Eminem is hoping to make illegal file-sharers feel so empty. In an effort to stop Internet piracy of the rapper's new album, Interscope Records is launching the Very Shady Xmas Contest, in which fans who buy Eminem's new release, Encore, will have the chance to make this year's Shady Xmas List and be eligible to receive one of 400 presents in Shady wrapping paper, including platinum plaques, Sirius satellite radio equipment and subscriptions, exclusive Encore shoes, video memorabilia, Shady Ltd. merchandise and gift certificates, and the chance to work on Eminem's next music video. Fans will have to purchase a legit copy of the album, due November 16, and slide it into their computers to access the registration site, where they will be able to enter the contest up until December 24. ...

Mase tells girls they do not have to show their goodies to attract men, and Ciara agrees. The Atlanta singer has agreed to appear on a remix of Mase's "Keep It On," which is also set to include an appearance by P. Diddy. Ciara has also just completed work on her next video, "1,2 Step," with director Benny Boom and music industry do-it-all Missy Elliott. The clip chiefly takes place in a roller-skating rink and features a performance of the teen's new dance step. ... Guess it really isn't "Bad Boy for Life." After a long feud with P. Diddy, the Hoodfellaz have finally broken ties with Puff's label. Although the group says it is not breaking up in the wake of its release, member Morock has been working on a solo album and is seeking distribution for it. ...

The Nirvana box set, due November 23, finally has a title: With the Lights Out. Among the 81 tracks in the three-CD collection are 68 previously unreleased live tracks, studio outtakes and home demos. A DVD featuring Nirvana performing at a house party in 1987, among other footage, will also be included. ... Trent Reznor has changed his mind. The title of Nine Inch Nails' first studio album since 1999's The Fragile will no longer be called Bleedthrough. The songs are done, Reznor writes on NIN.com, but the title didn't fit them. The album is still expected out in March, with a tour to follow. ...

The band most likely to make lemonade from lemons, New Found Glory will drop the DVD "This Disaster: Live in London" on November 23. The two-hour home video is so named because during the concert, the power went out. Instead of calling off the show, the band simply offered up an acoustic set. ... The last place you'd expect to find lewd, crude rockers the Darkness is in a chick flick, but their hit "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" appears on the soundtrack to "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," along with tunes from Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige and Kylie Minogue. Tracks exclusive to the soundtrack, due November 16, three days before the sequel hits theaters, include duets by Rufus Wainwright and Dido, and Sting and Annie Lennox. ...

Madonna's fourth kabbalah-inspired children's book is about to hit stores. "The Adventures of Abdi" follows a little boy who has been given a big task, to deliver a precious necklace to the queen. Along the way, he is robbed, thrown in a dungeon, and encounters a savage snake, but he never despairs, always remembering the words of his mentor: "Everything we have been given in life is always for the best." "The Adventures of Abdi" will hit shelves November 4. ... Because of his humanitarian work, U2's Bono -- along with a medical-technologies pioneer and a photo artist -- has been named the winner of the inaugural TED prize, which grants the recipient three wishes (actually $100,000 to be spent however he chooses in support of the wishes). Among those on the panel who selected Bono were Goldie Hawn, Eve Ensler, Herbie Hancock and Amazon's Jeff Bezos. The wishes are to be revealed at the next TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference in Monterey, California, in February. ...

"The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story," a documentary that first aired two years ago on the BBC and has only been available as an import, will be released domestically on DVD November 16. The disc features early performance footage and interviews with the band's Roger Waters and David Gilmour, among others. Barrett, the group's original singer, became something of an enigmatic legend after leaving Pink Floyd following the release of their first album, 1967's The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Barrett released two albums in 1970 and has remained a recluse ever since. ... In addition to working on their new album, the Flaming Lips have a whole mess of projects in the works. First up is a photo book titled "Waking Up with a Placebo Head Wound: Images of the Flaming Lips From the Archives of Jay Blakesberg and J. Michelle Martin-Coyne 1987-2004." Due November 15, the book will be released in a limited-edition publishing run of 1,500 copies. Pre-orders before November 12 will include a special 7-inch that features two unreleased tracks from the Lips' long-awaited "Christmas on Mars" film. Music critic Jim DeRogatis -- who immortalized critic Lester Bangs in "Let It Blurt" -- will do the same to the Oklahoma oddballs in his book "Staring at Sound: The True Story of Oklahoma's Fabulous Flaming Lips," due in fall 2005. Meanwhile, Yoko Ono has enlisted the Lips to remix her track "Cambridge 1969" and add their own original music to the song. ...

Robbie Williams has become the first artist to launch an album, with additional video content, on a memory card. In stores Tuesday, the pre-loaded memory card, called simply Greatest Hits, includes 18 of the British singer's hits, such as "Angels" (recently remade by Jessica Simpson) and "Rock DJ." Williams' record label EMI is hoping to deliver more pre-loaded memory cards by other artists in time for the holidays. ... Chan Marshall, a.k.a. Cat Power, will release "Speaking for Trees: A Film by Mark Borthwick" on October 26. The CD/DVD features a nearly two-hour film of Marshall playing solo outdoors in the countryside as well as an unreleased 18-minute song, "Willie Deadwilder." The packaging, created by experimental filmmaker and visual artist Borthwick, comes with a 64-page booklet. ...

10.18.2004

P. Diddy has been tapped to co-star in "Carlito's Way: The Beginning," the prequel to director Brian De Palma's 1993 drama that starred Al Pacino. The story focuses on the early drug-dealing days of Pacino's Carlito Brigante, to be played this time by "Friday Night Lights" star Jay Hernandez. Production gets under way next month in New York's Harlem neighborhood, according to Variety. ...

Destiny's Child are planning to perform on Thanksgiving Day at the 2004 National Kettle Kick Off, a live halftime performance during the Dallas Cowboys game, which will be broadcast on CBS. The show officially launches the Salvation Army's Red Kettle fund-raising campaign, to encourage people to donate during the holiday season. "It's so thrilling to be part of this," Kelly Rowland said in a statement. Destiny's Child will perform two new songs from their forthcoming album, Destiny Fulfilled: first single "Lose My Breath" and "Solider." Other songs to be included on the 11-track album, out November 16, are "Cater 2 U," "T-Shirt," "Is She the Reason," "Girl," "Bad Habit," "If," "Free," "Through With Love" and "Love." Producers include Rodney Jerkins, Rich Harrison, Andre Harris and Vidal Davis, 9th Wonder, Rockwilder, Mario Winans and others. ... Paris Hilton made her name through the club scene, and now a few clubs are going to make their name through her. Club Paris will open on New Year's Eve in Orlando, Florida, with future franchises set to open in Las Vegas, New York, Miami Beach, London and -- where else? Paris, thanks to a seven-figure deal the heiress just struck with businessman Fereidoun "Fred" Khalilian to lend her name. Hilton's contractually obligated to appear at the Orlando club at least twice a month, and is scheduled to attend the opening. ...

Ashanti is being sued by T.E.A.M. Entertainment for $4 million in unpaid royalties. The Georgia-based entertainment company claims the Inc. songbird signed a contract with them when she was 16. Representatives for Def Jam declined to comment on the case, while attorneys for Ashanti and T.E.A.M. Entertainment could not be reached at press time. ... Though Britney Spears managed to respond to her fans via her "letter of truth," she's failed to respond to a pre-emptive lawsuit filed by a drug maker which claims she's threatened to sue them for using her image without permission. A Salt Lake City judge has ordered the singer to explain why she failed to respond to the complaint filed by Zoller Laboratories (the maker of Zantrex-3, which Spears was photographed spilling in an airport a year ago), which asks a federal judge to declare the company has violated no law with its marketing practices, including the use of the spilling incident. U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell gave Spears until Friday to reply. ...

The 32nd annual American Music Awards has added performers Maroon 5, Lenny Kravitz, John Mayer, Fantasia, Twista and the team of Snoop Dogg and Pharrell Williams, who are expected to kick out "Drop It Like It's Hot," the single off Snoop's forthcoming as-yet-untitled album. They join previously announced performers Jessica Simpson, Gwen Stefani, Usher and Kanye West, among others, at the awards show, which airs November 14 on ABC. ... Clay Aiken is teaming with a full orchestra for a five-week North American tour to promote his upcoming as-yet-untitled Christmas album, due November 16. Confirmed dates so far start with a November 27 show in San Jose, California, and include a December 9 stop at New York's Madison Square Garden Theatre. Aiken will also release his first book on November 16, "Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life." ... In other former "American Idol" contestant news, Tamyra Gray has signed on to star in Broadway's "Bombay Dreams." Gray, who co-starred in several episodes of "Boston Public," will play Priya for 12 weeks beginning November 9. ...

Soft Cell singer Marc Almond suffered severe head injuries on Sunday when a motorcycle on which he was a passenger collided with a car in central London. The Royal London Hospital initially listed the singer of the 1982 hit "Tainted Love" as critical, but he has since been updated to stable. The driver of the motorcycle was also hospitalized. ... A pair of previously unreleased studio tracks highlight Incubus' CD/DVD set "Alive at Red Rocks," due November 23. As a DVD extra, the show, taped July 26 at the picturesque Colorado stage, is augmented by backstage footage. ...

Snoop Dogg, Young Buck, T.I., Fabolous and Juvenile are among the guests slated to appear on the Youngbloodz's new album, due in early 2005. Lil Jon, Jazze Pha, Sha Money and Kwamé are producing tracks for the set, which will launch the group's new YBZ Records. ... Former Geggy Tah singer Greg Kurstin is serving as musical director for Gwen Stefani's upcoming solo tour, which does not yet have an itinerary. Kurstin is also working with Beck to put the creative elements together for his next trek. ...

A longtime member of Michael Jackson's legal defense team has stepped down. Steve Cochran, who represented the singer even before this latest legal drama, officially left Team Jackson for what the singer calls "confidential reasons." Jackson called Cochran a "wonderful person and dedicated lawyer." ... Covers of the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil," the Beatles' "In My Life," King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man" and Arthur Brown's "Fire" are among the tunes that comprise one of the four CDs of an upcoming Ozzy Osbourne box set, due in February. The other discs are filled with rarities, outtakes and demos. ...

Austin, Texas, rockers Spoon are putting the finishing touches on their fifth album, tentatively titled Romeo's Apprentice. Eleven tracks have been completed for the LP, including "The Beast and the Dragon Adored" and "Sister Jack." ... Guitarist Dante DeCaro has left Hot Hot Heat. The band's as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2002's Make Up the Breakdown is due early next year. ...