ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

POP/ROCK

L.A. Continues Its Grammy Awards Streak

The Grammys are headed to Los Angeles for the fourth consecutive year.

Organizers of the music awards gala will stage a press conference today at Staples Center to announce the venue will host the 44th annual edition of the awards in February. Mary J. Blige, Dave Koz and Tyrese will be on hand, as will Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn.

The streak of West Coast shows is an apparent break from the stated goal of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences to alternate the show’s stagings between New York and L.A.--the two corporate hubs of the music industry.

Jay-Z Pleads Guiltyto Stabbing Producer

Grammy Award-winning rap superstar Jay-Z was sentenced to three years probation at Manhattan’s State Supreme Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault.

Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, admitted he stabbed record producer Lance “Un” Rivera on Dec. 1, 1999, at Manhattan’s Kit Kat Klub. Carter had accused Rivera of distributing bootlegged copies of an album by the rapper.

Rap, Patriotism Topthe Album Sales Chart

Brooklyn rapper Ja Rule’s “Pain Is Love” tops the nation’s album sales chart for the second straight week, selling 221,000 copies. Georgia rapper Bubba Sparxxx’s debut collection made the highest entry on the chart. According to SoundScan, his “Dark Days, Bright Nights” sold 132,000 to finish No. 3.

Enya and Lee Greenwood both continued to move up the chart thanks to a sales resurgence in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Enya’s “Day Without Rain,” which contains the inspirational hit single “Only Time,” sold 162,000 to finish No. 2. Greenwood’s 1991 album “American Patriot,” which contains the high-profile “God Bless the USA,” sold 69,000 last week, enough to place it No. 14. The nation’s best-selling single continues to be Whitney Houston’s “The Star Spangled Banner.”

TELEVISION

‘Smallville’ Opens Big for the WB Network

“Smallville,” the WB’s new coming-of-age Superman show, opened Tuesday with that network’s biggest audience ever for a series premiere. It attracted an estimated 8.4 million viewers on a national basis--good enough to beat both Fox and ABC in its hour.

In the Los Angeles area, where the WB (airing locally on KTLA) generally fares much better, “Smallville” was watched in more than 500,000 homes--good enough to place first in its time spot and even surpass NBC’s “Frasier.”

(The WB is part-owned by Tribune Co., which owns the Los Angeles Times.)

QUICK TAKES

Fox Television reports that its Friday edition of “America’s Most Wanted,” focusing on the new U.S. list of the world’s 22 most wanted terrorists, generated a record 1,400 e-mail and telephone tips. An average episode of the show, according to Fox, triggers 300-400 leads.... The new production of “Flower Drum Song,” currently playing at the Mark Taper Forum in downtown L.A., will open the Dallas Summer Musicals season next spring, said Michael A. Jenkins, president of the Texas group that is providing some money for the production. There may be another stop for the show prior to Broadway, where the show is expected to open in late summer next year.