Britney looks to work with Pet Shop Boys

Looking to draw attention away from her lengthy run of miscues, missteps, and vaginal overexposures, Britney Spears is in the midst of recording a new album and is ready to seek out the Pet Shop Boys for help. The singer reportedly heard remixes of Madonna songs produced by the legendary synth-pop group, loved what she heard, and decided she'd like to hire them to work on her forthcoming comeback album. The 25-year-old singer is determined to return to the charts with an edgy new sound and wants the British electro pop duo of Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant to lend a hand. "It's virtually all done and it's not weepy stuff but uplifting pop," a source told the Daily Mail. "She's determined to be the number one female pop star again." The Pet Shop Boys recently worked with British singer Robbie Williams on his upcoming single, "She's Madonna."

Marley boys to stage concert honoring father

To commemorate the 62nd anniversary of their father's birth, the Marley boys are doing what they know best: holding a concert to promote peace. Stephen, Ky-Mani, Damian, and Julian Marley, several of whom have albums coming out in 2007, said today that they will hold a February 10 concert to honor the birth of their father, Bob Marley. The concert, called "Smile Jamaica," will be held in the reggae superstar's birthplace of Nine Miles in St. Ann parish, spokesman Jerome Hamilton told the Associated Press. The concert shares the name of a 1976 show staged by the government of former socialist prime minister Michael Manley to promote harmony among politically aligned gangs. Ziggy Marley, the most famous of the legendary musician's children, will not attend and rarely visits Jamaica. The show coincides with "Bob Marley Week," a celebration of the singer's birth on February 6, 1945, and falls during the height of Jamaica's tourism season. Since Marley's death from cancer in 1981 at the age of 36, the music world and Rastafarian community have celebrated the birthday anniversary of the musician, whom some consider a prophet.

Fall Out Boy to play three shows in a day

Likely inspired by label boss Jay-Z, Fall Out Boy is set to play three shows in one day to promote the release of its forthcoming new album, Infinity On High, which hits stores February 6. In tandem with MTV, the band has scheduled a morning performance at MTV's Times Square studios in New York. The quartet will then board a private jet bound for their Chicago hometown for a gig at the House of Blues. Then it's back on the jet and off to Los Angeles, where they'll cap off a manic 24 hours with a show to be staged on the rooftop of a downtown building. "The best thing about it is that all of the shows are going to be free," bassist Pete Wentz told MTV News. "So everyone should come out and hang out with us, because it's gonna be a good time." The shows will indeed be free, although fans must get tickets from the following radio station in New York, Chicago, and L.A.: Z-100 (100.3 FM), Q-101 (101.1 FM), KISS (103.5 FM), KIIS-FM (102.7), KROQ (106.7 FM), and KHTS (Channel 933). Fans can find more info on getting tickets by checking out the band's site, FallOutBoyRock.com.

Ozzy ponders return to UK

Ozzy Osbourne is contemplating abandoning his adopted home of LA for a return to his native England to be closer to his daughter, Kelly. The 22-year-old told The Sun that her father is tired of being so far from her and has also had it with LA. "Dad phoned me recently asking me to come over [to Los Angeles]," the younger Osbourne said. "I said, 'I can't, I live here now. You come here.' He is seriously thinking about coming back, he hates it there."

Toni Braxton drops lawsuit against ex-manager

When a judge asked Toni Braxton to justify her lawsuit against her former manager or face its dismissal, the singer chose the latter. In a suit filed January 12, Braxton had accused her former personal manager Barry Hankerson of profiting from her switch from Arista Records to Blackground Records in 2003, saying Hankerson lied in encouraging her to do so. She claimed Hankerson owed her at least $10 million from the label switch. But a judge in US District Court in Manhattan asked Braxton to justify the filing, and she declined.