NFL season kicks off with free NYC concert (AP)

AP - Usher, Keith Urban and Natasha Bedingfield are kicking off the NFL season with a free concert that’s expected to draw thousands to Manhattan’s Columbus Circle.

Target Scores Aguilera Hits Album Exclusive
Target and Target.com will be the sole retailers to carry Christina Aguilera’s first greatest hits collection, “Keeps Gettin’ Better – A Decade of Hits,” due Nov. 11 via RCA.

New Kids On The Block hope new album has right stuff (Reuters)

Reuters - Hit ’80s boy band New Kids On The Block are no longer kids, but all five men are hoping they still have the “right stuff” after reuniting and releasing their first album in 14 years this week.

Pearl Jam musician prepares solo debut (Reuters)
Reuters - Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament will unveil his first solo album on September 16 via the band’s Ten Club fan organization and select U.S. indie retailers.

Hendrix, Beatles, Elvis memorabilia up for auction (AP)

AP - A guitar burned onstage by Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles’ first contract with Brian Epstein are up for sale Thursday, and auctioneers predict bidding could run to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Weekly wrap-up of entertainment quotes (AP)

AP - “I’m excited; I feel like I’m going to sign for a new car and I don’t need a co-signer this time.” — Young Jeezy, on registering to vote.

Q&A: Young Jeezy gets political with his new CD (AP)

AP - Young Jeezy may seem like an unlikely political commentator, given his status as a gangsta rapper. But on his new CD, “The Recession,” he talks about more than just hustling, putting in his two cents about the economy, struggling times and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Metal band Slipknot scores first chart-topper (Reuters)
Reuters - Masked metal band Slipknot narrowly beat rapper the Game to claim top honors on the U.S. pop album chart Wednesday.

Judge refuses to dismiss case against Spears (AP)

AP - A judge on Wednesday refused to dismiss a misdemeanor driving without-a-valid-license case against Britney Spears.

Levine on track to make return at the Met (AP)
AP - Conductor James Levine is on track to return to the podium this month at New York’s Metropolitan Opera after cancer surgery.

Vivendi Keeps 2008 Outlook
Vivendi, armed with a fresh contract with The Rolling Stones and its new Activision Blizzard gaming venture, kept its 2008 profit goal as it posted a rise in second-quarter underlying earnings.

Nokia Set For “Comes With Music” Launch
After months of speculation, Nokia has finally disclosed that the United Kingdom will be the first territory to offer its all-you-can-eat “Comes With Music” digital music service.

Sixx Speaks Out For National Recovery Month
Last September, Nikki Sixx’s harrowing memoir of addiction, “The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star,” debuted at No. 7 on the New York Times Book Review nonfiction best-seller list. A year later, reception for “Diaries” is still warm.

The Verve Storms To No. 1 U.K. Debut
The reunited Verve delivered a No. 1 U.K. album for Parlophone/EMI on Sunday (Aug. 31) as “Forth” debuted at the top. In a double for EMI labels, Virgin’s Katy Perry started a fourth week at the singles chart summit with “I Kissed a Girl.”

Nash Named Senior VP At EMI
Richard Nash has been appointed senior VP of urban promotion for EMI Music in North America.

Winehouse May Face French Lawsuit
Amy Winehouse is facing the threat of legal action after failing to perform at French festival Rock en Seine on Friday (Aug. 29).