Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta
Photo: Daniel Boczarski/ Getty Images

The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards will air live from New York's iconic Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, September 13 at 9 p.m. — but you know we wouldn't limit all the fun to just one day, right?

MTV has decided to stretch the party into an entire weekend (the kind that actually starts on Thursday), and we've invited some of the hottest acts in the business to help us out.

On Thursday night, September 10, at New York's Touch nightclub, the 2009 Video Music Awards and Verizon Wireless present the VMA Weekend Kick-Off Party With 3OH!3, featuring a performance by the VMA-nominated group And the celebration only continues from there, as we take over some of the city's hottest spots.

On Friday night, more Moonmen nominees will share the stage at the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza as the 2009 VMAs and Taco Bell present a Concert With Fefe Dobson and Cobra Starship. On Saturday, the party heats up at Terminal 5 for a good cause at the 2009 Video Music Awards and Pepsi Present: A Refreshing Night of Music With DJ Clinton Sparks, Kid Cudi and Phoenix, a benefit for LIFEbeat, the music industry's HIV/AIDS prevention charity. (Tickets to the LIFEbeat concert can be purchased by going to LIFEbeat.org, TicketWeb.com or by calling 866.468.7619.)

That all leads up to Sunday night's big show, hosted once again by outrageous British comedian Russell Brand. Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Muse and Green Day are among the performers. Katy Perry, Nelly Furtado, Leighton Meester, Chace Crawford, Ne-Yo and Miranda Cosgrove will present. And, of course, "New Moon" stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner will be debuting a new, extended trailer of the movie.

The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards will take place September 13 at 9 p.m. ET. Additional celebrity presenters and performers will be announced in the coming weeks. To be the first to find out the inside scoop, follow the Inside MTV Twitter account at Twitter.com/InsideMTV.

• Cobra Starship Forms A 'West Side Story' Gang For VMAs
• Cobra Starship Produce 'Hot Mess'

• Video Music Awards In NYC: A Photo History
• 2009 VMA Nominees

• Cobra Starship
• 3Oh!3
• Fefe Dobson
• Phoenix
• Kid Cudi

Fefe Dobson
Photo: Sohyung Kang/ MTV News

Between her defunct sophomore album Sunday Love and the upcoming Joy, Fefe Dobson has kept busy writing songs — for herself and some other familiar names.

"In between then [and now], I got to write for some other artists, which was cool, [like] Miley Cyrus and some others. That was fun!" she told MTV News. "That was fun, just to get to write. ... All those experiences really helped me create the best record, for sure."

And although she didn't get to actually hit the studio with Cyrus, she thinks what the singer/actress did with the song "Start all Over" for Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus was "great."

"I wrote a song, she dug it, and she sang it," Dobson explained. "But I didn't want it for my record. It just wasn't right for me, and I just felt like it was better for someone else, and she does a great job on it. I was really impressed. She sounded great. I'm actually happier she did it than I did it."

"American Idol" alum Jordin Sparks also nabbed a Dobson song, "Don't Let It Go to Your Head," and Fefe couldn't be more pleased that Jordin put her own twist on the track.

"Jordin Sparks just did [that song], which was on Sunday Love, which was very cool," she said. "She did kind of, like, a more R&B version of it, which I think is really nice, actually. It was really cool that she didn't try and do a rock version of it, and she did what she's more comfortable with, which I thought was awesome."

• Fefe Dobson
• Miley Cyrus

Fefe Dobson
Photo: Sohyung Kang/ MTV News

Apparently, Jack White is the go-to guy for pop princesses looking to add a little edge to their sound these days. And although Canadian songstress Fefe Dobson — who drops her new album, Joy, in October — has more than a few rough edges in her sound, she admitted that she'd love nothing more than to work with the White Stripes/ Raconteurs frontman.

In fact, she's so interested in working with White that she's willing to battle it out with country superstar Taylor Swift, who recently shared how much she'd like to work with White, for some studio time.

"He's mine, Taylor Swift!" she told MTV News on Wednesday (August 12). "Back off, girl!"

All joking aside, Dobson said that she admires White for his ability to make his ragged rock it radio-friendly. Plus, as she simply put it, "He's Jack White.

"He's, I think, a genius in our generation," she said. "And I think that he brought rock and roll [into the] mainstream in a lot of ways."

And, of course, White no stranger to working with female singers: He produced and played on country legend Loretta Lynn's 2004 Van Lear Rose LP and more recently formed Dead Weather with Kills frontwoman Alison Mosshart (a band for which he plays drums). And of course White Stripes drummer/ Jack's ex-wife Meg White often steps up to the mic herself.

Dobson herself found mainstream success blending pop and rock, so she appreciates White's musicianship.

"That wouldn't have worked a lot from anyone else, and for some reason he was able to slip through and show people some blues rock and roll and make it mainstream. That's hard," she said.

But, of course she's also not forgetting her pop background. Having had her songs performed by Miley Cyrus and Jordin Sparks, Dobson said that she'd like to add a certain trio of brothers named Jonas to her résumé of collaborators.

"I'd love to write a song for the Jonas Brothers," she said. "I think that'd be fun. And I'd like to write a song with Jack White."

• Fefe Dobson
• Taylor Swift

Fefe Dobson in her video for "I Want You"
Photo: 21 Music

Why make one video when you can make four? Fefe Dobson premiered a quartet of clips simultaneously on Wednesday (August 5) for "I Want You," "I Want You" remix, "I Want You 2 Watch Me Move" and "Watch Me Move."

In the "I Want You" video, Dobson insists that she'll make a boy hers as she follows him around school, but he's busy proclaiming his love for his cheerleader girlfriend. Meanwhile, for the "I Want You 2 Watch Me Move" video, Dobson puts on a concert for her peers and, in the process, impresses the guy of her high school dreams.

Fefe shot the clips in Toronto with director Aaron A, who worked with fellow Canadian songstress Nelly Furtado for her "Do It" video. Dobson first burst on the scene in 2003 when she released her self-titled debut album and the single "Take Me Away."

Recently, Jordin Sparks covered Dobson's song "Don't Let It Go to Your Head" on her latest album, Battlefield. Fefe's racy song has Sparks cooing lyrics like "So what if I want to kiss/ From your toes up to your lips/ It don't mean that you've had me yet/ You're gonna be good, I bet."

But Jordin assured her fans that the song isn't as risqué as it seems. "There are some things that could be taken the wrong way," Sparks told MTV News, "but the way I sing them, it doesn't mean that!"

• Fefe Dobson

Madonna (file)
Photo: Dave M. Benett/Getty Images

Madonna has revealed the name of the first single from her new all-dance album, Confessions on a Dancefloor, due in November. According to a post on her Web site, the song is called "Hung Up" and was produced by Stuart Price (a.k.a. Jacques Lu Cont), her musical director on the Reinvention Tour who also popped up on American Life by co-writing "X-Static Process." ...

Kelly Clarkson has signed up with retailer Meijer for a back-to-school sweepstakes in which students can win a week on tour with her next year, as well as a $500 shopping spree, $500 in spending money and concert tickets. The singer will tout the Midwest chain's selection of fashion and school supplies in a radio commercial as well. The contest runs through September 3. ... Fefe Dobson channels rock chicks like Joan Jett, Debbie Harry, Courtney Love, Shirley Manson and Karen O for her next video, "Don't Let It Go to Your Head," which is supposed to emulate album covers come to life, according to the treatment from director Diane Martel. Meanwhile, she's set a September 20 release date for her second album, Sunday Love, which she recorded with a variety of producers and songwriters, including former Veruca Salt singer Nina Gordon, ex-Letters to Cleo singer Kay Hanley and former Marilyn Manson guitarist John5. ...

Nelly Furtado, who's been recording her new album in Toronto, Los Angeles, Miami and London, has finally decided on a title for the project. She's going to call her third album Loose, she posted online. "It's getting closer to being finished every single day," she wrote. "Let's just say it's a whole lot of fun. It's a whole other side of me." ... Sarah McLachlan will release her second remix album, Sarah McLachlan in Bloom, on September 6. The disc will feature 10 previously unreleased remixes of songs such as "Fallen," "World on Fire," "Dirty Little Secret," "Ice (Dusted Mix)," "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (Junior Boys Mix)" and the previously released collaboration with Run-DMC's DMC on "Just Like Me," remixed by the Black Eyed Peas' Will.I.Am. Other remixers include the Thievery Corporation, Rollo (Faithless), Hyper & Ronnie, Junkie XL, Sly & Robbie and Talvin Singh. ...

The August series of benefit shows to try and save legendary New York punk club CBGB has been expanded to include gigs by the Vandals, Kid Dynamite, the Misfits, Bush Tetras, Chevelle, Raw Power, Youth Brigade and a reunion of the classic punk act Flipper. Rare and autographed items have been donated for auction by Sting, Social Distortion, Motörhead, Anti-Flag, GBH, Elvis Costello, the Tragically Hip and Norah Jones. For the full show lineup and to sign a petition in support of the club, visit www.savecbgb.com. ... Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine has filed a lawsuit against the band's erstwhile bass player David Ellefson on Monday, claiming the musician used the Megadeth name unlawfully in print advertisements that ran in Bass Player magazine. Mustaine's suit claims the two former metal cohorts entered a settlement early this year, restricting the bassist's use of the band name, according to The Associated Press. Mustaine, understandably, was none too happy when he spotted Ellefson in the magazine holding a pedal next to a list of the bands he's been involved with. The suit seeks unspecified damages. ...

On August 17 Nine Inch Nails fans will have an opportunity to score the ultimate collector's item — the ownership rights to Trent Reznor's groundbreaking debut, Pretty Hate Machine. Yes, kids — you could own tracks like "Down in It," "Something I Can Never Have" and, of course, "Head Like a Hole," but it's going to cost you millions. The disc is one of several TVT Records titles on the auction block, compliments of Prudential Securities Financial Services. Pretty Hate Machine and numerous other recordings from the likes of KMFDM, Sister Machine Gun and Gravity Kills were presented as collateral in 1999 against a $32 million loan the label was approved for. TVT managed to pay back $10 million of that amount, but Prudential took the label to court three years ago, claiming the current home of the Ying Yang Twins defaulted on the loan. Pretty Hate Machine is part of an overall biddable package that also includes the rights to the Television's Greatest Hits compilations and the "Mortal Kombat" movie soundtracks. In addition, the highest bidder will be able to collect a percentage on future sales of Nine Inch Nails' other TVT-related releases, including Broken, Fixed, The Downward Spiral and Further Down the Spiral. ...

Power-pop rockers Big Star are gearing up to release their first record in 27 years. Founding members Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens were augmented in the studio by the Posies' Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer. The latter duo have been part of the touring band since 1993, but In Space, due September 26, will be the band's first proper record since 1978's Third/ Sister Lovers — itself somewhat of a posthumous record. ...

07.25.2005

Gwen Stefani might be raking in the VMA nominations for "Hollaback Girl" and "What You Waiting For?" but she's already moving on to make a sequel to her solo album, Love, Angel, Music, Baby. She was recording last week with Pharrell Williams again and is back in the studio with No Doubt bandmate Tony Kanal. One of the new songs she and Kanal have written together is called "Fluorescent Lights," according to the singer's label rep. ...

Original U.K. dance rockers Gang of Four have recorded their first new album with their original lineup in more than 20 years, though the material isn't exactly new. Due October 11, Return the Gift features 14 re-recorded versions of classic Gang of Four songs. "Some of the recordings, especially on Entertainment!, in no way reflect the way we sounded live," guitarist Andy Gill said." [Return the Gift] is more like us onstage — a lot punchier and more explosive." A companion album of remixes by Tony Kanal, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Dandy Warhols, Ladytron and others is expected in 2006. ... Korn have found a replacement for former guitarist Brian "Head" Welch, but don't expect to see the new addition performing with the band anytime soon. Korn, who're working on their next album, have recruited former Otep guitarist Rob Patterson to take over for the band's upcoming European tour, but, as frontman Jonathan Davis detailed in an online posting, "he will not be onstage." Davis said the band refuses to use "samples or tape, 'cause that would suck," but admitted Korn are "not ready to have a new guy onstage with us." Patterson's stint with the band will end when the European jaunt does, Davis said, promising "some new, exciting ideas on how we are gonna play live in the future" that "will blow your mind." ...

Christina Aguilera is in the middle of recording her new album, but she took a break to do a tune with Herbie Hancock for his new album, Possibilities, due August 30. The two duet on a cover of Leon Russell's "A Song for You." Also collaborating with Hancock on "Possibilities" are Paul Simon, Sting, Carlos Santana, Trey Anastasio, John Mayer and Annie Lennox. ... Jewel has signed on to be the face of an organics line called the Healing Garden that is trying to convince customers they can "Save Your Skin, Save the Planet" at the same time. It claims to be the first mass line of organic bath and body products, and a portion of the proceeds goes to the Nature Conservancy. The singer designed an awareness bracelet for the line that will be available in September. ... Konami Digital Entertainment, makers of music video games "Karaoke Revolution" and "Dance Dance Revolution," announced Monday that it will be making games based on "American Idol" for current and next-generation consoles. This marks the hit TV series' second chance at video games. The first, non-Konami batch of "Idol" games was released more than a year ago but met with poor reviews. ...

Queen have announced two U.S. concerts in October — their first in more than two decades. The news comes on the heels of Queen's 32-date European run. Billed as "Queen and Paul Rodgers," the concert features former Free/ Bad Company frontman Rodgers "collaborating" with Queen; he has not joined the band, but is merely filling in for the late Freddie Mercury, a press release points out. The concerts have been set for October 16 at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and October 22 at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood. ... When not consulting indie filmmakers' music choices, Sonic Youth tend to their own music. The experimental noise rockers will reissue their 1990 major-label debut, Goo, as a double CD on September 12. The expanded edition of the disc will contain 31 tracks including demos, outtakes and previously unheard tracks such as a cover of the Beach Boys' "I Know There's an Answer." Meanwhile, the band is writing material for its 20th record. New songs include "Pink Steam," "Helen Lundeberg," "OR" and "Do You Believe in Rapture," a song that attempts to "come to terms with the religious right," guitarist Thurston Moore said. ...

Where has Latin pop sensation Ricky Martin been and what has he been up to for the past few years? Well, trying to end stereotypes apparently. According to The Associated Press, during Martin's first trip to the Middle East, the pop heartthrob said he would do his best to help change the negative perception of Arabic youth in the West. "I promise I will become a spokesperson, if you allow me to, a spokesperson on your behalf. I will defend you and try to get rid of any stereotypes," the 33-year-old singer said at a youth conference on Monday. Martin plans to embark on a concert tour of the Middle East and North Africa next year. ... Tenacious D's Kyle Gass will star in a Broadway musical in the works based on the power ballads of the '80s. Songs from Bon Jovi, Journey, REO Speedwagon and more will be included in the production, titled "Rock of Ages" and currently being shopped to theaters in New York and Las Vegas. ...

Björk has a composed a new album. Well, kinda, sorta — at least not a proper full-length. In the vein of her abstract a cappella record, Medulla, the Icelandic imp has collaborated with contemporary visual artist (and the father of her second child) Matthew Barney for the soundtrack of his new experimental film, "Drawing Restraint 9." Due August 23, The Music of Drawing Restraint 9 features 11 orchestral, vocal-based tracks that center on traditional Japanese music forms. Guests on the record include rustic folk singer Will Oldham of Palace and harpist Zeena Parkins. Both Björk and Barney are featured in the film. ... Head Automatica have canceled the remaining dates of their July tour due to the illness of lead singer Daryl Palumbo, who is suffering a relapse of Crohn's Disease. "I am incredibly sorry for the inconvenience I may have caused, and I promise to see you all soon and make up for the lost time," the singer said in a letter to fans. ...

Eugene Record, the founder of legendary Chicago soul act the Chi-Lites, died Friday after a long battle with cancer, according to the group's booking agency. He was 64. The Chi-Lites formed in Chicago in 1959 and, led by Baker, scored a number of soul hits, including "Have You Seen Her" and "Oh Girl." The group's song "Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So)" was the basis for Beyoncé's hit "Crazy in Love." ... British Blues legend Long John Baldry, who helped launch the careers of the Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart, died Thursday of a chest infection, according to his agent. He was 64. Baldry, who got his name due to his 6-foot-7 frame, recorded more than 40 albums during his career, and his hangdog stylings won him a legion of devoted fans, including Elton John, who took his surname in honor of the bluesman. During the 1960s, Baldry's stage band consisted of a virtual galaxy of stars-to-be, including Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, Charlie Watts and Stewart. ...

• Madonna
• Kelly Clarkson
• Fefe Dobson
• Nelly Furtado
• Sarah McLachlan

Fefe Dobson (file)
Photo: Island Records

Never mind that she was 4 when the decade ended — Fefe Dobson loves the '80s.

First she sought out none other than "Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina" rapper Tone-Loc to collaborate with her on her debut album, and now she's recorded a song heavily influenced by the pop music of that time.

"It kind of has a Cyndi Lauper, the Cars [feel]," Dobson said of her new single, "Don't Go (Boys and Girls)." "It's just a fun song to unite people. It's about bringing everyone together, girls and girls, boys and boys, girls and boys, everyone just coming together and loving one another."

Dobson recorded "Don't Go (Boys and Girls)" a few months ago with Jay Levine, who produced her self-titled album. She's considering re-releasing her debut with the song included, but for now it's available online.

"When [Island Def Jam head L.A. Reid] heard it, he was like, 'Let's do it, let's get it out there right away,' " Dobson said.

The video, which debuted last week, features Dobson and a significant other running around New York as a pair of dark-suited men chase them.

Dobson has a couple of promotional events coming up, but otherwise, she's writing for her next record. "The wheels are always turning," she said.

Aside from singing, Dobson has also become interested in acting. She played Tina Turner on NBC's "American Dreams" and is starting to read scripts. "I want to do more serious roles, even an independent," she said. "I really look up to Winona Ryder, Juliette Lewis. They can do everything."

Dobson is particularly fond of romance movies, but not the ones you might expect. "My favorite movies are, like, 'True Romance' and 'Natural Born Killers.' I love those love stories. I'm a hopeless romantic."

• Fefe Dobson

The Grammys just got regal with the addition of Prince and the princess of pop, Britney Spears, to the show's lineup. Spears, along with Keith Urban, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and Joshua Bell, will present awards, while the purple one and Beyoncé are slated to perform. Tributes honoring the 40th anniversary of the Beatles' historic performance on "The Ed Sullivan Show," featuring Sting, Dave Matthews and Pharrell Williams; and the legacy of the late Warren Zevon, with Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris and others, have also been added. ...

Reports that 50 Cent had an arrest warrant issued for him on Saturday in New York are false, according to a spokesperson for the New York City Police Department. 50 was involved in an incident in the St. Albans section of Queens in which the rapper drove up to the set of a local hip-hop video shoot, got out of his car and feigned the firing of a gun. Police say the matter was investigated but quickly closed. ... A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Snoop Dogg that accuses the rapper of including an answering machine message in a song without permission. The suit was filed last March by a man who wished to keep his identity secret out of safety concerns. He sought financial compensation for the use of the one-minute message on a song from Snoop's 2002 album, Paid Tha Cost to Be Da Boss, expressing support for Snoop in his rivalry with record exec Suge Knight. ...  

Seen recently at the Sundance Film Festival, Outkast's Andre 3000 is slowly making his way from the pop charts to the big screen. He's been cast in "Be Cool," the sequel to "Get Shorty," both of which are based on books by Elmore Leonard. Andre plays the leader of a rap group named the Dub MDs. The film also stars John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel and Cedric "The Entertainer." ... Wilco have joined the lineup for the fifth Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Also expected to be added are the Flaming Lips, who are dedicating the first half of 2004 to completing their consummate work-in-progress, the film "Christmas on Mars." They're hoping to be finished by spring, at which time they'll begin work on the follow-up to 2002's Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots with producer Dave Fridmann. ...

"Billy S." singer Skye Sweetnam is checking into the Onyx Hotel. The 15-year-old Canadian will open for Britney Spears on her upcoming tour, which also features Kelis. The outing begins March 2 in San Diego. ... Fefe Dobson will begin a new tour on February 18 in Cleveland. Dates run through March 3 in Boston. Toby Lightman will join the trek starting February 19 in Pittsburgh. ...

Rapper Turk remains in Shelby County Jail in Tennessee on $750,000 bond following his arrest for first-degree attempted murder last week. Meanwhile, police have acknowledged that one of the two officers shot in the drug raid in which Turk is alleged to have been involved was actually injured by friendly fire. Earlier, the county sheriff's office said none of the 12 police officers in the raid had returned fire, but it now says ballistic tests show SWAT officer Jason Pagenkopf was hit in the neck with a bullet used by sheriff's deputies. ... Last November's AIDS benefit concert in Cape Town, South Africa, which featured Beyoncé, U2, Peter Gabriel, Jimmy Cliff, Bob Geldof and Paul Oakenfold, was recorded for a three-CD, two-DVD set, due April 5. The show, dubbed "The 46664 AIDS Benefit Concert" after the identification number former South African President Nelson Mandela wore during his imprisonment, was organized by Eurythmics' Dave Stewart. ...

Soft-rock crooner Barry Manilow was hospitalized with chest pains due to stress on Saturday. The 57-year old singer had just returned to his Palm Springs, California, home after a trip to New York. ... The White Stripes are the first band slated to play this summer's Reading and Leeds Festivals in England. The duo were scheduled to perform last year, but the fractured hand Jack White sustained in a car accident in July prevented the band from playing. ...

Mike Patton's left-field supergroup the Fantômas will embark on a monthlong jaunt beginning March 25, though an itinerary has yet to be confirmed. Following a European trek thereafter, drummer Dave Lombardo will get back to work on the next Slayer record. Lombardo's other project, Grip Inc., will release their fourth album on March 16. ... Taproot will head to Chicago in two weeks to record a collaboration with former Smashing Pumpkins/ Zwan frontman Billy Corgan. The band also recently worked with Deftones guitarist Stephen Carpenter. Both tracks are slated for the next Taproot album, due later this year. ...

A Station fire benefit concert that raised $6,000 is now at the center of a battle over who should receive the money. The band that headlined the show, Draw the Line, wants to distribute the cash to all Massachusetts residents affected by the Rhode Island blaze. However, 22-year-old pianist Arthur Conway, who suffered lung damage and burns in the fire, has sued, claiming the March 8 show was scheduled strictly to help him pay his medical bills. The cash is currently in escrow in Boston while the Massachusetts attorney general's office reviews Conway's lawsuit. ... Former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic will perform a free concert in Longview, Washington, on Friday to encourage young people to register to vote. The show is part of Music for America, a series of shows and voter-registration drives to be held across the country. ...

Alien Ant Farm will start a 14-date North American tour Thursday in Sacramento, California. Dates run through February 21 in College Station, Texas, after which the band will head overseas. ... Björk has plans to release a complete box set of all her singles in April, according to her Web site (www.bjork.com). The box will include every single, remix and white label ever issued in her name, including those tracks and mixes released in other countries. Last spring, the singer released a box set of live recordings and accompanying DVDs. ... Atmospheric rockers Broken Social Scene won't be relaxing anytime soon. February 10 will see the release of the Valley of the Giants' debut, which features members of BSS, Godspeed You Black Emperor! and Do Make Say Think. Then on March 23, Broken Social Scene will release Bee Hives, a collection of B-sides and outtakes. ...

01.30.04

After initially selecting the raunchy celebration of public affection "In Public" for her next single, Kelis has changed her mind. Her follow-up to the suggestive "Milkshake" will now be "Trick Me," a song about scorned love set to a ska-like beat from producer Dallas Austin. She's scheduled to shoot the video for the song at the end of February. ...

Turk was arraigned on charges of first-degree attempted murder Friday (January 30) in a Memphis courthouse, where he will return February 18 to enter his plea in a preliminary hearing. The Hot Boys rapper's bail was also reduced from $1 million to $750,000. ... After Fred Durst lambasted a Spanish journalist on the Limp Bizkit Web site for asking about his "knack for pissing people off" and then dared the writer to be "front and center" at next month's concert in Spain, the scribe shot back in an open letter to the Bizkit bigwig. While defending his line of questioning, Jordi Meya asked that Durst "prove [him] wrong by having an adult conversation, instead of trying to kick [his] ass when [he] comes to Spain." ...

Ryan Adams will undergo surgery this week to repair his left wrist, which he broke during a January 22 show in Liverpool, England. His North American tour, which was to run from March 2 in Columbia, Missouri, to March 26 in Denver, has been canceled. ... Rapper Mos Def will play the role of Ford Prefect in the upcoming flick "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," based on the novel by Douglas Adams about a man who is saved from the destruction of planet Earth by his best friend, who turns out to be an alien. Mos, who also starred in "The Italian Job" and "Monster's Ball," will start shooting in April. ...

He may not be the hunkiest musician on the block, but Elvis Costello knows the secret to making the ladies swoon, which he promises to share in a forthcoming book. His idea for the how-to book (as in "How to play guitar, sing loudly and impress girls ... or boys," as he says in the proposal) is based on the presumption that people need to take a more punk approach to learning music: "While I am not promoting musical illiteracy, it is my own experience that the rapid mastery of a few chords gives almost instant satisfaction and encouragement to the beginner. ... This in turn may actually inspire a curiosity to learn more about music, to train the ear to understand harmony ... and all the while basking in the admiring and occasionally lustful gaze of members of the opposite sex." ... Coolio is bringing his braids to TV both here and abroad. After losing his shirt on Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown," the rapper is set to get all alphabetic on comedienne Kathy Griffin and former "Cosby" kid Keshia Knight Pulliam on "Celebrity Spelling Bee," a three-part FOX series beginning February 13. He'll also participate in "Comeback — The Great Chance," a German TV show that pits artists past their prime against each other for a chance to record with an as-yet-unnamed superstar producer. ...

If you ever wanted to have the Offspring stage a concert in your living room, now you can — only problem is that the bandmembers are just three inches tall and may cause small children to choke. The Offspring collectible play set, which is already available in Japan, comes to these shores in a few months. Online orders are being taken at store.merch.com/offspring. ... Rancid's Tim Armstrong and Lars Frederiksen will return to the studio in March to begin work on the as-yet-untitled follow-up to Frederiksen's 2001 side-project album, Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards. Armstrong produced, engineered and mixed that effort. Now on tour with Armstrong and the rest of Rancid, Frederiksen is slated to play with the Bastards at this summer's Vans Warped Tour. ...

Iggy Pop's hometown reunion show with his band the Stooges will be available on a DVD titled "Live in Detroit" on March 23. The proto-punk band's first Motor City show in nearly three decades took place August 25. ... Following in the footsteps of Prince, Metallica and most recently Jay-Z, the Dandy Warhols want to release a Black Album of their own. Comprised of never-before-released material they had recorded prior to releasing ... The Dandy Warhols Come Down in 1997, The Black Album will be combined with another LP of rarities, titled Come on Feel the Dandy Warhols. The band hopes to release the double-disc set in a few months exclusively on www.dandywarhols.com. ...

The Barenaked Ladies will launch a 32-date North American tour February 11 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The outing, which will feature Gavin DeGraw on the first half and Howie Day on the second, will wrap up April 1 in Calgary, Alberta. Before joining the Ladies, Day is touring with the Stereophonics beginning February 4 in Washington, D.C., and ending February 28 in San Francisco. ... Canadian chanteuse Sarah McLachlan will launch her first North American tour in five years on July 5 in Seattle. Dates run through September 10 in Vancouver, British Columbia. McLachlan will be touring behind her album Afterglow. On Monday, her new single, "Stupid," will ship to radio; a video for the song was directed by Sophie Muller. ...

Bad Religion are reissuing remixed and remastered versions of five of their early albums. The LPs, due April 6, will be accompanied by a DVD release of their 1990 home video, "Along the Way." ... For his next solo album, Grown Backwards, due March 15, former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne hummed into a tape recorder and cut up the sounds to create some of the songs. Singer Rufus Wainwright appears on the operatic track "Au Fond Du Temple." …

• Britney Spears
• 50 Cent
• OutKast
• Fefe Dobson
• The Flaming Lips

Fefe Dobson (file)
Photo: Brian Appio

"Dude, I thought I was Michael Jackson, OK?" Fefe Dobson said of some of her early childhood memories. Growing up, the Scarborough, Ontario, native was influenced by everyone from the King of Pop to a certain fin-fitted Disney queen.

"I was wearing that white wife-beater and the glove," she continued about wanting to be like Mike. "I swore I was Michael Jackson. Then I found out I wasn't Michael Jackson and it broke my heart. ... And Ariel from 'The Little Mermaid.' I thought I was her too."

While trying her adolescent hand at potential career stints as Tito's little brother and an aquatic heroine, Fefe also made full use of her throwing arm.

"I was a good football player," she said. "I was the quarterback, I could throw a great ball, let me tell you. ... No, I was really good, and all the guys wanted me on the team until they started playing tackle football. Then they didn't want to touch me because I started, you know, becoming a girl."

Almost 20, Dobson has obviously grown into quite a young lady and is simultaneously blossoming into a star (see "Fefe Dobson Came Out Of The Womb Singing"). Just ask fans of "TRL," who are currently giving her latest video, "Everything," the nod.

"When I first saw myself on 'TRL,' it was [on tape] 'cause I don't have 'TRL' in Canada and we were on the road traveling with my band," she said. "It was just awesome, like, 'I can't believe I was on the show and I can't believe I was actually on the countdown.' It's really exciting."

Fefe, who has aspirations of making it to the big screen one day, has one of her sneaker-clad feet in the door already. In addition to appearing on her self-titled debut, "Everything" is a single off the soundtrack to the film "The Perfect Score."

"That's another love song," she explained. "It's basically, 'I like you. If you like me, you better tell me or see ya!' "

One guy has stepped to the plate and let Fefe know he's feeling her. Justin Timberlake has not only publicly given Dobson props on her tunes, but he's asked her to come with him on a U.K. tour, which starts Wednesday.

"I'm not going to lie, [it is] one of those dreams come true for a girl," she smiled. "I went to every 'NSYNC concert in Toronto with my sister. It was like our whole groupie thing to do and we went to every show. She loved JC and I was like, 'Yeah, Justin!' "

Which brings us back to another dream Fefe had when she was younger.

"There's different stages of high school," she thought back. "In grade 9 [I was] probably big on 'I'm going to marry Justin Timberlake, ooohhh.' "

Luckily the two aren't going to be performing any show near the nuptial-happy town of Las Vegas.

After she comes back from Europe with J.T., Fefe will have her own set of shows to tend to. She's planning a run of the East and West Coasts throughout February and has already solidified a February 9 date in Los Angeles.

For more on Fefe Dobson, tune in to MTV News' "Fake ID Club," premiering Saturday at noon on MTV, and check out the feature "Don't Call Me Avril."

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