Hilary Duff does Pilates three times a week, she's a fan of the elliptical trainer and while she believes "eating should be fun," she's cut French fries out of her diet. Still, the singer/actress isn't eager to show off her new shape in revealing clothing. "When I wear something that's a little more skimpy, there have been cases where I feel insecure about myself," Duff told Self in the magazine's July cover story. ([article id="1535862"]Check out photos from the Self spread right here[/article].) "I'd rather wear a pencil skirt, something I'd feel sexy in." Duff explained that she feels more comfortable "leaving sex to the imagination," and also told the magazine that she has a clothing line on the way designed for girls 15-20 -- "stuff I'd wear." ...

"American Idol" runner-up Katharine McPhee has signed on as a guest host for "The View" on July 19. Brandy took on those duties this week. ... Shakira and Wyclef Jean are hooking up in Berlin on Sunday to bring a special version of "Hips Don't Lie" to soccer fans. The duo will perform a mash-up of the track -- mixed with the World Cup theme "Bamboo," by RedOne -- as part of the 2006 FIFA World Cup closing ceremony, 15 minutes before the final kickoff. ...

"The L.A. Riot Spectacular," a satirical look at the 1992 Los Angeles riots starring Snoop Dogg, is finally hitting select theaters on August 11. Video director Marc Klasfeld (Jay-Z, Avenged Sevenfold) helmed the movie. ... Bam Margera has contributed two original designs -- available on a variety of T-shirts or as mobile-phone wallpaper -- to benefit the Tony Hawk Foundation's efforts to create public skateboard parks in low-income communities. Margera's foul-mouthed cat and H.I.M.-inspired "heartagram" designs are on sale at AngelWear.com. ...

Camden, New Jersey, isn't the first place you might think of when contemplating the fate of the American farmer, but that's where organizers have chosen to hold the 19th Farm Aid concert, slated for September 30 at the 25,000-capacity Tweeter Center amphitheater. The benefit for American family farms will be headlined by its board of directors -- Neil Young, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews -- with more acts to be added, according to the organization's Web site. To date, Farm Aid has raised nearly $30 million. Tickets for the show go on sale July 22. ...

Michael Jackson told his side of the story in court Thursday -- via videotaped deposition. The singer, who is being sued for $3.8 million by former business associate F. Marc Schaffel, testified that he has a bad memory when it comes to his finances but did recall why he severed ties with Schaffel, The Associated Press reports. The singer said he was presented with a video in November 2001 that showed Schaffel directing a gay porn film. "What shocked me was that he was involved in that whole circle and I didn't know," Jackson said. The singer's attorney challenged Schaffel's unpaid-loan charges, saying that there are no documents to support claims of large sums lent to Jackson. ... Russell Crowe and his wife, Danielle Spencer, welcomed their second child on Friday (July 7), AP reports. Tennyson Spencer Crowe was born at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, Australia, Crowe's manager confirmed. ...

The Strokes, John Mayer and Frank Black have signed on to open for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers on various dates of the just-announced third leg of their summer tour. The leg kicks off September 14 in Chicago and includes a stop at this year's Austin City Limits Festival. ... Everyone's favorite geography-jocking folkie, Sufjan Stevens, will hit the road for a string of theater dates this fall. The tour -- which kicks off September 11 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville -- is not in support of Stevens' soon-to-be released outtakes album, The Avalanche, but rather is intended to "showcase his compositions in a more formal atmosphere," according to a hyperbolic press release. New York singer/songwriter Shara Worden (a.k.a. My Brightest Diamond) will open each show. Tickets go on sale this weekend through DucatKing.com, and proceeds will be donated to a variety of charities, including Doctors Without Borders. ...

Three Days Grace are safe and sound after a car crashed into their tour bus Saturday. The band has resumed touring the U.S. with Nickelback. ... While passing through Medford, Oregon, on a day off from this summer's Ozzfest, Orange County, California, metal band Bleeding Through stopped for lunch at a Taco Bell -- where they coincidentally ran into several fans. After signing autographs and talking to the kids, who complained that their town had never had a metal show, BT set up an impromptu gig there that night, donating the proceeds to breast-cancer research. ... Parisian dance-rockers Phoenix are heading back to the U.S. in support of their third album, It's Never Been Like That. The group returns Stateside -- after a spring headlining tour that included a stop at Coachella -- for a 13-date, two-week trek that begins July 24 in Minneapolis and wraps up August 9 in Boston. ...

On September 26, My Morning Jacket will release Okonokos: Double Live Album, which, as the title implies, is an expansive two-disc documentation of their kinetic and frenetic live show. But that's not all. The following month, MMJ will drop the "Okonokos" live DVD, filmed at an "undisclosed" stop on the band's 2005 tour in support of their Z album and featuring "a cast of characters draped in Victorian-era costume, along with one alpaca [a.k.a. a llama]." Awesome. If you think the whole thing sounds a bit high-concept, you're right. According to a spokesperson for My Morning Jacket, it all sprung from the fertile imagination of frontman Jim James, who envisions the project "as much as a question as it is an answer. It is an enigma wrapped around a riddle." Double awesome. ...

Current Journey singer Steve Augeri has been forced to leave the band's tour with Def Leppard due to a chronic throat infection. Jeff Scott Soto, who has previously performed with Journey guitarist Neal Schon, will take over beginning Friday in Bristow, Virginia. ... Massive Attack have plotted out a two-month trip across North America, their first U.S. tour in over eight years. The electronic outfit, which previewed their live show at April's Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, kicks off the road trip at Toronto's V Festival on September 10. They band will make stops in cities including Detroit (September 13), Dallas (September 17), Los Angeles (September 24) and Washington, D.C. (September 28-29) before capping the tour with a three-night stand at New York's Roseland Ballroom, October 3-5. ...

Apple has succeeded in coaxing hot bands for its iPod ads, and now the computer company is welcoming acts into its physical stores. Alien Ant Farm will perform at the Apple Store at the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California, on July 20, while indie-rockers the 88 will play at the Grove location in Los Angeles on July 21. Actor Edward Burns will discuss his new movie, "The Groomsmen," at the Third Street Promenade location on Sunday. Burns wrote and directed the flick, which sees a limited theatrical release July 14. ... The re-formed Lemonheads, who recently signed with Vagrant Records, plan to release a self-titled album September 26. Frontman Evan Dando and ex-Black Flag drummer Bill Stevenson co-produced the 11-track disc, which also features Descendents bassist Karl Alvarez and special guests J. Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.) and Garth Hudson (the Band). Lemonheads will tour the U.S. this fall.

07.06.2006

Beyoncé, Kanye West, Christina Aguilera, Nelly Furtado, the Black Eyed Peas, Jamie Foxx, Rihanna, Daddy Yankee, the Pussycat Dolls and Bon Jovi are among the artists on board for the third annual Fashion Rocks concert. The music-and-style event, curated by Elton John and benefiting the Elton John AIDS Foundation, will take place September 7 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. A two-hour special will air the next night on CBS. ...

"Dreamgirls" star and former "American Idol" finalist Jennifer Hudson has pushed her solo debut to 2007 to allow time to shoot another movie. "[My agents] are pretty picky on what's next for me, like, 'Since you started up here, we have to keep you up there, so we have to be very specific,' " Hudson said of her next film. "I want to play somebody crazy. And I want to do a Tyler Perry movie, I definitely want to do that. I love his work. And Quentin Tarantino, I love him!" ...

The American Idols Live Tour kicked off Wednesday in Manchester, New Hampshire, one singer down. Runner-up Katharine McPhee missed opening night and will also have to skip the show on Thursday (July 6) due to a bout with bronchitis and laryngitis, The Associated Press reports. McPhee, whose doctor ordered "total voice rest," said in a statement, "I need to follow my doctor's orders to recuperate and reunite with the rest of the Idols." The tour hits Worcester, Massachusetts, Friday and Saturday. ... In other "American Idol" news, the series scored seven Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Reality-Competition Program, on Thursday, while "High School Musical" landed six nods, including Outstanding Children's Program and Outstanding Choreography. In the Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special running, only Paul McCartney represents music, with his "McCartney in Petersburg" concert. And an episode of "South Park" that skewers R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet" and Tom Cruise was recognized in the Outstanding Animated Program category. The 58th annual Primetime Emmy Awards, hosted by Conan O'Brien, air August 27 on NBC. ...

You won't see contestant Ayla Brown on tour with the "American Idol" crew this summer -- she didn't make the top 10 -- but she will be one of the Boston-area stars lending their talents to the second annual Hot Stove, Cool Music benefit for the Foundation to Be Named Later, which aids organizations that serve disadvantaged youth in the Boston area. Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein, co-founder of FTBNL, will jam with Buffalo Tom at the event, which takes place Wednesday at Fenway Park. Other performers include the Click Five, Kay Hanley, the Gentlemen and Juliana Hatfield. Red Sox pitcher Lenny DiNardo will also appear, and actor/comedian Mike O'Malley will serve as the benefit's MC. Tickets to the event are available at RedSox.com. ... The Houston Astros pitching staff can rest easy: Paul "Man of Many Jobs" Wall doesn't want a spot in the rotation. But he was on the mound Monday night -- the Houston native threw out the first pitch as the Astros took on the Chicago Cubs at Minute Maid Park. ...

A defective lamp sparked a minor blaze inside Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne's mansion Thursday morning (July 6), AP reports. None of the Osbournes were inside the palatial estate, located 26 miles west of London, at the time of the fire, although one member of the household staff was treated for smoke inhalation. "We were able to prevent the fire from spreading," Fraser Pearson, a spokesperson for the Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue service, told AP. Only minor fire and smoke damage was caused. ... The track list for Evanescence's forthcoming LP, The Open Door, has been revealed. The October 3 release will feature 13 cuts, including "Weight of the World," "Snow White Queen," "All That I'm Living For," "Cloud 9" and the first single, "Call Me When You're Sober." ... Papa Roach have signed on to headline the 2006 Zippo Hot Tour in November. The band's fourth album, The Paramour Sessions, is due September 12. ...

Phone messages from Michael Jackson were played for the jury hearing a civil case against the pop singer, who is being sued for $3.8 million by former business associate F. Marc Schaffel, the AP reports. The messages, dating from 2001, were presented by Schaffel's legal team to establish that Jackson trusted Schaffel with millions of dollars. "I really want us to be friends and conquer the business world together," Jackson says on the tapes. Schaffel alleges that he's owed for two videos he made for Jackson, and wasn't repaid for $300,000 he delivered to Brazil on Jackson's behalf. Schaffel's attorney also called businessman Alvin Malnik to the stand, who testified that Jackson seemed confused by money matters but did repay millions of dollars that Malnik lent him. ...

The lineup has been announced for MusicfestNW, a three-day concert benefiting music education and taking place in Portland, Oregon. The 32-band bill includes the Dandy Warhols, the Brian Jonestown Massacre, Stephen Malkmus, Little Brother, Phantom Planet, the Zombies, the Melvins, the Silver Jews, Spoon's Britt Daniel, Dead Prez's M-1 and Crooked Fingers' Eric Bachmann. The festival takes place September 7-9 in clubs throughout Portland and proceeds will benefit Rock and Roll Camp for Girls and the Oregon Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's efforts to increase music education in high schools. ...

Legendary rock and roll magazine Creem is gearing up for its latest revival. The Web site for the 1970s magazine, home to early rock-writing icons such as Lester Bangs, currently has its return pegged for this week, but as of Thursday there was no content on the site. According to the Detroit Metro Times, the famously irreverent magazine is set to relaunch as an online 'zine with eventual plans to rev up the print edition as well. Interest in Creem, launched in 1969, was stoked in 2000 by former contributor Cameron Crowe's movie, "Almost Famous." ... And then there were two. Live Nation, the biggest concert promoter in the U.S., has agreed to pay $350 million to purchase its largest competitor, House of Blues Entertainment. The deal, which a press release from Live Nation said would close by year's end, would have LN taking over HOB's 10 clubs in cities like Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Chicago and eight amphitheaters in cities including Atlanta, San Diego and Dallas. LN sold 30 million concert tickets in 2005 at its 153 venues, compared to 7 million by HOB and 6 million by LN's remaining large competitor, AEG Live, according to Pollstar.