Lily Allen at the <i>GQ</i> Men of the Year Awards in London on Tuesday
Photo: Eamonn McCormack/WireImage

The verbal catfight between Lily Allen and Elton John at the GQ Men of the Year Awards in London on Tuesday was grossly blown out of proportion, Allen says in her MySpace blog. John's jabs about the young singer's drinking, and her quips about the pop icon's age, were nothing more than onstage banter, she asserts.

"Elton John and I are friends," she wrote. "I was honoured when Elton asked me to present the GQ Awards with him this year in association with Elton's AIDS foundation. Not only was it for a good cause, but who would say no to Elton?"

During the show John, 61, reportedly called out the 23-year-old for drinking while co-hosting the celeb-filled bash. "I'm not defending my drunkenness because I don't need to," Allen says. "I'm 23; it was an awards ceremony; I drank the free champagne. How awful of me."

She goes on to say the notion that she and John were fighting was really the work of "bitter journos" trying to stir the pot by mischaracterizing their comments. "Trying to create a feud ... and trying to make me out as being some rude little girl with a drink problem is just unfair.

"Elton and I exchanged jokes and there were no hard feelings at all," she continues. "In fact, neither of us gave it a second thought."

In the blog entry, Allen also airs her feelings about the media and the treatment they've given her since the incident. "All these showbiz journalists are just bullies when it comes down to it. I have felt really very bullied this week."

At Tuesday's event, The Times of London also reported that Allen blurted out the previously secret news that her brother Alfie was engaged to his girlfriend, actress Jaime Winstone. But Allen says this was another exaggeration. "Alfie and Jamie had never been engaged," she wrote. "Jamie and I are the best of friends, and I was just winding Alfie up. He's my little brother, and that's what siblings do."

• Lily Allen
• Elton John

Elton John and Lily Allen at the <i>GQ</i> Men Of The Year Awards
Photo: Dave M. Benett/ Getty Images

Lily Allen and Elton John got into a verbal scuffle while co-hosting Tuesday's GQ Men of the Year Awards at London's Royal Opera House, The Times of London reports.

The music veteran called out the 23-year-old pop singer for swearing and slurring her way through her dialogue as she drank champagne, according to the Times. "What, you are going to have another drink?" John asked.

That's when the real catfight got under way. "F--- off, Elton," Allen responded, while celebs like TV chef Gordon Ramsay, producer Mark Ronson, actress Thandie Newton and model Elle MacPherson looked on. "I'm 40 years younger than you. I have my whole life ahead of me."

John, 61, quipped, "I could still snort you under the table."

Allen then tried to play it off, saying, "I don't know what you are talking about."

She continued to steal the spotlight when Tony Bennett took the stage to accept the Inspiration Award. As John introduced the 82-year-old crooner, Allen announced, "I'll still f--- him."

Later in the night, Allen had some good news for the press. She revealed that her younger brother, actor Alfie Owen-Allen, is engaged to actress Jaime Winstone, introducing her as "my very soon-to-be sister-in-law."

At the magazine's annual ceremony, Led Zeppelin took home an Achievement Award for their comeback concert, Ronson received the Maverick Award, and Primal Scream were named Band of the Year.

• Lily Allen
• Elton John

Mariah Carey
Photo: Mariah Carey/Getty Images

Mariah Carey got a win in court last week when a federal judge decided that a copyright-infringement case against her had no merit. Singer Rachele Chafir had sued Carey in April 2006, claiming that Carey's hit "It's Like That" was copied from her song "Sexy" and lifted key pieces, including the music, for the chorus. Chafir, who copyrighted the song in 2004, claimed Carey had access to "Sexy" since it was available on a Web site, but U.S. District Court Judge Kimba Wood decided that wasn't proof Carey or her collaborators had gone to the Web site or lifted the material, which wasn't "strikingly similar" enough to be considered infringement. With "no genuine issues of material fact," Wood closed the case. "It was the right decision," Carey's lawyer Ilene Farkas told MTV News. "The record was clear in this case." Meanwhile, Carey is moving on with her yet-untitled follow-up to The Emancipation of Mimi, which her record label confirmed is now due December 4. ...

Going, going ... to Cooperstown. And with an asterisk on it. Baseball star Barry Bonds' record-breaking home-run ball, which was purchased two weeks ago in an online auction by hip-hop fashion mogul Marc Ecko, will be heading to the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum after all. Ecko bought the ball and launched a Web site giving fans the chance to vote on the ball's final destination: outer space or to Cooperstown, with or without an asterisk signifying Bonds' alleged steroid use in helping him become the all-time home-run king. The announcement was made Wednesday morning (September 26) on the "Today" show after a week of voting. According to Vote756.com, over 10 million votes were cast, of which 47 percent chose to send the tagged ball to the famed baseball museum. ...

The twisted saga of the investigation into the unsolved 1997 murder of the Notorious B.I.G. took another turn this week when Waymond Anderson, an inmate serving life for murder, recanted testimony in which he had implicated the Los Angeles Police Department in the rapper's murder. The Los Angeles Times reports that Anderson said in a recent deposition that he lied about LAPD involvement as part of a "scam" cooked up with two other convicts to get a big monetary settlement from the city of Los Angeles. Most shockingly, Anderson accused the rapper's family — which has filed a wrongful-death suit seeking damages from the city — and its lawyer of taking part in the scheme and offering to pay him a percentage of the settlement for false testimony against the LAPD. In the August 20 testimony, Anderson said he had never met the officers he implicated, despite earlier statements in which he described conversations with the two disgraced ex-LAPD cops. A lawyer for Biggie's family, Perry Sanders, called Anderson's allegations "100 percent, demonstrably false," adding yet another twist to the already-knotted-up story by saying that Anderson appeared to be changing his story at the behest of Chuck Philips, a Times reporter who has written extensively about the murder investigation and has questioned the theory of LAPD involvement. Phillips and the Times dismissed the allegations. ...

In other Biggie news, the recently released documentary "The Notorious B.I.G.: Bigger Than Life" follows the rapper's life from his early days to his death with interviews from many of the behind-the-scenes music-industry figures and friends who watched the rapper rise from a street-corner hustler to one of the biggest rap stars in the world. The film also features several minutes of previously unreleased footage shot by a bystander of the scene on the night Biggie was gunned down. The fan's video — which director Peter Spirer ("Beef," "Tupac Shakur: Thug Angel") said has been reviewed by authorities — doesn't capture the moment Biggie's car was shot at, but it does have audio of the shots and shaky footage of the chaotic aftermath. ...

Embattled football player Michael Vick is facing stricter release conditions after testing positive for marijuana earlier this month, The Associated Press reports. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson imposed the new conditions, which include restricting Vick to his home between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. with electronic monitoring and making him submit to random drug tests. He was ordered to continue participating in substance-abuse and mental-health counseling. Vick was put under pretrial release supervision in July, and the restrictions included refraining from the use of narcotic drugs or other controlled substances. The Atlanta Falcons quarterback, who pleaded guilty in August to federal dogfighting charges, is awaiting sentencing December 10 — and Vick's violation of the conditions of his release could be taken into consideration by the judge. He faces up to five years in prison for the federal charges, and has been indicted on additional state charges in Virginia as well. ...

A second woman has filed a lawsuit against Lil Wayne over a melee that broke out during one of his shows at Morgan State University in Baltimore in October. According to an AP story, Carlisa Dixon said she was impaled on a metal pole after the crowd surged to snatch up money that was being tossed from the stage. Dixon is seeking $1 million from Wayne's record label and touring companies, and another $1 million from the university, claiming she underwent surgery for a puncture wound as a result of the crowd surge. A lawsuit was filed in August by another woman who claimed she was trampled in the same money-throwing incident. A spokesperson for Wayne could not be reached for comment at press time. ...

A man died at a Smashing Pumpkins concert in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Monday night in what police think may have been a crowd-surfing or moshing accident. The Canadian Press reports that Vancouver police say the man was unconscious when he was dragged out of the crowd at the Pacific National Exhibition Forum during the show and worked on by first-aid personnel on site before being transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police have ruled out foul play. ... The Voodoo Music Experience is shifting locations, but just slightly. The fest, to take place October 26-28, has a new site in New Orleans City Park to accommodate ongoing restoration and improvement of the park. The shift brings the fest closer to Tad Gormley Stadium, where Voodoo was first held in 1999. ...

Do you march to Nelly's beat? The rapper is cobbling together a marching band for his performance at the BET Hip-Hop Awards on October 13. Auditions will be held Sunday starting at 11 a.m. in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New Orleans and St. Louis, and Nelly is looking for girls who can play drums, tri-toms, bass drum, tuba or trumpet. Prospective players need to know how to perform his song "Grillz" and move to the beat of the song while playing their instruments. Final auditions will be held October 8 in Atlanta, and those who can't make the auditions in person can post a one-minute video clip on Nelly's drum-line-audition site. ... If you've been doubting Swizz Beatz's fashion sense, think again — Gap has tapped the hugely popular producer for its spring ad campaign. ...

VH1 Rock Docs picked up its first Emmy win on Monday as "DMC: My Adoption Journey" earned the award for News & Documentary Emmy for Outstanding Arts & Culture Programming. The program, which revolves around the Run-DMC member's search for his birth mother, premiered in February 2006 and will re-air on VH1 on Saturday at 10 p.m. ... Have you already imported Babyface's Playlist into your own playlist? Then mark you calendar — the singer is putting together a tour in support of his recently released LP. Babyface will play a gig in the Philippines on October 13, followed by a stretch in Japan; after that he'll hit Oakland, California, on November 23, and Sparks, Nevada, the following day. ...

During a recent visit to "The Howard Stern Show," Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx spoke out about drummer Tommy Lee and his apparent departure from the band. He told Stern that Lee quit, and Sixx blamed the current legal problems the band is having with one of its former managers for the turmoil. Sixx said that, since Lee isn't the Crüe's frontman or chief songwriter, the band should be fine without him. He added that he harbors no ill will toward Lee. ... Snow Patrol keyboardist Tom Simpson was expected to appear in court in Glasgow, Scotland, on Tuesday to answer to drug-possession charges filed against him this summer. While the charges weren't dropped, the prosecution doesn't intend on taking "further action," meaning the charges will either have to be re-raised again or dropped altogether. ...

Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard's side project Brad are getting back together for a one-night-only show on October 17 at New York's Webster Hall. The benefit event will also feature Billy Bragg and be hosted by Tim Robbins. It is being held to support Woody and Marjorie Guthrie, and the 40th anniversary of the Huntington's Disease Society of America, which was founded by Marjorie. ... Puddle of Mudd aren't ones for Southern hospitality, apparently. Frontman Wesley Scantlin has been banned from Memphis' Graceland after hopping in the pool in Elvis Presley's mansion during a tour on Monday. ...

The Eagles will perform on an awards show for the first time when they take the stage at the Country Music Awards, which will air November 7 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. Carrie Underwood is also slated to perform. ... The Rolling Stones' recent tour didn't just carry the band to the top of Forbes' list of biggest-earning music acts — it landed them in the Guinness World Records, according to Reuters. The classic-rockers' A Bigger Bang tour took $437 million dollars to give them a new record, for the world's most successful music tour. ...

Killswitch Engage and Lamb of God will be teaming up for a late-fall co-headlining tour, which is set to kick off November 28 in Lowell, Massachusetts, with dates booked through December 17 in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. DevilDriver and Soilwork will open on all dates. ... Chris Cornell has added another round of dates to his North American tour, which began in the spring. He has booked another 28 gigs, meaning the trek will continue through November 23, when he's expected to perform at the Pearl Concert Theater at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. ...

A photo from Elton John's collection has been pulled from a British gallery where it was to be displayed over concerns by police that it might be child pornography. The photo — which was taken by award-winning American photographer Nan Goldin — shows two young girls, one with her legs spread apart, and was to be displayed at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in northern England before it was seized by police, according to London's Times Online. John released a statement, explaining, "The photograph entitled 'Klara and Edda belly-dancing' (1998) is one of 149 images comprising the 'Thanksgiving' installation by renowned U.S. photographer Nan Goldin ... The photograph exists as part of the installation as a whole and has been widely published and exhibited throughout the world [and] has been offered for sale at Sotheby's New York in 2002 and 2004, and has previously been exhibited in Houston, London, Madrid [Spain], New York, Portugal, Warsaw [Poland] and Zürich [Switzerland] without any objections of which we are aware."

09.25.07

While her fellow Black Eyed Pea Will.I.Am is hyping his new project, Songs About Girls, Fergie isn't slowing down with her own solo affair, last year's The Dutchess. The singer just shot a clip for the song "Clumsy" with directors Marc Webb (Diddy, the Pussycat Dolls) and Rich Lee (Chamillionaire, Dashboard Confessional). The surreal, humorous clip features Fergie falling head over heels — get it? — for love in various scenarios. ...

A House panel cast a congressional light on hip-hop lyrics on Tuesday (September 25), with David Banner and Master P giving sharply different views. The Associated Press reports that the latter rapper (real name: Percy Miller) told the Energy and Commerce subcommittee that he is determined to create clean lyrics. "I want to apologize to all the women out there. I was honestly wrong," he said of his prior material. Banner (real name: Levell Crump), on the other hand, defended his profane lyrics, saying, "Change the situation in my neighborhood, and maybe I'll get better." But while P and Banner didn't see eye to eye in terms of who is responsible for derogatory language in hip-hop, they agreed that the government shouldn't censor lyrics. "If by some stroke of the pen hip-hop was silenced, the issues would still be present in our communities. Drugs, violence, sexism and the criminal element were around long before hip-hop existed," Banner said. According to AP, the hearing was similar to the 1985 event in which late rocker Frank Zappa made a feisty appearance also railing against censorship. ...

Like the sound of the "Rocawear Arena" instead of the "Continental Airlines Arena"? Yeah, so does Jay-Z. The ambitious hip-hop mogul is bidding for the arena's naming rights, according to New Jersey's Star-Ledger. Although he is the co-owner of the New Jersey Nets and his Rocawar is a sponsor of the NBA team — which currently plays at Continental — sportswear maker Southpole has made the highest bid so far, $2 million. But there's a catch: The reason the name is up for grabs is because Continental is backing out of its deal with the arena, and both the Nets and hockey team the New Jersey Devils are planning to move to other venues. ...

Life isn't getting any easier for Britney Spears. Kim Robard-Rifkin, the reported woman whose car the singer hit in August — for which she was charged with two misdemeanors on Friday — has spoken out to CelebTV.com. "I was not surprised with the criminal charges — this is what happens when somebody hits your car and runs — especially when it is all caught on video," she said in a statement. Spears' former bodyguard Tony Barretto also spoke out on Monday, telling "Today" show host Matt Lauer that he had witnessed her using drugs on two occasions. While Barretto did not specify which drugs he supposedly saw her taking, he said both incidents occurred at a nightclub in Los Angeles, one at the table she was sitting at and the other in a private restroom. When Lauer asked him about a third incident in which he alleges to have seen her strung out in a Los Angeles hotel room, Barretto replied, "I did." ...

Sarah Silverman was surprised by the reaction that met her controversial VMA monologue, in which she flung derogatory insults at Britney Spears, among others, she told Us Weekly. Regarding one of her saltiest remarks — that Spears' kids "are the most adorable mistakes you will ever see" — Silverman replied, "The joke that everyone was upset about ... was the most innocuous joke. It never occurred to me that [it] would be deemed hurtful or over the line." She also told the magazine for its new issue, which streets Friday, "I don't want to get into feuds with girls half my age. I'm in it to be funny and not for the drama. It's embarrassing." ...

Look, up in the sky, it's a new Gnarls Barkley album! And as Cee-Lo recently told MTV News of the follow-up to St. Elsewhere, "It sounds otherwordly. ... It sounds like an original, if I do say so myself. The theme is progression and how there's a first time for everything. You just have to go for it." Beyond that, though, Cee-Lo didn't want to give up too much. Asked about collaborators, he demurred: "Danger Mouse is my special guest. He's my counterpart in the enigma of Gnarls Barkley." No duh — we meant, anyone else? "Let me continue to surprise you," Cee-Lo smiled. For those who caught Cee-Lo's take on Prince's "Darling Nikki" with the Foo Fighters at the VMAs, he wants fans to know that his performance at the show was supposed to be a surprise appearance with Amy Winehouse, "believe it or not." But since she had to bail from the show, he's saving that collaboration for a future appearance. ...

The Sex Pistols — who just tacked two more gigs onto their upcoming November reunion in London, according to BBC News — have another trick up their collective sleeve: A newly recorded rendition of their punk staple, "Anarchy in the U.K." The band entered the studio for the first time in 30 years to record the track, which will surface on "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock." ... As I Lay Dying clearly have more than a few gasps left — the metal band edged out Switchfoot, Jason Mraz and others to win the San Diego Music Award for Artist of the Year. AILD nabbed the same honor in 2005. ... Canadian singer/songwriter Patrick Watson and his band have pulled off an arguably more impressive feat: The Montreal quartet have nudged by Arcade Fire and Feist to land the Polaris Music Prize for Best Album. ...

Despite the recent head injuries sustained by guitarist Brent Hinds, Mastodon have booked a gig, opening for the Queens of the Stone Age on October 29 in Los Angeles. The band is also scheduled to appear at the Vegoose festival on October 27 in Las Vegas, where Hinds was jumped following Mastodon's performance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. Police claim Hinds was attacked outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on September 10 during an encounter with System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian and his friend William Hudson. According to police, Hudson assaulted Hinds, and Odadjian witnessed the incident. ... While at the VMAs, Mastodon told MTV News that they wrote their best song ever — even though it's not quite finished yet — while on the way to the big show. "It's pretty much the best record we've yet to write," guitarist Bill Kelliher said before singing a couple of the riffs with Hinds. "That's how it goes — du-duh-du-duh na-nah-nah. We wrote it in the car on the way over here, at least the intro of it. Part one. We're at the really beginning stages. It's going to be awesome, though. Everything we do is amazing." ...

The Game entered his expected not-guilty plea on Tuesday to three felony counts stemming from a pickup basketball game in Los Angeles in February. The rapper (real name: Jayceon Taylor) is free on $50,000 bail and has a pretrial hearing set for October 30. ... Jack Bauer might not be such a hero after all: Kiefer Sutherland was arrested early Tuesday morning for drunken driving in Hollywood, Reuters reports. The actor was pulled over after making an illegal U-turn and blew more than the .08 legal limit upon taking a breathalyzer test. He posted $25,000 bail at a Hollywood police station and is due in court on October 16. ...

The Phil Spector murder trial is in the hands of the jury now, but that hasn't stopped more bizarre developments from emerging in the case. According to AP, over the weekend, a threatening post appeared on a MySpace page possibly belonging to the music producer's wife, Rachelle. "I love Phil Spector!!! The Evil Judge Should Die!!!! Xoxo Chelle," read the post, a police spokesperson told the news outlet. The page, which features an image of Rachelle wearing a "Team Spector" tee, was referred to a sheriff's department unit that investigates such threats. The post has since been removed. ...

Amazon's new digital-music store is up and running, with songs going for 89 to 99 cents and albums selling for around $6-$10. The songs, which don't have copyright protections, can be burned onto CDs and copied to multiple computers. Record-label giants Universal and EMI, in addition to a flood of indie labels, are selling their songs through the site. ... A former trustee in James Brown's estate might have misappropriated up to $7 million of the late music legend's money, special administrators told a South Carolina judge on Monday. State Circuit Judge Jack Early told David Cannon, the former co-executor of Brown's will, to pay $400,000 and produce additional documents. Early also said Brown's family could pursue the claims. ...

The Cult will headline the fall installment of the Jägermeister Music Tour, which is set to launch October 17 in Pala, California, and run through mid-December, with the full list of dates coming soon. Rounding out the bill will be Vietnam, the Cliks and Action Action. ... Former L7 leader Donita Sparks is going out on her own with her debut solo effort, Transmiticate, due January 22. The effort, which will feature her new backing band, the Stellar Moments, shifts away from the grunge and metal sounds that defined L7 and tinkers with more pop and dance elements. ...

Fans of Los Angeles ska act Hepcat are mourning the passing of bassist Dave Fuentes, 36. While details are scarce, the band did issue a statement, saying, "We are sad to announce that our brother, beloved bandmate and amazing friend, David Fuentes, is no longer with us. He will be missed by everyone but especially everyone in the Hepcat family." He leaves a wife, Yohanna, and two sons, Andrew, 7, and Darren, 3. A memorial fund has been established to help his family. ... A special-effects technician working on the set of the Batman sequel "The Dark Knight" was killed when a truck carrying a camera platform rammed into a tree on Monday in London, AP reports. Filming was not taking place at the time of the accident, which is under investigation.

• Mariah Carey
• Notorious B.I.G.
• Lil Wayne
• The Smashing Pumpkins
• Killswitch Engage

Britney Spears
Photo: Alexander Tamargo/ Getty Images

Britney Spears suffered a setback in her child-custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline during a hearing on Monday (September 17). An anticipated "secret witness" — who turned out to be one of the singer's ex-bodyguards — came forward to file a declaration to the court and make himself available to testify on "issues of nudity by Ms. Spears, drug use and safety issues involving the children post-rehab," according to his attorney Gloria Allred. Spears' attorney chose not to cross-examine Tony Barretto, so the ex-bodyguard did not take the stand, which "shocked" Allred, she said. "Since neither the court nor Ms. Spears' attorney chose to examine our client from the witness stand regarding the particulars of his highly explosive and relevant declaration, it stands unrefuted and unchallenged," Allred told reporters outside the courthouse. However, contents of that declaration were not made public Monday, nor were the court's minutes from the closed hearing, so there's no word on how the declaration was received. Federline's attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan told reporters he didn't see a quick end to the custody dispute, since the next hearing isn't set until November 26, with another court date to follow in December. "I don't see it being resolved before that time," he said. To make matters worse for Spears, she lost two members of her team on Monday. Attorney Laura Wasser is no longer providing her with legal representation in the custody battle, Wasser confirmed to MTV News — the singer has new representation in Marci Levine, according to Levine's office. Shortly after Wasser threw in the towel, Spears' management company, the Firm, quit as well, according to People. "It saddens us to confirm media reports that we have terminated our professional relationship with Britney Spears," read the statement. "We believe Britney is enormously talented and has made a terrific record, but current circumstances have prevented us from properly doing our job. We wish Britney the best." ...

Meanwhile, the level of absurdity surrounding the Spears/Federline saga has reached a new height. As the former spouses' custody battle continued in Los Angeles Superior Court, another story started to unravel outside the courthouse: that of an alleged contract hit on Federline's life. According to the FBI's Los Angeles office, a "non-specific," "low-credibility" and "uncorroborated" threat on Federline's life was received. "Since there was no federal jurisdiction, we shared the information with the local authorities," FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller told MTV News. "We take every threat seriously. But there was no specificity, no corroboration, and it could not be substantiated." The LAPD, who seemed to take the threat a little less seriously, laughed when asked about it, telling MTV News, "We do not have a current investigation." Federline's rep had no official comment, but his lawyer told reporters outside the courthouse on Monday, "Until I see what the alleged threat was, I can't speak to that." ...

Dave Grohl has opened up to U.K. newspaper The Guardian about the death of his former Nirvana bandmate Kurt Cobain. "Kurt dying shocked me into running away from music for a while," he divulged. "I started Foo Fighters because I didn't want to retreat. I couldn't imagine joining another band and sitting behind the drum set, because I would always think about Krist [Novoselic] and Kurt." Grohl also revealed that while one of the Foos' earliest songs, "I'll Stick Around," was not directed at Cobain's ex-wife, Courtney Love, he wouldn't be surprised if similar comparisons are made over "Let It Die." The song, featured on the Foos' new album, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, features the lyric "A simple man and his blushing bride/ Intravenous, intertwined." The tune was "written about feeling helpless to someone else's demise," Grohl said. "I've seen people lose it all to drugs and heartbreak and death. It's happened more than once in my life, but the one that's most noted is Kurt. And there are a lot of people that I've been angry with in my life, but the one that's most noted is Courtney. So it's pretty obvious to me that those correlations are gonna pop up every now and again. I still remain a little secretive about it all." ...

Even at Sunday night's Emmys, where he wasn't nominated for anything, Kanye West couldn't win. The rapper notorious for loudly expressing his award-show-freeze-out frustrations playfully lampooned his sore-loser reputation during a skit in which actor Rainn Wilson ("The Office") beat Kanye at a game of "Don't Forget the Lyrics" based on 'Ye's song "Stronger," with the loser doomed to retiring from show business. After West slipped up and sang "that's how long I've been on you," comedian Wayne Brady joked that Mr. West picked "the wrong time to speak properly," pointing out that the lyric ends with the words "on ya." A smiling West exclaimed, "I never win!" The consolation? West had a front-row seat for the Los Angeles ceremony, right next to multiple winner Tony Bennett. Later on in the evening, he popped over to Justin Timberlake's concert at the Staples Center for a rendition of West's "Stronger," according to TMZ.com. ...

The stars of "High School Musical" are still in negotiations for a third flick, Corbin Bleu told People magazine. "Truthfully as long as it's a good script and as long as everybody is being paid fairly, I would be more than happy to go and have one last hurrah," he said. The 18-year-old actor also revealed that he's never actually been to an "HSM" premiere due to various scheduling conflicts. ... Comic book fan Ghostface Killah is partnering with Adult Swim for a free tour set to hit college campuses next month. The trek, which will feature Witchdoctor as the opening act, will begin October 1 at the State University of New York in Albany and run through an October 19 gig at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Indie-rockers ... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead and Dethlok — the once-fictional animated band featured on the Adult Swim program "Metalocalypse" — are joining forces for a separate free trek, but shows have not been announced beyond the October 29 start date. ...

Will Ferrell isn't your typical actor, so it makes sense he wouldn't be your typical charity donor either — he's raising money for a friend's cancer foundation by auctioning a cameo spot in his new flick, The Associated Press reports. Online bidding for an appearance in "Step Brothers" began Monday and ends September 26, and the opening bid was $5,000. The winner will be announced September 27; get to meet with Ferrell at the Cancer for College golf tournament dinner at Temecula Creek Inn in Temecula, California; and shoot a scene with the actor in October. The proceeds will go to Craig Pollard's Cancer for College foundation — Pollard and Ferrell were fraternity brothers at the University of Southern California. ...

Apparently Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor plans to disband the group's current lineup following the final gig on its current tour, which is set for Tuesday in Honolulu. Reznor told Honolulu's Star-Bulletin that he wants "to switch things around a bit." Nine Inch Nails, he said, "as a rock band configuration [has] done it and we've done it again. I see other ways I can present the material in concert, more challenging, something new. I don't want it to go stale." The band has been touring together for more than two years and currently includes drummer Josh Freese, guitarist Aaron North, bassist Jeordie White and keyboardist Alessandro Cortini. ... Marilyn Manson is teaming up with a French family-run distillery, Matter-Luginbuehl, to produce thousands of bottles of his own brand of absinthe, called "Mansinthe." Production on the line started last month, and so far, 6,000 bottles have been made. No word on when "Mansinthe" will be commercially available, or for that matter, where. ... Former Evanescence members Ben Moody and David Hodges have collaborated with Celine Dion for a track slated to appear on the singer's forthcoming Taking Chances LP, due November 13. The duo wrote and produced one track for Dion, called "This Time." ...

Live Nation, which runs the House of Blues chain, has either canceled or moved to alternate venues five heavy-metal concerts previously scheduled at House of Blues clubs located on Walt Disney Co. property in Anaheim, California, and Orlando, Florida, according to the Los Angeles Times. In Anaheim, a gig that had been booked two months earlier and was set to feature Machine Head, Arch Enemy, Throwdown and Sanctity on September 7 was moved to a different venue; a show that was supposed to feature Cannibal Corpse, the Black Dahlia Murder, the Red Chord and the Absence on September 13 was also shifted to a different club; and Obituary's planned September 26 concert has been canceled. Two other shows, scheduled for the House of Blues in Orlando, have been moved as well. John Vlautin, vice president of communications for Live Nation, said in a statement that "House of Blues offers a range of entertainment to match the audience at our venues. It was determined that the mix of entertainment at our two Disney locations should be different from our other venues." ...

After months of delays, the free-download site SpiralFrog finally launched on Monday, offering users the chance to choose from more than 700,000 songs and 3,500 videos from a number of independent labels and Universal Music Group acts like Amy Winehouse, Timbaland, Rihanna and Fall Out Boy. The ad-supported site requires users to wait 90 seconds while downloading tracks and sign in every month to answer some questions about their buying habits. Unfortunately for iPod users, the site doesn't work with the biggest-selling MP3 player, and users can't burn the songs onto CDs.

09.14.07

Kanye West's Graduation is proving to be quite the bear. The album leads with 781,000 copies sold over the 603,000 moved by 50 Cent's Curtis according to projections, Billboard reports. "It's just a few days out," Fiddy told the news outlet, qualifying the numbers. He said the music industry "would consider me to be a hip-hop favorite because of my sales history, and people like to root for the underdog." He also took some time Thursday to sound off about Sunday's VMAs on New York's Hot 97, saying he was shorted compared to 'Ye — even though West has also been complaining he didn't get enough airtime during the show. Fif also managed to take a swipe at his record label, Interscope, during the VMA rant: "As far as the VMAs were concerned, Kanye received the upper hand. I ain't going to front. He had four looks — his song 'Stronger,' his new record 'Good Life,' he had a performance with Soulja Boy, 'Crank [That],' and then he came out with me. So I feel like Def Jam is doing a better job of promoting the CD than Interscope. Interscope is just relying on my base and the actual music. I was on the VMAs for one minute and 20 seconds. I should've just stayed home." ...

Last weekend, Britney Spears had the VMAs to worry about — this weekend, it's her kids. On Friday (September 14), a Los Angeles Superior Court judge postponed making a ruling on whether court documents relating to the singer's divorce and custody case with ex-husband Kevin Federline should be sealed or open to the public. "Access Hollywood" and People magazine were among the media outlets representing the public's interests. Outside the courtroom, Spears' divorce attorney Laura Wasser spoke to reporters, telling them this is a frustrating time for the singer. "I think she just wants to be a mom," Wasser told reporters, "and both of her kids' birthdays are this week, and I think she would've liked to celebrate with them without having to worry about the entire nation — the entire world — being concerned about what's going on with her personally and her custody battle with Mr. Federline." On Monday, the judge will hear Federline's order to show cause for primary physical custody of the couple's two children: Sean Preston, who turned 2 on Friday; and Jayden James, who turned 1 on Wednesday. ...

Earlier this week, the "American Idol" judges had at Britney Spears' VMA performance — now "Dancing With the Stars" judge Carrie Ann Inaba is following suit. "When I watched it, I think they gave her a great place to make a comeback," she told Newsweek. "It was more mature than we've seen in the past. The thing that was unfortunate is that the center of the performance was Britney, and she was only giving about 30 percent. That's why it fell short. The backup dancers focused all the energy right to Britney, and she was the weakest link. ... I think fear got the best of her." ... Jamie Foxx got a place on Hollywood's Walk of Fame on Friday, and when he chatted with reporters at the induction ceremony, he inevitably gave his two cents on Spears' performance. "I think Britney's gonna be fine," he said. "I think that she was courageous to get up there and do her thing. I wish her well for that." ...

Common and Q-Tip will co-headline this year's 2K Sports Bounce Tour, which will kick off September 22 in Milwaukee and conclude October 14 in Los Angeles, according to Filter magazine. Q-Tip is featured in "NBA 2K8" as a playable character and is on the video game's soundtrack as well. ... Mark Ronson — who manned the ones and twos inside the Palms' Pearl Theatre during last weekend's Vegas VMAs — has slapped two U.S. tour dates onto his itinerary: October 3 (Los Angeles) and October 5 (New York). ...

A fire broke out at the Austin City Limits Music Festival on Friday afternoon, injuring four people, according to Austin360.com. The flames erupted inside a trailer located behind the beverage-vendor tents between two of the festival stages, and Pete Yorn's set was stopped as the fire was extinguished. All four people were transported to Brackenridge Hospital, and two are in critical condition. ...

Madonna, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher attended a Kabbalah conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Friday to celebrate the Jewish New Year, according to The Associated Press. She reportedly didn't speak with the media, and the conference was closed to TV cameras. ... Master P visited Monroe Middle School in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday and spoke to roughly 800 students about the importance of education, good financial management and a vision for success, AP reports. The rapper was approached by math teacher Bonnie Mwanda, who reportedly heard he would be in town and thought his success might be an inspiration for her students, many of whom come from similar backgrounds as the hip-hop mogul. "If the principal tells me y'all have a good year, I'm going to bring Romeo back to do a concert," he told the students, according to AP. ...

Fred Durst has been keeping a relatively low profile these days, but the Limp Bizkit frontman was given a 120-day suspended jail sentence after pleading no contest to seven misdemeanors way back on August 16, AP reports. He was also ordered to perform 20 hours of community service and fined $1,500 for assault, battery and reckless driving, for deliberately hitting two people with his car in Los Angeles in October 2006. Moreover, Durst was hit with a restraining order, is not allowed within 100 yards of the two victims — whose names have not been revealed — and cannot possess a firearm. ...

Elton John made a surprise appearance onstage during a Prince concert at London's O2 arena Thursday night. BBC News reports that John joined Prince for a cover of the Beatles' "The Long and Winding Road." After the two-hour-plus show, Prince ducked into the O2's smaller theater and played another two-hour gig, which included covers of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" and another Beatles song, "Come Together." ... Led Zeppelin fans are getting more time for a chance at tickets to see the band perform a one-off reunion gig November 26 at London's O2 arena. Organizers behind the concert — a tribute to late music icon Ahmet Ertegun — are extending the lottery-application process to Wednesday, Billboard reports. The Web site set up to handle registrations received 89.5 million attempts in a 12-hour period on Thursday, according to the news outlet. ...

Members of underground-rock heroes Shudder to Think will reconvene for a one-off gig at New York's Mercury Lounge on Monday, Pitchfork reports. Frontman Craig Wedren and guitarist Nathan Larson — whose conflicts were part of the reason the band broke up in the late '90s — will get together with drummer Kevin March for the gig, although bassist Stuart Hill will not be accompanying them. ... Glassjaw have booked three California dates for next month. The reunited band will play October 28 in Hollywood; October 29 in San Diego; and October 30 in Pomona, California. ... Iconic punk band Operation Ivy's 1991 self-titled compilation LP will be reissued on November 6 on Hellcat. The classic release has been remastered and will also be available for download for the first time. ... PJ Harvey's White Chalk album has shifted from a September 25 release date to October 2. ...

AT&T's Blue Room, the site where political comments made by Pearl Jam during Lollapalooza were censored a month ago, has announced a new policy to avoid repeating that controversial practice during its webcast of this weekend's Austin City Limits Music Festival. According to AT&T spokesperson Steven Schwadron, "AT&T has developed an AT&T Blue Room policy to maintain integrity of the live performances featured on the site. AT&T will not edit any audio during the live webcast, of performances. We may edit visual content — either through camera angle changes or video blackouts — if there is strong sexual content. Also, we are going to have a clear viewer-discretion messaging both before and during the webcasts. The terms and conditions of the site, which users accept when they choose to view the webcast, requires users to be at least 13 years of age." ...

It's been 42 years since Johnny Cash's arrest in Starkville, Mississippi, for picking flowers from a resident's garden. But a judge who is reviewing the matter could potentially pardon the late musician, according to BBC News, and the city plans to instead honor him with the Johnny Cash Pickin' Festival from November 2-4. Cash wrote the track "Starkville City Jail" — which he performed at his legendary live At San Quentin prison LP — after spending a night in the city's prison.

• Kanye Lectures On The Importance Of Graduation

• Kanye West
• Justin Timberlake
• Nine Inch Nails
• Celine Dion
• Machine Head

Kanye West and 50 Cent at the 2007 VMAs
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

Kanye West's Graduation is proving to be quite the bear. The album leads with 781,000 copies sold over the 603,000 moved by 50 Cent's Curtis according to projections, Billboard reports. "It's just a few days out," Fiddy told the news outlet, qualifying the numbers. He said the music industry "would consider me to be a hip-hop favorite because of my sales history, and people like to root for the underdog." He also took some time Thursday to sound off about Sunday's VMAs on New York's Hot 97, saying he was shorted compared to 'Ye — even though West has also been complaining he didn't get enough airtime during the show. Fif also managed to take a swipe at his record label, Interscope, during the VMA rant: "As far as the VMAs were concerned, Kanye received the upper hand. I ain't going to front. He had four looks — his song 'Stronger,' his new record 'Good Life,' he had a performance with Soulja Boy, 'Crank [That],' and then he came out with me. So I feel like Def Jam is doing a better job of promoting the CD than Interscope. Interscope is just relying on my base and the actual music. I was on the VMAs for one minute and 20 seconds. I should've just stayed home." ...

Last weekend, Britney Spears had the VMAs to worry about — this weekend, it's her kids. On Friday (September 14), a Los Angeles Superior Court judge postponed making a ruling on whether court documents relating to the singer's divorce and custody case with ex-husband Kevin Federline should be sealed or open to the public. "Access Hollywood" and People magazine were among the media outlets representing the public's interests. Outside the courtroom, Spears' divorce attorney Laura Wasser spoke to reporters, telling them this is a frustrating time for the singer. "I think she just wants to be a mom," Wasser told reporters, "and both of her kids' birthdays are this week, and I think she would've liked to celebrate with them without having to worry about the entire nation — the entire world — being concerned about what's going on with her personally and her custody battle with Mr. Federline." On Monday, the judge will hear Federline's order to show cause for primary physical custody of the couple's two children: Sean Preston, who turned 2 on Friday; and Jayden James, who turned 1 on Wednesday. ...

Earlier this week, the "American Idol" judges had at Britney Spears' VMA performance — now "Dancing With the Stars" judge Carrie Ann Inaba is following suit. "When I watched it, I think they gave her a great place to make a comeback," she told Newsweek. "It was more mature than we've seen in the past. The thing that was unfortunate is that the center of the performance was Britney, and she was only giving about 30 percent. That's why it fell short. The backup dancers focused all the energy right to Britney, and she was the weakest link. ... I think fear got the best of her." ... Jamie Foxx got a place on Hollywood's Walk of Fame on Friday, and when he chatted with reporters at the induction ceremony, he inevitably gave his two cents on Spears' performance. "I think Britney's gonna be fine," he said. "I think that she was courageous to get up there and do her thing. I wish her well for that." ...

Common and Q-Tip will co-headline this year's 2K Sports Bounce Tour, which will kick off September 22 in Milwaukee and conclude October 14 in Los Angeles, according to Filter magazine. Q-Tip is featured in "NBA 2K8" as a playable character and is on the video game's soundtrack as well. ... Mark Ronson — who manned the ones and twos inside the Palms' Pearl Theatre during last weekend's Vegas VMAs — has slapped two U.S. tour dates onto his itinerary: October 3 (Los Angeles) and October 5 (New York). ...

A fire broke out at the Austin City Limits Music Festival on Friday afternoon, injuring four people, according to Austin360.com. The flames erupted inside a trailer located behind the beverage-vendor tents between two of the festival stages, and Pete Yorn's set was stopped as the fire was extinguished. All four people were transported to Brackenridge Hospital, and two are in critical condition. ...

Madonna, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher attended a Kabbalah conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Friday to celebrate the Jewish New Year, according to The Associated Press. She reportedly didn't speak with the media, and the conference was closed to TV cameras. ... Master P visited Monroe Middle School in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday and spoke to roughly 800 students about the importance of education, good financial management and a vision for success, AP reports. The rapper was approached by math teacher Bonnie Mwanda, who reportedly heard he would be in town and thought his success might be an inspiration for her students, many of whom come from similar backgrounds as the hip-hop mogul. "If the principal tells me y'all have a good year, I'm going to bring Romeo back to do a concert," he told the students, according to AP. ...

Fred Durst has been keeping a relatively low profile these days, but the Limp Bizkit frontman was given a 120-day suspended jail sentence after pleading no contest to seven misdemeanors way back on August 16, AP reports. He was also ordered to perform 20 hours of community service and fined $1,500 for assault, battery and reckless driving, for deliberately hitting two people with his car in Los Angeles in October 2006. Moreover, Durst was hit with a restraining order, is not allowed within 100 yards of the two victims — whose names have not been revealed — and cannot possess a firearm. ...

Elton John made a surprise appearance onstage during a Prince concert at London's O2 arena Thursday night. BBC News reports that John joined Prince for a cover of the Beatles' "The Long and Winding Road." After the two-hour-plus show, Prince ducked into the O2's smaller theater and played another two-hour gig, which included covers of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" and another Beatles song, "Come Together." ... Led Zeppelin fans are getting more time for a chance at tickets to see the band perform a one-off reunion gig November 26 at London's O2 arena. Organizers behind the concert — a tribute to late music icon Ahmet Ertegun — are extending the lottery-application process to Wednesday, Billboard reports. The Web site set up to handle registrations received 89.5 million attempts in a 12-hour period on Thursday, according to the news outlet. ...

Members of underground-rock heroes Shudder to Think will reconvene for a one-off gig at New York's Mercury Lounge on Monday, Pitchfork reports. Frontman Craig Wedren and guitarist Nathan Larson — whose conflicts were part of the reason the band broke up in the late '90s — will get together with drummer Kevin March for the gig, although bassist Stuart Hill will not be accompanying them. ... Glassjaw have booked three California dates for next month. The reunited band will play October 28 in Hollywood; October 29 in San Diego; and October 30 in Pomona, California. ... Iconic punk band Operation Ivy's 1991 self-titled compilation LP will be reissued on November 6 on Hellcat. The classic release has been remastered and will also be available for download for the first time. ... PJ Harvey's White Chalk album has shifted from a September 25 release date to October 2. ...

AT&T's Blue Room, the site where political comments made by Pearl Jam during Lollapalooza were censored a month ago, has announced a new policy to avoid repeating that controversial practice during its webcast of this weekend's Austin City Limits Music Festival. According to AT&T spokesperson Steven Schwadron, "AT&T has developed an AT&T Blue Room policy to maintain integrity of the live performances featured on the site. AT&T will not edit any audio during the live webcast, of performances. We may edit visual content — either through camera angle changes or video blackouts — if there is strong sexual content. Also, we are going to have a clear viewer-discretion messaging both before and during the webcasts. The terms and conditions of the site, which users accept when they choose to view the webcast, requires users to be at least 13 years of age." ...

It's been 42 years since Johnny Cash's arrest in Starkville, Mississippi, for picking flowers from a resident's garden. But a judge who is reviewing the matter could potentially pardon the late musician, according to BBC News, and the city plans to instead honor him with the Johnny Cash Pickin' Festival from November 2-4. Cash wrote the track "Starkville City Jail" — which he performed at his legendary live At San Quentin prison LP — after spending a night in the city's prison.

09.13.07

50 Cent, Common, Nicole Scherzinger and others have all had their say about Britney Spears' VMA performance — now the "American Idol" judges are having at her. "We've decided that we're all going to collectively manage Britney," Simon Cowell remarked at a press conference earlier this week, according to "Access Hollywood." "We're going to manage Britney, take her career over," Randy Jackson added. Cowell snickered that he would "keep her away from the stupid friends, buy her some underwear," while Paula Abdul — as always — tried to put a positive spin on her VMA performance: "I never count her out." Spears' fellow former teen icon Joey Fatone has also chimed in on the performance, telling "Extra," "I felt bad but didn't. It looked like she was really lost. A lot of people ... really want her to seek help ... there's something not right here, something needs to obviously be done before anything tragic happens. She's a great girl ... I've known her for many years." ...

In other Brit news, she attended an unscheduled meeting with Kevin Federline and his attorney on Wednesday — five days before they were due to meet before a family court judge. The meeting was reportedly held at the Century City, California, offices of Spears attorney Laura Wasser. Federline has been trying to seek full custody of the former spouses' two sons, Jayden James and Sean Preston. ...

Lil' Kim — who took a swipe at 50 Cent on her 2005 LP, The Naked Truth — is finding herself right alongside him in a new lawsuit filed by a record producer, The Associated Press reports. Carlos Evans claims in papers recently filed in a New York court that he was contracted to produce, engineer and mix Kim's "Magic Stick" (featuring 50 Cent), a song that sold 2 million copies, but that he wasn't paid the royalties he was promised. He adds that while he was paid the $7,500 advance he was guaranteed for the song, his requests for a royalties audit have been ignored. His suit seeks $1 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages. Theodore Sedlmayr, a lawyer for Rotten Apple Records — which is also named in the suit — told AP the late-royalty problems stem from the fact that Evans put a lengthy sample, which had to be licensed and paid for, in the song. "Atlantic is trying to get it straightened out. If after the accounting Mr. Evans is entitled to anything, he'll get it then," Sedlmayr told the news service. ....

Snoop Dogg, Talib Kweli, Mobb Deep, DMC and others will come together November 29 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York for the J.A.M. Awards, a Jam Master Jay- and Run-DMC-inspired event intended to reflect the positive aspects of rap. The event — being put on by Hot 97, the Jam Master Jay Foundation for Music and other organizations — will be co-hosted by DMC, who said in a statement that it "is not designed merely for music fans, but also for people who want to see hip-hop answer its critics with a resounding voice of hope and inspiration." Eminem has also donated money for the cause, and the shindig will also feature Raekwon, Papoose and other to-be-named artists. ...

Beyoncé, Gwen Stefani and Jennifer Lopez are this year's best-dressed women, according to People. Kirsten Dunst and Janet Jackson aren't so lucky, though — they're cited for wearing the worst red-carpet dresses of the year in the magazine's "Best & Worst Dressed" issue, out Friday. Angelina Jolie, Jessica Biel, Cameron Diaz, Avril Lavigne, Lily Allen and Reese Witherspoon are also noted in the issue, as are a handful of men: Terrence Howard, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt and George Clooney among them. ... Shakira, teacher's pet? Perhaps: PeopleEnEspanol.com reports that the singer has been taking Western-civ classes at the University of California, Los Angeles, over the course of the summer. ...

The White Stripes, who announced earlier this week that their U.S. tour would be scrapped due to Meg White's acute anxiety, have tabled their U.K. tour as well, BBC News reports. The band's eight-date arena tour, which was slated for October 24-November 2, would have been its largest U.K. trek to date. ... Foo Fighters have drummed up four shows in addition to their scheduled Saturday performance at Southern California radio station KROQ's LA Invasion. The band — which drops its Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace on September 25 — will grace New York (September 20); New Orleans (October 2); Atlanta (October 4); and Atlantic City, New Jersey (October 6). The rock act will also tape a performance for the "Nissan Live Sets on Yahoo! Music" series on Tuesday and be the featured musical guest on "Saturday Night Live" on October 13. ...

Queens of the Stone Age — who performed with the Foos during the VMAs — apparently have an unlikely fan in "chef-at-large" Anthony Bourdain. They stopped by his "No Reservations" Travel Channel show last week to shoot an appearance for the program. In the episode, Bourdain is cooking a holiday meal in his Connecticut home while the band is performing in the basement. QOTSA emerge wearing cheesy Christmas sweaters, dine with Bourdain and perform the holiday jingle "Silver Bells," retitled "Turkey Bells." The ep also allegedly features karaoke, Christmas carols and a Japanese businessman, so stay tuned. ... System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian — who also performed with the Foos — has announced a bunch of tour dates in support of his solo debut, Elect the Dead, which hits stores October 23. His North American tour kicks off October 12 at the Vic Theatre in Chicago and will make stops in Toronto, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Dallas, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, before concluding October 28 in San Francisco. ...

Led Zeppelin are getting a whole lotta love from fans after announcing a one-off reunion gig on Wednesday. More than 20 million fans have attempted to get tickets for the November 26 concert at the O2 arena in London in honor of late music icon Ahmet Ertegun, according to Agence France Presse. The venue can hold up to 20,000 people, and a lottery is being held in which tickets will be drawn at random. ...

Prince is planning to sue eBay, YouTube and other Web sites as part of an effort to "reclaim the Internet," according to the MediaGuardian.co.uk. Lawsuits pertaining to his material will be launched in the U.S. and U.K. through the anti-piracy firm Web Sheriff, which represents Prince. Over the course of the past two weeks, the artist's legal reps have asked for the removal of more than 2,000 videos that are alleged to have been uploaded illegally online. Web Sheriff Managing Director John Giacobbi said Prince "wants to create a template for other artists" but that he "doesn't really want to go around suing people — he'd much rather people just respected his rights. He will be victorious." ...

A security guard who worked a Guns N' Roses concert nearly 11 years ago is suing Axl Rose for battery and negligence, according to court documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in late August and obtained by TMZ.com. Gary Armijo claims that he was positioned at the front of the stage at the GN'R show in Universal City, California, on December 20, 1996, and that the singer came to the front of the stage and intentionally kicked the guard in the head, causing injuries. Armijo says he has experienced pain and suffering, sleeplessness, headaches and loss of earnings, and has incurred medical expenses as well. ...

The Cure have rescheduled for next year 18 of the 19 gigs they had intended to play in North America this year. The band's 4Tour North America run will now take them from May 9 in Washington, D.C., through June 20 in New York. In between will be an additional performance at the Sasquatch! Music Festival in George, Washington, on May 25 — the band has been promised a show-closing 150-minute slot for the fest. Those who want refunds on their 2007 tickets can do so at the original point of purchase until November 1. ... "Spawn" creator and toy magnate Todd McFarlane told Reuters he's spawning plans to direct a feature flick. He said he's eyeing low-budget concepts: "You're going to have some young kid do those anyway, so let me have a crack at it." McFarlane was at the annual GameStop convention, showcasing a new lineup of toys based on "Halo 3." ...

Bobby Byrd, James Brown's longtime sideman and co-singer, died of cancer on Wednesday, according to The Augusta Chronicle of Georgia. Byrd sung the classic "get on up" refrain in "Get Up I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine." He was also the co-founder of the Famous Flames, which became Brown's first backing band.

• Travis Barker, 50 Cent, Common On Britney's VMA Performance
• 2007 VMA: The Entire 2007 MTV Video Music Awards On-Demand
• Kanye Lectures On The Importance Of Graduation

• Shooting Stars: A Celeb's Eye View Of The VMAs
• 50 Cent's 5 Borough Tour Hits Manhattan
• Paris Hilton, Diddy, Timbaland, Janet Jackson, More Hit The Vegas Party Scene
• Britney's VMA Weekend: From Los Angeles To Las Vegas

• 50 Cent
• Kanye West
• Britney Spears
• Madonna
• Master P

Eminem
Photo: Getty Images

Eminem and Kim Mathers agreed not to criticize each other in public on Monday (March 26), The Associated Press reports. The couple agreed that fighting publicly could be harmful to their 11-year-old daughter, Hailie. Eminem, who had previously filed a motion seeking to stop his ex-wife from making "derogatory" comments about him in public, was not at the closed-door court hearing but spoke by telephone. ...

Ciara, Ludacris, Ne-Yo, Robin Thicke, Steve Harvey and the O'Jays — with Keith Sweat and Johnny Gill — have been added to the Essence Music Festival lineup. They join previously announced participants including Beyoncé, Chris Brown and Mary J. Blige. The fest takes place July 5-7 in New Orleans. ... Slayer are planning to hit the road yet again in support of last year's Christ Illusion, this time with Marilyn Manson as the co-headliner. The full schedule hasn't been announced, but expect the metal madness to hit 25 cities, starting July 25 on the East Coast and ending in early September on the West Coast. Two support acts will be added. ...

Nas, Public Enemy, the Roots, Mos Def, EPMD, Cypress Hill and Pharoahe Monch are among the artists joining the Rock the Bells lineup, which features previously announced headliners Rage Against the Machine and Wu-Tang Clan. Tickets go on sale Saturday for shows at New York's Randall's Island (July 28); San Bernardino, California's NOS Events Center (August 11); and San Francisco's McCovey's Parking Lot (August 18). Organizers also announced Monday that the tour will be extended with 15 more shows, featuring co-headliners Nas and Wu-Tang Clan — but not Rage. Details on the added dates will be revealed in the coming weeks. ...

Mary Weiland, wife of Scott, was arrested Monday for allegedly setting fire to the Velvet Revolver singer's clothes outside their home in Toluca Lake, California, AP reports. She was later booked for investigation of felony arson vandalism, and their children, ages 4 and 6, were placed in custody of family friends. That wasn't the only weekend incident involving the couple, though — on Saturday, police were called to the Graciela Hotel in Burbank after the Weilands were found brawling there. ... Rapper DG Yola was shot in a failed robbery attempt while his vehicle was stopped at a red light in Atlanta on Saturday night; the bullet went through one cheek and out the other. Yola is currently recovering at an Atlanta hospital, where doctors are optimistic that he will make a full recovery. "He is already up and about and writing. Yola ain't gonna let up," his family said in a statement. "We respectfully request privacy and appreciate the well-wishes and prayers of Yola's fans during this time." Yola's debut album, Gutta World, is scheduled to be released on Power Hittas/ Atlantic in June. ...

Kal Penn, UPenn prof? The actor, who stars most recently in "The Namesake" but is better known as Kumar from "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle," will teach two undergraduate courses at the University of Pennsylvania during the school's spring 2008 semester, AP reports. Penn will guest-instruct "Images of Asian Americans in the Media" and "Contemporary American Teen Films." ... Sean Lennon is taking to the road for a monthlong tour in support of his recent release Friendly Fire. The string of dates spans a Friday gig in Dallas through an April 29 show in San Francisco. ...

Arcade Fire have been forced to cancel the last eight dates of their European tour after lead singer Win Butler succumbed to a nagging sinus/bronchial infection while in Norway. In a post titled "Heavy Heart" that went up on the band's Web site Saturday, the singer explained, "I am backstage at the venue in Oslo and I just had to make the very sad decision to cancel the rest of the European tour. I have been suffering from a sinus and bronchial infection for the last three months, and last night in Stockholm I finally pushed my voice and body farther than they are able to go. Last night I kept yelling at the monitor guy because I didn't recognize the sound that was coming out of the monitor as my own voice, and it took me until the second song to realize that the sound was coming from me. Today I can barely speak or make any sound, so finishing the shows is no longer possible." Butler said several doctors advised him to cancel the tour weeks ago and he tried to press on but must now have sinus surgery to begin healing. It's not known if Butler will recover in time for the planned April 26 kickoff of the group's U.S. tour. ...

Elton John celebrated his 60th birthday Sunday night by extending a Madison Square Garden record with his 60th concert at the New York arena. John was introduced by former President Bill Clinton, who noted the efforts of the singer's foundation to fight HIV/AIDS. The show also featured a round of "Happy Birthday" sung onstage by John's longtime songwriting partner Bernie Taupin along with comedians Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg. John also paid tribute to late Beatles singer John Lennon, recalling that Lennon joined him onstage at MSG in November 1974 for what would be Lennon's last concert appearance. ... Estradasphere, an eclectic and adventurous outfit from Santa Cruz, California, has posted a live video for "A Corporate Merger" at TheEndRecords.com. The group begins a North American tour Monday in Petaluma, California, with dates scheduled through April 23 in its hometown.

03.23.2007

Eminem wants his ex-wife to stop criticizing him in public, and he's taking the fight to court. The Associated Press reports that the rapper is scheduled to appear in front of a judge on Monday after filing a motion last week in Michigan's Macomb County Circuit Court calling for an end to "derogatory, disparaging, inflammatory and otherwise negative comments" about him from Kim Mathers. According to the filing, Eminem is concerned that his ex's recent interviews discussing the problems in their marriage could negatively impact their daughter, Hailie Jade. "Complicating the situation for the child is the fact that her father is an internationally known public figure," the motion reads. "It is simply impossible for her to be shielded from the kind of media campaign currently being waged by [Kim Mathers] against [Eminem]." ...

50 Cent's drag-racing film "Live Bet" is driving forward. Variety reports that Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Lozano will direct the movie, which will be set in New York, Las Vegas and Philadelphia and produced by G-Unit Films' Chris Lighty. Universal Pictures plans to start work on the action flick, which 50 Cent signed up for 10 months ago, this summer. ...

Gwen Stefani will work with the top 10 finalists on Tuesday's "American Idol." The theme will be pop songs, with contestants choosing their favorite tracks from the genre. Stefani will perform with Akon on Wednesday's results show. ... Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have signed on for the final two "Harry Potter" films, reprising their roles alongside previously announced returning star Daniel Radcliffe. The last two installments will be "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," with the fifth film — "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" — slated for a July 13 release. ...

There's no place like Home. Literally. The New York nightclub was off the hook Thursday night as producer Swizz Beatz took on the role of DJ for a while, spinning records such as his own "It's Me Bitches" remix and Ne-Yo's "Because of You." As people danced, a slideshow exhibition showed works by industry photographer Johnny Nunez on the walls — among those spotted in the images were Jay-Z, Diddy, Fat Joe and MTV News' own Shaheem Reid and Rahman Dukes. ...

Vivica A. Fox was charged Friday (March 23) for driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit, AP reports. The actress, who was arrested late Tuesday in Los Angeles, faces a maximum six-month stay in jail and/or $1,000 fine if convicted of the misdemeanor charges. ...

Kid Rock has sued a woman who accused him of assault, the Detroit Free Press reports. The lawsuit, filed Monday in Michigan's Oakland County Circuit Court, states that the assault allegation that 28-year-old Kelly Kozlowski made earlier this month — which Oakland County prosecutors did not pursue after deciding that evidence didn't support her claim that the singer grabbed her by the neck and shoved her into a snow bank — harmed Rock's reputation. The suit seeks unspecified damages. ... Iconic '70s rock band Boston are reportedly in turmoil after losing lead singer Brad Delp to suicide two weeks ago. AP reports that current members of the band were not invited to Delp's funeral, while early members did attend. In a tearful phone call to the news service on Friday (March 23), founder Tom Scholz — who opposed the band's early members in a legal battle that transpired in the 1980s — said he had been told only immediate family members would be allowed to go to the funeral. Boston have canceled their summer plans, although Scholz expressed a desire for the band to be a part of a public memorial service that Delp's family has said is in the works. ...

Former Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch will release his debut book, titled "Save Me From Myself: How I Found God, Quit Korn, Kicked Speed and Lived to Tell the Tale," July 1. ... Björk has booked several U.S. and Canadian gigs for May in support of her forthcoming album Volta. The Icelandic songstress hits New York for three shows (May 2, 5 and 8), followed by performances in Chicago (May 12); Morrison, Colorado (May 15); Mountain View, California (May 19); and Vancouver, British Columbia (May 23). ... Eric Clapton has corralled some of the world's greatest guitarists to play his second Crossroads Guitar Festival, which will take place July 28 at Toyota Park in Chicago. Among the artists scheduled to participate alongside Clapton are John Mayer, Robert Cray, Sheryl Crow, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Jeff Beck, John McLaughlin, Willie Nelson, Los Lobos, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Jimmie Vaughan and Steve Winwood. All the profits from the show will benefit the Crossroads Centre in Antigua, a rehab facility founded by Clapton which was in the news recently when Britney Spears quickly checked in and out for treatment. ...

Six months after lead singer Justin Hawkins quit the group, the Darkness have confirmed that they are breaking and will re-form under a new name. In a note on the band's site, bassist Richie Edwards wrote, "I can absolutely confirm here and now that we will NOT be carrying on under the name 'The Darkness.' We are literally days away from announcing our new name, when this is done we will be launching our new Web site and we sincerely hope that you guys will be paying it a visit!" The reconfigured group is in the midst of finishing a new album. ... As part of its ongoing attempt to root out illegal file trading on college campuses, the Recording Industry Association of America recently sent out 36 letters targeting students at the University of Nebraska in which they give the alleged infringers a chance to pay up before being sued. Only this time, the RIAA can't figure out who the students are because the university's computer system was unintentionally designed to automatically change a computer's IP address each time the machine is turned off, according to the Omaha World-Herald. So far, the RIAA has only been able to track down nine of the students, and the trade organization representing the major record labels has slammed the university for not keeping records for more than a month. After receiving more than 1,000 cease-and-desist letters from the RIAA during the current school year — more than all but two other U.S. universities — the university is asking to be reimbursed $11 for each warning letter it processes. The RIAA has refused the request.

• MTV News RAW: Nas

• Eminem
• Nas
• Public Enemy
• Snoop Dogg
• Diddy

Timbaland
Photo: Evan Agostini/ Getty Images

Even with multiple Grammy nods, a spate of chart-topping hits and recognition as one of today's most innovative producers, Timbaland doesn't just sit back all day and wait for artists to call him.

The multiplatinum beatsmith and composer said he still finds himself picking up the phone to seek out rappers, singers and bands to work with. Thing is, those same artists are pretty much doing the same thing he's doing — they usually just aren't as fast.

"I reached out to Madonna, and she was already trying to find me," Timbaland explained on Wednesday while in town for Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds tour (see "Timberlake, Samberg Whip Out The Boxes At New York Show"). "I'm like, 'She was? Hmm.' It's funny. People will reach out to me, and I guess I beat them to the punch sometimes. It's crazy to see how many people want to work with me. I'm still in shock."

The result of all those phone calls is the driving force behind the producer's next album, Timbaland Presents Shock Value, due March 27.

The project features a diverse list of guest artists throughout, ranging from Jay-Z and Lil Wayne to Fall Out Boy and the Hives. ("The one with the Hives is ill," Tim boasted. "That's my record there.")

Another surprising collaboration Timbaland managed to nail down is with Sir Elton John. Even more surprising, the producer got the legendary John to solely play the piano on the track rather than sing.

"He played for at least seven hours," Timbaland explained of working with John. "He was dope. You're talking about a guy ... he's done songs with Aretha Franklin. You're talking about a dude I can't keep up with. That's all I can say.

"The song I got with him, really it's just him playing," he continued. "I don't have him singing. I might have him say one little line, that's it. It's more about his art and what he does. That's what people loved him for. When 'Bennie and the Jets' came out, there really weren't any lyrics. It was more about the music. He's a musical genius."

Other standout tracks on Shock Value, according to Timbaland, include a reunion with his rhyme partner Magoo and the album intro, featuring a Nina Simone sample. "I ain't gonna put too much out on it, it might scare the people," he said of the opener.

While Tim noted the scope of the artists he's worked with and his interest in multiple genres of music, he also admitted that a lot of times he really has no clue who some artists are when they approach him.

"When I go to a lot of award shows in Europe, [it seems like] everybody wants to work with me," Timbaland said, laughing. "And I'll be like, 'Huh? What?' "

A European musician Tim is familiar with is, however, is the Finnish producer who accused him of stealing a beat (see "YouTube Clip Claims Timbaland Got Furtado Track From Finnish Dude"). Timbaland called the accusation "foolish."

"It makes me laugh," he said. "The part I don't understand, the dude is trying to act like I went to his house and took it from his computer. I don't know him from a can of paint. I'm 15 years deep. That's how you attack a king? You attack moi? Come on, man. You got to come correct. You the laughing stock. People are like, 'You can't be serious.' "

The Grammy Awards are almost here! Check out all the latest news on the show, the scene and the stars in our Grammy news archive. On the big night — Sunday — be sure to tune in to MTV at 7:30 p.m. for our "All Up in the Grammys" preshow. Then stay with MTVNews.com through the evening and into the following week for updates, photos from the red carpet and backstage, and the hottest Grammy party action!

• Super Producers: Swizz Beatz, Timbaland
• Grammy Race: Can Mayer Sprint Past JT?

• The 49th Annual Grammy Nominees
• 49th Annual Grammy Awards Performers And Presenters

• Timbaland
• Jay-Z
• Madonna
• Elton John

Carrie Underwood
Photo: Rusty Russell/ Getty Images

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.

12.11.2006

Gwen Stefani, Nas, Ciara, Pussycat Dolls, AFI, Chamillionaire, Lady Sovereign and Three 6 Mafia are lined up to perform at "MTV Goes Gold: New Year's Eve 2007," which MTV will air live at 11 p.m. ET on New Year's Eve. Fall Out Boy, Timbaland, "Heroes" star Hayden Panettiere and blogger Perez Hilton will also make appearances at the event, to be held at New York's Times Square. MTV.com will feature performances on demand after the show, and the MTV Goes Gold: Bling in the New Year contest is allowing five winners to attend the festivities. ...

Foxy Brown was greeted with an unwelcome surprise Monday (December 11) when a New York judge summoned her to court over the infamous nail-salon incident, according to The Associated Press. Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Melissa C. Jackson accused Brown of breaking appointments with probation officers, not showing up to anger-management courses and failing to submit to drug tests. After hearing a probation officer say Brown "is flouting the court-ordered conditions of her probation," Jackson told the rapper she would go to jail if she doesn't comply with the terms of her sentence, which was passed down in October. ...

Courtney Love, on the other hand, got a rare dose of good news Monday when a Los Angeles judge ended her probation and dismissed two misdemeanor charges against her, AP reports. "Thank you for not taking me into custody. Thank you for giving me an opportunity. You've been a good, fair judge. Sorry for crying," the singer told Superior Court Judge Rand Rubin. "Early on in this case, Ms. Love, I think you came very close to coming into custody," Rubin said to her. "I think you've done very well. You've shown to me you are interested in a much less destructive lifestyle." Two of the misdemeanor charges that were tossed were related to drugs. ... Prince has been tapped as the halftime entertainment for the Super Bowl, which will be held at Dolphin Stadium near Miami on February 4. The game will be televised on CBS. ...

"The Simple Life" co-star Nicole Richie was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence early Monday morning. Police took the 25-year-old into custody after her black Mercedes SUV was stopped shortly after midnight in the car-pool lane of State Highway 134 near Burbank, California, and she admitted she had smoked marijuana and taken the painkiller Vicodin, according to the The Los Angeles Times. The arrest took place following two 911 calls to authorities about a car traveling in the wrong direction on the freeway; the car matched the description of Richie's, though People magazine reported that her car was stopped while facing the correct direction on the highway. After being booked at the Glendale Police Department, Richie posted $15,000 bail and was released around 7 a.m. ...

U2 completed their Vertigo Tour on Saturday night with a sold-out, two-and-a-half-hour-long finale in Honolulu that featured a surprise guest appearance from Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, who jammed with the band on their recent collaboration, "The Saints Are Coming." Also joining the group for an encore were Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready of show openers Pearl Jam, who sat in on a cover of Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World." Rocking along enthusiastically in the audience were Kid Rock and Anthrax's Scott Ian, according to the Honolulu Advertiser. ... Troubled rocker Pete Doherty was interviewed by police following the death of a man at a party he attended in the early hours of December 3, according to MTV UK. Actor Mark Blanco died after falling from a third-floor balcony during a party at a London apartment owned by Doherty's friend, literary editor Paul Roundhill. There was no suggestion that Doherty was involved in the death of the actor, who was reportedly ejected from the party after behaving rambunctiously, according to The Washington Post. Blanco was found lying unconscious on the pavement outside the apartment by a woman as she left the party. ...

According to BBC News, Mariah Carey is threatening to take legal action against adult-film star — and former California gubernatorial candidate — Mary Carey, to prevent the actress from trademarking her similar-sounding stage name. Mariah contends fans could confuse the two performers, should Mary Carey's trademark application be approved. The actress told Reuters she's "ready to battle Mariah over this because I've been Mary Carey for a long time. I think she's being silly." ... Metallica will begin recording a new album in January, and drummer Lars Ulrich said they have 25 songs written, which will be narrowed down to a single album after they enter the studio with super-producer Rick Rubin (Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slipknot). Ulrich said the album's sound will recall 1986's Master of Puppets, which the band played in its entirety at concerts over the summer (and which many fans consider the band's finest hour). "What I hear sounds very lively, very spunky, got a lot of energy," Ulrich told The Rock Radio. "I think that the shows we played over the summer, we were definitely leaner and kind of in better shape than we've been in a long time. Having to deliver Master of Puppets for three months this summer definitely revitalized some of that stuff in us. It's been kind of fun having that in the back of our mind." ...

A rare vinyl album containing an alternate version of the Velvet Underground's The Velvet Underground & Nico — purchased for 75 cents at a New York flea market four years ago — was sold on eBay for $155,401 over the weekend. The buyer, identified only as "mechadaddy," bought what is believed to be one of only two known acetates containing alternate mixes and versions of songs from the band's 1967 debut. ... Jazz singer Diana Krall, wife of Elvis Costello, gave birth to twins on Wednesday, the couple announced in a press release on Friday. The twin boys — Dexter Henry Lorcan and Frank Harlan James — are the first children for Krall, 42; Costello, 52, has a son from a previous marriage. The couple said, "We are ecstatic!" in the statement; mother and sons are said to be doing "splendidly." ...

Two witnesses to the December 8, 2004, slaying of late Pantera/Damageplan guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio, have filed a lawsuit against the club's owners for failing to provide adequate security at the venue. AP reports that Jerry and Karen Wessler's suit claims both continue to suffer severe and permanent emotional trauma from the experience and are seeking unspecified damages from the club's owners, Rick and John Cautela. Abbott was one of four people killed two years ago by Nathan Gale, who was killed by a policeman in the incident. The suit, filed last week, claims Gale's actions "were reasonably foreseeable, given the totality of circumstances." ... Nine Inch Nails will release a DVD called "Beside You in Time" on February 27. The effort was filmed during the band's tour last summer in support of 2005's With Teeth and will feature live performances of 19 tracks, including "March of the Pigs," "Closer," "The Hand That Feeds" and "Head Like a Hole." ... The sixth annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival will take place June 14-17 at the 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, that has hosted the previous festivals. A limited quantity of discount early-bird tickets will be available before the lineup is announced on Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET.

• Jay-Z
• Tupac
• Pharrell Williams
• Elton John
• Thom Yorke

Timbaland
Photo: Gareth Cattermole/ Getty Images

VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia — Thanks to his work on recent projects by Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado, as well as the upcoming 50 Cent LP, Timbaland is enjoying what he's been accustomed to for the past 10 years of his career — success.

But even with his storied discography of classics for everyone from Aaliyah and Missy Elliott to Jay-Z and LL Cool J, Tim said that over the past couple of years, when he wasn't putting out as much music, he heard whispers that he might be losing his touch.

"Everybody was talking their little trash, y'all know who y'all are," Tim said at his studio last week. "They said, 'Timbaland is falling off.' I don't never fall off. I just relax like a vampire in the coffin. When I wake up, you better be prepared, because somebody is going to get bit on the neck. Next thing you know, I have a slew of vampires running around. When you become the best like me, you never fall off, you just lean back."

Well somebody call Blade, because Count Drac is wide awake and ready to wreak even more havoc next year when his upcoming LP, tentatively titled Timbaland Presents Shock Value, comes out. "I'm not just hip-hop," Tim insisted. "My mission is to take over top-40 radio — what they call popular music, different genres of music — and reach all types of people."

It seems like Tim reached out to almost everyone in every corner of the music industry for the project, which he's calling a compilation. One track is "what everybody is waiting for," he revealed, "me and Dr. Dre. I did [the beat], it's hard. I got 50, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne. The other stuff is rock: She Wants Revenge, the Hives, I'm about to get the Fall Out Boys, Björk, Elton John." Tim went on to say that he's interested in eventually signing the Hives and M.I.A.

"Last Piece of the Puzzle," his collabo with John, was recorded in Las Vegas. "It was cool. I didn't have him sing, I had him play. I was like, 'Go ahead, John.' I might get a choir to sing on top of it."

Though the album is packed with headline-making names, Tim's first single is already newsworthy. "Give it to Me" has Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake and Tim throwing subliminal jabs in their verses, and it's up to the audience to figure it out what — or who — they're talking about. "I seen you try to switch it up, but girl you ain't that dope," Furtado sings. Tim's verse includes the lines, "I'm a real producer and you just a piano man/ Your song moved up the charts I heard, but I'm not a fan/ N---as talking greasy, I'm the one that gave them they chance/ Somebody need to tell them they can't do it like I can."

The Internet has been most abuzz about Timberlake's verse, though, with gossip sites speculating that his harsh words are aimed at Janet Jackson: "I saw you tryin' to act cute on TV, 'Just let me clear the air'/ We missed you on the charts last week/ Damn, that's right, you wasn't there/ Now if sexy never left, then why is everybody on my sh--?/ Don't hate on me just because you didn't come up with it."

A source close to the record said that Timberlake's lyrics have nothing to do with his infamous Super Bowl co-star — but he is responding to another pop artist who has seen career heights few other singers can boast.

Tim's album will come out via his Mosley Music imprint, like Nelly Furtado's Loose. He's hoping to have the LP ready for a March release date.

• Timbaland
• 50 Cent
• Dr. Dre
• Fall Out Boy
• Jay-Z

Jamie Foxx and Beyoncé on the cover of <i>Fashion Rocks</i>
Photo: Mario Testino/ Fashion Rocks

When the devil crosses paths with pop music, Prada doesn't usually come into the equation.

But that and other unusual pairings take place in Fashion Rocks, a new magazine hitting stores Tuesday. The mag is the work of the creative team behind Vogue magazine, including editorial director Anna Wintour — the inspiration for Meryl Streep's character in "The Devil Wears Prada."

Beyoncé and Jamie Foxx are on the first cover and will be featured in a behind-the-scenes set visit of their upcoming movie, "Dreamgirls" (see "Jennifer Hudson's 'Dream' Is Reality: R&B Album, Starring With Beyonce, Jamie Foxx"). The issue also has in-depth features on Elton John and Justin Timberlake and a sneak peek at Courtney Love's diaries.

(Click here to see models Gisele Bündchen, Karolina Kurkova and more with their favorite musicians, plus get a sneak peek of Beyoncé and Jamie Foxx on the first cover of Fashion Rocks.)

The annual publication, which formerly appeared as a free supplement with Vogue and other magazines, is tied to Fashion Rocks, a September 7 event at Radio City Music Hall, which will feature musical performances by Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, Bon Jovi, Black Eyes Peas, Pussycat Dolls, Rihanna, Scissor Sisters and Kanye West. A two-hour special will air the following day on CBS.

A special section of the magazine called "Model Fans" is devoted to models meeting their favorite musicians, like Brazilian bombshell Gisele Bündchen meeting tattooed soul rocker Ben Harper.

"I know every song [of his] by heart — and backward," says Gisele, who arm-wrestled the multitalented artist during the photo shoot and flexed her muscles for him too.

And who knew Gisele could play a mean guitar? The Victoria's Secret star brought her guitar along to the photo shoot.

"She's a really good guitar player," Harper said. "Just watch. She'll put out an album, and it will be huge!"

Other creative pairings include supermodel Karolina Kurkova with Swedish group the Sounds and Glasgow's Franz Ferdinand with Australian model Gemma Ward.

Ethiopian queen Liya Kebede saunters down the streets of New York with English band Elbow, who joke about how normally they "have a terrible time dressing," said lead singer Guy Garvey. "It's just one more hassle."

Still, the photo shoot didn't go as badly as they'd expected, with the band actually enjoying the chic, preppy designs from Diesel and Penguin.

"I was led to believe fashion shoots are really intense, but it was real easygoing," Garvey said.

Another featurette focuses on supermodel Shalom Harlow, who was stoked to meet psychedelic rockers the Flaming Lips.

"People think fashion is the enemy of rock and roll," said lead singer Wayne Coyne, who favors Paul Smith, Calvin Klein and Hugo Boss suits, often slightly rumpled and worn with an undone bow tie. "Rock and roll is supposed to be authentic, pure, but I can think of someone, like a Johnny Cash, who really is an emblem of authenticity. The things he wore sometimes are what made him iconic in a way."

Here are some top models' current playlists, according to Fashion Rocks:

Gemma Ward's most-played songs

• Franz Ferdinand - "Auf Achse"
• Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - "Where the Wild Roses Grow"
• The Rolling Stones - "She's So Cold"
• Nirvana - "About a Girl"
• Ween - "Baby Bitch"

Liya Kebede's most-played songs

• Elbow - "Station Approach"
• Maroon 5 - "She Will Be Loved"
• Bob Marley - "Redemption Song"
• Kanye West - "Gold Digger"
• Kelis - "Millionaire"

Gisele Bündchen's most-played songs

• Ben Harper - "Excuse Me Mr."
• Jack Johnson - "Banana Pancakes"
• Coldplay - "Green Eyes"
• Lauryn Hill - "Forgive Them Father"
• Keane - "This Is the Last Time"

Shalom Harlow's most-played songs

• The Flaming Lips - "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1"
• Kate Bush - "Aerial Tal"
• Roisin Murphy - "Ruby Blue"
• Smog - "The Well"
• Zero - "This World"

Karolina Kurkova's most-played songs

• The Sounds - "Queen of Apology"
• Warren G - "Regulate"
• 1 Giant Leap (featuring Michael Stipe and Asha Bhosle) - "The Way You Dream"
• George Michael - "Flawless (Go to the City)"
• Citizen Cope - "Sideways"

• Photos From "Vogue: Fashion Rocks"

• Jamie Foxx
• Beyoncé
• Ben Harper
• Courtney Love
• Justin Timberlake

Queen Elizabeth II, Daniel Craig, Eva Green, More At The World Premiere Of "Casino Royale"

• Paris Hilton
• Sting
• Elton John

Madonna, Snoop, U2, Coldplay, Mariah, Velvet Revolver: Live 8 London

• U2
• Coldplay
• Paul McCartney
• Elton John
• Stereophonics

American Music Awards Red Carpet

• B2K
• Beyoncé
• Destiny's Child
• *NSYNC
• Justin Timberlake

2002 MTV Video Music Awards Performers And Presenters

• Diddy
• Shakira
• Britney Spears
• Elton John
• Bow Wow

Classic Unplugged Photos

• 10,000 Maniacs
• Alice in Chains
• Arrested Development
• The Cure
• Blackstreet

Grammy Awards 2001

• Madonna
• Bow Wow
• *NSYNC
• Jill Scott
• Moby