Time to start the countdown clock on MTV's countdown era: "Total Request Live" will soon leave the air after 10 years.

Dave Sirulnick, executive producer of "TRL," said Monday that the music video countdown show will conclude in a two-hour special on a Saturday afternoon in November. He stressed that the show wasn't ending for good, but felt now was the right time to give it a break after an unprecedented run on the cable music channel.

"TRL" debuted in September 1998 and became the splashy center of the teen pop music scene with Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, N'Sync and other acts. From its heyday until 2008, it's been a destination for musicians, movie stars and celebrities promoting their new music, movies and other projects.

How does Barack Obama lure wealthy donors to a big-money fundraiser in Hollywood? Bring in Barbra Streisand as the headline performer.

The Oscar-winning singer and actress was to perform Tuesday night on Obama's behalf in Beverly Hills. It was to be a two-step evening with a reception and dinner costing $28,500 a person followed by a later event featuring Streisand at $2,500 a ticket.

Obama was flying to Los Angeles after an appearance Tuesday morning in a Denver suburb.

The wealthy fundraiser comes on a day when the crisis in the U.S. economy remained an urgent issue for many Americans. Monday's sharp sell-off left the Dow Jones industrials and the Standard & Poor's 500 index down by more 4%, eroding the value of individual retirement and investment accounts, for example.

Streisand originally backed Hillary Clinton but switched to Obama when he emerged as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Streisand has been outspoken in criticizing John McCain's selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate on the Republican presidential ticket.

"This calculated, cynical ploy to pull away a small percentage of Hillary's women voters from Barack Obama will not work," Streisand wrote on her Web page. "We are not that stupid!"

"I believe John McCain chose Gov. Palin because he truly believes that women who supported Hillary -- an experienced, brilliant, lifelong public servant -- would vote for him because his vice president has two X chromosomes," Streisand said. "McCain's selection of Gov. Palin is a transparent and irresponsible decision all in the name of trying to win this election."

Obama is financing his presidential race with private contributions after abandoning a pledge to take public financing capped at $84 million. His campaign announced Sunday it had collected $66 million in August, a fundraising record for any presidential candidate in a monthlong period.

By comparison, McCain raised $47 million in August, a personal best for his campaign as well. After claiming the GOP nomination, McCain accepted the $84 million in taxpayer funds allotted the public financing system for the race.

Hearst Magazine's Cosmopolitan has launched a talent show competition via YouTube, dubbed StarLaunch.

Sponsored by Nikon and Procter and Gamble's Pantene, the contest asks for entries from female-fronted bands and solo artists to be uploaded to youtube.com/cosmostarlaunch by Oct. 6.

The entries will be culled to a top 10 on Oct. 21. At that point people can vote on the StarLaunch YouTube page. The top three acts with the most votes will move on a to live battle of the bands competition at New York's Terminal 5 on Dec. 5.

Prizes include $10,000 cash, a three-track demo created with a hit-making record producer, as many as 10 performances at Cosmopolitan-sponsored events and one-year memberships to SESAC and FanBridge, a fan list management service.

"By leveraging our partnership with YouTube and the support of our sponsors Nikon and Pantene, we will be able to give a deserving female artist the opportunity to be discovered by America -- something no amount of money can buy," said Donna Kalajian Lagani, senior vp and publishing director.

Natasha Bedingfield and Solange Knowles will perform after the battle of the bands.

Beyonce's third solo album will be released Nov. 18 via Music World Music/Columbia, and will be preceded Oct. 7 by the radio release of the singles "If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies."

Beyonce co-wrote or co-produced all the material, which the label says comprises "her most personal, reflective and revelatory collection to-date." Justin Timberlake will also appear on the as-yet-untitled project, but additional details about his contributions have not been released.

The artists teamed up to cover the Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell classic "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" last Friday at the Fashion Rocks event at New York's Radio City Music Hall.

Producer Jim Jonsin, the man behind Lil Wayne's "Lollipop," has also logged studio time with Beyonce on the track "Beautiful Nightmare," which leaked online this year. It is unknown if the song will make the final track list.

The new album is the follow-up to 2006's "B-Day," which has sold 3.2 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Beyonce also is gearing up for two upcoming film projects. She stars as blues legend Etta James in "Cadillac Records," a release date for which has yet to be announced, and as the wife of a stalking target in "Obsessed," due Feb. 27.

Despite her train-wreck performance at the MTV Video Music Awards last year, the network confirms that Britney Spears will kick off the show once again.

But it won't be a performance. Instead, MTV Networks Music Group President Van Toffler said Wednesday, it'll be something "fun and unexpected" on Sunday night's show.

Unexpected is probably the kindest way to describe Spears' performance at last year's VMAs. In what was heavily promoted as the troubled singer's comeback, she instead gave an unfocused, almost unwatchable performance of "Gimme More," one of the many lowpoints in her year of debacles.

So what made Spears and MTV reunite one more time?

"MTV has long played an important role in my career. How can I not be there to kick off their 25th VMAs? I'm excited to open the entire show, to say hi to my fans and to be nominated," Spears said in a statement.

"I think for Britney, people are rooting for her, and she's really on the road to recovery," Toffler said, noting that MTV had nominated her for three VMAs, including video of the year, for her clip "Piece of Me."

"It feels like it's her year," he added. "It's our 25th anniversary of the VMAs, and she's been such a critical piece of MTV's history."

Spears also equals ratings gold: Last year's VMAs were up 23% over the 2006 show.

In recent months, Spears, who's working on a new album, has appeared to have cleaned up her act. Her father James has been in control of her personal and professional matters as her legal conservator, and she drew high ratings and positive reviews when she made guest appearances on CBS' "How I Met Your Mother" earlier this year.

So far, the confirmed performers for Sunday's show include the Jonas Brothers, Lil Wayne, Rihanna, T.I. and Kid Rock.

Toffler also raised the possibility of another troubled pop icon appearing: Michael Jackson.

"We've been talking to him as well, I don't know if that's going to happen," he said. "People fall in and fall out up until the day of the show."

Glen Campbell covering Green Day and Foo Fighters?

The inevitable first reaction to news that the pop cowboy is doing an album of covers by those bands and others including U2 and the Velvet Underground is, "Uh-oh, is this the long-dreaded recurrence of Pat Boone’s metal mood?" The second might be, "Then again, Johnny Cash pulled it off late in his career."

While clearly aiming at the latter, Campbell's effort falls somewhere between those extremes. "Meet Glen Campbell" -- a deft title for the reintroduction of a man who's made 70-plus albums -- is a crisp, enjoyable record that stamps vintage Campbell-type arrangements on songs with recurring themes of aging or self-realization. There's no cheeky cheese like Boone churned out.
But Campbell and producer Julian Raymond, who picked the songs, seem content to let the musicians do too much of the interpreting. And Tuesday's packed show at the tiny, sweaty Troubadour, which coincided with the album's release, exacerbated that. In the intimate live setting, the eight-piece band, including two drummers, forced the attention to the music rather than Campbell and that honey-dipped voice.
The result was an entirely pleasant hourlong show but one that felt like a missed opportunity.

"Yep, still kicking," the 72-year-old said before playing Tom Petty's "Angel Dream," which was both countrified and rocked up, driven by a little snare hook. Campbell introduced Travis' "Sing" as "one of my favorite songs." He expressed similar admiration for many of the covers during the show, but though he performed them with a smile, he rarely seemed genuinely affected by them.

An exception was the Replacements' "Sadly, Beautiful," a father's lament that Campbell sang with purpose. Two of his sons were in the band, and two daughters sang backup.
Campbell picked up a guitar only when he played his country-pop classics, five of which were scattered throughout the set. He closed his eyes to deliver "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" and earned a long ovation after "Wichita Lineman." Stripped of their generic orchestration -- which clouded some of his most popular material more than driving it -- both were moving reminders of how affecting Campbell's vocals can be.

It was a rare chance to see an icon up close, and his voice has retained its much of its singular purity. But less instrumentation and more Campbell might have made it truly unforgettable.

Kanye West's regret on the day Barack Obama was nominated for president: that his mother, Donda, hadn't lived to experience it.

"It's an incredible time to be around. I wish my momma could have seen this day," the rapper told a crowd gathered for his performance early Thursday morning in Denver.

Jamie Foxx then joined West onstage and delivered what was easily the strangest Obama song dedication at this week's Democratic National Convention.

"We make history, man," Foxx declared at the ONE campaign party. "With Obama, we make history. If you ready for Obama, make some noise. Yo man, let's do this for Obama."

Nobody said politics and entertainment always mix smoothly. The pair then launched into their hit "Gold Digger," about money-grubbing women.

The party, sponsored by Bono's ONE anti-poverty campaign and the Recording Industry Association of America, drew celebrities including Forest Whitaker and Ashley Judd, who arrived with Foxx waving an American flag. Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner and former South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle also walked the red carpet.

Some, including Daschle, left the club before West took the stage and roared through hits such as "Touch the Sky," "Home" and "Stronger."

Backed by a band clad in black outfits that seemed inspired both by Mad Max and the riot police ringing the convention arena, the hip-hop star also tried out two new songs he said he'd written in the past several days -- both more focused on relationships and heartbreak than politics.

The story of John Lennon is headed for the big screen with "Nowhere Boy," a biopic that will be directed by visual artist Sam Taylor-Wood.

Produced by U.K. shingle Ecosse Films, the script from "Control" screenwriter Matt Greenhalgh will focus on the Beatle's childhood and subsequent journey to icon status. Filming is set to take place on location in Lennon's hometown of Liverpool.

Greenhalgh's script details the story of Lennon as a lonely teenager growing up as his aunt and the mother who gave him up fight for his love. His only escape is music, art and his fateful friendship with Paul McCartney.

Casting for the major roles "is under way," the backers said of the project that is being co-developed with the U.K. Film Council.

Sales and finance house HanWay Films is handling worldwide sales and will be trying to get sellers to tune in at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival.

"The women in John's early life truly shaped who he became," Taylor-Wood said, "and the strengths and weaknesses of their relationships are central to this film."

Ecosse and HanWay also worked together on "Becoming Jane" and "Brideshead Revisited."

Christina Aguilera wants another baby.

The 'Dirrty' singer - who gave birth to her first child, Max Liron, in January - revealed she and husband Jordan Bratman hope to add to their brood because they love parenthood so much.

She said: "It is the best thing you will ever do in your life.

"It just lights up my whole world when Max laughs.

"Being a mother just gives you a whole new sense of purpose, and it's just the most amazing thing. I was in awe of the entire experience of pregnancy - the entire journey was just incredible."

Meanwhile, Christina claims her instincts have helped her maintain a long career. The 27-year-old singer - who shot to fame aged 13 in 'The New Mickey Mouse Club' - explained: "In this business it gets crazy - the people that you sort of have to weed through with bad intentions or ulterior motives - but you have to trust your instincts.

"In the end, know what you're in it for and it's the love of music and the love of what I do, so I just have fun with it and really continue to try and soul search and be myself continuously through and through."

Pink has denied 'dissing’ her estranged husband in her new video.

The 'Stupid Girls’ singer – real name Alecia Moore – is seen sawing down a tree bearing a love heart containing her and motocross star Carey Hart's names in the promotional clip for 'So What’ as she sings 'I'm all right, I'm just fine and you're a tool'.

However, the singer insists there is 'much love attached' to the video and it shouldn’t be taken seriously. She told radio host Ryan Seacrest: "It's very sarcastic and sick humour, and it's also a 'screw you' anthem with so much love attached. It's like when a kindergartener goes up and punches a girl he likes and runs away. Care Bear's my darling. It's all good.

"It's what I do. I'm healing myself with other songs. I've been having a lot of fun." Meanwhile, it has been revealed that Pink will perform 'So What’ at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Rapper T.I., Paramore and Rihanna – who performed 'Umbrella’ at last year’s ceremony – will also join confirmed artists the Jonas Brothers, Kid Rock and Lil’ Wayne, who will play at the Los Angeles event on September 7.