Ashlee Simpson might not sit on the toilet like Jenny McCarthy did in her ad, but the reality show star is the next Candie's girl. "Candie's always does tongue-in-cheek, very funny advertising and they have a great sense of humor," Simpson said in a statement. "The ads are always sexy and this is actually the first sexy photo shoot I've done." Simpson is slated to appear in the company's fall advertising campaign, which starts in the September issues of fashion, entertainment and lifestyle magazines. She will also perform a live concert for Candie's customers and make two in-store personal appearances at select retailers in major markets, to be announced. Meanwhile, Simpson was just nominated for the Fresh New Face award at the Teen Choice Awards, to be broadcast August 11 on FOX. ...

Outkast's Andre 3000 was just voted the "World's Sexiest Vegetarian" in PETA's annual online poll -- the first hip-hop star to make the list. Past winners have included Tobey Maguire, Shania Twain and Josh Hartnett. ... The hard-court dreams of Master P have once again clanked off the rim. The rapper and CEO of No Limit Records was cut from the summer league team of the NBA's Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, before the season even started. Master P has tried the b-ball thing before, having almost made it through training camps for the Charlotte Hornets and Toronto Raptors in 1999. He's played minor-league ball, too, most recently for the Las Vegas Rattlers of the ABA. ...

Hall of Fame-point-guard-turned-business-renaissance-man Magic Johnson has lined up the celebrities to join him at his annual charity event, A Midsummer Night's Magic. The two-day gala will feature New Edition and Carl Thomas performing on July 31 at the L.A. Center Studios and a celebrity b-ball game on August 1 at the Forum. Nick Cannon and Xzibit are among the stars who will hoop it up. ... There's nothing like seeing 10 35-year-old women chasing a limousine. That scenario came to pass Tuesday night in Brooklyn, New York, as New Edition finished their set at Wingate Park and tried to make an exit. For a solid hour, Ronnie, Ricky, Ralph, Mike and Johnny performed nothing but hits from their catalog, including "Popcorn Love," "Cool It Now," "Mr. Telephone Man," "Poison," "Sensitivity" and "My, My, My" as part of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series. One oddity at the show -- the guys did not sing their current single, "Hot 2 Nite." The group was also given a New York City Proclamation from Brooklyn city council member Yvette Clarke for their years of performing. ...

ODB is readying the first single from his upcoming LP, Dirty. The track is called "Lift Your Skirt" and finds Dirt McGirt telling the ladies to do just that. ... Juvenile is moving in anything but "Slow Motion." He just signed a new deal with Atlantic Records and plans to release his next LP in early 2005. ... Two collections by the pioneering alternative rock band the Talking Heads will be issued on August 17. The first, The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads, will feature live material performed between 1977 and 1981. The recording was originally released in 1982 as a double album, but was previously unavailable on CD. The second, Best of the Talking Heads, features 18 of the band's biggest hits, including "Psycho Killer," "Once in a Lifetime" and "Burning Down the House." ...

A new album by the Used, In Love and Death, is set for release August 31. The John Feldmann-produced effort is the follow-up to the band's 2002 self-titled debut. ... A Duran Duran box set featuring the group's first three albums, Duran Duran, Rio and Seven and the Ragged Tiger, will be released on August 10. The package will include bonus music videos. ...

07.13.04

Paris Hilton no longer has "Screwed" -- she's lost the song, which was to be her first single, to Haylie Duff, who says she blocked the hotel heiress from attempting to release the song. "Paris has talked to the people who wrote the song, and I think it's all under control now," Duff told USA Today. ...

Print and broadcast PSAs featuring Christina Aguilera and Outkast's Andre 3000 encouraging young people to vote will hit magazines and airwaves later this month. Declare Yourself, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, is behind the ads, which were shot by fashion photographer/video director David LaChapelle. ... R. Kelly made an unexpected appearance in a Chicago court Tuesday (July 13) to ask permission yet again to travel. Kelly put in a request to perform in Detroit at the Detroit Music Festival on July 24, which would require him to leave Chicago on July 23 and return by July 26. The court granted his request. ... Rosa Parks will not be compelled to give a deposition in her lawsuit against Outkast and Arista Records. According to Parks' lawyer, a judge ruled in her favor at a hearing Tuesday (July 13) after the group's attorneys argued that they should be allowed to question her. Last month, a January 10, 2005, trial date was set for the lawsuit. In addition to this suit — in which Parks claims Outkast violated her trademark rights and defamed her when they named a song after her — Parks' lawyer said a second suit will be filed against Arista. That lawsuit concerns the song's placement on several compilations and the alleged willful defamation of Parks' name that occurred by having the video for the song directed by former pornographer Gregory Dark. ...

The Red Hot Chili Peppers hold the honor of having staged the highest-grossing concert event at a single venue so far this year, their three-day sold-out stint at Hyde Park in London. The June 19, 20 and 25 shows took in more than $17 million, according to Reuters. Highlights from the shows have been captured on the upcoming double CD Live in Hyde Park, which comes out overseas on July 26, but which is not scheduled for release in North America. ... Britney Spears' fiancé, Kevin Federline, has been having a few troubles lately. He's being sued in small-claims court by a car dealership that claims he was delinquent with payments for his truck. Classic Chevrolet in Anaheim Hills, California, claims Britney's beau owes them $1,600. The truck has since been repossessed. Meanwhile, anti-Kevin shirts and hats -- bearing logos such as "Kevin Federline Must Be Stopped" and "Just Say No to Kevin Federline" -- are now available at http://www.cafeshops.com/sexandthecity/333057. ...

Prince has released an exclusive track called "Silver Tongue" at his online music store, www.npgmusicclub.com. The song is available for download for 99 cents for non-members of his fan club. ... Mandy Moore posted on her Web site on Monday that she's collaborating with Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz -- whom she calls "one of my favorite people" -- for her next record. "I guess he heard Coverage and really liked it and somehow we ended up writing some kick-ass music together," she wrote. "It's all very exciting. Hopefully some of it will end up on the finished album." ...

Alanis Morissette is now offering a ticket auction for her Au Naturale Tour with the Barenaked Ladies. Ticket packages include two seats in the front row and a meet-and-greet with the singer. The auction is taking place through www.stubhub.com and www.alanis.com. Proceeds benefit Equality Now, an international organization working for the rights of women and girls. The trek kicks off Tuesday in Cleveland. ... Rockabilly singer Ersel Hickey has died at the age of 70. Hickey, best known for his 1958 song "Bluebirds Over the Mountain," had been hospitalized at NYU Medical Center in New York after surgery to have his bladder removed because of a tumor, his friend Johnny Vallis told The Associated Press. The singer died after coming down with an infection. Hickey's "Bluebirds Over the Mountain" was re-recorded by the Beach Boys. He also wrote songs for such artists as Jackie Wilson and LaVern Baker. ...

After six years, the legal wrangling between Dead Kennedys members East Bay Ray, Klaus Flouride and D.H. Peligro and singer Jello Biafra and his label Alternative Tentacles Records is finally over. The San Francisco Superior Court's May 2000 decision to award the bandmembers more than $200,000 in compensatory and punitive damages after finding Biafra guilty of fraudulently shortchanging them will now stand, as the singer has dropped all countersuits. ... First season "American Idol" runner-up Justin Guarini has signed on to star in "Good Vibrations," a musical based on the music of the Beach Boys about a group of teens on the beaches of Southern California. The production opens July 29 at the new Martel Theater at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. ...

Social Distortion, Pennywise, A Static Lullaby and Kottonmouth Kings will perform at Moto Music Mayhem, a festival blending music with motocross set for August 21 at the National Orange Show Events Center and Speedway in San Bernardino, California. ... The next set of Elvis Costello reissues has been slated for August 3. His albums Almost Blue (1981), Goodbye Cruel World (1984) and Kojak Variety (1995) will each feature an extra bonus disc with 27, 26 and 20 songs, respectively, of demos, outtakes and unreleased tracks. This marks the fifth batch of LPs from Costello's catalog that has been re-released over the last two years. ...

Sebadoh are expanding their tour and will be hitting the West Coast this summer. The tour kicks off July 31 in Austin, Texas, and will hit Sacramento, California; San Francisco; Portland, Oregon; Seattle; Tucson, Arizona; Phoenix and San Diego before wrapping in Los Angeles on September 2. ... Previously unreleased tracks by Thrice and Avenged Sevenfold are available on the 14-track compilation of punk, hardcore and metalcore songs Hopelessly Devoted to You, Vol. 5. The collection is available for $3 from www.hopelessrecords.com. ...