People talk 5/21/03

Fans, friends hold vigil for stroke victim

DETROIT -- Fans and fellow singers held a candlelight vigil for R&B artist Luther Vandross, who's recovering from a stroke.

Aretha Franklin, a friend of Vandross, organized Monday night's event at the Little Rock Baptist Church.

"I felt he needed prayer, and he needed it now," said Franklin, who sang "Amazing Grace" for a crowd of 5,000 people.

Five weeks ago, Vandross was discovered in his New York apartment suffering the aftereffects of a stroke. He remains in the intensive care unit of the Weill Cornell Medical Center of New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

The Four Tops, Ortheia Barns, Franklin's sons, Kecalf and Eddie, Ursula Walker and Buddy Budson were among those on the program, The Detroit News reported Tuesday.

Vandross, 52, has written and produced songs for Franklin and designed several dresses for the 61-year-old singer to wear during her upcoming tour.

Pop star Avril Lavigne performs at school

DUNKIRK, N.Y. -- Pop singer Avril Lavigne performed a free concert for students at a high school that won a radio contest.

Teens flocked to the Dunkirk High School gymnasium Monday to hear the 18-year-old Canadian, who wore an oversized red T-shirt, baggy pants and a pair of vintage sunglasses.

"I think it's the fact she's our age and being herself," said junior Katie Abramowicz. "Her fame is not based on her looks. She's original in her music and the way she dresses."

The students won the regional High School Spirit Contest sponsored by Buffalo's Kiss 98.5 by collecting about 950,000 index cards with messages for troops in the Middle East.

Actor in drag racing movie likes the slow lane

NEW YORK -- Paul Walker stars in the drag racing movie "2 Fast 2 Furious," but there's nothing fast or furious about his social life.

"I'm pretty chill. I don't go out that much anymore," the 29-year-old actor tells Cosmo Girl! magazine for its June/July issue. "I just hang out with people I grew up with, go camping or have barbecues."

Walker says he spends as much time as he can with his 4-year-old daughter, Meadow, though he admits he was "really freaked out" at the prospect of being a dad.

"It's kind of like that Creed song that says, 'I don't know if I'm ready/To be the man I have to be.' Every day you find yourself scratching your head, going, 'Wow, am I really?"' he said.

-- From wire reports