- Chloe Marshall Sweet 16 headed to Miss England 2008
Chloe Marshall of the UK has just won the Miss Surrey 2008 beauty pageant. She is now advancing towards the Miss England contest, which is opened to females ages 17-24. If Chloe Marshall can win the Miss England 2008 pageant, she will advance to the Miss
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Links for 2008-03-21 [del.icio.us]
Monday, July 4, 2011
Beyonc� - Ego
- Artist: Beyoncé
- Label: Columbia, Music World Music
- Director: Beyonce, Frank Gatson, Sheryl Murakami
- Album: I Am...Sasha Fierce [Deluxe Edition]
Usher Gets Sick, Walks Offstage Mid-Show In Berlin
Singer cancels kick off date of European leg of his OMG Tour due to illness.
By Gil Kaufman
Usher (file)
Photo: Michael Caulfield/ WireImage
Usher was forced to delay the kick off of his European OMG Tour on Wednesday night in Berlin because of illness. In a statement released to fans, the singer apologized for the last-minute scratch, saying he felt he was suffering from a "sinus complication." Although the gig was rescheduled for Thursday night at the O2 World arena in Berlin, his German fans apparently weren't appeased by his effort.
"I am truly sorry to all my fans in Berlin who were inconvenienced by tonight's postponement of the show," the singer said in a statement about Wednesday's aborted concert. "I was ill and felt that I would not have been able to give them the show that they properly deserve. ... I am looking forward to performing tomorrow and giving Berliners a great show."
According to the statement, the singer received treatment from doctors for a sinus issue that affected his balance, but a visibly still-ailing Usher was unable to finish the Thursday make-up show, reportedly abandoning the stage after just five songs.
On Friday (January 14), a follow-up statement from his spokesperson confirmed that he was too ill to play Thursday night's Berlin date and has been forced to reschedule the next three dates on the tour as well. The Rotterdam show originally scheduled for this week has been moved to March 1 and a show in Antwerp, also slated for this week, has been bumped to March 7.
The statement also updated the singer's condition: "Usher is suffering from upper respiratory illness, which is currently preventing him from performing a proper show. After consultation with doctors, he has been advised to reschedule the upcoming dates in order to get the rest he needs to ensure a complete recovery."
Footage posted on YouTube that was purportedly taken at the make-up performance in Berlin shows Usher standing silently at the microphone seemingly unable to sing, with fans booing him at first and then chanting, "Usher, Usher," as he approaches the microphone and apologizes to them for his struggles. "I appreciate your support," he told the fans wearily.
"I have been very excited about my European Tour and I deeply regret having to reschedule the shows," the singer said in the new statement. "I am truly sorry for any inconvenience I have caused my fans. My fans are the best in the world and I am looking forward to getting better so that I can give them the show they deserve."
Usher wrapped up the North American leg of his tour in December and his overseas dates are slated to last through the spring.
What do you think of the fans' reaction to Usher's walking offstage mid-show? Tell us in the comments.
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Common Reveals Warner Bros. CEO Invited Him To Label
Lyor Cohen approached rapper, who departed Universal Music in 2009.
By Alvin Blanco
Common
Photo: Chris Weeks/ Getty Images
Last week, Chicago rapper Common revealed that he is taking his rhyme talents to Warner Bros. Records. Surprisingly, the "Universal Mind Control" rapper tells MTV News that he had been a free agent since December 2009, when he departed from his longtime Universal Music recording home.
The rapper and actor, currently shooting an AMC television series called "Hell on Wheels" that will premiere in the fall, released his last album, Universal Mind Control, in December 2008. The album was met with mixed reviews and didn't reach the same gold sales of his previous two projects, the critically acclaimed Be and Finding Forever.
But a certain record executive didn't lose faith in the veteran rap lyricist. "Point blank, I got a call from [Warner CEO] Lyor Cohen," Common told MTV News. "He was like, 'Look, man, I know who you are. I always told you, you was one of my favorite MCs, and I really meant that.'
"I felt the sincerity in what he was saying. He didn't tell me, 'We're going to do this, do that.' He was more like, 'I know how we can do your record, and I want to work this. I want this to be on my roster.' "
The Warner music chairman knows a thing or two about talent. Through the years, "the check writer" has had a hand in the careers of star MCs such as Run-DMC, LL Cool J and Jay-Z. Before getting the call from Cohen, Common had been toying with the idea of going the indie-label route to release his music.
"I felt like, man, it would be good because it's so much ... we do have a lot going on," Common explained. "I am doing these acting projects. I do have my foundation. I do have a daughter and a life, too. So it's all these things I want to take care of, I felt like I didn't want to have an independent label that I felt like you gotta be there for everything, every decision. I'd rather have a team that's already in place that's really confident in what I'm doing."
Although G.O.O.D. Music recently inked a worldwide label agreement with Island Def Jam Music Group, Common is still affiliated with Kanye West's label. "It's still G.O.O.D. Music all day and night," he said.
Common's ninth album, The Dreamer, The Believer, is due out in November.
What do you think of Common's decision to sign with Warner Bros. Records? Sound off below!
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Les News, 070211
Harry Potter goes South Park. Deltra Goodrem cheers on solo Nick Jonas. Boba Fett in Mordor. THIS is the scariest thing ever created by human beings. So wait … you’re telling me Michael Bay is a hack who reuses the same scenes in different movies? The devil, you say! Cheryl Cole tries a new look. [...]
Marley Shelton Mary Elizabeth Winstead Megan Ewing Megan Fox
Beyonc� - Ego (Remix)
- Artist: Beyoncé
- Label: Columbia, Music World Music
- Director: Beyonce, Frank Gatson
Sunday, July 3, 2011
'Australian Idol' Judge Jay Dee Springbett Found Dead
Sony exec's cause of death has not yet been established.
By Jocelyn Vena
Jay Dee Springbett
Photo: Brendon Thorne/ Getty Images
"Australian Idol" judge Jay Dee Springbett was found dead at his home in Sydney on Thursday. He was 36.
He was discovered after friends called authorities when they couldn't contact the former "Idol" judge. He was already dead when authorities arrived at his Woolloomooloo apartment, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. As of press time, nothing else was known about the cause of death, although authorities believe nothing suspicious happened.
The U.K. native moved to Australia in 2004. He worked for Sony Music and joined "Idol" down under during the show's final season in 2009, replacing Kyle Sandilands. He was known as the show's resident "nice guy" judge. That year, Stan Walker was crowned the champ and later went on to become a successful artist in Australia and New Zealand.
The show aired on Network Ten in Australia, and a spokesperson for the network released this statement: "Our heartfelt condolences go out to Jay Dee's family at this very difficult time. Jay Dee was an asset to the final season of 'Australian Idol,' [and] we feel honored to have worked with him."
As a record executive, Springbett helped shape the careers of artists including Guy Sebastian, Human Nature, Rogue Traders and Natalie Bassingthwaighte. "Jay Dee was so very enthusiastic and passionate about his family, his music projects and his plans for the future," Sony Music Entertainment Australian and New Zealand CEO Denis Handlin said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "[He] was a great friend and larger-than-life charismatic character who will be missed enormously."
Fremantle, which produces the "Idol" shows, also expressed condolences in a statement. "The 'Australian Idol' family is deeply saddened by the passing of Jay Dee," the statement reads. "Our thoughts are with his family and all at Sony Music."
Spotted: Jennifer Garner and Seraphina Get Stripey
Seraphina Affleck, 2�, grabs a snack while visiting the farmer's market with mom Jennifer Garner on Sunday afternoon.
Usher - Spotlight
- Artist: Usher
- Label: Warner Bros. Records, Asylum, Mizay Ent
- Director: Benny Boom
- Album: The State vs. Radric Davis
Ke$ha Touched By Fan's Tattoo
Singer tells MTV News about gay fan inspired by her song 'Animal.'
By Gil Kaufman
Ke$ha
Photo: MTV News
Ke$ha knows all about the perks of being a headliner. On her Get $leazy Tour, the singer gets to call all the shots, blast her fans in the face with tons of glitter and handpick which dudes she wants to party and share the stage with.
But it's not all backstage shenanigans and groupie love. When MTV News sat down with the "Blow" singer in New York earlier this week before her gig at Roseland Ballroom, Ke$ha said that amid the nightly onstage parties there have also been some poignant moments on her first headlining outing.
"Best moment? There are so many. Every night's amazing. I have kids outside right now chanting my name and it's awesome," she said of the first leg of the tour. "There was one night a fan came onstage, I invited him onstage, and he had a tattoo of the dollar sign. I was like, 'Oh, that's awesome! Badass. You're part of the cult, man.' "
And then, she said, he began to cry and explained that he was able to come out of the closet to his friends and family thanks to her song "Animal."
"And I'm standing onstage about to sing a song about growing back a pair of testicles ["Grow a Pear"] and I had tears rolling down my face and chills all over my body," she said. "Because that's really the reason I do music, to inspire people to be themselves."
Ke$ha has been a vocal supporter of the "It Gets Better" video project, which aims to help gay, bisexual and transgender youth find hope in the face of teasing and bullying.
The "Get $leazy" juggernaut continues on Saturday night with a show at Clarion University in Clarion, Pennsylvania.
Are you planning to see Ke$ha on her Get $leazy Tour? Tell us in the comments.
Related Videos Related ArtistsWhat's Your Number? Website
The website for WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER? is finally up!
http://www.whatsyournumbermovie.com/
And the official Facebook page!
http://www.facebook.com/whatsyournumbermovie
And the official YouTube channel!
http://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialNumberMovie
Also, here's the trailer!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Britney Spears - Womanizer
- Artist: Britney Spears
- Label: Zomba Label Group/Jive
- Director: Joseph Kahn
- Album: Circus
Lexi St. George the Next Rebecca Black?
The creators of Rebecca Black's so-bad-it's-good hit song "Friday" have done it again!
Ark Music Factory, the company behind the 13-year-old's annoyingly catchy video (which created a firestorm of controversy), unveiled their latest creation on Good Morning America this week. In the "Dancing to the Rhythm (With Me)" video, 14-year-old Lexi St. George belts out lyrical gems such as, "Gonna press send...and text all my friends." But despite the obvious similarities, CEO Patrice Wilson says they weren't hoping to create another Black -- though George does remind us of a younger Emma Watson.
"I don't want people comparing and saying she's the next Rebecca Black," he told Gawker. "With this project, it's a bit of a different thing. We wanted to make something everybody could like, whether the older or younger generation… I don't anticipate that people are going to dislike this video. I hope people give her a chance and not say I don't like Ark Music Factory so I don't like this song."
With its middle-school themes and abundance of glitter, we're not sure anyone over the age of 14 will genuinely like the video -- but that's not to say it won't become an ironic hit like "Friday." Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon -- we're ready for your version!
Watch for yourself below and let us know what you think!
Jennifer Gareis Jennifer Garner Jennifer Gimenez Jennifer Love Hewitt
Beyonce Responds To 4 Album Leak
'While this is not how I wanted to present my new songs, I appreciate the positive response,' she tells MTV News in a statement.
By Gil Kaufman
Beyonce's <i>4</i>
Photo: Columbia
Beyoncé is taking a glass-half-full approach to the leak of her entire 4 album three weeks before its June 28 release date.
In a statement released to MTV News on Wednesday (June 8), Beyoncé lamented the early arrival but said she's making the most of the eagerness of her fans to get their hands on her first new batch of songs since 2008's double-disc I Am ... Sasha Fierce.
"My music was leaked and while this is not how I wanted to present my new songs, I appreciate the positive response from my fans," the singer wrote. "When I record music I always think about my fans singing every note and dancing to every beat. I make music to make people happy and I appreciate that everyone has been so anxious to hear my new songs."
Beyoncé fans were psyched Tuesday when her collabo with Andre 3000, "Party," leaked weeks before the new album was due. It was one of several leaks the album has faced over the past week. A short time after the Kanye West and Consequence-produced "Party" slipped out, another song, "Countdown," which samples the Boyz II Men tune "Uhh Ahh," also surfaced, followed by the entire album.
While B's team scrambles to take down the offending links that have popped up all over the Web, some online rogues have taken to Twitter to put up links, making it harder for the label to track down the music. Fans have already gotten a number of listens to tunes from the disc, including the uptempo dancehall first single "Run the World (Girls)," the lush ballad "1+1" and the second official single "Best Thing I Never Had." Another tune, "End of Time," which samples late Afrobeat superstar Fela Kuti, has also leaked online.
Have you heard any of the leaked album, or are you waiting for the official release? Let us know in the comments.
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'Twilight' Meets 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo'
Anita Lindblom, prepare to get the "Twilight" treatment under the hands of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo."
Director Catherine Hardwicke will direct Noomi Rapace's as-yet-untitled biopic of '60s Swedish pop culture icon Anita Lindblom. To make things even more interesting, Rapace's real-life husband, Ola Rapace, will play boxing champion Bosse Hogberg who ends up marrying [...]
Director Catherine Hardwicke will direct Noomi Rapace's as-yet-untitled biopic of '60s Swedish pop culture icon Anita Lindblom. To make things even more interesting, Rapace's real-life husband, Ola Rapace, will play boxing champion Bosse Hogberg who ends up marrying [...]
Friday, July 1, 2011
Lady Gaga's 'Edge Of Glory' Video: Glory Days
E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons appears in the video pre-stroke.
By James Montgomery
Lady Gaga
Photo: Getty Images
Remember, for a while there, when everyone was complaining that Lady Gaga's videos had, perhaps, gotten too big, too arty, too obtuse? That maybe the hype surrounding each clip's premiere overshadowed the clip itself? Well, for the foreseeable future, those criticisms can be put to rest.
Because on Thursday (June 16), Gaga premiered her brand-new video for "The Edge of Glory," a piece that's a little bit Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach," a little bit Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" and a whole lot of " '80s videos where someone dances on a fire escape while smoke pours from a well-lit window."
There is no hyperkinetic, women-in-prison kink, no odes to Weimar Germany and no birthing of a machine gun. Shoot, there's not even a single Christian allegory to be seen (OK, maybe one, when Gaga strikes a Christ-like pose on the concrete).
Instead, "Edge" is little more than five-and-a-half minutes of classic pop, brimming with imagery, style (and moves) that could've been lifted from millions of videos in the pop heyday of the 1980s. It is Gaga's free-spirited youth in New York's East Village, only reimagined on a Hollywood level (in another nod to the videos of yesteryear, it makes no attempt to hide the fact that it was clearly shot on a "New York"-styled backlot): She sashays and struts on a fire escape, descends to the perfectly foggy, still-wet streets of the city, and poses on the front steps of her apartment building, while none other than Clarence Clemons hits a note-perfect saxophone solo. It is a fantasy in every conceivable way, and if it reminds you of something you've seen before, well, that's because you probably did — not just in '80s vids, but in films like "Fame" and Broadway hits like "Rent," too — and chances are you loved it.
And while all the feel-good nostalgia is dampened a bit by the very of the moment drama surrounding the video (Clemons is currently recovering from a stroke he suffered over the weekend), "Edge of Glory" still manages to shine, mostly because of its simplicity. You wanted a straightforward, dance-till-you-drop, unabashedly-indebted video from Lady Gaga? Well, now you've got one. It's not a stretch to call it a classic, mostly because, well, it is — at least in its inspirations. And its aspirations too.
What did you think of the video? Let us know in the comments!
Related Videos Related ArtistsPrince William & Kate Middleton Arrive In North America
Earlier today we saw photos of Prince William and Kate Middleton departing from London, England on their way to Ottawa, Canada to begin the first leg of their North American visit. Right now, we get to see the first photos of Wills and Kate as they touched down on North American soil just a bit [...]
Joanne Montanez Jodi Lyn OKeefe Jolene Blalock Jordana Brewster
Quote Of The Day
"Katy Perry's music always puts me in a good mood and makes me want to dance"
- Paris Hilton to US WEEKLY on Katy Perry
[Image via WENN.]
- Paris Hilton to US WEEKLY on Katy Perry
[Image via WENN.]
Salma Hayek Samaire Armstrong Samantha Mathis Samantha Morton
NBCs Racy Playboy Club Already Under Fire
The fall TV season hasn't even begun yet, and NBC is already dealing with its first controversy. One of its new shows, The Playboy Club (set to air Mondays at 10 p.m. ET), has caught the attention of anti-porn groups. They say that this provocative, 60's-era drama, which is set in a Chicago gentleman's club, isn't fit for primetime network TV.
Two groups, Pink Cross Foundation and Morality in Media have started online petitions to shut the show down. Dawn Hawkins, executive director of Morality in Media, takes issue specifically with reports of a three-way sex scene -- and more generally, with the Playboy brand being promoted at all. "We know now, years later, that pornography is very harmful to society," she said. "It leads to addiction in children and adults, increased sex trafficking violence against women -- and Playboy is really the root of all of this. We just don’t want to see it glamorized any further, which it will be if it’s aired on NBC.”
Lawyers for Morality in Media warn the show could run afoul of FCC's indecency regulations if it pushes the envelope too far. And that's not to mention the public resistance they're organizing.
"Every advertiser on The Playboy Club will be boycotted, every local affiliate of NBC will be bombarded by a very large segment of society that is sick and tired of those making money off the sexual exploitation of women," said the group's president, Patrick A. Truman. "The NBC brand, as well as Playboy will suffer great cost."
But let's hope that their efforts, if they have any effect, will simply serve to tone the show down. It would be a shame for The Playboy Club to be removed from the air altogether, based on only the pilot. For one thing, these preview clips demonstrate a quality script and good acting. Eddie Cibrian's character, Nick Dalton, a charming but flawed lawyer, has the compelling quality of Mad Men's Don Draper (Jon Hamm). And unlike, say, MTV's recently canceled Skins, this racy show is aimed at (and revolves around) adults, not teens.
Of course, all the attention may actually help NBC. TV viewers do love controversy -- especially one that involves sex. Just ask Anthony Wiener.
Usher, Ke$ha And More Help Dance Music Go Pop In 2010
But is it here to stay? Our music-industry experts weigh in.
By Akshay Bhansali
Ke$ha
Photo: Andreas Rentz/ Getty Images
In 2010, pop princesses, R&B icons and chart-dominating newcomers all danced to the same beat. Not only did dance music go pop, but pop music caught the club-music bug.
Between Katy Perry's "Firework," Ke$ha's "We R Who We R," Rihanna's "Only Girl (In the World)," Enrique Iglesias' "I Like It," Usher's "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" and "OMG" and countless other singles, established artists definitely looked to dance beats for surefire hits. And two of this year's biggest success stories in music were Jason Derülo and Taio Cruz; could there be a soul left in this country who hasn't heard "Dynamite" or "In My Head"?
The love went both ways, with dance music's biggest stars finding mainstream success this year. Dance-music maestro deadmau5 took up house-artist duties at this year's VMAs, and Swedish House Mafia and Usher teamed up for a medley of their gems at the American Music Awards.
So how did this happen? We caught up with some music-industry experts to get their takes.
"You definitely saw tempos go up this year," Jon Caramanica of The New York Times told MTV News. "And I think what you had are a lot of producers who are really familiar with nightclub stuff. They are familiar with Europe. Things are happening on a more global scale now."
"I think everything from Europe, and sometimes even Asia, it comes to America, and we just adopt things a little bit slower," said Jared Eng of JustJared.com. "I think it was just a change. People like different types of music at different times. And dance was of this moment."
Noah Callahan of Complex magazine added: "I think 2010 saw the merging of the pop and dance genres. Pop artists realized that there were best practices that could be borrowed from dance music. And, ultimately, [all] pop music that has been made in the past 20 years had ended up being remixed for the club by dance artists. I think they basically just cut out the middleman and went straight there."
Dance music being introduced into the hip-hop and R&B realms was particularly notable this year.
"I think David Guetta kind of at the end of last year and the beginning of this year spearheaded it," said freelance writer Julianne Escobedo Shepherd. "He produced a lot of tracks. I think as trends go, people revile 'unst-unst.' But it's just coming back around. Big-room techno was a way for people to get decadent in a year that no one could get decadent."
"You have someone like will.i.am, who's like, 'Well, I spent all this time in Ibiza, and this is what they are doing,' and he wants to find a way to bring that into his music," Caramanica said of the Black Eyed Peas mastermind. "R&B especially became dance music. And especially with your Jason Derülos, Taio Cruzes. Guys like that would have literally been blocked at the border two years ago. That would not have made it through customs. And now all of a sudden they have #1 songs. I think will.i.am had a lot to do with that last year."
Elliott Wilson of RapRadar.com added: "It's actually even affected hip-hop. I was talking to Q-Tip, and his next record, I feel like that's gonna kind of go in that vein. I know that was also Jay-Z's thought process with Blueprint 3 at first, that he wanted to make a little bit more of a world music [vibe], a little more dancey. I think the kids today want to go to the clubs. They wanna have a good time. They wanna dance. So I think the artists of today are trying to kind of feed that audience."
"I think it's caught on this year because the people who've done it have been successful," offered Clover Hope of Vibe magazine. "Like 'OMG,' with usher, he didn't have success until he made a dance record. He had 'There Goes My Baby' and these really, like, adult-contemporary records that didn't really catch on. And then once you see that everybody is doing it and that people are liking it, they are like, 'OK, let me just try this out.' It's like Auto-Tune. Like, 'Let me see what I sound like on a record by David Guetta.' They end up liking it and doing more of it."
So does the club-music trend have staying power. According to our tastemakers, not so much.
"I do think it's a blip," Caramanica said. "I don't think that's gonna be something that lasts in America. I think this is gonna be a moment we'll all look back on and go, 'Wasn't that weird when Jason Derülo and Taio Cruz had #1 records?"
"At some point, these R&B artists will get kind of sick of it and be like, 'Let me go back to my soul background,' " Hope said. "When you actually have to say something, dance doesn't really lend itself to substance. And I think that R&B artists, they really want to talk about love and in a deep way, and to do that, you need to do, like, a soul or a traditional R&B record. I want to say that it's kind of a fad."
"I think music is very cyclical," Eng offered. "So I think dance music might be here for a little bit, but I'm sure it will phase out at some point."
Wilson called dance music "the sound of today. I think that people want more aggressive, faster beats, and I think that that probably has legs until at least next summer."
What do you think? Is dance music here to stay? Let us know in the comments!
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