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Taylor Swift, Michael Jackson Win Big at AMAs

Originally posted 11/23/2009 12:15PM

How hot is Taylor Swift right now? The country star dominated the American Music Awards on Sunday night – and she wasn't even there.

After sweeping the Country Music Association Awards earlier this month, Swift won a leading three American Music Awards, including Favorite Artist of the Year, all while she was in London.

A stunned and momentarily speechless Swift, 19, gave her acceptance speech via satellite, paying homage to the night's other big winner, Michael Jackson.

"To even be mentioned in a category with Michael Jackson … is an unimaginable honor," said Swift, who also won Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist, Favorite Adult-Contemporary Artist, Favorite Country Album for Fearless and Favorite Country Female Artist. "I'm sending my love to the Jackson family."

Jackson won four trophies: Favorite Soul/R&B Artist, Favorite Pop/Rock Male Vocalist and Favorite Pop/Rock Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Album, both for Number Ones, giving him a record 23 AMAs over his career.

"It's not just about the winnings, the awards," his brother Jermaine said in an acceptance speech. "It's mainly the message. The message Michael had will live on forever. He saw good in everyone. … Start with love and let's love each other."

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Replay! Our American Music Awards Live Blog

Originally posted 11/22/2009 06:00PM

Catch all the OMG moments with PEOPLE.com and EW.com – minute-by-minute

TALK ABOUT IT

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Source: Kate and Jon Gosselin Finished Fighting Over the Kids

Originally posted 11/22/2009 03:00PM

With lingering anger and bitterness, the marriage of Jon and Kate Gosselin is all but dissolved after Saturday's all-day mediation hearing in Pennsylvania, a source close to Kate tells PEOPLE.

"This was the proceeding that essentially ended their marriage," says the source."Kate is just relieved that a very painful chapter of her life is nearly over, and she is looking forward to building a better, brighter future for herself and her kids."

During the hearing, Jon "didn't dispute Kate having primary custody of the kids," says the source, which came as no surprise to Kate.

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Music News

Susan Boyle Bringing Her Show Tunes to New York

Originally posted 11/22/2009 01:10PM

Susan Boyle will celebrate the release of her first album in New York next week.

In her first visit to the Big Apple, Boyle, 48, will perform live on NBC's Today show Monday morning, followed by sightseeing Tuesday – the day her album, I Dreamed A Dream, hits stores.

Holiday crowds in Manhattan's Rockefeller Center will be able to catch her singing three tracks from the album, which already has notched record-setting pre-orders on Amazon.com.

"The album itself is like a reflection on my whole life," Boyle says. "I've waited so long to become a professional singer and now it's become real."

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Nasty Breakups and Divorces

Jon & Kate's Divorce Could Be Finalized by Year's End

Originally posted 11/21/2009 09:35PM

Jon Gosselin showed up for a daylong divorce arbitration hearing Saturday with a bouquet of long-stemmed red roses for Kate – only to have her turn them down and later leave the courthouse empty-handed.

But while Jon wasn't able to say it with flowers, the former couple were able to express themselves well in other ways, leading to a "successful and productive" session, his lawyer Mark Heller tells PEOPLE.

"This has been called the real-life War of the Roses," says Heller, referring to the 1989 black comedy in which Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner played bitterly battling spouses, "and he brought that as a peace offering to break the ice and try to bring the war to an end."

Things went so well for the Jon & Kate Plus 8 stars that the arbitration's scheduled second day, planned for Monday, is no longer necessary. The arbitrator is expected to rule in a month, and Heller says "it's possible" the contentious divorce could be finalized by the end of the year.

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