Jonas Akerlund (Metallica, Madonna) will direct "a very simple, very real, more personal, unlike 'Dirrty' " video for Christina Aguilera's new single, "Beautiful," the singer said at Wednesday's "8 Mile" premiere. "This is a song that really represents not being accepted in any situation, feeling discriminated against, but still feeling good about yourself," Aguilera added. ... Also at the premiere, Macy Gray said her new album will be released in February. Her song "Time of My Life" is on the "8 Mile" soundtrack and "is the reason it sold 7 million copies," Gray joked. ... Mya also revealed some details about her February release at the "8 Mile" event, noting that Rockwilder and Ron Fair (Aguilera) had just produced some tracks for the project. Damon Elliott (Pink) and Missy Elliott are among the other producers. ...

Proving that induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has a way of

healing (most) wounds, the Police have agreed to reunite to perform at the 2003 induction ceremony, according to a band spokesperson. The trio will definitely play "Roxanne," plus two as-yet-undetermined songs. Next year will also bring a repackaging of the group's entire catalog, which will be remastered and possibly padded with extra tracks. ...

U2 will hit primetime on November 29 with a concert special on CBS called

"U2's Beautiful Day." The one-hour program was compiled from two performances

at Slane Castle in Ireland in 2001. ... Nick Carter, Enrique Iglesias, Celine Dion, Josh Groban and Yolanda Adams are among the singers who will be featured in "The Concert for World Children's Day," airing November 14 on ABC. The concert, which was taped September 14 in Chicago, will close with all of the artists performing "Aren't They All Our Children," written for the event by musical director David Foster and his wife Linda Thompson. ...

Matchbox Twenty's Rob Thomas, the Neptunes and Jewel will perform at New York's Bottom Line on November 20 as part of a benefit concert for VH1's Save the Music Foundation called "Songwriters in the Round – Generations Volume 1." Thomas and Jewel will each perform three songs, producer Jimmy Jam will be on hand, and the event will be moderated by Elton John collaborator Bernie Taupin. ...

You can celebrate Christmas with the White Stripes if you pick up X-Mas Surprise Package on November 22, a collection of four previously released holiday EPs from the Michigan-based Flying Bomb punk label that includes the Stripes track "Candy Cane Children." Songs from the Paperbacks, Sagger, the Elves, the Dirtbombs, Von Bondies, Soledad Brothers, Electric 6, Rocket 455, the Dirtys, the A-Frames and the Hentchmen also appear. ...

Def Leppard will promote their recently released LP X with a two-week tour. The outing begins December 8 in Las Vegas and wraps December 21 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. ... If you've ever wondered what Godsmack would sound like with singer Sully Erna on drums, then click over to the Screaming Ferret Wreckords Web site (screamingferret.com) and order the vintage 1992 album Unfinished Business by Meliah Rage. Erna demoed songs such as "Mind Stalk," "Violent Force," "Season to Kill" and "Moment of Silence" with the Boston band before he split to form Godsmack in the mid '90s. ... Shortlist Music Prize nominees Zero 7 have scheduled a week of dates beginning November 17 in Vancouver and ending November 24 in San Diego. The British dream pop duo recently took a break from recording their next record to remix the N.E.R.D. single "Provider." ...

11.07.02

Mudvayne may embrace nonconformity the way most people embrace breathing, but they've jumped on the bandwagon of artists offering a bonus DVD with their new album. The DVD accompanying The End of All Things to Come (November 19) will feature 30 minutes of studio footage, band interviews and the previously unreleased songs "Goodbye" and "On the Move." ...

It's all "Hella Good" for Joey, Pacey, Jen and Dawson when they attend a No Doubt concert on Wednesday's episode of the WB's "Dawson's Creek." The band will perform "Underneath It All," "Hella Good" and "Magic's in the Makeup." ...

It'll be an Ice Cube kinda Christmas when the soundtrack to the third installment of the rapper's 'hood tale, "Friday After Next," hits stores on November 19. Among the acts contributing tracks are Cube's supergroup, Westside Connection, Flipmode Squad featuring Busta Rhymes, Rah Digga and Spliff, Nappy Roots, Krayzie Bone, 50 Cent and Roscoe. Christmas classics from Donny Hathaway, Eartha Kitt and the Temptations will also appear. ...

With tracks like "Sexed Up" and "Hot Fudge," it's not hard to imagine what inspired Robbie Williams' new album, Escapology. Slated for release in the U.K. on November 19, the album is tentatively scheduled to hit U.S. shores early next year. Meanwhile, Williams will perform the first single, "Feel," at the MTV Europe Music Awards on November 14; actress Daryl Hannah co-stars in the video for the song. ...