Every now and then, one of our endless singing competitions stumbles upon the offspring of a celebrity – and, it would seem, with mixed results.

On “American Idol” last season, Jim Carrey’s daughter Jane tried out during “Idol’s” San Diego auditions, only to be swiftly eliminated.

And now, on this season of “The X Factor,” we’re hearing from KISS rocker Gene Simmons‘ 19-year-old daughter, Sophie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwuf1bEevGM

The hopeful singer appeared on the show Wednesday along with her parents, and explained to judges Simon Cowell, L.A. Reid, Demi Lovato and Britney Spears that she’d kept them in the dark about her audition ambitions until the day before.

“They’re pretty upset with me,” Sophie said. “I just didn’t want any help.”

And with that she gave a humble rendition of Adele‘s “Make You Feel My Love,” a performance that left L.A. and Demi wanting more but seemed to impress Britney and Simon. (The typically biting judge praised Sophie, saying that he thought she has “a very, very interesting tone,” and that he liked that she “took on this song” and made it her own.)

Despite the mixed reviews, Sophie wasn’t sent packing.

“I grew up with music, but I didn’t want my dad’s help with it,” she told “The X Factor’s” cameras. “It’s a big shadow. I really just want to step out from being the daughter of the guy from KISS. I want to be my own person, and hopefully this is a way to show the world who I am.”

But does the world want to know this side of Sophie? What did you think of her performance?

Excuse us while we raise our glasses to Pink – the singer has just scored her first No. 1 album with her newest release, “The Truth About Love.”

Billboard reports that the new Cover Girl’s record sold 280,000 in its first week, taking first place on the Billboard 200 albums chart. This marker of success has been a long time coming for the hit-maker.

While she’s landed in the top 10 on the Hot 100 with anthems like “Blow Me (One Last Kiss),” “Raise Your Glass” and “F****n’ Perfect,” “The Truth About Love” is her first No. 1 album since she arrived on the Billboard 200 chart more than 12 years ago. Her last strong debut week was with 2001’s “M!ssundaztood,” which entered at No.6, according to Billboard.

With her first No. 1, Pink also sold more albums than anticipated. Industry observers were initially estimating that “Truth About Love” would open somewhere between 220,000 and 230,000.

The past year has been rocky for Katy Perry‘s personal life, but it’s been fantastic for her career.

Billboard magazine will honor the “California Gurl’s” achievements this November at the 2012 Billboard Women in Music event by handing Perry the Billboard Woman of the Year award.

As Billboard’s editorial director, Bill Werde, points out, it hasn’t yet been five years since Perry came barreling into the music industry, but in that short time she’s established herself as a pop force to be reckoned with.

Seven of her singles have hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, and she set a record with nine of her singles going No. 1 on the Pop Songs chart. She was the first female artist to have five No. 1 songs from a single album – 2010’s “Teenage Dream” – and went on to sell 2.5 million copies of that disc.

“With what seems like a never-ending supply of record-breaking, chart-topping hits, coupled with her unique and fresh style, Katy Perry is hands-down one of the most exciting and inspiring artists in the industry today,” Werde said.

Billboard’s Women in Music event will be held November 30 in New York City.

When Kate Middleton and Prince William are visiting another country, they always try to represent the nation by wearing traditional clothes. Unfortunately, while the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were visiting the Solomon Islands they accidentally wore the wrong ensembles.

Before the Sept. 16 celebration, the wrong outfits were accidentally laid out in the royal couples’ suite for them to wear. A spokesman for William and Kate, both 30, tells reporters in a statement, “We saw they weren’t the same design of the traditional clothes we were told would be gifted. So we checked with the Solomon Islands government to ensure the right ones were worn.” But the Solomon Islands’ government “reassured the clothes were correct, and so the Duke and Duchess wore them to the event.”

Eventually, the royal couple was made aware of the mistake, but there were no hurt feelings.

“It was not learned until later in the evening that the clothes weren’t from the islands. But it was understood that the Duke and Duchess intended to wear traditional Solomon Island clothes and this was appreciated,” and that “No offense was caused.”

According to insiders, the pink strapless dress Kate styled and the bright blue shirt William wore was actually the traditional dress from the Cook Islands — which is 3,000 miles away from Solomon Islands.

Supermodel Karlie Kloss – and her ribs — are sparking a new wave of controversy in the fashion world.

In the October issue of international fashion magazine Numéro, the 20-year-old can be seen looking sexy and seductive as she poses topless with her hands behind her head.

Now, American photographer Greg Kadel and his studio have released the original photo of Kloss — showing jutting ribs and collarbones and confirming that the photo received a whole lot of airbrushing action.

This is not the first time Kloss has made headlines with a photo spread involving a questionable image.

In December 2011, Vogue Italia removed from its website an image of a then 19-year-old Kloss, who posed for an 18-page photo spread called Body by Kloss.

The photo, featuring Kloss in a bizarre, almost contortionist-like pose, was nixed after some suggested that it had been heavily Photoshopped, while others were actually celebrating it on pro-anorexia websites.

Weeks later, the magazine’s editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani wrote on her blog that the Photoshop accusations were far from accurate.

“Very few understand photography and don’t know about the viewpoint a body can be shot from. If the bust is imbalanced with respect to the pelvis and the picture is not frontal, the hips will look wider and the waist thinner,” she wrote, adding that Kloss was “not anorexic but has a muscular body with a rounded contour due to the muscles’ tension.”

Sozzani claimed that the photo was removed from the site “because I am aware of the fact that people can easily attach labels without thinking, so I believed I could avoid a pointless debate . . . the picture is beautiful and that’s all.”

Madonna‘s made her allegiance to President Obama‘s re-election campaign well-known – recall the tattoo she showed off not long ago – and so it’s not surprising that she rallied attendees at her MDNA concert stop in Washington, D.C., on Monday to vote for him.

The surprising part is the way she did it. In a video clip – which uses strong language, so be forewarned – Madonna’s talk touched on history and civil rights, and she told her fans, “Y’all better vote for f*****g Obama, OK? For better or for worse, alright, we have a black Muslim in the White House.”

“Now that is some s***,” she continued. “That means there is hope in this country. And Obama is fighting for gay rights, so support the man, g******it.”

A rousing endorsement, for sure, but, as The Atlantic noted, a little on the odd side considering that it’s hard to tell whether Madonna is being serious, confused, or sarcastic with her “black Muslim” comment.

Shocked that there is a “Fast and Furious 6” movie coming out next year? Well, so is Ludacris ,and he’s starring in it.

“I was surprised myself,” the rapper told reporters last weekend at the Music Midtown festival in Atlanta, Georgia. “After ‘Fast 5‘ I didn’t know how they could outdo that.”

Luda, as his fans call him, has been filming the new movie in London and says moviegoers should prepare to be impressed.

“It kind of takes up from where we left off [in ‘Fast and Furious 5‘], and there is a whole new batch of surprises,” he said. “The crew that is in ‘Fast 5,’ we are going up against a rival crew, so it’s almost like Justice League up against the Legion of Doom.”

But don’t ask too many questions about the plot, as he’s sworn to secrecy. The rapper can’t even reveal if “Fast and Furious 6” is the final installment in the franchise.

“My contract says I can’t even talk about that,” Ludacris said. “As long as the fans keep supporting it, I’m sure the movies will continue.”

After watching the season premiere of “How I Met Your Mother” on Monday, I realized that I’ll most likely find the mother of my future children before Ted Mosby does (Vegas actually has me going off at 4-to-2 odds).

Then again, all I have to deal with is fate, chemistry, luck, mathematical probability and guys who have great abs, like Robin’s new boyfriend.

Ted, on the other hand, has to deal with a show that refuses to get to the point.

Monday’s season premiere, “Farhampton,” picked up right where we left off – sort of. At first, everything happened in the future … and then in the past … and then in the future again? Honestly, I don’t know. I get confused watching “Survivor.”

But what I do know is that we were once again given an episode with a lot of interesting plot points that – thanks to “HIMYM” being its own spoiler alert – didn’t go anywhere.

Going through last season’s greatest “possibly-The-Mother” hits of Victoria, The Slutty Pumpkin, Robin and somehow Victoria again was at times as burdensome as actually talking to one’s own mother (just kidding Ma, love you!). I mean, sure, it served the show’s ultimate purpose, but it overshadowed some of the other intriguing occurrences.

For example, the plotline of Marshall and Lily having a baby (also known as a “greatest middle name of all time” nominee, Marvin “Waitforit” Erickson) and Barney getting engaged were all just footnotes in the search to get to The Mother of all “HIMYM” answers.

And now, at the start of a fresh season, we get an episode with more footnotes:

“Lily and Marshall are soooo tired that they’re basically under-the-sea zombies! Hilarious, right?” [Don’t care, get to the Mother.]

“How about Ted sitting at a train station in the future where we see a woman with a yellow umbrella who could maybe, possibly be the Mother?” [Blank stare.]

See what I mean?

The explanation Victoria’s runaway groom, Klaus, gave to Ted on how Victoria is “almost the thing you want but not quite” was fitting. It was a great moment, but it’s also pretty much what “HIMYM” is right now. It’s “almost the thing you want but not quite.”

Yet, I still hold hope that we’ll find that “lifelong treasure of destiny” sooner rather than later.

Sugar Ray singer Mark McGrath and girlfriend Carin Kingsland have taken the next step in their long-term relationship and have tied the knot.

A rep for McGrath tells reporters that the musician married Kingsland, 39, on Monday “in a small ceremony with family and friends.”

McGrath, 44, and his new wife told People magazine that the wedding arrived after “18 years of breakups, makeups, beautiful twins and an unwavering love that provided some pretty damn good song lyrics.” The couple’s twins, 2-year-old Lydon and Hartley, were on hand as the ring bearer and the flower girl, respectively.

McGrath met Kingsland in 1994 at the Viper Room in Los Angeles, and the rocker later proposed there on New Year’s Eve in 2009. It’s the first marriage for both.