Celebrity Talkspot

Saturday, 4 June 2011

Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green Sing 'Crazy' In 'The Voice' Preview

Extended sneak peek of reality singing competition aired before Thursday's 'Tonight Show.'
By Gil Kaufman

Christina Aguilera
Photo: Isaac Brekken/ Getty Images

It's been almost impossible to avoid the avalanche of promotion for NBC's new reality singing competition, "The Voice." From splashy magazine ads to endless TV promos and interviews with the show's four celebrity coaches, the show has been getting a full-court blitz in the lead-up to Tuesday night's premiere.

The biggest push to date occurred Thursday night, when a 12-minute teaser aired before "The Tonight Show," highlighted by an all-star performance of the Gnarls Barkley smash "Crazy" by the four judges. With Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine on drums, country star Blake Shelton on guitar and Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green adding their pristine vocals to the song that made Green a superstar, each member of the quartet brought their patented brand of star power to the pop summit.

Aguilera, of course, indulged in some of her R&B diva melisma, Green his deep soul growl, Shelton a bit of country grit and Levine some surprisingly sharp drum chops. The studio audience went crazy as host Carson Daly explained the unique concept behind the show, which will have the coaches listening with their backs turned to singers vying to be their protégés.

With no clue as to how the singers look or dress or how old they are, Daly said the coaches will have to focus only on, yes, "The Voice."

"I'm drawn to very soulful, bluesy type voices," Aguilera explained, while Levine said he doesn't care if you're a country, pop or R&B singer. "I won't know until I feel it," Cee Lo said.

Here's how it works: If a coach likes what he or she hears, that person hits a red buzzer and the words "I want you" light up on his or her giant red captain's chair, making the singer part of that coach's team. But if more than one coach hits the button, then the artist gets to choose which star to work with and he or she can pit the professional singers against each other. If no buttons are hit, the singer is sent home.

Once the teams are set, the coaches will begin working with their charges leading up to a battle round where they have to cut their teams of eight in half. The final performance rounds will have viewers at home picking a winner.

The rest of the preview consisted of a sneak peek at some of the blind auditions, including a country singer who earned high praise from Green and Shelton and an offer to go pantless from Aguilera. It gave a look at the banter between the judges and the friendly competition between them to land the singers. "Man, if you weren't six-foot-five I would kick your ass," Levine joked to Shelton after the country star sassed him for turning around.

What did you think of the preview of "The Voice"? Let us know in comments below.

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Friday, 3 June 2011

Linkin Park, Paramore Battle for Survival In Musical March Madness

30 Seconds to Mars, Tokio Hotel, Panic! at the Disco also locked in tight matchups in the final hours of the Sweet 16.
By James Montgomery

Linkin Park's Chester Bennington
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty

When MTV's Musical March Madness tournament moved on to the Sweet 16 on Monday, we warned that the challenge for bands and their fans would only get tougher from here on out. And we weren't kidding.

Check out our MMM Bracket right here!

With Sweet 16 voting set to close Tuesday at midnight ET, half of our matchups are still too close to call, as big-name artists slog it out for a spot in the Elite 8. Will this be the round where presumptive favorites fall? Will we see upsets of VCU-like proportions? Well, all of that's up to you, really. There's still time to cast your votes and help your favorite bands advance ... but that time is quickly dwindling.

Sweet 16 voting is now under way over on the Newsroom blog!

And sure, some of our Sweet 16 matchups are basically foregone conclusions — #3 My Chemical Romance lead #2 Radiohead by a large margin, #16 Sum 41 are rolling #4 the Strokes, #9 Disturbed are dominating #12 Patrick Stump and #3 Green Day are running away from #2 Blink-182 — but we've got a whole lot of nail-biters brewing ... so here's a look at those ultra-tight contests.

#1 30 Seconds to Mars v. #5 Panic! at the Disco

When we revealed our Sweet 16, we had this West region clash circled, writing "there may be no bigger matchup in the tournament to date." And so far, it has lived up to the hype. Both bands have been campaigning hard, and their fans have responded, casting nearly 70,000 votes at press time. This one looks like it's gonna come down to the wire, as 30 STM lead Panic! by less than 2,000 votes. You can help decide the winner by voting now.

#1 Linkin Park v. #5 Paramore

A huge matchup in the South region, this one pits two MMM title faves against each other ... and the results speak for themselves. More than 80,000 votes have been cast so far, and with just hours left until polls close, fewer than 200 votes separate the two bands. Both Mike Shinoda and Hayley Williams have been hitting up the fans for support, and right now, this one is LP's to lose ... but anything can happen. You can vote for your favorite here.

#6 Coheed and Cambria v. #7 Avenged Sevenfold

All eyes are on this tilt in the Midwest region, as Coheed — last year's MMM champs and the band most had penciled in for the 2011 finals — are standing on the brink of elimination. With hours left to go in the polling, and more than 40,000 ballots cast, they trail Avenged Sevenfold by less than 2,000 votes. If they want to keep their dreams of a repeat alive, they're going to need some help from their fans. Or perhaps this really is A7X's time. You can decide this ultra-close contest by voting now.

#14 Tokio Hotel v. #2 Muse

Another tight one in the South — what else would you expect from two bands that made the Final Four last year? — with nearly 60,000 votes already counted, it's Tokio Hotel who hold a 3,000 vote lead over Muse. It's unquestionably both acts' toughest tournament challenge to date. Could this be the round where Tokio Hotel's fan support finally runs out? Or will it be Muse who fail to live up to the pre-tourney expectations? Once again, it'll be up to you. Vote now to send your favorite on to the Elite 8.

MTV's Musical March Madness has reached the Sweet 16! Voting is now open and will continue until Tuesday at midnight, when we'll roll on to the Elite 8. All winners are determined by your votes, so, if your favorite act is still standing, it's up to you to guide them to glory. You can rally the troops on Twitter using the hashtag #MMM — but get ready, things only get tougher from here on out!

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Christina Aguilera - You Lost Me (Concept)

You Lost Me (Concept)

Artist: Christina Aguilera
Label: RCA
Director: Anthony Mandler

Source: http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=509026&vid=540716

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Thursday, 2 June 2011

Linkin Park Say 'Iridescent' Was A 'Natural Fit' For 'Transformers' Soundtrack

A Thousand Suns tune will be in third installment of franchise.
By Gil Kaufman, with reporting by Audrey Kim

Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda
Photo: MTV News

On the surface, it makes perfect sense that Linkin Park would contribute a song to the third installment in the "Transformers" film franchise, "Dark of the Moon." Both the band and the film are known for their thunderous, metallic noise and post-apocalyptic vibe. Plus, LP were on the first two soundtracks and they clearly have a connection with director Michael Bay.

But LP vocalist Mike Shinoda recently told MTV News about why the band offered up a remix of their A Thousand Suns tune "Iridescent" for the soundtrack to the summer blockbuster.

"The 'Transformers' collaboration has been really fun for us. I mean, we grew up playing with the toys," Shinoda explained. "When we first got approached on the first one, we said yes based on the idea of taking that thing that we loved so much and bringing it to life in a modern way. As it's gone on, that's still a big part of it for us."

The original "Transformers" soundtrack led off with the LP song "What I've Done," and the companion CD to the sequel, "Revenge of the Fallen," also gave LP the pole position with the tune "New Divide."

So when director Bay approached the band to contribute a song for the third film, Shinoda said the tune that came to mind right away was "Iridescent." It's been a fan favorite at live shows, even though it doesn't have the kind of bombastic sound that you'd expect for the battling-robots flick. "We put out the record in the late part of last year and even though it's never been a single up until this point, [when we played it live] you could really hear the singing pick up momentum during that song. It was just something that seemed a natural fit."

Though it's less of what Shinoda called an "in-your-face" kind of tune, he said the somber, hopeful tone of the song appealed to both the band and to Bay. "We loved that part of it when we were in the studio, but Michael actually loved pairing it with the movie because there's something that he feels it speaks to about the story line."

Do you think LP's "Iridescent" will fit well into the "Transformers" movie? Let us know in the comments below.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1662068/linkin-park-transformers-soundtrack-remix.jhtml

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Photos | Justin Bieber Turns 17! What's In Store For Him This Year?

Justin Bieber Turns 17! What's In Store For Him This Year?

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/photos/?fid=1658925

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Wednesday, 1 June 2011

Beyonce's 'Best Thing I Never Had' To Hit Radio Wednesday

Reports indicate that the second single is a vengeful midtempo tune penned by Babyface.
By James Dinh

Beyoncé
Photo: Getty Images

Beyoncé isn't wasting any time unveiling cuts off her upcoming album 4. After releasing the project's Major Lazer-sampled lead single "Run the World (Girls)," the pop star unveiled her power ballad "1+1" on the finale of "American Idol" and is now set to release "Best Thing I Never Had" on Wednesday.

News about the tune's radio release first surfaced online late last week when Pittsburgh radio ration Kiss 96.1 reportedly received an email from B's camp. When MTV News reached out for comment, a representative for the singer confirmed the approaching radio date.

Not much is known about B's new tune, but from the looks of it, the entertainer may have already given fans a preview of the track during a recent album listening session in New York. JustJared.com reports that the second song played during the event was a midtempo tune about karma with drums similar to "Girls." Written by Babyface, the song reportedly features vengeful lines like "You showed your ass, baby, I saw the real you."

"Best Thing I Never Had" is just one of the pop star's forthcoming cuts from her 12-song album, which hits stores in less than a month. Just last week, the music sensation revealed the track list for the forthcoming LP on Facebook. In addition to "Best Thing I Never Had," 4 also includes "Party" featuring Andre 3000, "Rather Die Young" and "Start Over."

Are you excited to hear B's new single? Let us know in the comments below!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1664832/beyonce-best-thing-i-never-had.jhtml

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Justin Bieber, Chris Brown Set To Shoot 'Next 2 You' Video

Scooter Braun, Biebs' manager, teases 'crazy' clip from F.A.M.E.
By Jocelyn Vena

Justin Bieber and Chris Brown (file)
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage

Chris Brown recently took the stage with Justin Bieber during the Biebs' tour stop in Australia, where they performed "Up," and now the two will begin work on a video for Brown's F.A.M.E. track "Next 2 You."

Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun, confirmed the video plans on Twitter. "NP- #Next2You w/ @justinbieber and @chrisbrown - video treatment is crazy ... yeah it's coming!!" he wrote.

With little known about what these two have in store for fans, MTV News spoke to Brown in March about working with the teen star on the track. "Being able to collab with [Bieber] was great," Brown said. "He's a young, energetic cat, so being able to work with him, with the fanbase he has, was incredible. I know a lot of little girls are going to love this record.

"I wouldn't say [he's] my protégé. He's doing his thing at a young age, and I was doing mine at a young age, so being able to see him come up is dope."

The midtempo ballad is about the power of love and making the pledge to spend your life with that special someone. The chorus says, "One day when the sky is fallin'/ I'll be standing right next to you, right next to you/ Nothing will ever come between us/ 'Cause I'll be standing right next to you, right next to you."

While it's a feel-good track, Brown joked that when recording the song, he missed his chance to hit the studio with Bieber. "I actually stood him up on accident," Brown recalled. "He was kind of mad ... I was all the way on the other side of town handling some business, 'girl business,' and I was rushing back, and by that time, he's like, 'Man, I'm leaving, bro. I did it — just check it out.' And I looked at it and listened to it and I was like, 'Man, this is crazy.' ... He's a great kid."

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