She’s a survivor

New York — Rock star Melissa Etheridge is telling the heartrending truth about the moment she realized she had cancer, her decision to quit chemotherapy, and her appearance on the Grammys.

“I’m not gonna be afraid of the truth,” she said in an interview with “Dateline NBC” that airs at 6 p.m. today on Sunflower Broadband Channels 8 and 14.

“The truth is, yes, I had cancer. Yes, I got it outta me. Yes, I went through chemotherapy. Yes, I’m bald. Yes, I’m still walking.”

Etheridge, 43, inspired millions of viewers with her roof-raising rendition of Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart” on the music awards show last Sunday.

She also got kudos for her decision to take the stage without a wig or hat, but said she never even considered hiding her hair loss.

“You know what? When I came out, when I walked that walk … I just followed the truth,” she said.

The singer was diagnosed with breast cancer last October during the Canadian leg of her “Lucky” tour.

Congrats from the Donald

Charleston, W.Va. — Donald Trump wrote a congratulatory letter to a group of teenagers who used the NBC reality show “The Apprentice” as a model to raise about $23,000 for tsunami victims.

“I am very pleased to hear about the enthusiasm and success of the high school children in this endeavor, and would like to thank you for sharing it with me,” Trump wrote in response to a letter from Rabbi Victor Urecki informing him of the B’Nai Jacob Synagogue Youth Discussion Group’s project.

Urecki said 23 teens formed two corporations, Gladiators and Yaffa Corp., and competed to raise the most money. The winners’ prize was to be dinner at a nice restaurant while the losers were to get Slurpees.

The teens had hoped to raise $5,000 through fund-raising activities including a raffle and a silent auction. In the end, their total was almost $23,000, and only $2 separated the teams. So everyone was treated to dinner.

The search is on

Atlanta– TLC group members Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas are returning to the city where they got their start to find a new voice to sing with.

Auditions have taken place across the country for UPN’s new reality show, “R U The Girl with T-Boz & Chilli,” but Atlanta’s stop Saturday was the first the singers were to attend in person.

In 2002, the group was devastated by member Lisa “Left-Eye” Lopes’ death in a car crash. Since then, the four-time Grammy winning group whose hits include “Waterfalls,” “Creep” and “No Scrubs” has not released new material.

Watkins and Thomas say they’re not trying to replace Lopes.

“Nothing has changed. We’re not replacing Lisa,” Thomas told The Associated Press last year. “We’re not looking for a new member.”

The person chosen through the show will perform with the duo during a one-time concert and for a recorded song on their greatest hits project.

Drink up

Los Angeles — The Doobie Brothers will donate proceeds from their Doobie Red Wine to the National Veterans Foundation for the next five years in memory of late drummer Keith Knudsen.

Knudsen, who played with the band on a string of hits including “Taking It to the Streets” and “Black Water” and who is credited with pushing the band to re-form in 1987, died of pneumonia Feb. 8. He was 56.

“The National Veterans Foundation and founder Shad Meshad were very close to Keith, the band and me,” manager Bruce Cohn said in a statement Thursday.

Since 1987, the band has given more than $1 million to the foundation.

Doobie Red, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cab Franc from Sonoma County, is produced by Cohn’s B.R. Cohn Winery in Glen Ellen. Doobie Red is packaged as a three-bottle collector’s set featuring Doobie Brothers album and CD artwork.

Date like a pro

Berlin — Fresh from the No. 1 debut of his first romantic comedy, “Hitch,” Will Smith has a little advice for that all-important first date.

“Competence is first and foremost,” Smith said Friday as the movie screened at the Berlin International Film Festival. “You want to be seen doing something well.”

“If you’re a great tennis player, you want to be seen on your first date playing tennis,” he said. “You don’t want to be the guy that, you go to the sushi restaurant, you’ve never been there and you don’t know anything about sushi.”

“Hitch” took in an estimated $45.3 million in the United States over the Valentine’s Day weekend, making it No. 1 at the box office.

‘Survivor’s’ first castoffs

New York — On the premiere of CBS’ “Survivor: Palau,” two players weren’t voted off the island. Nope. Jonathan Libby and Wanda Shirk weren’t picked to join either the Ulong or Koror tribe — another “Survivor” twist.

“Honestly, it sucked a lot,” Libby told The Associated Press Friday.

After the first night, host Jeff Probst instructed the 20 castaways to consecutively chose tribe members, alternating by sex, until two groups of nine were formed. English teacher Shirk, 55, cites age dynamics — not her campfire-style singing — for being one of the last two.

“The deck was stacked against me,” Shirk told the AP. “If it was an intergenerationally fair game, I would have had a better chance.”