P. Diddy has been tapped to co-star in "Carlito's Way: The Beginning," the prequel to director Brian De Palma's 1993 drama that starred Al Pacino. The story focuses on the early drug-dealing days of Pacino's Carlito Brigante, to be played this time by "Friday Night Lights" star Jay Hernandez. Production gets under way next month in New York's Harlem neighborhood, according to Variety. ...

Destiny's Child are planning to perform on Thanksgiving Day at the 2004 National Kettle Kick Off, a live halftime performance during the Dallas Cowboys game, which will be broadcast on CBS. The show officially launches the Salvation Army's Red Kettle fund-raising campaign, to encourage people to donate during the holiday season. "It's so thrilling to be part of this," Kelly Rowland said in a statement. Destiny's Child will perform two new songs from their forthcoming album, Destiny Fulfilled: first single "Lose My Breath" and "Solider." Other songs to be included on the 11-track album, out November 16, are "Cater 2 U," "T-Shirt," "Is She the Reason," "Girl," "Bad Habit," "If," "Free," "Through With Love" and "Love." Producers include Rodney Jerkins, Rich Harrison, Andre Harris and Vidal Davis, 9th Wonder, Rockwilder, Mario Winans and others. ... Paris Hilton made her name through the club scene, and now a few clubs are going to make their name through her. Club Paris will open on New Year's Eve in Orlando, Florida, with future franchises set to open in Las Vegas, New York, Miami Beach, London and -- where else? Paris, thanks to a seven-figure deal the heiress just struck with businessman Fereidoun "Fred" Khalilian to lend her name. Hilton's contractually obligated to appear at the Orlando club at least twice a month, and is scheduled to attend the opening. ...

Ashanti is being sued by T.E.A.M. Entertainment for $4 million in unpaid royalties. The Georgia-based entertainment company claims the Inc. songbird signed a contract with them when she was 16. Representatives for Def Jam declined to comment on the case, while attorneys for Ashanti and T.E.A.M. Entertainment could not be reached at press time. ... Though Britney Spears managed to respond to her fans via her "letter of truth," she's failed to respond to a pre-emptive lawsuit filed by a drug maker which claims she's threatened to sue them for using her image without permission. A Salt Lake City judge has ordered the singer to explain why she failed to respond to the complaint filed by Zoller Laboratories (the maker of Zantrex-3, which Spears was photographed spilling in an airport a year ago), which asks a federal judge to declare the company has violated no law with its marketing practices, including the use of the spilling incident. U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell gave Spears until Friday to reply. ...

The 32nd annual American Music Awards has added performers Maroon 5, Lenny Kravitz, John Mayer, Fantasia, Twista and the team of Snoop Dogg and Pharrell Williams, who are expected to kick out "Drop It Like It's Hot," the single off Snoop's forthcoming as-yet-untitled album. They join previously announced performers Jessica Simpson, Gwen Stefani, Usher and Kanye West, among others, at the awards show, which airs November 14 on ABC. ... Clay Aiken is teaming with a full orchestra for a five-week North American tour to promote his upcoming as-yet-untitled Christmas album, due November 16. Confirmed dates so far start with a November 27 show in San Jose, California, and include a December 9 stop at New York's Madison Square Garden Theatre. Aiken will also release his first book on November 16, "Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life." ... In other former "American Idol" contestant news, Tamyra Gray has signed on to star in Broadway's "Bombay Dreams." Gray, who co-starred in several episodes of "Boston Public," will play Priya for 12 weeks beginning November 9. ...

Soft Cell singer Marc Almond suffered severe head injuries on Sunday when a motorcycle on which he was a passenger collided with a car in central London. The Royal London Hospital initially listed the singer of the 1982 hit "Tainted Love" as critical, but he has since been updated to stable. The driver of the motorcycle was also hospitalized. ... A pair of previously unreleased studio tracks highlight Incubus' CD/DVD set "Alive at Red Rocks," due November 23. As a DVD extra, the show, taped July 26 at the picturesque Colorado stage, is augmented by backstage footage. ...

Snoop Dogg, Young Buck, T.I., Fabolous and Juvenile are among the guests slated to appear on the Youngbloodz's new album, due in early 2005. Lil Jon, Jazze Pha, Sha Money and Kwamé are producing tracks for the set, which will launch the group's new YBZ Records. ... Former Geggy Tah singer Greg Kurstin is serving as musical director for Gwen Stefani's upcoming solo tour, which does not yet have an itinerary. Kurstin is also working with Beck to put the creative elements together for his next trek. ...

A longtime member of Michael Jackson's legal defense team has stepped down. Steve Cochran, who represented the singer even before this latest legal drama, officially left Team Jackson for what the singer calls "confidential reasons." Jackson called Cochran a "wonderful person and dedicated lawyer." ... Covers of the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil," the Beatles' "In My Life," King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man" and Arthur Brown's "Fire" are among the tunes that comprise one of the four CDs of an upcoming Ozzy Osbourne box set, due in February. The other discs are filled with rarities, outtakes and demos. ...

Austin, Texas, rockers Spoon are putting the finishing touches on their fifth album, tentatively titled Romeo's Apprentice. Eleven tracks have been completed for the LP, including "The Beast and the Dragon Adored" and "Sister Jack." ... Guitarist Dante DeCaro has left Hot Hot Heat. The band's as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2002's Make Up the Breakdown is due early next year. ...

10.15.2004

Like Howard Stern, Eminem is taking his radio show where the censors can't bother him: satellite radio. The rapper, along with Shady Records and Interscope Records, will debut Shade 45, the new uncensored hip-hop radio channel they created, on Sirius Satellite Radio on October 28. The station will kick things off with a live broadcast of the Shady National Convention at New York's Roseland Ballroom, and will regularly feature a lineup of on-air hosts and mixers including Eminem's DJ, Green Lantern. ...

JoJo and Kelly Clarkson are among the singers guest starring on "American Dreams" for the show's third season. Clarkson will reprise her role as Brenda Lee and sing "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," and in the same episode, JoJo will appear as a young Linda Rondstadt auditioning for "American Bandstand" with "That'll Be the Day." Also set to appear on future episodes of "American Dreams" are Alanis Morissette, who will join the show as a folk singer and perform "Feast of Scraps"; "American Idol" Fantasia Barrino, who will portray Aretha Franklin singing "Respect"; and Phantom Planet, who will take the part of the Zombies. ... Think you can take down Jimmy Eat World? You'll get your chance Wednesday when the band takes on all challengers in the new racing game "Burnout 3: Takedown" on Xbox Live (www.xboxlive.com). ...

The Wired CD: Rip. Sample. Mash. Share, a compilation featuring tracks from the Beastie Boys, Chuck D, David Byrne, Spoon, and My Morning Jacket, among others, will come bundled with the November issue of Wired magazine. The CD serves as an experiment for a new kind of intellectual property license called Creative Commons, which allows artists the freedom to keep only some rights, letting their fans use their music in new and creative ways. ... Franz Ferdinand's newest single, "This Fire," contains a few bonus tracks, including the live staple "40'," "Better in Hoboken" and the German version of "Tell Her Tonight" sung by drummer Paul Thomson. ...

Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell and his wife, Vicky, have announced the birth of their daughter, Toni. Born on September 18, she weighed 8 pounds, 5 ounces. ... After a career spanning 12 years, New York indie rockers Luna have called it quits. In a post on the group's Web site, singer/guitarist Dean Wareham said Luna split due to the fact that "rock and roll is killing my life" and "the universe is expanding," among other reasons. The group's final record, Rendezvous, is due October 26. ...

Bruce Palmer, the original bassist for Buffalo Springfield, died of a heart attack on October 1 in Bellville, Ontario. He was 58. Palmer also played with Neil Young in the short-lived '60s band the Mynah Birds, which featured Rick James on lead vocals. He performed with Buffalo Springfield until 1968 and released one solo album in 1971, titled The Cycle Is Complete, on which James sang and played percussion. ... Buffalo, New York, psych-rockers Mercury Rev have released an exclusive iTunes download of their upcoming single, "Secret for a Song." The track is from their forthcoming sixth album, The Secret Migration, slated for a February release. ...

One-of-a-kind items from Mötley Crüe's Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars, Tommy Lee and Vince Neil are on their way to the auction block at Backstage Auctions (www.backstageauctions.com). Beginning Sunday, stuff like the handwritten lyrics for every song from the Crüe's first album and their first concert poster will be sold to the highest bidder. ... Similar to Metallica's "Some Kind of Monster," Chimaira's new DVD, "The Dehumanizing Process," gives a warts-and-all peek at what it took to create their 2003 album, The Impossibility of Reason. The 90-minute documentary, due Tuesday, also features nearly an hour of performance footage taped from shows around the world. ...