Phillip Phillips -- one of the finalists on "American Idol" -- has been URGED by his personal doctor to get surgery immediately ... but Phillip wants to work through the pain and the risk so he can win next week.
Multiple "Idol" sources tell us ... when Phillip went back home to Georgia last Saturday ... his family doctor spent almost the entire stay by his side and was alarmed by what he saw -- Phillip wasn't eating and looked horrible.
Phillip suffers from severe kidney problems and at the beginning of the competition it got so bad he had a stent put in as a temporary fix until he could have surgery. But the condition has worsened and Phillip's doc told him he needed surgery now. Phillip said he was not going to drop out of the show so the doctor told him he ABSOLUTELY had to go under the knife immediately after the finale.
We're told the recovery time for the surgery is at least 6 weeks.
Phillip's condition is taking its toll -- we're told the medication causes dry mouth, and it's had some impact on his singing.
Phillip has also missed some of the field productions that are shot for the show -- including the Ford commercials. Our "Idol" sources tell us they felt that making him go on location for these shoots were just too taxing.
Looks like Paul McCartney's title as world's richest entertainer is safe ... 'cause Bono says his stake in Facebook will NOT push him into the number one spot.
Bono was in D.C. this morning to attend a fundraiser for President Obama ... when a Washington Times photog asked about reports that the U2 frontman's $90 million investment into Mark Zuckerberg's social network will be worth $1.5 billion by the end of the day ... making him the richest rocker on Earth.
FYI -- It's been widely reported that Bono's investment company, Elevation Partners, bought up 2.3% of the company in 2009.
But Bono didn't appear too stoked about it ... in fact, he cast doubt on the entire story.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are drawing HUGE crowds of adoring fans overseas on their trip to London -- but one might be attracting more fans than the other ... and you'll never guess who ...
Kim and Kanye left the Radio 1 studios in the Big Smoke yesterday -- where Kim was promoting the upcoming season of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" -- and on their way out the crowd went wild, screaming their names and asking for autographs.
But the fans seemed to be shouting one name louder than the other -- Kim! Kim! KIM!
Here's hoping you enjoyed your soggy-ass cereal this morning -- because the people over at Facebook are celebrating their big IPO day ... by dining on cran-orange scones, coconut mango smoothies, and sausage hash.
It's all being offered at one of the cafes located at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, CA -- where FB staffers dine for free -- and the complimentary menu is claw-your-own-eyes-out delicious.
Here's a full breakdown:
Strawberry banana soy smoothies, coconut mango smoothies, whole wheat cranberry orange scones, sausage and biscuit hash with cream gravy, whole wheat choco-chip pancakes with vanilla whipped cream, whole wheat low fat flax waffles, and old-fashioned buttermilk pancakes.
Most of you have already killed yourselves by now, so we'll stop there.
Most people go to Boa for steak ... Pam Anderson goes to Boa to lap dance ... and the crotch-grinding was all caught on tape.
The 44-year-old former "Baywatch" star hit up the restaurant after the L.A. Kings playoff victory last night ... and she was in the mood to party.
Pam was hanging out at a table in the front of the restaurant with a bunch of guys ...and after a few swigs of vino ... a sexually-charged Anderson offered up some quality table-dances to some of her friends.
Mark Zuckerberg just rang the NASDAQ bell ... opening a trading day in which the 28-year-old is expected to make more than 20 BILLION DOLLARS.
In case you haven't heard, the Facebook stock officially begins trading today -- the largest Internet IPO in history.
Zuckerberg performed the bell-ringing via satellite ... from the Facebook offices in Menlo Park, CA. Of course, he was wearing his signature hoodie and the kind of smile you'd have on your face if you were in his flip-flops.
The stock price debuted at $38 dollars per share, quickly rose to $42, and then began leveling off. According to CNBC, 82 million shares were traded in the first 30 seconds.
It's not just Mark who's set to rake in a fortune today -- according to reports, more than 1,000 people will become overnight millionaires due to the initial public offering.
So how did the Facebook staff prepare for the big day? Hackathon.
A rep for the company tells us, "Every few months they have a hackathon, where everyone builds prototypes for new ideas they have. At the end, the whole team gets together and looks at everything that has been built. Many of our most successful products came out of hackathons, including Timeline, chat, video, our mobile development framework."
Bono will no longer breathe Paul McCartney's fumes in the money department ... by the close of trading today, he will become the richest rocker in the world, courtesy of Mark Zuckerberg and company.
Bono owns 2.3 percent of Facebook shares, through his investment group, Elevation Partners. The investment will be worth an estimated $1.5 billion by 4 PM ET -- not bad for a $90 million investment back in 2009.
McCartney's fortune is estimated at just a skosh over $1 billion, so Bono will be leaving the surviving Beatle in the dust.
If you're Bono, it truly is a beautiful day ... if you're into money.
Donna Summer was convinced -- inhaling toxic air after 9/11 gave her the lung cancer that eventually killed her ... TMZ has learned.
Sources close to the singer tell TMZ what we were hearing this morning -- that Donna was in New York City during 9/11, living at an apartment near Ground Zero.
Donna became almost paranoid about breathing the air, which was heavy with a rancid odor.
In the months and years following 9/11, Donna's feelings intensified. One source tells us when he was around Donna, she would constantly spray some sort of disinfectant in the air. Deney Terrio, the host of "Dance Fever," tells us ... when he was around Donna post 9/11, she would hang silk sheets in her dressing room to prevent dust from coming in.
And one source says ... Donna, who was a fervent practicing Christian, believed 9/11 was an attack on Christianity and in some metaphysical way Christians like her were targets. She somehow felt that her illness was a byproduct of the attack.
And, we're told, after Donna was diagnosed with lung cancer, several people told her that cigarette smoke may have been the culprit -- she was a smoker, and she also frequented clubs where people smoked. But Donna simply didn't buy it.
Kristen Stewart Wears See-Thru DressKristen Stewart turned heads when she showed up to the premiere of her latest movie wearing a sheer black lace dress.
The sultry bestseller "Fifty Shades of Grey" is causing a boom in the sex toy market -- in fact, a company that specializes in vaginal exercise balls says it's sold a record number of hoo-ha doodads in the last month ... all thanks to the book.
A rep for the sex toy company -- called Fun Factory -- just sent a thank you letter to "Fifty Shades" publisher Vintage Books, writing, "In the last month, our Smart Balls sales have gone up 300%."
In case you haven't read the book -- the main character Christian Grey uses a pair of Kegel exercise doohickeys called Ben-Wa balls on his female sex slave (for those with the book, skip to page 362).
The rep writes, "Thanks to the book, we are getting emails and calls from around the world asking about our Smart Balls ... Yesterday, the Fun Factory office received an email from a 74-year-old woman in Dubai who read the book while vacationing in the USA."
John Cena's wife REFUSES to let the wrestler file for divorce -- at least the way he's doing it now -- and to prove she means business, she's asking a judge to throw out the WWE legend's divorce papers.
Elizabeth Cena just filed legal docs in Florida, claiming John's recent divorce petition is riddled with errors ... and should be dismissed.
According to Elizabeth, John inaccurately refers to her by her maiden name (Huberdeau) instead of her legal name (Cena). As a result, Elizabeth says John fails to bring "a proper dissolution of marriage action" against her.
Elizabeth also claims John failed to attach the prenup he references in his initial divorce filing -- a copy of which MUST be attached in order for the filing to be valid.
Elizabeth also takes issues with John's claim that there's no marital property -- Elizabeth insists there is ... and she wants her share.
For all these reasons, Elizabeth wants a judge to dismiss John's petition and force him to re-file ... if he dares.
"What to Expect When You're Expecting" divas Jennifer Lopez and Cameron Diaz both put on their glamour faces at the film's premiere in Hollywood on Monday.
Erika Van Pelt -- the 10th place finisher on this season's "American Idol" -- says Donna Summer gave her a huge leg up in her music career ... and now she wants to honor the Disco Queen's memory on the upcoming "A.I." concert tour.
Van Pelt tells TMZ ... she opened for the singer during a fundraiser in Dallas last summer ... and feels she owes a huge chunk of her success to the experience.
Erika says she wants to pay tribute by singing the Donna Summer classic, "On The Radio" during the "Idol" live tour ... but ultimately, it's up to the producers to sign off on the plan.
Van Pelt says she's already reached out to "A.I." honchos ... and now, she's crossing her fingers until the official lineup is announced.
Which star from "The Hangover 2" -- not named Bradley Cooper -- would you want to sit next to in business class? Gotta be that scene-stealing monkey ... unless you're name is Harvey.
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Donna Summer's death has us feeling verrrry nostalgic -- we share memories of the Disco Queen with Ms. "I Will Survive", Gloria Gaynor ... and "Dance Fever" host Deney Terrio. What's Donna's best hit? The pick is unanimous ... almost. Plus, UFC badass Chael Sonnen drops by to…