Britney nears VMA comeback

In what promises to be riveting TV, either of the entertainment or Schadenfreude variety, Britney Spears' rumored comeback at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards September 9 appears to be on track. MTV's celebrity site 24Sizzler.com reported this week that choreographer R.J. Durell is working on the performance with Spears. "He is co-choreographing her performance for the VMAs with Nick Flores, who worked with her as dancer before, so he brought R.J. in," the site reported.

The VMAs have been home to some of Spears' most buzzed-about performances, including her 2003 lip-lock with Madonna and python-assisted "I'm a Slave 4 U" performance in 2001. Durell has previously worked on Madonna's Confessions tour.

In related Spears news, lawyers for the singer and ex-husband Kevin Federline appeared at a last-minute hearing on Monday to discuss a Department of Child and Family Services child-abuse investigation and the former spouses' child-custody battle. The private hearing was sparked by a complaint from an unidentified party, the third such complaint Spears has faced over her child-rearing behavior. The custody battle will resume September 4.

Kanye tackles educational system

Kanye West and his Kanye West Foundation has partnered with Strong America Schools and will be featured in a series of public service announcements (PSAs) urging the presidential candidates to address issues within America's educational system. West has been named the spokesman for the ED in '08 campaign, a $60 million-dollar nonpartisan initiative supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

The ads will feature West calling on each candidate to focus on improving America's schools as an important part of their presidential campaigns. In addition to the PSAs, West and his mother Dr. Donda West will make a live appearance during an ED in '08 event.

"For many youth in the US, there is a sense of hopelessness owed largely to cutbacks in federal and state funding for educational programming," Dr. Donda West said in a statement. "Our foundation focuses on providing qualitative programs in partnership with schools and communities. Engaging with the ED in '08 campaign is yet another way that working together can make a significant difference."

Killers talk third album, B-sides comp

It seems the Killers have learned a valuable lesson: When looking to drum up buzz for future projects, don't let frontman Brandon Flowers be, well, the frontman. Bassist Mark Stoermer spoke with MTV News this week about the band's plans for a third album, as well as a forthcoming B-sides compilation. Stoermer also addressed the run-up to the band's 2006 release of Sam's Town, and Flowers' statements that likely incited some less-than-stellar reviews from critics for the album.

"I think we're all learning to be more careful with what we say," Stoermer told MTV. "Like [frontman] Brandon [Flowers'] Bruce Springsteen comments about the last record. People took that as if [Sam's] was some sort of Bruce tribute album. I mean, you can hear influences there, but to single out that one thing, that early on, it put a picture in a lot of people's minds. So we're playing it close to the vest now."

Stoermer went on to say that the Killers have a number of tracks in mind for a third album, but are a long way off from actually sitting down to record it. Until then, however, the quartet will be working on a B-sides compilation, which will include two or three never-before-recorded songs written during the Sam's Town sessions, one of which is a duet with Lou Reed.

"It's for the completists," Stoermer said. "It's a huge deal and an honor. We've never done a duet before, and Brandon had the idea to ask Lou if he would sing on it, since we felt his voice would go really well on it."

Missy Elliott inks Doritos ad deal

Only seven years after Jay-Z and Linkin Park took the mashup mainstream with their Collision Course album, Missy Elliott is teaming up with Doritos for a mashup-themed advertising campaign. Billboard reported this week that Elliott has signed on for an ad campaign for Doritos Collisions chips.

In the ad, which debuts September 17, Elliott is seen working on a new track and then pausing to snack on Doritos Collisions chips. Inspired by the two different-tasting chips in the same bag, Elliott has an epiphany: Her song needs two different musical styles. So, she immediately injects her hip-hop track with a little bit of country twang. And voila, a snack food-inspired mashup!

The Cure postpone US tour

Following a series of delays on its forthcoming album, during which singer Robert Smith said he "should be shot" if he didn't finish lyrics by last December, the Cure has postponed its lengthy North American fall tour to spring 2008. The band was set to play 20 North American dates starting September 13, but has now postponed those shows to sometime in April-May 2008.

"The schedule as it stands only gives us a couple of weeks to finish our new double album before we hit the road again, and we know this just isn't enough time to complete the project to our total satisfaction," the band wrote in a post on its Web site, noting that it had just finished a tour of Australia and Asia in which it didn't perform new songs.

"However, we want to remodel/rework the live show for North America, change things around, incorporate new songs...and we need time and focus to do this," they wrote.

All tickets for the fall shows will be valid for the rescheduled 2008 shows, for which dates and venues have yet to be announced. The band will still headline the Download Festival south of San Francisco on October 6, as well as the MTV Latin America Awards October 18.

Lead defense lawyer quits Spector case

The murder trial of acclaimed producer Phil Spector has often been on the back burner for lead defense attorney Bruce Cutler, who has often taken lengthy breaks to record episodes of his TV show, Jury Duty.

But this week Cutler and Spector decided they'd had enough of each other, and Cutler announced that he is leaving the trial and won't be delivering the closing argument on Spector's behalf. In announcing that he would be leaving Spector's side in his defense of the February 2003 shooting death of B-movie actress Lana Clarkson at Spector's home, Cutler cited a "difference of opinion between Mr. Spector and me on strategy," according to the Associated Press.

Spector later told reporters that it was his decision for the attorney to leave, saying Cutler "shouldn't do the closing argument because it wouldn't be in my best interest to stay on. He agreed. ... I thought he would be a target with the judge and prosecutors and that he wouldn't be taken as seriously as he should. With his television show, he wasn't here as much as he should have been."

Defense lawyer Roger Rosen is taking over as Spector's top lawyer. The trial's testimony is expected to wrap in the next day or two. Final arguments are set for September 5.