Briefly: Jessica Simpson, Maze, 'American Idol,' Athens Olympics album

A pilot for an ABC-TV sitcom starring Jessica Simpson has been rejected by the network's brass, according to published reports.

The series reportedly cast Simpson as a pop star who becomes an interviewer for a television newsmagazine.

Though the sitcom is apparently on the shelf for now, Simpson reportedly will play Daisy Duke in a big-screen version of "The Dukes of Hazzard."

* * *

An Aug. 10 release date has been scheduled for Maze featuring Frankie Beverly's "Greatest Hits." The Right Stuff/EMI Records is billing the set, which contains 18 tracks, as "the most comprehensive collection of Maze hits ever compiled onto a single CD."

* * *

Eight finalists from the current season of the Fox-TV series "American Idol" will perform this weekend during festivities surrounding the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, NC.

Saturday's (5/29) performers will include LaToya London, Jasmine Trias, John Stevens, George Huff, Jennifer Hudson, Jon Peter Lewis, Camile Velasco and Amy Adams.

* * *

"Unity," the official pop album of the Athens 2004 Olympics, will be released in the U.S. on Aug. 10.

Contributors to the album's 16 tracks hail from 15 countries across four continents, including Lenny Kravitz, Sting, Destiny's Child, Avril Lavigne, Tarkan and Kadim Al Sahir.