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'Monday proved for sure is this is the show where he belongs,' writes one critic about Stern's debut on 'America's Got Talent.'By Gil Kaufman Sharon Osbourne, Howard Stern and Howie Mandel Photo: NBC Prepare for the worst and the results can only be better than you expected. That's the lesson naysayers learned on Monday night when radio talker Howard Stern made his long-awaited debut as the new judge
 on "America's Got Talent." Stern, a huge fan of the show who has been talking up his new gig for months on his SiriusXM satellite radio show did exactly what he promised
: he was a fair, sometimes silly, sometimes harsh judge with a heart of gold and a soft spot for sappy stories. Hell, the notoriously Purell-addicted germaphobe even lumbered up onto the stage to huge a particularly sweaty, not-so-great singer after giving him a second chance at fame. After dismissing the pre-debut hand-wringing by the Parents Television Council that Stern's penchant for R-rated humor might leak over into the family-friendly show as "a foolish presumption," Los Angeles Times writer Robert Lloyd wrote that such fretting, "sells short the show's producers and misreads Stern, who has shown himself perfectly capable of good behavior on other people's turf." Despite an introductory montage set to the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" that set up his bad-boy reputation and a joke about how NBC execs must be "out of their mind" for taking a risk on him," Lloyd said it was quickly evident that, "like fellow judges Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel, he [Stern] meant to play the game the way the game is meant to be played, because, to a deep degree, he believes in it." In a headline in which it said the shock jock, "becomes a beloved uncle," the Washington Post's TV reviewer mixed the sweet and sour in offering backhanded praise to the radio veteran. "Somewhere along the way to the collapse of Western civilization, pioneer shock-jock Howard Stern became a sweet old man, perhaps staving off our multimedia Armageddon," wrote critic Hank Stuever. "At least that's the story line presented along with Stern's canny decision to join -- at a reported fee of about $20 million -- NBC's goony amateur performance competition, 'America's Got Talent,' as its newest judge." Stuever yawned at Stern's rehashing of old bits about his looks and the size of his manhood, and said he did "dish out a tiny bit of brutal honesty," but mostly came to "bask in the show's trademark combination of awkwardness, ingenuity and love" and delivered "apple-pie pronouncements more typical of presidential candidates." The embrace was slightly warmer at the New York Daily News, which explained that, "to appreciate Howard Stern's debut as a judge on 'America's Got Talent' Monday night, just remember this: Inviting Stern on 'AGT' is not like inviting the Sex Pistols to crash 'La Traviata' at the Met. 'America's Got Talent' didn't hire Stern to inject outrageous and wacky. It didn't need to. It has 'em already." Critic David Hinckley said that Stern settled in quickly and comfortably on the show, praising him for being honest and getting caught up in the show's "figurative group hugs and four-handkerchief moments." The question remains of how Stern will deal when the goofy acts are gone and he has to make tough decisions between talented acts with widely differing skills. "There was no indication he can't do it. But all Monday proved for sure is this is the show where he belongs." People magazine seconded those emotions, writing, "Stern showed a lot of heart and proved he's got talent -- for judging!" What did you think of Stern's debut on "America's Got Talent?" Let us know in comments below.

Islamic hard-liners worry that sexy clothes and dancing will corrupt youth.By Gil Kaufman Lady Gaga Photo: Lady Gaga's Twitter Lady Gaga lives to provoke and push the envelope. But not everyone is up for her antics. The "Americano" singer has been forced to cancel her sold-out June 3 "Born This Way Ball" show at the 52,000-seat Gelora Bung Karno stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia after Islamic hard-liners and conservative lawmakers said her sexy costumes, suggestive dance moves and "vulgar" style could corrupt the nation's youth. According to the Associated Press, a spokesperson for the national police said on Tuesday (May 15) that the permit for the show has been denied after religious conservatives worried that the concert could undermine the nation's moral fiber. Some of the critics actually threatened to use physical force to prevent Gaga from getting off her plane. Though Indonesia is a secular state, it has the world's largest population of Muslims and a small extremist fringe of religious leaders has been more vocal in recent years. "She's a vulgar singer who wears only panties and a bra when she sings and she stated she is the envoy of the devil's child and that she will spread satanic teaching," said Salim Alatas, the Jakarta head of hardline Islamic Defender Front (FPI), according to Reuters. "This is dangerous." Local police worried that they might not be able to guarantee security at the show and suggested to national police that the permit for what was to be Gaga's biggest gig on her current Asian tour be pulled. Every seat at the Karno stadium had been sold, with half of them going in the first two hours. The AP reported that permits for shows are typically issued three weeks before concerts in Jakarta, so it is not uncommon for tickets to be sold well ahead of receiving a final permit. Gaga's Asian tour started last month and the Indonesian flap is not the first bump she's faced along the road. Gigs in South Korea
 were 18-and-over because conservatives in that country also raised objections over the concert's content. Related Artists Lady Gaga

With the 'Hunger Games' sequel more than a year away, here's where you can catch its stars in the meantime.By Amy Wilkinson Jennifer Lawrence in "The Hunger Games" Photo: Lionsgate November 23, 2013, is just a year and a half away, but it might as well be a lifetime from now considering how antsy we are to feast on "The Hunger Games" sequel "Catching Fire." Progress is no doubt beginning on the follow-up (director Francis Lawrence was confirmed last week by Lionsgate), but there's still much to be done before the film is big-screen ready for next, next Thanksgiving. In the meantime, we'll pass the torturous days and months by gripping our Peeta pillow extra tight and gorging on the stars' slew of interim offerings—Jennifer Lawrence and her Panem peeps are in-demand actors, after all! Here's your guide to the actors' upcoming projects: Jennifer Lawrence
If only Lawrence could swipe Katniss' bow and arrow for use in her horror flick "The House at the End of the Street," out September 21. Lawrence plays a teen who moves next door to a home where a grisly murder took place. She befriends the surviving son and, well, things don't go so well for her after that. Two months later, Lawrence will appear alongside Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro in the big-screen adaptation of Matthew Quick's novel "The Silver Linings Playbook." She reportedly plays a widow trying to seduce Cooper's character, who has recently been released from a mental institution. The Cooper coupling will continue with the period drama "Serena" (a role originally intended for Angelina Jolie), after the thriller "Devil You Know" makes its debut. Josh Hutcherson
After bonding with Liam on the set of "The Hunger Games," Hutcherson will star alongside the other Hemsworth brother in the November 21 release "Red Dawn," which finds a group of teenagers trying to protect their town from invading North Korean soldiers. The baker's son has a couple of other projects in the pipeline (neither of which have official release dates), but keep an eye out for "7 Days in Havana" and "The Forger." Liam Hemsworth
The younger Hemsworth will flex his action muscles throughout the rest of 2012 and into the new year. First up is "AWOL" (scheduled for release sometime this year), which follows a Vietnam soldier who defects to win back the love of his life. The film co-stars Teresa Palmer, Aimee Teegarden and Chris Lowell. If that doesn't sound harrowing enough, Hemsworth will team up with every action star ever (read: Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris) for the splashy sequel "The Expendables 2," out August 17. His list of in-the-works flicks also includes "Paranoia," "Timeless" and "Arabian Nights." Elizabeth Banks
Fans won't have to wait long to see Elizabeth Banks grace the silver screen once again. The bubbly blond dons a pregnancy belly for next week's "What to Expect When You're Expecting," based on the iconic self-help book. (That woman loves her some adaptations, huh?) Shortly after (June 29, to be exact), Banks will portray long-lost sister to Chris Pine, who must find his secret sibling to deliver a $150,000 inheritance in the film "People Like Us." Woody Harrelson
The word "eclectic" comes to mind when summing up Woody Harrelson's CV — and it's not an ill-advised adjective to describe his list of upcoming projects either. "Seven Psychopaths," out in limited release November 2, follows a struggling screenwriter who gets caught up in the criminal underworld after his weird friend kidnaps a mobster's dog. Then there's 2013's "Now You See Me," in which a group of illusionists pull heists as part of their act and give the spoils to their audiences. (Uh, do you guys need extras?) The January release co-stars Mark Ruffalo, Dave Franco and Morgan Freeman. Which of "The Hunger Games" stars' other upcoming projects are you excited about? Sound off in the comments below and tweet me @amymwilk with your thoughts and suggestions for future columns! Earlier 'Hunger Games' columns
+ Francis Lawrence's 'Catching Fire' To-Do List
+ 'Fifty Shades Of Grey': What's In It For 'Hunger Games' Fans?
+ 'Catching Fire': Five Reasons To Be Stoked
+ 'Catching Fire' Director: Who Could Carry The Torch?
+ 'Hunger Games' Postmortem: Five Lessons For 'Catching Fire' Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: Jennifer Lawrence

Against Me! singer details her long journey to her new life as a woman and her plans to 'meet it head-on.'By James Montgomery Tom Gabel of Against Me! Photo: Getty Images In the new issue of Rolling Stone, Tom Gabel goes public with her life-long struggle with body dysphoria, her transgender status and her desire to live life as a woman. Gabel, who will be known as Laura Jane Grace, makes the admissions in a feature in the magazine, which hits newsstands on Friday and details the long road she took to get to this point; from her first childhood realizations that she was uncomfortable in her male body — she has early memories of watching Madonna on TV and fantasizing about being her, and says she played with Barbies — to her teenage years in Florida, where she kept her secret hidden and felt ashamed, telling writer Josh Eells that she would often pray to God, asking, "Dear God, when I wake up, I want a female body." And when that didn't work, she'd try pleading with the devil, saying, "I promise to spend the rest of my life as a serial killer if you turn me into a woman." Gabel said that she took inspiration from a transgender Against Me! fan named January Hunt — the feature opens with the two meeting in New York City — to finally begin transitioning from male to female, and has begun the process by undergoing electrolysis treatments (she'll also soon begin taking hormones). She says she plans on living life as Laura for a full year before thinking about having sexual-reassignment surgery, and that she's given up drinking alcohol, because she wants to be totally present for the transition process. "I don't want to feel like, 'This is an uncomfortable situation, I'll have a couple drinks,' " she said. "I want to meet it head-on." At the time of the Rolling Stone interview, Gabel had yet to reveal her transgender status to her parents, who are divorced, and had only recently told her Against Me! bandmates about her decision to transition ("I felt like I drop-kicked them in the face," she said. "We had the most awkward hug ever, and then they left. And the second I shut the door, I was like, 'What the f--- did I just do?' "). But she says that she has every intention to carry on fronting the band, saying: "However fierce our band was in the past, imagine me, six-foot-two, in heels, f---ing screaming into someone's face." And though much of the Rolling Stone feature focuses on Gabel's journey, Eells also spoke at length with Gabel's wife, Heather, who admitted to being a bit thrown by her husband's revelations, but ultimately decided that she wanted to stand by her side during the transition ... and beyond. "I kept waiting to get mad. Like, 'Tomorrow, I'll be really upset,' " Heather told the magazine. "I'm like 'Let's just see what happens, and we'll just roll with it.' My friends have been like, 'What about you?' But I'm fine. I just want him to be who he is, and for us to get on with phase two. You know, just ... change." Related Artists Against Me!