W/C September 26, 2005  

Shirley Bassey is pissed over Kanye West's sampling of her 1971 hit, "Diamonds Are Forever." "He didn't ask my permission to have me singing on his song," said Bassey. "I didn't even know it existed until I heard him performing at the Live 8 concert. I didn't even hear from his record company, which wasn't very nice. One way or another, he is going to have to pay me a lot of money

Add Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and his wife to the growing list of celebrity bust-ups.

Edmonds and his wife, Tracey, issued a statement Wednesday (OCT 5) announcing the end of their marriage after 13 years.

Gwen Stefani's hit track Hollaback Girl is on track to become the first ever song to register one million legal downloads. In recognition of reaching the milestone, she’ll be presented with a certificate when she performs at Los Angeles' Hollywood Bowl on 21 October. As of last week Wednesday, Hollaback Girl, from Stefani's debut solo album Love Angel Music Baby, had been downloaded 980,000 times, and continues to generate 14,000 downloads a week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

A charred body found in a lot has been identified as the stepfather of rapper Beanie Sigel. Samuel Derry, 46, of South Philadelphia, was shot to death and then set on fire, authorities said. Police, responding to reports of a fire early Tuesday (OCT 4), arrived to find the body engulfed in flames. Derry married Sigel’s mother, Michelle Brown-Derry, in June 2004.

The woman who has been making Tyra Banks’ life a misery came face-to-face with the supermodel on her TV chat show. Adult film star Tyra Banxxx stunned the model/TV star when she appeared on the front cover of porn industry magazine Xtreme, dressed up to look like the real Tyra. The show which aired Thursday Oct 6 th showed Banks confronting her doppelganger and declaring that she was taking her name back. Banks also offered to help her escape the adult film world and find employment in another field.

Real-life siblings Emilo Estevez and Charlie Sheen are set to team up on the big screen for the first time in five years as brotherly detectives. The stars are in negotiations to adapt 1980s TV series Simon and Simon into a new film, which Estevez will direct.

Singer Wyclef Jean is to appear in a comedy TV series loosely based on his life. The Haitian-born Fugees front man will also produce the series, under the deal with US network HBO. He will also write the music for the show. The project is apparently in early development according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Sister of hip hop icon Tupac Shakur, trendsetter and style maven Set Shakur announces the Fall 2006 launch of Madameveli, her high fashion urban line. While the name Madameveli itself is a clever spin on the alias Makaveli taken on by her brother Tupac, the brand will carry on and expand upon his iconic legacy by exposing the female ego of the Makavelian persona and establishing an untouchable position in the retail fashion world.

Jessica Alba is developing her own videogame. Alba has co-created a new 'X-Game sports' technology, which is being launched on mobile phones in Korea. Alba reveals she first became interested in the idea when she realized it wouldn't feature any violence - and now she hopes to use the unnamed videogame to show potential movie directors the types of action films she wants to be a part of.

LL Cool J is such a huge fan of headgear, he now boasts more than 4,000 hats in his collection. The rapper is rarely seen without his head covered, and he admits he's developed a strong fixation with the fashion accessories. He says, "You know how women love shoes and foot massages? I like hats and head massages."

Lil’ Jon is suing porn tycoon Larry Flynt for featuring him in an explicit new video without his permission. The rap star is seeking $30 million from Larry Flynt Productions after onstage and backstage footage from a concert of his was used in the video Phat Tuesday. Phat Tuesday follows the exploits of five women who go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and, in between having sex with men and each other, attend a Lil' Jon concert. The rapper's likeness is used on the cover of the DVD, which was released in February, along with the tagline, 'Featuring Lil' Jon, King of Crunk." He also claims he now can't release his own planned porn DVD, Lil Jon + The East Side Boyz: Vivid Vegas Party, because it's too similar to the Hustler project.

Erika Christensen has announced plans to embark on a singing career. The star has been secretly entertaining pals with her vocal skills for a number of years, and she's now decided it's time to share her talent with the world. She says, "I have thought about (launching a singing career) and I will do it. I'm kind of just biding my time because I want to sing my own material and I don't really have any."