$$$$ CHING CHING $$$$...

Ne-Yo has settled a $700,000 lawsuit filed in January against tour promoter Rowe Entertainment after he was dropped from an R. Kelly tour in late 2007, according to The Associated Press.

The young singer claimed that he was dropped from the tour after just two shows because he was upstaging R. Kelly; a rep for Kelly denied that claim and maintained that the matter was a contractual issue between Ne-Yo and the promoter. Kelly was not named in the lawsuit.

After Rowe Entertainment failed to respond to the lawsuit, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Malcolm Mackey ordered the company to pay Ne-Yo $700,320 last week.



Ne-Yo's new cd "Year Of The Gentlemen" hits stores Sept 16th! And you can catch him perform on Jimmy Kimmel LIVE on Sept 17th!

OOPS...WILL SHE DO IT AGAIN???


 

Will she or won't she? For weeks, that's been the buzz, and some of the most hard-core Britney Spears watchers have weighed in with opinions about what an appearance at this weekend's VMAs might do for the singer's career.

Well, now it's official: Britney will appear at Sunday's VMAs, which take place at Paramount Studios in Hollywood and begin at 9 p.m. ET. Although the pop star will not be performing, she will open the show.

The singer — who has been nominated for many VMAs but has not yet won one — be on hand to see if this year is her year. She's nominated for three awards: Best Female Video, Best Pop Video, and Video of the Year for "Piece of Me."

"MTV has long played an important role in my career," Spears said in a statement. "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."

It's unclear exactly what Britney has up her sleeve, but based on the singer's previous VMA appearances (check out some of Britney's past VMA performances right here), it's sure to leave people talking.

"Britney has done everything from perform with a snake, lock lips with Madonna and prove that what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas," Van Toffler, President of MTV Networks Music/ LOGO/ Films Group said. "I can't wait to see what she does to kick off this year's show."

Earlier this week, MTV News had some longtime Britney observers weigh on whether or not the singer should appear at the awards, and nearly all of them agreed that, as in previous years, if she wants to make an impression, the VMAs is the place to do it.

"If you want to make a big splash," Carson Daly said, "what better platform than the VMAs?"

Perez Hilton agreed, saying that all Britney needs to do is show up and smile. "That's what people want," he said. "They want to see her smiling. Even if all she does is smile and wave, I say that's mission accomplished."