Lil Wayne gets reality show

Lil Wayne is the face of a new online reality series, although his level of involvement with the show is a bit unclear. The show, Making the Next Hit! With Lil Wayne, aims to discover new producers, models, singers, comedians, and rappers, and will be hosted by veteran MC Busy Bee and Pit, producer of the Shop Boyz' "Party Like a Rockstar."

The show will air via the new Web channel theNext.TV beginning in January. The production crew will hold auditions in Philadelphia on Aug. 12, to be followed by events in Atlanta, New Jersey, and New York. Once the show chooses a winner, Wayne's Cash Money Records will have first right of refusal in signing that act.

"This is our channel's first show, and we're using Lil Wayne's popularity to create a buzz," Noel Rodriguez, one of the show's producers, told Billboard. "We'll begin airing the show online in January, and it will culminate in a celebrity bash held in Miami."

Plant denies Zeppelin reunion rumors

Robert Plant squashed rumors of a Led Zeppelin reunion this week, saying he hadn't even heard the past week's speculation that the legendary rock group was set to reunite to perform in honor of Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun. Earlier this week, UK newspapers had quoted anonymous sources as saying, "Page, Plant, and Jones spoke and agreed to do the memorial concert. They are waiting for a definite date, and no one can quite believe it, but during discussions about the concert, they all gave the green light to a tour if it all does well and they don't all fall out."

But at a press conference for the upcoming Rockwave festival in Athens, Greece, Plant said he hadn't heard the rumors. "If there was one, then there wouldn't be enough doctors to support it!"

Gorillaz cocreate opera

The Gorillaz might be finished as a band, but the masterminds behind it continue to find new ways to keep the animated group alive. Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett have reportedly cocreated a multimedia opera with Chinese director Chen Shizheng, who has based the opera's main character around Hewlett's unique animation style.

The Mandarin-language opera Monkey: Journey to the West, which premieres at the Manchester International Festival before traveling to Paris and Berlin, is a unique mix of animation, martial arts, and video game elements. Its story focuses on Monkey, the hero of Journey to the West, one of the classic Ming and Qing dynasty novels. Albarn used snippets of sampled sound from China to craft the score, while Hewlett sketched animation to accompany the live acting.

"It's a proper opera, and it's been really hard work, but it's not meant to be some highbrow thing," Albarn said in a statement. "It has been a spiritual journey for everyone involved...And if it works, it could be absolutely extraordinary."

Pearlman indicted on five counts

The saga of Lou Pearlman isn't getting much better for the boy-band impresario, the puppeteer behind groups, such as the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync. Following his capture in Bali, detainment in Guam, and extradition to the US, Pearlman was indicted by a federal grand jury today on charges he defrauded a bank out of $20 million. Pearlman is accused of using fake accounting documents to secure millions of dollars in bank loans. Additionally, Florida investigators claim that Pearlman defrauded at least 1,000 independent investors out of more than $315 million; a handful of banks say he owes them more than $120 million.

Pearlman, 53, was indicted on three counts of bank fraud and single counts of mail and wire fraud for business with Evansville, Ind.-based Integra Bank N.A., according to court documents. Assets have been liquidated in two bankruptcy cases against Pearlman and his companies, and the entertainment mogul has ignored court actions against him for months.

Kiss preps second DVD package

If at first you succeed, do it again. That's the strategy employed by veteran glam rock band Kiss, which will follow up its successful 2006 DVD box set, Kissology: Volume One, 1974-1977, with a second DVD volume chronicling the band's run from 1978-1991 via VH1 Classic Records. Volume Two, which hits stores Aug. 14, comprises three DVDs and a fourth disc that will vary by retailer. The first disc will feature a news special on the band from 1978 and an infamous 1979 interview with Tom Snyder, with other elements still pending, according to Kiss' Web site.

Fat Joe's "Rain" sells 1M ringtones

If Fat Joe is making it rain in real life, he has ringtones to thank for it. The New York rapper's single "Make It Rain" has officially sold more than 1 million ringtones and has been certified platinum by the RIAA's Platinum Ringtune certification program. It is the first platinum-selling ringtone for Fat Joe's Terror Squad Entertainment and Imperial Records, which is EMI Music's independent urban label division that was relaunched in 2006.