the early-evening news

Britney Spears Demonstrates Limited Understanding of Irony

Photo: Getty Images

Britney Blacks Out: Britney Spears has announced the name of her forthcoming album: Blackout. She explained that the title “refers to blocking out negativity and embracing life fully and captures the dance-friendly nature of the songs.†Then she passed out. [The Sun]

Ouch: An Atlanta man’s ass caught on fire when an iPod nano exploded in his pants. Hey, it’s not funny! [WSBTV]

Bullet With Butterfly Wings Dodged: Panic! At the Disco have scrapped an entire album’s worth of new material because it didn’t sound enough their last record. Too bad. [NME]

Oprah Finally Finishes The Road: Oprah Winfrey announced today that her next book-club selection will be Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez. [AP]

Beyoncé Allowed to Dress Provocatively: Malaysian officials have decided not to require that Beyoncé adhere to a strict dress code at her November 1 concert in Indonesia. [Reuters]
—Spencer Sloan