2008 in Rock News

January

• Britney Spears began 2008 with a child-custody related meltdown (dubbed the Hostage Brituation) that led to a brief hospitalization. As a result, her father was able to wrestle control of her financial affairs via a conservatorship that will remain in place indefinitely. [Full Story]

• With talk of a Kinks reunion in the air, the band's guitarist, Dave Davies, took to the Internet to share his feelings: "It would be like a poor remake of Night of the Living Dead." [Full Story]

• Fans hyperventilated at the news that Panic at the Disco would be dropping their "!" with the release of Pretty. Odd. [Full Story]

• Chris Daughtry created an uproar when he bad-mouthed American Idol, saying the show was on the "decline." Randy Jackson refuted Daughtry's comment, but the show would later suffer yet another season of declining ratings. [Full Story; Follow-Up; Randy Jackson's Response]

• Heath Ledger died just months before his iconic turn as the Joker helped The Dark Knight become the year's biggest film. Peter Travers said farewell to the actor, who passed away due to an accidental drug overdose at age 28, and we looked back at Ledger's 2006 Rolling Stone cover story and examined his apparent Nick Drake obsession. [Travers' Reaction; 2006 Cover; Nick Drake Obsession]