iTunes’ top 10 selling singles and albums of the week ending Sept. 7, 2009:

Singles:

1. “Party In the U.S.A.,” Miley Cyrus

2. “I Gotta Feeling,” Black Eyed Peas

3. “Down,” Jay Sean

4. “Run This Town (feat. Rihanna & Kanye West),” Jay-Z

5. “Whatcha Say,” Jason DeRulo

6. “Use Somebody,” Kings of Leon

7. “Good Girls Go Bad (feat. Leighton Meester),” Cobra Starship

8. “She Wolf,” Shakira

9. “Hotel Room Service,” Pitbull

10. “You Belong With Me,” Taylor Swift

Albums:

1. “The Blueprint 3,” Jay-Z

2. “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Pt. 2,” Raekwon

3. “Only By the Night,” Kings of Leon

4. “Love Drunk,” Boys Like Girls

5. “The E.N.D. (The Energy Never Dies),” Black Eyed Peas

6. “Bomb In a Birdcage,” A Fine Frenzy

7. “I Look to You,” Whitney Houston

8. “Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King,” Dave Matthews Band

9. “Joy,” Phish

10. “Ready,” Trey Songz

iTunes’ top 10 selling singles and albums of the week ending Sept. 7, 2009:

Singles:

1. “Party In the U.S.A.,” Miley Cyrus

2. “I Gotta Feeling,” Black Eyed Peas

3. “Down,” Jay Sean

4. “Run This Town (feat. Rihanna & Kanye West),” Jay-Z

5. “Whatcha Say,” Jason DeRulo

6. “Use Somebody,” Kings of Leon

7. “Hotel Room Service,” Pitbull

8. “Good Girls Go Bad (feat. Leighton Meester),” Cobra Starship

9. “She Wolf,” Shakira

10. “Fallin’ for You,” Colbie Caillat

Albums:

1. “I Look to You,” Whitney Houston

2. “Ready,” Trey Songz

3. “Only By the Night,” Kings of Leon

4. “Sci-Fi Crimes,” Chevelle

5. “Breakthrough,” Colbie Caillat

6. “Before the Frost… Until the Freeze,” The Black Crowes

7. “Artwork,” The Used

8. “Ellipse,” Imogen Heap

9. “Awake,” Skillet

10. “The Blueprint 3,” Jay-Z

Mary J. Blige is among the acts scheduled to perform. (AP)

Mary J. Blige, Chris Brown and Natalie Cole will be among the top artists performing at a Sept. 26 Michael Jackson tribute concert in Vienna, organizers said Tuesday.

But they left open the possibility that major stars such as Madonna might still be part of the show that will take place outside a 17th-century palace in the Austrian capital.

“Just hold your horses!” Jackson’s brother Jermaine told reporters at a packed news conference in Vienna’s city hall.

Event promoter Georg Kindel said that up to 25 performers are expected to participate in concert that is being billed as the main global tribute for the King of Pop, who died June 25 in Los Angeles. More names will be unveiled later this week in London and Berlin, Kindel said.
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The artist: Whitney Houston

The album: I Look To You (Arista)

The consensus: The one time pop icon is looking to put the focus back on her voice and off her personal struggles, and many critics say she’s succeeded.

I Look To You is Houston’s first album in seven years, and while that great voice isn’t all the way back — it “breaks awkwardly when it should soar, low notes sound husky,” says Slant Magazine’s Sal Cinquemani — a solid set of songs have her on the way back.

Metacritic gives I Look To You a score of 71 for generally favorable reviews.
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NEW YORK — After a long absence from music, Whitney Houston is staging a much-hyped career comeback with an appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

Houston will be Winfrey’s first guest as the talk-show queen launches her 24th season on Sept. 14. According to her Web site, Oprah.com, Winfrey calls Houston’s appearance “the most anticipated music interview of the decade.”

The 46-year-old superstar hasn’t done a major TV interview since 2002, when she addressed questions about her drug use from ABC’s Diane Sawyer.

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I have yet to hear “I Look To You,” the new album from Whitney Houston that comes out Sept. 1, although an audience at the premiere in London yesterday did. What I do have is the cover art, which is over here on the right. And…it’s beautiful. Miss H. looks healthy, sober and like the older version of that flawless diva that Kevin Costner carried out of that club in “The Bodyguard”, and not the sickly wraith we’ve seen pictures of for the last decade. Those who have heard “I Look To You” say it’s pretty much Whitney Houston, with the familiar flourishes of the ’80s and ’90s – her fairy recording industry godfather Clive Davis said last night that ”we didn’t try to fit Whitney Houston into the market. The copyrights associated with Whitney in the 1980s and ’90s are part of the fabric of music today.”

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Kathy Griffin has won two Emmys for “Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List,” now in its fifth season on Bravo. Her standup shows often sell out. Her 2008 comedy album, “For Your Consideration,” was nominated for a Grammy (George Carlin won the award posthumously). And her memoir comes out in September.

But the 48-year-old actress-comedian insists she’s on the outside looking in.

Griffin talks about how she’s still a wannabe celebrity, Hollywood headlines and her upcoming book.

AP: It’s hard to believe you’re still on the D-list.
Griffin: I have proof although I’m flattered at the suggestion that I could even be a C-minus. Recently, I was on tour and they delivered me a sandwich and it said Taffy Griffin. Now, I’d like to think that’s maybe what they thought my stripper name was, but no. My name was on the marquee. Sold-out show. Taffy Griffin. I’m on the D-list where I belong.

AP: You’ve joked about many celebrities. Who are you most afraid of running into?
Griffin: Whitney Houston, because she’ll just cut you. … I’m afraid of many, many celebrities. Most of them really.

AP: What do you think of Angelina Jolie edging out Oprah Winfrey to top Forbes’ Celebrity 100 power list?
Griffin: It’s clearly something that Oprah just had Gayle (King, Winfrey’s longtime friend) write because she must be having security issues or something. There’s no one more powerful than Oprah male or female in any country. Or on any planet.

AP: What do you think of Jon and Kate Gosselin (of the TLC show “Jon & Kate Plus 8″)?
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