Donell Jones
Photo: Erik S. Lesser/ Getty Images

It may seem obvious, but there's no "I" in Donell Jones.

"When I got in the game I was doing most of it myself, but I learned that it takes a team of people to make something great," the R&B singer/producer/songwriter said recently. "I'm not as selfish as I was before."

So for his first album since 2002's Life Goes On, the recently released Journey of a Gemini, Jones turned to fellow producers Jermaine Dupri, the Underdogs, Sean Garrett, Mike City, Tim & Bob and Eddie F.

"I hooked up with Mark Pitts, who's a great A&R guy [best known for his work with Usher], and we just did some great things," Jones said. "The album is hot from top to bottom, and it's really all personal experiences, things that I've been through the last couple of years."

Jones has already garnered airplay for "Better Start Talking," which features Dupri, and his current single, "I'm Gonna Be," which he says is self-explanatory. "It's telling the one I wanna be her everything for the rest of her life and make sure she's taken care of," he said.

Now the singer hopes to release a serious single, a ballad called "Cry." "That song is about just telling our black people out there that we just need to pay more attention to our children," Jones explained. "Children are having babies and the generation is just getting younger, grandmothers now are, like, 30-something-years old, so I just wanted to reach out just to help my people out there. Just get your head up, get back in church, read the Bible. That's the only way they gonna get through this thing together."

Jones, who rose to fame writing hits for Usher and Silk, and worked on Madonna's Bedtime Stories LP, is planning a fall headlining tour. "I've been off the scene for about three years so I wanna make sure my fans see me," he said.

• Donell Jones
• Usher
• Jermaine Dupri

Eminem
Photo: Interscope

"Guess who's back?" the rapper legally known as Marshall Mathers asks on "Without Me."

The question is hardly a stumper. Most of America is fully aware of Slim Shady's return, seeing how his The Eminem Show will lead the pack of best-selling albums on the Billboard 200 albums chart for the third week in a row. Eminem's third major-label LP sold more than 808,000 copies last week, according to Soundscan figures released Wednesday (June 12), bringing his three-week total to more than 2.4 million copies.

The 20-track Totally Hits 2002, featuring contributions from Tweet, Pink, Outkast and Default, among others, was the most popular new release in a week that saw several chart debuts, placing in the runner-up slot with more than 136,000 sold. Soul man Donell Jones' Life Goes On, propelled by the reassuring "You Know That I Love You," follows right behind, coming in at the #3 position and selling more than 110,000 copies.

The unavoidable exposure of singles "Days Go By" and "Complicated" help new artists Dirty Vegas and Avril Lavigne, respectively, land in the top 10 with their debut albums. Dirty Vegas' self-titled LP sold more than 63,000 copies to come in at #7, immediately followed by Lavigne's Let Go with approximately 500 fewer sold.

Newcomers populate the chart further down, too. The compilation Soundbombing III, featuring Mos Def, Missy Elliott, Method Man, the Roots and Q-Tip, among others, will drop in at #23. Under Tha Influence, by one of Soundbombing III's contributors, DJ Quik, will land at #27, and in keeping the two-turntables-and-microphone tone, crate raider DJ Shadow fills the #44 slot with his The Private Press.

Next week's top 10 also finds P. Diddy & Bad Boy Records' We Invented the Remix dropping a deuce to #4; Ashanti's eponymous debut doing the same to #5; Kenny Chesney's No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems marching up two slots to #6; Sheryl Crow's C'Mon, C'Mon climbing two positions to #9; and Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 9 continuing its gradual decent at #10.

The four top 10 debuts will push an equal number of LPs that formerly kept company in that upper echelon back a bracket into the #11-20 range. Cam'ron's Come Home With Me will fall from #4 to #11. Celine Dion's A New Day Has Come will dive eight spots to #13; Marc Anthony's Mended takes an identical plunge to #14; and Musiq's Juslisen will lose half its previous chart status to slip into the #15 spot.

Other notable chart debuts include the Outkast-led "Scooby-Doo" soundtrack at #58; Meshell Ndegeocello's Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape at #67; Los Lobos' Good Morning Aztlan at #82; Doves' Last Broadcast at #83; the "Bad Company" soundtrack at #98; the musical companion to "Undercover Brother," featuring a funky Snoop Dogg, at # 125; twee-pop champions Belle and Sebastian's soundtrack to "Storytelling" at #150; Danzig's 777: I Luciferi at #158 and Audiovent's Dirty Sexy Knights in Paris at #200.

For a feature interview with Eminem, check out "Eminem: The Gift And The Curse."

• Eminem
• Donell Jones
• Dirty Vegas
• Avril Lavigne

Ozzy Osbourne and his reality-TV-star family have signed a $3 million publishing deal with Pocket Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, for the world rights to two tomes. The first, a paperback tie-in to "The Osbournes," will be published in November, followed by a hardcover family memoir due in the spring (MTV's parent company, Viacom, also owns Simon & Schuster). ... Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett and drummer Lars Ulrich hopped onstage with Sammy Hagar and Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony on Tuesday at San Francisco club the Fillmore. They bashed out four songs from Hagar's first band, Montrose: "Rock the Nation," "Space Station #5," "Rock Candy" and "Bad Motor Scooter." ... R&B singer Keke Wyatt went before a judge Thursday (May 9) for an arraignment hearing in Shelbyville, Kentucky, where she's facing a second-degree assault charge for allegedly stabbing her husband on Christmas Day. A not guilty plea was entered, and if a settlement with the prosecution isn't reached by July 11, motions from both sides will be heard and a trial scheduled. ...

Biohazard and Xzibit will stand in for Linkin Park's DJ Joseph Hahn and Mike Shinoda when the X-ecutioners perform "It's Goin' Down" on "The Late Show with David Letterman" on May 16. Static-X and Xzibit performed the song with the turntablists at last month's ESPN Action Sports and Music Awards. ... Naughty By Nature brought close to 80 of their friends to their album release party at Jimmy's Uptown Café Wednesday night in Harlem. Fittingly, they performed "Uptown Anthem," as well as some of their other hits for the crowd, which included members of St. Lunatics and 3LW, who joined them onstage for "Feels Good (Don't Worry About a Thing)." ... Donell Jones also showcased tunes from his new album, Life Goes On, Wednesday night in New York City at Club Coda. On the guest list to check out D.J. sing his current single, "You Know That I Love You," and more were controversy-stirring radio personality Wendy Williams, newcomer rapper Lady May and fellow lover-man vocalist Keith Sweat. ...

O-Town's second album, O2, has been pushed back to a July 23 release, with a single to surface early next month. The guys are currently showing off their wares on their Sneak Preview Tour, which promises to give fans a taste of new tracks such as the Nelly-produced "Favorite Girl." ... While Jill Scott is taking the summer off from recording and touring, her spokesperson said she will stay close to music as a journalist. Scott just completed a cover story for Russell Simmons' Oneworld magazine on Common. ... Alien Ant Farm recently performed acoustic versions of "Movies" and "Attitude" for an episode of "Last Call With Carson Daly" that will air May 14. ... Built to Spill bassist Brett Nelson's side project, the Suffocation Keep, will release their debut album, John Hughes Was Never So Wrong, on May 28. A spokesperson for the group described the music as " '80s-influenced pop." ...

New songs from Lauryn Hill ("Selah"), Bob Dylan ("Waitin' For You") and Macy Gray (a cover of Billie Holiday's "I Want to Be Your Mother's Son-In-Law") will be featured on the soundtrack to "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood," due May 28. The soundtrack is executive producer T-Bone Burnett's first since the Grammy-winning "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack. ... In other Dylan news, the legendary rocker will return to North America in August after a summer tour of Europe to continue promoting last year's Love and Theft. Dylan's latest dates begin August 2 in Worcester, Massachusetts, and end September 1 in Aspen, Colorado. ... Out to prove they're no flavor of the week, American Hi-Fi are working on the tentatively titled Beautiful Disaster, the follow-up to their debut, with producer Nick Launay (Midnight Oil, Silverchair), which is expected to drop this fall. In the meantime, the group has the honor of opening the first six dates of Elvis Costello's tour, which kicks off May 18 in Portland. ...

05.08.02

Linkin Park will give new life to their Hybrid Theory, which has sold nearly 7 million copies to date, when their remix LP, Reanimation, drops July 30. Although it's not known which interpretations of the debut's 12 tracks will make the final cut, Staind's Aaron Lewis sings on a remixed "Crawling," while Orgy's Jay Gordon, Tricky and Marilyn Manson have tinkered with other songs. ... Ja Rule, Ashanti and Bow Wow will announce the nominees for the second annual BET Awards at a press conference Tuesday at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Also present will be comedians Steve Harvey and Cedric the Entertainer, who will host the show for the second year in a row on May 25. ...

Rumors of a collaboration between Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown are false, the Notorious K.I.M. told New York radio station Power 105.1 (WWPR-FM) on Wednesday (May 8). ... Although his spokesperson offered few details, Trent Reznor is busy recording the next Nine Inch Nails album. ... There's a new member of Bon Jovi — the family, not the band. Jacob Hurley Bon Jovi, born May 7 in New Jersey, joins papa Jon and mama Dorothea's other children, Stephanie Rose, 9, and Jesse James, 7. ... Custom will drop a Bentley, a Camaro and other cars from a crane in Brooklyn, New York, on Friday on the set of the video for his second single, "Beat Me." Kevin Kerslake (Smashing Pumpkins, R.E.M.) is directing the video, which will follow Custom's "Hey Mister" clip. ...

Madonna will put the recording of her next album on hold while she makes her London theater debut in "Up for Grabs" this summer, her spokesperson said. She will return to the studio in August. ... Celebrity makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin, whose long list of A-list clients includes Britney Spears, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Lil' Kim, Julia Roberts and Gwyneth Paltrow, died Tuesday from complications of a metabolic disorder, according to the Associated Press. Aucoin, who was 40, had been treated for a pituitary brain tumor in the past year, and before his death also worked as a columnist for Allure, authored several best-selling style books and was a frequent guest on MTV's "House of Style" and other programming. ...

Singer/songwriter Stew, formerly of the Negro Problem, will warm up for a summer tour with a show May 16 at the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles, the same place he recorded his April release Naked Dutch Painter during a residency last summer. Stew was also plucked by David Bowie to perform at his Meltdown festival in June in the U.K. ... MC5 co-founder and punk icon Wayne Kramer will release Adult World, his first studio album since 1997's Citizen Wayne, July 16 on his own MuscleTone Records. Kramer will promote the album with a club tour that kicks off June 25 in Los Angeles and wraps up July 24 in San Diego.

• Ozzy Osbourne
• Keke Wyatt
• Metallica
• Jill Scott
• O-Town

Creed
Photo: Eufloria

American Music Awards voters gotta have faith — Faith Hill, that is.

The singer walked away from Monday's ceremony with three awards, followed closely by emotive rockers Creed and sultry soul songstress Toni Braxton, with two apiece.

As is typical of the awards — which are based on a poll of around 20,000 music buyers who vote on nominees narrowed down by Soundscan and Radio & Records chart data — no single performer dominated the evening, à la Carlos Santana at last year's Grammy Awards.

But Hill managed to snag two awards in the country category — for Favorite Female Artist and Favorite Album, for Breathe — as well as Favorite Female Artist, Pop or Rock. A singer but not a writer, Hill went out of her way to pay thanks to the folks who penned such hits as "Breathe" and "The Way You Love Me." "I don't write songs; I wish I did," she said. "I don't know what I'd do without the songs." Hill's husband, Tim McGraw, won the evening's Favorite Country Male Artist award.

Britney Spears and L.L. Cool J hosted the show, though Spears' on-screen time was minimal — a few introductions and an elaborate version of "Stronger," staged in a futuristic junkyard with a dozen or so scantily clad female dancers writhing as Spears appeared to lip-sync the lyrics to her latest single.

Spears and L.L. Cool J opened the show with an awkward discussion about the teen diva's clothes. "I was promised you'd be wearing something nasty," L.L.

Cool J said, toying with a scarf on Spears' side-strap, sequined pink evening gown. "Critics say if you want to be a serious musician, you have to wear serious clothes," Spears retorted, before ripping off the gown to reveal a purple, gold and lime-green two-piece halter and mini-miniskirt.

For the most part, though, presenters from 'NSYNC to Kelly Price to Nelly dispensed with the forced jocularity usually found in awards outings, diving into the nominees with little or no bantering. One of the evening's few spontaneous moments came when actor-turned-dot-com shill William Shatner joked with country duo Brooks & Dunn before announcing the winner of the new Internet Fans' Artist of the Year category, with the former Captain Kirk giving his rendition of Baha Men's "Who Let the Dogs Out" before giving the award to 'NSYNC.

That award — based on Web page votes counted until 8:30 p.m. ET — was the boy band's only win of the evening, despite the fact that the group posted the top album sales of 2000. Their No Strings Attached lost out to Creed's Human Clay for Favorite Pop or Rock Album, and boy-band rivals the Backstreet Boys bested the group in taking home the Favorite Pop or Rock Band, Duo or Group award.

Creed also won the Favorite Alternative Artist award. Braxton was the evening's only other multiple award winner, taking home trophies for Favorite Soul/Rhythm & Blues Female Artist and Favorite Soul/Rhythm & Blues Album for The Heat. Dr. Dre, whose late-1999 release, Dr Dre 2001, took a while to pick up steam but spent most of 2000 in the top half of the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, won the Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop award, beating Eminem and DMX.

This year's contest also featured a new category, the Favorite Techno Artist award, which was voted on via the Internet. Though the winner was not announced on Monday night's show, the official AMA Web site at midnight ET showed the Chemical Brothers with a comfortable 57.17 percent count, compared with Moby's 39.31 percent and Fatboy Slim's 3.5 percent.

Twice on Monday, performers received standing ovations. Thirteen-year-old country wunderkind Billy Gilman brought the audience to its feet with a spot-on rendition of his hit "One Voice" Gilman later won the Favorite New Country Artist award, beating out Alecia Elliott and Keith Urban. After a video montage of their musical history, Aerosmith again got the audience standing with their latest single, "Jaded," from the band's upcoming album. The Boston-based hard rockers won the AMA's International Artist award, a noncompetitive honor that has previously gone to the Bee Gees, Led Zeppelin and Michael Jackson.

The night's other noncompetitive award, the Award of Merit, went to Janet Jackson, who accepted the trophy after another video history and an introduction by Los Angeles Lakers star Shaquille O'Neal.

Performers in the show ranged from SHeDAISY, who offered up a rocking version of "I Will ... But" (during which Kassidy Osborne wore a sleeveless T-shirt with the classic image of a 1950s Johnny Cash flipping a bird) to Marilyn Manson, who managed to get in audience member Ed McMahon's face while prancing up the aisle during "Disposable Teens." 28th American Music Award winners: Favorite Male Artist, Pop or Rock Music
Kid Rock

Favorite Female Artist, Pop or Rock Music
Faith Hill

Favorite Band, Duo or Group, Pop or Rock Music
Backstreet Boys

Favorite New Artist, Pop or Rock Music
3 Doors Down

Favorite Album, Pop or Rock Music
Creed, Human Clay

Favorite Male Artist, Soul/Rhythm & Blues
Brian McKnight

Favorite Female Artist, Soul/Rhythm & Blues
Toni Braxton

Favorite Band, Duo or Group, Soul/Rhythm & Blues
Destiny's Child

Favorite New Artist, Soul/Rhythm & Blues
Donell Jones

Favorite Album, Soul/Rhythm & Blues
Toni Braxton, The Heat

Favorite Male Artist, Country
Tim McGraw

• Faith Hill
• Creed
• Toni Braxton
• Britney Spears
• LL Cool J

In what could make for an impressive R&B triple bill, hitmakers Joe, Carl Thomas, and Donell Jones are in talks to team up for a U.S. tour.

There's no official word yet from any of the artists, but Joe recently told the MTV Radio Network that he is currently talking with Thomas and Jones about a tour that would kick off later this summer.

Joe went on to say that the deal is practically done, but that confirmation and details remain to be hammered out.

If it works out, the tour would bring together three of R&B's biggest players. Joe debuted at number two on the "Billboard" album chart with his "My Name Is Joe" in April, the same week that Thomas debuted at number nine with his "Emotional." Meanwhile, Jones' "Where I Wanna Be" vaulted past platinum sales status last month, thanks in part to the success of his hit single "U Know What's Up."

• Joe
• Donell Jones
• Carl Thomas

R&B crooner and expert songwriter/arranger Donell Jones has wrapped up shooting a video for the title track from his second album "Where I Wanna Be."

• Donell Jones

R&B singer Donell Jones was in a Brooklyn Criminal Court on Tuesday and was formally arraigned on charges of assault, menacing, harassment, criminal possession of a weapon, unauthorized use of a vehicle, and criminal possession of a vehicle.

• Donell Jones

While maintaining a role as the in-house rhymer for the biggest selling female group of all time, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes has been spreading her wings a bit lately.

-- John Gill, with additional reporting by Robert Mancini

• Donell Jones
• Spice Girls
• TLC

Usher Multi-Platinum Party, 06.18.2002

• Usher
• Alicia Keys
• Lady May
• Blu Cantrell
• Donell Jones