MTV News |
- Justin Timberlake Explains 'Blatant Correlation' Between Music and Fashion
- Chris Golightly's 'American Idol' Exit Is A 'Shame,' Simon Cowell Says
- Jay Electronica Says 'My Dreams Are Coming True'
- Chris Brown's Probation Going 'Really Well,' Judge Says
- Jermaine Dupri Says New Janet Jackson Song Is 'A Good Record'
- Taylor Swift Is A 'Strong Person,' Pal Selena Gomez Says
- Justin Timberlake Wants To 'Branch Out' With William Rast Fashions
- Jay-Z Will Never Respond To Beanie Sigel's Dis, Memphis Bleek Says
- Chris Golightly Fought To Keep His 'American Idol' Top 24 Spot
- Paramore's 'The Only Exception' Director 'Super-Proud' Of Video
| Justin Timberlake Explains 'Blatant Correlation' Between Music and Fashion Posted: 19 Feb 2010 03:50 AM PST 'I think we all want to dress like rock stars,' the pop superstar said at his William Rast show at New York Fashion Week.
Justin Timberlake thinks everyone wants to look like a rock star. Or at the very least, dress like one. So, when he sits down with his William Rast creative partner, Trace Ayala, the pop superstar definitely has music on the mind when he's thinking up the fashions he wants to see strut down the runway.
While some fans may wish they looked like Justin Timberlake, it seems that even Timberlake himself has a music fashion icon that he wishes to emulate while he's designing. "Well, I think since the beginning of rock and roll, people have wanted to dress like rock stars," he told MTV News backstage at his William Rast show on Wednesday during New York Fashion Week. "I still find old Mick Jagger jackets that I wish I could pull out of his closet or something. Of course, they wouldn't fit me. Very tight." So does Timberlake's love for music translate to his fashion designing? "I think we all want to dress like rock stars," Timberlake said. "That's a pretty blatant correlation." Since Timberlake seems so aware of what his consumer wants, it should also be pretty clear that when he sits down to design for the William Rast brand, his fans are at the forefront of his mind. "I think the thing we're most happy about is that so many runway shows you go to and you go, 'That was an amazing piece. What an art piece,' " he explained. "But then it's like, you'll never see that ever again. Although we had a huge idea, which was the Midwest and nomadic discoverer meets biker culture, I think we were able to really focus on being consumer-based. A lot of what you'll see on the runway is very wearable" Related Videos Related Artists |
| Chris Golightly's 'American Idol' Exit Is A 'Shame,' Simon Cowell Says Posted: 18 Feb 2010 05:02 AM PST 'He needed this opportunity,' judge says of the disqualified contestant.
"American Idol" fans remember Chris Golightly's initial audition fondly, thanks to his volatile upbringing and silky-smooth vocals. Simon Cowell also recalls that tryout — but not for the same reasons. "I remember Chris' first audition very well, because Kara was completely and utterly besotted with him," the outgoing "Idol" judge laughed while talking to reporters Thursday (February 18). "I wasn't quite so keen on him. And then the second and third time we saw him in Hollywood Week, he wasn't as strong as he was on his first audition." We all know by now that the judges were keen enough on Golightly to send him through to the top 24 this season, only to be replaced by Tim Urban in the 11th hour. A contract misunderstanding is at the center of his dismissal, but Cowell claims to not know a thing about why Golightly was disqualified. "I really, honestly don't have a clue why he's been removed from the competition," Cowell said. "I'm guessing it's some sort of technical reason." What Cowell does know is that the down-on-his-luck singer really could have used the break. "It's a shame for him," he said. "He needed this opportunity." Now that Cowell is on his way out, he might be able to help the Justin Guarini hair-alike by landing him a new gig. What would Cowell think about giving Golightly another shot on "The X Factor," when the American version debuts in fall 2011? "Well, I've gotta find out what the reason [for his disqualification] is first!" Cowell laughed. "If it was something like a technical reason, yeah, of course he could." Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos |
| Jay Electronica Says 'My Dreams Are Coming True' Posted: 19 Feb 2010 03:50 AM PST 'I can't believe people are responding like this,' he tells Mixtape Daily about the success of 'Exhibit C.'
Fire Starter: Jay Electronica "All my dreams are coming true all across the board for some reason," Jay Electronica said via phone from London. Jay — who's on the other side of the pond headlining shows — just celebrated his daughter Mars' first birthday (mom is Erykah Badu) and his hometown team the New Orleans Saints just won the Super Bowl. Plus his career is on the upswing; life is good. Jay's Just Blaze-produced "Exhibit C" is one of those special hip-hop records that you hear and instantly love. An independent release, it's garnering heavy rotation on major radio stations like New York's Hot 97, and in the streets and on the Internet the record has the buzz of a #1 single. Several MCs from Capone-N-Noreaga to Cassidy have freestyled over the track on mixtapes and Diddy, Mos Def, Nas, Q-Tip and Talib Kweli have been publicly co-signing Electronica. The record is definitely his breakthrough.
"We did that song in 15 minutes," Jay boasted. The track came about when Jay and Just Blaze were scheduled to be on Angela Yee's Sirius Satellite radio show and wanted to make a new record to play on the program. "We never went on the show," Jay explained. "We fell asleep in the studio. I forgot the song existed. I didn't hear it again until I heard it on Tony Touch's [satellite radio show]. I was mad. Even when he played it on the show, he said, 'I'm gonna get in trouble for doing that.' The next day [the song] was all over the Net and people were asking for the CD-quality version. It grew legs on its own. It's amazing to see. It grew its own legs. To see it walk all the way to mainstream commercial radio is a helluva magic trick. It's almost like it's an entity of its own." Other than Electronica's distinctive deep tone and conviction in his verse, it's his inspiring story on the record that pulls the listener in. One of the topics he speaks on is overcoming homelessness. "On the record I was talking about when I was homeless in New York," he explained. "I've been homeless on a few occasions. That was the first time I was homeless in New York. The first time I was homeless was when I went to Atlanta. I was in a homeless shelter, then when I got a job I used to miss the curfew for the shelter. So I ended up sleeping outside in the streets." Jay moved from his native New Orleans to ATL in hopes of breaking into the music biz in the mid-'90s. "Music in New Orleans was a local thing or regional at best," he said. "No Limit had just started gaining ground, being recognized on a national level ... actually, No Limit was shortly after that. I was also in a searching period in my life and one of my good friends had gotten killed. I was like, 'You know what? I'm outta here.' " Jay lived in New York briefly in 1999 before moving to Chicago, where he once again found himself literally out on the streets. But eventually the Big Apple would be the place Jay would plant his feet and establish himself musically. "A lot of people would always say I'm delusional," he said about his triumph. "I always felt like, 'I'm gonna do it no matter what.' There were times when my spirit would be broken a little bit but I still would be pushing forward. I had little jobs in between, but I was still pushing forward. Any time I got told no or 'You're getting too old,' the record companies was telling me, 'Blah, blah, blah,' I guess stubbornness kept me going. But I always believed this my entire life — that I was destined to do something on a global scale. "But I matured in it as I got older," he explained. "At first it was because I wanted to be like LL. After a while, I started getting mission-orientated — once I took that mindset on I felt like, 'I cannot not do it.' " The first body of work Jay released that got him recognition in the industry was Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge). He rapped over music looped from the film "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." "If 'Exhibit C' is Jesus, then Act I: Eternal Sunshine, (The Pledge) is John the Baptist," he claimed. Act II is coming "soon" with more production by Just Blaze. That too will be a free opus, with his official album Act III to follow. Nas makes a cameo on Act II while Jay's gems "Exhibit A," "Exhibit C" and "Moleskin" will be included on the latter. Just Blaze, J Dilla, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Mr. Porter and Jay himself will produce. "I never got a moment where I feel I made it, victory, completion," Jay says of his buzz. "I've had moments of excitement. I can't believe people are responding like this. It's an overwhelming thing — even though it's something you planned for, it's a surprise." For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines. Related Videos |
| Chris Brown's Probation Going 'Really Well,' Judge Says Posted: 18 Feb 2010 03:33 AM PST Brown appeared in court for a status hearing stemming from last year's assault of then-girlfriend Rihanna.
Chris Brown appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom on Thursday (February 18) for a status hearing stemming from the plea deal he agreed to for assaulting Rihanna last year, and a superior court judge complimented Brown's progress. "Looks like you're doing really, really well," Judge Patricia M. Schnegg told Brown, according to People. "That's always good to see." The remarks were in regards to Brown's punishment, which included one year of counseling, 180 days of community labor and five years' probation. So far, the singer has completed 17 of his 52 group sessions for domestic violence. According to People, Brown hasn't missed one session and has also completed 32 days of labor work. Brown's community work has been supervised by a probation office in Richmond, Virginia; he was born in nearby Tappahannock, Virginia. Brown must make regular visits before Judge Schnegg to update her on the fulfillment of his punishment. In November, he also went before Schnegg and received an "extremely favorable" review. Brown has publicly and privately apologized on a number of occasions for attacking his former girlfriend on the eve of the 2009 Grammy Awards. During "Chris Brown: The Interview," Brown told MTV News' Sway Calloway that he's embraced the court-mandated therapy sessions. "It's like, 'How do we get past it? How do you, Chris — talking to myself — how do you go from point A to point B?' " he said of the process. "How do you learn from your mistakes, turn it into a positive and help other people with the situation and, at the end of the day, become the person that you want to be?" Brown is due back in court May 11. Related Videos Related Artists |
| Jermaine Dupri Says New Janet Jackson Song Is 'A Good Record' Posted: 18 Feb 2010 04:27 AM PST 'Y'all haven't heard her sound like this in a long time,' producer says of Jackson's tune for the 'Why Did I Get Married Too?' soundtrack.
Jermaine Dupri recently told MTV News he had produced a new Janet Jackson song for the upcoming Tyler Perry film in which the singer also stars, "Why Did I Get Married Too?" According to the So So Def boss, the track is slated to be the first single from the movie's soundtrack — the film is scheduled to arrive in theaters April 2.
"I watched the movie with [Jackson and Perry] and it's incredible," Dupri said. "I'm not married but married people go through what I seen in this movie. I think Tyler hit it on the head again. But the song is perfect for the movie and it's a good record." The producer was tight-lipped about the track, only revealing that the title was "Nothing." He promised, however, that the song will showcase a Jackson that fans haven't seen in a while. "I can say this — y'all haven't heard her sound like this in a long time," he teased. Jackson is currently working on her next album, one that Rodney Jerkins told MTV News would be more emotional that her past efforts. "You gotta understand, she lost her brother," Jerkins said. "She was in a relationship for seven years [with Jermaine Dupri] that's over now. There's things that she told me that I didn't even realize. You know, certain [things] like self-esteem that I didn't even realize that she dealt with for years that, you know. ... She's working on her book and she'll deal with that in her book, but also in songs, certain songs we're dealing with that head on. And sometimes it can be a touchy subject for us to even go into, and I kinda had to persuade her, 'Let's just go, let's talk about that.' And she's been doing it, and she's a pro about it." Check out everything we've got on "Why Did I Get Married Too?" For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com. Related Artists |
| Taylor Swift Is A 'Strong Person,' Pal Selena Gomez Says Posted: 18 Feb 2010 12:23 AM PST 'What I admire most about Taylor is that she focuses on all the positive things,' Gomez says of how Swift is dealing with backlash.
Even as fans and detractors continue to debate Taylor Swift's Grammy performance, the pop sensation should know that she's always got her friends and her loyal fans on her side.
Selena Gomez, who is pals with the Grammy-winning phenomenon, recently dished to MTV News about the backlash that Swift felt from music fans after her duet with Stevie Nicks. And while the criticism did sting a bit, Gomez explained that Swift can see the good in any situation. "What I admire most about Taylor is that she focuses on all the positive things — and that's what I love about her," Gomez said. "She won four Grammys. That was amazing." Swift, who not only just released a music video for her new single "Fearless," but also starred in the hit movie "Valentine's Day," doesn't dwell on the negative — she's too busy to care about what criticism people want to lob at her. "That is really what she's passionate about — [her career and her music]," Gomez explained. "And that's what she loves. She's a very strong person, so that's what she's honoring and that's what I'm proud of her for." Regardless of what the haters have to say, Taylor is showing no signs of slowing down. She recently garnered two Kids' Choice Awards nominations, she's about to kick off a new leg of her Fearless tour and she's already hard at work on a new album. Related Artists |
| Justin Timberlake Wants To 'Branch Out' With William Rast Fashions Posted: 18 Feb 2010 03:28 AM PST 'We want to go as far as we can with this brand,' he says.
Justin Timberlake isn't afraid to take any of the facets of his career to the next level. Whether he's bringing sexy back with his music, winning Emmys for his work on "Saturday Night Live" or conceiving new ways for his clothing line, William Rast, to take over the fashion world, Timberlake knows that the bigger you dream, the more you can achieve.
"Well, I think we know who we are — the DNA of our brand," he said about the label. "The core of our brand ... we want to represent America in its newer shape and form, which is jeans, great leather jackets — and I think from there what we're trying to do with this collection is just branch out a little." For Timberlake and his partner in William Rast, Trace Ayala, it seems the sky's the limit for the label. "Just give a little flavor here and there to go a little deeper and build a collection where we hope to go — we want to have our own furniture," he explained. "We want to design interiors on cars. We want to go as far as we can with this brand." Even with such lofty goals, Timberlake insisted that it's really all about the consumer — he just wants to please William Rast clients. "And thinking about the consumer in this financial weather ... that's been weighing heavily on our minds," he said. "A lot of what you see on the runway will be very wearable, so that's what I think we're really excited about." Related Videos Related Artists |
| Jay-Z Will Never Respond To Beanie Sigel's Dis, Memphis Bleek Says Posted: 18 Feb 2010 03:50 AM PST Former Roc-A-Fella rapper calls Beans' recent comments 'pointless,' in Mixtape Daily.
The O.D.: A Mixtape Daily Exclusive By the time you read this, Memphis Bleek will have flown out of New Jersey and landed in Florida to meet Jay-Z. The two are rehearsing for the next leg of the Blueprint 3 Tour for the next couple of days, and the real thing kicks off this weekend. Although we haven't heard a lot of Memph's music the last three years, he has constantly been performing at Jay-Z's shows and keeping a close bond with the cat he used to borrow sugar from in the Marcy Projects. When Bleek drops his next album, The Process, later this year, things will be different. The independent release will be his first album not coming through Roc-A-Fella records.
"It was mutual," Bleek said about not signing with Hov's Roc Nation and choosing to go independent. "It was a conversation ... I was asking him his next move. What is he gonna do? Where is Blueprint 3 coming out, since he had just left Def Jam. He was telling me he was doing this Roc Nation thing. He was trying to start a whole new venture, new label, new brand — a whole new everything. I was like, 'Damn. What's next for me?' He was like, 'Whatever you wanna do.' After a little bit of thinking, I came to a decision: 'It's time for [my company] Get Lo to breathe. I can't be under that umbrella forever.' The conversation was more or less mutual. "He's giving me the free will to do whatever I want to do," added Bleek, who said Just Blaze produced two songs on his upcoming LP. "Time for me to prove myself on my terms." Obviously, with Bleek and Jay, their relationship is based on more than music. Bleek said he thought Beanie Sigel and Jay had that same bond. Just like many fans, Memph said he was shocked that Beans came out dissing him and Jay. Just this week, during a live show in Philadelphia, Beans spit his flames at Jay and Bleek again, rapping, "Memph Bleek pee the sheets/ Leave the bed all wetty." "My thing is, what's the purpose?" Bleek said about Sigel's outburst. "You said all you had to say. You said you wasn't gonna say no more until Jay called you. He ain't call. Everything you said ain't adding up. It becomes a point, what are you doing it for? Are you doing it to get you a deal? Are you doing it to get you hot, doing it to get you back on the radio? That's all I wanna know. Anybody knows if you come at Hov, you're not stopping his movement. C'mon, it's stupid. We been there before. We seen this movie. I hate to elaborate on it, because it's like I'm breathing life on a situation that really don't need no life to it." Bleek said he spoke to Beans the night before the Powerhouse show in Philadelphia last year, and the Broad Street Bully gave him no indication that there was any ill will. "For it to come out the blue like this, it was like, 'Oh, this is what you really was thinking?' " Bleek said. "When Ice Cube left N.W.A, it was automatic dis records. Automatic. They was coming at each other. The Roc had split up in 2003. We in 2010. Seven years later, you wanna dis? It's pointless. It's no truth to it. 'Jay is this, Jay is foul.' Jay is not foul. This is what I tell everybody: Opportunity is worth more than a check. So that's what people need to understand. He gave the opportunity to get rich. It ain't about the check he didn't give you. I didn't get it. The check you waiting for, I'm waiting for too then. My opportunity is to be able to do this interview with you, still be relevant, be onstage with that man and even be a part of history and what we did. That's more than any dollar amount. You can push it however far you gonna carry it." With all that has transpired lately, Bleek said the chances of mending any fences with Sig are less than bleak. "Could it ever be mended? Jay is gone," Bleek said. "I could sit down with Beans. You wanna holla with me, he knows how to get in contact with me. I'm out here. Jay's gone. Ain't no time to look back. Where [Jay's] at, no time to look back. If Jay looks back, it's the back of the G5 [jet], luggage. He's gone. We don't need that. Where's the problem? When [all the Roc-A-Fella artists] signed their release paper and went their separate ways, it was no problem. Now it's a problem. Why do you need to talk?" As for the footage that recently hit the Net of Bleek and former Roc co-CEO Damon Dash showing each other love in Europe, Bleek said that video was old. "That was almost three years ago," he clarified. "We was on the Water for Life Tour. I knew all that was gonna come out. I thought it was gonna come out before. Like I say to anybody else, Dame is a cool dude. Dame did things for me in my career I could never take back. I could never down him for nothing." For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines. Related Videos Related Artists |
| Chris Golightly Fought To Keep His 'American Idol' Top 24 Spot Posted: 18 Feb 2010 03:10 AM PST By the time he was released from another contract, his replacement had already been notified, according to online reports.
After Fox announced that Chris Golightly had been disqualified from the "American Idol" top 24, a lot of different stories began circulating around the Web about what really went down. Well, some new reports have emerged about the messy situation. Lawrence Franklin, Golightly's manager, said the singer was still under contract with his label. In fact, Golightly signed a new two-year contract with Dream Projects Entertainment in May 2009. "We asked them for release documents, and they were supposed to send them over last Friday," Franklin told USA Today. "We were prepared to give our own release documents, but after waiting on the attorneys from 19 to send over their paperwork, time kind of ran out for Chris." While there is now another side to this season's requisite semifinal controversy, Franklin and Golightly claim "American Idol" execs are the ones going back on their word. "They did advise Chris that as long as we released him, he'd be fine," Franklin said. "They told him that last Friday. And we were prepared then, that night, at any time, to release him." "American Idol" does not allow contestants to compete on the show if they are currently under a recording contract. Whether Golightly could be released from his current contract, as Franklin claimed producers were working with him to do, is just another curious piece to this he said/ they said story. According to USA Today, Gary Gilbert, an attorney for Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP, contacted Franklin via e-mail last week, informing him the release of Golightly from his existing contract would not get him back on "American Idol." "Although we do not have a copy of the complete contract, on the face of what we have there seems to be a current recording agreement," Stinson wrote to Franklin on February 11."If the contract exists, there will be no option other than to disqualify Chris." Golightly alleged that the mix-up had been corrected after Franklin contacted 19 Entertainment and proved he had not been with Dream Records Entertainment since June 2009, but it was too late to bring him back into the competition because his replacement, Tim Urban, had already been notified. "This is not fair. I don't know what to do," Golightly told USA Today early Thursday morning (February 18). Since the top 24 was revealed on Wednesday night's show, Golightly has spoken with numerous blogs and media outlets about his disqualification. Within a few hours after the show aired, Golightly told JoesPlaceBlog he had been under contract with the boy band D.R.E.A.M. 5 until June, and the debacle concerning his release document is what led to his "Idol" exit. Golightly, an orphan who sold his car and broke his apartment lease after discovering he made this year's top 24, was already an early fan favorite — both for his heartfelt vocals and heart-wrenching backstory. Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos |
| Paramore's 'The Only Exception' Director 'Super-Proud' Of Video Posted: 18 Feb 2010 02:40 AM PST 'This video turned out so perfect,' director Brandon Chesbro says of the clip.
The new video for Paramore's latest single, "The Only Exception" — which premiered on the band's Web site on Wednesday — is by far the most visually interesting and complex clip the group has ever produced. So it's a little bit surprising to find out that the video's director, photographer Brandon Chesbro, counts "The Only Exception" as his first foray into music-video direction. "I've been working with [Paramore] for two years, but this is my first music video for anybody," Chesbro told MTV News on the phone from Australia, where he is currently on tour with the band. "I went to film school, so I was prepared for all the cameras and gear, but it was still pretty intimidating." Chesbro has worked closely with the band before, shooting the documentary "40 Days of Riot!," which appeared on the group's "The Final Riot!" DVD, and filming a doc chronicling the making of the group's latest effort, Brand New Eyes. But the plan for him to helm a video has been in the works for a while. "I didn't want to do 'Ignorance' because it was the first single and it was too big and important," he explained. "When I heard the idea and the concept for 'Brick by Boring Brick,' I said I didn't want to do that because it was going to be blue screen and really scary." Despite the complexity of the video, the whole process was remarkably efficient. "They asked me to do 'Exception' in December, and I've been working on ideas and storyboards since then — but the whole production only took four days," he explained. "We built the set, got all the props, shot it, edited it and wrapped it up. Usually you take a few weeks to edit, but I knew exactly what Hayley and I wanted, so it was a crazy-insane-simple-perfect process." Casting was also straightforward. The guy playing Hayley's dad in the clip is her actual dad and the guy who shares the couch with Williams is a friend of the director. Roadblocks were few and far between, but a huge snowstorm in Nashville nearly derailed the shoot because the rest of the band couldn't get to Los Angeles, where Chesbro and Williams had already set up shop. "We ended up having to change the schedule around, and for a while we didn't think they would make it, but it turned out fine," he said. Chesbro is most proud of the clip's key scene: an overhead shot of Williams laying down on a pile of Valentine's Day cards that were made by fans of the band. Williams dreamed up the shot and tapped the fans to contribute cards. "In two days we got 500 cards," he said. "The band has crazy fans. All those cards are so detailed — these kids spent serious time on these cards. That's my favorite shot of the whole video. It was the first thing we shot and I thought that if something falls apart and we only have that one shot, that could be the video all by itself and it'd be perfect." While on the road with the band, he's stockpiling footage for a yet-to-be-determined video project. "I don't know if we're necessarily working on a DVD, but we like to have a lot of content," Chesbro said. "We have two ideas that we're playing around with, so we're just stockpiling footage right now." In the meantime, will we see his director's credit appearing more frequently? "I'd really like to do more videos now," he said. "This video turned out so perfect that I'm worried nothing else will turn out as good. But if this is my only video, I was super-proud to be a part of it." Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
| You are subscribed to email updates from MTV News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar