Britney Spears has switched choreographers for her upcoming fall tour. Jennifer Lopez's ex Cris Judd is now out, while Jamie King ("Dance Fever") will be keeping the pop singer in step. Auditions were held Friday in Los Angeles for dancers to join her on tour. ...

Rather than fight his latest arrest, "Jackass" co-star Steve-O (whose real name is Stephen Glover) has resolved the criminal charge against him stemming from allegedly urinating in front of a crowd in late July during a Lollapalooza stop near Pittsburgh. The stuntman paid a $300 fine last week for the charge of disorderly conduct. ... "American Idol" champ Ruben Studdard is reportedly suing 205 Flava Inc., the people who make the "205" jerseys that Studdard wore early in the competition. According to the Associated Press, Studdard is accusing the company of illegally profiting from his image, and claims that 205 Flava saw a sales bump of $2 million after unlawfully using his likeness. ...

A Hummer that once belonged to Tupac Shakur could soon be yours if you have a working Web browser ... and a whole lot of cash. An online auction for the 1996 Hummer will open on eBay on August 13, according to CNN. Bidding starts at $500,000. ... Several current metal bands including Disturbed, Slipknot, Kittie and Meshuggah will talk about the importance of '80s thrash metal in the upcoming film "Get Thrashed," which is being directed by Rick Ernst and should be out by year's end. The movie also features concert and interview footage of Metallica, Anthrax and others. ...

The confrontational Irish songbird Sinead O'Connor's swan song, a double-disc set called She Who Dwells in the Secret Place of the Most High Shall Abide Under the Shadow of the Almighty, will be released September 9. One disc will feature rare and unreleased originals and 11 covers of songs by artists such as ABBA, B-52's and Aretha Franklin. The second disc will be a live recording from a concert last year at Vicar Street in Dublin. A live DVD called "Goodnight, Thank You, You've Been a Lovely Audience" will come out August 26. ...

The Party of a Lifetime Tour has broken up early. The last five dates of the Sammy Hagar/ Lynyrd Skynyrd co-headlining tour were canceled when Skynyrd's lead guitarist, Gary Rossington, who had open-heart surgery in February, was told by doctors to immediately drop off the trek in order to combat medical fatigue. Ticket holders for the scrapped shows -- between August 1 in Pelham, Alabama, and August 5 in Beaumont, Texas -- can get refunds at point of purchase. Hagar will still play the August 6 show in Corpus Christi, Texas. ...

Living Colour's first studio album in a decade, Collideoscope, will come out September 22. The 16-track disc will include the songs "Son Without Sin," "A ? of When," "Operation Mind Control" and "Nightmare City." ... Judas Priest-inspired band Iced Earth have hired dethroned Priest singer Tim "Ripper" Owens to replace Matthew Barlow. The band's new record, The Glorious Burden, will come out this fall and will feature the tracks "The Reckoning," "Hollow Man" and "Red Baron/Blue Max." Owens was ousted from Priest last month after longtime singer Rob Halford rejoined the band. ...

07.31.2003

Sean Paul pleaded guilty via his lawyer on Wednesday to profanity usage in his Reggae Sumfest set in Montego Bay, Jamaica, over the weekend. However, the judge refused the plea, because the singer, who is currently on tour, did not appear personally in court, according to a spokesperson for the St. James parish police. The judge ruled that Paul must be present at the new court date, set for September 1, to accept the charges. ...

Lars Ulrich is going to be stepping in front of a microphone, but there's no need for James Hetfield to worry because it'll happen nowhere near a stage. The famously motor-mouthed Metallica drummer will take over the airwaves of Denver's KBPI Thursday night (July 31) beginning at 9 p.m. MT, with roughly 200 other rock radio stations around the country picking up the broadcast. Though his guest DJ slot is only scheduled for two hours, Ulrich told station officials that he could stay on-air even longer. ...

Video director Chris Robinson (Nas) recently shot a 30-second commercial for Reebok featuring Mary J. Blige jumping double Dutch on a Brooklyn-esque city street. Jay-Z and Shakira are also aligned with the sneaker maker. ... Björk fans who were duped by Alex Conate and his fake concert scam are finally getting retribution. According to the Associated Press, in addition to the five years probation sentence, Conate, who sold phony tickets to a fictitious concert by the singer, has been ordered to pay $9,160 to the Flame bar, a concert promoter, as well as numerous others. ...

The Deftones are scheduled to film the video for "Hexagram" in Los Angeles on August 8. The band is inviting local fans to come out and appear in the video. ... Soul singer Jill Scott is about to go rock -- at least in an upcoming Showtime original movie. "Cavedweller," a movie based on the novel of the same name by Dorothy Allison, will star Kyra Sedgwick as a woman who escapes her abusive marriage to join the band Mud Dog. Kevin Bacon plays the lead singer of the band and Scott is a bandmate named Rosemary. The movie will also feature Aidan Quinn and Sherilyn Fenn, and will be directed by Lisa Cholodenko ("High Art," "Laurel Canyon"). ...

Brides of Destruction, the new band featuring Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx and L.A. Guns founder Tracii Guns, has posted three songs -- "I Got a Gun," "I Don't Care" and "Shut the F--- Up" -- on their Web site, www.bridesofdestruction.com. ... Travis Barker just purchased a Los Angeles home with girlfriend and former Miss USA Shanna Moakler, who is expecting a baby with the Blink-182 and Transplants drummer on October 19. Barker's ex-wife, Melissa Kennedy, had contested their divorce, but a judge recently finalized it. ...

Tenacious D have pushed back the release of their "Tenacious D-VD" to October 21. Along with performances, the project will include documentaries on the making of the "Tribute "and "Wonderboy" videos, their appearance on "Crank Yankers" and more. ... Brian Setzer has set an October 21 release date for his next record, Nitro Burnin' Funny Daddy. The former Stray Cats singer has also scheduled the Brian Setzer Orchestra's 2nd Annual Christmas Extravaganza Tour, which begins November 28. ...

Vertical Horizon will support Go, the follow-up to their 1999 breakthrough, Everything You Want, due September 23, with a headlining tour beginning August 15. John Shanks (Michelle Branch) produced the album, which includes the first single, "I'm Still Here." ... The Dead Kennedys, minus original singer Jello Biafra, will celebrate their 25th anniversary with an August 19 show at the Key Club in Los Angeles. The day before, the band will sign copies of the new DVD, "In God We Trust, Inc. - The Lost Tapes" at Tower Records on the Sunset Strip. ... Skrape's second album, Up the Dose, is due September 23. The follow-up to the 2001 debut, New Killer America, features the single, "Summer Song," which is due at radio in mid-August. ...