‘Carnival Ride’ release among most anticipated

Nashville, Tenn. – Carrie Underwood, nervous?

You bet.

The former “American Idol” winner sold 6 million copies of her debut album “Some Hearts,” a phenomenal number for any artist let alone a new one. She won two Grammy awards, scored three No. 1 country hits and shot to superstardom almost overnight.

On the eve of her follow-up, “Carnival Ride,” she’s entitled to a few butterflies – or a whole swarm of them if she wants.

“It’s so anticipated. Not just by the public, but by us too,” she says of the disc, which hits stores today. “The whole ‘Can we top the first one?’ mind-set sets in.”

But Underwood says she won’t make the mistake of measuring success strictly by the numbers, especially since her debut set the bar improbably high.

“Even if it doesn’t sell as many, I feel like we’ve made a better album, which is what you want to do. You want to keep getting better and have better songs and keep sounding better and moving forward. So even if we don’t reach the numbers, I’m definitely still very pleased with it. I don’t think it will be a letdown at all.”

McCartney: Deleting good for the mind

Paris – Paul McCartney says the inspiration for the title of his latest album, “Memory Almost Full,” came from a phrase he saw on his cell phone.

“It seemed symbolic of our lives today,” the 65-year-old ex-Beatle said Monday. “Your messages are always full. And your mind is full. And it doesn’t matter if you’re my age or 20. I think that we all need to delete stuff every so often.”

McCartney is in Paris for a concert at the Olympia theater. He made his first appearance at the Olympia in 1964 with the Beatles, a performance that caused havoc in the streets.

Is ‘M’ for Mariah or marshmallows?

New York – Even though Mariah Carey has a new fragrance, she never was the type to spray on a scent before she left the house. In fact, Carey says she never really wore perfumes until she fell in love with her own creation, “M.”

“This is the first fragrance that I wear,” Carey told The Associated Press on Monday. “I’m not really a perfume person at all. … Things that are too strong and overwhelming, that’s what I was always not a fan of.”

But when Elizabeth Arden approached the superstar to create her own perfume, it piqued her interest – mainly because the cosmetics company didn’t want to use just her name, but wanted her input in the creation of the scent, which she describes as light, sensual and memorable.

Carey says the fragrance, which comes in a purple bottle with her signature butterfly icon on top, was based on some of her favorite things. One is a Moroccan incense; another is a flower called the Living Tahitian Tiare. But another scent mixed into the fragrance is unexpected: toasted marshmallows.

That aroma was added because it evoked happy memories of her childhood around the campfire. But she adds: “It’s blended in there – it’s not like you’re gonna walk around smelling like marshmallows.”

David Copperfield’s shows in Asia canceled

Bangkok, Thailand – David Copperfield has canceled upcoming shows in Southeast Asia following an FBI search of his Las Vegas warehouse and a casino theater where he regularly performs.

“His management sent an e-mail to organizers Sunday to inform that his shows will be postponed indefinitely,” Kittiyong Achawaphong of RSi Dream Entertainment said Monday. The company organized the 51-year-old magician’s shows in Thailand.

Copperfield was also scheduled to perform in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore in the coming weeks. The cancellations came after FBI agents conducted searches in Las Vegas last week following allegations that Copperfield “forced himself” on an unidentified woman.

Copperfield’s lawyer, David Chesnoff, has said the allegations “are false because David Copperfield has never forced himself on anyone.” Neither law enforcement officials nor Chesnoff has provided details about the investigation.

Reached Monday, Chesnoff said the shows were canceled because tour operators in Asia default on their contracts. “Those are serious allegations,” Chesnoff said. “But there’s no truth to them.”

Chan to wannabes: Skip the kung-fu bows

Hong Kong – Jackie Chan has a message for aspiring action stars: Don’t bow to me.

In a blog entry on his Web site, the 53-year-old actor says he doesn’t like the way disciples greet their masters in kung-fu movies by grasping a clenched fist in a prayerlike gesture, then bowing their heads.

Chan says he’s seen the move in audition video clips for “The Disciple,” his Chinese talent show, which is co-produced by Beijing TV station BTV.

“Some preliminary competitors would introduce themselves the old-period kung-fu way: the fist of one hand clenched firmly, the palm of the other wrapped on top, head slightly bowed, then saying, ‘All the heroes here today, please advise and correct my wrongdoings,'” Chan writes on his blog.

He says the greeting is “old-fashioned and definitely not what I’m looking for.”

“I think actors of today should adapt to situations appropriately, like using old-fashioned terms for old-fashioned movies or using modern-day speech for modern-day films. Actors shouldn’t mix old-fashioned speech with modern-day films. It just doesn’t fit,” he says.