Lil Wayne and Kid Rock perform at the 2008 CMAs in Nashville on Wednesday
Photo: Doug Pensinger/ Getty Images

The best rapper alive never got around to rapping Wednesday night in Nashville.

As he did at the VMAs in September, Lil Wayne joined Kid Rock onstage for a performance of the remix of Rock's "All Summer Long" at the Country Music Association Awards. But this time there was no verse from Weezy — in fact, he barely made a sound at all. He just acted as part of the band, bringing out his guitar and strumming the strings inaudibly alongside Kid Rock's guitarist.

Not having the New Orleans Fireman rhyme was a curious move, considering that Weezy's people put out a press release late Wednesday afternoon trumpeting the fact that Wayne was the first hip-hop act ever to perform on the CMAs.

A source close to the situation told MTV News on Thursday that Wayne didn't rap in order to keep things fresh — that the duo did not want to copy what they had done at the VMAs and figured Weezy playing guitar was a fly new take on their collaboration.

Watching on TV, you didn't even see Wayne until somewhere around the song's two-minute mark, when Kid came over and gave him five. Both performers wore Tennessee Titans jerseys: Kid with the number two on his, but instead of Rob Biranos' name on the back, Rock had his own name; Wayne sported a #28 Chris Johnson Jersey.

Big CMT winners included Kenny Chesney (who took home his fourth Entertainer of the Year award, tying Garth Brooks for the most wins in the category), George Strait (Single and Album of the Year, making him the biggest award-winner in CMA history) and Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland (the group won Vocal Duo of the Year, and Nettles won Song of the Year for Sugarland's "Stay").

The show was hosted by Carrie Underwood (who won Female Vocalist of the Year for the third consecutive time) and Brad Paisley. Taylor Swift performed her hit "Love Story" (and borrowed Miley Cyrus' boyfriend for the performance), and Shania Twain made her first major public appearance after a long absence.

• Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Kid Rock, More At 2008 Country Music Awards

• Lil Wayne
• Kid Rock
• Sugarland
• Garth Brooks
• Carrie Underwood

Patrick Stump
Photo: Scott Gries/ Getty Images

Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump has been named one of the un-sexiest men of 2007 by Boston alt-weekly The Phoenix. He lands at #95 on the list, right next to Larry King and Jon Heder. ...

Prodigy, who will start serving a three-and-a-half-year jail sentence on a charge of gun possession for which he was indicted in October, plans to issue his second solo album while behind bars. H.N.I.C. Part 2 will drop in March, feature production from Mobb Deep group mate Havoc and Alchemist, and be integrated with Voxonic technology, which converts a voice into hundreds of languages with near-perfect accuracy. Prodigy also released a statement regarding his upcoming sentence, saying, "Throughout my life, I have always lived through adversity. I'm a survivor. You don't understand the mental power that I have. While I'm locked up, I'm going to be writing lyrics, working on the script for my second feature film, 'Dope,' and finish writing an autobiography of my life, which will be finished by the time I'm released. My mind is going to be focused, and I'll have time to think and map out my entire plan. The experience will make me a tougher, stronger person. I'm gonna work on getting out faster, so I can get back to doing what I do best. When I get home, it's gonna be on!" ...

R.E.M. have christened their forthcoming album Accelerate and set an April 1 release date for the effort. The album was produced by Jacknife Lee (Bloc Party, Snow Patrol) and will feature "Until the Day Is Done," "Living Well Is the Best Revenge" and "Staring Down the Barrel of Middle Distance." Expect the band to tour in the spring. ... It's not like she was expecting an Oscar nomination, but a nod for the worst? In a poll conducted by AOL's Moviefone Web site, 58 percent of respondents gave Lindsay Lohan the dubious distinction of turning in the worst performance by an actress in 2007 for her role in "I Know Who Killed Me." Another one of Lohan's box-office bombs, "Georgia Rule," finished second among the more than 3.8 million voters, just behind the Eddie Murphy comedy "Norbit," as the biggest waste of $10. "Norbit" also earned the comedian the title of worst performance by an actor. ... Eddie Murphy and "Good Luck Chuck" producer Tracey Edmonds got hitched during an intimate New Year's Day ceremony on a private island in French Polynesia, according to People.com. Johnny Gill was reportedly Murphy's best man. ...

Radiohead singer Thom Yorke has hit back at the boss of his former label, EMI Music, after claims that the band had rejected a nearly $6 million advance for their new album while demanding the copyrights to older titles. In a December 29 post on the group's official Web site under the heading "FYI — if you care — for your information," Yorke wrote, "We did not ask for a load of cash from our old record label EMI to re-sign. That is a L I E. The Times in the U.K. should check its facts before it prints such dirt. What we wanted was some control over our work and how it was used in the future by them — that seemed reasonable to us, as we cared about it a great deal. [EMI boss Guy] Hands was not interested. So neither were we. We made the sign of the cross and walked away. Sadly." Yorke said the group was upset about the airing of "dirty laundry" in public. Separately, Yorke told BBC Radio 4 that releasing In Rainbows solely as a digital download — the physical album hit stores this week — would have been "stark raving mad" because 80 percent of fans still buy physical releases. "We didn't want it to be a big announcement about 'everything's over except the Internet, the Internet's the future,' 'cause that's utter rubbish," Yorke said. "And it's really important to have an artifact as well, as they call it, an object." Yorke, in one of his first public comments about the decision to release In Rainbows under a pay-what-you-wish scheme, explained that Radiohead had a "moral justification in what we did in the sense that the majors and the big infrastructure of the music business has not addressed the way artists communicate directly with their fans. ... In fact, they seem to basically get in the way. Not only do they get in the way, but they take all the cash." He also denied reports that In Rainbows was downloaded more than 1.2 million times in its first week, but, in keeping with the band's silence on sales, would not confirm how many times it was actually downloaded. "It's total nonsense. ... We're the only people who know, and it feels wrong to say exactly what happened," he said. "But it's been a really nice surprise and we've done really well out of it." ...

The presidential race will bleed over into late-night TV on Wednesday night (January 2) when David Letterman chats up Democratic contender Senator Hillary Clinton and Jay Leno welcomes Republican candidate Mike Huckabee on the respective comeback episodes of their shows. Chingy will perform on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," while Lupe Fiasco will play on the "Late Show With David Letterman," with Robin Williams also appearing. Letterman struck a deal with the Writers Guild of America that will allow him to return to air with writers, but Huckabee and Chingy will be crossing the picket line with their appearances on Leno's show, as the writers' strike continues. ... "L.A." Reid, Denzel Washington, Steven Spielberg, Brett Ratner, Billy Joel and others partied Sunday on a private yacht owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, and Jon Bon Jovi and Robbie Robertson performed at the shindig, according to Fox News. ...

Staind's Aaron Lewis, along with members of Boston, Tesla, Stryper and other bands, will join host Dee Snider of Twisted Sister at the fifth anniversary Relief Fund Charity Concert, to be staged February 25 at Providence, Rhode Island's Dunkin' Donut Center. The event is being put on by the Station Family Fund, a group founded by survivors, family members and community members affected by the Station fire, the February 2003 nightclub tragedy that claimed 100 lives. Proceeds from the show will go to the survivors of the fire, many of whom did not qualify for Social Security benefits. ...

The lineup for Dave Mustaine's Gigantour 2008 has been revealed. The trek, to launch in mid-April and run through late May, will feature his band Megadeth, as well as In Flames, Children of Bodom, Job for a Cowboy and High on Fire. ... P.O.D. have set an April 8 release date for When Angels & Serpents Dance, the band's forthcoming LP. The record will feature a guest appearance by Suicidal Tendencies mainman Mike Muir. ... Former Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland's band, Black Light Burns, have begun work on material for their second album, which is set for release in early 2009. Borland said in a statement that the new stuff is "a lot more guitar-heavy than it is synth-heavy. The feeling/tone is a little more fun and weird compared to the darkness of the first album." The effort follows the band's debut disc, last year's Cruel Melody. ... Hatebreed were forced to postpone the final concert in their Stillborn Fest series after guitarist Frank Novinec broke his ankle. No word yet on when they'll make up the gig, which was supposed to happen Sunday in Rochester, New York. ...

A lawyer who previously represented Death Row Records boss Marion "Suge" Knight in a $130 million lawsuit over ownership of the onetime gangsta-rap powerhouse is asking a judge to set that judgment aside. According to the Los Angeles Times, in a hearing set for Wednesday attorney Dermot Givens is asking that the judgment be voided because of what he claims is new evidence that the plaintiff, singer Lydia Harris, and her imprisoned drug-dealing husband, Michael, allegedly duped a Los Angeles judge into ruling against Knight. The motion contends that Harris hid from the court that she had filed for bankruptcy five years before suing Knight and that she never claimed an ownership stake in Death Row during that legal proceeding. The motion also alleges that recent sworn testimony by the couple shows that Michael Harris, an alleged crack kingpin, was the real party of interest in her lawsuit against Knight; Michael Harris sued Knight in 1996 claiming he helped finance Death Row, and was awarded a $300,000 out-of-court settlement. Lydia Harris filed a separate suit in 2002 claiming that she and Knight started the label together and that he cheated her out of millions in profits. ...

James Brown's final recordings have been caught up in the legal feud over the late rock legend's estate, according to The Associated Press. Brown recorded an album in Los Angeles in summer 2006, but courtroom disputes over who should get his music royalties are preventing the release of the tracks. More than 50-60 additional unreleased songs recorded by Brown are also reportedly in the archives. ... The Jersey Boys have a bit of a problem on their hands. Tommy DeVito, ex-bassist of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons — on which the "Jersey Boys" story is based — is being sued by the widow of a man who also wrote a story about the group, according to TMZ. Donna Corbello says her late husband Rex Conrad Woodard's yet-unpublished book was the basis of the Broadway smash, and she is reportedly seeking a declaration that he is the volume's "joint owner" so she can get some of the future profits from the production. The suit was recently filed in a district court in Texas. ...

It's Hammer time all over again. MC Hammer is about to launch a new Web site that he hopes will rival YouTube as the online hub for sharing and watching dance videos, according to AP. He is the co-founder and chief strategy officer of DanceJam.com, which will go live later this month and profit from Internet advertising. Perhaps the site will reverse Hammer's hard luck — he filed for bankruptcy in 1996 with nearly $14 million in debts. ... Evan Farrell, an indie-rock bassist who played with the Magnolia Electric Co. on tour and, earlier this year, left the Rogue Wave fold, died the weekend of December 22-23 after sustaining injuries from a house fire in Oakland, California. He was 33. "He was a fixture in our community and a bright spot in all of our lives," Secretly Canadian, the label the Magnolia Electric Co. call home, said about Farrell in a statement. "He was exceptionally talented, funny and genuine."

12.28.07

Brandy is in the clear — according to TMZ, the Los Angeles city attorney will not be filing charges against the singer over the multi-car crash that claimed the life of a woman in December 2006. The attorney had until the end of the day Friday (December 28) to file criminal charges against Brandy in the incident. The singer's attorney, Blair Berk, reportedly responded with a statement, saying, "These past 12 months have posed an extraordinary hardship for Brandy and her family, who have been unfairly forced to live under a cloud of suspicion initially caused by the ill-advised and premature press release sent out by the California Highway Patrol accusing Brandy of wrongdoing before the police investigation was even finished. However, Brandy continues to be mindful that she was so fortunate to be uninjured in this accident and there was a life lost that should be remembered." Brandy is, however, still facing a $50 million wrongful-death suit from the family of the victim, Awatef Aboudihaj. ...

Yung Joc was seven hours late to an arraignment on a felony gun charge on Wednesday and was scolded by the judge in the case after an arrest warrant was issued. But the rapper (born Jasiel Robinson) tried to clear his name in a statement released through his lawyers. "I have the utmost respect for the laws of this country and would never deliberately commit an act that would jeopardize my freedom, my family or my career," he said, according to TMZ. "I've worked very hard to achieve my goals, and it's unfortunate that this current situation has garnered more attention than the many donations I've made and the charitable work I've done with various organizations. ... I'm proud to be a citizen of America, where we are taught to believe that every person is afforded the presumption of innocence. That being said, I have full respect for the judicial system and its due process. I look forward to resolving this situation and moving forward to a positive and prosperous 2008." Joc is due back in court on January 25 in connection with his arrest Sunday at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, where authorities said he tried to take a loaded gun onto a flight. He faces a possible sentence of up to 18 months for the charge. ...

Lil Wayne told MTV News a couple of months ago that he was planning to drop Tha Carter III: The Leak on December 18, with the official Tha Carter III LP to follow February 12, but he actually slipped out a five-song EP called The Leak through Rhapsody and Amazon on Christmas Day instead. The disc features "I'm Me," "Gossip," "Kush," "Love Me or Hate Me" and "Talkin' About It." "Gossip" has been rumored to be a dis song directed toward 50 Cent, but as Weezy told Mixtape Monday in late October, "I recorded that song in 2006. ... I don't make records or say anything about people. I don't beef with people. Everybody knows that. ... My words are more important than you."...

Radiohead decided to split with their longtime label EMI in the fall after the company's new boss, Guy Hands, rejected a deal that would have cost the company more than $20 million, according to the London Times. The U.K. outlet reports that the band had been offered a $6 million advance by Hands for In Rainbows, but demanded more. An EMI spokesperson who was not named told the Times that, "Radiohead were demanding an extraordinary amount of money, and we did not believe that our other artists should have to subsidize their gains." The bandmembers reportedly responded that they believed more big-name artists would be leaving EMI and accused Hands of not negotiating seriously with them. The deal Radiohead sought also reportedly included the handing over of some of the copyrights to their back catalog, a move that could have cost the label millions in future earnings. Band manager Bryce Edge told The Times, "We couldn't move ahead with EMI because Guy Hands irrevocably refused to discuss the catalog in any meaningful way. We sold 25 million records, and we have the moral rights over those six albums. We wanted a say in how they are exploited in the future. We were not seeking a big advance payment, or a guaranteed marketing spend, as discussions never got that far." ...

Members of Angels & Airwaves, No Doubt, 30 Seconds to Mars, Bad Religion, Journey, Pennywise — as well as the Roots' ?uestlove — will hammer away at the skins when they perform at a January 5 drum-off hosted by former Jane's Addiction member Stephen Perkins. The Guitar Center contest, which began three months ago, will culminate with a show at the Music Box @ Fonda in Hollywood that will also feature performances by the four finalists in the store's competition. ... "The Beyoncé Experience - Live," which came out in DVD form in late November, will be broadcast for U.S. troops stationed in Iraq on New Year's Eve via the AEG Network. The programming block will also include Celine Dion's "A New Day" and Garth Brooks' "One Artist, One City, One Time." ...

It's official: David Letterman has reached a deal with striking writers and will return to the air with a full staff on Wednesday. Jeff Hermanson, a Writers Guild of America executive, told Reuters that talks between the union and Letterman's Worldwide Pants production company had led to a "full, binding, independent agreement" that features provisions for paying writers for work distributed online. Protesting writers have been demanding compensation for Internet-content. Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel are also returning to the air on Wednesday, and Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on January 7, although none of those late-night hosts will be coming back with their respective writers. ...

Jessica Simpson is enjoying Nashville as the relocated singer/actress records her upcoming, yet-untitled country album there. "Nashville is a very warm city," she recently told Billboard.com. "The people are friendly and kind. There is a sense of community, which thrives on music. There is no animosity ... only respect for one another's talent." The effort is due in 2008 through Columbia Nashville and will be the follow-up to 2006's A Public Affair. Simpson didn't provide many more details on the project, and when asked if she would be hitting the road to support it, she said, "Since the record is in the beginning stages, there hasn't been much talk about a tour just yet." ...

Meanwhile, Franz Ferdinand's third album doesn't have a name yet either, but the band has shed some more light on the successor to 2005's You Could Have It So Much Better. "I suppose we're heading back to the idea of dance music," frontman Alex Kapranos told RollingStone.com. "It's more of a dance record than a rock record." The band has tapped an unlikely producer — Brian Higgins (Kylie Minogue, Cher) — for some of the songs. "It appeals to my contrary side," Kapranos said. "And I don't like the distance between bands and pop music there is now. Dr. Dre or Timbaland or the Neptunes are making the songs you've never heard before, not the indie kids strumming their f---ing guitars." ...

Chris Rock has jumped into the 2008 presidential-election conversation, comparing Senator Hillary Clinton to the current commander in chief and voicing his support for rival Senator Barack Obama in a recent interview with The New York Times. "I love Hillary Clinton, but to me she is the Democratic version of George [W.] Bush: someone who is running, and the only reason you know who this person is because of their name. ... She has much more in common with George Bush Jr. than she does with Oprah Winfrey." He added, "It's neck and neck against a woman whose husband was the president, and [Obama is] a black man that no one knew a couple years ago. That is an unbelievable achievement." ...

Sean Penn and Robin Wright Penn are divorcing after 11 years of marriage, according to People.com. The "Into the Wild" director and "Beowulf" actress have two children together, boys ages 14 and 16. ... In another marital development, Marilyn Manson and Dita Von Teese's divorce still isn't finalized yet — Von Teese filed in December 2006, citing Manson's alleged infidelity and partying — but they are now legally permitted to marry other people, People.com reports. Their marital status was terminated Thursday, but the ex-couple have yet to settle their finances. Manson, 38, has been dating Evan Rachel Wood, age 20. ...

While Josh Groban is enjoying a record-setting run atop the charts with his holiday album, Noël, Variety reports that the rest of the music business had a horrible Christmas week. Overall music sales during the Christmas shopping season were down 21 percent from last year. From the week of Thanksgiving through December 23, 83.9 million albums were sold, a steep decline from 2006's total of 105.28 million.

• Fall Out Boy
• Prodigy of Mobb Deep
• Lindsay Lohan
• Radiohead
• Brandy

Josh Groban's <i>Noël</i>
Photo: WEA/ Reprise

Since its initial release 10 short weeks ago, Josh Groban's Noël has unexpectedly gone from being just another in a long list of forgettable Christmas-centric LPs to the best-selling album of 2007. With nearly 2.8 million copies sold — most coming within the last four weeks — Noël has usurped the "High School Musical 2" soundtrack (which has sold just over 2.7 million units) and Daughtry, the 2006 self-titled debut by "American Idol" finalist Chris Daughtry's band, (2.3 million) for that title.

What's more, Noël, which has increased in sales each week and has remained in the Billboard top 10 all those weeks, has shattered several sales records, thanks in large part to Oprah Winfrey's recent endorsement of the album as "the one Christmas CD every family should have."

According to the latest SoundScan totals, Noël, which sold another 669,000 copies, is the first Christmas album to spend four consecutive weeks on top in the chart's 51-year history. It's also only the second Christmas album to ever spend a total of four weeks at #1, tying it with Elvis Presley's 1957 LP Elvis' Christmas Album.

Noël is also the first album of any kind to spend four consecutive weeks at #1 and experience a sales increase each of those weeks since No Doubt's 1995 outing Tragic Kingdom, and the 669,000 copies the Groban album sold last week denotes the biggest single-week tally for a Christmas album since Kenny G's Miracles: The Holiday Album sold 819,000 copies during one of the last weeks of 1994. Plus, Noël is on pace to pass the 3 million-sold mark, which would make it the only album released in 2007 to reach that plateau.

Needless to say, everything's coming up Groban on Billboard's weekly albums chart. But Noël's sales aren't the only interesting development on next week's chart. For starters, a total of 10 new records enter next week's top 200, though none debut in the chart's top 10. The highest-charting debut of the week comes in at #11: Face Off, a collaborative album from rapper Bow Wow and R&B singer Omarion, sold 107,000 copies during its first week in stores, falling about 13,000 scans short of #10 finisher Garth Brooks' Ultimate Hits, which sold 119,400 copies.

Behind Groban at #2 is Alicia Keys' As I Am, with sales reported at 292,300, and the Eagles' Long Road Out of Eden follows her at #3 with 241,000 scans. Meanwhile, the 26th addition to the Now That's What I Call Music! compilation series comes in at #4 with 191,800 sold, and at #5, with 180,000 scans, it's Mannheim Steamroller's Christmas Song. The aforementioned "High School Musical 2" soundtrack holds at the #6 position with sales of 178,000, and Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus trails in the #7 spot, having sold another 177,500 units. Country crossover artist Taylor Swift's self-titled debut climbs one spot to #8 with 138,700 sold, and Carrie Underwood's Carnival Ride falls two spots to #9 with sales of 137,500.

Rapper Birdman's 5 * Stunna was the top 200's second-highest charting debut offering, coming in at #18 with 86,000 sold. Mario's Go follows at #21 with 76,900 scans, and coming in at #25 with 68,500 copies snatched up, it's the Wu-Tang Clan's 8 Diagrams. The-Dream's Love/Hate bows at #30 with sales of 58,900, and rapper Beanie Sigel returns to the chart at #37, having sold 49,300 copies of his latest, Solution.

The Wal-Mart exclusive High School Musical: Hits Remixed enters the chart at #42 with 42,300 scans, while Gucci Mane's Back to the Traphouse debuts at #57 with 31,700 sold. The Dave Matthews Band's Live at Piedmont Park occupies the #68 slot, thanks to 27,400 scans, while Puerto Rican songstress Ednita Nazario's Real opens at #101 with 18,000 sold.

• Josh Groban
• Daughtry
• Elvis Presley
• No Doubt
• Kenny G

Ja Rule
Photo: Mark Mainz/Getty Images

Ja Rule's Sunday arrest in New York on a single felony weapon count was "another instance of hip-hop targeting," according to the rapper's attorney, Stacey Richman. She claims the .40-caliber Taurus pistol police recovered from inside the 2004 Maybach that Ja was riding in when he was arrested belonged to someone else. Ja; his driver, Mohamed Gamal; and his road manager, Dennis Cherry, were charged with criminal possession of a weapon and spent Sunday night in jail. The three were arraigned Monday afternoon, and Ja (born Jeffrey Atkins) was released on $150,000 bond. He's expected back in Manhattan Criminal Court November 7. According to Richman, the car in question was a company vehicle owned by Gamal's Maximum Transportation firm and is used by his clients. "If you get a car, and something's left in the car, is that yours?" Richman wondered. "How you can ascribe that anybody knows what's in a car?" She also contends that the car was stopped about a block away from the Beacon Theatre and that it had been "parked outside for two and a half hours, with the police department, and they ran the plates — they could have just handed out a ticket then, but they didn't. They waited for [Ja Rule] to get into the car." As for the speeding claims, Richman simply doesn't believe them: "Why would he speed for one block? What, he's going to speed to the next light on Broadway? Come on." The prosecutor's office would not comment on Ja Rule's arrest. ...

G-Unit's Tony Yayo was in court Tuesday morning (July 24) in connection with charges of harassment and endangering the welfare of a child, the 14-year-old son of Game manager Jimmy "Henchman" Rosemond. According to Yayo's lawyer Scott Leemon, the rapper rejected a plea offer that would have him serve nine months in jail, and the case was adjourned until September 6. Leemon said the judge in the case asked for more time to make a decision on whether he will enforce subpoenas issued by Leemon to the public-relations firm for Rosemond's Czar Entertainment record label. Leemon would not discuss what information he is seeking from the PR firm. ...

R. Kelly is still feeding off his recent Double Up set, but he's already got another treat in store for next month: Ten new episodes in his "Trapped in the Closet" series. In his latest go-'round, R. dresses as a preacher in a wig — and even more amusingly, from the sound of it, an old man with a fake belly and beard, Billboard.com reports. A DVD encompassing the 10 eps will hit stores August 21, but you can catch them prior to that on, oddly enough, the Independent Film Channel. ... Lindsay Lohan's wax statue at Madame Tussauds in New York has a new addition: It's now dressed in black and white prison stripes. The museum pulled the same move with Paris Hilton's statue when the heiress went to jail. ...

Rage Against the Machine, Daft Punk, Iggy and the Stooges and Queens of the Stone Age are among the headliners of this year's Vegoose Festival. The third annual installment of the Las Vegas event, to be held October 27-28 at Sam Boyd Stadium, will also feature sets from Muse, Cypress Hill, the Shins, Public Enemy, Ghostface Killah, Pharoahe Monch, Battles, Gogol Bordello and more artists to be announced soon. The Stooges will perform their classic Fun House album in its entirety for the first time ever in the U.S. ...

Daughtry will hit the road next month for a spate of headlining gigs. Dates are scheduled from August 1 in Columbus, Ohio, through October 20 in Raleigh, North Carolina. ... Mandy Moore will team up with Paula Cole for a co-headlining tour set to kick off August 18 in Portland, Oregon, and expire August 25 in San Diego. Moore's also set to play some of her own headlining gigs, starting August 30 in Fort Worth, Texas. That trek runs through September 9 in Charlotte, North Carolina. ... Tori Amos has mapped out the U.S. leg of her world tour, which will launch October 9 in Albany, New York, and run through December 17 in Los Angeles. ...

Tupac Shakur's estate is trying to stop the late rapper's former label, Death Row Records, from selling his unreleased recordings as part of a bankruptcy settlement. Shakur's mother, Afeni, sought an injunction in federal bankruptcy court Friday, claiming the label was trying to sell Shakur material that belonged to the rapper's estate and should have been turned over to it as part of a 1997 agreement with Death Row. Shakur's lawyer Donald N. David said that during the label's bankruptcy proceedings, "it was revealed that an album's worth of unreleased Tupac material was being advertised to potential buyers as the jewel in the crown of the Death Row assets." ...

A Los Angeles judge has refused to dismiss Phil Spector's murder charge or reduce it to manslaughter on Tuesday, The Associated Press reports. Prosecutors rested their case Monday, and one of the attorneys said they might not even have to show the music producer pulled the trigger to the gun that killed actress Lana Clarkson in order for Spector to be convicted. "He had the gun in his home, loaded with his bullets," said Alan Jackson, who added that prosecutors only need to show that Spector pointed the gun at Clarkson. "Whether he pulled the trigger, whether he sneezed or she slapped his hand away or there was an earthquake — it doesn't matter. It's implied malice." The defense argued that implied malice wasn't shown and that the prosecution didn't support its second-degree-murder theory, so the charge should be dismissed or reduced. "It's very clear to me ... that there's more than enough substantial evidence to support a conviction if there was one," Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler said, refusing the motion. ...

Static-X, Shadows Fall, 3 Inches of Blood and Divine Heresy are planning a U.S. run that will commence in September. Dates and venues have yet to be announced, but we'll keep you posted. ... There's been some turmoil as of late in the world of Hopesfall. According to a statement from the band, it seems the only remaining member is singer Jay Forrest, meaning guitarists Joshua Brigham and Dustin Nadler, drummer Jason Trabue and bassist Mike Tyson have split. No explanation for the departures has been made public. ... Coheed and Cambria's forthcoming album, Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow, will hit stores October 23. ... The Bled's next effort, Silent Treatment, has been set for a September 25 release. The LP will contain 11 tracks, including "You Should Be Ashamed of Myself," "Platonic Sleepover Massacre" and "Breathing Room Barricades." ...

English manager Don Arden, the father of Sharon Osbourne, died Saturday in a Los Angeles nursing home, according to a BBC News report. He was 81. The man born Harry Levy in Manchester, England, but known variously as the "Al Capone of Pop," "The English Godfather" and "Mr. Big" for his uncompromising business practices was at one time the manager of acts ranging from ELO to the Small Faces and Black Sabbath. Sharon was famously estranged from Arden for nearly 20 years after she wrested control of husband Ozzy Osbourne's solo career and was forced to pay her dad a $1 million court settlement. The two reconciled in 2002. ... In an attempt to smooth the pathway to a proposed merger, satellite-radio competitors XM and Sirius have said that if the $4.7 billion merger is approved, they would offer new a la carte pricing plans that would allow users to pay only for the stations they want. The Washington Post reports that the proposed plans would start at $6.99 for 50 stations, which is almost half of the current price of $12.95 for about 150 stations, and include a $14.99 price for 100 stations and the option to add stations one at a time for 25 cents each.

07.23.07

All eyes will be on Jennifer Lopez when she launches her first-ever concert tour September 29 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Husband Marc Anthony will co-headline the trek, which will take them through the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Dates will be announced next week. Each set will include English- and Spanish-spoken songs, and $1 from every ticket sold will go toward financial-services company ING's school-fitness program for kids, Run for Something Better ...

Kelly Clarkson told Reader's Digest for the magazine's August issue that she got her way with her new album after a public battle with RCA, but the singer says in a new post on her Web site that she regrets feuding with label head Clive Davis over My December. "Contrary to recent characterizations in the press, I'm well aware that Clive is one of the great record men of all time," reads the post. "He has been a key advisor and has been an important force in my success to date. I really regret how this has turned out and I apologize to those whom I have done disservice. I would never intentionally hurt anyone. I love music, and I love the people I am blessed to work with." ...

Who needs a clothing line when you can have an umbrella range — especially if you're Rihanna? The singer has done the inevitable by partnering with British company Totes for a collection perfectly suited for her "Umbrella" single. Take your pick right here. ... Pink couldn't stomach her planned gig at Athens' recent Fly BEEyond Festival — she came down with a bout with gastroenteritis and had to bail hours before going onstage, according to the show's promoter, Hot Beez. The show will not be made up, but ticket holders are being offered cash refunds. ...

"Hallows" be thy name: The final installment of the Harry Potter series racked up some big numbers over the weekend (surprised?). Scholastic says roughly 8.3 million copies of the book sold in the first 24 hours upon its release Saturday, with Borders, Amazon and Barnes & Noble all reporting more than 1 million copies sold each. The sales were impressive in the U.K., where the book sold 2.7 million copies in the first 24 hours, and in Canada, where it moved about 812,000 in its first 48 hours. Daniel Radcliffe had his own reason to celebrate Monday (July 23): The actor turned 18, gaining access to a fortune that is the U.S. equivalent of roughly $40 million. ...

Freestyle king Lil' Flip turned himself in on a felony charge of credit-card abuse on Saturday after authorities said he tried to buy a $671 Southwest Airlines ticket to Baltimore from Houston in June using an American Express card held by someone else. Flip, 26 (born Wesley Eric Weston Jr.), was booked and released on $2,000 bond, according to the Houston Chronicle. Lil' Flip's attorney and manager addressed the allegations on Monday. "Flip had absolutely no involvement with any sort of credit card fraud," Sandy Lal said in a statement. "He never personally handles any travel arrangements; that is left to promoters and travel agents." His attorney Stanley Schneider added: "A complete investigation will easily show that Lil' Flip is innocent of all charges and is actually a victim of a scam." ... Cops working the John Mayer concert at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania, were busy on Saturday, arresting 63 fans, according to The Patriot-News. Among the arrests were 46 for underage drinking; 14 for disorderly conduct; and three each for public drunkenness, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. ...

It's all about "The Simpsons Movie" this week, as the much-anticipated flick opens Friday, but some people haven't forgotten about the show's upcoming 19th season — namely Jack Black, Lionel Richie, Topher Grace and MTV News' own Kurt Loder, all of whom will be paying guest appearances. Black will voice the character of Milo, who scares Comic Book Guy by opening up a competing store. In other "Simpsons" news, Matt Groening has finally 'fessed up to where he got the idea for Marge Simpson's blue beehive. He told The New York Times Magazine in an interview published Sunday that her 'do was inspired by "The Bride of Frankenstein" and his own mom's hairstyle in the '60s. ...

The Arcade Fire aren't burning out anytime soon — the indie-rockers have extended their tour with LCD Soundsystem with four additional dates: September 30 in St. Paul, Minnesota; October 3 in Louisville, Kentucky; October 5 in Columbus, Ohio; and October 6 at New York's Randall's Island. ... The Shins are tacking a cover of Pink Floyd's "Breathe" onto their "Turn Me On" U.K. single. ...

The Reverend Al Sharpton is supporting New York State Senator Antoine Thompson's idea to penalize record companies that don't crack down on denigrating lyrics by pulling the state's public investments from them, The Associated Press reports. According to Thompson, about $3 billion of the state's pension fund is invested in the entertainment industry. ... Iconic indie label Sympathy for the Record Industry — which has issued albums by the White Stripes, Hole, Rocket From the Crypt and a slew of others over the years — is up on the block, according to Idolator.com. Owner Long Gone John is pricing the label and its "questionable/nebulous rights to nearly 750 releases by over 550 bands" at "$625,000, or $700,000 if I don't like you." ...

There have been some lineup changes in Perry Farrell's Satellite Party project. Former Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt jumped ship last week, saying, "I have always felt uncomfortable with the direction of the lineup and live show. I truly do believe in the songs and music on the album, and I wish Perry Farrell and any musician that remains on tour all the best." Drummer Kevin Figg also opted to leave, but no reason was offered for his departure. In their place, Farrell has recruited Silvertide guitarist Nick Perri and drummer Jordan Plosky, who has worked with Ryan Cabrera in the past. ...

Babyface, Queen Latifah, Garth Brooks and others will perform at a concert to raise funds for a Martin Luther King Jr. memorial at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on September 18. The event, set to take place at New York's Radio City Music Hall, will also feature previously announced artists Stevie Wonder, Robin Thicke and more. ... Jeff Beck's manager tells Billboard.com that, contrary to a report the site published Friday, the guitarist is not planning to tour with Jimmy Page and others as the Yardbirds this fall.

• Harry Potter's 'Deathly' Night: The End Of An Era

• Ja Rule
• Tony Yayo
• Rage Against the Machine
• Ghostface Killah
• Daughtry

'NSYNC
Photo: Jive

'NSYNC were the public's preference for Favorite Musical Group at the 28th People's Choice Awards, while folks favored a more country feel for their favorite individual artists.

The pop quintet received one of only three musical awards doled out Sunday at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Faith Hill and Garth Brooks were named Favorite Female and Male Musical Performers.

In all, 18 awards were given out in film, television and movie categories. Actor Tom Hanks walked off with the most movie honors — Favorite Motion Picture Star and Favorite Motion Picture Star in a Drama — while "Friends" took the lead in the broadcast medium, with the show being dubbed Favorite Comedy Series and its star, Jennifer Aniston, as Favorite Female Television Performer.

Nominees and winners for the People's Choice Awards were determined by a nationwide poll conducted by the Gallup Organization.

Complete list of People's Choice Winners:

• Musical Group or Band: 'NSYNC
• Female Musical Performer: Faith Hill
• Male Musical Performer: Garth Brooks
• Motion Picture: "Shrek"
• Motion Picture Star in a Comedy: Eddie Murphy
• Motion Picture Star in a Drama: Tom Hanks
• Motion Picture Star: Tom Hanks
• Motion Picture Actress: Julia Roberts
• Male Television Performer: (tie) Kelsey Grammer, "Frasier"; Ray Romano, "Everybody Loves Raymond"
• Female Television Performer: Jennifer Aniston, "Friends"
• Male Performer in a New Television Series: Damon Wayans, "My Wife and Kids"
• Female Performer in a New Television Series: Reba McEntire, "Reba"
• Television Comedy Series: "Friends"
• Television Dramatic Series: "ER"
• New Television Comedy Series: "My Wife and Kids"
• New Television Dramatic Series: "Alias"
• Reality-Based Television Program: "Survivor: The Australian Outback"
• Daytime Dramatic Series: "Days of Our Lives"

• *NSYNC
• Faith Hill
• Garth Brooks

Creed's Scott Stapp
Photo: Wind Up

The next time Creed release an album, take Scott Stapp's hunches as prophesy. A week after predicting his band's Weathered would overshadow new albums by Pink, Kid Rock and others on next week's Billboard 200 albums chart (see "Creed Think They'll Beat Out Pink, Sting, Now 8 For #1 Chart Slot"), it did just that, while also achieving the honor of having the second highest first-week sales totals of any album released this year.

The Floridian rockers sold more than 887,000 copies of Weathered to land at #1 on next week's chart, according to SoundScan figures released Wednesday (November 28). Creed is now two for three when it comes to placing albums atop the chart, as their previous album, 1999's Human Clay, occupied the same slot after its first week in stores.

Only 'NSYNC's Celebrity, with 1.8 million in first-week sales, topped Weathered's impressive numbers this year. Britney Spears' Britney, which will come in at # 3 next week, is the album with the third highest first-week sales.

Weathered's debut-week sales rank it third among rock albums in the SoundScan era (since 1991), following Limp Bizkit's Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water, which sold more than 1.02 million in its first week last year, and Pearl Jam's Vs., which moved more than 950,000 copies its first week in 1993.

Albums by Kid Rock and Pink will also make noble first-week showings. Rock's Cocky will land at #7 with more than 222,000 in sales, while Pink's Missundaztood follows right behind with more than 220,000.

The rest of next week's top 10 finds this week's top dog, Garth Brooks' Scarecrow, at #4; Now That's What I Call Christmas! jumping up 10 spots to #5; Enya's A Day Without Rain, seemingly immovable from the top tier after over a year of chart life, at #6; Enrique Iglesias' Escape sliding from #6 to #9; and Linkin Park re-entering the top 10 at the rear with Hybrid Theory.

Besides the chart prevalence of Christmas albums — Mannheim Steamroller's Christmas Extraordinaire continues to crawl up the chart to land next week at #15 — another sure sign the shopping season is upon us is an increase in overall sales. All but seven albums in the top 40, including Michael Jackson's Invincible (falling from #4 to #11), Shakira's Laundry Service (#3 to #16) and Jewel's This Way (#9 to #20), sold more copies than it did the week before.

'NSYNC's Celebrity will be the biggest gainer on next week's chart, as the group's latest LP, released in July, leaps 11 spots to #22, with more than 108,000 in sales, nearly doubling last week's figures.

The flipside of the winner-loser coin finds Rob Zombie's Sinister Urge taking the greatest chart plunge. The groovy ghoulie's second solo effort will slip from #8 to #30, selling nearly half of its first-week figures.

The remainder of the top 20 includes Nickelback's Silver Side Up at #12; Madonna's Vol. 2 - Greatest Hits at #13; Usher's 8701 at #14; Ja Rule's Pain Is Love at #17; Pink Floyd's Echoes - The Best of Pink Floyd at #18; and Backstreet Boys' The Hits - Chapter One at #19.

Among next week's other notable chart debuts are Timbaland & Magoo's Indecent Proposal at #29; Smashing Pumpkins' retrospective Greatest Hits at #31; Ghostface Killah's Bulletproof Wallets at #34; Jill Scott's first live album, Experience: Jill Scott, at #38; Mick Jagger's Goddess in the Doorway, the Rolling Stones singer's fourth solo album and first in eight years, at #39; Sting's live album All This Time at #40; the Dungeon Family's Even in Darkness at #42; 8Ball's Almost Famous at #47; Marc Anthony's Libre at #57; Too Short's Chase the Cat at #71; G-Dep's Child of the Ghetto at #105; Prince's Rainbow Children at #108; "The Lord of the Rings" soundtrack at #116; Mudvayne's The Beginning of All Things to End at #122; and Hoobastank's self-titled debut at #135.

• Creed
• P!nk
• Kid Rock
• Garth Brooks
• Enya

Shakira
Photo: Sony

Michael may be king and Britney his princess in the pop realm, but when it comes to selling records, Garth Brooks rules almighty.

The country superstar and best-selling solo artist of all time will land above all others on next week's Billboard 200 albums chart, with his Scarecrow selling in excess of 465,000 copies, according to SoundScan figures released Wednesday (November 21). The accomplishment gives Brooks a total of seven pop albums that have debuted at #1, a new chart record.

Britney Spears will drop a slot from this week's #1 position to accommodate Brooks' 10-gallon numbers, as Britney moved more than 336,000 copies, less than half of what it did the week before.

Shakira's Laundry Service will debut at #3 with more than 202,000 copies sold, making it the Latina songbird's highest debuting LP. The album's popularity is no doubt thanks to the single "Whenever, Wherever" and the hip-swaying/horse-playing video that accompanies it. Michael Jackson's Invincible will fall a place to #4, boosted in part by his CBS television special that aired last Tuesday (November 13).

The rest of next week's top 10 will be dominated by first-week appearances by Madonna, whose Vol. 2 — Greatest Hits will debut at #7 with more than 150,000 copies sold; Rob Zombie, whose second solo album, Sinister Urge, will land at #8 with more than 149,000 in sales; and Jewel, who finds herself at #9 after selling more than 140,000 copies of This Way, her first album of original music since 1998's Spirit.

The remainder of the top 10 is rounded out by Enya's A Day Without Rain at #5, Enrique Iglesias' Escape at #6 and Nickelback's Silver Side Up at #10.

Songs of yuletide joy seem to be in high demand, as Christmas albums were the only LPs in the 11-20 slots to advance in chart position. The various-artists compilation Now That's What I Call Christmas! will move from #23 to #15 with a more than 40,000 spike in sales; while Mannheim Steamroller's new age collection Christmas Extraordinaire will return to the top 20 by skipping four spots to #17.

Elsewhere on the chart, Barbra Streisand's Christmas Memories will jump 13 places to #25, with a 24,000 increase in sales; while Garth Brooks & the Magic of Christmas: Songs From "Call Me Claus," the soundtrack to a Christmas special to air on TNN in December, rears its head on the chart for the first time at #186.

Dirty South rappers UGK, who backed Jay-Z on "Big Pimpin'," will make their chart debut with Dirty Money at #18.

Pink Floyd and DMX will each experience 10-spot slumps, as Echoes — The Best of Pink Floyd and The Great Depression will fall to #12 and #16, respectively.

The Backstreet Boys will fall the farthest of next week's top 20 artists, as their best-of collection, The Hits — Chapter One will dive 12 spots to #19.

Completing the top 20 will be Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory, holding at #11; Ja Rule's Pain Is Love, falling three spots to #13; Usher's 8701, slipping two places to #14; and Alicia Keys' Songs in A Minor, sliding two notches to #20.

Gift-giving season also means greatest-hits season, with six best-of collections slated to debut on next week's chart. Next week's #4 artist, Michael Jackson, will see his Greatest Hits HIStory — Volume 1 come in at #85; while Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits by those clever Canadians Barenaked Ladies will land at #38; Bay-area punks Green Day's International Superhits! at #40; the Cure's Greatest Hits at #58; Rod Stewart's Voice: The Very Best of Rod Stewart at #69; and Boys II Men's Legacy: The Greatest Hits Collection at #89.

A bunch of notable albums will also make their first-week appearance on the albums chart, among them Paul McCartney's first album of new music in four years, Driving Rain, at #26; Sevendust's Animosity at #28; Natalie Merchant's third studio album, Motherland, at #30; Radiohead's I Might Be Wrong — Live Recordings at #44; Kittie's Spit (1999) follow-up, Oracle, at #57; Keke Wyatt's debut, Soul Sista, at #60; Barry Manilow's Here at the Mayflower at #90; and Shelby Lynne's widely-hyped Love Shelby at #109.

• Shakira
• Britney Spears
• Garth Brooks

Britney Spears
Photo: Jive

If you're a real chart geek, we invite you to tune in Friday night at 5 p.m. ET for "Bangin' the Charts," MTV News' weekly, in-depth look at what's charting where and why. Check out the Bangin' Web page for more info.

In this week's chart and sales analysis, we ponder Britney's mystery and Spears' (early) place in pop female history and join Linkin Park's extended rock and roll joyride on their debut album, Hybrid Theory. We also look at the artist whose top 10 SoundScan debut this week helps predict the next artist to be #1 and revisit the chart phenomenon that is Pink Floyd.

Britney: Building A Mystery

Even though it's #1 on next week's Billboard 200 chart, Britney is something of a mystery.

We aren't quite sure what to make of the first-week sales posted by the soon-to-no-longer-be-a-teen's new album. With its #1 chart debut (see "Oops! ... She Did It Again: Britney Spears Tops Albums Chart"), Britney becomes Spears' third straight album to perform that feat, equaling the previous accomplishments of her first LP, ... Baby One More Time, which entered the Billboard 200 at #1 in January 1999, and her second effort, Oops! ... I Did It Again, which landed atop the album charts in May 2000.

But the real puzzler is in the numbers. ... Baby sold some 120,000 copies during its first week in stores to just nudge NSYNC's self-titled album from the top spot, while Oops! moved a monstrous 1.32 million copies straight out of the gate to become the biggest debut by a female artist in the SoundScan era, which began keeping weekly sales records in May 1991. With 745,000 copies sold, Britney's first-week figures are good enough to be the second biggest sales debut by a female artist ever, but the numbers mark a dramatic sales plunge of 43 percent from the history-making first-week heights of Oops!...I Did It Again.

The reasons for such a dip leave us a bit mystified. Was it because of a better lead single for Oops!... I Did It Again (which tapped the title track) than Britney's "I'm a Slave 4 U?" Perhaps. Could it be some fans' fiscal response to Spears' sex-sational vamp makeover? Maybe. Whatever the case, don't blame it on a "sluggish economy" as some have suggested. Despite lingering fears of recession, the 200 albums comprising the new Billboard albums chart combined to sell more than 6.58 million copies last week, up 5.7 percent from this same week last year, when the top 200 albums sold a total of 6.22 million copies and featured the #1 debut of R. Kelly's TP-2.com (with 543,000 copies sold).

While we're not sure what to make of Britney's debut week, we'd like to go ahead and give her credit for some of the icon-like sales figures she's posted during her (gasp) three-year recording career. To date, Spears has SoundScanned a jaw-dropping 8.68 million copies of Oops!...I Did It Again and 10.22 million copies of ...Baby One More Time. Those numbers fare considerably well when stacked against milestone albums by female artists such as Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (6.01 million copies sold), Jewel's Pieces of You (6.95 million), Mariah Carey's Daydream (7.49 million), Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love (9.1 million) and Falling Into You (10.42 million), and Whitney Houston's "The Bodyguard" soundtrack (11.68 million). In time, Spears' ...Baby debut could even rub sales shoulders with Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill (13.86 million copies sold) and Shania Twain's Come on Over (14.06 million).

As a special birthday present for Britney, who turns 20 on December 2, we'd also like to point out how far she has managed to outdistance fellow teen singer Christina Aguilera, whose eponymous 1999 debut has sold some 7.81 million copies, according to SoundScan. And with 19.6 million in career sales to date, Britney has already sold more LPs in just three years than Madonna has done in the last 10, with Mrs. Ritchie tallying just over 19 million in total album sales since January 1991.

Linkin Park's Extended Play

Linkin Park is in the midst of one hell of a chart and sales joyride. The group's debut, Hybrid Theory, is one of those rock and roll Horatio Alger stories that we just love. A little over a year ago, few outside of Los Angeles had heard of the Southern California group's hip metal mix. But thanks to a relentless series of radio singles ("One Step Closer," "Crawling" and "In the End") and a series of high-profile tour appearances, Hybrid Theory has sold more than 4.02 million copies since its release last October.

Linkin Park's debut album has never dipped beneath the #55 spot on the Billboard 200 chart during its run and has spent the last 25 weeks in the Top 20. With 4.02 million sold, Linkin Park has already nestled itself between recent debuts from Papa Roach, whose Infest has sold 3.10 million copies to date, according to SoundScan, and 3 Doors Down, whose The Better Life is currently at 4.63 million copies.

Considering that Hybrid Theory still sells at a clip of more than 100,000 copies a week, a surge in purchases during the upcoming seasonal sales period (which typically runs from the day after Thanksgiving through the first week of January) could easily put it in position to be one of the top three debut albums by a rock band during the last 10 years.

For the sake of argument (and historical accuracy), this designation does not take into consideration artists such as Backstreet Boys and 'NSYNC. While both have undoubtedly posted some incredible sales numbers in their careers, neither could be legitimately referred to as a "rock band." The second these vocal pop groups become inseparable from their instruments, we'll consider reclassifying them, but we seriously doubt that's in the cards.

The "during the last 10 years" phrase is also an important qualifier, as it eliminates Pearl Jam's Ten, which was released in August 1991, so its 8.75 million copies sold falls just beyond the 10 year calendar range.

Regardless, with a decent enough sales push during the holidays, Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory should easily glide past such debuts as 3DD's The Better Life, Dave Matthews Band's first studio LP, Under the Table and Dreaming (4.27 million copies sold), Stone Temple Pilots' Core (4.59 million), Counting Crows' August and Everything After (5.57 million), Creed's My Own Prison (5.60 million) and Bush's Sixteen Stone (5.62 million).

It's highly unlikely — if downright impossible — that Linkin Park will usurp Hootie & the Blowfish's 1994 effort, Cracked Rear View (9.94 million sold, according to SoundScan), as the best-selling debut by a rock group in the last 10 years. However, they do have a realistic shot at eventually displacing the #2 rock debut during the same time period, Matchbox 20's Yourself or Someone Like You, which has sold 7.53 million copies since its release in October 1996.

Tropical Storm George & Hurricane Garth

Never count out the sales draw of country music on the Billboard 200. Country crooner George Strait nailed yet another top 10 debut with the release of his new studio album, The Road Less Traveled, which sold 120,000 copies during its first week in stores to comfortably mosey its way up to the #9 spot.

The Road Less Traveled becomes Strait's sixth consecutive studio album to debut in the top 10 (seasonal collections and compilations not included), a feat previously achieved by the singer's George Strait (which entered the charts at #7 in September 2000), Always Never the Same (#6 debut in March 1999), One Step at a Time (#2 debut in April 1998), Carrying Your Love With Me (#2 debut in April 1997), and Blue Clear Sky (#7 debut in April 1996).

As impressive as Strait's six pack is, it is only foreshadowing for the hefty chart numbers contemporary country maestro Garth Brooks is going to unload on the Billboard 200 next week with Scarecrow, his first new studio LP (as Brooks) since 1997's Sevens.

Of the six albums Garth has released since 1992 (also excluding his holiday albums), four have entered the charts at #1: The Chase (402,000 copies sold out of the gates in September 1992), In Pieces (404,000 in September 1993), Sevens (896,000 in November 1997) and Double Live (1.08 million in November 1998).

The only two Brooks LPs in the last 10 years that have failed to debut atop the Billboard 200 are Fresh Horses, which sold 480,000 copies in November 1995 to enter at #2 — behind the #1 debut of the Beatles' Anthology (and a staggering 855,000 copies sold) — and Brooks' In the Life of Chris Gaines alter-ego album, which debuted at #2 in September 1999 with 262,000 copies sold, just behind the #1 debut of Creed's Human Clay (with 315,000 copies sold).

With all due apologies to Jewel and Rob Zombie, look for country to be king on next week's sales chart.

Pink Floyd's Never-Setting Moon

The #2 debut of Pink Floyd's new compilation, Echoes, on the next Billboard 200 chart (with 214,000 copies sold) gives us a chance to revisit one of the greatest and longest-running chart phenomena of all time. We are, of course, referring to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.

Originally issued in March 1973, Dark Side spent more than 700 total weeks on the Billboard 200, logging a mind-numbing 591 consecutive weeks on the albums chart from December 1976 to April 1988. At that time, Billboard then modified its chart format to distinguish between current albums and catalog releases.

But when SoundScan began providing audited weekly sales figures for albums and charts beginning in May 1991, Dark Side of the Moon immediately re-established itself as one of the perennial and premier catalog sellers. Since February 1992, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon has spent more than 500 straight weeks on Billboard's Top 200 Catalogue Albums chart.

Last week, Dark Side of the Moon sold more than 17,000 copies to hold on to #3 on the Catalogue chart, trailing only Lee Greenwood's American Patriot (28,000 copies sold) and Enya's Paint the Sky With Stars (20,000 sold). If the Catalogue Albums Chart were folded into the Current Albums chart, Dark Side of The Moon would still be in the Top 100 albums sold — coming in at #83, just behind Dream Street's self-titled debut and just ahead of the "Training Day" soundtrack.

This year alone, Dark Side of the Moon has sold more than 365,000 copies, according to SoundScan, and the record has sold more than 1.43 million copies in the last three years. "Time" meets "Money," indeed.

[In SoundScan we trust. All figures, unless otherwise noted, are according to SoundScan's audited sales numbers and reflect sales as of press time.]

• Britney Spears
• Linkin Park
• Pink Floyd
• George Strait
• Garth Brooks

Garth Brooks
Photo: Capitol Nashville

NASHVILLE — A Nashville audience will get a glimpse of the non-touring Garth Brooks when he appears December 9 at the Acuff Theatre in a special show entitled Lime Creek Christmas.

The production combines dramatic performances by actor Anthony Zerbe with acoustic music by Brooks, who will perform Christmas songs and other music appropriate to scenes of a western ranch winter.

Lime Creek Christmas was inspired by Joe Henry's novel-in-progress. Henry wrote Brooks' song "Belleau Wood," about Christmas Eve on a World War I battlefield. His western play includes scenes depicting the birth of a foal and a gathering of ranching families on Christmas Eve.

At a press conference October 9, Brooks said he has given up touring to devote time to fatherhood, so his appearance in Nashville represents a rare opportunity to see him live.

Brooks and Zerbe first performed Lime Creek Christmas at the WYO Theater in Sheridan, Wyoming, in 1991. They will return to Sheridan for a performance on December 8.

Zerbe's film credits include "Cool Hand Luke," "The Omega Man" and "Papillon." On television, he has had roles in "The Young Riders" and "Harry-O."

Proceeds from the show will benefit Gilda's Club of Nashville and the Opry Trust Fund.

• Garth Brooks

George Jones
Photo: Country Music Hall of Fame

NASHVILLE — Garth Brooks is not commenting on a report in The Tennessean that says George Jones feels hurt because Brooks ignored his invitation to appear with him on the upcoming CMA Awards show.

In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Brooks decided against releasing "Beer Run," his duet with Jones, as a single. "I just can't find it in my heart to feel that 'Beer Run' is appropriate for right now," Brooks said at the time. He called his duet with Jones "one of the greatest gifts I've ever received in music" and went on to compliment Jones for "singing his ass off."

For his part, Jones issued a statement October 4 thanking Brooks for his clout and for the radio airplay it produced for "Beer Run," released as a track on Jones' new album, The Rock: Stone Cold Country 2001.

"It seems like a lifetime since I've had this much airplay," Jones said. "I am grateful to radio for the spins and to Garth for his friendship, kind words about me and for sharing his hit."

But now the relationship may have gone sour, at least from Jones' perspective. Evelyn Shriver, who heads Bandit Records, Jones' label, alleges that Brooks promised Jones a joint TV appearance. Jones asked about doing "Beer Run" on the CMA Awards, but Brooks never gave him an answer, Shriver told The Tennessean.

Brooks debuted a different single, "Wrapped Up in You," at a press conference on October 9 at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. His new album, Scarecrow, comes out November 13.

At the press conference, Brooks said it was unlikely that he and Jones would ever perform their duet on an awards show but he also seemed to suggest, in his roundabout way of speaking, that there might be a joint appearance in some other context.

"If there's something that'll handle itself live, and maybe something we can't talk about yet in between now and Christmas," he teased, "I would jump at the chance to do something with George Jones."

• George Jones
• Garth Brooks