Selena Gomez
Photo: MTV News

She's been linked to some of the biggest heartthrobs in the industry, but Selena Gomez didn't name-check either Taylor Lautner or Nick Jonas when sharing her celebrity crushes with MTV News. The Kiss & Tell singer seems to like her guys a little older.

"I like Shia LaBeouf. I like Emile Hirsch, Ryan Gosling and Jason Mraz," she said. And she even elaborated on how much she'd like to work with one of those guys in the future.

"I would love to work with Jason Mraz 'cause I have a crush on him and he's very talented, musically and lyrically. I don't know where [he comes up with this stuff]," she said of the "I'm Yours" singer. "And I went to his concert and it was just him and guitar on a stage. And I was like — my jaw was open the entire time. I was in shock. He's beautiful. I would love [to collaborate]."

This isn't the first time she's expressed a desire to work with one of her celebrity crushes. In several interviews, including one with MTV News last fall, she said she hoped to one day get LaBeouf on her show, "Wizards of Waverly Place."

"You'd think that as much as I promote it [he'd be coming on]," she said of trying to get the former "Even Stevens" star to make a cameo. "I'm, like, begging, but it's not happening. I know I'm a nerd! Please, Shia, come on my show!"

• MTV News Extended Play: Selena Gomez

• Selena Gomez
• Jason Mraz

The Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am, Fergie and Taboo perform at the Outside Lands Music & Art Festival in San Francisco on Saturday
Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/ Getty Images

SAN FRANCISCO — San Franciscans surprised by the honest-to-goodness summer weather that showed up this weekend finally had a chance to zip up their hoodies on the second night of the Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival. But headliner Dave Matthews gave the crowd plenty of reasons to wiggle the chills away during his two-and-a-half-hour set.

Matthews and his eponymous band played with the precision that comes from knowing how their bandmates work, which produced some impressive jams and awe-inspiring solos. Matthews provided a dose of early-millennial nostalgia with a set that focused heavily on favorites like "Jimi Thing" and "Ants Marching." Along the way, Fergie and Apl.de.Ap from the Black Eyed Peas showed up to inspire Matthews to take his goofy dancing to another level. Then, pedal-steel specialist Robert Randolph slipped in during the encore to end the set with two covers Matthews always keeps in his back pocket: Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" and Sly and the Family Stone's "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)," the latter of which featured singing and beat-boxing by Randolph.

	Inside The Outside Lands Music Festval

But back at the top of the afternoon, on the Twin Peaks stage at the opposite end of the festival grounds, Street Sweeper Social Club brought an entirely different brand of grooviness and some of the weekend's few true aggro moments. Conceived by Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello and fronted by the Coup's Boots Riley (who continuously reminded the crowd that Street Sweeper Social Club is "more than a band, we're a social club"), the group played songs from its self-titled debut plus well-received covers of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" and LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out," both of which kept the pit churning.

On the way back to the main stage, the Barbary — which took place inside a tent filled with oak-framed mirrors and stained glass — offered some mid-afternoon comedy from past and present locals Sherry Sirof, Brent Weinbach and Kevin Camia, all of whom managed to offend all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time with tales of anatomy, sexual preference and 99-cent stores.

Raphael Saadiq didn't drop any comedy into his funky set, though he did go into a long monologue about growing up in nearby Oakland and listening to Al Green for inspiration. Saadiq and his band wore matching black suits as though they were going to hit the blackjack tables immediately following the show, and he treated the afternoon like a hot '60s R&B revue. Working the stage like a deranged bandleader, Saadiq called upon the early afternoon crowd to sway and bounce along with his old-school soul jams.

It wasn't all about the love, though, as he detoured into a cover of the Stooges "Search and Destroy," lending Iggy Pop's snarl a bit of gospel heft. He closed out the show by bringing on his first-ever choir director, who inspired him to sing as a child. With a scratchy, bluesy delivery, he backed up what Tom Jones had established on Friday night: Sometimes a little experience goes a long way.

As the middle player on Saturday's main stage, Jason Mraz was reminiscent of Jimmy Buffett as he took his hour-long set right down the middle, playing laid-back pop, reggae, disco-funk and everything else that makes sense on a warm afternoon in the park. It certainly didn't have much in common with the otherworldly weirdness going on at the nearby Sutro Stage, where the re-formed Os Mutantes played to a noticeably sparse audience. Apparently the Brazilian psych-rock pioneers — who got back together a few years ago after splitting in the late '70s — didn't get the memo about what the Hacky Sack crowd would be interested in hearing. But like many of the weekend's stalwarts, Os Mutantes stuck to their guns and played their hearts out, which paid off in the end, when leader Sérgio Dias blurted out, "That was amazing!" at his own band's performance.

Sporting a beard that complements the music he's making these days, Conor Oberst and his Mystic Valley Band closed down the Sutro Stage with songs that are more down-home than downtrodden. One highlight of the set was when he brought out Jenny Lewis to perform Rilo Kiley's "Portions for Foxes," though Oberst outdid himself in the end with a beautiful rendition of the sparse and gorgeous "Milk Thistle."

Back on the main stage, the Black Eyed Peas provided the day's first real communal moment with their truckload of radio hits, and calling San Francisco their "home away from home" earned the band even more points with the local crowd (though Fergie should know better than to call it "Frisco"). The world didn't become a better place during the hour-long show, though it came closer than usual. There's something about "I Gotta Feeling" that makes the promise that "Tonight's gonna be a good night" easy to believe, and the band wisely closed their set with it. That gave way for Matthews, giving the 50,000 strong in Golden Gate Park a jubilant one-two punch that sent them home euphoric.

• Inside San Fran's Outside Lands Festival

• Black Eyed Peas
• Dave Matthews
• Jason Mraz
• Raphael Saadiq
• Rage Against the Machine

Crosby Loggins
Photo: Polk Imaging/ WireImage

The number of musicians' kids who actually carve out successful careers on their own is pretty small — it's probably equal to the number of reality-TV show winners who go on to greatness.

But "Rock the Cradle" winner Crosby Loggins — son of Kenny Loggins — is hoping to beat the odds.

Crosby grew up around Jackson Browne and Michael McDonald, but spending time with his dad's rock-star friends didn't make the aspiring singer/songwriter crave fame. In fact, he was reluctant to participate in MTV's "Rock the Cradle," a singing competition for famous musicians' kids.

The choice worked out. Competing in and winning the contest scored Loggins a record deal with Jive and the chance to work with some big names in the business.

"Seriously," the first song from his debut album, was co-written by "American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi and esteemed songwriters Jess Cates and Emanuel Kiriakou. Crosby will release the sentimental new single — think John Mayer meets Jason Mraz and, well, Kenny Loggins — on June 8. Mayer actually has a guitar solo on the album's title track, "Time to Move."

Slated for a July 14 release, the album will feature Loggins' sweeping melodies and sincere lyrics. He co-wrote all songs on the album and enlisted the help of Dave Matthews Band producer John Alagia for most of the tracks.

While this record marks Loggins' first solo effort, in 2007 the singer and his band, Crosby Loggins and the Light, released the album We All Go Home.

Loggins is gearing up for a promotional tour in support of Time to Move.

• Jason Mraz
• John Mayer

Justin Timberlake in "My Love"
Photo: Jive

Valentine's Day — you either love it or hate it. It makes sweethearts swoon and others want to stab fat cherubs with a bow and arrow. Between the chocolate hearts, the red roses and the teddy bears shoved in our faces, the holiday stirs up a cocktail of emotions: happiness, despair, jealousy, grief, sadness, desire ...

MTV News has all your mood swings covered. In honor of this beloved and dreaded holiday, we're rolling out the Best Love Songs, Best Breakup Songs, Best Makeout Songs and Worst Love Songs in recent memory. It's our Valentine's Day gift to you, minus the dinner-and-a-movie part. So slip into something comfortable, and stay for a while.

Love songs tend to get dusted off and put on display at weddings. And it's hard to take any song seriously right after doing the chicken dance. Our favorite artists know what's up: They express those deepest, darkest emotions without the help of cheesy lyrics or a soprano-saxophone player. Give it up to Justin, the Jonas Brothers and these other winged matchmakers for making us all a little weak in the knees.

10. Jonas Brothers - "Lovebug"
This is about the only "lovebug" we ever want to catch. Let's leave it at that ...

9. Alicia Keys - "No One"
In this soulful song, Alicia belts out her emotions so we don't have to.

8. The Postal Service - "Such Great Heights"
Despite never uttering those three magic words, this 2003 hit puts us on cloud nine.

7. Jason Mraz (featuring Colbie Caillat) - "Lucky"
This duet is bound to make the wedding-day rounds. Still, the old-timey lyrics are cute.

6. Miley Cyrus - "7 Things"
This isn't a typo. This certainly isn't a typical love song, considering that Miley sings about hating someone. But listen a little closer, and you'll see the teen queen taps into the heart of a relationship — the bad that also comes with the good.

5. Beyoncé - "Crazy in Love"
Ms. Sasha Fierce escorts us over the edge of love and back again in her 2003 smash single. Uh-oh!

4. Taylor Swift - "Love Story"
With the sweet melody and fairy-tale references, this teen songstress gives us hope there will be a castle and a lover in a low-cut top in all our futures. Give in and "say yes" to Taylor's catchy chorus.

3. Gym Class Heroes - "Cupid's Chokehold"
Travis McCoy joins forces with Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump to talk pancakes, secret handshakes and other shared moments with a string of girls. You gotta love a guy (and a song) with a sense of humor.

2. U2 - "With or Without You"
After all these years, Bono still melts our hearts. This 1987 classic addresses the question: What the hell would I do without you? That never gets old.

1. Justin Timberlake - "My Love"
With the help of Timbaland and T.I., Justin Timberlake nabs the top spot with his 2006 hit. JT redefines the concept of the love song, proving it can belong in both the club and next to a roaring fireplace.

Do you love it or are you just not that into our picks? Tell us why in the comment section below.

Now that you have the tracks to set the mood, you should gauge your plans with what the celebs are doing. No date? Don't forget that there are single, hot guys that you might have a chance with. Happy Valentine's Day!

• Valentine's Day: Best Love Songs

• Justin Timberlake
• The Postal Service
• Alicia Keys
• Jason Mraz
• Miley Cyrus

Death Cab for Cutie
Photo: Ben Ritter

So far, 2008 has been a rather pop- and R&B-heavy year — with the likes of Mariah Carey, Madonna and Janet Jackson all releasing new material. We're nearing the halfway point and, up until now, only two rock records have occupied the Billboard Top 200's peak position: Radiohead's In Rainbows, which started the year off on top with 122,300 copies sold, and Jack Johnson's Sleep Through the Static, which spent three weeks at #1, selling 374,600, 180,000, and 105,000, respectively.

Perhaps we need to look to Bellingham, Washington's Death Cab for Cutie to turn the tide. Thanks to the indie pop-rock outfit's new one, Narrow Stairs, we now have a third rock record dominating national album sales. The disc also becomes the band's sole offering to bow at #1, selling close to 143,600 copies during its first week in stores. Comparatively, Death Cab's previous effort, 2005's Plans, debuted at #4, generating around 90,000 week-one scans.

Overall, though, next week's chart will feature several new releases from some of rock's heaviest hitters, but on average, the SoundScan numbers don't lie: Rock doesn't sell as well as the other genres. That's not to say rock is dead. Jason Mraz's We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things makes its debut this week at #3, selling 73,000 units — following Frank Sinatra's Nothing But the Best collection at #2 with about 99,100 scans. Coming in at #12 with 28,000 sold, it's 10 Years' latest, Division. The reunited Filter's independently released Anthems for the Damned also impacts next week's chart, opening at #42 with 12,600 sold.

But one of the week's best-sellers couldn't be further from the rock aesthete. Duffy, the British singer/songwriter who has been dominating the U.K. charts, sees her Rockferry debut at #4 on the chart, with 70,900 copies snatched up. That means that the top four albums on next week's sales chart are new releases — something that hasn't happened for some time.

The rest of the top 10 is rounded out by the usual suspects and one other new release: at #10 with 36,600 sold is Keith Sweat's Just Me. Leona Lewis' Spirit climbs one spot to #5, with 62,300 scans, while Mariah Carey's E=MC² drops one spot to #6, selling another 58,600. Neil Diamond's Home Before Dark falls six chart places to #7, generating 53,400 in second-week sales, and Madonna's Hard Candy slips five spots to #8, with 53,300 sold. Toby Keith's 35 Biggest Hits follows at #9, with 40,800 scans.

The soundtrack to "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" enters next week's chart at #26, having sold 15,700 units in its first week. Following at #40, selling 13,200 copies, is Truth, the latest from R&B act Cherish. Iron Maiden's Somewhere Back in Time: The Best of 1980-1989 enters the chart at #59, with sales reported at 11,000. Foxy Brown's Brooklyn's Don Diva debuts at #83, with 8,810 sold, and just two spots down, the Old 97's' Blame It on Gravity enters at #85, with 8,780.

Southern hip-hop artist Boondox's Krimson Creek bows at #113, selling 6,200 units, and with 4,900 scans, Dokken's Lightning Strikes Again comes in at #133. Emmure's Respect Issue trails at #141, with 4,800 sold. And lastly, entering at #195 with 3,500, is Cinematic Sunrise's Coloring Storybook and Long Playing Record.

• Death Cab For Cutie
• Jason Mraz
• Duffy
• 10 Years
• Filter

Mariah Carey's <i>E=MC²</i>
Photo: Island

Last week, pop songstress Mariah Carey was everywhere, getting the word out about her latest LP, E=MC². She appeared on "American Idol," made the cover of Us Weekly and starred in a series of commercial-esque vignettes that aired all weekend, as part of MTV's 52/52 campaign.

Needless to say, Mariah's fans were well aware that the singer's album landed in stores last week, and clearly, the public appearances and the media hoopla didn't hurt sales of her record. In fact, with close to 463,000 copies scanned during week one, Carey's 11th studio offering coasts to the top of next week's Billboard albums sales chart, with little — if any — competition.

E=MC² marks Carey's sixth album to top the charts and has outsold all of the singer's previous efforts' opening weeks, according to the latest SoundScan data. In 2005, The Emancipation of Mimi opened at #1 with only 403,800 sold. Much more than that, though, E=MC² has earned the distinction of becoming 2008's best-selling debut so far, trouncing the 374,600 turned out by Jack Johnson's Sleep Through the Static in February.

Mariah's was among 19 new releases to impact next week's top 200 and one of only two new albums to enter the chart in the top 10. The other, country artist Lady Antebellum's self-titled set, bows at #4, selling 43,400 units. The rest of the top 10 is made up of several regulars, with Leona Lewis' Spirit at #2 (with 94,800 scans), Miley Cyrus' Best of Both Worlds live record at #3 (with 47,300 sold) and the 27th installment in the Now That's What I Call Music! compilation series finishing at #5 (selling 39,000 copies).

George Strait's Troubadour follows at #6 (with 38,000 sold), and the soundtrack to "Alvin and the Chipmunks" comes in at #7 (with sales reported at 31,700). The "Juno" soundtrack climbed 38 spots to #8 (31,300), no doubt thanks to the movie's DVD release, while R.E.M.'s Accelerate fell four spots to #9 (30,000). Taylor Swift's self-titled debut comes in at #10, with 29,700 sold.

Thrice's The Alchemy Index Vols. III & IV enters next week's chart at #17, selling 21,400 units. Rush's Snakes and Arrows: Live bows at #18, selling 21,000 copies. The Naked Brothers Band's I Don't Want to Go to School scanned 19,000 copies to open at #23, and Tristan Prettyman's Hello claims the #27 spot, with a reported 18,200 snatched up. The Kooks' Konk follows at #41, with 13,300 sold, while Insane Clown Posse offshoot Dark Lotus' Opaque Brotherhood sold 12,100 copies to enter the chart at #45.

Elsewhere on the chart, Jason Mraz's We Dance EP generated first-week sales of 11,300 to open at #52, Apocalyptica's Worlds Collide follows at #59 with 10,600 scans, and M83's Saturdays = Youth comes in at #107, on the strength of 6,300 in sales. Phantom Planet return at #119, selling 5,700 copies of their new one, Raise the Dead, and Worth Dying For's self-titled debut opens at #166, selling 4,100 copies.

• Mariah Carey's E=MC²: Track By Track
• Mariah Carey: A Look Back At Her MTV Interviews
• Are British Bands Hitting A Star-Spangled Ceiling?

• Mariah Carey
• George Strait
• Thrice
• Rush
• The Kooks

Zac Efron
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

Zac Efron is doing fine after having his appendix removed Tuesday (January 15), according to People.com. The star — who recently signed on for "High School Musical 3" — was rushed to Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after suffering from appendicitis, TMZ.com reports. "Zac had his appendix removed and is recuperating," the actor's representative, who was not named, reportedly said in a statement. ...

A very revealing photo of Heidi Montag graces the new cover of Maxim, and for the accompanying interview, she also revealed to the mag that she wants to be the next Madonna. "But it's not like with most pop artists, where they have a song sent to them that has nothing to do with their emotions or lives," she insisted about her yet-untitled, in-the-works LP. "It's all about me and my life. I'm taking my time to make sure it's a classic. I don't want to be the next pop person who's in or out. I want to be like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Stevie Wonder — all the greats." Montag also dished on new parents Nicole Richie and Joel Madden recalling that one time they "came up to [Montag's fiance,] Spencer [Pratt,] and me at the Beverly Hills Hotel [in California] and started yelling something Spencer said about Nicole in an interview, like, two years ago. ... Joel was yelling, 'You've been talking sh-- about my girl!' " ...

Madden has blogged on the Web site for his clothing company, DCMA, about arriving home with his and Richie's daughter, who was born on Friday. "Well I am finally home with my beautiful girlfriend and our brand new little daughter," the Good Charlotte frontman wrote. "Harlow Winter Kate Madden was born on January 11th 2008 at 3:13 p.m. She weighed in at 6 pounds and 7 ounces. She is 19 inches long and growing everyday already! She really is a wonderful addition to the GC/DCMA/DEADEXEC family. We are so blessed to have this beautiful little baby in our lives. I want to thank everyone for all the love and kind words they've sent our way. We apologize we weren't accepting gifts/cards/calls at the hospital, but if you'd like to send something, we'd rather you make a donation to the Richie-Madden Foundation, which we started in Harlow Winter's honor. She looks so much like her mom it's crazy! She eats like a little maniac and she's really sweet. She barely ever cries, even when daddy is changing her diaper, and believe me I suck when it comes to diapers, but I'm learning! I can't wait to show off some pictures, until then, THANKS!! and GOD BLESS... Joel." ...

From an "Umbrella" to a handbag: Rihanna has made a match with Marc Jacobs as she and the fashion designer have partnered to produce a new pair of purses named after the leggy singer. The two models are available as a part of Jacobs' spring line. ... Missy Elliott has stepped up with two new tunes for the February 5 soundtrack to "Step Up 2 the Streets." The MC's "Ching-A-Ling" — which is already sizzling in the streets — and "Shake Your Pom Pom" will appear on the soundtrack, and might resurface on her yet-untitled new LP, due in May. The soundtrack also features Cassie, who stars in "Step Up 2 the Streets," as well as T-Pain, Flo Rida, Trey Songz, Plies and Scarface. ...

Twista has inked a deal with Koch to release a project with his longtime group, the Speedknot Mobstaz. The Mobstaz's forthcoming sophomore album, Mobstability II: Nation Bizness, is set to feature Jim Jones and production by Cuzzo and China White Productions. ... The Grammys will not be getting a free pass from the Writers Guild of America. The Los Angeles Times reports that the Grammys have not asked for a special waiver to allow striking Guild employees to work on the show, but even if they did request one, it would not likely be granted. In addition, a number of top musicians who also have Screen Actors Guild cards, including Justin Timberlake and Queen Latifah, are being lobbied by the WGA not to attend the February 10 show, according to AdAge.com. ...

In a $35 million lawsuit filed on Monday, Victory Records claimed that Virgin/EMI "improperly induced" Hawthorne Heights to disregard their contract with the independent Chicago label. In a news release on the suit, Victory also claimed that Virgin/EMI paid $55,000 to the band, which used the money to fund the initial phase of a 2006 lawsuit against Victory, and helped the bandmembers search for a music-industry lawyer to help them with their legal action. "The facts alleged in this case demonstrate classic interference with contractual and business relations," Victory lawyer Robert Meloni said. "They did more than merely offer a carrot to the band, but also saddled the horse, paid for a rider to take the reins, and led it out of the barn." The suit seeks $10 million in compensation and $25 million in punitive damages for Virgin/EMI's "willful, wanton and deliberate conduct." Victory maintains that HH owe the label two more albums, but the band, which lost guitarist Casey Calvert in November after a fatal drug interaction, has vowed not to record for Victory again. ...

Rancid fans, time to grow those Mohawks back — the band started recording new material in a California studio on Monday. The punks' yet-unnamed follow-up to 2003's Indestructible is due later this year, on guitarist Brett Gurewitz's Epitaph/Hellcat label, of course. ... Tiger Army have welcomed an old comrade back into their ranks. Stand-up-bass player Geoff Kresge, who toured with the psychobilly band from 1999-2004 — and who also has a stint with AFI on his résumé — replaces Jeff Roffredo, who "left the band on good terms to pursue other interests," according to a press release from the band's publicist. Tiger Army hit the road earlier this week and have a heap of shows planned for throughout the year. ...

Now that Marilyn Manson and Twiggy Ramirez have reconciled, what better way to celebrate than with some concerts? Manson has tacked on a few more to his upcoming trek, which starts Saturday in Orlando, Florida. The newly added gigs will be staged in Phoenix (February 27); Dallas (February 29); Austin, Texas (March 1); and Houston (March 2). Veteran rock act Ours will be the opening act on the tour, according to Pollstar.com. ... Here's a novel idea: Yellowcard are giving fans who buy the rockers' Live From Las Vegas at the Palms release an early chance at getting tix to one of their upcoming shows. The iTunes exclusive will be available starting January 22, and fans who snatch it up before January 29 will get a Ticketmaster code allowing them to nab up to four tickets for the band's trek, which starts March 7 in Salt Lake City and ends April 12 in Los Angeles. From Las Vegas at the Palms immortalizes Yellowcard's show at the Palms Casino Resort's Pearl venue in October. ...

EMI — home to Coldplay, the Rolling Stones and other acts — will slash a third of its work force, or 1,500-2,000 jobs, over the course of the next months, multiple outlets reported Tuesday. According to the Web site for England's Telegraph, the reunited Verve could be the next major group to withhold its upcoming album in light of the major-label shake-up. The paper reports that the Verve may join Robbie Williams and Coldplay in threatening to hold onto their next albums unless they receive assurances about the company's financial health and how their albums will be marketed. The company's new boss, Guy Hands, was reportedly to be grilled by the managers of some of the label's top acts on Tuesday as he revealed plans for streamlining the company. ...

"American Idol" judge Randy Jackson is known for name-dropping, but his new album, Music Club Vol. 1, might finally back up some of his boasting. Jackson's upcoming solo album, due March 11, will feature pals ranging from Mariah Carey and Joss Stone to Jason Mraz, former "Idol" contestants Elliott Yamin and Katharine McPhee and country star Travis Tritt. Fellow judge Paula Abdul will be featured on "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow," her first new recording in more than a decade. Last week, TVGuide.com reported that Jackson and Abdul had been rehearsing a video for the single, and that she was in talks to perform it at the Super Bowl on February 3. Also included on the album are Van Hunt, Three 6 Mafia, Angie Stone, Richie Sambora and Keb' Mo'. ...

My Morning Jacket are going big time: The longhaired Kentucky rockers will headline a show at New York's Radio City Music Hall on June 20. The band's yet-untitled album will drop 10 days earlier. ... Noise Pop just got a bit noisier. The Walkmen, the Dodos, MSTRKRFT, Stellastarr and the Helio Sequence have climbed onto the roster for the San Francisco fest, which is happening February 26-March 2. Jamie Kennedy's comedic documentary "Heckler" — which features George Lucas, Rob Zombie, David Cross and others — will open the Film Festival portion of the event. ... Carla Bruni has been making headlines lately amid her high-profile romance with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Now the chanteuse can parlay that attention into promotion for the wide release of No Promises, an album that is currently only available Stateside on iTunes and at Barnes & Noble stores. The disc — which is being issued through Downtown Records, home to Gnarls Barkley and Spank Rock, and pays tribute to English-language literary legends — will hit retail stores nationwide February 19.

1.14.08

Nearly six years after the alleged sex tape first surfaced, the court proceedings in the R. Kelly case continue to move at a snail's pace. The prosecutors originally sought to have testimony from one expert witness, Dr. Sharon Cooper, cover several different areas — the age of the girl on the tape based on forensic pediatrics, the identification of the man on the tape based on the vein pattern on his hands, and the behavior profile of the girl based on the psychology of child sex-abuse victims. Judge Vincent Gaughan had previously ruled that Dr. Cooper could testify about the victim's age, but not the behavior profile, so prosecutors had asked him to reconsider. At a hearing on Monday (January 14), Gaughan ruled once again that Dr. Cooper would not be able to testify about why the girl in the case would deny that she was a victim, or how common denial is in sex-abuse cases. Kelly is due back in court March 12 for another pre-trial hearing, while the trial itself is slated to start on May 9. ...

And the Wu-Tang Clan infighting goes on. U-God — who complained about RZA being callous toward him in the studio nearly four years ago — is now suing Wu's label, alleging that he is owed $170,000, according to TMZ.com. U-God (born Lamont Hawkins) reportedly filed papers in a New York district court, alleging that Wu Music owes him money for services rendered dating back to March of last year. Wu Music is licensed to Universal Music. ...

Paula Abdul doesn't just have the seventh season of "American Idol" on her mind these days. "I want kids!" the singer recently told Ladies' Home Journal for its February issue. "If it doesn't happen naturally, I can always adopt." The 45-year-old Abdul opened up even more about her personal life, saying of 32-year-old boyfriend J.T. Torregiani, "I've experienced real loneliness, so I love knowing there's someone I can share the good and the not-so-good with." ... Everyone's wondering how the seventh season of "Idol" is going to fare in light of some retooling and the writers' strike, but if you ask Chris Daughtry, the show is "in a state of decline." The Daughtry frontman recently spoke with RollingStone.com about the show, adding that if it doesn't right itself, "it's probably not gonna last too much longer. I'm sure that'll be used against me, but that's the truth, you know?" He also said the show is "definitely lacking some credibility at this point." ...

White Stripes, Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon, Mark Ronson, Klaxons, Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Cheifs and recent MTV Artist of the Week Kate Nash have all landed Brit Award nominations, although Leona Lewis, Mika and Take That have scored the most, with four apiece. Rihanna, Ronson, Kaiser Chiefs, Kylie Minogue and Paul McCartney are slated to perform at the February 20 ceremony. ... R.E.M. have pulled the curtains back on a new Web site surrounding the April 1 release of their 14th studio album, Accelerate. Their NinetyNights.com Web site has daily high-definition-video snippets shot by Arcade Fire collaborator Vincent Moon ...

Björk attacked a newspaper photographer who was attempting to take her picture at the Auckland International Airport on Sunday, according to reports in the New Zealand press. The singer, who was flying in to perform at the Big Day Out concert on Friday, reportedly ripped New Zealand Herald photographer Glenn Jeffrey's shirt after he snapped a photo of her. Jeffrey told the New Zealand Press Association that he was warned by a man traveling with Björk not to take her picture, and once he did, the singer came up behind him, grabbed the back of his shirt and tore it before tumbling to the ground. In 1996, Björk attacked a reporter in an airport in Bangkok, Thailand, after she objected to being photographed. ... The Walkmen and White Rabbits will hop along the U.S. this month for nine shows. On the itinerary are Pittsburgh (Wednesday); Detroit (Thursday); Milwaukee (Friday); Madison, Wisconsin (Saturday); Chicago (Sunday); St. Louis (January 21); Columbus, Ohio (January 22); Philadelphia (January 23); and Baltimore (January 24). ...

For the first time in 25 years, former Clash members Mick Jones and Topper Headon reportedly shared the same stage at a gig by Jones' new band, Carbon/Silicon. The duo performed "Train in Vain" and "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" during the set. ... Megadeth have recruited Chris Broderick (Nevermore, Jag Panzer) to be their newest guitarist, following the recent departure of Glen Drover. Broderick will make his live debut with the band on February 4, at a gig in Finland. ...

Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali said the band will not be revived following the late November death of frontman Kevin DuBrow. In an online statement, Banali claims he had been "approached to see if I would be interested in contacting Rudy Sarzo and Carlos Cavazo and to audition singers for Quiet Riot." He said that he's even fielded an offer to re-form "the version of Quiet Riot that included Paul Shortino, Carlos Cavazo and Sean McNabb." But Banali rejected any suggestions of the band performing live. "My friendship, love and respect for Kevin DuBrow, as well as my personal love and affection for Kevin's mother and his family, makes it inconceivable for me to ever entertain any ovation to re-form or to continue Quiet Riot," he wrote. "It would also be a disrespect to the fans who have supported [the band] for nearly 25 years." ...

Roger Avary, the Oscar-winning co-writer of "Pulp Fiction," was arrested on Sunday after a fatal single-car crash in Ojai, California. According to a Reuters report, Avary, 42, was charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence, and was released from jail after posting $50,000 bail. Andreas Zedini, a 34-year-old passenger in the car, died of his injuries at a local hospital. Avary's wife, Gretchen, 40, was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries after being thrown from the car.

• Heidi Montag Poses For Maxim

• Good Charlotte
• Justin Timberlake
• Queen Latifah
• Hawthorne Heights
• The Verve

Mariah Carey
Photo: Mariah Carey/Getty Images

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

09.25.07

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Constantine Maroulis
Photo: Vince Bucci/Getty Images

Kanye West, Nas and John Legend jointly performed Nas' "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" at a high-profile benefit in New York Thursday night, according to The Associated Press. West also performed "Jesus Walks," "Gold Digger" and more in front of a crowd that included Diddy, Moby, Terrence Howard and Maroon 5's Adam Levine. The event was staged to benefit the nonprofit Foundation for AIDS Research. ...

Jessica Simpson began streaming her new single, "A Public Affair," on her Web site on Friday (June 23). The song is the title track from her new album, due August 29. ... Pharrell will front Louis Vuitton's fall/winter menswear ad campaign, the company announced Friday. Models Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell will also be participating. ...

Constantine Maroulis has begun recording his debut solo album. "It's rock and roll, but it's not like the band," the former "American Idol" finalist said, referring to his former group, Pray for the Soul of Betty. "It's a bit more commercial, a bit more pop. I'm a little older now, and it's got a mature sound, a bit of a Rob Thomas/ Santana thing. It's got some great Bon Jovi elements, a little Ricky Martin in there. And I'm writing a lot of it too." ... Meanwhile, fellow fourth-season finalist Anthony Fedorov is also recording. "It's gonna be Richard Marx meets Marc Anthony," he said of his first effort. "It's gonna be ballad-heavy, very powerful and strong." ... And in yet more "Idol" news, third-season finalist Jon Peter Lewis has released his debut single, "If I Go Away." "I wrote it and I produced it and we're getting ready to go on tour with it," JPL said. "I'm working with some other great musicians right now. I have a drummer who's done some work for Josh Groban and Vertical Horizon, and our piano player plays for Gnarls Barkley." ...

Jay-Z fans shut out of his sold-out show at New York's Radio City Music Hall are getting a second chance to see the rapper perform Reasonable Doubt in its entirety. Hova has a "special preview rehearsal performance" scheduled for Saturday at the Nokia Theater in Times Square, and he's releasing a limited number of tickets to the public. Tickets for the preview go on sale through Ticketmaster Friday at 5 p.m. ... Exactly how cool can a kid be when he's only four weeks old? Pretty cool, if you ask OK! magazine, which has named Kingston James McGregor Rossdale — son of Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale — "the coolest kid on the planet" on its June 26 cover. The baby, who "sat quietly and calmly in his parents' arms, with only an occasional cry," is pulling for dad's home team in the World Cup matches with a "Come on England" bib, and has a collection of lambs in his crib — a nod to mom's L.A.M.B. fashion line. (Check out OK!'s photos of the happy family at home). ...

The Hollywood Walk of Fame committee has finalized the 2007 honorees, and Mariah Carey, Diddy and Jamie Foxx lead the list. More than 200 nominations were received and 23 stars in all will make the Walk next year, including the Doors, singers LeAnn Rimes and Shania Twain, director Robert Altman and actors Kiefer Sutherland, Matt Damon and Michael Caine. ... A photographer was arrested Thursday in Malibu, California, after he was discovered hiding outside the daycare center attended by Angelina Jolie's son Maddox Jolie-Pitt, AP reports. Clint Brewer, 25, was trying to take pictures of the 4-year-old boy, according to Brad Pitt's publicist. Brewer was arrested on suspicion of trespassing and released on $1,000 bail. ... Jason Mraz has announced a few intimate shows he's calling Songs for Friends. The dates, which will feature rarely played album tracks and early material, begin July 17 in Chicago and end July 24 in Saratoga, California. ...

Nick Hexum is hosting a live online chat on CourtTV.com Tuesday at 3 p.m. EST to discuss global warming. The 311 singer's Liberal Hexum organization is making the issue its top priority. ... Now that he's put Grandaddy out to pasture, former band leader Jason Lytle is getting ready to go out on the road for an acoustic tour he's calling the Look Who Drifted Into Town Tour - An Evening With Jason Lytle. The string of 13 intimate performances will kick off July 18 at the Sonar club in Baltimore and hit Philadelphia, New York, San Francisco and other major cities before winding down with a two-night stand at Los Angeles' Hotel Cafe on August 11-12. Jackpot multi-instrumentalist Rusty Miller will accompany Lytle on the dates. ...

School's out, and that means it's time for the School of Rock All-Stars to hit the road. The 13- to 17-year-olds will launch a 23-city trek July 28 at Hollywood's Knitting Factory, but they'll perform for a considerably larger crowd when they play Lollapalooza in Chicago on August 6. ... Former Everclear drummer Greg Eklund has resurfaced as a singer and guitarist in the Oohlas. The band's debut album, Best Stop Pop, is due September 26. ... Kool & the Gang co-founder and lead guitarist Claydes Charles Smith died Tuesday following a long illness, AP reports. He was 57. Smith's publicist did not disclose the cause of death. Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Smith learned jazz guitar from his father and helped create Kool & the Gang's R&B/funk/pop sound, writing the group's 1984 hit "Joanna" and co-writing Kool classics including "Celebration" and "Jungle Boogie." He was an active member of the band until January, when illness forced him to stop touring. ...

Following complaints by children's charities, the Who guitarist Pete Townshend removed from his Web site a story he'd written that included a teen-sex scene, the BBC reports. "I have to accept that even if I write fiction I do so as someone who is well-known and carry my past and controversy with me," he wrote on his site after pulling down the story. Townshend was arrested in 2003 for paying to access a child-pornography site. The guitarist, who said he'd visited the site to research child sexual abuse while writing his autobiography, was cleared of the charges but is listed on a British sex-offender registry. ... Vanessa Anne Hudgens, the actress who plays Gabrielle Montez in "High School Musical," has signed with Hollywood Records. Her debut is due September 26. ... Jeannie Ortega, who teamed up with Papoose for the summer anthem "Crowded," has been added to Rihanna's summer tour, which kicks off Monday. Ortega will also make an appearance and perform "Crowded" on ABC's "One Life to Live" on July 17. Her album, No Place Like Brooklyn, is due August 1. ...

Richard Ashcroft was arrested at a youth club in Chippenham, England, on Monday, the BBC reports. The former Verve singer, who police say was drunk and disorderly at a preteen event, was fined and released. ... British band JJ72 are calling it a day after 11 years. "Mark Greaney, Fergal Matthews and Sarah Fox wish to express their deepest and darkest gratitude to all of those with impeccable taste who helped and supported the band," the group said in a statement. ... Preliminary ratings show that Opie & Anthony are doing much better in Howard Stern's old radio slots than fired morning host David Lee Roth. At Stern's former flagship station, 92.3 FM in New York, the number of 18-34 listeners tripled in May to 4.2 percent from DLR's anemic 1.4 in April, according to a Reuters report. The numbers for that category also tripled in Boston and were up from 2.4 to 7.7 percent in Philadelphia.

06.22.2006

After several false starts, Outkast's long-awaited "Idlewild" looks like it just might make its latest release date. Not only has "Mighty O," the first single from the film's soundtrack, hit Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip Hop chart, the duo already have their follow-up single lined up. "Morris Brown," a Big Boi solo track featuring Scar, Sleepy Brown and the Morris Brown College Band will be released next, Jive Records announced. Outkast's "Idlewild" soundtrack album is due August 22, and the film is slated to hit theaters three days later (check out "Idlewild" photos here). ...

Eminem and Kimberly Mathers met in a private hearing on Thursday (June 22) as part of their divorce proceedings, The Associated Press reports. Details of the meeting were not made public, and Kimberly Mathers' lawyer would not comment on it. ...

DMX was cited last week outside a Scottsdale, Arizona, nightclub for carrying a concealed handgun, The Arizona Republic reports. It was his third run-in with the law in just three weeks. X was stopped Friday by police who claimed they'd seen him remove a gun from a holster and slide it beneath the front seat of his 1964 Chevrolet convertible. DMX was not arrested, but was cited for a misdemeanor weapons violation as he did not have a permit to conceal the gun beneath the automobile's seat. ...

Celebrity weeklies insist that Britney Spears and Kevin Federline are having marriage trouble, but the couple have nothing but nice things to say about one another. Spears called K-Fed an "amazing" husband with an "awesome heart" in an interview with Matt Lauer aired last week, and now Federline is returning the kind words. "I think she's wonderful, man," he told entertainment-news show "Extra" on Wednesday. While Britney and Kevin know just what to call each other, they haven't decided what they will call the child they're expecting. "We haven't thought of a name," Federline said. "We're still in discussions. We don't want to know what it is or anything like that." ...

Reese Witherspoon is the latest celebrity to take the tabloids to court. On Wednesday, the actress filed a lawsuit against Star, accusing the magazine of running a story that falsely claimed she was pregnant with her third child, AP reports. "The true facts are that plaintiff is not pregnant, does not have a baby bump and has not otherwise gained weight such that she has had to resort to wearing empire-waist dresses," the lawsuit read. Mike Kahane, the general counsel to the tabloid's parent company, called the suit "frivolous." ...

Jamie Foxx will perform July 2 at the Essence Music Festival, joining Chris Brown, Jaheim, New Edition, Bobby Brown and Doug E. Fresh's Pioneers of Hip-Hop (featuring Slick Rick, MC Lyte, Biz Markie, Dana Dane, the Sugar Hill Gang and Whodini) in the lineup for the event, which runs July 1-3 at Houston's Reliant Park. ... Harry Potter fans who prefer to see their hero stand six-stories tall usually have to wait a little longer than those satisfied with the regular big-screen experience, but Warner Bros. Pictures has announced that "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" will premiere on IMAX screens the same day it hits conventional theaters: July 13, 2007. Only 386 days to go. ...

Last weekend in Paradise Cove, California, Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo and his longtime girlfriend Kyoko Ito were married in a small ceremony that was attended by a who's-who of the Weezer universe, including all Cuomo's current bandmates, former bassist Matt Sharp and guitarist Jason Cropper, along with Make Believe producer Rick Rubin. According to a post on Weezer.com, the ceremony featured "fine live string-quartet music and delicious vegan fare." ... "Snakes on a Brain" by Los Angeles pop band Captain Ahab beat out nearly 500 entries in a contest to have a song on the "Snakes on a Plane" soundtrack. New Line Cinema and social-networking site TagWorld selected Louden Swain as the runner-up and will also include their "Here Come the Snakes" on the soundtrack, due August 18. ... Former Diddy protégé Loon is releasing his next album, No Friends, on his own label, Boss Up Entertainment. The record is due August 29. ...

Pearl Jam will be the main attraction for a rare theater gig that's scheduled for July 20 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon. Tickets for the concert, a benefit for the Northwest Chapter of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America, go on sale Saturday. Comedian David Cross will deliver a stand-up set before Pearl Jam take the stage. The band is in the midst of a U.S. tour that's scheduled to conclude with a two-night stint at the Gorge in George, Washington, July 22 and 23. ... Kylie Minogue, who postponed the Australian leg of her Showgirl Tour when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2005, plans to make it up to fans in November, Reuters reports. Concert promoter Michael Gudinski said the tour has been renamed the Showgirl Homecoming Tour, and will run a bit longer to allow Minogue more downtime between shows. He added that the singer is currently recording new music. ...

Selma Blair and Ahmet Zappa are ending their two-year marriage, according to People magazine. The "Legally Blonde" actress cited irreconcilable difference with the son of Frank Zappa. ... Pete Yorn is scheduling free afternoon concerts at local independent record stores during his summer tour. The brief in-store performances will be recorded for a limited-edition souvenir-CD series, Live From ... , to be available exclusively at the local independent record store that hosts the show. ... The Shout Out Louds have released a remix EP on iTunes and other digital retailers. Combines includes one new song, "I Meant to Call," and a remix of "The Comeback." ... Lou Barlow and company are reissuing their Sebadoh III album on September 5. A bonus disc with rare tracks and B-sides will be included. ...

If you want to be like the Hulkster, it will take years of training and dedication. But if you have $25 million at your disposal, there is a short cut to living like the legend. Hulk Hogan has put his Belleair, Florida, home — featured on VH1's "Hogan Knows Best" — on the market, AP reports. The 17,000-square-foot mansion on 2.3 acres boasts seven fireplaces, a swimming pool, a waterfall and a guest house. The Hogans are leaving the Tampa area behind to head to Miami in an effort to support the careers of daughter Brooke and son Nick. ... Tom Petty has signed with Rick Rubin's American Recordings. "Having Tom on American is a dream come true for me," read a statement by Rubin, who has produced Petty in the past. ...

The woman who claimed Michael Jackson molested her son — her married name is Janet Jackson, coincidentally — was ordered Wednesday to stand trial on a charge of welfare fraud. According to the AP, the 37-year-old woman entered a plea of not guilty and her lawyers hope the case can be resolved without trial. She is accused of accepting $8,000 in fraudulently obtained assistance and committing perjury four times on welfare applications by hiding the fact that she received a substantial settlement in a civil suit against department-store chain JC Penney before filing for benefits. She pleaded the Fifth to protect herself against self-incrimination on questions about the welfare issues during the musician's trial, which ended in his acquittal on child-molestation charges. ...

New York teenager Darren Samuel was convicted Tuesday of robbery and second-degree murder in connection with the stabbing of a 15-year-old over an iPod. Samuel, 17, faces up to 25 years in prison for his part in the attack of Christopher Rose, who was stabbed in the chest when he and friends resisted a group that accosted them in the street and demanded they give up an iPod one of them was carrying, according to the AP. Samuel admitted to being part of the group that robbed Rose during his trial, but said he "froze" during the attack and did not participate in the stabbing. His 20-year-old cousin will be tried on murder charges next month.

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Jason Mraz
Photo: Getty Images

It takes a real man to wear pink, but it takes a real geek to be proud of it.

Just ask Jason Mraz.

The easygoing 28-year-old "geek in the pink" was inspired to pen a song after an incident during an impromptu recording session in Miami with beatmaker Scott Storch, who has helmed tracks for Beyoncé, Sean Paul and Paris Hilton (see "Scott Storch Says He And Paris Are Making 'Amazing Music' ").

"I showed up at the studio and we don't even know what we're gonna do," Mraz recalled. "Then Scott came up with this crazy loop and the room just became filled with MCs that just started flowing. And here I am, this skinny little white kid wearing this pink polo shirt, just feeling totally awkward. I probably looked like the biggest nerd in there."

So the Mraz man sucked it up and started spitting out beats with the best of them, garnering the attention of the females in the room and the respect of his fellow MCs, showing that yes, even geeks have game.

"I said, 'Let the geek in the pink take a stab at it. If you like the way I'm thinking, baby, wink at it,' " the singer recalled, grinning. " 'I may be skinny at times, but I'm fat full of rhymes.' "

After leaving the studio that night with a good amount of lyrics for Storch's loop, Mraz left it up to his band to turn the work in progress into a bona fide song. "We just turned it into this funky rock tune versus a straight-up hip-hop sound," he explained.

"Geek in the Pink" is the crooner's second single off his sophomore LP, Mr. A-Z (see "Jason Mraz Says New Album Could 'Cause The Next World War' "). And as a self-professed, reformed geek himself, Mraz hopes the song will strike a chord with young people still struggling to come into their own.

"I get to meet a lot of awkward teenagers, and right now they're kind of feeling like they're not cool, but it's usually the geeks that are the cool people, and the people that think they're really cool are usually the geeks," he said. "But the bottom line is we're all the same people. We're all just a bunch of geeks trying to make it up as we go along."

Take it from a guy who knows: Mraz admits that while he was in high school he was that "annoying guy" who took part in all the choir and drama productions, befriended his teachers (yes, even the principal) and spent his Friday nights partying at, well, Skate America.

But all that pales in comparison to his geekiest moment thus far: cheerleading camp. Screaming into a megaphone during rallies may up your geek factor tenfold, but Mraz says he milked every second of the opportunity.

"There were three guys and like 400 beautiful cheerleaders practically begging for you to look up their skirts," the singer joked. "It's like, 'Are you kidding me?' I don't know why guys get flack for being a cheerleader, because it's the best gig you could ask for."

While those glory days are long gone, Mraz is still making the rounds on the college circuit, playing packed gigs at intimate nightclubs and campuses nationwide for his fall U.S. trek to promote Mr. A-Z.. Once that wraps on November 27 in Glendale, Arizona, the singer will take a couple of months off before commencing the European leg of his tour in February.

Jason Mraz tour dates, according to his label:

• 10/11 - Durham, NC @ University of New Hampshire
• 10/12 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
• 10/14 - Charlottesville, VA @ University of Virginia
• 10/16 - New York, NY @ Avery Fisher Hall
• 10/17 - New York, NY @ Avery Fisher Hall
• 10/19 - Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
• 10/20 - Cincinnati, OH @ Xavier University/Cintas Center
• 10/21 - Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom
• 10/22 - Minneapolis, MN @ Northrop Auditorium
• 10/24 - Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
• 10/26 - San Diego, CA @ Soma
• 10/29 - Las Vegas, NV @ Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
• 11/5 - Los Angeles, CA @ Wiltern LG
• 11/6 - Los Angeles, CA @ Wiltern LG
• 11/7 - San Francisco, CA @ Fillmore
• 11/8 - San Francisco, CA @ Warfield Theatre
• 11/10 - Eugene, OR @ Hult Center for Performing Arts
• 11/11 - Spokane, WA @ Big Easy
• 11/12 - Portland, OR @ Roseland
• 11/13 - Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
• 11/16 - Boise, ID @ Big Easy
• 11/18 - Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
• 11/20 - Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center
• 11/22 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Delta Center
• 11/24 - Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
• 11/26 - San Diego, CA @ Copley Symphony Hall
• 11/27 - Glendale, AZ @ Glendale Arena

• Jason Mraz

Inside San Fran's Outside Lands Festival

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2009 Grammy Weekend Parties

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MTV.com Exclusive: Jason Mraz

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2005 Austin City Limits Festival

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MTV.com LIVE: Jason Mraz Photos 06.15.2005

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MTV.com Exclusive: Jason Mraz Photos 05.19.2005

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Kid Rock, Missy Elliott, Clay Aiken, More At 2003 AMAs

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Jason Mraz live at the Uptown Theatre in Kansas City, MO October 14, 2003

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