It isn’t even March yet, but the hype for Timbaland’s new album is already proving to be way more lion than lamb — a lion that’s just as likely to drop you in a full nelson as it is to drop a woofer-wreckin’ beat, apparently.

Last Friday, Timbaland talked to Billboard about the new disc, "Shock Value", which is set to drop on March 27. The CD will feature appearances by the usual suspects like Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado, as well as a few unlikely guests such as Elton John and Fall Out Boy. But regardless of who’s on board, the superstar producer is aiming to move the booty, not the mind.

"I’ve never been this anticipated in my whole life when it comes to my own record," said Timba. "But I’d really rather people like me as an entertainer versus an artist. I just like to entertain."

He can rest assured that people won’t mistake him for anything other than an entertainer on Sunday, April 1, as that’s the day that the Flying Timba (our name, not his) is scheduled to appear in Detroit as part of WrestleMania 23. As the event is hot on the heels of the release of "Shock Value", wrestlemag.com is speculating that Timba will do more than just roll around on the ground with huge, sweaty men; he might also perform a song or two.

And which song might it be were he to perform? Well, MTV.com premiered the new video for "Give It to Me" today. The song sounds like it could’ve been lifted straight off of either of JT or Nelly’s new albums — they even reference "SexyBack" and "Promiscuous", respectively, in the song — so it isn’t groundbreaking stuff, but it’s plenty catchy and is sure to be found banging in more than a few clubs. Plus, with both of those entertainer-tists hitting No. 1 thanks to his Timbosity, why mess with a good thing?

Tags: Timbaland•Music

- James Blunt and Peta Nemcova run over a fan’s foot. As if being a James Blunt enthusiast weren’t a painful existence as it is. [Dlisted]

- Girls who like girls tear up the Oscars’ red carpet. Oddly, none were spotted munching on it. [CityRag]

- Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore get high in broad daylight. Whatever, it’s not like they have jobs or anything. [Egotastic!]

- Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel to melt each other’s faces off if romance rumors are true. Seriously, how much hot can one couple take? [Just Jared]

- Bobby Brown’s been arrested again. Apparently, paying child support is not one’s prerogative. [Crunk & Disorderly]

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The porn company Vivid Entertainment has announced that the release of Kim Kardashian, Superstar, will be delayed. The homemade movie, which features Kim frolicking with R&B’s Ray J, was set to be out by Wednesday, but Vivid is waiting to speak with Kim before releasing it. Vivid co-chairman Steve Hirsch says:

“We remain very confident that we have the legal right to distribute this video, but we feel it is most important that we have an opportunity to meet with Ms. Kardashian as soon as possible. We have reached out to her to try to set up a meeting.”

Releasing porn is sometimes like, well, sex: sometimes when you hold back, you get a bigger response. But really, once news hit that the rumored golden-shower scene wouldn’t be included, didn’t everyone lose interest, anyway? [TMZ.com]


Tags: Kim Kardashian•Sex Tapes

It was a one-two punch for the global warming bandwagon at the Oscars show last night. An Inconvenient Truth strolled away with the “Best Documentary” prize, and Melissa Etheridge’s “I Need to Wake Up” claimed the “Best Song” category. It’s an okay tune, and Etheridge performed it in her typically heated manner. But maybe the ozone layer crisis could use a catchier anthem. There’s the Nelly hit referenced above of course, but what about Young Jeezy’s “Burnin’ Up,” the Chili Peppers’ “Skinny Sweaty Man,” Modern English’s "I Melt With You," Buster Poindexter’s “Hot Hot Hot,” Bob Dylan’s “High Water Everywhere,” Johnny Cash’s “Three Feet High and Rising,” the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun,” or…okay, I’ll shut up, as long as you promise to spin the Roots’ “Stay Cool.”

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Photos: Melissa Etheridge

Tags: Music

Alan Arkin showed some tough love for his Little Miss Sunshine co-star Abigail Breslin before Sunday’s Academy Awards — he told Access Hollywood that he hoped she didn’t win the Best Supporting Actress award for which she was nominated.

"What, next year she is going to get the Nobel Prize? It’s enough. She has had enough attention…I love her and I love her family; and I feel enough is enough. She is a kid; she needs to have a childhood."

First of all, the "Nobel Prize" argument is about as sound as the "granting gays the right to marry opens the door for people to marry their pets" argument. Second of all, she’s not going to have a childhood, anyway, because she’s an actress (one whose livelihood, btw, depends on attracting attention). Third of all, if it weren’t for a kick-ass performance from a child actor in Little Miss Sunshine, he wouldn’t have even had been invited to the red carpet, let alone be allowed to spout his philosophy from it. How’s that for a vicious circle? [People]

Tags: Alan Arkin•Movies

Britney Spears’ reckless abandon and substance abusing dates back at least three years, according to one-time hubby, full-time hanger-on Jason Alexander. Jason claims he’s coming forward with information on his private dealings with Brit because he’s "very, very concerned" about her. "I am really worried that she will wind up like Anna Nicole Smith and be found dead." Rrrrrrright.

Jason’s allegations include:

• A threesome of "butt-naked bitches" that included Brit and one of her female dancers. (Note: Jason was among the "bitches" — not one of them, at least according to him.)
• A daily drugging cycle featuring cocaine use (to stay awake), Valium and Vicodin-taking (to come down) and ecstasy (to party).
• A string of days in which Brit didn’t sleep at all ("I couldn’t keep up," says Jason).
• An experience with ecstasy that knocked Jason’s "d*** in the dirt" and Brit unconscious. Jason recalls his reaction to what seemed like Brit’s overdose: "She looked so white and lifeless I thought she was dead. I thought, ‘This bitch is going to f***ing die right here in front of me.’"

Awwww! He called her "this bitch!" That’s sweet. He really does care! [SundayMirror.co.uk]

Tags: Britney Spears•Music

Oscar’s Worst Dressed
Check out fashion flops from the 79th annual Academy Awards. [US Online]

Attorney: No Smith Funeral Before Tuesday
The court-appointed attorney is working as quickly as possible on Anna Nicole Smith’s funeral details. [Yahoo]

Brandon "Greasy Bear" Davis Ruins Paris’ Party
Oil heir makes an ass out of himself, sends hieress’ guests home early and leaves Paris in tears. [TMZ]

Diddy’s 12 Year Old Son Gets Lap Dance
Whoever said "like father, like son" definitely wasn’t lying. [The Doghouse]

What Do Britney, Lindsay, Other Stars Do In Rehab?
For the rich and famous, "going to rehab" is far from what it’s cracked up to be. [MTV News]

Sunday’s Academy Awards show may have been bloated with shadow puppets and the usual useless montages, but it wasn’t nearly as uninspiring as it seemed. There was still plenty to make fun of. In the spirit of derision, here’s a list of awards I’d hand out for the awards show:

Best Joke - Ellen DeGeneres’ logic-based call for tolerance: "If there weren’t blacks, Jews or gays, there would be no Oscars. Or anyone named Oscar, if you think about it."

Worst Date - Ryan Gosling with his mom and sister. Any sweetness derived from Ryan’s keeping it in the family was obliterated by his proclamation that he likes to (wink, wink) keep it in the family. On the red carpet, he put his arms around both and said he brought them to "do it like Snoop

Worst Speech - Forest Whitaker’s beat out Alan Arkin’s by a hair. Both read theirs off paper because, as actors, they clearly couldn’t bother to speak from their hearts. Reading names of a sheet is one thing; reading sentiments is another. At least Alan had the sense to add a disclaimer to his ("I know you’re not supposed to read, but…")

Best Speech - Ennio Morricone’s. He didn’t even try to speak English and just said what he had to in his native tongue (Italian). This seemed like the most unpretentious move of the night; it was as though he was acknowledging the fact that no one really listens to Oscar speeches anyway.

Best Red Carpet Train Wreck in a Leading Role - Andre Leon Tally. From his spastic interviews to the behind-the-scenes footage of him dressed as Blacula shoe shopping with Jennifer Hudson to his affected speech rendering "exquisite" a tongue-twister, Andre ruled the red carpet.

Best Red Carpet Train Wreck in a Supporting Role - Sally Kirkland. She shows up every year and deserves a lifetime achievement award at this point. This time she showed up wearing a parachute or something that was supposed to look like it.

Most Useful Advice - From winning screenwriter of The Departed, William Monahan: "Valium does work." You know, just in case Hollywood forgot.

Best Subversion of an Oscar Convention - Al Gore being cut off by music before he could make his "announcement." And even though it was a gag, you could practically hear liberal Hollywood’s collective stomach drop.

Worst Idea Ever - Interpretive dancing! This one, of course, doesn’t just apply to the Oscars, but also the world at large.

Tags: Movies

So much for a one-off reunion show. After announcing a "one-and-done" stint at this year’s Coachella Music Festival, 90s politico-rock stalwarts Rage Against the Machine announced that they’ll extend the alliance, citing the speed with which tickets sold out, and the prohibitively expensive scalper prices as reasons. Guitarist Tom Morello, formerly of the recently dissolved Audioslave also suggested the reunion was in part to comment on contemporary American politics and rally the youth of America against the current administration.

But don’t line up for the Giants Stadium seats yet — the band will only be adding three shows to the show, all in conjunction with Rock the Bells, an annual hip-hop festival that will find the band playing with the always creative, eight member Wu Tang Clan.

For Limited Time Only:
7/28 Randall’s Island, New York, NY
8/11 NOS Events Center, San Bernadino, CA
8/18 TBD, San Francisco, CA

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Tags: Rage Against the Machine•Music

Clocks stopped, horses talked as if they were Mr. Ed, and the Thames ran backward as Leeds post-Britpoppers Kaiser Chiefs knocked Mika off the top of the UK charts with "Ruby." Yeah, we know you’ve got things to do today. But if you want to look like you have an ear cocked to what the Brits call the "wireless" and impress your friends, here’s everything you need to know about The Mighty Chiefs.

Who:  Ricky Wilson (singer), Andrew White (guitar), Simon Rix (bass), Nick Baines (keyboards), Nick Hodgson (drums). That’s two Nicks!

Where from:  Leeds, birthplace of Oscar nominee Peter O’Toole, home to Goth bands like The Mission UK, and the city which also gave us Corinne Bailey Rae.

That name: They’re named after the South African Kaizer Chiefs Football Club.

Best song: "I Predict a Riot," as heard on their 200 debut, Employment.

Sounds like: Blur, Kings of Britpop whose music hall songs about quangos and milkmen failed to seduce the Americans as much as Oasis’ "Wonderwall."

Rock ‘n’ roll!:  Fellow UK chart stars Arctic Monkeys hate ‘em. "If we’re next year’s Kaiser Chiefs, we’ll quit," moaned Alex Turner in 2005. "They’re a bit annoying."

Millions of downloading Britkids disagree with you, Alex. But will they stay on top?  Stay tuned …

• Watch Kaiser Chiefs videos on VSpot!
• Sound interesting? Download Kaiser Chiefs songs on Urge!
• Are Kaiser Chiefs the next Arctic Monkeys? Or is the other way around? What foreign band do you want to know more about? Leave a comment!

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Tags: Music

The last person left awake in hour three of last night’s Oscarcast has emailed VH1 Blog to inform us that Jennifer Hudson won Best Supporting Actress. Noted. But we can’t turn over and go back to sleep without considering some of the ramifications:

1. You know Beyonce’s taking notes. With the success of Hudson and Norbit, expect Ms. Bills, Bills, Bills to bulk up for a forthcoming biopic of George Foreman. She plays George.

2. American Idol rejects can now expect a brighter future than flipping burgers with Justin Guarini. Look for Antonella Barba to appear in a remake of Star 80.

3. Will there be a Dreamgirls, Too?  In this exciting sequel, a quartet of girls from Houston become a trio, then a few other members are traded around, the lead singer goes solo and sleeps with Jay-Z, and everyone lives happily ever after. (Except the other, less-famous two.)  You’ll weep as Beyondi sings, "I Am Telling You I Am Not Staying in the Same Hotel As Those Two Skanks."

4. Er, that’s it.

• Read all about Jennifer Hudson’s big win!
• Watch videos from Dreamgirls on VSpot!
• Who gave a better performance — Jennifer Hudson or Beyonce?  Leave a comment!

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Photos: Jennifer Hudson

Tags: Jennifer Hudson•American Idol•Movies•Music