The Black Eyed Peas' will.I.am said he wanted to bring fresh life into the career of Brazilian music master Sergio Mendes, and is he ever! Not only is their collaboration yielding the forthcoming 'Timeless' album -- it also has Mendes getting ready to set out on a major world tour in 2006.

Along for the trek will be Mendes' songstress wife Gracinha Leporace, plus some hip-hop and rap talents to perform the striking new renditions of Mendes' favorites found on the Valentine's Day release produced by will.I.am. 'Course, there's no telling what superstar pals might stroll onstage at certain engagements. 'Timeless' features names including The Black Eyed Peas, Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Justin Timberlake, Jill Scott, India.Arie, Q-tip, and R&B 'It' Artist John Legend.

Mendes tells us it started with a phone call he got about three years ago from the president of A&M Records, telling him that the leader of the Black Eyed Peas wanted to 'come to my house to see me. I said, 'Sure.' He walks in with a bunch of old vinyls of mine -- even before Brasil '66, the old Atlantic instrumentals. He said, 'As a kid here in L.A., I discovered your music and it changed my life.'

Mendes subsequently guested on the Black Eyed Peas' 'Elephunk' album at the invitation of will.I.am. The 30-year-old music whiz kid and the Latin legend, who's roughly twice his age, became friends and will.I.am signed Mendes to his I.Am.Music talent roster. Next came collaborating on the full album of 'hip-hop samba bossa nova urban classico' as will.I.am describes it. 'Once word got out that we were working together, people started wanting to work with us,' says Sergio. In less than three months, they had the recording he calls 'adventurous and different' and most people are bound to call sexy. It's being released by Concord Records/Starbucks Hear Music.

KNOWING WHEN TO FOLD 'EM: 'It's not really a game. It's a study of humanity and what level of calculated risks somebody will take to possibly change their life,' says comedian Howie Mandel of his latest hosting gig, 'Deal or No Deal,' airing next week on NBC. On the show, contestants choose one briefcase out of 26. They must either stay with their original choice or make a 'deal' to accept a cash offer in exchange for whatever dollar amount is in their case. 'I had my mom and my kids at the taping and everybody went nuts. Everybody gets involved in the game because you watch these people, who one minute are ecstatic, and the next minute are passing out because they may have made the wrong decision,' he tell us. 'It's played in 41 countries and in most of the places it's number one. In Spain, the King actually offered the host millions of dollars to stop playing because it was knocking his own broadcast station off of primetime.'

With Mandel doing over 200 live stand-up?gigs a year, he was just happy he got a chance to be a part of?'Deal.' 'When I was taping the show, I was on stage in Hollywood until 8:15 at night. Then I'd have to be on stage at 9:30 at the MGM in Vegas,' he explains. 'They'd cut, run me upstairs to the roof to a helicopter, and it would land at the airport where I'd get on a plane to Vegas. It was quite an experience.'

RACHAEL'S WAY: With her quick wit, blond hair, and thick-framed glasses, it's hard to forget comedian Rachael Harris, who has become a staple on VH1. Next up for the actress is the Christopher Guest flick 'For Your Consideration,' which comes out next year. 'I play an actress in the movie whose love interest is Parker Posey,' notes Harris. Having already portrayed a lesbian in Will Ferrell's 'Kicking & Screaming,' she jokes, 'Yeah, I've cornered the market on lesbians.' When asked what we can expect from the movie, she responds, 'It's all about Hollywood and what happens when three people possibly get nominated for an Oscar. They don't even get nominated for sure. It's just the buzz about what happens.' The cast, of course, includes the typical Guest lineup -- Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Michael McKean, and Jennifer Coolidge. Harris adds, 'I've had small parts in 'Best in Show' and 'A Mighty Wind' so this time to be able to do something more substantial was great. It's truly an honor to be a part of that group.'

NOW THERE'S AN IDEA: A late January production start has been set for 'The Genius Club,' writer-producer Tim Chey's unique movie, in which a demented soul has a nuclear bomb set to go off on Christmas day -- unless the President of the United States and a group of the world's greatest minds can come up with solutions to the world's problems in one single night. We're told those problems include hunger, war, cancer, terrorism, the meaning of life, rush hour traffic, and jerks.