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| 'American Idol' Castoff Allison Iraheta Insists: 'I'm Not Boring' Posted: 06 May 2009 11:42 PM PDT 'I really just felt it was the perfect time to stand up for myself,' she says of sassing Simon for the first time.
Allison Iraheta might have gotten the boot from "American Idol" after rock night, but all hope is not lost. Just look at another fourth-place finisher who just happened to be performing during Wednesday night's results show: Chris Daughtry. He went on to sell millions of albums and collect fans across the world after failing to nab the "Idol" crown.
So what's next for Allison? Is Daughtry-like success in her future? We caught up with the 17-year-old rocker to talk about Simon Cowell's personality comments, her time in the bottom three and much more. Q: A lot of people figured that Danny was leaving after that "Dream On" scream, and your performance and duet with Adam were well-received. Did you go into the results show feeling confident? A: It was weird. I've been in the bottom three so many times, and I was just prepared for anything. When it was down to me and Danny, I was like, "Well, it's either him or me." And it was me! I'm pretty happy I made it that far. I'm glad that I got the opportunity to be on that stage. Q: How did you prepare for the duet with Adam? A: We thought about doing a duet [for] a while now. "Slow Ride" was on the list, and we thought, "That sounds fun. We should really do that!" ... We really had fun. And we're even planning on doing that song on the tour. Q: Simon made a lot of comments about your lack of a personality. How did you take that? A: It was, like, every week: "You're so boring." And I'm like, "Uh, OK, Simon." I'm really not the kind of person that talks back. ... But he was like, "Start begging." And I was like, "You know what? That's it." So I really just felt it was the perfect time to stand up for myself. And I was like, "I'm not boring. And you say I don't talk enough, so I might as well just talk!" [Laughs.] Q: Aside from the personality comments, you also got a lot of critiques on your fashion and hair. Did that bum you out? A: It sorta did. I was like, "Come on. I'm singing here!" But I think, overall, they all look for what you're gonna do as a selling artist. I know there was a lot of risks I [took], in dressing and all that, but I had fun with it, so I think that's what mattered. Q: Did all your time spent in the bottom three impact how you made decisions on the show? A: It really didn't affect anything, because I felt that I was doing pretty good. So I was just like, "I'm prepared for anything. If I'm in the bottom three and I'm actually eliminated, I'm ready." It's OK, because I knew I'd be leaving on a good note. I honestly feel like I did pretty good, and I'm pretty proud of myself. Q: Simon said you picked the wrong song with Janis Joplin's "Cry Baby." Do you think you should've gone with a different choice? A: No, definitely not. I appreciate what they say, but I think it was about me feeling it, and I really do not regret doing that song. I felt pretty good about it. Q: Another famous "Idol" fourth-place finisher, Chris Daughtry, performed on the result show this week. Did that soften the blow a bit? A: It made me feel better. He's done so much, he's done well, and it's really like, "If he's done well, and he didn't have to make it to the top, it gives me a chance." I hope I do as well as he did. Q: What was it like to work with Slash? A: You have no idea. When I heard it was Slash, it was like, "Oh my gosh, I can't wait to meet him!" He's so awesome. I've been a fan for so long. It's insane that I got to sing while he was playing for us. It was such a great opportunity. He was one of the best mentors we had, hands down. We were just so happy that he took time out of his schedule to come to the show and help us out. Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Videos Related Photos |
| 'Hills' Star Heidi Montag Says She'll 'Be Married Forever' Posted: 07 May 2009 02:39 AM PDT Reality star/ singer tells 'Extra' that she's legally taken Spencer Pratt's last name.
Come this weekend, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt will have been married for two weeks. And the couple assure all their harshest critics — which at times has even included members of Heidi's family — that they vow to make this marriage last forever. "It's real love," Heidi told "Extra" in an interview airing Thursday (May 7). "And we will be married forever and ever and ever!" Heidi has taken a huge step toward showing everyone that this is the real deal. "I legally changed my name to Pratt. ... I'm very excited," she gushed. Spencer, who calls married life "amazing," added, "We're going to the DMV and we're getting the license, and I'm framing it." Heidi, who wore a Monique Lhullier gown to the wedding in Pasadena, California, on April 24, said that moments before they married, she knew she had made the right decision. "I was just sitting there in my dress, like, 'I am really about to marry the most amazing man, and this is such a great experience.' " She said the dress was the one she had always wanted. "I thought about my dress for years. I knew everything I wanted," she said. "I knew I wanted a strapless, gorgeous, big, flowy, princess, fun, amazing dress, and that's what I had. I wanted it to be really classic but young and fun and fresh. I felt like a princess, and it was perfect." Although the pair have yet to have a honeymoon, they recently took a trip down to Mexico to shoot the music video for Heidi's song "Blackout." They took every precaution to make sure they didn't catch the swine flu. "We were masked up. I was scared," Heidi said, with Spencer adding, "I didn't even want to take my mask off. ... I have enough to worry about in Hollywood [without] the swine flu." Related Videos Related Photos |
| Cassie Admits Leaked Nude Photos Are Really Her Posted: 06 May 2009 10:55 PM PDT 'People need to grow up, let's move on,' singer blogs.
When photos leaked online depicting what appears to be Cassie topless, the singer quickly responded on Twitter, saying that they are in fact of her, and that people shouldn't make such a big deal out of it. "It seems that someone has hacked into my computer," she Tweeted about the photos. "That's real foul and evil. Now stop acting like you haven't seen a t---y before." The singer later took to her blog to further comment on the photo leak — posting at 4:57 a.m. — reiterating the fact that she thought whoever released the private photos is "evil." "The recent personal pictures that have been leaked on the internet of me were hacked and stolen out of my computer," she wrote. "These photos were obviously never intended for the world to see and it's sad that people would really take time to steal and post them, it's just evil. At the end of the day breasts are breasts, mine weren't the first you've seen and they won't be the last ... people need to grow up, let's move on. Thank you." At press time, a rep for Cassie had not responded to MTV News' multiple requests for comment. Cassie is certainly not the first pop star in recent years who has had private, nude photos of her leaked to the Internet. "High School Musical" star Vanessa Hudgens also had a scandal back in 2007 when a nude photo was leaked. Much like Cassie, Hudgens took responsibility for the photos, saying they were meant to be private and that "kids do stupid things sometimes." "It was something that was meant to be private," she said. "And even though it isn't anymore, I'd still like to keep it as private as I can." Related Artists |
| Maxwell 'Relished' His Time Out Of The Spotlight Posted: 08 May 2009 04:52 AM PDT 'You want to know somebody's around you not because of what you could offer,' he says of eight-year break.
NEW YORK — Maxwell said you can't just go up to a pregnant woman and say, "Blue eyes, red hair and a girl." Well, the same is true for the neo-soul singer's music. "The way I make good music, it's not about what's expected of me," he said recently after a Manhattan reception for his upcoming CD. "It's hard to make good music when you're thinking about what somebody wants you to do." So he didn't think about what the fans or his record label wanted. As we say in the 'hood, Max did him. It's been eight years since he released his last album.
"It was a lot easier than I thought it would be," he said about his prolonged vacation. "It was a lot easier than I thought it was to enjoy. [My career] started when I was 21. I don't want to complain about my life, because I don't want to sound crazy to a person that's living a life. I've been blessed. But the common things people take for granted, I never had for a long stretch, such as going out on the train." Max was one of R&B's leading men when he first hit the scene, and considering how young he was and what he accomplished in such a short time span (his debut was released in 1996), he seemed destined to be one of the all-time greats. But with his career still in its prime, he chilled for close to a decade. "I feel like I've relished these few years, where I got to kick it, where I got to meet girls who didn't know who I was, where they would be like, 'What's your name?' " he said. "Knowing you're appreciated for you as a person was something that was very easy to be into for a while. "What tends to happen when records are coming out and all the things that come around you, you're never sure [how genuine people are]," he added. "I'm very insecure, and I want to know people appreciate real things. You want to know somebody's around you not because of what you could offer or who you are." Max seems to have put his insecurities aside for now. He just released the single "Pretty Wings" from the album Black, the first in his trilogy of LPs to be released over the next three years. "I wanted to be like, 'I like how this sounds,' " he said of his pressure-free recording process this time around. " 'I don't care if people buy it or not. It makes me feel good.' " Related Videos Related Artists |
| Can Irv Gotti Make A Comeback? Posted: 08 May 2009 03:51 AM PDT We take a look back at the producer's hip-hop reign, in Mixtape Daily.
It's official, people. Mixtape Daily is here. That's right, daily. Mixtape Monday had a phenomenal run. For over six years, the weekly segment became an institution. Every week, it was your one-stop shop for everything related to the streets. But we promised you bigger and better things in 2009, and we're men of our word. We're going to keep bringing you all the exclusives and insight you've come to expect. We're just expanding and refocusing. Behind the Beats: Irv Gotti For our Behind the Beats feature, you can look forward to hearing from your favorite DJs or producers every single week. While the artists are in the forefront of the industry, let's not forget the DJs and producers — we have love for all you guys.
No more travelling all the way downtown to SoHo for the Queens native — Irv Gotti's moved on up to a new plush three-room recording studio in midtown Manhattan. "All the energy is compacted into one floor," he said with a grin. Gotti can still boast one of the most remarkable runs in hip-hop — in the late '90s, he brought DMX, Jay-Z, Ja Rule and his own Murder Inc. label to Def Jam. As an executive, he was on fire, but as a producer, he was even hotter. Platinum plaques left and right for albums and singles, mostly by his artists Ja Rule and Ashanti. Along the way, he gave Jay-Z one of his breakthrough songs ("Can I Get A ... "), helped Fat Joe reach superstar status with "What's Luv?" and gave J. Lo street cred with "I'm Real." Yes, he was in demand and wasn't afraid to let you know. "Murder Inc. got all the hits, everyone's calling me," he said of his run behind the boards earlier this decade. "The illest sh-- I ever did, I made somebody pay me $50,000 just to get on the phone with me. I was an a--hole at the highest level. I was like, 'Send me 50 [grand] and I'll get on the phone. If not, get the f--- outta here, a--hole!' 'Yo, it's a quarter. Yeah, you heard me, $50,000. I ain't stutter!' " Still, despite his track record, I.G.'s sound (a lot of hits were the result of working with co-producers 7 Aurelius and Chink Santana) hasn't been heard on the radio lately. He says the interest of the industry has shifted. "You know what happens — the music business is di-- riders for the better part," Gotti explained. "I understand it ... so they want a Dream beat right now or a Polow Da Don [track] or whatever like that. They're di-- riders. I can say that with the utmost confidence because they di-- rode me for a number of times. "A lot of people was telling me, 'You was an a--hole, you should get humbled,' " he added. "I did get humbled but, honestly, the game don't have love for you. So if you wanna be an a--hole, go ahead. They only f--- with you when you're hot. If you not hot, they gonna tell your humble ass, 'Get the f--- outta here.' It's no love." Gotti isn't tripping — he says he'll be back in-demand soon, thanks to the beats he's cooking up in his new studio space. "I'm gonna go in the studio with my band of thieves and plot and create some sh-- again, 'cause it's just in me to do it. And after I do it, if I wanna be humble, I'll be humble. If I wanna say, 'F--- y'all,' I'll say, 'F--- y'all.' " Five-Star Stellar Irv-Produced Hits » Jay-Z (featuring Ja Rule and Amil) - "Can I Get A ... " Hottest Streak Thus Far From 2000 to 2002, when he dropped Ja Rule's Rule 3:36 and Pain Is Love, as well as Ashanti's self-titled debut LP. Related Videos Related Artists |
| 'Little Ashes': Tortured Artist, By Kurt Loder Posted: 08 May 2009 04:52 AM PDT Robert Pattinson trapped in strange new movie.
Some months before he began filming "Twilight," the movie that would ignite his career, Robert Pattinson shot a low-budget art-house film in Spain called "Little Ashes." "Twilight" was released last November; now comes the earlier picture. We can only imagine how Pattinson must feel about this. The movie, directed by Paul Morrison, has an interesting subject: the 1922 meeting of three soon-to-be-renowned Spanish artists — filmmaker Luis Buñuel, painter Salvador Dalí and the poet and playwright Federico García Lorca — at the Residencia de Estudiantes, a Madrid arts institute. García Lorca is played by the Spanish TV actor Javier Beltrán, who somewhat resembles the young writer. Buñuel is portrayed by an Englishman, Matthew McNulty ("Control"), who looks nothing at all like the great director. And Pattinson has been cast, disastrously, as Dalí.
Actually, it's hard to imagine who could play this outlandish character — a man who appeared to believe that life itself was too small to contain him. In Pattinson's attempted impersonation, we see the pampered young Dalí arriving at the Residencia in a hugely ridiculous frilly shirt and jaw-length bowl-cut hair. Tottering out of his grand car into a bustle of fellow students, he looks like a marionette with a few strings missing, or a rag doll in need of repair. He seems trapped and terrified. But since social reticence is not a quality we associate with the overbearingly outré Dalí, we soon begin to wonder if it isn't the actor himself who feels desperately out of place in this strange film. The picture's focus is on the relationship between García Lorca, a closeted and tormented homosexual, and the flamboyantly odd painter, whose sexual inclinations are anybody's guess. (He claimed to be exclusively heterosexual.) Dalí knew the poet was in love with him, but always insisted that on the two occasions when García Lorca came on to him sexually, he turned him down. The movie would have it otherwise. (After a while, we wish that we could, too.) There are some truly shameless scenes here. We see García Lorca shooting lovelorn glances at Dalí, then scurrying off in a fit of guilt to confide to a plaster Madonna that "I have had impure thoughts." We see the boys recumbent on a beach, Dalí with his head propped on his friend's thigh as García Lorca reads his poetry aloud. There's an artsy nude moonlight swim that with only the tiniest of adjustments could be converted into a cologne commercial. And there's a spectacularly lurid interlude in which García Lorca, desperate to demonstrate an acceptable manliness, has sex with a woman on a bed while Dalí watches (possibly masturbating, not sure) from a dark corner of the room. For a movie that was shot on hi-def video, "Little Ashes" has surprisingly warm imagery; and the costume design — all those dapper period two-tone shoes, argyle sweaters and creamy wool suits — is first-rate. But as soon as Pattinson steps forth with Dalí's famous up-twirled mustaches pasted to his face (they look like a pair of bent centipedes huddled on his upper lip), the picture — such as it's been up to that point — collapses. The actor is in a hopeless position. There's probably no way to deliver a line such as "I would like an enema"; but there's no reason anyone should be called on to say, "I'm going to Paris to see Luis — he's going to introduce me to Picasso and the Surrealists." There's barely a moment when you don't feel embarrassed for Pattinson. You want to call his agent to come rescue him from this film. Or maybe just call him a new agent altogether. Don't miss Kurt Loder's review of "Star Trek," also new in theaters this week. Will the vampires grab more trophies than the slumdog? What was the year's ultimate onscreen WTF moment? It's up to you to decide the winners of the 2009 MTV Movie Awards. Vote now, and tune in on May 31 at 9 p.m. ET, when the big show airs live from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California. Check out everything we've got on "Little Ashes." For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more - updated around the clock - visit MTVMoviesBlog.com. Related Videos Related Photos |
| Irv Gotti Says He's Dropping Ashanti From The Inc. Posted: 07 May 2009 03:54 AM PDT 'The relationship has run its course,' label head says.
Irv Gotti says he and Ashanti, the Princess of the Inc., will soon be parting company. He said they haven't been on speaking terms for some time, and the label head/reality-TV star says there's nothing he can do but end their musical and business affiliation. "The relationship has run its course," Gotti explained earlier this week while visiting the MTV offices. "The chemistry of what's needed — we're in two totally different places. You're talking to somebody that took her and shaped and molded her and put her out there for the world, and it blew up. We [hold the record] for the [fastest] selling debut by a female R&B artist — 503 [thousand]. We did it! My views and philosophies and her views and philosophies are not meeting up."
Ashanti's last LP, The Declaration — her first in four years — came out in June of last year on the Inc. and was created with virtually no input from Gotti. The album was her first in-studio project not to go platinum. Gotti says it's because the singer deviated from their winning formula and tag-team effort. "I personally believe for her to be successful, it took the energy ... when you seen her, it was 30 n---as around her, and she's the princess so nice and pretty walking through," he said. "The music was great, but it was the energy that was created. It wasn't just her standing there and singing a song. "We don't really speak or talk or anything like that," he continued. "It's sad in a way. But in another, it's like it's all good." Well, maybe not that good. Gotti said it is best for them to part ways. "I don't think she can win. She needs some guidance with that," Gotti added. "But she's not thinking like that. Really, I couldn't tell you what she's thinking. So that relationship has run its course and honestly, I'm gonna just drop her." At press time, a rep for Ashanti had not granted MTV News' requests for comment. Gotti told MTV News that he's maintained the rights to all of his artists, including Ashanti, Lloyd and of course Ja Rule. The exec says he's working on a deal to reunite with his fellow Def Jam alumni Lyor Cohen, Kevin Liles and Julie Greenwald over at the Warner Music Group. He says new albums by Lloyd, new rapper Newz and Rule are in the cooker. He explains the delay of Rule's The Mirror is because they are trying to craft a classic LP. Related Artists |
| Kiefer Sutherland Turns Himself In To Police Posted: 07 May 2009 03:37 AM PDT '24' star was charged with misdemeanor assault after allegedly head-butting a fellow NYC partygoer.
Kiefer Sutherland turned himself in to authorities and was officially charged with misdemeanor assault in New York, in conjunction with a late-night altercation that reportedly involved fellow Hollywood vet Brooke Shields, according to TMZ. The assault charge comes four days after the "24" star allegedly head-butted fashion designer Jack McCullough, breaking his nose. According to various reports and eyewitnesses, the confrontation began when Sutherland attended a Costume Institute Gala afterparty in New York's SubMercer bar on Monday evening, alongside such celebrities as Mary-Kate Olsen and Kirsten Dunst. When Sutherland reportedly witnessed McCullough knocking over Shields, he asked the Proenza Schouler designer to apologize. When McCullough reportedly responded by pushing Sutherland, the star is said to have head-butted the designer. On Thursday afternoon, Sutherland left his Manhattan apartment and went to New York's 1st Precinct to turn himself in. The actor was not arrested but given a desk-appearance ticket officially charging him with misdemeanor assault. This week's events are only the latest in a string of bad publicity for the troubled star, who is currently on probation in Los Angeles for a DUI. Sutherland, who is the son of legendary "Dirty Dozen" actor Donald Sutherland, served 48 days in jail in 2007 for those drunk-driving charges and had previously failed another field sobriety test in 2004. |
| New Kids On The Block Pumped For Tour With Jabbawockeez Posted: 07 May 2009 05:42 AM PDT 'It's a blessing,' NKOTB's Donnie Wahlberg says of forthcoming tour.
When the New Kids on the Block hit the road this summer, starting May 15, they'll be bringing along with them a masked dancing troupe as their opening act. That troupe is none other than "America's Best Dance Crew" vets, the Jabbawockeez. And, believe it or not, the New Kids are learning just as much from the Jabbawockeez, if not more, because they are still so fresh-faced — well, actually, masked. "It's a blessing," Donnie Wahlberg told MTV News on Thursday (May 7). "In their eyes they're coming out on the road with an established act, but they're superstars to us."
He added that much like the NKOTB the Jabbawockeez come from humble origins, and he likes that they're living out their dreams the same way the New Kids are, more than 20 years after their commercial heyday. "There's an appreciation," he said. "And we're all out there living our dreams." Fellow New Kid Joey McIntyre agrees with his Beantown homie. He thinks that working with a group of guys who are so green to fame and celebrity has made them understand how awesome it must be to be out there making girls scream. "They have a great spirit," he said. "They know how to work the crowd. There's a happiness to it." In addition to learning how to once again appreciate how fun performing can be they also have taught the guys a thing or two about teamwork. "And they're all wearing masks," he continued. "You can't get more team than wearing masks. It's all for one, and that's what being a group is all about." Related Videos Related Artists |
| Has 'American Idol' Become A Boys Club? Posted: 07 May 2009 01:27 AM PDT For the first time in 'Idol' history, the top three are all male.
For the first time in eight seasons of "American Idol," the top three contenders are all guys — which means for the first time in "Idol" history, America is getting back-to-back male champions, following last year's showdown between David Archuleta and the eventual victor, David Cook. With flamboyant rocker Adam Lambert, clean-cut Danny Gokey and dark-horse Kris Allen as the final remaining contenders this season, it raises the question: Has "Idol" become a boys' club? And if so, why? While the show doesn't share information on voter demographics, according to a recent Los Angeles Times article, the median age of the show's viewing audience, at least for one recent episode, was 42.9. And with three charming male hopefuls in the top three, are older female voters responsible? MJ Santilli, founder of the popular "Idol" blog MJsBigBlog.com, suspects women have played something of a role in who's still standing on "Idol," but stops short of giving them all the credit. "My theory — and I don't have any data on this — but I don't think it's young girls who vote at all: It's adult women," Santilli said. "I think they have the time, the resources and the organizational skills to vote. I mean, if you're talking about sending 1,000 text votes in a night, that's a woman doing that, not a teenager, and not a male — although I have met straight fan boys, and they can be over the top. When you go to the tour each summer, it's mostly women in the audience — a lot of older women." But along with middle-aged women, Santilli said it's her informed opinion that each of the three remaining contestants has managed to build a substantial fanbase that was distinctly their own early on. She suspects Gokey, for instance, has a strong Christian-based backing. "It can't just be older women," she added. "I think they just vote harder and they vote more than younger people. I also think there are a lot of casual voters, and in a tight race, they could end up being the determining factor — just people who pick up the phone, and vote a couple of times for someone." While Michael Slezak, a senior writer for Entertainment Weekly known for his "Idol" coverage, admitted that older women may have helped Cook win the crown last year, he doesn't think voter demographics ultimately have anything to do with who stays and who goes. "I think what we've seen in the last two years is that, in terms of the voting, it's been more influenced by the judges than voter demographics," Slezak said. "The 'Idol' audience has gotten older, no question. There are more moms out there, more 30-somethings and 40-somethings getting invested in the show in the last two seasons than any of the earlier seasons. But I don't think the 'cougar vote' is necessarily based on looks or who their turn-ons are. That isn't giving enough credit to those voters and the contestants." Slezak argued that the same applies to tweens, who are just as likely to buy Miley Cyrus merchandise as they are Jonas Brothers items. "It's more because of how the season was cast, and how the judges pushed certain contestants once they got to the finals," Slezak said. "The producers know exactly what it is they're doing and what they want, and they have Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson as their most successful winners. I think they want a guy who sells just like that, and so there was just a really weak group of women making it in this year, and the voters didn't warm to them. Every chance the show got this season to advance the cause on behalf of really talented female singers, they didn't do it." Santilli agreed that the show "stacked the deck this year for a male winner," seeing as they cut a number of female contestants early on who who "would have gotten past Megan Joy." She said she feels this season saw a general bias toward men by the judges, a sentiment Slezak echoed. "Had Allison [Iraheta, the last female contestant this season] been given a little bit different treatment up there on stage each week, we definitely would have seen her crack the top three or top two," he said. "But no one ever told her she had a chance to win, and while the voters can decide who to vote for, those subtle signals from the judges, week in and week out, start to sink in. When you never tell someone you're a contender, never tell them they're going to win, and I guess that gave viewers the sense that a vote for Allison won't count, because she will only go so far." Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Videos Related Photos |
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