Smooth-voiced soul star John Legend has signed on as the new face of liquor Baileys Irish Cream. The singer jumped at the chance to lend his image and sound to the popular cordial because he loved the idea of fans enjoying a glass while listening to his music.

He says, “They (Baileys) really like who I am as an artist and what I represent. They want my fans to be Baileys customers and I feel like they treat my fans in a mature, respectful way.”

The drinks firm is currently sponsoring Legend’s Homeschool tour.

Spanish pop star Alejandro Sanz has confirmed he’s romancing his former assistant two years after the pair started dating.

The couple was spotted at a string of events late last year leading to speculation they were an item.

Neither commented about a romance, but now Sanz has confirmed “Everything’s going amazingly,” while his ex-assistant Raquel Pereda revealed, I’m his girlfriend,” to pushy journalists who quizzed the couple during a date at the Smithsonian Latino Center in New York on Thursday.

Def Jam have denied reports they plan to drop Nas over the row surrounding his new album.

As we told you on Thursday reports have been circulating the label are ready to ditch the rapper over his refusal to back down over plans to call his upcoming LP ‘Nigger’.

However, a Def Jam rep, speaking to Rolling Stone, says the reports have no basis in fact.

Morrissey was able to perform only three and a half songs at his Camden Roundhouse residency last night after falling ill.

The singer walked off stage halfway through ‘I Just Want To See The Boy Happy’, having previously joked to the audience he had taken “steroids” and “anti-biotics” to try and beat a mystery illness.

Reviews of his previous three performances at the London venue had mentioned the former Smiths singer was suffering from cold like symptoms.

Among those being considered, Madonna, the Beastie Boys and Donna Summer have all been nominated for induction into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an industry report says.   Also in the running are Leonard Cohen, John Mellencamp, Chic, the Dave Clark Five and Afrika Bambaataa, according to Billboard magazine.

The nominees are chosen by a committee and are whittled down to a final list of five by more than 600 music experts.  Those acts will enter the hall, which is based in Cleveland, Ohio, in March.  Musicians can be considered for the honour 25 years after their first recording.

Last year’s inductees were REM, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Van Halen, the Ronettes and Patti Smith.  Once included, the artists are featured in the Museum’s Hall of Fame exhibit.  This includes a computerised jukebox containing every song of every inductee and a film on three big screens recounting their careers and music.  I am sure Madonna is a lock as is John Mellencamp.

For those that must know the latest gossip on Brit, Britney Spears’ hit-and-run charges have been dropped.  The misdemeanour charge - which resulted from an incident where the 25-year-old drove into a Mercedes-Benz Station wagon in a San Fernando car park and then walked away- was dismissed by Superior Court Judge Susan Speer after Britney paid the car owner Kim Robard-Rifkin approximately $1,000 to cover the damages.

However, Britney still faces a charge of driving without a valid Californian driving licence. While Britney didn’t attend court herself, her lawyer Michael Flanagan entered a not guilty plea on her behalf at the Van Nuys court in California, ahead of a pre-trial hearing on November 26. Speaking outside the court, Mr. Flanagan said Assistant City Attorney Michael Amerian had already offered Britney a plea deal for the licence charge which would result in her being on probation for a year.

He said: “She got a licence, she has insurance, has always had insurance.  The question is - is probation really necessary?” Meanwhile, Britney is required to attend a custody hearing today (26.10.07) at the Los Angeles Superior Court. The ‘Gimme More’ singer is fighting for joint custody of her two sons, Sean Preston, two, and 13-month-old Jayden James, who were awarded to her ex-husband Kevin Federline last month.  One thing you can always count on with Britney is that she will be in the news again shortly.

Hip-hop star Akon has been charged by police after a fan said she suffered concussion when he allegedly threw a teenager off stage, hitting her. The incident occurred in June at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, north of New York City.  The singer is scheduled to appear in court next week on charges of endangering the welfare of a minor and second-degree harassment. Injured fan Abby Rosa said she had hired a lawyer over the incident.

Audience members at the concert told Associated Press a spectator lobbed something at the singer and Akon asked the crowd to point out the culprit.  A security guard picked out a 15-year-old and sent him up to the stage, where Akon is said to have picked him up onto his shoulders and threw him into the crowd.

Abby Rosa said the boy landed on her. She told a local newspaper she was later diagnosed with a concussion.  Akon’s lawyer has said there is no basis for criminal charges.  The singer caused controversy in April when he danced provocatively with a teenage girl onstage in Trinidad.  He later apologised for the incident saying he did not know the girl was underage.  I wonder if this incident will bring a slew of others out from the wood-work?

Jessica Simpson is in the early stages of recording a country album in Nashville, a project slated for a May/June 2008 release via Columbia Records.Simpson said she had always wanted to make a country album, but was waiting until the right time.

“I think there is a strength in female country artists,” Simpson said, citing Martina McBride, Shania Twain, Faith Hill and Reba McEntire as some of her inspirations. She said she would be involved in the creative process.

“Writing is a release for me,” she said. “It’s a way for me to tell my story. That’s not to say I wouldn’t record a song that I didn’t write.”

Her last album, “A Public Affair,” spent just nine weeks on the Billboard 200 in 2006. Her most recent movie, “Blonde Ambition,” was recently released in a handful of theaters in her native Texas en route to DVD stores.

50 Cent At Sundance: MC Talks Hollywood, Movie Plans, Firing-Range Trips With De Niro

Rapper also reveals title of single from ‘Righteous Kill’ soundtrack.

PARK CITY, Utah — Pacino. De Niro. Cent.

Two of them are Hollywood legends, and the third is determined to get there himself. This weekend 50 Cent rolled into Sundance with an entourage big enough to fill an entire screening, taking the time to perform in concert, feed a gourmet meal to several dozen celebrities and announce the formation of his own film company.

During a candid chat with MTV News, 50 talked about shooting guns with De Niro, taking Hollywood into his own hands and the single he’ll have off the “Righteous Kill” soundtrack. “This is the 50 Cent Sundance,” he grinned. Who are we to argue?

MTV: You just had a standing-room-only press conference here at Sundance. Give us a summary of what you were announcing.

50 Cent: I was talking about my new production company. Me and [producer] Randy Emmett — we worked together on “Home of the Brave” and “Righteous Kill” — I’ve had a chance to be a part of some great projects with him, and I’ve watched him work. He’s knowledgeable in that field, so I thought it would be smart for me to partner up with him to create my [currently unnamed] production company.

MTV: For the average person who might not understand Hollywood workings, what does it mean for an actor to get his own company?

50 Cent: It means I’ll have creative control of some of the projects I commit to, and I can choose things to develop. I won’t be [on camera] for everything I’ll be producing, but now I’ll be producing films too.

MTV: With this new freedom, what do you want to do? Play a superhero? Do a comedy?

50 Cent: A lot of times, it’s the actual screenplay that inspires me. I’ll read a character that they present for me as part of a project, and if it’s something I want to be, I’ll commit.

MTV: You’re in “Righteous Kill” in a few months, alongside Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.

50 Cent: Yeah, that’s great, you see what I’m saying? You read that script, you do that one!

MTV: Tell us about it.

50 Cent: Working with Robert and Al on the same project, that’s amazing. Outside of [”Kill”], I think “Heat” was the project to work with them on, but that was years ago. … It’s an amazing project.

MTV: Give us the plot, as you see it.

50 Cent: Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are both police officers. I play Spider, a young guy from Harlem who gets caught up in their investigation while they look for a serial killer. I own my own nightclub.

MTV: What’s the one scene from the movie that you can’t wait for everyone to see?

50 Cent: I can’t wait for them to see the one where it’s me, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino! [Laughs.]

Grammys Up In The Air: How Would A Downsized (Or Canceled) Show Affect The Music Industry?

‘If the Grammys don’t happen in their traditional form, these artists are going to miss their minute,’ one insider says; some artists promise show will go on. 

When you work in the music industry, you quickly learn that there is no such thing as a sure bet. Sometimes, highly anticipated records don’t generate the kind of eye-popping sales labels expect. The week after the Grammys provide a much-needed sales bump in the traditionally slow early months of the year.

The recording industry has come to rely on the Grammy Awards each year to provide a much-needed boon following what is almost always a slow January. Once the holidays have come and gone, album sales nationwide tend to plummet. One minute the industry is up, and the next, it’s back on life support.

But with less than a month to go before the February 10 awards show is supposed to take place, it is struggling to stay on track in the wake of the ongoing writers’ strike. According to the Los Angeles Times, the American Federation of Musicians, the largest union for professional musicians, and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, which represents 70,000 entertainers, have issued a statement supporting the producers of the Grammys and their bid for a waiver from the Writers Guild of America.