Avril Lavigne highlights her favorite clothes and accessories in the May issue of Lucky, explaining that she strikes a balance between rock and glamour. "I'm in a place in my life where I can try out things that are a bit more feminine but still maintain some punk attitude," she said. Hooded sweatshirts and Vans sit alongside diamond studs and patent-leather pumps on Lavigne's style short list, which also includes her makeup regimen -- "tons of mascara and eyeliner, and then just a little bit of Vaseline on my lips." In the interview, she also endorses the defunct Distillers: "Brody Dalle is such an amazing songwriter -- and she's got the coolest voice around." The Lucky issue hits newsstands Tuesday -- [article id="1556237"]catch a glimpse of the cover, exclusive Avril images and more right here.[/article] ...

Beyoncé has lined up a three-month North American tour titled the Beyoncé Experience that kicks off July 6 with an Essence Music Festival performance at the New Orleans Superdome. The run is scheduled to hit cities including St. Louis, Houston, Atlanta, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Toronto, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas and Los Angeles before wrapping up in Canada in early September. Fan-club tickets and VIP packages are now on sale at WeLoveBeyonce.com. Tickets will be available to the general public beginning April 20. ...

During an interview with New York's Hot 97 radio station on Wednesday, 50 Cent addressed the incident in which G-Unit artist Tony Yayo allegedly roughed up the son of Game's manager, Jimmy "Henchman" Rosemond. 50 asserted his innocence in the matter, saying surveillance cameras in his Connecticut home place him there at the time of the incident. "Absolutely not," he said when Hot 97 personality Miss Jones asked him if he was at all involved in the incident. 50 also proclaimed Yayo's innocence: "In this case, they are just putting his name in it," 50 said. "[Yayo] didn't hit him." ...

50 also appeared on Tyra Banks' "America's Next Top Model" Wednesday night. The rapper was a guest at a party that served as a networking challenge for the hopefuls, and got hands-on with an overeager contestant, pushing her into the pool. "You ain't supposed to be over here right now," Fif told aspiring model Jael. "I asked you to leave," he said before shoving her into the water. ... Foo Fighters will open for the Police at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium on June 23. Foos drummer Taylor Hawkins -- a vocal fan of the Police -- showed up at the band's reunion-tour press conference in mid-February, posing as a fake reporter. ...

Harry Potter appears to have some new enemies. Ten youths have been arrested in Britain on suspicion of vandalizing the Hogwarts Express steam train from the "Harry Potter" movies, police said Thursday (April 5), according to Agence France Presse. The train was attacked at a depot in mid-March, and the youths allegedly broke more than 230 of its windows. The damage is expected to cost almost $100,000 to repair. The suspects "have been released on police bail pending further inquiries to report back to British Transport Police in the first week of May," a BTP spokesperson told Agence France Presse. The train was also attacked in 2003, when graffiti was painted on one of its carriages. ...

More than 1,000 items owned by the Jackson family will be auctioned in Las Vegas in May -- if Michael Jackson doesn't get his way first. The Associated Press reports that the pop star is considering legal action to stop the sale of the items, with spokeswoman Raymone K. Bain telling the news service, "Mr. Jackson was not aware [of the auction] and he is extremely upset that his memorabilia was included." The items include Jackson's gold record for Thriller and handwritten lyrics for the Jackson 5's "ABC," and the auction is to be held May 30-31 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. ... Going up at a separate auction are two diaries Anna Nicole Smith wrote in the early '90s. In the entries, she detailed her bouts of depression, eating problems and love for oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II. Those items -- in addition to one of her photo-ID cards, a signed check, sales receipt and more -- will be auctioned April 14-15 at Heritage Auction Galleries in Dallas, AP reports. ... In related news, the Medical Board of California is investigating the psychiatrist who prescribed the 11 drugs found in the Florida hotel room where Smith died, Reuters reports. ...

Bobby Brown has missed concerts, court dates and child-support payments, but his failure to show up for a hearing on Wednesday may have cost him custody of his 14-year-old daughter. According to the Los Angeles Times, the singer was not present to hear his ex, Whitney Houston, tell an Orange County, California, judge that she doesn't need spousal support or child support to raise their daughter, Bobbi Kristina, without Brown. Houston described Brown as unreliable and a bad communicator. Superior Court Judge Franz Miller ruled that the divorce would become effective April 24, ending the couple's rocky 14-year marriage, with Brown getting visitation rights and facing the possibility of child-support payments in the future, if necessary. Brown's representative said he planned to file a motion to set aside the divorce ruling. ...

Al Gore will host the April 25 opening night of New York's Tribeca Film Festival, which will begin with a series of short Save Our Selves campaign movies about global warming, AP reports. ... The Knife are bringing back Silent Shout -- which Pitchfork.com ranked as the best album of 2006 -- in deluxe-edition form. The previous 11-track single-disc release is being bolstered by two additional discs: a concert CD capturing the Swedish electro-pop duo performing in Gothenburg, Sweden, on April 12, 2006; and a DVD featuring the same show, plus all the band's videos and the animated short "When I Found the Knife." The Knife are sharpening up the set for a May 8 release. ...

Nine Inch Nails' forthcoming LP, Year Zero, is streaming in its entirety at YearZero.nin.com. The album is slated for release April 17. ... Evanescence, Velvet Revolver and Buckcherry have been confirmed for Philadelphia rock station WMMR's inaugural MMR-B-Q, set for May 20 at the Tweeter Center in Camden, New Jersey. Chevelle, Fuel, Flyleaf and the Exies are also on the show's bill. ... Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder will headline the third annual Hullabaloo benefit for the Silverlake Conservatory of Music. The May 5 event, to be held at Los Angeles' Music Box & Fonda, will raise money for the Conservatory, co-founded by RHCP bassist Flea to help low-income students afford musical instruments and lessons. The show will also feature appearances by Woody Harrelson, magician/ former Possum Dixon bassist Rob Zabrecky, the Ditty Bops, Charlie Haden and the students and faculty of the SCM. ...

Bob Mould, Radio 4 and Harmony Rockets (featuring members of Mercury Rev) are on the lineup for an April 16 concert at New York's Bowery Ballroom to benefit Jawbox frontman J. Robbins' son Callum, who has been diagnosed with the nerve-disorder spinal-muscular atrophy. Tickets to the fundraiser, organized by Interpol's Sam Fogarino, are $25. ... Extreme's original lineup is set to reunite for a benefit concert in New York, this one honoring music manager Steven Hoffman, who worked for the band -- as well as Van Halen and Rush -- before dying of lung cancer in 2003. The concert is scheduled for May 18 at the Canal Room. All proceeds from the event will benefit lung-cancer research. ... The Warped Tour's WarpedPanel.com is up and running. On the site, fans can fill out online surveys that will be provided to sponsors "to make your concert experience better," according to concert organizers. Four hundred fifty members of the panel -- 10 from each city that the festival is hitting -- will get a free pass to the date of their choice and be able to watch their favorite band from the stage.

04.04.2007

Kelly Clarkson has decided to go with "Never Again" as the first single from her third album, My December, according to a post on her Web site. She said the single will hit radio on April 11 and provided some details about the album: "I know y'all have been waiting but just imagine having the music for months and not being able to show anyone ... it's torture!! The album is very much a story of my life and as you know my life is usually very intense with lots of roller-coaster rides. [The album's] got some killer rock stuff, some fun soulful tracks, some beautiful and intimate slower songs, and it's all me, so here's to hoping you like it, haha! My album will be dropping this summer (FINALLY) ... and I'm touring again this summer as well and I can't wait to see y'all." ...

Clarkson is slated to perform live as part of the two-night charity special "Idol Gives Back," which will air April 24-25 during the singing competition's normal time slots. The program is being held in conjunction with the Charity Projects Entertainment Fund and will raise awareness and funds for children living in extreme poverty in the U.S. and Africa. The wide-ranging cast of guest stars includes Daniel Radcliffe, Gwen Stefani, Pink, Forest Whitaker, Helena Bonham Carter, Hugh Grant and Keira Knightley. ... In other "Idol" news, Tony Bennett -- despite guesting on the show Tuesday night -- has bailed from a scheduled Wednesday night (April 4) appearance on "Idol." A spokesperson for the singer reportedly told "Access Hollywood" Bennett has a cold. ...

Christina Aguilera and Nicole Kidman have joined Lifetime's End Violence Against Women campaign, which focuses on helping women around the world as well as promoting the Violence Against Women Act in the U.S. Aguilera will star in a public-service announcement that will air on the TV channel and at concerts on her Back to Basics Tour, and she's also designed scarves and ties -- to be distributed to members of the White House and Congress -- that signify solidarity with victims of domestic violence. Kidman will also tape a PSA and, on LifetimeTV.com, discuss visiting sexual-assault survivors in Kosovo as part of her stint as goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Fund for Women. ... "Spider-Man 3" will premiere in Queens, New York -- Spidey's hometown -- at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 30, The Associated Press reports. The screening will kick off "Spider-Man Week in NYC," a citywide promotional event. The movie opens nationwide May 4. ...

Beck, who got creative last year by blanketing his Information disc with make-your-own artwork, is finding more ways to break from the norm. For a limited time, fans can grab their own Beck Sketchel shoulder bag, which incorporates Information art, via Beck.com. ... Panic! at the Disco, Wu-Tang Clan and the Shins lead the list of artists announced for Seattle's annual Bumbershoot music-and-arts festival. The partial list of acts slated for this year's event, scheduled for September 1-3, also includes Lupe Fiasco, Plain White T's, Crowded House, Steve Earle, Devotchka, Devendra Banhart, Gogol Bordello, Kill Hannah, Lyrics Born, Norma Jean, Roky Erickson & the Explosives and the Aggrolites. ...

Little Kids Rock, an innovative nonprofit music-education program that provides free instruments and lessons to children in public schools, has announced that it will be the sole beneficiary of the Six-String Masterpieces memorial tribute, auction and benefit concert honoring late Pantera/Damageplan guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott. The event is set for May 17 at West Hollywood, California's House of Blues and will feature an auction of electric guitars designed and hand-painted by the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Zombie, Tommy Lee, Marilyn Manson, Dave Navarro, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, and Slash. Artists scheduled to perform during the event include Navarro, Scott Ian (Anthrax), Aaron Lewis (Staind), Kerry King (Slayer) and Dimebag's brother, Hellyeah's Vinnie Paul. Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta will host the event. ...

Daddy Yankee has finally settled on a release date for his long-awaited major-label debut, The Cartel: The Big Boss. The Interscope set will drop June 5 and is slated to feature contributions from Akon, Jim Jones, Will.I.Am, Fergie and Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls. Yankee also recruited producer Scott Storch, who worked on the album's first single, "Impacto." ... Hip-hop tastemaker El-P is stepping out for a North American tour this spring. The 25-date stint begins April 27 with his appearance at the Coachella fest in Indio, California, and winds down June 8 in Washington, D.C. ... The oft-delayed Lost Tracks of Danzig, a two-disc box set of previously unreleased material, has been slated for a May 29 release. The set will come with a 12-page booklet of photos and a short anecdote about each song as remembered by frontman Glenn Danzig. ...

Director Robert Clark, best known for helming the 1983 holiday classic "A Christmas Story," was killed along with his son Wednesday after being hit by an alleged drunk driver, AP reports. Clark, 67, and his 22-year-old son, Ariel Hanrath-Clark, were involved in a head-on collision on Southern California's Pacific Coast Highway early Wednesday morning. The driver of the other vehicle is being hospitalized and, after being treated, will be booked for investigation of "gross vehicular manslaughter." ...

Prosecutors painted a grim picture of famed music producer Phil Spector on Tuesday in advance of his upcoming murder trial in the 2003 shooting of actress Lana Clarkson. They revealed new evidence that Spector had threatened women with violence several times in the past, including telling a man working security at a holiday party thrown by comic Joan Rivers that women "deserve to die. They all deserve a bullet in their ... head." The Los Angeles Times reports that a former assistant is ready to testify that Spector put a gun to her head and refused to let her leave his home after parties. Prosecutors revealed the past threats in court motions seeking to introduce the new evidence at Spector's murder trial later this month. Prosecutors also said that one of Rivers' former bodyguards has also told them that he recalled several instances where Spector spoke of shooting women. ...

Patti Smith's upcoming album 12 -- a collection of covers including reinterpretations of songs by Nirvana, Stevie Wonder, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and Tears for Fears -- is due April 17. ... The Fratellis and Jon Spencer & the Elegant Too have contributed new music to the "Hot Fuzz" soundtrack, due April 17. The disc also features previously released songs by the Kinks, XTC, Adam Ant and the Troggs -- as well as composer David Arnold's 23-minute "Hot Fuzz Suite." The cop comedy from the filmmakers behind "Shaun of the Dead" is due in theaters April 20.