Performances by Ja Rule and Nelly were canceled on Saturday after a brawl erupted at KKBT-FM's The Beat Summer Jam in Irvine, California, and police sent home 15,000 people. One person was taken to a nearby hospital, but no arrests were made in the fight, which broke out during LL Cool J's set at about 7:30 p.m. ... Alicia Keys topped the list of Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Award winners on Friday and took home four awards, including Album of the Year for Songs in A Minor and top female artist, according to the Associated Press. Usher, who had the most nominations (eight), came in a close second with three awards, while other awards went to Ja Rule, Mariah Carey and Lil' Romeo, amongst others. ...

Doves, whose The Last Broadcast is nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, will return for their second North American tour this year, beginning September 7 in Chicago and ending October 9 in Los Angeles. The British rockers will perform on "The Late Show With David Letterman" on September 5. ... Over 100 people were denied entry into Washington's MCI Center for Saturday night's Bruce Springsteen concert because the tickets they had bought from scalpers were fakes, according to Associated Press. Several suspected scalpers were arrested outside the show. ...

Hardly the jazz singer of Neil Diamond's caliber, Jonathan Davis broodingly croons the former's lovelorn lyrics on Korn's cover of "Love on the Rocks," which was recorded while the band was on tour supporting 1999's Issues. The tune, retitled "Love on the C--ks," can be heard on www.kornweb.com and in the fan club section of the group's site, www.korn.com. ... Sixpence None the Richer will release Divine Discontent, the full-length follow-up to their 1997 self-titled album, on October 29. The first single, "Breathe Your Name," will hit radio in early September. ...

With a new single climbing the charts, Elvis Presley tops Forbes.com's second annual list of Top-Earning Dead Celebrities with a $37 million income. George Harrison ($17 million) and Tupac Shakur ($7 million) are also on the list, available at www.forbes.com/deadcelebs. ... Elvis' daughter and Michael Jackson's ex-wife, Lisa Marie Presley, got hitched to her third husband, actor Nicolas Cage, on Saturday, according to Reuters. ... Sinéad O'Connor will release Sean-Nós Nua, a collection of traditional Irish songs, on October 8. Beginning Monday (August 12), one song from the album per week will stream on her label Web site, www.sinead.vanguardrecords.com. ...

Ivy have set a September 10 release date for their covers album, Guestroom, which features versions of the Cure's "Let's Go to Bed" and Steely Dan's "Only a Fool Would Say That," among others. Guitarist Andy Chase has also been busy producing French group Tahiti 80's second album, Wallpaper for the Soul, due October 8. ... Meanwhile, Adam Schlesinger's other band, Fountains of Wayne, have finished their third album, which features an appearance by former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, and they are also sorting out a record deal. Fountains of Wayne provide the theme song to Comedy Central's "Crank Yankers." ...

08.09.02

DMX, Ludacris, Method Man, Capone and Noreaga will be featured in an as-yet-untitled wrestling video game that will hit stores in the fall. The game is part of a joint venture between Island Def Jam Music Group and software firm Electronic Arts Inc. and will feature music from up-and-coming rappers. ... Jack Osbourne, camo-clad son of Ozzy, is scheduled to film a "Dawson's Creek" cameo on Friday (August 9), and the experience will be captured for the next season of "The Osbournes," according to the Associated Press. The two-hour, Jack-enriched season premiere of "Dawson's" will air on October 2. ...

The Recording Artists Coalition, which was founded by Don Henley and Sheryl Crow, rejected a proposed settlement from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which represents the five major record label conglomerations, on Thursday over the controversial seven-year statute in artist contracts. Henley told Billboard, "Negotiations are over — period." ... RAC members No Doubt have announced the first 10 dates of their fall tour with Garbage and the Distillers. Good Charlotte will join the lineup on some of the outing, which kicks off October 9 in St. Paul, Minnesota. ...

With only two months in stores, Nelly's Nellyville was certified triple platinum this month by the RIAA. Fresh new platinum plaques are also on the way to Avril Lavigne (Let Go), John Mayer (Room for Squares), the "Spider-Man" soundtrack, Korn (Untouchables), Deftones (White Pony), and Dave Matthews Band, whose 1993 debut, Remember Two Things, finally minted 1 million copies. ... The RIAA also handed out gold certifications to Moby (18), Goo Goo Dolls (Gutterflower), Papa Roach (Lovehatetragedy), Jack Johnson (Brushfire Fairytales), Paulina Rubio (Border Girl) and the self-titled debuts of Dirty Vegas and Tenacious D. ...

Saliva singer Josey Scott will sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" on Sunday (August 11) right before the NASCAR race in Watkins Glen, New York. Saliva are currently working on their next record, Back Into Your System, in upstate New York with producer Bob Marlette. ... Metallica have selected "53rd & 3rd," a song widely recognized to be about the late Dee Dee Ramone's life in New York City, as their contribution to the forthcoming Rob Zombie-led Ramones tribute album, according to the band's Web site. Metallica previously jammed on eight Ramones songs and laid down recordings of "53rd & 3rd," "Commando," "Today Your Love Tomorrow the World" and "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue," all of which they performed at a San Francisco club gig in June. ...

"American Idol" addicts have a new, all-girl series to look forward to. According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Idol" Executive Producer Simon Fuller (of Spice Girls infamy) has placed a new "super-girl" reality series with ABC that will feature 10 female contestants fighting for all-around supremacy in the fields of sports, dancing, singing, beauty and personality. ... Bush singer Gavin Rossdale will make his acting debut in "Red Light Runners," a film currently in development with producer and actor Michael Madsen ("Reservoir Dogs"). Dennis Hopper and Harvey Keitel are in negotiations to co-star. ... Marilyn Manson will hit pay-per-view screens this weekend when an L.A. concert from their Guns, God & Government Tour is broadcast on In Demand at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday (August 10). ...

Incubus have selected fellow Los Angeles area natives Home Town Hero to open several dates on their upcoming fall tour, from October 5 in Salt Lake City to October 17 in Nashville. Home Town Hero, supporting their recently released self-titled debut, have spent the summer on Weezer's Enlightenment Tour. ... Canadian artists Sarah McLachlan, Barenaked Ladies, Bryan Adams, Chantal Kreviazuk and Jann Arden will headline a cancer benefit on October 10 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The groups are aiming to raise $1 million for the BC Cancer Foundation. ...

Perhaps indie rock band Flipp are taking the garage rock movement a little too literally. The Minneapolis group is performing in three garages (chosen via radio station contests and on its Web site) in the Twin Cities on Saturday to celebrate the release of its third album, Volume. ... Moby, Delerium featuring Sarah McLachlan and the Afro-Celt Sound System featuring Peter Gabriel are among the contributors to Pure Moods IV, due October 1. McLachlan's own "Angel" also appears on the compilation, along with Enigma's "Shadows in Silence."

• Ja Rule
• Nelly
• Alicia Keys
• Korn
• Usher

After wowing audiences at a New York City showcase in June, the French band Tahiti 80 has just confirmed dates for its first North American tour, scheduled to kick off on September 1 in Los Angeles.

The Tahiti 80 outing stretches through an October 8 gig in San Diego, although more dates are likely to be added in the next few weeks, according to an itinerary posted online by the band's label, Minty Fresh.

Tahiti 80 will take its carefully constructed pop songs out on the highways and byways of North America to support its first full-length album, "Puzzle," which has a lead single, "Heartbeat," currently drawing heavy rotation on college radio.

The video has just been added to MTV2, and Tahiti 80 frontman Xavier Boyer and guitarist Médéric Gontier recently talked to MTV News about the colorful "Heartbeat" clip, which reteamed the band with artist Laurent Fétis, who provided the cover art for "Puzzle."

Gontier said.

"Twice," Boyer added. "Yeah, in two different towns."

"We started to work on it with Laurent Fétis," Gontier continued, "the guy who did the artwork [for the album]. He did [images like] that for the video. You can see us playing in front of a big screen where you have black-and-white pictures projected."

"It looks a little like the artwork," Boyer said.

Gontier interjected.

"Yeah, it's supposed to look like the characters on the cover of the album," Boyer said. "We shot it first in Paris, then we went to Belgium to do [the other half], because we had to shoot it in front of a big, big screen that you use for festivals."

Like "Heartbeat," most of the songs on "Puzzle" are succinct slices of New Wave-ish pop that clock in around three or four minutes, but in concert the band has been known to stretch out some songs into 15-minute bump and grinders.

"We don't try to sound exactly like the record," Boyer noted.

Dates where you can catch Tahiti 80 on its upcoming North American tour:

• 9/1 - Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
• 9/2 - San Francisco, CA @ The Cellar - Johnny Foley's
• 9/4 - Portland, OR @ Satyricon
• 9/5 - Vancouver, BC @ Sonar
• 9/6 - Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Cafe
• 9/9 - Minneapolis, MN @ 400 Bar
• 9/10 - Chicago, IL @ Schuba's
• 9/11 - Newport, KY @ Southgate House
• 9/12 - Detroit, MI @ Shelter
• 9/13 - Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace
• 9/14 - Montreal, QC @ Cafe Campus
• 9/16 - Cambridge, MA @ TT The Bear's (w/ Papas Fritas)
• 9/18 - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
• 9/19 - Philadelphia, PA @ North Star Bar
• 9/21 - Baltimore, MD @ Fletcher's
• 9/22 - Plainview, NY @ Vanderbilt
• 9/24 - Atlanta, GA @ Smith's Olde Bar
• 9/27 - Austin, TX @ Emo's
• 9/28 - Dallas, TX @ Club Clearview
• 10/5 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Zephyr Club
• 10/7 - Tempe, AZ @ Nita's Hideaway
• 10/8 - San Diego, CA @ Epicenter

• Tahiti 80

French New Wave pop outfit Tahiti 80 has scored a hit on college radio with "Heartbeat," a song from its first full-length LP, "Puzzle," and in the next few weeks the band will look to catch some mainstream ears when the track is serviced to pop and alternative stations across the country.

Tahiti 80 formed in 1993 by then-University Of Rouen students Xavier Boyer and Pedro Resende. The duo added Médéric Gontier and Sylvain Marchand over the next two years and issued its first EP, the appropriately titled "20 Minutes," in 1996.

The Minty Fresh record label has just issued "Puzzle" here in the States, and Tahiti 80 frontman Xavier Boyer recently chatted with MTV News about the sonic inspiration for its "Heartbeat" single.

"There's little stories behind this song," Boyer explained,