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For The Record: Quick News On R. Kelly, 3LW, Ashanti, Coldplay, Bobby Brown, Stone Cold Steve Austin, 3 Doors Down & More

R. Kelly is still a man of the people. On Monday, while hosting an album-release party for Selena Johnson at the Biology Bar in Chicago, Kells shunned the VIP section to mingle amongst the partygoers and exchange pleasantries. The crowd showed it still had love for the embattled singer by applauding as he went into a surprise performance of "Fiesta" with his former protégés Boo and Gotti. ...

3LW have announced the first location for new-member auditions. On Saturday, girls wanting to be down should report to the 16th floor of the Ripley Grier Studios, 520 8th Avenue in New York City, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. For more information call (212) 799-5441. ... As the official spokesperson for M&M's, Ashanti will perform on the "melts in your mouth, not in your hand" candy company's float at the 76th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. In June, Ashanti made the announcement that purple would be the new M&M color. ...

A Georgia judge denied a motion Monday to drop misdemeanor charges against singer/ Whitney Houston hubby Bobby Brown stemming from a 1996 traffic stop, according to the Associated Press. The charges included driving under the influence of alcohol, failure to maintain a lane, speeding and no proof of insurance. A January 21 court date has been set. ... Wrestling star Stone Cold Steve Austin pleaded no contest on Monday to beating his wife. The wrestler, whose real name is Steve Williams, faced up to a year in jail but instead received a year-long probation and a fine of $1,000. Austin was also ordered to perform 80 hours of community service and to attend a family violence counseling course. ... Prince has settled his copyright infringement complaint against a Seattle webmaster out of court. In exchange for Prince dropping the $7.5 million lawsuit, Matthew Lankford of FreeMyHeart.com admitted to posting downloads to unauthorized songs and agreed to never do it again. ...

Coldplay have added a month of dates to their 2003 tour, which will now end March 13 in Minneapolis. A spokesperson for the British rockers, who will perform on "The Late Show With David Letterman" on December 16, said the group may also return to the States in May and June. ... 3 Doors Down will kick off a headlining tour January 9 in Biloxi, Mississippi, in support of their new album, Away From the Sun, which was released November 12. Saliva and Theory of a Dead Man have been tapped to open the trek, which is expected to run through late February or early March. ...

Supergrass will release their fourth album, Life on Other Planets, in North America on February 11. The record debuted at # 9 on the U.K. album chart in October on the strength of the singles "Never Done Nothing Like That Before" and "Grace." ... Ex-Megadeth axeman Marty Friedman will reunite with a couple of his former bandmates for a tour next year in support of his forthcoming solo album, Music for Speeding. Bassist David Ellefson, drummer Jimmy DeGrasso and an as-yet-unnamed second guitarist will join the curly-locked guitar slinger on the road "around March," according to his Web site. ...

11.25.2002

Being from Louisiana never hurt Britney Spears' music career, but the Cajun cuisine of her Nyla restaurant apparently wasn't palate-pleasing enough for the New York crowd. So Nyla has changed its menu and is now offering classic regional American food with an Italian flair at prices between $14 and $28. ... Quickie art creations by Bono and Spears based on seaside themes were auctioned off in Dublin, Ireland, for ICROSS, a group that provides home care for East African orphans stricken with AIDS. Spears crafted a beach scene with paper, glitter and glue, and Bono drew a Mermaid complete with tail. ...

Sheryl Crow, Kelly Rowland, Michelle Branch and Kelly Clarkson will perform on NBC's "Christmas in Rockefeller Center" special, airing December 4 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Barry Manilow, Josh Groban and Carly Simon will also perform at the one-hour event. Viewers in the New York market will get an extra hour of festivities beginning at 7 p.m. ... Dave Matthews and Michelle Branch have joined the Levi's Staying Alive campaign in which jackets designed by the artists are auctioned to raise money to fight AIDS. Missy Elliott, Wyclef Jean and Elton John are also involved in the effort. ... Eminem wanted to make Jay-Z feel right at home in Detroit Sunday night, so the Shady One jumped onstage with Hovi to perform their collaboration "Renegade" at a party celebrating Jigga's The Blueprint 2. ...

Billy Guy, a baritone vocalist for '50s singing group the Coasters, died November 5, but his body has not been claimed by any living relatives and remains unburied. On November 20, Las Vegas entertainers held a benefit to raise enough to give the singer, who crooned on such hits as "Yakety Yak" and "Little Egypt," a proper burial. ... While working on his fourth album, the follow-up to Souljacker, Eels frontman E wrote the score for next year's "Levity," a feature film starring Billy Bob Thornton as a parolee searching for forgiveness. Two new Eels songs, "Skywritng" and "Taking a Bath in Rust," are slated to appear on the soundtrack to the movie, which also stars Kirsten Dunst and Morgan Freeman. ...

Powerman 5000's next record has been given a May 20 release date. The band was expected to release its third album, Anyone for Doomsday?, three months ago, but two weeks before its release they scrapped the disc and returned to the studio to write new songs. ... The Presidents of the United States of America, having recently reunited, will play their first show together in three years at Seattle's Crocodile Cafe on New Year's Eve. ... The trial for the lawsuit filed by film and music company Saregama India Ltd. against Interscope Records and others for the alleged unauthorized use of a sample on Truth Hurts' "Addicted" has been rescheduled to December 12. The initial complaint has also been amended to include Truth Hurts, DJ Quik and various writers and producers. ...

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