50 Cent is in the clear. On Friday (October 27), a judge dismissed a copyright-infrigement lawsuit that accused him of lifting the opening line to "In Da Club" from Luther Campbell's "It's Your Birthday," according to The Associated Press. A district judge ruled that the phrase was a "common, unoriginal and noncopyrightable element of [Campbell's] song," therefore not protected by copyright. Campbell previously told MTV News he had nothing to do with the lawsuit. ... And in related news, 50 will spend part of his Halloween at the Baychester Community Center in the Bronx, New York, talking with children about the benefits of healthy living. The effort is being sponsored by VitaminWater. ...

Christina Aguilera will stage a show in front of a small audience at a "super-secret location" somewhere in Los Angeles on November 6, according to an announcement made through her Baby Jane fan club. The first 50 fan-club members who RSVP to contests@babyjanefanclub.com by 9 a.m. ET on Monday will be admitted, along with one guest each. Go to BabyJaneFanClub.com for more details. ...

While her spokesperson denied that she's treating an eating disorder, Nicole Richie has checked into a treatment facility to address her inability to gain weight, according to a Reuters report. The actress, whose rail-thin appearance has drawn attention from celebrity magazines since she underwent a dramatic weight loss several years ago, is "working with a team of doctors and specialists whose focus is nutrition," according to spokeswoman Nicole Perna. "It is important to Nicole that she achieves this goal in a healthy way as this is not a treatment for an eating disorder." Richie has recently acknowledged that she is not happy with how skinny she looks and has said the stress over her recent breakup with former fiance DJ AM has affected her eating habits. Richie's admission to the unidentified facility has delayed production of the current season of "The Simple Life." ...

A judge has postponed the legal challenge against Madonna's adoption of a 13-month-old Malawian baby until November 13. According to AP, the hearing was pushed back to let the coalition of 67 human-rights groups gather more evidence over their claims that laws were bent to allow the adoption of David Banda. The groups are seeking an injunction to block Madonna's interim order that would allow her to have custody of the baby. And after initially saying he didn't realize Madonna was taking permanent custody of his son, Banda's father, Yohane, criticized the human-rights groups and asked them to "leave my son alone." Madonna's lawyer told the judge that no laws had been broken. ... Ali Lohan, Lindsay's sister, will release her debut album, Lohan Holiday, November 21. The collection includes the single "I Like Christmas," as well as classics like "Jingle Bells" and "Silent Night." ...

In an unexpected twist, this year's "American Idol" third-place finisher, Elliott Yamin, is touring with Little Memphis Blues Orchestra, Taylor Hicks' former band. LMBO followed Hicks on the American Idols Live Tour this summer and began playing with Yamin in the process. ... Meanwhile, semifinalist Brenna Gethers has joined the Atlanta funk group the Bomb Squad. Gethers recently returned from a tour opening for Ruben Studdard. ... KT Tunstall has finished a video for "Suddenly I See," the follow-up single to "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree." ... Ricky Martin has been added to the list of performers for the seventh annual Latin Grammy Awards, scheduled for Thursday at Madison Square Garden in New York. Tenor Andrea Bocelli will join Shakira and others as well. ...

The Bravery have titled their second album The Sun and the Moon. It's due in early 2007. ... The Panic Channel, the new band featuring former Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro and drummer Stephen Perkins, will perform an acoustic set November 15 at Dragonfly in Hollywood. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection and the Free Speech Coalition. ... One day after From First to Last announced that they'd continue touring without injured frontman Sonny Moore at the microphone, the band has revealed it's been booted from the World Champions trek. The tour features Atreyu, Every Time I Die and Chiodos and is scheduled to run through November 19 in Las Vegas. "We did everything possible to stay on this tour," read a statement from the band. FFTL had planned to enlist Chiodos frontman Craig Owens to fill in for Moore, but that plan "was disregarded, and as our crew was setting up for the show in Worcester, Massachusetts, we were informed that we were being kicked off of the tour. Understand that it was not our choice to leave this tour. We were forced to leave." ...

He's had a leech attached to his eye, been bulldozed by a WWE star and even exposed himself on the red carpet. So what's left for Steve-O to do? Corrupt Orange County, California's upstanding youth, of course. Steve-O will guest on an episode of "The O.C." that's set to air November 9. The "Jackass" star plays a new friend that Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) meets in Mexico. "I get drunk and drag Seth off to get a tattoo with me," Steve-O told MTV News. ... The members of late guitar god Jimi Hendrix's family have been battling each other for years over the rights to his music and image. Now they have a new target: the estate of Hendrix's one-time manager, Michael Frank Jeffrey. On Thursday, a private bidder paid $15 million for the rights to songs such as "Hey Joe," "Purple Haze" and "Foxy Lady" by Hendrix at an auction on behalf of Jeffrey's estate. But a company owned by the musician's family, Experience Hendrix, said it will sue to prove it owns the songs, according to Reuters. "Whoever bought this bought themselves the right to be a litigant," said an Experience Hendrix spokesperson. "It will be contested instantly." Experience Hendrix says it owns all rights to the music and recordings of the guitarist. ...

OK Go are releasing their first full-length DVD on November 7. The disc, which will come packaged with a re-release of their 2005 album, Oh No, will include the videos for "Here It Goes Again" and "A Million Ways," along with a documentary about the making of the album and a 2000 performance that originally aired on the local cable TV show "Chica-go-go." The band kicks off a U.S. tour Sunday in Los Angeles that's scheduled to wrap up November 30 in Houston. ... Incubus have booked their first North American tour in two years, kicking off January 5 in Vancouver, British Columbia, and ending February 11 in Los Angeles. The band will be promoting their sixth studio album, Light Grenades, due November 28. ... Metric singer Emily Haines will begin a 17-date North American tour to promote her solo album Knives Don't Have Your Back on January 4 in Montreal. The Toronto vocalist will hit cities including Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Chicago and Seattle before the trek wraps up January 23 at Los Angeles' El Rey Theater. ... The soundtrack to "Fast Food Nation" -- the upcoming Richard Linklater film adaptation of the best-selling book by Eric Schlosser -- will feature tracks by Spoon, Friends of Dean Martinez, the Capitol Years, Nortec Collective and Dr. Dog. The film hits theaters nationwide November 17 and the soundtrack is due December 5.

10.26.2006

It looks like Valentine's Day might come a week (or so) early for Fall Out Boy fans, in the form of a brand-new album. According to a spokesperson for the band's management, FOB's follow-up to From Under the Cork Tree is tentatively scheduled to hit stores on February 6. There's still no title or track list for the new disc, but earlier this month, bassist/mouthpiece Pete Wentz told MTV News that roughly a dozen songs will make the final cut, and that the album will feature guest appearances from Panic! at the Disco guitarist Ryan Ross, New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert and "a couple" of the band's friends from the hip-hop world. ...

The Saturday concert Mariah Carey was planning to stage in Hong Kong has been scrapped due to poor ticket sales and what promoters called Carey's "unreasonable demands," according to The Associated Press. The show was set to be held outdoors near the city's financial district, but promoters said only 4,000 tickets had been sold. ... Ciara celebrated her 21st birthday at Manhattan, New York's Club Marquee Wednesday night -- and gave more than she received. The singer/dancer offered a treat to the crowd when she gave an advance screening of her new video "Promise" to a room full of celebs, including Busta Rhymes, LeToya Luckett and DJ Clue. The sexy clip, the first from her forthcoming album Ciara: The Evolution, features the singer flaunting her "Goodies" a bit more than in the past. Directed by Diane Martel (Ashlee Simpson, John Legend), the video is set to debut on MTV Friday. ...

Lollapalooza is digging its heels into Chicago's Grant Park. The festival will return to the outdoor venue August 3-5 in 2007, according to a post on the Lolla Web site, and remain there until at least 2011. ... A new HBO series hosted by Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart will set sail with its first episode, "Bono and the Edge: Off The Record," November 24. The series, co-executive produced by Interscope Geffen A&M Chairman Jimmy Iovine, will spotlight musicians explaining the story behind their songs. Its regular run will begin in January. ... My Chemical Romance are the first act confirmed for the next Bamboozle festival, set for May 5-6 at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Tickets go on sale November 24, and the next major artist announcement is expected November 22. Last year's installment of the annual festival included performances by Fall Out Boy, Thursday, Taking Back Sunday and AFI. ... Expect to see Tenacious D and Snow Patrol performing at the American Music Awards, which will be broadcast November 21 at 8 p.m. on ABC. ...

The forthcoming "Tony Hawk's Project 8" video game, which hits stores next month, will feature a track from Plus-44 called "Lycanthrope." But fans of the Blink-182 offshoot may be more excited to learn that they'll be able to navigate the game's skate parks as drummer Travis Barker. ... Lance Bass' boyfriend, Reichen Lehmkuhl, says he and the former 'NSYNC singer have been facing threats spurred by his new memoir about being gay in the military, "Here's What We'll Say: Growing Up, Coming Out, and the U.S. Air Force Academy." "We have to be very protective," former Air Force captain and "Amazing Race" winner Lehmkuhl, 32, told "Inside Edition." "I am not going to hide. ...There are threats that come in from people who do not want me to be so public and expose what is going on in the military." ...

Part of former "American Bandstand" host Dick Clark's massive rock-memorabilia collection will be auctioned off December 5 and 6 in New York, Reuters reports. Items up for sale will include the microphone Clark, 76, used for 31 years while hosting the show along with one of Paul McCartney's four Hofner left-handed basses, one of Bruce Springsteen's guitars, a beaded glove worn by Michael Jackson and a bustier with black tassels worn by Madonna on her first tour. Part of the profits of the auction will go to the T.J. Martell Foundation, which raises funds to battle cancer, leukemia and AIDS. ...

The Who's Pete Townshend bailed on Howard Stern Wednesday morning. The rocker was scheduled to appear on Stern's Sirius Satellite Radio show -- which can be heard free today at Sirius' Web site, promoting the company's new Sirius Internet Radio service -- with bandmate Roger Daltrey. The two musicians were inside a studio in London, and the interview was to be conducted via satellite feed. Townshend split after hearing Stern and the gang discussing what topics they'd like to address with the guitarist -- including his sexuality and the child-pornography allegations he faced in 2003 -- leaving Daltrey behind. ... From First to Last frontman Sonny Moore, who underwent surgery this summer to remove a nodule from his vocal cords, went back under the knife recently for a second procedure to "smooth out" his pipes. Doctors have advised the singer to rest his voice, but the band will finish out the remainder of the World Champions Tour with Atreyu, Every Time I Die and Chiodos; the trek runs through November 19 in Las Vegas. Chiodos mainman Craig Owens will be replacing Moore on vocals, while Moore will play guitar for the band's entire set. From First to Last are planning to write material this winter for their forthcoming major-label debut, which should see a summer 2007 release. ...

Five years after '80s new-wave icons Duran Duran reunited, the group is splintering again. Guitarist Andy Taylor quit the band during the U.S. leg of their world tour after his relationship with the group became "unworkable," according to a message posted on the band's site. A session guitarist will replace Taylor on the tour. ... Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon will screen her road movie, "Perfect Partner," Friday and Saturday at Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey. Gordon, who collaborated with filmmakers Phil Morrison ("Junebug") and Tony Oursler on the film -- which stars Michael Pitt ("Last Days") -- will join husband/bandmate Thurston Moore plus Jim O'Rourke, Ikue Mori and Tim Barnes to perform the soundtrack live. The event kicks off at 7:30 p.m. each night, and tickets are $35. Check out PeakPerfs.org for further details.