Gossip

Earlier this year, Jessica Biel, Emile Hirsch, Lupe Fiasco, Santigold and others banded together to climb to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro to raise awareness about the global clean-water crisis. Now Justin Timberlake has pitched in to support the effort.

The singer is set to provide a personal introduction to “Summit on the Summit: Kilimanjaro,” the 90-minute documentary about the celebrities’ climb that will air on  March 14 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Masterminded by Grammy-nominated musician Kenna, the team took a six-day, 50-mile trek to the peak of the tallest mountain in Africa.

“It was a combination of the mental and the psychological aspects of the mountain, of the slow-but-steady pace that you had to go up it, and that sometimes made your brain just want to explode, because you just wanted to get there so badly,” Biel told reporters Wednesday. “But then you’d get this rush of inspiration of ‘I’m not doing this for me. I’m doing this for something bigger than me, for people who don’t have a voice, for people that need water around the world,’ and then you’d power through.”

In addition to raising awareness about the clean-water crisis, the “Summit on the Summit” raises funds for P&G’s Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and Water for People’s PlayPumps Technology. During the broadcast, viewers will be able to text SEND to 90999 to donate $10 to the U.N. Foundation on behalf of “Summit on the Summit.” Each donation will send 1,000 liters of clean water to people in need.

“We have a long history of educating its audience to raise awareness on issues that are important to them,” said Dave Sirulnick, Executive Vice President, News and Docs. “More than 1 billion people worldwide do not have access to safe, clean drinking water. By airing this documentary, we hope to mobilize a new generation of young people who may not be aware of this global cause and take action to get involved in helping find solutions to the water crisis.”

Yesterday we gave “American Idol” producers props for reducing the show to one hour instead of two. Today we feel like tossing the judges in detention for their shenanigans this week, from Tuesday’s awkwardly forced lap-sitting incident between Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres to Wednesday’s infantile Simon/Kara DioGuardi flirtation.

But this is a singing competition, isn’t it? So on to the contestants. The evening took off with strong performances from Lee Dewyze and Alex Lambert and U-turned into Snoozeville at a certain point, before blissfully blasting away with an injection of Michael Lynche-provided power. Who surprised us, who disappointed us and who’s in danger of going home? Let’s take a look at the top eight men’s report card. (And don’t miss Jim Cantiello’s recap of their performances.)

Excellent
Michael Lynche: First things first. While Big Mike’s take on Maxwell’s version of Kate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work” was the highlight of the evening, it was nowhere near the waterworks-generating territory that Kara’s tears suggested. That being said, Lynche keeps surprising us. Last week he ditched the guitar and brought an ear-pleasing soul sound to the stage. This week he busted out a falsetto during a butter-smooth channeling of Maxwell that showed off an impressive vocal range and convinced us that Big Mike is in the upper tier of “Idol” contestants.

Good
Lee Dewyze: Owl City’s “Fireflies” was by far the smartest song choice Dewyze has made during these lives shows. The emo rock vibe seems to be a comfortable niche for him, and we were almost able to dismiss his rampant pitch problems. Almost. Dewyze is like a poor man’s David Cook. And when you consider that we’ve never had a very high opinion of the seventh-season “Idol” winner, you can imagine what we think of Dewyze’s long-term prospects. No matter, he did well for himself on Wednesday and is a lock to make the top 12.

Alex Lambert: The kid keeps impressing. The judges seemed to think he’d reverted back to a jelly-legged newbie. Not us. His tone on Ray LaMontagne’s “Trouble” was compelling, his vocals generally soft yet powerful. We don’t buy for a second that the only thing standing in the way of his winning “Idol,” as Kara suggested, is his lack of confidence — ever heard of Crystal Bowersox? — but we’re digging Lambert’s growth from week to week. “Trouble been dogging my soul,” he sang, and ya know what? We believed him.

Casey James: Has any contestant this year been so lovingly framed and lit on the “Idol” stage? The crooning cowboy’s rendition of Keith Urban’s “You’ll Think of Me” was a step up from last week’s sub-par Southern rock number and nowhere near as magical his take on Bryan Adams’ “Heaven.” James keeps delivering confident, calm, passionate performances and he’ll keep doing it for a long while.

Todrick Hall: Todrick narrowly nabs a Good grade because of his sheer enthusiasm. It’s the most clichéd “Idol” explanation ever, but he really was up there just having fun. His performance of Queen’s “Somebody to Love” might well belong on a Broadway show version of “Idol” rather than the actual competition, but that’s a show we wouldn’t mind taking in. Hall’s in big trouble this week, but what may have been his last performance was certainly his most enjoyable.

Satisfactory
Tim Urban: Has Urban’s God-fearing adorableness run its course? Will the judges start to honestly evaluate his singing talents rather than concentrating on his dimples? Those were the questions heading into Wednesday’s show, and the answers were made clear when Ellen jetted out of her seat to hug the kid. His version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” was the essence of just-all-right-for-me-dog dullness. And yet Urban is not going anywhere this week. His Christian music vibe and his all-American niceness will win him a spot in the top 12.

Andrew Garcia: In choosing “Genie in a Bottle” by Christina Aguilera, Garcia announced himself as a gimmick artist, a one-trick-pony novelty act. He takes pop tunes and reworks them with a mildly funked-up acoustic guitar arrangement. Anything else he tries doesn’t deliver. What we took for amazing artistry after his rendition of Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up” was in actuality a sort of creative tunnel vision. Garcia has gone from front-runner to in-danger-of-going-home contestant. We don’t think it’s going to happen, mind you, but he’s not nearly the top-12 lock we once assumed he was.

Unsatisfactory
Aaron Kelly: Oh boy. We don’t like tearing apart the efforts of a 16-year-old. But what are we to do when voters keep sending him through week after week? His take on Lonestar’s “I’m Already There”? Pitchy beyond belief. It’s not just because he was the youngest kid onstage that we think he’s a boy amongst men. He just can’t belt with the front-runners. We’d keep asking how this kid is still here, but continually asking the same question and expecting a different answer is the definition of insanity, right? Right?!

Billy Corgan may have admitted his love for Jessica Simpson to Rolling Stone, but it seems he’s also dishing to the magazine his distaste for John Mayer after Mayer’s controversial remarks about Simpson in Playboy magazine.

“He’s trying to destroy his career,” Corgan told Rolling Stone. “Rather than take a year off or change his musical direction … some part of it is irritating his soul to the point where he’s trying to blow it up.”

Corgan further said of his fellow musician, “Certainly a talented guy, but empathetically, standing on the sidelines, it’s hard to watch someone literally burn their career to the ground. Speaking as somebody who’s done it.”

In the same interview, the Smashing Pumpkins founder revealed that he’s got feelings for Simpson. The two recently collaborated on the theme song for Simpson’s new VH1 reality show, “The Price of Beauty.”

“If I go, ‘Oh, we’re just friends,’ then it’s like, ‘Did they go out, did he dump her or she dump him, what happened?’ It has nothing to do with any of that. Sometimes people just like being around each other, and good things come out of that,” he told the magazine about the nature of his relationship with Simpson. “My goal in life is to love whoever I think is worth loving, and I think if people knew her like I knew her, they would love her like I do. It’s really simple.”

Simpson seems to be taking this all in stride. She laughed off Mayer’s comments when she appeared on “Late Night With David Letterman on Wednesday night.

As sales of his latest album, Graffiti, continue to falter, Chris Brown issued a message to his fans this week to help revive his music career in the wake of his guilty plea to felony assault on former girlfriend Rihanna last year.

Posting on the Web site SayNow.com — a site that enables people to leave and share recorded messages — Brown apparently said American radio stations are not playing his songs, which has made promoting Graffiti difficult for him. In an earlier message, Brown urged fans to keep in touch with him by calling a special 877 number while he is on tour.

At press time, a spokesperson for Brown had not responded to reporters’ requests for comment on the message, nor confirmed that the messages are definitely from him.

In a new missive uploaded on Wednesday morning, he directly asks fans to lend him a hand. “Hey, what’s up, y’all? CB. I ain’t never really did this but right now I’m just calling ya’ll, I need all of my fans’ help,” he said in the 90-second clip. “I need all the fans that I have, I need y’all’s help. It’s crazy because a lot of radio stations … some radio stations aren’t playing my records. They’re not being that supportive and I wouldn’t expect them to.

“It’s on the fans and what you guys do in y’all power to bring me back because that’s all I need, is you guys,” Brown continued. “Nothing else will do that except for the fans. There’s nothing else that I can do. I’m doing everything that I need to do. I’m doing me as a person and I’m a better guy. But it’s on y’all.

“My singing and my music is all great, but I do it for you guys and everything else but it won’t be possible if I’m not relevant on the radio and it won’t be possible for me to be an artist if I don’t have any support from people that give me an artists outlet. I can’t be an underground mixtape artist!” Brown said with a laugh. “I just want all my fans to help me. I love y’all. Peace.”

Since its release in early December, Graffiti has spawned the singles “I Can Transform Ya,” “Crawl” and “Sing Like Me,” with only “Transform Ya” gaining traction on radio and the album’s sales stalling out at just over 250,000 copies. The singer mounted a small “Fan Appreciation” tour from October through December that hit modest theaters that were considerably smaller than the arenas he played with Bow Wow on the tour for his previous album, 2007’s Exclusive, which has sold nearly 2 million copies to date.

When contacted back in November, a number of radio programmers told reporters they weren’t shying away from playing Brown’s songs on the radio in light of the sordid details of the assault that leaked prior to Brown’s guilty plea.

And though fans appeared to like “Transform Ya,” many programmers appear to have cooled on the singer’s music for now. At the moment, Brown does not have any songs in the top 50 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop chart.

We’ve already given them some sound fashion advice, but now we want to know who the Oscar attendees will be bringing with them to the show on Sunday. With a number of the presenters and nominees opting to bring mom to the Academy Awards, it could be quite the family affair.

While “Precious” star Gabourey Sidibe really wanted to get Justin Timberlake and “The Hurt Locker” actor Anthony Mackie “fight it out for the honor” of being her date, the actress confirmed to People that she will be accompanied by her mom.

In fact, it seems a number of the ladies will have mom by their side on the red carpet. “Up in the Air” star Anna Kendrick will arrive at the show with her mom and brother in tow. “I’m flying them out. I’m so excited,” Kendrick revealed to E! News. “My mom wants to meet George Clooney.”

Miley Cyrus, who is presenting at the show, tends to bring her mom to big events with her, so it’s no surprise she’s leaving beau and “The Last Song” co-star Liam Hemsworth at home. “Liam’s a pretty low-key guy anyway,” a source close to the couple told E!. “He doesn’t mind not going.”

Maggie Gyllenhaal, up for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Crazy Heart,” will also be with mom. The actress told Showbiz411, “I’m looking forward to doing the whole thing, all the parties. I know it’s crazy, but why not? I’m hoping I can bring my mom, too, to the Governors Ball.”

With both Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner presenting at the show, it seems like the “Twilight” stars would make perfect built-in dates for each other. “Yeah, I’m going,” Stewart said. “Me and Taylor are going to present.”

“The Bounty Hunter” star Gerard Butler, who will also be presenting, isn’t bringing a date — on purpose. “I’m not taking a date unless I have a serious girlfriend, which probably a lot of people know is very rare,” Butler told “Extra.” “There are enough rumors about what’s going on in my life without sparking another one.”

By most accounts, “Avatar” and “The Hurt Locker” seem likely to dominate the Oscars on Sunday — but after a clean sweep of its five nominations at the Independent Spirit Awards on Friday (March 5), perhaps things are looking a bit more “Precious.”

The wrenching, heartbreaking but ultimately uplifting drama “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” was a juggernaut at the Film Independent Spirit Awards held in downtown Los Angeles. Other big winners included “Crazy Heart,” Woody Harrelson, “A Serious Man” and even the quirky, endearing documentary “Anvil! The Story of Anvil!”

Hosted by Eddie Izzard, the show honored independent and original filmmaking throughout 2009, and celebrated this year’s 25th anniversary by moving from its traditional day of the week (Saturday before the Oscars) and location (Santa Monica) to downtown’s expansive new L.A. Live complex. In past years, the Spirit Awards have been indicative of Oscar winners, playing out as recently as last year when Penélope Cruz (for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”) and the documentary “Man on Wire” won at both shows.

“Precious” won Best Feature, Best Director (Lee Daniels), Best First Screenplay (Geoffrey Fletcher), Best Female Lead (Gabourey Sidibe) and Best Supporting Female (Mo’Nique). Looking out in the audience at her co-star who has spent the last year soaring from obscurity to Oscar-stardom, Mo’Nique said to Sidibe: “You are a special gift to the universe, baby.”

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Jeff Bridges won Best Male Lead for “Crazy Heart,” continuing his seemingly insurmountable awards-season ‘09 dominance. The film, about a broken-down country singer seeking salvation and sobriety, also won Best First Feature for rookie director Scott Cooper.

Harrelson took home Best Supporting Male for the war film “The Messenger,” Best Screenplay went to “(500) Days of Summer” team Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, and “An Education” won Best Foreign Film. Then there’s the Coen brothers — always independent-film favorites — whose “A Serious Man” won Best Cinematography and the Robert Altman Award for collaborative effort. The Oscar-nominated Christopher Plummer/ Helen Mirren film “The Last Station” entered Friday night sharing the “Precious” stage with five nominations each, but came away empty-handed.

Jermaine Sellers got some pretty harsh feedback from the “American Idol” judges for his semifinal performances, but said he was convinced that his faith would carry him through the negativity.

His dream came to an end, however, on Thursday, when he was voted out of the competition, along with John Park, Haeley Vaughn and Michelle Delamor. “In God, there’s no failure,” the 27-year-old said after his elimination.

So what’s next for the Joliet, Illinois, church singer? We caught up with him Friday (March 5) to discuss that and much more.

Q: You were very outspoken about your faith on the show. Do you think your post-singing comments had anything to do with your elimination?

A: Though I hate to say it, yeah, I do. Because sometimes, the camera can make you look more arrogant and diva-ish. Anybody that knows me knows I’m, like, the coolest guy. I like to make people laugh. I honestly do wear a onesie to bed, the whole nine yards. I hate it that I was made out to look like something that I’m not, but it’s television. I felt like every night that I went out there, I sang from my heart. And the part that really messed me up the most was that I couldn’t focus, because I was so scared about what was going to be said this week as far as me singing so much. I just felt like, the best way to prove a person wrong is by fighting them with God, letting God fight your battles. That’s why I kept throwing it out there. A lot of people don’t realize that with us making it this far in the competition, we haven’t really sat down and took time to thank God for us even making it this far. And without him, we’ll fail. That’s why I kept having to throw him out there. We don’t acknowledge him enough.

Q: The judges obviously liked you enough to put you in the top 24, but then they tore you apart once the semifinals started. How did you take their sudden criticism?

A: I took it the best way that I possibly could. The thing about it is, as an artist, you have to stay true to yourself. And with you staying true to yourself, it’s a certain way I sang my entire life, from a child on up. I kept pulling back. I pulled back a lot, because there was a lot more that I could have done. I felt like if I pulled any more back, it would be like I’m basically whispering to them. I’m a church singer.

Q: What was your favorite part about making it so far on “American Idol”?

A: Making it to top 20, it’s a blessing. That’s the best experience about it, just getting on that platform and being able to, not just sing to people, but to minister to them too. People don’t realize that the reason I sang songs like Oleta Adams and Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On?” — half of the reason I did “What’s Going On” was because I felt like we’re not paying attention to what’s going on as far as Haiti, as far as Chile. We’re not paying attention to it. We’re spending time focusing on other stuff when we should be focusing on what’s actually going on in the world right now.

Q: If you could go back, would you change your song selections because of the judges’ comments?

A: “American Idol” is for teenyboppers. There’s a lot of young people and they want to hear more current stuff. They want to hear the Keri Hilson stuff, “Knocks You Down” type stuff. And that’s not where my soul is. I’m more of “Let’s talk about reality. Let’s talk about what’s going on right now.” When I sang “Get Here,” I wasn’t just talking about one specific individual; I was talking about peace. I was talking about love, respect, joy. I want all of that to come back to us. Even though I tried to deliver it the best way that I could, I never got my point across because I let fear conquer me.

On Sunday night at the Oscars, will you be pulling for “Avatar,” “The Hurt Locker” or another film? Do you want to see front-runners Sandra Bullock (”The Blind Side”) and Jeff Bridges (”Crazy Heart”) triumph in the lead actor and actress categories, or are you hoping for an upset? Making Oscar picks is part of the fun of Hollywood’s biggest night, and even celebs like to take part. Tops among many of the folks we’ve spoken to recently was James Cameron’s “Avatar.”

“Cameron is the truth!” said Nick Cannon.

” ‘Avatar’ was fantastic!” Ne-Yo gushed.

But when it comes to the Best Picture and Supporting Actress categories, Cannon is supporting “Precious,” a film in which his wife, Mariah Carey, happens to have a meaty role.

“I definitely want to see ‘Precious’ win,” he said. “I believe Mo’Nique is going to take it, definitely. And I was a fan of ‘Avatar.’ I still think ‘Precious’ was a better movie, but ‘Avatar’ was a movement.”

Ne-Yo, meanwhile, is pulling for “Inglourious Basterds” to win Best Picture. 2007 Oscar nominee Amy Ryan counts one “Inglourious” performance as deserving of a supporting actor win. “I love Christoph Waltz,” she said. “I don’t think he needs any more help. He’s doing quite fine. There are so many incredible performances this year. Mo’Nique blew me away. That was such a ferocious, brave performance.”

“True Blood” star Stephen Moyer’s pick for Best Actor is Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart.”

“He’s my favorite actor. I absolutely love him,” said Moyer, adding of “The Hurt Locker,” “I think Jeremy Renner’s brilliant as well. I thought that was a great performance.”

Meanwhile, “Twilight” vampire Kellan Lutz admitted he hasn’t been keeping an eye on the Oscar horserace. “I’m so taking a backseat to all that,” Lutz said. “I Tivo my Animal Planet and my ‘How It’s Made’ shows. For me, I don’t know what movies are up for Oscars.”

Lady Gaga loves her overseas little monsters so much, she decided to add more dates to the European jaunt of her Monster Ball Tour. The tour was scheduled to wrap March 8 in the UK before picking up in Australia for a number of dates. But Gaga will head back to Europe in May for 10 new dates, as well as two rescheduled dates.

It was also announced that Gaga will embark on her first major arena tour when she returns to North America this June, hitting 30 cities. More info is coming soon.

Gaga will be on the road with glam-rock band Semi Precious Weapons, who recently spoke to reporters about what it’s like to the opening act for the woman who was once their opening act at club gigs in New York.

“When we met her, we were doing shows here bringing, like, 300 people or so, and we were looking for bands to open for us,” bassist Cole Whittle recalled. “They were all boring, but she was fun and partied, and her and Lady Starlight had a really cool show. We were like, ‘I’d much rather see this than some hipster band.’ ”

So they opted to do the future pop star a favor and have her join them for their shows. Despite the fact that she was playing to very small crowds, she was beyond thankful for the spot.

“She was big fans of ours before we met her. She was so grateful to be playing with us, ’cause she loved us so much,” singer Justin Tranter said. “She was like, ‘I’ve never seen so many people! Thank you so much for letting me open.’ It’s obviously a little different now. Them tables have turned! it was still the most awesome thing we’d ever seen. It’s still the most awesome show we ever saw. She’s always been the coolest girl!”

New European dates for Monster Ball Tour:

»May 7 - Stockholm, Sweden @ Globe Arena
»May 10 - Hamburg, Germany @ Color Line Arena
»May 11 - Berlin, Germany @ O2 Arena
»May 15 - Arnhem, Netherlands @ Gelredome
»May 17 - Antwerp, Belgium @ Sportspaleis
»May 21 - Paris, France @ Bercy
»May 24 - Oberhausen, Germany @ König-Pilsener Arena
»May 27 - Nottingham, UK @ Trent FM Arena
»May 28 - Birmingham, UK @ LG Arena
»May 30 - London, UK @ O2 Arena
»June 2 - Manchester, UK @ MEN Arena
»June 4 - Sheffield, UK @ Sheffield Arena

Now that Lil Wayne’s teeth are in order, the superstar MC is expected once again to turn himself in to authorities, this time on Tuesday, to finally begin his one-year prison sentence stemming from a 2007 arrest on gun charges.

The rapper will be formally sentenced in a Manhattan courtroom by Judge Charles H. Solomon after last month’s postponement due to Wayne’s dental surgery. Wayne is scheduled to enter his plea, and authorities will then whisk him away for processing at New York’s Rikers Island.

There, Weezy’s world will be unlike anything he’s experienced before in his life.

According to a prison guard who spoke with reporters, the Cash Money lyricist’s hectic life of recording, touring and performing will be replaced by a regimented routine that features wakeup calls at 4 a.m. and dinner at 3 p.m. The guard, who declined to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the information, said Wayne should be treated like a regular inmate for the most part, obvious safety concerns aside.

“He’ll be housed with inmates who are classified in his category, and he’ll be able to be a regular inmate,” the guard said. “He’ll be able to watch television, go into the day room and congregate with people of his classification.”

Wayne’s classification, however, will most likely be decided based in part on his fame, the guard said. The guard also suggested Wayne would be placed in the Eric M. Taylor Center at Rikers, on the north side of the facility in East Elmhurst, New York.

“It’s a high-class area where he will be segregated from population,” the guard explained.

The rapper, though, won’t be in a dormitory setting, as a retired corrections officer told reporters last month. He’ll likely have his own 10-by-15-foot cell with a toilet, sink, bed and one window. “He’ll be able to see another wall ,” the guard said.

Wayne also will not be able to make many of his own decisions during his incarceration, including what recreation he participates in and the option to work. “He probably won’t be assigned a job, just to keep things quiet,” the guard said, alluding to the rapper’s safety and the overall safety of the unit he’s placed in.

When Wayne graced the cover of Rolling Stone recently, he said he would bring an iPod loaded with music he could write to; the guard, however, emphasized that an mp3 player would be classified as contraband, meaning the rapper would not be permitted to have one.

Weezy will have plenty of downtime, though, of which he can choose how he passes the time. In between the rapper’s 4 a.m. wakeup calls for breakfast, 11 a.m. lunchtimes, 3 p.m. dinners and evening lights out, he has a number of options. He’s allowed to receive two visits per week, which can be any day of the week or weekends at various times.

With his commissary money, he can purchase a transistor radio. It’s unlikely that he’ll visit the law library, as he has no appeal to make for his case; he’s widely expected to be released after eight months if he serves with good behavior. If he wishes to participate in religious activity, he can be excused to visit the places of worship within the prison.

Throughout Wayne’s sentence, he’ll have an intermittent amount of time to interact with fellow inmates. According to the guard, that decision is one that is made by the governing officers of the facility to keep things orderly. For the most part, Wayne will be isolated and treated like any other numbered prisoner at Rikers Island.

“He’ll have no preferable treatment at all. He’ll be treated like a regular inmate,” the guard said, with one added caveat: “He may have heightened security. A guard will walk with him when he moves from location to location.”