Alicia Keys in 'Musical Cocoon' Working on Third Studio Album

Sounds like Alicia Keys finally has her much-anticipated third studio album cookin' on a front burner.  The multi-Grammy-winning singer's reps recently announced that because she's been busy in recent months concentrating on her acting commitments, the street date of her new CD was being pushed back from June to October. Now, however, "She's in a musical cocoon working on her ideas for the new album," reports renowned producer/musical director Ray Chew, a regular collaborator of the songstress.

Alicia Keys in 'Musical Cocoon' Working on Third Studio Album

Chew says he doesn't believe Keys' record label "is trying to tie her into a delivery date. I think they're allowing Alicia to do what Alicia does, write her songs and create her great recordings. She's proven to be an artist you can put out any time and she'll sell."

The longtime musical director of "Showtime at the Apollo," stresses that Keys' rep for delivering the goods is well earned. "I've worked with people going way back to Donny Hathaway, Diana Ross, Paul Simon, Chaka Khan, and nobody outworks this kid," says Chew. "A lot of artists think once they get somewhere, surrounded by publicity and all the stuff there is to do, that they've arrived, and a lot of them stop working at their craft. She continues to work and grow at her craft. Her success is the result of great talent married with a great work ethic."

Chew -- who was recently hired by Donald Trump as the musical director for Miss USA, Miss Teen USA and Miss Universe pageants -- also reveals that Keys' live performance at the Hollywood Bowl last year is on its way to DVD release. "I'm very proud of it," he notes. "She did Alicia Keys with a Harlem Renaissance theme incorporated into her hit songs, and I arranged and conducted a 64-piece Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. It's unique."

CAREER ON ICE: Despite Apolo Anton Ohno's recent dancing endeavors, he still has skating on the brain, and he tells us he's looking forward to going for gold once again in the 2010 Olympics.

"Right now I'm tied for having the most amount of Olympic medals ever won by any winter male Olympian, so it'd be fun to break the record. I'm just making sure that we have all the right support staff in order and all the right type of funding. If I did do it, I'd do it the way that I want to do it," he says about competing in the Olympic Games that will be held in Vancouver. The 24-year-old's passion for the sport is just as strong today as it was when he started over 10 years ago, he makes it clear. "What makes me the skater that I am today is that I don't get burnt out on it. I've got five Olympic medals, I've been to two Olympics, and it's just been a great ride," he notes.

In fact, Apolo's dedication is so strong that he tells us he plans on moving to Salt Lake City, Utah, after his stint on "Dancing With the Stars" in order to train. In the meantime, Apolo says he just hopes to take his recent exposure to help introduce new fans to the world of speed skating. "Obviously I'd like to be one of the ambassadors for my sport in the Olympic movement. I've been able to put a spotlight on that, and that's been wonderful."

OFFICE WORK: Steve Carell keeps going at an exhausting pace. He managed to make his upcoming "Evan Almighty" and "Dan in Real Life" movies between and around shooting episodes of his NBC "The Office" -- and he went on to start filming the big screen "Get Smart" in March, even before this season's "The Office" production was a wrap last month. With the schedule juggling -- and the fact they made two more episodes of the hit show this season than last, the "Office" team worked a more intense schedule than that of other half-hour shows.

"We used to have three weeks on and one off. This season we worked pretty much straight through," says Kate Flannery, a.k.a. alcoholic customer relations officer Meredith on the show. "I'm sure NBC would have us making more if it was possible."

It's a long way from the beginning of the show. "I still kept my restaurant job for the first season. I didn't know what was going to happen," confesses the actress and improv artist, who was a waitress at industry hangout Kate Mantilini's in Beverly Hills. "It's funny, they have this book of celebrities who come in -- and I'm in the book now!" With the season finale airing May 17 and show on hiatus until August, Flannery plans to do her one-woman "The Lampshade" comedy act onstage. "We're also developing it for another medium," she says.

THE INDUSTRY EYE: With an early June production start set -- following years of development -- for Benicio del Toro's Che Guevara epic, "The Argentine," subsidiary roles in the two-film saga are now being cast. The actors will need to be Spanish speakers, as "The Argentine" is to be filmed in Spanish by director Steven Soderbergh. Shooting is planned for Spain and Puerto Rico.

(With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster)