Three 6 Mafia have discovered another perk of winning an Oscar: it's brought them a lot closer to Paris Hilton. The Memphis, Tennessee, duo's Juicy J told hometown newspaper Commercial Appeal that he and partner DJ Paul were in the studio with Hilton on Tuesday working on a song for her upcoming debut album. "We let her listen to a dance track and she really liked it and plans to record it tonight," Houston told the paper Tuesday. ...

Bad Boy Records rapper Black Rob (born Robert Ross) was sentenced to up to seven years in jail for grand larceny Thursday (March 30) in New York. Rob was picked up on a fugitive warrant February 24 after skipping out on an agreement to turn himself in January 24 to begin serving a two-to-six-year sentence on the charges. A spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney's office said the rapper was given the maximum sentence on the charge due to his flight. He will begin serving immediately. ...

In conjunction with their five-night Demon Days Live stint at the Apollo Theater in New York April 2-6, the Gorillaz are ushering in "a mobile musical adventure." By simply using their Motorola phones at the shows, fans will be able to download exclusive Gorillaz wallpapers, animation and a demo of an unreleased mobile game starring the animated stars. 'Rillaz mastermind Damon Albarn and a host of friends will perform the band's platinum-plus Demon Days in its entirety at the gigs. ...

Avenged Sevenfold frontman M. Shadows wouldn't be happier if he had scored a date with Jenna Jameson. This summer the band will join its heroes from Guns N' Roses and Metallica during a string of 10 shows in Europe. The jaunt begins June 3 in Nürburgring, Germany, at the Rock Am Ring Festival and concludes in Paris June 20. Avenged will play right before Metallica at three of the shows and will be the main support for Guns for two others. ... Two weeks after joining the surviving members of Alice in Chains onstage at a tribute to Heart for VH1 Classic's "Decades Rock Live!," Phil Anselmo hooked up with Alice guitarist Jerry Cantrell, Avenged Sevenfold drummer the Rev and cover band Metal Skool to perform Pantera's "Walk" Monday night at Hollywood's Key Club. Cantrell also joined the band for Alice's "Man in the Box." ...

Working with fellow "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell may look like it's tough for Paula Abdul, but the singer/choreographer has signed a deal to continue with the popular show for the next three years, according to The Associated Press. Abdul, the "Idol" judge who always finds something nice to say about each of the performers, said in a statement that the contestants "truly inspire and amaze me each week. Of course, I also look forward to putting Simon in his place for years to come." ...

Ruben Studdard -- who took home the "American Idol" title at the conclusion of the show's second season -- is doing his part to help teenagers step off the streets and into the music industry. The AP reports that Studdard is creating an after-school program called the Music Alternative Project, which seeks to steer kids away from gangs by teaching them the ins and outs of the biz, from songwriting and production to mixing and marketing. An estimated 100 students from across Alabama will be enrolled each year in free after-school music courses. The project will also provide weekend instruction and activities during the summer months. Birmingham's Audiostate 55 Recording Studios will serve as the program's home base. Henry Panion, a music professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, will act as director of the project, and Studdard has expressed interest in teaching some of the courses. ...

Johnny Cash's 1975 Cadillac Fleetwood will be auctioned off in Florida Friday as part of the Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach Collector Car Event. Jet-black with black leather interior (of course), the sedan has logged 50,000 miles and, except for a two-year-old paint job and rebuilt transmission, boasts all original parts. Full documentation, including the Tennessee title and tags that prove Cash's ownership, are included in the sale. ... World Wrestling Entertainment will use Danko Jones' "Baby Hates Me" as the opening music for WrestleMania 22. The big event is scheduled for Sunday in Chicago. ...

Sunny indie rockers the Concretes have one busy spring planned. They release their new album, In Colour, Tuesday. And as April albums apparently bring May tours, their three-week North American stint in support of the LP begins May 4 in Toronto and ends May 24 in San Diego. ... Ex-Unicorns members Nick Diamonds and J'aime Tambeur, now known as the Islands, set out on their first headlining tour in April. Fresh off a run of live shows with Metric, the duo plan to hit venues across North America with their opening act Why?. The Islands' debut album, Return to the Sea, -- which features contributions from Canadian scenesters from bands including Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade -- hits U.S. stores Tuesday.

03.29.06

Shakira might have said that she's lucky her breasts are "small and humble" in "Whenever, Wherever," but there was a time when she considered getting breast-augmentation surgery because she was unhappy with her body, the singer reveals in the next issue of Teen People. The magazine's latest cover star also said that wasn't the only plastic surgery she looked into. "I considered ... all kinds of things. 'Maybe my eyebrows should be higher. Maybe my lips should be bigger.' " Eventually Shakira came to accept herself, despite all the insecurities. "I'm actually shy; I've just learned to hide it." But her hips don't lie -- and her dancing reveals more skin than she sometimes would like to show. "It's not my hobby to show my belly! The moves I do when I perform require it. People of America, I want you to know that I wear clothes once in a while!" ...

Diddy introduced a select few to the next phase of Bad Boy Records Tuesday night in New York. Sean Combs held a small party at his Daddy's House studio and previewed music by newcomers Cheri Dennis and Yung Joc and veterans 8Ball and MJG. ... Jack White is preparing to unleash his brand-new band, the Raconteurs, on America -- for one night, at least. On April 7, the band -- which also features Detroit songwriter Brendan Benson and two-thirds of Cincinnati garage-rockers the Greenhornes -- will play its first-ever U.S. gig at Irving Plaza in New York. Tickets go on sale Thursday at noon via Ticketmaster.com. The Rac's debut album, Broken Boy Soldiers, is due in stores May 16. ...

Nick Lachey has decided on a title and release date for his second album: What's Left of Me, due May 9. The title is the same as the first single, which recently hit the airwaves. ... Paul Wall has titled his fall release Ain't No 401K for a Hustla. Wall is also set to appear alongside Lil' Keke on The Day Hell Broke Loose 3 compilation, due in August. ... Pimp-C will release a DVD documenting his experiences being incarcerated during the Houston boom in 2005 and what has happened after his recent release. "Pimpalation: Return of the Trill," hosted by MTV News' Sway, is due April 11 and will be followed by a CD called Pimpalation on June 13. ... Foo Fighters will be featured in a pair of episodes of "The West Wing." The shows will air Sunday and April 9 at 8 p.m. on NBC. ... Notorious B.I.G.'s family will receive $1.1 million from the city of Los Angeles after the City Council on Wednesday approved the amount U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper awarded in January. The money covers the family's legal expenses in a civil trial that was ruled a mistrial last year when it was discovered that the Los Angeles Police Department withheld statements that linked two rogue LAPD officers, David Mack and Rafael Perez, to the rapper's shooting. ...

Could it really be over so soon? That's what former Howard Stern listeners across the East Coast and Midwest might have been asking themselves Wednesday morning (March 29) when they turned on their radios to find Stern replacement David Lee Roth absent. Yes, preliminary numbers for Roth have not been promising, but a CBS Radio spokesperson denied reports that the former Van Halen singer had been canned just three months into his gig, saying the motor-mouthed morning man was simply taking a few days off to travel back to New York after broadcasting from Miami Beach Monday and Tuesday. Roth is expected to be back on the air Friday. ... Elsewhere on the dial, Mighty Mighty Bosstones singer Dicky Barrett has attacked Los Angeles' Indie 103.1 after he was recently fired as host of the station's morning show. In a statement released by his publicist, Barrett said he was fired for expressing his dislike on air for a Morrissey song the station was spinning and for an unauthorized pro-choice conversation he had with a caller. Indie General Manager Dawn Girocco responded by saying Dicky was not as committed to the show as he needed to be. ...

After complaints and a lawsuit earlier this year from a Louisiana man, Apple Computer released a software update Wednesday that allows iPod owners to set a maximum volume on their players. The free download works with Nanos and fifth-generation models that play video, and it also allows parents to set a volume limit on their child's iPod and lock it with a special code. The free update is available at apple.com/ipod/download. ... On Monday a judge ordered Michael Jackson and his ex-wife Debbie Rowe to submit copies of legal papers missing from their divorce file, The Associated Press reports. The documents, concerning the custody of the pair's two children, include Rowe's 2001 motion to terminate parental rights and an emergency motion filed two years later seeking temporary custody as well as Jackson's filing opposing his ex-wife's custody motion. Attorneys for Jackson and Rowe have 30 days to turn over the paperwork. A hearing has been set for May 24. ...

As he awaits his murder trial, troubles keep mounting for famed "wall of sound" record producer Phil Spector. A former personal assistant has sued Spector for more than $5 million in Los Angeles, claming sexual harassment, according to an Associated Press report. Spector sued former assistant Michelle Blaine in September, alleging that she skimmed hundreds of thousands of dollars from his accounts. Blaine hit back on Friday, saying that Spector authorized the payments to her, including those for a $700,000 house and that he sexually harassed her, sometimes appeared naked in front of her and once asked Blaine to find a prostitute for him. Blaine also claims that after Spector was charged with the murder of actress Lana Clarkson in 2003, the producer repeatedly proposed marriage to her as a way to block her from testifying against him. Spector's murder trial is slated to begin in September. ...

Eugene Landy, the show-business psychologist famous for his controversial relationship with troubled Beach Boys star Brian Wilson, died March 22 in Honolulu of complications from lung cancer, the Los Angeles Times reports. He was 71. Landy, who also worked with original shock rocker Alice Cooper and actor Rod Steiger, pioneered the concept of "24 hour therapy" when he began treating Wilson in the mid 1970s. Hired to work on Wilson's intense phobias and drug addictions, Landy took control of every aspect of the singer's life, monitoring him 24 hours a day and eventually acting as his manager and artistic collaborator, crossing an ethical line and eventually giving up his license to practice in California after admitting to a charge of unlawfully prescribing drugs in 1989. ...

Prolific songwriter Cindy Walker, known as the "dean of Texas songwriters," died of natural causes Thursday at the age of 87, according to The Los Angeles Times. Walker was known for the more than 500 sentimental, Western-flavored songs she wrote, performed by everyone from Roy Orbison ("Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)"), to Ray Charles ("You Don't Know Me"), with the latter covered by more than 75 artists, including Elvis Presley. Willie Nelson released an album-length tribute to Walker this month called You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker. Walker, often called the greatest living country music songwriter, was a charter member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1997.

[This story originally published at 12:14 p.m. ET]