Natalie Finn Fri Feb 1, 5:28 PM ET

Los Angeles (E! Online) - The Spice Girls aren't heading south for the winter. Or east, for that matter. 

The comeback quintet announced Friday that their world tour will wrap up later this month and that dates in China, Australia, South Africa and Argentina have been canceled. 

Instead, they will sign off Feb. 26 in Toronto, the official Spice City as decided by fans who voted online for their favorite girl-powered metropolis. They are also scheduled to play the Air Canada Center on Sunday and Monday. 

"Sadly the tour needs to come to an end by the end of February due to family and personal commitments for Emma, Geri, Mel B, Melanie C and Victoria," the ladies said in a statement on their Website. 

"We've had such an amazing time over the past 3 months. It's been incredible being back together and seeing our fans again. We want to thank everyone who came to see us. It was all so mad the first time round, so we've really been able to appreciate it properly this time…Really sorry if we didn't get to see you this time round." 

While reports of only mild interest in the Girls in Beijing, Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires are rumored to be behind the change of plans, the Spice Girls' camp put a decidedly sunnier spin on the detour, which was originally necessary in order to schedule extra London dates. 

"Due to the phenomenal demand for tickets in the U.K. and the U.S. along with the touring logistics for such a massive production, it was not possible to fit everything in," a message on their Website said. "As the girls return to normal family life (lacing David Beckham's cleats, and whatnot) and the kids go back to school they are reviewing all the options, who knows what the future might bring!" 

Well, the present brought the pop stars millions, including a combined $23 million in proceeds from their 17-night run at London's O2 Center, a rep for the venue told the Evening Standard last week.  

"Not many groups can sell out 17 gigs at 75 pounds ($149) a ticket, it's quite an achievement," the source said.  

The Spice Girls' reunion officially kicked off Dec. 2 in front of a packed house in Vancouver, a few weeks after they serenaded the crowd at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at Hollywood's Kodak Theater.  

It was Halliwell's first time performing with the group since 1998, when she up and left not long before they were set to embark on the North American leg of their world tour in support of Spice World, which has sold over 10 million copies. 

And despite the supposedly lackluster sales in the Southern Hemisphere, plenty of Aussies were peeved about the lack of Spice in their life.

"I think we all saw this coming months ago. Wouldn't the smart thing to have done be to tour in cities that have yet to see the girls…once again we miss out!" one fan wrote on an Australian MSN message board. "Unless plans are announced to tour the remaining countries sometime later in the year, I can't see their image faring better than that of selfishly money-hungry."   

"The worst part of it all is everyone involved certainly knew what was going to happen; the least they could have done was to let us all know a month or two ago so that maybe a few of us diehard fans could have made arrangements to possibly make the trip to one of the shows—it is all ridiculously disappointing," wrote another would-be concertgoer.

By Gary Graff 17 minutes ago

DETROIT (Billboard) - Al Jarreau will have more than just love songs to offer to his fans this year.

The multifaceted singer, who recently released a "Love Songs" collection timed for Valentine's Day, told Billboard.com that he has two more projects planned for this year — a holiday album and a best-of compilation.

Jarreau is in the midst of working on the holiday album and plans to have it finished by May or June. It will feature standards such as "White Christmas," "Joy to the World" and "The Christmas Song," as well as an original called "Tree Wishes" that he said is "interesting and right in the spirit of things." He's also excited about the arrangement of "The Christmas Song," in which he promises "people will hear a new sparkle."

Jarreau is working with a variety of collaborators and arrangers, including Take 6 and his own keyboardist, Joe Turano.

"The guys in my band have outdone themselves with special pieces of music that we will do," Jarreau said. "They're standards. The way we're gonna do them is going to be respectful to the tradition but ear candy for people to listen to in new ways. I'm just excited to tears about this record."

He's also looking forward to compiling the best-of collection, which will be a successor to 1996's "The Best of Al Jarreau." The singer is sorting through his repertoire and promises that the new set "will be different than the last one," adding that "there's a lot more to select from since then." Titles and release dates are forthcoming.

Jarreau will be doing a short tour to promote "Love Songs" beginning February 8 in Cleveland and including a Valentine's Day performance at New York's Beacon Theater.

Reuters/Billboard

7 minutes ago

WATERVILLE, Maine - A singer-songwriter from Maine who’s filming a reality show with Lindsay Lohan is getting his 15 minutes of fame, and then some.

Jeremy Greene, a Waterville native, says he’s being hounded by press calls after Life & Style magazine reported that Lohan referred to Greene as her “new boyfriend.”

“It’s good and it’s bad,” Greene told the Morning Sentinel newspaper. “It’s like the gift and the curse.”

The 25-year-old Greene, who was seen with Lohan in New York, received several text messages from her while being interviewed by the paper. He avoided questions on whether he and Lohan are dating — “we’re just friends” — and says people will have to watch the show to see if there are any sparks.

Lohan’s mother, Dina, contacted Greene last fall, he said. They did some initial shootings for the show and he and the Lohan family hit it off.

For the reality show, Greene and the Lohan family will live on the top floor of the Palms Casino Hotel in Las Vegas, where there’s a swimming pool and a full music recording studio, among other things.

As for the media attention, it kicked into high gear on Monday when Greene was seen with Lohan at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City.

Will he ever bring Lindsay to Maine?

“I told her we have good lobster,” he said. “You never know.”

49 minutes ago

LONDON (Reuters) - The Spice Girls on Friday announced they are to cut back their reunion tour "due to family and personal commitments."

They cancelled concerts in China, South Africa, Australia and Argentina and the tour that reunited the British "Girl Power" group in a blaze of publicity is to end in Toronto on February 26.

A spokesman said: "Sadly the tour needs to come to an end by the end of February due to family and personal commitments for Emma, Geri, Mel B, Melanie C and Victoria.

"It was announced in June that, as well as the Europe and the US, the girls planned to visit Australia, China, South Africa and Argentina.

"Due to the phenomenal demand for tickets in the U.K and the U.S. along with the touring logistics for such a massive production it was not possible to fit everything in."

The Spice Girls were one of the biggest pop acts of the 1990s, selling 35 million albums worldwide with such catchy hits as "Wannabe" and "Say You'll Be There."

On their website, the group said of the surprise decision to cut back on the reunion tour: "We want to thank everyone who came to see us. It was all so mad the first time round, so we've really been able to appreciate it properly this time."

(Reporting by Paul Majendie; Editing by Jon Boyle)

32 minutes ago

LONDON - The Spice Girls have dropped Australia, China, South Africa and Argentina from their world tour, which reportedly has been drawing a disappointing turnout at some concerts.

The group, which reunited in a blaze of publicity last June, said on Friday that the tour will now end in Toronto on Feb. 26.

“Sadly the tour needs to come to an end by the end of February due to family and personal commitments for Emma, Geri, Mel B, Melanie C and Victoria,” the group said in a statement.

The Spice Girls’ tour kicked off in Vancouver, Canada, on Dec. 2, and has also included stops in Britain, the United States, Spain and Germany.

The concerts being canceled were to be held in the cities of Sydney, Beijing, Cape Town and Buenos Aires, the statement said.

By JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press Writer 39 minutes ago

LIVERPOOL, England - What could be better after a hard day’s sightseeing?

Visitors to Liverpool, birthplace of the Beatles, can rest their heads in the Lennon or McCartney suites at the Fab Four-themed Hard Days Night Hotel that opened Friday.

More than 45 years after John, Paul, George and Ringo emerged from Liverpool’s tiny, sweaty clubs to conquer the world, the Beatles industry is key to this battered-but-proud city’s attempt to transform itself from fading commercial hub to thriving cultural hotbed.

The 110-room Hard Days Night Hotel hopes to be its newest attraction.

“It’s stunning, spectacular,” said Julia Baird, John Lennon’s half-sister, after being shown around the $1,300-a-night penthouse suite named for her brother. “It’s like Liverpool. Outside it hasn’t changed, but inside there’s rocketing change.”

A smart, four-star establishment housed within a 19th century mercantile building, the hotel aims to provide everything a Beatles fan could desire — from the Yellow Submarine jukebox in the lobby to the rare photographs on the walls — while also catering to corporate travelers and tourists on a weekend break.

“That was a very important part of the whole concept, to get the balance,” said Jonathan Davies, director of the developer that stepped in three years ago to revive stalled plans for the hotel. “People who don’t particularly like the Beatles — we want them to come to the hotel. And we’re sure they will come.”

The overall impression is more classy than kitsch. In many ways it’s a typical upmarket hotel, decorated in cream, black and chocolate brown. There’s a stylish bar, and a “modern European” restaurant serving organic salmon, free-range chicken and English lamb.

Downstairs are Hari’s basement bar, decorated with pictures of the bearded Beatles in their Maharishi-following days, and “The Two of Us,” a wedding chapel adorned with pictures of the Fab Four and their spouses.

The guest rooms, which start at $340 a night, are decorated with artwork by American painter Shannon, “The World’s Greatest Beatles Artist” — a title officially bestowed on her by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool.

Most luxurious are the two suites. The centerpiece of Lennon’s is a white baby grand piano, while McCartney’s contains a real suit of armor. Sir Paul is a knight, after all.

Beatles music plays at an unobtrusive volume in the lobby, the restaurant, even the restrooms.

So will the hotel offer a nonstop Beatles soundtrack?

“No,” said general manager Mike Dewey. “That would drive me mad.”

The Beatles are never far away in Liverpool, a city of half a million about 200 miles northwest of London.

Just around the corner from the hotel on narrow, bar-lined Mathew Street is the Cavern Club — a reconstruction, on the original site, of the basement dive where The Beatles honed their skills. Down the street is the Cavern Walks shopping mall — or “boutique emporium” — complete with Beatles shop and Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds restaurant. Visitors can take Magical Mystery bus tours to Penny Lane, or visit the Beatles Story museum down on the city docks.

Some of it may verge on the tacky, but even on a blustery winter day a steady stream of tourists stop to have their picture taken beside the John Lennon statue at the end of the street. In the summer, it’s packed.

Liverpool has remade itself in other ways, too, with new art galleries, a thriving music scene and the title of European Capital of Culture for 2008, a status that is expected to bring thousands of extra tourists to a city long afflicted by a reputation for poverty and violence.

The visitors from across Europe checking in to the Hard Days Night Hotel on Friday suggest Liverpool’s attempt to improve its image may be working. Most were going on the inevitable Beatles tours, but also found plenty of other things to attract them.

Eddy Anselmi from Bologna, Italy, said he planned to visit the Tate Liverpool art gallery and attend a Liverpool Football Club soccer game.

He said he chose the hotel for “the idea of being the first customer of a place that will shape the new Liverpool. This place will be here in 10 or 20 years, and I can say I was here.”

General manager Dewey says the hotel’s backers have had no direct contact with the surviving Beatles, although Ringo Starr was quoted as saying he would have stayed at the hotel on a recent visit to the city, had it been open.

Baird is certain her brother and his bandmates would approve.

“In the middle of Liverpool? Around the corner from the Cavern? Of course they would.”

___

On the Net:

http://www.harddaysnighthotel.com

By SOLVEJ SCHOU, Associated Press Writer 8 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES - Throughout the course of Britney Spears’ months-long emotional tailspin, one universal question has lingered with each spectacular turn: Why doesn’t her family take drastic measures to stop this?

On Friday, they did.

Spears’ father, James Spears, was put in charge of the troubled pop star’s welfare during a surprise court appearance by him and mother Lynne Spears, a day after their daughter was whisked to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.

Just as Spears’ immediate family was taking charge of her life, Sam Lutfi, the man seen escorting her about town and sometimes speaking on her behalf, was removed from the picture with a restraining order. A message left on Lutfi’s cell phone seeking comment was not immediately returned.

James Spears’ eyes grew teary when he was named conservator of his daughter. He and an attorney, Andrew Wallet, were named conservators of the estate. The parents sat with attorney Blair Berk throughout the hearing, smiling and embracing after the announcement.

The events of the past two days were the first positive signs that Spears may have reached a turning point in a downward spiral of bizarre behavior — all of it captured by paparazzi lenses — that has resulted in her losing custody of and visitation rights with her two young sons.

Spears was taken early Thursday by paramedics with a heavy police escort to UCLA Medical Center’s psychiatric hospital. There was no account or description of the young star’s actual condition during the hearing.

It was the second hospitalization this year for the 26-year-old singer, who has exhibited odd behavior since November 2006, when she filed for divorce from Federline, the father of their sons, 1-year-old Jayden James and 2-year-old Sean Preston.

A court creates conservatorships when it determines that a person cannot care for themselves or handle their affairs. Commissioner Reva Goetz said Spears would be under conservatorship until Monday, at which time another hearing would be held.

“It is in the best interests of the conservatee to have conservatorship over her person,” Goetz told a packed courtroom.

As conservator, her father will have the power to “restrict visitors,” have around-the-clock security for Spears and have access to all medical records, Goetz said. It was unclear whether the court gave her father the power to make medical decisions on Spears’ behalf; even if that was granted, the role can be limited.

Conservators can consult with doctors on medication options, but the patient can refuse. Only in emergencies can someone be forcefully treated. Otherwise, a court hearing must be scheduled to hammer out the issue.

“Being a conservator does not give them the power to force medication,” said Nancy Kincaid, a spokeswoman with the California Department of Mental Health.

The court also issued a restraining order against Lutfi, Spears’ sometime manager and friend, and gave her father permission to change the locks on her estate and remove anyone who is there.

Goetz said conservatorship over the estate was “necessary and appropriate.” She gave approval for the conservator to “take all actions to secure all liquid assets including credit cards.”

Dr. Mark Goulston, a Los Angeles psychiatrist who is not involved in the case, said he was not surprised by the ruling, given Spears’ increasingly erratic behavior and what appear to have been periodic and unsuccessful efforts at rehabilitation.

Although placing people in conservatorships is not unusual, Goulston said, courts usually look long and hard at the evidence before putting a person in one.

“You have to really make a case before someone is allowed to become a conservator, so I would conclude her judgment is fairly impaired,” he said.

The court, which rejected a request to hold the hearing without news media present, did not immediately rule on another request to seal all documents. Goetz said she would rule on Monday, and court spokesman Allan Parachini said the papers would remain sealed until then.

The conservatorship was approved by a different court from the one handling a custody dispute over the singer’s children with ex-husband Kevin Federline. A hearing on custody issues is set Monday morning in that court.

___

AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch and staff writers John Rogers and Alicia Chang contributed to this report.

By Ann Donahue 21 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Gap is launching an online advertising campaign featuring music by the Raveonettes, Dntel, Swizz Beatz, the Blakes and Marie Digby in the hopes of stirring up some viral music video mojo among its younger customers, Billboard has learned.

For the "Sound of Color" campaign, each act was asked to write a song inspired by an assigned hue. These songs were then turned into music videos by up-and-coming commercial and music video directors, including Chris Do, Mary Fagot and James Frost, Tom Gatsoulis, Russ Lamourex and Mike Maguire.

The songs and videos will be available for streaming and download at soundofcolor.com starting February 15. The campaign, developed jointly by Gap and multimedia producer Rehab, will run for one month and also be placed as ads on several music Web sites. After 30 days, the artists will retain the rights to their songs for their own use, including possible inclusion on future albums.

"We were looking for new ways to connect with people, and so much of today's music scene is digital," Gap director of advertising Jamie Gersch said. "This spring and summer, our campaigns are very much about color. And since that means so many emotions, we thought it was a great place to start with musicians."

Digby came to the attention of the campaign's producers after they fell in love with her acoustic renditions of songs like Rihanna's "Umbrella" on YouTube. Being assigned the color yellow was a bit of fortuitous timing for Digby, whose first album, "Unfold," drops April 8.

"I was a little puzzled, but I thought it was a really fun challenge," she said. "I closed my eyes and thought about what it would be like to be surrounded by the color yellow. I was laying back on some exotic beach, in the sand, with a pina colada, and I was warm. I wanted to capture those sensations in a simple way."

Swizz Beatz, who has already appeared on billboards for Gap, said that he feels his song "Green" is ready for other uses as soon as its gig with the Gap is done. "I didn't want to do a song I wasn't comfortable giving to the DJs," he said. "I took the approach of, 'How would I use green in a painting without making green the main ingredient, and use it in the slickest way?"'

The Raveonettes were selected to create an interpretation of black-and-white. "I don't think we've ever tried to make a song with a particular purpose before," vocalist/guitarist Sune Rose Wagner said.

Reuters/Billboard

By ERIN CARLSON, Associated Press Writer 47 minutes ago

NEW YORK - The “Hannah Montana” concert movie may be the hottest ticket in town — but early on opening day, at least one Manhattan theater was virtually tween-free.

The Ziegfield theater was mostly empty Friday morning for its first screening of “Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert,” a 3-D film version of the sellout tour. It had a good excuse: School was in session and a chilly downpour threatened to keep moviegoers away.

At least three Hannah-crazed fans braved the elements — and skipped school, too — for a chance to see their idol on the big screen. After the 74-minute show, 12-year-old pals Sydney Schindler and Danielle Kahn, and Danielle’s 9-year-old sister Jenna, could barely contain their excitement.

“I liked it when she would, like, stick out the microphone and it would look like you were there in the audience right there,” said Danielle, who hails from Bayside, N.Y.

“I liked it when her background dancers picked her up,” Jenna said, to which Sydney added: “I liked it all.”

Jaclyn Schindler, the girls’ chaperone and Sydney’s mom, said she rushed to buy tickets in advance since the girls couldn’t get tickets to see the live tour. She said she was surprised she liked the film so much, and now understands what all the fuss is about.

“She’s clean, she seems like a good person,” Schindler said of 15-year-old Miley Cyrus, who was shown teaching father Billy Ray Cyrus a song she’s written.

As for the girls playing hooky, Schindler said: “I might get into a little trouble for this. I’m sorry, teachers, we’re gonna make them write a report about it.”

By CAROLYN THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer 30 minutes ago

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The latest in a series of doors being auctioned off from a house where Jim Morrison once lived has been painted with a “Love Her Madly” theme.

“The Jim Morrison Home Legacy Series” enlists artists to use doors collected from a Clearwater, Fla., home that belonged to Morrison’s grandparents as their canvases. The doors are then donated to various causes.

The latest, taken from the master bathroom, will go up for auction on eBay Saturday after being unveiled during a Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra concert dedicated to the band’s music. Proceeds will benefit the orchestra and an anti-gang initiative.

Painted by Florida artist Doug Wright, the door quotes from “Love Her Madly” and pictures a thoughtful Morrison, who died in 1971 at 27, beneath an image of seven horses. A doorbell will play snippets of the song. It’s the fourth door Wright has painted for the foundation. The last two have quoted Morrison’s writing.

“That’s kind of the direction I’m going to go, to include the words of Jim Morrison with the pictures,” Wright said by phone.

Triangle Development of Clearwater, Fla., gathered up the doors from a house that was on land being cleared for a condominium project. Morrison had lived in the five-bedroom house as a young child from 1944 to ‘47, and again while attending St. Petersburg Junior College in the early 1960s, Triangle spokeswoman Meg Murphy said. The house was no longer in the family when it was torn down.

There was talk of moving the house off the site, but it was in bad shape, Murphy said. Instead, Triangle co-founder and Doors fan Ben Kugler had the idea to save and paint the doors to help charities. In all, 36 doors including 14 cabinet doors were saved.

A “Break on Through” door was donated to Largo Cultural Center in Largo , Fla., a “Feast of Friends” door is on display at the Clearwater public library and a “Light My Fire” door is in the works.

Legacy Series coordinators offered the door to the Buffalo Philharmonic after hearing about its Doors-themed concert.

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On the Net:

http://www.jimmorrisonhomelegacyseries.com

http://www.bpo.org