Simon Cowell Fires Back At Depeche Mode Star

The musician pointed out his disappointment for the business' lack of long term artist development strategy, siting television shows like Simon Cowell's X-Factor as "manufacturing" bands instead of nurturing those that have come together organically. Gore posed the question, "What happened to bands getting together?"

"I'm not advocating violence," says Martin Gore, "but I think somebody should shoot Simon Cowell!"

Upon learning of his fellow Englishman's comments, Cowell took to Twitter to return fire.: "I read Martin gore wants to shoot me. He was is in depeche mode. Do you realise how weird and stupid that makes you. Go and watch the news." He didn't stop there.

Amy Winehouse Tribute Concert Planned

In hopes to keep her memory alive, Winehouse plans to unveil a statue of the late singer on September 14 in Camden Town, London, which will be followed by a tribute concert in her honor, the BBC reports.

"We want to make it like a Live Aid type concert where we get maybe four, five, six hours' worth [of music]," he said. "People doing a couple of songs each." more on this story

Lil Wayne Collaborates With Paris Hilton

Produced by AfroJack, the EDM song was obtained by TMZ. It's called "Last Night" and finds Paris going on about what she did last night.

"I can't believe what we did last night/ I wanna wake up in the morning sun/ Rolling over telling everyone" That's the clean part.

LL Cool J To Deliver Authentic Hip-Hop

"I'm doing music right now," he told Craig Ferguson on CBS's The Late Show. "I'm working on a new album. I'm going to put one out in February."

Earlier this month, he showcased his single, "Ratchet," via Myspace and announced the lyric video on Twitter. He followed up with the song "Take It," which features R&B singer Joe. He also collaborates with Monica for "Closer." More details here.

Tim McGraw Webcasting The Making Of His New Video

Today (Nov. 27) starting at 3:30 PM CST, McGraw will offer a live feed with the help of Ustream from the filming of the music video at its location in Nashville. McGraw will be able to interact with fans and chat with them periodically throughout the shoot while giving them the chance to see how the video process works. Tune in here and follow on Twitter @TheTimMcGraw.

"It's crazy that 25 years into my career, this single and this album represent a lot of firsts for me," explains McGraw. "There's a renewed feeling of creativity and excitement, and I want the fans to be part of it every step of the way. The technology that's out there today provides some cool new ways to connect with music fans, so it'll be fun to give everyone a real look at what happens on the video shoot. I hope we can do more stuff like this as things get even busier with TWO LANES OF FREEDOM." more on this story

Coldplay Planning a Three Year Break From Touring?

After finishing up Men at Work's "Down Under"�a nod to their host country�Billboard reported that frontman Chris Martin told the crowd, "This is the last big show for three years or so."

Is the band taking a well-deserved break after finishing up their world tour for Mylo Xyloto? Some speculation about that here.

Gabriel Aubry Given Restraining Order Against Halle Berry's Fiance

According to Gabriel's declaration, the day before Thanksgiving, Gabriel took Nahla to her school play. Halle and Olivier showed up and Olivier walked up to Gabriel and whispered in his ear in French, "I wish I could beat the s**t out of you right now. You're lucky we're in a school right now. We're going to take Nahla right now and you're not going to follow us."

The next day, Gabriel says he took Nahla to Halle's at around 10 AM. He says in a completely unusual move, Olivier came out of the front door -- usually the nanny was the go-between. Gabriel claims Olivier said, "We need to talk." Gabriel says he walked toward the front door when Olivier jumped off the stairs and knocked Gabriel to the ground and started brutally beating him, screaming that Gabriel cost them $3 million to fight the custody war (Halle's failed move to take Nahla to Paris).

According to the declaration, as Olivier assaulted Gabriel he screamed that they were going to move to Paris and Gabriel had better move there too or Olivier would kill him.

Gabriel alleges in his declaration that Halle lost her bid to get primary custody with the judge consistently siding with Gabriel for a 50/50 arrangement.

Gabriel's lawyer attached photos of his injuries which are brutal.

Sources on Halle's side claim it was Gabriel who flew off the handle and started the fight.

As TMZ first reported, an emergency protective order has already been issued against Gabriel -- requiring him to stay 100 yards away from Halle, Olivier, and Nahla. We're told Halle's lawyers will go to court this week in an attempt to have the order extended. more on this story

Vince Gill Produces New Ashley Monroe Album

Ashley Monroe recruited country music star Vince Gill to produce the album. We were sent over these details:

To maintain the honesty of Ashley's songs, Gill and the singer chose to record the album the way most of the greatest albums ever were made: sans gimmickry. "We just got the band in a circle and started playing the songs," Ashley says, "and once we felt like we had a feel for it, I'd do my vocal live�I never went back in to do a second vocal. Everyone put everything we had into the songs. There was a buzz in the room. We all had fun�it felt like a big old family, the way records used to be made."

The Mavericks Releasing Their First New Album In Seven Years

The 14-track album was produced by lead singer Raul Malo and Niko Bolas (Neil Young, Warren Zevon).

The project will be released in conjunction with the band's 20th anniversary of their first major label album release. more on this story

Charlie Sheen Didn't Only Give Scary Movie Money To Lindsay Lohan

Sources close to Charlie tell TMZ, the Warlock was paid $250,000 to show up for ONE DAY of shooting for the "Scary Movie" series -- but for some reason, he didn't want to keep any of the cash he made from the project ... so he paid it forward.

As we first reported, he gave $100,000 to Lindsay Lohan -- to help alleviate her crippling tax debt -- and he donated the rest to three charities ... as chosen by the movie's director, producer, and one of the other filmmakers behind the flick. more on this story

Ex-Basketball Wives Star Wants Dwight Howard To Pay For Custody Battle

TMZ broke the story ... Dwight and former "Basketball Wives" star Royce Reed are entangled in a bitter legal battle after Dwight filed for sole custody of their young son.

In the latest development, Royce -- who was axed from "BB Wives" this year -- filed docs in Florida asking a judge to make Dwight foot her legal bills, claiming she can't afford them.

According to the docs, Royce claims that Dwight rakes in over $1.3 million per month and should cough up the cash, otherwise, the fight's not fair. She claims he can hire an army of lawyers ... while she'll get buried in bills and eventually have to drop out.

In the docs, her lawyer says she's already racked up a $44,113.50 bill and is expected to tack on another $60k plus if she continues to fight ... for a grand total of $106,621.80.

A judge has yet to rule. more on this story

Zoey 101 Star Pleads Not Guilty

TMZ broke the story ... Underwood was arrested earlier this month outside his Cloud 9 hookah lounge in Port St. Lucie for violating his probation -- a misdemeanor in Florida. The lounge is co-owned by Underwood.

According to law enforcement, a warrant was issued for Underwood's arrest after his probation officer discovered Underwood had failed a drug test. The probation officer listed other violations as well, like failing to complete a substance abuse program.

Underwood is currently on probation stemming from his prior arrest in April ... when cops say he was in possession of marijuana.

Underwood had pled no contest and was sentenced to 12 months probation. more on this story

Retreat Made In Nate Dogg Estate Battle

We broke the story ... Dogg didn't leave a will when he passed, so his wife LaToya Calvin took charge of his estate and then filed docs in August asking Nate's mom, Ruth Homes, be appointed as her co-administrator.

The move didn't sit well with Nate's kids. They believed the women were only in it for selfish, money-grubbing reasons and had no intention of dividing the goods fairly.

According to court docs, LaToya withdrew her petition for control earlier this month, and her lawyer tells TMZ, "Nate's children wanted a 'professional administration' and Ruth and LaToya decided to withdraw to avoid conflict with the children."

Sources close to Nate's kids tell us they are "ecstatic."

As for who's in charge of the estate now ... it's TBD. more on this story

Warren Sapp Wants Child Support Payments Lowered

Sapp filed legal docs in Florida, requesting his child-support to Angela Sanders be decreased from $2,500 per month ... because he's fallen on hard financial times since retiring from the NFL, a.k.a. he went bankrupt.

Problem is, back in 2001 -- when Sapp was a Tampa Bay Buccaneers cash-making superstar -- he and Sanders added a clause to their child support agreement that said ... neither party could "seek modification" based on changes in income.

Presumably, Sapp was trying to protect his millions.

Sanders tells TMZ she's "frustrated" by Sapp's request ... because she was fine sticking to the $2,500 a month while his pockets were getting fatter -- so it's unfair for him to lower it now.

According to the docs, Sapp is also trying to modify child-support payments for the mothers of 4 of his other children. more on this story

Camille Grammer Seeking Emergency Order Against Kelsey Over Home

For some reason, Kelsey wants to move back into the 10,657 sq ft. mansion, even though he just bought another house in the same zip code.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ there is an enormous mortgage on the property -- which is draining both Kelsey and Camille -- and they have been trying in vain to unload the property. They currently have the house listed $16,000,000, having just lowered it by a million.

We're told Camille fears if Kelsey moves back in, it will be even more difficult to sell -- and according to the divorce settlement, Camille gets half the profit.

The judge did not issue an order Wednesday, but rather set a hearing for next month.

We contacted Kelsey's rep to find out why he wants to move back in, but we were told no one was available to comment. more on this story

Angus T. Jones In Limbo With Two and Half Men

Sources connected with "Men" tell TMZ ... all of the execs on the show and at Warner Bros. have seen Angus' video, in which he calls the sitcom "filth" and asks the audience to boycott.

We've learned Angus -- who earns $350,000 an episode -- has not contacted any of the show honchos to express his intentions, nor have any of his reps done the same. Although Angus says in the video he doesn't want to be on the show anymore, that message has not been conveyed to show execs.

On the other side, we've learned Chuck Lorre, the brains behind the show, has not played his hand ... even to Warner Bros. executives.

Today could be telling, because there's a scheduled rehearsal this AM. It's unclear if Angus is supposed to be there, but if he's a no-show his absence could be the first step toward the door. more on this story

Agent Makes Big Claim Against Big Bang Theory Star

Diverse Talent Group filed docs in L.A. County Superior Court last week ... claiming Kunal owes his agency $100,000 in unpaid commissions for getting him the acting gig -- a bill that goes back to September 2011.

The lawyer for DTG tells TMZ, the agency repped Kunal when he got the job in 2007 -- and the actor faithfully paid the piper ever since, but for some reason ... he stopped coughing up dough last year.

Now, DTG is suing for its money, which it believes exceeds $100k.

Now here's a twist ... Kunal is currently repped by a different agency -- Innovative Artists -- so it's bound to get messy. more on this story

Terrell Owens Takes Big Loss On Condo

T.O. -- whose finances have taken a turn for the worse as of late -- has been dumping his real-estate collection right and left (both his Miami and Dallas condos were already sold) ... and now he finally unloaded his 1,060 square-foot Atlanta home.

The deal wasn't so great for T.O. -- he purchased the home back in 2005 for $324,600 and then listed it in 2011, where it sat on the market for over a year. He finally unloaded it earlier this month for a mere $180k.

But it's a steal for the new owner ... the home has 2-bedrooms, 2-baths ... and amenities like a 24/7 concierge service, rooftop pool, fitness center, yoga studio and a club room -- with Xbox & Playstation. more on this story

Southfork Ranch To Honor Larry Hagman

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