A promoter canceled a Gladys Knight show set for Thursday (Oct. 5) in Charleston, S.C., due to poor ticket sales, according to the Associated Press. Promoter Margaret Rush told the news service that only 639 of about 5,000 tickets had been sold as of Wednesday (Oct. 4), though she said Knight is selling well in other markets. ...

R&B/pop singer Mariah Carey, whose upcoming film, "All That Glitters," now is shooting in New York, told MTV News Online that she's enjoyed producing and starring in the movie, which is set in the '80s and due in the spring. "It's like a little secluded cocoon world where I quite enjoy not dealing with reality," Carey said, also noting that collaborating on one of the film's songs with soul/funk singer/songwriter Rick James was "really cool." ...

Producer, songwriter and musician Quincy Jones handed out five $25,000 grants to five South Central Los Angeles youth organizations last week. The grants, administered by Jones' Listen Up Foundation, were made in the name of five teens who went to South Africa to help build homes for three families there, a spokesperson said. ...

Calling the move a "last-ditch effort" to appease the European Commission's concerns about its proposed merger with Time Warner, the EMI group is offering to sell Virgin Records, the London Times reported Tuesday (Oct. 3). Citing sources close to the company, the report states that the commission's concerns over the merger might be eased if EMI were to sell Virgin to an independent record company. Richard Branson, Virgin's founder, who sold the label to EMI in 1992 to meet debts incurred by his struggling Virgin Atlantic airline, is reported to be interested in reacquiring the label. The commission was scheduled to meet Wednesday (Oct. 4) on the issue. ...

Singer Michael Jackson will contribute a hand-painted plate to a silent auction for the Carousel of Hope gala, which will feature Ricky Martin and be held at the Beverly Hills (Calif.) Hilton on Oct. 28. ...

Erykah Badu — whose "Bag Lady" is at the top of the Billboard R&B/hip-hop singles chart and in the top 10 of the magazine's Hot 100 singles chart — has set Nov. 21 as the release date for her long-awaited, second studio album, now titled Mama's Gun. (It had a previous working title of The New Du.) The LP has been expected for Sept. 19, but it got pushed back in July. ...

Jewelry worth $43,000 was stolen from Temptations founder Otis Williams' hotel room in Springfield, Ohio, two weekends ago, according to the Associated Press. Police say a hotel keycard was used to enter Williams' room while the singer was onstage Sept. 23. Police have no suspects. ...

Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow's duet on Smokey Robinson's "Cruisin' " is storming adult contemporary radio stations across the United States. The song, from the soundtrack to the film "Duets" starring Lewis and Paltrow as karaoke singers, debuted at #24 on Radio & Records' adult contemporary chart. ...

Singer Whitney Houston has been charged by the state of Hawaii with a petty misdemeanor drug charge — an offense punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine — for a January incident in which Houston allegedly was caught by security officials at the Keahole-Kona International Airport with a half-ounce of marijuana in her bag. After authorities confiscated the suspected marijuana, she was allowed to board a plane to San Francisco. Prosecutors are giving Houston until Oct. 26 to turn herself in to police, or, they say, they might take the unusual step of issuing a warrant for her arrest. Hawaiian officials usually don't seek to extradite those charged with misdemeanor offenses from the mainland, Hawaiian authorities said. ...

Mary J. Blige, Macy Gray, Erykah Badu, Kelly Price and Rev. Run from Run-D.M.C. are among the R&B and hip-hop artists set to perform Oct. 16 in Washington, D.C., during the planned Million Family March, which will focus on the quality of life in the United States and push for voter registration, according to organizers. ...

The Universal Music Group, which includes such artists as rapper DMX, rockers U2 and country singer Shania Twain, has signed a deal with digital media firm Loudeye Technologies to digitize its entire catalog of music and videos. The deal, announced Sept. 22, is intended to allow Universal and companies who license its content to offer digital downloads and streaming versions of its music. ...

R&B acts Brian McKnight and the Temptations will perform at the ice show "Starskates Motown" on Oct. 22 at the Huntington Civic Arena in Charleston, W.Va. The performance will air on NBC-TV at 1 p.m. EST Dec. 3. ...

Thursday's birthdays (Oct. 5): Arlene Smith (Chantels), 59; Richard Street (Temptations), 58; Lucius Ross (Funkadelic), 52; and Harold Faltermeyer, 48.

— sonicnet.com staff report