IDOL ADD: After tonight's American Idol finale, the winner's first single will hit stores September 17 and a full album is due November 26. A compilation album of the show's best performances is also in the works, and the other finalists are likely to follow with their own albums.
EVEN MORE IDOL: As expected, bitter British judge Simon Cowell is signing on for Fox's American Idol 2. He'll get $1 million for the sequel, according to the Hollywood Reporter, which will air in early 2003.
SATISFACTION: The Rolling Stones are kicking off their "Licks" tour Tuesday night at Boston's Fleet Center. To mark the 40th anniversary of their first North American trek, the legendary rockers will play 40 dates this fall in both big and small venues.
DON'T DISRESPECT THE BING: Lawyers for The Sopranos mastermind David Chase responding in court to a lawsuit filed by a New Jersey judge, who claims he helped to create the hit HBO show. Chase's legal eagles say the judge's allegations are "egocentric fantasies."
VETOED: Former President Bill Clinton telling Larry King Tuesday night that he has no plans to launch a new career as a television talk-show host in the near future, but did not rule it out completely. "Maybe sometime later in my life I'd like to do it," Clinton said. "I really believe I should always spend more than half my time in public service so I just don't see how I can do it."
LIKE A CHILDREN'S AUTHOR? Madonna telling Vanity Fair that she and hubby Guy Ritchie have written a collection of allegorical tales aimed to the under-10 set.
KILL WILLY? A Norwegian whale expert suggesting it would be best to put Keiko--the killer whale star of Free Willy--to death rather than have the orca try to survive the harsh Scandinavian winter. Keiko spent nearly 20 years in captivity before being reintroduced to the wild and is having a hard time adapting.
CUT: TNT axing the Yancy Butler series Witchblade after two seasons despite strong ratings.
BACK 'N SYNC? The Hollywood producer behind Lance Bass' space dreams saying he plans to fork over the first slice of the reported $20 million to Russian officials in the next few days in hopes of getting the singer back aboard the October mission.
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE: Model Heather Mills telling Vanity Fair that she offered to sign a prenuptial agreement with Paul McCartney, but the former Beatle, whose fortune is estimated at $1 billion, turned her down.
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck helping high school friend Marjorie Decker in her campaign for Massachusetts state representative. Damon has taped a phone message urging voters to support Decker.
KUDOS! Legendary playwright Arthur Miller picking up the Praemium Imperiale Prize for his body of work including the plays Death of a Salesman and The Crucible. The award, conferred by a six-nation panel, was delayed once because of 9-11 and again by the illness of Miller's late wife.
NAIL IN THE COFFIN: A U.S. court blocking a bid by German media group Bertelsmann AG to buy Napster, meaning the defunct song-swapping site will liquidate all assets and fire all its remaining employees.
STEPPING OUT: Complaining his creativity had been stifled by managerial responsibilities, Warner Bros.' newly named president of worldwide production Lorenzo di Bonaventura giving up the gig to launch a new career as a producer with a first-look deal at the studio.