Lots of prep work has gone into the solidification of the Martin Luther King, Jr National Memorial on the Mall in Washington, DC. All that’s needed is a final chunk of change to help get the whole thing built. When it’s complete, a tribute to the great man’s ideas regarding equality and peace will be closely situated to those praising other American thinkers, such as Lincoln and Jefferson.

An array of performers have bonded together to help secure these project funds - The Dream Concert is a superstar deal that takes place in New York on Tuesday, September 18. Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Carlos Santana, Ludacris, John Legend, Babyface, Usher, Garth Brooks, Wycliffe Jean, Joss Stone, Talib Kweli, Robin Thicke, Whoopi Goldberg, Magic Johnson, and several others will take the stage for the cause.

Check back on Wednesday. We’ll have some post-show pics for you. Which artist would you most like to see yourself? Hit “Comments.”


Tags: Joss Stone•Ludacris•Robin Thicke•Talib Kweli•Wyclef Jean•John Legend•Carlos Santana•Music

Last night must’ve been exciting for fans of the Young Guns films, as the two American Idol contestants sent packing—Phil Stacey (the baldie) and Chris Richardson (one of the pseudo Timberlakes)—both re-sang Bon Jovi songs from the kitschy ’80s western.

We also learned that Blake Lewis (the other pseudo JT) and Chris Richardson are totally BFF and are psyched to tour together this summer. It’s too bad that Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell can’t take a cue from these dudes about male friendship, and quit gay-bashing each other. Their claws were out again last night, with Seacrest making a rather confusing insinuation that Simon’s girlfriend is his "beard" by saying she is an ugly "puppet" and that he his the puppet master. Simon got all mad, not about the implication that he has a beard, but that his beard is ugly, and was like, "If you’re going to be obnoxious, I won’t talk to you. Apologize. You’re being rude about my girlfriend." Later on in the show, Seacrest wouldn’t let the awkward exchange drop, saying, "As we’ve heard [Simon] has a girlfriend, and it is very serious. Trust me."

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Tags: Bon Jovi•Robin Thicke•Television•American Idol

Cam’ron and Myspace aren’t the only ones breathing down 50 Cent’s neck. Apparently, the hottest names in hip-hop and R&B all want a piece of him, too … as in the MC’s upcoming album, Curtis.

First, the producers: Dr. Dre, Eminem and Timbaland have all laid down tracks on the record, with one of the Dre songs, "Straight to the Bank," (listen here) already at No. 21 on the charts. 50 told BBC Radio’s Tim Westwood that big-name producers Kanye West, Pharrell, Swizz Beatz and Polow Da Don have stopped by the studio to guest-produce some stuff for the disc.

As for star wattage behind the mic, Eminem, Akon, Justin Timberlake, Mary J. Blige, Robin Thicke and Nicole Scherzinger are all slated to guest.

Curtis is scheduled for a June 26 street date. You psyched?

Tags: 50 Cent•Akon•Dr. Dre•Eminem•Justin Timberlake•Kanye West•Mary J. Blige•Nicole Scherzinger•Pharrell•Polow Da Don•Robin Thicke•Swizz Beatz•Timbaland

Blue-eyed soul crooner Robin Thicke is finally coming into his own. So no wonder he’s got some big-time options. Dude’s writing a score for the forthcoming movie This Wednesday, and he’s got to make it truly evocative. His wife, Paula Patton, in part of the cast, playing a pimp who works the streets of Hot ‘Lanta. That’s a little different than the role his dad, Alan Thicke, played on Growing Pains.

Video: Live@VH1.com

Tags: Robin Thicke•Music