News Breakers: Akon, Rage, Mandy Moore, Webbys, Hendrix, Spice Girls

Lawyer defends singer; countdown points to concert; Moore promises tour; Bowie, Beasties win awards; Hendrix brother loses case; Posh talks reunion.

Akon lawyer denies criminal conduct

Although the incident was caught on tape--in a video that has been viewed by thousands of people online--an attorney for Akon has denied that his client committed any crime at a concert in upstate New York this past weekend when he tossed a teenage fan into the crowd. According to the Poughkeepsie Journal, an attorney from the office of Manhattan lawyer Benjamin Brafman called the local police department to say that Brafman had been retained by Akon's record label, Universal Motown.

In a statement, the lawyer said, "Given the information that we have reviewed to date, it does not appear to us that Akon was involved in any criminal conduct whatsoever. We are prepared to fully cooperate with any law enforcement agency that may be investigating this incident. We are confident that after a thorough investigation, it will be apparent that no criminal prosecution of Akon is warranted."

The unidentified 15-year-old male that Akon tossed into the crowd--allegedly for throwing a black disc that hit him--was not injured and does not seem interested in pressing charges. The 26-year-woman on whom he fell, however, was reportedly injured and has hinted that she will press charges.

Rage countdown targets Wisconsin show

A clock on Rage Against The Machine's official Web site has begun counting down to Aug. 24, presumably marking the date for a new release or an as-yet-unannounced concert, rumored to be held in East Troy, Wisconsin. There is also speculation that the reunited band will issue either a live album taped during its late April set at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., or, less likely, a new studio effort.

Rage Against The Machine has not performed since Coachella, where the foursome played a 13-song headlining set featuring tracks like "Testify," "Bulls on Parade," "Guerilla Radio," "Sleep Now in the Fire," and "Killing in the Name." Guitarist Tom Morello has been touring extensively under his solo Nightwatchman moniker. Rage is set to regroup in July and August for four shows as part of the Rock the Bells tour.

Mandy Moore vows to tour in fall

With her movie career on hold as she is set to release a new album next week, Mandy Moore has vowed to tour in the fall in support of the record, Wild Hope. "I hope to go on the road this fall," Moore told Billboard.com. "We're already doing some fun, acoustic shows. I think as the record comes out, we're going to do some showcases in bigger cities across the country. It's so much fun. It's just fun to finally be singing my own music and have the band up there. It's a completely different experience."

Wild Hope marks the first time Moore has cowritten her own songs, in collaboration this time with Chantal Kreviazuk, Rachael Yamagata, the Weepies, Lori McKenna, and others. The result is a more mature, singer/songwriter-styled album, and Moore says her shows will reflect that as opposed to the large-scale pop spectacles she was part of during the early days of her recording career.

Bowie, Beasties win Webbys

Both David Bowie and the Beastie Boys took home honors at the 11th annual Webby Awards, which stretched over a two-day period this week in New York City. Dubbed the "Oscars of the Internet," the awards received a record 8,000 entries from more than 60 countries this year and saw prizes in almost 70 categories.

One of those winners, the Beastie Boys, took home the artist of the year award for embracing technology by accepting digital MP3 files as a music format and for their recent concert film, Awesome! I F***ing Shot That, which included extensive fan-submitted footage. "We love the Internet so much. And computers," the band offered in their acceptance speech, before asking: "Can anyone fix my computer?"

Bowie took home a lifetime achievement award for UltraStar, his digital media company, which the Webby organizers recognized for pushing the boundaries of art and technology. He also runs BowieArt, a Web site that connects emerging visual artists with collectors, and launched BowieNet, an online community, fan site, blog and store, in 1998.

Hendrix's brother loses court case

Leon Hendrix has lost another round of his longstanding battle over the money and music rights of his brother, the late guitar legend Jimi Hendrix. The Washington State Supreme Court this week declined to review a lower court ruling in which Leon Hendrix challenged his father's will leaving control of the multimillion-dollar estate to his stepsister, Janie Hendrix.

When Jimi Hendrix died without a will in 1970, his estate went to his father, Al Hendrix. When Al Hendrix died, he left control of the estimated $80 million estate to his adopted daughter Janie Hendrix and he cut Leon Hendrix and several other relatives out of the will. Al Hendrix had adopted Janie as a child after he married her mother.

Leon Hendrix and several other Hendrix relatives filed a lawsuit to wrest control of the estate from Janie, claiming that Janie had schemed for years to have Leon cut from their father's will, taking advantage of Al Hendrix’s poor health, poor reading skills, and naivete to have Leon excised. But those lawsuits have failed to wrest control of the estate away from Janie Hendrix.

Posh talks Spice Girls reunion

When she's not spending her money or serving as arm candy for soccer star David Beckham, Victoria Beckham--also known as Posh Spice--is contemplating a reunion with the Spice Girls. The former member of the girl group appeared at an awards ceremony in the UK this week and faced a barrage of questions about a possible reunion.

"We'll see what turns out, but between you and me, I'm really hopeful that it definitely will happen," she said. There are also new claims that the Spice Girls will play six huge gigs at the end of 2007, in London, Tokyo, and Las Vegas, accompanied by a greatest-hits compilation album.