Lil' Kim's entertainment attorney has responded to rumors that the rapper has been dropped from Atlantic Records following her early release from prison last month. "We are having discussions which I cannot confirm the details [of] at this time. However, we do wish Atlantic would release and simply free Kim," L. Londell McMillan said in a statement. ...

Carmen Electra filed for divorce from Dave Navarro on Thursday (August 10), The Associated Press reports. She cited "irreconcilable differences." The couple announced their split in mid-July. ...

Dave Chappelle, coming off a sold-out 15-show residency at San Francisco's Punch Line comedy club, has quietly booked a tour that will keep him in theaters across the country through August. The outing begins Friday in Norfolk, Virginia, and ends in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with a pair of gigs on the 25th and 26th. ...

Method Man has set August 29 as the new release date for his upcoming album 4:21 ... The Day After. The LP, which will feature "Say" featuring Lauryn Hill as its first single, was originally due July 18. ...

Gwyneth Paltrow thinks Nicole Richie is "super cute" -- so she told Bazaar magazine for its latest cover story. ([article id="1538347"]See pics from the piece right here.[/article]) The seemingly mild-mannered actress also revealed that she's not so demure behind the wheel: "I curse when I drive," she said. "I'm like a horribly aggressive New York driver. I'm always yelling, 'F--- you!' at truck drivers and honking my horn!" ...

Poor Sean Preston -- he isn't even a year old and he's already made a worst-dressed list. The September issue of Esquire puts Britney Spears and Kevin Federline's toddler son -- who's a bit young to have much of a say in his wardrobe -- in the fashion-disaster ranks alongside Axl Rose and Marc Anthony. The new face of James Bond, Daniel Craig, sits at the other end of the style spectrum with a best-dressed nod, followed by runner-up John Legend. Actors Terrence Howard and Jake Gyllenhaal and Australian rocker Nick Cave round out the men's magazine's top-five fashion stars. ...

Kelly Clarkson is heading back into the recording booth -- with Congress, on Capitol Hill. The singer is headlining the Recording Academy's Grammys on the Hill advocacy events, set for September 6 in Washington, D.C. Clarkson will lead a group of musicians, songwriters, producers and engineers who will join the Congressional Grammy Band -- featuring members of Congress who are also musicians -- for a recording session. That night, Clarkson, Senator Dianne Feinstein and Representative Mark Foley will be honored by the Academy at a gala dinner. ...

Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts are getting a fresh boost. Matthew McConaughey just auctioned his 1971 Corvette Stingray convertible on eBay, and he'll be forking over the $61,600 winning bid to Oprah Winfrey's Angel Network for Katrina and Rita recovery efforts, AP reports. Mississippi rockers Three Doors Down visited the Gulf Coast earlier this week to dole out money raised from a benefit auction held last year, while Dr. Phil just taped episodes of his TV show in New Orleans that will air at a later date. ...

No Doubt have donated an autographed guitar to benefit Orange, California's Providence Speech and Hearing Center. A chance to win the black Slammer Special by Hamer, signed by Gwen Stefani, Tom Dumont, Tony Kanal and Adrian Young, costs $100. To enter the charity raffle, visit PSHC.org. ... Song titles like "Promiscuous" and "Maneater" don't sound like the work of a quilter, but Nelly Furtado is getting crafty to create the center square of a custom quilt to be auctioned off to benefit environmental charity the Land Conservancy. Furtado is counting on fans to fill out the quilt with their own 12-inch square creations. Participants whose panels make the cut will earn an autographed photo of the singer. Head to NellyFurtado.com for more information on the project. ...

Alicia Keys, Bow Wow, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley, Hoobastank and Sara Evans all agreed that Arcata, California, high school student Laurel Dammann knows how to express unity through music. The 16-year-old's "Through the Fall" was unanimously chosen by the panel of judges as the winner of the "come together" themed 2006 Songwriting Contest for Teens, sponsored by USA Today and Billboard. "It's about prejudices and differences," Dammann explained to Billboard. "The problem is, some don't look past the differences to see the person." ... Have you considered trying out for "American Idol" but fear that Simon Cowell would say you're better suited for Broadway? Do you dream of being the next John Travolta or Olivia Newton-John? There's finally a televised talent search that fits the bill. "You're the One That We Want," set to air as a midseason addition to NBC's 2006-07 season, is seeking Danny and Sandy wannabes to lead the cast of a Broadway revival of "Grease" set to bow in June. ...

Tommy Lee, Papa Roach and Tiesto are among the artists participating at the second Bacardi Global Gathering, a three-day concert taking place at Las Vegas' Palms Casino September 1-3. The first Global Gathering was staged in Miami in March and featured Nine Inch Nails, Rob Zombie and Sasha and Digweed. More performers for the second one will be announced in the coming weeks. ... Portishead fans who have been waiting nine years for the band's third studio album are going to be left hanging even longer. According to a post on drummer Geoff Barrow's MySpace page, the eight-years-in-the-making LP isn't coming along as planned. "Work ain't good at the moment," he wrote. "We've got stuck. Just a few more months and we can really go at it. ... It's really hard not to sound like you're doing a bad impression of yourself." ...

DJ Shadow will tour this fall in support of The Outsider, his forthcoming album slated for September 12 release. After a tour of Europe and Japan, DJ Shadow will kick his U.S. run off September 20 in Seattle, and hit Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Dallas, New Orleans and Chicago before wrapping things up in New York on October 18. ... Kaki King will be headlining the fourth annual Yellow Umbrella Tour, which will make 33 stops across North America to raise awareness of cervical cancer and the virus that causes it, HPV. Best known for her acoustic-guitar instrumentals, King has enlisted a band for the tour, which will feature music from her recently released third album, Until We Felt Red -- which takes her sound in a new direction with electric guitar and vocals. The Yellow Umbrella Tour kicks off September 7 in New York and wraps up October 23 in Boston. Cervical cancer survivor and tour founder Christine Baze will open for King on the road trip.

08.09.2006

"Stop writing about me and start writing about how people are dying overseas for our country," Lindsay Lohan advised in Elle's September issue. The actress/singer -- who reveals that she's always aspired to be a pinup -- said she wants to follow Marilyn Monroe's example and perform for troops. She also explained that she's not afraid to go to Iraq, though the trip she's planned with Hillary Clinton has been held up. Lohan, who insisted that media scrutiny won't derail her career -- "I'm never not going to be in the movies. I'm not going anywhere" -- detailed some of her nightclub exploits but offered little sister Ali a Hollywood warning: "Stay away from the boys. And watch who you associate with publicly, especially if someone has a certain rep. ... I guess people would say she'd have to stay away from me, but that's not true. Because I'll nurture someone if they're out with me and take care of them." ([article id="1538183"]Check out photos from Lohan's Elle shoot here[/article].) ...

The Killers, the Raconteurs, the Roots, Fiona Apple the Mars Volta, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Jurassic 5 and Widespread Panic are among the artists set to perform at this year's Vegoose music festival, set for October 28-29 at Las Vegas' Sam Boyd Stadium and Star Nursery Field. The lineup for Vegoose at Night, an after-dark series of Sin City club shows set for October 27-31, will be announced in the coming weeks. ... Organizers of a concert in Malaysia featuring the Pussycat Dolls were fined the equivalent of $2,714 for the group's "sexually suggestive routines" onstage at the July event, local newspaper Malay Mail reported. "I believe the way the Pussycat Dolls behaved onstage amounted to gross indecency," Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Rais Yatim said, according to the paper. "The Pussycat Dolls reportedly put on a show which not only featured scantily dressed performers but also included sensuous elements." ...

Paris Hilton will be promoting her debut album Paris -- due August 22 -- with a string of in-store appearances and record-release parties. Hilton will visit the Miami area August 15, appearing at Specs in South Beach and hosting a party at Suite in Miami Beach. On August 16, she'll be in New York for an in-store at FYE and a release party at Marquee. And Hilton hits Los Angeles on August 18 for a Best Buy appearance and a party at Privilege. ... The soundtrack to the forthcoming video game "NHL 2K7" will feature music from a dozen bands, including Hot Hot Heat, the Postal Service, the Constantines, Band of Horses, Mudhoney, Nebula and Sleater-Kinney. "NHL 2K7" will arrive in stores next month for Xbox 360, Xbox and PlayStation 2. ...

Parade magazine asked 10,000 Americans to share their pop-culture opinions and -- surprise! -- those polled had plenty to say about Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson. Britney's darker hair is a hit -- 6 percent call her blond-to-brown move their favorite big change -- but her apparent parenting goofs scored 22 percent of the "stupidest celebrity stunt" vote. And 7 percent of those polled said they'd be happy if Britney disappeared from the public eye altogether -- though Paris was the big "winner" in that category, with nearly one-third of respondents wishing they never hear her name again. Jessica and Nick Lachey's divorce broke 18 percent of hearts (only the Hilary Swank/ Chad Lowe split was deemed a bigger bummer, with 22 percent of the vote), while Ashlee Simpson's "new nose" was the third-favorite transformation, coming in behind Clay Aiken's updated 'do (33 percent) and Janet Jackson's major weight loss (25 percent). ... Former Da Band member Young City is being held in a Gwinnett County, Georgia, jail following a July 31 arrest. The rapper, whose real name is Rodney Hill and who went by Chopper on MTV's "Making the Band 2," was pulled over for speeding and detained when authorities noted that he had an outstanding warrant in Baltimore on an armed robbery charge. According to his spokesperson, Barnes is being held without bond while he awaits extradition to Maryland. ...

Dirty Pretty Things singer/guitarist Carl Barat recently broke his collarbone, but the band's U.S. tour -- which kicked off Tuesday in Los Angeles -- is carrying on as scheduled, with the Paddingtons' Josh Hubbard filling in for Barat on guitar. Dirty Pretty Things have an in-store appearance at San Francisco's Amoeba Music set for Wednesday (August 9) at 6 p.m. ... Every Time I Die will release the DVD "Sh-- Happens" on October 31. The band will tour with Atreyu, From First to Last and Chiodos beginning October 7 in Phoenix. Dates are scheduled through a November 19 show in Las Vegas. ... Rock Kills Kid frontman Jeff Tucker was victimized by a burglar who entered his Honolulu hotel room on Sunday at approximately 5:30 a.m. "At first I thought I was dreaming," explained the singer, who awoke to find the intruder standing over him. "Second, I thought it was a hotel worker putting towels in the room. I looked at him and said 'Hello,' and he bolted." The man managed to swipe Tucker's wallet, cell phone, credit card and room key. Tucker and the band's manager, Rodney Afshari, chased down the burglar and held him until police arrived. Brandon Riester, who police say is in the U.S. Navy, was arrested and charged with one count of burglary. ...

A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit filed by Rush members Geddy Lee and Neal Peart against three Collier County sheriff's deputies is without merit. The bandmembers filed the suit against the deputies who'd been involved in a 2003 altercation with Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel restaurant in Naples, Florida, claiming the band lost business due to the injuries Lifeson sustained during the skirmish. The judge decided that Lee and Peart have no legal standing as they were not involved in the fracas. Lifeson's suit against the officers, which seeks millions of dollars in damages, should not be affected by the judge's decision. ... The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is keeping the video and audio tapes of Mel Gibson's drunken-driving arrest out of the hands of the media, saying they are part of an "investigatory file," The Associated Press reports. The tapes, which capture Gibson's anti-Semitic tirade, "are records of the investigation and part of the investigatory file in this matter," said Gary P. Gross, principal deputy for the county counsel's office. They will remain sealed for the time being. ... Bassist Mario Cipollina, a founding member of Huey Lewis & the News, pleaded guilty Monday to felony counts of heroin and methamphetamine possession, AP reports. Cipollina, who left the band in 1994, is being held without bail on the charges -- which violate the terms of his probation for burglary and theft convictions. He is due back in court August 21 and could be sentenced to more than four years in prison if convicted.