Shakira: Stop the Mideast violence

Colombian pop singer Shakira has appealed to world leaders to negotiate a cease fire in the Middle East, where the bloody fighting between Israeli and Hezbollah fighters has entered its 13th day.

"War is not the answer. War is not the solution to any conflict--not today, not in this century," the singer, known for Colombian descent but whose father is part Lebanese, said at a press conference in Athens, Greece.

"I am sad, like the rest of the world is, to know that because of this conflict so many innocent mothers and children are dying," said Shakira, who later reposted her comments on her Web site. "We want something better for our kids."

She continued, "I just want a call from my generation to the US leaders and the superpower countries' leaders to stop this war because we all know they can stop it. I just hope that there is an international diplomatic intervention right away.

"We don't need leaders that create more divisions and resentment and more hatred. We need leaders that care about the people."

Idol tour singers to meet Bush family

Apparently, the American Idols Live tour has its political perks, too.

All the tour's star singers--including American Idol winner Taylor Hicks--will get the chance to meet US President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush this week.

A White House tour awaits the group of singers when the Idols Live tour makes its Washington, DC, stop on Friday, July 28.

While the performers walk among the US's upper echelon, Hicks will find a familiar face in the nation's presidential pad--his former ninth-grade English teacher in Birmingham, Alabama, who now works as the first lady's press secretary, according to USA Today.

It's still up in the air whether Katharine McPhee--the Idol runner-up who has sat out several concert dates due to laryngitis and bronchitis--will attend the Bush family meet and greet.

Roast rapture spells Rose and GNR's concert downfall

After waiting at least one hour for the band to begin its performance, fans booed Axl Rose and Guns N' Roses off the stage at the Metro Arena in England on Wednesday night.

But why the delay? Apparently, frontman Rose, 44, demanded a feast fit for a king before he would agree to perform. "Only a roast dinner would do," said Metro Arena manager Colin Revel.

"It was really hot, and the crowd was booing because he was taking forever," said Saskia Green, who attending the GNR show. "A security guard said [the delay] was caused by Axl demanding a lamb dinner before he went on--very rock 'n' roll."

Eventually, the band hit the stage and played for about two hours before things turned ugly, according to NME.com.

"Getting hit wasn't a big deal," Rose said after a fan's bottle-turned-torpedo beaned him. "We stopped the song and gave a warning. We came back and started the song over and completed it. We then said goodnight. The house lights went down, and I got hit a second time, in the mouth, by a solid object thrown by someone in the audience."

He continued, "After having warned the crowd that we would leave, and having played more than two hours, we left the stage and called it a night with the full support of everyone in the band, our guests, and management."

The singer added, "This has been GNR's policy since playing Donnington in 1998."

Rowland two months pregnant, delays work on album

R&B singer Kelly Rowland--one-third of the former megagroup Destiny's Child--is two months pregnant with her first child, according to British tabloid the Daily Mirror.

But is the now-solo singer feeling less than enthused about her baby?

"It's kind of a bitter-sweet feeling," she said, "because I was planning to release an album next year." Instead, work on the album, thus far set to be titled My Story: Kelly Rowland and released in February 2007, has been delayed.

Since Destiny's dissolution, the 25-year-old Rowland has turned to acting and her own solo music career. She has appeared in the Freddy vs. Jason film in 2003 and the television series Girlfriends in 2006.

In 2002, she released her first solo album, Simply Deep, which earned her a Grammy award, a No. 1 chart spot in the United Kingdom, and more than 1.5 million albums sold worldwide.

Arrest of Los Lonely Boys bassist a 'misunderstanding'

JoJo Garza, the Los Lonely Boys bassist who was arrested for assaulting his fiancée and possessing marijuana in Texas over the weekend, was released on bond, and his party claims the arrest was a mix-up.

"This is simply a misunderstanding," Garza's fiancée, Carina Lyn, said through the publicist. "We were being too loud. We apologize to the hotel guests. JoJo and I are very much in love, and we are planning to be married."

A spokeswoman at the Austin, Texas, police department disagreed. "We can only arrest if visible injury or complaint of pain is there," she said, "so undoubtedly the officers saw that."

The Los Lonely Boys trio of brothers--26-year-old bassist Garza, singer-guitarist Henry Garza, and drummer Ringo Garza--were in an Austin hotel over the weekend, reportedly celebrating their latest album, released last week, titled Sacred.