Kara DioGuardi (file)
Photo: Dave Stewart

Kara DioGuardi, the songwriter of choice for Ashlee Simpson, Kelly Clarkson and countless other pop tarts, had long given up on a singing career when she met the Eurythmics' Dave Stewart, who had since become a songwriter himself.

Interscope Geffen A&M Records Chairman Jimmy Iovine brought the two together last fall to write for one of his label's high-priority projects, but a funny thing happened on the way to a Pussycat Dolls single.

"Jimmy said, 'I'm gonna send you a spitfire and, well, we just hit it off," Stewart recalled.

"We had this great chemistry, so we started writing these songs that had nothing to do with the project," added DioGuardi, who was initially dreading the 36-hour songwriting session because it took almost that much time to fly to and from Stewart's England home.

Suddenly, she was dreading going home, mainly because she would have to face Iovine.

"I told him, 'Well, we didn't really do that project,' " she recalled. "I said, 'We came up with this other stuff, and you're not going to like it. Sorry, I'll just pay for the trip.' "

Iovine insisted on hearing the music, however, and immediately ordered the duo to continue writing. Eventually, he suggested they form a group, which he then signed.

"It's the first time I've formed a band with a girl since you know who," Stewart said, referring to his Eurythmics co-founder and former lover, Annie Lennox. "It's going to be very interesting."

Stewart described their style as "Fleetwood Mac's Rumours in 2005."

"It's pop, but it's not like, 'Here comes the chorus,' " DioGuardi said. "It's not as cheesy as what I usually do, a little less obvious. And it's completely organic. There's no ulterior motives. It's not a sit down and look hot or try to look young kind of thing. We're not exactly 20, but it's honest and pure. If people don't like it, it's cool. We did it for us."

John Shanks, DioGuardi's collaborator on Ashlee Simpson's "Pieces of Me," Hilary Duff's "Come Clean" and Lindsay Lohan's "Over," among others (see "Ashlee And Hilary's Hitmaker Is Eager To Work With Paris Hilton"), produced the album, which is due this summer.

After much debate, the duo decided on the name Platinum Weird. "The name was tough, the music was easy," DioGuardi said.

Platinum Weird start rehearsing for their live show next week. In the meantime, Stewart has been developing artists such as Carina Round for his Weapons of Mass Entertainment imprint.

DioGuardi's been writing for Paris Hilton with producer Greg Wells. And for the record, she did write for the Pussycat Dolls, just not with Stewart.

• Dave Stewart
• Ashlee Simpson
• Kelly Clarkson

Stone Temple Pilots
Photo: Jason Campbell

Stone Temple Pilots, Beck, Nelly Furtado and Lou Reed are just some of the artists who'll do their part to give peace a chance at a tribute to John Lennon.

"Come Together: A Night for John Lennon" will be broadcast on TNT October 9, which would have been the former Beatle's 61st birthday. The artists, along with Alanis Morissette, Marc Anthony, Moby, Seal, Cyndi Lauper, Shelby Lynne and a few yet-to-be-announced performers, will tape the event, dubbed A Concert in Support of a Non-Violent World, on September 20 at New York's Radio City Music Hall, according to a network spokesperson.

Either alone, as duets or in special combinations, the artists will perform their interpretations of Lennon's songs, including both his work with the Beatles and as a solo artist. Interspersed between the musical numbers will be segments featuring Lennon's thoughts on children, the future and violence.

Actor Kevin Spacey will host the event, and Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, is serving as the show's co-executive producer. Dave Stewart of Eurythmics is the program's musical director and will lead the house band.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Violence Policy Center, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence united with the Million Mom March.

"Come Together: A Night for John Lennon" is the sixth installment of the TNT Master's Series, which launched in 1998 with the tribute "Burt Bacharach: One Amazing Night." Since then, concerts honoring Johnny Cash, Bob Marley, Joni Mitchell and, most recently, Brian Wilson (see "Billy Joel, Ricky Martin Also Tipping Hats To Brian Wilson") have been staged.

• John Lennon
• Beck
• Stone Temple Pilots
• Alanis Morissette
• Nelly Furtado

Eurythmics, Lou Reed, Andrea Bocelli, and Pope John Paul II will all take the stage for a concert next month in Rome to reduce world debt, according to the entertainment trade publication "Variety."

The Great Jubilee Concert is scheduled to take place at Rome University on May 1 and will open with a speech by The Pope, who will address efforts at reducing debt in the poorer nations of the world. Following the speech, which will be broadcast on television worldwide, Andrea Bocelli will sing a tribute to The Pope.

"Variety" reports that organizers of the free outdoor concert are already expecting more than a half million people and are hoping that Vatican involvement will boost attendance.

There may yet be additions to the lineup, as invitations have reportedly been extended to several other artists.

• Eurythmics
• Annie Lennox
• Lou Reed
• Dave Stewart
• The Velvet Underground

In a high-tech conference held February 3, BMG CEO Strauss Zelnick predicted the death of the CD and the rise of digital downloading, according to "Variety." "Digital downloading is the holy grail," quipped the CEO during the Variety Interactive Summit's keynote address.

-- Lola Rephann

• Diddy
• Eurythmics
• Whitney Houston
• Annie Lennox
• Sarah McLachlan

Talk about your last-minute additions.

-- David Basham

• Meredith Brooks
• Eurythmics
• Annie Lennox
• Dave Stewart

The Eurythmics announced more details about its upcoming reunion album and world tour during a special performance held yesterday on board a Greenpeace ship anchored in the River Thames in London.

• Eurythmics
• Annie Lennox
• Dave Stewart

Sweet dreams are indeed made of this.

• Eurythmics
• Annie Lennox
• Dave Stewart

While All Saints leader Shaznay Lewis hones songs for the band's sophomore album, the remaining members of the British quartet will spend their time working on a new film, entitled "Honest," to be directed by former Eurythmic Dave Stewart.

• All Saints
• Eurythmics
• Annie Lennox
• Dave Stewart

The Eurythmics will be back together for their first major public performance since 1991 when they play the Brit Awards on February 16 in London.

The brilliant duo of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart are set to receive special recognition at the event, which is Britain's equivalent of the Grammy Awards. According to Billboard, the band will be presented with a Special Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to the British Music Industry.

The duo hasn't recorded a studio album together since 1989's "We Too Are One." They never did announce they were breaking up, only that they would be launching solo careers. Both have remained very active.

The Brit appearance is being touted as a one-off event, but rumors of a more lengthy pairing have been circulating all year, fueled by two very small appearances. Last February Lennox and Stewart performed at a private function honoring a music executive, and then in May, they performed before 300 people at a breast cancer benefit. Their record company at that time, however, denied a full scale reunion was in the works.

• Eurythmics
• Annie Lennox
• Dave Stewart

While preparing for the September 15 Internet launch of his "Sly-Fi" project, former Eurythmic and Spiritual Cowboy Dave Stewart finds himself up to his ears in various projects -- including scoring Robert Altman's new film, readying to make his own big-screen directorial debut, and writing and recording songs with Bryan Ferry and Natalie Imbruglia.

Working with a music legend such as Ferry, the ex-Roxy Music frontman, is nothing new for Stewart, who has recorded and toured with the likes of Tom Petty, Bootsy Collins and Bob Dylan. According to Stewart, however, his collaboration with current pop sensation Imbruglia came about by chance, after the singer happened to hear one of Stewart's demos while she was cruising in a car in Germany.

"[Natalie] was actually driving around Germany," Stewart said, "with a German record company guy, and he was playing a tape of mine that nobody really had, which had some really strange music I had made because he was a fan of mine. And she heard it and started asking about who it was. So he gave her one of my solo albums and he gave her this tape."

"Not long after that," he continued, "I was in a restaurant and she sat next to me. She was at the other table and went, 'Oh wow! I heard this tape ... blah blah blah.' Anyway, we ended up back at my apartment, which was just round the corner from the restaurant. I was playing acoustic guitar and she was singing and it sounded really great. Natalie and I have written about six songs, and I'll probably finish them in the studio when we both have time."

Imbruglia is just one of the music celebrities who turn up on Stewart's "Sly-Fi" program (see "Dave Stewart Signs Multi-Media Deal For Record, Online Show"), which will also feature cameos from Sinead O'Connor, Lou Reed, Jon Bon Jovi, the Edge and Bob Dylan, as well as from such non-music personas as Timothy O'Leary, Gina Gershon, Demi Moore, Kevin Spacey and Isabella Rossellini.

No word yet on when or where those Stewart-Imbruglia songs might surface, but we'll keep you posted.

• Eurythmics
• Natalie Imbruglia
• Annie Lennox
• Dave Stewart