Billy Joe Royal Dies; Country Singer Was 73

Billy Joe Royal – best known as the voice behind such ’60s hits as “Down in the Boondocks” and “Cherry Hill Park” – has passed away at the age of 73.

The cause of his death is unknown at this time.

The news of Royal’s passing was shared on Twitter this morning by singer BJ Thomas:

“My best friend Billy Joe Royal died this morning,” Thomas tweeted. “He was a sweet and talented man. Never a bad word. One of a kind.”

Royal’s blend of country and pop resulted in multiple Top 40 hits in the mid to late 60s. 

His career stalled in the early 70s, but Royal soon regained popularity with the soulful single “Heart’s Desire.”

By the 1980s, he was back at the top of the charts, thanks to such country hits as “Tell It Like It Is” and “Burned Like a Rocket.”

Royal experienced a second career renaissance in the early 2000s, when regular airplay on numerous “oldies” stations introduced his music to a whole new generation of enthusiastic fans.

A member of the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, Royal recorded his final album in 2009. He was set to embark on a tour with Ronnie McDowell at the time of his death.

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Nicki Minaj: I"m STILL Pissed at Miley Cyrus!

As you probably remember, Nicki Minaj called Miley Cyrus out on live television after winning the award for Best Hip-Hop Video at the VMAs.

Nicki Minaj Slams Miley Cyrus During Acceptance Speech

At first, there was some discussion as to whether Miley and Nicki’s feud was real or staged. 

But if there’s anyone out there who’s still in the latter camp, we think Nicki’s recent comments to The New York Times make it clear that the bad blood between these two artists is very real:

“The fact that you feel upset about me speaking on something that affects black women makes me feel like you have some big balls,” Nicki said.

She went on to accuse Miley of being racially insensitive, particularly in her public comments regarding Nicki’s lack of VMA nominations:

“You’re in videos with black men, and you’re bringing out black women on your stages, but you don’t want to know how black women feel about something that’s so important?” Minaj said.

“If you want to enjoy our culture and our lifestyle, bond with us, dance with us, have fun with us, twerk with us, rap with us, then you should also want to know what affects us, what is bothering us, what we feel is unfair to us. You shouldn’t not want to know that.”

Miley – who’s fresh off of hosting the season premiere of SNL – has yet to respond to Nicki’s latest remarks.

Yeezus Speaks: 16 Pearls of Kanye West Wisdom

Kanye West has done some crazy things over the years, such as interrupting Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards and such as marrying Kim Kardashian.

But he"s also said some crazy things, on a nearly daily basis.

Below, we"ve collected a bunch of Kanye West quotes and we"ve left it to readers to decide: Is he crazy? Or is he a crazy genius?

1. We All Make Mistakes

But not everyone learns from them as well as I do.

2. I’m Not Perfect

I did marry a woman known for having sex on camera, after all. But don’t diss my music!

3. I Will Change the Entire World

If I do say so myself.

4. Reading is Not Fundamental

Not when you’re so busy writing, people! Writing history, that is.

5. Music Trumps Slavery

Or something to that effect. All I know is that I’m more important than Nelson Mandela.

6. Be Proud!

And I will raise my daughter to be a proud non-reader, dammit!

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Meri Brown, Sister Wives Star, Admits Online Affair with Woman She Thought Was a Man!

Sister Wives star Meri Brown, one of Kody Brown’s wives, admitted Tuesday that she had an online affair … with a woman she believed to be a man!

Brown thought she was having an “emotional affair” with a woman who, it turns out, was a man – one catfishing her throughout their “relationship.”

Meri tells People this week:

“During an emotional and vulnerable time earlier this year, I began speaking with someone who turned out to be not who they said they were.”

“I never met this person and I regret being drawn into this situation but I hope because of it I can help others who find themselves in similar circumstances.”

Manti T’eo feela ya, Meri:

It’s been a rough year for Meri, who got divorced from Kody Brown earlier this year so he could marry her fellow sister wife, his fourth wife, Robyn.

Kody married Robyn so that he could legally adopt her three children from a previous marriage: Dayton, 15, Aurora, 12, and Breanna, 9.

This was, of course, a technicality – the Browns’ plural marriage beliefs allow him to share several times – but it still had to hurt Meri a bit.

If you watch Sister Wives online, you know it was not the first issue they have had making this arrangement work, and it won’t be the last.

In addition, sister wife Jenelle‘s daughter Maddie Brown recently announced she would eschew the family’s plural marriage lifestyle.