Taylor Swift
Photo: Theo Wargo/ WireImage

Taylor Swift is proving to be quite the country megastar. The VMA-nominated singer has garnered four CMA Awards nominations this year, including one in the male-dominated Entertainer of the Year category, The Associated Press reports.

If breaking through the glass ceiling weren't enough of an accomplishment for the 19-year-old crossover star, she also happens to be the youngest person to be nominated for an Entertainer of the Year award. She goes up against Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, George Strait and Keith Urban.

Swift's other nominations include Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year (for her chart-topping Fearless) and Music Video of the Year (for "Love Story"). Other Music Video of the Year nominees include Randy Houser's "Boots On," Billy Currington's "People Are Crazy," Paisley's "Start a Band" and Strait's "Troubadour."

Jack White's Raconteurs are nominated in the category of Musical Event of the Year for "Old Enough." They're up against Brooks & Dunn, Chesney, Carrie Underwood and Lee Ann Womack.

"American Idol" winner Underwood is also up against Swift in the Female Vocalist of the Year category. Country heavyweights Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride and Reba McEntire are the other nominees.

The 43rd Annual CMA Awards will air on Wednesday, November 11, at 8 p.m. on ABC. In the meantime, fans can watch Swift perform live at the 2009 Video Music Awards this Sunday.

The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards air live this Sunday, September 13, at 9 p.m. ET, but New York is celebrating the VMAs all week long! Stay tuned for party coverage, concert reports, behind-the-scenes updates and more.

• Taylor Swift Brings 'Fearless' To Madison Square Garden
• Taylor Swift Goes Broadway Before VMAs

• Star Gazing: Taylor Swift
• Taylor Swift, Ne-Yo, Katy Perry, More In VMA 2009 Storyboard Sketches
• Taylor Swift Gets 'Fearless' At Madison Square Garden

• Taylor Swift
• Raconteurs

Jack White in "It Might Get Loud"
Photo: Sony Classics

He's been challenge, and Jack White doesn't back away from a challenge — especially when it involves his electric guitar. He straddles a metal chair in a dingy room on his Nashville farm, grips a pencil in one hand and a tattered notebook in the other, then goes to work.

A camera follows White's every scribble, the guitar pick clenched between his teeth, the strands of black hair obscuring his face, while director Davis Guggenheim waits patiently to see if the White Stripes frontman can pass this rock-and-roll test.

"I said to Jack, 'You believe in writing songs fast, that music is over-produced. Write a song now on camera!' " Guggenheim told MTV News.

Not only did White write and record a song in less than 10 minutes, but the entire process became a living, breathing, guitar-shredding example of the point Guggenheim's documentary, "It Might Get Loud," is trying to make clear: The very best artists make an inextricable connection between emotion, songwriting, expression and music so good you feel it in your bones.

"Get Loud" focuses on White, Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and U2's the Edge as they come together to jam and split off back to their days of songwriting and everyday living. MTV News has obtained the footage of White's musical challenge days before the doc comes to theaters Friday. White is no doubt proud of his speedy work, too, as the track, called "Fly Farm Blues," was available for purchase on iTunes starting Tuesday.

As White explains in the documentary, "If you don't have a struggle already inside of you or around you, you have to make one up. Something that made you angry or upset or jealous."

After sketching out the lyrics to "Fly Farm" in pencil, he switches on his old-school reel-to-reel recorder — saying with a shrug, "OK, let's see" — leans into the mic, and begins to play a stripped-down blues progression.

"Spider got eight legs/ I got two," he sings. "This guitar got six strings/ But what about you?/ Yeah, what do you got?"

At the end, he puts the guitar down and rewinds the tape, bringing everything to a close as quickly as it started. It's hard to tell if White is merely playing it cool because he knows he just popped off a kick-ass tune, if the perfectionist inside him is even happy with the work, or if he's regretting accepting the filmmaker's challenge. But then he hands the tape over to Guggenheim. Jack White clearly knows he's pulled off a winner and all he has to do is say — again with a rock-star shrug — "That's it."

Check out everything we've got on "It Might Get Loud."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

• The White Stripes
• Raconteurs
• The Dead Weather

Jack White
Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images

Apparently no one informed White Stripes/ Raconteurs frontman Jack White that the country is facing dire jobless rates, because White just added a third band to his résumé. Not content to front just two bands at once, White has just unveiled his latest creation, the Dead Weather, a death-rattle blues quartet featuring White on drums and vocals, the Kills' Alison Mosshart on vocals, the Raconteurs' Jack Lawrence on bass and Queens of the Stone Age's Dean Fertita on guitar.

White debuted the band Wednesday night at a private party in Nashville, Tennessee, in front of 150 invited guests, according to a recap of the event on the Web site of White's Third Man Records, using the show to unveil the label's new offices/ record store/ photo studio/ performance stage in Music City.

The first public performance by the band included songs from its upcoming debut, Horehound, which was produced by White and is due out in June. The album was recorded over the course of three weeks earlier this year at the new Third Man Studio, which was, of course, designed "from the ground up" by White as well.

Attendees at Wednesday's shindig — which, according to The Associated Press, included Sheryl Crow, Martina McBride and the White Stripes' Meg White — exchanged their letter-pressed invitations for a limited-edition seven-inch vinyl pressing of the Dead Weather's debut single, "Hang You From the Heavens," which also features a cover of the new-wave classic "Are 'Friends' Electric?" originally by Gary Numan's 1970s band Tubeway Army.

In keeping with White's love of home-crafted musical curios, the bandmates hand-painted each of the 150 singles, which also included photo-booth pictures of the bandmembers. Both songs are currently available exclusively through iTunes.

"The idea was to do a seven-inch single and be done with it, but we started writing songs and something happened," White said, according to the AP, which also reported that the band plans to tour this year.

"Hang You From the Heavens" mixes the Stripes' signature fuzzed-out garage sound with some dinosaur-rock drumming from White and Mosshart's punchy blues singing. Over skuzzy, blown-speaker rock, Mosshart yelps, "I wanna grab you from the hair/ And hang you up from the heavens." The noisy Numan cover adds a 1960s psychedelic sheen to the robotic original, with watery vocals and woozy keyboards that have a vintage vibe but render the song almost unrecognizable.

The White Stripes have not toured since late 2007, when they canceled a string of dates following Meg White's bout of acute anxiety. It's unclear how the formation of this new band will impact the Grammy-winning duo's future. The normally prolific group, which has reportedly been working on new material, has not released a new album since 2007's Icky Thump, though they did give a wobbly performance on the February finale of "Late Night With Conan O'Brien." A spokesperson for White could not be reached for comment at press time.

• The White Stripes
• Raconteurs
• The Kills
• Queens of the Stone Age

Photo: MTV News

• Gnarls Barkley
• Kid Sister
• Cobra Starship
• Fall Out Boy
• Girl Talk

Black Lips
Photo: MTV News

"This has been very, very different. I mean, we've only played in festivals to crowds of this many people." That's Black Lips' Jared Swilley, talking about the band's latest gig, one that finds them in unfamiliar territory — playing venues that hold several thousand people, as the opening act for some certifiable six-figure-selling rock stars, the Raconteurs.

I must admit: It was a bit disconcerting to see, of all bands, the lovably lecherous "bad kids" with the "dirty hands" from Atlanta in the support slot last Friday night (and all weekend long) at Manhattan's Terminal 5, a dance-turned-rock club that still has its black-and-chrome motif, fancy bars and disco ball in place. With weird sight lines and sound spots, and zero of the grit that's synonymous with the Lips, I'm still not sure Terminal 5 ought to be hosting rock bands. Mind you, the scruffy ATL-ers aren't complaining.

"We absolutely appreciate the Raconteurs taking us on tour with them — they've been great," said guitarist Ian St. Pé. Though he added they did receive an unexpected welcome to the tour a couple of weeks back, one with which they were unaccustomed. "They gave us a list of things we couldn't do — no setting guitars on fire, no touching the monitors, no spitting." Whoa. No spitting? Hard to believe that was not a deal-breaker for the Black Lips, especially for that salivating little rascal, guitarist Cole Alexander, whose hock-and-spit routine long ago became a trademark. No problem, said Cole. "Yeah, I just have to wipe up my spit. I don't want 'em to slip on it."

No such expectoration restrictions on Monday night in Hoboken, New Jersey, where the Lips were taking advantage of an off-night from the Raconteurs' trek to play their own show at the much more reasonably sized Maxwell's — a show attended, by the way, by Mr. Jack White himself. It was also a chance to play a more-than-40-minute set, and more songs from the Lips' last album, Good Bad Not Evil. Released nine months ago, the record is ridiculously deep in potential singles, and in fact, they've just released another. After somehow turning a song about a natural disaster into a good-time garage jam ("O Katrina!"), and their bluesy musings on hegemony ("Veni Vidi Vici"), the guys have returned with a track about a subject a little closer to home: Atlanta strippers. "It Feels Alright" — and its accompanying black-and-white video — serves up an homage to the boys' hometown and, as St. Pé explained, to a particular night spot known as Magic City. "It's an all-black strip club, where they'll showcase all the new rap songs that come out. They'll play 'em in the club for the girls to dance. It's a famous joint."

And then there's the matter of Black Lips' feature-film debut in director Roger Rawlings' "Let It Be," a fictional account of a band called the Renegades, reportedly loosely inspired by the Replacements, who "almost make it" in the formative years of indie music, the 1980s. While the guys say their taste in '80s music generally runs more toward hardcore bands like the Butthole Surfers, the Replacements and Hüsker Dü, they said they're up for the challenge of playing musicians, in a naturalistic way. "They purposely didn't want professional actors," explained Swilley. "They just wanted a real band. So it seems easy to just be ourselves in front of the camera."

First announced last winter, "Let It Be" has had some delays, but the Lips say it's still on track — though shooting may have to be pushed back to early next year because the boys' main order of business for the latter half of the summer (besides Swilley's impending wedding) will be situating themselves at a rented space in Atlanta and recording a new album. Though Alexander says they've only written "a couple of demos" so far, and drummer Joe Bradley says he's got "four or five" songs at different levels of completion in his head, they add that they are four independent writers and ideas come to them readily. St. Pé's not worried: "We'll be able to pump the album out, no problem."

On the live front, the band is looking forward to England's Glastonbury Festival at the end of June; August dates at Lollapalooza in Chicago and at Brooklyn's McCarren Park Pool with pals Deerhunter and King Khan; shows later in the year in India, Brazil and China; and maybe somewhere even more exotic. Black Lips' label, Vice Records, and its parent magazine have long had a reputation for guerrilla journalism in extreme locales. Last year, with their VBS.tv cameras in tow, the band played street gigs in Israel and Palestine, and Alexander said a show in Iraq has even been discussed. "We have a friend whose father is Iraqi and he smuggles people in the country. Or we could go in the Green Zone and play a U.S.O. show." Of course, that would be the safer option, but frankly, Red Zone is more Black Lips. "Like a guerrilla show," Cole reckoned. "They told me you can hire a militia, you go in with 'em, they start blasting guns, everybody freezes and you can, you know, play a show." Yikes.

If that all sounds like a pretty nonstop, breakneck schedule, that's nothing new. The old cliché "road warriors" certainly applies to Black Lips, and that's OK with them. After all, it wasn't that long ago that they were busting their asses for far less. As Swilley said: "Other jobs suck way worse." And finally, the Black Lips want you to give them a call on their hotline. The number is (949) 836-7407 (or TEN-SH0P). No joke.

"One of us will answer, for real, if we are on tour in America," St. Pé said. "Give us a call, and you will make our long-ass drives more fun."

See much more of my conversation with Black Lips at Rhapsody.com.

• John Norris Interviews... Black Lips

• Black Lips
• Raconteurs

Kanye West
Photo: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

The organizers of Lollapalooza have stacked the deck this year with a slate of headliners that is one of the strongest since the former touring fest put down roots in Chicago in 2005. In addition to hometown legends Wilco and Kanye West, the main stages will be headlined by Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine and the Raconteurs, according to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times.

A full list of the more than 120 acts will be announced on Monday, but the Times reported that among the other bands on the bill for the August 1-3 event are: Gnarls Barkley, Bloc Party, Cat Power, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Kid Sister, Girl Talk, Mates of State, G. Love and Special Sauce, the Black Keys, Broken Social Scene, Kid Sister, the Cool Kids, Blues Traveler, Jamie Lidell, Battles, Office, Grizzly Bear and Go! Team.

While Wilco, West, the Raconteurs and Barkley have previously played the reincarnated version of Lollapalooza, and Nine Inch Nails and Rage famously performed at the original granddaddy of American alternative fests (in its first and second years, respectively), Radiohead will be performing at Lolla for the first time.

Three-day passes are currently available for $190 at the Lollapalooza Web site, before the price goes up to $205.

Among the highlights of last year's festival were a throbbing set from Daft Punk — the first techno/dance act to headline one of the main stages at the revived festival — and a fiery performance from Pearl Jam, whose political remarks were possibly censored on the webcast of the show by AT&T's Blue Room.

Planning on going to Lollapalooza or any other big music fests this year? Be sure to join the You R Here community, where you can upload your concert photos, videos and reviews. Go there now to check out coverage of last year's Lollapalooza.

• Perry Farrell Talks Up Lollapalooza

• Lollapalooza 2007

• Kanye West
• Radiohead
• Rage Against the Machine
• Nine Inch Nails
• Raconteurs

Jack White
Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images

Regardless of what you may think of Jack White, you can't deny that he seems averse to leisure time.

Recently, in addition to putting the finishing touches on a new Raconteurs album, working on a Bob Dylan-helmed tribute to Hank Williams and writing songs for another White Stripes album (more on all that in a second), he decided that he wanted to release a Spanish-language version of "Conquest," from last year's Icky Thump album — and a mariachi version, too. And record a batch of new songs in Beck's living room. And release it all under the name "Las Rayas Blancas" (Spanish for "the White Stripes"). All for no real reason in particular. Which is why Jack White is awesome.

"Actually, I've wanted to do this for a long time, I just never seemed to be able to," White told MTV News last week. "The song 'Conquest' was something I wanted to cover 10 years ago. It was a Patty Page song I used to listen to in my upholstery shop when I was working a lot, and I always wanted to cover it, it just never happened. But when Meg and I were working on the Icky Thump album, we thought it would be a good time to cover it, because it seemed to relate with a lot of the themes we were talking about on the record. So we did it and it had sort of a Latin feel to it, and so we got a mariachi trumpet player to be on it — from a Mexican restaurant in Nashville!

"And then one thing led to another," he continued. "We filmed a video for the song, which had a bullfighting theme, and we had a mariachi band there, so then we recorded a mariachi version of the song in Beck's living room. So finally, I just said, 'You know, it's about time. We should just do the Spanish-language version of the song.' And so we did."

So, working with a translator, he set out to record "Conquista." He knew a little Spanish from growing up near a predominantly Hispanic section of Detroit, but quickly realized that speaking in Spanish was much different from singing in it.

"When we went to record it, I found someone in Nashville to come with me, and when she read them, she had a completely different interpretation of the lyrics, so I said, 'Tell me what yours is,' because I wanted the lyrics to be so close to the original lyrics as possible," he said. "So we rewrote them in a different style. And then when I was singing it, she told me I was singing it like I was from Spain, not from Mexico. That's something I didn't know too much about. I knew the Mexican inflections on things but I didn't know the Spanish inflections, and so I started getting into that more and more, especially coming from the bullfighting video. So I went more for the flair of it being from Spain."

And, boy, is there a lot of, uh, flair in "Conquista," which is equal parts telenovela and Tiento, with White belting out Spanish phrases with reckless abandon (and little concern for pronunciation). It's slightly sweet, rather hilarious and completely WTF?-worthy, which means that it's a fitting addition to the Stripes' musical canon. It's being released here in the States under the name Las Rayas Blancas ("I have no idea if it'll be under that name in the record shop," White laughed), which should be good enough for pretty much anyone.

But White isn't pretty much anyone. He pushed the envelope even further, backing the single with a mariachi version of the song that he recorded in Beck's living room with a mariachi band they hired off the street.

"We recorded five songs in his living room, one I had written on the plane out to Los Angeles, another I wrote in his living room. We just kept working, and new things came out," White recalled. "And I said, 'You know, I'd love to do a mariachi version of "Conquest" if we can, do you know a trumpeter?' And he said, 'Well, I do know that there's this square in Los Angeles where mariachi bands wait around to be hired for parties and barbecues and things like that.' So while we were recording one song, we asked someone to go find out if that was true, and they called back and said, 'So do you want a four-piece or a five-piece band?' They came down to Beck's house, I taught them the song in the backyard and we recorded it very quickly. It was great."

And, of course, while all that was going on he was still working on a handful of other projects, including the follow-up to the Raconteurs' Broken Boy Soldiers, which he's recording at Nashville's Blackbird Studio ("It's almost done. It sounds very different from the first record — we're having a tough time sequencing it because it's very large," White laughed), a couple of new White Stripes songs he's hoping to record when the Raconteurs are finished touring, and a long-rumored team-up with Bob Dylan.

And if all that seems like a lot for one man's plate, well just remember that White's also working on a series of projects that he can't even talk about yet. Hey, leisure time is overrated.

"Bob's putting together an album," White said. "He came upon, somehow, 20-25 unfinished songs by Hank Williams: just the lyrics, no music, and he started to ask people if they would finish these songs. He did one, asked Willie Nelson to do one, asked me to do one, and I think Lucinda Williams and Alan Jackson are on it too. I think it might come out this year. It's a cool record. And then, there's some other stuff I have coming out, but I can't tell you about it all just yet. You'll have to be patient!"

• The White Stripes
• Raconteurs

Sean "Diddy" Combs
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Despite widespread reports that Sean "Diddy" Combs had changed his name to Sean John, his rep clarified the situation to MTV News on Thursday (January 24). "Recent reports of a name change are totally false, he is still Diddy," the rep wrote. "He is currently in 'Sean John' mode as the upcoming Sean John fashion show is scheduled for February 8 in New York." ...

One of Britney Spears' friends was deposed Thursday by Kevin Federline's lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan as he prepares for an April trial involving a request by Spears' ex for primary physical custody of their children. Sam Lufti had previously avoided a notice to appear by Federline's team of lawyers but was eventually served in November. ... Lionsgate said Thursday that it had reached an agreement with striking writers to work on its projects, according to Reuters. "Lionsgate signed an interim agreement with the Writers Guild of America today," the entertainment company reportedly said in a statement. "The writers' issue seems on its way to being solved, and Lionsgate felt it was an important time, particularly in view of our TV series, to have our writer partners get back to work. We look forward to a broad industry agreement soon." ...

John McCain is getting support from another Vietnam veteran, albeit a fictional one: Rambo. Sylvester Stallone recently voiced his support for the Arizona senator, who is in a tight race for the Republican presidential nomination, on TV's "Fox and Friends," according to a press release from his campaign. "I like McCain a lot," Stallone said. "A lot. And you know, things may change along the way, but there's something about matching the character with the script. And right now, the script that's being written — and reality — is pretty brutal and pretty hard-edged, like a rough action film. ... You need somebody who's been in that to deal with it." When host Brian Kilmeade informed McCain of the "Rocky Balboa" star's endorsement on Thursday morning (January 24), he reportedly replied, "I'm going to Philadelphia and running up the steps." ...

Bono swung by the Pentagon to talk about Africa and global poverty with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday, according to Reuters. The two reportedly met for 20 minutes and discussed plans to construct a new U.S. military command for Africa. The U2 singer was reportedly in Washington, D.C., to meet with congressional budget committees, and his meeting with Gates was not publicized ahead of time. ... Trey Anastasio spent the weekend in the pokey for violating the conditions of his drug-treatment program last year, The Associated Press reports. The former Phish frontman was punished for an unspecified violation of a court contract that resulted after he pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in April. Anastasio, who lives in Richmond, Vermont, was in a jail in upstate New York for two days. ...

Scarlett Johansson has finally firmed up details surrounding her first music album, a collection of mostly Tom Waits covers. Anywhere I Lay My Head will drop May 20 and feature 10 Waits tribute tracks plus an original cut. The "Nanny Diaries" actress hammered out the effort in Maurice, Louisiana, during a five-week visit at Dockside Studio in spring 2007. She got some assists from Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner, Sean Antanaitis from Celebration and TV on the Radio's David Sitek, who produced the LP. ... The 35th annual Village Voice Pazz & Jop Poll has named Sound of Silver by LCD Soundsystem as its top album of 2007. The rest of the top 10 albums in the poll, voted on by hundreds of rock critics, included In Rainbows (Radiohead), Kala (M.I.A.), Back to Black (Amy Winehouse), Neon Bible (Arcade Fire), Graduation (Kanye West), Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Spoon), Raising Sand (Robert Plant and Alison Krauss) and Magic (Bruce Springsteen). Winehouse topped the singles list with her hit "Rehab," followed by "Umbrella" (Rihanna), "All My Friends" (LCD Soundsystem), "1234" (Feist), "D.A.N.C.E." (Justice), "Paper Planes" (M.I.A.), "Stronger" (Kanye West), "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)" (UGK) and "Young Folks" (Peter Bjorn and John). ...

This year's New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest will take place April 25-27 and May 1-4 and feature sets from the Roots, Raconteurs, Keyshia Cole, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Santana, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Sheryl Crow, Galactic, Ozomatli with Chali 2na, Jimmy Buffett and dozens of other roots, blues, soul, Cajun and jazz artists. ... Motion City Soundtrack, Phantom Planet and the Hush Sound have slipped onto the bill for the Honda Civic Tour, which will be anchored by Panic at the Disco. The cities the trek will hit have also been announced: San Francisco (April 10); San Diego (April 12); Phoenix (April 13); Tulsa, Oklahoma (April 15); Ruston, Louisiana (April 17); Dallas (April 18); Austin, Texas (April 19); Houston (April 20); Clearwater, Florida (April 22); Miami Beach, Florida (April 23); Lake Buena Vista, Florida (April 24); Atlanta (April 26); North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (April 29); Washington, D.C. (April 30); Orono, Maine (May 2); Troy, New York (May 3); Rochester, New York (May 6); New York (May 7); Philadelphia (May 9); Wallingford, Connecticut (May 10); Boston (May 11); Montreal (May 13); Toronto (May 14); Cleveland (May 16); Columbus, Ohio (May 17); Indianapolis (May 18); Detroit (May 20); Chicago (May 23); Milwaukee (May 25); Minneapolis (May 27); St. Louis (May 30); Council Bluffs, Iowa (May 31); Kansas City, Missouri (June 1); Denver (June 3); Salt Lake City (June 4); Vancouver, British Columbia (June 6); Seattle (June 7); Portland, Oregon (June 8); Las Vegas (June 13); and Anaheim, California (June 14). ...

Uncle Murda was shot in the head late Tuesday night but the injury was not serious, according to New York's Daily News. The popular upstart rapper, who was signed to Roc-A-Fella Records by Jay-Z and backed by DJ Green Lantern, suffered a minor head wound after he was grazed by a bullet while sitting in a parked car in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn. There is no word on whether the rapper has been released from the hospital. Calls made by MTV News to reps for Uncle Murda were not returned as of press time. ... Danny Glover was convicted for trespassing on Thursday (January 24) in Niagara Falls, Ontario, according to AP. Canadian Niagara Hotels had charged the actor and two other men after they protested at a Sheraton in September 2006. The protest was part of a larger effort to boost salaries and improve working conditions for hotel workers in North America. They will be sentenced February 8. ...

Los Angeles city officials have asked a judge to ban members of the Mob Piru street gang from congregating in a neighborhood of Compton, California, and included on their list of 200 gang members was former Death Row Records boss Marion "Suge" Knight. The Los Angeles Times reports that Knight's name was on the request, which would ban members of the gang from congregating, carrying guns, drinking alcohol in public or staying out past 10 p.m. Knight, who has struggled to get his label back online after a number of legal tangles and prison time, told the paper he thought the injunction was a "publicity stunt" and that it should not have included him. "This is crazy," he said. "I'm a 42-year-old businessman, not a gang member. I don't even live in Compton anymore." A hearing on the matter is slated for Thursday (January 24). ...

Perez Hilton won an $85,000 judgment on Wednesday in a defamation lawsuit brought by celebrity DJ Samantha Ronson. According to AP, a judge ordered Ronson to pay the blogger $85K, plus an additional $2,000 if Hilton (born Mario Lavandeira) requests it, in the suit over a report on Hilton's blog last year. The post repeated a claim from CelebrityBabylon.com that said Ronson planted cocaine found in friend Lindsay Lohan's car during a May car crash involving the actress. "Perez Hilton will take steps to make sure every dime is collected," his lawyer Bryan J. Freedman said. "This should make one careful before filing a lawsuit against him." The judge removed Hilton from the suit in November after the blogger's attorneys argued he was protected by free-speech rights. Ronson's attorney unsuccessfully argued that Hilton's lawyers' fees were excessive and that he should get no more than $13,400 to recover his legal costs. ...

And the hits just keep coming ... just not the ones the music industry is looking for. According to numbers released by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, global music sales fell by around 10 percent in 2007, falling at a faster rate than they did in 2006, despite a growth in digital-music sales of around 40 percent. The IFPI said illegal downloading continues to be a major problem, with the ratio of illegally downloaded tracks to legal tracks sold at around 20 to 1. Also included in the report was news that the first-ever global music-download sales chart was topped by Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend," which sold 7.3 million downloads across the world. ...

Gallows, a punk band from England, are the latest act to be banned from playing the House of Blues at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, according to The Onion's A.V. Club. The group was reportedly barred from playing its scheduled show there Tuesday night because Disney objects to the group's lyrical content. Machine Head and Cannibal Corpse suffered similar fates at venues located on Disney property last year.

1.23.08

Officers from Scotland Yard have confirmed that they will investigate the video footage of Amy Winehouse apparently smoking drugs from a glass pipe, according to BBC News. "We will assess the footage to ascertain whether any action needs to be taken," a police official said of the disturbing footage, which was reportedly shot recently. ...

Ardent animal activist Pink, along with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is setting her sights on New York carriage horses. The singer has launched a new campaign that urges people to boycott the rides and that supports a recently introduced bill to ban the carriages in the city. "New York should follow the lead of London, Paris, Toronto, Beijing and progressive U.S. cities that have decided horse-drawn carriages and big city traffic don't mix," Pink recently told MTV News in exclusive comments about the campaign. "Manhattan's carriage horses suffer a miserable, solitary life shackled to a carriage and pulling load after heavy load of tourists, many of whom look like they could use the exercise themselves." ... Paris Hilton wants you to walk in her shoes — the heiress will debut her new line of footwear at Macy's in Costa Mesa, California, on February 8 from 3-6 p.m. The Paris Hilton Footwear Collection will also be available at Kitson, Lord & Taylor and other boutiques, with suggested retail prices ranging from around $60 to $200 per pair. ...

"American Idol" got its edge back on Tuesday night, but viewers probably weren't aware that one of the contestants has a criminal history, according to TMZ.com. Singer Perrie Cataldo — who shared some details about his gritty past with the judges on Tuesday — was reportedly arrested in 2006 for carrying a concealed weapon into a bar in Arizona. He pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed weapon and was slapped with a $568 fine, TMZ says. ... Jermaine Dupri's father, Michael Mauldin, announced Wednesday (January 23) his plans to launch a label based on the popular Scream Tour, which was headed up by T.I. and Ciara last year under the banner "Screamfest '07." The Atlantic Records-distributed Scream Star Entertainment will also feature a revamped Web site, ScreamStar.com, which is set to include video highlights from each Scream tour, featuring the likes of Omarion, Ne-Yo and Bow Wow. Last year's monumental New York stop — which saw Jay-Z, Diddy and Kanye West join T.I. onstage — will also be included in the Scream Tour Anthology that's scheduled to go live on the site later this week. ...

Dr. Jan Adams, the plastic surgeon who operated on Kanye West's mother, Donda West, returned to CNN's "Larry King Live" on Tuesday to discuss the case more than two months after abruptly walking off the set of the show. According to The Associated Press, Adams said the fallout from West's death has impacted his medical practice "horribly ... it's almost destroyed [it]." West, 58, died at a Los Angeles-area hospital on November 10, a day after Adams performed plastic surgery on her, including a tummy tuck, breast reduction and liposuction. A coroner's autopsy report found that West most likely died of heart disease coupled with complications after plastic surgery, though an exact cause of death couldn't be confirmed. "The autopsy said what I expected," Adams told King, though he would not go into detail, citing patient-doctor privilege. ... The wife of Britney Spears' paparazzo pal Adnan Ghalib has reportedly filed for a legal separation from the photographer. People reports that Azlynn Elizabeth Berry cited irreconcilable differences in the papers filed on Friday and is asking for Ghalib to pay spousal support and her attorney's fees. According to documents, the pair were married on December 18, 2003. The couple have no children. Ghalib's photo agency, Finalpixx, has said Ghalib has been separated from his wife for more than a year. ...

Last.fm has some big news: On Wednesday, the site started offering free streams of full-length tracks and full albums. The site also announced that it will pay artists directly for music it streams. Last.fm claims it got the blessing of the four major labels and now has the biggest collection of music that can be played online for free — legally, of course. ... Murs is gathering the masses for the third installment in his underground hip-hop fest, Paid Dues, which will go down March 22 in San Bernardino, California. This year's roster includes Dilated Peoples, Boot Camp Clik, Living Legends, Sage Francis and Jedi Mind Tricks. ... Here's a blast from the past: Vince Clarke of Depeche Mode and Erasure note has ganged up again with Alison Moyet to perform the first shows by their long-dormant electro-pop group Yaz — or Yazoo, as they are known in the States — in 25 years. In Your Room, a box set with three CDs and one DVD, will drop in May. ...

Ex-Beatle Ringo Starr walked off the set of "Live With Regis and Kelly" on Tuesday after being informed he would have to cut in half a performance of the five-minute title track from his new album, Liverpool 8. AP reports that Starr was going to perform the song with friend and former Eurythmics member Dave Stewart. A spokesperson for the show claimed the booking had been made in November and that Starr's reps agreed at that time to the length of the segment. ... Just a week after the Mars Volta release their new album, The Bedlam in Goliath, on Tuesday, guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez will drop a solo album called Calibration. Among the guests on the record are fellow MV members Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Juan Alderete and Thomas Pridgen, as well as Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante and keyboardist Money Mark. The album is due out February 5 on N20 Records.

• Diddy
• Britney Spears
• Motion City Soundtrack
• Panic at the Disco
• Phantom Planet

M.I.A.
Photo: Roger Kisby/Getty Images

As usual, this year's Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival will feature more than 100 acts, including several reunited alternative-rock giants mixed in with some of the hottest acts touring today. The festival will take place on the weekend of April 25-27 in Indio, California, and be headlined by Jack Johnson, Jack White's Raconteurs, reunited bands the Verve and the Breeders, Death Cab for Cutie, My Morning Jacket and former Pink Floyd leader Roger Waters (who will perform Dark Side of the Moon).

Festival organizers also confirmed that they are launching a new event on the East Coast called All Points West Music & Arts Festival, a three-day event set for August 8-10 at Liberty State Park in New Jersey. No lineup or ticketing information has been announced for the event, which appears to be in direct competition with the Vineland Music Festival slated to launch in New Jersey this summer from the people behind Lollapalooza and England's Reading Festival.

Among the rarely touring acts performing over the course of the Coachella weekend are trip-hop legends Portishead, who are releasing their first album in more than a decade in April, as well as German techno pioneers Kraftwerk and long dormant English psychedelic rockers Spiritualized. The first night of the festival is packed with some of the best dance and alt-rock bands of the moment, including the National, Animal Collective, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Battles, Aesop Rock, Spank Rock, Santogold, Vampire Weekend, Black Lips, Rogue Wave and Architecture in Helsinki.

Saturday night's lineup is just as strong, with acts that include M.I.A., Cold War Kids, Café Tacuba, Rilo Kiley, Mark Ronson, Islands, Cinematic Orchestra, Jamie T, VHS or Beta, Bonde Do Role, Akron Family, MGMT, and the Bird and the Bee. In addition to the sure-to-be-trippy capper from Waters, the final night will also feature a reunited Love and Rockets, dance stars Justice, gypsy-rock punks Gogol Bordello, Chromeo, the Streets, Metric, Simian Mobile Disco, Murs, Autolux, Les Savy Fav, the Cool Kids, Sia, Black Kids, Black Mountain, Kid Sister with A-Trak, I'm From Barcelona, Manchester Orchestra and the Horrors.

Tickets for the fest will be available this Friday, with three-day admission going for $269 and single-day tickets for $90; camping is an additional $55 per person.

The full lineups for each day are:

Friday, April 25: Jack Johnson, the Verve, Raconteurs, the Breeders, Fatboy Slim, Tegan and Sara, Madness, the Swell Season, the National, Animal Collective, Slightly Stoopid, Múm, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Stars, Battles, Aesop Rock, Midnight Juggernauts, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Minus the Bear, Spank Rock, Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, Diplo, Adam Freeland, Santogold, Jens Lekman, John Butler Trio, Vampire Weekend, Dan Deacon, Architecture in Helsinki, Sandra Collins, Busy P, Cut Copy, Black Lips, Datarock, Professor Murder, Reverend and the Makers, the Bees, Porter, Rogue Wave, Modeselektor, American Bang, Lucky I Am.

Saturday, April 26: Portishead, Kraftwerk, Death Cab for Cutie, Café Tacuba, Sasha & Digweed, Rilo Kiley, Dwight Yoakam, M.I.A., Hot Chip, Cold War Kids, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, DeVotchKa, Flogging Molly, Mark Ronson, Turbonegro, Scars on Broadway, Islands, Enter Shikari, Calvin Harris, Boyz Noize, Junkie XL, Cinematic Orchestra, Jamie T, the Teenagers, VHS or Beta, Carbon/Silicon, Erol Alkan, Yo Majesty!, Little Brother, Bonde Do Role, St. Vincent, Akron Family, MGMT, Institubes DJs (Surkin, Para One and Orgasmic), James Zabiela, Sebastian, Kavinsky, Dredg, the Bird and the Bee, Grand Ole Party, New Young Pony Club, 120 Days, Yoav, Electric Touch, Uffie.

Sunday, April 27: Roger Waters, Love and Rockets, My Morning Jacket, Spiritualized, Justice, Gogol Bordello, Chromeo, the Streets, Metric, Danny Tenaglia, Simian Mobile Disco, Booka Shade, Murs, Dmitri from Paris, Autolux, the Field, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Les Savy Fav, the Cool Kids, Sons & Daughters, Sia, Holy F---, Black Kids, Black Mountain, the Annuals, Kid Sister with A-Trak, Man Man, Duffy, I'm From Barcelona, Manchester Orchestra, Deadmau5, the Horrors, Austin TV, Shout Out Louds, Plastiscines, Brett Dennen.

Planning on going to Coachella or any other big music fests this year? Be sure to join the You R Here community, where you can upload your concert photos, videos and reviews. Go there now to check out coverage of last year's Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo festivals.

• Rage Against The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Amy Winehouse, More At Coachella 2007

• M.I.A.
• Pink Floyd
• Portishead
• Jack Johnson
• Raconteurs

Bow Wow and Omarion at the 2007 Teen Choice Awards on Sunday
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

There were surfboards and gleeful squeals aplenty Sunday night at the Teen Choice Awards — not to mention a whole lot of plugging going on from the stars MTV News caught up with on the red carpet at the event, which took place in Universal City, California. "American Idol" champ Jordin Sparks let it be known that even though she plans to record the majority of her yet-untitled debut after she wraps the Idols Live Tour at the end of September, she's still hoping to have it in stores on November 20. Actress Emmy Rossum promises that her upcoming album Inside Out will package "ambient pop ... in a really sexy, new and fresh way," and Bow Wow and Omarion said that their upcoming album Face Off will be a guest-star-heavy good time: "We just left Chicago, working with R. Kelly, and we still got to work with T-Pain, Timbaland, Lil Ronnie (who produced 'I'm a Flirt'), so we're definitely bringing the noise," Bow Wow said. "We got the chance to give people what they want: There's been a drought in the music, there hasn't been a lot of fun in music, so with the videos and everything, we're gonna do that." ...

(Catch up with Fergie, Bow Wow, Omarion, Jordin Sparks, Emmy Rossum and more at the Teen Choice Awards in these video clips.)

Vincent "Don Vito" Margera saw his first court date on two counts of sexual assault on a child once again pushed back on Monday (August 27) — to October 22. But the news wasn't all positive for Bam Margera's uncle, as he was hit with 12 counts of violating his bail-bond conditions. Pam Russell, a spokesperson for Colorado's Jefferson and Gilpin County district attorney's office, confirmed that each unspecified violation is a felony, but said she was not allowed by law to provide specifics on how Margera is alleged to have violated his bail. A hearing on the bond-violation charges is slated for September 5. Margera, 51, has been out on $50,000 bond since last year, when he was charged in the incident that allegedly involved inappropriate contact with two underage girls at a promotional event in Colorado. He was ordered to return to his home in Pennsylvania, submit to random urine tests, have no contact with children under 18 and supply his bond supervisor with his itinerary if he travels for business. Margera's attorney could not be reached for comment. In addition to a maximum of six years in prison on the assault charges, The Associated Press reported that he could face up to 18 months in prison for the bail violations. ...

Britney Spears' and Kevin Federline's lawyers appeared at a last-minute hearing on Monday to discuss a Department of Child and Family Services child-abuse investigation and the former spouses' child-custody battle. According to a Los Angeles Superior Court clerk, the hearing was closed to the public and held in the judge's chambers, with documents on both sides filed soon thereafter. The documents remain sealed while the judge determines whether they may be released to the public. According to a source in Federline's camp, he could end up with temporary custody of his two children with Spears, Sean Preston and Jayden James. There's no word yet on who filed the complaint that prompted the DCFS investigation, the third the pop singer has faced since having children — the first was prompted when she was photographed driving without a car set for Sean Preston, the second when the child fell out of his high chair. The custody battle will continue September 4. ...

In the meantime, Spears' former manager Larry Rudolph doesn't want to be involved in the child-custody dispute for fear that he might have to reveal certain information about the singer, People reports. Ryan Seacrest said on his "On Air With Ryan Seacrest" radio show on Monday morning that he was in contact with Rudolph over the weekend and that the lawyer "doesn't want to have to go under oath and talk about certain things that might hurt [Spears]." In related news, the singer was cleared by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals after questions were raised about a leg injury sustained by Spears' Yorkshire terrier. The group said Spears had been cooperative and that the dog received proper medical attention. ...

Authorities unearthed the remains of two more dogs that had been buried in the backyard of DMX's residence in Cave Creek, Arizona, and discovered a half-pound of what they believe to be illegal narcotics, Maricopa County sheriff's office spokesman Captain Paul Chagolla told MTV News on Monday. At a press conference on Saturday, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said more information regarding the raid will be released Tuesday. ...

Nick Bollea, Hulk Hogan's 17-year-old son, was discharged from a hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Monday morning after being involved in a car accident the previous evening. Police said Bollea, who was featured in VH1's "Hogan Knows Best" reality series, was driving his Toyota Supra at a high speed along state Route 60 when he lost control of the vehicle and slammed into a raised median at 7:30 p.m. in Clearwater. The car reportedly flipped over, and the rear of the vehicle collided with a palm tree. Bollea and one of his car's passengers, 22-year-old John Graziano, were airlifted to the Bayfront Medical Center following the crash. The nature of both Bollea's and Graziano's injuries was not immediately known, but a police spokesperson characterized them as serious. Graziano remains under the hospital's care in critical condition. Alcohol is not believed to have played a role in the accident, but police continue to investigate the crash. No criminal charges have been filed. "My son Nick and a friend were involved in a car accident last night," Linda Hogan said in a statement reportedly obtained Monday by TMZ.com. "Nick suffered minor injuries and has been treated and released from the hospital. At this time, his friend John Graziano remains hospitalized. Nick is currently at the hospital with John and his family. His sole concern is for the well-being of his friend. On behalf of my family, we ask that your thoughts and prayers be with John and his loved ones." ...

The White Stripes have a full fall ahead, as they plan to continue to back their recent Icky Thump LP with additional touring. But that's not stopping the tireless Jack White from giving some love to his other project, the Raconteurs, as well. He and bandmate Brendan Benson posted a humorous and slightly enigmatic exchange on their band's Web site on Monday morning, letting slip a few details about the follow-up to last year's Broken Boy Soldiers. "The 'Teurs have a lot of new songs in the works people, the writing and structure of them has dissipated and reinvigorated and many times over since we came home from our last shows," the post read. "The new songs are coming together strong, I hate to even attempt to describe them." ...

The Cure have put the brakes on their planned September/October tour in North America, deciding instead to push it to April/May. "The schedule as it stands only gives us a couple of weeks to finish our new double album before we hit the road again, and we know this just isn't enough time to complete the project to our total satisfaction," the band said in a statement posted on its site, TheCure.com. Tickets purchased for the originally scheduled shows will be honored. ... Phil Spector's top lawyer, Bruce Cutler, announced Monday that he is leaving the case due to a "difference of opinion between Mr. Spector and me on strategy," according to AP. Spector later told reporters that it was his decision for the attorney to leave, saying Cutler "shouldn't do the closing argument because it wouldn't be in my best interest to stay on. He agreed. ... I thought he would be a target with the judge and prosecutors and that he wouldn't be taken as seriously as he should. With his television show, he wasn't here as much as he should have been." Defense lawyer Roger Rosen is taking over as Spector's top lawyer. Also on Monday, the defense called two witnesses — Lana Clarkson's friends Jennifer Hayes-Riedl and Elizabeth "Punkin Pie" Laughlin — to reiterate their testimony. Defense lawyers also started showing jurors e-mails recently extracted from the hard drive on the deceased actress' computer. In the messages, Clarkson detailed her depression over her acting career and turning 40, and wrote about her use of pain pills and alcohol. ...

Madonna and her family are planning to head back to Israel in September — and this time Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher and possibly Bruce Willis are expected to go participate in the trek, The Jerusalem Post reports. The celebrities will join thousands of Kabbalah Center students for the 10-day High Holiday pilgrimage, which begins with Rosh Hashanah (September 12-14) and ends with Yom Kippur (September 21-22). The paper reports that the press will be asked to keep its distance from the celebrities after Madonna — who only plans to go to the first few days of the event — was hounded by media when she made a similar visit three years ago. ... Kevin Smith is no stranger to TV — from subbing for Roger Ebert on "Ebert & Roeper" to cropping up on "Veronica Mars," he's definitely made his presence known on the small screen. Now the "Clerks" director is set to helm episodes of "Heroes: Origins" — a spinoff of the action show — "Reaper" and "Battlestar Galactica." Smith told AOL TV he's especially excited about "Battlestar": "It's cool, but it is scary because it is like, 'What the f---?' I can't bring anything to that show." ...

Matt Costa is putting off his second album a bit longer — Unfamiliar Faces, produced by No Doubt's Tom Dumont, has shifted to January 15. But the California singer/songwriter is staying busy — he's tacked onto his schedule a handful of dates opening for Modest Mouse: Monday (Portland, Oregon); September 10 (Salt Lake City); September 14 (Santa Barbara, California); and September 15 (Las Vegas). ... Rousing indie-rockers the Hold Steady and Art Brut are ganging up for NME's Rock 'N' Roll Riot Tour, which will hit the States this fall for the first time. The run stretches from an October 21 gig in Providence through a November 21 concert in New York. ... My Bloody Valentine are close to signing a deal that would reunite the seminal shoegazer band for a performance at next year's Coachella in April — and a subsequent tour to boot, TheDailySwarm.com reports. The band hasn't been active for a dozen years, but reports have suggested that a new album might be in the works.

08.24.07

Jordin Sparks doesn't have a name for her debut album yet, but she's got a release date set in stone: November 20. In anticipation of the 19 Recordings/ Jive disc, the "American Idol" champ drew back the curtains on her first single on Friday, debuting "Tattoo" on AOL's Pop Eater blog. The track hits radio Monday. Sparks told The Associated Press that the effort was partly modeled after one of her own idols, Kelly Clarkson — but that she's a bit nervous to be following in the wake of Clarkson and Carrie Underwood's success. "They've risen the bar so high and I'm like, 'I hope I can reach it,' " she said. "Hopefully [my LP will] sell well and people will like it." ...

The runner-up to Sparks, Blake Lewis, is following suit — he just signed to 19 Recordings/ Arista and is planning to drop his first album late this year as well. Hit-maker du jour J.R. Rotem is already on board for the effort. ...

It's no McDonald's parking-lot tour, but Missy Elliott will be featured in a new Doritos ad campaign debuting September 17, Billboard.com reports. In the clip, she is seen working on a new song and snacking on Doritos Collision, different-flavored chips that spur her to fuse a little country into her hip-hop track. A contest to be held on SnackStrongProductions.com will allow visitors to create their own mash-ups using Elliott's track, although the prizes have yet to be determined. The site also features a help section in which Elliott will give tips. ...

Listen up, punk-rockers: Unreleased and rare tracks by Panic! at the Disco, Gym Class Heroes, the Used, Cute Is What We Aim For, Sparta, Head Automatica and more fill up Press Play: Volume 1, a new comp that was put together by Photo Finish and Alternative Press. A portion of the proceeds from the September 25 release will go to the Keep a Breast Foundation, a nonprofit organization that fights breast cancer. ...

The Disney Channel will air a special dance-along version of "High School Musical 2" on September 8 at 8 p.m. ET, People reports. Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and other castmembers will instruct viewers on how to mimic their dance moves during the opening and closing numbers. ... Russell Simmons has stepped down from his post as CEO of Phat Fashions, the company he founded in 1992 that spawned Phat Farm clothing. "I leave the division and the brand in great hands. There are so many things I want to achieve, and this is the appropriate moment for me to move on to my next business venture," the hip-hop mogul said in a statement. ...

Mos Def is sounding off about José Padilla, the Guantánamo detainee who was convicted earlier this week of supporting terrorism. "We all know the history of insufficient evidence or testimony under duress — at the very least, legal circumstances that demand some sort of reinvestigation ... basically saying these people are not the criminals they're being made out to be," he told The Associated Press on Thursday. Mos Def will participate this weekend in the 10th annual Black August benefit concert at New York's Nokia Theatre. The event serves to create awareness about people who its organizers, the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, believe have been unfairly convicted — Talib Kweli, Saigon and Dead Prez are also on the bill. ...

Music, martial arts and chess ... how could members of the Wu-Tang Clan not be involved? RZA and GZA are participating in the Hip-Hop Chess Foundation's first-ever Chess Kings Invitational, set for October 13 at the San Francisco Design Center. The rappers will talk on the tournament's Life Strategies panel about how music, martial arts and chess — activities the organization uses to promote nonviolence — have affected their lives. ...

Muse have plotted a handful of September dates with Juliette and the Licks: Seattle (September 9); Portland, Oregon (September 10); Orem, Utah (September 12); Dallas (September 16); Morrison, Colorado (September 18); Mesa, Arizona (September 20); and Irvine, California (September 21). Muse will also hit the San Diego Street Scene on September 22. ... Ben Kweller just squeezed out a new seven-track live EP, Ben Kweller: Live and Solo at the Artists Den, that was recorded December 13 at New York's Solo House. The disc of rarely performed songs is available now at digital outlets. ...

System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian will shoot a video for "Praise the Lord, Pass the Ammunition," from the rocker's solo debut, Elect the Dead, at an undisclosed venue in Hollywood next week with director Greg Watermann (Mudvayne, Lamb of God). Extras are needed for the video — those interested in auditioning can e-mail Watermann at serjvideo@gregwatermann.com. ... The track list for Thrice's upcoming LP The Alchemy Index: Vols. I & II - Fire & Water has been revealed. Fire will boast six cuts, including "The Messenger," "Backdraft" and "Burn the Fleet"; Water will also contain six tunes, among them "Open Water," "Night Diving" and "Kings Upon the Main." Look for the discs to hit stores October 16. ...

A writer/producer who worked on "In Living Color" and created Nickelodeon's "Roundhouse" is suing the Walt Disney Company, claiming it stole his idea for "Hannah Montana," Reuters reports. In the suit, Morris Taylor "Buddy" Sheffield says he pitched Disney Channel executives the idea for a kids' show about a high school student who leads a secret life as a pop star. Sheffield also claims Disney could owe him and his production company millions in lost profits and damages, and he wants compensation for legal fees. A Disney Channel spokesperson told the news service the network had no comment. ...

Kirsten Dunst's penthouse suite at a hotel in Manhattan, New York, was robbed earlier this month, according to court records obtained by AP. Thieves got away with a $13,000 handbag, cell phone, $2,500 in cash, an iPod, two digital cameras and ID cards belonging to the actress, who had been in the city to shoot scenes for her upcoming flick "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People." One suspect was arraigned Wednesday on burglary and grand-larceny charges, and is being held on $50,000 bond. ...

Hellyeah — the band featuring members of Mudvayne, Pantera and Nothingface — are on the hunt for a dozen women they'd like to act as their "Hellyeah girls." The winners will be featured in the band's 2008 calendar — to enter, contestants need to post an audition video to Break.com and send a link to the clip to hellyeahtv@gmail.com. ... The Dillinger Escape Plan will headline a U.S. tour this fall set to kick off October 4 in Cleveland, Ohio. Just five dates have been confirmed, but more will be announced in the coming weeks. The trek will also feature A Life Once Lost, Behold ... the Arctopus and Genghis Tron. Dillinger's forthcoming LP, Ire Works, lands in stores November 13. ...

The resurrected Jesus & Mary Chain are heading back to the studio to record their first studio album in nine years. The band will also treat four West Coast cities to more concerts: Las Vegas (October 20); Anaheim, California (October 22); Los Angeles (October 23) and San Francisco (October 26-27). ... Queen guitarist Brian May has finished his doctorate in a crazy little thing called astrophysics — he was awarded his Imperial College qualification on Thursday in London. May had been an astrophysics student before joining the band 37 years ago but dropped out as Queen became successful. His thesis? "Radical Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud." ...

Ted Nugent is at it again. The controversial right-wing rocker went on a profanity-spewed tirade at a concert last week, according to video footage posted on LiveLeak.com. With machine guns in his hands, a camouflaged Nugent yelled, "Obama, he's a piece of sh--, and I told him to suck on my machine gun. ... And then I was in New York. I said, 'Hey Hillary, you might want to ride one of these into the sunset.' " He also went off on Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer before saying, "Any questions?" and shouting, "Freedom!"

• Bow Wow, Omarion, Fergie At Teen Choice Awards
• DMX's House Raided; 12 Pit Bulls Removed

• Fergie, Lauren Conrad, Chingy, Kelly Clarkson, More On The 2007 Teen Choice Awards Red Carpet

• Bow Wow
• Omarion
• R. Kelly
• The White Stripes
• Raconteurs

2008 Austin City Limits Festival

• N.E.R.D.
• Gnarls Barkley
• MGMT
• Silversun Pickups
• The Fratellis

Lollapalooza 2008

• Duffy
• Rage Against the Machine
• Radiohead
• Katy Perry
• Raconteurs

T In The Park Festival 2008 In Kinross, Scotland

• Panic at the Disco
• Kate Nash
• Amy Winehouse
• The Ting Tings
• R.E.M.

Raconteurs, Metallica More Are On Fire At The 2008 KROQ Weenie Roast In L.A.

• Raconteurs
• Metallica
• Bad Religion
• The Flobots
• Ludo

AFI, MCR, Killers, Foo Fighters, More At KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas 2006

• My Chemical Romance
• AFI
• The Killers
• Gnarls Barkley
• Evanescence

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Killers, Raconteurs And More At The Virgin Festival 09.23.2006

• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Raconteurs
• The Killers
• The Flaming Lips
• The Who

2006 VMA Highlights

• Panic at the Disco
• Christina Aguilera
• The Killers
• T.I.
• Ludacris

Nick Lachey, Shakira, 50 Cent, Fall Out Boy, More Arrive At The 2006 VMAs

• Shakira
• Fall Out Boy
• AFI
• Danity Kane
• New Found Glory

2006 VMA Style: Snazzy Suits

• Panic at the Disco
• Diddy
• Fall Out Boy
• Taking Back Sunday
• OK Go

2006 VMA Performer: The Raconteurs

• Raconteurs