Diddy featured in new CNBC campaign

From music and film to perfume and vodka, Sean "Diddy" Combs is a one-man source of multiple revenue streams. In recognition of that, the mogul is being featured along with some of America's top business leaders in a new CNBC advertising campaign.

"My whole portfolio brand represents aspiration," Diddy says in the spot. "I came from Harlem, New York. It's about wanting the better things in life. I want to make history all the time." As in all 15 of the campaign's spots, Diddy, 38, then turns to the camera and says, "I am American business. I watch CNBC."

The CNBC campaign also includes Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone, BP Capital CEO Boone Pickens, Southwest Airlines cofounder Herb Kelleher, former GE CEO Jack Welch, Sirius Radio CEO Mel Karmazin, and Sacramento Kings and Palms Resort Casino co-owner Gavin Maloof.

Akon pleads not guilty

Although the whole incident was caught on video and viewed by legions on YouTube, Akon pleaded not guilty this week to criminal charges for tossing a 15-year-old boy off the stage at a concert earlier this year. The Senegalese singer was released on his own recognizance following his brief court appearance Monday in Fishkill, New York, where the incident occurred. He was charged with endangering the welfare of a minor and second-degree harassment.

The teenage boy did not press charges in the case, but Abby Rosa, who claimed she suffered a concussion when the boy landed on her when he was thrown from the stage at the June 3 concert. The case was adjourned until January. "It was never Akon's intention to violate the law," the singer's Manhattan lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, told reporters. "This unfortunate incident was a spontaneous reaction during a live concert that Akon deeply regrets."

Tom Petty to play Super Bowl

At the NFL Super Bowl last February, Prince turned the party out, putting on a dazzling show under a steady rain storm while wearing a hair net. Nearly 140 million people watched Prince perform, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are getting the highly prized halftime slot this year, the NFL said this week. Petty and the Heartbreakers will play the Bridgestone Tire-sponsored halftime show at the Super Bowl in Arizona on February 3, joining the likes of previous Super Bowl performer, such as U2, the Rolling Stones, and Paul McCartney. Petty told Rolling Stone that fans shouldn't expect to hear "You Don't Know How It Feels" during his set because the song's "Let's roll another joint" refrain wasn't agreeable to the show's producers. "I think that whatever you do, you probably have to edit yourself a bit," Petty said.

"I doubt we'd do a medley. I think in a show that big in a place that big you need to play songs they know." Petty also said his next album will be a long-overdue Heartbreakers album.

Jeff Tweedy to play Obama fundraiser

He already has Oprah, and now Barack Obama has Tweedy. Wilco frontman Jeff tweedy has signed on to headline Change Rocks, a fundraiser for the US Democratic Presidential hopeful on Friday at Chicago's Riviera Theatre.

Tweedy is joined on the bill by emerging hip-hop duo the Cool Kids, as well as Third Eye Blind frontman Stephan Jenkins and solo artist Jill Sobule, of "I Kissed a Girl" fame.

Obama has already grabbed the support of a host of celebrities and rock stars, including Oprah. Obama and Oprah are set to make four joint appearances in Iowa this week, in advance of the January 3 caucuses.

Motown museum falls through

A Detroit museum honoring the legacy of Motown Records is dead. After six years of unsuccessful planning, the long-planned, $28 million interactive museum and entertainment facility was mutually terminated this week by city development officials and Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr., according to the Detroit News.

Gordy blamed lack of money on the project's demise, which occurred despite the fact that Motown began celebrating its 50th anniversary in October. "I may not live in Detroit now, but it is on those streets where my heart lies," Gordy, who moved the label to Los Angeles in 1972, wrote the paper in an e-mailed statement.

The termination of the deal gives the city of Detroit ownership of 15 properties that would have been developed by Gordy's nonprofit group, the Motown Center. The city has reclaimed the land and can sell it to the highest bidder or offer it up for redevelopment.