lizethmartens

Monday, February 21, 2011

Lady Gaga Says Madonna Approves Of 'Born This Way'

Madonna's people e-mailed their 'love and complete support,' Gaga tells Jay Leno.
By Gil Kaufman

Lady Gaga on Monday's "Tonight Show With Jay Leno"
Photo: NBC

After a number of fans and critics pointed out the similarities between Lady Gaga's smash new single "Born This Way" and a few of Madonna's songs (including "Express Yourself" and "Vogue"), Gaga went on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" on Monday to say that she's gotten the Material Girl's stamp of approval.

Twenty-four hours after Gaga wowed the Grammy audience with her space-egg entrance, Leno asked the singer how she felt about the many comparisons to Madonna's work. Mother Monster assured him that there is no beef between her and Madonna over the song.

"There is really no one that is a more adoring and loving Madonna fan than me," said Gaga, who furthered the controversy during her Grammy performance by rocking a long blond ponytail that also recalled a classic Madonna look. "I am the hugest fan personally and professionally."

In fact, Gaga said she recently got a note from Madonna, who said she liked the song and had no problem with the homage. "Well, the good news is that I got an e-mail from her people and her, sending me their love and complete support on behalf of the single, and if the queen says it shall be, then it shall be," she said.

Gaga, who picked up three Grammy awards on Sunday night, appeared on Leno's show wearing a gauzy black dress over a visible black bra and panties and a black head scarf, accessorized with a black vinyl Batman-like mask, as well as what appears to be her new monster-movie inspired look, complete with glued-on facial ridges. She displayed her three Grammys on Leno's desk and, as a Valentine's Day treat, crammed them with M&M's, the talk-show host's favorite candy.

"I think today in music, the freedom in the song, the sort of R&B, early-'90s vibe that it has, it's so full of love and spirit, and I think it's the spirit that people are reacting to the most," said Gaga of her already hit single. "I just want everyone to rejoice and celebrate and be unafraid to be happy with music. It doesn't always have to be so dark. It doesn't always have to be so sexy. Sometimes it's wonderful just to celebrate life and go to church with it."

Related Photos

Lady Gaga's Grammy Night

Related Artists

Lady Gaga

Desiree Dymond Diane Kruger Dido Diora Baird

Nicki Minaj Rips Through L.A. Club Set During NBA All-Star Weekend

Rapper thrills crowd with abbreviated version of controversial 'Roman's Revenge.'
By Rahman Dukes

Nicki Minaj performs at L.A. club Exchange during NBA All-Star weekend
Photo: MTV News

Hip-hop's Barbie took her multi-colored wigs to Hollywood last night just in time to kick off the 2011 NBA All-Star weekend.

Nicki Minaj, flanked by her sideman/homey SB, took the stage at club Exchange in downtown Los Angeles, just a few blocks from the Staples Center, where the All-Star festivities are taking place throughout the weekend.

Not long after entering the massive venue, which was filled with a sea of Barbie fans, the Queens native made a beeline for the DJ booth and swiftly grabbed the mic from DJ Biz Markie, following a set by fellow rapper Rick Ross. Ross had just finished tearing through his own hits including club anthems "B.M.F," "9 Piece," "Aston Martin Music" and "Hustlin'." But after Rozay, the Los Angeles audience got who they were waiting for.

"Where my New York people at?" Nicki asked her fans as she stepped to the stage. From there, Nicki went into her latest single, "Moment for Life," which features Young Money capo Drake. "I fly with the stars in the skies/ I am no longer trying to survive/ I believe that life is a prize/ But to live doesn't mean you're alive," Nicki rapped as the audience sang and bounced along.

But the best was yet to come.

After cutting her song short during the Drake verse, the "legendary Biz Markie," as Ross referred to the iconic MC, cued up Nicki's controversial record "Roman's Revenge" to the female MC's surprise, sending the crowd into a rage.

"I am not Jasmine, I am Aladdin/ So far ahead, these bums is laggin'/ See me in that new thing, bums is gaggin'/ I'm startin' to feel like a dungeon dragon/ Raah, raah, like a dungeon dragon," an amped Nicki rapped.

Midway through her first verse on "Roman," the MC stepped away from the stage and disappeared into the night for the final time.

There's been no word if Nicki's abrupt ending was planned or not, but regardless, fans went home happy, comfortable with every penny spent to catch a glimpse of rap's most-wanted girl.

For the remainder of the weekend, Nicki is slated to appear at a host of events including a grand finale at the same location on Sunday night featuring manager Diddy.

Related Photos

Related Artists

Nicki Minaj

Monica Keena Monica Potter Monika Kramlik Moon Bloodgood

Daniel Radcliffe Does ?Vogue? Magazine

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, who made his Broadway debut in Equus a couple of years ago, is making a return to Broadway this year in his first musical role. DanRad will be starring in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and his return to the Broadway stage is profiled in the new [...]

Pamela Anderson Paris Hilton Patricia Velásquez Paula Garcés

Justin Bieber, Chris Brown Go 'Up' On New Remix

Bieber and Brown trade verses, harmonize on their Never Say Never - The Remixes collaboration.
By Jocelyn Vena

Justin Bieber
Photo: Larry Busacca/ Getty Images

Earlier this week, Justin Bieber released the Never Say Never - The Remixes album, which reimagines some of the teenage phenom's songs as duets with some of the biggest names in the business, including Kanye West, Miley Cyrus, Rascal Flatts and Chris Brown.

Brown appears on the mid-tempo ballad, "Up," which is about the power of love and relationships. The R&B star, unsurprisingly, helps put a decidedly more R&B spin on the pop track, which has begun to turn up on various websites.

Bieber kicks off the track before Brown jumps on for the second verse. Brown sings, "It's a big, big world/ And, girl, I'm gonna show you all of it/ I'm gonna leash you with pearls/ From every ocean that we're swimmin' in/ We make the sun shine in the moonlight/ We can make those gray clouds turn to blue skies/ Yeah, I know it's hard/ But baby believe me/ [That we can go nowhere but up]."

By the time the second chorus rolls around, Bieber and Brown are harmonizing and putting their own individual stamps on the song.

News of the collaboration first hit the Web in late December, when Bieber and Brown tweeted about working together, though little more was known about the collaboration then. The 16-year-old said he and Brown had a great time in the studio and that Brown had even given him some sage advice, having been a child star himself and seen the ups and downs of fame at an early age.

"[Chris and I] just talk about regular stuff, nothing too crazy," Bieber told MTV News earlier this week. "Just, like, staying humble and remember that God got us in this position, so always make sure to just bless Him and praise Him."

Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun, teased the album and its guest appearances in a chat with fans earlier this year. "Yes, Justin is working on new music," Braun said last month. "He's been talking to Drake about new music. [Bieber] and Kanye had a call today about a song they're trying to work on together; Kanye wants to produce a bunch of new songs for the new album. He's talked with Rascal Flatts. Him and Chris Brown have been sending stuff back and forth to each other."

Have you heard Bieber and Brown's "Up" remix and, if so, what do you think of it? Tell us in the comments.