Tamyra Gray
Photo: Vince Bucci/ Getty Images

Some might call Tamyra Gray unlucky.

The onetime "American Idol" favorite was eliminated before Nikki McKibbin and Justin Guarini in the first season. Since then, she's starred on a TV series that was soon canceled, was dropped by J Records, released a dud album and was then dropped by 19 Records.

Gray looks at it another way.

"It's been great," she said. "I've put out an album, I've done a movie, I put out a few TV shows. They're all dreams that I've had that I've wanted to have the chance to live out."

And Gray's continuing to chase more dreams, learning from her experiences, especially with her 2004 debut album, The Dreamer, which has sold around 125,000 copies.

"I was very happy to put out the album that I put out. I was thrilled with it and proud of it," she said. "But this time I understand [the business]. I want to target radio more this go-round."

To do that, Tamyra's recorded what she calls a more club-friendly, hip-hop-based project than her debut.

"I've grown since the first album," she said. "It was my dream of putting out music that I was influenced by, and now that I've gotten through that, this next album is a lot more fun."

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Gray is shopping the music to labels and keeping busy with her acting.

Since her stint on "Boston Public" in 2003, she's appeared on "What I Like About You," "Half & Half," "Tru Calling" and, most recently, "Las Vegas." She also starred in the 2005 movie "The Gospel" and recently scored a national print and commercial campaign with H&M. Through the modeling gig, she was able to work with one of her biggest idols, Mary J. Blige.

"She's achieved so much in her lifetime and crossed over so many barriers," Gray said. "She's proved that she has staying power and that she's the real deal."

Gray met with a publishing company and is considering writing songs for other artists. She's already written songs for "Idol" winners Fantasia and Kelly Clarkson.

"It's not an easy life," Gray said, summing up her entertainment career so far. "It's not an easy thing being in limbo and transitioning between labels. I think that if I didn't have my faith, and knowing that my blessings were right around the corner, I wouldn't be able to stay in this industry."

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

• Tamyra Gray

Outkast have come under fire in the U.K. for a poster promoting their latest album, Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below. An image of Andre 3000 holding a smoking pink gun has been targeted by the U.K. advertising watchdog organization Advertising Standards Authority for being "irresponsible" and glorifying gun use. The image is also in the album's CD booklet. Outkast's U.K. record label, BMG, said the poster was meant to be ironic. ...

Though R. Kelly was due back in court on child-pornography charges August 13, he got the date pushed back to September 27, so that he could go on tour. ... First season "American Idol" finalist Tamyra Gray will join the third season's singers as a special guest on the American Idols Live Tour. Gray, promoting her recently released debut album, The Dreamer, will hit 42 of the 49 cities with Fantasia and the gang. ...

Farnsworth Bentley is finalizing the designs for his umbrella line, due in the fall, which he said will include a lot of fuchsia. "Fuchsia is the new pink. For those of you who have 64 crayons with the sharpener in the back, you know what I'm talking about." ... While he's on tour in England, Usher will receive an honorary diploma from London's Newham College of Further Education. On Thursday, the R&B star will be awarded for helping the school out with a program to aid troubled students find success in the music industry. ...

Will the real dog-snatcher please stand up? A suspect in a dognapping incident in Trenton, New Jersey, has been described as an Eminem look-alike. A 6' tall white male, with bleached-blond hair, tattoos and a T-shirt emblazoned with the word "Shady" (Eminem's clothing company), walked into JP O'Neill's kennel and snatched a Pomeranian-Chihuahua mix selling for $450. Police acknowledge that the suspect closely resembles the megastar rapper and hope that will help in his apprehension. ... 3 Doors Down bassist Todd Harrell is starting his own label, Imprint Records, and he's looking for a few good Southerners. So he's holding a contest in six Southeastern states, and the final 11 bands will compete in a talent show for a record contract. The label will produce and coordinate distribution of the winning band's album and will put the group on tour. The finals will take place in Gulfport, Mississippi, August 13 and 14. Interested bands should log onto www.3doorsdown.com for more information. ...

Live footage of Staind, Shinedown and Sevendust will be included in a DVD of last year's Locobazooka! festival, which comes out July 20. Proceeds will be donated to Home for Our Troops, which constructs handicapped-adjusted houses for severely disabled soldiers. Locobazooka! 2004 took place September 28 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, at the city's Municipal Airport and drew 15,000 fans. The show also featured Smile Empty Soul, Powerman 5000, Lacuna Coil, Lo-Pro and others. ... Songs by Kid Rock, Cypress Hill, Fu Manchu and Down will be featured on the soundtrack to the movie "Motorcycle Mania 3," which comes out July 27. Jesse James, the CEO and chief designer for West Coast Choppers and the host of Discovery Channel's "Monster Garage," handpicked the tracks for the album, which also includes songs by Lou Rawls, Corrosion of Conformity, New Bomb Turks, the Supersuckers, Danzig and others. ...

The final act has been booked for the Cure's Curiosa Festival. Joining second-stage acts Thursday, Muse, Cursive, Melissa Auf Der Maur, Cooper Temple Clause and Head Automatica will be Sympathy for the Record Industry act Scarling. The Curiosa Festival kicks off July 24 in West Palm Beach, Florida. ... Paris Hilton isn't going to have to worry about people trying to figure out which perfume in stores is her brand — it'll simply be called "Paris Hilton." Parlux Fragrances is planning a soft launch for the line in November, and will start promoting it soon after for an official Valentine's Day release. ...

The last time Ready for the World had a hit record out, kids were clamoring to watch "Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends" on TV, the Mets were the baddest baseball team in New York and nobody would laugh at you if you sported a jheri curl. Well, get ready for some nostalgia. The Flint, Michigan, collective, which scored the hits "Oh Sheila" and "Love You Down" in the '80s, is trying to come back and reclaim the spotlight with the July 20 release of She Said She Wants Some. ... Gavin Rossdale, Gwen Stefani's hubby and former frontman of '90s rock band Bush, has formed a new group called Institute. Rossdale recorded 14 tracks with the band in Los Angeles, and plans to travel to New York in August to complete three more songs before releasing a full album. ...

Brides of Destruction/ Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx says he will sue Dragonfly Clothing for breach of contract as the company has reneged on payments to Sixx for his clothing line. In a post on his Web site, Sixx said that the company grossed "millions of dollars in sales" on his clothing line, but has offered the rocker "hardly a dime." ... Although Hoobastank's original treatment for their second video for "Same Direction" had a guest-star spot for the mom of the fictional lost member of their band, Joan Jett's cameo in the clip was altered in the final version so that she's now playing a sister, not a mother. ...

07.06.04

This fall, Nick Lachey will be getting hot and heavy with Alyssa Milano, and Jessica Simpson doesn't seem to mind. The "Newlyweds" star is joining the cast of the WB's "Charmed" for six episodes, playing a ghost writer who fills in for Milano's character, Phoebe, while she's away. He of course eventually falls for her. ...

G-Unit's Game is planning a fall release for his debut. "The album is pretty much done, I'm just waiting on the single," he said. "Tuesday [July 6] I go to Miami to get with Timbaland, and then I come back and get with Dre and it's a wrap." Game has also recorded with his fellow G-Unit members, as well as with Eminem and D12. ... "Fahrenheit 9/11" filmmaker Michael Moore is in the process of directing a new video for Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World," the song used during the end credits of Moore's politically charged movie. Moore's clip, which will feature scenes from the movie as well as performance footage, will be included on the re-released version of the 1989 single, due in late August. ...

Diddy did it twice over the weekend in the Hamptons, the vacation destination for New York's rich and famous. On Sunday he hosted his white party, where such celebrities as Paris Hilton, Nick Carter, LL Cool J, Reverend Al Sharpton, Russell Simmons, Mary J. Blige, Robert Iler and Jay-Z attended. However, the function ended prematurely without explanation. P. Diddy did keep the party going on, though — he quickly got on the mic and told everyone that they were "moving the sexy" to the nearby Star Room. Ashanti, Irv Gotti and Tyson Beckford were among those who attended the later festivities. ...

Paris Hilton celebrated the launch of her record label, Heiress Records, with a party in the Hamptons on Friday, with Nick Carter, Rachel Hunter and Lizzie Grubman all in attendance. Though her own album, Paris Is Burning, has yet to be completed, the hotel heiress told reporters that it sounds like "a combination of Blondie and Madonna with a little bit of hip-hop thrown in." ... Meanwhile, her sister, Nicky, is promoting her handbag line for the Samantha Thavasa label at the SoHo location of Bloomingdale's in New York on Thursday. ... Besides partying to support Paris, Nick Carter had his own cause to celebrate — finishing the Backstreet Boys album. A.J. McLean's mother, Denise, posted an update on her Web site, BackstreetMom.com, revealing that the group had completed the task and is enjoying some time off. "Now comes the hard part of putting a tour together and rehearsing to get it all perfected," she wrote. "All the boys have been working hard with personal trainers to get back into tip-top shape for the upcoming rigorous schedule." ...

New Edition say their new LP will have "the Bad Boy bounce" but still maintain that same New Edition smooth style. Fresh from a two-day video shoot in New Mexico for the track "Hot 2 Nite," Ralph, Ronnie, Mike, Johnny and Ricky performed this past weekend at the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans. The group revealed its new album's title, One Love, and its due date, September 25. ... Macy Gray took it all off for charity Monday night in London. The singer made good on a promise to wear nothing but a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes at an event to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation. After the lights went out following her regular set, the stage was re-illuminated to reveal a stark naked Gray sitting in a chair with her back to the crowd. ...

Scott Weiland pleaded no contest to driving under the influence of drugs, a misdemeanor, during his hearing in Los Angeles on Friday. His sentencing is set for Thursday. ... Enough people donated to Courtney Love's Web site to pay the server bill and save the site. Kittyradio.com will be back online on Friday. ... After pleading guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon at his hearing in New York State Supreme Court on Friday, folk rocker David Crosby was fined $5,000 and told not to get arrested again. The penalty stems from an incident in March, when a loaded pistol and an ounce of marijuana were found in luggage Crosby left in his hotel room. The drug charge was dismissed. ...

To mark the 20th anniversary of the film "Purple Rain," Prince reunited with a few old pals Friday to kick off the three-day Essence Music Festival, held in New Orleans. Joining the Purple One onstage were the film's co-star Morris Day and his band the Time, guitarist Wendy Melvoin of Prince's former band the Revolution, and percussionist Sheila E. ... The Red Hot Chili Peppers' performance at London's Hyde Park last month was recorded for the California funksters' first official live album. The two-disc Live in Hyde Park, due July 26, will only be available as an import. ...

System of a Down are taking a frugal approach to recording their next album. Instead of recording dozens of songs they think might make it onto their fourth album — more than 30 tunes were tracked for 2001's Toxicity — Serj Tankian and company will only track those destined to make the cut. The band is currently wrapping up pre-production and has moved from a North Hollywood rehearsal space to a home studio in Hollywood. A release date has yet to be set for the effort. ... Burning Brides will promote their recently released Leave No Ashes with a headlining club tour that kicks off July 15 in their hometown of Philadelphia. The Explosion are also on the trek, which wraps August 31 in Atlanta. ...

Lil Jon associate Lil Scrappy is developing a line of shoes for Fila and planning his second album, for release in December. Meanwhile, he just released "No Problem" as the second single from his debut LP. "It's a crunk country song," he said. "You telling everybody you don't want no drama in the street, you don't want 'No Problem.' " ... Along with moving into "The Surreal Life" house, Public Enemy's clock-toting rapper Flavor Flav has been recording a solo album, due in the fall. P.E. are also planning an album for a late 2004 release. ...

Slick Rick has signed with Def Jam for his first album since spending 17 months in a federal detention center. "It's gonna cater to the mature audience," he said, adding he hopes to collaborate with Elephant Man. ... Speaking of the dancehall star, Elephant Man will release "Cock Up Your Bumper" with Big Tigger and Sasha as the next single from his breakthrough Good 2 Go album. He also revealed he just finished a track with Will Smith. ...

Ex-Megadeth drummer Nick Menza has rejoined the recently reunited group. While studio veteran Vinnie Colaiuta drummed on the band's upcoming comeback disc, The System Has Failed (out September 14), Menza will be behind the kit for the group's next tour. The System Has Failed features guest work by the band's former guitarist Chris Poland, who was fired before the group recorded its third album, 1988's So Far, So Good ... So What!. ... Kings of Leon drummer Nathan Followill slipped and jammed his left wrist on Saturday at the Roskilde festival near Copenhagen, Denmark. The injury forced the band to cancel a show in Serbia, but the group has been given the all-clear to play on July 10 and 11 at Scotland's T in the Park and Ireland's Oxygen festival. ...

• OutKast
• R. Kelly
• Usher
• Tamyra Gray
• 3 Doors Down

There's something for every music fan to reap from this week's crop of new releases, including albums from pop stars, metal bands, an American Idol, hip-hop artists and a long-gone girl group.

Avril Lavigne tries to Let Go of the bubblegum pop-punk sound of her last album and let you know the real Avril with Under My Skin. The first single, "Don't Tell Me," and its accompanying video are already getting heavy rotation on radio and TV.

Meanwhile, Slipknot keep it heavy on the follow-up to 2001's Iowa, with Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). On the lighter side of things, former "American Idol" contestant Tamyra Gray, who once dreamed of winning the highly successful reality show, releases her debut album, The Dreamer, this week.

No stranger to referencing his image in his album titles, Everlast releases White Trash Beautiful this week, his first album since 2000's Eat at Whitey's.

Remember when Wilson Phillips asked you to "hold on for one more day"? That was 14 years ago, and the trio are back with their first album since 1992. California features the group covering the likes of Joni Mitchell, the Beach Boys and Linda Ronstadt, among others.

Out Tuesday, May 25:

• Ben Allison - Buzz (Palmetto)
• Amber Pacific - Fading Days (Hopeless)
• Ayreon - The Human Equation (Inside Out)
• Dave Brubeck - Private Brubeck Remembers (Telarc Jazz)
• Bumblebeez 81 - The Printz (Geffen)
  Buy Now: The Printz (Geffen)
  
• Tony C. and the Truth - Demonphonic Blues (Lava/Atlantic)
• Candido & Graciela - Inolvidable (Chesky)
• The Cardigans - Long Gone Before Daylight (Koch)
  Buy Now: Long Gone Before Daylight (Koch)
  
• The Clinton Administration - Take You Higher (Magnatude)
• Danny Cohen - Dannyland (Anti)
• Graham Colton Band - Drive (Universal)
• Cormega - Legal Hustle 1 (Koch)
• Tim Eriksen - Every Sound Below (Appleseed)
• Everlast - White Trash Beautiful (Island)
• Philipp Fankhauser - Talk to Me (Memphis International)
• Felix Da Housecat - Devin Dazzle & the Neon Fever (Emperor Norton)
  Buy Now: Devin Dazzle & the Neon Fever (Emperor Norton)
  
• Holly Golightly - Down Gina's at 3 (Sympathy for the Record Industry)
• Tamyra Gray - The Dreamer (19)
• Hiromi - Brain (Telarc Jazz)
• Jinxed - Beyond the Obvious (One Eleven)
• Keane - Hopes and Fears (Interscope)
• LaShell Griffin - Free (Epic)
• Avril Lavigne - Under My Skin (RCA) Read: "Avril Lavigne: No Looking Back"
  Buy Now: Under My Skin (RCA)
  
• Lonestar - Let's Be Us Again (BNA)
• Sandra Luna - Tango Varon (Times Square)
• Torcuato Mariano - Diary (215 Music)
• Mulgrew Miller - Live at Yoshi's 1 (MAXJAZZ)
• Monster Magnet - Monolithic Baby (Sanctuary)
• PC Munoz and the Amen Corner - California (Beevine)
• Renee Olstead - Renee Olstead (143/Reprise)
• Pedro the Lion - Achilles Heel (Jade Tree)
• Julie Roberts - Julie Roberts (Mercury Nashville)
• Scatter the Ashes - Devout/ The Modern Hymn (Epitaph)
• Sharkey - Sharkey's Machine (Babygrande)
• Skillet - Collide (Lava/ Atlantic)
• Skinny Puppy - The Greater Wrong of the Right (SPV)
• Slipknot - Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) (Roadrunner)
  Read: "Slipknot Album Preview: More Structured, But Still Programmed To Kill"
  Buy Now: Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses (Roadrunner)
  
• Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra - Tribute to a Generation: A Salute to the Big Bands of the WWII Era (Smithsonian Folkways)
• Spyro Gyra - The Deep End (Heads Up)
• John Stetch - Exponentially Monk (Justin Time)
• Tiles - Window Dressing (Inside Out)
• Toc - Loss Angeles (Inside Out)
• Wilson Phillips - California (Columbia)
• Rachel Z - Everlasting (Tone Center)
• Denny Zeitlin - Slickrock (MAXJAZZ)
• Various artists - Crunk'd (hosted by Greg Street) (Koch)
• Various artists - Nuevo Latino (Putumayo)
• Various artists - Tha Pac Album (Thump)
• DVD: Cyndi Lauper - Live at Town Hall (Epic)
• DVD: Matchbox Twenty - Show: A Night in the Life Of (Rounder)
• DVD: Troy Myth or Reality? (Eagle Rock)

June 1:

• Auf Der Maur - Auf Der Maur (Capitol)
  Read: "Ex-Hole Bassist Follows Orders From The Aliens In Her Head"
  
• Truth Hurts - Ready Now (Pookie)

• The Calling - Two (RCA)
  Read: "The Calling Returning With New LP, New Hired Hands"
• Corrs - Borrowed Heaven (Atlantic)
• Gene Simmons - A--hole (Sanctuary)
• Velvet Revolver - Contraband (RCA)
  Read: "Velvet Revolver Album Preview: GN'R + STP = Uphill Battle"

• Mobb Deep - Amerikaz Nightmare (Jive)
• Stevie Wonder - A Time 2 Love (Motown)

• Avril Lavigne
• Slipknot
• Tamyra Gray
• Everlast
• Bumblebeez 81

Good Charlotte have given the title The Chronicles of Life and Death to their follow-up to 2002's The Young and the Hopeless. The band is halfway through recording its third album in Los Angeles. The LP is expected to drop in late September. ...

Julia Volkova, one half of faux-mosexual Russian pop duo T.A.T.U., is pregnant. The father is longtime boyfriend karate champ Pasha Sidorov, who incidentally already has a wife and child. Volkova and singing partner Lena Katina plan to record another album after the baby is born. ... For the second year in a row, Eminem will play a key part in the Detroit Hip-Hop Summit. This year, Slim Shady is hosting the event and his group D12 are scheduled to attend. Also lending their support to Russell Simmons' organization in Detroit will be the G-Unit, the Ying Yang Twins, Doug E. Fresh, Layzie Bone and Reverend Run. The summit will take place on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.. ...

A judge ruled Monday that Eminem can proceed with his lawsuit against Apple Computer, advertising agency TBWA/Chiat/Day and MTV over an advertisement for iPod and iTunes that featured a 10-year-old boy rapping lyrics to Eminem's song "Lose Yourself." Despite not getting permission to use the Oscar-winning song from Eminem's movie "8 Mile," Apple ran the advertisement on MTV last summer. ... John Mayer helped the dreams of the senior class of Pennsburg High School in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, come true on Saturday by making a special appearance at the prom. The school is the subject of the book "Wonderland: The Story of a Prom," which chronicles a year in the lives of several students who worked to get Mayer to play their prom. ...

You've heard of Wavy Gravy and Cherry Garcia, now check out Death by Sharon and Ozzy's Carnivorous Carrot Cake. The Country Cow Creamery in Woodbridge, New Jersey, is serving Osbourne-inspired flavors of ice cream. Creamery co-owner Ed Dubroski Jr. sent an e-mail to the Osbournes in January offering to create an ice cream flavor for Sharon. The Osbournes accepted the offer and asked that one be created for Ozzy, too. Dubroski recently shipped five gallons of ice cream to the Osbournes along with a letter which producers told him would be read by Sharon on an episode of her talk show that will air on Wednesday. The flavors will be available in the Country Cow Creamery starting Wednesday. ... Damon Dash is no longer the only hip-hop mogul with his own vodka. Jermaine Dupri has purchased part ownership of 3 Vodka, a zero-carbohydrate vodka distilled from soy and endorsed by the American Vegetarian Association. ...

Andre and Big Boi of Outkast will kick off "Good Morning America" 's summer concert series on Friday with a free early-morning concert in New York's Bryant Park. The TV show's Friday series also includes Stevie Wonder (June 11), Ruben Studdard (June 25), Clay Aiken (July 2), Hilary Duff (July 16), Usher (July 30), Jessica Simpson (August 6), Black Eyed Peas (August 13) and Nelly (August 20). ... Nas' free show at New York's Central Park has been set for August 15. The concert will not be held on the Great Lawn, but as part of the city's eclectic Summerstage lineup. Nas has promised several special guests for the performance, though none have been announced yet. ... The Big Tymers will kick off a brief tour Saturday in Cincinnati. The Cash Money group will visit cities in the South and along the Atlantic seaboard, wrapping up June 11 in Washington, D.C. ...

3 Doors Down have joined the ranks of rockers with a cause. The group raised $90,000 at a concert at the Mobile Civic Center in Mobile, Alabama, on March 26, and distributed the funds to 16 Gulf Coast charities at a press conference on Monday in Mobile. At the conference, they also announced the creation of their new charity, the Better Life Foundation. Named after the band's six-times-platinum debut album, the foundation will benefit children and young adults with special needs. ... Perry Farrell will get together with Lollapalooza co-headliners the String Cheese Incident for a one-off performance by the Perry Farrell Incident at the tour's stop in Denver, the Cheese's hometown. Farrell has also reportedly expressed his desire to bring Lollapalooza to the U.K. ...

Something Corporate fans attending the band's show in Ventura, California, on Thursday may be immortalized for posterity. The band intends to film the show at the Ventura Theatre for inclusion in an upcoming DVD. ... Football fans will be running and gunning this season to the sounds of New Found Glory. The band's "This Disaster" is the first song confirmed for "Madden NFL 2005," which is expected to street in August. ...

"American Idol" creator Simon Fuller is launching a record label called 19 Recordings; the first release will be Tamyra Gray's The Dreamer (May 25). Tom Ennis, former record-label executive and current vice president of 19 Entertainment (which produces "Idol" and manages past winners), will run the label headquartered in New York and distributed through Universal Music. Gray will promote the release by performing two songs on the Wednesday episode of "Idol." ... Tenacious D will headline the latest in the Concerts for Kerry series. The June 6 show at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood will also feature the Naked Trucker and comedians Bob Odenkirk, Kevin Nealon, Fred Armisen and Laura Kightlinger, Jack Black's girlfriend. All proceeds go to John Kerry for President. ...

The Ruff Ryders are going pop and not disguising it one bit. Scottsdale, Arizona, singer LT will release her debut album this year on the spinoff label Ruff Pop. ... The repercussions from Atlantic Records' merger with sister labels Elektra and Lava resulted in roughly half the artists previously signed to the 57-year-old label being dropped. The artists caught in the downsizing were mostly lesser-known new artists, although Third Eye Blind, who sold more than 3.5 million copies of their debut album in 1997, are currently without a home. ...

Alex Nelson, who played guitar with metal band Lizzy Borden for a year in 1986, then joined again in 2002, died in a head-on car collision on Monday in Palm Springs, Florida. On Sunday in Los Angeles, the remaining bandmembers will perform some Lizzy songs with their new group Starwood in tribute to Nelson. ... Eighties Australian sensations INXS will issue the double DVD "I'm Only Looking" on June 29. The retrospective set includes music videos, concert footage, documentary clips and interviews. ... Ben Folds, Guster and Rufus Wainwright are joining forces for a package tour beginning June 18 in Highland Park, Illinois. The outing wraps July 15 in Pittsburgh. ...

Beck, Bright Eyes and Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Sparklehorse with the Flaming Lips, Tom Waits, Death Cab for Cutie and TV on the Radio have covered Daniel Johnston songs for the tribute record Discovered, Covered - The Late Great Daniel Johnston. Produced and curated by Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous, the double disc, slated for August 24, will contain the original Johnston songs on the second disc. ... Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante plans on recording and releasing one full-length album a month for the rest of 2004. So far, six records are scheduled, beginning with The Will to Death, which hits stores June 22. The batch also includes a side project, Axtaxia, recorded with members of Fugazi (due August 10), three solo albums and a record with collaborator Josh Klinghoffer. ...

5.17.2004

Halle Berry, Dave Chappelle, Kirsten Dunst, Eve, Jimmy Fallon, Kate Hudson, Scarlett Johansson, Shia LaBeouf, Tobey Maguire and Snoop Dogg have signed on as the first set of presenters for the 2004 MTV Movie Awards. Last week, Lindsay Lohan was named the host of this year's ceremony, which airs on June 10. ...

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow are celebrating the birth of their baby girl, Apple Blythe Alison Martin. The baby was born Friday at a London hospital and weighed in at 9 pounds, 11 ounces. "We are 900 miles over the moon, and we'd like to thank everyone at the hospital who have looked after us amazingly," Martin said in a statement. In commemoration, Coldplay have posted a spoof video on their Web site, in which they're wearing wigs and performing as the Nappies, who bear more than a slight resemblance to the Darkness. During the clip, which is available for one week, Martin raps, "I'll be there through the thin and the thick/ I'm gonna clean up all the poo and the sick." Paltrow announced in December that she and Martin were expecting. ...

Though it's meant for the U.K., Christina Aguilera's commercial for Virgin Mobile — where she has a sort of "When Harry Met Sally" moment — is now available online at www.xtina-spotted.com. ... Jessica Simpson and her sister Ashlee are teaming up for another commercial endorsement. Following their Pizza Hut ads together, the siblings are shilling for Ice Breakers' new Liquid Ice breath mints. "As a busy newlywed and singer, I know how important it is to have fresh breath," Jessica Simpson said in a statement. "Whether it's liquid or it's ice — Ashlee seems to think it's both — Liquid Ice does the trick. But I'm a little stumped, so I'm hoping everyone will try it, decide for themselves, and cast their vote at www.liquidice.com." For every vote received, Hershey Foods is donating $1 — up to $10,000 — to Rock the Vote. ...

Joey Fatone, who made his Broadway debut in "Rent," will return to the Great White Way in "Little Shop of Horrors." Fatone will play Seymour in the production at the Virginia Theatre, starting on June 24. ... P.O.D. were forced to cancel a show on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, after singer Sonny Sandoval fell from the stage and bruised his ribs at a show a few days earlier. Sandoval is recovering and was able to perform in Atlanta on Sunday. ...

The inaugural NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge will have a special guest when it kicks off at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina, on May 22. Lenny Kravitz will be the grand marshal and say the obligatory "gentleman, start your engines." ... Jon Bon Jovi will act in two upcoming films. According to the Bon Jovi Web site, the Jersey rocker will star as Frank in National Lampoon's "The Trouble With Frank," directed by Arthur Hiller. The singer also has a minor role in "Cry Wolf," a modern-day adaptation of the children's tale "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," which is slated for a fall release. ...

A host of reggae artists has gotten together to pay tribute to Bob Dylan. The 15-track Is It Rolling, Bob, due August 10, features contributions from Toots Hibbert, the Mighty Diamonds and Sizzla covering "Maggie's Farm," "Lay Lady Lay" and "Subterranean Homesick Blues," respectively. ... On May 31, Beenie Man, Elephant Man, Baby Cham and T.O.K. will play at the fifth annual Celebrity Soccer Match, Caribbean Family Day and Food Festival taking place at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens, New York. ...

Libertines frontman Pete Doherty checked into the Priory drug addiction clinic in London on Friday. The band's second album, tentatively due this summer, is currently being mixed. ... Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood has been hired by the BBC Concert Orchestra to write songs as a composer in residence. Greenwood's music will be broadcast in the U.K. by Radio 3, and he will also write for BBC festivals and theme tunes for programs. ...

• Good Charlotte
• t.A.t.U.
• Eminem
• John Mayer
• Tamyra Gray