The NFL ushers in its 89th season with a giant celebration in its special free pregame event, “NFL Opening Kickoff 2008 Presented by EA Sports.” Usher, Keith Urban and Natasha Bedingfield will perform at the Kickoff concert event from New York City’s Columbus Circle on Thursday, September 4.

The event begins at 3:00 p.m. ET with a public screening of the New York Giants edition of “America’s Game,” with musical performances starting at approximately 4:00 p.m. and running until 6:45 p.m. Admission is free, tickets are not required, and all are welcome.

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Like the NFL teams beginning their new seasons, Usher is hoping to go all the way to the Super Bowl.

The R&B singer will perform the season’s kickoff concert on Thursday in New York’s Columbus Circle along with Keith Urban and Natasha Bedingfield. The 3 p.m. concert will be held just before the season opener, when the Washington Redskins take on the Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

At the kickoff concert, which will stream on NFL.com, Usher plans to perform “Here I Stand,” “Changing Places” and “What’s Your Name” with guest star will.i.am.

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The first music video ever shot with a 360 degree panoramic lens.

An example of the lengths Beijing has taken to project a perfect image for China during the Olympics. A 7-year-old girl was replaced after officials deemed her face was “not suitable” for the opening ceremony.

Instead, an older girl with a perfect smile lip-synced the words to “Ode to the Motherland,” which had been recorded by the youngster.

BLUEPRINT 3 from kwest on Vimeo.

The 22 year-old Filipino-Mexican-West-Indian-African-American graces two steamy covers for our August/September issue, which hits newsstands August 12. The cover flicks are just a tease—once inside the fold, you’ll be treated to the hottest photo shoot the pop princess has ever done, filled with wet-bikini shots, leather skirts, and our personal favorite: the cheek-y thong shots.

It’s been a few months since John Mayer showed off his Family Ties-inspired ’80s do and challenged PEOPLE readers to wax poetic about it with their very own hair haikus. And even after he brought his hairstyle back to the future, he still held onto his signature lush-locked look. But this past weekend the singer shocked and awed us when he sheared off his hair into an Army-issue buzz cut. We think that John looks pretty good no matter what…

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