shop of Horrors."

Willis is a two-time Academy Award nominee for "Zelig" and "The Godfather, Part III."

Calley's producing credits include "Postcards from the Edge," "The Remains of the Day," for which he earned a Best Picture Oscar nomination, "Closer" and "The Da Vinci Code."

Other guests expected Saturday include Jeff Bridges, James Cameron, Dennis Hopper, Ron Howard and Julie Taymor.

The event was being taped but not televised. Excerpts will be shown during the 82nd annual Academy Awards on March 7.

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On the Net:

http://www.oscars.org

Strippers-on-a-truck promotion halted in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS – Live strippers on the back of a truck is too much — even for Sin City.

A Las Vegas strip club has agreed to stop an advertising promotion that involved hauling bikini-clad exotic dancers around in a truck with clear plastic sides.

Larry Beard, marketing director of Deja Vu Showgirls, said Friday that he's taking his lawyer's advice and parking the truck.

"We're going to respect the opinion of the folks that are against it," Beard told The Associated Press. "We're going to be good citizens and take it off the street."

Beard had told the AP earlier this week that he was prepared to fight county leaders and others who thought the moving truck promotion was unseemly or unsafe.

"The girls are wearing more than the girls at the swimming pool wear," Beard said this week. "Even though they're not stripping and taking their clothes off I think people are offended because of the idea that they do."

The truck rolled for 13 nights along the Las Vegas Strip from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m., trying to lure customers to the club. Three sides had windows that weren't tinted, offering views of the strippers dancing around a stripper pole.

The tactic worked, with business booming since the truck started going out, Beard said.

"We even have cars and limos follow us to the club," Beard said this week.

The dancers were allowed to perform in the truck because it was classified as a vehicle for hire, which let the dancers ride in the back without seat belts, Beard said.

Public outrage over the truck grew as pictures and videos of the truck surfaced on the Internet and a county commissioner in Las Vegas vowed to shut it down.

Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak said he got calls from citizens who hated it and others who liked it, but he considered the truck a safety problem.

"It's clearly a distraction," Sisolak told the AP. "Somebody's going to turn their head to look at some girl flipping upside-down and spinning on a pole, and take their eyes off the road and could swerve and pop up the sidewalk and plow into a bunch of tourists that are walking along."

Sisolak said he plans to try to close a loophole in local laws regulating mobile billboards.

Regulations prohibit advertising vehicles that use animation or flashing lights, and Sisolak said he would try to prevent live entertainers from being used, too.

Meanwhile, he's happy the club owners decided to park the truck.

"Could they have won in court? That would have been a long, costly, time-exhaustive battle," Sisolak said. "They clearly got a lot of publicity as it stands, which I'm sure made them happy."

Jackson's "This Is It" passes $200 million worldwide

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Michael Jackson's concert movie "This Is It" has taken more than $200 million at box offices worldwide in the first two weeks of release, the studio behind the movie said on Thursday.

Sony Pictures Entertainment said the movie had grossed $61 million in North America and more than $140 million internationally. Japan ($27.2 million) and the UK ($14.3 million) were particularly strong markets.

The movie is now the 22nd biggest grossing movie worldwide of 2009, according to industry tracker boxofficemojo.com

"This Is It", distributed by Sony Corp-owned Columbia Pictures, was compiled from footage of Jackson rehearsing for a series of planned comeback concerts before his sudden death in June.

Sony paid concert promoters AEG and Jackson's estate about $60 million for the right to make and distribute the movie.

The $200 million plus gross is almost three times more than 2008's "Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour" -- a movie some box office watchers had used as a benchmark for "This Is It."

The Jackson film opened on October 28 for a planned two week run but has since been extended until early December.

Taylor Swift makes CMA history

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – It's been Taylor Swift's year, and Wednesday was her night as she became the youngest person and the first solo female act in a decade to win the Country Music Association's entertainer of the year award.

Swift won all four awards for which she was nominated, making history on a historic night that included Darius Rucker's win as new artist.

"I'll never forget this moment because in this moment everything that I have ever wanted has just happened to me," Swift said through tears as she accepted the association's highest honor during ceremonies at Sommet Center.

The 19-year-old crossover sensation beat the biggest names in country and snapped Kenny Chesney's stranglehold on the category: He won three straight and four of the last five. She also ended Carrie Underwood's three-year dominance in the female vocalist category.

Chesney hugged and kissed Swift on the cheek, then whispered a message in her ear before she received the trophy. She called her band on stage and was the center of a group hug as fans cheered wildly, holding signs that said, "We love you, Taylor"; her father cried in the audience.

"Every single person in that category let me open up for them this year," Swift said. "Thank you all so much. I love you."

Rucker was also a fan favorite, running into the crowd during his performance of "Alright." The Hootie and the Blowfish frontman, who has sold 1 million copies of his first country album, "Learn to Live," became the second African-American to win a major individual CMA.

He joins Charley Pride, who won entertainer of the year in 1971 and male vocalist in 1971-72.

"First of all, to the fans, thank y'all for accepting me," the jubilant Rucker said. "And I think most importantly, to country radio, you took a chance on a pop singer from Charleston, S.C. Thank you so much for that!"

Swift also won album of the year for "Fearless," the top-selling CD of the year, and video of the year for "Love Story."

"You guys, this album is my diary and so to all the people who voted for me for this is a thank you for saying you love my diary because that's the nicest compliment," Swift said.

Brad Paisley, who led all nominees with seven, won two awards, including his third straight male vocalist of the year.

"This was the best time I've ever had at an awards show," said Paisley.

Lady Antebellum also won two awards, for vocal group and single of the year. The win in the vocal group category ended Rascal Flatts' six-year dominance.

"Rascal Flatts, you've inspired us for such a long time," Lady Antebellum singer Charles Kelly said. "Thank you so much for letting us be up here."

Jamey Johnson, along with James Otto and Lee Thomas Miller, won song of the year for "In Color."

"I never thought you guys would even let me come to things like this," Johnson, the country outlaw with the scruffy beard, joked as the audience laughed.

Swift kicked off the show with a playful version of her song, "Forever & Always," throwing a chair off a raised podium, sliding down a pole and dropping to her knees to the delighted cheers of the crowd.

It was the Zac Brown Band that set the room on fire, though, with its high-rev version of Charlie Daniels' "The Devil Went Down to Georgia."

Co-hosts Paisley and Underwood opened the show with a few new songs of their own, skewering Kanye West for his interruption of Swift's MTV Video Music Awards win — "Mama don't let your babies grow up to be Kanye" — and lamenting the break up of Brooks & Dunn.

Later in the show, telecast on ABC, country novelty singer Little Jimmy Dickens interrupted Paisley after Underwood told him that "Welcome to the Future" was one of her favorite videos.

"Excuse me sir, excuse me. I'll let you finish later. Now, Brad Paisley, I know you had a nice video, but ... Taylor Swift made the best video in her time. You go girl," the diminutive Dickens said, goofing on West, who famously took the stage during Swift's acceptance speech to say that Beyonce deserved Swift's prize.

Brooks & Dunn, the best-selling duo who announced their split earlier this year, teamed with ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons on a scorching version of "Honky Tonk Stomp" in what was billed as their last performance at show.

But CMA voters weren't moved by sentiment in the vocal duo of the year category, awarding Sugarland the honor for the third straight year.

"We don't usually expect this but we obviously didn't this year," said Jennifer Nettles, half of the duo that extended an invitation to Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn to come up and speak to their fans, but they declined.

"Well, I will say thank you for what you've done for us, thank you for what you've done for country music," Nettles said before leaving the stage.

Several tributes were paid to veterans with the show falling on Veterans Day. Underwood saluted service members and Randy Houser wore a POW/MIA hat among other nods.

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AP Music Editor Nekesa Mumbi Moody and Associated Press Writer Mesfin Fekadu contributed to this report.

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On the Net:

http://www.cmaawards.com

Swift wins 2nd straight BMI award for top song

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Taylor Swift started what could be an interesting week with her second straight song of the year award at the BMI Country Awards Tuesday, when Kris Kristofferson was honored as an icon.

Swift won for her song "Love Story" — the night before she contends for entertainer of the year at the Country Music Association Awards — Bobby Pinson won songwriter of the year and Sony/ATV Music was named publisher of the year.

BMI also honored Brooks & Dunn with the president's award.

"I just want to say to every songwriter and every loved one of a songwriter, thank you, because you are the reason I wanted to try Nashville," Swift said. "You are all my heroes."

It was Kristofferson, the 73-year-old songwriter of classics like "Sunday Mornin' Come Down" and "Me and Bobby McGee," though, and not the 19-year-old pop sensation Swift who had the audience's attention.

Willie Nelson, Patty Griffin and Vince Gill paid tribute to Kristofferson, who cried during Griffin's rendition of "Help Me Make it Through the Night."

"There's no better songwriter alive than Kris Kristofferson," Nelson said. "Everything he writes is a standard and we're all just going to have to live with that."

Kristofferson admitted to being overwhelmed by the attention.

"You want the honest truth?" Kristofferson asked with a wry smile. "I'm very honored, but I'm really uncomfortable with everybody saying something praiseworthy and I feel stupid. I told Willie this is going to be really hard on me. He said, 'That's why I'm going like it so much, because you're going to hate it.' But I'm awfully grateful that what I love to do means enough to other people that I'm able to do it."

Ray Stevens was among the first to take a chance on a Kristofferson song, recording "Sunday Mornin' Come Down" a year before Johnny Cash turned it into a hit.

"Nobody had ever put that much money and effort into recording one of my songs," Kristofferson said. "I remember the first time I heard it — he's a wonderful singer — I had to leave the publishing house and I just sat on the steps and wept because it was such a beautiful thing."

Stevens was drawn to the song because he felt Kristofferson had a "spark."

"He was very talented, very smart and right on time with his style," Stevens said. "A lot of people since then have copied those songs that he put out so at this point in time it doesn't seem all that different. It still is of course. There are very few writers who get that spark at the right time."

Pinson is one of Nashville's hottest songwriters with four songs among the most performed in the last year. He co-wrote No. 1 hits "All I Want to Do" and "Already Gone" with Sugarland and also worked with Toby Keith on "She Never Cried in Front of Me" and Josh Gracin on "We Weren't Crazy."

BMI, or Broadcast Music Inc., is a performing rights organization.

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http://www.bmi.com