MTV News |
- Katy Perry, Avril Lavigne Sit In On Tame 'American Idol' L.A. Auditions
- Cassidy Is 'Saturating The Game' With New Mixtape, <i>C.A.S.H.</i> Album
- Wyclef Jean Returns To Haiti To Continue Relief Effort
- Katy Perry Is Ready To 'Ditch' Her Career To Be 'American Idol' Judge
- Paper Tongues Have Randy Jackson To Thank For Their Record Deal
- Dave Matthews Band Nearly Called It Quits Before Grammy-Nominated LP
- Justin Timberlake On 'Feeling Of Unity' During 'Hope For Haiti Now'
- Daniel Franco From 'Project Runway' Makes 'American Idol' Cameo
- Adam Lambert, Justin Bieber Show Off Their Style In Exclusive Photos
- Lupe Fiasco Hopes Collabo With Kanye West, Pharrell Is 'Coming Soon'
| Katy Perry, Avril Lavigne Sit In On Tame 'American Idol' L.A. Auditions Posted: 26 Jan 2010 07:10 AM PST Perry gets snippy with Kara DioGuardi, which was one of the only interesting things about Tuesday's show.
Katy Perry and Avril Lavigne know exactly what it's like to have a musical dream. Both were once teenage girls who had to scrape and paw their way to pop stardom, which is why the youngest "American Idol" guest judges to date were perfect for the Los Angeles round of auditions. Despite being the entertainment capital of the world, the L.A. auditions on Tuesday night's (January 26) "Idol" provided very few fireworks — except for the catty exchanges between Perry and fellow judge Kara DioGuardi, which were among the most entertaining moments on an otherwise lackluster evening.
One of the night's biggest standouts was 28-year-old Burbank, California, native Mary Powers, mother of an 8-year-old girl, who put a smile on Lavigne's face with an impassioned take on Pat Benatar's "Love Is a Battlefield." Simon Cowell liked the vocals but called her black-on-black ensemble a clichéd attempt to dress like a rock star. "You do have a character to your voice and a cool tone. It's raspy and it is punk rock, so I think it's cool," Lavigne said of the female singer with the Adam Lambert hair and bondage pants. Apparently, this year the Lambert effect is all over the place, from the many auditioners showing up with asymmetrical Adam hair, to the vocal inspiration of A.J. Mendoza, who sang Living Colour's "Cult of Personality." OK, the 20-year-old musical-theater performer didn't sing it so much as emote it like he'd "gone to the dentist 10 minutes ago," according to Cowell, who likened his vocals to anesthetized mush. It wasn't all bad, though. Pastor and father of three Neil Ranger, 27 — following in the footsteps of last year's church-trained worship leaders Kris Allen and Danny Gokey — impressed the judges with his original country/soul tune "Drive." Lavigne wondered whether his busy home life might make it hard to hit the road and said no, but the other three panelists gave him a shot at Hollywood. With her devil-ear hoodie and armful of plastic bangles, Lavigne giggled like a schoolgirl and could hardly contain herself at the worst singers, giving guest judge Mary J. Blige a run for her money in the trying-to-stifle-a-laugh department. You couldn't really blame her, with the sweaty 168-IQ computer geeks with Prince Valiant hair and bedazzled vests who just wanted to exultate (whatever that is) but who mostly just made the panel uncomfortable by butchering Meat Loaf and refusing to leave the room. There were the metal screamers, lyric-fudgers and a flute-playing, sandwich-making, pacifist martial artist in search of the perfect note, whose journey will seemingly continue indefinitely. On day two, Perry was up to bat in the city of show-biz dreamers that appeared to be producing very few potential stars. She had no better luck, sitting through water-treatment workers/ glam-rock wannabes murdering Cheap Trick classics while doing Mick Jagger-style aerobics, and creepy, dead-eye guys who believe in magic but know nothing about song choice (i.e. Don't pick the Divinyls' "I Touch Myself" for an audition). "It takes a lot for me to feel dirty," the "I Kissed a Girl" singer told the latter, which tells you just how skeevy he was. Another dad had what it took, though. Andrew Garcia, 23, whose parents were involved in Hispanic gangs in L.A., was in search of a better life for his son, and he may have found it in the "Idol" audition room. Singing a very soulful version of Maroon 5's "Sunday Morning," Garcia got the ultimate compliment from Cowell, who said he was "the only person who's walked through today who I genuinely believe is a good singer." Perry seconded that emotion, saying he gave her chills, and both DioGuardi and Randy Jackson gave him major props as well. Personal assistant by day, minister by night Tasha Layton, 26, killed it with Joss Stone's "Baby, Baby, Baby," nailing the sweet-pop soul vocals and even evoking a bit of Stone's funky hippie vibe. "I love a good Southern belle," Perry purred, while Cowell predicted people were going to really like her. And while the medical drama of previous audition episodes subsided for at least one night, the show-closer was 25-year-old Los Angeles shoe salesman Chris Golightly, who spent his childhood bouncing around between 25 foster families. He channeled the pain of his lonely upbringing into a very solid take on Ben E. King's "Stand by Me," hitting some emotional, breathy runs and leading DioGuardi to say that he was one of her favorites and that "we may look back at this audition and go, 'Wow.' " The latter's reaction to Golightly's story elicited a bit of a catfight with Perry, who appeared to clash with DioGuardi several times during the auditions and who disagreed with the notion that dramatic backstory could help him on the show. "This is not a Lifetime movie, sweetheart," Perry said, dissing the woman with whom she co-wrote Kelly Clarkson's "I Do Not Hook Up." "He has an amazing story," DioGuardi countered. "He has an amazing story, but you have to have talent," Perry said. "Everybody has amazing stories." Cowell was not feeling it either, saying Golightly could have been in a boy band and gave an old-fashioned audition, though he put him through anyway with a "small y" yes. In the end, 22 others from Los Angeles made it through to the Hollywood round. Wednesday night's show will head to Dallas with guest panelists Joe Jonas and Neil Patrick Harris. Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Artists | ||
| Cassidy Is 'Saturating The Game' With New Mixtape, <i>C.A.S.H.</i> Album Posted: 27 Jan 2010 03:50 AM PST 'I wanted to get the mixtape market in a frenzy, to let them know I'm coming back,' he tells Mixtape Daily.
The O.D.: A Mixtape Daily Exclusive On Monday, we brought you info from the great Bun B and his journey to tear a hole in every beat he raps on this year. Uncle Bun wants his name next to dozens and dozens of songs this year, whether it's original material, freestyles or guest spots. Another MC known for knocking the lining out of a beat is Philly's Cassidy. Cass has been jumping on a slew of instrumentals, from Jay-Z's "On to the Next One" to Jay Electronica's "Exhibit C."
"I wasn't going to touch it," Cass told us about getting on Electronica's instant classic. "I heard so many radio DJs talking about it, and they talking like Jay Electronica was saving hip-hop with that record, so I said, 'I gotta get up on that joint.' I'm pretty much jumping on everything that's hot. I'm saturating the game, really trying to make people suffocate. ... I wanted to get the mixtape market in a frenzy, to let them know I'm coming back." Cass' new mixtape, Apply Pressure 2, is tentatively due February 5. Besides freestyles, Cass has been dropping original material for the streets like "She's Addicted" and "Henny and Bacardi." Cass said he sampled the voice of his former Full Surface Records CEO, Swizz Beatz, to show there is no bad blood with the super producer and they're still friends. Another friend of Cassidy's, NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony, has invested some dollars into the Hustla's project, affording him the comfort of recording like he's working with a major, even though Cass is independent now. The record is dropping through Larceny Entertainment, by way of E1. Cassidy's new LP, C.A.S.H., is coming out later this year. It's his first album since 2007's B.A.R.S. "My album is C.A.S.H. It stands for 'Cass Always Stays Hard.' Some people say it's 'Cass Always a Straight Hustla.' My last album was B.A.R.S., [which stands for] the 'Barry Adrian Reese Story.' They say it's a recession. I call my album C.A.S.H. because everybody needs money. I feel as though everybody that's a fan of hip-hop or a fan of music period, they need to come and support artists like me, because you gonna see hip-hop fall off the map, like other forms of music, if you don't. I don't feel it's going down a good path right now. I think they need to support artists like me that's really gonna put his all into it, go hard, be lyrical and be original, not a follower." Cass said the first single is pretty much done, and it features a "big, big artist" he's worked with before. He has "hundreds" of songs he's been whittling down, and he plans to mix and master this week. "I got a street record to shake up the industry," he said. "I'm dropping that in two weeks. I'm gonna let that rock and come back with the real single." That street banger is called "Face to Face." "It's basically talking about things I would like to see in the industry," he said about the song. "People talking about 'Hip-hop is dead.' I don't feel as though hip-hop is dead. The same people who started hip-hop is living. There's certain adjustments that need to be made to make sure it goes back to normal. I feel it's gonna shake up the game. It's gonna give the industry a lot to talk about. Even if you don't like how I rhyme or my tone of voice, just for the concept alone, you're gonna have a lot to talk about." For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines. Related Videos | ||
| Wyclef Jean Returns To Haiti To Continue Relief Effort Posted: 25 Jan 2010 11:01 PM PST Jean releases video for new song 'Hold On,' dedicated to earthquake victims.
Wyclef Jean did not sit around, basking in the positive glow of the massively successful "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon he helped organize. The morning after Friday's all-star fundraiser for the earthquake-ravaged nation, the former Fugees leader was on a plane back to his native country to continue relief efforts following the 7.0 quake that devastated the island on January 12. "So da day after the telethon I have been on the ground in Haiti. We provided cooked meals n water trucks from morn til Night! I am bless," Clef tweeted on Monday.
The rapper/producer also went to neighboring Dominican Republic and asked President Leonel Fernandez for more help moving supplies across the border. Wyclef, accompanied by actor Vin Diesel, also thanked the president for his support so far. Diesel, who has made a short movie and "Fast and Furious" in the Dominican Republic, arrived in Haiti last week and has been helping to get urgently needed supplies into the decimated capital. "It feels like the whole entire world coming together," the rapper told reporters. "The mission will not be easy but we all will take Haiti into the 21 century," Jean tweeted on Monday, posting pictures of himself on the ground at the airport in Port-au-Prince. 'Clef also filmed a video for a new song he recorded with Jamaican dancehall star Mavado titled "Hold On," which is dedicated to the people of Haiti. Featuring a shout-out to late Haitian musician Jimmy O — who perished in the earthquake — and a message of perseverance in the face of tragedy, the clip again encourages fans to text donations to Wyclef's Yele Haiti foundation by texting "Yele" to 501501. "Hope for Haiti Now," which drew more than 83 million viewers on Friday night, has raised more than $61 million so far, setting a new record for donations made by the general public through a disaster-relief telethon. Learn more about what you can do to help with earthquake-relief efforts in Haiti, and for more information, see Think MTV. Visit HopeForHaitiNow.org or call (877) 99-HAITI to make a donation now. Related Artists | ||
| Katy Perry Is Ready To 'Ditch' Her Career To Be 'American Idol' Judge Posted: 27 Jan 2010 03:50 AM PST 'I make 'em cry all the time,' she jokes about her guest-judging gig.
As the "American Idol" auditions continue making their way around the country, we've seen celebrity guest judges like Mary J. Blige and Shania Twain helping Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi find the next big thing. On Tuesday night (January 26), Katy Perry and Avril Lavigne sat in on . We caught up with Perry after the audition episodes were taped to see how her guest-judging stint went.
"I make 'em cry all the time," Perry joked to MTV News. "The 'American Idol' experience was awesome. If I was offered that job as a permanent host, I would ditch my career and take on that career." Perry said she didn't actually cause anyone to tear up, but she did have a great time during the experience. "It's kind of like judging a talent show," she said. " 'American Idol' was great fun. It was so easy. I didn't really make anybody cry, but I did tell the truth to some kids that might have needed to hear it." Judging the audition rounds is the easy part, Perry said. She's just glad she doesn't have to make the really tough decisions during Hollywood Week and beyond. "I guess the pressure gets really on when you start eliminating the number of people that are going through," she said. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, and then you've got the final two. That can be kind of tense and stressful." Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Videos | ||
| Paper Tongues Have Randy Jackson To Thank For Their Record Deal Posted: 27 Jan 2010 03:50 AM PST 'I kind of startled him a little bit,' lead singer Aswan North said of accosting the 'American Idol' judge at a Los Angeles restaurant.
Before the Paper Tongues got a record deal from "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson, the guys were just a band with a silly name. And now that they've acquired a considerable amount of buzz in the music industry, people can't help but wonder how they got that silly sounding name. "It honestly started off as two names in a hat. We couldn't come up with anything at all, so we just wrote down words that sounded good phonetically, pulled them out, mixed everything around and came up with Paper Tongues," guitarist Devin Forbes explained.
Forbes also wasn't ashamed to admit that by sheer coincidence, they almost accidentally named themselves after the Kings of Leon. "It's really funny. I still laugh about this 'cause one of the band names we were thinking of calling it was Kings of Leoness. And none of us had any idea who the Kings of Leon were," he explained. "We did not know there was a band called Kings of Leon. It was, like, five years ago, and then we found out they were a huge band." So, with a band name and demo all ready to go, it was only a matter of time before the guys got discovered. And unlike many "American Idol" hopefuls, all the guys had to do was just happen to run into Randy Jackson in order to land a record deal. No snippy Simon Cowell moments for these guys. "Me and my buddies saw him [at a restaurant in Los Angeles]. We walked outside, I got a valet dude to give me a piece of paper, wrote down my MySpace and my cell phone number, took it back over to him, and the rest is history," lead singer Aswan North explained. "I kind of startled him a little bit. I just got really amped. Two hours later, homeboy called me back. It was amazing when he called in two hours. We were all pretty startled." The band's debut album is due out this March. Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. | ||
| Dave Matthews Band Nearly Called It Quits Before Grammy-Nominated LP Posted: 27 Jan 2010 03:50 AM PST The death of saxophonist LeRoi Moore made them press forward, all the way to an Album of the Year nod.
Over the course of some 18 years together, the Dave Matthews Band have reached some rather incredible heights. They've sold more than 30 million albums, toured the world more times than anyone can remember and, in 2003, played a free show in New York's Central Park that drew more than 120,000 fans. It's been a fairly successful ride, to say the least.
But for all the highs, DMB have never been lower than they were in 2008, when they began work on their seventh studio album, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King. Dogged by infighting and exhausted after nearly two decades spent on the road, the band nearly imploded. (In an interview last year with CBS News, Matthews even admitted that he sent a letter to his bandmates saying the group was finished.) The songs weren't going anywhere. Nobody's heart seemed particularly in it this time around. And then, in August, saxophonist LeRoi Moore died, following injuries he sustained in an ATV accident. Needless to say, it was a pretty bleak period. So perhaps the biggest achievement of GrooGrux — which is nominated for a pair of Grammy awards, including Album of the Year — wasn't that it paid tribute to Moore, both in title and sound (the album opens and closes with solos he laid down while sessions were still in their infancy) or that it debuted at #1, giving DMB their fifth-consecutive chart-topping bow. No, it was that the album got made at all.
Because, more than anything, GrooGrux is a testament to DMB's willpower, their unyielding drive and determination and their commitment to one another. Moore's death galvanized the group, made them realize that even the most serious of spats were merely trivial in the grand scheme of things, and they pressed on accordingly. There is an underlying (and understandable) weariness that runs through much of the record — even jovial numbers like "Why I Am" and "Funny the Way It Is" are thinly veiled ruminations on fate, life, love and (most of all) death — but the important thing is that they finished it. Lesser bands would have folded in situations half this bad. That was not an option here. The Dave Matthews Band owed it to themselves, their fans and, most of all, Moore to continue onward. And that's exactly what they did. Still, they had some help along the way. Moore might have passed on, but he was still somewhere high above, guiding them through the album — as Matthews explained to MTV News back in April. "There was one song called 'Lying in the Hands of God' that I wrote the words over the piece, [over] the constructed song that we made," he said. "I wrote the words and the chorus and all the stuff, and then played it back and it was a duet! It was already there, 'Roi playing along. And it was bizarre, because we hadn't really turned the sax up, then we did, and there it was. He was playing along the whole time." Check out more about other Album of the Year nominees, including Beyoncé's I Am ... Sasha Fierce and the Black Eyed Peas' The E.N.D. Related Videos Related Photos | ||
| Justin Timberlake On 'Feeling Of Unity' During 'Hope For Haiti Now' Posted: 26 Jan 2010 07:40 AM PST Singer performed Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' during telethon.
Justin Timberlake was one of many of the music industry's biggest stars who graced the stage for the "Hope for Haiti" telethon. Timberlake, along with friend Matt Morris, played the Leonard Cohen staple "Hallelujah." Then he sat down with other celebrities to take calls from donors, and though it was all for a very serious cause, the singer seems to have enjoyed himself.
"When George [Clooney] kind of came into the [room] and said, 'OK. you guys, that was amazing,' everybody kind of got up and applauded," Timberlake told "Access Hollywood." "We were hugging and everybody kind of stood there and talked to each other for a while and so it was a feeling of unity. It was really cool." Timberlake said he had a good time working the phone bank. "I mostly got, probably more calls from New York," he said. "They were patching all the New York calls, I think, to me. It was ... immediately all these 'SNL' references came out, and we had some laughs. I had a good time talking to people." The star-studded gathering was watched by about 83 million people and has helped raise more than $61 million in funds to date. Timberlake and Morris' "Hallelujah" performance topped the iTunes singles chart, and all of the proceeds from the song's sales also go to earthquake relief. "Obviously, I was going to help answer phones and help make donations," Timberlake told MTV News on Friday. "But as soon as I got that call, all of a sudden ... it was kind of like a big highlighted neon-green [light], everywhere I looked: 'Hallelujah, hallelujah.' " Learn more about what you can do to help with earthquake-relief efforts in Haiti, and for more information, see Think MTV. Visit HopeForHaitiNow.org or call (877) 99-HAITI to make a donation now. Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists | ||
| Daniel Franco From 'Project Runway' Makes 'American Idol' Cameo Posted: 26 Jan 2010 07:25 AM PST Montage of Adam Lambert wannabes during L.A. auditions also includes Michael Castro and Cassidy Haley.
"American Idol" fans are buzzing after Tuesday night's (January 26) episode, thanks to the revelation that Adam Lambert's huge post-"AI" success has new contestants eager to mimic his unique style. One featured face is raising the most eyebrows, however: Daniel Franco from "Project Runway." A montage of people who came to the Los Angeles auditions dressed like Lambert featured several men and women decked out with spiky hair, eyeliner and lots of leather. One highlight included someone butchering Living Colour's "Cult of Personality" while employing all of Adam's tics but little of the talent that made Lambert an "Idol" breakout star.
In the middle of it all, however, was Franco — who was cut in the first-ever episode of "Runway" and then begged to be back on season two — cracking a joke about how he looked like the lovechild of Lambert and Susan Boyle. "If Adam Lambert and Susan Boyle had sex, which is pretty farfetched," Franco said on Tuesday's show, "I'd be it, pretty much." What makes his appearance even more intriguing is that at 38, he's well over the 28-year-old age limit for "Idol" contestants, which could possibly imply that the show's producers were familiar with his reality-show history and figured he'd be good cannon fodder. For those keeping score at home, other Lambert wannabes in the montage included Cassidy Haley (Lambert's musician friend whom he has tweeted about in the past) and Michael Castro, little brother to "Idol" season-seven finalist Jason Castro. Michael made it to Hollywood Week last season, but judging by the montage treatment, it doesn't look like he's advanced this time around. Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. | ||
| Adam Lambert, Justin Bieber Show Off Their Style In Exclusive Photos Posted: 26 Jan 2010 12:33 AM PST Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta and My Chemical Romance's Gerard and Mikey Way also talk music and style with VMan magazine.
Justin Bieber, Adam Lambert, Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta and Gerard and Mikey Way from My Chemical Romance all sat down with VMan magazine for its "how-to issue," which hits newsstands Thursday. The guys are all being recognized by the magazine for their contributions to the world of music and style, and they all opened up about their artistry and their lives in the fast lane.
"What I do has been done before," Lambert told the magazine. "It's glam. It's inspired by the '70s and '80s. Bowie is a huge influence. So are hair bands." In the issue, he also discusses how he doesn't understand why people associate someone's eccentric style with being gay. "Why must a crazy look necessarily be gay?" he asked. "Our society is more fearful, I guess. And they don't party enough. Everyone was partying in the '80s." Bieber spoke about his overnight success and how his youth allows him to do whatever he wants when it comes to fashion, including sporting a kiss from Rihanna to the photo shoot. "I never knew [my music] was going to be a big thing," he said. "I started posting [videos online], and then like a month and a half later, tons of viewers were coming in. ... In the last year, I think I've developed my style a little as I've built up my swagger." While Bieber's swagger is a bit more pop, Gerard Way said working in the world of rock is a lot less Technicolor. "Rock and roll is a kind of death fantasy, but you don't want to die — that's the trick," he said. "It's about immortality. ... For me, wearing black is just what I've always liked. I went to art school. That's what you do in art school." Finally, Saporta said he's living his dream as the frontman of Cobra Starship. "For me, as a regular band dude, to be able to cross over to a wide, mainstream audience — well, it's rare," he said. "I've always said that I want to be the punk-rock Justin Timberlake, and I know I'm lucky to be there now." Related Photos Related Artists | ||
| Lupe Fiasco Hopes Collabo With Kanye West, Pharrell Is 'Coming Soon' Posted: 26 Jan 2010 02:38 AM PST 'Pharrell hit me the other day and said we need to go back into the studio,' Fiasco says of CRS project.
Lupe Fiasco has been lying low for the past few years, but after dropping a mixtape toward the end of 2009, the Chicago MC is ready to release his next solo album, the forthcoming Lasers. The LP will be his first since 2007's The Cool. On Monday, Fiasco appeared on Green Lantern's Invasion Radio on Sirius XM and confirmed that he just turned over the completed Lasers material to his label, Atlantic Records. (No release date has been set yet.) He also revealed that the long-delayed CRS collaboration, featuring himself, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams, might soon see the light of day. "Pharrell hit me the other day, and he was like, 'Yo, we really need to do this Child Rebel Soldiers project,' " the rapper said during his Shade 45 interview. "We did, like, four songs [so far]. So that's four songs of Lupe Fiasco that your punk ass don't got. Hopefully, it's coming soon. But I'm not gonna stray anybody off [their own projects] like that. Pharrell hit me the other day and said we need to go back into the studio and do some more songs. I don't know what Kanye's doing, but we'll figure it out." The supergroup first came to fruition from a song that appeared on a previous Fiasco mixtape. The rapper initially put together a track for himself to feature West and U.K. artist the Streets. When the British rapper never got back to him, however, West forwarded the song to the Neptunes producer. From there, the collabo took on a life of its own. "Pharrell came up with the idea — 'Let's do a group, Child Rebel Soldiers,' " Fiasco told MTV News in April 2008. "So I did a song. Took Thom Yorke's 'Eraser,' cut it up, put 'Us Placers' on it, because I was going to do a mixtape called Us Placers and remake Thom Yorke's album [The Eraser] and Radiohead's stuff. I sent the record out, and it was initially supposed to have Kanye, and I wanted the Streets. The Streets, I got no response. He asked me to do the song for one of his artists. Then Kanye jumped on it and was like, 'I'm going to send it to P.' Then P sent it back, and it was like, 'This is the first song right here. Let's do it.' That was, like, a year and a half ago, and the whole time we've been figuring out what to do." Related Artists |
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