Shakira appears on Elle's April cover, revealing inside how a family financial setback changed her at age 8. The singer -- who was already dancing and writing her own songs by then -- told the magazine she reacted to the collapse of her father's business with anger, but that a visit to a park where homeless children lived also changed her. "These children had no food," she said. "It moved me so much that at that very moment, I took up a mandate to succeed in life and give a hand to those kids." Shakira said she hopes a 16-foot steel statue of her likeness, set to be erected in her hometown of Barranquilla, Colombia, will help inspire citizens to follow their dreams. Designed by German sculptor Dieter Patt, the statue -- which comes complete with bell-bottom pants and a guitar strapped to its neck -- weighs five tons and took more than a year to complete, according to The Associated Press. ...

It's becoming less likely that people will see any more of that Kid Rock/ Scott Stapp sex tape. Lawyers for Rock reached an agreement with World Wide Red Light District, the company hoping to release the tape of the two rockers cavorting with groupies. The pact extends a judge's order blocking the tape's release. According to an AP report, the temporary injunction currently in place would remain in effect without the parties having to go to court again. Paperwork to permanently block the tape's release is expected to be filed soon. ... Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello will take a break from the studio this week to guest host Rock-N-Roll Bingo, a charity event set for Thursday at Cranes Hollywood Tavern in Hollywood. Bingo cards run $5 each and the game, which will begin at 6 p.m., is open to players of all ages. Proceeds raised during the event will benefit South Central Farm, a 13-year-old community farm serving more than 350 families in the heart of South Central Los Angeles. ...

Two of Bam Margera's favorite bands have united in the name of metal. H.I.M. frontman Ville Valo has contributed guest vocals to "The Bryonic Man," which will appear on Cradle of Filth's yet-untitled forthcoming album, due in late June. ... This fall Rock N' Roll Books will release "Rick Rubin: In the Studio," a tome that takes a look at the highly respected producer's 20-year career. Written by biographer Jake Brown, the book will provide studio insight for Rubin's work with the Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash, Linkin Park and Metallica. Interviews with some of the bands who've aligned themselves with Rubin will be included, as will interview material with the producer himself, who discusses the making of each record. ...

Jack White's Raconteurs side project has shot its first video, for the single "Steady, as She Goes." Auteur Jim Jarmusch, who directed last year's "Broken Flowers" and featured Jack and Meg White in his 2003 film, "Coffee & Cigarettes," shot the clip on V-Cams bought at Toys "R" Us. The Raconteurs' Broken Boy Soldiers will be released May 16. ... Stars singer Amy Millan will release her solo debut, Honey From the Tombs, in August. A departure from Stars' romantic pop, the disc's bluegrass leanings will be rounded out with appearances by fellow Stars members Chris Seligman and Evan Cranley, Metric's James Shaw and Broken Social Scene's Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning. Millan will hit the road late this summer. ...

On April 11 Capitol will release the Beatles collection The Capitol Albums, Vol. 2. The four-CD follow-up to the 2004 set The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1 will include four Beatles albums originally released in 1965: The Early Beatles, Beatles VI, the "Help!" soundtrack and the U.S. version of Rubber Soul. Each disc comes in replica packaging and includes a booklet with photos and clippings from that year. ... Word that the landmark Capitol Records tower -- the label's longstanding home, which looks like a giant stack of records -- might be sold to a developer intent on converting the building into living space has sent city leaders and preservationists into overdrive, according to the AP. Los Angeles politicos claim the building, where Frank Sinatra and many other musicians recorded, is a historical landmark (a spokesperson for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa likened the building's legend to that of the Hollywood sign). Owners EMI told the AP that the company hasn't been "actively shopping" the building, which currently holds offices for 150 people, on the market, but that it had received several serious proposals from interested buyers. ...

Would you turn down $5 million dollars? Apparently Morrissey would. During an interview at this year's South by Southwest conference Thursday, Moz revealed that the Smiths were offered the enormous sum to re-form for this year's Coachella festival but turned the offer down. "When you start doing things for money, something terrible happens to you," he explained. "I haven't reached that stage ... but I might." During his performance at the Austin Music Hall that night, Morrissey attacked the latest round of U.S. bombings in Iraq. "I hear we bombed Iraq again. We can't be looking for weapons of mass destruction again." ... In other South by Southwest news, indie-rock vets Built to Spill were forced to cancel their performance at a Filter Magazine party after frontman Doug Martsch suffered a detached retina. The band's You in Reverse is due April 11. ... A pirate hip-hop radio station in Miami called Da Streetz has been creating some headaches for pilots taking off from Miami International Airport. The signal from the station has been bleeding into the communications between pilots and the control tower on occasion, according to an AP report. Authorities traced the signals to an antenna in a warehouse near the airport, where they found three computers and a CD player -- but no DJ. Despite the discovery the station continues to broadcast.

03.17.2006

The judge in the case pitting Britney Spears against Us Weekly said Thursday that she needs more time before ruling on a motion by the magazine to dismiss a $20 million libel suit filed by the singer, according to The Associated Press. Spears filed the suit in December, alleging the magazine printed a false report that had her and husband Kevin Federline acting "goofy" in the presence of their lawyers while screening an alleged sex tape that they were worried would be released. Spears has claimed both the story and the existence of the tape are false. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for May 3. ...

Oscar-winning Memphis rappers Three 6 Mafia are being sued by a fan who claims he was beaten at one of the rap group's August 2003 concerts, AP reports. The members could land in a Pittsburgh courtroom next month to be deposed in the suit filed by Ramone Williams, a then-19-year-old fan who says he was thrown to the floor, hit with a chair, stomped on and kicked in the face at the gig. He is suing them for inciting the audience during their performance and for failing to end the violence once it started. Three 6's lawyer told the AP that his clients deny Williams' allegations. ...

The South by Southwest music conference is usually filled with secret shows announced at the last minute, and this year has proven to be no different. What wound up being a poorly kept secret after rumor got around was Beastie Boys' Thursday night show at Stubb's, where the band played a set consisting mostly of songs from their two most recent albums, To the 5 Boroughs and Hello Nasty. The Flaming Lips also went the secret route with a rare acoustic set at Eternal. ... During an interview at SXSW, the Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins confirmed that the band's next single will be "Miracle" from the acoustic side of In Your Honor and that rehearsals for its upcoming summer tour will commence in May. ...

Linkin Park's Chester Bennington and his wife, Talinda, had a baby boy on Thursday in Los Angeles, the AP reports. Tyler Lee weighed in at 9 pounds, 3 ounces, according to a statement from their publicist. ... Nick Lachey is slated to play a single man living in Manhattan in the new CW comedy "She Said/ He Said," a spokesperson for the channel told the AP on Friday. The pilot will be shot in April, and the show's fate will be determined soon after; the fledgling network -- formed by merging the WB and UPN -- will announce its schedule May 18. ...

He's paid his bills but appears to have packed his bags. A day after Michael Jackson avoided a lawsuit from the state by settling up a bill of several hundred thousand dollars with the employees at his Neverland Ranch in California, the singer's representatives announced that he's locking the doors of the main house on the 2,600-acre ranch. According to The Associated Press, Jackson's spokesperson said because Jackson is currently residing in the Middle Eastern country of Bahrain, he has decided to close the house and lay off some workers. ... Pink, Chris Brown and Bow Wow will perform at Nickelodeon's 19th annual Kids' Choice Awards, hosted by Jack Black and set for April 1 at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. Ludacris, Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan Justin Timberlake, Cameron Diaz, Nick Cannon, Jon Heder, Emma Roberts, Jesse McCartney and Avril Lavigne are among the celebrities scheduled to take part in the festivities. ... In other Chris Brown news, an airdate has been set for his acting debut on UPN's "One on One": March 27. The R&B up-and-comer makes a cameo on the show, playing himself but getting turned down by an older woman. ...

More details have emerged about the role that Jay-Z protégé Ne-Yo will take on in his big-screen debut, the forthcoming urban dance film "Step Show," directed by Sylvain White (the upcoming "I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer"). According to The Hollywood Reporter, actor/choreographer Columbus Short ("You Got Served") will portray the streetwise dancer courted by step-show-competing fraternities, and Ne-Yo will play his college roommate. ... "Welcome Back, Kotter" creator and star Gabe Kaplan said rapper-turned-thespian Ice Cube is a fine choice to play his old role in the forthcoming big-screen adaptation of the television classic. Kaplan told "Access Hollywood" that Cube is the perfect guy. ... He has shown what kind of crossover appeal he has." On "Kotter," Kaplan played a teacher who returns to his Brooklyn, New York, high school, where he leads a class of apathetic students; the sitcom was based on Kaplan's own experiences as an educator. As for who he'd like see cast in Cube's movie version, which will be set in South Central Los Angeles, Kaplan said, "Snoop Dogg will play Horshack, Vanilla Ice would play Barbarino ... I don't know." ...

At New York's Splashlight Studios on Thursday, Microsoft and Epic Records announced the launch of a partnership that will feature a new Epic musician's music and videos -- as well as a chance to compete against them -- through Xbox Live every month. Kicking off the program will be Natasha Bedingfield, whose video for her hit song "Unwritten" will be available for download through Live onto the Xbox 360. Bedingfield will also play on Live against select gamers in April, a continuation of the Xbox Game With Fame celebs-vs.-gamers program that Microsoft has run with stars like Outkast and Maroon 5 since early 2004. To kick off the program, Bedingfield performed a three-song acoustic set at Splashlight. Attendees were treated to hands-on sessions with spring and summer 360 titles, including "99 Nights," "Dead Rising" and, in its first even semi-public outing, "Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis." ...

With the reunion of the surviving members of Alice in Chains in full swing, Arts Publications will release a fresh reprint of the biography of late Chains frontman Layne Staley. The book, called "Layne Staley: Angry Chair," has been out of print for a number of years. The tome's author, Adriana Rubio, has been inundated with e-mails and phone calls from fans looking for a copy in recent weeks. The Arts Publications Web site is currently accepting pre-orders for the book. ... Aston "Family Man" Barrett, who was reggae legend Bob Marley's bass player, filed a lawsuit in London's High Court this week against Marley's family and record label. According to Reuters, the suit claims Barrett and his late brother, Marley drummer Carlton Barrett, were the "bedrock" of Marley's music. The bassist claims that he's owed royalties from Island Records, as well as earnings from songs he said he co-wrote with the late Marley, who died of cancer 25 years ago. Island has attempted to have the case dismissed, as Barrett had previously accepted a settlement. The trial is expected to last three weeks.