50 Cent
Photo: Frank Micelotta/ Getty Images

50 Cent, Fall Out Boy and the Backstreet Boys are the latest artists confirmed to perform on next month's "Total Finale Live," joining Beyoncé on the two-hour special. And when you've got a lineup that big, there's only one man you can call to host it all: Carson Daly.

On Thursday (October 23), it was announced that Daly — the show's original host — would serve as co-emcee for the big finale, alongside current host Damien Fahey. Daly appeared on the first episode of "TRL" in September, 1998, and helmed the show until 2003, when he stepped down to host his own talk show, NBC's "Last Call With Carson Daly."

"Total Finale Live" will air Sunday, November 16 at 8 p.m. ET. In addition to the performances, fans can expect in-studio appearances from a host of "TRL" faves, including Ludacris, Mariah Carey, Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Taylor Swift, Fred Durst and members of Good Charlotte and Korn. Former "TRL" VJs Dave Holmes, Jesse Camp, La La Vasquez and Hilarie Burton will also be on hand for the festivities (a show this big needs lots of hosts, after all).

Though the "TRL" finale is still weeks away, the celebration of the show's history is already revving up. Throughout the course of the month, MTV.com and MTV News will feature special retrospective countdowns and give fans a look back at the best moments from the show's decade-long run.

And on the show's official site, TRL.MTV.com, viewers can check out video highlights, photo galleries of past guests and a decade's worth of pictures taken in the famed "TRL" photo booth. On November 16, the site will also feature behind-the-scenes coverage of the event, plus red-carpet photos from the "Total Finale Live" preshow.

• 50 Cent
• Fall Out Boy
• Backstreet Boys
• Ludacris
• Diddy

Korn's Jonathan Davis (file)
Photo: Kristian Dowling/ Getty Images

Korn, Mudvayne, Clear Channel Broadcasting and national concert promoter Live Nation have been named in a lawsuit filed earlier this year in Denver District Court by a 27-year-old waitress who was injured during a concert that took place March 8, 2006.

The woman claims several rowdy concertgoers knocked her to the ground and trampled her as they made their way toward the stage. The University of Denver, which was the site for the KBPI-FM "Birthday Bash" concert, is also named as a defendant in the suit.

According to a Rocky Mountain News report, the show was Nicole LaScalia's first concert experience. She ended up leaving the event in an ambulance after one of her legs was crushed by the weight of the crowd. She is seeking unspecified damages, and her case is likely to proceed slowly, to allow time for the numerous parties involved to respond to its claims.

The report says LaScalia underwent surgery to fix a fractured tibia and fibula, as well as her badly injured ankle. She has accrued about $60,000 in medical bills, and the suit will seek damages for "severe pain and suffering."

According to the suit, LaScalia fell to the ground when several fans surged toward the stage just as Mudvayne began their performance. "Something like this is reasonably foreseeable," LaScalia's lawyer, Darrell Elliott, told the paper. "There has to be sufficient supervision if you have festival seating to protect patrons. In this case, it didn't happen. Oversight was lacking."

Meanwhile, Clear Channel has responded to the suit, calling the victim's claims "frivolous and groundless." The company blamed the injuries on either her negligence or the actions of those in the crowd.

At press time, Elliott and representatives for Mudvayne had not responded to MTV News' requests for comment. In a statement, Korn's management said: "Although we can verify that Korn was not onstage during the alleged incident, we cannot comment further on the suit as it is a legal matter."

• Korn
• Mudvayne

Metallica's James Hetfield
Photo: MJ Kim/ Getty Images

This summer, the annual heavy-metal circus named for one of the genre's most outspoken rebels will return, but in a scaled-down form. This year's Ozzfest won't be traveling the country, but will be a one-day destination festival, set for Pizza Hut Park in Dallas on August 9.

Headlining the day's events will be Metallica and Ozzy Osbourne himself. Also set for the main stage are System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian, Hellyeah, Korn frontman Jonathan Davis, Cavalera Conspiracy, Shadows Fall, Apocalyptica and In This Moment. There will also be a special all-star tribute to slain Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott.

On the second stage, the Ozzfest camp has secured Sevendust, DevilDriver, Kingdom of Sorrow, Soilent Green, Witchcraft and Goatwhore. Meanwhile, a third stage, dubbed the "Texas Stage," will feature local favorites the Sword, Drowning Pool and Rigor Mortis.

"Ozzy just finished an 11-month world tour, so I think he deserves a summer off," Sharon Osbourne, the brains behind Ozzfest, said in a statement. "We're going to be a stadium destination festival for now — we have gone past doing the sheds every summer. We've given everyone else the blueprint, and we have to keep evolving Ozzfest. This is just the beginning. Ozzy has great relationships with all of the bands that have played Ozzfest. We're the only real festival for harder-edge bands, and these artists have been very loyal to us — there is lots of love on this lineup."

Tickets for this year's Ozzfest will go on sale May 31.

Rumors that Ozzfest would be diminished to a two-day destination festival began earlier this year, after Warped Tour mastermind Kevin Lyman announced the inaugural run of his Rockstar Energy Mayhem festival, which boasts a lineup featuring Slipknot, Disturbed, Mastodon, DragonForce, Airborne, Five Finger Death Punch, 36 Crazyfists, Machine Head, Black Tide, Suicide Silence, the Red Chord and Walls of Jericho. That tour will get under way July 9 in Seattle and runs through August 19 in Buffalo, New York.

Many speculated that the competition would be too much for the Ozzfest camp, which offered free admission to last year's gigs. None of the bands that played last year's Ozzfest were paid, outside of merchandise sales, and they were encouraged to play shows on off-nights. In recent years, critics have slammed Ozzfest, saying that the festival's influence and grandeur has started to wane.

• Lamb Of God, Lordi, More At Ozzfest In Devore, California, 7.21.07
• Ozzfest: A Look Back
• Building Ozzfest 2006

• Metallica
• System of a Down
• Korn
• Ozzy Osbourne

Britney Spears (file)
Photo: Lucas/ Wright/ WENN

Britney Spears reportedly hit another paparazzo with her car on Monday, according to TMZ. The site says the singer accidentally ran into a photographer with her Mercedes-Benz as she was leaving a shopping complex in Beverly Hills, California. Spears is said to have apologized repeatedly for the incident, which the pap insisted was his fault anyway, and a photo on TMZ's site shows the singer apparently on the verge of tears. Spears apparently ran over a photographer's foot on Thursday while attempting to leave a doctor's office in Beverly Hills, according to videos that circulated online. And in potentially more bad news for Britney, according to TMZ, on Monday her parenting coach submitted to Los Angeles Superior Court a report that says Spears has ignored the coach's presence and that the coach has been unable to teach the singer anything. The coach also reportedly wrote that Spears often ignores her children and often wasn't around them while the coach was present. The report will likely be critical in determining what level of custody Spears will have with her children, according to TMZ. ...

For fans disappointed in 50 Cent's last salvo, the glossy, guest-filled Curtis, a much grittier 50 project hit stores Tuesday (October 23) — and it's not Fif's next album, Before I Self Destruct. The G-Unit rapper's new book, "50 x 50: 50 Cent in His Own Words," written with Complex magazine Editor in Chief Noah Callahan-Bever, is out, and 50 will appear at a Barnes & Noble store in New York City on Tuesday afternoon to sign copies. The project is patterned as a pseudo-scrapbook and includes photos from his childhood in Queens, along with page-long anecdotes, which cover his mother's murder to his rise to rap dominance. ...

Radiohead are close to signing deals with a pair of independent labels to distribute the physical version of their In Rainbows album, which they released on the Net themselves earlier this month. According to an article published Tuesday in The New York Times, the band is planning to sign with Coran Capshaw's Side One Recordings to distribute Rainbows domestically, and XL Recordings (which released Thom Yorke's solo album, The Eraser, last year) internationally. Capshaw manages the Dave Matthews Band through his company, Red Light, and co-founded ATO Records — home to acts like My Morning Jacket and Ben Kweller — with Matthews in 2000. Side One is his newest endeavor, operating under the Red Light/ ATO umbrella. Until recently, ATO had a distribution deal with Sony BMG, but it now distributes its music independently, through RED distribution. When contacted for comment, Radiohead's U.S. publicist, Steve Martin, told MTV News he could "neither confirm nor deny" the Times story, and a spokesperson for Red Light had no comment. ...

Vincent Margera, better known as Don Vito to viewers of "Viva La Bam," was described as a "man out of control" by prosecutors on Tuesday, the first day of his sexual-assault trial in Colorado, according to The Denver Post. Margera was accused of being "extremely intoxicated" and groping three 12- to 14-year-old girls during a mall appearance in August of 2006, prosecutor Jim Stanley said in his opening remarks. Margera's attorney, Pamela Mackey, told the jury that Margera was playing his "goofy, outrageous and vulgar" TV character because "that's what got the laughs," she said. "It was entertainment." Mackey said to support a charge of sexual assault, the intent must be proven to have been sexual. Margera is charged with three counts of sexual assault on a child. He has pleaded not guilty. ...

Jamie Foxx is gearing up for a big awards-show performance next month — at the Country Music Association Awards, if you can believe it. The singer will join Rascal Flatts for "She Goes All the Way," a duet that was featured on the Nashville band's recent Still Feels Good LP. Carrie Underwood will also perform at the ceremony, which will air November 7 at 8 p.m. on ABC. ... Good Charlotte, Korn, Chris Cornell, Kaiser Chiefs and Muse will head to South Africa next year to headline the My Coke Fest, set to take place in Johannesburg on March 21 and Cape Town three days later. ...

Speaking of Korn, it appears that they have not booted Droid — who are signed to guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer's label — off their B---h We Have a Problem Tour, contrary to rumors. Reports of a fight between Shaffer and Droid guitarist Jamie Teissere, however, are true — albeit exaggerated — according to Droid's publicist. In a press release, a spokeswoman for Droid's label said the two got into a scuffle last week during the tour's stop in Little Rock, Arkansas. "Jamie and Munky have been best friends for years, and the reported fight they got in was nothing more than a drunken scuffle that ended in apologies — all is well in both camps and Droid are moving forward to finish the tour," Christy Priske said. ...

Amy Winehouse is apparently very candid about her recent troubles on her new concert DVD "I Told You I Was Trouble: Live in London," which hits stores November 13. "I'm quite an insecure person," she says on the disc, according to RollingStone.com. "I'm very insecure about the way I look. I mean, I'm a musician; I'm not a model. The more insecure I felt, the more I'd drink." But, she adds, "Life's short — just do it, do you know what I mean? Life's short, and I've made a lot of mistakes, you know." Surprisingly, her record label is offering a "very cool" pint glass and ashtray, each engraved with Winehouse's logo, to coax fans to preorder the set. ...

Led Zeppelin fans are already eagerly awaiting November 13, the day when the band's albums will finally be made available online and a new two-CD collection, Mothership, hits stores. Well, now there's another treat in store: Apple announced Tuesday that it will also pack all 13 of the group's albums into a digital box set. The Complete Led Zeppelin will contain 165 tracks and be available exclusively on iTunes. Preorders for that collection and Mothership began Tuesday, and fans who preorder either set will be entered into a contest to win a pair of tickets to the group's reunion show at London's O2 Arena on November 26. The winner will also get round-trip airfare and accommodations. ...

Team Sleep, Deftones frontman Chino Moreno's side project, will release a series of EPs online for free download over the next year, along with videos and other visual extras. "We want to give our fans new music while they are waiting for our next full-length, which we have started writing for," Moreno said in a statement. The band has scheduled a series of headlining shows, beginning November 29 in Orangevale, California, and continuing through December 16 in San Francisco. ... Ozzfest 2007 veterans Daath have parted ways with singer Sean Farber and are currently seeking a replacement. No reason has been given for the departure. ...

... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead have parted ways with Interscope Records, although a reason hasn't been given for the split. The band hasn't signed with another record company yet but plans to hit the studio in February to record the follow-up to 2006's So Divided. ... What do R. Kelly and Danzig have in common? Probably not much — but they will on November 20, when both artists find themselves covered by indie folkie Will Oldham on his new Bonnie "Prince" Billy LP, Ask Forgiveness. Pitchfork reports that Oldham takes on Kelly's "The World's Greatest" and Danzig's "Am I Demon," in addition to Björk's "I've Seen It All," on the disc. ... Guster guitarist/singer Adam Gardner, along with representatives from biofuel companies and environmental groups, will speak at a hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday called "The Grass Is Greener: The Future of Biofuels." Gardner and his wife head up the nonprofit organization Reverb, which educates and engages musicians and fans about eco-friendly alternatives on tours. ...

Phil Spector has whittled down his choice of a new attorney for his second murder trial to an unidentified California lawyer, according to The Associated Press. Christopher Plourd, Spector's remaining attorney, reportedly informed Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler of the news on Monday, after which Fidler granted a delay for a new lawyer until November 6 and said the attorney would likely take more than 60 days after that date to prepare for trial. The jury in Spector's first murder trial over the death of Lana Clarkson ended up in a deadlock in mid-September. ...

Senator Barack Obama is coming under fire from gay-rights groups over a controversial gospel singer's planned participation in the Democratic presidential candidate's Embrace the Change tour, set to start in South Carolina this weekend. Singer Donnie McClurkin believes homosexuality is a choice, telling AP on Monday, "I don't believe that it is the intention of God. Sexuality, everything is a matter of choice." He added, however, that he doesn't think gays should be discriminated against. According to USA Today's On Politics blog, McClurkin is a former homosexual who detailed his "bout" with homosexuality in his book "Eternal Victim/ Eternal Victor." Obama reportedly replied with a statement in which he said gays and lesbians are "our brothers and sisters," and that he strongly disagrees with McClurkin's views.

10.22.07

The raging Southern California wildfires that intensified over the weekend are threatening the homes of a number of stars who reside in Malibu. Mel Gibson, Jennifer Aniston, Tom Hanks, Courteney Cox and David Arquette, James Cameron, Sean Penn and Robin Wright Penn, Rob Reiner, David Geffen, David Duchovny, Mark Hamill, Olivia Newton-John and Bill Murray are among the stars who have been evacuated or whose homes are potentially in jeopardy. ...

Fall Out Boy have "an album's worth of material" good to go but aren't ready to put out their fifth LP just quite yet, frontman Patrick Stump told Billboard.com. "There's always something that hits me, like a sense of urgency — now is the time for an album — and we're not there yet," he said. "I just get this kind of wanderlust of some kind to go back into a studio. It's always a very defined point." Stump added that the band's Infinity on High, which came out in February, hasn't worn out its welcome yet. "I don't really feel like we're done with this one yet," he said. "I feel like it's still in its cycle. There's a lot of songs on it I'm really proud of." Meanwhile, in regards to the new material, Stump said there are "lots of bizarre ideas" in the mix, "everything from folk to ... actually, I was experimenting with piano phases, like Steve Reich, the composer. There'll be some weird stuff, but at the end of the day, it's probably just gonna be a pop record." Stump also said he recently filmed a guest spot for an episode of "Law & Order" that will air in February. ...

Beyoncé's tour comes to a close November 12 in Taiwan — so, fittingly, she's decided to put out a concert DVD eight days later. "The Beyoncé Experience Live!," recorded at Los Angeles' Staples Center on September 2, features her performances of "Survivor" with the reunited Destiny's Child and "Upgrade U" with beau Jay-Z. It has more than two hours' worth of content in total. ... Tool's long-promised "Vicarious" DVD will be in stores December 18 and include an extended cut of the video for the title track, bonus material and special packaging. ...

The jury trial of Vincent "Don Vito" Margera — Bam Margera's uncle — on two counts of sexual assault on a child is slated to begin Tuesday. Margera is on trial for allegedly groping three underage girls at an autograph signing in August 2006 in Colorado. The jury in the trial was slated to be seated on Monday (October 22), according to a court spokesperson. ...

Ozzy Osbourne has heart — he's donating all his net profits from his November 30 show at Los Angeles' Staples Center, including ticket sales and merch, to the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program run by his wife. ... Korn frontman Jonathan Davis has beefed up his upcoming solo tour with additional dates — the trek will get under way November 9 in Hartford, Connecticut, and run through December 11 in Las Vegas. In related news, ex-Sevendust guitarist Clint Lowery is now an ex-Korn guitarist too. He has been replaced by Shane Gibson after being forced to leave the band's current "B---h We Have a Problem" run due to a family emergency. ...

Want to get your hands on some Gorillaz stickers, badges and a "Choose Pazuzu" patch? Then make sure to pick up the special-edition version of their upcoming D-Sides collection, which has bumped from a November 6 release date November 20. The special set will also come in a glossy box and have two exclusive prints by Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett. ... The ever-outlandish Mars Volta fans are going to be required to wear costumes to the one-off show they'll play at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on New Year's Eve. The band's next album, The Bedlam in Goliath, drops January 29. ...

The hip-hop promoter who was allegedly attacked by three of Diddy's bodyguards reportedly served the hip-hop mogul on Friday with papers over the rough-up, although they were reportedly having none of it. According to TMZ, James Waldon tried to hand Diddy papers at his Sean Jean store in New York, but his bodyguards apparently smacked them to the ground before eventually retrieving them. They reportedly chased away Waldon, who alleges in his $5 million suit that three of Diddy's bodyguards attacked him after he chatted with the Bad Boy boss at the Box nightclub in New York. ... Relient K have parted ways with drummer Dave Douglas, who will bolt after the group's tour winds down in late December, it was revealed in a Friday post on the band's Web site. No explanation has been given for the departure of Douglas, who had been in Relient K for seven years. Douglas was quoted in the post as saying he will be devoting most of his time to his Gypsy Parade project. ...

Seems there's trouble in the world of CKY. Apparently a physical altercation recently broke out between various members of the group, and they've taken to MySpace to air their dirty laundry. In a post from guitarist Chad Ginsburg, he claims he broke his foot at a gig in St. Louis, and that frontman Deron Miller "has quit CKY to pursue his own band." He added that he, along with drummer Jess Margera, will carry on as CKY. Of course, Miller has a different side to the story. He claims he didn't quit the band, but, "after the San Diego show, I started getting really depressed and couldn't eat or sleep, so of course, I started drinking more and more moderately." According to Miller, he overheard several of his bandmates talking smack about him in St. Louis, and heard some "extremely personal, painful things that were mostly untrue and stupid." Miller said he confronted the rest of the band, after which "a fight broke out. I slapped Jess' hat off of his head and [Miller was jumped] after I put on my backpack to leave the bus." He said he left the band's tour to "detox" and is considering returning to the fold "if I can get and return some apologies, because let's face it, CKY [carrying on] would both be laughable and illegal." Miller also warned that if any of the songs he wrote for the band's forthcoming album end up on the LP, he'd take legal action. ...

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie can't get enough of each other — the couple are putting together a series for HBO, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The two are creating their first production project, a drama that will chronicle workers in an international aid organization who are assigned to dangerous areas. The series doesn't have a name yet, but it will be written by Scott Burns, who produced Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" and co-wrote "The Bourne Ultimatum." ...

Cake are hitting the road for the latest edition of their Unlimited Sunshine Tour series in support of their recently released B-Sides and Rarities compilation. The tour, which kicks off November 28 with a show in Anaheim, California, will also feature performances by Brazilian Girls, Detroit Cobras, Oakley Hall, King City and Agent Ribbons. ...

Kate Hudson and Chris Robinson's divorce is almost officially over — the ex-couple have filed their divorce papers in Los Angeles County Superior Court, according to TMZ. A judge might sign off on the papers later Monday. Robinson filed for divorce in November, and he will share joint custody with Hudson of their only child, son Ryder. ... Lance Hahn, the J Church bassist who also originally fronted the San Francisco punk band, died Sunday from complications arising from kidney disease, according to Austin360.com. He was 40. In July, a tribute album called Let's Do It for Lance! was released to help raise money so Hahn, who had no health insurance, could pay his medical bills. ...

It was a scary moment for punk godmother Patti Smith during a show at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London on Sunday, when the 60-year-old singer took a fall and almost hit the edge of the stage during a show, according to a report. During an encore of her signature tune "Rock N Roll N-----," England's NME reports that Smith tripped on a speaker and fell on her face, cutting her elbow and laying on the ground for a few "agonizing" seconds. Smith allegedly joked about the fall, saying, "I'm not even f---ing embarrassed because I've done far worse," perhaps alluding to the scary fall she took in 1977 in Tampa, Florida, when she tripped off a stage and broke two vertebrae in her neck. ...

Country legend Porter Wagoner has been diagnosed with lung cancer and has been hospitalized in serious condition in Nashville, according to The Associated Press. Wagoner, 80, known for his rhinestone-dripping stage outfits and blond pompadour, is a Country Music Hall of Famer whose hits include "Misery Loves Company," "Green, Green Grass of Home" and "Skid Row Joe." He helped launch the career of Dolly Parton when he hired her as a duet partner in 1967, and Parton has said she wrote the smash hit "I Will Always Love You" (famously covered by Whitney Houston) in Wagoner's honor. ...

Police in Johannesburg, South Africa, have arrested five people in connection with the murder of reggae singer Lucky Dube, who was shot and killed during an attempted carjacking on Thursday. Reuters reports that the men were arrested in an early morning raid on Sunday, during which stolen goods were found in the house in which they were captured.

• Britney Spears' Ongoing Saga: What's Next?

• Britney Spears
• 50 Cent
• Radiohead
• Jamie Foxx
• Korn

Sean Penn
Photo: Philip Cheung/ Getty Images

The raging Southern California wildfires that intensified over the weekend are threatening the homes of a number of stars who reside in Malibu. Mel Gibson, Jennifer Aniston, Tom Hanks, Courteney Cox and David Arquette, James Cameron, Sean Penn and Robin Wright Penn, Rob Reiner, David Geffen, David Duchovny, Mark Hamill, Olivia Newton-John and Bill Murray are among the stars who have been evacuated or whose homes are potentially in jeopardy. ...

Fall Out Boy have "an album's worth of material" good to go but aren't ready to put out their fifth LP just quite yet, frontman Patrick Stump told Billboard.com. "There's always something that hits me, like a sense of urgency — now is the time for an album — and we're not there yet," he said. "I just get this kind of wanderlust of some kind to go back into a studio. It's always a very defined point." Stump added that the band's Infinity on High, which came out in February, hasn't worn out its welcome yet. "I don't really feel like we're done with this one yet," he said. "I feel like it's still in its cycle. There's a lot of songs on it I'm really proud of." Meanwhile, in regards to the new material, Stump said there are "lots of bizarre ideas" in the mix, "everything from folk to ... actually, I was experimenting with piano phases, like Steve Reich, the composer. There'll be some weird stuff, but at the end of the day, it's probably just gonna be a pop record." Stump also said he recently filmed a guest spot for an episode of "Law & Order" that will air in February. ...

Beyoncé's tour comes to a close November 12 in Taiwan — so, fittingly, she's decided to put out a concert DVD eight days later. "The Beyoncé Experience Live!," recorded at Los Angeles' Staples Center on September 2, features her performances of "Survivor" with the reunited Destiny's Child and "Upgrade U" with beau Jay-Z. It has more than two hours' worth of content in total. ... Tool's long-promised "Vicarious" DVD will be in stores December 18 and include an extended cut of the video for the title track, bonus material and special packaging. ...

The jury trial of Vincent "Don Vito" Margera — Bam Margera's uncle — on two counts of sexual assault on a child is slated to begin Tuesday. Margera is on trial for allegedly groping three underage girls at an autograph signing in August 2006 in Colorado. The jury in the trial was slated to be seated on Monday (October 22), according to a court spokesperson. ...

Ozzy Osbourne has heart — he's donating all his net profits from his November 30 show at Los Angeles' Staples Center, including ticket sales and merch, to the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program run by his wife. ... Korn frontman Jonathan Davis has beefed up his upcoming solo tour with additional dates — the trek will get under way November 9 in Hartford, Connecticut, and run through December 11 in Las Vegas. In related news, ex-Sevendust guitarist Clint Lowery is now an ex-Korn guitarist too. He has been replaced by Shane Gibson after being forced to leave the band's current "B---h We Have a Problem" run due to a family emergency. ...

Want to get your hands on some Gorillaz stickers, badges and a "Choose Pazuzu" patch? Then make sure to pick up the special-edition version of their upcoming D-Sides collection, which has bumped from a November 6 release date November 20. The special set will also come in a glossy box and have two exclusive prints by Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett. ... The ever-outlandish Mars Volta fans are going to be required to wear costumes to the one-off show they'll play at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on New Year's Eve. The band's next album, The Bedlam in Goliath, drops January 29. ...

The hip-hop promoter who was allegedly attacked by three of Diddy's bodyguards reportedly served the hip-hop mogul on Friday with papers over the rough-up, although they were reportedly having none of it. According to TMZ, James Waldon tried to hand Diddy papers at his Sean Jean store in New York, but his bodyguards apparently smacked them to the ground before eventually retrieving them. They reportedly chased away Waldon, who alleges in his $5 million suit that three of Diddy's bodyguards attacked him after he chatted with the Bad Boy boss at the Box nightclub in New York. ... Relient K have parted ways with drummer Dave Douglas, who will bolt after the group's tour winds down in late December, it was revealed in a Friday post on the band's Web site. No explanation has been given for the departure of Douglas, who had been in Relient K for seven years. Douglas was quoted in the post as saying he will be devoting most of his time to his Gypsy Parade project. ...

Seems there's trouble in the world of CKY. Apparently a physical altercation recently broke out between various members of the group, and they've taken to MySpace to air their dirty laundry. In a post from guitarist Chad Ginsburg, he claims he broke his foot at a gig in St. Louis, and that frontman Deron Miller "has quit CKY to pursue his own band." He added that he, along with drummer Jess Margera, will carry on as CKY. Of course, Miller has a different side to the story. He claims he didn't quit the band, but, "after the San Diego show, I started getting really depressed and couldn't eat or sleep, so of course, I started drinking more and more moderately." According to Miller, he overheard several of his bandmates talking smack about him in St. Louis, and heard some "extremely personal, painful things that were mostly untrue and stupid." Miller said he confronted the rest of the band, after which "a fight broke out. I slapped Jess' hat off of his head and [Miller was jumped] after I put on my backpack to leave the bus." He said he left the band's tour to "detox" and is considering returning to the fold "if I can get and return some apologies, because let's face it, CKY [carrying on] would both be laughable and illegal." Miller also warned that if any of the songs he wrote for the band's forthcoming album end up on the LP, he'd take legal action. ...

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie can't get enough of each other — the couple are putting together a series for HBO, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The two are creating their first production project, a drama that will chronicle workers in an international aid organization who are assigned to dangerous areas. The series doesn't have a name yet, but it will be written by Scott Burns, who produced Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" and co-wrote "The Bourne Ultimatum." ...

Cake are hitting the road for the latest edition of their Unlimited Sunshine Tour series in support of their recently released B-Sides and Rarities compilation. The tour, which kicks off November 28 with a show in Anaheim, California, will also feature performances by Brazilian Girls, Detroit Cobras, Oakley Hall, King City and Agent Ribbons. ...

Kate Hudson and Chris Robinson's divorce is almost officially over — the ex-couple have filed their divorce papers in Los Angeles County Superior Court, according to TMZ. A judge might sign off on the papers later Monday. Robinson filed for divorce in November, and he will share joint custody with Hudson of their only child, son Ryder. ... Lance Hahn, the J Church bassist who also originally fronted the San Francisco punk band, died Sunday from complications arising from kidney disease, according to Austin360.com. He was 40. In July, a tribute album called Let's Do It for Lance! was released to help raise money so Hahn, who had no health insurance, could pay his medical bills. ...

It was a scary moment for punk godmother Patti Smith during a show at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London on Sunday, when the 60-year-old singer took a fall and almost hit the edge of the stage during a show, according to a report. During an encore of her signature tune "Rock N Roll N-----," England's NME reports that Smith tripped on a speaker and fell on her face, cutting her elbow and laying on the ground for a few "agonizing" seconds. Smith allegedly joked about the fall, saying, "I'm not even f---ing embarrassed because I've done far worse," perhaps alluding to the scary fall she took in 1977 in Tampa, Florida, when she tripped off a stage and broke two vertebrae in her neck. ...

Country legend Porter Wagoner has been diagnosed with lung cancer and has been hospitalized in serious condition in Nashville, according to The Associated Press. Wagoner, 80, known for his rhinestone-dripping stage outfits and blond pompadour, is a Country Music Hall of Famer whose hits include "Misery Loves Company," "Green, Green Grass of Home" and "Skid Row Joe." He helped launch the career of Dolly Parton when he hired her as a duet partner in 1967, and Parton has said she wrote the smash hit "I Will Always Love You" (famously covered by Whitney Houston) in Wagoner's honor. ...

Police in Johannesburg, South Africa, have arrested five people in connection with the murder of reggae singer Lucky Dube, who was shot and killed during an attempted carjacking on Thursday. Reuters reports that the men were arrested in an early morning raid on Sunday, during which stolen goods were found in the house in which they were captured.

10.19.07

If you thought Jay-Z was a little premature in announcing his "retirement" four years ago, you're not alone. The hip-hop mogul admits in a new interview with XXL that he "pulled the retirement ripcord too many times." He added, "I want to never say that again. ... People looking at me like, 'Please shut up.' I was looking at [my retirement movie] 'Fade to Black' the other day. I was embarrassed. I couldn't watch. I'm not playing with you. I had to turn it off. I was cringing." On November 6, Jay-Z will issue American Gangster LP — the second album he has put out since making the "retirement" announcement in 2003. ...

Prosecutors in Philadelphia have withdrawn charges against Beanie Sigel after the rapper resolved a dispute over a rental car he had kept long past its return date, The Associated Press reports. Sigel (born Dwight Grant) had rented a 2007 Nissan Altima from Payless Car Rental in July but didn't return the vehicle by its August 13 due date. He also failed to contact the rental company. The car was reported stolen September 6 and was later returned October 5, just as detectives headed to Sigel's home to inquire about the car. Sigel has accumulated $5,000 in late fees, but he has since paid them, which caused prosecutors to withdraw the charges. ...

A Kurt Cobain biopic based on "Heavier Than Heaven," the widely praised 2001 biography of the late Nirvana singer written by Seattle journalist Charles Cross, will be executive produced by Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, according to Variety. The script for the yet-untitled film is slated to be written by "Kite Runner" screenwriter David Benioff, and Universal Pictures is funding the film. The producers have not addressed whether they have the rights to Nirvana's music for the film or which parts of Cobain's life it will cover. ...

Naomi Watts has officially pecked her way into the "Birds" remake, Variety reports. The actress is the first castmember to be announced for the new take on the Alfred Hitchcock classic, while "Casino Royale" director Martin Campbell is reportedly in talks to helm the flick, which will be produced by Michael Bay and is eyeing a 2009 theatrical release. Watts will play Melanie Daniels, a role originally taken on by Tippi Hedren, who recently sounded off to MTV about her distaste for the controversial project. ... What would Fashion Week in Southern California be like without Paris Hilton? The heiress helped close out Petro Zillia's closing show, dubbed "So L.A.," Thursday night in Culver City — although she apparently missed her sister Nicky's spring Chick collection earlier in the week. ...

Bruce Springsteen, Joss Stone, KT Tunstall, Bob Dylan and others are featured on Serve2, a recently released Hard Rock International compilation disc that benefits the Artists Against Hunger & Poverty arm of the World Hunger Year project. Unreleased tracks by those artists — plus Mat Kearney, O.A.R., the Hold Steady and more — will be featured on the set, which is available at Hard Rock Cafes. ... In addition to reuniting for some upcoming shows in November, it appears the Verve have been busy cooking up some new tunes, with the possibility of a new album in 2008. Bassist Simon Jones wrote in his blog that among the band's first new tracks in a decade are the songs "Sit and Wonder," "Judas," "Appalachian Springs," "Mona Lisa" and "Rather Be." ... U.K. shoegazers Swervedriver are also re-forming, bringing their 10-year hiatus to a close. The group is planning a worldwide tour for early next year. ... American Music Club will deliver The Golden Age — their second post-reunion effort, in fact — February 5. The track list hasn't been revealed yet. ...

Hellyeah have set November 13 as the release date for "Below the Belt," their new live DVD. The set will feature footage from the day the hard-rockers got together for the first time, along with performance footage from the making of their album, their first studio sessions and live clips from their world tour. The DVD will also boast personal interviews, as well as a few surprises. ... Irate Aerosmith fans are filing a lawsuit against the band for nixing its September 26 concert on the Hawaiian island of Maui last month, according to The Honolulu Advertiser. The class-action suit claims the band bailed from the sold-out show so it could play a bigger one in Chicago instead; that the late cancellation was unnecessary; and that it caused many fans to lose money they spent — somewhere between $500,000 and $3 million in total — on plane tickets, car rentals and hotels. The suit was filed on behalf of all ticket holders, and, under state law, plaintiffs could be eligible for triple their losses in damages and up to $5,000 if age 62 or over. ...

Stone Roses mastermind Ian Brown is giving his music a classical makeover by enlisting an orchestra to rework his hits. The singer's fifth solo release, The World Is Yours, was released last month, and Brown plans to play a set of classical concerts to put an interesting twist on his famous works. More details will be revealed in the coming weeks. ... Eels are putting out a 10th anniversary best-of set and a collection of rarities, both of which will feature a DVD and land in stores January 15. The sets will be called Meet the Eels: Essential Eels Vol. 1, 1996-2006 and Eels Useless Trinkets: B-Sides, Soundtracks, Rarities and Unreleased 1996-2006. ...

South African reggae star Lucky Dube was shot and killed in an apparent carjacking attempt on Thursday in Johannesburg, South Africa. AP reports that Dube, 43, died when he tried to drive away during the incident and crashed into a tree after being shot twice by two unknown male assailants. Dube's son had reportedly gotten out of the car shortly before the singer was shot.

[This story was originally published at 11:26 am E.T. on 10.22.2007]

• Fall Out Boy
• Beyoncé
• Tool
• Black Sabbath
• Ozzy Osbourne

Britney Spears
Photo: Getty Images

Does Britney Spears' new single — which was just unveiled on Thursday — already have you screaming, "Gimme More"? Well, then you're about to get even more good news: The singer's yet-untitled new album will drop November 13. Ne-Yo, who wrote many potential tracks for Spears, told Ryan Seacrest on his radio show Wednesday that "[Britney has] gotta remind people why they love her in the first place. She's gotta get their minds off her personal life and back on music." ...

Speaking of Spears' personal life, Kevin Federline shouldn't have to foot the whole bill for the legal expenses in his divorce with her because he has "no net income" after various expenses and his monthly spousal support of $20,000 will end in November, his lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan said in a recent declaration. Spears, who makes $737,868 on average every month, is "clearly the 'monied party' " in the dispute and should pay $50,000 for Federline's litigation expenses, according to the declaration. ...

While Spears is planning a November surprise, Carrie Underwood will break hers out a few weeks earlier: Carnival Ride drops October 23. The "American Idol" champ told Billboard, "My favorite line on the whole album [from 'Wheel the World'] pretty much sums up everything that I've been through ... 'God put us here on this carnival ride/ We close our eyes never knowing where it will take us next.' It's beautiful and so true. We don't know what we're doing or where we're headed. We just kind of trust and hope that whatever ride we're on in life takes us where we need to go." Underwood's sophomore effort gets even heavier on "Just a Dream," which revolves around a woman coping with the death of her soldier fiance, and also features a cover of Randy Travis' "I Told You So." ...

Maroon 5 and Robin Thicke will highlight the MTV Video Music Awards Fandemonium Concert to Benefit Lifebeat, a nonprofit group that raises awareness about HIV/AIDS prevention. If you want to check out the September 8 event — to be held at the House of Blues in Las Vegas — and have some extra change handy, you can bid on a batch of auction packages on eBay. The packages include private box seating, cocktails and a meet and greet with the artists, and $5,000 from each will go to Las Vegas AIDS organizations. ...

Chamillionaire is already envisioning multiplatinum success for his sophomore album, Ultimate Victory — and he wants fans to share in his wealth. The rapper plans to dole out autographed commemorative plaques, worth $300 each, in connection with the LP's sales: One hundred will be given out when Victory drops September 18; 200 will be given out if it goes gold; and 300 will be issued if it goes platinum. If you want to try to get your hands on one, head over to Chamillionaire's MySpace page for more info. ... Usher made a surprise appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" earlier this week, telling the host he hopes his child with Tameka Foster is a boy. "If it's a boy, I'm going to name him Usher," he said. "I've been playing with a few names. I'm the fourth. Usher Raymond IV. I just want to pass the name on. Maybe I'll change the middle name." ...

Panic! at the Disco's Ryan Ross spent his 21st birthday at — surprise! — Angels & Kings, the New York bar co-owned by Pete Wentz and members of Gym Class Heroes, the Academy Is ... and Cobra Starship, RollingStone.com reports. ... Perry Farrell and Cursive's Tim Kasher will help judge the Hot Pursuit, an online competition for up-and-coming rock bands. The winner of the Spin/ Music Nation contest will get a record deal with Epic/ Original Signal (Music Nation's label) and the chance to perform at the magazine's SXSW party in Austin, Texas, next year. Those interested can create their artist profile and upload multimedia content here when the contest launches September 24. The judges, together with the public, will vote through the coming months, leading up to the announcement of the winner in mid-December. ...

Hellyeah, Five Finger Death Punch and Droid will support Korn on their B---h We Have a Problem Tour, which launches September 22 in Reno, Nevada, and runs through October 28 in Portland, Oregon. ... Thursday have named their upcoming rarities set Kill the House Lights. The CD/DVD offering will feature hard-to-find material, along with footage documenting the band's history. No release date has been pinned down yet, but it'll likely be in stores by year's end. ... Coheed and Cambria, Clutch and the Fall of Troy will hit the road this fall for a string of 22 North American dates. The trek kicks off October 29 in Toronto and runs through November 28 in Philadelphia. ...

Here's one for the books: Supergrass bassist Mick Quinn recently broke his back after sleepwalking his way out of the first-floor window of a villa in France, BBC News reports. He was rushed to a specialist spinal unit, where surgeons repaired two broken vertebrae and a smashed heel. Quinn is expected to make a full recovery, but the band has postponed its plans — including a homecoming gig in Oxford, England — in the meantime. ...

Bobby Brown sought legal and physical custody of his 14-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina, in an Orange County, California, court on Friday (August 31). The judge requested Brown and his ex-wife Whitney Houston argue their respective cases in a deposition. "I just miss my daughter," Brown told People after the hearing. "I just want to be there to help her make the right decisions and be her father." ...

Looney Tunes, the legendary Long Island, New York, independent record store that regularly hosted in-store appearances for artists — including Lamb of God, Chiodos and Head Automatica most recently — was destroyed in a devastating blaze Wednesday evening. According to investigators, the cause of the fire was a faulty extension cord. The store's owners hope to rebuild the shop as soon as possible but claim hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of merchandise and memorabilia — including 57 autographed guitars and countless gold and platinum records — was consumed in the conflagration.

08.30.07

Say what you will about those supposed Britney Spears tracks floating around online, but the singer is planning to debut the first single from her new album as early as this weekend. The single is called "Gimmie More," was produced by Danjahandz and is an up-tempo dance track — and is also the song for which the singer was seen shooting a video last month. "It's about feeling good, celebrating womanhood," Danja told MTV News earlier this year. "And if you don't dance to it, I really don't know what you're listening to. It's a new Britney." In related news, Spears will host the grand opening of Las Vegas nightclub LAX at the Luxor on Friday. DJ AM — who, along with Christina Aguilera, is an investor in the club — will man the decks. And the infamous Versace gown Spears was supposed to wear during her aborted OK! magazine shoot went up for auction on eBay on Wednesday (August 29). USA Today reported that bidding on the dress started at $5,700, with proceeds going to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. ...

Amy Winehouse can add the VMAs to the growing list of shows she won't be playing this year. The U.K. starlet — who last week postponed her U.S. tour until 2008 — has canceled her scheduled performance at the awards show on September 9. ... Lindsay Lohan plans to meet with her estranged father, Michael, while she is in rehab, a source told People.com, according to the site. People.com says multiple sources have revealed that Lohan's lawyer Blair Berk is helping negotiate Michael Lohan's visit to the Cirque Lodge in Sundance, Utah. ...

Christina Aguilera is on for the Emmy Awards. The singer will perform the Tony Bennett standard "Steppin' Out (With My Baby)" with the jazz legend at the ceremony, which will air September 16 on Fox. The two sang the song together on the TV special "Tony Bennett: An American Classic," which is nominated for eight Emmy Awards. ...

Gwen Stefani has gotten together with Hewlett-Packard for a creative twist on her Harajuku Lovers line. Starting Wednesday at HP.com/Gwen, fans can make and print CD labels, stationary and more by mashing HL content into their own customized designs. ... Jay-Z and Eve hosted a Rocawear party at the Venetian in Las Vegas on Tuesday night in celebration of the weeklong Magic Fashion Convention. The shindig — which was sponsored by Giant magazine and Mercedes-Benz — also featured cameos by Nick Cannon, Travis Barker and Young Jeezy, among others. ...

Lil Wayne is being sued by a concertgoer who alleges that she was knocked to the ground and trampled at the rapper's October show at Baltimore's Morgan State University, according to the Baltimore Sun. Tyrique Layne, who was a student at the university at the time, claims she needed to stay in the hospital overnight as a result of the injuries she sustained at the concert when a large amount of cash was thrown into the crowd. Layne's suit claims she is suffering headaches, neck and back pain, fatigue and other symptoms as a result of her injuries, and she is seeking $1 million plus interest and costs. ...

A mysterious white powdery substance authorities discovered in a locked bedroom inside rapper DMX's Cave Creek, Arizona, home is not a drug after all, according to Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies. Police — who initially believed the substance to be a drug — have not disclosed what it actually is. But officers also seized a useable amount of marijuana during the Friday morning raid, as well as drug paraphernalia, the carcasses of three dogs and a dozen other dogs that seemed malnourished. Police are working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to determine whether DMX was legally permitted to own the weapons. It still hasn't been determined what the three dogs that were found buried in the rapper's backyard died from, but police do not believe they had been used for dogfighting. ...

Beyoncé and Shakira have more than just VMA nominations to get excited about — their "Beautiful Liar" debut is also up for a Latin Grammy, for Record of the Year. Ricky Martin and Calle 13 have four noms apiece, while Juan Luis Guerra leads the pack with five. ... Wyclef Jean keeps inviting more and more guests to take part in his new album The Carnival Volume ll (Memoirs of an Immigrant), which is set to drop November 6. The ubiquitous Lil Wayne and, more surprisingly, System of a Down singer Serj Tankian, have stepped in to help out. ... Kelly Clarkson's live comeback is hitting an early stride. According to her label, tickets for the singer's October 15 and 16 shows at New York's Beacon Theatre sold out in under 20 minutes, prompting the addition of a third show on October 14, which also sold out over the weekend. ...

Ashlee Simpson, Madonna and Hilary Duff are among the loads of artists featured in a new book of photography that revolves around the weekly Saturday night party thrown in New York by trendsetters the Misshapes. Simply called "Misshapes," the book — which also showcases My Chemical Romance, Mandy Moore, Bloc Party, the Killers and more — will be released Tuesday by MTV Press. (See "Misshapes" snaps of Ashlee Simpson, Joel Madden, Pete Wentz, Madonna and more.) ... Nikki Sixx will be the first-ever rock star to act as featured speaker at the National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month luncheon in Washington, D.C., on September 6. Sixx's autobiography, "Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star," hits bookshelves September 18. ...

Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown's battle isn't over — the divorced couple have been wrangling over their 14-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina. In newly released legal papers filed last month and obtained by People.com, Brown claims he hasn't spoken with his daughter since June. "Since Whitney has been awarded sole legal and physical custody of Bobbi Kris, she has attempted to eliminate me from Bobbi Kris' life," the suit reads. "I did all I could to see my daughter ... I also paid approximately $10,000 for Whitney and Bobbi Kris to live in a nice hotel while Whitney was going through rehab ... I basically lived out of my car." In Houston's declaration to the court, she claims Brown has been "almost totally uninvolved in taking care of" Bobbi Kristina and warns, "Bobby is going to try to get child or spousal support from me ... Bobby is fully capable of working and earning substantial sums of money if he would control his personal behavior." Despite the feud, the couple have been spotted together in public recently, having dinner and posing for photos with fans, according to People.com. ...

Linkin Park have already proven themselves to be good Samaritans — they've been donating $1 from every ticket on their Projekt Revolution tour toward planting trees in the hurricane-damaged areas of the Gulf Coast. Now Chester Bennington and the gang are taking their goodwill efforts one step further by actually building a home for a low-income Gulf Coast family themselves. The band has launched a contest named after its recent single "What I've Done" in which the winner and a guest will be able to join LP to construct the house at an undisclosed location in an area affected by Hurricane Katrina. To enter, fans must submit to Contest@MusicForRelief.org a video clip that is less than two minutes long and explains what the person has done to improve the world. Fans can also participate by recording their video at the Music for Relief booth at Projekt Revolution, but all entries must be in by September 29. "We will help build [the home] alongside the family that will move into the house," bassist Phoenix said in a statement. "We hope to remind people that there is still a lot of work to be done." ...

Hulk Hogan's son Nick Bollea was racing another car before he crashed into a tree on Sunday night, according to a Florida woman who told The Associated Press she witnessed the accident. "We knew something was going to happen. You know that this is a bad situation and these guys are hot-dogging," said Frances Vitalis, who claimed to be riding on a motorcycle with a friend behind the cars. A police spokesperson declined to comment to the wire service, citing an ongoing investigation. ... Lawyers in the Phil Spector trial, along with the judge, have agreed that the jury should only consider a second-degree murder charge, as opposed to a lesser charge like manslaughter, the Los Angeles Times reports. Attorneys have now finished the last procedural steps before closing arguments begin September 5. On Tuesday it was announced that Spector had retained San Francisco attorney Dennis Riordan to replace Bruce Cutler, although Riordan will not act as lead counsel. ...

Hard-to-find tracks by Beastie Boys, Interpol and the Decemberists populate the fourth installment in the Give.Listen.Help series, a charity comp available at Urban Outfitters outlets. Most proceeds are going to Art of Elysium, a group that promotes art therapy for hospitalized children. ... Bloc Party will head up the second LA Weekly Detour festival, set for October 6 in downtown Los Angeles. Justice, Satellite Party, Shout Out Louds, Raveonettes, Turbonegro, Kinky and others flesh out the roster for the outdoor throwdown. ... Two of a kind? Mary-Kate Olsen and Ben Kingsley engage in a passionate kiss in their new flick "The Wackness," which finished shooting last week. The 21-year-old Olsen plays a pot dealer's customer in the movie, and the 63-year-old Kingsley acts as the dealer's therapist. ...

Hellogoodbye and Say Anything have been tapped to headline the MySpace Music Tour. The bands will christen the social-networking site's new concert series with a Seattle show on October 16 and plow through a gig in Las Vegas on November 23. MySpace Records artists Polysics will open many dates, from the Seattle show through the Halloween concert in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Presale tickets will be made available exclusively to MySpace members beginning Friday. ... Slayer are pulling together footage from last year's Unholy Alliance Tour with Lamb of God and Mastodon for a DVD due October 30. The simply titled "Unholy Alliance Tour" DVD captures the July 13, 2006, stop in Vancouver, British Columbia, and also includes footage of the other two acts on the bill, Children of Bodom and Thine Eyes Bleed. Behind-the-scenes clips and interviews, many of which were conducted by the bandmembers, flesh out the set. ...

The fire sale of houses and gear from disgraced former boy-band mogul Lou Pearlman — who is currently in jail in Florida and is being accused of defrauding investors of more than $500 million — continues. According to Florida's St. Petersburg Times, in addition to a deal to sell Pearlman's Atlantic City, New Jersey, condo for $335,000 as part of his ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, a deal is under way to sell his Orlando estate for $7.1 million. A Saturday auction of "boy toys" owned by Pearlman — including life-size R2D2, Anakin Skywalker and Han Solo figures, a pimped-out Escalade-style golf cart and a host of weapons — brought in another $280,000. ... Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards doesn't like what the Swedish papers have been saying about the band, so he's taking the fight straight to them. Reuters reports that Richards is demanding that newspapers Expressen and Aftonbladet apologize for their stinging reviews of the Stones' performance in Stockholm earlier this month. "Never before have I risen to the bait of a bad review," Richards said in a statement. "But this time ... I have to stand up for our incredible Gothenburg audience and for our fans all over Sweden ... to say that you owe them, and us, an apology." ...

The free ride for Grateful Dead fans is over. Rhino Records, which controls most of the Dead's music, announced recently that the formerly downloadable live tracks that were posted on the Taper's Section on the band's Web site will now only be available as audio streams. The Section's webmaster, David Lemieux, explained in a note to fans on Monday that the site was always intended "for streaming only." ... A judge ruled Friday in favor of the Recording Industry Association of America, agreeing with RIAA lawyers that "making available" copyrighted works on peer-to-peer networks constitutes copyright infringement, according to a story on Wired.com. The ruling makes clear that it is illegal to share a song in a P2P folder, even if there's no proof that someone else downloaded it.

• Britney Spears
• Kevin Federline
• Carrie Underwood
• Korn
• Chamillionaire

UGK's <i>Underground Kingz</i>
Photo: Jive

Last week, rappers UGK released their perennially delayed seventh album, Underground Kingz. The act, composed of longtime friends Chad "Pimp C" Butler and Bernard "Bun B" Freeman, hadn't released an album's worth of new material since 2002's somewhat thrown-together Side Hustles collection — an album that debuted at #70 on Billboard's albums chart with 14,800 copies scanned during week one. (The group's 1996 LP, Ridin' Dirty, debuted at #15 with 67,200 copies sold, while 2001's Dirty Money opened at #18 with 97,900 scans.)

But while Pimp C spent four years behind bars on assault charges, UGK's legend and influence grew — and the duo's first new album in five years scanned almost 160,000 copies last week, making Underground Kingz the group's first #1 on the Billboard albums chart. It dethrones the previous week's champ, Common, and outperformed next week's #2, fellow rapper Plies' debut offering, The Real Testament, by more than 63,000 units, according to the latest SoundScan totals.

Plies' inaugural set sold nearly 96,500 and was one of three new releases to debut in the chart's top 10, the other being New Jersey pop-rockers the Jonas Brothers, whose self-titled sophomore set sold around 69,500 copies to claim the #5 spot. The band's 2006 debut, It's About Time, sold 10,400 copies in its first week, opening at #91.

The rest of next week's top 10 looks fairly similar to this week's, with the 25th installment in the Now That's What I Call Music! franchise holding for a second straight week at #3 with 86,400 units sold, followed at #4 by Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus, the latest release from the Disney Channel pop star, who climbs one chart position thanks to another 75,200 scans. All told, the disc has sold more than 1 million copies in just seven weeks of commercial release.

The "Hairspray" soundtrack, which generated sales of close to 68,700, slips two spots to #6, followed at #7 by last week's #1, Common's Finding Forever, with week-two sales reported at almost 57,600, a 63 percent drop. At #8 with more than 51,500 scans is Fergie's The Dutchess, and falling one spot to #9 is T.I.'s T.I. vs. T.I.P., which sold 45,400 units. Rounding things out at #10 is Korn's Untitled, which scanned another 44,900 copies during its second week on shelves; sales took a 64 percent nosedive, dropping the album eight spots from the previous week's tally, when the disc debuted at #2.

Another band making its return to the chart after a lengthy lull is Fuel with their latest, Angels and Devils. The record sold more than 15,100 copies to bow at #42. Following them at #55 is the new one from Slightly Stoopid, Chronchitis, selling 11,700 units, and coming in at #58 with 11,300 scans is Latin dancehall sensation Kat DeLuna's debut LP, 9 Lives. Austin, Texas, indie rockers Okkervil River's The Stage Names claims the #62 slot with 10,300 sold, while Drowning Pool's Full Circle follows at #64 with 10,100 copies snatched up.

Finishing at #73 with 9,100 sold is Christian rock outfit Third Day's Chronology, Vol. 2, while "American Idol" season four finalist Constantine Maroulis debuts at #75 with Constantine selling 8,900 copies, and coming in at #81 with sales of 8,600 and change is Throwdown's new one, Venom and Tears.

A bit further down the road, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals' This Is Somewhere opens at #119 with 6,200 scans, while comedy duo Flight of the Conchords' The Distant Future follows at #126, selling 5,800 copies. The Receiving End of Sirens close out the week at #130, with 5,600 of their new one, The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi, leaving record store shelves. And lastly, selling 3,900 units for a #188 finish is Invasion, a compilation featuring the likes of Daddy Yankee, Don Omar and a host of others.

Seen a great show? MTV News wants your photos, videos and reports from all the latest concerts for our new You R Here community. Check out the site to read, rate and comment on reviews from around the globe. We'll put the best stuff on our You R Here blog, and even in on-air news!

• UGK
• Plies
• Jonas Brothers
• Common
• Fergie

Spencer Elden on the cover of Nirvana's <i>Nevermind,</i> 1991
Photo: DGC

Most of us buy records for the music, but an album's cover imagery can also play a role that can't be overlooked. Think back to some of your favorite records: Don't the covers of those discs immediately jump to mind? A cover image can help a band's earnings: From posters and T-shirts to key chains and lunchboxes, that single image is an important promotional tool used to market an LP.

Some of the most vivid album covers in history featured young kids — where are they now? MTV News tracked down some of our favorites to see what they've been up to since finding their ways into our CD collections — and to find out how being on some of rock's most iconic album covers has affected their lives.

(Check out then-and-now snaps of the Nirvana baby, Korn's little girl and more.)

Spencer Elden
Famous For: His appearance on the cover of Nirvana's breakthrough 1991 LP, Nevermind

When Spencer Elden's parents agreed to let their friend, photographer Kirk Weddle, snap a whole roll of film of their infant son swimming underwater in a crystal-clear swimming pool, they couldn't have known that, eventually, more than 9 million people would own a picture of their naked son.

"Yeah, it's kind of creepy that that many people have seen me naked," Elden said. "I feel like I'm the world's biggest porn star."

While that might be a stretch, Elden has become something of a celebrity because of his appearance on Nevermind, and often sits for radio and camera interviews (he gets a fee for the latter) to discuss his life as the Nirvana baby. But otherwise, now-17-year-old Spencer is like most teens. He's about to enter his junior year at Eagle Rock High School in Eagle Rock, California, and works a typical high-school job at a local juice shop. He has aspirations of one day becoming an airline pilot; he surfs, snowboards and loves playing water polo.

"It's kind of cool, knowing that I've been on an album cover, but I feel pretty normal about it because growing up, I've always known I was the Nirvana baby," he said. "It never really struck me as like, 'Oh, sh-- — that's me on the cover.' It's always just been whatever for me. At the time, my parents didn't know who Nirvana was. No one really knew who they were. And then all of a sudden, it took off, and I just happened to be on the album cover."

Elden said he is a true Nirvana fan but has never met any of the bandmembers. He's had a platinum record for Nevermind hanging in his bedroom since his first birthday. But Spencer hasn't seen any royalties from the record's sales; his parents were paid just $200 for allowing him to be photographed.

"My dad went to art school over here in Pasadena, and while he was going there, he had a good friend named Kirk, who was, at one time, a Navy Seal and an underwater-demolition expert," Elden, who is often asked to sign copies of the album, explained. "And so, to go to art school, he gave up diving. One day, he and my mom were sitting at the dinner table during a party, and my mom actually came up with the idea. He was saying how he missed scuba diving, and she said, 'Why don't you just do underwater photography?' When he graduated, the first gig he got was the Nirvana album, and he needed a baby. So they just threw me in the pool, snapped a whole roll of film in like a second, and that's how it happened."

Of course, being the Nirvana baby has helped him with the ladies: "I have to use stupid pickup lines like, 'You want to see my p---s ... again.' " But being on the album's cover has led to some strange encounters as well. He was once invited to swim in a rather wealthy woman's pool for the mere fact that he was the Nirvana baby. Another time, he even met "Weird Al" Yankovic, who famously lampooned the cover on his 1992 disc, Off the Deep End.

"I ran into him when I was going to do a TV interview," Elden said. "He was in the hallway, and he actually signed the back of my platinum record."

Billie Jo Campbell
Famous For: Gracing the cover of the Violent Femmes' self-titled 1982 debut

Believe it or not, that little girl on the cover of the first Femmes record wasn't posing. In fact, she wasn't even aware that she was being photographed. Really, that 3-year-old girl, named Billie Jo Campbell, was perturbed at the moment that picture was snapped.

"I remember looking into that building, and they kept telling me there were animals in there, and I was pissed off," explained Campbell, who's now 27. "I didn't know why they were making me look in this building. I had no idea there were photographers there. I was ... pissed off that I couldn't see the animals and I was all cranky by the end of it."

Like Elden, Campbell, who is engaged and plans to wed next spring, was paid a paltry fee for being part of rock and roll history — $100. She was chosen for the album cover after being discovered by a photographer outside her mother's work.

"My mom is a designer, and I went with her to work one day," she said. "We were walking down the streets of L.A., and this guy came up and said, 'Your daughter is adorable,' and that he wanted me for the album cover. My mom is a free spirit, and thought it was great, and they set it up — I guess that house is somewhere in Laurel Canyon. It wasn't this crazy photo shoot, because the band was unknown at the time."

These days, the graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder lives in Los Angeles and works with her mother running Hangover Designs, their women's-casual-wear company. A framed copy of the vinyl album's cover in her apartment often strikes up conversation during dinner parties.

"People are always like, 'Wow, you're like a Violent Femmes junkie,' and I tell them the truth," said Campbell, who notes that she is a Femmes fan. "You always have people who go, 'Oh you're lying.' It's something I am very proud of. It's a neat thing. It's not like being on the cover of a Britney Spears album. I do get some respect from people when they find out. Sometimes people are totally shocked and they can't even believe it. You will find people my age who [say] that's their favorite album of all time. It's just a cool aspect of who I am, and I think it makes me more dynamic."

The album didn't really resonate with her until her teens, when she'd hear "Add It Up" and "Blister in the Sun" at high-school dances and bat mitzvahs. And when she was in school, and even in college, Campbell said she used to get a great deal of attention because of the picture.

"If it came on at a party, people would point out that I am on it, but it never dawned on me what a huge deal it was until I got to college," she said. "This was my bragging point. I'd be at parties, and if the girls in the dorm knew you were trying to meet cute boys, they'd tell them I am on the cover."

Campbell said whenever she's in a record store, she checks to make sure the album is in stock, and yes, she has been asked to sign several autographs. There was one time when she was actually recognized.

"When I was in junior high, a bunch of us went to a record store, and our whole day was shaped around going to see how many stores we could find my picture in," she recalled. "So we were looking at the CD, and some guy was just like walking by, and was like, 'Oh my God.' He actually recognized me, and was like, 'That pointy nose — I'd recognize it anywhere.' It gave me quite a complex, especially for a girl at that age: 'Oh my God — is my nose that pointy?' "

Justine Ferrara
Famous For: Being the little girl on the cover of Korn's 1994 self-titled debut

All Justine Ferrara can remember from the shoot that eventually led to her being on the cover of Korn's inaugural studio outing was how nice the man standing in front of her was. He stood there, innocently casting a long shadow across the sand beneath her swing — but later on, the image was digitally manipulated so that it appeared he was carrying some lethal tools.

"It confused me," she said, recalling the first time she held the record in her hands. "He was a super-nice guy; he was doing me a favor, by blocking my eyes from the sunlight."

Ferrara, who was 6 at the time of the shoot, is now a 20-year-old communications major at New York University. She was approached for the album cover by her uncle, Paul Pontius, who had signed the band to Immortal/Epic Records. "They were pretty insignificant at the time, and no one knew who they were, and they needed a little girl for the cover," she said. "My uncle was like, 'I know one.' "

Ferrara, who was paid $400 to be a part of nü-metal lore, never thought being on the album's cover was a big deal; she was in second grade at the time, and it took a while before the record became popular. Her parents, though, were somewhat miffed by the imagery inside the album sleeve, and feared their daughter might get in trouble for wearing her actual private-school jumper in the picture. Oh, and the idea that Korn fans would always recognize her wasn't something her folks were too kosher with.

"I think my parents were a little shocked," she said. "They didn't want a lot of our acquaintances to see it because they thought it might have made them look a little crazy. I never was really one to let people know. My close friends knew, and [a platinum Korn record] is in my room at home. It's weird that millions of people have my picture in their house. It's weird even seeing the CD in the store; it's something I'll never get used to."

But a Korn fan, she is not — she prefers bands like Bright Eyes, she said. She does, however, have aspirations of working in the music industry; she has interned for Island Records, and hopes to one day work as a publicist. "But I appreciate Korn and what they did for their genre," she said. "It's just never been my taste in music."

Carl Gellert
Famous For: Being the boy on the cover of the Goo Goo Dolls' 1995 LP, A Boy Named Goo

The picture of a 2-year-old Carl Gellert — with dirt smeared across the lower half of his face — that serves as the cover imagery for the Goo Goo Dolls' breakthrough release wasn't actually commissioned by the band's label, Warner Bros., for the disc. It was a photo his father, Vance, a professional photographer, had taken of him for a book he later published called "Carlvision."

"At the time the album came out, I was just going into seventh grade, so I was 12 or something like that," Gellert remembered. "I don't really know how it happened. I think somehow my dad knew the band's publicist, and the Goo Goo Dolls discovered the book, and they really liked the one picture so they went with it."

Carl's dad was paid $6,000 for use of the image that helped earn Gellert, now 24, the nickname "Goo" — one that's stuck with him throughout his entire adult life.

"I was actually going into a new school that year, and pretty much instantly earned the name 'Goo' before I even started school," he said. "At first, it was kind of lame, and I didn't like people calling me Goo. But by the end of that year, I had pretty much embraced it, and my friends still call me Goo."

Like Ferrara, Gellert's not what you could call a Goo Goo Dolls fan ("I didn't dislike the album, I just wasn't a fan at all"). But his residence hall director in college was maybe a little obsessed.

"He had the poster up in his room, and had me autograph things," Gellert said. "He'd pester me almost every day about it. When he found out they were coming to town to play, he'd ask if I could get him free tickets, or get him backstage and meet the band. But in my apartment, there's no Goo Goo Dolls paraphernalia. The album is hanging up in my parents' houses, and I had it hanging up for a while. But I can't stand having it up any more. I have seen that picture way too much."

Like Elden, Gellert — who lives in Minneapolis and will be entering grad school soon to work on his doctorate in art history with a focus on archeological research — was initially, well, "mortified" when he learned his naughty bits (which are barely visible in the picture) were plastered across posters, T-shirts and billboards. "I thought it was cool after I got over my initial embarrassment," he said.

He also looks for the record when he goes into music stores, and has been asked more than a handful of times to sign copies of the disc. And he's often introduced to people by his friends as the kid who was on the Goo Goo Dolls' album cover, which sometimes leads to confusion.

"Most people, when they see me again, mistake me for the Nirvana kid," he said. "I'm always like, 'Nope, that was someone else.' Other people think I'm in the band — I'm just the baby on the CD. I'm not even the same guy anymore. It does make me feel like I have some small niche of fame. But at the same time, it wasn't anything I did for myself, so I'm not terribly proud of it. It is pretty cool, and I like that people think it's so cool and want my autograph."

Lisa Farnsworth
Famous For: Appearing on the cover of the Lemonheads' 1987 debut, Hate Your Friends, with her brother David Peretz

Lisa Farnsworth wasn't photographed chomping down on a slice of pizza and holding a semi-automatic explicitly for the cover of Hate Your Friends, but rather, was related to one of the band's founders, bassist Jesse Peretz. (He now directs music videos and was awarded a Grammy for helming the Foo Fighters' "Learning to Fly.")

The photo of Farnsworth — who is 45 and lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with her husband and two children — with David, who is a teacher in Boston, was snapped by their mother in Vermont. Brother Jesse liked it so much that he later asked his mother if he could use it for the cover of his band's first record.

"It was taken 40 years ago, when I was 5 or 6," Farnsworth, a former therapist, said. "I think I was 26 when the album came out, and back then, they weren't really that well-known, so nobody really thought anything of it. I don't have a copy of the album hanging up in my house; I own the album on vinyl, but it's stuffed in a box in the basement."

And no, her kids don't think it's even remotely cool that their mom's on an iconic album cover. "They're so jaded," Farnsworth said. "My friends think it's funny, but most people who look at it think it's two boys, so they don't really believe it's me anyway. Really, I don't think it's even such a big deal. My brother and I think it's funny, because my mother would always say, 'No guns.' We never even had water pistols when we were young, and there's this picture of us walking up a road with semi-automatics. They must have belonged to the neighbors."

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• Then And Now: Nirvana Baby, Korn Girl And More

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Common's <i>Finding Forever</i>
Photo: Universal Music Group

It's surprising that a rapper as respected as Common, who's been in the game for more than 15 years, never had one of his records open in the #1 slot on Billboard's albums chart — well, until now.

The MC's latest release, Finding Forever, has accomplished what none of his previous LPs could. With more than 155,300 first-week scans, Finding Forever is the nation's newest #1, fending off Korn's Untitled, which claims the #2 spot on next week's chart with 123,000 sold, according to the latest SoundScan figures.

(Watch Common react to topping the Billboard albums chart for the first time.)

Before now, the closest Common had come to the top was with 2005's Be, which bowed at #2, selling over 184,600 units (see "Audioslave Rage To First Billboard #1"). For Korn — whose last studio offering, 2005's See You on the Other Side, opened at #3 with sales of 220,800 — Common's conquest means they'll have to wait for another of their discs to debut on top. The last Korn set to do so was 1999's Issues on approximately 573,800 first-week sales.

Sliding two places to #3 this week, selling 122,900 copies, is the 25th release in the Now That's What I Call Music! compilation series, followed at #4 by the Hairspray soundtrack, which generated sales of close to 82,200. Meanwhile, Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus, the latest from the star of the Disney Channel series, falls one spot to #5, scanning 81,600 copies.

T.I.'s T.I. vs. T.I.P. hangs tough at #8, thanks to 55,300 week-five scans, while Fergie's The Dutchess tumbles three positions to #9, with 53,400. And rounding out next week's top 10 is Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight; next week, look for the album's total sales to top the 1.5 million mark.

All told, there were just 13 newcomers to next week's albums sales chart. A total of four managed to crack Billboard's top 10, including reggae-influenced rapper Sean Kingston, whose self-titled debut claims the #6 position with 74,700 sold. Following him at #7, with 70,700 scans, is the latest installment in the Kidz Bop franchise, Kidz Bop 12, an album boasting children covering songs by Avril Lavigne, Daughtry, Kelly Clarkson, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, Nickelback, Maroon 5 and others.

The Starting Line's latest, Direction, debuts on next week's chart at #30, thanks to reported sales of more than 20,200, and coming in at #43 with sales of 17,100-plus is True Beauty, the debut LP from Mandisa, who was the ninth-place finalist in season five of "American Idol." DevilDriver's Last Kind Words follows at #48 with nearly 14,300 units scanned, and making his return to the chart at #52 is Keith Murray, whose Rap-Murr-Phobia (The Fear of Real Hip-Hop) sold more than 13,300 units its first week.

Rapper Kia Shine's Due Season bows at #84, having sold close to 9,500 units, while an Elvis Presley live compilation titled Elvis: Viva Las Vegas follows at #94 with 8,100 scans. Jazz icon Ella Fitzgerald's Love Letters From Ella opens at #97, selling little more than 7,800 copies, and down in the #105 slot, with sales of 7,200 and change, is the "Bratz" soundtrack. Finally, just making the Billboard cut at #199, is the latest from Five Finger Death Punch, Way of the Fist, which sold 3,800 copies.

• Common Finding New Fans After 15 Years

• Common
• Korn

Korn at their press conference in New York's Times Square on Tuesday
Photo: Bryan Bedder/ Getty Images

NEW YORK — With a sparse field of real corn behind them, juxtaposed by the hustle, bustle and blaring fire engine sirens of the city's Times Square, the three active members of Korn — frontman Jonathan Davis, bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer — announced that they've gone green.

(Watch Korn field questions in the Kornfield about their new LP and USO-friendly tour.)

Surrounded by a crush of photographers, fans and curious onlookers, Korn revealed that on the band's Family Values Tour this summer (see "Korn, Evanescence, Hellyeah Top Family Values Tour Bill"), they'll be traveling in vehicles that operate on domestically produced biodiesel fuels.

The conversion of the group's eight buses and eight cargo trucks will help reduce by almost 50 tons the amount of carbon-dioxide emissions the tour produces, Davis said, and added that they'll be asking the rest of the bands on the festival's bill to follow suit. The band hopes the move will inspire others to make the switch, too.

"We all have children, and I just worry about my kids' kids," Davis, the proud owner of a Toyota Prius, said during the press conference. "[I worry about whether] they will have a place to live [and I hope] that they won't have to live underground. I think it's time we really did start trying to do something about getting rid of oil in general. We have the means to fuel cars in different ways. We have the technology to do it. We're doing our part to set the wheels in motion."

In addition, Korn — whose untitled eighth studio album lands in stores Tuesday (July 31) — discussed Korntastic, their own recipe for biofuel, which they're working on with MusicMatters' Sustainable Minded Artists Recording and Touring program. The formula, according to the band's publicist, is still in development and will be revealed soon via Korn's new Web site, korntastic.com.

"We want to do something for our environment," Davis said. "I know it won't happen overnight, but little things like this, everyone being conscious about it ... we can't change the world, but we can all make a difference."

The bandmembers also said they'll be giving away free Family Values tickets to all U.S. soldiers on leave who want to check out the concert when the 'fest rolls through their towns.

"We got together with the USO and we're offering, in any city we're stopping in, free tickets to the show [to members of the armed forces on leave], so that they can have a good time," Davis explained. "We've always looked out for those guys who're going over to Iraq, risking their lives for us. It's the least we could do — offer them some entertainment and have them forget about what's going on over there for a little bit."

This isn't the first time Korn's worked with the USO. Back in November 2005, the band gave a special live performance on a transatlantic flight to London before an audience of contest winners and eight U.S. soldiers who had served in either Afghanistan or Iraq.

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Stars Collide At The 2008 VMA Weekend Parties

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MTV.com Exclusive: Korn

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Linkin Park, Korn, Incubus, More At Weenie Roast '07

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Korn, Vinnie Paul, Atreyu Announce Family Values Tour At Virtual MTV Press Conference

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MTV.com Exclusive: Korn Unplugged

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Best of 2006: The Red Carpet

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Madonna, Samuel L. Jackson, Sting, Korn's Jonathan Davis, More Show Off Their Kilts

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Korn Live at Continental Arena, East Rutherford, NJ 03.28.2006

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Korn Kick Off 2006 Tour In Bakersfield, California

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