Aretha Franklin performs at President Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony
Photo: Robyn Beck/ Getty Images

Aretha Franklin's rousing performance of Samuel F. Smith's "My Country 'Tis of Thee" in front of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. — celebrating the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States — was an extraordinary moment (and she certainly was wearing an extraordinary hat). But it was also one of many, many milestones in her long and illustrious career.

Franklin, 66, is universally recognized as the greatest female soul singer in history. She has won 21 Grammys and has had a long string of hits stretching back to the mid-1960s, including such classics as "Respect," "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)," "Chain of Fools," "Rock Steady" and many others. In 1987 she became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 1993 she performed at the inaugural gala for President Bill Clinton. But today marked the first performance at an actual inauguration.

She grew up in Detroit, singing in the church of her father, Reverend C.L. Franklin (a close friend and colleague of Dr. Martin Luther King's), and was signed to Columbia Records in the early '60s by famed record producer John Hammond, who called her "the greatest voice since Billie Holiday." Yet her Columbia career was commercially unsuccessful, as the label attempted to craft her into a mainstream entertainer.

Franklin didn't become a star until she was snatched up by Atlantic Records in 1967 and scored her first hit with "I Never Loved a Man." Over much of the next decade, Franklin was a staple of the Atlantic Records roster and played a pivotal role in incorporating gospel vocal styles into pop music, paving the way for countless future superstars, including Natalie Cole, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey.

In the '80s, Franklin recorded hit duets with James Brown, Whitney Houston, Keith Richards and George Michael, whose "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" was a #1 single. She has also worked with Carole King and Diddy, and in 1998 scored a hit with the Lauryn Hill-helmed "A Rose Is Still a Rose."

In addition to being a consummate singer and gifted performer, Franklin was also a vocal civil-rights activist in the '60s. She performed in support of Martin Luther King Jr., and later sang at his funeral.

On Monday night in Washington, D.C., Franklin performed at a free concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Songs she sang at the event included "Old Landmark," "Precious Memories," "Chain of Fools" and an encore of "Battle Hymn of the Republic." Singing alongside her was the Let Freedom Ring Choir, which was composed of Georgetown University students, faculty and staff.

Watch "Be the Change: Live From the Inaugural" online now, and come back Thursday for the full performances from Kanye West, Kid Rock and Fall Out Boy. Stick with us for wall-to-wall coverage of the inauguration and of the scenes in Washington, D.C., New Orleans and Kenya.

• The Presidential Inauguration Of Barack Obama

• Barack Obama's Inauguration Ceremony

• Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin
Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

There is only one Queen of Soul, and you don't want to mess with her. Aretha Franklin, who has held that title for decades, lashed out at Beyoncé on Tuesday after the young singer introduced Tina Turner as "the queen" at Sunday's Grammy Awards. According to an Associated Press report, Franklin released a statement in which she said, "I am not sure of whose toes I may have stepped on or whose ego I may have bruised between the Grammy writers and Beyoncé. ... However, I dismissed it as a cheap shot for controversy." In her intro to Turner's set, Knowles mentioned Franklin among a list of legendary female singers, then tagged Turner as the "one legend who has the essence of all of those things: the glamour, the soul, the passion, the strength, the talent. ... Ladies and gentlemen, stand on your feet and give it up for the queen." Showing her feelings were not that hurt, the missive from Franklin ended with a thank you to the Grammys and "love to Beyoncé anyway." ...

A day after coming under fire from Consumer Reports for being shown not wearing their seat belts in the new Hannah Montana flick, Billy Ray Cyrus has admitted that he and his daughter Miley were in the wrong. "We got caught up in the moment of filming, and we made a mistake and forgot to buckle our seatbelts," he told People in regards to the new 3-D movie "Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert." "Seat-belt safety is extremely important," he added. ... As for Miley, tune in for a chat with the starlet after the Academy Awards on February 24. Along with nominee Ellen Page, Harrison Ford and others, Cyrus will be part of the 27th annual Oscar edition of "The Barbara Walters Special," airing at 7 p.m. on ABC. ...

Lil Wayne has been indicted by a grand jury on felony drug and weapons charges in connection with his arrest on January 22 near Yuma, Arizona. According to his lawyer, James Tilson, Wayne (born Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.) was in court Friday and pleaded not guilty to possession of a narcotic drug for sale, possession of dangerous drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia and misconduct involving weapons. Tilson said the rapper will remain free on bond as the case proceeds, and that he is "still free to travel and perform, and there are no changes in the conditions of his release." Wayne, 25, is due back in court on March 7 for a status hearing. ...

Snoop Dogg, Ciara, Doug E. Fresh, Jim Jones and others will be recognized at this year's Action Awards for their community-service efforts. The fifth annual fundraising dinner ceremony, put on by Russell Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, will take place February 25 at Capitale in New York. ... Add the Rothbury Festival to the list of new American fests launching this summer. The three-day affair at the Double JJ Ranch in Rothbury, Michigan, will take place over Independence Day weekend (July 3-6) and feature sets from Snoop, John Mayer, the Dave Matthews Band, Modest Mouse, the Mars Volta, Colbie Caillat, the Black Keys, Of Montreal, Widespread Panic, Beth Orton, Gogol Bordello, Phil Lesh & Friends and 311. The festival will have an environmental bent, including a panel discussion on climate issues and an energy fair. ... The Eagles have hopped onboard the Stagecoach Country Music Festival, set for May 2-4 in Indio, California. ...

Does Britney Spears want her kids back? Her first ex-husband, Jason Alexander, claims the singer told him no. "She wants to see them, but she doesn't want to be a full-time mom," Alexander told In Touch Weekly, claiming that he and Britney got back in touch in the last few weeks. "I got a ... a voice mail ... that says, 'Hey! It's me. I know we haven't spoken in a while.' It was Britney. She said she'd call me back, and we've been speaking ever since." ... Meanwhile, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is hoping to get Jamie and Lynne Spears to get Brit to cut back on dairy and meat, which the animal-rights organization claims could have a connection to her mental disorder. In a letter to the pop star's parents, PETA claimed bipolar patients worsen their condition if they ingest ice cream and other milk products. A PETA rep told MTV News that the group has yet to hear back from Spears' parents. ...

Here's an APB for all the Police fans out there: The recently reunited band will retire for good after one more North American tour, according to Billboard.com. Sting and the gang will play roughly 30 shows across the continent in May and July, as well as gigs in Europe in June, but that'll be it. Elvis Costello & the Imposters will open the North American shows, which start May 1 in Ottawa and end the first week in August. Billboard.com reports that the tour will gross in the $340 million range, making it one of the five top-grossing tours ever. ... With Stone Temple Pilots, Led Zeppelin and Rage Against the Machine also doing the whole reunion thing ... and could a Pavement reunion be on the way too? Well, frontman Stephen Malkmus told NME that, while the idea was an "interesting" one, he doesn't see it happening anytime soon — he's busy with his new band, the Jicks. But he isn't ruling it out entirely. "We're on fine terms, we don't have any plans to [re-form] yet," he told the magazine. "We haven't talked about sincerely doing that. I'm 1,000 percent committed to the people I'm working with now. I would never cheat on them and go and do Pavement, it's not [in] the cards. But who knows? Maybe it would be a good thing to do, maybe it'll feel right one day. I don't really ever think about it, except when I do interviews." ...

DJ Khaled is launching an exclusive partnership between his We the Best Music label, and Def Jam. Ace will put out the first release under the new deal, although the title and release date have yet to be determined. "We the Best Music/ Def Jam ... get ready for history!!!" Khaled said in a statement. ... The Bravery have put together quite the scheme to hype their March 18 release, The Sun and the Moon Complete. Starting Tuesday, the synth-rockers will dish up a song from the disc each week for the next month on iTunes, and the first offering will be a reworked version of "Believe." The March release is a two-disc set — the first one, titled The Sun, is the 12-song album the band issued in May; the second disc, The Moon, is the reimagined version of the release. ...

As if Barack Obama didn't have enough support from musicians already, the senator is earning some ancillary support from TV on the Radio amigos Dragons of Zynth. The electro-psychedelic band will try to rouse more love for the Democratic presidential candidate with an "Obamathon" in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, which is Valentine's Day. ... After initially being hit with a cease and desist from Radiohead for his unauthorized eight-track remix of songs from the band's In Rainbows, Oakland, California, DJ/producer Amplive has been given the go-ahead to release the free album. Rainydayz Remixes features verses from Too Short, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5 and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien. ...

Mel Gibson can finally put his infamous DUI arrest behind him. According to TMZ, a judge on Wednesday (February 13) said there is no need for future progress reports on the actor, who was busted in July 2006. He still has 18 months of probation but has completed the requirements of his plea deal.

2.12.08

Juvenile was arrested in Mississippi on Tuesday (February 12) for marijuana possession, according to TMZ.com. The New Orleans rapper was reportedly pulled over for having expired tags on his car — it has yet to be determined whether he was the one driving — after which authorities discovered the drugs. He was released Tuesday afternoon after being arrested, and it's not yet known when his court appearance will be. ...

Joel Madden is busy raising his new baby girl with Nicole Richie, but life isn't as sweet these days for his brother Benji. Good Charlotte's lead guitarist has split with his fiancee, actress Sophie Monk, according to Australia's Daily Telegraph. "The decision was mutual and they remain amicable," Monk's agent in Sydney, Yoon Kim, reportedly said in a statement. The two got engaged in January last year. ... Shakira has drummed up $76,000 for her Bare Feet Foundation, a charity group that helps impoverished kids in Colombia, via an Internet auction, The Associated Press reports. A fan paid $14,000 for a meet-and-greet and front-row seats to one of her upcoming shows, while others threw down big bucks for a bra ($3,000), a skirt ($1,000) and other items from her recent Oral Fixation tour. ...

Buckle up, Miley Cyrus — that's what Consumer Reports is telling the pop tart, who is shown not wearing a seat belt in her new movie. In her new 3-D flick, "Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert," she is seen riding in the back seat of a Range Rover without being strapped in, which spurred the mag to criticize her in a blog post on its Web site, ConsumerReports.org. "It seems to us that Miley, her father and [film studio] Disney had a perfect opportunity to help influence teens and counteract — rather than encourage — this trend," read the blog post, which also called out Billy Ray Cyrus for not buckling up either. According to the mag, 65 percent of 13- to 15-year-olds killed in auto accidents two years ago were not wearing seat belts. ...

After her triumphant return to live performing and five Grammy wins on Sunday night, Amy Winehouse is on the road to recovery, according to her mother. Janis Winehouse told Britain's GMTV that the singer's solid performance via satellite during the show is proof that she's overcoming the substance issues that were threatening to derail her promising career. "Well, it's Amy coming back, she's definitely on the way back," Janis Winehouse said. "As you saw, she looks good, and ... she's on the road to recovery." ... Even with the tease of a potential Kanye West diatribe, a possibly controversial performance from Winehouse and the shocking Album of the Year win by Herbie Hancock, Sunday's Grammys were a ratings bust. Early numbers indicated that the show was the third-least-watched Grammys ever, with just 17.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. It barely edged out the 2006 show, which had 17 million viewers. ...

Eric Idle, the comedy legend who authored the theatrical production "Monty Python's Spamalot," has swapped out a reference the script makes to Britney Spears and replaced it with a reference to Posh Spice instead, according to AP. Instead of, "I am sick of my career/ Always stuck in second gear ... I've no Tony Awards/ I'm constantly replaced by Britney Spears," Lady of the Lake will now sing "replaced by Posh Spice." Idle reportedly chimed in on the switch-up, saying, "We don't laugh at sad people. [Show director] Mike Nichols requested it, and he's right. We changed the lyrics in London, on tour, on Broadway and in Las Vegas. We think that it's now too sad. Britney Spears is being tortured to death, and we don't want to be on that side." ...

Radiohead have another album coming out this year, and they're not happy about it. According to a post on fan site AtEase.com, their former label, EMI, is slated to release a greatest-hits package to coincide with the band's upcoming tour. Guitarist Ed O'Brien said, "They're planning to do a greatest-hits for April/May to coincide with our tour. That's an interesting one. We won't be doing any promotion for that, obviously." Meanwhile, the band has confirmed the first half of dates and venues for its upcoming North American tour, and if you live in Bristow, Virginia, well, you're in luck! The trek kicks off May 5 at the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Florida, and will make stops at outdoor venues in Tampa, Florida; Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; Bristow (holler!); St. Louis; and Houston. The last confirmed venue/date is May 18 at the awesomely named SuperPages.com Center in Dallas. Pre-sale for the above dates begins Thursday via the band's online W.A.S.T.E. site, with general on-sale following Saturday. The second half of Radiohead's North American jaunt will follow their summer tour of the U.K. and Europe. ...

John Legend will spend an afternoon writing material with Trouble City, a Boston hip-hop duo, as part of OurStage's "Artist Access" program. The digital-music company specializes in artist development, and the program facilitates younger talents like Trouble City to work with veteran artists. ... The reunited Stone Temple Pilots will headline this year's Rock on the Range festival in Columbus, Ohio. The fest, which takes place May 17-18, will also feature sets from Kid Rock, 3 Doors Down, Disturbed, Staind, Seether, Papa Roach, Flyleaf, Killswitch Engage, Serj Tankian, Shinedown, Sevendust and Finger Eleven. On Monday, STP announced that they were scrapping their upcoming concerts in Australia in light of frontman Scott Weiland's return to rehab. ...

The Mars Volta have sketched out plans for an upcoming tour in support of The Bedlam in Goliath, which debuted, astonishingly, at #3 on Billboard albums chart last week. The confirmed gigs so far are slated for Orlando, Florida (April 1); Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (April 4); Atlanta (April 5); St. Louis (April 17); Columbus, Ohio (April 18); Chicago (April 20); and St. Paul, Minnesota (April 21). ... Kiss are turning 35, and to celebrate the milestone, the glam-rock gods will tour Europe starting May 11 in Munich, Germany, according to Agence-France Presse. The 14-date tour will be the group's first in Europe in almost 10 years and last until a June 21 show in Bilbao, Spain. ...

To commemorate Tuesday's release of the 25th-anniversary edition of his landmark album, Thriller, Michael Jackson released a thank-you video to fans, in which he says, "It's hard to believe that 25 years ago, Quincy Jones and I embarked on an album named Thriller," adding that "there is still much to come for Michael Jackson. ... My passion for music has never stopped. ... It's my hope that Thriller continues to live on for each new generation to discover." He also thanked fans for helping to make Thriller the best-selling album of all time. ...

Lenny Kravitz was rushed to an emergency room in Miami on Monday, suffering from severe bronchitis. Since mid-January, Kravitz, 43, had been struggling with a series of severe respiratory-tract infections and the flu, which evolved into bronchitis, according to Reuters. "Due to extreme dehydration and fatigue, doctors were unable to control it with outpatient treatment and advised the singer to check into the hospital," his spokesperson said. The hospitalization forced Kravitz to call off a planned European promotional tour for his just-released album, It Is Time for a Love Revolution. ...

An appeals court has upheld the 37-month federal prison sentence for tax evasion for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Ronald Isley. According to AP, the three-judge panel rejected the 66-year-old singer's argument that his sentence was unreasonable due to his age, poor health and lack of proof that the federal prison system can provide him adequate health care. The court ruled that the trial judge was correct in sentencing the "Twist and Shout" singer for his "pathological" tax evasion. Isley was sentenced in 2006 after being convicted of five counts of tax evasion and one count of willful failure to file a tax return. He suffered a minor stroke in 2004, but continued performing afterwards. He is currently in prison at the Terre Haute Federal Corrections Institution in Indiana, with release scheduled for April 2010.

• Grammys 60-Second Recap: Celebrating Amy Winehouse And The AARP

• Aretha Franklin
• Beyoncé
• Tina Turner
• Lil Wayne
• Snoop Dogg

Diddy
Photo: Peter Kramer/Getty Images

Diddy and Snoop Dogg have rolled out the itinerary for their 18-city 2007 European tour. The co-headliners will open the trek with a March 12 gig in Oslo, Norway, and close it with an April 2 concert in Nottingham, England. Expect Diddy and Snoop to mine their respective new releases, Press Play and Tha Blue Carpet Treatment. ...

Dates for the Red Hot Chili Peppers' upcoming tour with openers Gnarls Barkley have been announced. The 17-date run will kick off in Oklahoma City on January 12 and wrap in Houston on March 7, with just one concert scheduled for February. The trek will make stops in Dallas (January 13); Nashville (January 17); Cincinnati (January 20); Washington, D.C. (January 25); Orlando, Florida (January 30); Des Moines, Iowa (March 2); and San Antonio (March 6). ...

There's more No Doubt on the way, Gwen Stefani tells MTV News, but she'd rather just revel in her Sweet Escape for now. "This record puts me on the yellow-brick road to the No Doubt record I might do. I can smell it. 'Sweet Escape' and some other melodies remind me of the No Doubt feeling." OK, so she can smell it, but when will we hear it? "They were in the studio earlier this year," Stefani said of her bandmates, "and I've been trying to get prepared. I didn't know creatively what kind of record we could do. I couldn't picture it, but now I have an idea in my head. But can't we just enjoy the moment? Everyone asks me what's going to happen next, but the album just came out a few days ago." ... AFI and Tenacious D are performing at Spike TV's Video Game Awards, set to air Wednesday (December 13) at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Samuel L. Jackson is hosting. ...

Daughtry will ring in 2007 from New York, performing on Fox's "New Year's Eve Live," hosted by Cat Deeley of "So You Think You Can Dance?" The band fronted by former "American Idol" contestant Chris Daughtry will play their single "It's Not Over" live from a Times Square stage in New York. Toni Braxton will also perform on the special. ... Aretha Franklin is taking her life story to the stage, the Detroit Free Press reports. The Queen of Soul plans to turn her 1999 autobiography, "Aretha: From These Roots," into a touring stage production. The show will follow Franklin from her youth in Detroit through her friendships with Sam Cooke and Dinah Washington up to her status as an R&B icon. The singer said she will hold auditions to cast singers that will portray her at various stages. ...

Stephen Colbert has one regret about his controversial speech at the White House Correspondents Association dinner in April — he didn't go far enough. During "An Evening With 'The Colbert Report' " at New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice Tuesday, the comedian revealed that, midway through his routine, he scrapped one joke because he thought it wouldn't go over well. "I thought, the president is always giving awards, it's time for him to get one," Colbert said, "and what's the highest award I could give him? A certificate of recognizance: 'That I, Stephen Colbert, recognize, you, George W. Bush, as the president.' I had the certificate handy and everything. I thought he could hang it on the fridge. Instead I have it hanging on my fridge, as my 'woulda, coulda, shoulda' award." ...

"Borat" has inspired yet another lawsuit — this time from a man who didn't even make it into the film. The Associated Press reported that a man claims in a suit that he was "accosted" in a South Carolina restaurant restroom by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, who was posing in character as a bathroom attendant. The man, who is not named in the suit, seeks unspecified punitive damages and requests that the scene — which was featured as part of a Comedy Central movie special and made the Internet rounds — be excluded from the DVD release. ... George Clooney was in Egypt Wednesday lobbying the Egyptian government for support in helping the victims of Sudan violence, AP reports. He met with the foreign minister, as well as the son and wife of the country's president, to discuss relief options. Clooney, who visited China last week for similar discussions, is traveling with actor Don Cheadle and two former Olympians. ...

Clinic, Richard Swift, Vic Chestnutt, French Kicks, Earlimart, Autolux and Hella have entered the Noise Pop 2007 fold. The festival, celebrating its 15th anniversary, will take place in San Francisco February 27 through March 4. ... J. Robbins — who used to be in Jawbox and Burning Airlines but more recently has been producing for bands like Murder by Death and Against Me! — is asking for financial aid to help him and his wife support their newborn son, Cal. The baby is suffering from spinal muscular atrophy, and the family is facing rising medical bills. Go to DesotoRecords.com/cal/index/shtml to find out how you can help. ...

Veteran actor Peter Boyle died Tuesday in a New York hospital, CNN reports. He was 71. Best known in recent years as the cranky patriarch on the sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond," Boyle racked up dozens of film and TV credits over his nearly 40-year career — which he started after leaving an order of Christian monks — including the role of the monster in the Mel Brooks comedy "Young Frankenstein" (1973) and a supporting part in "Taxi Driver" (1976). Boyle's publicist said that the actor, who survived a stroke in 1990 and a heart attack in 1999, suffered from heart disease and a blood disorder. ...

It is the worst of times for rock musicals on Broadway. Just a month after the Bob Dylan musical "The Times They Are A-Changin' " folded up its tent after less than a month, the Great White Way version of "High Fidelity" has been silenced as well. Producers of the show, based on the popular 1995 hipster book by Nick Hornby (which was turned into a memorable John Cusack movie in 2000) will pull the plug on Sunday after just 10 days of playing to half-full houses, according to Variety magazine. "Fidelity" has suffered from slow advance sales and poor reviews since it began in previews on November 20, with some insiders saying the plot — about a rock snob and the girl who broke his heart — was too targeted toward young heterosexual men, the group least likely to check out a Broadway musical.

12.12.2006

Carrie Underwood is heading to the Persian Gulf. The singer, who recently scored two Grammy nominations, will entertain troops on her first United Service Organizations tour, The Associated Press reports. The exact dates and locations of her performances have not been revealed for safety and security reasons. ...

Add 50 Cent to the growing list of artists who will be counting down this New Year's Eve. Fiddy will be doing the "3, 2, 1" thing at New York's Roseland Ballroom, and the festivities will continue when Carson Daly and his friends party there after Daly wraps up his own separate New Year's Eve event. ...

Kelis walked the runway in New York on Tuesday (December 12) decked out in a dress made of McDonald's gift cards. The Arch Card ensemble, designed by inaugural "Project Runway" winner Jay McCarroll, will be auctioned on eBay Giving Works beginning Monday and ending December 31. Proceeds will benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities, which supports families in need. ...

Former pro wrestler Diamond Dallas Page wants Rocawear to pay for throwing up the Roc. A federal judge granted a motion to add Rocawear owners to the trademark- and copyright-infringement suit Page filed against Jay-Z in December 2005, according to a statement issued by Page's lawyer. The ex-wrestler alleges that his "Diamond Cutter" hand sign was misappropriated as the Roc symbol and seeks unspecified monetary damages along with an injunction barring its use by Jay-Z and Rocawear. ... Jada Pinkett Smith donated $1 million to her alma mater, the Baltimore School for the Arts, and requested that the high school's new theater be named in honor of classmate Tupac Shakur, AP reports. The school announced the donation Monday, explaining that the money will be used for renovation and expansion projects. Baltimore School for the Arts said in the statement that the new theater will be named after Pinkett Smith, who graduated in 1989. ...

Sir Elton John, Pharrell Williams, Duran Duran, Joss Stone and Roxy Music's Bryan Ferry are among the artists confirmed for the lineup for a charity concert marking the 10th anniversary of Princess Diana's death, BBC News reports. The show, organized by the late princess' sons, Princes William and Harry, will take place at Wembley Stadium on July 1. ... Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has posted remixes of the tracks "Analyse" and "The Clock," from his debut solo album, free to download on TheEraser.net. ... Ex-Guns N' Roses ax-slinger Gilby Clarke has a self-titled CD set for January 30. The disc antes up with 14 tracks from his solo career, two from his days with Colonel Parker and a re-recording of "Black" with "Rock Star: Supernova" runner-up Dilana. ...

The Stooges will release The Weirdness, the Iggy Pop-fronted band's first album of new material in 34 years, on March 20. The reunited band wrote more than 30 tracks for the LP and began working on the effort with producer Steve Albini (Nirvana, Pixies) back in October. The record will feature 16 cuts, including "Greedy Awful People," "Claustrophobia," "Mexican Guy," "She Took My Money" and "End of Christianity." The group also appeared on Pop's 2003 LP, Skull Ring. ... It turns out that $155,000 bid for a rare pressing of the first Velvet Underground album was a hoax. The Canadian Press Association reports that Montreal seller Warren Hill, who bought one of two known acetate recordings of The Velvet Underground & Nico for 75 cents at a sidewalk sale in New York in 2002, will try again after finding out that the top bid among more than 250 was phony. The rare acetate features different versions and/or mixes of several songs from the album's final release. ...

A Los Angeles judge has denied a request to cut a scene from the "Borat" movie featuring two fraternity members making racist and sexist remarks. According to a Reuters report, the students, who sued the film's producers and distributor last month claiming that the scene has tarnished their reputations, were denied a second shot at a temporary restraining order that would have removed the footage. The judge in the case ruled last week that they had failed to show a reasonable probability of success on the merits of their case or that money damages alone would be insufficient to resolve their claims. Last month, the attorney for the two men said the movie had cost one of the students a job at a major corporation and the other a prestigious internship. ...

José González issued his Live Session EP exclusively on iTunes Tuesday. The release features five songs recorded earlier this year in San Francisco: "Hints," "Lovestain" and "Crosses," from his Veneer debut; "Suggestions," a B-side; and "Storm," which hasn't come out in the U.S. yet. González is working on his second solo album, due next year, while his side project Junip are putting out their Black Refuge EP digitally later this month. ... On a similar note, Goldfrapp are slipping out their iTunes Session EP, also recorded earlier this year in San Francisco, on December 19. The Grammy-nominated duo check in with four tracks, studio versions of which have been out before: "Ooh La La," "Deer Stop," "Ride a White Horse" and "Strict Machine." ...

Lamb of God, Machine Head, Trivium and Gojira will be hitting the road together in February for a 40-date North American trek. The tour kicks off in Dallas on February 16, and dates run through April 5 in Cincinnati. ... The Arcade Fire are returning to their hometown of Montreal for a five-night run of shows, their first concerts in the city in over a year. The band will perform February 6-10 at the Ukrainian National Federation. Tickets go on sale Wednesday at Admission.com. ... Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun, 83, has slipped into a severe coma, Reuters reports. The legendary record man was hospitalized with a head injury after a fall at a Rolling Stones concert on October 29 and is on life support and in critical condition at a neurological intensive care unit at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York. Ertegun is in a deep coma, with a slim chance for meaningful recovery, his neurosurgeon told the wire service.

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Fantasia
Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

LOS ANGELES — She's won "American Idol," kissed Jamie Foxx and shared her life story with the world. Now Fantasia can check another dream off of her list: The singer has collaborated with her American idol, Aretha Franklin.

"She's my idol, and I've always wanted to do something with her," Fantasia said last week. "Actually, she wanted to meet me when I was on the 'Idol' show and I was nervous and I didn't want to meet her, but I'm ready now. I'm better now, and it's an honor and a blessing to get to perform with such an awesome woman. She's a legend."

The title of the track is being kept under wraps, but the song's producers said it will likely be released on both Fantasia's and Aretha's upcoming albums.

"It's going to be an event record," said Harvey Mason Jr. of the production duo the Underdogs. "They're both going at it back and forth. It's great."

Franklin joins a list of stars contributing to Fantasia's Free Yourself follow-up, which also includes Kanye West, Missy Elliott and Ne-Yo (see "A Lot Of Lovin', A Lot Of Livin' Shaping Fantasia's Next LP").

"We're still in the studio, but it's gonna be a lot different from the first album," Fantasia said. "I'm not in love. I'm not trying to be in love. I'm not hurt. I'm bad now."

Fantasia — who showed off her new bad self by smooching Jamie Foxx at the BET Awards (see "Eminem Joins Busta Onstage, Jamie Foxx Smooches Fantasia At BET Awards") — has yet to settle on a title, but has an idea in mind.

"We're going with that old soul, young girl thing," she explained. "Everybody always tells me I have an old soul and I sing like somebody from back in the day, so Young Girl, Old Soul, something like that."

Fantasia expects the yet-undetermined first single to hit the airwaves in August, just in time for her acting debut. The singer stars as herself in "Fame" director Debbie Allen's "Life Is Not a Fairy Tale: The Fantasia Barrino Story," which premieres August 19 on Lifetime.

"I took my life and used it as a testimony," Fantasia said. "It was fun because I've never acted a day in my life. I missed my music, but it was fun."

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.

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• Missy Elliott

Is Christina Aguilera following Britney's lead and heading to the altar? Rumors have been spreading that X-tina is getting hitched to her boyfriend, Jordan Bratman, after she started sporting some diamond bling on her engagement-ring finger, but both Bratman and the singer's representatives say that the rumors are false, and they're not engaged. ...

Aretha Franklin remains hospitalized at Detroit's Sinai-Grace Hospital following a severe allergic reaction to antibiotics, The Associated Press reports, but the illness is not expected to have any lasting effects. "I am resting comfortably and responding very well," the singer said in a statement. She felt ill after returning from a tour on Saturday and was subsequently found to have a reduced platelet count. ... Now that she's recovered from her knee injury, Britney Spears resumed her Onyx Hotel Tour Tuesday in Atlanta. Her postponed dates have been rescheduled, with the missed Chicago date now taking place April 13, and her scrapped Detroit show set for April 14. All tickets for the original dates will be honored for the new shows, according to her record label. Meanwhile, the full-length black gown Spears wears for her Showtime live concert promos is being auctioned off on eBay. The Roberto Cavalli dress auction closes on March 30, two days after the concert, with all proceeds benefiting the Britney Spears Foundation. ...

On Monday, MTV News mistakenly reported here that Outkast, Beyoncé, Missy Elliott, Alicia Keys and Fefe Dobson would perform at the "TRL" Awards on April 13. While those artists will in fact appear on the show, no announcement has been made yet regarding performances. We regret the error. ... After a couple of memorable appearances in New York last week, Courtney Love called Howard Stern's radio show Monday and Wednesday to rant about charges against her, the coverage it elicited, and how she's dealing with the stress of it all, which is to say, not very well. On Wednesday, Love wept about Michelle Malkin's syndicated op-ed piece that ran in hundreds of newspapers that day, accusing her of being out of control and closing with the comment, "Poor little Frances counts the days until she officially becomes an orphan." Love sobbed on Stern, "I want to retire, I want to go to France ... get my kid and go." After she regained a bit of composure, she added, "I don't care what they say about me, as long as they don't talk about the kid." ...

N.E.R.D. celebrated the release of their second album, Fly or Die, with a warehouse party in Brooklyn, New York, Tuesday night. The band performed an hour-long set at midnight on the back of a flatbed truck across from a half-pipe full of skateboarding fans. The crowd consisted mostly of local hipsters who were all given free tickets the day before the show. Backstage, Pharrell Williams confirmed that he and Neptunes production partner Chad Hugo have been producing tracks under a new name, though he wouldn't divulge exactly what it was. Meanwhile, the tandem's label, Star Trak, officially moves to its new home, Interscope Records, next week. ... Just three weeks before the Pixies kick off their reunion tour in Minneapolis, bassist Kim Deal will head out with her other band, the Breeders, for a jaunt of her own. Beginning Wednesday (March 24) in Fairfax, California, Deal and crew will play seven dates in the Bay Area and Southern California, ending with an April 1 show at Los Angeles' Spaceland. ... Meanwhile, the Pixies have been tapped to headline the Bumbershoot Festival on September 6 in Seattle. ...

If your dream is to sing next to a legend, you have a shot this week. Patti LaBelle is holding auditions for backup singers Thursday through Saturday for her upcoming world tour. Tryouts start promptly at 11 a.m. each day at Indre Studios in Philadelphia. ... Dame Dash just signed junior middleweight boxing champion Ronald "Winky" Wright to an endorsement deal with Roc-A-Wear's State Property clothing line. You may remember Winky wore the State Property logo on his trunks recently when he defeated "Sugar" Shane Mosley. ...

Chuck D isn't impressed with Kanye West's success. The Public Enemy frontman wrote on his Web site that he was wondering how "somebody gets top-notch producer credits for speeding up old records." He also questioned Kanye's rapping abilities, saying, "I think his lyrics are decent but 85 [percent] of cats rhymin' have the same voice with little difference in cadence. That's like the NBA having 200 six-foot point guards." ... Kurupt has set a June 29 release date for his latest album, Death Row Presents Kurupt - Against the Grain. The release is the first collection of original material from Death Row Records (apparently back to the moniker after a stint as Tha Row) in eight years. ...

Rancid's Tim Armstrong co-wrote the lead single, "What I Want," from Autopilot Off's major-label debut, Make a Sound. The album is due April 13. ... Dokken will release their new studio album, Hell to Pay, on May 18. The disc is the follow-up to 2002's Long Way Home. ...

Sting will tour with Annie Lennox starting June 27 in Camden, New Jersey. The 42-date trek runs through October 12 in Calgary, Alberta. ... About a month before his first album in seven years, You Are the Quarry, drops, Morrissey will set up shop in Los Angeles for a five-night residency at the Wiltern Theatre, beginning April 22. The album's first single, "Irish Blood, English Heart," has just begun to surface at radio. ... Early tracks by Coldplay, Bright Eyes, the Polyphonic Spree and Death Cab for Cutie are complied on Decade: Ten Years of Fierce Panda. The U.K. indie-label anthology is set for release April 20, almost 10 years to the day of the label's inaugural release, the compilation EP Shagging in the Streets. ...

03.23.2004

"Pass the Courvoisier!" That's what Outkast cronie and former P. Diddy parasol-holder, Farnsworth Bentley, will be demanding now. The dapper hip-hop dignitary has inked a deal with the cognac maker to become its pitchman. ... P. Diddy is suing an interior designer, Jennifer Post, saying the celebrity decorator conned him out of at least $25,000. Diddy, who usually finds himself on the other end of lawsuits, says Post unfairly jacked up her contractor's fee when she agreed to decorate the inside of his Tribeca home in New York. ...

Prince has agreed to work with a major label for the first time since the mid-'90s. Columbia Records will release Prince's latest release, Musicology, worldwide beginning April 20. The first single, also titled "Musicology," will go to radio March 29. ... A judge in Los Angeles refused to allow Velvet Revolver singer Scott Weiland to leave rehab to shoot a video for "Slither" on Tuesday, but she did allow him nine hours to do so on April 4, with certain provisions, a court spokesperson said. The judge also modified the singer's sentence, changing his remaining 180 days in a residential care center to 30 days in a hardcore live-in facility, followed by 90 days in a sober-living program. While in the latter, Weiland will have more freedom to come and go. After that, he'll undergo six months of after-care counseling and testing. If Weiland remains clean, he will be done with rehab in 10 months. ... Meanwhile, Velvet Revolver's debut album, Contraband, is now slated for a June 8 street date. ...

The recording industry filed another 532 lawsuits against file-sharers Tuesday (March 23), 89 of which targeted people who used the networks of 21 different colleges and universities in 10 states and Washington, D.C. Like previous legal actions taken after a judge ruled in December that the RIAA could not force Internet service providers to reveal the identities of its customers without a judge's order, the latest round of lawsuits are of the "John Doe" variety, meaning the action is taken against anonymous plaintiffs whose identities are revealed only after a judge decides they should be known. ... After a lengthy investigation, The Village Voice has confirmed with NYPD officers the existence of an intelligence unit within the force that monitors the rap-music industry. The acknowledgement comes in the wake of a recent report that the Miami Police Department also tracks hip-hop impresarios when they visit the Sunshine State. Meanwhile, Miami Beach's Black Host Committee, a local civic organization, has offered to educate police officers on the norms of hip-hop culture. ...

A bomb threat that proved to be a farce forced Limp Bizkit to cancel a concert Monday in Poland. The call was received two hours before the band was to take the stage, and more than 4,500 people evacuated the Spodek Sports Hall in Katowice after being told that a bandmember was sick. The bomb threat was not mentioned so as to avoid causing panic. ... Due to overwhelming public demand, most of the shows on the Darkness' U.S. tour have been moved to significantly larger venues. The band's opening show in Milwaukee on March 26 has been moved from an 800-seat venue to a 3,500-seater, and quadruple-digit changes have been scheduled in four other markets: March 30 in Cleveland, April 8 in Atlanta, April 11 in Houston and April 16 in San Diego. Overall, 13 venues have been changed to accommodate bigger crowds. ...

Ja Rule is being sued for $25,000 by Baltimore native Tony Veanie, who claims the violent images in the video for "I Cry," part of which were shot in his neighborhood, left him feeling "threatened, shot and stabbed." The video for the song, which is from Ja Rule's 2000 album, Rule 3:36, depict the rapper avenging the murder of a friend. ... Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger has been tapped to write songs for the theatrical adaptation of John Waters' 1990 film "Cry-Baby." The play, which is expected to launch on Broadway in spring 2006, marks Schlesinger's first foray into theater, after having penned tunes for TV (the theme to Comedy Central's "Crank Yankers") and movies (1996's "That Thing You Do!"). ...

Australian rabble-rousers Jet have assembled a seven-song album of demos and live tracks, but it won't be sold at retail outlets. The disc is available to fans who attend Jet's show and then purchase their album within a two-week period. More details can be found at www.jetkickedmyass.com. ... Good Charlotte, Jet, Something Corporate, Finger Eleven and Billy Talent are among the first crop of bands announced for this year's Edgefest, taking place July 2 at the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto. ...

The U.K. documentary "Police Protecting Children," airing on British television Tuesday, contains footage of Who guitarist Pete Townshend being questioned by police after his arrest in January 2003. Townshend claimed he was doing research for a book when he was caught visiting a child-porn Web site. He was formally warned and his name was placed on a sex-offenders register for five years. The filmmaker told a British paper that the Townshend footage was included as "a cautionary tale" to halt even the temptation to view child pornography. ... Three massive Rolling Stones box sets, collecting nine years' worth of the legendary band's singles, are on the horizon. The dozen-disc The Rolling Stones Singles 1963-1965, due May 4, features early hits like "Time Is on My Side" and "Heart of Stone," rarities such as their cover of the Beatles' "I Wanna Be Your Man" and three EPs never before released on CD. Singles 1965-1967 is scheduled for summer, while 1968-71 is expected in the fall. ...

Barbie is getting into the music-compilation game with Barbie Hit Mix, a 16-track collection of hits sung by kids so that other kids can sing along. Among the tracks featured on the album, due April 6, are covers of Outkast's "Hey Ya!," Hilary Duff's "Come Clean," Britney Spears' "... Baby One More Time" and Michelle Branch's "Breathe." ... John Mayer is the latest addition to Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival from June 4 to June 6 in Dallas. Clapton, Mayer, Carlos Santana, Queen's Brian May, B.B. King, James Taylor, Steve Vai, the Eagles' Joe Walsh, ZZ Top and Vince Gill are among the other guitarists scheduled to perform at the Cotton Bowl for the event, which will raise money for Clapton's Crossroads Centre Antigua, a treatment and education center he founded in 1997. ...

Velvet Revolver's debut album, Contraband, is now slated for a June 8 street date. The group is expected to shoot a video for its first single, "Slither," in early April. ... Guster are releasing a DVD and live album in May called Guster on Ice. Meanwhile, the band recently finished a live/behind-the-scenes video for "Careful," the second single from Keep It Together. ... Guster have also been added to this year's Bonnaroo festival, along with Ween, Patti Smith and the Radiators. Bob Dylan, the Dead, Dave Matthews and friends, Wilco and Trey Anastasio are headlining the event, taking place June 11 to 13 in Manchester, Tennessee. ...

• Christina Aguilera
• Aretha Franklin
• Britney Spears
• N.E.R.D.
• The Breeders

Aretha Franklin (file)
Photo: Arista

Legendary soul singer Aretha Franklin was hospitalized for an undisclosed illness Saturday and remains in stable condition, according to her publicist.

Franklin's rep offered no estimate of how long the singer might remain in the hospital, the location of which has not been released. There have been no reports in recent years indicating that Franklin has had potentially serious health concerns.

The Queen of Soul, who turns 62 on Thursday, won her 16th Grammy this year, for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for the single "Wonderful," and most recently performed the national anthem at the National Football League's kickoff concert in Washington, D.C., in September.

A Detroit native, Franklin was in the news last year for disputes with her Detroit-area township stemming from an October 2002 incident in which her home burned down.

• Aretha Franklin

Britney Spears
Photo: Jive

Britney Spears will unveil at least two new songs when she rings in this year's football season along with Mary J. Blige, Aretha Franklin and other performers.

Prior to the September 4 game between the New York Jets and Washington Redskins, Spears will perform a concert for the NFL Kickoff Weekend in Washington, D.C., the NFL announced Monday.

While Spears hasn't figured out the breakdown of her set yet, she's expected to sing three to four songs, including at least two new ones, her spokesperson said. Aretha Franklin will sing the national anthem.

Last year Bon Jovi kicked off the festivities with a traffic-stopping Times Square concert before the Giants' game against the San Francisco 49ers (see "Bon Jovi, Enrique Iglesias Set For NFL Tailgate Concert In NYC"), and this year's concert promises to be an even larger affair.

The second annual football and music festival, which will take place at the National Mall, will salute America's military and other public servants. More than 20,000 troops and their families are expected to attend the event, while more than 800,000 servicemen and women in 165 countries are expected to watch on TV.

Meanwhile, Spears is working on plans for a TV show of her own. Negotiations are ongoing for the singer to executive produce a daily syndicated talk show, which she would occasionally appear on, her spokesperson said. The format would likely use elements from news-magazine programs as well as traditional talk shows. Spears, however, will not be hosting, and no other host has been selected yet.

"NFL Kickoff Live From the National Mall" will be televised live on ABC at 8 p.m., leading up to the season opener between the Jets and the Redskins at Landover, Maryland's FedEx Field. The one-hour concert will air on the West Coast after the game.

• Britney Spears
• Mary J. Blige
• Aretha Franklin

Britney Spears, Kate Hudson, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and Courtney Cox are among the stars whose companies will executive produce a handful of original TV movies through a new deal with ABC. It is possible that any of them could make cameo appearances in the flicks, most of which are said to be romantic comedies, according to the Hollywood trade paper Variety. ...

Now you don't have to worry about spending half your paycheck on bottles of Cristal and throwback jerseys to live like Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. Puffy's marketing company, Blue Flame, announced on Monday that once he finds a publisher, Diddy is coming out with his own video game where players will get to try and build their own entertainment empire. P.D. will lend his likeness and is producing new music for the game. ... R. Kelly has been forced to add $250,000 to the cost of filming his video for "Snake." Illinois courts recently gave Kelly permission to travel to California to shoot the clip, but the hitmaker had to post extra money to his bail. Kelly, who leaves April 27 for the trip, plans to stay in California for one week, and must check in daily with a probation officer per the conditions of his bond. "Snake," which is tentatively scheduled to be filmed from May 1-4, will mark the second time the R. goes in front of the camera in a matter of weeks — he is slated to film the video for "A Soldier's Heart" in Chicago this weekend. ...

Mariah Carey is in talks to become a DJ on the new Blink 102.7 in New York. Previously known as WNEW-FM, the station relaunched last week. The new format will feature a morning team of "Entertainment Tonight" correspondents Chris Booker and Linda Lopez, sister of Jennifer Lopez. Mariah hopes to join the station with a pre-recorded weekly show, in which she could take calls from listeners. ... Alicia Keys' second album has been bumped back to November. ... Q-Tip, Joe Satriani, and Glenn Lewis and Amel Larrieux (singing a cover of Robert Flack and Donny Hathaway's "Where Is the Love") are among the guests on 1, 2, to the Bass, jazz bassist Stanley Clarke's new album, due Tuesday (April 15). Oprah Winfrey also appears on the album, reciting a Maya Angelou poem over music composed by Clarke and Quincy Jones. ...

After decades in the music industry, Aretha Franklin has announced that she has one last tour left in her. The trek is still months away, and will come in advance of her next album of all new music, due this fall. In May, the Queen of Soul will be auditioning dancers in Detroit, but she already knows where her clothes for the tour will come from. Singer Luther Vandross, along with famed fashion gurus Valentino, Halston, Donna Karan and Bill Blass will be designing her outfits. ... In a special promotion for "Drumline," which is due on video Tuesday (April 15), drummers Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Stephen Perkins (Jane's Addiction), Chad Sexton (311), Greg Upchurch (Puddle of Mudd), Nisan Stewart (Missy Elliott) and others will perform on "The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn" on April 24. The drummers will march through the audience and perform onstage. ...

Faith Hill hopes to join Nicole Kidman, Christopher Walken, and the brother-and-sister team of John and Joan Cusack in the upcoming remake of the 1975 doomed housewife flick "The Stepford Wives." The country crooner is currently in negotiations for the movie, which will mark her feature film debut. ... Jessica Simpson has some adventures in babysitting during her upcoming episode of "The Twilight Zone." She stars as a sitter who makes the uncomfortable discovery that the lifelike doll collection belonging to her charge may be responsible for the disappearance of previous nannies. The episode airs April 23 at 9 p.m. on UPN. ...

Which one of the Hills has the best team behind them? Injured Orlando Magic all-star forward Grant Hill can boast about being on the same squad with Tracy McGrady, but his wife Tamia, doesn't run with any slouches, either. For her new album, Still, which drops on July 15, the singer recruited the likes of R. Kelly, Mario Winans, Babyface, Jermaine Dupri and Linda Perry. 7 Aurelius produced the first single, "Officially Missing You." ...

The Dead's second leg of their Summer Getaway Tour, set to begin July 29, will be a co-headlining outing with Bob Dylan. The two acts last hit the road together in 1987. ... The next phase of live Phish arrives May 20 with four collections of what bassist Mike Gordon considers the best the band has to offer ... the material that didn't make the first 17 sets, that is. The multi-disc series began with six releases in the fall of 2001. ...

04.14.03

Avril Lavigne's "Sk8er Boi" was named Favorite Song at Nickelodeon's Kid's Choice Awards on Saturday in Santa Monica, California. B2K (Favorite Music Group), No Doubt (Favorite Band), Ashanti (Favorite Female Singer) and Nelly (Favorite Male Singer) won the other music prizes, while Adam Sandler was the only multiple winner, for Favorite Movie Actor and Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie. ...

Fans who want to get the inside track on Mariah Carey can now join her Internet-based fan club Honey B. Fly. For $35 a year ($45 overseas), members will receive access to pre-sale concert tickets, music and video exclusives, a faux-autographed photo and T-shirt, and an exclusive membership card that can be flashed for special access to retail and concert events. ... R. Kelly appeared in a Chicago court on Monday (April 14) to ask permission to leave the jurisdiction to shoot his next video. The R&B singer — free on bond since being indicted on child pornography charges last June — has to get the court's consent to leave the state of Illinois. Permission was granted for Kelly to go to Barstow, California, for 12 days for the shoot, but the judge increased his bond by $250,000. Meanwhile, the prosecution finally finished discovery. Kelly is due back in court May 29. ...

Lightning may not strike twice in nature, but it does in hip-hop. Four years after going platinum with a guest appearance on Mobb Deep's street anthem "Quiet Storm (remix)," Lil' Kim has recruited the Queensbridge duo for the newly recorded remix of her current hit, "The Jump Off." ... Hip-hop trailblazers will come out to perform and celebrate the birthday for Cold Crush Brothers member Grandmaster Caz on April 19 at Amazura in the Jamaica section of Queens, New York. Big Daddy Kane, Doug E. Fresh and Kurtis Blow have been advertised as performers, with DJ Kool Herc, Grand Wizard Theodore and Raheim of the Furious Five as special guests at the event being called the Old School Jumpoff. Roxanne Shanté has been tapped to host. ...

Eminem's "Lose Yourself" won Oustanding National Single on Friday at the annual Detroit Music Awards. The Grammy-winning soundtrack to "Standing in the Shadows of Motown," the documentary about the Funk Brothers, won Outstanding National Album, while local singer/songwriter Liz Larin took home trophies in six of the 10 categories in which she was nominated. ... Publishing company Minder Music Ltd., which claims to hold the copyright to a song sampled in "Let's Get High," hasn't forgotten about Dre or his cohort Eminem. Originally filed in July 2000, the complaint requesting damages in excess of $3.5 million was amended last week. The suit alleges that "Let's Get High," from Dr. Dre's 1999 LP 2001, illegally culls from the 1980 song called "Backstrokin'." Attorneys for both sides will have a chance to respond to the newly amended complaint before a court date is set. ...

A spokesperson for the Broadway musical "Aida" says that it is Toni Braxton and not Destiny Child's Michelle Williams who is going to be the next actress to play the lead role. Braxton starts a four-month run on June 30. The play's rep says that Williams has expressed interest, but that there have been no negotiations as of yet for her to be a part of the production. ... Veteran punk band MxPx are releasing their 11th album, tentatively titled Before Everything and After. Dave Jerden (Alice in Chains, the Offspring) produced the record, due June 24. ...

Superjoint Ritual, the side project of Pantera frontman Philip Anselmo, will release the follow-up to their debut album, Use Once and Destroy, in July. The band launches a tour on April 30 in Austin, Texas, which runs through May 24 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. ... The Japan extravaganza Summer Sonic Festival, happening August 2 and 3 in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, will feature a wide variety of alternative and rock acts including Blink-182, the Strokes, Radiohead, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Puddle of Mudd, Blur, New Found Glory and Travis. The bill also includes classic rock acts like the Doors, Cheap Trick and Blondie. ...

Lou Reed's latest project on Edgar Allan Poe started as a play before being released as a double CD. So it was inevitable that The Raven would make it back to the stage this summer. Reed will kick off a tour with two New York shows April 21 and 22, then hit Europe before returning Stateside June 4 in Vienna, Virginia. Dates run through June 29 in Seattle. ... The man accused of selling tickets to a phony Björk show in San Diego claimed he was guilty of no such thing in court Wednesday. Alex Conate denied charges of grand theft for allegedly selling $14,000 worth of tickets to a January 15 concert that was never booked. After collecting money from the roughly 350 tickets sold, the 25-year-old man took off for Hawaii, where he was arrested. ...

Icelandic oddities Sigur Rós are planning to release the soundtrack to "Hlemmur," the documentary film they sold on their last U.S. tour, though it's unknown whether the LP will be available domestically or exclusively as an import. Hlemmur is the second soundtrack for Sigur Rós, following 2000's collaboration with Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson, "Englar Alheimsins (Angeles of the Universe)." The band is planning to return Stateside in October for a collaboration with Radiohead. ...

• Britney Spears
• Diddy
• R. Kelly
• Mariah Carey
• Aretha Franklin

She's worked runways in Paris and Milan, but now supermodel Naomi Campbell will be donning a different kind of couture. Campbell has signed on to be a spokesmodel for Jay-Z's Rocawear urban clothing line and will appear in the company's upcoming ad campaigns. The British-bred model has been spotted backstage at Jay's recent New York City concert and at various celebrity-filled parties lately with Jigga and his Roc-A-Fella partner Damon Dash. ...

This New Year's Day, the Queen of Soul will be showing some r-e-s-p-e-c-t for Michigan's newly elected governor, Jennifer Granholm. Aretha Franklin will sing the national anthem in Lansing, Michigan, at the inauguration of her home state's first-ever woman governor. ... When the Who's bassist John Entwistle passed away earlier this year, many fans figured the tour that followed would be a genuine final farewell. Don't be so sure. On his Web site, guitarist Pete Townshend writes that he has decided to start working on new Who songs. "Expect some new music to arrive in about a year, maybe later," he said. ...

R.E.M. offer a message of peace on their latest release, a holiday two-track CD sent out to fan-club members. Besides offering an acoustic cover of Big Star's "Jesus Christ" and Badfinger's "No Matter What," in a video portion of the disc Michael Stipe reads two sections from Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 work "Strength to Love," in which the civil rights activist wrote that we should love our enemies, since only love and light can drive out hate and darkness. The R.E.M. holiday package also included a calendar, a patch and a card. ... English modern pop band Supergrass have scheduled a handful of U.S. dates to promote the February 11 release of their new album, Life on Other Planets. The band will play three New York shows and three Los Angeles shows, starting February 8 at South Paw in Brooklyn and ending February 15 at Spaceland of Dreams in Silver Lake. A more complete tour will follow. ...

Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil had a pretrial motions hearing at the Beverly Hills Superior Court Thursday in his misdemeanor battery charge stemming from an altercation with a record producer in April. He's due back in court December 31. ...

On Christmas Eve at a private party at New York's Don Hill's, all-star New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza jumped onstage to sing with heavy metal band Nuclear Assault. Other guests that took the stage included Anthrax bassist Frank Bello, Trixter guitarist Steve Brown and bassist P.J. Farley, Monster Magnet guitarist Ed Mundell, Overkill vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth, T.T. Quick singer Mark Tornillo and guitarist Dave DiPietro and Halford guitarist Mike Chlasciak. ...

12.26.02

Linkin Park have chosen a name for their next album, though they're not yet ready to reveal it, they announced on their official Web site. They have, however, disclosed that the creation of the album was documented by director Bill Berg-Hillinger, who shot the footage for the band's DVD "Frat Party at the Pankake Festival." The clips will be used in an upcoming series of online shorts called LPTV. "On a couple of takes he just happened to be filming during the second that we came up with a guitar or vocal idea," wrote MC Mike Shinoda. "For anyone who wants to see inside our creative process at work, it's a great thing to look for." ...

When your last free concert resulted in a violent spectacle because you hired the Hell's Angels to handle security, you might wait a while before staging another freebie. Now, 33 years after the tragedy of Altamont, where a young male concertgoer was killed by the biker gang as the Rolling Stones performed their track "Sympathy for the Devil," the Stones have announced plans to play a free concert on February 6 at Los Angeles' Staples Center, which seats 20,000 people. The show is being staged to raise awareness of global warning. ...

What does Billy Corgan's new band Zwan have in common with Eminem, Queens of the Stone Age and Primal Scream? They're the latest to add a bonus DVD to their new album. Limited editions of Mary Star of the Sea will include a 35-minute DVD of interviews and behind-the-scenes studio footage. ... The 1999 radio-juggernaut "Smooth" is the top rock and roll song of the last half century, according to a new book written by Billboard columnist Fred Bronson. The Rob Thomas/ Santana collaboration caps off a list of the 5,000 top songs of the rock era that was tallied with an inverse point system devised by Bronson and applied to the Billboard pop singles charts from July 1955 to June 2002 and published in the third edition of "Billboard's Hottest 100 Hits." ...

Garage rock kingpin Gearhead Records will unleash its first "budget sampler" next year. Smash-Up Derby will feature a track from all of its releases, which includes records from the Hives, the Hellacopters and New Bomb Turks, as well as "some great bonus stuff (that actually is a bonus)," according to Gearhead's Web site. ...

Interpol will begin a short U.S. tour on January 10 in Columbus, Ohio, that will conclude with an appearance on "Last Call With Carson Daly" before the group crosses the pond to take part in an NME magazine-sponsored U.K. tour with the Datsuns, the Polyphonic Spree and the Thrills. ... Following two performances at Los Angeles' Knitting Factory with his band X, punk icon John Doe will set out on a U.S. tour in February, according to thejohndoe.com. ...

• Jay-Z
• Aretha Franklin
• R.E.M.
• Nuclear Assault
• The Who

Shakira
Photo: Sony

Shakira and the Dixie Chicks are the latest artists scheduled to perform at this year's "VH1 Divas Las Vegas."

The singers have been added to a bill that includes previously announced artists Mary J. Blige, Cher and Celine Dion. Additional performers, presenters and special guests will be revealed as they are confirmed.

The fifth annual special will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand hotel on May 23.

Past "Divas" performances have included Mariah Carey, Shania Twain, Aretha Franklin and Destiny's Child.

VH1's "Divas" specials raise money for the VH1 Save the Music Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring music programs in America's public schools and raising awareness of the positive impact that music participation has on students.

• Shakira
• Mary J. Blige
• Cher
• Dixie Chicks
• Aretha Franklin

2008 Grammy Awards Performers And Presenters

• Foo Fighters
• Beyoncé
• Rihanna
• Aretha Franklin
• Mary J. Blige