MTV News |
- Usher's 'Hey Daddy' Video: Distance Makes The Heart Grow Fonder
- Taylor Swift Is <i>Fearless</i> In Her March To The Grammys
- Joe Jonas, Neil Patrick Harris Size Up Texas Talent On 'American Idol'
- <i>Hope For Haiti Now</i> Becomes First Digital Album To Top <i>Billboard</i> Chart
- Newcomer Freddie Gibbs Is 'Trying To Put The Midwest On The Map'
- Lady Gaga Says She Raised $500,000 For Haiti Relief
- Lupe Fiasco 'Somewhat' Agrees With Controversial Bill O'Reilly Comment
- Todrick Hall Made His Mark Long Before 'American Idol'
- Mary J. Blige, Andrea Bocelli To Sing Haiti Tribute At Grammys
- Perez Hilton Wants 'Five Justin Timberlakes' For His New Boy Band
| Usher's 'Hey Daddy' Video: Distance Makes The Heart Grow Fonder Posted: 27 Jan 2010 03:58 AM PST The video for the singer's latest single has him torn between nightlife and home life.
Usher's home, and he's ready to get busy. But will you be waiting for him in the bedroom? That's the question posed by "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)," a song about several things, most of which seem to be coital. "Daddy" is the proper first single from his upcoming Raymond v. Raymond album, which, by all accounts, is a very personal thing — last year, producer Bryan Michael Cox told MTV News that Ush made the record because he's "in a place where he really wants to express what's going on in his life" — and chief among those things is an impending divorce from wife Tameka Foster-Raymond. And if the so-called "buzz" single, "Papers," was a document of their crumbling relationship, well, then "Daddy" provides some of the reasons behind that crumble.
Because while the song — and accompanying video, which premiered Thursday (January 28) on MTV.com — is about temptation, love and lust, it's also about distance and the effect it has on all those things. Here is Usher, somewhere far away, with his lady (who I assume is his wife) waiting patiently, eagerly, at home. All Ush wants to do is make it back to her, to do all those things that husbands and wives tend to do. The only problem is he can't. The reasons why are never explained, though in the video we do see Usher being pulled in many different directions — the boardroom, the studio, the club — at the same time. There is a moment where he takes a phone call on the roof of a building and while we're never clear if it's about business or pleasure, you can kind of see why it'd be about both. Such is the life he's chosen, and now he must deal with the repercussions. And, of course, with distance comes the threat of infidelity. On the road, there is temptation around every turn, and Ush is subjected to his fair share, mostly from some over-friendly dancers (though in one sequence he is also sipping — and spitting — champagne in a place that looks very much like a strip club). And for that matter, we're not even sure that the woman he's singing about is his wife — it's entirely possible that, unbeknownst to her, he's got someone special stashed in a nearby suite. At song's end, we're not sure if Usher even makes it home — in the video, the object of his affection (model Noemie Lenoir) waits and waits, then, finally fed up, just leaves. Infer from that what you will. One thing's for certain: Distance may make the heart grow fonder, but there are limits to everything. Usher may want to be no place but home, but there's a big, wide world out there with pitfalls aplenty. He's a superstar, a businessman, a father and an (ex-) husband, but at the end of the day, Ush is also human, and "Hey Daddy" is proof of that. Related Videos | ||
| Taylor Swift Is <i>Fearless</i> In Her March To The Grammys Posted: 28 Jan 2010 03:50 AM PST The country-pop crossover had the best-selling album of 2009.
Think back to what you did when you were 19. Maybe you just finished your freshman year in college, came home a few fudge sundaes heavier than when you left and spent the summer sleeping until noon at your parents' place while waiting for the next party to start up. But if your name is Taylor Swift, 19 was the year you catapulted from country cutie to international megastar. Swift was already a very popular singer before last year, releasing a self-titled debut album in 2006 that has sold more than 3 million copies.
But 2009 was the year she went supernova, all thanks to an album called Fearless. Released at the tail end of 2008, Fearless dominated the charts in 2009, spinning off a string of hit singles such as "Love Story," "White Horse," "Fifteen" and "You Belong With Me" and racking up eight Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year, while selling more than 3 million copies. She's a country star pop fans love and a pop star whose humble roots and strong songwriting chops appeal to country fans. It helps that Swift is also incredibly talented, co-producing the album with Nathan Chapman and writing or co-writing every one of its 13 songs. Like many country crossover artists before her, Swift often leans heavily on the pop end of the spectrum, offering hints of the sounds heard on albums from other teen girl singers, but without the assist of Auto-Tune, corny hip-hop-inspired beats or party-till-you-drop lyrics. Fearless is a true singer/songwriter album, with affecting, timeless stories of teen heartache and longing that feel decades ahead of the singer's chronological age. That honesty comes through loud and clear on songs like "Forever & Always," which fans immediately recognized as a kiss-off to former flame Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers. "With this situation, I feel like I owed it to my fans to be like, 'Look, it happened, you weren't crazy,' and address it," she told MTV News the week the album was released. "And I addressed it, and, you know, that's a chapter in my life that's closed now." Swift admitted that she went a bit more general in her songwriting on the album, unlike her VMA-nominated "Teardrops on My Guitar," in which she called out one ex by name. "I like to write personal songs," she explained. "I like to write songs that are very obviously about people. It's kind of hard to change your stripes. I like to write songs about love, and I like to write songs about relationships, and I like to write songs about boys." It helps that Swift has a megawatt smile and is a serious double threat, writing and performing great songs, but also showing up on "CSI" and cooking up some serious laughs as the musical guest/ host on "Saturday Night Live." MTV News' #2 Woman of the Year not only set digital download records for a country artist, she landed all but two of the tracks from Fearless in the Billboard Hot 100 at some point over the past year, became the first female country artist to log eight weeks at #1 on the Billboard and the youngest artist to win the Entertainer of the Year award at the Country Music Association Awards, just one of the dozens of major honors she took home in 2009.
In addition to debuting at #1 when it was released, Fearless spent 53 non-consecutive weeks in the top 10, tying it for the longest run near the top since Shania Twain did it with Come On Over from 1997-1999. Amid all that, the preternaturally sweet and grounded singer also unintentionally scored one of the top pop-culture memes of the millennium when Kanye West bum-rushed her at September's VMAs, uttering the phrase that became an instant sensation and punch line, "I'm sorry, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time." Her stunned, emotional reaction only made Swift even more relatable and lovable, as evidenced by the spike in sales for Fearless and the subsequent Platinum Edition re-release in October, which kept Swift in the top 10 through the end of the year and into 2010. Swift continues to tour the album and will play a sold-out show in front of 68,000-plus fans at Gillette Stadium in June. With a third CD already in the works and Fearless showing no signs of slowing down, a Grammy for Album of the Year would be yet another sign that Swift shouldn't worry about her rocket ride ending any time soon. Stick with MTV News all week for our coverage of the 2010 Grammy Awards. We'll have reports on your favorite nominees, party photos, behind-the-scenes video and much more leading up to and during the big show Sunday at 8 p.m. ET. Related Videos | ||
| Joe Jonas, Neil Patrick Harris Size Up Texas Talent On 'American Idol' Posted: 27 Jan 2010 06:53 AM PST Lone Star State tryouts produce a whopping 31 golden tickets.
Things couldn't have been much worse in Dallas than they were in Los Angeles on Tuesday night. After all, it's where "American Idol" found first-season winner Kelly Clarkson, so chances were good that more potential winners could be found in Texas on Wednesday night (January 27), when "How I Met Your Mother" star Neil Patrick Harris and the Jonas Brothers' Joe Jonas ponied up to the memorial Paula Abdul guest-judge spot. Airport dock worker and father of two Lloyd Thomas, 29, continued the cavalcade of smooth-voiced parents taking their shot this year, with a buttery rumble through Stevie Wonder's "Overjoyed," which Simon Cowell loved and Harris liked well enough.
Like the Katy Perry vs. Kara DioGuardi battle on Tuesday night, there was a clear difference of opinion on the panel Wednesday, with Harris frequently expressing Texas-size opinions that clashed with Cowell's, making for some decent drama in an otherwise tame episode. Kimberly Carver, 26, a schoolteacher who sang a bluesy original, kind of looked like Clarkson and brought a "brilliant" voice, according to Randy Jackson, though Cowell said she was old-fashioned and boring. Harris, of course, begged to differ. Wednesday night's freak parade of narcissistic sure-things was led by marble-mouth Dexter Ward, an unemployed 20-year-old from Terrell, Texas, whose nose did all the singing on Boyz II Men's "If I Ever Fall in Love Again." Sometimes, though, the ones you are sure will flame out surprise you. Consider 23-year-old actress and former "Barney & Friends" star Erica Rhodes, a grad student who walked in wearing a black leather bondage outfit and cracking a bullwhip. Costumes rarely make the cut, but Rhodes actually showed some skills and lots of Pussycat Dolls-like spunk singing En Vogue's "Free Your Mind" while wielding her weapon of choice. "I want people to know that 'Barney' kids grow up to be dirty little girls," she said. Cowell appreciated the effort, and DioGuardi liked Rhodes' presence, which paved her way to Hollywood, despite the goofy "Barney" dominatrix shtick. The night's obligatory medical story was Dave Pittman, 27, of Mountain Home, Arkansas, a lawn-care worker who suffers from Tourette syndrome, which causes him to have involuntary vocal and facial tics. Singing "Bring It on Home to Me" by Sam Cooke, Pittman powered through the soul standard and pleasantly surprised the panel by showing his charm and fortitude, earning him a shot at Hollywood. Day two brought on Jonas, who got settled in right away on a very good note thanks to the professional-quality stylings of Todrick Hall, 24, an actor who worked alongside former "Idol" winner Fantasia in Broadway's "The Color Purple." Hall sang a snappy original autobiographical R&B tune in which he explained, "Todrick is my name/ And I'm here to play a part in your game/ Hopped a plane, took a train/ Just to claim my 15 minutes of fame." With lyrical references to William Hung and a pre-emptive tip of the hat to Cowell's bored look, Hall got major props from Jackson, who said he was among the best singers so far this year, while the nasty Brit said the audition was cutesy and his voice was OK but nothing great. Despite his misgivings, Cowell agreed to put Hall through to Hollywood. The night was relatively light on freak-show theatrics and train wrecks — until neon explosion Vanessa Johnston, a 22-year-old substitute teacher from Waxahachie, Texas, set off a vocal stink bomb with her mannered, shouty take on the Etta James classic "At Last," which Cowell suspected would haunt his nightmares for a long, long time. Unlike Harris, Jonas offered very little commentary during his brief time on camera, leaving the heavy lifting and cutting remarks to the rest of the panel. Luckily for him, there was plenty of real talent to spread the golden tickets around to, from perky blond cosmetologist Maegan Wright, 20, of Richardson, Texas, who did a nice, breathy take on Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love," to 16-year-old leukemia sufferer Christian Spear, the final singer of the night. Her inspiring story of survival — her cancer has been in remission for eight years — culminated with a major-league cover of Etta James' blues ballad "All I Can Do Is Cry," which she sang with a rich voice that impressed Randy and Kara. "I think you're an incredibly brave person, and I like you a lot," Simon told the high-schooler, who became the 31st Lone Star singer to get a golden ticket. Tuesday's show heads to Denver, where Posh Spice Victoria Beckham does her second go-round behind the table. Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Artists | ||
| <i>Hope For Haiti Now</i> Becomes First Digital Album To Top <i>Billboard</i> Chart Posted: 27 Jan 2010 07:37 AM PST Album sells more than 171,000 units in less than a week.
Friday's "Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief" telethon has already broken fundraising records by gathering more than $61 million in public donations to aid the people of the devastated Caribbean nation. But on Wednesday, the accompanying soundtrack to the all-star event, Hope for Haiti Now, made some history of its own by becoming the first-ever all-digital album in the 54-year history of the Billboard 200 to debut at #1 on the albums chart. With less than a week of sales — pre-sales began on Thursday — the album still managed to grab the top spot by moving 171,000 units, easily besting the #2 album, Susan Boyle's, I Dreamed a Dream, which sold another 86,000 copies for a distant second-place finish.
Hope For Haiti Now features all of the songs from the telethon, which included one-of-a-kind performances from Wyclef Jean, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Shakira and Sting in New York; Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Dave Matthews, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift, Emeline Michel and a group performance by Keith Urban, Kid Rock, and Sheryl Crow in Los Angeles; and Beyoncé, Coldplay and a group performance by Bono, The Edge, Jay-Z and Rihanna in London. The Hope for Haiti Now album was the biggest one-day album pre-order in iTunes history. The "Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief" telethon drew a cumulative audience of more than 83 million viewers and a gross average audience of more than 24 million viewers in the United States, according to Nielsen Media Research. Across the Web and mobile, "Hope for Haiti Now" attracted 1.9 million video streams during the live broadcast. Between the live broadcast and replays of the performances available on MTV.com and other sites, "Hope for Haiti Now" attracted 5.8 million total streams throughout the weekend, including more than 150,000 mobile streams. "Hope for Haiti Now" will continue accepting donations for six months via the following methods: "Hope for Haiti Now" benefits Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the Red Cross, UNICEF, United Nations World Food Programme, Yele Haiti Foundation, and the Clinton Bush Haiti Foundation. Proceeds from "Hope for Haiti Now" will be split among each organization's individual funds for Haiti earthquake relief. With the exception of the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, each partner organization was selected for its history of operation and collaboration within the nongovernmental organization (NGO) community in Haiti. 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 | ||
| Newcomer Freddie Gibbs Is 'Trying To Put The Midwest On The Map' Posted: 28 Jan 2010 03:50 AM PST The MC is representing Indiana via Los Angeles, in Mixtape Daily.
Fire Starter: Freddie Gibbs Words of wisdom from Freddie "Gibbs" Kipton: "It ain't no 401K plan for no drug dealer or no robber. You gotta get something solid in your life."
The Gary, Indiana, native admits that he was lost for a long time in his life — as recent as last year he was facing jail time. Freddie graduated from high school in 2000 and went to Ball State University on a football scholarship, but was eventually kicked out due to poor grades. Back on the streets, Gibbs (his stage name was inspired by the badass Gibbs family in the classic film "Black Caesar") caught a gun charge (the first of two in his life) and was forced to go to the military as part of a pretrial diversion agreement. Freddie was soon discharged after he was caught smoking marijuana. "That was another learning experience in my life," the 27 year-old MC said. "When that was over with I was kicked out of school, kicked out of the army — having that ain't gonna get you nowhere." Gibbs started making mixtapes in 2003 and, taking a cue from 50 Cent's hustle game, he passed the tapes out for free. Ironically, one of his early tapes made it into the hands of an executive from 50's label, Interscope, in late 2005 — Gibbs was signed within four months. The company moved him to Los Angeles where he started recording ... and recording ... and recording. However, not much came from his two-plus years in the studio except experience. "I locked myself on the fourth floor of Interscope — there wasn't no development, there was nobody telling me what to do, how to write hooks. Every lyric came from me, every concept, just a depiction on my life," he explained. "There was no telling me how to do this, proper etiquette — there was no artist development at all. That was something I had to take upon myself and do on my own. My time over there wasn't a total waste; it made me a smarter businessman." Gibbs was released from Interscope in October 2007. Although he doesn't have a new deal yet, he's keeping his name alive on the blogs and streets with his mixtapes. The DJ Skee-hosted Midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzik is his latest and the follow-up to The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs. A compilation of his underground greatest hits, The Labels Tryin To Kill Me, was released at the end of last year. "I respect everything about the L.A. culture," said Gibbs, who splits time between his hometown and Cali. "I'm trying to model my career after Ice Cube — that's one of my favorite rappers. You gotta respect the whole West Coast movement. Me moving out there was just by faith. Interscope signed me, I moved out there and went there and saw I could establish myself because L.A. actually had a scene. Nipsey Hussle, Jay Rock — those are he two dudes pushing that movement out there. I respect them dudes, but really I'm trying to put the Midwest on the map. Show we got a voice, show we got music too. "A lot of people in Gary work hard to try and get out," he added. "It's a depressed city, a depressed economy. It's still my home. I still live there. I got family, friends there. I feel like me putting this street music out, it's gonna shed some light on the bad parts so maybe they can be fixed. Plus, it's no music scene in Gary — we don't even have our own radio situation. Everything we got is up under Chicago. I gotta go and create the scene. Being the first dude to come out the city in the rap game is a lot of pressure. For one, people hear Gary, Indiana, and think I'm some hick from the farm. But I'm from the bricks. This is the ghetto. This ain't no cornfield." For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines. Related Videos | ||
| Lady Gaga Says She Raised $500,000 For Haiti Relief Posted: 26 Jan 2010 11:18 PM PST Singer donates all proceeds from Sunday night's show in New York to Haiti.
Lady Gaga said she raised more than $500,000 for Haiti relief on Sunday night at her show in New York. On her final U.S. tour date on the first leg of the Monster Ball Tour, the singer announced Tuesday that her "Gaga for Haiti" day on Sunday netted half a million dollars for relief efforts in Haiti. "On 'Gaga for Haiti' day, in just 24 hours, with very minimal marketing and planning, all the little monsters all over the world made over half a million dollars for Haiti relief," she said in the middle of the song "Speechless" during a show on Tuesday night at Purdue University. The gig was a makeup date for a show she canceled earlier this month due to exhaustion. "I know [merchandise firm] Bravado fell off their chair. ... They couldn't believe it. So let's sing along for Haiti right now so that they can hear us." Gaga's label could not confirm the figures as of press time, and it wasn't clear if the figure she quoted from stage also included sales of her special limited-edition Haiti T-shirt. Gaga pledged to donate all proceeds from her final show at New York's Radio City Music Hall on Sunday to Haiti relief, as well as all merchandise sales that day. The singer was in good company, as Radiohead also played a Haiti benefit show on Sunday night in Los Angeles, raising $573,000 for Oxfam International's Haitian relief efforts. Gaga also announced during the show that's she's in the midst of rehearsing for the video shoot for her next single "Telephone" (featuring Beyoncé) as well as her Grammy performance on Sunday night. The Gaga and Radiohead figures come on top of the more than $61 million raised on Friday night during the "Hope for Haiti Now" event, which set new records for donations made by the general public to a disaster-relief telethon. In addition, the Hope for Haiti Now album made history Wednesday (January 27) when it became the first digital-only LP to debut at #1 on the Billboard albums chart. 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 | ||
| Lupe Fiasco 'Somewhat' Agrees With Controversial Bill O'Reilly Comment Posted: 27 Jan 2010 01:42 AM PST Chicago MC says talk-show host had 'credible argument' when he compared Chicago to Haiti.
Controversial comments by TV talk-show host Bill O'Reilly hit the Internet on Wednesday (January 27), causing plenty of talk on the chat boards. Audio from an O'Reilly appearance in Westbury, New York, was posted on MediaMatters.org, featuring O'Reilly comparing Chicago to Haiti.
"I'm seeing a guy [President Obama] who's very, very committed to the government," O'Reilly said. "The government's going to solve the problems, and I'm going, I don't know, how's that possible? If you've ever been to the South Side of Chicago, I mean, it's a disaster, all right? It's like Haiti, it's like — I've been to Haiti a couple of times. I support some charities there, but Haiti just never gets better, no matter how much money you put in there because they don't have a system. And I said the government can't do it, but Obama really believes the government can do it." One of Chicago's favorite sons, Lupe Fiasco, says that although he does not support O'Reilly, he does see the need to improve communities in Chicago. "There's a certain level of concurrence," Lupe said. "Not now. There's no toppled buildings, unless you want to count the projects. But pre-earthquake Haiti ... When I went to Africa, when I was in Tanzania, it was weird because there was this extreme poverty and extreme corruption and it looked so much like the West Side of Chicago. In [the documentary I shot over there] you'll see me say that. There's no grass, there's a barbershop, there's a sneaker store, there's a liquor store and a bunch of Coca-Cola everywhere." Fiasco, who recently climbed all the way to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro with a group of activists and celebrities including Jessica Biel and Kenna, says that ghettos across the world can sometimes resemble each other. "I don't want to be pointed out as supporting Bill O'Reilly in any way because he can be on the garbage sometimes. When you're comparing certain areas in the U.S. that are predominantly African-American or Latino, it's very easy to compare it to the Third World," Lupe said. "Just in the amount of violence that's there, the corruption that's there, the gang activity that's there. It's prevalent and dominant in Haiti. The corruption of the local politicians, the abject, corporate exploitation that takes place there, loan sharking, all that stuff. I think you can make the comparison to a lot of places in the U.S. Oakland [California], Detroit. Detroit's got abandoned buildings. On that note, he's definitely not out of the ballpark. There's a credible argument there. I agree with that in some aspects." 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 | ||
| Todrick Hall Made His Mark Long Before 'American Idol' Posted: 27 Jan 2010 07:08 AM PST The experienced entertainer — who has starred on Broadway with Fantasia Barrino — impressed judges with his own composition.
Every "American Idol" season yields a few fresh new faces that become instant stars. On Wednesday's (January 27) episode, however, some die-hard fans were excited to see a familiar one who could be headed for the top. Todrick Hall, a 24-year-old "actor/playwright" from Arlington, Texas, was one of the contestants seen auditioning in the latest "Idol" installment, earning him a golden ticket to Hollywood. But he is hardly a newcomer to the entertainment scene, with a résumé that could further endear him to "Idol" fans.
"You were with Fantasia in 'The Color Purple'?" judge Kara DioGuardi asked him as he came out to audition, referring to Hall's stint on Broadway with the winner of Season 3, in a show produced by Oprah Winfrey and undoubtedly seen by many "Idol" fans. He sure was. In fact, Hall has also appeared in "High School Musical 2," and a "Beauty and the Beast" production at Disney World. The up-and-comer has also honed his craft in theme parks and on Disney cruise ships as well as wrote, choreographed and directed his own original production called "Oz, the Musical." As fans can see on his MySpace, he's a big fan of Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and Whitney Houston, and seems determined to follow in their footsteps. "Welcome to Dallas, y'all," the affable contestant said to the judges (including Joe Jonas) as he stood in front of them. "This is a special song that I wrote just for y'all." Hall then tapped into his musical background to impress the judges with a personalized ditty. "Todrick is my name, and I'm here to play a part in your game/ Hopped a plane, took a train just to claim my 15 minutes of fame," he sang. "Do I have to get down on my knees in my $300 jeans? Because I would/ If it meant to me that maybe you could/ Just send me to Hollywood." Soon enough, Todrick was even getting the irritable Simon to give him a clap, if only in sarcasm. Moments later he was flipping those $300 jeans end-over-end with a celebratory backflip, having received four yes votes and a ticket to Hollywood. We can only assume that somewhere Fantasia is smiling in approval. Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. | ||
| Mary J. Blige, Andrea Bocelli To Sing Haiti Tribute At Grammys Posted: 27 Jan 2010 06:13 AM PST Performance of Simon & Garfunkel's 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' will raise funds for earthquake relief.
A week after participating in the record-setting "Hope for Haiti Now" benefit for earthquake relief in Haiti, Mary J. Blige will contribute to the cause again on Sunday night at the Grammys, where she'll hook up with opera star Andrea Bocelli to sing a duet of Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water."
The special fundraising segment of Sunday night's program will be released as an iTunes/Target.com download following the telecast, and all proceeds from its sale will go to the American Red Cross for earthquake recovery efforts in the devastated Caribbean island nation. Blige provided one of the emotional highlights of Friday night's "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon with a spirited cover of the traditional folk song "Hard Times Come Again No More." To date, the event has raised more than $61 million for earthquake relief. The Grammy performance will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the beloved ballad by the folk duo, which won Grammys for Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year in 1970. The 52nd annual Grammys will also feature performances from Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, the Black Eyed Peas, Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band, Green Day, Lady Antebellum, Maxwell, Pink and the Zac Brown Band. There will also be a special 3-D tribute to Michael Jackson featuring Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson, Smokey Robinson, Carrie Underwood and Usher. Among the presenters on the show are Justin Bieber, the Jonas Brothers, Kristen Bell, Ke$ha, Miley Cyrus, Jeff Bridges, Josh Duhamel, Norah Jones, LL Cool J, Ricky Martin, Carlos Santana and Ringo Starr. 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 | ||
| Perez Hilton Wants 'Five Justin Timberlakes' For His New Boy Band Posted: 27 Jan 2010 01:15 AM PST Gossip blogger is teaming up with Simon Fuller and Jamie King to find the next great boy band.
Perez Hilton, "American Idol" creator Simon Fuller and tour director Jamie King are making sure the guys they choose for their online contest, "The Boy Band for the Next Generation!," aren't just any run-of-the-mill guys — they have to have it all. They must know how to dance and they must know how to sing — in fact, they will accept nothing less than a new crop of Justin Timberlakes to fill all the spots. "Ours will hopefully be better than all other boy bands before because we want five Justin Timberlakes," Hilton told MTV News. "We want them all to be able to sing, all strong vocalists. We want them all to be able to dance, and we don't want any Joey Fatones — just five Justin Timberlakes."
So where did the idea of resurrecting the boy band come from? "Well, it happened very organically — I was at a gay bar with Jamie King," Hilton explained. "We were lamenting that there were not great relevant boy bands anymore and how we missed the days of 'NSYNC and Backstreet Boys and we were saying that now is the time for a boy-band renaissance. Let's cast the next great boy band." Currently, the contest is online-only and Perez is quick to point out that it's not a television show. "A lot of people think that it's a TV show," he said. "There's not a TV-show component in this. It's all about the music and that really is the #1 priority after we find the boys. No boy band has released really great music [since 'NSYNC], so if we get the boys right, and the music right it's going to be a guaranteed hit." With all this in mind, Hilton rated his favorite boy bands — future boy-banders take note, as this is what you need to live up to. "My favorite boy band of all time is probably 'NSYNC. Second is the Beatles — they were a boy band back in the day. And third would be New Kids on the Block," he said, adding, "With honorable mentions to the Backstreet Boys and the Jonas Brothers." What do you think of the boy-band search? Are you interested in seeing the guys picked for it? Let us know in the comments below, or upload a video to Your.MTV.com! |
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