MTV News |
- Will Beyonce Or Taylor Swift Rule The Grammys? Oddsmakers Weigh In
- Mary J. Blige Hopes Haiti Will Feel 'Blessed' By Grammy Tribute
- Lady Gaga Took A Fast Track To <i>Fame</i> And The Grammys
- Lupe Fiasco Halts New Mixtape Because Of Recent Leaks
- <i>Hope For Haiti Now</i> Album Raises More Than $3 Million In Relief Funds
- 'American Idol' Guest Judges: We Grade Katy Perry, Joe Jonas And More
- Rick Ross Says New Collaboration With John Legend Is 'Next-Level Vibe'
- Lady Gaga's Mystery Collaborator At The Grammys: Who Will It Be?
- Lil Wayne, Eminem, Drake, Travis Barker To Play Grammys
- Lupe Fiasco Says He Isn't 'Romantically Intertwined' With Jessica Biel
| Will Beyonce Or Taylor Swift Rule The Grammys? Oddsmakers Weigh In Posted: 29 Jan 2010 03:50 AM PST Ladbrokes and Bodog oddsmakers say Swift is the favorite for Sunday night.
The 52nd annual Grammy Awards air Sunday from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and it's sure to be a star-packed night. Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Kanye West and Jay-Z lead the nominees, and what we're most looking forward to is some good old-fashioned Grammy wagering. We love gambling. Some people might even say we're addicted to it. And while we can totally quit whenever we want, the Grammys are perhaps the most excellent betting event of the year. Wagering on them is basically like wagering on which way the wind will blow or what color socks that dude in the cubicle next to you will wear tomorrow: The results are almost completely random, which really spices things up. Still, there are those out there who are experts at handicapping these sorts of things (they're called oddsmakers), and in the hopes of getting a leg up, we turned to them for some advice. These are their picks for the night's biggest categories — Album, Record and Song of the Year, plus everyone's favorite crapshoot, Best New Artist. We're not gonna lie, we're relying pretty hard on their expertise — we need a new flat-screen TV. Anyway, from two of the best oddsmakers in the gamble-verse, here are the odds for the 2010 Grammys. Ladbrokes Album of the Year Record of the Year Song of the Year Best New Artist Bodog Album of the Year Record of the Year Song of the Year Best New Artist Who do you think will win big at the Grammys? Let us know below! 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 Related Photos | ||
| Mary J. Blige Hopes Haiti Will Feel 'Blessed' By Grammy Tribute Posted: 29 Jan 2010 03:50 AM PST Blige will perform Simon & Garfunkel's 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' with Andrea Bocelli at Sunday's show.
Mary J. Blige and Andrea Bocelli will be collaborating at Sunday's Grammy Awards to sing Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" as a tribute to the victims of the Haitian earthquake. The idea was hatched during a brainstorming session about Blige's performance.
"Myself, [producer] David Foster and [record exec] Ron Fair, we were brainstorming about the Grammys, and we felt that it was important for Haiti to understand that we are their bridge right now over troubled water," she told MTV News on Wednesday night at the Essence Black Women in Music event in Hollywood. "And we'll lay ourselves down for them to get over, and that's why we did it." Blige didn't want to give too much away about the performance. "Just expect for the people of Haiti to be blessed by it — through prayers, through wallets being opened up, through people going over there," she promised. 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 last week's "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon with her take on the traditional folk song "Hard Times Come Again No More." To date, the event has raised more than $61 million for earthquake relief. 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. 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 Photos | ||
| Lady Gaga Took A Fast Track To <i>Fame</i> And The Grammys Posted: 29 Jan 2010 03:50 AM PST Winning Album of the Year at Sunday's awards show could be a nice cherry atop Gaga's already epic career.
There were plenty of musical story lines in 2009: Beyoncé striking gold with a black-and-white video (and an unyielding desire for an engagement ring); Jay-Z riding the Yankees' World Series victory to the top of the singles chart; the Kings of Leon finally finding the Stateside success that had eluded them for so long; Adam Lambert being Adam Lambert. But undoubtedly, the biggest story of the year was the unheralded, unbelievable success of one Stefani Germanotta, better known to the entire globe as Lady Gaga.
It wasn't so much that Gaga became famous in 2009 — with her talent and preternatural drive, you figured it would probably happen eventually — it was how she did it. She never compromised, never shied away from the controversial or the irreverent. She let nothing stand in the way of one singular goal: to make pop music the world-uniting force it once was. It was a bold statement, indeed, one that was greeted with its fair share of guffaws from the naysayers. But she persisted, and through her music, her style, her determination and, dare we say, her art, she may very well have accomplished it. Still, for all you read about Gaga, for all the ephemera surrounding her, most people forget that she is an astonishingly great musician, with an ear for hooks and a penchant for jaw-dropping lyrics. For proof, look no further than her debut disc The Fame (or even the Fame Monster collection), a slickly produced, genre-mashing, joy-inducing pop/dance bonanza, which just so happened to land her five Grammy nominations, including a nod for Album of the Year. Released to little fanfare in August 2008 (it sold just 24,000 copies in its first week here in the States), The Fame slowly began to burrow itself into the public consciousness, thanks to an unending stream of singles — "Just Dance," "Poker Face," "LoveGame," "Paparazzi" — artistic videos and ambitious, eye-popping live shows. What started as a well-kept secret eventually became a worldwide phenomenon, as her singles went to the tops of charts around the globe, and The Fame moved more than 8 million copies. Seizing upon her newfound celebrity, Gaga decided to push things even further. Her awards-show performances — including a bloody turn at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards and a bottle-shattering show at the American Music Awards — became the stuff of legend, and though her high-profile co-headlining tour with Kanye West never materialized, she took her show back on the road, with the impressive Monster Ball Tour. Through it all, she became an icon. Not just in the gay community, but to outcasts everywhere. Gaga most certainly did not fit in to any category — she was just herself: an art-obsessed, self-professed "freak" — and she had absolutely no problem with that. And, as it turns out, neither did anyone else on the planet. Her success, not to mention her comfort in her own skin, made it OK to be different. She made the odd accessible.
She doesn't show any signs of letting up any time soon, either. In November, she released The Fame Monster, and rather than just go the glorified reissue route, she recorded eight new songs and made it available to fans as a standalone album. She wowed critics with the disturbingly arty "Bad Romance" video. And she's gearing up to take a revamped version of the Monster Ball across the pond. And if The Fame manages to take home Album of the Year during Sunday's Grammy Awards, you could consider it a rather nice cherry atop an already big year. Or, you could see it as another victory for the outcasts, the oddballs, the so-called "monsters" of the world. The beauty of Lady Gaga is that it works either way. 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 | ||
| Lupe Fiasco Halts New Mixtape Because Of Recent Leaks Posted: 29 Jan 2010 03:50 AM PST 'I started to get wind that people had songs they shouldn't have had,' he tells Mixtape Daily.
Thanks a lot, music thieves and Internet hackers — or at least the ones who have been pillaging through Lupe Fiasco's new joints. Because of you guys, the MC said he's not putting out the sequel to his Enemy of the State: A Love Story mixtape anytime soon.
"I was plotting on doing the follow-up to that," Lupe said. "Simply because [Enemy of the State] was short. And I felt like it was space to do another one. I was gonna do another one called Friend to the People, but I started to get wind that people had songs they shouldn't have had. I was like, 'This is just gonna open the floodgates if I come out with another record. I know these dudes are threatening to leak records and do crazy stuff.' Sometimes I feel there may be too much Lupe music out there — whether it be old stuff or new stuff or freestyles. I don't want to have a ton of music sitting out. I made the decision to fall back from it and really focus on the climb. We were a couple of weeks away from doing that." The climb he referred to was his recent Mount Kilimanjaro trek. There was also another Lupe mixtape that DJ Absolute was supposed to be putting out. "With this Absolute tape, I had to tell him straight up, 'We homeboys, and you got all this old music, but it ain't time right now. It's too much going on. It's too many people with music they shouldn't have, and I don't want to get it clouded,' " said Lupe, who's putting out his third LP, Lasers, this summer. The lead cut from the album, "I'm Beaming," was recently leaked without Lupe's consent. "There's investigations going on," he said. "So let's just postpone that and wait until we got a clearer time to do it. Even with that, we're going in to Lasers. The one thing I don't want with that is confusion. I want the message to at least connect until we get to the release date. After that, we can do whatever. Right now, it's Lasers time." Well, almost. On Monday, Lupe Fiasco will be right back here on Mixtape Daily giving you the exclusive interview and performances of songs from his Enemy of the State: A Love Story mixtape. For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines. Related Videos | ||
| <i>Hope For Haiti Now</i> Album Raises More Than $3 Million In Relief Funds Posted: 28 Jan 2010 04:04 AM PST Through Sunday, the album was downloaded more than 170,000 times.
When tragedy strikes, it can bring out the best in people. Now, it seems that music fans are finding a channel for their own good will toward Haiti, as iTunes and some of the world's top artists are setting records with the Hope for Haiti Now album. iTunes confirmed Thursday (January 28) that tracks from last week's landmark benefit show have combined to generate more than $3 million in relief funds. On Wednesday, the Hope for Haiti Now album became the first-ever digital-only album to debut at #1 on the SoundScan charts. Through Sunday of this past weekend, the album was purchased and downloaded more than 170,000 times — nearly all of the sales coming from the iTunes store. As the Hope for Haiti Now album approaches its one-week anniversary, records continue to be set: The album's pre-order, which went live shortly before Friday's massive telecast, became the biggest one-day album pre-order in iTunes history. The album has also hit #1 on the iTunes chart in 18 different countries. In addition to the iTunes numbers, the telethon itself has gathered more than $61 million in public donations, drew 83 million viewers and attracted 5.8 million streams on the Web. Much of the success is owed to the acts who performed at the telethon, including Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Dave Matthews, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Coldplay and many more. "Hope for Haiti Now" will continue accepting donations for the next six months, via the following methods: 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 | ||
| 'American Idol' Guest Judges: We Grade Katy Perry, Joe Jonas And More Posted: 28 Jan 2010 02:27 AM PST Could any of the fill-ins replace Simon, or should they never be asked back? Our 'Idol' expert takes a closer look.
With Paula Abdul moving on to bigger and better things (TBD), "American Idol" had a gaping hole to fill during their season-nine audition process. As a solution, producers put their Rolodexes to good use and called up some celeb pals to sit in during the tryouts. Everyone from Broadway vet Kristin Chenoweth to heartthrob Joe Jonas answered the call. But how did the various Rent-A-Judges stack up against one another? Which ones floundered and which ones made the grade?
It's time to rate the "American Idol" guest judges! Katy Perry: A+ Mary J. Blige: A- Neil Patrick Harris: A- Shania Twain: B+ Kristin Chenoweth: C+ Victoria Beckham: C- Avril Lavigne: D+ Joe Jonas: F Who did you think were the best and worst guest judges? Did you miss Paula? And who would you put on a short list for Simon's replacement, if anyone? Leave a comment below. Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Videos Related Artists | ||
| Rick Ross Says New Collaboration With John Legend Is 'Next-Level Vibe' Posted: 28 Jan 2010 04:19 AM PST 'We back at it. It's most definitely creative,' MC says of the pair's new creation.
The Bawse is back and he's got his Grammy-winning friend with him. Rick Ross and John Legend recently finished a new collaboration called "Sweet Life," with a video to boot. "It's a lot of Internet, a lot of online chatter going on — a lot of talk of this new Rick Ross/ John Legend collaboration," Ross said. "I'm confirming it. It's official. We got another record. ... Ah man, I don't know how to describe this one. 'Magnificent' was one of my favorite records off Deeper Than Rap. But the new John Legend [collaboration] is most definitely next-level vibe. We back at it. It's most definitely creative. Shout-out to John Legend — I think he makes a huge contribution to music. Myself, I try to get better and better with every rhyme I make — every rhyme I bring to the table, I want to make sure it's more potent than the last. I'm setting this album, Teflon Don, to be the album of my career."
Ross' record with Legend won't be released for a while, so the first song he wants to focus on is the sequel to his controversial "Mafia Music." "Always wanted a Rolls Royce with no job," he raps. "All I fear is a dope charge/ Tell me what's the odds of appeal for a dope boy?/ Who sheds tears for a dope boy?/ Or what happens to the kids of a dope boy?" " 'Mafia Music 2' is the first release from my album Teflon Don," he explained. "It's real exciting. A lot of people don't know Teflon Don was my original rap name — so it's coming back around full-circle. For me, it makes sense to come back with 'Mafia Music 2' because my hunger is the same from 'Mafia Music 1.' It's a new year." Teflon Don is due to be released later this year. Related Photos Related Artists | ||
| Lady Gaga's Mystery Collaborator At The Grammys: Who Will It Be? Posted: 27 Jan 2010 11:11 PM PST Elton John, Beyoncé, Madonna seem like strong possibilities.
The talent lineup for Sunday's Grammy Awards keeps growing, but one big question mark remains. Last week, show producer Ken Ehrlich briefly mentioned that both Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift will not be performing alone on the show. He didn't spill the beans on just whom the performers will share the stage with, but since Swift has duetted with everyone from T-Pain to Miley Cyrus at awards shows in the past, Gaga is the wild card, and speculation has been rampant in the days leading up to the show. So who might it be?
Ruling out the stylistically unlikely possibility that Gaga and Swift will perform together, an obvious candidate is Beyoncé, with whom Gaga has traded verses twice on record: on B's remix of "Video Phone" from the deluxe edition of I Am ... Sasha Fierce, and on "Telephone," from Gaga's Fame Monster. (Fan site Gaga Daily has claimed that the song will not be "Telephone.") Early Thursday (January 27), the New York Post cited "spies" as saying Gaga will be joined by none other than Elton John, who of course made headlines by performing "Stan" with Eminem at the Grammys in 2002. Other than obvious mutual piano-pounding reasons, that would make sense because Gaga is slated to perform at a benefit for AIDS-research foundation AmFAR in New York on February 10, at which John is being honored; Elton declined comment when asked by the paper. Gaga fan sites have speculated that the mystery performer might be Sting (who attended one of Gaga's shows in New York last week), and of course Madonna, based on their appearance on "Saturday Night Live" together last fall and their mutual admiration, although that wouldn't be that much of a surprise. There's also Adam Lambert: Gaga contributed the song "Fever" to his For Your Entertainment album. Looking down the list of the other performers who might be potential suspects, there are a number of intriguing possibilities, including Eminem and Lil Wayne, who could add some hip-hop flavor to her dance tunes, as well as presenters such as Katy Perry and Wyclef Jean (Gaga said she raised $500,000 for Haiti earthquake relief last week, and Jean has been at the forefront of fundraising for his native country). There's also a slim chance that her surprise guest might be Kanye West, with whom she was scheduled to co-headline the Fame Kills Tour last fall, which was canceled in the wake of the fallout over West's well-publicized misbehavior at another awards show, the MTV Video Music Awards. At press time, West was not scheduled to attend the Grammys, but with his three collaborators on "Forever" — Drake, Lil Wayne and Eminem — expected to perform the song at the show, a surprise appearance there seems quite likely. On pure girl power alone, she might even hook up with Pink, though it seems unlikely two such strong personalities would mesh well on music's biggest night, and they don't appear to have any prior history. Then again, since new names keep getting added to the performance and presenter roster daily, it's possible the culprit is someone whose name we haven't even heard yet. Reps for Gaga and the Grammys had not responded to MTV News' requests for comment at press time. Who do you think Lady Gaga should duet with at the Grammys? We've got some more ideas — send us yours below! 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 Related Photos Related Artists | ||
| Lil Wayne, Eminem, Drake, Travis Barker To Play Grammys Posted: 28 Jan 2010 05:50 AM PST Rap supergroup may perform Drake's 'Forever' remix this Sunday.
Eminem, Drake, Lil Wayne and Travis Barker will team up for a special performance at Sunday night's Grammy Awards. The addition of the rap crew that represents nearly the entire lineup for the remix of Drake's "Forever" — only awards-show fire starter Kanye West is missing — was announced via the Grammys' Twitter early Thursday morning. (A spokesperson for the Grammys could not be reached at press time to confirm the addition.)
They join a major roster of performers that is already packed with all five Album of the Year nominees — Beyoncé, the Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, Dave Matthews Band and Taylor Swift — as well as Bon Jovi, Green Day, Lady Antebellum, Maxwell, Pink and the Zac Brown Band. The show will also boast a 3-D tribute to Michael Jackson featuring Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson, Smokey Robinson, Carrie Underwood and Usher. The Grammys Twitter also announced that Simon Baker, Ryan Seacrest, Chris O'Donnell, Robert Downey Jr. and Kaley Cuoco will be presenters at the 52nd annual awards show. Previously announced presenters include Kristen Bell, Justin Bieber, Jeff Bridges, Miley Cyrus, Josh Duhamel, the Jonas Brothers, Norah Jones, Ke$ha, LL Cool J, Ricky Martin, Carlos Santana and Ringo Starr. For the show, Mary J. Blige will team up with famed tenor Andrea Bocelli to perform Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" as part of a fundraiser for Haiti earthquake relief. 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." Which performance are you most looking forward to at the Grammys? Let us know below! 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 Related Photos Related Artists | ||
| Lupe Fiasco Says He Isn't 'Romantically Intertwined' With Jessica Biel Posted: 27 Jan 2010 10:41 PM PST Rumors have been floating around since the pair climbed Mount Kilimanjaro together.
Lupe Fiasco said there is no truth to the rumors that he and Jessica Biel are hooking up. "With Jessica?" Lupe said with a smile Wednesday when asked if he was romantically involved with the "Valentine's Day" actress. "No. She's a very lovely person. I do consider her a friend. She's very dope, [a] very capable young woman. Very smart. But we are not dating or romantically intertwined in any way. But she's good peoples."
Lupe did get a laugh out of being thrown in the gossip mill. After all, there are worse people he could be linked to. "It is what it is," the Chicago MC remarked. "Nobody really called me on it. I've seen it out in the world. ... But nah, she's good peoples. She definitely surprised me as far as how good and honest of a person she is. I do rock with her." Lupe and Biel — who is dating Justin Timberlake — recently made a trip to Tanzania, Africa, to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with a group of entertainers and scientists. "The people that were there were the support staff; they were our motivation," Lupe said about how he survived the elements. "That carried everybody. Attitudes and spirits were high." Santigold, Isabel Lucas and Kenna were also on the trek. The trip — which was planned to shed light on the global water crisis — will be chronicled in a 90-minute documentary slated to air March 14 at 9 p.m. on MTV. Related Artists |
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