John Travolta

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She’d spent a year as the winner of “American Idol” and was about to receive a college degree from Northeastern State University, but May was a month of dread for Carrie Underwood, who was certain her big graduation day would be a disaster. “I was like, ‘People are going to boo me,’ ” the singer told Teen People in the magazine’s September — and final — issue. Underwood, who said a story in a student newspaper claimed she was getting too much attention, got through the ceremony to receive her degree without a boo — “I was just another graduate.” And while the triple-platinum country singer says she’d enjoy working in small-town broadcast journalism, a shorter career jump to a more pop sound is not in her future. “What could I bring to that market? I don’t dance. I’m not a tummy show-er. … I felt I fit in the country world, where I don’t have to change.” Teen People‘s final issue, which also features the new cast of “Laguna Beach,” is on newsstands Friday (August 4). … Jennifer Lopez will not be appearing in the forthcoming Hollywood remake of the TV soap “Dallas,” her spokesperson confirmed. J. Lo had signed on for the role of booze-swigging Sue Ellen Ewing opposite John Travolta, who will play conniving oil tycoon J.R. Ewing. … Nelly Furtado has picked her next U.S. single. “Maneater” will be the second track from Loose to hit the airwaves. … Only four dancers are left standing in Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” competition — two were eliminated this week following a performance by Omarion — and next week, a winner will be crowned. Ciara and Fergie will appear on Thursday’s finale, performing “Step Up” and “London Bridge,” respectively. Tickets for the “So You Think You Can Dance Tour,” which kicks off September 12 in Seattle, go on sale August 12. … The video for “Lose Control” is set in a nightclub, so rather than deck out a soundstage, Kevin Federline went straight to the real thing when it came time to shoot the clip. Federline took over the Pure nightclub at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on July 29 for a 15-hour shoot, reports In Touch magazine, which has a behind-the-scenes look at the production in its August 14 issue. After the work was done, Pure’s late-night crowd was treated to a preview of “Lose Control” — which the DJ played three times as Federline sang along. “The single is really high energy,” he told the magazine. “It’s a great song to perform.” … A release date has been set for Rob Zombie‘s remake of the horror classic “Halloween,” but fans of the rocker’s flicks will need to wait awhile before the film hits the screen. Zombie’s “Halloween” is scheduled to open October 19, 2007. … Ohio punk foursome Dead Poetic’s forthcoming album, Vices, will feature a very special guest on the track “Paralytic” — Deftones frontman Chino Moreno, who also co-produced two songs for the effort. Vices will be in stores October 31. … Actress Monica Keena has been missing from “Entourage” this season, but she has a new hot chick to play. Keena will voice a character in “The Sopranos” video game, due in November. … It’s been known for some time that Modest Mouse were working on their new album with former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, but what’s news to us is the fact that Marr is now apparently a full-fledged member of the band. A spokesperson for the band’s label, Epic Records, confirmed that Marr had joined Modest Mouse and will tour with them in support of their upcoming album, tentatively titled We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. The band (including Marr) recorded the new album at Sweet Tea studios in Mississippi, the same place the group recorded its breakout 2004 album, Good News for People Who Love Bad News. The new Modest Mouse LP is tentatively due this fall. … Snow Patrol‘s “Chasing Cars” was featured on the season finale of “Grey’s Anatomy” in May — with the line “Would you lie with me and just forget the world?” pointedly playing as a surgeon lies in a hospital bed alongside the dead body of a beloved patient — and the song quickly became a hit on iTunes. Now there’s a mash-up of sorts posted on ABC’s Web site, pairing the track with scenes from the series. The free video will be posted at ABC.com through August 14. … The Clash bassist Paul Simonon has confirmed that he’ll be collaborating with Blur/ Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn, former Verve guitarist Simon Tong, and Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen in a new band that has yet to be named. According to BBC News, the group will be releasing an album, called The Good, the Bad and the Queen, January 2007; Gnarls Barkley‘s Danger Mouse — who is also Albarn’s partner in Gorillaz — is producing the disc, which has been in the works for the last two years. … On August 15, the Sex Pistols will reissue Spunk, which originally came out as a bootleg in 1977. The disc features the original demos recorded with bassist Glen Matlock, who was fired and replaced by Sid Vicious before the band recorded Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols. … Sorta-industrial Canadian grinders Death From Above 1979 have called it a day. Bassist/keyboardist Jesse Keeler broke the news via a post on the band’s official Web site, writing, “I’m sure most of you assume the band isn’t happening anymore, since there are no shows, no work on a new album, etc. I wanted to let you know that your assumptions are correct. We decided to stop doing the band.” Keeler goes on to say that he and drummer/vocalist Sebastien Grainger actually decided to split about a year ago, but they opted to finish their busy tour schedule — which included a slot opening for Nine Inch Nails and the Queens of the Stone Age — and then break up. “We started as a punk band with pop aspirations and we met every goal we set for ourselves,” Keeler wrote. “A few weeks ago, the album [their 2004 debut, the thundering You're a Woman, I'm a Machine] finally went gold in Canada and that was the final mark I really wanted to reach.” … Unlike most best-of collections, Unwritten Law‘s forthcoming retrospective will feature fresh new takes on some old songs. The band re-recorded 17 tracks for the disc, The Hit List, which is set for release September 26. The collection will also feature some unheard, unreleased studio cuts. … Melissa Etheridge and her band will be auctioning off autographed instruments used during their summer 2006 tour to benefit the Breast Cancer Care and Research Fund. The auction, hosted by GivingWorks.eBay.com, kicks off Friday with a new instrument added each week this month. … Doug Fieger, lead singer of the Knack, underwent successful surgery to remove two brain tumors Thursday, The Associated Press reports. He is expected to have a full recovery. The Knack’s upcoming tour — which included an August 11 stop at the Corbin Music Festival in Corbin, Kentucky — has been postponed. 08.03.2006 The Rolling Stones will have Kanye West pumping up the crowd for the first three dates of their A Bigger Bang tour’s fall North American leg. The rapper will perform before the rock vets during concerts at Boston’s Gillette Stadium (September 20); Halifax, Nova Scotia’s Halifax Commons (September 23); and East Rutherford, New Jersey’s Giants Stadium (September 27). … According to Attleboro, Massachusetts’ The Sun Chronicle, a 42-year-old man from Cranston, Rhode Island, was charged with indecent assault following Ozzfest‘s August 1 stop in Mansfield, Massachusetts, for allegedly reaching under a woman’s skirt. Joseph Rinaldi was released on $860 bail following his arraignment on Wednesday. The victim told police he’d grabbed underneath her skirt as she was walking back to her tour bus with a friend. The victim’s identity has not been revealed. Rinaldi was also charged with possession of a class-B substance when police found he was carrying Vicodin. … Religious leaders are lashing out at Madonna in advance of her Sunday concert in Rome, The Associated Press reports. The singer plans to stage a mock crucifixion at the show, as she has been doing throughout her Confessions tour. “To crucify yourself in the city of the pope and the martyrs is an act of open hostility” toward the Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal Ersilio Tonini told Italian daily newspaper La Stampa on Wednesday. Mario Scialoja, president of the Muslim World League in Italy, called the demonstration “an act of bad taste,” while Riccardo Pacifici, a spokesperson for Rome’s Jewish community, said, “It’s a disrespectful act, and to do it in Rome is even worse.” … Rihanna will perform at Teen Choice 2006, which will air August 20 at 8 p.m. on Fox. Nick Lachey, Snoop Dogg, Jessica Alba, Kristen Bell, Sophia Bush, Brandon Routh, Kristin Cavallari, Wilmer Valderrama, Paula Abdul and the cast of “High School Musical” will also be appearing at the awards show. … Making a TV performance of a different variety is David Hasselhoff, who will sing “Jump in My Car” on “America’s Got Talent” Thursday night (August 3), with his former “Knight Rider” co-star KITT in tow. … Alabama’s Bureau of Tourism & Travel is erecting six billboards with the pictures of Taylor Hicks, Ruben Studdard and Bo Bice under the words, “Where America finds its voice. Alabama.” The billboards will go up just before “American Idol” auditions begin in Birmingham on August 21. … In other ex-”I

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• Carrie Underwood
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