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For The Record: Quick News On Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez And Marc Anthony, Madonna, Bloc Party & More

Aguilera set for South African gala; Lopez and Anthony raise money for cancer facilities.

Christina Aguilera, who's warmed up her pipes recently doing support shows for Herbie Hancock, is getting onstage to sing her own tunes next month for charity. She'll join Diana Ross to co-host the Unite of the Stars gala banquet on November 9 in South Africa, and then will sing the next night at a concert for Altech South African Grand Prix Week festivities, in Johannesburg, South Africa, which will benefit the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, Unite Against Hunger, and St. Mary's Hospital. ...

After performing in the Dominican Republic a week and a half ago, Jennifer Lopez and her husband, Marc Anthony, took a pit stop in Puerto Rico to attend a celebrity golf event -- and ended up raising more than $100,000 for two Puerto Rican cancer facilities. The couple had headlined the three-day Presidente Latin Music Festival October 14-16, and then on the final day of the fest, visited the inaugural Celebrity Cancer Golf Classic held at the Coco Beach Golf & Country Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. The proceeds raised will benefit the Hospital Auxilo Mutuo Cancer Center and Sociedad America del Cancer. ([article id="1512316"]Click here for photos.[/article])... Madonna's getting "Hung Up" on "CSI" -- her new single will be featured next month on crossover episodes of "CSI: Miami" and "CSI: NY." The first of the two episodes, "CSI: Miami" on November 7, is about a convicted serial killer who escapes to Miami and begins a new killing spree. Two days later, on "CSI: NY," the killer returns to New York with a college student as his hostage. "Hung Up" will be heard at the beginning of the shows, which both air at 10 p.m. ET on CBS. ...

The Recording Industry Association of America has released its monthly list of lawsuits against alleged copyright-infringers, and this time 745 individuals at 17 different colleges are being targeted. The "John Doe" suits cite individuals using peer-to-peer services such as Grokster and Kazaa. Among those on the list were students using the file-sharing application i2hub to download and distribute music on Internet2, a super-high-speed system used for research purposes on many college campuses. Lawsuits were filed against students at Boston University, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Drexel, MIT and Harvard, among others. The RIAA also filed suit against 81 named individuals. ... Allergies are no joke. Just ask Sleater-Kinney singer/guitarist Carrie Brownstein, who was forced to drop off the band's planned European tour following two severe allergic reactions that landed her in the emergency room. As a result, the band canceled its Euro tour, explaining on Sleater-Kinney.com that "[Carrie's] doctor has advised that she not travel/tour for prolonged periods of time until the condition stabilizes and further tests are conducted. The band apologizes to all the people that this cancellation affects." ...

Miss Piggy as the next Simon Cowell? Hey, it could happen. In an effort to revive the Muppets franchise, ABC has put in an order for five scripts of "America's Next Muppet," a reality-TV parody show that will take elements from "American Idol" and "America's Next Top Model," according to Variety, to find the next great Muppet character. ABC, along with Disney, remain mum on details of the project, which is still in development, but it looks like there will be a panel of judges (Kermit or Gonzo, perhaps?) who will whittle down contestants to see who has the chops to be the newest furry superstar. ... The man who voiced TV's beloved Jolly Green Giant has died at the age of 80, The Associated Press reports. Elmer "Len" Dresslar Jr., best known for his trademark "ho, ho, ho," the famous laugh in the Green Giant food ads, passed away earlier this month from cancer. Dresslar, a singer who recorded 15 jazz albums over the course of his career, also did voice-overs for Rice Krispies cereal and Marlboro cigarettes. ...

Hot on the heels of their debut (and subsequent remix album), Bloc Party are getting down to the business of recording a brand-new LP. The band plans on hitting the studio in February to begin work on the follow-up to Silent Alarm, which it hopes to have in stores by next summer. The group has already recorded some new material with producer Ben Hiller, who's worked with U2 and Blur. Working titles for new songs include "Hunting for Witches" and "The War's Not Over." ... H.I.M., Breaking Benjamin, the All-American Rejects and Minnie Driver will be featured on the soundtrack to the WB's "Smallville," which drops November 8. Other artists appearing on the disc include Josh Kelley, Depeche Mode, the Dandy Warhols, Stereophonics and Brendan Benson. ...

Love the '80s but wish the tunes from that era were updated just a tad? The upcoming Future Retro compilation, due Tuesday, pairs current club DJs and producers who reimagine classic '80s alternative songs from acts such as Devo, the Cure and Echo & the Bunnymen. Crystal Method tweak New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle," Richard X roughs up Yaz's "Situation" and Adam Freeland electrifies B-Movie's "Nowhere Girl." Static Avenger's take on INXS' "Need You Tonight" was voted one of the top three tracks at this year's Winter Music Conference. ...

10.25.2005

Janet Jackson had a baby girl during her brief 1984 marriage to singer James DeBarge, according to DeBarge's brother Young DeBarge, who made the revelation on New York radio station WQHT-FM Friday. Young claimed the child, Renee, 18, is a great singer who has been living with Janet's oldest sister, Rebbie, The Associated Press reports. Jackson was married to James DeBarge for less than three months when she was 18 and the pair had the marriage annulled a year later. "James and the Jackson family kept everything real close, real tight," Young said. "They weren't very revealing about what the relationship was about." Jackson's publicist could not be reached for comment at press time. ...

Mary J. Blige will now release her album Reminisce on December 6 and the follow-up, The Breakthrough, next spring. Originally it was thought that the two albums were one and the same and that she had just changed the title, but the first is mostly a retrospective, while the other is all-new material. Reminisce's few new tracks will include "MJB Da MVP" (her song over the Game's "Hate It or Love It"), a duet with Bono on U2's "One" and the first single, "Be Without You." The Breakthrough, meanwhile, is meant to reflect her new lease on life and spiritual growth. ... The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ozzy Osbourne, Snoop Dogg, Missy Elliott and Xzibit will appear at Spike TV's Video Game Awards 2005, taping November 18 at the Gibson Amphitheater in Universal City, California, and airing December 10. Vin Diesel, the Rock and Carmen Electra will also appear, and Samuel L. Jackson, a winner at last year's show for "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," is hosting. ...

Hilary Duff is contributing to a series of holiday-themed compilations to be sold at Radio Shack starting this month. Totally Awesome Christmas will also feature songs by Jesse McCartney, Raven Symone, "American Idol" semifinalist Celena Rae and Lindsay Lohan's younger sister, Aliana Lohan. Other CDs in the series include My Best Christmas (featuring Amy Grant), Smooth and Soulful Christmas (featuring Natalie Cole, Donna Summer, Al Jarreau and the Pointer Sisters), The Christmas Album (featuring Willie Nelson and Gene Autry), Christmas Classics on Piano (featuring Michael W. Smith and John Tesh) and Silver and Gold (featuring Vanessa Williams). ...

Ashlee Simpson has played around with her fair share of looks, but you've never seen her quite like this: The pop-rock reality-TV star is going virtual. Simpson will be checking into her VIP "I Am Me" suite (named after her sophomore LP) at the Habbo Hotel, an online hangout for teens around the globe, where she'll chat live with fans on Friday. ... A judge in Michigan has dismissed most of a lawsuit filed in mid-August against Eminem by his aunt and uncle. Jack and Betti Schmitt's suit claims he tried to evict them from a house he'd built for them three years earlier in Mount Clemens, Michigan. When Eminem refused to transfer the deed to the aunt and uncle, the lawsuit was filed. Judge Mary Chrzanowski claims Em's relations cannot sue the rapper for rescinded gifts, considering there was never a written contract to support the Schmitts' claims, The Associated Press reports. They can, however, amend the language of the suit within the next two weeks, and go after him for the more than $50,000 in improvements they claim they've made to the house since moving in. ...

Poison guitarist C.C. DeVille has been sentenced to 80 days in jail after pleading no contest to driving while intoxicated. On Monday, the 43-year-old rocker (real name Bruce Johannesson) was also slapped with five years' probation, fined $1,000 and instructed to surrender his license for one year, The Associated Press reports. DeVille was involved in a car accident on August 24, when, according to police, he was backing out of his girlfriend's driveway and slammed into a parked car. He later hit a second parked car. ... Bo Bice has pushed the release date of his debut solo album back from November 29 to December 13. Former Evanescence guitarist Ben Moody, Nickelback singer Chad Kroeger, Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, and producers Howard Benson (Hoobastank), Marti Frederiksen (Aerosmith) and John Shanks (Sheryl Crow) are among those contributing. ... Late-night talk show host Craig Ferguson has been tapped to host this year's People's Choice Awards, which will air live from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 10 at 9 p.m. on CBS. Nominees will be announced at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on November 10, at which point voting will begin online at www.PCAVote.com. ...

The Deftones are still plugging away on their fifth album, with frontman Chino Moreno spending the next month on perfecting his vocals. There's still no official word on the album's title or when the record will surface, but the band's touring plans are a different story. According to a posting on their Web site, the Sacto hardcore kings will serve as the headliners for this spring's second annual Taste of Chaos tour. ... Several bands have been confirmed for Dimefest, a concert slated for December 10 at the Ridglea Theater in Fort Worth, Texas. Element Eighty, Faktion and Premenishen (which features slain Damageplan/Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott's cousin Heather Manly) Diesel, Manditory, Necrogazm and others will take part in the all-day event, which will raise money for the Dimebag Darrell Memorial Fund, established for victims of the December 2004 Alrosa Villa nightclub shootings in Columbus, Ohio, that claimed Dimebag's life. ...

Young Buck's lawyers were in a Los Angeles courtroom Tuesday (October 25) for a pretrial hearing in connection with the melee at last fall's Vibe Awards. The start date and other details of his trial will be determined November 9. The G-Unit rapper has already pleaded not guilty to assault with a deadly weapon. ... Paris Hilton hasn't heard the last of Paris Latsis -- or his ex. Zeta Graff has filed a $10 million defamation suit against the heiress, claiming Hilton made up tales of jealousy on her part and told them to the New York Post, which printed them. The paper's report on a June 30 run-in at a London nightclub said Graff was seen trying to strangle Hilton in a jealous rage and had to be restrained by security before she was booted from the club. Graff maintains that Hilton merely told her she was going to "destroy" her, according to the complaint, and then went to the promoter to demand that Graff be kicked out of the club. ...

An all-star cast of ska, rock and hip-hop heavy hitters paid tribute to Sublime Monday night in Los Angeles. No Doubt's Tony Kanal performed with Rancid/Transplants' Tim Armstrong and Sublime's Eric Wilson. Rounding out the lineup were Fishbone, Ozomatli, Los Lobos and Blackalicious performing many of Sublime's hit songs. Proceeds benefited the MusiCares Musicians' Assistance Program Fund and the MusiCares Hurricane Relief Fund. ... Soul Asylum took the stage for the first time since the death of bassist Karl Mueller Monday night at Minneapolis' First Avenue, the club made famous by Prince in "Purple Rain." Tommy Stinson of the Replacements made his debut as the new bassist, making Soul Asylum a historic quartet of the Twin Cities' most well-known rock bands. ...

Get those Cockney dictionaries ready, the current darling of the U.K.'s burgeoning "grime" scene, Lady Sovereign, is brining her gritty, streetwise style across the Atlantic. First, on November 15, she'll release her debut EP, Vertically Challenged, featuring a remix by the Beastie Boys' Ad-Rock. Then, on November 28 in Boston, she'll kick off a brief two-week tour of the U.S. and Canada. ...

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