MTV News |
- Rihanna, Kanye West Bring 'All Of The Lights' To All-Star Game
- Lady Gaga Rocks Fans With Monster Ball Performance
- Jay-Z, LeBron James Attend 'Two Kings' Charity Event In L.A.
- Justin Bieber, Eminem Grammy Snubs Prompt Open Letter From Hip-Hop Brand Manager
| Rihanna, Kanye West Bring 'All Of The Lights' To All-Star Game Posted: 20 Feb 2011 08:45 AM PST Duo perform hit new single at half-time of NBA super contest.
Hometown hero Kobe Bryant may have blistered the Eastern Conference during the first half of Sunday night's (February 20) NBA All-Star Game, but it took Rihanna , Drake, and Kanye West to bring the Los Angeles crowd to their feet, with a rollicking performance during half-time of the gala sporting event. Wearing a jet black ensemble and flanked on either side by string instrumentalists, RiRi opened the set with an orchestral arrangement of her hit "Umbrella," before segueing into the faster tempo of "Only Girl" and "Rude Boy." Rihanna was joined on stage for her fourth song when collaborator and rumored former paramour Drake jumped up from the audience to sing the duo's hit "What's My Name." The rapper might have even scored the most points of the night by managing to work "Happy Birthday" into the song's lyrics for Rihanna, who was celebrating turning 23-years-old. But with apologies to Drake (and Chris Paul), the assist of the evening came from Kanye West, who made a surprise appearance at the Staples Center to join Rihanna in singing the pair's new single, "All Of The Lights," just one day after the release of the song's video. Backed by three large video screens that flashed disorienting, bright colors at lightning speeds, the performance was almost a recreation of the video, in fact, particularly the section inspired by Gaspar Noe's 2009 French film "Enter the Void." As with any All-Star game, though, all the stars weren't on stage. While Rihanna, Drake, and Kanye performed, Jay-Z, Sean Combs, and MVP of the celebrity All-Star game Justin Bieber among others sat courtside. Related Artists |
| Lady Gaga Rocks Fans With Monster Ball Performance Posted: 20 Feb 2011 01:51 AM PST 'I swear it was the best show I've ever gone to!' fan exclaims of Atlantic City showcase.
Mother Monster might have been the one on stage Saturday night (February 19) belting out numbers at the top of her lungs, but it was the Little Monsters in the audience who reached impossibly loud volumes for their hero, Lady Gaga.
And they did it outside the arena. "I swear it was the best show I've ever gone to!" a fan screamed to MTV News outside of Boardwalk Hall arena in Atlantic City, where Gaga had just finished her Monster Ball performance. "I was waiting for it!" "I loved it!" fan Sandy Kutsu gushed at alarming decibels. "It was my second time!" Generally sticking to her Monster Ball format, Gaga nevertheless had some new tricks and treats in store for her appreciative audience, including a performance of "Born This Way" ("She did 'Born This Way'!" a fan exclaimed!) during a second encore, just one day after the single was named the fastest-selling single in the history of iTunes. "There was a little bit of new choreography, some new costuming. But other than that it was the Monster Ball we know and love," fan Stephanie Botton explained. "I was in tears at 'Born this Way.' It was absolutely great." The biggest surprise, however, might have been Gaga's announcement during the show that she'd be back on tour next year with the "Born This Way Ball." "How can one person do all that? I have no idea!" gushed fan Kaitlin Donahue. For fans, the tour surely can't come quickly enough. "She's changed my life," Botton said. "It was awesome!" Related Photos Related Artists |
| Jay-Z, LeBron James Attend 'Two Kings' Charity Event In L.A. Posted: 19 Feb 2011 10:06 PM PST The stars were on hand for the unveiling of a new gym at the Boys & Girls Club of Los Angeles on Saturday.
LOS ANGELES — On Saturday afternoon, many of the kids at the Boys & Girls Club of Los Angeles had the opportunity to meet and greet Jay-Z and NBA superstar LeBron James. More importantly, however, those same children will now be able to enjoy a completely renovated gym featuring a mural by esteemed artist and L.A. native Mr. Cartoon — and, hopefully, received some added inspiration to achieve their dreams — thanks to Jay and LeBron's Two Kings charity and its co-sponsor, the Coca-Cola Company's Sprite brand.
The renovation was the first under Coca-Cola's Sprite Spark Parks Project, which plans to completely renovate more than 100 neighborhood spaces, including parks, fields and basketball courts. MTV News caught up with the rap icon and the basketball superstar at the gym's unveiling, which was held in conjunction with the NBA All-Star Weekend. Jay said he and James continue to give back because they were once just like those children in the room. "We are those kids that didn't have those opportunities, and luckily lightning struck for us," explained Jay. "We happened to be in the right place at the right time, with God-given talent. ... Some other people need help and opportunity, so it's empathy. I am you. I've been in the same place that these kids have been." Jay said the Two Kings charity started out because he and James wanted to utilize the financial clout of some of the people with whom they were doing business. They wanted to be more than paid endorsers smiling with a soft-drink can. They wanted to use their opportunities to achieve something positive. "We wanted to take this relationship and do some good," maintained Jay. "Take all these people and put them in a room. Take their power and influence and use them, but use them in a good way to effect good all over." This is the third consecutive year that Jay-Z and James' charity has hosted such an event during NBA All-Star Weekend. In 2009, Two Kings donated 150 instruments to the music program at Mesa Arts Academy in Mesa, Arizona. And last year, the two celebrities led a mentoring session at the East Dallas Club of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Dallas in Texas. In addition, Sprite has provided scholarships to top-performing students on their behalf. Related Photos Related Artists |
| Justin Bieber, Eminem Grammy Snubs Prompt Open Letter From Hip-Hop Brand Manager Posted: 20 Feb 2011 01:14 AM PST 'The awards show has become a series of hypocrisies and contradictions,' writes Steve Stoute in full page ad.
Ad man, brand manager and occasional consigliere to many of hip-hop's most powerful stars, marketing mogul Steve Stoute took out a full page ad in Sunday's New York Times Style Section blasting the Grammy Awards, its parent organizational, The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), and its president, Neil Portnow, for what he feels is both increasing irrelevance and possible malfeasance. "Over the course of my 20-year history as an executive in the music business and as the owner of a firm that specializes in in-culture advertising, I have come to the conclusion that the Grammy Awards have clearly lost touch with contemporary popular culture," he wrote in the ad, which took the form of an open letter. "The awards show has become a series of hypocrisies and contradictions, leaving me to question why any contemporary popular artist would even participate." In particular, Stoute focused on the relatively recent snubs of Eminem, Kayne West, and Justin Bieber, all musicians he believes have been unfairly beaten for awards by inferior artistic and commercial acts. "We must acknowledge the massive cultural impact of Eminem and Kanye West and how their music is shaping, influencing and defining the voice of a generation," Stoute wrote of the two hip-hop superstars, adding of Bieber, "How is it that Justin Bieber, an artist that defines what it means to be a modern artist, did not win Best New Artist?" While acknowledging in his letter that the most popular acts aren't always deserving of awards simply on the basis of their commercial success, of particular focus for Stoute is the seeming dichotomy between musicians the award ceremony chooses to honor and musicians the ceremony asks to perform. "While these very artists that the public acknowledges as being worthy of their money and fandom are snubbed year after year at the Grammys, the awards show has absolutely no qualms in inviting these same artists to perform," he wrote. "Interesting that the Grammys understands cultural relevance when it comes to using Eminem's, Kayne West's or Justin Bieber's name in the billing [but not when handing out trophies]." Not content to simply attribute these gaps to the general irrelevance or ignorance of the NARAS voters, Stoute goes on to suggest that performances are scheduled much more cynically and crassly, citing this year's Best Album winner Arcade Fire as an example of an act too serendipitous to be coincidental. "What truly inspired the writing of this letter was that this most recent show fed my suspicions. As the show was coming to a close and just prior to presenting the award for Album of the Year, Arcade Fire performed 'Month of May' only to, surprise, win the category and, in a moment of sheer coincidence, happened to be prepared to perform 'Ready to Start'," he wrote. "Does the Grammys intentionally use artists for their celebrity, popularity and cultural appeal when they already know the winners and then program a show against this expectation?" According to the official website of the Grammys, it would be impossible for anyone to know the winners of the various awards before the show, as they are delivered in sealed envelopes to the presenters by Deloitte Accounting. The winners themselves are determined by several rounds of submission and voting, starting with a screening process where 150 "experts" ensure "that each entry is placed in its proper category." From there, nomination ballots are sent out. Voters are encouraged to vote only in their area of expertise in addition to the four general categories, incidentally the same categories Stoute has the most problems with: Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best New Artist. The top five vote getters from this process are listed as the official nominees. Finally, ballots are sent out with the new, limited choices to determine a winner. Not good enough, Stoute says, believing this system is possibly ripe for being corrupted. "The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences hides behind the 'peer' voting system to escape culpability for not even rethinking this approach," he writes. "You are being called to task at this very moment, NARAS." Representatives from NARAS have not responded to MTV's request for comment by press time. Related Photos Related Artists |
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