Carrie Underwood is heading to the Persian Gulf. The singer, who recently scored two Grammy nominations, will entertain troops on her first United Service Organizations tour, The Associated Press reports. The exact dates and locations of her performances have not been revealed for safety and security reasons. ...

Add 50 Cent to the growing list of artists who will be counting down this New Year's Eve. Fiddy will be doing the "3, 2, 1" thing at New York's Roseland Ballroom, and the festivities will continue when Carson Daly and his friends party there after Daly wraps up his own separate New Year's Eve event. ...

Kelis walked the runway in New York on Tuesday (December 12) decked out in a dress made of McDonald's gift cards. The Arch Card ensemble, designed by inaugural "Project Runway" winner Jay McCarroll, will be auctioned on eBay Giving Works beginning Monday and ending December 31. Proceeds will benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities, which supports families in need. ...

Former pro wrestler Diamond Dallas Page wants Rocawear to pay for throwing up the Roc. A federal judge granted a motion to add Rocawear owners to the trademark- and copyright-infringement suit Page filed against Jay-Z in December 2005, according to a statement issued by Page's lawyer. The ex-wrestler alleges that his "Diamond Cutter" hand sign was misappropriated as the Roc symbol and seeks unspecified monetary damages along with an injunction barring its use by Jay-Z and Rocawear. ... Jada Pinkett Smith donated $1 million to her alma mater, the Baltimore School for the Arts, and requested that the high school's new theater be named in honor of classmate Tupac Shakur, AP reports. The school announced the donation Monday, explaining that the money will be used for renovation and expansion projects. Baltimore School for the Arts said in the statement that the new theater will be named after Pinkett Smith, who graduated in 1989. ...

Sir Elton John, Pharrell Williams, Duran Duran, Joss Stone and Roxy Music's Bryan Ferry are among the artists confirmed for the lineup for a charity concert marking the 10th anniversary of Princess Diana's death, BBC News reports. The show, organized by the late princess' sons, Princes William and Harry, will take place at Wembley Stadium on July 1. ... Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has posted remixes of the tracks "Analyse" and "The Clock," from his debut solo album, free to download on TheEraser.net. ... Ex-Guns N' Roses ax-slinger Gilby Clarke has a self-titled CD set for January 30. The disc antes up with 14 tracks from his solo career, two from his days with Colonel Parker and a re-recording of "Black" with "Rock Star: Supernova" runner-up Dilana. ...

The Stooges will release The Weirdness, the Iggy Pop-fronted band's first album of new material in 34 years, on March 20. The reunited band wrote more than 30 tracks for the LP and began working on the effort with producer Steve Albini (Nirvana, Pixies) back in October. The record will feature 16 cuts, including "Greedy Awful People," "Claustrophobia," "Mexican Guy," "She Took My Money" and "End of Christianity." The group also appeared on Pop's 2003 LP, Skull Ring. ... It turns out that $155,000 bid for a rare pressing of the first Velvet Underground album was a hoax. The Canadian Press Association reports that Montreal seller Warren Hill, who bought one of two known acetate recordings of The Velvet Underground & Nico for 75 cents at a sidewalk sale in New York in 2002, will try again after finding out that the top bid among more than 250 was phony. The rare acetate features different versions and/or mixes of several songs from the album's final release. ...

A Los Angeles judge has denied a request to cut a scene from the "Borat" movie featuring two fraternity members making racist and sexist remarks. According to a Reuters report, the students, who sued the film's producers and distributor last month claiming that the scene has tarnished their reputations, were denied a second shot at a temporary restraining order that would have removed the footage. The judge in the case ruled last week that they had failed to show a reasonable probability of success on the merits of their case or that money damages alone would be insufficient to resolve their claims. Last month, the attorney for the two men said the movie had cost one of the students a job at a major corporation and the other a prestigious internship. ...

José González issued his Live Session EP exclusively on iTunes Tuesday. The release features five songs recorded earlier this year in San Francisco: "Hints," "Lovestain" and "Crosses," from his Veneer debut; "Suggestions," a B-side; and "Storm," which hasn't come out in the U.S. yet. González is working on his second solo album, due next year, while his side project Junip are putting out their Black Refuge EP digitally later this month. ... On a similar note, Goldfrapp are slipping out their iTunes Session EP, also recorded earlier this year in San Francisco, on December 19. The Grammy-nominated duo check in with four tracks, studio versions of which have been out before: "Ooh La La," "Deer Stop," "Ride a White Horse" and "Strict Machine." ...

Lamb of God, Machine Head, Trivium and Gojira will be hitting the road together in February for a 40-date North American trek. The tour kicks off in Dallas on February 16, and dates run through April 5 in Cincinnati. ... The Arcade Fire are returning to their hometown of Montreal for a five-night run of shows, their first concerts in the city in over a year. The band will perform February 6-10 at the Ukrainian National Federation. Tickets go on sale Wednesday at Admission.com. ... Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun, 83, has slipped into a severe coma, Reuters reports. The legendary record man was hospitalized with a head injury after a fall at a Rolling Stones concert on October 29 and is on life support and in critical condition at a neurological intensive care unit at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York. Ertegun is in a deep coma, with a slim chance for meaningful recovery, his neurosurgeon told the wire service.

12.11.2006

Gwen Stefani, Nas, Ciara, Pussycat Dolls, AFI, Chamillionaire, Lady Sovereign and Three 6 Mafia are lined up to perform at "MTV Goes Gold: New Year's Eve 2007," which MTV will air live at 11 p.m. ET on New Year's Eve. Fall Out Boy, Timbaland, "Heroes" star Hayden Panettiere and blogger Perez Hilton will also make appearances at the event, to be held at New York's Times Square. MTV.com will feature performances on demand after the show, and the MTV Goes Gold: Bling in the New Year contest is allowing five winners to attend the festivities. ...

Foxy Brown was greeted with an unwelcome surprise Monday (December 11) when a New York judge summoned her to court over the infamous nail-salon incident, according to The Associated Press. Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Melissa C. Jackson accused Brown of breaking appointments with probation officers, not showing up to anger-management courses and failing to submit to drug tests. After hearing a probation officer say Brown "is flouting the court-ordered conditions of her probation," Jackson told the rapper she would go to jail if she doesn't comply with the terms of her sentence, which was passed down in October. ...

Courtney Love, on the other hand, got a rare dose of good news Monday when a Los Angeles judge ended her probation and dismissed two misdemeanor charges against her, AP reports. "Thank you for not taking me into custody. Thank you for giving me an opportunity. You've been a good, fair judge. Sorry for crying," the singer told Superior Court Judge Rand Rubin. "Early on in this case, Ms. Love, I think you came very close to coming into custody," Rubin said to her. "I think you've done very well. You've shown to me you are interested in a much less destructive lifestyle." Two of the misdemeanor charges that were tossed were related to drugs. ... Prince has been tapped as the halftime entertainment for the Super Bowl, which will be held at Dolphin Stadium near Miami on February 4. The game will be televised on CBS. ...

"The Simple Life" co-star Nicole Richie was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence early Monday morning. Police took the 25-year-old into custody after her black Mercedes SUV was stopped shortly after midnight in the car-pool lane of State Highway 134 near Burbank, California, and she admitted she had smoked marijuana and taken the painkiller Vicodin, according to the The Los Angeles Times. The arrest took place following two 911 calls to authorities about a car traveling in the wrong direction on the freeway; the car matched the description of Richie's, though People magazine reported that her car was stopped while facing the correct direction on the highway. After being booked at the Glendale Police Department, Richie posted $15,000 bail and was released around 7 a.m. ...

U2 completed their Vertigo Tour on Saturday night with a sold-out, two-and-a-half-hour-long finale in Honolulu that featured a surprise guest appearance from Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, who jammed with the band on their recent collaboration, "The Saints Are Coming." Also joining the group for an encore were Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready of show openers Pearl Jam, who sat in on a cover of Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World." Rocking along enthusiastically in the audience were Kid Rock and Anthrax's Scott Ian, according to the Honolulu Advertiser. ... Troubled rocker Pete Doherty was interviewed by police following the death of a man at a party he attended in the early hours of December 3, according to MTV UK. Actor Mark Blanco died after falling from a third-floor balcony during a party at a London apartment owned by Doherty's friend, literary editor Paul Roundhill. There was no suggestion that Doherty was involved in the death of the actor, who was reportedly ejected from the party after behaving rambunctiously, according to The Washington Post. Blanco was found lying unconscious on the pavement outside the apartment by a woman as she left the party. ...

According to BBC News, Mariah Carey is threatening to take legal action against adult-film star -- and former California gubernatorial candidate -- Mary Carey, to prevent the actress from trademarking her similar-sounding stage name. Mariah contends fans could confuse the two performers, should Mary Carey's trademark application be approved. The actress told Reuters she's "ready to battle Mariah over this because I've been Mary Carey for a long time. I think she's being silly." ... Metallica will begin recording a new album in January, and drummer Lars Ulrich said they have 25 songs written, which will be narrowed down to a single album after they enter the studio with super-producer Rick Rubin (Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slipknot). Ulrich said the album's sound will recall 1986's Master of Puppets, which the band played in its entirety at concerts over the summer (and which many fans consider the band's finest hour). "What I hear sounds very lively, very spunky, got a lot of energy," Ulrich told The Rock Radio. "I think that the shows we played over the summer, we were definitely leaner and kind of in better shape than we've been in a long time. Having to deliver Master of Puppets for three months this summer definitely revitalized some of that stuff in us. It's been kind of fun having that in the back of our mind." ...

A rare vinyl album containing an alternate version of the Velvet Underground's The Velvet Underground & Nico -- purchased for 75 cents at a New York flea market four years ago -- was sold on eBay for $155,401 over the weekend. The buyer, identified only as "mechadaddy," bought what is believed to be one of only two known acetates containing alternate mixes and versions of songs from the band's 1967 debut. ... Jazz singer Diana Krall, wife of Elvis Costello, gave birth to twins on Wednesday, the couple announced in a press release on Friday. The twin boys -- Dexter Henry Lorcan and Frank Harlan James -- are the first children for Krall, 42; Costello, 52, has a son from a previous marriage. The couple said, "We are ecstatic!" in the statement; mother and sons are said to be doing "splendidly." ...

Two witnesses to the December 8, 2004, slaying of late Pantera/Damageplan guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio, have filed a lawsuit against the club's owners for failing to provide adequate security at the venue. AP reports that Jerry and Karen Wessler's suit claims both continue to suffer severe and permanent emotional trauma from the experience and are seeking unspecified damages from the club's owners, Rick and John Cautela. Abbott was one of four people killed two years ago by Nathan Gale, who was killed by a policeman in the incident. The suit, filed last week, claims Gale's actions "were reasonably foreseeable, given the totality of circumstances." ... Nine Inch Nails will release a DVD called "Beside You in Time" on February 27. The effort was filmed during the band's tour last summer in support of 2005's With Teeth and will feature live performances of 19 tracks, including "March of the Pigs," "Closer," "The Hand That Feeds" and "Head Like a Hole." ... The sixth annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival will take place June 14-17 at the 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, that has hosted the previous festivals. A limited quantity of discount early-bird tickets will be available before the lineup is announced on Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET.