Britney shoots comeback video

Nine years after her video for "...Baby One Time" rode schoolgirl fantasies to the top of the charts, Britney Spears is hoping a new music video will launch her comeback and get the public to focus on her music as much as her misstep-laden past two years. Spears, 25, has been shooting a new music video in Los Angeles this week, her first in two years.

The video is reportedly for the song "Get Back," believed to be the first single off her as-yet-untitled album, which would be her first since 2003's In The Zone.

Timberlake nabs Emmy nod

Following Steps 1 and 2 (cut a hole in a box and place your junk in that box, respectively), next on Justin Timberlake's agenda might be collecting an Emmy. The singer and Saturday Night Live cast member Adam Samberg were nominated this week for the Primetime Emmy Awards in the category of Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for their "D**k in a Box" spoof.

The sketch, which featured Timberlake mocking his boy-band past as well as the cheesy come-ons of the likes of Color Me Badd, centered on giving a loved one the ultimate gift of your private parts in a gift-wrapped box. Check out the clip below. Also nominated in the category were songs from the shows Scrubs, Mad TV, and Family Guy. The winner will be announced at the Emmys on Sept. 16.

Madonna to get visitor from Malawi

Hoping to determine whether or not the home of Madonna is a place conducive to raising a boy from Malawi, a government official from the southwestern African country will be paying Madge and husband Guy Ritchie a visit this weekend, according to The Daily Mail.

The official, Penston Kilembe, the head of Malawi's child welfare services, will spend five days at Madonna's home in London to evaluate the family's environment in the wake of her adoption of two-year-old Malawian child David Banda. Kilembe will then issue a formal recommendation for Malawi's High Court, which will have the final say over whether or not the adoption, contested by children's rights groups in Malawi, will be finalized.

Zeppelin roller coaster ready to rock

A rock-and-roll theme park has finished building a Led Zeppelin-themed roller coaster this week, the first completed ride at the Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, set to open in spring 2008.

As previously reported, "Led Zeppelin--The Ride" reaches 150 feet and is located in the park's "Rock & Roll Heaven" zone. The six-and-a-half-minute looping ride will hit 65 miles per hour--and speakers will conveniently be located behind each rider's head, playing Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love." Singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, and bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones took part in the roller coaster's design.

In related news, Page is reportedly set to tour with Jeff Beck as the Yardbirds this fall alongside founding bassist Chris Dreja and drummer Jim McCarty. According to Rolling Stone, the tour is said to kick off this October. It's unclear who will be the reformed Yardbirds' lead singer, as original vocalist Keith Relf died of electrocution in 1976. Eric Clapton, the Yardbirds’ founding guitarist, has no plans to participate, according to the source.

M.I.A. finally garners visa

M.I.A.'s long-delayed plans to promote her forthcoming album, Kala, are back on track. The Sri Lankan rapper has finally been granted a new US visa, allowing her to travel to the US to perform and promote the record, which hits stores Aug. 20. M.I.A. was forced to scrap previous US dates, including an appearance at the Sasquatch Festival in late May, because of the visa issue.

The first live date on her docket is the Siren Festival on New York's Coney Island tomorrow. "It's been a long time since I've been able to get into the US," she told The Village Voice. "I have an apartment in Brooklyn. It'd be nice to go there." M.I.A. said she didn't think that her political lyrics and familial connections to Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers rebel group factored into her visa problems. "Generally, there's just some bands over here [in the UK] going through it," she said. "I think the Klaxons are in the same boat."