Bruno Mars Wants to Collaborate with One Direction

 

One Direction has been singing praise of Bruno Mars for months now, and it seems their witty British flattery has finally paid off. At the launch of Spotify's new Artist Apps last week, Mars reportedly stated his intention to team up with the "What Makes You Beautiful" singers: "I love those One Direction guys man, and one of these days we will make it happen. We can put something really good together. They are a really good group, and I am so happy that they have done so well so quickly. Yeah bring it on!"

Mars is currently at work on his sophomore album, a follow-up to the massively successful Doo-Wops and Hooligans. It hasn't been smooth sailing: Mars tweeted last week, "Wise men say that if you're not struggling to make your album its probably not gonna be a good album #ImF**kingStruggling."

Maybe it's time to call for boy band backup.

  •  On Friday, Lauryn Hill pleaded guilty to federal income tax evasion after it was discovered she hadn't paid any taxes on the $1.8 million she earned between 2005 and 2007. Though Hill's attorney Nathan Hockman claims the feds singled out Lauryn because she's a celebrity, Hill acknowledged her failure to pay taxes in a lengthy post on her personal Tumblr a few weeks ago. Essentially, Hill said she purposefully withdrew from society to safeguard her family from a "climate of hostility, false entitlement, manipulation, racial prejudice, sexism and ageism."
 Hill also insisted, "I did not deliberately abandon my fans, nor did I deliberately abandon any responsibilities, but I did however put my safety, health and freedom and the freedom, safety and health of my family first over all other material concerns! I also embraced my right to resist a system intentionally opposing my right to whole and integral survival."
Hill was also ordered to undergo mental health counseling as directed by pre-trial intervention services. She could face up to three years in prison and a $300,000 fine when she is sentenced in November.   •  Comedian Mike Epps and Mindless Behavior poked fun at Lauryn's legal woes when they presented the BET award for Best R&B artist on Sunday evening. One of the group members joked, "You sing bad... like Lauryn Hill's tax accountant bad," prompting winner Beyonce Knowles to modify her acceptance speech.
"I want to thank all the talented R&B women that came before me like Lauryn Hill and Mary J. Blige," Knowles asserted. TMZ reports she was way peeved at the diss.
  •  Justin Bieber is now a graduate of St. Michael Catholic Secondary School in Stratford, Ontario, although he didn't make it to the school's commencement ceremony over the weekend. He had more important things to do, like hit up a Calabasas, California Subway for a $5 footlong. This is how a multimillionaire celebrates Canada Day.