Justin Timberlake has added an Emmy to that "Box" -- the singer and "Saturday Night Live" actor Andy Samberg took home the award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for "Di-- in a Box," the pair's wildly popular song about surprise packages, on Sunday (September 9). Timberlake wasn't at the ceremony to accept the award, as he's been in Vegas for the VMAs, but Samberg told People, "We'll definitely give him a call and let him know." ...

Nas joined forces with John Mayer, Phil Vassar and the Dave Mathews Band on Thursday night to bring "A Concert for Virginia Tech" to the college's Blacksburg campus. According to The Richmond Times-Dispatch, the rapper cheekily dedicated the last song of his set, "Hate Me Now," to TV pundit Bill O'Reilly, who had previously said it was an "abomination" and "atrocity" that Nas was going to perform at the free concert. "For those who don't understand what Nas is about, like that chump Bill O'Reilly, I got a song for you," he said before breaking into the tune. More than 45,000 people reportedly attended the concert. ...

Paris Hilton is suing Hallmark for a half-million dollars for using her photo and "That's hot!" catchphrase on one of its cards, Agence-France Presse reports. The heiress filed a lawsuit against the company on Thursday in Los Angeles, accusing Hallmark of misappropriating her image and invading her privacy by putting the card on sale earlier this year. It features Hilton's face superimposed on a cartoon body, along with the message, "First day as a waitress." ...

Led Zeppelin fans are holding their collective breath once again amid reports that a press conference pertaining to the band will take place in London on Wednesday, according to Billboard.com. The development comes shortly after "11.13.07" mysteriously appeared along with the band's commonly used symbols on LedZeppelin.com. The news outlet reported in July that the band might reassemble for a potential tribute to Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun, who died last year. According to Billboard.com, the band was spotted touring London's O2 arena during Prince's 10-night stand at the venue. However, standing offers have been on the table for a Zep tour for decades, and November 13 is also the release date of the group's upcoming greatest-hits compilation, Mothership. ...

Nick Bollea, who is being investigated for a crash last week that left his friend critically injured, was warned and ticketed by police last year for driving at high speeds on a Florida highway, according to an interview he gave Rides magazine before the crash. Authorities told AP that Bollea, the son of Hulk Hogan, was stopped twice on September 17, 2006 -- he was first warned for going 100 mph in a 70-mph zone, then pulled over a second time for driving 115 mph. He received a $305.50 ticket for the latter offense. Bollea's passenger, John Graziano, remains in critical condition at a Florida hospital. ... Phil Spector lawyer Linda Kenney-Baden finished her closing statement on Friday, urging jurors not to become "vigilantes" and find the music producer innocent in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson. "We don't convict people in this country because we don't like them, because we don't like their hair or their clothes," she said. "Your job is not to make good copy or good ratings. Your job is to find the truth." The case will be turned over to the jurors after a planned rebuttal by the prosecution. ...

Joss Stone is helping launch the Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network, a Hip-Hop Summit Action Network program that is setting out to deal with the portrayal of women of color in entertainment -- specifically hip-hop. Baby Phat designer Kimora Lee Simmons will act as the national spokeswoman for WEEN, which will be formally christened with a pink-carpet event September 19 at Bo Concept, a furniture in Manhattan, New York. ... The Spice Girls reunion tour will be directed by Christina Aguilera and Madonna collaborator Jamie King. "Everyone has the same vision for this show," the group's manger, Simon Fuller, said in a press statement. "It will be a roller coaster of fun reflecting all the things that made the Spice Girls such a huge global pop group." ...

Radiohead have put the finishing touches on their next album, guitarist Jonny Greenwood told Paste magazine. The band, which fulfilled its six-album EMI contract with 2003's Hail to the Thief, is currently unsigned. "We're very relieved to have finished recording, now we have to decide what we should do with it," he said. ... Tobey Maguire is shifting from a movie adaptation of a comic book to ... a movie adaptation of an anime series. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he will produce the sci-fi classic "Robotech" -- and might even play a lead role in the flick. "We are very excited to bring 'Robotech' to the big screen," he said. "There is a rich mythology that will be a great foundation for a sophisticated, smart and entertaining film." ...

By now, you've likely heard the acoustic cover of Rihanna's "Umbrella" by Internet phenomenon Marié Digby, whose unique style won her a contract with Hollywood Records. More than 2.3 million people have checked out the 24-year-old's unplugged take on the jam of the summer. But, according to The Wall Street Journal, the alleged viral-video discovery was actually signed to Hollywood 18 months before becoming an online phenom. The article also claims Hollywood helped devise her Internet strategy and distributed a high-quality studio recording of "Umbrella" to radio stations and iTunes as a way to build hype for Digby's upcoming major-label debut. ...

Apparently, the Magic Kingdom has hung a "Machine Head Not Welcome" sign up at the gates. According to a spokesperson for the group, Walt Disney Properties pressured Live Nation to cancel the metal band's show at the House of Blues in Anaheim, California, on Friday (which was to take place on Disneyland property) citing, according to a press release from the band's publicist, violent imagery, undesirable fans and inflammatory lyrics. In an e-mail, the group said it got less than 48 hours' notice of the scotched gig, which was to be the kickoff of their Black Tyranny tour with Arch Enemy, Throwdown and Sanctity. Live Nation rescheduled the tour kickoff for the Glass House in nearby Pomona. A Disney spokesperson could not be reached for comment.

09.06.07

Kanye West is planning to have children, he divulged to Blender for its October cover story. "Yes, I'm engaged. Yes, I plan to have kids," he said. After that, 'Ye quipped, "But I'm not gonna base the night that I conceive a child off of what I tell Blender magazine." In the interview, he also highlighted some recent faves -- the Killers, Keane, Modest Mouse -- and also admitted that, despite his unforgettable remark about President Bush two years ago, "I'm not very tuned into politics. I apologize to people who expect me to act like I work at CNN." And, of course, what would a West interview be like these days without a few choice comments about his Tuesday rival, 50 Cent? "I pulled the trigger on that date," he revealed, saying it was his idea for the rappers' albums to go head to head. "I got on the phone with Def Jam like, 'Yo, I want to do this.' ... There were people that weren't ready for that fight. And I was like, 'Man, this is what I do!' " Still, he did have some kind words to say about Fif: "Turn this up, please," he said when 50's "I Get Money" reportedly started playing on the radio during the interview. "50 is popping on this. ... I hear 50 drop a number, like, 'I spent this much,' and I'm like, 'Damn! 50 is so much richer than me!' " The MCs are slated to appear on BET's "106 & Park" on Tuesday. The network is planning to treat the event like a boxing match, recruiting ESPN's Stuart Scott to give a statistical breakdown of the MCs. ...

Lindsay Lohan is meeting with her father, Michael Lohan, at the Cirque Lodge treatment center in Utah, according to People. The magazine says the news was confirmed by the troubled starlet's mother, Dina Lohan, who added, "She needed to do this for herself. It's still her father, no matter how you slice it. ... It's part of the healing process." "Access Hollywood" claims the meeting is the first time Lindsay had seen her dad since he was released from prison in March. ...

Tony Yayo (real name: Marvin Bernard) was in court Thursday (September 6) to hear motions in the case in which he is alleged to have roughed up the 14-year-old son of Game manager Jimmy "Henchman" Rosemond in March. According to Yayo's lawyer, Scott Leemon, the judge denied his request to obtain e-mails from Rosemond's Czar Entertainment connected to the case. But in a significant development, Leemon said he revealed in court that he provided the district attorney's office with an affidavit three weeks ago from a witness who knows the 14-year-old and Yayo, witnessed the incident and said Yayo did not slap the boy. "That person has already signed the affidavit saying Yayo was not the person who slapped the boy," Leemon told MTV News. "The judge instructed the DA to send an investigator and investigate it because nothing has been done in three weeks." Yayo is due back in court October 30. A spokesperson for the DA's office did not return calls for comment at press time. ...

Gwen Stefani, Dave Grohl, Ozzy Osbourne and other icons are helping the BBC's Radio 1 throw down for its 40th b-day by taking over the airwaves on September 30. Ten "Radio 1 Legends" will present shows with songs of their own choosing. ... Jennifer Lopez is still shaking off negative reviews about "El Cantante," her flick with hubby Marc Anthony -- maybe a new DVD of "Selena," for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe, will help. Piled onto the two-disc "Selena: 10th Anniversary Special Edition," due September 18, is an unreleased extended version of the flick, new interviews with Lopez and Selena's family, deleted scenes, a making-of featurette and more. ...

Try this example of life imitating art on for size: One of the actual high schools where "High School Musical" was shot is putting together its own stage version of the production, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. More than 200 students are getting involved in the fall show at the city's East High School, where parts of the first and second flicks were filmed. ... Madonna was paid a visit by Malawi's chief social-welfare official in London as part of a delayed assessment into whether she can adopt David Banda, The Associated Press reports. Simon Chisale is making the assessment instead of Penston Kilembe, a child-welfare-services director who was removed from the case in light of allegations he took money from the singer to fly to London. ...

A new compilation of performances from "Saturday Night Live" will be available exclusively at Target stores beginning Sunday. Live From SNL! Music Performances From Saturday Night Live, the first live album from the show in almost a decade, will feature performances from the past four years by the likes of Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson, Pink, Maroon 5, Foo Fighters, Beck, Arctic Monkeys, Dave Matthews, the Shins, the Strokes and Franz Ferdinand. ... If you thought Ozzfest would wear out Ozzy Osbourne for a while, think again: He will support his recently released album, Black Rain, with an extensive trek also set to feature Rob Zombie. The metal vets will take to the road October 18 in Seattle and return home after a January 24 gig in Cleveland. ...

Phil Spector attorney Linda Kenney-Baden said during closing arguments Thursday that prosecutors were trying to get "the first celebrity notch in the government's gun belt," AP reports. The prosecution has offered only "accusations and demonizations rather than showing you what evidence they have that proves their case beyond a reasonable doubt. ... The government has again given you stories, rather than science," she said. Kenney-Baden, a forensics specialist, also outlined scientific evidence she claimed exonerates Spector of murder. The Los Angeles Times reports that jurors might not begin deliberating until Monday -- not Friday, as previously expected. ...

Chill out, Van Halen fans: The band has tapped a laid-back opener for its upcoming reunion trek. Bob Marley's son Ky-Mani -- whose 2001 album, Many More Roads, was nominated for a Grammy -- will get the honor to play prior to the hard-rockers. ... Iron Maiden are getting ready to "Dance With Death" again -- the metal gods are pulling together another larger-than-life world tour. The band's Somewhere Back in Time trek will hit Australia -- for Maiden's first shows there in 15 years -- as well as five additional continents, from February through August. The guys are expected to log 100,000 miles on the tour. ...

Opera legend Luciano Pavarotti died Thursday in his hometown of Modena, Italy, of pancreatic cancer at age 71, according to a Reuters report. The hefty bearded tenor was famed for having brought opera to the masses during a nearly 50-year career during which he rang up huge album sales with his 1990 performance of classic aria "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's "Turandot," and he performed alongside such pop stars as Bono, Sting and the Spice Girls. "Some can sing opera; Luciano Pavarotti was an opera," Bono wrote on U2's Web site. "No one could inhabit those acrobatic melodies and words like him ... I spoke to him last week ... the voice that was louder than any rock band was a whisper." ...

Congress is scheduled to take up topics including misogyny in hip-hop lyrics on September 25 during a hearing titled "From Imus to Industry: The Business of Stereotypes and Degradation." Variety reports that Representative Bobby Rush, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, said, "I want to look at not only the problem caused by misogynistic content in some hip-hop music but also some of the pain that emanates from this degradation." He's proposing voluntary solutions to what he sees as the problem of misogyny in the entertainment industry. Among the witnesses scheduled to appear are Universal Music Group Chairman and CEO Doug Morris, Warner Music Group Chairman and CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr., and, so far, only one artist: rapper Master P.

[This story was originally published at 8:53 pm E.T. on 09.07.2007]