YOUR FAVORITE MTV SHOWS ARE ON PARAMOUNT+

For The Record: Quick News On 'American Idol,' Eminem, Courtney Love, Foxy Brown, Slipknot, Soul Asylum & More

Past "American Idol" contestants Clay Aiken, Kimberly Caldwell and Christina Christian will play a special part in this season's "Idol" finale on Wednesday. Aiken will host the Fantasia Barrino hometown celebration from Greensboro, North Carolina; Caldwell will host the Diana DeGarmo hometown celebration in Atlanta; and Christian will host the red-carpet arrivals at the Kodak Theatre. Jennifer Love Hewitt will introduce the opening of the show, which airs live on FOX at 8 p.m. ET. ... In other "American Idol" news, the producers of the show have teamed with Dick Clark's production company to bring "American Bandstand" back to the airwaves for the summer of 2005. The show, which ran from 1957 to 1987, will feature music performances. ...

Eminem's headlining gig over the weekend wasn't a concert, but the Detroit Hip-Hop Summit, organized by Russell Simmons and his Hip-Hop Summit Action Network. Eminem joined about a dozen other artists, including Young Buck and Lloyd Banks of the G-Unit, the Ying Yang Twins and D12, to speak to the crowd about the importance of voting. An estimated 4,000 people attended, all new voter registrants. ... Though she's facing court-ordered rehab or jail time on drug charges, Courtney Love is gambling that she'll be able to resolve her various legal troubles in time to hit the road for a summer tour. The singer announced a handful of tour dates with her new band, the Chelsea, on Friday, with the promise that more would follow. The tour starts in New Haven, Connecticut, on June 18, and so far runs through a July 23 date in Hollywood. "I'm finally going on tour with my all-girl band," Love said in a statement. "This has been my dream since I drew lipstick all over the Beatles poster in my room when I was 5." ...

N.E.R.D. have chosen a second single from their album Fly or Die. The song, "Maybe," features both Lenny Kravitz and ?uestlove of the Roots. A video for the track was shot last week in Los Angeles. ...

Foxy Brown is bringing the high life to her more flush fans with a new line of furs. The coats made from mink, chinchilla and other furry creatures will sell for between $2,000 and $12,000. The rapper is also contemplating creating accessories for the line. ...

A spoof of Apple Computer's fluorescent iPod posters commenting on the recent Iraqi prisoner-abuse scandal started cropping up around New York last week. The posters aesthetically mimic the colorful iPod ads but promote "iRaq" with a silhouette of the memorable hooded prisoner hooked up to electric wires. The tagline reads, "10,000 volts in your pocket, guilty or innocent." ... Punk poet Patti Smith will tour North America, starting June 3 in Northampton, Massachusetts, and running through June 25 in Detroit. It will be her most thorough trek since 2001. Smith's latest album, Trampin', was released last month. ...

On Tuesday, the day their Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) drops, Slipknot will release a 7-inch red vinyl pressing of the single "Duality," backed with "Don't Get Close," their contribution to the soundtrack for the video game "MTX Motocross." Only 13,000 copies will be available, many stocked at Hot Topic outlets. ... Following their stint on Ozzfest, Slayer will hop aboard the fall installment of the Jägermeister Music Tour. Slipknot topped the bill for the spring incarnation, which wrapped up May 14. ...

Brides of Destruction bassist Nikki Sixx, who also plays in Mötley Crüe, knocked a Las Vegas fan out on Saturday night when he flung his instrument into the crowd and clocked the guy in the head. Paramedics arrived and carted the unidentified man to a local hospital where he was treated. His condition is unknown. Police were not called, and after a 15-minute break, a roadie came onstage and said there had been an unfortunate moshing accident, but that the band would finish the show. ... Billy Corgan has a new career: sports analyst. On Friday, the former Smashing Pumpkins/ Zwan frontman filed the first installment of "The Wrigleyville Report," a weekly morning show feature covering the Chicago Cubs for WXRT radio. Corgan will provide analysis of Cubs games from the previous week and look ahead to the upcoming schedule. ...

The search for the very first recorded breakbeat, the holy grail of hip-hop, is the subject of an upcoming movie, "Kool Herc's Breakbeat." Music historian and DJ Max Welder traces hip-hop's history, from Jamaica to the streets of New York, in his quest to house the record in a museum. ... P. Diddy's done it again. He's further expanded his clothing brand name through a new partnership with Estee Lauder. Under the deal, the cosmetics company will produce new fragrances for the rap mogul's Sean John line. ...

Your little puppies at home can learn how to be a player under the tutelage of coach Snoop. Snoop Dogg is holding a one-day youth football camp for kids ages 7-14 on June 5 at the Arena in Upland, California. More info is available at www.snoopbowl.com. ... If you're holding tickets to Marc Anthony's Nada Personal Tour, there's something you need to know: The tour has been postponed until November. A spokesperson for Anthony confirmed that the singer would delay the tour so that he can turn his attention to his new salsa and pop albums. Fans who purchased tickets via phone or Internet will have their account automatically credited, while those who purchased them in person can return them for a refund at the ticket outlet. "I look forward to seeing you all soon," Anthony said. ...

Soul Asylum have been working together on a studio album in a bid for a comeback, but those plans have been put on hold -- bassist Karl Mueller is being treated for throat cancer and isn't expected to be finished with treatment until July. ... After spending almost two weeks in the London drug rehab center the Priory, Libertines frontman Pete Doherty has checked out. Sources close to the band said the rocker left the voluntary clinic over the weekend and will play with the band soon. ...

5.21.2004

It seems like the door hasn't completely closed on Bill Ward. Two days after posting a note on his Web site (www.billward.com) claiming that he was as surprised as anyone to find out he will be replaced by Mike Bordin when Black Sabbath take the stage for Ozzfest, the band's original drummer posted a second note on Thursday saying he "received a positive response" from Sharon Osbourne and is moving ahead with negotiations. ...

Before she launches her summer tour, Jessica Simpson's offering fans a chance to get premium passes via a ticket auction on www.stubhub.com. Winners get tickets in the first two rows, T-shirts, autographed photos, VIP laminates and meet-and-greet passes, which will allow them to get their picture taken with the singer. ... Rakim is not done talking about his recent arrest for allegedly failing to pay child support, or about the troubles with his baby's mother, either. The MC has recorded a freestyle about the drama over the beat from the Ghostface track "Run." Expect the track, which DJ Kay Slay played Thursday night on New York radio station Hot 97, on mixtapes soon. ...

"A Raisin in the Sun," starring Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, is turning out to be Broadway's biggest success this spring. Though the production has received mixed reviews, it grossed $570,000 in ticket sales in the week that ended on Sunday, according to The New York Times. Normally, a successful play in New York will pull in closer to $200,000 a week. ... Diddy helped launch a new razor by Gillette in New York Thursday -- by shaving some of his whiskers. He was given a commemorative version of the vibrating blade plated in white gold and encrusted with diamonds, courtesy of Jacob the Jeweler. The regular, non-blinged-out razor will retail for $15. ...

Add another tour to the summer concert calendar. Hoobastank and Phantom Planet are hitting the road together in July in support of their albums The Reason and Phantom Planet, respectively. No dates have been announced yet. ... While the MTV Video Music Awards move to Miami, the awards show's European counterpart is also headed South. The Europe Music Awards will take place in Rome, at the Tor Di Valle, on November 18. It marks the first time the event has been held in Italy since 1998's ceremony in Milan. ...

Alanis Morissette didn't have a scheduled performance at the Absolutely Fourth bar in New York on Monday, but gave one anyway -- as "Tammy Reynolds." Dressed in disguise, the singer surprised patrons when she took the mic to sing karaoke. ... The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins has undergone throat surgery and is recovering well. The singer went under the knife for a hiatal hernia and acid reflux problems. If his recovery continues at its current pace, the Darkness will be able to play all previously scheduled North American dates. ...

A concert in Albany, New York, featuring Slayer, Slipknot, Killswitch Engage, Hatebreed, Chimaira, Superjoint Ritual, Shadows Fall and Life of Agony is under attack by the local community. A woman named Susan Balfour has distributed a petition to cancel the Aggressive Music Festival, which is scheduled for July 17 and 18 at the Glens Falls Civic Center. Balfour has traveled the region showing people some of the more graphic lyrics by Slayer, Slipknot and some of the other bands in an effort to build a support network to have the event canceled. ...

M.O.P. have been added to the second stage of the Projekt Revolution Tour. The outing will make 32 stops in North America this summer. Linkin Park, Korn, Snoop Dogg, the Used, Less Than Jake, Ghostface and Funeral for a Friend will also perform. ... Downset have postponed their tour because singer Rey Oropeza's mother is in declining health. Five shows have been affected -- May 21 in Seattle through May 26 in Denver. However, Downset are still expected to take part in the Projekt Revolution Tour, which launches July 23 in Cincinnati. ...

Coinciding with the June 8 release of Sonic Youth's 19th album, Sonic Nurse, the band will also issue a DVD, "Corporate Ghost - The Videos 1990-2002." More than three hours of commentary and interviews accompany the 23 videos included on the disc. ... Former Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty will tour this summer for the first time in almost four years. The tour will open on June 25 in Saratoga, California, and run through August 8 in Houston. Fogerty's first studio album since 1997's Blue Moon Swamp is scheduled for release by the end of September. ...

Latest News