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Kelly Clarkson, Black Eyed Peas Party Jersey-Style For Zootopia Posted: 17 May 2009 09:02 AM PDT Flo Rida, Soulja Boy Tell'Em, Ciara, Jesse McCartney and the All American Rejects bring crowd-pleasing sets to Saturday's show. By Jocelyn Vena Kelly Clarkson at Zootopia in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Saturday Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey — At the Izod Center on Saturday (May 16), fans gathered for a night filled with pop music from Kelly Clarkson, Ciara, Jesse McCartney and the Black Eyed Peas, rock from the All American Rejects and hip-hop from Soulja Boy Tell'Em. Hometown boy Jesse McCartney got the party started with "Leavin'," but it was when he took off his sunglasses and sang "Beautiful Soul" that the sing-along really began. Jesse slowed it down for "It's Over," which he called his favorite song off his album depature. But it was clear the fan fave was "How Do You Sleep?" Soulja Boy Tell'Em played a very short set, which included "Crank That" followed by "Turn My Swag On." Then he requested all cell phones out as he took off his shirt to perform "Kiss Me Thru the Phone." "Gossip Girl" star Taylor Momsen surprised the crowd, coming out to introduce the All American Rejects — while also plugging her band, the Pretty Reckless. AAR rocked the show with "Dirty Little Secret." Lead singer Tyson Ritter wanted to hear everyone scream for "Swing, Swing," and he showed some love for kids in the cheap seats before "Move Along." Then he broke into a spoken-word version of "Gives You Hell" before the band kicked in. After doing their new single, "The Wind Blows," Tyson did his best Nixon impression and walked out. Ciara brought some girl power with ironically titled "Like a Boy." Then she showed everyone how limber she is by doing splits as she went into "Goodies." Unfortunately, her "Love Sex Magic" collaboration was left Justin Timberlake-less, but the sexy moves she performed along with her dancers (which included a Lady Gaga lookalike) more than made up for it. Keeping the girl power alive, Kelly Clarkson's killer voice rocked the room with "Since U Been Gone." The set included lots of new songs off her new album, All I Ever Wanted, peppered with older hits, like "Miss Independent." Before "I Do Not Hook Up," Kelly listed her exceptions to that rule: Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe. "Walk Away," "Already Gone" and "If I Can't Have You" also were fan favorites leading up to her finale "My Life Would Suck Without You." Sean Paul graced the stage to introduce Flo Rida, who then made everyone dance to "In the Ayer." Flo asked the crowd to sing along for "Jump." He brought some female fans onstage for "the record that made him international," "Low," and dedicated "Right Round" to all the single ladies. The Black Eyed Peas were the night's final act. Their set was filled with hits like "Don't Phunk With My Heart" and "Let's Get It Started." Their theme of the night was all about finding the party people in the house, and "Pump It" helped in the search. After determining the "Humps" were controlling the room, they sang that song. Calling their L.A. crowd at last week's Wango Tango "wiggity wiggity wack," the Peas dedicated "Where Is the Love?" to the room, just before bringing the "Boom Boom Pow. Related Photos Kelly Clarkson, Ciara And More Go Wild At Zootopia Related Artists Kelly Clarkson Black Eyed Peas Flo Rida Ciara Soulja Boy Tell'em The All-American Rejects Jesse McCartney Sean Paul

Mr Hudson On Working With Jay-Z: 'I'm Pinching Myself' Posted: 18 May 2009 03:51 AM PDT 'To be honest, it just does not sink in,' the British singer says of being signed by Kanye West and collaborating with Jay-Z. By Steven Roberts Mr Hudson and Kanye West Photo: MTV News When Kanye West anointed English singer/songwriter Mr Hudson as an undeniable, across-the-board talent and compared him to the likes of Sting, Jim Morrison, Tina Turner and Michael Jackson, Hudson joked that he was annoyed by the pressure of the compliment. And when MTV News caught up with both artists on the set of Hudson's video for "Supernova," even West admitted that he put too much pressure on his artist. "On one hand, if you sign with an established person you get the extra limelight, the shine — but then you also have the pressure. And then you deal with all the baggage," 'Ye explained. And when West informed Hudson that he would be featured on three songs on Jay-Z's Blueprint 3 during the interview, Hudson was shocked. "Am I?" Hudson asked. "Yeah, well, you have, like, a few," West replied. "The song 'Forever Young' is incredible, and I want you to do a few more. I want you to do the chorus for 'She's Like That All the Time.' Just outright do the chorus." Hudson worked with West last summer on a variety of projects including 808s & Heartbreak, but he said the icing on the cake was the fact he appears to have impressed Jay-Z. "I hope Jay ... Jay-Z still likes it. I call him Jay like I've met him more than twice, but we flipped [Bob Dylan's] 'Forever Young.' ... But to be on a Jay-Z album and a Kanye West album in six months ... I'm pinching myself. To be honest, it just does not sink in." Hudson's recent success is the culmination of a lot of hard work. Despite being ignored in London for years, he kept working. While it seems like it happened overnight, Hudson assures us that isn't the case. "[People think] 'He got invited to Hawaii and now he's on these records.' I used to sing for my supper in a pizza restaurant in SoHo. I got 50 quid, a bottle of wine or two and a pizza. I learned my chops, so that's why I have the confidence now to go onstage in front of 50,000 people and do what I do, because I've been waiting long enough." Related Videos Kanye West Introduces Mr Hudson

'Hills' Star Lo Bosworth Avoided 'Pink, Frilly' Gowns For Her Prom Posted: 18 May 2009 03:51 AM PDT 'We had, like, hot outfits and stuff, and we pretended like we were old,' she recalls of her 'Laguna Beach' days. By Jocelyn Vena Lo Bosworth Photo: Charley Gallay/ Getty Images It's May — you know what that means. It's getting warm, the flowers are blooming and the time-honored tradition of prom is back again. So get your corsages, turn up the cheesy music and fuel the limos, because this week we're catching up with your favorite stars and helping them relive their favorite prom memories. Lo Bosworth has several proms to remember fondly. "The Hills" star, who also spent some time in high school in front of the cameras on "Laguna Beach" alongside Lauren Conrad and Stephen Colletti, told MTV News that she and her friends really made sure they did prom night right back in the day. "I had so much fun at prom. I went to three proms, actually," she recalled. "I went almost every year of high school, and in Laguna, we did it up." For the Laguna kids, that meant celebrating prom in the splashiest way possible. "We got huge limos and fabulous dresses — none of this pink, frilly sh--," she said. "We had, like, hot outfits and stuff, and we pretended like we were old, and it was so much fun." When it came to dates, Lo relied on the company of her best girlfriends, but for one year, there was a very special guy by her side — sort of. "I went with friends every year," she said. "Except one, and that year, I went with my ex-boyfriend. I broke up with him, but we still went to the dance together."

Eminem's <i>Relapse</i> Inspires Our Fantasy Slim Shady Playlist Posted: 18 May 2009 03:51 AM PDT DJ Drama, the Alchemist, DJ Whoo Kid and more offer up their favorite Em tracks to Mixtape Daily. By Shaheem Reid Eminem Photo: MTV News Mixtape Daily Special Report Eminem has been a beast since his demo tape. We all know that. He's told us the good, the bad and the disgusting in his life and never held back any punches. He throws haymakers on the mic, from guest collaborations like "Off the Wall" with Redman and "Renegade" with Jay-Z to the album cut "Marshall Mathers." He's one of the best to ever to do it, and he's made a return to spotlight with his new LP Relapse. In honor of King Mathers coming back, we're coming double-fisted. First, we have an exclusive, vintage freestyle that Em recorded right here in the MTV offices about a decade ago. As you'll see, Em was still rocking the blond 'do and was a monster, coming off the dome back then. He laid his raps while visiting DJ Stretch Armstrong. Speaking of DJs, we've assembled some of the best in the game right now to give us their tracks for a fantasy Slim Shady mixtape. Before you have a heart attack, we couldn't include all of Em's greatest songs in one article, but feel free to tell us which ones we should include in part two. Big-up to Alchemist for getting the gig as Em's DJ while he's doing this promo run. "Just Don't Give a F---" "It was the first record that really introduced me to Eminem. It was unlike anything I ever heard. When I first heard that, I was an instant fan. When I heard that song, I was a complete nobody at that time. I fooled the world by pretending that I had an online Internet radio show. I got in touch with Eminem and [his manager] Paul Rosenberg and their camp when they was doing promo shows. Back then, I got them to come to my mom's basement, because I was such a fan and I couldn't wait to hear more stuff from this guy. I got them to my mom's basement, and we hung out. He was definitely drunk. ... Definitely, you could tell he was kinda a live wire. He actually came with Royce Da 5'9"." - Clinton Sparks "The Way I Am" "To me, Eminem is the ultimate personable artist. He always brings you in his life. 'The Way I Am,' he was already dealing with so much, really coming into his iconic status. For him to deliver that record and deal with what was going on ... it's amazing that a record like that could be a single. Lyrically, he's one of the greatest of all time. That's one of my favorite Eminem records. The flow was ill, as it always is. He delivered quality and gave his Eminem angry approach to it. You could feel the hostility in the record." - DJ Drama "Love Me" (featuring 50 Cent and Obie Trice) "That was a hard record right there. I guess it was so much sh-- going on, they didn't concentrate on that record. It was one of those records we should have done the video and pushed it more, but at that time, Eminem didn't need no pushing. He was already moving millions of units. It's hard when you're moving millions of units — 8 million, 10 million units — what's the purpose of concentrating on promoting separate records? Everybody heard it, it was poppin', but I felt they should have put a little light on the record. I think that was the first time we heard Em and 50 together." - DJ Whoo Kid "Hello" " 'Hello,' it's Em saying he's back. You could tell Dre mixed that record because of the sound. I like some of the cuts and scratches on the hook. That's the classic Em we love. He's been away for a second. It's Em. His flows on the new album, me personally, I like how he rapped on 'Hello,' the 'Beautiful' record is ill. 'Bagpipes Over Baghdad,' I like the style he raps on that. For my personal taste, I like the introspective Em." - DJ Skee "Underground" "When I first heard [Relapse], that was the song I said, 'This is gonna shut mutha----ers up.' Straight up. It would not be an issue. Nobody would be like, 'I didn't like this, I didn't like the flow.' ... When we perform that song, Em takes a spot on the stage, and that's it. He picks a spot and dumbs out. There's not a lot of moving. When we're rehearing the song, you know, 'This is gonna be something crazy.' He says, 'Turn the lights down,' they put the spotlight on Em, and it's just snap rap. In the current day and age, you don't hear songs like that. It doesn't seem like any of that other sh-- going on in the world or in the music industry was going on in his mind when he [made the song]. He was strictly into the craft. I don't think anybody is f---ing with that." - the Alchemist "Insane" "The first thing I thought when I heard it was, 'Oh, word? Another thing that happened to him that we're just finding out about?' I was like, 'This guy's life is worse than people think it is.' It's great that he's not afraid to say it or tell the people. There's a lot of people out there that sh-- happens to them that they feel embarrassed or they don't know how to do it. Nobody can tell a tale of tragedy better than Eminem and make it f---ing interesting and cool to listen to and make fun out of it. He's not saying it like 'woe is me.' He's saying, 'This sh-- is f---ed up. F--- it! This is who I became because of it. F--- you.' " - Clinton Sparks "The Real Slim Shady" "Em doesn't get much club play [in the U.S.], but when I go overseas and play 'The Real Slim Shady,' that's a classic over there. When people hear it overseas, they be buggin' the f--- out. The beat is hot. It's a long verse, but when the hook comes on, everybody is screaming. It's kinda like 'Jump Around.' I did it recently in Beirut, Lebanon, and parts of France. Those songs connect to the rich people and young kids." - DJ Whoo Kid "We as Americans" "That was an old record. That's when he said, 'I don't rap for dead presidents/ I'd rather see the president dead/ It's never been said, but I set precedents.' Sh--, man! He always figures a way to step beyond what other mutha----ers are doing with the bars. I always like that beat too." - the Alchemist 50 Cent's "Patiently Waiting" (featuring Eminem) "Classic! 50 and Em over an Eminem beat. 50 in rare form, Eminem in rare form. Both on top of the world at the time. A monster who created another monster. That was just classic. Eminem beats at that time was such gold and had such rich sound. 50 fit the beat perfectly on that. Just the hook alone — 'I been patiently waiting for a track to explode on' — summed everything up." - DJ Drama "8 Mile Road" and "Lose Yourself" "That whole '8 Mile' soundtrack, even though it wasn't Em on the whole thing, it was ill. 'Lose Yourself,' that was Em's best. That's my favorite commercial Eminem single. That was Em in his prime. It was a great new direction for him. What the people in the mainstream knew him was for some of the funny stuff and all the crazy stuff with Kim. But the inspirational side was great motivation music. I've used it to motivate me. To show a white boy from the 'hood in Detroit can come out and do it, it's inspirational." - DJ Skee Notorious B.I.G.'s "Dead Wrong Remix" (featuring Eminem) "That was hot too. Em held it down very well. Nobody complained about that. You would never hear Tupac or Biggie doing songs with 60 percent of the artists that are booked on those remix albums. But Eminem, it felt like B.I.G. would have done a song with Em. With the remixes with dead rappers, I don't pay attention to them, but I wanted to see how Em would alter his lyrics to f--- with Biggie. He hung with him." - DJ Whoo Kid For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines. Related Videos The Eminem Collection Eminem: The Return Mixtape Daily Video: Eminem & More

Eminem's Road To <i>Relapse</i>, Part 5: The Hiatus Posted: 18 May 2009 03:51 AM PDT Slim Shady withdraws from the spotlight. By Jayson Rodriguez Eminem Photo: Interscope/MTV News As the May 19 release of Eminem's long-awaited Relapse album approaches, MTV News is taking a deep dive into our extensive Eminem archives and examining each phase of the MC's storied career. Part one looked at his rise; part two at his initial stardom; part three at his feature-film debut in "8 Mile"; part four at his 50 Cent co-sign and the toned-down album Encore; and here, in part five, his second divorce, death of his best friend, and hiatus. Overweight? Overdosed? Or something altogether worse? Those were just some of the many questions asked about Eminem during his three-year retreat from the public eye. Slim Shady had been ubiquitous since he first stepped on the scene in 1999. The superstar lyricist recorded multiple albums, created controversies and made enough history in his career to become a household name. Then he seemed to slowly fade out of the spotlight. Slim Shady had been ubiquitous since he first stepped on the scene in 1999. The superstar lyricist recorded multiple blockbuster albums, created headline-grabbing controversies and cemented his legacy as not only one of the greatest rappers of all time but also one of the most important artists and musical voices of his generation.  Em reconciled with Kim once again in December of 2005 and quickly remarried the mother of his child in a whirlwind courtship one month later. 50 Cent attended the Michigan nuptials, along with D12, and Proof served as the best man. »Part 1: The Rise »Part 2: Stardom »Part 3: '8 Mile' »Part 4: Encore And 50 Cent However, three months later the pair split once more, seemingly for good this time. Eminem filed for divorce from Kim, who he had dated on and off again since his high school days. The swift breakup was as puzzling to some as their second trip down the aisle. But just as Eminem was dealing with his second divorce, he'd be struck by shocking tragedy less than seven days later. His best friend, mentor and fellow D12 member Proof was fatally shot in a Detroit club on April 11, 2006. The venerable rapper's death caught the hip-hop community off guard — Proof had proven to be an affable and extremely well-liked person among his many peers. The double dose of bad news sent Eminem reeling.  Veteran journalist Sacha Jenkins, who partnered with Eminem to work on the rapper's 2008 biography "The Way I Am," described the incidents as ingredients that led to Em's increased drug use and eventual addiction and dependency.  "I think the grind of doing something that he really loved and that turning into this really super pressure-filled career, on top of the tragedies that he suffered — including personally his relationship with people within his family like his mother, the situation losing his best friend Proof, all those things combined — I believe and he believed, contributed to his downward spiral." Through his camp, Eminem released a touching statement about Proof and then went into hiatus.  "You don't know where to begin when you lose somebody who's been such a big part of your life for so long. Proof and I were brothers," Eminem said in the statement. "He pushed me to become who I am. Without Proof's guidance and encouragement there would have been a Marshall Mathers, but probably not an Eminem and certainly never a Slim Shady. Not a day will go by without his spirit and influence around us all. He will be missed as a friend, father and both the heart and ambassador of Detroit hip-hop." Em made a rare appearance two months after Proof's death at the 2007 BET Awards in June, joining Busta Rhymes onstage for a performance. But for the next year and a half — throughout the latter half of 2006 and all of 2007 — Eminem was barely seen or heard from. Rumors swirled that the rapper was battling drugs. A doctored photo popped up online of a bloated Eminem that caused a stir regarding his weight. Then, in January of last year he was hospitalized, reportedly due to a bout of pneumonia. No one knew just what to believe about the rapper who had all but become a recluse. It wasn't until two June cover-story interviews, with Vibe and XXL, that fans got the unfiltered details of Eminem's whereabouts. He revealed he was a recovering drug addict and spent stints in and out of rehab to deal with his addiction to pills.  XXL Editor in Chief Datwon Thomas, who interviewed Em for the story, said he was surprised by how candid the rapper was about his struggle for sobriety.  "When we got into the interview, he was just, 'Yo, man, I went through all this stuff with these pills.' I was like, 'Whoa.' It just hit me," Thomas told MTV News. "I actually had it down further in my notes. I had to rearrange everything and bring it to the top, like, 'Whoa, we going in.' I didn't have my scuba gear on fast enough to go that deep where he was at. But it was good, because it set the tone for the whole thing. To be open that much, that early, just led me in a way where I could go where I wanted to. The only place where he protected as far as personal side was his daughters and Kim."  Thomas said Em was very measured during his admission, using the word "struggle" over and over as he discussed his challenges. It was clear he understood his comments would be explaining a lot.  "His tone was pretty even throughout. Whenever he would get into those dark, emotional places, you could feel the pause in him," Thomas said. "Just kind of, 'Wow, I'm really saying this. This is gonna be out for the people.' You could just see him going through that. But at the same time you could also see him releasing it and him being cool with it. Being cool with letting people know, 'You're going through problems I'm going through.' He's letting you know, 'I'm going through the same thing, and it's a constant struggle.' The number-one word he used throughout the interview was struggle. 'I struggle with this.' And with someone that fights so much, he was just ready to let go [and admit he was a drug addict]." Last June Eminem began making his comeback. He phoned into his Shade 45 satellite radio station to prank call LL Cool J, who was being interviewed by one of the DJs. Shortly after, his label, Interscope Records, announced he was working on a new album. In September of 2008, he confirmed he was concentrating on his own new material, and he later announced in November the title of his new album: Relapse. Eminem may have been knocked down, but Marshall Mathers managed to pick himself back up. Now guess who's back? Related Videos Eminem: The Return The Eminem Collection Related Photos Eminem: A Life In Photos

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