Timberlake to host kids awards show

He may have spent the better part of 2006 trying to bring "SexyBack," but Justin Timberlake isn't forgetting his roots in the Mickey Mouse Club. The Grammy-nominated singer has been chosen to serve as host of the Nickelodeon 20th annual Kids' Choice Awards on March 31 at UCLA. "I'm revving up to have an even bigger blast than usual" at the ceremony, Timberlake said in a statement. The 27-year-old singer, who is nominated for a Kids' Choice award in the best male singer category, along with Chris Brown, Jesse McCartney, and Sean Paul, said it was important to listen to the children. "While honoring kids' opinions, it taps into the kid in all of us," he said. Timberlake previously won three Kids' Choice Awards, including favorite musical group ('N Sync) in 1999 and best burp in 2003 and 2006. Kids can vote online beginning March 5.

Nine Inch Nails set album release date

Year Zero, the forthcoming album from Nine Inch Nails, has been given a release date. The album will hit stores April 17, the band said today. The album will have 16 tracks, according to the band's Web site, which named only one of those tracks--the album's second song is called "The Beginning of the End." As previously reported, Trent Reznor and company filmed a video today in Los Angeles for another track, called "Survivalism." Year Zero is the band's follow-up to 2005's With Teeth. NIN also has a live DVD, Beside You in Time, that hits stores February 27. It features footage from their 2006 North American tour.

Prince rips it up at Super Bowl

In the midst of a downpour at the Super Bowl in Miami last night, Prince delivered one of the best halftime shows in recent memory, rolling through a cover-laden set that kicked off with his own "Let's Go Crazy" and ended, appropriately, with "Purple Rain." The legendary funk rocker jumped on the glyph-shaped stage in a teal-and-orange outfit as Queen's "We Will Rock You" blared from the speakers. His set included covers of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," Ike & Tina's "Proud Mary," and, in an odd-but-inspired twist, the Foo Fighters' "Best of You." The Foo Fighters have covered Prince's "Darling Nikki" several times over the years. Prince was accompanied for most of the set by the marching band from Florida A&M University.

Report: Rick Rubin offered exec role

His track record of late has been stellar, and superproducer Rick Rubin is now reportedly in line for his first-ever senior executive role at a major label. The New York Times reported today that Rubin, who is riding a string of successes with the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Dixie Chicks, has been offered a cochairmanship role at Columbia Records. But Rubin, who is also producing records for Metallica and Linkin Park this year, and has been working with U2 as well, must negotiate an exit from an existing pact with a rival label, Warner Brothers Records. Warner has Mr. Rubin's own boutique label, American Recordings, under contract for about three more years, the NYT reported. Warner appears prepared to negotiate an early end to its label deal with him, the paper said, citing anonymous sources close to the talks. Rubin has been racking up hits since the mid-1980s, when he cofounded the pioneering rap label Def Jam.

Marc Cohn to return to Colorado

Singer-songwriter Marc Cohn will return to Colorado for concerts in three cities this week, his first performances in the state since he was shot in the head during a carjacking attempt in Denver nearly a year and a half ago. Cohn will play in Boulder, Breckenridge, and Aspen, according to his Web site. In August 2005, Cohn was shot during a botched carjacking. His assailant, Joseph Yacteen, 27, pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder in the shooting and was sentenced in October to 36 years in prison. Cohn, 47, told Boulder's Daily Camera that he feels some anxiety about his return: "The truth of the matter of is, and I'm well aware of it though it's hard to convince your brain, the chance of anything like that happening again, especially where it's already happened once, are pretty slim." Cohn, who's married to ABC News anchor Elizabeth Vargas, had a hit with "Walking in Memphis" and won a Grammy in 1991. His latest album is due out next summer, his first since 1998 and fourth overall.

Geldof to launch peace channel

Social activist and former Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof plans to launch The Peace Channel, a broadband Internet and TV channel aimed at promoting world peace, he said late last week. The Live Aid founder, who also organized the Live 8 events in 2005, will launch the channel through his production company, Ten Alps. The venture will be financed by Norwegian human rights organization Point of Peace, which supports the work of Nobel Peace Laureates. Geldof has been nominated for the Nobel peace prize three times. The channel is expected to include traditional video, user-generated content, and social networking opportunities.

K-Fed apologizes for Super Bowl ad

After not apologizing for putting out a hip-hop record that made many laugh out loud, Kevin Federline is sorry for his role in a Super Bowl ad that did the same. The estranged husband of Britney Spears issued a statement apologizing to those who were offended by the Nationwide Mutual Insurance ad, which portrayed him as living the life of the rich and famous but quickly ending up scooping fries at a fast-food restaurant.

"The commercial is completely intended for me, making fun of myself and my own situation," the aspiring rapper, 28, told Associated Press Television. "It has nothing to do with anybody in the fast-food industry at all. So, you know, if we've offended anybody, I'm really sorry about that." National Restaurant Association president and chief executive Steven Anderson said last week that the ad amounts to a "strong and direct insult to the 12.8 million Americans who work in the restaurant industry." Attorneys for K-Fed and Spears said last week that the couple will continue to share custody of their two young sons this month, following the terms of a January custody agreement.