Rihanna and Drake lead the pack at the MTV Video Music Awards with five nods each. Rihanna has two entries for video of the year - for her hit We Found Love and for her duet with Drake, Take Care. Others in the category include Katy Perry (who has four nominations in total) for Wide Awake and Gotye for Somebody That I Used to Know. The show, to be held on September 6, will feature performances from Alicia Keys and One Direction, who are up for best pop video. * AP
Ricky Martin to develop TV series
Fans of Ricky Martin, who is currently performing on Broadway in the musical Evita, may soon be able to see him from the comfort of their living rooms, as the Puerto Rican singer has signed on with the US network NBC. "We have signed him to develop and star in his first network TV series," said NBC's vice president Bela Bajaria. "Ricky is a superstar - and we are thrilled he will be adding TV star to his incredible résumé." * IANS
Snoop Dogg? No, it's Snoop Lion now
The hip-hop star Snoop Dogg has changed his wacky stage name to Snoop Lion during a visit to a Rastafarian temple in Jamaica, where he'd gone to record reggae tracks. "The high priest" at the temple told him his name was no longer Dogg. "He looked me in my eyes and said, 'No more. You are the lion'." The rapper, real name Calvin Broadus, said the change was part of a new reggae-driven direction in his long career. * AP
Fans of The Who redeem tickets for cancelled show - 33 years later
A group of hard-core fans of The Who will finally redeem tickets for a cancelled 1979 show in Providence, Rhode Island. The band plans to end its latest concert tour in February at the same venue where its show was cancelled 33 years ago. Organisers will honour the 1979 tickets and a handful of fans have already come forward for the trade. * AP
Online hit Dr Horrible to debut on TV
The US network CW is bringing the 2008 web hit Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog to television, as an hour-long special in October. The musical stars Neil Patrick Harris in the lead role, an inept would-be villain trying for world domination. Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day co-star. The web series (www.drhorrible.com) was created by Joss Whedon (The Avengers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer). * AP
Influential French film director Chris Marker dies
Chris Marker, an influential French filmmaker whose career spanned six decades, died on Monday. He was 91. President Francois Hollande led tributes to the director, whose large body of work includes the 1962 classic La Jetée - often described as one of the best time-travel films ever made and one that inspired the works of James Cameron and Terry Gilliam. In a statement, Hollande said Marker's films "will be remembered by history". * AP