Latest Music News Part II......

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So Where's Evanescence's Ben Moody? Ask Avril Lavigne
January 14, 2004

Since Ben Moody's departure from Evanescence in October, many have wondered about the guitarist's whereabouts. Three months after he quit the band without so much as a "Dear John" letter, Moody has resurfaced as a part of Avril Lavigne's songwriting team.

Moody, who co-wrote all of Evanescence's Fallen, including the hits "Bring Me To Life" and "Going Under," is among the songwriters working with the 19-year-old pop star on her second album, the follow-up to her 2002 debut, Let Go. The collaboration was hatched when Moody contacted Lavigne's A&R rep and volunteered his talents, according to Lavigne's spokesperson.

Lavigne's guitarist Evan Taubenfeld and Canadian singer/pianist Chantal Kreviazuk are also lending their pens to the project, which is being recorded in a Los Angeles studio.

Song and album titles have not yet been confirmed, but the album is expected to drop in late spring.

A host of new producers have also signed on to help Avril. Don Gilmore, who engineered Pearl Jam's Ten and helmed both studio albums for Linkin Park, is on board, as are Our Lady Peace singer Raine Maida and former Marvelous 3 frontman Butch Walker, who's been producing since his band broke up in 1998.

Evanescence are still without a permanent guitarist since Moody vacated the slot. Although not an official member of the band, former Limp Bizkit axeman Wes Borland has been working with singer Amy Lee on new material.

Let Go has sold nearly 6 million copies since its release in June 2002, according to SoundScan, and has afforded Lavigne three nominations at this year's Grammy Awards.

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Kelis Steps In As Enrique Iglesias' Hottie Of The Moment
January 14, 2004

Enrique Iglesias has a history of seducing beauties in his music videos. Anna Kournikova, Jennifer Love Hewitt and even "The O.C." star Mischa Barton have all been objects of the lovelorn singer's swooning desire.

Why mess up a good thing?

In the new clip for "Not In Love (Remix)," the de-moled heartthrob recruited a sexy lady to both sing and star in the video -- none other than Kelis.

The video was shot last week in Los Angeles by director Jake Nava, who lensed Kelis' confectionary treat "Milkshake" and was also behind the camera for Beyoncé's floor-shaking clip "Crazy In Love."

Because the remix of "Not In Love" moves with a club-friendly bounce, it's not surprising that the setting for the video is in a club, or, more specifically, an after-hours warehouse party bubbling with attractive, downtown revelers.

According to Nava's treatment, Iglesias enters the party and meets up with his boys. After making his way to the stage, he performs his song backed by a live band buoyed by the crowd's throbbing energy. Kelis slinks her way to the front, cutting through the crowd and joining Iglesias onstage, tantalizing him and the partygoers with her coquettish winks and lusty voice.

The original version of "Not In Love" appears on Iglesias' most recent album, 7, which was released in November. The singer has also done a Spanish version of the remix, and Kelis appears on that track as well.

"I love working with all kinds of artists," Kelis said of her experience with Iglesias. She said their duet will definitely satisfy a certain part of her heritage, too. "I have a lot of Spanish people in my family, so to do a Spanish record, it's a lot of fun."

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Britney On Her Marriage: Vegas Made Me Do It
January 16, 2004

Britney Spears chalked up her 55-hour marriage to the power of Vegas, baby.

"I do believe in the sanctity of marriage, I totally do," she explained in a phone call to TRL Wednesday, "but I was in Vegas and it took over me and things got out of hand."

Spears wed hometown friend Jason Allen Alexander in the early hours of January 3. A judge annulled the marriage two days later.

The pop star seemed puzzled that her quickie wedding was on the top of the tabloids and tips of everyone's tongues as 2004 began. "Do you realize we landed on Mars that day?" she offered, referring to the six-wheeled robot Spirit that touched down on the Red Planet later that same day. "Why isn't the world talking about that?"

Instead, chatter focused on Spears and her easily exed hubby, with whom she admitted to have made some type of connection, albeit a brief one.

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No Doubt, Blink-182 Team Up For Summer Tour
February 04, 2004

Both are among Southern California's longest-running bands, both have nudity-prone bandmembers, and now both of them will be hitting the road. Blink-182 and No Doubt will launch a co-headlining amphitheater tour this summer, it was announced Tuesday.

"It's been a while since we've been on the road, so we're really excited to go out again and celebrate the release of our singles collection," No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal said in a statement, referring to the band's The Singles 1992-2003. "I know we will have a great time with the Blink guys."

"This is a great opportunity to see two bands from Southern California that have history spanning a decade," Blink-182 singer/guitarist Tom DeLonge said in a statement. "We're honored to be sharing a stage with them again like we did 10 years ago."

The 13-date trek, which will include mainstage support to be announced as well as various side stages, kicks off June 1 in Noblesville, Indiana, and is scheduled through June 26 in Devore, California.

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T.A.T.U To Attend MTV Asia Awards 2004
February 05, 2004

The controversial Russian pop duo t.A.T.u have confirmed that they will attend the MTV Asia Awards 2004 in Singapore on February 14.

The girls first made headlines all over the world by expressing their love and attraction for each other. Their music video, "All The Things She Said," had them dressed up in school uniforms and making out in the rain way before Christina, Britney and Madonna felt the need to express their own sensuality to MTV audiences.

After all the hyperbole however, what remains is a talented group with edgy and crafty songs that appeal to youths around the world. As a result, t.A.T.u has became the biggest selling Russian act crossing over to the international pop scene.

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Noel Gallagher Wanted
February 06, 2004

According to various press reports, an article regarding the new album recordings for Oasis has lead to the police wanting to question guitarist Noel Gallagher.

The reason the police want to see him has nothing to do with their new songs, but reportedly because the picture of Noel showed him walking down a railroad track.

Inspector Kevin Marshall of the British Transport Police explained that Gallagher faces a fine of £1,000 if it can be proved he's been trespassing.

"I have been contacted by National Rail and they want me to investigate." Marshall explained. "I will need to speak to Mr Gallagher because the danger is children may copy what he's doing."

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Jack White Done With Elephant
February 06, 2004

White Stripes singer Jack White says he's "done with" promoting their latest album Elephant and wants to take time off to write new material.

He told Radio One's John Peel: "We're done with Elephant, and we're not touring any more on that album so, I just need a break. We've toured the world on it, so I guess I got to get inspired again."

"When you keep playing every night, every night, and we put so much energy every night into it. I don't like to write songs on the road, so I need to just go home and rest."

Elephant was many critics' choice for best album of 2003 and is nominated for album of the year at the American Grammy Awards this weekend.

The Detroit duo will release their next single, "There's No Home For You Here," on March 15, and it will be available on vinyl only. The 7-inch will be backed by a 10-minute version of "Ball And Biscuit," recorded at Electric Lady studios. There are also plans for a DVD, recorded on their recent U.K. shows.

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Justin Timberlake Signs On For First Big-Screen Acting Role
February 11, 2004

After nearly a year of reading scripts, Justin Timberlake has finally decided on his first feature-film role, and it's not Jimmy Olsen. While rumors had the pop star taking on the role of the superhero's pal in the upcoming Superman flick, that film still has no director or star, leaving Timberlake free to pursue another part.

Timberlake has signed on for his big-screen acting debut in the crime drama Edison, in which he'll play Joshua Pollack, "a fresh-out-of-college kid with a counterculture bent" who gets his start by interning at a big-city newspaper, writer/director David Burke said.

The character is bright, but disdainful of doing grunt work, so the newspaper doesn't invite him back. Instead, he finds work at a free community weekly. In the course of following little news stories about Little League and the local senior center, Timberlake's character stumbles upon a very big story about corruption in high places in the city government.

He runs with the story, but ends up in serious jeopardy. Not knowing what to do and in over his head, he turns to the owner of the weekly, played by Morgan Freeman, someone he had dismissed as a nobody but who turns out to be a former war correspondent and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, albeit burnt-out and at the end of his career. Freeman's character schools Timberlake's, as he has all the tools, but none of the experience, to pursue the story.

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Madonna Tops Love Song Poll
February 17, 2004

Madonna's sexy track "Justify My Love�" has been voted the top tune for a night of passion in a poll by VH1.

The music channel compiled the list of Top 10 Songs To Get It On To in celebration of Valentine's Day.

Marvin Gaye's classic "(Sexual) Healing" came second, followed by Prince hit "Gett Off."

The Top 10 list reads:

1 Justify My Love – Madonna
2 (Sexual) Healing - Marvin Gaye
3 Gett Off – Prince
4 I'm A Slave 4 U - Britney Spears
5 Need You Tonight – INXS
6 You Make Me Wanna – Usher
7 Freak Me - Another Level
8 I Want Your Sex - George Michael
9 It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me - Barry White
10 Je T'Aime... Moi Non Plus - Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg

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Milla Jovovich Battles Zombies, Bloody Hands On Resident Evil: Apocalypse Set
February 17, 2004

Thanks to a bunch of flesh-eating zombies, Milla Jovovich might have to give up her modeling career (or at least part of it).

She bloodied a knuckle late one evening on the chilly rooftop set of Resident Evil: Apocalypse, and it wasn't the first time that it's happened. "When we're shooting commercials and stuff, they don't even bother shooting my hands anymore," she said as a crew member bandaged up her finger after a grueling fight rehearsal. "Now they get a hand model, because I've got chunks missing from my hands."

Jovovich endured all this unglamorous punishment (which included traipsing about in freezing weather wearing ripped clothing and being constantly covered in fake blood) for Resident Evil: Apocalypse, the sequel to the 2002 action-horror flick based on the popular video game, which wrapped shooting late last year.

"At the end of the first movie my character survives by the skin of her teeth and she enters this city, and it's completely destroyed, and we don't really know what's going on," a parka-covered Jovovich explained on the set between takes. "At the beginning of this one we pick that up and we see the back history of how the city became deserted, and we meet all of the characters."

Among those characters is Jill Valentine, the beloved heroine of the game who was absent from the first flick and its story about the "T-Virus" that turns a team of scientists into mindless undead killers. "Jill Valentine being in the movie is so cool and she looks amazing," Jovovich gushed.

"I've been told a lot about Jill and when I tell other people I'm playing her, they're like, 'You must be scared,' and 'That's such a big responsibility,'" Sienna Guillory laughed. "She's awesome, she kicks ass and people love her."

Along with adding Valentine, Apocalypse further explores the possibilities of the Resident Evil premise, something Jovovich was particularly excited about when she read the script. "There are so many great ideas about the whole concept of the T-Virus and what it is, like, it could be a facial cream that improves your look and it could also make you undead. So what does this mean to the world? What does this mean to humanity? Could the T-Virus be used for something good?

"We [also] have girls in short skirts, lots of blood and lots of guns," she playfully added about the flick.

The movie, set for release October 1, will pit the two heroines against the zombies, their corporate creators and a giant monster called Nemesis.

"Nemesis has a helicopter gun that he uses as a hand gun," Milla explained excitedly. "There's this scene in a hallway where I'm running from the Nemesis and he takes out the gun and shoots at me. And literally, it's the first time anything like this has been filmed. It fires like 1,500 bullets a minute.

"So you have camera guys going forward and he's shooting toward them and they said, literally, they just couldn't push forward because of the force of the gun," she continued. "They were just trying not to get pushed back. One of the crew guys just dropped his stuff and ran the other direction when Nemesis started shooting."

Everyone on set reported that Jovovich, who often relaxed between takes with a book collection of several Discovery magazine science articles, is no slouch with the big guns herself -- which isn't necessarily the case all of the time. "I have a samurai style where I pull this gun out of my back, but the problem is, I can't get the thing out 'cause it's too long," she revealed. "You have to have monkey arms. I can only take the gun out so far, then we cut, then we cut back to where the gun is already out."

Twenty-one-year-old martial-arts champion Joanne Leach, who doubled for some of Jovovich's more treacherous stunts and helped her choreograph others, insisted that the film's model-actress star was more willing than most to take on as many stunts as possible. But she still couldn't do everything.

"The insurance companies just wouldn't let me do it," she explained, pointing to the side of a building even taller than the rooftop she was standing on. "I'm supposed to come off the top of that building and run down the side, it's about 250 feet. They said no, 'Because you might die or something and that would be a problem for us.'

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Jessica Simpson Plans Breathtaking In This Skin Re-Release
February 17, 2004

Jessica Simpson is getting under the covers to add value to the re-release of In This Skin. The new version of the LP will include revamped versions of Berlin and Robbie Williams songs in addition to footage from the first season of Newlyweds.

"I'm re-releasing my new record with some footage from the TV show," Simpson told MTV News in November, "maybe some footage you haven't seen before, which will be funny footage, some bloopers, stuff like that."

Among the DVD menu options will be photo galleries and footage from Simpson and husband Nick Lachey's wedding, as well as features called "The Night Before," "An Exceptional Reception," "To The Nines," "The Look of Love" and "The Magic Moment."

Simpson hoped to have the re-release out in time for the holiday season. But she pushed it back to March 2 in order to record two new songs, covers of Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" and Robbie Williams' "Angels," the song credited with reviving the former Take That star's flagging solo career in 1997. The Berlin song, meanwhile, is known as the love theme for Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis in the 1986 movie Top Gun. But the Oscar-winning song is Simpson and Lachey's love theme as well, she said on her website, because it was playing "the first time Nick kissed me."

The pair debuted the song as a duet at the end of The Oprah Winfrey Show on Thursday afternoon.

Simpson is scheduled to shoot a video for "Take My Breath Away" on February 25 in Southern California.

In addition to the cover songs, the re-release of In This Skin will also include an acoustic version of "With You." Snippets of all three songs can be heard on her website.

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Usher Lets Skeletons Out Of The Closet On Confessions
February 18, 2004

"Yeah!," Usher's collaboration with Lil Jon and Ludacris, wasn't intended to be a proper single from his upcoming album, Confessions. Released to street DJs and mixtapes, the song was just meant to tease the appetites of Usher fans who've waited three years for the singer's fifth studio disc.

But quickly the appreciation for that song has grown -- in the clubs, on the radio and in the streets. "It just sort of happened," Usher said recently. "You know, you get Lil Jon on a record -- that's crazy. Ludacris? Bring him in. It's lights out, man."

"Yeah!" could be called the first consciously styled "crunk R&B" record. It's an ode both to the distinct grind of Southern rap beats and Usher's own signature soul croon. Even though Usher doesn't want to be known as a hip-hop artist ("Strictly R&B — we're bringin' it back," he boasted), he thinks he could be onto something with this mash-up of genres. "I think you're going to get more R&B/crunk records," he said. "I'm happy that I could be the one to kick it off."

Usher titled his album Confessions because he feels it's his most personal yet. He wrote more songs on this one than on any previous album. "All of us have our Pandora's boxes or skeletons in our closets," he explained. "I let a few of them out, you know. I've got a lot to say. I've got a lot of things and stuff built in me that I just want to let go of."

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Ruben Studdard Headlining Theater Tour With Just A Few Cats
February 18, 2004

It's a good thing Ruben Studdard didn't sustain any injuries when Shaquille O'Neal dove into him during Sunday's NBA All-Star game. (Clay Aiken might not have been so fortunate.)

The American Idol winner, an aspiring Shaq of R&B, needs to be in one piece for his first headlining tour, which launches March 4 in Los Angeles. Studdard has long anticipated the outing, which hits 19 cities before wrapping up April 11 in Detroit.

"That's my joint. I been doing it forever, just performing everywhere since I was a kid," Studdard said recently. "That's my thing. I only started recording when I was like 13."

Ruben is especially anxious to tour after getting a taste of life on the road during last summer's American Idol trek.

"I had the most songs on the show, so it was fun," Studdard said, laughing. "Being on the tour buses was a great learning experience, 'cause I've done tours before but never to that magnitude. Learning how to deal with mobs of fans trying to break through barricades and stuff, it was a real different experience. And then being around Clay with the Claymates, it was crazy."

Aiken won't be around on this tour, but some friends from the past will join him: his pre-American Idol band, Just A Few Cats.

"I'm all about performing with my band," Studdard said. "We've been together for two and a half years, so I've been ready for this opportunity for a long time, to be able to bring my friends along."

Just A Few Cats are a 12-piece ensemble consisting of three background singers, three horn players, two guitarists, two drummers and percussionists.

"They're exceptional musicians and I'm glad to have my family with me on the road," Studdard said. "We're going to show some people what we can do."

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Fred Durst No Longer Directing Skateboarder, Mob Flicks
February 18, 2004

A few years ago, Fred Durst, director of videos for Puddle Of Mudd, Cold and his own band, Limp Bizkit, was linked to as many as four feature films. Two of them are now moving forward with someone else in the director's chair.

The Lords Of Dogtown, a fictionalized version of the 2001 documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys, will begin production in April with Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen) directing. Heath Ledger (A Knight's Tale) and 18-year-old John Robinson will star in the film, which follows a group of young California surfers who take to the streets in the 1970s and spawn a national youth obsession. Robinson will play former pro Stacy Peralta, who wrote the documentary and penned the feature's screenplay.

Filmmaker David Fincher (Fight Club), who is signed on to the project as one of three executive producers, originally conceived of the film as a smaller-budgeted production and had wanted to attach Durst. But as the project increased in scope, it outgrew a first-time director.

"Fred is not in a hurry to direct," Durst's spokesperson said. "He wants his first film to be the right situation."

Fincher has also wanted to fix Durst up with the film Wannabe, a suburban mob flick inspired by a 1998 article in New York magazine. Durst liked the script and did some research, but when The Fast And The Furious actor Paul Walker was no longer attached to a starring role, Durst withdrew his participation. The film will now be directed by Eric Eason.

Durst is still involved in the film Runt, about a high-school outcast, and the thriller "Life Without Joe," though a production schedule has not yet been established.

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Gwen Stefani Feeling Hella Good About Role In Scorsese Flick
February 18, 2004

Gwen Stefani may have good reason to attend next year's Academy Awards -- her first film, the Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator, just might be up for a few trophies. And while the No Doubt singer and imminent solo artist doesn't have many lines in her role as Jean Harlow, she's excited just to have been cast in the film.

"I've been trying out for movies for years," she said. "Because it all comes from the same place, all the creative things inside you, and I've wanted to do it for a long time. But when you're touring and writing and busy, you can't compete with some of these actresses that are like, that's what they do every day. But that's one of the reasons we took a year off. I wanted to do a film."

Stefani said a picture that late celebrity photographer Herb Ritts took of her for the cover of Teen Vogue helped her land the role. She didn't realize at the time that Ritts was ill and had a playful shoot with him based loosely on iconic photographs of Marilyn Monroe at the beach.

"It was like a dream come true," Stefani said. "He is so elaborate, I felt like I was doing a movie. My girlfriend Sophie Muller, who does a lot of our videos, happened to be with me and documented the whole thing."

Stefani was saddened when Ritts passed away, having believed he was "potentially going to be one of my best friends, because he's so great." But the classic Marilyn-like image Ritts captured of her soon caught the eye of Martin Scorsese, who decided she'd make an even better Jean Harlow.

"Martin Scorsese's driving in New York City and he sees my Teen Vogue cover on the side of a bus stop shelter," Stefani said. "And he's like, 'Who's that girl? Let's get her!' I had Leonardo DiCaprio [who's playing Hughes] tell me the whole story in Martin Scorsese's voice, so it was pretty bizarre."