Now that his run is over, P. Diddy might want to take a cue from Britney Spears and rest up. The singer ran herself so ragged promoting her upcoming album that she caught the flu and a severe throat infection and had to cancel a week's worth of activities overseas. No longer on her schedule -- presenting at MTV's Europe Music Awards in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Thursday. Ordered to take bed rest, she's at home recovering. ...

The Roots have been dubbed the hardest-working band in hip-hop, but who knew they could rock and roll all night and party every day? The Philly group played its annual Halloween show in costume once again this year, this time fully made up as rock icons Kiss. Their show at Nashville's Vanderbilt University included a brief Kiss medley. Last year, the Roots dressed as N.W.A. ... The songs just keep pouring out of R. Kelly. According to his musical co-conspirator Baby, the duo are still working on their Best of Both Worlds 2 LP. But since the project is coming along so well, they’ve decided to make it a double album. The set is slated to drop in February. ...

Missy Elliott is no stranger to good causes, but she's recently upped her involvement with one in particular. She announced on Monday (November 3) that she's going to be the spokesperson for Break the Cycle, a nonprofit domestic-abuse prevention group in Los Angeles, and she's launching a $5 million fundraising and awareness campaign for the charity. "I know how domestic violence can affect a family and I want to do everything I can to stop it from happening to others," she said in a statement. "The most important thing we can do is teach kids that they can break the cycle." Missy's including information about the organization -- on whose committee she's served for years -- in the jacket of her upcoming album, This Is Not a Test, due out November 25. She also hopes to raise proceeds via her Where My Girls At? Tour. For more information about the charity, visit Breakthecycle.org. ...

Phil Spector's $1 million bail has been extended a second time, now to January 9. The district attorney's office is still putting together its case against the legendary producer accused of shooting actress Lana Clarkson at his mansion in February. ... Detroit rocker Kid Rock has been added to the November 10 Johnny Cash tribute at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. Other performers include George Jones, John Mellencamp, Brooks & Dunn, Dwight Yoakam and Cash's daughter Rosanne Cash. Tickets will be distributed through a lottery. ...

Musicians Justin Timberlake, Linkin Park bassist Phoenix and Tim McGraw; actors George Lopez, Damon Wayans, Kelly Preston and Sara Rue; and Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter of "The Bachelorette" have been added to list of presenters at the American Music Awards, airing live from Los Angeles on November 16. Fleetwood Mac, performing via satellite from their current European tour, and Toby Keith have been added as performers. ... Putting rumors to rest that there might be another Black Star album with Mos Def in the works, Talib Kweli is in the studio working on his next solo album. The tentative title is The Beautiful People, and it's due out in the spring. ...

Bruce Springsteen joined friends Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers for a 75-minute set Saturday at the fourth annual Light of Day Concert to Benefit the Parkinson's Disease Foundation at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Parkinson's Disease sufferers Michael J. Fox and concert organizer Bob Benjamin took the stage to sing along for the event's theme song, Springsteen's "Light of Day." ... The All-American Rejects' previously unreleased "The Cigarette Song" will be featured on Doghouse 100, a compilation celebrating Doghouse Records' 100th release. Due November 25, the album will also include unreleased songs from Limbeck, Gameface and River City High. ...

Mandy Moore took to the message board on her Web site to explain why she dropped out of Barbara Kopple's "Havoc." "Not only did it not work out timing-wise, but it was also a film that I didn't feel ultra-comfy being a part of," she wrote. "It was very sexually themed and full of drugs and violence and I was actually scared to go there. I absolutely adore the director and wanted to work with her so badly, but I guess it will have to be with another project." Moore was replaced by Anne Hathaway ("The Princess Diaries"). ... Just when you thought "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" couldn't get any more absurd, along comes The Rocky Horror Punk Rock Show, a 19-track compilation featuring punk bands covering the tunes from the cult classic 1975 soundtrack. Participating artists include One Man Army, who perform "Dammit, Janet," the Groovie Ghoulies, who offer their version of "The Time Warp," and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes and the Ataris, who each lend a version of "Science Fiction/ Double Feature." The LP will hit shelves on December 2. ...

Eighties metal band Hanoi Rocks will drop the domestic version of Twelve Shots on the Rocks, complete with five bonus tracks, on January 27. The band's first studio album in 17 years was released last year in the U.K. ... New wave punk band the Stranglers will begin a tour of the U.K. November 25 to support their new album, Norfolk Coast, which drops February 10 overseas. The first single, "Good Thing Coming," is expected to surface across the pond in January. ...

10.31.2003

Should Justin Timberlake ever hang up the mic, he won't need to wonder about his next move. The singer's been charging ahead to carve out an alternate career as a sports correspondent, and can now add ABC Sports to his resumé. Timberlake, who signed on earlier this year as a special correspondent to cover sports for both TNT and TBS, moves over to the Disney-owned channel to join the executive producer who signed him to his prior sports deal back in May. His assignments as an ABC Sports correspondent remain to be determined. He is slated, however, to write the signature theme music for ABC's NBA coverage and will star in the network's NBA promotional "Can't Get Enough" campaign. ...

Britney Spears will preview several songs from her upcoming album, In the Zone, on her hour-long concert special, "Britney Spears: In the Zone," to air November 17 at 8 p.m. on ABC. Up until now, the singer's previewed only a few songs live, including her first single, "Me Against the Music," and the ballad "Everytime." Both of those songs will be in the ABC set, which will also highlight her next single, "(I've Got That) Boom Boom," featuring the Ying Yang Twins. Britney will be accompanied by her team of dancers, a full band and even a string quartet for one number, according to ABC. Britney's upcoming tour, in the meantime, is getting firmed up, with a launch date set at March 3, according to Billboard. She'll play 56 dates through April, and will embark on a separate outdoor amphitheater tour in July. ... Courtney Love got a breather in her misdemeanor drug case on Friday (October 31). A Los Angeles Superior Court judge gave her a continuance until November 14 for her arraignment, so that Love's lawyer would have more time to discuss the charges with her, despite "vehement objection" from the city attorney. Love will not have to appear to enter a plea; her lawyer plans to enter one for her. ...

Busta Rhymes was on New York radio station Hot 97's morning show with Sway on Thursday dismissing the idea that his scathing freestyle on the latest DJ Kay Slay mixtape was aimed at Jay-Z. On the song "What More Can I Say," from his upcoming The Black Album, Jay-Z calls Busta Rhymes "animated," and some interpreted this as a dis. Kay Slay fanned the flames by telling Sway earlier that Busta's track was indeed aimed at Jigga in response. ... Damon Dash denies that Roc-A-Wear uses a factory in Honduras that the watchdog group National Labor Committee cited as having sweatshop conditions. On Tuesday, the NLC's Charles Kernaghan said that 80 percent of the output of the Southeast Textiles factory was for P. Diddy's Sean John clothing line and the other 20 percent was for Roc-A-Wear, which is owned by Dash and Jay-Z. In a statement, Dash said that the factory was used only once by a sub-contractor without his knowledge and that his company only works with factories that comply with labor regulations. "It is important to us that every member of our staff is treated with dignity and respect, both here and abroad," the statement said. ...

Scott Weiland was a little late for his court-ordered detox Thursday night, since he stopped in to sing two songs at a quick gig to open Velvet Revolver bandmate Duff McKagan's wife's fashion show. Originally, Weiland and McKagan were slated to play only one song -- an acoustic cover of the Rolling Stones' "Angie" -- at Susan Holmes' presentation of her spring 2004 swimwear line at SmashBox in Culver City, California. But the rest of the band joined them -- including sometime member Izzy Stradlin and engineer Douglas Grean on keyboards -- for not only the RS cover, but also a new original song called "You Got No Right." ... Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, sensitive techno guy Moby and Tenacious D's Jack Black are some of the artists who will judge a contest of the best 30 seconds of original video to criticize the policies of President Bush. The competition has been organized by the political action group MoveOn.org. Interested participants should create an informative, memorable and creative spot about a current administration issue that should be addressed, re-examined or changed. Entries should be submitted to www.bushin30seconds.org between November 24 and December 5. The winning ad will be aired as part of a MoveOn.org TV campaign. ...

Police in Des Moines, Iowa, have agreed to drop their case against Slipknot bassist Paul Gray after he pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence of drugs, the Des Moines Register reported. Last week, Gray admitted that he was stoned when he had a minor traffic accident June 1, so prosecutors dropped charges that he was carrying marijuana, cocaine and syringes at the time. He was ordered to make a $500 contribution to the American Red Cross and sent on his way. ... R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills, the Coup rapper Boots Riley and singer Jill Sobule will play select dates on the Tell Us the Truth Tour, which also features Audioslave's Tom Morello (a.k.a. The Nightwatchman), Steve Earle, Billy Bragg and Lester Chambers. The first date of the tour is November 7 in Madison, Wisconsin, and the final show is November 24 in Washington, D.C. ...

West Coast mixtape DJ Vlad had his voice and appearance captured for Rockstar Games' upcoming "Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne." Vlad portrays a Russian mobster/ Max confidant in the game. ... Before running the New York City Marathon on Sunday, P. Diddy can take in a brief set from Stacie Orrico. The singer will be performing "(There's Gotta Be) More to Life" and "Stuck" at 9 a.m. on a stage located at the race's starting line in Staten Island. ...

Wu-Tang Clan mastermind RZA is launching a 28-city solo tour Sunday in Chicago to promote his latest release, Birth of a Prince. Das EFX are also on the outing, which wraps December 8 in Burlington, Vermont. ... Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry will debut their cover of Hank Williams Jr.'s "Are You Ready for Some Football?" on November 4 during "Monday Night Football." The recording was taped in Los Angeles earlier this month. ...

Here's to going after your target audience. UC3, an up-and-coming female R&B trio from Tampa Bay, Florida, have signed a sponsorship deal with the restaurant chain Hooters, which will host events for the group, such a showcase November 18 at its New York restaurant. The group features former Epic Records artist Tracy Williams, who has toured with Destiny's Child and 'NSYNC. ...