MTV Newsroom ›

The Volturi: Awesome Or Not? The Oh Snap! Poll

Posted 8/28/09 2:34 pm EST by in Oh Snap Poll


By Adam Murphy

Lock your doors. Board up your windows. Flee for the countryside. THE VOLTURI ARE NEARLY UPON US! With the film adaptation of "New Moon" nigh at hand, these elite Italian vampires are literally salivating with anticipation, awaiting fresh necks to feed on.

And you'd better not scuff their Gucci loafers.

In honor of their impending arrival, we went out to New York’s Times Square today to put our finger to the pulse of the people. The Volturi: Awesomely dangerous? Dangerously awesome? Or just plain evil? Here's what Times Square had to say:

Recently we've been developing an even less scientific way of calculating poll statistics, of which today's Oh Snap! Poll is a shining example. Sixty percent of respondents say "Nuh-uh!" to the Volturi, citing lack of virtue, untrustworthiness and overall sucky-ness (sorry). One girl said, "In 'New Moon,' the Volturi are gonna be mad stupid." Mad stupid indeed! The 40 percent in favor of the Volturi cite their awesomeness, how awesome they are and also being really awesome.

What do you think? On a scale of zero to awesome, how awesome are the Volturi?

Tags , , ,

Jay-Z Calls His Way With Words The 'Rain Man Flow'

Posted 8/28/09 12:00 pm EST by in Music


By Gigi Abrantes

Since he first dropped his debut album in 1996, Jay-Z became an instant classic on the hip-hop scene. Now that he is about to drop his 11th album The Blueprint 3, MTV News takes a look back at the history of one of the greatest artists in rap history with The J to Z of Jay-Z.

The last time Jay-Z used a pen to write a song was back in 1996, for a Reasonable Doubt track called "Can I Life." And he only wrote down the second verse. For the Jigga Man, spontaneity is as important to his style as his flow and his storytelling — in fact, it informs both. It's not that his raps are thoughtless, either. The consummate lyricist, Hova constantly organizes and re-organizes his thoughts, and though his rhymes are constructed in advance, he never actually writes a word down to paper. The result is a natural fluidity that allows his raps to float in the space between the casually cool and the profoundly dense.

He calls it the gift that keeps giving, but he recognizes that it wasn't always this way. Jay-Z learned to perfect his craft by writing on a daily basis and has always advised aspiring rappers to do the same. But as Jay-Z worked to become the worldwide media mogul he is today, the everyday habit of writing was no longer necessary. (He's also pretty tight on time nowadays.) He refers to his gift as his "'Rain Man' flow," named after Dustin Hoffman's number-rattling idiot savant in the 1988 film of the same name.

Tags , ,

Hurricane Katrina Looms Over New Orleans: Wake-Up Video

Posted 8/28/09 9:30 am EST by in Music, Wake-Up Video


It's a day early, but it's a particular event that no one should ever forget. Back in 2005, a storm named Katrina spent most of August 28 hovering over the Gulf of Mexico and becoming stronger before it attacked the city of New Orleans on August 29. The rest is heartbreaking history: The storm overwhelmed the city's levee system, and flood waters destroyed entire neighborhoods. Few people came out looking good, either: President Bush reacted too slowly, FEMA was under-prepared and the media coverage of the city after the storm was insensitive. In the aftermath, citizens of the city scattered, some returning to help in a still-ongoing rebuilding process, others simply leaving their former home behind. The destruction — as well as the psychological wounds — are still on the surface today.

As is fantastic custom, the hip-hop community was quick to respond, offering up a helping hand through charity singles and concerts and also distilling the general sense of sadness and outrage through music. Juvenile, a New Orleans native whose old Ninth Ward neighborhood was one of the most thoroughly destroyed during Katrina, went from being a guy who rapped about booty to an activist seemingly overnight. He was working on his 2006 album Reality Check when the storm hit and it became a tribute to his home. In fact, his video for "Get Ya Hustle On" was shot in his old neighborhood and represented the first time a film crew entered the Ninth Ward after the storm. His video for "Way I Be Leanin'" attempts to be a bit more uplifting, but Juve doesn't let us forget.

Tags , , , ,

Beyonce Versus Lady Gaga: The Oh Snap! Poll

Posted 8/27/09 2:05 pm EST by in Oh Snap Poll, VMAs


The performance bill for the 2009 Video Music Awards continues to grow with A-list stars committing to the show. Today, three more live acts were announced for the show, which airs live from New York City's Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, September 13. On that day, MTV.com will premiere Death Cab for Cutie's "Meet Me On The Equinox," the first single off the upcoming soundtrack to "New Moon." Wale was also added to the VMA bill. He'll serve as the head of the house band, picking up where Travis Barker and DJ AM did last year. But the really big news is that Beyoncé, who has nine nominations at this year's show, will perform her newest single "Sweet Dreams" on stage at Radio City Music Hall. Her appearance at the show sets up an interesting dynamic between her and Lady Gaga, another subscriber to the sort of costume-heavy futurist pop that Beyoncé so adores. Certainly Beyoncé has the experience, but Gaga — who also has nine nominations — has a knack for stealing shows.

We could debate this in the MTV Newsroom all day, but we wanted to know what the public thought. So we took a trip downstairs and pointed our MTV News cameras at some fans in Times Square to ask them whether Beyoncé or Lady Gaga would have the better performance at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

The fantastically unscientific results have come back in favor of Beyoncé. In fact, 69 percent of those people we asked sided with Ms. Knowles, citing her experience, her style and her performance ability.

What do you think: Will Beyoncé get the crowd to put its hands up, or will they be more mesmerized by Lady Gaga's "Poker Face"? Leave your thoughts in the comments or head over to Your.MTV.com to make your voice heard!

Tags , , ,

Britney Spears Fans Take The Ultimate Fan Quiz

Posted 8/27/09 1:35 pm EST by in Music


With Britney Spears' epic three-night reign in Madison Square Garden concluding last night, MTV News correspondent Tim Kash decided that he'd go over to the Garden and see just how much the diehard Britney fans knew about their favorite pop princess.

As it turns out, the fans perhaps don't know as much about Britney as Tim does (which may be surprising only to people who don't know Tim personally).

Though most fans knew when Britney's birthday is or even came close to knowing the number of times she's performed at the VMAs, the facts the fans knew about other lesser-known aspects of Britney's life weren't as on the ball.

For instance, they weren't sure if Britney was in a girl group, what her second single was or the song she sang when she performed on "Star Search." So, here's your chance to see how much you know Ms. Spears herself. (And if you don't want to cheat, wait until after you take the quiz to watch the video.)

1. When is Britney's birthday?
a) December 5
b) November 3
c) December 2

2. What was Britney's second single? Read More...

Tags , ,

Black Eyed Peas, Pearl Jam Will Take Over Outside Lands (And MTV News) This Weekend

Posted 8/27/09 12:52 pm EST by in Music


The summer is nearly done, which means that the festival season is also nearing its end. That's why we're going out with a bang, as MTV News will bring you updates from the Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park this weekend. Starting tomorrow, Pearl Jam, the Black Eyed Peas, Dave Matthews Band, Tenacious D, Jason Mraz, M.I.A. and, uh, Tom Jones will be covering the park with hot tracks, and we'll be there to take it all in, talk to the stars and deliver late-breaking news.

Obviously, the headliners will pack a punch, but here are the five acts on the undercard who may not have giant audiences or multi-platinum sales but who always manage to deliver at festivals.

Autolux
Their driving, spacey brand of rock marries prog to Britpop. It's the perfect appetizer for the Mars Volta and just the right dose of adrenaline to kickstart Friday afternoon.

The Duke Spirit
A lot of small bands get lost on festival stages, but for some reason, the Duke Spirit's brand of gutter-garage feels much more alive in the middle of nature. Read More...

Tags , , , , , ,

The Jonas Brothers Take The Stage In Ohio

Posted 8/27/09 12:19 pm EST by in Music


Last night in Columbus, Ohio, the Jonas Brothers conquered their latest sold-out crowd on their tour in support of their latest album Lines, Vines and Trying Times. Clearly, the trio have not let their individual projects get in the way of their focus as a band. Nick took time off recently to talk to the National Press Club about juvenile diabetes. Meanwhile, Kevin has been busy planning his wedding to fiancé Danielle Deleasa, which may happen by the end of the year. And in between dancing in Beyoncé parody videos, Joe has already committed himself to participating in the new season of "American Idol."

But as they proved last night in Columbus, the three brothers remain at their strongest as a tight, rocking unit. The band pumped out their hits and sprinkled in their cover of Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline," all while moving about the stage with cat-like energy and constantly engaging the adoring crowd.

(Click here for more photos from the Jonas Brothers' show in Columbus!)

The band's tour continues tonight in Cleveland. From there, they hit a few spots in Canada before taking a well-deserved break. They'll need it, because in October they cross the Atlantic to play a huge European tour, which will take them to Stockholm, Paris, Berlin, Zurich, Torino, Madrid, London, Dublin and about a dozen others. The day has arrived: The Jonas Brothers are now a truly worldwide phenomenon.

Tags ,

Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams To Add Funk To Kings Of Leon Remix Album

Posted 8/27/09 10:47 am EST by in Music


Throughout my career as a music writer and critic, I've been wrong about plenty of things. I gave Missy Elliott's Under Construction a poor review (it ended up being one of the best albums of 2002). After hearing the title track from the not-yet-released American Idiot, I declared that Green Day would only sell 50,000 records and would probably break up. And more recently, I didn't think that Kings of Leon would ever become as big (or as cool) as rock critics wanted them to be. But the Tennessee quartet has proved me wrong, having taken their latest album Only by the Night to platinum status, headlined huge concerts and festivals and now getting an all-star remix album together care of some of their high-profile fans. The group told Billboard that the forthcoming compilation would feature remixes care of Justin Timberlake, Linkin Park, Pharrell Williams and Mark Ronson.

"It's neat to have these people who we would've jumped at the chance to work with ourselves ... coming to us before we even get a chance to ask them," drummer Nathan Followill said. "It's amazing to hear your song played by these people who are so creative."

It's not clear what the remixes would sound like or even which tunes will be getting a re-jiggering, but there are a few team-ups that would be ideal. Timberlake should lend a bit of harder-edged disco to the sorta-dance-ready "Sex on Fire." Linkin Park could turn "Molly's Chambers" into one of their aggro stomps, while Pharrell should take "The Bucket" and slather a little bit of robot funk on it. But since Rihanna was recently spotted hanging with the band and attending a KOL show, somebody should give her a call and encourage her to do a straight cover of "Use Somebody." The band's gorgeous ballad — their first trip into the upper-echelons of the Billboard Hot 100 — could be reduced to little more than Rihanna's haunting voice, which could add layers of pathos to an already stunning track. And to return the favor, Kings of Leon should cover "Umbrella."

Tags , , , , ,

George Michael's 'Monkey' Love: Wake-Up Video

Posted 8/27/09 9:00 am EST by in Music, Wake-Up Video


Though the latter half of his career has been maligned by that unfortunate incident in a bathroom a few years back, George Michael was once a pretty big deal. One of the biggest, actually, as his eight chart-topping singles in the 1980s is a record he shares with the legendary Michael Jackson (though George had three of those singles as half of Wham!). Following his split from Andrew Ridgeley, Michael scored massive hits with songs like "Faith," "Father Figure" and "One More Try."

Though he opened the 1990s with the multi-platinum Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, Michael has yet to be able to top the overwhelming ubiquity of his solo debut Faith. Legal battles with his label and huge gaps between albums allowed him to slip off the radar for a while, and both of his comeback albums (1996's Older and 2004's Patience) were received tepidly in the U.S. (though he remained a superstar in his native U.K.). But last year he toured North America for the first time in 17 years and was well-received by both fans and critics. The tour (and the greatest-hits album that accompanied it) helped to remind the world just how many hit songs Michael has had in his career. One of those tunes was "Monkey," the final single from Faith and also Michael's last chart-topper of the '80s. It ascended to the top position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart 21 years ago today on August 27, 1988. It replaced Steve Winwood's "Roll With It" at the top of the heap. It stayed there for two weeks before being pushed out by Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine."

And don't forget that George Michael may finally get the VMA respect he deserves, as his clip for "Freedom" is nominated for Best Video (That Should Have Won A Moonman) at this year's Video Music Awards, which air live on Sunday, September 13.

Tags , , ,

Record Executives Thought Jay-Z Was No Good

Posted 8/26/09 7:11 pm EST by in Music


By Gigi Abrantes

Since he first dropped his debut album in 1996, Jay-Z became an instant classic on the hip-hop scene. Now that he is about to drop his 11th album The Blueprint 3, MTV News takes a look back at the history of one of the greatest artists in rap history with The J to Z of Jay-Z.

In 1989, Jay-Z made his music video debut dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and adorned with floral leis on the Jaz's "Hawaiian Sophie." Still relatively unknown in the rap game, the fresh-faced young rapper was Jaz-O's protégé and hype man dropping in and out of the video to deliver short one-liners while the Polynesian sounds of a ukulele flowed in the background. It's a far cry from the dramatic street hustles in his first solo video "Dead Presidents" or the futurist darkness of his latest "Run This Town," but every hustler needs a starting point. And "Sophie" was Jigga's introduction to the world of commercial hip-hop.

It's hard to believe that the talented lyricist who brought us the quick and hard "22 Two's" (from his debut Reasonable Doubt) started off on a track like the easy-going "Sophie," but Jay-Z has actually been writing rhymes since he was nine years old. Read More...

Tags , ,

Page 3 of 25123451020...Last »
SPONSORS
AD:
©2012 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. MTV and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.