Photo: Kravitz/FilmMagic

• Despite reports that Chris Brown would be “erased” from the promotion of Takers (formerly Bone Deep), co-star T.I. says the beleaguered R&B star will still appear in ads, MTV reports. “Nah man, that can’t be further from the truth,” the rapper said. “There’s no validity to that statement. I’m [an executive producer] on the movie and I ain’t put forth no sort of order or request, man.” (Of course, T.I. will likely be in prison during the promotion of the film, so it remains to be seen how much input he’ll have into its promotion.)
• Lil Wayne has been ordered to turn over Tha Carter III financial records after a publishing company accused the rapper of using an uncleared sample of Karma-Ann Swanepoel’s song “Once” in the Weezy track “I Feel Like Dying.” While the track wasn’t used on TC3, it was performed in concert and was available as a free download on Wayne’s site to promote the album, according to XXL.
• Looking to cash in on the massive American Idol audience, NBC is plotting their own singing competition. The Sing Off will be an a cappella style singing reality series, Billboard.biz reports. While no launch date is set, the show will likely premiere during the AI off-season.
• With no major new releases out this week, Kelly Clarkson’s All I Ever Wanted is once again expected to top the charts, despite estimated sales below the 100,000 mark. Only one debut, Gorilla Zoe’s Don’t Feed Da Animals, is expected to infiltrate the Top 10, Billboard.biz writes.