For her next single, Ashlee Simpson's ditching her "Boyfriend" to hang with the girls in her hitting-the-clubs anthem "L.O.V.E.," in which she sings, "Don't need a man in this room." A video is in the works, too — Simpson's shooting it on Sunday in Los Angeles with director Diane Martel. ...

Rod Stewart's daughter Kimberly Stewart may not have been able to hook up with her friend Paris Hilton for a new season of "The Simple Life," but she's got someone else to spend some quality time with now — Talan Torriero of "Laguna Beach," since the two are now engaged, according to his rep. Although they've only been dating a short time, they announced the engagement this week to friends Paris and Nicky Hilton. ... Madonna's media blitz ain't over yet — she's got a few more "Confessions" to make, starting with "Primetime Live," which gave her a camera to document the routine of her daily life. Madonna, daughter Lourdes and an assistant all take a turn, capturing good-morning kisses, the first cup of coffee, private workout sessions, the editing session for the "Hung Up" video, and getting ready for a night out on the town. She also sits down for an interview about motherhood, her riding accident and living in a material world. The episode airs Thursday (November 17) at 9 p.m. on ABC...

Mary J. Blige, Sheryl Crow, Jesse McCartney, the Goo Goo Dolls, Toni Braxton and Yolanda Adams are among the artists slated to perform during the seventh annual "A Home for the Holidays" TV special, according to a CBS spokesperson. The show, aimed at raising awareness about adoption, will air December 21. ... After Mary J. Blige complained about Vibe magazine's new cover photo of her during Saturday's Vibe Awards ceremony, editor in chief Mimi Valdes posted a letter on the mag's Web site defending her staff's decision and saying that she was insulted by the R&B singer's hurtful comments. "I'm sorry you find your most recent cover insulting. It was definitely not our intention," Valdes wrote. She added that Blige's accusations that her hairline had been changed were untrue. "I'd be lying not to admit how hurt we were by the negativity you brought to our celebration, especially since you were being honored," Valdes said. "In any case, you felt compelled to speak your [piece], and at the end of the day, isn't this truly why we all love Mary in the first place?" ...

Chris Brown, Slash, India.Arie and Dean and Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots fame are among the acts slated to jam with Stevie Wonder at a special Recording Academy-sponsored event December 10 at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. Anthony Hamilton, Josh Groban, Raphael Saadiq, Angie Stone, Herbie Hancock, Hootie & the Blowfish and Randy Jackson are also participating. ... Green Day, R. Kelly and Carrie Underwood are the performers scheduled for the 2005 Billboard Music Awards, airing live on FOX on December 6. Kanye West will receive the 2005 Artist Achievement Award at the Las Vegas event. ...

Politically charged Oakland, California, rappers the Coup suffered a tragic loss Tuesday when one of their hypemen was gunned down during a robbery attempt. Tarus Jackson, 36, who joined the group a year ago, was slain after he was confronted by a pair of robbers outside his Northern California home. "He was definitely the target. They had reason to believe he had a sizeable amount of money inside," homicide Sergeant Phil Green told Bay Area newspaper Tri-Valley Herald. According to Green, the robbers shot Jackson as he was lying facedown on the ground before they fled the scene. A $13,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to the arrest of Jackson's killers. ...

Belle & Sebastian are calling their forthcoming album The Life Pursuit, which they plan to release February 5. The first single will be "Funny Little Frog," which will be out January 16. But before The Life Pursuit, there will actually be another B&S album (of sorts) released, in three weeks. Details on that and a planned U.S. tour remain to be announced. ... Fans of the Flaming Lips can get a taste of the band's new album, At War With the Mystics, at music-video site Them5.com. They've just got to sit through a video of a robot to do it. The clip accompanies the new Lips track, "You've Got to Hold On," which is the first song out there from the Mystics sessions. The album is due in stores sometime next year. ... Matchbox Twenty will play two New Year's shows at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, marking their first gigs together in two years. "We all thought it would be a blast to get together and celebrate the New Year," frontman Rob Thomas said in a statement. ...

11.16.2005

Although it was Fantasia who was strongly endorsed by "Dreamgirls" star Jamie Foxx after she auditioned for the role of Effie White in the upcoming big-screen adaptation of the musical, director Bill Condon actually cast a different third-season "American Idol" singer. Jennifer Hudson won the part and will co-star along with Foxx, Beyoncé and Eddie Murphy, according to DreamWorks. ...

On Tuesday, Destiny's Child performed their new single, "Stand Up for Love," at a Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House for World Children's Day, to help raise money for children's causes. Also present were Ciara, Randy Jackson, and Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson. "The kids we've met have no idea how much they've given us," Beyoncé Knowles said. "We wanted to record this song for them, in hopes that people would hear their voice through ours." ... Paula Abdul's facing another lawsuit, this time from a company claiming breach of contract. Pro-Stars alleges in a suit filed November 8 in San Diego that the "American Idol" judge granted the company exclusive use of the "Innergy by Paula Abdul" trademark for her jewelry line, and then went and negotiated other deals with third parties, including Sam's Club, despite the previous arrangement. ...

The rampant rumors aren't true, insists Michael Jackson's spokesperson. No, he has not purchased any property on Bahrain's Amwaj Islands. No, he has not put Neverland up for sale. And no, he didn't intentionally use a women's restroom in Dubai to reapply makeup. What actually happened was a translation mistake — since the sign was labeled in Arabic, Jackson "mistakenly entered" the ladies room in question, and "quickly exited" once he realized his error, at which point he was recognized, his rep said, requiring a police escort to get through the crowd. ... Meanwhile, Michael's brother Tito is hoping to get the crowds riled up once again when he performs November 23 in Universal City, California, to preview new music from an album simply called Tito, due in the spring. ...

The All-American Rejects and Eurythmics have been added to the list of performers for the American Music Awards, airing live Tuesday on ABC. Paris Hilton, Shakira, Jermaine Dupri, Kelly Rowland, Chris Brown, Ashanti, the Backstreet Boys, Travis Barker, Frankie J, Ginuwine, James Blunt, Mary Mary, Jeremy Piven, Dave Navarro and Carmen Electra have been added as presenters. ... The White Stripes, Coldplay, Jack Johnson, Death Cab for Cutie, Nada Surf, Hot Hot Heat, the Bravery and Depeche Mode have all been tapped for the second evening of Los Angeles radio station KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas Concert, set for December 11 at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City. The first evening, December 10, features previously announced acts Nine Inch Nails, System of a Down, Korn, Fall Out Boy and more. ...

As New Orleans continues to clean up from Hurricane Katrina, one of the city's long-running music festivals is headed west ... for a year, at least. The organizers of the 2006 Essence Music Festival announced this week that they will be temporarily relocating the event (July 1-3) to Houston's Reliant Park. A component of the festival will be devoted to helping Katrina victims, according to organizers. The acts for this year's shows have not yet been announced. ... Pretty soon Mr. T will be riding shotgun in your car. That's because T is one of three celebrities that have lent their voices to Navtones, an in-vehicle navigation system created by Los Angeles' Wanderlust Media. For just $10, customers can download driving directions — and threats — by T ("Pay attention to what I'm saying," he barks. "Mr. T gonna get you there in one piece!"), Burt Reynolds and Dennis Hopper. More celebrity voices are expected to be unveiled by the end of the year. For more information, check out Navtones.com. ...

Deftones bassist Chi Cheng, who released a spoken-word album in 2000 called The Bamboo Parachute, will read some of his work during a poetry reading on Friday as part of this year's Crossing Border Festival. The event will be held at the Theatre on the Spui in the Hague, Netherlands. ... Leonard Cohen just inked a deal for his first new book of poetry in 20 years. Called "Book of Longing," it's due for publication next fall. ... The bad news for Sony BMG continues. After initially defending its use of its XCP copy-restriction software on a number of new releases (Kasabian, Kings of Leon, Celine Dion), then pulling millions of discs by nearly 50 artists from shelves on Tuesday, computer-security experts are now saying the company may have unleashed an even bigger headache. According to Wired, it's possible that computers on more than 568,000 networks in 165 countries worldwide — including government and military sites — have been left open to potential hacker attacks because of the surreptitious software, though the number of vulnerable machines is likely much higher. ...

Ludacris released a statement through his record label on Wednesday (November 16) explaining why he wore a Confederate flag on his shirt during his performance of "Georgia" at Saturday's Vibe Awards. "The discussions that have been sparked after my performance ... is my exact reason for wearing [it]," he said. "This flag represents the oppression that we as African Americans have endured for years; this is a symbol of segregation and the racism that reigned not only throughout the South but throughout the entire United States. I wore it to represent where we came from, to remind people that Ray Charles' original 'Georgia' was written because of that racism."