Mariah, Miley, Beyonc join voices to fight cancer

Mariah, Miley, Beyonc join voices to fight cancer

LOS ANGELES — What would it sound like if 15 of the hottest female singers joined voices?

The answer will be revealed Sept. 2.

That’s when “Just Stand Up” hits airwaves and iTunes. The song features Mariah Carey, Beyonc , Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Fergie, Sheryl Crow, Miley Cyrus, Melissa Etheridge, Ashanti, Natasha Bedingfield, Keyshia Cole, Ciara, Leona Lewis, LeAnn Rimes and Carrie Underwood. All sales of the star-studded single will benefit cancer research.

The charity tune was conceived by Antonio “L.A.” Reid, who produced it with longtime creative colleague Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds.

All 15 singers will share the stage to perform the song live Sept. 5 during the “Stand Up to Cancer” television special, set to air simultaneously on ABC, NBC and CBS. Other stars expected to turn out for the hourlong fund- and awareness-raising program include Jennifer Aniston, Lance Armstrong, Katie Couric, Sally Field, Salma Hayek, Meryl Streep, Forest Whitaker and Reese Witherspoon.

Founded in 2007, Stand Up to Cancer is a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation that calls on entertainment-industry people and platforms to help fight cancer.

Rihanna, Pink to sing at MTV awards show

NEW YORK — Rihanna is back for another performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, along with Pink, Paramore and T.I., who will be making his first appearance at a major awards show since his arrest right before an awards ceremony last year.

The VMAs are set for Sept. 7 in Los Angeles with British comedian Russell Brand as the host. Performers already announced include the Jonas Brothers, Lil Wayne and Kid Rock.

Rihanna, who appeared with Chris Brown to sing her song “Umbrella” at last year’s VMAs, is slated to perform her No. 1 hit “Disturbia”; Paramore plans to sing “Misery Business,” while Pink is scheduled to showcase her new song “Say What.”

“I can’t wait,” Pink said Thursday, adding that she plans to “blow stuff up.”

Rapper T.I.’s appearance will be noteworthy given that the last time he was scheduled to perform at an awards show, he was arrested instead.

He was apprehended in the parking last October before the BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta and accused of trying to buy machine guns and silencers; he was sentenced earlier this year to serve about a year in prison after completing at least 1,000 hours of community service. He has a new album out next month.

Today’s birthdays

Actor Kenny Baker (R2-D2 in “Star Wars”) is 74. Guitarist Mason Williams is 70. Singer Marshall Thompson of The Chi-Lites is 66. Keyboardist Ken Hensley of Uriah Heep is 63. Actor Joe Regalbuto (“Murphy Brown”) is 59. Actor Steve Guttenberg is 50. Talk-show host Craig Kilborn is 46. Singer John Bush (Anthrax) is 45. Actress Marlee Matlin is 43. Country singer Kristyn Osborn of SheDaisy is 38. Actor-comedian Dave Chappelle is 35. Actor Carmine Giovinazzo (“CSI: New York”) is 35. Actor Chad Michael Murray (“One Tree Hill,” “A Cinderella Story”) is 27. Actor Rupert Grint (“Harry Potter”) is 20.