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| Britney Spears To Kick Off <i>Circus</i> Tour In March Posted: 02 Dec 2008 06:10 AM PST Pop star announces 25 dates in North America and two in the U.K. next spring.
Britney Spears is hitting the road. After four years of sporadic live performances and no touring, the singer announced on "Good Morning America" Tuesday (December 2) the dates for a tour in support of her new album, Circus, which also drops Tuesday. The tour is slated to kick off on March 3 with a show at the New Orleans Arena in the singer's home state. The 25 North American dates represent the first string of live dates from Brit since a series of brief shows at the House of Blues last year, when she lip-synched to some of her biggest hits for 12-15 minutes at a time. The Pussycat Dolls will be the opening act on the tour, the American leg of which is currently slated to run through an April 28 show in Rosemont, Illinois. The tour will also include two June dates at the O2 Arena in London, according to BritneySpears.com. Unlike her limited promotion for 2007's Blackout album — for which Spears did practically no interviews or performances — Britney is going all-out for Circus, with a pair of high-gloss videos so far for the title track and the first single, "Womanizer," her tell-all MTV documentary, "For the Record," and a Rolling Stone magazine cover story. Dates for the Circus tour, according to Ticketmaster: · March 3 - New Orleans, LA @ New Orleans Arena (Tell us what you thought of Britney's documentary over on the Newsroom blog, or upload a video to YouRHere.MTV.com. "Britney: For the Record" will be re-airing throughout the week and will be available in its entirety on demand on MTV.com beginning Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.) Related Videos Related Artists |
| Kanye West-Produced Jay-Z Song Confirmed For Bad Boy's 'Notorious' Soundtrack Posted: 02 Dec 2008 05:00 AM PST There is also talk that the Notorious B.I.G.'s son will appear on a 'One More Chance' remake for the disc.
It would have to be Bad Boy. You can't imagine a Notorious B.I.G. project without some sort of association with Diddy's label. MTV News confirmed that the soundtrack to the Biggie biopic "Notorious" will, in fact, be released by Big's former recording home. Although most of the performers and producers are still being confirmed, an album trump card has already been revealed: Big's good friend Jay-Z. Hov has the first track we'll hear off the album, "Brooklyn (We Go Hard)." Kanye West produced the song, and Santogold is featured on it. "Brooklyn, we go hard, we go hard," Santo's voice loops throughout the song. "Cross that bridge face the consequence," she also raps in a verse. "If a man tests my Stuy, I guarantee he won't like my reply," the Jiggaman cautions. "I'm a Brooklyn boy, I may take some getting used to." There is also talk that Big's son, Christopher Wallace Jr., will appear on a remake of the classic "One More Chance." The capacity of CJ's participation is still unconfirmed by the label, but a source close to the Wallace family has told us he will be rapping with his dad. The young Wallace actually plays his father for a short while in the Biggie film. The soundtrack is due in stores January 13. The movie is slated for release January 16 through Fox Searchlight Pictures. MTV News had the opportunity to catch a preview of the movie last week. True to the testaments of Big's inner circle, such as Lil' Cease and producer Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie, Jamal "Gravy" Woolard accurately channels the late, great hip-hop icon. Gravy also has Big's husky voice down cold. While Biggie's death was tragic, the filmmakers were able to make a large portion of the movie upbeat as they portrayed the Notorious One's astronomic rise to the hip-hop elite. Related Artists |
| William Balfour Expected To Be Charged In Murders Of Jennifer Hudson's Relatives Posted: 01 Dec 2008 03:09 AM PST The suspect, who is the estranged husband of Hudson's sister, has been in custody since the slayings on a parole violation.
More than a month after the tragic murders of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew, Chicago police are expected to charge Hudson's sister's estranged husband, William Balfour, with the three homicides. According to a spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department, the 27-year-old Balfour, who has been in custody since the October 24 slayings on a parole violation, was transferred to Chicago police custody on Monday (December 1), after being served with an arrest warrant. Balfour was later transported to the Wentworth area, where he will be held pending approval of the charges by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. During a closed hearing last month, investigators presented evidence that Balfour had a gun matching the weapon used in the murders; he was scheduled for another parole violation hearing on Wednesday. The bodies of Hudson's mother, Darnell Hudson Donerson, and older brother, Jason, were discovered inside the home Hudson grew up in on Chicago's South Side on November 24. Donerson was 57 years old, and Jason was 29. Julian King, Hudson's young nephew, was reported missing soon after. Julian's body that was found in an SUV on Chicago's West Side the following Monday. All three victims died from multiple gunshot wounds. Balfour has been the sole suspect in the killings since they were first publicized. He has denied involvement to authorities, and his alibi on the day of the killings has been contradicted by his pregnant girlfriend, who was interviewed by police. A neighbor who lives on the block where Balfour was arrested claims he'd seen a man matching Balfour's description drive up in a white SUV and park on the block around noon on Friday, three hours after the slayings. The neighbor said the man reached into the glove compartment, got out of the car carrying what appeared to be a bottle of liquor and walked into the house where Balfour was later arrested. Related Artists |
| Could There Ever Be Another Britney Spears? Brit's Manager, TMZ Editor, Perez Hilton Weigh In Posted: 01 Dec 2008 04:35 AM PST Given the state of the music industry, will young pop stars follow in Brit's footsteps?
As Britney Spears seems poised to make a comeback this week, with the release of Circus on Tuesday and the premiere of her confessional documentary "For the Record," we're not the only ones asking: Could there ever be another Britney? The answer depends on how you define her. Is she an artist, a pop icon or a universal object of media fascination and concern? Some still see Spears as she was first presented to us: America's sweetheart, a wholesome, shy girl-next-door type. To others, she's a sexpot who started off as Lolita and moved on to every other male fantasy in the book. Her early success as a pop princess lay in her being a blank slate — nothing and everything at the same time — and it was up to the audience to determine who she really was. Many have said that given the fractured state of today's media landscape, another Britney-level icon is impossible. Plummeting CD sales have seriously hampered the ability of any recording artist to sustain a long-term career (Britney's has lasted for 10 years). The Internet has atomized attention spans to the point where the arc of a person's newsworthiness is measured in months rather than years. And, of course, there's no longer a "TRL," which played such a huge role in building the careers of Britney's generation of pop stars. Indeed, it's hard to imagine Taylor Swift, Rihanna or even Miley Cyrus having the kind of profound and long-term impact that Britney has had over the past decade, capturing a zeitgeist that no longer seems to exist. "I don't know if there ever will be [another Britney]," the singer's manager, Larry Rudolph, told MTV News. "I guess they said that about Madonna, and then Britney came along. I guess someday she'll be the Madonna to that new Britney." But Britney isn't exactly Madonna. For starters, Madonna emerged on the pop scene as an adult, so she never played up jailbait fantasies and has always had a strong sense of self. Britney, who started as a teenager, grew up in the public eye. And that's another reason to argue that there will never be another Brit: Her path to stardom and the difficult steps contained within it were so well documented that managers, handlers and artists alike are wary of repeating them. "One of the things we learned during her downfall was that the person we knew and loved wasn't the real Britney Spears," blogger Perez Hilton observed. "I think along the way, she got lost. She was looking externally for love, acceptance and approval to give her life meaning. She's been a lost, confused little girl." Instead of being a rebellious teenager, Britney was thrust onto the stage as a symbolic good girl — though a recurring theme in her songs and videos was her struggle with being "handled." But it seems that her rebellion was merely delayed: When she finally declared independence, she went overboard in the bad-decision department. In the end, Britney had to relinquish control to get her life back on track — both with her court-ordered conservatorship and by having Rudolph manage her career again. "This woman had a hugely serious problem," TMZ managing editor Harvey Levin explained. "They're trying to keep her busy and productive, on a week-to-week basis, with nothing too taxing for her." Being the next Britney Spears doesn't just mean taking over the pop throne — it means having a breakdown, being a tabloid target and struggling to make a comeback before the age of 27. "Britney's the princess of pop and the train wreck of pop," Hilton quipped. "Hopefully, she'll just be the princess of pop from here on out." Maybe we need to see more of how Britney's story plays out before we ask the real question: Does anyone want to be the next Britney Spears? (Tell us what you thought of Britney's documentary over on the Newsroom blog, or upload a video to YouRHere.MTV.com. "Britney: For the Record" will be re-airing throughout the week and will be available in its entirety on demand on MTV.com beginning Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.) Related Videos Related Artists |
| Chris Brown, Britney Spears, Coldplay, Leona Lewis And Alicia Keys Are All #1 In 2008 Posted: 02 Dec 2008 07:09 AM PST As Yahoo!, iTunes and a cable on-demand service release their year-end charts, the results are all over the place.
A long, long time ago, say, in 2001, when a massive pop band like 'NSYNC released an album like Celebrity, you could count on them to top the charts across the board. But these days, things are more democratic. No one seems to know how to measure who the real #1 artist is, so everyone gets to take home a shiny trophy — just like pee-wee soccer! The deluge of year-end charts has begun, and the winners are all over the map. They include mild-mannered Chris Brown — whose videos and interviews were reportedly seen 43 million times on the on-demand Music Choice TV service. Brown was honored at the first Most Demanded Awards show, which, like his videos, was available on-demand for free beginning on Monday, according to The Associated Press. Music Choice executive Damon Williams said that teenage girls were primarily responsible for Brown's victory over such runners-up as the Jonas Brothers and Lil Wayne. On iTunes, Coldplay took the top prize, as Viva la Vida was dubbed the most downloaded album of the year, with more than 500,000 digital copies sold since June, the AP reported. Coldplay were followed on the iTunes album list by Jack Johnson's Sleep Through the Static, the soundtrack to "Juno," Wayne's Tha Carter III and Sara Bareilles' Little Voice. The top-selling single on iTunes this year was Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love," which sold 3.2 million digital copies, according to her label. iTunes said the second most downloaded single was the title track to Coldplay's album, followed by Flo Rida's "Low" and Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl." Over at Yahoo! Music, Alicia Keys got a shiny crown, thanks to her "No One" video, which was the #1 most viewed video on the service this year. According to AbsolutePunk.net, the diva-tastic list also includes a #2 slot for Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body" clip, followed by Lewis' "Bleeding Love," Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music," Jordin Sparks' "No Air" and Wayne's "Lollipop." Oh, and that pesky Sara Bareilles snuck in at #9 with "Love Song." But in the end, no matter what calamities, joys or economic disasters are going on in any given year, you can count on one person rising above the din to unite us all. No, not Barack Obama (he's stuck at #3). For the seventh time in eight years, Britney Spears topped the list of Yahoo!'s most popular search topics. Once again, World Wrestling Entertainment had to take a backseat to Brit, who sat atop a list that also included Miley Cyrus (#4), the enduringly popular MMORPG RuneScape (#5), Jessica Alba (#6), the manga and anime series Naruto (#7), Lindsay Lohan (#8), Angelina Jolie (#9) and something called "American Idol." For more reflection on the past 12 months, check out MTV's Best of 2008 site, featuring the year's most memorable news, music videos and moments. Related Artists |
| Q-Tip's <i>Renaissance</i> Is More Than An Album Title For A Tribe Called Quest MC Posted: 02 Dec 2008 05:00 AM PST 'You have some people who have cracked through, a Kanye or an Andre 3000 or a [Lil] Wayne,' rapper says of hip-hop's changing face.
While November 4 was obviously a day of celebration for many people around the country, when Barack Obama was elected president of the United States, veteran rapper Q-Tip cheered the day for another, more personal reason: the release of his second solo album, The Renaissance. Fans of the A Tribe Called Quest MC could further rejoice: It was his first solo LP to come out in nine years, after false starts shelved two previous, completed albums.
"I believe in what I'm doing, and I love this music, so those things in combination were motivation for me to keep going," Q-Tip told MTV News, explaining how two full-length albums — Kamaal the Abstract (2001) and Open (2005) — were both recorded, mastered and held up by his record labels. "I'm not a quitter." In that way, The Renaissance is a triumph for Q-Tip. Kamaal the Abstract was recorded with a live band and featured Q-Tip experimenting with hippie-era pop influences, while Open was a free-flowing, deliberately non-commercial rap escapade. Both were never released, primarily because industry executives were cautious about his chances competing with the new, younger stars of the day — the Nellys, Jeezys and Soulja Boys. Tip's persistence in the face of such indifference, though, is one of his charms. Indeed, Q-Tip has had his ups and downs in the industry, first emerging as one of the most iconic voices of the early '90s hip-hop scene. He seemed to reinvent himself in 1999, with the release of his first solo album, Amplified, which found him discovering a new take on club-banging hip-hop. Since then, people have questioned whether a 38-year-old veteran of another era has a place in today's rap world. But several signs in recent years point to a rap renaissance, if you will: the emergence of Kanye West as one of hip-hop's biggest stars; the ascendency of the late J Dilla as an underground idol (Dilla's early work was in conjunction with Q-Tip); and the celebration of "throwback" artists like the Cool Kids, Kid Cudi and Pacific Division, who clearly take their cues from Q-Tip's Native Tongues heyday. Tip also sees the climate in hip-hop changing. "You have some people who have cracked through, a Kanye or an Andre 3000 or a [Lil] Wayne, who I think is lyrically just a monster," Tip said. "Eventually, the tide is starting to give way back to how things were, when people are starting to pay attention to the quality of the music, not on, 'I'm not a good rapper, I'm a good hustler,' you know? "I just want to put out something dope; that's the credence that I've tried to follow and stick to through the years," Q-Tip explained. "Sometimes it's questionable, I guess, but for the most part, people invest in you because of your taste barometer, so I try to keep mine in the red." Tip maintains that barometer by diving into the culture of music the way he has since he was a young man. He regularly ducks into hole-in-the-wall record stores to keep up on his beat shopping. Before leaving on the 2K Sports Bounce Tour, his most recent tour with the Cool Kids, he live-streamed his impromptu, hours-long, jam-band rehearsals to any and all viewers. And he DJs a weekly Friday night party at an underground New York hot spot that has quickly become one of the city's best. "I love DJing because it puts me in a position where I have to pay attention to what people want to hear, in a very direct way," he said. "Clubs and DJing and parties is like the church of hip-hop. It brings in so many different people from different backgrounds, colors and denominations for one cause. I think that's pretty powerful and influences me when I'm making music." Tip knows that he probably won't sell as many records as some of his counterparts, or may not dominate in emerging music-industry markets like ringtones and commercial endorsements. But having seen it all in his 20 years in the music business, he seems genuinely at peace with that. "I just think people should do what they feel," he said. "You can't please everybody all the time, obviously. You just gotta do what inspires you, what motivates you. And if you do that in an honest way, people can't help but respect it." Related Videos Related Artists |
| Travis Barker Quashes Blink-182 Reunion Rumors Posted: 30 Nov 2008 11:20 PM PST 'We're friends, though, everyone's getting along pretty good,' drummer says of former bandmates Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge.
Last month, former Blink-182/ current +44 bassist Mark Hoppus blogged that he and his former Blink-mates Travis Barker and Tom DeLonge have been spending time together in the wake of the plane crash that seriously injured Barker and DJ AM and killed four people. Of course, the blog post led to speculation that the estranged former bandmates — Blink went on "indefinite hiatus" in February 2005 — might be re-forming. While Hoppus addressed those rumors cautiously in the post, saying the group doesn't yet know, Barker basically quashed them in an impromptu video that was posted on TMZ on Monday (December 1). Caught by the tabloid site's cameras as he carries a wailing child (probably his daughter, Alabama) to his car outside a shopping center in Calabasas, California — Barker good-naturedly asks, "What are you guys doing in Calabasas?" — the drummer is asked point-blank if Blink are getting back together. "No," he says. "We're friends, though, everyone's getting along pretty good." He is then asked again if the group is getting back together: "No," he says. Hoppus seemed more upbeat about the possibility — at least avoiding saying "no" — in his blog post last month. "In the midst of everything else that has happened lately, Tom, Travis and I have all spoken together," Hoppus wrote on his official site, HiMyNameIsMark.com. "First, through a number of phone calls, and then a couple of weeks ago we all hung out for a few hours. They've all been great, very positive conversations. We're just reconnecting as friends after four years of not talking. It's a good thing." "Obviously the first question for a lot of people will be, 'Does this mean a Blink-182 reunion?' The answer is none of us know. We haven't talked about it at all. Right now it's just good for the three of us to see one another, reconnect and let the past be the past. The events of the past two months supersede everything that happened before. Life is too short." Barker and DJ AM will make their first performance since the crash on New Year's Eve in Los Angeles, it was announced on Monday. Related Artists |
| Britney Spears' Fans Think 'For The Record' Was 'Honest' But Want More Dirt On Her Exes Posted: 01 Dec 2008 12:18 AM PST 'This is what fans and others have wanted from her for a long time,' one fan says.
If the mission of Britney Spears' tell-all documentary "For the Record" was to get people talking on the week of her album release, she accomplished it with flying colors. The word on the street is that the special — which premiered on MTV on Sunday night and will be available on MTV.com beginning at 8 p.m. on Wednesday — was just what fans wanted after years of seeing their beloved star splashed across the tabloids.
"It made me love her even more," Shanna Birnbaum, 23, told MTV News. "I think she was very honest. She really let her true self shine through. It showed people and young girls you can get through anything." Stacey Medura, 16, agreed, adding that "For the Record" humanized the pop star. "It's easier to understand how she feels," Medura said. "Her opinion matters most. I think she covered a lot [in the special]." Superfans Madeline Kane, 21, and Natalie Gargiulo, 24, were happy that Spears finally got to tell her side of the story. But although Britney seems to be on the road to physical and mental health, both fans admitted that they don't think she's quite there yet. "She's getting there," Gargiulo said. "I think she's really sad. ... She could be worse. She seemed over everything. She's definitely not as crazy. She seemed like a real person." In the documentary, Spears talked about motherhood and her desire to remarry, but Gargiulo and Kane wanted to hear more about her marriage to Kevin Federline, as well as her controversial relationship with photographer Adnan Ghalib. "I think she was hiding a little something," Kane observed. "I feel for her. ... [But] I think that people that don't know her will feel for her." Viewers also took to the Web with their reactions to the documentary. "The documentary was definitely worth watching," Mike wrote. "I think a lot of us forgot who she really was. The rest of the fans and I didn't forget that at all. No one said she's perfect and hasn't [made] any mistakes, but look at what's around her every single day of her life. The actual documentary was brilliant on MTV's part. MTV should definitely go for another one. Not just for Britney, but for other stars too." Some said this look into Britney's life was inspiring. "I really have gained a lot of respect for her now," Derek wrote. "I felt like this was the first time since she burst onto the scene a decade ago that she has spoken from the heart. ... I think this is what fans and others have wanted from her for a long time, to be honest. Her honesty can be helpful for others who may be going through situations like hers, such as dealing with a custody battle." A viewer called Lame-o wasn't prepared to take the pop star's testimony at face value. " 'I shaved my head because everyone does it' — I'm pretty sure they don't," Lame-o said. " 'I lost custody of my children ... because of the bad people?!?' 'Everyone said I was on drugs.' Were you?!? Traumatic stress?!? Maybe I need to watch it again, because I missed it if she cleared anything up." But fans like PNP said they are sticking by the singer's side, and the doc only solidified their love for her. "It really showed the real Britney, down to earth and not an artificial blonde caught up by the media. Love her even more. Definitely buying the album December 2!" Melissa, another commenter, added: "The way she is feeling that no one listens is what I am going through," she wrote. "Her documentary made me really think about my life! Britney, you are a great woman. Don't worry, you will make it! Cannot wait till your CD comes out!" (Tell us what you thought of Britney's documentary over on the Newsroom blog, or upload a video to YouRHere.MTV.com. "Britney: For the Record" will be re-airing throughout the week and will be available in its entirety on demand on MTV.com beginning Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.) Related Videos Related Artists |
| Miley Cyrus Says She'd 'Love' To Work With <i>Vanity Fair</i> Photographer Again Posted: 01 Dec 2008 02:26 AM PST 'I realize I'm just a kid,' singer/actress says of reaction to Annie Leibovitz photo spread.
Despite all the controversy their collaboration courted earlier this year, Miley Cyrus said that she'd love the opportunity to work with Annie Leibovitz again. "Everyone outside of America liked it a little bit more, because that's more like the style, but the States are really conservative," she said in an interview with the U.K.'s Daily Record. "I just had to deal with that and just realize that I got to work with an amazing photographer." In the photo, which appeared in the April issue of Vanity Fair, Cyrus appeared draped in just a blanket and had many people outraged that a 15-year-old would be portrayed in such a provocative fashion. "She was amazing and so talented and her lighting ... I would love to work with her again. But I realize I'm just a kid," she said. "My parents are really chilled with me until I give them a reason not to be, so hopefully I'll never give them a reason." She added that working with Leibovitz inspired Cyrus to pursue photography one day. "That's what I want to do with my life. I would love to be a photographer," she said. "I do want to come to London to study photography. I hear there are some really great art schools here, so I would love to do that." Until then, Cyrus is busy acting on "Hannah Montana," as well as keeping everyone guessing about her rumored relationship with 20-year-old underwear model Justin Gaston. "I'm surrounded by good-looking guys, the models, the actors, this and that, so it ends up not being about that," she said. "It ends up being about the personality and the way someone treats you." Even with all her success, Cyrus manages to stay grounded, thanks to her family. And at 16, she has no intentions of moving out on her own yet. "Maybe when I am 20 [I'll move out]," she said. "When my mom stops cooking for me. As soon as my mom stops making me food, then I'm out." Related Artists |
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