Paris Hilton and Nick Carter are trading barbs once again through the media. The actress/heiress was asked last week on Edmonton, Alberta, station 96X, on a show called "The Canadian Hit 30 Countdown," to compare her new boyfriend -- also named Paris -- to her previous boyfriends, such as Carter. Hilton responded, "Night and day. He's not using me for anything ... he's not a disgusting pig, sorry." Carter responded shortly afterward that Hilton "should take a look in the mirror." "I kind of have to brush it off my shoulders, because she's very immature," Carter told the station. "The problem with Paris is that she thrives off of hurting other people, and it's not just me." Fellow Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson added that he had asked Hilton to lay off the negative comments. "I pulled her aside at a party, and said, 'We'd never done anything to harm you, I don't appreciate the negative comments. Unless you want me coming after you in the press, and you don't want me talking about you, you need to stop it and lay off my little brother.' It angers me that she started again." ...

Michael Jackson's defense turned on Monday (May 16) to disputing the accuser's family's claims of being held prisoner at Neverland by demonstrating that during their time there, they received a number of services -- from orthodontia for the kids to full body waxing for the mom -- and that no one providing those services saw any indication that anything was wrong. A Neverland maid testified that the accuser's mother did ask for help leaving the ranch, but it was because Jackson's associates were interfering with her relationship with the pop singer, she said. Other employees indicated that the accuser and his brother were problem children, testifying that they found them with porn and alcohol when Jackson was not around. However, one witness, former Neverland chef's assistant Angel Vivanco, was limited in testifying about what he claims the accuser's sister told him, based on his "quasi-sexual" relationship with her. The defense had indicated that he would say the sister told him her family was planning "something big" regarding Jackson and that her mom was "psycho." ...

Ciara got the most nods for the upcoming BET Awards, with four nominations (including Best New Artist, Best Female R&B, Best Collaboration and Viewer's Choice for "1, 2 Step"). Also leading the pack are Destiny's Child, John Legend and Kanye West, with three nominations each. Other multiple nominees include Fantasia, Amerie, 50 Cent and Omarion. Destiny's Child, Mariah Carey, Ludacris, Missy Elliott and the Game will perform on the show, which will be televised live on June 28 at 8 p.m. ET. ... Want to vote for one of the final three "American Idol" contestants -- Bo Bice, Carrie Underwood and Vonzell Solomon -- to become one of the final two? You'll be more likely to get through on Tuesday, when each contestant will be assigned two toll-free numbers instead of one. "With the volume of calls this season already exceeding last year's, we felt it was important to give fans additional phone numbers in an attempt to reduce congestion," Executive Producer Cecile Frot-Coutaz said. ...

Jennifer Lopez may have scrapped plans to do a full tour, but she's going forward with at least one live concert, to be filmed for a special to air on NBC, the network announced Monday. The tentatively titled "Jennifer Lopez Special" will include her singing her catalog of hits as well as songs from Rebirth. No airdate for the show was announced. ...

Young Buck's Friday court date in Los Angeles in connection with the melee at last fall's Vibe Awards was once again postponed, this time to June 8. The G-Unit rapper has already pleaded not guilty to assault with a deadly weapon. ... CMJ and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum have teamed for the first CMJ/ Rock Hall Music Fest, scheduled for June 8-11 in Cleveland. More than 100 bands will perform around the city for the festival, including Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, the Futureheads, Spoon, Grandmaster Flash, the Misfits, Powerman 5000, Mushroomhead and the Pixies, who are kicking off the festival June 8 at the Rock Hall. ...

Blink-182's Mark Hoppus is giving away clothing from his Atticus female clothing line to the band's fans. Through Blink's Web site, fans can enter the contest for a chance to win a hat, hooded sweatshirt and a baby tee, along with a compilation CD produced by Hoppus for SideOnedummy Records, featuring songs from Blink-182, Death Cab for Cutie and Fall Out Boy. All Mark asks is that potential winners send him a list of "three songs that would make a great soundtrack to your life," with an explanation as to why. There will be 10 winners in all. ... Vanessa Carlton is training with the hopes of being one of the 30,000 picked in the lottery drawing to compete in the New York City Marathon. She applied last week to be on pop station Z100's team. The marathon takes place November 6. ...

Former '50s teen idol Paul Anka has recorded covers of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Oasis' "Wonderwall" and R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts" for his latest album, Rock Swings, due June 7. The 47-year show business veteran wrote big-band arrangements for the songs. ... Hüsker Dü founder Bob Mould has a new solo album in the works called Body and Soul, due out July 26. Songs vary from guitar-heavy, full-band approaches like "Paralyzed" and "Circles" to acoustic ballads such as "High Fidelity" and "Days of Rain." Mould plans to tour in the fall, performing material from all stages of his career -- solo, Sugar and Hüsker Dü -- for the first time. Fugazi's Brendan Canty -- who guests on the album -- has signed on to play drums for the tour. ...

The site of the Hawthorne, California, home where the Wilson family grew up and became the Beach Boys is being dedicated as an official historical landmark on Friday. Brian Wilson will perform at the afternoon unveiling, which will include appearances by fellow founding member Al Jardine and Wilson's daughters Carnie and Wendy Wilson (of the soft-rock group Wilson Phillips). ... Believe it or not, the city of Hibbing, Minnesota, has never erected any permanent honor to its favorite son, Bob Dylan. The folk icon, who went to high school in the small Midwestern town, will see the street he grew up on renamed "Dylan Drive," according to The Associated Press. ...

5.13.2005

The Backstreet Boys have finalized the track list for their upcoming album Never Gone, due out June 14. Besides first single "Incomplete," the boy band is including songs written and produced by Max Martin, Billy Mann, Five for Fighting's John Ondrasik and John Shanks. Titles include "Just Want You to Know," "Crawling Back to You," "Lose It All," "Safest Place to Hide" and "Siberia." ...

J Records honcho Clive Davis will serve as a guest judge on Tuesday's "American Idol." Davis also guested on an episode last year, telling eventual winner Fantasia Barrino, "If this weren't a national competition and I saw you in a basement in Kansas City ... I would sign you straight away." ... John Legend is working to re-elect New York Senator Hillary Clinton by performing at a fundraising event in her honor at New York's Capitale on May 20. Tickets (at $100 a pop) are available at friendsofhillary.com/fridaynightlive. ...

Twista's new album is almost done. He's calling it The Day After and plans to release it in September. The first single, "Girl Tonight," is due out in July. Producers Kanye West, Scott Storch, Timbaland and the Neptunes all worked on the project. ... On Friday (May 13), a Brooklyn, New York, federal court judge set Thursday as the new date for Irv and Chris Gotti to request a severance from their eight codefendants, including Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff. The brothers are charged with money-laundering, while their counterparts, including convicted drug lord McGriff, are facing more serious charges, including murder. The Gottis filed their separation motion through lawyer Gerald Shargel on April 25, arguing that their trial would be tainted in light of their codefendants. Attorney Carolyn Pokorny opposed the severance motion, saying the Gottis garnered funds and safety from McGriff. "Indeed, far from being harmed by McGriff's murderous reputation, the Lorenzos' alignment with McGriff afforded a level of protection," she wrote in her opposition answer. "Would-be robbers and criminals who extort those in the music industry knew that if they targeted Murder Inc., its employees or executives, they would suffer retribution from the McGriff enterprise." Shargel will argue the severance motion next week; if it isn't granted, the trial will take place October 17. ...

It's prom season around the country, and not being one to miss a party, Velvet Revolver frontman Scott Weiland threw a prom of his own on Wednesday night at Los Angeles' Sportsmen's Lodge. The "Pretty in Pink"-themed soiree was actually for Weiland's wife Mary's 30th birthday, and the Weilands were crowned king and queen of the prom. Guests, including Charlize Theron, Anthony Kiedis and Tony Kanal, were decked out in their Day-Glo best, danced to '80s tunes and munched on cupcakes. ... Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington will perform with other musicians on May 21 in his home city of Phoenix at the 10th annual celebration of his three upscale tattoo parlors in the city, each called Club Tattoo. Alien Ant Farm will also perform at the festival, which will be held in the parking lot outside the Hard Rock Cafe in Phoenix. ...

Coldplay, Radiohead and Death Cab for Cutie are among the artists on the new soundtrack to the HBO series "Six Feet Under," called "Six Feet Under: Everything Ends." Due out June 21, the soundtrack includes exclusive tracks created for the upcoming fifth and final season, including Interpol's "Direction," Caesars' cover of "(Don't Fear) the Reaper," Jem's "Amazing Life" and the Arcade Fire's "Cold Wind." ... Emo boys now have a comic hero to cry for. "Emo Boy," coming out in June, is about a tortured and bullied outsider who dances awkwardly, gets thrown out of his favorite band's fan club, ineptly attempts suicide and loses at dodgeball. "It's about being alienated and alienating yourself," creator Steve Emond said, "about silly stories and first loves (and a lack thereof) and finding yourself and growing up and all that good stuff." In the first issue, Emo Boy is recruited by fellow classmates to write a song for their band, but the cute blonde singing his words screws him up. A preview is available on www.slgpublishing.com. ...

Fans of Ozzfest mainstage madman Zakk Wylde can log onto 357customs.com, the online home of 357 Choppers, to win the latest in the Zakk Wylde series of motorcycles, the Sawblade. Priced at $70,000, the custom-made bike features the "Halloween Nightmare Buzzsaw" design of Wylde's Gibson Les Paul; the tank is painted with the custom black-and-orange sawblade pattern and the Black Label Society skull logo. ... Oak Hill, West Virginia, has announced plans to erect a monument on the spot where country legend Hank Williams died in 1953. According to The Associated Press, the town wants to build a Williams museum on the former site of the Pure Oil gas station. Williams was found dead of a drug overdose in the station's parking lot by the chauffeur of his baby-blue Cadillac. ...

The Pretenders plan to put out a career retrospective DVD that will include not only their music videos but also a documentary that originally aired in the U.K. called "No Turn Left Unstoned." The program includes the history of the band as told through the memories of members of Devo, the New York Dolls, Motörhead, the Damned, the B-52's, U2 and the Pretenders themselves. "The Pretenders Greatest Hits," which includes the clips for "Brass in Pocket," "Back on the Chain Gang" and "I'll Stand by You," is due out June 7. ...