Say Goodbye to Miss J. Alexander and hello to Mr. Andre Leon Talley.

For her new season, Tyra Banks is mixing things up on her top-rated show 'America's Next Top Model.'

The 90-minute premiere of Cycle 14 of the CW model competition series will kick off on Mar.10 with some new line-up changes. It was officially announced by the network today.

Talley, Vogue magazine's long-time editor and Anna Wintour's right-hand man, will serve as a regular judge alongside Banks, photographer Nigel Barker and a rotating weekly guest judge. Miss J., in the meantime, will relinquish his role as a judge and instead mentor the thirteen hopefuls – a role he is thrilled to move into.

Drake, hip hop's most hyped lyricist of the moment, will headline his first North American solo tour this spring.

According to his spokesperson, the Grammy Award nominated Lil Wayne-cohort will take fellow Canadian rapper K-OS and New York City based synth-pop band Francis & The Light out on 'The Away From Home Tour," starting April 5 in a city to be determined.

This marks the 23-year old's first concert outing since tearing his ACL (knee ligament) while performing as part of Lil Wayne's 'Young Money Presents: America's Most Wanted' music festival last July.

He's since had to endure knee surgery and undergo rehabiitiation and thereby took a brief hiatus from recording his eagerly anticipated debut album, which may finally see the light of day next month.

The upcoming 25-city tour is in tandem with The Campus Consciousness tour, hitting colleges & Universities across the country and promoting green technology. Not only will the former 'Degrassi' star's tour bus use bio-diesel, but he's also decided to adopt biodegradable and recyclable products on the bus and backstage.

Drake has also vowed to make his tour rider agreement more eco-friendly.

Grammy Award-winning crooner Usher changing the release date of his forthcoming album, 'Raymond vs. Raymond,' from Dec. 21 to March 30 has led some to believe that the hold up is over the singer's current management situation.

The New York Daily News reports Usher's label, Jive Records, is reluctant to release the album without a proper management firm in place.

Unfortunately the 'You Got It Bad' singer gave his mom turned former manager, Jonetta Patton the pink slip for the second time late last year due to his alleged new girlfriend Grace Miguel, said a source.

Tyler Perry's impeccable talent for theater and screenplay has catapulted him into the height of Hollywood's elite fleet of producers. Not to mention, the New Orleans native has a distinctive ear to detect and mesh the perfect song to compliment his various projects.

However, not everyone is thrilled with Perry's work, especially if they're being ripped off as one songwriter recently claims.

According to TMZ, a lawsuit was filed by Johnny Tyrone Stringfield on Feb. 3 in a Los Angeles federal courtroom, stating the 'Diary of a Mad Black Woman' creator lifted the lyrics from his 2008 copyrighted song titled, 'I Got Away.'

Apparently the gospel track was used in an 2009 episode of Perry's TBS network series 'Meet the Browns,' in which Stringfield states several of the show's characters belted out the lyrics "The Devil thought he had me ... but I got away."

And Stringfield is not letting Perry get away with it, either.

OUR ROOTS RUN DEEPRoots phrenology
You'd think that NBC would lay low after all the bad press following the Conan O'Brien-Leno Leno late-night fiasco. But the network just can't get it together. The Roots drummer Questlove always Tweets things he finds funny. Yesterday, the 'Late Night With Jimmy Fallon' backing band member decided to post a picture of the NBC cafeteria's "black history month menu," which featured fried chicken, black-eyed peas, collard greens with smoked turkey and jalapeno cornbread. Well, having a million-plus followers gets lots of attention. An NBC public relations executive took down the sign and even apologized for offending people. But the African American cook who made the menu put up a video, letting the world know that she doesn't see what the fuss is all about. So, it's anyone's guess if the Black History Month cafeteria specials will be back at NBC later this month. [New York Mag]

*****

Tyler Perrys house of Payne

This month, 'My Manny' starring 'Hustle & Flow' actress Elise Neal and 'ER' actor Sharif Atkins is returning for a third installment to TBS.

The sitcom is called a micro-series because it will air within commercial time during Tyler Perry's 'Meet the Browns,' every Wednesday evening for five consecutive weeks. This new type of programming is the network's way of retaining viewers during commercial breaks and integrating a brand through a natural story line.

Kirk Whalum's talents have taken him all over the world. He's worked with the likes of Luther Vandross, Whitney Houston, and Quincy Jones, to name a few.

He's an eight-time Grammy nominee and two-time Stellar Award winner. His uncle and nephew are both saxophonists (his nephew recently toured with Maxwell), his brother is a singer, and his son is a bassist and singer-songwriter.

Music is not only in Whalum's blood (he played the sax solo on 'I Will Always Love You'), but it's also a family affair.

His latest release, 'The Gospel According to Jazz III,' is slated for release next month via Rendezvous Records. This talented act isn't letting fame go to his head, though. He's humble and rooted in his faith. If you don't know, get familiar.

BV Newswire recently caught up with Whalum to talk all things music and where Whalum's most likely to find inspiration.