Destiny's Child have been hit with a $200 million lawsuit by a

Miami producer who claims his music was stolen for their single

"Survivor." In the suit, which was filed on October 14 in U.S. District

Court, producer Terrence "T-Robb" Robinson claims that in 2000

he gave a copy of his song "Glorious" to the group's manager, Mathew

Knowles, and that portions of the tune were used in the hit track.

...

Two victims' families are suing the makers of "Grand Theft Auto: III," Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc., as well as Wal-Mart for selling two teens the video game they say inspired a killing spree. In June, two teens took a rifle and shot at cars telling authorities they were doing so just like they saw in the game. One woman was killed and another was seriously injured in the shooting. The families filed suit on Monday, seeking $46 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages. ... Kim Mathers' legal problems are mounting. Eminem's

ex-wife was issued a bench warrant Tuesday in Macomb County, Michigan,

after she failed to appear in court two days in a row to be arraigned

on charges of cocaine possession. Her attorney reportedly told a judge

that Mathers was ill, but her presence was requested anyway. Meanwhile,

police in nearby Warren told the Detroit Free Press they planned

to arrest Mathers by the end of the week for allegedly hosting a hotel

party September 29 where drugs were used. ...

Blu Cantrell is still reeling from the violent attack on her good friend Tony Dinero on October 16 in Paris. The two were coming from a party to celebrate her LP Bittersweet when two assailants repeatedly stabbed Dinero in the eye and head. Cantrell, who says she is shocked by the incident, released a statement on Wednesday (October 22) saying, "I cannot believe that anything like this can happen, especially in a city like this. A place that I love so much and the home to so many warm and peaceful people." ... Casting is under way for a Jennifer Lopez-produced talk show loosely designed as a young woman's version of "The View." Lopez's

sister Lynda Lopez, a TV and radio personality in New York, will

be one of the four hosts on the as-yet-untitled syndicated show, which

will likely premiere next September. J. Lo herself will appear

occasionally. ...

Sentenced to life in prison, C-Murder will take his victories where he can get them. On Tuesday the Louisiana State Supreme Court nullified an indictment against C-Murder, whose real name is Corey Miller, for possession of a cellular phone while he was in jail awaiting trial for murder. On September 30, Miller was convicted of second-degree murder for the shooting of a 16-year-old boy inside a Louisiana club. The ruling on Tuesday was unrelated to the murder conviction. ... Eagles of Death Metal, one of the side projects of Queens of the Stone Age singer and guitarist Josh Homme, will play 11 North American dates with Placebo this winter before Queens

head into the studio to record the follow-up album to Songs for the

Deaf. Homme, who plays drums in Eagles of Death Metal, will release

the group's debut album early next year on his own label, Rekords

Rekords. The band's tour starts November 20 in Vancouver and runs

through December 6 in New Orleans. ...

Perhaps in an effort to expand his demographic, former Metallica

bassist Jason Newsted made an appearance on Tuesday at San

Francisco's Spring Valley Elementary school, where he talked to kids

about how he expresses himself through music. The session was

coordinated by Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit organization whose

Honorary Board of Directors includes Les Paul and Paul

Simon. ... A DVD chronicling Van Halen's rise from anonymity to stardom

will be released November 25. "The Van Halen Story: The Early Years"

follows the band from its formation to its first world tour and

includes interviews with original frontman David Lee Roth and

original bassist Mark Stone. ...

New York natives Fun Lovin' Criminals will return to the

States to support the release of their latest album, Welcome to

Poppy's. The hip-hop act, who relocated to Dublin, Ireland, in

1999, will start a 12-date tour on November 25 in Atlanta. ... Punk trio Le Tigre will take a quick break from recording their

third, as-yet-untitled record for a brief East Coast trek that starts

November 4 at Irving Plaza in New York and wraps up on November 23 at

Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club. Their upcoming disc, produced in part by

Ric Ocasek, is expected in late April. ...

U.K. dance label Wall of Sound will celebrate its 10th anniversary on

November 4 with Off the Wall: Ten Years of Wall of Sound. The

two-disc retrospective will include more than 30 tracks and remixes,

including songs by Propellerheads, Röyksopp, Les

Rythmes Digitales, Bees and Medicine. ... Default have wasted no time in following up 2001's The

Fallout. Elocation, due November 25, will be preceded by the

single "(Taking My) Life Away." ...

Actress Minnie Driver makes her recording debut on Trampoline

Records Greatest Hits Vol. II, the second compilation from the

label co-owned by Pete Yorn, the Wallflowers' Rami

Jaffee and guitarist Marc Dauer. Previously unreleased

material from Liz Phair, Yorn, Dan Wilson of

Semisonic and Chris Stills, along with a Wallflowers

cover of Julian Lennon's "Too Late for Goodbyes," are also

featured on the album, available at Barnes & Noble stores and through

the label's Web site. Dauer produced and Jaffe played piano on Driver's

"Everything in My Pocket," which she wrote. ... The Essential Bruce Springsteen, due November 11, will

feature two CDs of greatest hits, including live versions of "American

Skin (41 Shots)" and "Land of Hope and Dreams," plus a third disc of

rarities. A week later, the Boss will release Live in Barcelona,

a double-disc DVD. ...

Elton John has followed in the footsteps of Celine Dion

and committed to a long-running Las Vegas show. John's three-year,

75-show run, which will be held at the Colosseum in Caesars Palace when

Dion is not performing, begins February 13. ... P.O.D. protégés Blindside are nearly finished

with their second major-label release, About a Burning Fire, due

early next year. Guitarist Simon Grenehed recently flew from

Sweden to Chicago to record Billy Corgan playing guitar on one

of the tracks, "Hooray, It's L.A." ...

BT, the electronic music mastermind and part-time pop producer,

is in a Los Angeles studio putting the finishing touches on his score

for "Monster," a biopic starring Charlize Theron as Aileen

Carol Wuornos, a prostitute who was executed for killing seven men

in Florida. "I'm recording it, not just mixing it, in 5.1 surround

sound, which I believe is the first time it's ever been done," BT said.

"The movie is so intense." ... Joanie Laurer, the former professional wrestler known as

Chyna, will release her debut album, 2X Centrix, on

October 28. Laurer raps, sings and plays drums on the album, a

collaboration with Indian artist Reggie Benjamin. Highlights

include the single "Ride" and "The Chyna Dolls," a remake of David

Bowie's "China Girl." ...

Photographer and video director David LaChapelle (Christina

Aguilera, Blink-182) is finishing a longer version of a

dancing documentary he did for Channel 4 in London that he plans to

debut Stateside at film festivals next year. "It's about these kids in

South Central that do a cool new dance that no one's ever seen called

krumping," LaChapelle said. "It's like vertical breakdancing. It's

insane. It was a labor of love." …

10.21.2003

Jay-Z helped celebrate his friend Angie Martinez's return to New York's Hot 97 in grand fashion Monday when he premiered a song off of his Black Album called "What More Can I Say." A rep from Roc-A-Fella described the track as a "warm-up record" for the streets. The official first single is now called "Change Clothes" and will debut Friday on AOL. ...

Sarah McLachlan and Avril Lavigne fans can choose some of the songs the Canadian songstresses will perform during their November 4 concert, Sarah McLachlan Custom Concert Featuring Avril Lavigne, which will air November 9 on the Oxygen network. During the concert, McLachlan will play tunes from her upcoming album, Afterglow, which comes out the day of the show. But the rest of her set will be determined by fans who vote on the Oxygen Web site between now and November 2. Similarly, users will choose what artist Avril covers that night -- Metallica, Green Day, Bob Dylan or the Police. ... Former Stone Temple Pilots frontman/current Velvet Revolver singer Scott Weiland has completed most of the drug testing and counseling required after he pleaded no contest in August to two felony drug-possession charges. Judge Colette Serio told the singer in a Pasadena, California, court Monday that he may remain free while he tries to kick his habit, but that could change should he not test clean. He's due back in court for another progress report in January. ...

Michael Jackson is getting the remix treatment. His latest single, "One More Chance," is getting worked over by Paul Oakenfold and Metrophonic (Brian Rawling), among others. Jackson's Number Ones greatest-hits collection is due in stores November 18. ... Select U.S. movie theaters will screen the "Coldplay Live 2003 Concert and Tour Documentary" on November 3, the day before the CD and DVD is available in stores. The 40-minute-long DVD was culled from two July concerts in Sydney, Australia. ...

Enrique Iglesias and his producer Steve Morales have been accused of stealing a composition for the title track of 2001's Escape. In a federal lawsuit filed last week, Henry Lorenzo Haynes claims that his song "Remind Me" was commissioned by Morales and used on the album without giving him credit. ... Alanis Morissette, Beastie Boy Mike D and producer Rick Rubin have joined forces with environmental groups in an effort to expel Deputy Interior Secretary J. Steven Griles. The coalition accuses Griles of failing to properly oversee parks such as Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon. ...

Boy band Svengali Lou Pearlman has been officially labeled as a scam artist by the New York State Consumer Protection Board. The mastermind behind 'NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys has been operating Wilhelmina Scouting Network, a modeling agency not affiliated with the well-known agency of the same name. Pearlman's company is accused of conning hopeful kids and their parents into spending up to $2,000 for a photo and e-mail contact on the agency's Web site. The other Wilhelmina modeling agency has filed a complaint against Pearlman and his company Transcontinental Talent that would require him to stop using the name. ... Tenacious D and Lit will perform at the annual Haunted House of Blues benefit in Hollywood on Sunday. The show, which Linkin Park headlined last year, is hosted by a group of teenagers called Young Angels 310 and will raise funds for Trinity Kids Care, which helps children with life-limiting illnesses come home from hospitals to be with their families. ...

Beck, performing solo acoustic, has been added to KCRW-FM's annual A Sounds Eclectic Evening benefit concert November 22 at the Universal Amphitheatre near Los Angeles. Damien Rice, Jurassic 5, the Polyphonic Spree, Jem, Gary Jules, Cut Chemist and Felix Da Housecat are also on the bill. ... Heavy metal matriarch Sharon Osbourne will host this year's MAP Awards, an annual benefit for the Musicians Assistance Program. The event, taking place November 5 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, will honor Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, blues guitarist Jimmie Vaughan and industry attorney John Branca. ...

Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff has been honored with Jamaica's Order of Merit, the nation's third most prestigious award. The award was presented to Cliff at a ceremony on Monday in Kingston, Jamaica. The performer has recorded 30 albums over the last 40 years. ... Fozzy, the band fronted by pro wrestler Chris Jericho and notorious for its classic metal covers, has decided to get serious and make a full album of original material. Due next spring, the LP is the follow-up to Happenstance, which was released last year. ...

Maybe David Lee Roth will take a cue from Uma Thurman's "Kill Bill" character and purchase a new samurai sword when he returns to Osaka, Japan, for a show on Wednesday. The performance will be his first since accidentally gashing himself with a sword onstage in Pennsylvania in September. Then he'll play four dates in England and Ireland before returning to the U.S. for end-of-year shows in Las Vegas on December 27 and 28, and a New Year's Eve concert in West Hollywood. ...