Knowles denies rumors that he will no longer manage Beyonce's career.
By James Dinh

Beyoncé
Photo: Jeff Kravitz/ WireImage

Jay-Z may be Beyoncé's husband, but the hip-hop heavyweight will not be managing the pop star anytime soon. According to a statement posted by the singer's management website, Music World Entertainment, Beyoncé's father, Mathew Knowles is not being replaced by Jay-Z or anyone else as her manager.

"Contrary to false rumors online, Beyoncé and her manager Mathew Knowles unequivocally have had and continue to have a close personal and business relationship. Mathew Knowles is the sole and exclusive manager of Beyoncé," the statement reads.

Mathew Knowles has always played an important part in his daughter's career, dating all the way back to her days in Destiny's Child. When the group split in 2005, Mathew continued managing Beyoncé as well as Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. But Rowland and Williams recently parted ways with Knowles and his Music World Entertainment team. Earlier this year, he also denied claims that the trio were in talks to reunite Destiny's Child.

In addition to refuting the online rumors, the management company confirmed that the singer is working on upcoming music projects. "Furthermore, Beyoncé is readying the release of her new, highly anticipated DVD and has started the recording process for her new album," the statement concluded.

One producer that the singer may be reuniting with for her next record is Ne-Yo. The pair previously worked together on her hit single "Irreplaceable" back in 2006. Just last week, the soon-to-be father tweeted, "Mornin' NY!!! Studio with Mary J Blige last night, Beyonce tonight. I LOVE MY JOB!!! Shout out Jerry Wonder!!"

How do you think Mathew Knowles does at managing Beyoncé? Share your thoughts below.

• Beyoncé
• Jay-Z

Singer also talks about retiring alter ego Sasha Fierce and starting a family, in You magazine.
By James Dinh

Beyoncé
Photo: Michael Caulfield/ Getty Images

Whether it's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" or the Destiny's Child classic "Independent Women," most of Beyoncé's catalog consists of strong female-empowerment anthems. So it's no surprise that the singer considers herself to be a feminist.

In an interview with the U.K.'s You magazine, the pop star opens up about the importance of female companionship, not needing to hide behind Sasha Fierce and her much-talked-about baby plans.

"I think I am a feminist, in a way. It's not something I consciously decided I was going to be; perhaps it's because I grew up in a singing group with other women, and that was so helpful to me," she told the magazine. "It kept me out of so much trouble and out of bad relationships. My friendships with my girls are just so much a part of me that there are things I am never going to do that would upset that bond. I never want to betray that friendship, because I love being a woman and I love being a friend to other women."

Most recently, Beyoncé has certainly made her share of female friends in the industry. In the past year, the singer has collaborated with Lady Gaga ("Video Phone" and "Telephone") and Alicia Keys ("Put It in a Love Song").

While the singer might always have female besties, there's one thing she's cut out of the picture: alter ego Sasha Fierce. Earlier this year, the pop star revealed that she "killed" Sasha, and now she said the alter-ego absence is due to her newfound self-awareness.

"I don't need Sasha so much anymore, because these days, I know who I am. It takes time to figure out who you are, and I am still discovering different things about myself. As I am exposed to different experiences, I think, 'Oh, I like this. I didn't know I liked this,' " she explained. "That's the journey of life that is so exciting. More and more, I know who I am, I know what I like, I know what I want, and that makes me feel so free."

In fact, B already has her eye on some personal life goals. "My ambition is to continue to learn about the world and to eventually have a family," she said. And while Beyoncé remained coy about when she and husband Jay-Z will expand the Carter family, she hinted that there's really "no dates, no times" to motherhood. "It will happen when I am ready."

What is your favorite Beyoncé female-empowerment anthem? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

• What Beyonce Might Be Like At Home

• Beyoncé

Fan reaction to the MC's Beyoncé-featuring single ranges from 'wack' to ' 'Ye is back!!!!'
By Mawuse Ziegbe

Kanye West
Photo: Dominique Charriau/WireImage

Fans agree that Kanye West is back, but they can't seem to agree on how they feel about that. The MC unveiled his latest single, "See Me Now," on Wednesday, and since then, Kanye followers have being going back and forth about whether the track is on fire or a fail.

The song, which features soulful contributions from Beyoncé and Charlie Wilson, is expected to appear on his upcoming untitled album, but, for many, the song takes things back to the MC's debut, College Dropout.

"Wow, it reminds me of College Dropout. Good to hear 'Ye laugh!" Ezekiel wrote on West's Kanye UniverseCity blog.

Bryan C.G. agreed: "This totally feel like your Dropout days. I love it."

Some fans, such as Prolifik, are all about 'Ye reviving the strings-laden throwback soul that kicked off his recording career. "Amazing! Classic flow, classic beats," the fan wrote. "I miss that old College Dropout steez! Welcome back, 'Ye."

" 'Ye is back!!!!" Tiffany wrote. "Hip Hop needs you so much!! You're brilliant."

While lots of online commenters are feeling the song, some of the MC's fans aren't seeing the appeal of "See Me Now." "This song is hot garbage," Luis Ariza declared on West's Facebook page.

The Facebook post announcing the song scored more than 580 "likes" at press time, however, some fans were not on the "See Me Now" bandwagon. "[It's the] first song from Kanye that I have not liked," Ariza wrote.

"This song needs major work," Real Talk proclaimed on West's blog. "I want harder beats and to be able to move my feet." Chad Jones also chimed in on Facebook: "Not feelin it. Huge Kanye fan and love the evolution in his music but the track is wack. Lyrics are nice but track is wack."

" 'Ye is the man, but this song is WEAK!!!" Wallace Leeth wrote.

Jay Yey Couture thought the G.O.O.D. Music lyricist was upstaged by fellow superstar Beyoncé and undermined by the instrumental. "Kanye will sell this fall, that's for sure. However Beyoncé made this song!!!!!" the fan typed. "Kanye had too much time to come with ... this [weak] beat ... he could have did wayyyyy better."

Yeezy might not have won over all his fans with the single, but he does have the opportunity to redeem himself on the awards-show stage: West will perform at this year's MTV Video Music Awards, which air live September 12 at 9 p.m. The appearance marks his VMA return after a notorious onstage dustup with Taylor Swift, but it appears the rapper is taking the incident in stride. West closes "See Me Now" with the ad lib, "Uncle Charlie, by the way. And I'mma let you finish, but I got Beyoncé on the track."

What do you think of "See Me Now"? Let us know in the comments below!

The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on September 12 at 9 p.m. ET. Fans can go to VMA.MTV.com (or text VMA to 97979 if they are Verizon subscribers) to vote for the winners from now through September 12.

• Kanye West
• Beyoncé

'Love the Way You Lie' with Eminem becomes her sixth #1 on the pop chart.
By Jocelyn Vena

Rihanna
Photo: Troy Rizzo/ Getty Images

Rihanna is making hit songs, breaking records and taking names. The singer is currently tied with a few of her pop comrades for the most #1 songs on the Pop Songs radio airplay chart. She ties with Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and Mariah Carey for the most #1's in the Nielsen survey. Rihanna now has six #1's on her résumé thanks to her chart-topping collaboration with Eminem, "Love the Way You Lie," according to Billboard.com.

Rihanna's other #1 songs on the pop chart include 2006's "SOS" (for one week); 2008's "Take a Bow" (for three weeks); 2008's "Disturbia" (three weeks); her late-2008 T.I. collabo "Live Your Life" (two weeks); and this year's "Rude Boy" (two weeks). "Love the Way You Lie" has been on top for one week so far.

Earlier this year Beyoncé and Lady Gaga tied Mariah Carey for six #1 pop songs with their collaboration, "Telephone." Carey had six songs hit #1 on the Hot 100 before the Pop Songs chart was created in 1993, and then six others since its creation. Meanwhile, Beyoncé collected hers from 2003 to 2010. Gaga was the fastest to tie the record, with all six released from 2009-2010.

Avril Lavigne, Pink, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake all come in a close second with five #1 pop songs in their careers.

Rihanna had fans talking last week when the video for "Love the Way You Lie" was released. The singer, who was assaulted by then-boyfriend Chris Brown in 2009, appears in the video that depicts a violent love affair between Dominic Monaghan and Megan Fox.

How do you think Rihanna compares to the other women at the top of the pop chart? Sound off in the comments.

• An In-Depth Look At Eminem's 'Love The Way You Lie'

• Rihanna
• Mariah Carey
• Lady Gaga
• Beyoncé

The pop queen vies for a record 13 nods at the show, airing September 12.
By Jocelyn Vena

The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards will feature yet another epic battle: Lady Gaga leading the nominations, with 13, followed close behind by Eminem, who has eight nods. And on September 12 at at 9 p.m ET, the pop diva and the Detroit MC will go head to head for the coveted Video of the Year Moonman.

Lady Gaga Leads The 2010 VMA Nominees

• Lady Gaga
• P!nk
• Eminem
• B.o.B
• Jay-Z

From Gaga's record 13 nods to the six first-time nominees, we take a closer look at the 2010 nominations.
By Gil Kaufman

Lady Gaga
Photo: Derek Storm/ Splash News

For an artist who has quickly made a habit of smashing records, Lady Gaga improbably did it again on Tuesday (August 2). She leaped past such career stars as "Telephone"/ "Video Phone" collaborator Beyoncé to set a new record for the most nominations in a single year for MTV's Video Music Awards, which air Sunday, September 12, at 9 p.m. ET.   The Mother Monster racked up 13 nods, far outpacing the artists with the second-most nominations, a resurgent Eminem, who racked up eight. On her way to setting the record, Gaga also became the first female artist nominated for two different clips in the coveted Video of the Year category for "Bad Romance" and "Telephone."

But 13 isn't the only significant number this year. We've pored over the nominations and here's a breakdown of the other figures popping out at the 2010 Video Music Awards:

1994: The year Usher's debut was released. As for the other nominees in the Best Male Video category, Eminem hit the scene in 1996, while the other three acts in the category — Drake, B.o.B and Jason DeRulo — didn't release their full-length debuts until 2010.

25: Nominated artists who've appeared on a NOW That's What I Call Music! Compilation: Justin Bieber, Ke$ha, Rihanna, Usher, Nicki Minaj, Jason DeRulo, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Drake, Eminem, David Guetta, Katy Perry, 3OH!3, Kid Cudi, Pink, Beyonce, Coldplay, David Guetta, Enrique Iglesias, Green Day, Gorillaz, Jay-Z, MGMT, Muse and Paramore. 

23 years: Age difference between Best New Artists nominees Broken Bells' James Mercer (39) and Justin Bieber (16).

9: The record Gaga will have to beat if she wants to snag the distinction of most wins in a single night, currently held by Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer."

7: Number of nominated artists who are playing at this year's Lollapalooza festival: B.o.B., Dan Black, Green Day, MGMT, Mumford and Sons, Lady Gaga and the Black Keys.

6: First time nominees, including B.o.B., Ke$ha, Justin Bieber, Drake, Florence and the Machine, Mumford and Sons.

2 1/2: Artists nominated in the Video of the Year category who were up for the award last year: Gaga (with assist from last year's winner, Beyoncé) and Eminem.

2: Previous times Eminem has been nominated for Video of the Year.

1: Number of times the band Ratatat has been mentioned before in connection with the VMAs.

1: Opportunities for a cast member of "Jersey Shore" to hop up onstage during an award acceptance, should Enrique Iglesias win for "I Like It" from the "Shore" soundtrack album.

The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on September 12 at 9 p.m. ET. Fans can go to VMA.MTV.com (or text VMA to 97979 if they are Verizon subscribers) to vote for the winners in general categories, including Best New Artist, from Tuesday (August 3) through September 12.

Are you surprised by any of this year's nominees? Talk about it in the comments.

• Gearing Up For The 2010 VMAs!

• Lady Gaga Leads The 2010 VMA Nominees

• Lady Gaga
• Beyoncé
• Justin Bieber
• Eminem

From Madonna's 'A Certain Sacrifice' to Taylor Swift's 'Valentine's Day,' pop stars' first forays into acting have been interesting.
By Eric Ditzian

Taylor Swift in "Valentine's Day"
Photo: New Line Cinema

Last February, during a swing through South Korea, Rihanna told MTV Asia that she had dreams of becoming a Hollywood superstar.

"I would love to get into comedic movies," the 22-year-old said. "As well as action. I love action. I would love to play a badass one day."

Well, a badass she very well might be, as she's signed onto "Battleship," a sci-fi action flick based on the classic board game and co-starring Taylor Kitsch and Alexander Skarsgård. Of course, this isn't the first time a celebrated singer has ditched the recording studio for the soundstage. As Rihanna boards "Battleship," she joins a long line of artists-turned-actresses. Let's take a look back at the first movie roles from some our favorite singers.

Beyoncé in "Austin Powers in Goldmember"

No disrespect to the 2001 MTV movie "Carmen: A Hip Hopera," but 2002's "Goldmember" was Beyoncé's first turn on the big screen. And what a debut it was. She essentially played herself, albeit a '70s version of herself with super high hair and a handgun, but that is exactly what Beyoncé needed. The role didn't require very much in terms of acting chops and gave her the chance to get comfortable in front of the camera. Veteran comedic talent like Mike Myers, Seth Green and Michael Caine got the laughs, while Beyoncé benefited from simply sharing the frame. "Goldmember" grossed almost 0 million worldwide, and she went on to star in the critically acclaimed "Dreamgirls" a few years later.

Madonna in "A Certain Sacrifice"

Madge's first high-profile role arrived in 1985 with "Desperately Seeking Susan," but she actually shot her first movie six years earlier. The low-budget "A Certain Sacrifice," a sex-and-violence filled story set in New York's Lower East Side, languished on the shelf for years until Madonna hit the mainstream. She actually did everything she could to prevent the film's release, but "Certain Sacrifice" eventually got a home video release. Madonna might not be proud of the flick, but it certainly didn't have a negative effect on her Hollywood career. She went on to star in a slew of glitzy productions, including "Evita," for which she won a Golden Globe in 1997.

Queen Latifah in "Jungle Fever"

Latifah signed her first record deal when she was just 17. By the time she was 21, she'd also landed a small role in Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever." She went on to meatier roles in "House Party 2" and "Juice," opposite Tupac Shakur. By the new millennium, she had an Oscar nomination for "Chicago" on her résumé and a string of starring credits to her name.

Britney Spears in "Crossroads"

At perhaps the height of her fame, Spears took on a starring role in 2002's "Crossroads," a road-trip story featuring musical interludes and the talents of Dan Aykroyd and Zoe Saldana. The film was a critical dud and a box-office disappointment, and Spears has yet to get another chance at the big screen. In recent years, she's contented herself with cameo appearances in "How I Met Your Mother."

Taylor Swift in "Valentine's Day"

The country superstar appeared as herself in 2009's "Hannah Montana: The Movie," but not until this year's hit ensemble comedy, "Valentine's Day," did Swift slip into an acting role. She played a high school student who falls for her classmate, played by none other than Taylor Lautner. No word yet what her next movie project might be, but her, "Valentine's" director Garry Marshall is gearing up for his next ensemble flick, "New Year's Eve." Ms. Swift, ya interested?

Who is your favorite musician-turned-actor? Talk about it in the comments.

Check out everything we've got on "Battleship."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

• First Movie Roles For Pop-Stars

• Rihanna
• Taylor Swift
• Beyoncé
• Madonna
• Eve

'Forbes' Magazine's Top-Earning Musicians Of 2010

• Beyoncé
• U2
• Bruce Springsteen
• AC/DC
• Jay-Z

Lady Gaga debuts on the list at #7, after earning more than Madonna in the past year.
By Gil Kaufman

U2's Bono
Photo: Harry Herd/ Getty Images

It just stands to reason that if you put on the biggest rock tour in history, you're going to make some serious coin. That might explain why more than three decades into their career, U2 easily took the top spot on Forbes magazine's list of the world's top-earning musicians, which also included newcomer Lady Gaga, as well as some of the usual suspects like Madonna, Jay-Z, Beyoncé and Bruce Springsteen.

Like most of the artists on the list, the veteran Irish rockers did it with touring cash, in their case the coin from their gigantic 360 Tour, which netted them 0 million over the past 12 months by selling more than 1.3 million tickets for an average price of apiece in North America. The tour grossed 1 million, and each stop had gross ticket receipts of million, but the band's bottom line was also boosted by healthy merchandise sales, as well as strong radio play for their deep back catalog, which continues to sell well. The outing was temporarily derailed this year due to Bono's back injury, but U2 plan to return to North American shores next summer for a victory lap.

The Forbes tally, which counted earnings between June 2009 and June 2010, had another veteran band at #2: power rockers AC/DC, who stormed back last year with a tour that grossed http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/knowles_beyonce/rss/highlights_full.jhtml.3 million a night and helped them earn 4 million on worldwide grosses of 6 million.

Making a stand for the ladies, Beyoncé netted million to become the highest-earning female on the list at #3. A healthy dose of her take was courtesy of major endorsement deals with Nintendo and L'Oréal, sales from her House of Dereon fashion line, and the million in gross receipts from her 93-date world tour.

New Jersey rock icon Springsteen also made most of his money on the road, raking in million by selling more than 2 million tickets on his world tour, which grossed 7 million. Heavy radio play and the sales of lots of catalog albums also helped him lock down the #4 slot on the list.

It was another solid year for Britney Spears, who earned the #5 position with the fifth-highest grossing tour of the year, which brought in gross receipts of 0 million. She also rang up big cash for endorsement deals with Elizabeth Arden and Candies, which added to her million in earnings. Jay-Z gave wifey Beyoncé a run for her money, taking the #6 position with million he brought in from his stake in the New Jersey Nets NBA team, 40/40 nightclub chain, the hit Broadway show "Fela!," Blueprint 3 sales and the album's tour, which grossed more than million a night.

Gaga, 24, crashed the list at #7 thanks to strong CD and download sales, her smash worldwide Monster Ball tour and million-dollar endorsement deals with Virgin Mobile, Polaroid, Viva Glam and Monster Cable, which netted her million. She beat out one of her musical and sartorial touchstones, Madonna, who hit the #8 spot with earnings of million thanks to her Sticky and Sweet Tour, the fourth highest-grossing outing of 2009, which raked in million a night for a 8 million gross. The pop legend also made cash from an all-Madonna episode of "Glee" and earned a lump of cash from her lucrative publishing royalties.

Country star Kenny Chesney landed at #9 with million in earnings from a million grossing tour and prominent sponsorships with Corona and MasterCard.

The final spot was a three-way tie between the Black Eyed Peas, Coldplay and Toby Keith, all of whom brought in million. The unstoppable Peas did it with a worldwide tour that brought in 0,000 a night, as well as a raft of endorsement deals with Target, Honda, Bacardi and Apple computers. Coldplay's tour dates for 2008's Viva la Vida grossed more than 5 million as well as millions in merchandise sales. Keith made million in gross concert receipts and earned the rest from a growing chain of restaurants, stakes in several publishing companies and millions a year from publishing royalties. 

• 'Forbes' Magazine's Top-Earning Musicians Of 2010

• U2
• Lady Gaga
• Beyoncé
• AC/DC
• Madonna

'It was the last one we expected her to pick,' song's producers reveal.
By Steven Roberts

Beyoncé
Photo: Jeff Kravitz/ FilmMagic

If you've listened to Beyoncé's "Why Don't You Love Me" and inexplicably felt like you were a spy in the middle of an international conspiracy, then don't feel like you're weird. When producers the Bama Boyz, created the song, that's exactly how they felt.

The Grammy-nominated production trio of Eddie Smith, Jesse J. Rankins and Jonathan Wells are signed to Mathew Knowles' (a.k.a. Beyoncé's father) Music World Entertainment, and have worked with B for some time. In fact, the song's inspiration came from the time they spent in London at the end of her B-Day Tour.

"After the tour left, we stayed over in the UK, because we fell in love with it. It was a big thing for us, being out there, and we watch a lot of movies, so we all felt like Jason Bourne, to be quite honest with you," Rankins said. "We felt like James Bond or something. We were running around on like — this is kind of embarrassing — pretend missions in our head and we felt like we needed a theme song for it."

He said they started working on the song that would become "Why Don't You Love Me" in London, and completed it once they were back Stateside. They said that the song's structure was unusual, but luckily it ended up in the right person's hands.

"What happen was [B's sister] Solange called us and was like, 'Hey, I'm going to write a couple of records for my sister. Send me some tracks!' We had a lot of bangers that felt more like Beyoncé, but we actually put that one last on the CD because we figured 'This is not Beyoncé,' but we knew Solange would like it," Rankins said. "So we stuck that one there — but we battled with even putting it on there, because it was the last one we expected her to pick. So Solange sent it back with a song written to it, and it was the 'Why Don't You Love Me' lyrics. The song was hot!"

The Bama Boyz met in junior high and high school and linked back up in college at Alabama A&M University, where they threw parties as DJs. They eventually landed internships at Sony Music before hooking up with Mathew Knowles.

Despite their name, the group's sound doesn't necessarily scream Alabama. Their EP, Socially Awkward, is filled with music that can't readily be classified as electro, R&B or hip-hop.

"We actually like the fact that our name is the Bamaz — people say, 'Ah, they're going to sound like this.' But then we you hear [us], you're like 'What? Are they really from Alabama?' It's just like a gumbo of lots of different genres and styles."

• Beyoncé
• Bama Boyz

James Cameron, Sandra Bullock, Britney and Madonna also named most powerful celebs of 2010.
By Gil Kaufman

Lady Gaga
Photo: Noel Vasquez/ Getty Images

Lady Gaga has won a lot of accolades during the past year and met some pretty impressive dignitaries, but crashing the Forbes magazine annual World's Most Powerful Celebrities list puts her in some truly rarified company.

The singer, who launched her latest iteration of her never-ending Monster Ball Tour in Montreal on Monday night, debuts on the list this year at #4. She landed there thanks to high marks for her Web visibility (#1 on the list) and a million haul between June 2009 and June 2010, million of which came from touring (after a gross of million), with much of the rest courtesy of deals with Virgin Mobile, Polaroid, Monster Cable and MAC.

Gaga joins a top 10 that is dominated by women, including the once-again #1, Oprah Winfrey, who retook her top rank thanks to 5 million in earnings after ceding it last year to Angelina Jolie (now #18). The list ranks celebs based on earnings over the previous 12 months, as well as visibility in print, TV, radio, online and social media.

Beyoncé slipped up two spots to #4 this year, with million in grosses thanks to a 93-date world tour, deals with Nintendo and L'Oreal and her House of Dereon fashion line. The still resurgent Britney Spears leaped from #13 to #6 this year, banking million, most of it thanks to a world tour that grossed 0 million and deals with Elizabeth Arden and Candie's.

Madonna slipped seven spots down from last year's #3 ranking to #10, but at 52, she still had the fourth-highest-grossing tour of the year, which rolled up more than 8 million in gross receipts, as well as significant publishing royalties, including cash from an all-Madge episode of "Glee."

More than 30 years into their career, U2 went from zero to #7 on the list, mostly courtesy of a massive — currently mothballed — world tour that raked in more than 1 million in gross box office, as well as lucrative merchandise sales, copious radio play and a steady-selling back catalog that earned them more than 0 million.

With a 0 million payday from his #1 smash "Avatar," director James Cameron (#3) had a very good year, unlike disgraced golfer Tiger Woods, who hits #5 with 5 million in earnings amid high press rankings, mostly for his infidelity scandal. The top 10 is rounded out by Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock (#8, million), who made headlines for having two hit movies, "The Proposal" and "The Blind Side," as well a divorce from ex-Jesse James. And at #9 is Johnny Depp, who banked million, mostly due to his work in "Alice in Wonderland," which grossed billion worldwide, making Depp the only actor to headline two billion-dollar films.

Taylor Swift made it onto the list for the first time, at #12, thanks to her status as the most-played artist on radio in 2009, multi-platinum album sales, and big endorsement deals with Sony and CoverGirl that netted her million. She's just ahead of Miley Cyrus (#13), who took in a not-too-shabby million. Beyoncé's other half, Jay-Z, also made a giant leap this year, jumping from #32 to #15 with a hit album, his investment in the 40/40 club chain and the Broadway show "Fela!," the New Jersey Nets, and the Blueprint 3 tour, which grossed more than million per show.

Also new on the list this year are the Black Eyed Peas, who debuted at #16 thanks to a million year pumped up by sponsorship deals with Target, Honda, Bacardi and Apple. Singer Pink crashed the party at #27 in her debut year, with million, much of it courtesy of her smash international tour.

Other musicians on the list include: Bruce Springsteen (#17), Coldplay (#35), the Jonas Brothers (#40), Diddy (#68), Lil Wayne (#74) and Akon (#80).

"Twilight" star Robert Pattinson also makes his first appearance on the list, coming in at #50 with million in earnings, followed by co-star Kristen Stewart at #66 with million in earnings. The woman who started it all, "Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer, hits the #59 spot with million in pay thanks to the billion in box office the movies have earned so far and continued strong sales of the books from the series.

Former "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell earned a spot behind Madonna at #11 with a hefty million payday, while fellow "Idol" cohort Ellen DeGeneres (#23) earned million from her stint on the reality show and her syndicated daily talker. "Idol" host Ryan Seacrest weighs in at #44 with million from his variety of TV hosting gigs, radio show and producer credits on reality shows.

Do you think Forbes got the rankings right? Share your opinions below.

• 'Forbes' Most Powerful Celebrities Of 2010

• Lady Gaga
• Beyoncé
• Britney Spears
• Madonna

Jay-Z, Beyonce, Bieber And More Nominated For 2010 BET Awards

• Jay-Z
• Beyoncé
• Alicia Keys
• Justin Bieber
• Drake

Why Don't You Love Me

• Artist: Beyoncé

Alicia Keys Brings Jay-Z, Beyonce To Her New York Show

• Alicia Keys
• Jay-Z
• Robin Thicke
• Beyoncé

What Beyonce Might Be Like At Home

• Beyoncé

The 2010 Grammy Awards Red Carpet

• Lady Gaga
• Katy Perry
• Taylor Swift
• Britney Spears
• Green Day

2010 Grammy Award Performers

• Beyoncé
• Taylor Swift
• Maxwell
• Lady Antebellum
• Black Eyed Peas

MTV News' 2009 Women Of The Year: #4 Beyonce

• Beyoncé

MTV News' 2009 Women Of The Year

• Rihanna
• Susan Boyle
• Beyoncé
• Britney Spears
• Miley Cyrus