T.I. is [article id="1572886"]under house arrest[/article] as he awaits his trial on [article id="1571888"]weapons charges[/article] -- but he doesn't want that to get in the way of the holidays. The rapper (real name: Clifford Harris) has asked a judge to let him host a Thanksgiving Day celebration at his home in Jonesboro, Georgia, according to The Associated Press. On Tuesday, his attorneys requested that a list of family members be given "approved visitation to have dinner with the defendant" from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on November 22. T.I. isn't allowed to have visitors without prior approval and can't have more than three visitors at a time, with minor exceptions. His October 26 release on bond is being supervised by a monitoring service, which would also be present for the Thanksgiving celebration. ...

Lawyers for Britney Spears and Kevin Federline will be in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday for an emergency hearing in their ongoing [article id="1573132"]custody dispute,[/article] TMZ.com reports. The hearing was reportedly called by Federline's attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan, who is alleging that the singer has not followed drug-testing procedures. Neither Spears nor Federline are expected to show. In other Brit news, her longtime photographer and friend Mark Lidell revealed to "Extra" what went wrong at the [article id="1565512"]notorious OK! magazine photo shoot[/article] earlier this year. "Paparazzi absolutely killed and ruined our day ... they were everywhere ... and it made our shoot absolutely impossible." He said Spears later told him, " 'Mark, if you want me to come back afterwards, I'll do my best and get back' ... but she had to go and finish off the music video [for 'Gimme More']." ...

Embattled pop star Amy Winehouse has been granted a visa allowing her to enter the United States but will still not be making any of her previously scheduled appearances, her publicist confirmed to MTV News on Wednesday (November 7). The "Rehab" singer was set to appear at the mtvU Woodie Awards on Thursday and as the musical guest on "Saturday Night Live" (which is now in reruns anyway, due to the [article id="1573641"]writers' strike[/article]) this weekend. Some speculated Winehouse's recent [article id="1573233"]visa troubles[/article] were thought to have something to do with her recent [article id="1572333"]arrest for marijuana possession[/article] in Norway. Winehouse will next visit the States in January to kick off her U.S. tour. ...

Lily Allen doesn't show much skin when she performs -- but she's stripping down to model lingerie as part of a new six-figure deal, according to MTV UK. Like Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dita Von Tesse and Kate Moss before her, Allen has signed with risqué clothing company Agent Provocateur. The singer has also recently modeled for a shampoo company and is working on a TV show. ...

Michael Jackson's Neverland nightmare might be coming true -- according to TMZ, the estate has gone into foreclosure per a Notice of Default report for California's Santa Barbara County. The singer was reportedly delinquent on a $23 million loan as of October 12. ...

Lil Wayne, Against Me!, Juelz Santana, Arctic Monkeys and Fat Joe, all in the same place? Indeed -- you'll find those artists, as well as Ol' Dirty Bastard, Lady Sovereign, Pete Doherty and others, showcased in "The Vice Photo Book," a new volume culling shots from the magazine's 13-year history. The 336-page tome will be sold for $45 at bookstores starting in December. ...

Swizz Beatz and T-Pain took the stage on Tuesday night at the "Women of King" Calendar party held at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York. Q-Tip, radio personality Wendy Williams and Dres of Black Sheep were all on hand as D-Nice manned the turntables at the shindig, which was sponsored by Remy Martin. ... Talib Kweli, Strong Arm Steady and Jean Grae got together onstage at Belvedere Vodka's Apollo Lounge in New York's Harlem neighborhood on Tuesday night in an effort to draw more young people to the famed Apollo Theatre. Fonzworth Bentley was in attendance. ...

Diddy [article id="1573623"]got a break on Tuesday[/article] when a district attorney in New York decided not to charge him with assault in an [article id="1571906"]alleged incident last month.[/article] Well, now comes more good news for the music mogul, albeit of a very different variety: His YouTube search for someone to hold his umbrella has ended, he announced on Tuesday on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." He gave the job to Heather Thompson, who remarked, "I understand who the star is in this relationship." Diddy said he's looking for four assistants in total, so his YouTube quest goes on. ...

In what could amount to a case of Jessica Alba mirroring Madonna, the "Fantastic Four" actress, who doesn't have any stage experience, has been approached to star in a new Broadway production of David Mamet's "Speed-the-Plow" in which Madge previously starred, the New York Post reports. According to the Post, James Gandolfini is being considered for one of the male lead roles. ...

My Bloody Valentine fans, the wait is over -- that reunion album you've been hoping for is a go, and apparently it's even happening this year. TheDailySwarm.com reports that on Monday VBS.tv will launch an exclusive video interview between My Bloody Valentine mastermind Kevin Shields and Ian Svenonius (Weird War, the Make Up) as part of the online TV channel's "Soft Focus" series. In the conversation, Shields reportedly said a yet-untitled album -- which involved the band getting back in the studio for the first time since 1995 -- will be dropping this year. "It sounds like what we sounded like -- different but not radically different. People will go, 'Yeah, it sounds like My Bloody Valentine,' " he reportedly said. ...

Sub Pop -- the record label that boasts "Podfisting our way to your blog. Or whatever" as one of its current slogans -- has launched a new digital-download music store. Among the initial 200 offerings in the store, which will eventually incorporate out-of-print material, are releases by the Shins, Sleater-Kinney, David Cross, Low, Band of Horses and Iron and Wine. Customers who purchase files through the store will be able to download them multiple times, which also means that fans will be able to get additional bonus tracks or improved sound quality if and when the releases are enhanced. ...

Radiohead's [article id="1570871"]name-your-own-price album scheme[/article] has resulted in [article id="1573637"]only two of five listeners[/article] paying for the band's new In Rainbows LP, but the noble pursuit might have landed Radiohead some additional profits. Billboard reports that the band's seven previous albums have sold 35.8 percent more copies since Radiohead made the In Rainbows announcement on September 30. ...

Pete Doherty showed signs of improvement in his ongoing battle with drugs last month when a judge gave him a suspended jail sentence after seeing signs of progress -- but now there's more bad news for the Babyshambles frontman. "Peter sadly relapsed last week and is now looking to check himself back into a rehab clinic so that he can try to continue the hitherto excellent attempts he had made to break free of heroin," his record label, EMI, said in a statement, according to AP. The announcement was made after a video of Doherty recently injecting himself with heroin surfaced online. According to EMI, Doherty considers the incident "a stupid, stupid action for which I feel only shame." ...

Cowboy Junkies go to church: The Canadian alt-rockers recently returned to the Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto, where they recorded 1988's The Trinity Session, to commemorate the album, which many consider to be their most important work. Ryan Adams, Vic Chestnutt, Jeff Bird and Natalie Merchant joined the Junkies for The Trinity Revisited, a reworking of the album that is coming out in the form of a DVD/CD set on February 26, in time for the original effort's 20th anniversary. ...

Actors have been showing their support for the [article id="1573641"]writers' strike[/article] in recent days, but former Disney chief Michael Eisner has a much different take on the protest: In a word, it's "stupid," he says. "I've seen stupid strikes, I've seen less stupid strikes. ... This is a stupid strike," he reportedly remarked during a panel discussion at a conference in New York on Wednesday, Reuters reports. "It's a waste of their time," he added. "[The studios] have nothing to give. They don't know what to give." ...

Politically inclined music fans are probably familiar with HeadCount, the voter-registration that teamed with the Dave Matthews Band, the Allman Brothers Band and other artists to register 50,000 people for the 2004 election. Well, the volunteer-run group is coming back for next year's races -- and has an even loftier goal in mind: to register 200,000 new voters. HeadCount -- which more recently became aligned with O.A.R. as well -- is seeking volunteers to join its street teams, which will register people at future concerts. Go to HeadCount.org for more info. ...

Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Hank Thompson died of lung cancer on Tuesday, days after he canceled his tour, AP reports. October 8 -- which turned out to be the day of his last show -- had been declared "Hank Thompson Day" by Texas Governor Rick Perry and Waco Mayor Virginia DuPuy. Thompson was 82.

11.06.07

Britney Spears is giving an early Christmas gift to ex-husband Kevin Federline -- $120,000, for the legal bills he has amassed in his [article id="1573132"]child-custody battle[/article] with the pop singer, the Los Angeles Superior Court confirmed to MTV News on Tuesday (November 6). Commissioner Scott Gordon made the ruling in light of the "disparity between the parties' income" and that "the vast majority of the ... litigation deals with [Spears'] conduct," according to documents released Tuesday, TMZ reports. As it was revealed last week, Spears earns approximately $737,000 each month, while Federline made $7,436, after business expenses, in all of 2006. Federline's lawyer had originally requested $160,000, the total costs for Federline's fees, according to UsMagazine.com. He currently receives $15,000 a month from Spears in child support and $20,000 in spousal support, which expires November 15. ...

Should Stephen Colbert be pointing his finger at Barack Obama's camp for his presidential bid being shot down in South Carolina? According to CNN, two of the Illinois senator's supporters called state Democratic Party officials to urge them to keep the "Colbert Report" host off the primary ballot. Obama's campaign is denying that it had any connection to the phone calls. "Democrats in South Carolina, including supporters of ours, had strong feelings on both sides of the ballot issue, and ultimately it was South Carolina Democrats who made this decision," said Kevin Griffis, Obama's South Carolina communications director. At least one member of the executive council -- which denied Colbert's bid by a 13-3 vote -- said he felt pressured by former State Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum to oppose Colbert's bid to be on the ballet, according to CNN. Tenenbaum is a well-known Obama supporter, and his camp has embraced her endorsement publicly. "She said it wouldn't be fair to the other candidates. That he [Colbert] wouldn't be sincere. That he was only running in one state," said the official, who requested anonymity, according to CNN. "The Obama people, they just didn't want him at all." Tenenbaum said that was a mischaracterization, telling CNN, "I called them to see what they were thinking and if they had made up their mind. I am a volunteer in that campaign, and so I am not a staffer. And I thought it could have taken votes away from a lot of people." South Carolina State Representative Bakari Sellers, who has also endorsed Obama, revealed to CNN that he also made calls to members of the executive council in an attempt to persuade them to deny Colbert's bid. "I placed the calls as a concerned Democrat, realizing that we are a country in despair," Sellers said. "It is not a time for games or to make a mockery of the process." It's unclear what effect the calls had on the executive council's vote. ...

Obama's got someone else on his side -- Borat. In a recent Reuters interview, the crazy Kazakh spilled that he would like to see the junior senator from Illinois be president ... er, "premier." "I cannot believe that it possible a woman can become Premier of US and A," he said, clearly referencing Democratic candidate Senator Hillary Clinton. "In Kazakhstan, we say that to give a woman power, is like to give a monkey a gun -- very dangerous. We do not give monkeys guns any more in Kazakhstan ever since the Astana Zoo massacre of 2003 when Torkin the orang-utan shoot 17 schoolchildrens. I personal would like the basketball player, Barak Obamas to be Premier." Borat gave the interview to hype the Tuesday release of his new book, the not-so-concisely titled "Touristic Guidings to Minor Nation of U.S. and A. and Touristic Guidings to Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." He had previously planned two books but wound up combining them into one volume. ...

When 50 Cent famously said earlier this year that he would retire if he were to lose to Kanye West in their much-hyped [article id="1570001"]album showdown,[/article] his critics were apparently listening. Christian media watchdog group the Resistance is demanding that the rapper keep his promise and quit, according to TMZ. "It is time for 50 Cent to be a man of his word and retire," Mark Dice, a spokesman for the group, reportedly said. "The world will be a better place when this satanic piece of filth retires and stops making music." The group is also asking for people to go to 50 Cent's MySpace and post comments asking him to quit. ... Jay-Z unleashed his [article id="1571481"]American Gangster[/article] album on Tuesday, but don't go looking for it on iTunes -- it won't be available there. In a statement issued Tuesday, the hip-hop mogul said he isn't selling the album on iTunes because he doesn't want the songs available for individual purchase. "As movies are not sold scene by scene, this collection will not be sold as individual singles," he said. That's probably just as well for Universal Music, which distributes Jay's Def Jam label -- earlier this year, the company's chief, Doug Morris, refused to re-up a multi-year contract with iTunes to put Universal music in the online store. Morris has been trying to enlist other industry heavyweights to team up for a competing online music service. ...

Chris Brown has his hands full with a just-released new album, [article id="1559602"]Exclusive,[/article] and an upcoming movie, November 21's [article id="1572988"]"This Christmas,"[/article] but he's taking on another project -- and this one's for a good cause. Brown is starring in a new video that encourages middle school students to get interested in math and fundraising. The video -- which incorporates elements of the singer's "Run It" clip and will be shown in thousands of schools -- is part of the Math-a-Thon program St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has been running for almost three decades. Students who participate in Math-a-Thon complete math problems after getting pledges from family and friends, and the money raised is used to help children with cancer and other diseases. Brown visited the Memphis, Tennessee, hospital last year and has been a steady supporter. "We can all make a difference in the lives of others," Brown said in a statement. "I'm proud to help St. Jude. I feel like I'm just a regular person helping out." ...

Backstreet Boys, Joss Stone, Grizzly Bear, Band of Horses and Garth Brooks have all been forced to scrap their planned late-night talk-show appearances this week due to the ongoing [article id="1573641"]writers' strike,[/article] RollingSyone.com reports. ... Prepare to be judged -- by Will.I.Am. The Black Eyed Pea will be among the preliminary-round judges for a Super Bowl-related battle-of-the-bands competition being put on by Doritos. The band that wins "Crash the Super Bowl 2" will get a major-label contract and see its original song air during the big game on February 3. Voting is being held at SnackStrongProductions.com. ...

A man has been charged in connection with vandalism at the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts in Georgia last month, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Kenneth Anthony Wilson, 43, was charged late last week with a felony second-degree charge of criminal damage to property and is being held at jail in DeKalb County jail on a $1,500 bond. The building had been defaced and a noose had allegedly been hung around the neck of a statue commemorating the deceased rapper, though police later said the object was actually a cross hung on a string. Police also said defamatory stickers and papers were left on the statue and that a pair of underwear had been wrapped around its head. A police spokesperson told the newspaper that authorities doubt Wilson, who is black, had a racial motive in the incident. ...

Though they still haven't spoken in detail about the nervous condition affecting drummer Meg White which [article id="1569504"]forced them abandon[/article] their world tour this summer, the White Stripes announced on their Web site that they've been in the studio and have cooked up some new tunes. The post reports that "the White Stripes have just filmed an exciting new video and recorded three never-before-heard original songs (with a special collaboration) and one unique new version of a song from their latest album, 'Icky Thump.' " No information was given about the release date of the new music or the debut of the video. ... Danish lo-fi rockers the Raveonettes have a new home: Vice Records. The duo's fourth album, Lust Lust Lust, will drop early next year. ...

Prince has beef -- with his fans. Lawyers for the singer have been hitting Prince fan sites with cease-and-desist letters demanding that the sites remove all images, artwork, fan-submitted pictures related to Prince, including ones of tattoos and license plates that refer to him, according to RollingStone.com. A handful of Prince fan sites have assembled to create a new site, PrinceFansUnited.com, and said in a post on it that they vow to "defend their position in the proper court of law, as well as fully prosecute any claims to which they are justly entitled." ... Expect to hear music again at legendary New York punk club CBGB, [article id="1543182"]which closed last year[/article] -- but if you go there to check out a band, expect to be surrounded by men's clothes when you do. The space will soon be home to a new John Varvatos boutique, Billboard.com reports, but the fashion designer told the news outlet that he plans to hold in-store performances at the location and will be integrating the permanent CBGB stage into its design as well. ...

Jimmy Page has more to say about his fractured finger, which forced Led Zeppelin to [article id="1573307"]postpone[/article] their hugely anticipated reunion show last week. The guitar icon, who apologized for the concert's postponement on Monday, spoke to reporters at the Classic Rock Awards, according to BBC News. While he said the injury would take "a little while to heal," he also admitted that, "I've broken fingers before, a lot worse than this." "It's a nuisance because it's really needed," he added of his finger, saying that the damage wasn't permanent. The concert has moved to December 10, though it will still be held at London's O2 arena. BBC News also reports that Meat Loaf was not at the awards to receive his classic-album award -- the singer, who seemed to have declared an end to his career when he ended a recent concert midway and canceled two shows last week, is reportedly recovering from a bout of acute laryngitis. According to BBC News, it was the illness that caused Meat to cancel two subsequent shows on his U.K. tour. ...

Move over, Elvis Presley -- Garth Brooks is now the best-selling solo artist in history. The Recording Industry Association of America recently honored Brooks with a Special Career award for selling 123 million units in total. Presley has sold 118.5 million units. ... Country singer/songwriter Rosanne Cash, the eldest of late country icon Johnny Cash's five children, reports on her Web site that she will have brain surgery for a "rare but benign condition." The condition caused Cash, 52, to cancel four November dates on her Black Cadillac tour, but she said she expects to fully recover from the unnamed ailment and start touring again in the spring after she finishes work on her new album.