Hot Music Beat

The R Kelly kiddie-porn trial has already begun on Friday with jury selection but a new bombshell has dropped. It is being reported that an aide for the singer may have paid off a woman for the return of a potentially incriminating tape. The problem: the woman in question is going to testify against him. Kelly’s lawyers have already filed a motion for the delay of the trial, most likely because of the woman set to testify. Unfortunately, the judge scrapped the motion and the trial will go on. It’s about time! Over 5 years is enough of a delay!

It looks like another trip to rehab is in the future for one member of Bon Jovi. Richie Sambora has been arrested for drunk driving. The guitarist was arrested Tuesday night by Laguna Beach, California police on suspicion of DUI. Richie failed several field sobriety tests and was later brought in to get a breathalyzer test. He was cooperative but took the option to forego the breathalyzer and decided to take a blood test instead. The results of which are still pending but police are doubtful that he was on any drugs. Hopefully, this incident doesn’t land him in jail.

Word is that Britney Spears is being placed in a detoxification program to eliminate any drugs from her system. Doctors are currently trying to figure out what meds she might have been taking and then see which ones might best help her with what they believe is bipolar disorder.
Detox is a common practice before trying to find a possible medication regime for such a disorder.

She’s gotten very creative in making a plea to be let out of jail but it’s no use, Foxy Brown is staying in the slammer. The rapper recently asked to be release so she could see an ear specialist in Los Angeles. She claims that only a Hollywood doc could make it all better. However, a judge said on Thursday that she needed more info to determine if Foxy would really go deaf if she stays in jail. While at the hearing, Foxy pleaded to be released saying “I have too much talent to throw it away. I know I will make you proud and my family proud.” Really now.

Charlotte Church and fella Gavin Henson can breathe a sigh of relief. Gavin appeared in Cardiff magistrates court on Friday facing charges of disorderly conduct regarding an incident where the Rugby star allegedly vomited and publicly urinated while in a first class carriage, before calling a fellow passenger a “fat c**t”.

The Crown Prosecution Service decided that the 25-year-old sportsman will not face trial due to insufficient evidence.

The three other men travelling with Henson are due before in court on Monday accused of disorderly conduct. It would make sense that there isn’t enough evidence against them either surely…but then they aren’t famous Rugby players. We shall see…

R Kelly is a wanted man once again. A judge has entered a bench warrant for the R&B singer because he did not show for a court hearing on Wednesday in Chicago. The reason for the no show was said to be because Kelly’s bus was delayed in Utah.The judge has entered the warrant but did not enforce it just yet unless of course, Kelly didn’t show up for the hearing the following morning. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Cook County prosecutors pressed the judge noting he had already shown considerable leeway in Kelly’s case. Someone has got a lot of explaining to do.

Travis Tritt is having some trouble with his record label and its president. He just filed suit against them alleging that the label was started with money Ray Termini siphoned from the nursing home company he also ran. The country crooner filed the suit in US District Court in Nashville this week, claiming that his career has suffered “irreparable damage” because of Category 5 Records’ “false, unfair and deceptive acts”. Tritt is seeking at least $10 million in damages.

Termini is the CEO of the now bankrupt Haven Healthcare which is being investigated the by State of Connecticut. So I guess Tritt’s suit may have some merit.

Jessica Sierra, a former “American Idol” finalist, was arrested early Saturday morning and charged with disorderly intoxication, resisting arrest, and violation of parole. She was on probation because of an earlier incident where she was charged with felony battery and cocaine possession.This earlier incident occurred in April. Sierra was accused of assaulting a man with a glass in a nightclub in Tampa. She was then found with cocaine on her person as she was being booked at the jail. It was just November 19 when a judge sentenced her to 12 months probation and submission to random drug testing.

This latest arrest came Saturday morning at approximately 2:10 a.m. Sierra was at a bar when officers attempted to arrest her, she tried to push them away and run from the scene. Her lawyer gave no comment, saying that he had not yet spoken with his client.

Sierra was slated to appear on the upcoming reality show “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.” The show will follow twelve celebrities as they go through rehab for their various addictions.

Is Sierra actually a celeb in the first place?

Hawthorne Heights guitarist Casey Calvert was found dead on the band’s tour bus on Saturday just hours before they had a scheduled concert in Washington DC. The cause of death is still unknown but word is going around that Calvert’s asthma may have played a part.

The band has since posted a message on their website expressing their sadness and regret over losing their band mate and friend. They insist that Casey wasn’t doing anything illegal and they hope that for the sake of Casey and his family to not succumb to what gossip may spread.

My condolences go out to Casey’s family and the rest of Hawthorne Heights.

When it comes to Akon and his concerts, people are already expecting for things to go wrong. However, no one thought that it would be like this.

Several people, including a drummer, were injured as they were setting up for an Akon concert at Emory University in Atlanta. According to several eyewitnesses, crews were working on setting up the lights on the stage for the Fall Band Party with Akon as the headliner. They heard the canopy crack and fall causing the left side of the stage to collapse. Akon was reportedly not in the area at the time.

Two or three other people were injured. Fire trucks and ambulances responded to the scene, campus police have cordoned off the area and the show was canceled.

UK’s Holy Moly is reporting that British singer Amy Winehouse has been arrested. The 24-year old ‘Rehab’ singer was arrested while on tour in Bergen, Norway. She just got back to work and she’s gotten into trouble already.

Amy is said to have been arrested for drug possession, domestic violence or even both. And here I thought she worked her way to getting clean. I guess it was just a dream.

The singer was supposed to play a gig at Peer Gynt in Bergen on Friday, but it obviously didn’t happen. If it’s not Amy herself canceling, it’s the circumstance.

More rappers are getting rap these days. It doesn’t matter if they’re male or female or big or lil.

Lil Wayne, real name Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., was arrested Saturday morning in Boise, Idaho for felony charges of being a fugitive. A felony warrant out of Fulton County, Georgia for a felony possession of drugs was out for the rapper. Georgia authorities contacted Idaho police and gave them the heads up. He was arrested immediately following his concert Friday night at Qwest Arena.

Cops say that he was cooperative and is now in protective custody pending an arraignment and extradition hearing. Wayne was previously arrested in July with a gun charge in New York and in 2006 with a drug possession charge in Atlanta.

I found this article at Geno’s World, it sounds interesting Source

There have been rumors circulating that Gioia Bruno of Exposé fame is secretly meeting with executives to replace Paula Abdul the upcoming season on American Idol. The talk has been growing, as Gioia, a music industry veteran who once lost her voice due to a benign tumor, has been visiting Los Angeles quite frequently and meeting with many powerful entertainment industry moguls. Some fans of Exposé have also been chattering about there being an Exposé night on American Idol this coming season as well.

Several of Gioia’s friends are saying that she has been talking a lot about how she would love to replace Abdul on the hit show. Recently, Gioia was heard by extras on the set of her latest music video for “Your Love is Lifting Me” (Higher and Higher)” saying, “I can do Paula’s job. I am going to be a great judge!”

The switch does make a lot of sense, while Abdul has slipped up time and time again, Gioia Bruno as a replacement would be an easy transition for viewers and fans. Both are pop stars from the eighties, both are brunettes, both have a slew of hits under their belts and they are quite often mistaken for one another in public.

Gioia’s publicist, Jim Strzalkowski, has confirmed that there is discussion with execs but declined to comment specifically about Gioia Bruno moving into Paula’s seat as well as an Exposé night on American Idol. However he did say, “It would be great to see Gioia on American Idol. She has a rich history, is an incredible performer and has a truly amazing voice.”

One-hit wonder Uncle Kracker recently pleaded guilty in a North Carolina court regarding the misdemeanor charges that he assaulted a woman in a downtown nightclub after a concert.

Kid Rock’s former DJ, real name Matthew Shafer, was sentenced to 12 months probation and was fined $1500. Kracker must also undergo an assessment to determine if he is addicted to alcohol. Prosecutors also agreed to drop the felony charge of second-degree forcible sex offense in exchange for his guilty plea.

The plea is pretty interesting considering that Kracker blasted the charges a month ago, saying “It’s regrettable that someone would make this kind of an allegation, it’s not the kind of thing that I’d do, as a father of three girls … I’m saddened that anyone might think I’m capable of this sort of thing.”

The White Stripes drummer Meg White has denied reports she is the star of a video sex tape currently circulating online. The explicit footage shows a naked woman, who resembles the Fell In Love With A Girl rocker, having intercourse on a bed with an unidentified man. Why is it that we love seeing our stars do things that they are doing but we still like to see them associated in scandals and controversies. I have subjected myself to watching this clip several times today and I still can’t tell if it’s her of not… IS it possible that it’s not her but a publicity stunt to raise her visibility I mean before this I did not know who she was or anything about her? Does it make any difference if it is proved that the footage is true and if it hers then what change will it do, it can only help her get identified by people who do not know her.

Singer Fergie is still desperate to work with R&B star R. Kelly, despite his impending child pornography trial. The Bump N Grind hitmaker, 40, has been charged with 21 counts of child pornography and sex with an underage girl in 2002 in his native Chicago, Illinois. He’s a sick bastard, and quite frankly, I don’t think he’d work with you Fergie…you’re way over his age limit. I personally think R Kelly is a child molester. I would never in a million years ever buy any of his music. I have to wonder about Fergie, if she had a daughter would she want this pervert around her? He might be a good musician though I have my doubts on that too coz a person who has molested child can never have a clean mind and therefore not be a good person either. He if likes to see 5 and 8 year old girls nude and then makes blue movies of them for the adult market he has some serious sex problems and his dick could be having some fungus growing on it soon. Fergie please do not associate your self with him.

Snoop Dogg pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of felony possession of a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to 160 hours of community service and three years probation, his attorney said. Snoop Dogg, 35, was arrested in September 2006 after the discovery of a collapsible baton in his computer bag at John Wayne Airport in Orange County. I tend to think that are these guys pretending to be musicians and are actually gangsters or just that the American way of living in a stylish and hunk type celebrity world has led them to be carrying guns even when they know that after the 9/11 incident carrying guns and ammunitions could land them in jail for a long period. Any outsider (non American citizen) if he would be caught carrying a gun or weapon then he would have had it for 5-8 years of his life. I think it’s about time the Americans learn that if they want the world to respect its laws then they have to set an example for it themselves.

Lawyers for R&B singer Bobby Brown asked a California judge on Friday to throw out his divorce from Whitney Houston and reopen the question of custody over the couple’s 14 year-old daughter.

“He did not have his day in court,” Brown’s attorney Stacy Phillips told the Orange County Superior Court.

The uncontested divorce judgment, which became final in April, ended the couple’s stormy 15-year marriage, and Houston got sole custody of daughter Bobbin Kristin Brown.

Phillips said Brown believed the pair were working on their marriage and that Houston had told him not to worry about the divorce proceedings. She said the two had made an agreement.

“Who is he going to rely on the most?” Phillips said. “The woman he loves. He thinks they’re working on their marriage.”

Houston moved from Atlanta to Orange County, south of Los Angeles, when the couple split last year and she went into drug rehab for the third time in three years.

Brown has a history of arrests for failure to pay child support, drug possession and drunk driving. Houston’s lawyer said Brown could appeal or vary the custody award without throwing out the divorce.

Judge Claudia Silas said she would have to listen to testimony from both singers before deciding the issue, and she set a hearing for October 22.

Lawyers for both sides must decide whether the estranged couple can testify by video or should appear in person.

Although a jury last week convicted Jose Padilla of supporting terrorism, rapper-actor Mos Def thinks that Padilla may not have gotten the due process the criminal justice system promises.

“We all know the history of insufficient evidence or testimony under duress — at the very least, legal circumstances that demand some sort of reinvestigation, a new consideration for facts, and just the truth — basically saying these people are not the criminals they’re being made out to be,” he told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday.

“(It’s) the climate that we live in, people’s rights and liberties being taken advantage of — the whole situation with Jose Padilla,” he said. “Basically the state being able to just charge any individual with anything and prosecute them on the basis of that.”

Mos Def is hoping to draw attention to what he sees as inequities in the United States’ criminal justice system this weekend with the 10th annual “Black August” benefit concert at The Nokia Theater in New York City. Other performers include socially minded rappers such as Talib Kweli and Dead Prez, and rapper Saigon.

Organized by The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, “Black August” was organized to create awareness about the cases of people that the organization believes has been unfairly convicted, such as Assata Shakur, whose image is included on the concert flyer.

Shakur, a member of the Black Liberation Army, escaped prison in 1979 after being convicted of killing a New Jersey state trooper and lives in Cuba as a fugitive.

“It’s so interesting how people are doing all this international philanthropic work, but this is real philanthropy — freeing innocent people, clearing their name or calling this system into account for how it responds to the truth. These people are telling the truth,” said Mos Def.

Padilla, a U.S. citizen, was convicted along with two defendants of conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim people overseas. The three were accused of being part of a North American support cell that provided supplies, money and recruits to groups of Islamic extremists. The defense contended they were trying to help persecuted Muslims in war zones with relief and humanitarian aid.

If this is what comes from resting up, Amy Winehouse may have been better off remaining on the road. Just three days after calling off her U.S. tour and vowing to return to a countryside “retreat” to deal with her ongoing “health issues,” the “Rehab” chanteuse was photographed in London Thursday with bloody scrapes and cut marks all over her face and body. Holy cr**. This is weird and sick. Very very sick! Cutting is a sign of a horrific mental illness than goes far beyond substance abuse. Although someone who has a mental illness unrelated to substance abuse may attempt to use drugs and alcohol to mask it. See Britney Spears. She needs to be checked for manic depression, bipolar disorder, or some other chemical imbalance of the brain. This what too much of success does to people, it’s like a horrific virus once it hits you, you are finished and slowly all of these maniacs get lost in world that’s eating them up on their own will. Until yes you fight back that eject that virus out and that’s exactly what Amy should be aiming to do.