It turns out Jay-Z isn't going to share his life story with the world after all. The rapper signed a deal with MTV Books two years ago to publish his autobiography, to be co-written with hip-hop journalist Dream Hampton and called "The Black Book." But once the book was finished, Jay apparently got cold feet and decided not to put it out: MTV Books confirmed that "The Black Book" has been pulled from its release schedule, per a request from Jay, who cited privacy issues. ... NASCAR superstar Rusty Wallace slowed down long enough for a pit stop in New Jersey to hang out with Jay-Z on Wednesday night. Wallace and Hova were among the spectators at the Continental Airlines Arena watching Jay's Nets lose to the Detroit Pistons. ...

R. Kelly's lost another round in court: on Wednesday a Chicago judge refused to dismiss a civil suit brought against him by an adult woman claiming invasion of privacy and negligence for being included in the antics on a sex tape allegedly made by the singer. Kelly has denied that he's the man on the tape. ... Lindsay Lohan's got an equally emotional song to follow up "Confessions of a Broken Heart" -- for her second single from A Little More Personal (Raw) she's picked "I Live for the Day," in which she sings, "I live for the day ... that you will be desperate and dying inside/ I live for the tears to fall down your face." ...

"American Idol" will return for its fifth season on January 17 and 18, FOX announced Thursday (December 1). You can check out extra footage from the hit show on FOX Reality starting January 2, when the channel will begin broadcasting exclusive content daily from season four. Additional footage from season five will hit the station in March. ... Kelly Clarkson has gone public about her new beau -- Graham Colton, the rocker who was the opening act on her Behind These Hazel Eyes Tour. Clarkson disclosed to Seventeen that the two are an item. "He's beyond amazing," she told the mag for its new issue. "I look at past relationships and I thank God for at least showing me how crappy they can be, because now I totally appreciate this guy." ...

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck became parents to a baby girl Thursday at 6:26 p.m. EST, the couple's publicists told The Associated Press. Both mother and child are doing well. No further details were revealed, though E! News reports the parents named the child -- the first for both -- Violet. ... Guests were treated to champagne, sushi, pizza and top-shelf liquor at Providence in New York on Wednesday night as Mary J. Blige held a listening session for her December 20 release, The Breakthrough. Mary took pictures with any person who wanted them and signed a few autographs for the industry tastemakers in attendance. ...

On Wednesday, the California Supreme Court refused to halt the execution of Crips gang founder Stanley "Tookie" Williams. The convicted killer, who became an anti-gang activist and a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, has gained support from Snoop Dogg and Jamie Foxx in his bid to avoid his scheduled December 13 execution. Williams' lawyers have claimed that his conviction was based on shoddy detective work and innuendo, according to an Associated Press report. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has agreed to hear Williams' clemency petition, could still intervene and commute the sentence to life without parole. ...

Madonna's planning the video for her second Confessions on a Dance Floor single, "Sorry," and she's thinking of making it a follow-up thematically to "Hung Up," according to her rep. ... "South Beach," the show Jennifer Lopez is executive producing for UPN, will debut with a two-hour premiere on January 11. Starring Vanessa Williams, the series tracks the lives of two Brooklyn, New York, teens who relocate to Florida's hotbed of sand, surf and über-beautiful people. ...

Paris Hilton did a soft launch for her latest scent, called Just Me by Paris Hilton, and it's already selling out, according to her business partner. The heiress' second fragrance also comes in a body lotion, while a men's version is expected to hit stores this month. ... Who says Jessica Simpson isn't as bankable single as she was when she was with Nick Lachey? A company called Icon Licensing Group thinks the former "Newlyweds" star's name is worth at least $15 million, which is why it filed a suit for that much against Jessica Simpson Brand Management, claiming that it set up the deal for the company to market Simpson's name worldwide for merchandise, including clothing. Icon claims in the suit that it wasn't paid an almost $200,000 commission for helping to finalize the sale of Simpson's name, according to an Associated Press report. Simpson was not named in the suit. ...

Jack Johnson, along with Matt Costa and Tom Dumont, who supported Johnson on his 2005 summer trek, have donated an autographed cherry-red Hamer Echotone guitar to be auctioned off for charity on eBay. Proceeds from the sale will benefit the MusiCares Foundation, which assists musicians in times of need. A host of other artists, including Norah Jones, Dave Navarro, the Who's Pete Townshend, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers have also donated signed guitars that are up for grabs. Bidding ends December 8. ... Brian Littrell is being honored Saturday with the Make-A-Wish Foundation's 25th Anniversary Award. The Backstreet Boy has granted 90 wishes over the years and has donated more than $25,000. ...

11.30.2005

Lil Wayne will release "Grown Man" as the second single from Tha Carter II, due December 6. "It's self-explanatory," he said. "It's just showing people that I've stepped up." The album includes collaborations with Birdman, Kurupt and Robin Thicke. As for rumors that he was joining Boyz N Da Hood, Wayne said, "It didn't work out, but we still cool." ...

Sharifa's "I'll Be Around" will be the second single from the Ludacris Presents Disturbing Tha Peace compilation, due December 13. "It's produced by Salaam Remi and I'm looking forward to dropping it at the top of the year," Sharifa said. ... Meanwhile, Ludacris is eying a spring release for his next album, Release Therapy. "I can be done if I want to, but we always keep recording," he said. ...

There's a second No Doubt baby on the way -- guitarist Tom Dumont and his wife, Mieke, are expecting their first child together, according to the band's label rep. The couple got married in October 2004, and Mieke is now five and a half months along. (The first No Doubt baby, of course, is toddler Mason James Young, son of drummer Adrian Young and wife Nina). ... Meanwhile, Gwen Stefani continues to take care of her baby -- her solo career, that is -- by signing on to the growing list of performers for the upcoming Billboard Music Awards (she's also up for nods in three categories, including New Artist of the Year). 50 Cent, Mariah Carey and Green Day have the most nominations. Also performing will be Daddy Yankee with Pharrell, Green Day, Toby Keith, R. Kelly and Carrie Underwood, among others. LL Cool J will host the show, which will air live on FOX from the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas on December 6 at 8 p.m. ET/ PT tape-delayed. ...

Ashlee Simpson is making a repeat appearance at the Radio Music Awards this year. Last year, she used her performance to make fun of her then-recent flubs on "Saturday Night Live," and this year, she'll presumably demonstrate that she's past all that. Also performing are Ricky Martin (with Amerie and Fat Joe) and Keith Urban, among others, while Ashlee's ex Ryan Cabrera, Scott Weiland and Bo Bice are scheduled to appear. Mark McGrath and Jaime Pressly are sharing hosting duties for the show, which will air live on NBC from the Aladdin Casino Resort in Las Vegas on December 19 at 9 p.m. ... Wednesday night's (November 30) episode of the CBS crime drama "CSI: NY" will prominently feature "Talk," the new single from Coldplay. A character on the show will receive a call on his cell phone, and his ring tone will be -- you guessed it -- "Talk." After the scene, viewers will be able to purchase the song as a ring tone for their very own cell phone. "Talk" also appears in the background of a scene later on in the episode, too. ...

The Killers have teamed up once again with famed documentarian and photographer Anton Corbijn -- who directed their video for "All These Things That I've Done" -- to do a special spread for the December issue of GQ. The band poses on Star Motorcycles to show "how they make the road, as well as their music, all their own." ... Trillville will release "Nothing Les" as the next single from Trillville: Reloaded. "Everybody gotta dress nice and I expect nothing less," the group's Don P said when asked to explain the track. ... Alicia Keys and Bono have collaborated on a cover of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush's 1986 duet "Don't Give Up" to release as a benefit for Keep a Child Alive, a nonprofit that distributes medicine to families infected with AIDS and HIV. Their version will be released exclusively via iTunes on Tuesday. Cingular Wireless is also selling a ring tone version to benefit the same group. ...

The surviving members of the MC5 won a lawsuit brought against them by the widow and children of their late lead singer, Rob Tyner (real name Rob Derminer), when a federal judge in Michigan dismissed the suit, ruling that Becky Derminer failed to prove an ownership interest in the band's copyrighted works, and that she could not bring any further trademark or copyright-infringement claims against Wayne Kramer, Michael Davis and Dennis Thompson. "This is a vindication of our clients' position," said the band's lawyer J. Michael Huget. "Their intellectual property rights have been upheld." ... Hey, have you ever wanted to own Jerry Garcia's toilet? Neither have we, but the late Grateful Dead frontman's porcelain throne is one of several home accoutrements that will soon be put up for bid in an eBay charity auction. Garcia's dishwasher, freezer and cupboards will also go on the block starting December 18, and proceeds will benefit the Sophia Foundation, a San Francisco nonprofit that aids children and families during marital separations and divorces. The group's chairman, Henry Koltys, bought Garcia's Nicasio, California, home in 1997, two years after the singer died of a heart attack. ...

Add Washington, D.C., to the list of those suing Sony BMG over its stealth XCP copy-protection software. A lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in D.C. under a provision of the Consumer Protection Act that allows a resident to act as a "private attorney general" on behalf of the general public. The suit claims that Sony deceived consumers by secretly installing copy-protection software on some 24 million discs that compromised the security of the users' computers and that attempts to fix the problem caused even greater security issues. Sony has already been hit by a suit from the Texas attorney general and at least six other class-action suits over the discs. ... If it's the last Wednesday of the month, that means it's suing time for the Recording Industry Association of America. The RIAA has announced its latest round of copyright-infringement lawsuits, this time against 754 unnamed individuals using such P2P services as the soon-to-be-legit Grokster, Kazaa and LimeWire. Among those sued were students at 12 colleges, including Boston University, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Michigan State, New York University, Ohio State and the University of Pittsburgh. Also sued were 81 named individuals across the country. ...