After being convicted of trying to extort Gary Sheffield over a tape of the New York Yankees slugger's wife having sex with R. Kelly, a Chicago man was sentenced Wednesday to more than two years in prison. Derrick Mosley might get more time than his sentence of 27 months because he was on probation at the time of the incident, in which he claimed he was trying to act as a moral counselor to DeLeon Richards-Sheffield, and not really extorting money from her famous husband. Mosley faced more than 40 years in prison for communicating a threat across state lines. ...

Aretha Franklin, Aaron Neville and a 150-person choir will sing the national anthem at Super Bowl XL, with piano accompaniment by Dr. John. For the preshow, John Legend and Joss Stone will join Stevie Wonder in singing some of his hits, while the Rolling Stones will perform at halftime. The Super Bowl takes place February 5 at Detroit's Ford Field and will be broadcast on ABC. ... Meanwhile, Jamie Foxx, Nelly and Legend are throwing a party at Detroit's Masonic Temple to help get the town in the mood for the big game. Called the Motown Music Fest, the February 4 festivities will also include performances by the Four Tops, the Miracles, the Dramatics, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas and more. Part of the night's proceeds benefit Detroit's Kronk Recreation Center. ...

Mariah Carey, Kelly Clarkson, U2, Green Day, Coldplay and Stevie Wonder are among the artists featured on the 2006 Grammy Nominees album, out Tuesday. The 21-track LP will feature artists up for the most coveted awards including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and selections from the pop, rock and alternative categories. A portion of the proceeds from the disc will benefit the MusiCares Foundation. ... What's more unforgivable -- that 2.5 ounces of Unforgivable costs $300, or that the ad for Diddy's Sean John men's fragrance features the rap mogul in bed with two women? Given the racy ad, a few Midwest and Bible Belt retailers balked at displaying Unforgivable, forcing the maker of the scent, Estée Lauder, to shoot a more "store-friendly" and bed-less ad to use in magazines and on billboards. "People are afraid of what they don't understand," Diddy said in a statement. ...

Despite protests from PETA, the Department of Agriculture has decided that Michael Jackson is not mistreating the exotic animals he keeps at Neverland Ranch, even after he left the premises to go live in Bahrain and kept them in holding cells. PETA's not giving up on getting the animals a better home; the group is filing another complaint, this time with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ... Want to hang with Hilary Duff? She's offering tickets to her sold-out concert Sunday at Toronto's Air Canada Centre as well as two backstage passes (and hotel and airfare costs) if you sign up for an auction to benefit Merry Go Round Children's Foundation, which donates computer systems and Internet service to children in need. The eBay auction ends Friday at noon. ...

Tommy Lee has recorded a cover of the O'Jays classic "Love Train" for the horror sequel "Final Destination 3," which hits theaters February 10. "I've always loved the song 'Love Train,' and it was great being able to put my own darker spin on it for the movie," Lee said. The song will be heard during the end titles, but won't be available elsewhere. ... Tom Waits has won a legal victory in Spain, where Volkswagen-Audi had adapted one of his songs ("Innocent When You Dream") and impersonated his voice in a television commercial. A Spanish court has ruled that the 2000 ad infringed upon Waits' intellectual property rights, after the car company had appealed Waits' initial court win in March 2004. Waits had rejected the company's request to use the original version of his song. "Now they understand the words to the song better," Waits said. "It wasn't 'Innocent When You Scheme.' " He was awarded 66,000 Euros in damages. Waits is also suing General Motors' Opel for producing a series of car commercials that also impersonate his singing voice (the ads aired in Scandinavia last year). ...

Fountains of Wayne will hit a New York studio this month to continue work on the follow-up to their 2003 break-out album, Welcome Interstate Managers. According to a spokesperson for the band, the group has already logged time in a Woodstock, New York, studio, and while songs have yet to emerge, there are "plenty of ideas floating around." ... Oasis are returning to North America this spring for a second outing to support last year's Don't Believe the Truth. The trek kicks off March 22 in Milwaukee and is so far slated to run through March 28 in Houston; more dates are expected. ... The Kaiser Chiefs are putting the finishing touches on "A Book of Employment," a collection of writings and photographs documenting their rise from unknowns to Brit-rock superstars. According to a post on KaiserChiefs.co.uk, the book will hit stores in April and will "contain lots of personal stuff we've collected around the world these last 18 months." ...

01.18.2006

Fall Out Boy, LL Cool J, the Goo Goo Dolls and Bonnie Raitt are doing a series of pre-Grammy shows at the House of Blues in Hollywood called "Signature Sounds Live on the Sunset Strip." The Goo Goo Dolls kick off the series February 4, Raitt follows on February 5, Fall Out Boy perform February 6 and LL Cool J with special guests Ciara and Ne-Yo finishes things off on February 7. Both Fall Out Boy and Ciara are up for Best New Artist. ...

Ginuwine's dropping his second single from Back II Da Basics, called "I'm in Love," just in time for Valentine's Day and his Ladies Night Out Tour with Jagged Edge, Donell Jones, Case and Ne-Yo. The trek begins February 8 in Norfolk, Virginia, and wraps March 5 in Miami. Ginuwine is also gearing up to launch a clothing line (Genuine Clothes and Genuine Jeans) and start shooting his next movie, "Rhythm Night," co-starring Whoopi Goldberg. ... Jagged Edge's new, self-titled album is due March 28, and features tracks produced by Jermaine Dupri and a guest spot from John Legend (on "Season's Change"). ...

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have hired a teen expert who herself has recovered from an eating disorder to write an advice column for their Web site, mary-kateandashley.com. Jessica Weiner, the author of "A Very Hungry Girl" as well as the new book "Do I Look Fat in This? Life Doesn't Begin Five Pounds From Now," will write a column called "Real Girls, Real Advice," which will address the many queries the twins' fans have sent to the site regarding such issues as self-esteem, boys, popularity, friendship, family, and body image. ... 311 have unveiled dates for their upcoming spring tour, which kicks off February 26 in Santa Cruz, California. Dates run through March 26 in Kahului, Hawaii. An opening act for the trek has not yet been announced. ...

Saves the Day and Circa Survive will be hitting the road together starting March 8 in Santa Cruz. The 24-date trek winds down April 6 in Cleveland. ... OK Go are hitting the road on Monday for a few months' worth of headlining dates and supporting slots with Motion City Soundtrack. The outing, which includes a "Jimmy Kimmel Live" stop on March 1, ends March 12 in Orlando, Florida. ...

Sparta, the band that features the members of At the Drive-In who didn't go on to form Mars Volta, have signed a deal with Hollywood Records. The band's third album, the follow-up to 2004's Porcelain, will be released this summer. ... The Sugarcubes are putting out their first DVD collection in the form of two discs, "The Sugarcubes Live Zabor DVD," featuring 15 live performances from 1988 and 1989, and "Sugarcubes the DVD," which compiles the band's biggest videos. The live disc also includes commentary and the band's hit singles "Birthday," "Motorcrash" and "Delicious Demon," while the video comp has three bonus clips, for "Hit," "Walkabout" and "Vitamin." Both discs are due February 7. ...

Live will release their Jim Wirt-produced seventh album, Songs From Black Mountain, on April 11. The first single, "The River," is available online now. ... UB40 get political once again on their new album, Who You Fighting For?, which includes such state-of-the-world tracks as "Plenty More" and "Sins of the Fathers." "You can't help but be influenced by what's going on around you," guitarist/vocalist Robin Campbell said. "We have some very strong topics to fire us up but we are not trying to provide answers. We would never presume to offer solutions. There's a propaganda machine that swings into action during a war. Young recruits are told they are fighting for freedom, so Who You Fighting For? is our small attempt to counteract that." The album is due Tuesday. ...