The show went on for the Material Girl, even in the face of divorce.

Mere hours after her rep confirmed that she and Guy Ritchie were parting ways after almost eight years of marriage, Madonna took the stage in Boston Wednesday for the latest date on her Sticky and Sweet tour, seeming none the worse for the wear.

The 50-year-old singer gyrated, grooved and even jumped rope during an athletic two-hour set at the TD Banknorth Garden, displaying an uncanny level of physical fitness for a woman of her age—or any age, for that matter.

Though the soon-to-be former Mrs. Ritchie did not comment on her personal life directly, but seemed to allude to some issues in her dedication for "Miles Away."

"This song is for the emotionally retarded. Maybe you know some people who fall into that category. God knows I do..."

Keep Reading

A distraught Corinne Bailey Rae ventured out of her home Thursday for the first time since her husband's death last week to pay tribute to his memory.

The Grammy-winning singer visited a towering Easter cross in the Yorkshire countryside and laid a spray of heather at its base in remembrance of Jason Rae, who was found dead last week of a suspected overdose at 31.

In a statement released on her behalf, Bailey Rae, 29, thanked her fans for their support and well wishes.

"Corinne Bailey Rae and her family have been touched by the huge amount of love and support that's flooded in from all over the world, and that is really helping all of us cope at this terrible time," the statement said.

"Corinne is also very grateful for the privacy she is being given and the respect that has been paid to herself and Jason."

Rae, a member of the Haggis Horns funk band, was found dead in a Leeds apartment on Saturday.

At an inquest into his death Thursday, Deputy Assistant Coroner Roger Chapman testified at Leeds Coroner's Court that a pathologist's report pointed to a "suspected drugs overdose" and said officials found "no evidence of any injuries or disease."

Detective Superintendent Steve Payne seconded the findings, telling the court "there were no signs of any trauma or violence or any obvious significant natural disease signs."

Shortly after Rae's death, an unidentified 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of supplying controlled drugs to the musician, though he is free on bail pending further questioning.

Following the first day of testimony, the inquest was adjourned while the coroner's department completes additional tests.

Officials did however agree to release Rae's body to his family for burial. There was no word on when a funeral might take place.

The Raes wed in 2001, after meeting in a jazz club.  

Celine Dion's heart may go on, but her show won't.

The ever-fragile Canadian chanteuse has been forced to postpone several concerts in Australia due to a throat infection, her reps have announced.

Shows in Brisbane and Melbourne were pushed back earlier this week after Dion complained of a sore throat and irritated sinuses upon her arrival Down Under. Two performances in Sydney have also been postponed for a week.

Dion, who has been photographed wearing a surgical mask in recent days, presumably to ward off any further germs, apologized to her fans for the delay.

"I've been looking forward to doing these shows for so long," Dion said in a statement. "I'm really sorry to disappoint my fans this weekend, but I can't wait to see them on the new dates."

The singer, currently in the midst of her first world tour in 10 years, has been advised by her doctors to rest her voice for an additional 48 hours to ensure her recovery, her rep said.

Her latest ailment likely means a low-key birthday celebration for Dion, who turns 40 on Sunday. In the past four years, Dion has canceled shows for a raft of maladies, including a neck injury, a rare ear disease, bronchitis and a viral infection.

Dion wrapped up her long-running Vegas show A New Day in December and launched her yearlong Taking Chances tour last month in South Africa.

Up ahead, she is slated to appear on Idol Gives Back for the second year in a row. The charity special airs April 9.

UPDATED April 3, 2008 at 4:55 p.m. PT: Logistical details have also forced Dion to cancel an April 13 show in Beijing, although plans for her April 11 concert in Shanghai are still on. "I'm really sorry that things couldn't be worked for the concert in Beijing," the singer said in a statement. "I was really looking forward to it. I'm excited about visiting the city and appearing on [personality Yang] Lan's show. At least I will get a chance to visit Beijing and continue to make plans for a future concert."

In the end, Remy Ma couldn't beat the rap.

The Grammy-nominated rapper (real name: Remy Smith) was convicted Thursday of shooting a woman outside a Manhattan nightclub in July 2007.

She faces up to 25 years in prison when she is sentenced April 23.

Ma wiped tears from her eyes as the verdict was read and wept openly as she was led from the courtroom in handcuffs. The judge denied a request from her attorney, Ivan Fisher, to have her released on bail until her sentencing.

Her defense team had conceded that Ma, 26, fired a shot at a friend whom she suspected of stealing $3,000 from her but claimed that it was an accident.

In their version of events, Ma and her victim, Makeda Barnes Joseph, were struggling over Joseph's purse after Ma demanded to look inside for the missing money and Joseph refused. Amid the tussle, Ma's gun supposedly went off accidentally, launching a bullet into Joseph's gut.

However, Assistant District Attorney Michael McIntosh said that Ma "took every step you had to take to shoot somebody," including loading her illegal .45-caliber automatic with hollow point bullets and using both hands to cock the weapon.

Joseph survived the shooting, but required three operations on her abdomen and was hospitalized for several weeks, according to her testimony.

Ma was found guilty of assault, weapon possession and attempted coercion. She was acquitted of additional charges of witness tampering and gang assault, stemming from the beating of the boyfriend of a witness who ultimately testified against her.

Her attorney said he plans to appeal the ruling.

Dr Pepper has a pop quiz for Guns N' Roses: Where's Chinese Democracy, already?!

In an effort to move the band's long-awaited album toward a release date, the soda purveyor has offered to gift everyone in America (except former bandmembers Slash and Buckethead) with a free soft drink if Democracy comes out anytime in 2008.

The oft-delayed album—the band's first since its 1993 cover album, The Spaghetti Incident—has been in the works for more than a decade and has reportedly rung up over $13 million in recording expenses so far.

It was last slated for release in March 2007, but the big debut was canceled due to "scheduling difficulties," Axl Rose, the sole remaining original GNR member, said at the time. So far, no new release date has been set.

In a statement on the band's official website, Rose said he was "surprised and happy to have the support of Dr Pepper...as for us, this came totally out of the blue."

He did not provide any indication as to whether the band would rise to the challenge, though he did say he would be happy to share his complimentary Dr Pepper with Buckethead, as some of the guitarist's performances appear on the album.

For now, Dr Pepper is willing to wait a little longer.

"It took a little patience to perfect Dr Pepper’s special mix of 23 ingredients, which our fans have come to know and love," the company said in a statement.

"So we completely understand and empathize with Axl's quest for perfection—for something more than the average album."

Steve-O's legal issues have been put on hold while the Jackass star continues to work on cleaning up his act.

The 33-year-old stunt purveyor, whose real name is Stephen Glover, was absent from his arraignment on felony cocaine charges Wednesday as he remains hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where he has been receiving treatment for the last few weeks.

Los Angeles Superior Judge James Banco issued a continuance for the arraignment, which is now set for April 23. The judge also ordered Glover to forfeit his $10,000 bail.

Glover's attorney, Barry Sands, was in court and told E! News that his client is "doing great."

"He's been in the hospital for two weeks," Sands said. "He voluntarily checked himself in. But he will be at the next court hearing."

Glover was arrested at his Hollywood apartment building March 3, following an altercation with another tenant.

Police responding to the call allegedly discovered cocaine at Glover's residence, leading to the felony charges filed against him.

Last week, Glover took to his website to blog about his issues with substance abuse, explaining that he blamed his many of problems on his unconventional upbringing.

He claimed his parents began giving him alcohol as a baby to keep him quiet on airplanes and that he started using drugs heavily as a teen, a pattern that continued over the years.

However, the Jackass player claims all that is behind him now, and that he is ready to commit to staying clean.

"I'm not ready to die. I'm ready to live. I'm ready to breathe (properly even). I'm ready to fall in love. I'm ready to become ready to start a family," he wrote.

—Additional reporting by Claudia Rosenbaum

Justin Timberlake is bringing sporty back.

The pop star has been tapped to host the 2008 ESPY Awards, slated to take place July 20 at Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre L.A. Live.  

The annual awards, presented by ESPN, celebrate the best and brightest sporting moments of the year as decided by fans, who can vote for their favorites online at espys.tv beginning July 1.

"I'm very excited to be hosting the 16th edition of the ESPYs. I can't wait for the day of the show as I'm truly a sports junkie," Timberlake said in a statement.

"Since the last ESPYs, there have been amazing moments in sports, and I'm looking forward to recapping all of them with ESPN's diehard fans."

The hosting gig won't be Timberlake's first. Last year, he presided over the 20th annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, where he was named Favorite Male Singer (and subsequently doused with a healthy dose of slime). The singer is up for the same honor at this year's Kids' Choice Awards, taking place Saturday.

Up ahead, Timberlake stars opposite Mike Myers and Jessica Alba in The Love Guru, opening June 20.

Sheryl Crow may have spoken too soon when she said she would be teaming up with Fleetwood Mac in the coming months.

In a recent interview with AOL music site Spinner.com, the 46-year-old singer said that she and the classic-rock group "definitely have plans for collaborating in the future."

That was news to Fleetwood Mac, however, as frontman Lindsey Buckingham, 58, said plans to bring Crow aboard were anything but definite.

"I think we were all a little surprised [Crow] was announcing that to the world with such certainty," he told Billboard.com.

"We have talked about the possibility of bringing another woman into the scene to kind of give Stevie a sort of foil and shake it up a little bit. [Crow] was certainly a name that has come up. We'll have to see."

Stevie Nicks, 59, whom Crow has cited as an inspiration and a "true artist," has been Fleetwood Mac's sole female member since Christine McVie retired from the group in the early '90s.

Meanwhile, Buckingham said there was discussion of the group hitting the road in early 2009, possibly armed with new material.

He said he has a "ton of new stuff" that may translate to a new Fleetwood album, the band's first since 2003's Say You Will. The classic-rock staples last toured in 2004. 

As for Crow, she's due out on the road in April for a trek in support of her latest album, Detours.

Forget voting along party lines in the upcoming presidential election—Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt could vote along bloodlines, if they were so inclined.

Researchers at the New England Historic Genealogical Society have discovered that Jolie is distantly related to Hillary Clinton, while Pitt is a cousin of Barack Obama.

Jolie and Clinton are ninth cousins, twice removed, while Pitt and Obama are ninth cousins, according to a genealogical study conducted over the last three years.

In addition to her kinship with Jolie, Clinton is also related to Madonna, Celine Dion and Alanis Morissette, researchers found. Other cousins include Camilla Parker Bowles and Jack Kerouac.

Obama, on the other hand, shares his ancestry with six U.S. presidents, including current commander in chief, George W. Bush, and his father, George H.W. Bush.

Other far-reaching Obama relations include Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson, Harry S. Truman and James Madison, as well as Vice President Dick Cheney and Sir Winston Churchill.

Republican candidate John McCain's family tree proved tougher to trace, as records on his relatives were not as extensive as either Obama or Clinton's, researchers said. He was, however, found to be a sixth cousin to first lady Laura Bush.

Bo Bice is looking to pass some Idol time as a camp counselor this summer.

The season-four runner-up has signed on to participate in an upcoming session of Idol Camp, serving as a mentor to musically gifted youngsters.

The camp, which caters to kids between the ages of 10 and 15, runs in two-week segments beginning June 15 and ending Aug. 23.

After debuting in Massachusetts last summer, the program moves to the West Coast this year, where it will be based in the San Bernardino mountains.

Other American Idol alumni who have committed to putting in an appearance at the camp this summer include season-five finalist Ace Young, season-two finalist Kimberly Caldwell and season-four finalist Anthony Federov.

"This is everything we could've hoped for when we launched Idol Camp last year," FremantleMedia Enterprises Vice President Shannon Pruitt said in a statement. "Seeing the camp in session and the way the kids responded really showed everyone here that this was something that could only get bigger and we're making sure the 2008 season is just that."

The application deadline for the camp is April 18. Potential campers can find the necessary paperwork at IdolCamp.com.

Meanwhile, for the second year in a row, Idol is reaching out to musical types who may not consider singing to be their forte.

On Monday, the talent contest announced the launch of the second American Idol Songwriter Competition, which offers fans the chance to pen the show's next hit single.

Submissions can be made online at AmericanIdol.com through March 31, after which point the pool will be narrowed down to 20 finalists and opened up to public voting on April 10.

The winning song will be announced and performed onstage by the winning Idol during the season seven finale on May 20.

Last year, over 2 million votes were cast for Jeff Peabody and Scott Krippayne's winning single, "This Is My Now," which season-six winner Jordin Sparks performed and went on to release as the first single from her self-titled debut album.

"American Idol has been a vehicle for discovering so many great new artists over the years, and with the return of the American Idol Songwriting Competition, we continue our search for the best undiscovered talent in the world," Simon Fuller said in a statement.

Steve Granitz/Getty Images

UPDATE: Knoxville was awarded joint custody and agreed to pay $6,000 a month in child support.
_______________________________

Johnny Knoxville is officially a single Jackass.

The 37-year-old stunt star's divorce from Melanie Lynn Clapp was finalized on March 20, according to court documents obtained by E! News. (View the documents.)

Issues such as division of property, spousal and child support and attorneys' fees were still being worked out. Attorneys for Clapp declined to comment on the split.

Knoxville, whose real name is Philip John Clapp, filed for divorce on July 3, 2007, citing irreconcilable differences. In his petition, he requested joint custody of the couple's 12-year-old daughter, Madison.

The twosome had been separated since July 17, 2006, according to court documents. They tied the knot on May 15, 1995.

Apart from his common-sense-defying turns in both small and big-screen editions of Jackass, Knoxville's credits include roles in 2005's Dukes of Hazzard and 2002's Men in Black II.

—Additional reporting by Claudia Rosenbaum

Courteney Cox is looking to her friends for help with her latest cause.

The Dirt star and her husband, David Arquette, have recruited a roster of famous folks, including Jennifer Aniston, to help them try to raise $1 million in two weeks for Epidermolysis Bullosa, a rare and debilitating skin condition that primarily affects children.

"EB is very personal to me, so I'm happy to be a part of this $1 million challenge," Cox said in a statement. "Now is such an important time to put the spotlight on EB and ensure that research can continue at a fast pace."

Aniston's ex, Brad Pitt, is also on board for the challenge, as are Gwen Stefani, Gavin Rossdale, Orlando Bloom, Kate Beckinsale, Rashida Jones, James Marsden and Eva Longoria Parker.

Cox and Arquette are heading up the effort as members of the honorary advisory board of the Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation. Aniston, Pitt, Rossdale and Stefani are also members.

Those affected by the condition break out in painful blisters after even minor trauma to the skin. Wounds may cover up to 75 percent of the body and never go away.

Few people who suffer from Epidermolysis Bullosa survive past the age of 30. As many as 100,000 Americans may have some form of the condition.