Alicia Keys asks to pull plug, revive MTV acoustic show
Miami - Alicia Keys has resurrected "MTV Unplugged."
The singer and pianist has performed an acoustic set for the dormant MTV series, to air Sept. 23. MTV also announced Tuesday that the show will first premiere on Overdrive, MTV's broadband network.
"I've always been a very big fan of the show and when they stopped doing it, I was like, what happened to 'MTV Unplugged?' I specifically went in there and said we have to do an 'Unplugged,'" Keys told AP Radio.
Keys' performance, filmed July 14 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, is a group effort. Mos Def, Common and Damian Marley are her guests, as well as Maroon 5's Adam Levine.
Previous bar-bones performances on "Unplugged," which debuted in 1989, include those by Eric Clapton, Nirvana and Jay-Z. Dashboard Confessional and Shakira were two of the most recent acts on the series back in 2002.
Rapper claims DJ used fake contract to release songs
Chicago - Hip-hop star Kanye West has filed a lawsuit accusing a Chicago DJ of possessing 10 unreleased songs that West produced before he was 18.
The 20-page lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in Chicago alleges that Eric "E-Smoove" Miller improperly tried to distribute some of those master recordings earlier this year.
Miller, who helped record the songs before Chicago native West became famous, falsely claimed he had a contract to distribute the music, the lawsuit claims.
The disputed songs include "Ho!!!" and "Stop Frontin,'" which West's attorneys claim Miller offered to distributors using a fake contract with West's fake signature.
Miller, who owns Focus Music Group, did not immediately return messages left seeking comment.
In the lawsuit, the 28-year-old Grammy winner seeks payment of no less than $1.3 million. The lawsuit also demands that Miller cease from ever using West's name or voice in connection with the master recordings.
Garfunkel again faces pot possession charges
Woodstock, N.Y. - Singer Art Garfunkel, who pleaded guilty last year to pot possession in upstate New York, has again been charged after a marijuana cigarette was allegedly found in the ashtray of his car, state police said.
The 63-year-old Garfunkel, who lives in Manhattan, was charged Sunday after being pulled over for failing to stop his vehicle at a stop sign.
Upon approaching Garfunkel's car, a trooper noticed a strong odor of marijuana and a subsequent search turned up a joint in the ashtray, the newspaper reported. He was issued a ticket and is due back in Woodstock Town Court on Sept. 22.
In January 2004, Garfunkel was charged with marijuana possession after state police stopped his limousine for speeding in the Ulster County town of Hurley, which is near Woodstock some 55 miles southwest of Albany. During that stop, police found a small amount of pot in Garfunkel's jacket.
The next month, he pleaded guilty and paid $200 in fines.
Garfunkel, who with Paul Simon made up the legendary duo Simon and Garfunkel, produced a string of hits in the 1960s.
Oscar-winning actress to join cast of 'Arrested Development'
New York - Charlize Theron is giving the critically acclaimed but ratings-starved "Arrested Development" a boost of star power.
The Oscar-winning actress will guest star on the Fox show for a five episode arc, the network announced Tuesday. She will portray Rita, a British woman whom Michael (Jason Bateman) dates.
Theron, 30, is to begin shooting this week. Her first episode is scheduled to air Sept. 26, one week after the series' third season premieres on Sept. 19.
The South African actress, who won an Oscar for her performance as a female serial killer in "Monster," will star this fall in the action film "Aeon Flux," an adaptation of the MTV animated series.
Dr. Phil's son proposes to Playboy playmate
Los Angeles - The son of TV psychologist Dr. Phil has proposed to former Playboy playmate Erica Dahm, one of the triplet Dahm sisters.
Jay McGraw, 26, got engaged to Dahm in Dallas, Chandler Hayes, a spokesman for Dr. Phil McGraw, said Monday.
The couple will wed in Los Angeles, but the date was not revealed.
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