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Spotted: Susan Boyle Triumphs On 'Today'

Posted 11/23/09 1:53 pm EST by in Music


Every day a multitude of stars wanders through the halls of MTV News to talk about their latest projects and goof around with our intrepid correspondents. But sometimes we catch stars elsewhere, and that's why we put together Spotted!, a daily compendium of stars in the wild.

A year ago, Susan Boyle was a simple woman living in Scotland with her cat and volunteering at her local church. Back in April, her appearance on "Britain's Got Talent" changed her life completely. Boyle walked onto the stage to chuckles and derision from the live crowd, but then delivered a stunning vocal rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" from Broadway musical Les Miserables that nearly brought professionally snippy talent judge Simon Cowell to tears. She immediately attracted the attention of record companies, who were not only interested in Boyle's impressive instrument but also in the buzz she created on the Internet (clips of her singing "I Dreamed a Dream" have been watched over 100 million times on YouTube alone). Today marks the incredible culmination of her journey, as her debut album I Dreamed a Dream is out in stores, and she celebrated with a performance on "Today." Once again, Boyle was in fine voice as she churned out "I Dreamed a Dream," her cover of the Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses" and the torch song "Cry Me a River" (made popular by Ella Fitzgerald).

Boyle wasn't the only star taking care of business in the last few days, as Spencer Pratt was spotted signing copies of his new book "How to Be Famous" at a bookstore in Los Angeles. Elsewhere in L.A., it was all about leisure, as Jay-Z, Polow Da Don and members of the Black Eyed Peas all took in yesterday's Lakers game (Kobe Bryant and friends scored another victory, this time against the Oklahoma City Thunder). Click here for these pictures as well as the entire "Spotted!" archive, which features over 350 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Madonna, Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, the Jonas Brothers, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Shakira, Adam Lambert and Mariah Carey!

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Marv Albert Denies 50 Cent Entourage Beef

Posted 11/23/09 1:15 pm EST by in Music


One of the stranger stories to come out of last week's news cycle was the tale surrounding an episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live," which featured guest appearances by both rapper 50 Cent and legendary basketball play-by-play man Marv Albert. There was a report last week that , who didn't recognize the hoops announcer but did think he was there to hassle the rapper. A tussle ensued, and a handful of obscenities and punches were thrown from both directions.

It's a pretty crazy story, except according to Albert, it never happened. The announcer told the Associated Press that all reports about the scuffle were false. Albert said he never came even vaguely close to 50 Cent or his crew the entire time he was at "Jimmy Kimmel Live." "I couldn't even tell you what the guy looked like or the security guard looked like," Albert told the AP on Saturday (November 21). "I'm sure this will be funny to me in a couple of days. It's not funny to me now, obviously." That's quite a relief, as it saves 50 Cent the trouble of recording an entire mixtape that disses Albert, his basketball announcing prowess and the relative skill set of Albert favorite John Starks.

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Paramore's Hayley Williams Weighs In On UFC 106, 'The Blind Side'

Posted 11/23/09 1:02 pm EST by in Music


Last week, we checked in on Hayley Williams while she enjoys her down time before Paramore heads to Europe to rock their way through the continent as they continue their tour for Brand New Eyes. In a series of tweets, she plugged video game "Left 4 Dead 2," the spooky sci-fi flick "The Fourth Kind" and the holiday stage production "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," among other cultural things that she indulged in during her period of rest.

Over the weekend, she jumped into another series entertainment treats that she weighed in on via her increasingly excellent Twitter. On Saturday night (November 21), her evening was taken up by UFC 106, which saw Tito Ortiz make his return to the Octagon to take on former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin. "UFC 106. I must say Forrest Griffin almost won me over with his walk out music," she tweeted (Griffin, as good-natured a fighter as there is in UFC, walked to the cage to Chumbawamba's "Tubthumping"). "But I'm pulling for Tito." Griffin ended up beating out Ortiz in a split decision (though many would argue that he dominated the fight outright). "I ain't crying," she wrote later. "Forrest fought really well."

Following the end of the fight, Williams and her companions headed back to playing video games, including more "Left 4 Dead 2" and a run through "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2." In fact, the next day she took a picture of the screen while playing "Modern Warfare 2" and simply titled it "My life."

Finally, she made another sojourn to the cinema over the weekend, catching "The Blind Side" and posing with promotional statues of Alvin and the Chipmunks. "Sandra Bullock, you have outdone your hot self," Williams tweeted after the movie. "'The Blind Side' was awesome!" Much in the same way that Miley Cyrus' Twitter made her infinitely more real, Williams' feed really puts her on the same level as her audience. She's never been that distant from real life, but it's refreshing to know that her version of the rock and roll lifestyle involves watching fights with some friends and shooting digital terrorists. Rock stars — they're just like us.

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'New Moon' Stars Invade Jay-Z Performance, Michael Jackson Album Cover

Posted 11/23/09 11:55 am EST by in Movies


Even though there was big money moved around at a Michael Jackson auction and plenty of people are buzzing about last night's American Music Awards, the weekend was really about one story. "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" stormed into theaters just after midnight last Thursday (November 19) and racked up massive numbers care of some devoted fans, who nursed the film to the third biggest film opening of all time (though still falling $18 million short of the impressive tally brought in by "The Dark Knight" last year). There's no doubt that the "New Moon" stars are everywhere, from our talk shows to our meals at Burger King to our local Volvo dealer.

In fact, there are plenty of places where "New Moon" characters have shown up that you might have missed. For instance, when Jay-Z and Alicia Keys performed "Empire State of Mind" at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, everybody remembers Lil Mama crashing the stage and posing alongside the two stars. But did you notice that Caius (played by Jamie Campbell Bower) also got in on the action? Take a look.

MTV News' resident photo expert Sohyung Kang has combed through the archives and unearthed a number of revelatory shots that show the "New Moon" characters dropping into the most unlikely of scenarios. Which of the "New Moon" crew was spotted cruising around with Kristin Cavallari? Which character did a sexy dance at the Teen Choice Awards? Which one snuck into an episode of "Glee"? Which one infiltrated one of Michael Jackson's most famous album covers? Click here to see all of your favorite "New Moon" characters — including Bella, Edward, Jacob, Jasper, Rosalie and Esme — sneaking into all corners of pop culture!

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Dirty Projectors Welcome The Roots, David Byrne To New York Show

Posted 11/23/09 11:09 am EST by in Music


The Dirty Projectors' four-night run in the New York City area ended Sunday evening with some help from their Dark Was the Night compatriot David Byrne and new pals the Roots, who both joined the Brooklyn fivesome on-stage to help kick out some jams.

The Roots complemented the Projectors' sound nicely, lending hard grooves to the band's already large tendency to groove hard, adding some funk to DP's already-dense tracks. "No Intentions" included a long guitar solo by the Roots' "Captain" Kirk Douglas and ?uestlove added some awesome thump to crowd favorite "Stillness Is the Move."

But it was David Byrne's appearance on "Knotty Pine" that drew the largest chorus of praise (just like at Bonnaroo this past summer). The Dirty Projectors have always drawn some comparisons to the Talking Heads' appropriation of Afro-centric influences, and as such, Byrne's support of the Brooklyn natives has always seemed destined. The rusty "Knotty Pine" was a short and sweet way to finish the set which had the crowd losing their minds in the end. Their serendipitous show at the Bowery Ballroom put yet another feather in the cap of the Brooklyn up-and-comers who are already having one heck of a year.

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'New Moon' Stars, Repeats Highlight This Week's 'Late Night Lineup'

Posted 11/23/09 10:38 am EST by in Television


"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" opened up to a record-busting weekend, bringing in over $140 million over the weekend (making it the third-largest film opening of all time, behind "Spider-Man 3" and "The Dark Knight"). Certainly the business generated by the second film in the series was due to the buzz created by stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart last week. The promotional push doesn't slow down this week on the TV talk shows, many of which are dark or running limited schedules because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Tonight, Ashley Greene will try to follow Pattinson's appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman," while co-star Taylor Lautner will be Conan O'Brien's guest on "The Tonight Show."

Letterman also has some top-shelf musical talent this week, as he welcomes Rihanna on Tuesday night (November 24) and Adam Lambert on Wednesday (November 25). Conan, meanwhile, has Timbaland on tonight and Weezer on Tuesday. Need more Weezer? Check them out on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" tonight. Kimmel will also have Wolfmother and the winner of "Dancing with the Stars" (almost certainly Mya) on Tuesday.

Perhaps the strangest encounter this week will happen on "The Jay Leno Show," which tonight not only has California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger but also Lady Gaga, who is coming off a triumphant performance at last night's American Music Awards. Hardcore hip-hop heads can look forward to Jimmy Fallon's show every night (because you always get killer stuff from the Roots), but Wednesday night's episode of "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" will feature a performance from Mos Def and Talib Kweli, who collaborated on the legendarily great album Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star and will no doubt throw down something fierce with the house band. But the story is still "New Moon" and probably will be for some time.

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Happy Birthday, Miley Cyrus: Wake-Up Video

Posted 11/23/09 9:00 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


Miley Cyrus' tour has the day off today, which is perfect timing, as it will allow her to do fully celebrate her birthday, which is today. Seventeen years ago, the singer was born Destiny Hope Cyrus (which has honestly always sounded more made up than her stage name), and in that brief period on the planet, she has managed to carve out a tiny empire that not only features her music, film and television projects but also a cosmetic line, licensed clothing and any number of other tie-ins. Not bad for the daughter of the guy who unleashed "Achy Breaky Heart" onto the world.

Of course, it's probably not all about celebration today in Cyrus' camp, as they just lost a member of their road crew to an unfortunate tour bus accident last week.

Cyrus has grabbed a number of headlines in the past year, most notably in her swearing off of Twitter for the sake of more privacy. Her music is evolving, too. The dance-rock of her Hannah Montana material has given way to a more singer-songwriter type of vibe on songs like "The Climb" and "Full Circle." Amazingly, Cyrus' audience appears to be evolving along with her, so it will be interesting to see how she deals with entering young adulthood. Based on what came through on her Twitter, it's quite possible that Cyrus could crank out this century's version of Exile in Guyville by the time she's 25.

But that's the future. For now, she can enjoy her birthday, and we can celebrate by cranking up the volume on "7 Things" and getting lost in the moment.

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My Morning Jacket Make Animated Appearance On 'American Dad'

Posted 11/23/09 8:00 am EST by in Music, Television


Celebrity appearances on "The Simpsons" are hardly unusual (last night's episode featured a drop-in from Jonah Hill), but the Seth MacFarlane-birthed animated shows ("Family Guy," "The Cleveland Show" and "American Dad") don't tend to have a ton of cameos. However, last night's episode of "American Dad" was built almost entirely around one of the most beloved young rock bands in the country and certainly lent the show some indie cred. The show featured daughter Hayley's sojourn to a My Morning Jacket concert, which Stan initially argues against but then falls completely in love with their jammy style and the pipes of frontman Jim James.

In a particularly amazing sequence, Stan tries to explain what he sees when he hears the band's "Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Pt. 2" (from last year's smash album Evil Urges, where most of last night's music came from). It involves a vision quest that contains a bunch of owls, a well, some magical fish, a flight into space and James ultimately becoming the sun. Even for the surrealist-leanings of the Sunday night animation lineup on Fox, it's a pretty trippy sequence.

It was an especially guest-heavy edition of the show last night, as the voice of actor and comedian Zach Galifianakis ("The Hangover") also showed up as a My Morning Jacket superfan. Strangely, promos for the show touted the Galifianakis appearance but completely skipped over the presence of the band (though the show was titled "My Morning Straightjacket").

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Adam Lambert Stumbles During Racy AMAs Performance

Posted 11/23/09 1:02 am EST by in Music, Television


Amid all the sexed-up drama of Adam Lambert's performance at the American Music Awards Sunday night, viewers could be excused for missing a fairly classic wipeout during "For Your Entertainment."

In the middle of the song, as he moves from one riser to another, Lambert can be seen tripping, tumbling and rolling. But to the man's credit — we guess all that music-theater training, not to mention his months on "American Idol," paid off — he barely misses a beat.

Then again, that was just one amazing moment of his performance. He also slunk along to the song's throbbing beat and dropped the line, "Don't be afraid, I'mma hurt ya real good," while walking two scantily-clad male dancers across the stage. And then, shortly after, he grabbed another male dancer's head and thrust it into his gyrating crotch as the camera quickly cut away.

After a few more tongue-wagging yelps, a half dozen more hip-level gyrations, a back-of-the-head-grabbing kiss with a male keyboard player, some fireworks and another lung busting scream, the performance finally came to a close (no doubt to the delight of more conservative viewers everywhere). Lambert promised to MTV News last week that his AMA performance would be "sexy." It was all that, and a lot more as well.

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Michael Jackson Auction Nets $2 Million

Posted 11/22/09 12:10 pm EST by in Music


On Saturday (November 21), Julien's Auctions sold over 80 pieces of Michael Jackson memorabilia, including the famous sparkly glove the late legend wore during the 1983 "Motown 25" television special (the same event where he debuted the moonwalk). All told, the 80 items were expected to net around $120,000, but the 3,500 registered bidders drove the final tally above $2 million. The infamous glove was sold to a collector in Hong Kong for an astonishing $420,000.

Other items moved during the auction at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square in New York City included the fedora that Jackson wore during his 10-minute medley that opened the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards (that sold for $73,800). Hand-written lyrics to "Beat It" also fetched plenty of cash ($60,000) as did a Jackson-owned 1985 Mercedes-Benz ($104,500). In one of the stranger moments of the auction, the mold used to fit Jackson for fangs in the "Thriller" video went for $10,000 — quite a price to pay for what is essentially Jackson's dental records from 1982.

Clearly, people are still hungry for tokens of the singer's life, which ended tragically and prematurely back in June. And Julien's Auctions president Darren Julien suggested that there are plenty more pieces of Jackson-related ephemera out there. "Michael was very generous," Julien told CNN. "If you were friends with Michael Jackson or an important part of his life, occasionally he would give something away, and that's a very big reason that these things got out in the public."

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