Madonna adopts son, funds center

The Material Mom expanded her family today, adopting a young boy from the southeastern African nation of Malawi. Madonna also moved ahead with plans to fund a center for 1,000 orphans, many of whom lost parents to AIDS in the impoverished country. Government officials told Reuters that Madonna and her entourage arrived in the Malawian capital Lilongwe by private plane early today and chose a boy to adopt from a group of 12 children that were specially picked for the 48-year-old singer. She was quickly whisked away to an undisclosed location in a fleet of cars and trucks. Madonna already has one son, five-year-old Rocco, with husband Guy Ritchie, and nine-year-old daughter Lourdes from a previous relationship. Malawi waived its ban on nonresident adoptions to allow Madge to adopt the 1-year-old boy.

Madonna also followed through with her promise to fund the construction of the Raising Malawi center to feed and educate around 1,000 orphans in Mphandula, a village near Lilongwe that has no electricity. Madonna planned to visit the village tomorrow. As part of their studies, orphans at the center will be taught a curriculum based on Spirituality for Kids linked to the Kabbalah school of mysticism to which Madonna adheres.

Madonna has said she plans to spend at least $3 million on programs to support orphans in Malawi and another $1 million to fund a documentary about the plight of children in the country.

Producer's manager says Jacko "fired up"

Ever since his June 2005 acquittal on child molestation charges, the biggest question surrounding pop star Michael Jackson has been: What in the world is he up to? Jackson fled the country after the acquittal and lived for a time in the Middle Eastern country of Bahrain, connecting with that nation's Prince Abdullah and the 2 Seas record label. He has since parted ways with Abdullah and moved to Ireland. Now, the manager of producer Ron "Neff U" Feemster has claimed that Jackson is recording an album with a host of top producers.

Charles "Big Chuck" Stanton, who is also Feemster's uncle, told the Los Angeles Times that his nephew flew to the superstar's Irish home to cut new material last month. Stanton also said Jackson is working with Black Eyed Pea Will.i.am and New Jack Swing pioneer Teddy Riley. "[He's] ready to take over the world," Stanton told the paper. "He's got some hot records. Will.i.am did one, Teddy Riley. We're giving Michael a lot of edgy street records. He's putting melodies to some hard party records."

Will.i.am and Riley did not make the journey to Ireland, preferring to collaborate by e-mailing MP3 files across the Atlantic.

Ray Davies lands BMI Icon award

Currently on tour with the first true solo album of his storied career, former Kinks frontman Ray Davies was presented with an Icon award last night for what organizers said was his enduring influence on generations of music makers. The legendary songwriter, a member of the US and British Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, was celebrated at a ceremony at the Dorchester Hotel last night. The awards were hosted by BMI, a nonprofit group representing more than 300,000 songwriters, composers, and music publishers.

Davies, 62, cofounded the Kinks with his brother, Dave, in London. They went on to become one of the most influential and long-lived bands of the 1960s and are best known for such classics as "You Really Got Me," "A Well Respected Man," "Lola," and "Sunny Afternoon."

Davies thanked his bandmates for their inspiration when he accepted the award. "It's always great to be able to accept things like this for the guys in the band as well," he said. "They were great. They were my muse."

Weezer sues beer maker

Despite Rolling Stone ads to the contrary, Weezer is insisting it does not endorse the beers of Miller Beer Company, according to a lawsuit filed last week in Los Angeles by the band. Rivers Cuomo and his bandmates claim that the beverage firm used the group's name in a series of print ads in 2004 in Rolling Stone. The complaint also names as defendants Miller's advertising agency and the production company that laid out the ads. But it's not just the misleading association with Miller that Weezer opposes.

According to the complaint, the ad features endorsements from other artists, and therefore the band "have been further damaged by the advertisement because the 'Weezer' name has been associated with other bands and musical performers with whom [Weezer] do not wish to be associated in any advertisement." As a result of Miller using Weezer's name in its ads, the band "have been damaged in an amount that is not yet fully ascertainable, but is believed to be in the millions of dollars," according to the suit. Miller so far has declined to comment.

Korn frontman to tour solo

After a nightmarish summer tour that saw him look death in the face, Korn frontman Jonathan Davis is ready to hit the road again. This time, however, he's going to fly solo. Davis told MTV that he's planning a February 2007 solo tour backed by a quartet. On the tour, Davis plans to play some Korn songs, some of the tracks he recorded for the Queen of the Damned soundtrack, and some covers. "When I was growing up, my dad played in a couple of bands where they just went around different clubs and played covers," Davis said. "It's just going to be fun. But I don't want to distract from Korn. I don't want people to think there's problems with the band. I'm just trying to have fun while the other guys are relaxing or working on their own records or whatever."

In fact, Davis said Korn already has some material recorded for a new album and will work on more very soon. "We start today," he said. "We're just going to be riffing out and compiling ideas. Whenever we came off the road, we went right into the studio, so we have six or seven songs done and we're going to work on some more."

As for the rare immune disease that sidelined him this summer, Davis said, "[In] my last test, my platelets were sustained, leveling out to normal, so it's looking like the disease I had is acute, which means it happens only once. If it comes back, the worst-case scenario is they take my spleen out. It's not like a death sentence or nothing, so I'm happy."