MTV News |
- The Best Songs Of 2009, In <i>Bigger Than The Sound</i>
- Eminem Is The Best-Selling Artist Of The Decade
- Timbaland Teams With Dr. Dre To Introduce Detroit MC Hayes
- Chris Brown Says <i>Graffiti</i> Has Gotten A 'Great Response' From Fans
- 50 Cent Reunites With Vivica A. Fox For 'Do You Think About Me' Video
- Nick Jonas Discusses His 'Fascination With The President'
- Britney Spears' Biggest Fan Search: We Have A Winner!
- Timbaland Says Miley Cyrus Is The 'Female Justin Timberlake'
| The Best Songs Of 2009, In <i>Bigger Than The Sound</i> Posted: 09 Dec 2009 04:08 AM PST MTV News' James Montgomery picks his top 25 songs of the year.
In 2009, we killed Auto-Tune, we partied in the U.S.A., and we howled "Awooo!" at the moon (en español, no less). And those were some of the more normal moments of the year: Seriously, there is no way to sum up a year that had so many bizarre and scandalous moments, so let's have the songs do it for us. These are my picks for the Best Songs of 2009: odes to abstinence and combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bells, songs of sadness and beauty, tunes about getting loaded and getting revenge. They're all important in some way, and they all helped guide us through the tumultuous past 12 months. But that's enough from me, let's get to the songs ... 25. Black Eyed Peas: "I Gotta Feeling" Twenty million Peas fans can't be wrong — and certainly not in this case. The song that dominated the Billboard Hot 100 (#1 for 14 straight weeks) also happens to be an effervescent, electro-tinged blast, managing to capture the promise of a million Saturday nights. Also, it's the only song on this list to feature the phrase "Mazel tov," which counts for something. 24. Mastodon: "The Last Baron" Thirteen minutes of doomy, interlocking guitars, pummeling drums and whiplash-inducing time changes that climaxes with the best guitar solo of the year — a fiery, fret-wrecking two minutes that will make your skull explode. It's about inter-dimensional time travel, just in case you were wondering. 23. Ke$ha: "TiK ToK" On the basis of this song alone, Ms. Sebert seems like she'd be a fun girl to party with. 22. Wale: "Chillin' " A lean, mean slab of swagger-hop from our nation's capital. Spindly, urgent beats floating above a chopped-up sample of Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye," Lady Gaga on the hook (channeling M.I.A.) and some deft wordplay from Wale himself ("I remain a Giant, and you're Jeremy Shockey") make this one great. And the Ben's Chili Bowl cameos in the video are a nice touch, too. (R.I.P., Ben Ali.) 21. Franz Ferdinand: "No You Girls" The swaggering soundtrack to your favorite Saturday night activities (knife fights, sex in bathroom stalls, shame), from a group of Glaswegian guys who are apparently well versed in all three. It's great, strutting guitar rock, and why this song — and its accompanying album, Tonight — weren't bigger deals is beyond me. 20. Miley Cyrus: "The Climb" You want a classic, throwback pop ballad? You got it, courtesy of Ms. Cyrus. Somber piano? Trilling strings? Nondescript-yet-inspirational message about overcoming adversity? This song's got it all, and it bears mentioning that Miley sings the bejeezus out of it, too. 19. The Flaming Lips: "Watching the Planets" A pounding, primal song about all the nebulous, intangible things we rolled into 2009 talking about ("hope," "change," etc.) that's also one of the first to suggest that perhaps none of it holds any water. When Wayne Coyne yelps "Oh oh oh oh oh/ Finding that there ain't no answers to find," he isn't just talking about black holes, you know. 18. Brand New: "At the Bottom" Ominous, snarling rock about death and burial and prescription drugs and other cheery topics of that sort. Full of loud/soft crashes, blurry fretwork and a positively crushing chorus, it's feel-bad music for feel-bad times. 17. Kelly Clarkson: "I Do Not Hook Up" Originally written for Katy Perry, it's probably a good thing she passed on it, since I can't imagine anyone other than Clarkson doing it justice. It's breakneck electro-pop with a big, rushing chorus and vocal fireworks galore. The best Kelly Clarkson song in years, from the best Kelly Clarkson album in years (All I Ever Wanted). We all win, even Katy Perry. 16. Lady Gaga: "Bad Romance" Deliciously over-the-top pop, as only Lady Gaga can do it. From the opening techno haze (which sounds like it could've been lifted off a Ministry of Sound comp) to Gaga's delightfully silly vocal ticks (the whole "Ga-ga, ooh-la-la" thing) to the whirring, wooshing backing beat, this is decidedly arty fare, with a bizarre video to match. Only, there's the chorus, a wondrous thing that can convince a million soccer moms to click the download button (or have their daughters do it for them) ... 15. Kid Cudi: "Pursuit of Happiness" A molasses-thick beat courtesy of the guys in Ratatat, a slurry, slippery delivery by Cudi, a knocking chorus and a cameo by MGMT. It's like a blog decided to make a posse cut, minus all the negative comments! 14. Thom Yorke: "All for the Best" Thom and his brother Andy cover the Miracle Legion, turn the song into a swooning, somber electronic daydream. It's take-a-picture pretty, like that image of your loved one in bed on a Sunday morning, laughing, sun streaming through her (or his) hair — perfect in ways only you can understand. When Yorke sang, "This will be on my video tape," this is probably what he was talking about. 13. Lily Allen: "Not Fair" Over the course of one week, I heard this song on the radio in New York, Paris and Rome, and each time, all the women in the immediate vicinity nodded in agreement to Lily's razor-sharp dissection of a less-than-giving lover. Then they all laughed at the oral-sex line — it seems dissatisfaction is universal! 12. Paramore: "All I Wanted" The 2:40 mark: That's when it happens. All the din falls away, and Hayley Williams — all five feet of her — is left by her lonesome. The tape is rolling, the clock ticking, and the engineer is peering at her from the other side of the glass. So she draws a breath and positively empties herself into the chorus, going bigger and getting higher than she's ever been before. You can practically hear the heads exploding in the room. It's the best vocal moment of 2009, signifying not only Hayley Williams' transformation from a kid with Kool-Aid-colored hair to a full-grown woman, but her arrival in the pantheon of truly great rock vocalists. Welcome to the club. 11. Rihanna: "Russian Roulette" We spent the second half of 2009 waiting to see how Rihanna would respond artistically after Chris Brown's assault on her, and with "Russian Roulette," we finally got our answer: She's hurt but strong — and changed. This is a sonorously sad song, full of self-doubt and self-eviscerating lyrics, proof that Rihanna has depths we never thought possible. And that she's human, just like the rest of us. 10. Das Racist: "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell (Wallpaper. Remix)" Gloriously garish joke-rap, or slyly brilliant commentary on the twin evils of capitalism and globalization? Yes! As someone smarter than me commented, " 'Pizza Hut' is either the track we, as a culture, need right now, or the track we, as a culture, deserve — or both" My favorite version is the (somewhat derided) "Wallpaper. Remix," which sets the dumb banter ("I got that pizza butt/ I got that pizza butt") to blaring sorta-sax and a cheesy Casio/ Eurotrash backbeat, which seems strangely perfect to me ... 9. Miley Cyrus: "Party in the U.S.A." OK, so I took Miley to task earlier this year for this song not meeting all the requirements of a party anthem — but it's still a great single! All that matters here is the sentiment: that a good song can make all the difference, that a DJ can save your life, and that the butterflies really can fly away. Really, what more could you ask for from a pop song? A deliriously catchy robo-beat? Vague notions of patriotism? A Daisy Duke-fueled video? Well "Party's" has all that, too. More proof that this is the greatest nation on earth. 8. Jay-Z (featuring Alicia Keys): "Empire State of Mind" This was a pretty good song before the Yankees ruined it (more reason for us Red Sox fans to hate A-Rod) ... 7. Phoenix: "1901" Ridiculously catchy indie-pop, "1901" bobs and weaves and pumps its fists, but not before it checks its hair in the mirror first. Fashionable, smart stuff that re-imagines bookish subjects like "post-modernism" and "neo-classicism" as danceable, radio-ready rock (and sounds like it was lifted from every John Hughes movie ever made) — nobody did it better than Phoenix in 2009. From the library to the club, without a moment to spare, although of course, they're French ... 6. Yeah Yeah Yeahs: "Zero" I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a big fan of It's Blitz, but there's no denying the catchiness of its first single, a strutting, joyous thing that builds to a positively giddy crescendo. This is basically a smart and sexy disco song, complete with Karen O's vocal coos and a pounding backbeat. 5. Matt & Kim: "Daylight" I think this actually came out late last year, but it definitely made its mark in 2009. Homemade spaz pop from a pair of Brooklyn dumpster divers, "Daylight" is fuzzy and hissy, yet outshines songs that cost four times as much when it comes to sheer bliss. You'd be hard pressed to match the wide optimism of Mr. Johnson and Ms. Schifino, and with their shout-sung vocals and ham-fisted drumming, they've created a tune that proves you can get high on life. 4. Grizzly Bear: "Two Weeks" A sunny, shiny creature with a deceptively dark heart beating beneath its skin, "Two Weeks" is perhaps the best example of Grizzly Bear's brand of hazy dream pop, all pitch-perfect vocal harmonies and casually plinked piano. But like I said, there's something more here. Maybe it's the ultra-creepy video, or the ghostly, otherworldy quality of the song, but this also sounds like the kind of thing that plays on repeat in Charles Manson's brain. Then again, maybe that's just me — the best songs make you think, after all. 3. Shakira: "She Wolf" The battiest song released by a major artist this year, "She Wolf" is wondrous for innumerable reasons: the Italo-disco boogie, the "Awooos," the fact that Shakira compares herself to a coffee machine in an office. It's a delightfully strange pop song, no bones about it, and proof that perhaps Shaki is wackier than you might have thought. And while all of that is well and good, what I like best about it is that Shakira was brave enough to release it — sometimes you've just gotta applaud that kind of determination, and dance to it, and watch the video over and over again. 2. Animal Collective: "My Girls" The indie song of 2009, and the soundtrack to a million acid flashbacks, "My Girls" represents one of the most important rock acts of the decade finally realizing their potential. Having explored the depths of avant garde, AC turned their attention to pop music and discover, "Hey, we're pretty great at this, too." Icy synthesizers, pounding drums, vocal "Wooos!" and other sundry, "My Girls" recalls all seasons and all eras — but mostly, it just sounds like tomorrow. You'll be hearing this blasting out of the trunks of hovercars for decades to come. 1. Jay-Z: "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" Jigga might not have eradicated Auto-Tune in 2009, but you've got to commend the guy for trying. And that's why "D.O.A." is the best song of 2009: Jay's thinking globally but acting locally, and he's getting angry in the process. The No-I.D. beat — the angular guitars, the Klezmer breakdown — sounded like nothing else on the radio, even if Jay didn't intend for the song to get played on the radio in the first place. Which is more proof of his reach as an artist, of his stature as the biggest name in hip-hop: He's so huge he can put his fellow artists (not to mention the whole industry) on blast, and they still line up to pay their respects. To anyone else, a song like this would be career suicide, but it only made Jay stronger. From here, anything is possible. And if he's claiming he'll only wear black for a year straight, it's probably because he murdered everyone else in the game ... Questions? Concerns? Hit me up at BTTS@MTVStaff.com. Related Artists |
| Eminem Is The Best-Selling Artist Of The Decade Posted: 08 Dec 2009 02:37 AM PST Sales numbers from Nielsen SoundScan reveal Em beat the Beatles in the '00s.
Back in 1999, Eminem was best known as the slightly screwy, bottle-blond protégé of Dr. Dre. Ten years — and millions of albums — later, he's about to be known as the best-selling artist of the decade. On Tuesday (December 8), Nielsen SoundScan — which tabulates the Billboard charts — released their lists of the best-selling artists, albums and songs of the '00s. And let's just say the past 10 years have been very good for Mr. Mathers. Em sold more than 32.2 million albums in the 2000s, edging out the Beatles to claim the title of top-selling artist. The Beatles ended up with the decade's best-selling album (they sold nearly 11.5 million copies of 2000's greatest-hits comp 1,) besting the likes of 'NSYNC's No Strings Attached (11.1 million copies sold) and Norah Jones' Come Away With Me, (10.5 million). Eminem was the only artist to place two albums on the list; his The Marshall Mathers LP and Eminem Show records landed at #4 and 5, selling 10.2 million and 9.8 million copies, respectively. Interestingly, of the top 10 albums of the decade, the most recently released is Usher's Confessions, which came out in 2004.
The only areas in which Eminem or the Beatles didn't dominate the decade were songs and radio play. According to Nielsen — which began keeping track of digital sales in July 2003 — Flo Rida's "Low" was the decade's top-selling digital song, having been downloaded more than 5.2 million times. It bested the likes of Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" (nearly 4.7 million downloads), Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" (4.6 million) and the Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow" (4.3 million). And there was none of that funny downloading stuff when it came to the decade's most-played radio songs (generational divide, anyone?) a list topped by Nickelback's "How You Remind Me" — which was spun more than 1.2 million times since being released in 2001 — and featuring names like Train (whose "Drops Of Jupiter" was racked up more than 1.1 million plays), Lifehouse, 3 Doors Down and Lee Ann Womack. Nielsen Soundscan created the decade lists using data collected from January 1, 2000-November 1, 2009, and though figures might rise through December 31, they won't alter the rankings. The top-selling albums of the decade, according to Nielsen SoundScan: 1. The Beatles, 1,11,499,000 units sold The top-selling digital songs of the decade, according to Nielsen SoundScan: 1. Flo Rida feat. T-Pain, "Low" 5,214,000 units sold |
| Timbaland Teams With Dr. Dre To Introduce Detroit MC Hayes Posted: 09 Dec 2009 04:08 AM PST 'Me and Dre both think he's a crazy artist,' Tim tells Mixtape Daily.
The O.D.: A Mixtape Daily Exclusive Several months ago during Miami Week, we introduced you to a cat named Billy Blue, who Timbaland and Akon are backing. Well, Tim is teaming up with a music heavyweight to bring you another newcomer. It doesn't get any bigger than this: Timbaland and fellow super-producer Dr. Dre are joining forces on an upcoming project.
"I got two hip-hop artists, believe it or not," Tim said Monday, running down what's coming up for him besides his just-released Timbaland Presents: Shock Value II. "One is this guy me and Akon signed, Billy Blue. The other one, I think people gonna wanna know about. Me and Dre just signed him, this guy named Hayes from Detroit. Incredible storyteller. Incredible. Reminds me of how B.I.G. tells his stories." Timbo the King explained that Hayes has been around for a while and no one brought him to the table. "He kind of was around the table," Tim said. "He wrote some of Dre's Detox — if Dre ever is gonna do it — but he wrote a lot of that for Dre. He's just been around the camp. I knew him from my homeboy, so he's been around both camps. Me and Dre both think he's a crazy artist. So we said, 'Let's do him together.' " Other artists on Tim's lineup for 2010 include Brandy, a.k.a. Bran' Nu. Tim envisions half her album being rap, half being her traditional R&B. Then there's Soshy, who appears on Shock Value's II's "Morning After Dark." "She's from Paris," the Virginia native explained. "She's like Amy Winehouse to the 10th power. But not crazy. Sane. Not saying Amy Winehouse is crazy; she's ambitious. Soshy is ambitious, but she has a point to prove." For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines. Related Artists |
| Chris Brown Says <i>Graffiti</i> Has Gotten A 'Great Response' From Fans Posted: 08 Dec 2009 03:50 AM PST He also brushed off Rolling Stone's mediocre review: 'I didn't get the way they looked at my album.'
Chris Brown had his day in court when he pleaded guilty for his assault on Rihanna earlier this year. But with the Tuesday (December 8) release of Graffiti — his first project since the February assault — finds the singer facing a different kind of judgment. So far, though, Brown said the feedback he's gotten from the public has been praiseworthy for his album, the third of his career.
"My fans [have] given me a great response on the album," Brown told MTV News. "They actually said they love it. They tell me what songs they love. Like 99 percent of the comments are all positive about the album." Reviews for Brown's album have mostly been generous, although many reviewers have put the music in the context of the assault. Rolling Stone magazine did a double review of Brown's album alongside Rihanna's latest. The review noted that, unfair as it may be, it's difficult to listen to Brown's music without recalling his violent actions. "The Rihanna incident has made it impossible to hear him in the same way," the review read. "The sweetness that animated songs like 2008's 'Forever' is now a hard sell." Brown took umbrage with the review, in which he received 2.5 out of five stars, taking to his Twitter account to respond to the magazine. "rolling stone mag... r u serious?" he wrote. "we will see. album 12-8-09." "I didn't get the way they looked at my album," he explained to MTV News. "I just felt like there was a little bit of hate because of the situation and not because of the music. But we're gonna keep it moving." Related Artists |
| 50 Cent Reunites With Vivica A. Fox For 'Do You Think About Me' Video Posted: 08 Dec 2009 04:59 AM PST Clip was inspired by the relationship drama in Martin Lawrence's 'A Thin Line Between Love and Hate.'
Hey, if he can get on the same stage with his D-Block rivals, 50 Cent can share the screen with former love interest Vivica A. Fox. The actress appears in 50's new video for "Do You Think About Me." In the clip, a distraught, crying Fox might literally blow up the spot if you mess with her emotions. In the video, Fox walks in a restaurant and sees Fif with his new girl, actress Tamala Jones. Vivica's character goes into a tizzy, slashing tires, stabbing voodoo dolls of the G-Unit General and, at the end, bringing C-4 to his door. Throughout the video, we also see real photos of the two when they were together as a couple, including during the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards.
50 said the treatment for the video was inspired by watching Martin Lawrence in "A Thin Line Between Love and Hate." "I actually wanna write a sorta 'Thin Line Between Love and Hate' — a piece that kind of has that energy that the film with Martin Lawrence had to it," Fif said. "You know, of course they were happy in the beginning. [Then] she only sees what she wants. She was so angry, she could hurt him." Last month, 50 also told MTV News that the song was written after analyzing past relationships. "So many people are gonna identify with it," Fif told us about the single, his favorite on the album. "The 55 percent of people that have been married and divorced are gonna identify with it. "I was writing about the difference of how it felt when it was only about money, once it got down to me dealing with the child-support situation," he continued. "The friendship we had was forgotten. I believe people invest in each other, and it's never even when you're in a relationship. One person is loving harder than the other. When the expectations aren't being met, they kinda resent the other party. A lot of times they don't go from being boyfriend and girlfriend or to getting engaged or being married back to being friends. They kinda gotta part ways from each other because one still has feelings and one is ready to move on." Related Artists |
| Nick Jonas Discusses His 'Fascination With The President' Posted: 09 Dec 2009 04:08 AM PST 'The times that I've joked about wanting to be president, I'm taking [it] somewhat serious,' he tells MTV News.
With a nickname like "Mr. President" and a band called the Administration, it's pretty easy to see that Nick Jonas feels some sort of connection to the world of politics. Plus, several of the songs from his side project's debut, Who I Am, reference the White House. So does Nick one day want to leave the entertainment business behind for Washington, D.C.? That might be looking too far into the future. "Not so much [fascinated] with politics, but more just about the fascination with the president," he said. "The opportunities that we've had to go to the White House, the times that I've joked about wanting to be president and all that, I'm taking [it] somewhat serious."
With all the presidency talk surrounding him, he felt like he needed to come up with a few songs that mirror that theme in his life. "Rose Garden," "Olive and Arrow," "State of Emergency" and "Conspiracy Theory" made the cut. "Obviously, I have a lot of time to think about that, but it was something cool to do with this," he said. "And it gave me some inspiration, and having a list of a hundred of these things that I could take and make them double meanings ... only four of them stuck." He jokingly added: " 'Oval Office' is a song that didn't sound that cool." So what steps does Nick need to take before he starts campaigning? Well, college, of course, and he's already started looking. "We'll have to wait and see," he said. "The first step to the whole process is going to college and getting that in there. I visited a couple colleges this past summer. It was interesting to see how it would all work out and what the timing would be, but that might be in the future some day." Related Videos Related Artists |
| Britney Spears' Biggest Fan Search: We Have A Winner! Posted: 08 Dec 2009 04:59 AM PST Congratulations, Haleybrit!
Last month, as part of MTV News' celebration of all things Britney Spears, we undertook a search for Brit's biggest fan. We asked fans to submit videos explaining why they qualify for that title, with the winner being promised a copy of Britney Spears: The Singles Collection. And after digging through many videos submitted to Your.MTV.com, from the heartfelt to the offbeat, with many imaginative explanations of why fans feel they're #1, we have a winner: Congratulations, Haleybrit! In her video, Haleybrit, in a top hat, explained that she saw Britney three times on her highly successful Circus tour, and showed off her Britney-poster-plastered bedroom and how she plays Britney on Wii. Her collection of Britney memorabilia goes far beyond posters, with magazines and photo albums full of Britney memorabilia also in her collection. Along with her video, she wrote, "My name is Haleybrit and I am Britney's #1 Fan! She is my idol, my inspiration, my motivation, my everything. Ever since '... Baby One More Time' came out, she has always been my #1 fave. Thirty seconds was not nearly enough time to show and explain just how big of a fan I am or to show all of the Britney things I own, but here is a snippet of what I do have." Not only does Haleybrit win bragging rights, but also the album — which includes all of Brit's biggest hits, including " ... Baby One More Time," "(You Drive Me) Crazy (The Stop Remix!)," "I'm a Slave 4 U," Toxic" and "Oops! ... I Did It Again" and many more, including her latest single, "3." So congrats again to HaleyBrit — and thanks to everyone who submitted their videos! Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
| Timbaland Says Miley Cyrus Is The 'Female Justin Timberlake' Posted: 08 Dec 2009 04:17 AM PST 'That girl can sing so good,' super-producer says of their collaboration on Shock Value II.
When Timbaland hooked up with Miley Cyrus for the track "We Belong to the Music," from his album Shock Value II, the super-producer was thoroughly impressed with the "Hannah Montana" star. He thinks she'll be able to make a smooth transition from teenybopper to full-fledged pop star, like another guy he's worked with a time or two.
"I look at Miley as a female Justin Timberlake," he told MTV News. "The reason why I say that is her work ethics are incredible. That girl can sing so good that I was very impressed. I couldn't believe it. I'm like, 'This is Miley Cyrus? She's singing the song?' " Timbaland said he and Cyrus sat for hours trying to get the song — which he says is about needing only the music and nothing else, — just right. "She went in and knocked it out. She killed it," he said. "She loved the song, so she killed it." He's just hoping the 17-year-old will be given the creative freedom to make the leap into making more adult music. "When you go that [teenybopper] route, you can only be big in two places — either TV or music," he said. "And hers, unfortunately, is TV. So she's big at TV and music. She's got to build up to that." But he has no doubt that she'll be able to bridge the gap. "She gonna get there — watch," he said. "We developed a great relationship." Related Videos Related Artists |
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