//Mixed Bits: Chris Brown Pulls Out Of Kids’ Choice Awards; U2 Debuts On Top Of Charts; Fantasia Loves ‘The Color Purple’ Again//

Looks like Chris Brown is taking the kids’ choice out of their hands.

The embattled 19-year-old R&B star, who is facing two felony charges for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend Rihanna, has withdrawn his name from the voting ballot for Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards.

Despite an online petition made by angered parents circulating, the network decided to stand by the singer.  ”Like all our KCA nominees Chris Brown was nominated by kids several months ago based on his body of work as a performer, and the kids who vote will ultimately decide who wins in the category,” said a Nickelodeon spokesperson in a statement to People.com earlier in the week.

But to avoid anymore bad press, Brown — who was nominated for Favorite Male Singer and Favorite Song for “Kiss Kiss” — pulled his name out of the running prompting another statement from Nick: “We are confirming that Chris Brown has decided to withdraw his nominations from the Kids’ Choice Awards. We agree with and respect his decision, and are looking forward to presenting a great event for our audience.”

The petition also called for Rihanna’s removal from the nominations list; she remains a nominee.

The KCA’s will air March 28 on Nickelodeon.

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The numbers are in and U2 are on top — of the Billboard 200 chart that is.

The veteran rock group scores their seventh No. 1 album on the chart with their latest release No Line on the Horizon. The set moved a monstrous 484,000 in the US according to Nielson SoundScan, easily making it the biggest debut of 2009.

The achievement lands U2 in third place for the most No. 1′s by a group, tying with Led Zeppelin. Only the Rolling Stones (9) and the Beatles (19) are in front of them.

The band’s series of high profile performances undoubtedly helped fuel sales. Among the appearances was a week-long stint as the musical guest on the Late Show with David Letterman.

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Purple is definitely Fantasia‘s color.

The American Idol season 3 winner won the hearts of theatre goers when she made her Broadway debut as the inspirational Celie in the Oprah-produced musical The Color Purple.

She played the role for several months before leaving in January 2008.

Fantasia recently announced she’ll slip back into Celie’s blue dress again when the touring production hits Washington D.C. this summer.

The five week engagement will run from June 30 – August 2 at The Kennedy Center.

Tickets are on sale now at www.colorpurple.com.