Nicole Richie on August 6, 2009
Photo: Jeff Vespa/ WireImage

After a few false alarms on gossip blogs over the past couple of weeks, Nicole Richie and Joel Madden added a son to their family on Wednesday (September 9): Sparrow James Midnight Madden.

Richie made the announcement on her blog. "In the middle of night, the very early hours of September 9, 2009, Sparrow James Midnight Madden was born to Nicole Richie and Joel Madden," Richie wrote. "He weighs 7lbs 14oz. Nicole, Joel, Harlow and Sparrow are all doing well. Thank you for all of your good wishes."

	Nicole Richie And Her Growing Family

This is baby number two for the couple, who welcomed daughter Harlow Winter Kate Madden in January 2008. The pair announced that Richie was pregnant again back in February. At the time, Madden posted a blog entry announcing how excited he was to be a father again. "What's better than winning an Oscar? I am so happy to tell everyone that Harlow is going to be a big sister!" he wrote. "God has truly blessed my family. Hope you're all feeling as good as I am right now."

In a 2008 interview with MTV News, Madden spoke candidly about how being a parent has helped calm both his and Richie's once wild ways. "Being a father is nothing you can plan for," he said. "You've got to take it one day at a time, and there's no manual or anything like that. It's not a conscious change; it just happens to you all of a sudden. We had Harlow, and suddenly our priorities changed. We've both done a lot in our lives, had a lot of fun, but now it's time to be parents, which is a different kind of fun. The priority is our daughter and the kind of family we build around her."

• Nicole Richie's Growing Family

• Good Charlotte

Adam Lambert performs on Tuesday's "American Idol"
Photo: Frank Micelotta/ FOX

By now, you've probably heard that Kris Allen took home the coveted "American Idol" crown last night. You've probably already Tweeted about the news and shared your two cents via your Facebook status. Well, many celebrities did the same thing. From former "Idol" runner-up David Archuleta to Emmy Rossum, stars took to their Twitter accounts late last night and early this morning. Some were enraged (Diablo Cody), some were apathetic (Pink) and some showed love for both Adam and Kris.

Jordin Sparks told MTV News earlier this season that she just couldn't choose a favorite contestant. Well, the season-six "Idol" winner stayed consistent and when the final name was called, Sparks wrote, "Yaaaaay Kris!!! Yaaaaaaay Adam!!! Omg. Nice. Okay. Goodnight. :)"

	"American Idol" Season 8 Live Performances

"The View" co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck also had high praise for the winner and runner-up. "Congrats to both guys for sharing their gifts!" she Tweeted just after the results.

Same goes for David Archuleta. "Wow! What an amazing show! Congrats to Kris! Also to Adam for the incredible job that he did too! They [are] some awesome performers!"

As for the Adam Lambert fans, well ... their Tweets were a little lighter on the exclamation points. "Juno" writer Diablo Cody hailed herself as the "Taylor Hicks of the '08 Oscars" on her account but made a bold prediction that Lambert would take home the victory. After Kris won, Cody wrote, "F--- this sh--. Time to watch 'Real Housewives' and drown my sorrow in Barefoot Bubbly."

Perez Hilton — an adamant Adam supporter — wrote just one word right after the news broke: "Sad." Later, Perez Tweeted, "Congratulations to Adam, though. It's really a major accomplishment that he made it as far as he did!"

And you probably would've pegged singer/actress Emmy Rossum for a Kris Allen fan, but the starlet is definitely a Glambert. "Adam Lambert seriously did not win?" she wrote. "Such a let down. Kid's gonna be a massive star regardless. Go Lambert!!!"

Mario Lopez also showed support for Adam. "Adam Lambert is coming to the ['Extra'] set today! I thought my fellow San Diegan should have won. He's gonna be just fine though."

Joel Madden and Nicole Richie were spotted in the "Idol" audience taking in the action firsthand. Before the results were announced, Joel wrote, "Honestly Adam and Kris were both great. But watching Adam perform with Queen, he really held his own. I was impressed. I really get him now."

Nicole showed consideration for "Idol" fans on the West Coast and kept the results out of her Twitter updates. "I'm going to wait until tomorrow to comment on American Idol because every time I do, I get in trouble for spoiling it," she wrote. "But I will say this ... Kara Dioguardi & Holly Hunter look like long lost sisters."

And finally, Pink didn't really seem to know anything about "Idol," but she did have a comment on the contestants' rendition of her hit song "So What."

"I heard it [through] the grapevine that someone butchered my song last night on TV," Pink Tweeted. "Does that mean I've 'made it?' "

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

• 'American Idol' In 60 Seconds

• "American Idol" Season 8: Live Performances
• Backstage At The "American Idol" Finale

• Good Charlotte
• Jordin Sparks
• David Archuleta

Good Charlotte's Joel and Benji Madden
Photo: MTV News

A lot has changed for Joel and Benji Madden since they started playing music back in 1996, but with their fifth album due this summer, the twins have been trying to get back to the good old days.

"We started our band in a garage when we were 15," Benji said. "Good Charlotte's the fist band we've ever been in, and back then, critics didn't matter. There were no rules. There was no one we had to impress. Now we're just kind of like — we want to get back to that place where it's just like, 'I like that because I like it. I just love music because it's fun.' "

The new album, which will feature love ballads and deep lyrics, is appropriately titled Cardiology, which, Joel explained, "Is the branch of medicine that deals with diseases of the heart. So when you think about it — is there any real medicine when it comes to dealing with any feelings of the heart, whether it's love or hate or anger? Is there really any medicine for that? There really is nothing you can do for the conditions of the heart."

And while they might be "digging deep on the lyrics," don't expect Good Charlotte to get too soft. While Cardiology reflects their present lives, the brothers say it sounds a lot like breakthrough album The Young and the Hopeless, with straightforward music, big hooks and a lot of harmonies.

They have written about 40 songs for the album, all of which could appear on the final version, but they already have their favorites picked out: "Sex on the Radio," a rock song that tries to capture the essence of a woman's voice on the radio, and "Love Ain't Easy," which Benji says reminds him of the title track from the movie "That Thing You Do!"

Cardiology is expected to drop this summer, but in the meantime, Benji has been posting a series of acoustic covers of his favorite songs on the Good Charlotte site.

• Good Charlotte

Benji and Joel Madden
Photo: Chris Polk/ Getty Images

Benji and Joel Madden's entire worldview was changed last year, when they traveled to a tiny village in the Central African Republic. One of the poorest countries in the entire world, surrounded by war-racked nations on all sides, it is all but isolated from the rest of the world. There, water is not an amenity. It is a luxury.

"It's a small country, surrounded by all these countries in conflict. It's almost like a microcosm of everything that [Africa] is dealing with, and one in five kids over there are dying before the age of 5. And a third of the people have no access to clean water," Joel said. "For countries like America or the U.K., we're not used to the idea that you can't have water at your access, but there ... are literally people getting water out of a hole in the ground and using it for everything from washing to drinking. And water is the most important thing that any of us could have to survive and live."

So after they returned, the Good Charlotte duo contacted UNICEF and began working as spokespeople for the Tap Project, a charity started in 2007 in New York when restaurants asked patrons to donate $1 for a glass of tap water they would usually enjoy free, with all funds going to UNICEF's efforts to bring clean water to millions of children in places like the Central African Republic.

The project worked so well that more than 2,000 restaurants have agreed to take part — and given that this is World Water Week, the Maddens sat down with MTV News to raise awareness about the lack of clean and accessible water around the globe.

"Almost a billion people worldwide don't have clean or safe drinking water; 425 million of those people are children, and 25,000 kids every day die from preventable causes and 4,200 of that is from not having clean drinking water every single day," Joel explained. "World Water Week is happening now, so we want people to go to restaurants and donate a dollar or two or three to the Tap Project. Or you can just go to TapProject.org and donate online."

"It's a rough thing to think of, but the encouraging news is that with the Tap Project, this can be dramatically affected. We believe it should be zero," his brother Benji added. "With the Tap Project, $1 provides drinking water for a child for 40 days or 40 kids for one day. Think about what a difference a dollar makes. It's pretty encouraging."

Or, to put it another way: "It blows your mind and you think, one day without Starbucks, or instead of voting for someone on 'American idol,' donate to TapProject.org," Joel said. "Cut one little simple thing out that costs a couple bucks and ... go to the Web site, and give a dollar or two. It really can — and will — make a difference."

Head to Think.MTV.com to find a community where you, your friends and your favorite celebrities can get informed, get heard and take action on the issues that matter to you most.

• Good Charlotte Gives Back

• The Richie-Madden Foundation Benefit With Lauren Conrad, Rachel Zoe And More

• Good Charlotte

Harlow Winter Kate Madden and Nicole Richie
Photo: Jason Mitchell/ FilmMagic

Barely a year after their daughter, Harlow Winter Kate Madden, was born, Nicole Richie and Good Charlotte's Joel Madden have announced that they're expecting another child.

In a post titled "Better Than Winning an OSCAR" on Good Charlotte's Web site, Madden, 29, wrote: "What's better than winning an Oscar? I am so happy to tell everyone that Harlow is going to be a big sister! God has truly blessed my family. Hope you're all feeling as good as I am right now."

In the months since Harlow's birth, the couple have spoken extensively about being new parents. Just a few weeks after Harlow was born, Joel told MTV News last year, "Being a father is nothing you can plan for. You've got to take it one day at a time, and there's no manual or anything like that. It's not a conscious change, it just happens to you all of a sudden. We had Harlow, and suddenly our priorities changed. We've both done a lot in our lives, had a lot of fun, but now it's time to be parents, which is a different kind of fun. The priority is our daughter and the kind of family we build around her."

Madden also spoke about how he and Richie split the parenting duties. "If anything, I'm the parent who gives the baby whatever she wants," he laughed. "Nicole has her on a schedule. She knows exactly what she needs. I just spoil her. If she's crying, I'll take her out of the crib and give her whatever she wants, so it's a good balance."

And though Harlow has been photographed extensively by the media, Madden said that he and Richie are trying to be sure that Harlow will grow up as far removed from the Hollywood scene as possible.

"We're very serious about raising her the right way. ... We're both very hands-on about our daughter, because she's the priority," Madden said. "I still am able to go out occasionally. I'm still able to DJ, and [Good Charlotte] will be going on tour, but for the most part, I don't go out with Harlow to places where I think that she could be put in danger. That aspect of Hollywood isn't a part of my life. You have to respect what it is, but you don't have to participate in it."

• Good Charlotte

Paris Hilton and Good Charlotte guitarist Benji Madden
Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Paris Hilton and Benji Madden have ended their relationship, according to Us Weekly. The split puts the famed hotel heiress, 27, and Good Charlotte guitarist, 29, back on the market after nine months of dating.

"Even though they are still in love, they felt it would be better to just be friends," an unnamed source close to the "Repo! The Genetic Opera" star told the magazine.

"Benji was overprotective and controlling. He doesn't get along with any of her friends," the source continued, sharing their thoughts on why the couple called it quits. "Friends thought Paris had changed since being with Benji, and she wants to be herself again."

Things moved fast for the couple, who made their relationship public in February. In August, Hilton confirmed in an interview with MTV News that the two had co-written a song for her upcoming album, saying their talents and sensibilities "really mixed well."

"Well, he's such a talented writer. We're in love, so we can really write well together," she said at Comic-Con in San Diego. "We're kind of on the same wavelength, the way we think."

According to Us, Hilton was spotted over the weekend canoodling with ex-boyfriend Stavros Niarchos in Miami. Their interactions reportedly remained platonic.

"Nothing went on between Paris and Stav in Miami," the magazine quoted their source as saying. "She was there for a girls weekend with her [best friends]."

Madden's twin brother, Joel, recently had a baby with his girlfriend and Hilton's friend, Nicole Richie.

• Good Charlotte
• Paris Hilton

Benji and Joel Madden
Photo: MTV News

We're probably going to make Joel Madden pretty angry by saying this, but Good Charlotte's new album is gonna sound a whole lot like Blink-182.

"I hate when [people ask about Good Charlotte's new album], and we say it sounds like something, and then there's a news piece about what it sounds like, and it sounds completely different," he told MTV News backstage during Sunday's "Total Finale Live." "But we're trying to fill the void. ... Like, I think there's a need for a new Blink-182 album, and they're not working on an album. I'm a huge Blink-182 fan, but I think in general there's a void there for music like that, and in this moment, we're making a record that kind of answers to that void. We'll see, though."

So there you go. Good Charlotte's follow-up to last year's Good Morning Revival will be the most Blink-y thing since Mark, Tom and Travis called it quits (or, excuse us, "went on indefinite hiatus") in 2005. And if it's going to be a Blink record, well, Madden — who became a new father in January — is making it sound like it will be closest to the band's more serious, self-titled farewell album.

"I think we've matured a little bit, and it definitely changes things. You're more mindful of what you're saying, and the songs somehow become more important, because someone that you really love is going to be listening to them," he said. "I don't know what it's going to mean for our music, but it seems like it's changed a little bit."

Of course, there's a fairly good chance all this will change. So while we can't be 100 percent sure how the new GC album will sound, Madden is more than happy to let fans know how it won't sound.

"There's nothing dance-y on the record, though, at all, which is different from our last one," he said.

Madden did say that he and his band are currently in the studio working on the new album, which is tentatively due in the summer. In the meantime, GC are tiding fans over with the November 25 release of Greatest Remixes, a sort-of "greatest hits" package run through the ringer, featuring remixes by Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump, Metro Station and Junior Sanchez, to name just a few.

"We had a lot of good will built up. Everybody wanted to do it, and we were very lucky to have all these people involved," Madden said. "We wanted to give our fans something to bridge us into adulthood now, where we're working on a record now and taking our time doing it."

"We've learned over the years that we don't have any enemies, and that kind of came back as a good thing. We've made a lot of friends over the years, and in this business, a lot of things happen because of your friends. And they kind of helped us in this instance," Joel's brother Benji chimed in. "There's a song with Game on the record. We've got two other new tracks that no one's heard: a song called 'Anxiety' and a song called 'War.' It's cool. It's something to tide people over until we get the new album out next year. It's really eclectic. Some of it you'll hear DJs spinning it in the clubs."

Then again, Joel is quick to point out that the remix album is about the furthest thing from a traditional Good Charlotte album (remember, no more dance music), so buyer beware. And remember: There's always that Blink-182 album on the horizon.

"It's not an album we could sell to people. If they want to buy it, buy it," he said. "It's a different kind of record. It sounds nothing like us. ... It doesn't sound like Good Charlotte."

For everything on "Total Finale Live," including bonus performances, behind-the-scenes action and more, head to TRL.MTV.com. Plus, check out our stage-door interviews with 50 Cent, Taylor Swift, Ludacris and many more superstars at the big show.

• Good Charlotte
• blink-182
• Game
• Fall Out Boy

Good Charlotte's Benji and Joel Madden with Tim Kash backstage at "Total Finale Live"
Photo: Benjamin Wagner/MTV News

NEW YORK — While Fall Out Boy rocked "Total Finale Live" with a performance in the middle of New York's Times Square, the group's bassist, Pete Wentz, had the doubtless surreal experience of watching his band perform without him as he was with his very-pregnant-and-reportedly-in-labor wife, Ashlee Simpson. He called into the show to share the moment.

He assured everyone that the baby Wentz has not yet arrived. "Not here yet!" he said. "I went to Chinatown, picked up a bootleg version of 'Twilight' and watched it like, 72, times."

He joked that his bandmates, as well as the rest of the world, will probably know that the baby's arrived when the news hits the Internet. But he assured everyone, "Nothing's happened yet!" Wentz also shared with his fans that the couple have yet to pick out a name for the baby.

He was missed by his bandmates. "It was cool [to perform]," Fall Out Boy singer Patrick Stump said on the show. "I wish Pete was there."

Wentz's friend Joel Madden — who, you may have heard, has a daughter, Harlow, with girlfriend Nicole Richie — had some key advice on the rocker-as-father gig.

"When you're on tour you can be late a lot — but when you're a dad you can't be late," Madden said on the show. "A baby doesn't wait!"

Another baby not waiting for Wentz is the show he hosts, "FNMTV," which will be back for a second season in December. He admitted that hosting isn't as easy as he makes it look.

"It's hard asking people questions," he said. "I'm not good at reading the teleprompter. 'TRL' made me excited about countdowns!"

For everything on "Total Finale Live," including bonus performances, behind-the-scenes action and more, head to TRL.MTV.com. Plus, check out our stage-door interviews with 50 Cent, Taylor Swift, Ludacris and many more superstars at the big show.

• 'Total Finale Live': Stage-Door Interviews
• TRL's Total Finale Live: Highlights
• TRL's Total Finale Live: Performances

• Total Finale Live: Backstage Highlights
• Total Finale Live: Show Highlights
• Total Finale Live: Performances

• Fall Out Boy
• Good Charlotte
• Ashlee Simpson

Photo: EA Sports

• MTV Rough Cut: 'Tropic Thunder'

• "Tropic Thunder"
• Stars Storm Red Carpet At 'Tropic Thunder' Premiere

• Good Charlotte
• Busta Rhymes

"Madden NFL 09"
Photo: EA Sports

In the age of "Guitar Hero" and MTV's "Rock Band," game maker Electronic Arts says the "Madden" soundtrack is still a leading force for the future of video game music.

"Respectfully to 'Guitar Hero' and 'Rock Band' — which we have a hand in here at EA — those games are about the rediscovery of artists, which is fantastic, but 'Madden' is about discovering something that is going to change your life six months from now," Steve Schnur, head music executive at EA, told MTV News in an interview Tuesday (July 8).

The annual "Madden" soundtrack and its ability to break songs and artists is a well-documented phenomenon. "Madden" sells millions each year, exposing players to a raft of new music. To reinforce his point about "Madden" this year, Schnur demonstrated that 14 of the 26 songs announced for this year's 20th-anniversary edition of the football series, "Madden NFL 09," are either exclusive songs or sneak peeks of songs that won't be on their artists' albums for months. "Madden" is clearly still a powerful force for bringing new music to a a big audience.

First listens in the new game include tracks from Franz Ferdinand, Gym Class Heroes and the All-American Rejects. Already-released songs featured on the soundtrack are coming from the likes of Busta Rhymes, Tyga and Disturbed.

Schnur said this year's soundtrack represents the blurring of rock and rap. The other key element of this soundtrack, despite its forward-looking track list, is paying homage to older "Madden" games. EA went out of its way to include efforts from "Madden" vets Franz Ferdinand, the All-American Rejects and Good Charlotte, the latter of which, Schnur said, were "the first band, seven years ago, to give credit to 'Madden' for having an effect on their lives — musically speaking. I'm not going to take credit for their girlfriends."

Despite the 20th-anniversary celebration, the new soundtrack won't include music from the very first "Madden," because the digital bleeps and bloops sound too much like "Good Humor truck music" to Schnur to include in a soundscape that he feels should push forward every year.

Instead, the goal for this soundtrack is nothing less than to "predict the future," in Schnur's words. He said he watches message boards, blogs and sales lists every year to see if the songs he and his team picked for "Madden" become hits. If they do, he's encouraged. Knowing his picks can't please everyone, he said, "If we can give you two or three or four songs that please you, hopefully we've done our job."

To help celebrate the soundtrack and promote "Madden NFL 09," artists from the soundtrack will be featured nightly on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" for a week in August. On August 11, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, will be turned into a public "Maddenpalooza," featuring game stations and band performances. And anyone who pre-orders the game at Target will receive an iTunes card that lets them download 10 of the new game's songs for free.

EA wouldn't address any chances of linking "Madden" to any other music-heavy games. Instead, Schnur is putting a wrap on his soundtrack work for 2008's games for now. He's picked songs for 40 games this year and is heading for vacation. Afterward, he'll start on the soundtracks for 2009's EA games, another blockbuster edition of "Madden" certainly chief among them.

"Madden NFL 09" ships August 12 for all major home and handheld game consoles.

Track list for the "Madden NFL 09" soundtrack, according to EA (* denotes that a song is debuting in "Madden" before it's released on an album; ** denotes that a song was recorded exclusively for "Madden"):

» Airbourne - "Stand Up for Rock 'n' Roll"
» The All-American Rejects - "The Real World"
» Busta Rhymes (featuring Linkin Park) - "We Made It"
» Disturbed - "Inside the Fire"
» The Fashion - "Like Knives" *
» Franz Ferdinand - "Lucid Dreams" *
» From First to Last - "Worlds Away"
» Gym Class Heroes - "I'm Home" *
» Hollywood Undead - "Undead" *
» In Flames - "The Mirror's Truth"
» InnerPartySystem - "Don't Stop" *
» Izza Kizza - "Millionaire" *
» K'naan - "ABC's" *
» Kardinal Offishall (featuring Lindo P) - "Burnt" *
» Kidz in the Hall - "Blackout"
» Kovas - "Wax On, Wax Off" *
» Mindless Self Indulgence - "Never Wanted to Dance"
» The Offspring - "Hammerhead"
» Rev Theory - "Hey Yeah"
» Senses Fail - "Wolves at the Door" *
» Shinedown - "Devour"
» Trivium - "Into the Mouth of Hell We March"
» Tyga - "Diamond Life"
» Underoath - "Desperate Times, Desperate Measures" *
» Wale (featuring Southeast Slim) - "Breakdown" *
» Young Dre the Truth (featuring Good Charlotte) - "Workin' " **

Check out the Multiplayer blog, updated daily, for even more gaming coverage.

• Good Charlotte
• Busta Rhymes
• Gym Class Heroes

The Richie-Madden Foundation Benefit With Lauren Conrad, Rachel Zoe And More

• Good Charlotte

Lil Wayne's Pre-Grammy Party

• Lil Wayne
• Good Charlotte
• Akon

Total Finale Live: Press Room

• 50 Cent
• Taylor Swift
• Hilary Duff
• JC Chasez
• Teyana Taylor

Lindsay Lohan, T.I., M.I.A., More Come Out For Diesel's Rock 'N Roll Circus In NYC

• T.I.
• Lindsay Lohan
• Franz Ferdinand
• Paris Hilton
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Stars Collide At The 2008 VMA Weekend Parties

• Colby O'Donis
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• Game
• Calle 13
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Tila Tequila's New Year's Eve Masquerade 2008: Purple Carpet Arrivals

• Paramore
• Good Charlotte
• Mary J. Blige
• Cobra Starship
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Tila Tequila's New Year's Eve Masquerade 2008: Performances & Highlights

• Kid Rock
• Mary J. Blige
• Fabolous
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Spankin New Music Week Photos: Timbaland, Lloyd, Fall Out Boy, Katharine McPhee

• Katharine McPhee
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The Week In Pictures For December 22, 2006

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On The Set Of Good Charlotte's "The River" Video

• Good Charlotte