Nelly reminds parents that their kids are their biggest fans in a new underage-drinking prevention ad, which will debut Wednesday during "Law & Order" on NBC. In the Anheuser-Busch-sponsored 30-second spot, Nelly admits that some of the parents watching him may not recognize him as a hip-hop icon, so he pretends to be a chef, a boxer and a golfer. "Underage drinking is a serious issue, and working with parents to address the problem is the responsible thing to do," Nelly said in a statement. "It's very important for parents to talk with their children about everything, and underage-drinking prevention is definitely one of those things you need to jump on early." ...

Britney Spears' reality show with husband Kevin Federline is going to re-run on MTV, it was announced on Tuesday (May 17). "Britney and Kevin: Chaotic" premieres Tuesday at 9 p.m. on UPN, while the second run will premiere on MTV on May 26, with the first two episodes of the half-hour series airing back-to-back at 10 p.m. The series will continue on MTV Thursday nights at 10 p.m. throughout the run, with the hour-long finale airing June 23 at 10 p.m. Spears is using her song "Chaotic" from the In the Zone sessions as the show's theme song. ... Scott Weiland, wearing a vintage 1972 Nudie Rodeo Tailor suit and accompanied by a pedal-steel guitarist and steel drummer, treated the audience at "Last Call With Carson Daly" last week (at a special taping at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles) to the debut performance of a country ballad he wrote about his father called "The Man I Didn't Know." "I met Tim McGraw at the Grammys, when we sang 'Across the Universe' together for tsunami relief and we talked about singing a song together," the Velvet Revolver singer said in a statement. "This is the song I wrote for us to sing." The episode will air Thursday. ...

Michael Jackson's defense -- after trying to establish on Monday that the accuser's family never alerted Neverland employees that anything was wrong -- turned on Tuesday to trying to establish that the accuser's family also did not inform the Department of Children and Family Services when that opportunity arose. DCFS employee Irene Laverne Peters testified that the reason they were investigating in the first place was because charges were leveled at the mother, for "general neglect." Peters said that the mother said she was hiding at her boyfriend's house because of documentary maker Martin Bashir, and seemed upset only because she hadn't signed a release for her children to be on television. Peters said that the mother insisted that she was aware of everything her kids did at Neverland. When she was asked if the kids ever slept in the singer's bed, the mother said that that never happened. Peters asked the accuser if he had ever slept in Jackson's bed, and the boy denied it, she said. However, the prosecution's timeline regarding the molestation has the abuse not occurring until after this interview. Meanwhile, Jay Leno is scheduled to testify in the case on Monday. ...

Incubus wrote three new tracks and duet with the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde for the soundtrack to the Jamie Foxx action thriller "Stealth," due out July 12. "We wrote the first song, 'Make a Move,' really quickly," singer Brandon Boyd said. "It's fun and bouncy, but still thoughtful." The band's two other new songs are called "Admiration" and "Neither of Us Can See" (featuring Hynde), which will play over the movie's closing credits. "When we were conceptualizing the song, it became obvious that we needed two voices to capture the different facets of this song," Boyd said of his first duet. "Chrissie came in and added another dimension to the song." The trailer for "Stealth" premieres Wednesday and will play before "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith." "Stealth" hits theaters July 29. ... Meanwhile, Foxx is getting his own music special to air on NBC, which he'll also executive produce. The tentatively titled "Jamie Foxx Special" would follow the release of his new album this fall, and feature all original music by Foxx as well as a few guest stars. The one-hour show would also trace his musical roots back to his hometown of Terrell, Texas. An airdate has yet to be announced. ...

Mike Epps ("The Honeymooners") will play raunchy comedian Richard Pryor in a big-screen biopic, according to Variety. The movie will be co-produced by Pryor and his wife, Jennifer Lee Pryor, who said Epps was tapped over an earlier choice for the part, Damon Wayans, whom the pair believed was too well-known. ... Babyface is prepping his ninth album, Grown & Sexy, due out July 26. His first single, "Sorry for the Stupid Things," hits radio on Monday. Other tracks on the album include "Tonite It's Goin' Down," "Mad, Sexy, Cool," "Goin' Outta Bizness" and "Drama, Luv and 'Lationships." In advance of the album's release, Babyface is planning a live one-hour performance special (airdate to be announced). ...

Skating legend Tony Hawk is taking his Boom Boom Huckjam extreme sports/music tour on the road again this summer. The 25-city outing, which kicks off on June 17 in Spokane, Washington, will also be turned into a behind-the-scenes series for the action sports channel Fuel tentatively titled "On the Road With Tony Hawk." DJ Aero (Methods of Mayhem) will spin during the events. ... If your Memorial Day plans included a trip to Detroit for the city's annual electronic music festival, this year it will cost you. The Detroit City Council recently approved a plan that would allow organizers to charge $10 per day ($25 for a three-day pass) for the traditionally free event, now dubbed "Fuse-In: Detroit's Electronic Movement," according to the Detroit Free Press. Organizers said that if the festival had not moved to a pay model, its future would have been in doubt due to a lack of major sponsors. ...

A Social Distortion cover of the Clash's 1979 song "Death or Glory" will be the first single from the "Lords of Dogtown" soundtrack, due May 24. A Rise Against cover of Black Flag's "Nervous Breakdown" as well as favorites from the Jimi Hendrix Experience ("Fire"), Rod Stewart ("Maggie May") and the Stooges ("T.V. Eye") are also included. The skateboarding biopic opens June 3. ... Teenage Fanclub's first new album in nearly three years, Man-Made, will be released in the U.S. on June 7. The Glasgow, Scotland, band's eighth studio album was recorded in Chicago with Tortoise's John McEntire, marking the first time the group worked on an album abroad. ... Switchfoot's follow-up to their breakthrough album, 2003's The Beautiful Letdown, will be called Nothing Is Sound and will hit stores in July. The San Diego rockers wrote the album while touring behind Letdown. ...

05.16.2005

Paris Hilton and Nick Carter are trading barbs once again through the media. The actress/heiress was asked last week on Edmonton, Alberta, station 96X, on a show called "The Canadian Hit 30 Countdown," to compare her new boyfriend -- also named Paris -- to her previous boyfriends, such as Carter. Hilton responded, "Night and day. He's not using me for anything ... he's not a disgusting pig, sorry." Carter responded shortly afterward that Hilton "should take a look in the mirror." "I kind of have to brush it off my shoulders, because she's very immature," Carter told the station. "The problem with Paris is that she thrives off of hurting other people, and it's not just me." Fellow Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson added that he had asked Hilton to lay off the negative comments. "I pulled her aside at a party, and said, 'We'd never done anything to harm you, I don't appreciate the negative comments. Unless you want me coming after you in the press, and you don't want me talking about you, you need to stop it and lay off my little brother.' It angers me that she started again." ...

Michael Jackson's defense turned on Monday (May 16) to disputing the accuser's family's claims of being held prisoner at Neverland by demonstrating that during their time there, they received a number of services -- from orthodontia for the kids to full body waxing for the mom -- and that no one providing those services saw any indication that anything was wrong. A Neverland maid testified that the accuser's mother did ask for help leaving the ranch, but it was because Jackson's associates were interfering with her relationship with the pop singer, she said. Other employees indicated that the accuser and his brother were problem children, testifying that they found them with porn and alcohol when Jackson was not around. However, one witness, former Neverland chef's assistant Angel Vivanco, was limited in testifying about what he claims the accuser's sister told him, based on his "quasi-sexual" relationship with her. The defense had indicated that he would say the sister told him her family was planning "something big" regarding Jackson and that her mom was "psycho." ...

Ciara got the most nods for the upcoming BET Awards, with four nominations (including Best New Artist, Best Female R&B, Best Collaboration and Viewer's Choice for "1, 2 Step"). Also leading the pack are Destiny's Child, John Legend and Kanye West, with three nominations each. Other multiple nominees include Fantasia, Amerie, 50 Cent and Omarion. Destiny's Child, Mariah Carey, Ludacris, Missy Elliott and the Game will perform on the show, which will be televised live on June 28 at 8 p.m. ET. ... Want to vote for one of the final three "American Idol" contestants -- Bo Bice, Carrie Underwood and Vonzell Solomon -- to become one of the final two? You'll be more likely to get through on Tuesday, when each contestant will be assigned two toll-free numbers instead of one. "With the volume of calls this season already exceeding last year's, we felt it was important to give fans additional phone numbers in an attempt to reduce congestion," Executive Producer Cecile Frot-Coutaz said. ...

Jennifer Lopez may have scrapped plans to do a full tour, but she's going forward with at least one live concert, to be filmed for a special to air on NBC, the network announced Monday. The tentatively titled "Jennifer Lopez Special" will include her singing her catalog of hits as well as songs from Rebirth. No airdate for the show was announced. ...

Young Buck's Friday court date in Los Angeles in connection with the melee at last fall's Vibe Awards was once again postponed, this time to June 8. The G-Unit rapper has already pleaded not guilty to assault with a deadly weapon. ... CMJ and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum have teamed for the first CMJ/ Rock Hall Music Fest, scheduled for June 8-11 in Cleveland. More than 100 bands will perform around the city for the festival, including Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, the Futureheads, Spoon, Grandmaster Flash, the Misfits, Powerman 5000, Mushroomhead and the Pixies, who are kicking off the festival June 8 at the Rock Hall. ...

Blink-182's Mark Hoppus is giving away clothing from his Atticus female clothing line to the band's fans. Through Blink's Web site, fans can enter the contest for a chance to win a hat, hooded sweatshirt and a baby tee, along with a compilation CD produced by Hoppus for SideOnedummy Records, featuring songs from Blink-182, Death Cab for Cutie and Fall Out Boy. All Mark asks is that potential winners send him a list of "three songs that would make a great soundtrack to your life," with an explanation as to why. There will be 10 winners in all. ... Vanessa Carlton is training with the hopes of being one of the 30,000 picked in the lottery drawing to compete in the New York City Marathon. She applied last week to be on pop station Z100's team. The marathon takes place November 6. ...

Former '50s teen idol Paul Anka has recorded covers of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Oasis' "Wonderwall" and R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts" for his latest album, Rock Swings, due June 7. The 47-year show business veteran wrote big-band arrangements for the songs. ... Hüsker Dü founder Bob Mould has a new solo album in the works called Body and Soul, due out July 26. Songs vary from guitar-heavy, full-band approaches like "Paralyzed" and "Circles" to acoustic ballads such as "High Fidelity" and "Days of Rain." Mould plans to tour in the fall, performing material from all stages of his career -- solo, Sugar and Hüsker Dü -- for the first time. Fugazi's Brendan Canty -- who guests on the album -- has signed on to play drums for the tour. ...

The site of the Hawthorne, California, home where the Wilson family grew up and became the Beach Boys is being dedicated as an official historical landmark on Friday. Brian Wilson will perform at the afternoon unveiling, which will include appearances by fellow founding member Al Jardine and Wilson's daughters Carnie and Wendy Wilson (of the soft-rock group Wilson Phillips). ... Believe it or not, the city of Hibbing, Minnesota, has never erected any permanent honor to its favorite son, Bob Dylan. The folk icon, who went to high school in the small Midwestern town, will see the street he grew up on renamed "Dylan Drive," according to The Associated Press. ...