After trying to choose between "(I Got That) Boom Boom" and "Outrageous," Britney Spears has instead selected "Toxic" as her follow-up single to "Me Against the Music." "It's a very fun, upbeat song," Spears said of the track, on which she sings of being addicted to the wrong type of guy. "Bloodshy did it, they're great producers. The way they did it musically was very cool, and really different, that's why I like it so much." ...

LL Cool J will play "Secret Santa" on Monday (December 8) at Russell Simmons' annual holiday party for disadvantaged youth. Simmons and his wife, Kimora Lee, will host the holiday fete for 250 kids from various youth organizations. This year, the kids will get to meet stars like Jay-Z, Reverend Run, Ashanti, Tweet and Amerie. ... Now that Coldplay's Chris Martin and actress Gwyneth Paltrow have confirmed their pregnancy, wedding watchers are starting to speculate that the couple are planning to marry -- if they haven't secretly wed already. Paltrow and Martin filled out an application for a marriage license in Santa Barbara, California, last week, according to "Entertainment Tonight," yet the couple have already acquired a license in New York as well, where they were slated to have a wedding reception at a hotel this past weekend, according to British media reports. Paltrow and Martin were both spotted wearing what appeared to be wedding bands, but referred to them as "friendship rings." Martin's rep had no comment, and calls to Paltrow's publicist were not returned by press time. ...

Pink has just completed the video for her next single, "God Is a DJ." Directed by Jake Scott (No Doubt, Soundgarden) and shot on location in Los Angeles last week, the video recalls Studio 54-era dance clubs, with lots of "sparkle" and "glimpses of the world behind the velvet rope," according to the director's reps. ... Ludacris has signed on to the ensemble cast of "Crash," a movie following the interactions of several people in urban Los Angeles. Ludacris, who was most recently seen in "2 Fast 2 Furious," joins Sandra Bullock, Thandie Newton and Ryan Phillippe in the flick. ...

Last week, after just under a month of pre-production with producer Rick Rubin, Weezer and the bearded studio guru began the recording process for the group's fifth album, the follow-up to last year's Maladroit. ... 3 Doors Down have mapped out a tour that will kick off January 2 in Toledo, Ohio, and run through January 27 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The band will precede the tour with holiday performances Thursday in New York at the Z100 Jingle Ball and December 30 in Albany, Georgia. ...

Veteran dancehall artist Buju Banton is scheduled to appear in Magistrate's Court Monday in Kingston, Jamaica, after being arrested for marijuana possession last week. According to the rapper's spokesperson, local police confiscated two fully grown marijuana plants from his recording studio and also seized a licensed firearm. It is unclear what penalty Banton, whose real name is Mark Myrie, could face if found guilty. ... Erykah Badu will hit the road on February 3 for a six-week tour in support of her most recent album, Worldwide Underground. Badu's trek starts in New Orleans and hits 25 other cities before finishing up March 17 in Nashville. ...

The G-Unit, Jay-Z and even Reverend Run all have their own sneakers, so it's only right that some of hip-hop's original trailblazers be given their props (and tennis shoes) too. Fila has announced that it will be debuting the "Rock Steady" in April. Named after the legendary crew of b-boys, the Rock Steady Crew, the sneaker will come in two editions: white, royal blue and diablo red; and white on white and ash. Both will bear the logo "Rock Steady Crew 77" on the heel. ... After postponing the first two shows of his North American tour, David Bowie has put off two more, as his doctors have ordered him to remain in bed while he shakes the flu. Tuesday's show in Boston and Wednesday's show in Philadelphia -- in addition to the previously postponed Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C., performances -- will be rescheduled, so fans should retain their tickets until new dates are announced. ...

The company behind the "Girls Gone Wild" video series is in cahoots with Jive Records, home to Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, to put together a line of compilation CDs, the first of which will drop early next year. The "Girls" aren't just going wild on your stereo; there's a film project, clothing line and restaurant chain also in the works. ... Depswa guitarist James Mills has left the band, which is currently seeking a replacement. "Guitarists with chemical dependencies need not apply," the band said in a post on its Web site. Interested axemen should e-mail depswa@depswa.com with a brief description of their background. The band released the album Two Angels and a Dream in June, but is currently looking for a new record deal. ...

The Rx Bandits have canceled the seven remaining dates they had scheduled opening for Something Corporate, from Tuesday through December 18 in San Diego, for "personal reasons." Local bands in various markets will fill in the slot. ... Power of Soul, a new Jimi Hendrix tribute album, will feature contributions from Prince, Musiq, Sting, George Clinton and Bootsy Collins, Eric Clapton, and a previously unreleased Stevie Ray Vaughan medley of "Little Wing" and "Third Stone From the Sun." The album, the proceeds from which will benefit the United Negro College Fund, hits stores on May 4. ...

12.05.03

A brown-haired Nicky Hilton, Mischa Barton and most of her "OC" co-stars, Shannon Elizabeth, Jamie Foxx, Melissa Joan Hart, Taryn Manning and Danny Masterson were among the celebrities who took in Pink's performance Thursday at Motorola's fifth annual party and Toys for Tots benefit in Culver City, California. "Who doesn't want toys for Christmas," Pink said before her short set. "I've always been into helping other people. It makes what you do a little more important than just being a rock star." ...

Nick Cannon has been talking to his "Shall We Dance?" co-star Jennifer Lopez about collaborating on her next album. "Her album's gonna come out sometime around the film, so that could be cool," Cannon said. "And my new movie, 'Love Don't Cost a Thing,' is named after her song, so we had to talk about that and I had to make sure I got her a check for that," he added, smiling. ... Meanwhile, Cannon is eyeing the Mary J. Blige collaboration "Whenever You Need Me" as the next single from his self-titled debut, due Tuesday and also featuring B2K, R. Kelly, Ying Yang Twins, Biz Markie and Nivea. ...

Visitors to the Major League Baseball Web site (www.mlb.com) have elected Ozzy Osbourne's perplexing rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" as the Most Bizarre Moment in the This Year in Baseball Awards. The historical moment went down on August 17 at Chicago's Wrigley Field during a game between the Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers when Ozzy attempted to sing the song but clearly didn't know the words. The Web site has posted a full transcript of Ozzy's version of the song, which includes the lines "Let's go out to the ballgame. Let's go out to the bluhhhhhn/ Take me a ee-yan eeya (humming) the field/ I don't care if I ahh-uhn ack/ Da da da da duh da da da eam. Duh ee, da da da da dahhh." Ozzy's antics received 7,046 votes for Most Bizarre Moment, which made up 17.9 percent of the total votes. ...

David Bowie has postponed the first two shows of the North American leg of his tour as he's battling a case of the flu. His reps said that Saturday's show in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Sunday's show in Washington, D.C., will be rescheduled, so fans should retain their tickets until new dates are announced. ... The Roots will take time from their recording sessions to hit the road for a quick tour. They'll play two dates in Philadelphia beginning December 29, two dates down the turnpike in Washington, D.C. (January 1-2), and one night in New York (January 3). A host of underground rappers will join them for the shows, including Aesop Rock, Little Brother and Jean Grae. ...

Dancehall artist Elephant Man will soon shoot a video for the second single from his album Good 2 Go, released this week. It will combine a new single, "Signal De Plane," with an album track, "Blasé," both of which are named after recent dances sprouting up in Jamaican dancehalls. ... Goodie Mob are releasing a best-of album, Dirty South Classics, on December 16. The collection includes all 15 of the group's singles, including "Cell Therapy" and "Black Ice (Sky High)" featuring Outkast. ...

Scottish band Travis will kick off a two-week tour next month that will eventually hit all three North American countries. The jaunt begins January 22 in Vancouver, sweeps down the West Coast and into Texas, then ends February 7 in Mexico City. ... Tommy Lee will sit in on drums at Skrape's show December 18 at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California. The event will be a returned favor of sorts, since Skrape drummer Will Hunt was the touring drummer in Lee's band earlier this year. ...