50 Cent Investigating Suicide of Former Manager

The Bronx native died in August at the age of 44 amid doubts that Lighty actually committed suicide. more on this story

George Strait Plans Farewell Tour

George Strait will be launching his two-year farewell tour, The Cowboy Rides Away Tour, early next year.

Strait revealed the first 21 markets he will visit during the winter and spring legs of his 2013 tour at a live press event at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.

Special guest Martina McBride is set to join Strait for the 2013 dates, which begin on January 18 in Lubbock, Texas. more on this story

will.i.am Developing American Idol Like Show For Inventors

(CBS Local) Looking for something different in the sea of reality TV singing competitions? will.i.am is too. So, he decided to do something about it.

Instead of creating another show for aspiring singers, he intends to make one that focuses on technology and science overachievers.

Last week will.i.am revealed his idea at Amsterdam's IBC technology conference. He said talent found on reality singing shows is close to running its course. He feels instead that shifting to having the world's best inventors competing each other would make for better TV — imagine the Iron Chef of motherboards. more on this story

Miley Cyrus Changing Musical Direction

(CBS Local) Miley Cyrus has devoted most of this year to making new music with producers like Pharrell Williams. The result was a new sound, one she says is much more soulful than anything she's made before.

Miley says her attempt at blue-eyed soul was a result of a recent stint in New Orleans with her fiancé Liam Hemsworth, who was filming a movie in the Big Easy.

"I got into the older Motown Sound vibe, which is really fun to mix with this country pop sound," she told Rolling Stone. "I listened to a lot of Irma Thomas and tried to get that old soul into it, too."

Read more and see some photos of Miley on the set of Two and Half Men here.

Whitney Houston Collection To Feature New Songs

(popmusiclife) Whitney Houston's career will be remembered with a new greatest hits collection that will also feature new songs.

Due November 13, "I Will Always Love You – The Best of Whitney Houston" will feature the original versions of the chart topping, award winning hit songs like "I Will Always Love You," "Saving All My Love For You," "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," and more.

The collection will also include two new songs: up first is "I Look To You," a brand new duet version featuring previously unreleased vocals by Whitney and newly recorded vocals by R. Kelly, who wrote and produced the original version from Houston's last studio album of the same name. The single is now available.

The set will also include "Never Give Up," another never before released song by Houston; written by Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox and Johnta Austin and produced by Dupri and Cox. more on this story

Steve Wynn Wants Court To Silence Joe Francis

(TMZ) Casino mogul Steve Wynn wants to make sure Joe Francis never calls him a wannabe murderer ever again and is asking a judge to silence Francis.

Wynn filed a request for a permanent injunction against Francis, claiming the "Girls Gone Wild" honcho is likely to continue to make false and defamatory accusations if the court doesn't stop him.

Wynn says he's afraid Francis is a loose cannon if left unchecked -- and any accusations he makes against Wynn are likely to cause irreparable harm ... specifically accusations about Wynn trying to murder him.

You'll recall, Francis recently LOST after Wynn sued him for defamation. Wynn claimed Francis made bogus claims that Wynn threatened to have him murdered over a gambling debt.

Francis was already ordered to pay $40 million in damages in the lawsuit, but Wynn is worried that's not enough to stop him from continuing to run his mouth. more on this story

Foot Locker Deny Replacement Reps Came From Their Stores

(TMZ) The NFL did NOT secretly hire black-and-white-striped Foot Locker employees to work as replacement referees ... despite all the terrible calls recently ... this according to the sneaker giant.

Foot Locker just released a statement, saying, "Despite recent allegations, our employees have spent the last few weeks at our stores and not at NFL games."

It's all in response to a joke making the rounds on the Internet ... that the replacement refs are so bad, they must actually be Foot Locker employees.

The employees at Foot Locker wear a referee outfit as part of their uniform. more on this story

Fiona Apple Regrets Drug Bust's Effect On Her New Album

(TMZ) Fiona Apple desperately regrets her hash and weed arrest last week -- because the drug bust is taking ALL the spotlight away from her new album ... and she complained about it Tuesday night ... on tape.

Fiona was performing at the House of Blues in New Orleans -- and before she kicked off her set, she addressed the crowd, saying, "This record with me ... I'm really sorry ... All the work we did is being overshadowed by this bulls**t."

Fiona's obviously referring to her Texas drug bust last week, when she was allegedly popped with a baseball-sized chunk of weed and a bunch of hash. According to cops, Fiona admitted the drugs were hers.

Fiona then ignited a firestorm by publicly blasting 4 police officers for allegedly mistreating her during the arrest. In a bizarre moment on stage the other night ... She said she kept a log of the abuses in a "lockbox" and planned to use it against the officers.

But last night she took it all back, saying ... "There are no f**king lock boxes. I didn't make up a code. It was my way to make a parallel between the self. I am not that f**ked up." more on this story

Duran Duran's John Taylor Releasing Autobiography

John Taylor will be releasing his memoir, "In The Pleasure Grove," in the US on October 16th.

The book was released in the UK earlier this month and hit the bestseller list. Here is the synopsis: With Duran Duran, John Taylor has created some of the greatest songs of our time. From the dance floor panache of debut single 'Planet Earth' right up to their latest number one album All You Need is Now, Duran Duran has always had the power to sweep the world onto its feet.

It's been a ride – and for Taylor in particular, the ride has been wild, thrilling... and dangerous. Now, for the first time, he tells his incredible story – a tale of dreams fulfilled, lessons learned and demons conquered. more on this story

Brian Eno Releasing New Album This Fall

Brian Eno will release his new album, LUX, in North America on November 13, 2012 (on CD and Download) and December 11, 2012 (on LP) via Warp Records, who sent over these details:

Lux finds Eno expanding upon the types of themes and sonic textures that were present on such classic albums as Music For Films, Music For Airports and Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks. Eno sees it as a continuation of his 'Music for Thinking' project that includes Discreet Music (1975) and Neroli (1993).

Lux is one of Eno's most ambitious works to date; it is a 76 minute composition in twelve sections that evolved from a work currently housed in the Great Gallery of the Palace of Venaria in Turin, Italy. The album is Eno's third for Warp, following Small Craft on a Milk Sea (with Jon Hopkins and Leo Abrahams) and Drums Between The Bells (with Rick Holland). more on this story

Paul Nassif Granted Visitation With His Kids

(TMZ) Adrienne Maloof's estranged husband Paul Nassif will finally get to see his kids again ... because a judge just granted him two visits with them, before a massive custody hearing next month.

The judge agreed to let Paul see his children during monitored visits on September 29th and October 6th.

The whole matter will be settled on October 9th, when the judge has scheduled a custody hearing to decide once and for all whether Paul should get partial custody.

As we reported, Paul went to court today armed with a report from the Department of Children and Family Services that says he never abused the kids -- despite allegations from Adrienne, who claimed Paul choked one child and struck another.

In addition to the DCFS report, Paul filed a declaration addressing each of Adrienne's allegations.

Regarding the bathroom incident, when Adrienne claimed Paul struck one of their children for peeing on his brother in the bath -- Paul says it's BS ... he simply picked the child up and (gently) directed the boy to the toilet.

And the other allegation -- that Paul choked one of the kids in his Escalade ... Paul claims it's physically impossible for him to reach his children in the giant car from the driver's seat, so that's bogus too.

Paul also claims the declaration from the family psychiatrist Dr. Charles Sophy -- supposedly confirming the alleged abuse -- is a concoction of lies. Paul claims Sophy not only betrayed his trust by going behind his back with the declaration ... but never even tried to get Paul's side of things.

And there's this too -- according to Paul, Adrienne is now threatening to fire any family employee who supports Paul in the divorce. Paul claims Adrienne's already fired the family's head of security for saying Paul's a good dad. more on this story

k.d. lang's Domestic Partnership Officially Dissolved

(TMZ) k.d. lang's domestic partnership has officially been dissolved. The judgment was entered last week -- eight months after lang filed docs to end her nearly 2-year partnership with Jamie Price.

The couple met back in 2003 through a Buddhist teacher -- and registered for a domestic partnership in 2009.

According to the settlement agreement, both sides have waived rights to partner support -- and agree to a clean division of property ... k.d. takes what's hers (earnings, bank accounts, car, houses), Jamie takes what's hers (not that much). more on this story

Police Investigating Creepy Kardashian Fan Letter

(TMZ) The father of Kourtney Kardashian's baby. Scott Disick. received a handwritten letter this week from a fan, containing creepy instructions for a secret meet-up in a public library.

The letter was postmarked Friday, and the sender claims to have strong connections with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West -- insisting he's gotten them many "gigs" in the past.

The letter doesn't elaborate on what these "gigs" were -- but it seems the sender wants to get Scott some "gigs" too, writing, "I would like to meet you and Kim at Little Ferry Public Library [in New Jersey]."

Here's where it gets weird -- the fan then details specific instructions for the proposed meet-up, writing, "The parking lot is in the back on Redneck Road. Wells Fargo bank is next door. I will be there September 29, 2012 from 1130am to 130pm."

He continues, "There is a table next to computers 7 and 8 or you can sit by the corner. You can wear sunglasses or you can walk up to me with your glasses on and hand this note. Then I will know and we'll leave the library."

"I will give you more gigs."

He then addresses Kim directly, writing, "Kim you know what I look like. I will be wearing a green and black shirt. You can wear all white. No makeup ok." (That's asking a lot.)

Sources close to Scott tell TMZ, the letter was sent to his NYC restaurant Ryu ... and has already been turned over to the NYPD. We're told the matter is currently under investigation. more on this story

NFL Legend Warren Sapp's Bankruptcy Over

(TMZ) NFL legend Warren Sapp finally has some financial news he can celebrate -- a federal judge just wiped out a giant chunk of his overwhelming debt ... by discharging the football star from his bankruptcy case.

TMZ broke the story -- Sapp filed for chapter 7 back in April, claiming he owed more than $6.7 million to creditors, but only had $6.45 million in assets ... which included 240 Air Jordans, a lion skin rug and a boxing glove signed by Muhammad Ali.

A Florida judge decided Sapp's financial house was in order ... and discharged him from bankruptcy on September 24.

But the NFL star's not completely out of the woods -- he's still on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax debt, child support and alimony ... which was NOT covered by his Chapter 7 filing. more on this story

Real Housewives' Adrienne Maloof Selling Off Mansion

(TMZ) Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Adrienne Maloof is scrapping more than just her husband -- she's also chopping her multi-million-dollar Beverly Hills mansion ... listing the property for sale last week.

Currently, it's unclear if Adrienne's estranged husband Paul Nassif is aware she has listed the 20,000 sq. ft. home -- a French chateau-style estate featured on the reality show with 8 bedrooms and 11 baths.

Maloof and Nassif purchased the home in 2004 for $12.7 million. It's now listed for $26 million, more than double what they bought if for.

Sources close to Adrienne tell TMZ, she decided to list the home because "she just needs to make a change." The home will undoubtedly become a point of contention in her bitter divorce battle. more on this story

Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Bynes Offered Free Driving Lessons

(TMZ) Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Bynes are such terrible drivers ... tire giant Goodyear has decided to offer the actresses FREE driving lessons -- hoping to reduce the danger they present behind the wheel ... to themselves and others.

A rep for Goodyear just fired off near-identical letters in an attempt to reach Lindsay and Amanda, writing, "We're sorry to hear about your latest driving mishap ... We're concerned for your safety and the safety of those who hit the road each day, and we'd like to help out any way we can."

In case you forgot, Lindsay's latest mishap occurred this week -- when she was arrested for allegedly hitting a pedestrian in NYC and fleeing the scene. Amanda's had countless mishaps in the last several months -- including two alleged hit-and-runs and one alleged DUI.

Goodyear's solution -- the tire company says it wants to fly the girls out to its headquarters in Akron for "a private 1-on-1 lesson with our professional drivers -- no paparazzi allowed -- who can show you all the do's and don'ts of driving safely."

According to the letter, Goodyear is offering Amanda and Lindsay full access to its awesome test track and course for the lessons.

So far, it's unclear if either Amanda or Lindsay plans to accept the offer -- but if they don't ... we'll totally go in their place. more on this story