Snapshots On The Stars What are Shakira, Brandy, 50 Cent, Maroon 5, Avril Lavigne, Paris Hilton & More Up To
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Los Angeles, CA (rushprnews) May 5, 2207 – Shakira has director’s intuition, apparently. The singer/dancer has gotten behind the camera to co-helm her “Las de la Intuición” video with Spanish photographer and frequent collaborator Jaume de Laiguana. The clip for the song — her fifth and final single from Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 — was shot in Miami and features Shakira rocking not brown or blond but purple hair. She performs in Mexico through the rest of the month…
Brandy is facing another lawsuit over the freeway car crash that resulted in the death of a woman in December. According to documents obtained by TMZ.com that were filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday (May 3), Marquane Hdidou — the husband of Awatef Aboudihaj, the 38-year-old victim — claims the singer and another motorist, Mallory Ham, were “recklessly and carelessly” traveling on the 405 Freeway, which factored into the multi-car collision that resulted in his wife’s death. Hdidou is suing for an undisclosed amount; Brandy also faces a $50 million lawsuit filed by the parents of the victim. …
Want to really live like 50 Cent? The rapper has just put up for bid the 52-room Connecticut mansion he has lived in for more than three years, NBC 30 Connecticut News reports. The MC bought the 48,000-plus-square-foot house for $4.1 million in September 2003 and has reportedly spent roughly $6 million on renovations, including the installation of a helicopter pad. …
It won’t be long before Maroon 5 soon launch a six-date club tour in support of their new LP. The band’s May 22 release, It Won’t Be Soon Before Long, will be succeeded by the quick trip, which hits small venues in Boston (May 30), San Francisco (June 1), Los Angeles (June 2), Minneapolis (June 7), Miami (June 9) and New York (June 11). …
Avril Lavigne tells MTV Europe that the paparazzi are “dangerous,” “creepy” and “annoying,” but she says celebrities aren’t all innocent victims. “Some people live for it, they love it and they call them and tell them they’re going to be in places, or they’ll go to places where the paparazzi hang out.” Lavigne said she’s made a choice to avoid that life. “Trust me, if I wanted to be a tabloid queen, I absolutely could — I live in L.A. and I could go to all these little places all day long and smile for all the paparazzi. But if I see them, I’m just like, head down, walk to the car, leave. Yes, you kind of make the decision of whether it’s something you need for your career or not.” …
Los Angeles prosecutors continue to press for Paris Hilton to be jailed, saying she violated the terms of her probation for an alcohol-related reckless-driving conviction, The Associated Press reports. In documents filed with the city’s Superior Court on Monday, prosecutors said they want Hilton to spend 45 days in jail, wear a monitoring device and avoid drinking alcohol for 90 days. They want her license suspended for four more months as well. Hilton is set to appear for a probation-violation hearing on Friday, and at that time, a judge will review the recommendation. … The judge who issued arrest warrants for Richard Gere and Shilpa Shetty, the Bollywood actress he publicly smooched last month, has been transferred from his job, according to AP. It’s not clear yet what impact that will have on the warrants. …
Velvet Revolver will kick off their Re-Evolution Tour Thursday at Hollywood’s Avalon. The gig will double as a benefit concert for the children and widow of Michael Weiland, frontman Scott Weiland’s late brother, who died of a drug overdose during the production of Velvet Revolver’s forthcoming album, Liberdad. … Albert Hammond Jr. is stepping out again in support of his first solo record, Yours to Keep. The Strokes guitarist will be playing throughout the U.S. from May 20-June 18, including a May 23 appearance on “The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson.” …
Muse have added one more U.S. show to their summer plans. The band, who will perform August 4 at Lollapalooza in Chicago, will also take the stage at New York’s Madison Square Garden on August 6. Muse are currently touring with My Chemical Romance and recently had to postpone a handful of gigs after members of both bands were struck with a nasty case of food poisoning. The Cold War Kids will open the MSG show. … Björk performed at New York’s Radio City Music Hall on Wednesday night and was joined onstage by Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons for their duet “Dull Flame of Desire,” featured on Björk’s upcoming Volta. …
Let’s get the Satellite Party started: Ultra Payloaded, the debut album by Perry Farrell’s new band, will hit stores May 29. According to a press release, the CDs will be carbon neutral — with the estimated impact on the environment offset by renewable energy projects — and the packaging will be eco-friendly. The band will perform on the “Late Show With David Letterman” on June 5 and will be the resident musical guests on “Last Call With Carson Daly” on June 12-15. …
Phil Spector’s murder trial is on hold, but non-jury hearings continued Wednesday, when a former law clerk testified that the defense withheld evidence obtained at Spector’s home from the prosecution, The Los Angeles Times reports. Gregory Diamond, a former intern for a onetime Spector attorney, said he saw another defense attorney pick something up from the carpet in Spector’s home on February 4, 2003 — the day after Lana Clarkson was killed. Following Diamond’s claim, prosecutors refiled a 2004 motion ordering the defense to turn over a piece of Clarkson’s fingernail, evidence that may be used to prove either that Clarkson struggled or that the actress shot herself. Defense attorneys said they did not have that evidence, and Diamond said the fragment he saw the lawyer pick up was a piece of tooth, not a nail. A hearing on the matter will continue Thursday, while the jury trial, on hold due to the illness of Spector attorney Bruce Cutler, is expected to resume Monday. …
Don Imus will sue CBS Radio for nearly $40 million — the remaining unpaid sum on his contract — his attorney Martin Garbus told AP on Thursday. Garbus said he intends to file the breach-of-contract suit next week. Imus was fired last month after making inflammatory comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball team — setting off a debate over hip-hop lyrics. The talk-radio personality’s contract with CBS included a clause encouraging the DJ to be “irreverent” and “controversial” on-air, which may raise legal issues regarding his dismissal, according to a CNN analyst. In a statement released Thursday, CBS Radio said it would strongly contest the claim. “Based on the comments in question and relevant contract terms, we believe that the termination was appropriate and CBS would expect to prevail in any attempt by Mr. Imus to recover money for his actions,” the statement said. Imus had $40 million remaining on a multiyear contract when he was let fired. … Gordon Scott, who played Tarzan in numerous ’50s movies, died of post-heart surgery complications on Monday, AP reports. He was 80.
What Are The Stars Up To –
Los Angeles, CA(rushprnews) May 5, 2007
Lindsay Lohan is ready to “milk” her 21st birthday for all it’s worth. According to The Associated Press, the singer/actress said Wednesday (May 2) on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” that she plans to party in Las Vegas and have a dinner in Malibu, California, with family and friends for her birthday, which falls on July 2. The birthday has “been a long time coming” for friends who own L.A. clubs, said Lohan, who also revealed a white tattoo of the word “breathe” on one of her wrists. “I forget to breathe sometimes,” she said. …
Looks like Mikey Way’s brief hiatus from My Chemical Romance couldn’t have been better timed. The band and tourmates Muse were forced to cancel several dates after members of both groups were struck with serious food poisoning. The trek came to a stop on Sunday when the musicians “became violently ill after the show at William and Mary College in Williamsburg, Virginia,” according to a statement issued by both bands. With the sick scattered throughout area hospitals, the bands nixed Sunday night’s gig in State College, Pennsylvania, and postponed Tuesday night’s show in Columbus, Ohio, to Wednesday night “provided everyone has recovered.” The bands were previously scheduled to play in Pittsburgh on Wednesday; that show has been canceled. Both bands “would like their fans to know that they hope to resume the tour as soon as possible,” the statement concluded. …
Beyoncé is the first non-Hispanic honoree to make People en Español’s “Most Beautiful” list. The singer — who included six Spanish-language songs on her B’Day – Deluxe Edition, — is featured on the cover of the magazine’s June “Los 50 Más Bellos” issue, alongside Mexican actress Angélica Vale, Puerto Rican actress Adamari López and Mexican singer Alejandro Fernández. Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Salma Hayek, Penélope Cruz and “Ugly Betty” star America Ferrera also made the cut. …
Looks like the Beastie Boys don’t have all that much to say right now, even though they have a new album dropping June 26. The Mix Up will be the band’s first all-instrumental album and won’t feature any samples or scratches, either. Among its 12 tracks are “Electric Worm,” “The Kangaroo Rat” and “Dramastically Different.” …
Ciara is pretty excited for the 2008 election, she told Rap-Up in an interview in the magazine’s May/June issue. “This will be my first time voting,” the 21-year-old singer said. “Hopefully I can contribute to something that will better our country. I’m going to be very serious about who I’m picking.” What about a woman president? ” I’m for a great president,” she said. “Man or woman. … I feel a woman is capable of what a man is capable of doing.” …
No, you’re not seeing things: Blur are getting back together this summer with founding guitarist Graham Coxon to create a new album, bassist Alex James has confirmed to Dotmusic. “We’re gonna see if we’ve still got it,” said James, who releases his “Bit of a Blur” autobiography in June. “If not, I think we’ll just call it a day.” Coxon split from the band during the recording of 2003’s Think Tank …
Melanie Brown — a.k.a. Spice Girl Mel B. — is taking Eddie Murphy to court to force him to take a paternity test, she said in an interview with “Access Hollywood” on Tuesday. The singer claims Murphy fathered her newborn daughter, Angel Iris Murphy Brown. “He won’t do a DNA test and he won’t sign the birth certificate, so now we’re having to go through lawyers because he won’t do either,” she said of Murphy. … Joan Baez isn’t welcome at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., The Washington Post reports. The folk singer says she accepted John Mellencamp’s invitation to perform with him Friday but the offer was subsequently disapproved by Army officials. Baez is a prominent anti-war activist. …
GZA will perform his 1995 hip-hop masterpiece, Liquid Swords, in its entirety at Chicago’s Pitchfork Music Festival on July 13 as part of the ongoing Don’t Look Back concert series. Girls Against Boys are also joining the action — they’re slated to perform 1993’s Venus Luxure No 1 Baby July 20 at New York’s Bowery Ballroom. … John Legend will be in the Crescent City on Saturday to perform at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — and he’ll also make an appearance at the Tide CleanStart mobile laundromat, a truck that provides free laundry services to families in need in St. Bernard Parish. Tide will be selling T-shirts to benefit the St. Bernard Project, a nonprofit organization aiding families in the area, which was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. For more information on the fundraising effort, visit TideCleanStart.com … Is John Legend the next John Mayer? Apparently so, according to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, which is honoring him with the Hal David Starlight Award at a dinner to be held June 7 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York. The award was created in 2004, and previous recipients include Mayer, Alicia Keys and Rob Thomas. …
Mastodon and Against Me! got their tour off to a roaring start Tuesday night at Los Angeles’ Wiltern LG. Against Me! gave a rousing set, with the bandmembers flinging a seemingly limitless supply of spit across the stage and frontman Tom Gabel wishing everyone a happy May Day. The punks in attendance streamed out after that band’s performance, but the metalheads stayed for Mastodon’s challenging set of prog-metal mayhem. The head-scratching bill — rounded out by spiffily dressed indie squad Cursive and Denver experimental noise-rockers Planes Mistaken for Stars — hits San Francisco’s Warfield Wednesday night. …
Zakk Wylde will perform “In This River,” his tribute to “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, at the RockWalk induction honoring the late Pantera/Damageplan guitarist. The ceremony will be held May 17 in Hollywood. … The Black Dahlia Murder have set Nocturnal as the title of their forthcoming album, which is expected to hit stores later this year. … Social Distortion will release a best-of collection simply called Greatest Hits on June 26. The set will feature 10 tracks, including a new one, “Far Behind.” Look for the CD to also feature “Ball and Chain,” “Ring of Fire” and “I Was Wrong.” …
Tori Amos performed at the Spotlight Live in New York on Monday night during a listening party to celebrate the release of American Doll Posse. Eighty lucky fans gathered at the club — which even had a drink named after Tori. Those who didn’t make the performance haven’t missed out completely. Sirius Satellite Radio will broadcast the show on the Spectrum channel Friday at 11 p.m. with repeats Saturday at 8 a.m. and Sunday at midnight. … Can’t wait for the new Polyphonic Spree album The Fragile Army? Check out the band’s eight-minute mash-up of the whole shebang right here. The 11-track LP is due June 19 and will be preceded by a six-date tour starting May 7 in Nashville and ending May 14 in Athens, Georgia. … “American Idol” veteran Constantine Maroulis’ role on the CBS soap “The Bold and the Beautiful” will begin airing May 15. Maroulis is playing a music producer named Constantine — what a coincidence — and will perform songs from his solo debut over the next several months on the daytime drama.
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RUSH PR NEWS newswire and press release services at www.rushprnews.com
Anne Howard www.annehowardpublicist.com writer and publicist
