• BARRY MANILOW has canceled his three remaining performances at the Las Vegas Hilton to undergo surgery to repair torn cartilage in both hips, his publicist said. The 60-year-old singer, who has a four-year concert contract with the hotel, suffers from labrum tears in his hips - a painful condition exacerbated by his energy-filled performances, publicist Carol Marshall said in a statement Thursday. Manilow had previously announced that he would continue performing through his appearance at the upcoming Emmy Awards and then go in for surgery.

• COREY MILLER, who once went by the stage name of "C-Murder," has been ordered back into house arrest in Louisiana, two days after a state appeals court ruled that the judge who removed him from the program did so improperly after a month of being free to move around Jefferson and Orleans parishes during approved hours. Until his retrial on second-degree murder charges, state District Judge Martha Sassone says Miller is being placed on complete home incarceration and is not allowed to leave his home at any time, except for a court hearing this month.

• PAT GREEN, whose Top 20 single 'Feels Just Like It Should' was the highest Billboard country debut this year, will release his BNA Records debut album, "Cannonball," on August 22. "'Cannonball' is me," states Green. "I put everything I had into it, and it's a great picture into what my life is right this minute." Capturing Green's provocative songwriting style and the energy of his live shows, "Cannonball" also maintains the personality that gives his music originality. "If you're a country music fan and you like stuff that doesn't sound like everything else, you're going to really enjoy this," explains Green.

• OUTKAST members Andre 3000 (Andre Benjamin) and Big Boi (Antwan A. Patton) are featured in a new motion picture, "Idlewild," which is set to open next week. A story of the loves and ambitions of two struggling performers told through intricate musical numbers and vibrantly choreographed dance sequences, "Idlewild" is an original musical. Other cast members include Ving Rhames ("Mission: Impossible"), Terrence Dashon Howard ("Hustle & Flow"), newcomer Paula Patton, Faizon Love ("Elf") and Malinda Williams ("Soul Food"), as well as recording artists Patti LaBelle and Macy Gray.

• JOHNNY DUNCAN, known for songs like 'She Can Put Her Shoes Under My Bed Anytime' and 'It Couldn't Have Been Any Better,' has died. He was 67. Duncan, who had a string of country hits in the 1970s, passed away earlier this week of a heart attack at a Fort Worth, Texas hospital. "He knew when he was 12 years old that playing music and singing songs was going to be his life," said his wife, Connie Duncan. The couple had moved back to Texas to live on a farm not far from where Duncan was born on Oct. 5, 1938. Duncan wrote songs for the likes of Charley Pride and Conway Twitty.

• PRINCE's greatest Pop successes are being released on a new 2-disc set dubbed "Ultimate Prince," along with a "Diamonds And Pearls" DVD collection on August 22nd via Rhino Entertainment. Drawing from music he originally recorded with his backing bands The Revolution and The New Power Generation, "Ultimate Prince" begins by tracking Prince's evolution from his early albums ("Prince," "Dirty Mind" and "Controversy"), while "Diamonds And Pearls" contains more than an hour of music including the DVD debut of concert performances, interviews and classic videos.

• LUCIANO PAVAROTTI says he is getting a hand from God in his battle against pancreatic cancer. "Now I only need God's help, and it really seems to me that he is giving it to me," Pavarotti says. "It was a great beautiful season that we had. But I don't listen to myself (singing) anymore." "I don't want to hear myself. If you invite me to dinner, and to please me, you put on one of my own recordings, I would walk out on you," he was quoted as saying. "If you want me to stay, make me hear Placido's voice," he added. Luciano Pavarotti was diagnosed last month with a malignant pancreatic mass.

• LIBBY JOHNSON has decided to get back to basics with her solo debut album, "Annabella," on Wrong Records. Touring the world as a founding member of 22 Brides (Zero Hour/Universal) has given the critically acclaimed New York singer/songwriter the experience and music industry know-how to release a record on her own. "Annabella"'s memorable songs have a soulful, bluesy, yet Rock-based feel that stay with the listener. Libby Johnson is a featured artist in the upcoming Fox Searchlight film "Trust The Man," starring David Duchovny, Julianne Moore, Billy Crudup, and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

• LEIGH NASH is pursuing a solo career two years after Sixpence None The Richer split, however the group's former singer can't quite escape the band's big hit, 'Kiss Me.' The song has become a staple during time-outs at sporting events, with the stadium camera focusing on fans who are expected to smooch, sometimes with comical results. "I heard about that," Nash told The Associated Press. "That's awesome. It kind of makes sense and it was such a big song. I thought it was cute. I'm glad they have a song that was appropriate." Leigh Nash will tour this fall with Jars Of Clay and Matt Wertz.

• TONY BENNETT's 80th-birthday celebration continues to roll west. The singer was honored with an all-star bash in New York on Aug. 3, his birthday. Next up - a glittering celebration in Los Angeles. George Clooney, Paul Newman, Billy Crystal, Jack Nicholson and Bruce Willis will gather Nov. 9 at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre for the charity fundraiser, "Singers And Songs Celebrate Tony Bennett's 80th," veteran music producer Lou Adler announced Monday. A variety of artists will perform at the gala, including Bennett, a 13-time Grammy winner. Ticket prices range from $50 to $5,000.

• ELTON JOHN has set a September 19 release date for his new studio album, "The Captain And The Kid." The Rocket/Island set is a sequel to the artist's 1975 album "Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy." "It was (Sanctuary Group CEO Merck Mercuriadis') idea, because he said, 'You're always saying how (songwriting partner) Bernie (Taupin) has become the Brown Dirt Cowboy' -- he lives on a ranch in Santa Ynez (Calif.) -- and I'm this guy who plays concert after concert, buying art, buying photographs, living a very lavish lifestyle," John told Billboard. "I've become Captain Fantastic."

• SIR ANDREW DAVIS, Lyric Opera Of Chicago's music director and principal conductor, will undergo leg surgery next week that will cause him to miss more than a month of performances, the Lyric announced Friday. Davis, 62, has had pain in his left leg for some time and the surgery, a femoral popliteal artery bypass, is intended to "increase his comfort and mobility," Lyric spokeswoman Magda Krance said. The surgery will keep Davis from conducting the Sept. 16 opening of the Lyric's 52nd season. Bruno Bartoletti, will replace him for six performances of Puccini's "Turandot."

• 3 DOORS DOWN band members have presented two checks to aid Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Guitarist Matt Roberts presented a $25,000 check Tuesday to Resurrection Catholic School, which he attended, to help replace library books. Principal Darnell Cuevas said the school lost thousands of books when Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast last Aug. 29. "We've learned since the hurricane that things are not cheap, and this will help so much," Cuevas said. In Gautier, guitarist Chris Henderson presented a $75,000 check to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance volunteers who have been aiding victims.

• THE PUSSYCAT DOLLS know how to push the buttons of Malaysian authorities. A local city council fined organizers for allowing the chart-topping singers to wear skimpy costumes and perform "sexually suggestive" routines at a recent concert. Foreign artists will now have to follow strict guidelines in their on-stage acts, the government said Thursday. "We have to have guidelines," said Siti Zaleha, a senior official at the Culture And Arts ministry. "We have enforcement officers that will check acts, and report to the relevant authorities for action."

• THE ROLLING STONES will perform at the famed Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky on Sept. 29. "It's an opportunity we have to bring a legendary rock group to a legendary venue," Churchill Downs President Steve Sexton said at a news conference. Seating will be in the grandstand, clubhouse and on the track. A special covering will be placed over the dirt and turf to protect the racing surfaces, officials said. The stage will be placed on the infield facing the grandstand. The Stones haven't performed in Louisville since 1989.

• JAY-Z has a new favorite drink: water. He teamed up with the United Nations and MTV on Wednesday to get children involved in the fight against the worldwide water crisis. He cited statistics that 1.1 billion people live without clean drinking water and 2.6 billion lack proper sanitation. "I figure that once I stumbled upon that, if the information was out and young people knew that these problems exist while we're having Poland Springs at Cipriani and things like that, that we'll get involved," said the 36-year-old rapper, referring to the restaurant chain.

• HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS bassist and founding member Mario Cipollina has pled not guilty to felony counts of heroin and methamphetamine possession in California. He was being held in the Marin County jail without bail because the charges violated the terms of his probation for previous felony burglary and petty theft convictions, said Deputy District Attorney Linda Witong. Cipollina was due back in court Aug. 21. His probation stemmed from an August 2004 arrest for stealing about $5,500 worth of radio control cars from a San Anselmo store.

• JON SPENCER, front man of the Blues Explosion and shudder-and-shake specialist of Rockabilly wildmen Heavy Trash, takes on Luther and Cody Dickinson, masterminds of the North Mississippi All-Stars, in a no-holds-barred Mississippi Mud Fight on the upcoming album, "The Man Who Lives For Love," which will be released August 22nd. "I was a little messed up in the head anyway," confesses Spencer, telling the tale of the backwoods throwdown. "It was freezing cold. It was tough, just a barn with a space heater. We got that freak element. We got the groovy hate vibe. We got weird."

• PINK FLOYD guitarist David Gilmour will perform in Venice this weekend after his concerts in St. Mark's Square were canceled because of a problem with the stage. Gilmour will perform in the lagoon city Friday and Saturday, according to a statement posted on his website. The concerts scheduled for Aug. 4-5 were canceled because the stage appeared to be unsafe, Italian news reports said. One of the columns supporting the stage was slightly angled and therefore unable to hold the weight of the lights and other stage equipment, according to the reports.

• PHIL SPECTOR was ordered by a judge Monday to disclose whether he discussed the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson with his former personal assistant. The ruling pertains to a lawsuit filed by the assistant, Michelle Blaine, alleging sexual harassment and wrongful termination. Her suit is scheduled to go to trial after Spector's criminal case concludes. Blaine filed her case against Spector after he sued her for embezzlement. She claimed she was fired because she refused to promise not to talk to prosecutors about what Spector might have told her about the shooting death of Clarkson at his mansion.

• MADONNA's plans to stage a mock crucifixion during a Sunday concert in Rome have drawn fire from religious leaders, who have condemned the stunt as "an act of open hostility" toward the Roman Catholic Church. During the concerts of her "Confessions" world tour, the American diva appears crucified on a mirrored cross while wearing a crown of thorns. The prospect of the scene being repeated at the concert in Rome's Olympic stadium, some 2 miles from the Vatican, prompted Catholic officials to denounce the act as a publicity stunt in bad taste. "To crucify yourself in the city of the pope and the martyrs is an act of open hostility," Cardinal Ersilio Tonini said.

• ELISABETH SCHWARZKOPF, among the most renowned Opera and concert sopranos of the 20th century, died at her Austrian home on Thursday at the age of 90, local media reported. The German-born Schwarzkopf sang for a galaxy of famed conductors in a career that originated with training in Berlin during Germany's Nazi era and wound up four decades later in 1975. APA news agency said she died in the town of Schruns in western Vorarlberg province of Austria, whose Vienna State Opera elevated her to the international stage shortly after World War II. After she retired, a biographer later revealed that she had applied to join the Nazi Party in 1940.

• BARRY MANILOW had so much success with the music from the 1950s, he's taking on another decade. In an interview with The Associated Press, Manilow said he plans to release "The Greatest Songs Of The Sixties" on Oct. 31, a follow-up to "The Greatest Songs Of The Fifties," which debuted at No. 1 when it was released earlier this year and sold more than one million copies. Manilow thinks his upcoming album might be even more popular than the first. "I think these songs from the '60s are more well known to a lot of people than the songs of the 50s," he said. "I really have a sense that these songs are even going to be more accepted to a bigger audience because everybody knows these songs."

• JERMAINE DUPRI doesn't necessarily see the blending of two songs to create another as something new, as musical mash-ups are currently a hot trend. "I've always mixed different music with other music (as a DJ)," said the top producer/performer. Now, Dupri will do it once again as musical director for the Aug. 19 AmsterJam concert in New York City, where acts such as the Foo Fighters, LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes and Tom Petty will blend their music with that of other acts live onstage. "What you hear will be my creation basically ... or how I think the mash-ups should go," said Dupri in an interview with The Associated Press this week. "I'm kind of visualizing this from a DJ perspective."

• ELTON JOHN is sick of American bands' tattoos and piercings. He says he'd like American bands to adopt the cutting-edge, Glam Rock style made popular by his peers. "It's been a thing the British have always been very good at, with Bowie, myself, T. Rex, The Who, Queen... We all embraced that side of it. And I think it's good that some American bands are beginning to do that, but it's still very rare for bands to make a real effort. So when you get groups like The Killers and Scissor Sisters who come along, it's thrilling. I'm so over the tattoos and the t-shirts and rings through the noses. It's not pretty, it's not pleasant, it's not exciting. Please stop it now."

• FREDDY FENDER has incurable cancer, discovered after tumors were found on his lungs, and his wife said they are "hoping for a miracle." "I feel very comfortable in my life," Fender told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times for a story published Wednesday. "I'm one year away from 70 and I've had a good run. I really believe I'm O.K. In my mind and in my heart, I feel O.K. I cannot complain that I haven't lived long enough, but I'd like to live longer." Fender started his career in the late 1950s and hit the charts with 'Before The Next Teardrop Falls,' 'Wasted Days And Wasted Nights' and 'You'll Lose A Good Thing.' He has won three Grammy Awards, the most recent in 2002.

• RUBEN STUDDARD returns to R&B with his third album, set for release Sept. 26. The album's title, "The Return," signifies his coming back to the mainstream after recording the 2004 Gospel album, "I Need An Angel," Studdard said in a statement released Monday by J Records. "I've had people ask me where I've been in the past few years so I thought calling it 'The Return' made sense," said Studdard, who won Fox's "American Idol" talent competition in May 2003. "With 'The Return,' I'm letting all the people who've followed me from 'American Idol' until now know that basically I'm back."

• BILLY JOEL took the stage with rocker Bryan Adams just outside the Colosseum in Rome, Italy and performed classic hits to the delight of hundreds of thousands of fans. Organizers put the number of people who had turned up for the free concert Monday night at half a million. Joel, playing in front of a Colosseum lit up with purple and yellow lights, performed old favorites like 'New York State Of Mind,' 'Honesty' and 'Just The Way You Are.' While introducing one song he joked in shaky Italian, "This song is as old as the Colosseum." Adams, opening the concert, performed classics such as 'Run To You.'