Prefab pop fans, we have good news for you. Variety reports that 17-year-old Britney Spears, whose album …Baby One More Time remains a fixture on the Billboard charts, has inked a deal with Columbia TriStar TV.

Spears is already scheduled for a three-episode stint on Dawson's Creek, the WB show produced by Columbia, Variety says. A one-studio teen entertainment machine, Columbia is also responsible for Fox's Party of Five and a proposed Fox pilot based on the recent big-screen hit Cruel Intentions.

A comedy or drama will also be developed for Spears, but don't expect anything for the fall lineup. Spears' agent Rob Lee adds that any series will have to fit into her recording and touring schedule.

Spears herself is no stranger to television. At age 11, she stepped into Annette Funicello's mouse ears (if not her sweater) as a member of the Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Club. Her co-stars included then 12-year-old Justin Timberlake and Joshua "JC" Chasez, who would go on to become two-fifths of the teen pinup band 'N Sync. She's also in demand with advertisers: Tommy Hilfiger ads featuring Britney are in April's YM and Teen People.

For obvious reasons, Spears is being compared to 20-year-old R&B singer Brandy, who stars in the UPN series Moesha and joined Jennifer Love Hewitt — herself a television-to-singing crossover — in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.

"Look at the Brandy experience," Lee says, "one [project] doesn't have to hurt the other; one feeds the other. The key is to time it so one doesn't get in the way of the other."

And for those on the other side of the prefab pop fence, we have good news for you too: So far, there are no reports of a 'N Sync revamp of The Waltons, with a special guest appearance by Britney as Elizabeth.
- Wall Of Sound

The Backstreet Boys are the best-selling band of 1998. (Can 8 million preteen and teen girls be wrong?) So, what are they going to do next? Obviously they're not going to Disneyworld, since the guys live in Orlando (been there, done that). No, this time they're going after the adult market.

The Backstreet Boys' single "I'll Never Break Your Heart'' has spent the past two months atop Billboard's adult-contemporary chart. And now comes the crucial crossover to VH1 via a co-starring role on the cable channel's Storytellers with Tony Bennett, who has just released a kids' album, The Playground.

''He asked us to do it with him,'' says BSB's Kevin Richardson, who at 27 is the oldest member of the quintet. The Boys taped three of their own songs for Storytellers, which will premiere on Nov. 29. Following their own session, they joined Bennett on "Swingin' on a Star." A dressing room rehearsal and a soundcheck were all the preparation they were afforded. Backed by Bennett's combo, the unlikely teaming nailed the song the first time out.

''He only needs one take,'' Richardson says. ''It was really cool.''

Meanwhile, the Boys are continuing work on their second album, using the same producers who guided them on Backstreet Boys, which has sold more than 23 copies million worldwide. Three songs were completed with the assistance of Denniz Pop, before he succumbed to cancer earlier this year. This month, they've holed up in Stockholm with producer-songwriter Max Martin.

''The subject matter hasn't changed much,'' Richardson said of the new material, ''but the lyrics are a little deeper." This time around, members of the quintet have written songs. Brian Littrell shares writing credits on a track about the band members' mothers, ''Perfect Fan," as well as on "That's What She Said." Richardson garners his own co-writing credit on "Back to Your Heart.'' The band expects to release a single in February or March, followed by the entire album in April.
- Wall Of Sound

The MTV Europe Music Awards, held Thursday night (Nov. 12) at the Fila Forum in Milan, Italy, contained few surprises. The biggest winners, with two awards apiece were the Spice Girls, who won Best Group and Best New Pop Album honors, and Madonna, who earned statues for Best Female and Best New Album. Both Aerosmith and the Prodigy repeated their September MTV Video Music Awards wins, with Aerosmith taking home the prize for Best Rock and the Prodigy for Best Dance. The Beastie Boys bested Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliot, Pras, and Puff Daddy in the Best Rap category, while Best Male honors went to Robbie Williams, former member of boy-group Take That. Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn" received the Best Song nod, and Massive Attack took the Best Video honors for its video "Tear Drop."

The biggest snub of the evening went to All Saints, who went into the ceremony with four nominations under their belts and ended up with just one award: Breakthrough Artist. Pregnant All Saint Mel Blatt didn't appear at the ceremony, but the remaining three did perform a risqué rendition of LaBelle's "Lady Marmalade," sans the rumored "special guest" who was to take Blatt's place. Naturally, Patti LaBelle's name had been whispered, but the true identity of the guest was never revealed, the absence explained away by scheduling conflicts.

The Milan ceremony included the Free Your Mind award, given to organizations that advance human rights. Serbian radio station Radio B92, based in Belgrade, accepted this year's honor from presenter Michael Stipe.

Complete list of MTV Europe Music Awards winners:

Best Male: Robbie Williams
Best Group: Spice Girls
Best Dance: Prodigy
Best Song: Natalie Imbruglia—"Torn"
Best Rock: Aerosmith
Best Female: Madonna
Best New Pop Album: Spice Girls
Breakthrough Artist: All Saints
Best Rap: Beastie Boys
Best New Album: Madonna—"Ray of Light"
Best Video: Massive Attack—"Tear Drop"
Free Your Mind: Radio B92
- Wall Of Sound

Scary Spice, a.k.a. Melanie Brown, has become the first member of the bubblegum supergroup to exercise her Girl Power by taking that long walk down the aisle. Mel B, 23, reportedly married dancer Jimmy Gulzar in a super-secret ceremony in the tiny English village of Little Marlow on Sunday.

According to the British media, the blushing bride went traditional, or as much as one can while sporting a tongue piercing and swelling belly (she's about four months pregnant). It was truly a white wedding as Scary reportedly donned a form-fitting, cleavage-bearing white wedding gown with leopard-print trim. Her groom and 150-plus guests all followed suit, dressing in their finest white duds for the ceremony, which took place in the white lily-filled 12th century St. John the Baptist Church.

For something borrowed, Scary reportedly wore antique earrings from her mother; something blue was a garter courtesy of bandmate Baby Spice Emma Bunton. Scary's father gave her away.

The 40-minute service featured a rendition of Bob Marley's "One Love" and two traditional hymns. And apparently all Scary wanted, all she really, really wanted was to tie the knot, as she reportedly broke into tears and expressed her happiness soon after the nuptials.

A reception followed at Scary's ultra-luxe $4 million mansion located next door to the church, but fans and the media were kept away by airtight security and a huge tent that ensured the happy couple their privacy.

Scary and Gulzar met earlier this year, and the groom proposed after only seven weeks. And while Baby, Sporty, and Posh, who is also expecting, were all on hand to share the happy occasion, Geri Halliwell, the onetime Ginger Spice who left the group in June, reportedly wasn't invited.

Here Is The Full List Of Winners At The MTV VMA Awards:

Video Of The Year

Madonna-Ray Of Light

Best Male Video

Will Smith-Just The Two Of Us

Best Female Video

Madonna-Ray Of Light

Best Group Video

Backstreet Boys-Everybody (Backstreet's Back)

Best Rap Video

Will Smith-Gettin' Jiggy Wit It

Best Alternative Video

Green Day-Time Of Your Life (Good Riddance)

Best Rock Video

Aerosmith-Pink

Best New Artist

Natalie Imbruglia-Torn

Viewer's Choice Award

Puff Daddy & The Family featuring The Lox, Lil' Kim, The Notorious B.I.G. and fuzzbubble-It's All About the Benjamins (Rock Remix)

Breakthrough Video

Prodigy-Smack My Bitch Up

Best Rhythm And Blues Video

Wyclef Jean featuring Refugee Allstars-Gone Till November

Best Dance Video

Prodigy-Smack My Bitch Up

Best Video From A Movie

Aerosmith-I Don't Want To Miss A Thing

Best Direction

Madonna-Ray Of Light

Best Choreography Madonna-Ray Of Light

Best Special Effects

Madonna-Frozen

Best Art Direction

Bjork-Bachelorette

Best Editing

Madonna-Ray Of Light

Best Cinematography

Fiona Apple-Criminal
-By The Associated Press

It was a star-studded event last night as the 1998 Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards rolled through Santa Monica's Civic Auditorium in California, with hosts L.L. Cool J, Brian McKnight and teen star Brandy.

Brandy took the opportunity to perform the remixed version of her "Top of the World" single for the first time, along with Big Pun and Fat Joe.

Newcomer's Destiny's Child were the big winners of the night with three awards, followed closely by Erykah Badu, who took home two. Other winners include Mary J. Blige for her "Share My World" album, and Lil' Kim for her "Not Tonight (Ladies Night)."

Stellar performances by Maxwell, Monica, and Mariah Carey with Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz were highlights of the evening, and Carey also accepted the Aretha Franklin Award for Entertainer of the Year from actor/comedian Chris Tucker.

As part of the show, Deborah Cox, Ronald Isley, Montell Jordan and Kelly Price took the stage to pay tribute to Chaka Khan, the recipient of this year's Lena Horne Award for Outstanding Career Achievement.

Other artists who came out for the gala event included Jon B., Bill Bellamy, Chico De Barge, Next, Queen Pen, Foxy Brown and Charli Baltimore.

When dreaming up the soundtrack for The Prince of Egypt, DreamWorks execs made a wish list of artists to sing the big song, When You Believe. Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston each got a special screening of the film-in-progress and agreed to be involved, says Michael Austin of DreamWorks Records. "Getting permission was complicated," he says, because the divas record for other labels. But the mission was accomplished, and the soundtrack's due in November. Who'll get star billing? Austin says half the albums will have Houston's name ahead of Carey's; half will bill Carey first.
-USA Today

The halo around British quartet All Saints is becoming slightly tarnished. According to the British paper News of the World, the "I Know Where It's At" singers are being sued by two American songwriters who claim they wrote the foursome's ballad "Never Ever," which peaked at No. 5 and is currently No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Sean Mather and Robert Jazayeri assert that they recorded the tune with All Saints co-founder and singer Shaznay Lewis in 1996, then weren't listed in the credits of the song, which has sold more than 3 million copies. Lewis apparently intends to refute their claim.

In other All Saints news, the women recently had a spot of trouble during their promotional stint in L.A. Their scheduled show in Venice Beach, last Friday—an anti-violence benefit—was canceled by authorities because the band had failed to obtain a permit to perform. Ticketholders were irate, though their consternation was appeased somewhat when the lasses went out to sign autographs. Now back in the U.K. to boost their new single "Bootie Call," the Saints have promised to return—probably later than sooner seeing as singer Mel Blatt is due to give birth in the near future.
-Wall Of Sound

The Spice Girls seem to be exercising one of the more conventional uses of their famed Girl Power: motherhood. There's a baby boom sweeping the bubblegum band, with not one but two members reportedly in the family way.

Last Friday, Britain's Sun newspaper reported that Posh Spice, a.k.a. Victoria Adams, was three months pregnant with her first child (soccer star David Beckham is the proud pop). Now word is that Scary Spice, a.k.a. Melanie Brown, and her fiancé, dancer Jimmy Gulzar, are also awaiting the miracle of life.

London's News of the World said on Sunday that the 23-year-old Scary will be the first Spice to give birth. "I'm not saying yes, and I'm not saying no," the paper quoted her as saying. "How did you find out?" asked her father. "You're the first."

Scary and Jimmy are delighted by the news, says the paper, which claims the singer is already installing a nursery in her new home. The couple reportedly plans to marry in the next few weeks.

But will the double pregnancy mean the end of the supergroup, which has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and topped the charts in more than 40 countries? The Spices are reportedly holding a "crisis" meeting to figure out what the littlest flavors will mean for their future, but for now the girls are playing it coy with the media.

"We are sisters and love each other, and love being together as a band and as friends. We plan to continue on, perhaps adding two new members to the Spice family," the four said in a statement on Monday. "Until such a time as we are sure of our news and ready to make a statement we would like to appeal to people to give us privacy during this time."

A spokeswoman for the band would not comment on the pregnancies, saying only that a woman can be both a mother and an international music star. "It has been done before. Madonna has had a baby and carried on with her career, and there have been lots of others," the mouthpiece said. "If anyone can do it, the Spice Girls can."

The Spice Girls, who recently became a quartet after Ginger Spice, a.k.a. Geri Halliwell, decided to depart, are currently wrapping up their U.S. tour. Next month, they head home to London to perform three sold-out shows and resume work on their next album. The flack says rumors of the band's breakup have been greatly exaggerated.

"They have already recorded their Christmas single, and the third album will be released next year," says the spokeswoman. "Singles from that album will be released in the following 10 months, so there is plenty to keep them going."
-Wall Of Sound

Baby Spice better watch her back—there may be a new infant in town. The British media is reporting that 24-year-old Posh Spice, a.k.a. Victoria Adams, is three months pregnant by her fiancé, soccer player David Beckham, 23.

According to the London Sun, Posh was forced to reveal the spicy bun in her oven to Sporty, Scary, and Baby after suffering bouts of morning sickness during the bubblegum band's American tour. But don't expect the group, which became a quartet in May when Ginger Spice decided to go solo, to lose another member.

The paper says the allegedly expectant mom met with the other Spices and opted to exercise her girl power and stay with the band. And while the Spice's high-energy onstage dance moves and revealing outfits probably won't mesh with Posh's allegedly expanding waistline, for now she plans to carry on with the tour, which wraps next month with sold-out shows in London.

The Sun claims the pregnancy was a happy surprise, and says that both Adams and Beckham are thrilled. The couple announced their engagement in January, and planned to tie the knot in the summer of 1999. But the arrival of the pitter-patter of little feet will reportedly mean a change of date, with the duo now set to say "I do" shortly after the baby's birth at the beginning of the year.

There's still no official confirmation of the blessed event, with Beckham saying only, "I'd rather not talk about it."
-Wall Of Sound

Singer Faith Evans, the widow of rapper Biggie Smalls, gets a few things off her chest in the new issue of "Elle" magazine, which arrives next week.

For one thing, she claims she hasn't been paid a dime's worth of royalties by Puffy Combs' Bad Boy Records for her work on the smash hit single "I'll Be Missing You" or her now three-year-old solo album.

A Bad Boy spokesman notes that proceeds from the "I'll Be Missing You" single went to charity and to a trust fund for Biggie's children, one of whom he had with Evans. The spokesperson went on to say that royalties from the singer's solo album, on the other hand, had been withheld during what was called "negotiations," but that all issues have now been resolved. Everyone is, according to Bad Boy, "As happy as can be."

In the magazine, Evans also notes that after she learned that raunchy rapper Li'l Kim had had an affair with her husband, she went down to Puffy's studio and "beat Kim upŠ for the first time." Li'l Kim's camp refused to comment on that story. These revelations and many others can be found when the new issue of "Elle" hits newsstands a week from this Saturday.
-MTV News Online

Its been a fast and furious year of fame and frenzy for the Backstreet Boys, as their debut album, released nearly a year ago, is still a Top 10 hit, and their current tour is playing to sold-out houses.

Probably best of all for the group, though, is the fact that 23-year-old vocalist Brian Littrell is still alive and well. Littrell underwent two and a half hours of open-heart surgery earlier in the year to correct a congenital heart defect.

Now that Littrell's back on his feet, the singer told MTV News that he's putting a new premium on staying healthy. "The one thing I've learned," Littrell said, "is that when we need to eat, I just have to say, 'Leave me alone. I'm sorry, leave me alone. I want to eat. Because the doctor said I've got to eat.' Because at the age of 23, the doctors were even finding fatty deposits in one of my arteries ... because of all the McDonald's that we eat out on the road."
-MTV News

Japan's Dreams Come True is finishing up their debut mini-tour of North America attracting attention that's catching many people by suprise. The pop band were mobbed in downtown Vancouver yesterday by over 3000 autograph seekers who blocked traffic and generally, albeit innocently, wrecked havoc by their unexpected presence. The group was appearing at a local record store to promote tonight's final concert on these shores and in particular to promote their debut U.S. CD release,"Sing or Die." It worked. By the end of the day, the shelves were bare - there wasn't a record to be had.

"In our terms," says Virgin rep Sherry Sinclair, "it's like Madonna coming here." Indeed, the Madonna analogy is a good one - the pop/dance act features a strong performance from female vocalist Miwa Yoshida who co-founded the group with bandmate Masato "Masa" Nakamura.

"Sing or Die" may be the North American debut for the band, and their first English album, but according to Virgin Records spokespeople Dreams Come True have already sold a total of 25 million copies of their nine previous Japanese albums, as well as 16 million copies of their singles.

In Vancouver, tickets for their live appearance, being staged in a woefully undersized venue holding with just 1000 seats, sold out in just a couple of hours, long before the snowballing hype began tipping off any new fans. Similar scenarios took place at the band's handful of other stops including the Paradise in Boston, New York's Irving Plaza, Washington D.C.'s 9:30 Club, Los Angeles' El Rey Theatre and San Francisco's Fillmore.
-MTV News

Connie's Opinion: Cool music group...I heard of them a couple years ago and they sing really well! Too bad, I missed their concert last week in San Francisco!

The Spice Girls are known to be animated characters, but a new "Spice World" game for the Sony PlayStation gives the phrase a whole new meaning.

Released in coordination with the Spice Girls current tour of the U.S., the Sony PlayStation game is designed to reach out to a virgin market in the game industry - pre-adolescent girls.

As part of the "Spice World" game, players assume the identity of any of the Spice Girls, including the departed Ginger Spice, and choreograph dance routines and mix music samples for a virtual concert.

For die-hard fans, "Spice World" also features some 30 minutes never-before-seen interviews with the group, as well as footage of the girls in concert and backstage.

We can only hope that a similarly-themed, yet infintely more twisted game will emerge Marilyn Manson will accompany the release of his new album, "Mechanical Animals."
-MTV News

Destiny's Child leads the nominees for the fourth annual Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards. The Columbia newcomer scored four nominations: best R&B/soul single by a group, band, or duo; R&B/soul album of the year by a group, band or duo; R&B/soul or rap song of the year; and best R&B/soul or rap new artist. Other multiple nominees are Janet Jackson and Erykah Badu, with three each, and Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige, SWV, and Changing Faces, with two each. In addition, Chaka Khan will receive the Lena Horne Award for career achievement, and Mariah Carey will receive the Aretha Franklin Award for entertainer of the year.

The Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards will be presented Sept. 3 at the Santa Monica (Calif.) Civic Auditorium and will air live on the East Coast and be tape-delayed for the West Coast. The show is produced and syndicated by Tribune Entertainment Co.
- Julie Taraska (Billboard Online News)

Surprise guests will join Celine Dion for duets at select cities on the North American leg of her "Let's Talk About Love" tour, according to Billboard Bulletin. Barry Garber, Dion's international agent and president of CDA in Montreal, hints that the guests will include artists who sang duets with Dion on her 550/Epic album "Let's Talk About Love";these include Barbra Streisand and Luciano Pavarotti. More than 600,000 tickets worth $30 million have sold for the 30-date tour, which starts Aug. 21 in Boston. In addition, all 20,000 tickets for the newly added date of Oct. 3 in Ft.Lauderdale, Fla., sold out in less than two hours.
- Julie Taraska (Billboard Online News)

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