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Lindsay Lohan Can Tweet From Jail (With The Help Of Some Modern Technology)

Posted 7/21/10 9:30 am EST by in Music


By Jenny McCoy

Going to jail in 1990 was so easy. All you had to do was ask your neighbor to pick up your mail for a few weeks (or years) while you sat in stir. But in 2010, there is so much more to consider. There's your e-mail account, your Facebook page, your backup e-mail account, your significant other's Facebook page (seriously, you don't want to be months behind on a relationship status update), your Tumblr blog, your Foursquare account (we're admittedly unsure how badges and mayorship work in jail), your other backup e-mail account (the one you use to register for contests and post to message boards you're not supposed to post to) and, perhaps most importantly for Lindsay Lohan, your Twitter account.

Despite these modern complications, there are several actions Lohan could have taken to keep her followers in the Twitterverse up-to-date with #tweetsfromjail. She could have set up an account on MyWebWill.com. Sure, this site is meant to help people stay in touch electronically post-mortem, but let's be honest: Being away from your iPhone for more than eight minutes can certainly feel like death in the Twitter world.

She could also put her pay phone calls to good use by using Dial2Do. Designed as a "hands-free assistant," it will automatically update your Twitter status, send text messages and create notes with a simple phone call.

Just one day into her jail sentence, it's uncertain if LiLo has any of these plans in place (she hasn't updated since Monday night), but we'll have one eye on her account and another on the fail whale in the event that she does. Just because she's away from the world doesn't mean she can't still be connected to it.

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Meeting Enrique Iglesias, Talking About Nudity

Posted 7/20/10 5:30 pm EST by in Music


On Monday (July 19), I had the distinct pleasure of meeting "Bailamos" singer and star of "Hero" (the greatest music video of our time) Enrique Iglesias. His appearance in the MTV Newsroom had caused quite the stir with the ladies of MTV News in the hours before his appearance (and in the hours thereafter, for that matter). Why? Well, we're not sure if you've heard, but he's kind of a hottie.

My colleague Christina Garibaldi and I spent part of the morning prepping questions for Enrique. What would we ask? How would we ask it? Would we try and get him to water ski nude right here in the office? (Spoiler alert: We didn't. There are no bodies of water in the MTV building. So interns, don't believe your superiors — there's not a pool on the roof!)

In the end, Christina and I played it straight. He talked about his album Euphoria, his plans to tour some time in the next year, his latest single "I Like It" (available on his album and on the soundtrack to "Jersey Shore," both of which are available now) and he pledged that one day he would water ski naked, just like he promised. I'd like to take this moment to thank Spain for winning the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Why? Well, it just means that we'll finally get the chance to see Enrique in his birthday suit. And, well, we like it.

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'American Idol' Lowered The Age To Look For Justin Bieber: The MTV News Quote Of The Day

Posted 7/20/10 5:00 pm EST by in Music


"I think different people will show up this time. You're seeing stars like Justin Bieber, a lot of younger artists do it, you know? So you want to take advantage of that. There's a lot of kids that are getting better earlier. It's great."

-"American Idol" judge Randy Jackson, talking about the reasoning for lowering the age minimum for contestants on the show. The producers of "Idol" lowered the beginning age from 16 to 15 before the new round of auditions got started, which drew raised eyebrows all across the Internet (especially from MTV News "Idol" expert Jim Cantiello). But as Jackson told MTV News on the red carpet of Monday night's (July 19) VH1 Do Something! Awards, there are any number of examples of young artists who have excelled despite their relative lack of experience.

Fellow judge Kara DioGuardi offered up another example. "Take LeAnn Rimes," DioGuardi explained to MTV News. "At a very young age she was singing very deep country songs, and she had that old soul and it worked. It could be a kid who's really young, who didn't even know he was that talented, or it could be someone that's a little bit older that, for whatever reason, it hasn't worked out yet. That's what's exciting about the show: It's about that dream and helping people realize it."

Auditions for the upcoming 10th season of "American Idol" are already underway, though there is no indication about who will be filling the void left by departed judge Simon Cowell (or if he'll even be replaced at all).

What do you think of the new age requirements on "American Idol"? Let us know in the comments!

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Lindsay Lohan Joins Frank Sinatra, Hugh Grant, James Brown With Famous Mug Shots

Posted 7/20/10 4:00 pm EST by in Music


It's official: Lindsay Lohan has been incarcerated. The troubled actress and singer has been sentenced to 90 days in a Los Angeles correctional facility (though she is only expected to serve 25 percent of her time, which means she could be out in three weeks). Once her jail time is completed, she will be transferred to an inpatient rehab facility, where she will spend 90 full days as a part of her sentence. Lohan appeared in court this morning, was subject to a 10 minute hearing and was then handcuffed and transferred to the jail. The scene at the court house was a minor circus, as well wishers (including her own father) shouted encouragement at her and tossed glitter in her direction.

(Click here for more celebrity mug shots, including 50 Cent, Paris Hilton, Michael Jackson, Kid Rock and Mel Gibson!)

Once Lohan got to the correctional facility, she took her official mug shot (which you can see here), which is one of the stranger moments for any celebrity. Some mug shots have become somewhat iconic in certain performers' careers (James Brown's mug shot became a sad lasting image for him, while Hugh Grant's perfectly captured the vibe of his particularly embarrassing arrest), while others offer the opportunity for entertainment (Kid Rock looked absolutely giddy in his mug shot, as did Kimora Lee Simmons and Vanilla Ice).

(Click here for more celebrity mug shots, including 50 Cent, Paris Hilton, Michael Jackson, Kid Rock and Mel Gibson!)

Of course, the business of turning celebrity mug shots into iconic photography isn't new. As you can see above, Frank Sinatra got his mug shot taken after he was arrested for "carrying on with a woman" way back in 1938. The Sinatra shot made its way into pop culture (it was famously visible in Tony's office on "The Sopranos"). Lohan's shot is fairly typical, though it's possible that it could join the pantheon of the greats like Brown, Grant and Robert Downey, Jr.

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Lady Gaga And Justin Bieber: The YouTube Battle And The Twitter War

Posted 7/20/10 3:30 pm EST by in Music


Last week, Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber stared at one another across the abyss that is the Internet. The two were engaged in a head-to-head battle over who would score more YouTube views, as both Bieber's "Baby" and Gaga's "Bad Romance" were barreling headlong toward 250 million total streams (a staggering number for anybody). Bieber's clip ultimately surged ahead (he's currently up by nearly four million views), leaving Gaga in second place.

But there is another area where Gaga is dominant. Recently, she celebrated crossing the five million follower threshold on her Twitter account, making her one of the most followed celebrities on the Web. She flew past chart-toppers like Eminem and Katy Perry and is within striking distance of Twitter pros like Britney Spears and Ashton Kutcher for the most-followed spot on the service. Bieber isn't all that far behind — he has almost four million followers himself — but considering how important Twitter has been to his development as an artist, it's a solid victory for Gaga.

There are a few other areas where the two could go head-to-head on the Internet.

Facebook Friends
Gaga has accumulated over 13 million fans, while Bieber's number is just shy of eight million.

Google Trends
Bieber is constantly on the list of the top Google trends. Of course, some of that is due to strange obsessions with Bieber-related rumor-mongering, which is why terms like "Justin Bieber dead" and "Justin Bieber denies Holocaust" end up showing up. Gaga rarely shows up in the list, though she tends to peak when a video premieres ("Telephone," Bad Romance" and "Alejandro" all created a bit stir.

Album And Single Sales
Both of Bieber's albums have gone platinum, along with a handful of his singles. Lady Gaga's album The Fame has gone platinum three times, with multiple platinum plaques for singles like "Just Dance" and "Poker Face."

Who has the better Twitter: Lady or Justin Bieber? Let us know in the comments!

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Brandon Boyd, Travie McCoy And Slash Present Three Approaches To Solo Stardom

Posted 7/20/10 2:30 pm EST by in Music


By Jeremy Kaplan

When a band builds up a large enough fan base and a devoted following, it gives the members the ability to break off into solo careers and other musical projects. In some cases, the artist going solo will actually become more successful than he was in the context of the group, especially if the sound changes to adopt broader audience (consider Lionel Richie's break from the Commodores, Ozzy Osbourne's growth after Black Sabbath and the careers of both Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins away from Genesis). But how much different are these new projects compared to the old work? And are solo artists better off changing their game completely?

In 2010, we have seen a handful of solo albums from members of a number of prominent and successful bands. In March, legendary guitarist Slash released a self-titled solo album, the first of his career. His name has practically been synonymous with hard rock since he burst onto the scene with his Guns N' Roses 23 years ago. Slash certainly wasn't what most GN'R fans expected, mostly because of the eclecticism of the special guests (everybody from Avenged Sevenfold's M. Shadows to pop starlet Fergie showed up to the party). But Slash proved that he was better than even his biggest fans thought, because he managed to veer into other musical areas without any hiccups. Slash was a departure, but one that certainly worked.

Travis "Travie" McCoy also emerged from his band Gym Class Heroes with the solo album Lazarus, but with a more positive reception. The album's first single "Billionaire" has been tearing up the Billboard Hot 100, so it's safe to say that the gambit has paid off. But while Gym Class Heroes' body of work is classified by most as alternative hip-hop, McCoy's solo album takes a more pop-oriented feel to rap music, welcoming in the likes of T-Pain and Cee-Lo Green.

Most recently, Incubus lead singer Brandon Boyd dropped his solo debut The Wild Trapeze. It doesn't have very much to do with his band's sound, as it has a more ambient feel than the funky hard rock that Incubus deals out. He got an assist from producer David Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, OK Go), who creates a series of complicated soundscapes that let Boyd's voice dart in and out of the mix. It's very different from Incubus, but keeps the vibe alive.

Those are three artists with three very different approaches to working as a solo artist. While Slash attempted to maintain a balance between the old and the new, Brandon Boyd went on an entirely different musical journey altogether and McCoy ended up splitting the difference somewhere in the middle.

What solo artist do you think made the best album? Let us know in the comments!

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If Weezer Doesn't Go With Heavy Mental, Here Are Some Punny Alternatives

Posted 7/20/10 1:30 pm EST by in Music


There is big news coming out of the Weezer camp. Even though they've been busy on the road, they've got a new album ready to go that frontman Rivers Cuomo says will have "more raw rock energy." Though the collection — which will be the band's eighth and their first away from Geffen Records — still does not have a title, Cuomo told a Connecticut newspaper that he is (perhaps jokingly) contemplating Heavy Mental as a name.

That title works on a million different levels. It taps into Cuomo's love for hard rock (his favorite band of all time is Kiss), is a delightful pun and is also the name of an album by woefully underrated Wu-Tang Clan affiliate Killah Priest. (No, seriously.) Just in case Cuomo cools on Heavy Mental, here are some suggestions for album titles in a number of different categories.

Metal Tributes
Bang Your Head
Goes to 11
Jackhammer in Paradise
Smell the Glove
March Into Darkness

Extensions Of Raditude
Awesome Sauce
Badassery
Coolfernitude
Excellentricity
Hooranacy
Excitableness

Puns
Do The Rockaway
Under the C-Section
The End of the Affair Ground
Stop Making Sensationalism

Puns (Cat Edition)
Kitty Hate Machine
Meowtal Machine Music
Purrfect From Now On
Press Paws
Hairball Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Pet Sounds

Titles Taken From Wu-Tang Solo Albums
Liquid Swords
The Adventures of Bobby Digital in Stereo
Tical 2000: Judgement Day
Supreme Clientele
Immobilarity
Golden Arms Redemption

Continuation Of The Weezer Theme
Weezer (The Purple Album)
Weezer (The Yellow Album)
Weezer (The Gold Album)
Weezer (The Brown Album)
Weezer (The Black Album)

What do you think Weezer should call their next album? Let us know in the comments!

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Spotted: Rick Ross Runs The Sirius-XM Studio

Posted 7/20/10 12:30 pm EST by in Music


Every day a multitude of stars wander 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.

Rick Ross is having a pretty excellent year. His 2009 album Deeper Than Rap was a woefully underrated collection of jams that combined Ross' hardcore persona with his blooming pop sensibilities ("Maybach Music 2," "Usual Suspects," "Yacht Club" and "Bossy Lady" were some of the strongest tracks in all of hip-hop last year). His beloved Miami Heat just scored one of the biggest coups in the history of professional sports, retaining superstar Dwayne Wade and acquiring the services of LeBron James and Chris Bosh. And to top it off, his new album Teflon Don — which hits the streets today (July 20) — is roundly excellent, featuring production by Kanye West, Clark Kent, No I.D. and the Inkredibles (among others). In addition to swinging by the MTV News office on Monday (July 19), Ricky Ross also stopped into the Sirius-XM studio to talk to DJ Envy about Teflon Don and show off some of his jewelry.

Ross wasn't the only star spreading the word, as the members of Train performed at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles and some top British stars (including Paul Weller and Dizzee Rascal) gathered together for the nominations for this year's Mercury Prize in London. Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted!" archive, which features over 400 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Adam Lambert, Lady Gaga, Madonna, the Jonas Brothers, Shakira and 50 Cent!

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What Is Justin Bieber's Best Collaboration?

Posted 7/20/10 11:35 am EST by in Music


Over the course of the last week, the MTV Newsroom Blog readers have been weighing in on some of the best collaborations that Eminem has managed to pull off over the course of his long career. It's impressive that even after a decade in the game, Slim Shady is still one of them most coveted and in-demand players on the hip-hop scene, both for his signature rhyming and his unique approach to production. When Eminem appears on a track, it tends to lend said song an instant blast of credibility and also gives it a swift kick in the sales pants as well. In fact, there's only one other artists out there whose collaborative services may be more in demand: Justin Bieber.

Though the 16-year-old Bieber only has one album and one EP to his name, he has accumulated an impressive number of tag-team productions. Bieber's biggest single "Baby" featured an assist from Ludacris, while the Canadian pop singer can currently be heard tearing up the Billboard chart with the remix of "Somebody to Love," which includes a guest spot from mentor Usher (who he also teamed with on My World's "First Dance").

Bieber has also found success teaming up with Sean Kingston ("Eenie Meenie"), Jessica Jarrell ("Overboard"), Jaden Smith ("Never Say Never") and Soulja Boy ("Rich Girl"). For a guy who has really only been in the spotlight for a year, that's an impressive number of collaborations with some truly top-shelf talent.

But which song reigns supreme? It's up to you to decide! Vote in the poll below and leave your thoughts in the comments!

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Lindsay Lohan Reports To Jail With Lady Gaga, Eminem, T.I. And No Doubt

Posted 7/20/10 10:40 am EST by in Music


Two weeks after she was officially sentenced to 90 days in jail for violating the terms of her probation, Lindsay Lohan will report to a correctional facility in Los Angeles to begin serving at least 23 days of her sentence. Though her legal trouble continued right up until the eve of her departure (her new lawyer, Robert Shapiro, quit after only four days on the job), it is unlikely that any curve balls will be thrown today. Lohan is expected to report, register and officially become an inmate for the next few weeks. Following her release from jail, she will have to spend another 90 days (this time with no reductions) in a court-mandated rehab facility. All told, she should be out of the public eye for the better part of four months.

It's unfortunate that it had to come to this, as Lohan was once thought of as one of the brightest young stars in Hollywood (and a pretty good pop star to boot). She is not the first glamorous celebrity to go behind bars (Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Khloe Kardashian and Lil Kim have all done time), and plenty of famous musicians have gone to jail for the sake of the fictional realities of their music videos. T.I. rapped from a cell shortly after actually spending time in jail (Akon did the same thing with "Locked Up"). N.W.A's "Express Yourself" went behind bars, as did Avenged Sevenfold's "Seize the Day" and No Doubt's "It's My Life." But the jail video was completely re-defined earlier this year when Lady Gaga and Beyoncé dropped "Telephone," an epic clip centered around a prison break. Lohan's experience will likely be much more low-key, and hopefully it will end better than it does for Gaga and B.

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