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Rapper Jadakiss tops Billboard 200

NEW YORK, June 30 (UPI) -- Jadakiss knocked the Beastie Boys from the No. 1 spot on Billboard's U.S. Top 200 chart with "Kiss of Death," the rapper's sophomore CD.

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"Kiss of Death" sold 246,000 copies in the United States during its first week to secure the top spot on the music chart, Billboard reported Wednesday.

Usher's "Confessions" held steady at No. 2 for the third week by selling 146,000 copies.

Last week's chart-topping Beastie Boys sold 143,000 copies of "To the 5 Boroughs" for the No. 3 spot.

R&B newcomer JoJo debuted at No. 4 with her self-titled CD, Prince's "Musicology," was No. 5 and country's Gretchen Wilson was No. 6 with "Here for the Party."

The soundtrack for "Spider-Man 2," which opened Wednesday, was No. 7, with Wilco's "A Ghost Is Born" opening at No. 8.

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Velvet Revolver's "Contraband" and Avril Lavigne's "Under My Skin" held the No. 9 and No. 10 spots, respectively.


Beyoncé, OutKast win big at BET awards

LOS ANGELES, June 30 (UPI) -- Beyoncé, OutKast and Usher were the top winners, with two trophies each, at the BET Awards held in Los Angeles.

The Destiny's Child star won for best female R&B artist and best collaboration honors for "Crazy in Love" with Jay-Z; Usher was named best male R&B artist and won the viewer's choice for "Yeah!" with Ludacris and Lil Jon; and OutKast won for best group and top video for "Hey Ya!," Billboard.com reported Wednesday.

Other top winners were Kanye West as top new artist and gospel's Yolanda Adams who won the trophy in her category for the third time, the first artist to achieve that feat in the show's four-year history.

Denzel Washington and Halle Berry were named top actor and actress, respectively.

LeBron James of the National Basketball Association's Cleveland Cavaliers and tennis' Serena Williams were named top athletes.

The BET Awards were held Tuesday at Hollywood's Kodak Theater.


Movie academy invites new members

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., June 30 (UPI) -- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited 127 filmmakers -- including Sean Penn and Sofia Coppola -- to become members.

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Invitations were extended to actors Paul Bettany, Patricia Clarkson, Scarlett Johansson, Viggo Mortensen, Ken Watanabe and Treat Williams. Directors Gurinder Chadha and Peter Chelsom were also invited to join the academy.

Coppola was invited both as a director and as a writer, but she may only accept one invitation.

"This remarkably accomplished group is a slightly smaller one than we've extended invitations to in recent years," said academy President Frank Pierson. "It reflects a decision we've made to slow the growth of the academy somewhat, and to become even more selective in our membership process."

Pierson said entrance standards had been tightened in recent years, but academy branch committees could still offer membership to candidates who "met just the minimum criteria" for admission.

"Now we are asking the committees each year to 'give us your most impressive candidates,'" said Pierson. "The idea is that over the next 20 years or so we'll bring about an academy that is as distinguished as we can possibly make it."

Plans call for maintaining academy voting membership at a level of about 5,880.


Producers want Shatner back on Enterprise

LOS ANGELES, June 30 (UPI) -- The producers of "Star Trek: Enterprise" reportedly want Captain Kirk to beam aboard the UPN spin-off in an effort to boost ratings.

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Executive Producers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga plan to ask actors from previous "Star Trek" series, including William Shatner, to guest star on the UPN show, New York Post reported Wednesday.

Shatner, however, has landed a starring role in David Kelley's spin-off of "The Practice," which could make his appearance on another series difficult.

"Brannon and I have plans within the next few weeks of sitting down with Bill and discussing some possible ways of his being involved in this season of 'Enterprise,'" Berman told the Post.

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