Digest: Will.i.am and Jamie Foxx To Debut Song on ‘American Idol’; ‘Spider-Man’ Actress Injured
Will.i.am and Jamie Foxx to Perform on ‘American Idol’
Jamie Foxx and Will.i.am are set to debut “Hot Wings (I Wanna Party),” a song from the soundtrack to the animated movie Rio, on the March 31st episode of American Idol. According to will.i.am, the song will not be an official single, but he hopes that it will go viral. [Reuters]
Another ‘Spider-Man’ Actor Is Injured
T.V. Carpio, the actress playing the villain Arachne in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, was injured in an onstage battle scene on Wednesday and will sit out the next two weeks of performances. Carpio is the second actress in the role to be injured during a show – Natalie Mendoza left the production after suffering a concussion. [Reuters]
Brian May Lobbies Against Badger Slaughter
Queen guitarist Brian May has joined a campaign in Wales against a proposed cull of badgers in western and mid-Wales. The badgers are known to spread TB among livestock, but May says that a slaughter would be a brutal short-term solution that would only appease farmers in the region. [BBC]
Ja Rule Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion
Ja Rule pleaded guilty to tax evasion in New Jersey yesterday. The rapper admitted that he failed to pay taxes on more than $3 million in income earned between 2004 and 2006. In addition to this tax issue, Rule will serve a two-year prison term for a weapon possession charge that he pleaded guilty to in December. [NY Post]
Michael Stipe Joins Big Star Tribute
R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe has joined an all-star lineup including his bandmate Mike Mills, Yo La Tengo‘s Ira Kaplan and Teenage Fanclub’s Norman Blake to perform Big Star‘s album Third with a full orchestra at Baruch College’s Mason Hall in New York City on March 26th. [Press release]
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