Last week, Diddy became just the second black person — the other was Michael Jordan — to win the prestigious Fragrance Foundation Award for his Unforgivable men's cologne line, besting fragrances by the likes of Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. To celebrate, Diddy hosted a bash Monday night at New York nightclub Marquee, where Bad Boy artists Cheri Dennis and Danity Kane partied alongside Miss USA Rachel Smith. ...

The lineup for Norway's Øyafestival has just been announced, and it's smokin'. Amy Winehouse, Nine Inch Nails, Tool, Lily Allen, Devendra Banhart, Lady Sovereign, Eagles of Death Metal, Spoon, Low, the Hold Steady, Shout Out Louds, Primal Scream, Albert Hammond Jr. and the Jesus and Mary Chain will grace the Oslo event, set for August 7-11. ...

Jay-Z joined a host of celebs — including Chris Tucker, Nicole Scherzingerof the Pussycat Dolls and Lauren London — on Sunday night at Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad album-release party at Sugar in Los Angeles. Giant and CoverGirl sponsored the event. ... Fabolous, DJ Clue and NBA superstar Gilbert Arenas are set to take part in a block-party and VIP soiree at the grand opening of the Ed Hardy boutique in downtown Manhattan, New York, on Sunday. ...

Where is Justin Timberlake searching for the next big star for his recently launched Tennman Records imprint? YouTube, of course. The singer announced on Tuesday that the first signing to his label is Dutch YouTube sensation Esmée Denters. According to a press release, 18-year-old Denters — who has gained fame, and 21 million views on her YouTube site, for her Alicia Keys, Beyoncé and, well, Timberlake covers — will be joining Timberlake on some of his European summer dates. He says the karaoke star is no joke. "Esmée is the real deal and I cannot wait for the world to hear her, but all of her fans on YouTube should not worry ... we will keep you in the loop every step of the way," Timberlake said. ...

Marley Marl, 44, was hospitalized Tuesday in New York after suffering from a heart attack, a source close to the veteran hip-hop producer confirmed to MTV News. The former Juice Crew member and onetime foe KRS-One recently put aside past differences and collaborated on an album titled Hip Hop Lives. A spokesperson for their label, Koch Records, had no further comment as of press time. ...

Bono's special Africa issue of Vanity Fair — he's the magazine's first guest editor — has hit newsstands with 20 different covers, featuring Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Madonna, Brad Pitt, Chris Rock, George Clooney, Don Cheadle, Djimon Hounsou, Oprah Winfrey, George W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice, Barack Obama, Desmond Tutu, Bill and Melinda Gates, Warren Buffett, Muhammad Ali, Maya Angelou, Iman, Queen Rania of Jordan and Bono. "The covers are a kind of visual chain letter, spreading the message from person to person to person," photographer Annie Leibovitz said in a statement. "These are incredible people of our time who all have a passion for and a connection to Africa. It was important to me to really show the humanity in their faces." ...

Is "Knocked Up" a knockoff? Canadian journalist Rebecca Eckler has filed a suit against Judd Apatow and Universal Studios, the respective writer/director and studio behind the film, saying she came up with the idea first, Reuters reports. Eckler wants credit and compensation in light of "Knocked Up: Confessions of a Hip Mother-to-Be," a book she published in 2005 that — like the film — is the story of a young reporter who gets pregnant one drunken evening. "I don't doubt, purely based on the screenplay, that [Apatow] had a copy in his office somehow of the book," she said. "A lot of people, I'm sure, will say, 'Well, getting drunk and knocked up, it could happen to everybody.' Well, the fact is, it doesn't happen to everybody, and no one had written about it before I did. And [Apatow] didn't sell the screenplay until after I did." ...

A "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" mobile game, ringtones, voicetones and wallpaper will be available beginning June 26 on various wireless carriers. And the Potter Knight Bus tour, which kicked off Friday in New York on NBC's "Today," rolls on. Thirty-seven libraries in all (including those in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, St. Louis, Phoenix, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco) will get a visit from the purple triple-decker bus, which a limited number of fans can board and share their thoughts on the Harry Potter books on video. The bus tour wraps up at Scholastic headquarters in New York on July 21 for the release of the series' final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." ...

Saddle Creek Records — home to Bright Eyes, Cursive and other indie faves — will open a large multimillion-dollar complex in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, on Friday, according to the Omaha World-Herald. The main attraction is Slowdown, a 470-capacity club/bar named after Slowdown Virginia, a group that featured members of current Saddle Creek bands. But the complex will also feature an art-house theater, apartments, retail stores and a restaurant, with label execs Robb Nansel and Jason Kulbel essentially serving as landlords. ... A Rolling Stones concert caused bedlam in Belgium on Tuesday, causing a 30-mile traffic jam as 33,000 fans showed up in the town of Werchter, according to The Associated Press. The show was the first gig on the band's European tour. ...

Elliott Yamin will welcome home Navy personnel returning from Iraq at the North Island Naval Base in San Diego on Friday, eating lunch with them and staging meet-and-greet and CD-signing sessions. ... Bob Marley's Exodus is being reissued again — but this time, on a USB flash drive via BobMarley.com. Made available Monday, the album is the first to be released in the tiny computer storage format; the limited-edition reusable sticks also feature three videos of performances from London's Rainbow Theatre in June 1977. More Exodus goodies just went up on the Marley site to commemorate the epic release's 30th anniversary, including a limited CD/DVD edition, an LP version and a book. ...

The follow-up to KT Tunstall's breakthrough Eye to the Telescope album will be called Drastic Fantastic and will hit stores in September, according to Capitol Records. Fantastic was produced by Steve Osbourne (who also helmed the sessions for Telescope) and will be powered by two "very sexy" guitars Tunstall acquired before recording the disc. Tunstall will appear at the NYC-area edition of the globe-spanning Live Earth Concerts, scheduled for July 7 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. ... MxPx will release a new LP, Secret Weapon, July 17. The album will contain 16 tracks, including "Here's to the Life," "Never Better Than Now" and "Biting the Bullet." ... Converge are working on a new DVD they've titled "Thousands of Miles Between Us." "As the title suggests, [it] will document the band's travels across the world, showcasing the best live moments from their touring around the globe." The DVD will also feature interviews with the band, its crew and some of Converge's friends.

06.05.2007

Kanye West did his fair share of hopping around over the weekend. Aside from popping up during Swizz Beatz's set on Sunday, West also dropped in on DJ Gomez Warren's set at Holly's in Los Angeles on Friday to play his new track "Can't Tell Me Nothing," as actresses Sanaa Lathan and Gabrielle Union looked on. ...

"American Idol" season five runner-up Katharine McPhee is headed to Hollywood ... again. The singer is slated to make her feature-film debut in the dark indie romantic comedy "The Last Caller," according to The Hollywood Reporter. The coming-of-age story about a self-involved woman in search of love will not require McPhee to sing. "This is the first thing that I read that I really wanted to do," McPhee said. "I'm up for a couple of big studio projects, but they weren't starring roles. I wanted to start off doing something a little different. It's something that a lot of people wouldn't expect me doing." ...

It's gotten a little wet inside Cartel's "bubble" thanks to a busted wall, but that isn't stopping Wyclef Jean from heading in to jam with the band on Thursday. The artists will crank out the song "Wasted," a collabo that will appear on the "Band in a Bubble" group's yet-untitled July 24 LP. Cobra Starship entered the bubble Tuesday (June 5). ... Daddy Yankee is set to appear Sunday on the MTV Tr3s float for the annual Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York. Nina Sky and DJ Tony Touch will also join the festivities on the Pepsico float, while Kat DeLuna is scheduled to appear on radio station Z100's float. This year's parade will feature singer Ricky Martin as the event's inaugural "king." ... Ghostface Killah, RZA, Method Man, GZA and Raekwon return the favor to Wu-Tang Clan affiliate Cilvaringz with guest spots on his solo debut, I. The set — which features production from RZA, Bronze Nazareth and others, and comes with a bonus DVD chronicling Wu's 1997 world tour — hits stores June 12. ...

The jury in the Phil Spector trial was shown the revolver that killed Lana Clarkson when the top detective in the investigation of the actress' death testified Tuesday, The Associated Press reports. The gun still had blood on it when Detective Mark Lillienfeld, who was wearing gloves, removed it from an envelope. Lillienfeld said a holster visible inside a bureau to the side of the chair where Clarkson's body was slumped in the foyer was later shown to fit the gun, which was found at Clarkson's feet. ... Tom Sizemore surrendered to authorities Tuesday morning, less than a month after being arrested on suspicion of seven drug-related charges, according to TMZ.com. ...

Avenged Sevenfold have titled their forthcoming DVD, slated for a July 17 release, "All Excess." The band continues to write tracks for the follow-up to 2005's City of Evil, which may be out before the end of the year. ... Bam Margera has snatched up unreleased songs by CKY, Children of Bodom, In Flames, Clutch and others for Bam Margera Presents ... Viva la Bands, Vol. 2. The CD/DVD package — which will also feature songs by Gwar, Dimmu Borgir and the Sounds — hits stores September 4. ...

Hellyeah's Fire It Up tour just got a little hotter — they're extending the trek with an additional leg. The band will treat Australia to five shows between June 27 and July 3, then touch down in the States again for eight more U.S. gigs starting July 6 in Milwaukee and ending July 16 in San Diego. After that, the metalheads will hop on the Family Values Tour. ... Speaking of which, think you could create something special for the Family Values 2007 tour poster? Brickfish.com is hosting a contest for rock fans to come up with a cool poster design for the tour. The competition ends June 27, and participants must be 14 years of age or older to be considered. The winning design will be transformed into the festival's official poster, and earn its creator a Hoshino guitar autographed by Korn. ...

David Bowie and the Beastie Boys will be among those honored Tuesday at the 11th annual Webby Awards at New York's Cipriani. The show, which recognizes the best in online creativity, will present Bowie with a lifetime achievement award for his numerous Web-related initiatives over the years and the Beasties for their concert film "Awesome, I F---ing Shot That." ... Tony Hawk, John Cena, Jewel, William Shatner and tennis star Serena Williams are among the stars lined up to race stock cars in the series "Fast Cars & Superstars," premiering Thursday on ABC. ... Chiodos have set a September 4 release date for their new album Bone Palace Ballet, which they are currently recording with producer Casey Bates (Fear Before the March of Flames, Gatsby's American Dream). ...

Lala.com, the Web site that lets fans trade used CDs for $1, launched new features Tuesday, offering users the chance to stream any song or album for free in the hope that they will eventually buy some of the music. The site is picking up the tab for millions of dollars in royalties — which the Los Angeles Times put at about a penny each time someone listens to a song — and a spokesperson said that the new service will also let users access all the music in their iTunes library from any computer and download music straight from the Web to an iPod.