Senin, 23 Agustus 2010

MTV News

MTV News


Katy Perry Says 'Pearl' Is Her Album's Crowning Jewel

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 03:50 AM PDT

Pop star says ballad is the perfect way to end Teenage Dream.
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Sway Calloway


Katy Perry
Photo: MTV News

Katy Perry rose to the top of the charts with songs about kissing girls, Vegas vacations gone awry and how awesome "California Gurls" are. So, when fans pop Teenage Dream into their boom boxes, they might be surprised to hear Perry show her vulnerable side on the song "Pearl." The ballad is about an outgoing, strong young woman who lets a guy "keep her in the dark." The catch, at the end, is that Perry is actually singing about herself.

The singer admitted that by the time she started working on "Pearl," her album was nearly complete. But, it was missing something. So she headed back into the studio to work on the track. And she thinks it finishes her record in just the right way.

"I did one more song with [producer] Greg Wells, and it was called 'Pearl,' " she explained to MTV News about the track. "And it was kind of just like, 'All right, now I have this crown, and I have all these jewels, and I can put these little jewels into the crown, and I feel like it's a complete presentation, something I'm really proud of.' "

So, after recording Teenage Dream rather quickly, "Pearl" became its crowning jewel.

"It only took six months [to make Teenage Dream], which is like lightning speed," she said. "But I think that I wouldn't be starting again with this new record if I didn't feel like this was my best foot forward.

Perry said the project shows her evolving. "It's an evolvement, but it's not a dis-attachment. ... My life is a little bit different, and I'm taking a verbal snapshot right now."

Are you excited to hear Katy Perry's new album? Let us know in the comments!

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Stephen Moyer, Anna Paquin Of 'True Blood' Marry

Posted: 21 Aug 2010 10:12 PM PDT

The co-stars tie the knot in Malibu.
By Mawuse Ziegbe


Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer (file)
Photo: Getty Images

The couple that gets naked together apparently stays together. Days after "True Blood" co-stars Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer appeared nude on the cover of Rolling Stone (flanked by fellow "Blood" actor Alexander Skarsgard), the couple engaged in a more modest declaration of their love, and wed on Saturday in California.

According to UsMagazine.com, the duo got married at a private home in Malibu. The nuptials were attended by guests such as Elijah Wood and "Blood" co-star Carrie Preston.

Paquin, who plays psychic server Sookie, and Moyer, who brings the heat as vampire Bill, struck up a romance after portraying lovers on the HBO hit. The onscreen couple went public with their offscreen relationship in early 2009 and announced their engagement last August.

Moyer told MTV News earlier this year that he had no doubt he and his "Blood" flame, who recently revealed that she was bisexual, were going to spend their lives together. "She wasn't going to say no [to my proposal]," Moyer said. "Are you crazy?"

The duo are continuing a Hollywood tradition of finding love on set, and Paquin recently explained that there are ups and downs to mixing business with pleasure.

"You don't want to bring personal stuff to work," Paquin said in a recent issue of Self magazine. However, she did insist that she feels lucky to be able to mix it up with her man on the job. "It's a luxury to get to go to work with the person I want to spend the rest of my life with, because I love my job and I'm really happy."

Leave your well-wishes for the couple below!

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Taylor Swift Explored Dark Side For 'You Belong With Me' Video

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 03:50 AM PDT

'Once she put on that wig, [the] real Taylor was gone,' director Roman White recalls of VMA nominee.
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Matt Elias


Taylor Swift in her "You Belong With Me" music video
Photo: Big Machine Records

Taylor Swift got to show the world that she can be just as naughty as the next girl in her VMA-winning "You Belong With Me" video. We also learned that once she puts on a cheerleader costume and a long, dark wig, she becomes almost unrecognizable.

"We did have a body double for Taylor, and it was not easy because of Taylor's hair," director Roman White explained. "Her hair is so specific, so we did have to have a body double to go back and forth when we did 'evil cheerleader Taylor' and 'good girl Taylor.' We really had to cheat it."

"It works really great," he continued. "She looks very different with long, blonde hair."

And White explained it wasn't just her look that was different in the disguise.

"There was real Taylor and cheerleader Taylor, and once she put on that wig, real Taylor was gone," White remembered. "I didn't want to be around 'cheerleader Taylor.' 'Cheerleader Taylor' was a monster. Taylor, on the other hand: very nice, easy to work with."

The John Hughes-influenced video was meant to have "colors that pop" and a love story that was at the heart of the clip.

"I really wanted there to be a great love story there," White said. "It's about these two people who have lived these two lives across from each other and both of them loved each other but just never knew it. They were just barely missing each other, across the way."

For Swift's love interest, "Hannah Montana: The Movie" star Lucas Till was cast as the perfect boy next door. White revealed that sparks between the pair were evident to everyone on set.

"How many kisses did we go through? I stopped counting at, like, 45," he joked. "They were going for it, no? When you're shooting this, you're always looking for that perfect kiss, but as the director, it's always weird for me to go, 'OK — we need you to kiss a few more times.' But they were very natural. ... Not that they didn't like each other, 'cause they did."

In fact, the pair did date for a short time after doing the video.

And White could see why they'd be perfect for each other.

"They're both really, really kind. It sounds really cheesy, but they really are," he said. "I think you can see it when they kiss. You can see that warmth and that kind of first-kiss moment. So we literally got to see their first kiss, and it worked."

What's your favorite Taylor Swift video? Tell us in the comments!

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Lady Gaga Thanks Fans For Twitter Crown

Posted: 22 Aug 2010 04:11 AM PDT

The singer shouts out her fans for making her the most-followed tweeter.
By Mawuse Ziegbe


Lady Gaga
Photo: Derek Storm/ Splash News

Lady Gaga's millions of fans have another title to call their Mother Monster: Queen of Twitter.

After steadily gaining on Britney Spears, who until recently was the most-followed user on the social-networking site, Gaga surpassed her fellow pop supernova over the weekend by landing over 5.7 million followers. At press time, Gaga's Twitter army clocked in at 5,726,168 deep, besting Brit, who had 5,696,275 followers. Just days ago, the chart-toppers were neck-and-neck, with Spears boasting 5,646,028 Twitter peeps to Gaga's 5,635,460.

When Gaga learned she had dethroned Spears, she took to the Internet to thank the people who made it all possible: her fans. In a video posted online, Gaga doles out heaps of "monster" love to her followers for solidifying her digital dominance.

Sporting a lace headpiece adorned with a sequined Twitter logo and an ornamental Gaga-fied version of the site's familiar bird symbol, the singer addressed her nearly 6 million followers.

"Hello world, this is Lady Gaga, queen of Twitter," said the singer, with a flourish of an illuminated scepter and a sprinkle of glitter; a move that was part-Elizabethan royalty and part-Glinda the Good Witch. "I wanted to thank all my beautiful little monsters for following me. Thank you for beginning my reign as Twitter queen."

The singer then wished her Twitter-dom only the most enjoyable of experiences when logging onto the micro-blogging site.

"May you always have soft cuticles while tweeting," Gaga said wistfully. "May you never have carpal tunnel."

The "Alejandro" singer, who filmed the clip backstage at her Monster Ball Tour stop in Tacoma, Washington, promised to keep the Twitter nonsense to a minimum. "I vow never to partake in celebrity online shenanigans," Gaga said. "And I vow to always tweet and tweet again."

Before signing off, Gaga left her legions of viral fans with a few words of encouragement.

"Just remember that I love you," Gaga said. "And love you yourself. Because little monsters, you were born that way, baby. I love you Twitter. See you at the Monster Ball."

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Linkin Park's 'Catalyst' Video All About Contradiction

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 03:50 AM PDT

The clip conveys 'something can be beautiful or it can be destructive,' Mike Shinoda tells MTV News.
By James Montgomery


Mike Shinoda on the set of "The Catalyst"
Photo: MTV News

Linkin Park's much-discussed A Thousand Suns will finally see the, uh, light of day on September 14, bringing to close a nearly two-year process that saw the band push themselves in ways they never thought possible.

And, as is the case with most grand projects, things were still being worked out up until the very last minute. Case in point: The video for the album's first single, "The Catalyst," which the band shot back in June. In keeping with tradition, the clip was directed by the band's DJ, Joseph Hahn, but aside from who would be sitting in the director's chair, there were still plenty of details to sort out including just what they were going to call the song itself.

"We are deciding the title as we speak," LP's Mike Shinoda told MTV News on the set of the video back in June. "We came in with a title in mind, and changed our minds, and probably by the end of the day, we'll have a new name for the song."

And while they were still unsure of the song's title a few months ago, the boys knew exactly the kind of emotions they wanted to convey in its video. Much like the album itself, they were gunning for big, often-contradictory themes: power and grace, destruction and salvation, ugliness and beauty.

"The concept to the video: It kind of comes from the idea of, like, if you could imagine when nuclear fission was invented, or a moment in time when something can be used for positive or negative," Shinoda said. "Something can be beautiful or it can be destructive. Or even, you know, if you've ever seen a dangerous fire from far away, it's devastating up close, but from far away, it can be beautiful. Those are the kind of themes that run throughout the album, and they're also themes that you see in the video."

"The Catalyst" video premieres at midnight August 25 (technically, the 26th) on MTV.com and VH1.com, and then on MTV, VH1, MTV2, mtvU, MTV Hits, MTV Tr3s and all MTV international territories at 8 p.m. ET/PT on August 26.

Are you looking forward to seeing what kind of video Linkin Park created? Tell us in the comments!

Faith Evans Arrested On Suspicion Of Drunken Driving

Posted: 22 Aug 2010 02:40 AM PDT

The singer was reportedly pulled over Saturday night in Los Angeles.
By Mawuse Ziegbe


Faith Evans
Photo: Tiffany Rose/ WireImage

Faith Evans was arrested Saturday night on suspicion of misdemeanor drunken driving, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Evans was taken into police custody at 10:40 p.m. at a checkpoint near Marina del Rey, Los Angeles Police Department's Officer Cleon Joseph told the Times. The Associated Press reports Evans' car was impounded and she was released on bail the following morning.

The incident is not the singer's first brush with the law. In 2004, Evans and her husband, Todd Russaw, were arrested in Atlanta on drug possession charges. Evans evaded jail time by entering a pretrial drug-abuse intervention program. She referenced the drama in her 2005 single "Again." "In ATL, I caught a case/ And the media tried to say, I had a habit/ I couldn't manage, and I'm throwing my life away," Evans belts on the midtempo track.

Evans first hit the scene as a signee to Diddy's Bad Boy label and went on to pump out R&B hits such as "Love Like This" and "You Gets No Love." Evans also married fellow Bad Boy artist Notorious B.I.G. and won a 1997 Grammy, along with Diddy and 112, for the Biggie-tribute song "I'll Be Missing You," in the wake of the iconic MC's death.

After parting ways with her longtime label and releasing the 2005 album The First Lady on Capitol Records, the singer took a break from the fame game to focus on her family. At the 2009 premiere of "Notorious," the biopic about her late husband's rise to hip-hop prominence, Evans told MTV News that while she didn't have a record contract, she was looking to return to music.

"I've been taking a lot of meetings, and I've been enjoying my freedom, not being tied down to anything other than my family. I'm ready to record again," Evans said. "I've been hesitant to get into any type of record-deal situation. The offers have been coming in. Through the process of elimination, I'll pick the one that's right for me."

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Betty White, Neil Patrick Harris Score Emmys

Posted: 21 Aug 2010 11:01 PM PDT

The stars snag Creative Arts Emmys on Saturday.
By Mawuse Ziegbe


Betty White
Photo: Getty Images

Betty White, 88, who went from '80s "Golden Girl" to viral It girl, snagged a Creative Arts Emmy on Saturday for her guest-starring role on NBC's "Saturday Night Live."

After a hilarious Super Bowl commercial sparked a Facebook campaign aimed at landing White an "SNL" hosting gig, the comedy legend helmed the Mother's Day tribute episode in May. The appearance boosted the sketch-comedy show's ratings, drawing in the biggest viewership in 18 months.

White wasn't the only star lauded for superior host skills. Neil Patrick Harris took home an Emmy for his role as MC of the 63rd Annual Tony Awards, which nabbed hardware for Outstanding Special Class Program. The "How I Met Your Mother" star was a multiple award-winner Saturday night and also scored a win for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his turn as jerky Bryan Ryan on Fox's "Glee."

Other winners at Saturday's ceremony include the HBO wartime miniseries "The Pacific" with seven trophies. Newbie ABC comedy hit "Modern Family" and "SNL" both took home three awards. Animated FOX stalwart "The Simpsons" nailed two awards, including an Outstanding Voice Over Performance win for Anne Hathaway's guest role as Princess Penelope. Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" landed a win for Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special for its comedic repackaging of the news.

The television community still awaits the Primetime Emmy Awards which will air live on NBC August 29. Hit shows like "Glee," "American Idol," "30 Rock" and "Mad Men" are up for awards.

Who do you hope will take home a Primetime Emmy Award? Let us know in the comments below

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'Expendables' Continues Box Office Domination

Posted: 22 Aug 2010 12:19 AM PDT

Stallone and crew hold down the #1 spot for the second week in a row.
By Mawuse Ziegbe


Sylvester Stallone in "The Expendables"

The Box-Office Top Five

#1 "The Expendables" ($16.5 million)
#2 "Vampires Suck" ($12.2 million)
#3 "Eat Pray Love" ($12 million)
#4 "Lottery Ticket" ($11.1 million)
#5 "The Other Guys" ($10.1 million)

"The Expendables" continues to spank the competition at the box office. The firepower-packed flick closed out the weekend with $16.5 million in ticket sales. The Sylvester Stallone ode to macho action movies has raked in a total of $64.9 million throughout its two-week run in theaters.

"Vampires Suck" lagged behind "Expendables" with $12.2 million. The horror spoof, which takes several shots at pop-culture's current fascination with smoldering, mortal-loving vampires, took the second-place slot. The film has stacked $18.6 million in ticket receipts since the comedy hit theaters on Wednesday.

"Eat Pray Love" continued to cull a steady stream of theatergoers with a weekend draw of $12 million. "Vampires" just barely fended off the Julia Roberts vehicle, which settled into third place during its second week on screens. The weekend bumps "Love" 's total gross to $47.1 million.

Boasting a rap-friendly cast, "Lottery Ticket" took fourth place during its debut weekend. The comedy, which features hip-hop star Bow Wow as a young fella forced to bat away hangers-on after he lands a winning lotto ticket, rang up $11.1 million in ticket scans.

"The Other Guys" maintained a healthy presence at theaters, besting three new flicks for a top-five slot. The Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg cop comedy pulled in $10.1 million, bringing its overall haul to $88.2 million.

In a weekend packed with new movies, three debuts failed to crack the top five. "Piranha 3D" nipped at "Guys" ' heels with $10 million for sixth place while "Nanny McPhee Returns" and "The Switch" struggled through the weekend with $8.3 million and $8.1 million, respectively.

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more -- updated around the clock -- visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Lauryn Hill Returns, Snoop Dogg Reigns At Rock The Bells 2010

Posted: 22 Aug 2010 09:09 AM PDT

Sets by Wu-Tang Clan, A Tribe Called Quest, Rakim and KRS-One also make for an epic tour kickoff.
By Shaheem Reid


Lauryn Hill performs at the 2010 Rock the Bells hip-hop festival in San Bernardino, CA Aug. 21
Photo: MTV News

SAN BERNARDINO, California -- Hip-hop is so spontaneous that you never know where a historic moment might take place. That wasn't the case Saturday night, however: Guerilla Union informed all of us weeks ago that history would be made on August 21, 2010, in San Bernardino.

It was the kickoff of this year's Rock the Bells Tour, and out of its six previous outings, this one was surely the most inspired and ambitious. The lineup was surreal and a fantasy wish list for hip-hop fans, including Snoop Dogg, Wu-Tang Clan, A Tribe Called Quest, Slick Rick, Rakim, KRS-One and a returning Lauryn Hill.

Dope! No, this is beyond that. Unbelievable. And to raise the stakes on this outing, all the legendary artists would be performing a classic album from their catalogs. As for Ms. Hill, well, does it matter what she performs? Just seeing her for the first time in more than a decade (or for the first time period, as was the case for most fans at the concert) was a blessing. (Relive the Rock the Bells Tour kickoff minute-by-minute with our live blog over on RapFix!)

Hill stole our hearts in the mid-'90s, originally as part of the Fugees. In a genre dominated by masculinity, Lauryn stood out from her peers as rap's most unique artist. She was astonishingly talented as a vocalist and as an MC, and she could do both seamlessly. The Fugees' The Score made her an international phenomenon, and her solo debut, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, turned her into an instant legend.

That was 12 years ago, and the new music (as well as concert appearances) have been infamously sparse. On Saturday, even though she came midway through the card, Hill was undoubtedly the must-see event of the night. After Slick Rick performed The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, Rakim tackled Paid in Full and KRS-One dropped his Boogie Down productions masterpiece Criminal Minded, Lauryn took the stage.

Hill started with a can't-miss one-two punch of "Lost One" and "Doo-Wop (That Thing)." Backed by a six-piece band and three backup singers, just about all her selections were remixed variations of her classics, with the tempo sped up. This was not a woman who some reports had labeled "crazy." Lauryn was lucid and dancing and appeared to be enjoying herself.

"It's good to see you, everybody!" she said after "Hurts So Bad."

Then, before "Zion," Hill said: "It was 13 years ago I wrote a song about my son. August 3rd. Can you believe that? It's not necessarily easy, but it's beautiful." Lauryn then instructed the band to "make it bounce."

Hill ended where her career began -- with the Fugees -- rapping "Ready or Not" and "Fugee La." When she exited, an undercurrent of fans chanted "Lauryn, Lauryn!"

A Tribe Called Quest had fans yelling "Thank you!" Q-Tip, Phife Dawg and Ali Shaheed Muhammad performed several selections from their timeless Midnight Marauders and threw in a few surprises. One of the original members, Jarobi, came out for "Can I Kick It?," and Busta Rhymes (accompanied by Spliff Star) made an appearance with his banger "Stop the Party." Q-Tip rapped his lines from "The Scenario" over the beat, then the track switched to the actual "Scenario" beat. Bust went on a rampage during his star-making verse from the song. Rhymes, Spliff and Jarobi stayed onstage for the last two numbers: "Check the Rhyme" and "Award Tour."

Wu-Tang was next with their 36 Chambers LP, and filling in for Ol' Dirty Bastard was the "Young Dirty Bastard," Dirt's eldest son Boy Jones. Jones embodied his pop's mannerisms and rebellious spirit, jumping off the stage and performing "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" with no shirt on. Jones also wore the same hairstyle as Dirty sported on his solo debut cover.

The set of the night however belonged to the last act: Snoop Dogg performed Doggystyle and brought out his DPGC family Kurupt, Daz, Warren G, Lady of Rage and RBX. The Dogg utilized the big screen onstage to unveil mini-movies for each skit on his album. Dr. Dre appeared on one skit, telling his friend to do an old-school song. Snoop took that opportunity to step out of Doggystyle and do "The Next Episode." The energy for Snoop's set was at a high pitch for every song. Even though some members of the crowd were on their feet for more than 10 hours, everyone showed love.

There was an amazing exchange during "Ain't No Fun" and "Regulate," during which everyone sang Nate Dogg's part ("you better be ready," Snoop laughed, telling Warren G, who wasn't aware the record was in the set list); the gangster crooner is still recovering from multiple strokes.

Other highlights of the Dogg's set included "Doggy Dogg World" and "What's My Name." He started with "Gin and Juice" and "ended" with "What's My Name," but we all know a Dogg Pound party don't stop, so Pharrell Williams appeared on the video screen in a tux singing his parts of "Minnie the Moocher." He then did a call-and-response of Snoop's name with the audience, before Snoop tackled "Drop It Like It's Hot" and "I Wanna Rock."

Were you at the show? What were your favorite moments? Let us know in the comments!

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Jason Derulo, Jordin Sparks and 3OH!3 Reminisce On 'When I Was 17'

Posted: 22 Aug 2010 06:00 AM PDT

The stars fondly remember their teen years on the most recent episode.
By Mawuse Ziegbe


Jason Derulo

Jason Derülo, Jordin Sparks and 3OH!3 are all young hitmaking artists, but it wasn't too long ago that the stars were worried about their rides, fueling rivalries and rocking out in class.

"I loved school, but I always wanted to be out singing," Jordin Sparks said in the latest episode of '"When I Was 17," which premiered Saturday. "I was that one in school that just was always looking at the clock, like, wishing I was kind of somewhere else. I was always singing in class, too. Like I'd be reading the assignments and singing and the teacher would be like, 'Jordin, Jordin, Jordin!' I'd be like, 'What?' She's like, 'Shh! People are reading!' and I was like, 'Oh, sorry.' "

Jordin may have felt a little embarrassment in the classroom, but Jason Derülo nearly lost major cool points when he busted a tire on his raggedy car, nicknamed '"The White Jellybean," while cruising on a date.

"We're good, we're flowing, we're riding," Derülo remembered. "Suddenly I hear it go 'boom, boom, boom, boom.' I just try to keep going. We're still riding ... but I know that we got a flat tire. But I also know [that] I don't know how to change the tire."

The guys in 3OH!3 grew up to make sunny hip-hop-infused pop jams together, but back in the day the duo were not cool with each other.

"We went to rival high schools," Nat Motte said. "Junior year of high school, we beat the Fairview Knights 17-10 [in football], and we lost consecutively in all other sports afterwards. But we would still chant '17-10!' "

Even a bitter sports rivalry couldn't keep the pair apart, and they were eventually brought together by their love of absurd guerilla-style TV.

"My mom thought I was a real weirdo, but I would watch public access television, and I remember seeing awesome videos that Nat made. I was like, 'Man, I want to meet that kid!' " Sean Foreman said. "So I'm going to University of Colorado-Boulder, and I take a physics class, and I'm sitting in the class and I'm like, 'Oh my God, it's the guy from TV!' ... and that's how we met."

"When I Was 17" airs Saturdays at 11 a.m. ET on MTV.

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Live Blog: Rock The Bells Los Angeles

Posted: 22 Aug 2010 09:51 AM PDT

Sets by Wu-Tang Clan, A Tribe Called Quest, Rakim and KRS-One also make for an epic tour kickoff.


Lauryn Hill
Photo: Brendon Thorne /Getty Images

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