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Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Preview: Kanye West, Miranda Cosgrove And Kermit The Frog

Posted 11/24/10 12:00 pm EST by in Music


Next to turkey, mashed potatoes, football and unpleasant relatives, there's no Thanksgiving tradition more venerable than the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The annual parade cuts through Manhattan first thing on Thanksgiving morning delivering a run of musical acts, performances from Broadway musicals, marching bands, floats and of course giant balloons representing all sorts of pop culture characters.

This year's parade seems to have an extra dash of A-list action, as the performer list includes Kanye West (who will be performing the melancholy My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy track "Lost in the World" during the show), Keri Hilson, Kylie Minogue, Jessica Simpson, India Arie, Big Time Rush, Gladys Knight and a host of others. Those of you tuning in to watch the parade will also catch performances from eclectic groups like the NYPD Marching Band, the Seminole Warhawk Marching Band, the Spirit of American Dance and something called the Stepper-ettes.

But the big draw (in addition to the always-electric West, anyway) is always the balloons, which evolve from year to year but always tend to deliver. There are plenty of old school entries (Kermit the Frog, Snoopy, Spider-Man) as well as some newer entries (the main character from "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" makes its debut this year). Here's hoping the weather holds up (the forecast is predicting rain), as the elements tend to wreak havoc with the balloons.

So enjoy the parade (which airs at 9 a.m. on NBC no matter what time zone you are in) and prepare yourself by cranking up Green Day's somewhat forgotten single "Macy's Day Parade" (which came from their 2000 album Warning). It's a little melancholy for such a festive day, but it'll still get you ready to see some marching bands.


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Charles Darwin Publishes 'The Origin Of Species': Wake-Up Video

Posted 11/24/10 9:30 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


On this day in 1859, Charles Darwin published a book that would change the way people think about the history of human beings on the Earth and remains a controversial tome to this day. Darwin's "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection" first appeared in England on November 24, 1859, and it argued that organisms evolve through a process he termed "natural selection."

The concept breaks down as such: Over great periods of time (thousands and millions of years), species with certain attributes will survive to pass along their genetic material, which then creates evolved variations among that species. Darwin came to this conclusion following a five year sea-faring expedition to exotic locales like the Galapagos Islands and New Zealand. Darwin himself didn't come up with the theory of evolution (it was actually contemplated by both French naturalist Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck and English scientist Erasmus Darwin — Charles' own grandfather), but he was the first to apply proper scientific and practical evidence to properly support the theory.

Of course, the text of "On the Origin of Species" (as well as his later tome "The Descent of Man") was considered heresy by Christians, as the ideas (including the concept that man evolved from apes) flew in the face of Biblical creationism (wherein God was supposed to have created all the species on the planet). The theory itself has continued to evolve since Darwin's death in 1882, but he remains a key figure in modern science. In his honor (and to give yourself a little energy boost to push through your half day of work or your travel day), crank up Pearl Jam's "Do the Evolution." It's evolution, baby!


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The 'Dancing With The Stars' Situation: Jennifer Grey Brings Home The Trophy

Posted 11/24/10 7:30 am EST by in Television


After weeks of twists, turns, conspiracies, upsets and surprises, the winner of "Dancing With the Stars" ended up being the one contestant everybody assumed would win way back in the first week of the show. Former "Dirty Dancing" star Jennifer Grey outlasted Disney actor Kyle Massey and teen mom Bristol Palin to take home the championship trophy on Tuesday night's (November 23) grand finale. It was a roller coaster of a season for Grey, who started out as the presumptive favorite, knocked a number of dances out of the park, slipped a bit when fatigue and expectations caught up with her but rallied in the last three weeks to dominate.

There was a lot of speculation surrounding the rise of Palin and whether or not she would be able to summon enough votes to knock Grey and Massey down for the victory despite her significantly lower scores from Monday night (November 22). But the final voting tally shook out the same way as the scoring, as Massey finished in second place and Palin in third. Though it was inconvenient for the likes of Brandy, Kurt Warner and Rick Fox, the rise of Palin probably helped Grey in the end, as the challengers to Grey's place atop the pile kept getting knocked out of the competition just as they were gathering momentum. That left Grey to simply execute stellar dances and walk away the victor.

Though "Dancing With the Stars" has been active for 11 seasons now, it shows no signs of slowing, and this season was filled with enough great choreography, distinct personalities and dramatic narratives to justify many, many more competitions. What celebrities will be the next to step up and join the ranks of the great batch of famous folks from this go-round? We'll find out in the spring of 2011.

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Backstage With Usher And Swedish House Mafia At The 2010 American Music Awards

Posted 11/23/10 5:00 pm EST by in Music


By Adam Stewart

One little tweet from Swedish House Mafia's Steve Angello was the hint that something big was about to happen with them during Sunday night's (November 21) American Music Awards.

"At the AMAs. Feel like crashing someone's performance," Angello blasted out to his over 55,000 Twitter followers just hours before millions of viewers saw and heard the Swedish House Mafia perform (many of them likely for the first time). During the live telecast, R&B superstar Usher welcomed dance music's biggest star collective to the stage for a mash-up version of his summer smash "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love." The powerful performance represented an exclamation point on what has been a banner year for the Scandinavian trio. MTV News spoke exclusively with Axwell about how this memorable moment came to fruition.

(Click here for more behind-the-scenes photos from Swedish House Mafia's trip to the American Music Awards!)

"Usher asked us to do it, but we didn't tell anyone because we were not sure how it would turn out," he explained. "We thought maybe we'd DJ from backstage or something." But as it turned out, Usher had much grander plans for house music's hottest act. According to Axwell, Usher’s decision to ask the Swedes to come on board wasn't made on a whim.

"He knew our music and our videos — he let us [give our] input into the show," he said. "He just ran with the edit we handed in, which was amazing as this was his performance in the show." This sort of collaboration was not uncharted territory for the Swedes, who in the past year have teamed up with Pharrell of N.E.R.D. and Tinie Tempah on "One (Your Name)" and "Miami 2 Ibiza" respectively. Both tracks were included in the Usher mash-up.

After the show, everyone had reason to celebrate, as it was also Angello's 28th birthday. According to Axwell, thanks to Usher and his team, the after-party was massive — so massive in fact that when asked to share some of the details of how the night ended, he paused, and with a laugh replied, "We can't tell you everything!"

(Click here for more behind-the-scenes photos from Swedish House Mafia's trip to the American Music Awards!)

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Beyonce Cites Michael Jackson And Lauryn Hill As Inspirations: The MTV News Quote Of The Day

Posted 11/23/10 4:00 pm EST by in Music


"I'm not in a box. It's not R&B. It's not typically pop. It's not rock. It's just everything I love all mixed together in my own little gumbo of music. [I'm inspired by] Fela Kuti, the Stylistics. How random, right? So many people ... Lauryn Hill, Stevie Wonder, of course, Michael Jackson's Off the Wall ... all of those things I'm kind of mixing together."

-Recording artist, fashion icon and star of the "I Am ... World Tour" DVD and television special Beyoncé, discussing the types of sounds that are going into her currently-in-the-works new album (which will be her fourth solo effort. According to Beyoncé, the new project — the follow-up to her hugely successful I Am ... Sasha Fierce — will be something entirely new for her (as well as her fans). "I wouldn't say I'm inventing a new genre," she told MTV News during a screening of "I Am ... World Tour," which will air this Thursday evening (November 25). "I'm mixing every type of genre that I love and I'm inspired by every type of genre."

Beyoncé has been busy working on the album (which also features contributions from The-Dream, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Ne-Yo and Sean Garrett), but she also has plenty of other projects on the horizon. She is working on her clothing line (which she works on with her mother), batting down pregnancy rumors (which she says she is used to at this point) and hanging out with husband Jay-Z (who has a greatest hits package out this week and just celebrated the dropping of his lyric-based autobiography "Decoded").

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Fans Declare Pink The Best 2010 American Music Awards Performer

Posted 11/23/10 3:00 pm EST by in Music


Sunday night's (November 21) American Music Awards show was excellent, featuring a number of incredible performances and something of a victory lap for Justin Bieber, the winner of four prizes including the coveted Aritst of the Year award. (These memorable moments apparently didn't help the show's television rating, as this year's show scored attracted the fewest number of viewers in the show's history, bringing in only 11.6 million viewers.)

But who had the best moment on stage? We asked just that question yesterday, assuming that the combined powers of the New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys would run away with the voting (they did, after all, get the biggest pop of the night). However, there were a number of surges in the voting overnight, and after nearly 30,000 votes in about 12 hours, the pregnant-and-loving-it Pink was declared the winner. The singer, who belted out her new song "Raise Your Glass" (from her just-released Greatest Hits ... So Far!!!), collected 27 percent of the total vote, giving her a clear first place finish. Second place belonged to Rihanna, whose show-opening performance of "What's My Name?" and "Love the Way You Lie (Part II)" netted her 19 percent of the vote. Miley Cyrus finished just behind her in third place, scoring about 18 percent.

Presumptive favorites NKOTBSB came in fourth place with a healthy showing, picking up 15 percent of the vote. Christina Aguilera was only a few dozen votes behind that nine-headed pop monster, which also earned her 15 percent. After Aguilera, there was a steep drop-off to the rest of the list of performers. Only Katy Perry managed to cobble together more than one percent, with Enrique Iglesias just behind her. Who brought up the rear? It was Diddy-Dirty Money, who only grabbed a total of 12 votes.

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Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday: The Reviews Are In!

Posted 11/23/10 2:00 pm EST by in Music


This week is one of the biggest for new album releases in recent memory, with high-profile albums from Kanye West, My Chemical Romance, Ke$ha, Jay-Z and Justin Bieber all hitting the streets. Those albums are all coming from artists who have established followings and track records, but there is one debut coming out this week that has hip-hop fans turning their heads and raising their eyebrows. Through a series of well-received mixtapes and guest spots, Nicki Minaj has very quickly made a name for herself as a killer lyricist and a dynamic rhymer with as unique a style as we've seen in the rap world. Her hotly-anticipated debut album Pink Friday is out now, and it appears to be one of the most polarizing albums to hit the mainstream in a while.

Some of the critical reactions have been extremely enthusiastic. Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+ rating, and writer Brad Wete said that though Nicki has made a name for herself with wacky voices and strange characters, it's her focus on fundamentals that really puts Pink Friday over. "Oddly enough, the accented voices and self-assured rhymes that propelled Nicki to stardom are hardly what make this a solid album," he wrote. "It's those moments when the eccentric wigs are off and aliases put away that the best songs are revealed. Like when she steps off of her throne, vulnerable and helpless on 'Save Me,' uncovering a talent she kept hidden throughout her sidekick days: She sings. Well, if I might add."

Allison Stewart of The Washington Post agreed, noting that Minaj manages to show a surprising number of different colors on her album. She specifically calls out the quieter tunes, noting "to anyone who heard [Pink Friday's] early, hardcore-heavy leaks, these softer, usually romantic tracks may feel like compromises, meant to reassure mainstream listeners that Minaj is a semi-proper girl with, you know, feelings, not just a piranha with a gymnastic flow."

The Los Angeles Times found Pink Friday a little uneven but inspiring for its boldness. "Pink Friday shows Minaj is on the cusp — considering her facility with accents, she could be the perfect person to find a new patois, one that's built of separate musical languages but without breaking any of them down," writer Margaret Wappler observed. "Or she could get caught in the net, punished by the relentless category police or her own doubt of how far she can roam. But one thing is for certain: she's got the fight and the imagination on her side — and a good neon wig never hurt a girl either."

In fact, even the negative reviews gave Minaj props for experimenting. Associated Press writer Mesfin Fekadu got a little tired of all of Minaj's boasting but was inspired whenever she switched it up. "When Minaj is not caught up with being No. 1, she shines," Fekadu wrote. "On 'Save Me,' she strips down and presents a more humble side of herself. The Drake-assisted 'Moment 4 Life' has Minaj excited about her accomplishments — and cherishing her winning moment. As she should be." And Marc Hogan from Spin is a little disappointed by Pink Friday but is still glad Nicki Minaj exists. "As an MC showcase, the album falls short, with no verses as memorable as those she dropped for Robin Thicke, Usher, Trey Songz, Ludacris or Mariah Carey," he wrote in his review. "But this self-styled Harajuku Barbie certainly can compete with the big boys, and she doesn't let anyone forget it."

What do you think of Nicki Minaj's new album? Let us know in the comments!

Don't miss the documentary "Nicki Minaj: My Time Now," premiering Sunday, November 28, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on MTV!

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Spotted: Kanye West Rehearses For Thanksgiving Day Parade

Posted 11/23/10 1:00 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.

Kanye West may have released the best album of the year on Monday (November 22) in My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, but for a guy who doesn't hold himself back from reminding you about his greatness, he really has been letting the album speak for itself over the last few days (he didn't even tweet about the album yesterday, though he did plug new releases by Kid Cudi and Nicki Minaj). Perhaps that's because he was busy at work, rehearsing for the 2010 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday (November 25). West joins a performance roster that includes Jessica Simpson, India Arie, Big Time Rush, Miranda Cosgrove and Kylie Minogue. West himself will be performing with the assistance of the Roots and with Keri Hilson at his side in what should be a thrilling, engaging performance on a national stage.

West wasn't the only star putting in work, as Susan Boyle performed songs from her new album The Gift on "Today" and Mariah Carey recorded her Christmas special "Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to You" at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles (which will air on ABC on December 13). Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted" archive, which features over 500 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Jay-Z, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Katy Perry and Madonna!

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The NKOTBSB Tour: Five Mash-Ups We'd Like To Hear

Posted 11/23/10 12:00 pm EST by in Music


We've already seen what can happen when the guys make epic mash-ups of some of their biggest hits when they graced the AMA stage, so that got us thinking what other tunes we'd like to see New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys — now known as NKOTBSB — have a little fun with when they hit the road next year (which, by the way, isn't soon enough).

"Please Don't Go Girl" and "All I Have To Give"
Thematically, they work, as both songs are about a guy trying to convince a guy to be with him. And they both happen to be iconic slow jams for each of the guys.
Mashable Factor: 8

"Tonight" and "Shape Of My Heart"
OK, so thematically these songs have nothing in common, but their tempos are similar and they both happen to be super awesome songs that I personally love a lot, so that means I want to see them performed at some point.
Mashable Factor: 4

"Call It What You Want" and "Get Down (You're the One for Me)"  
Both songs feature raps by the group's resident bad boys (NKOTB's Donnie and BSB's AJ), which means that at the very least we can see some the guys make their pleas to be 2011's Hottest MCs in the Game.
Mashable Factor: 7

"Let's Try It Again" and "More Than That"
Both songs are pretty pleas to girls to get them to fall in love with the guys in the bands. We're not sure why it would take any pleas, but apparently both guys have trouble in the lady department. Both of these tunes are slow and sweet, so that helps.
Mashable Factor: 8

"Inconsolable" and "Didn't I Blow Your Mind"
The tempos are slightly off, but both songs are breakup ballad that will certainly get the girls swooning (if they aren't already).
Mashable Factor: 6

Most of all though, we just kind of hope the guys can get it together and record one brand new, awesome track for the fans. "It's tough getting these guys in the studio," New Kid Joey McIntyre explained. "These young cats. Well, it's honestly, it is tough to get everybody together. But we have lots of great intentions."

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Former MTV Star Mike 'The Miz' Mizanin Wins WWE Championship

Posted 11/23/10 11:00 am EST by in Television


About a decade ago, the MTV viewing audience was introduced to a guy from Ohio named Mike Mizanin, who was one of the cast members on the 10th season of "The Real World" (which brought the housemates back to New York for the first time since the show's debut season). He was most certainly the show's breakout star, and during his regular arguments with Coral, Nicole and Malik, a character that Mizanin called "The Miz" emerged as a sort of alter-ego that allowed him some freedom of expression. What viewers didn't know at the time was that Mizanin had been cultivating that personality because he had aspirations in the world of professional wrestling, and he scored his greatest achievement in that business on Monday night's (November 22) episode of the WWE's flagship show "Raw" where he won the WWE Championship from Randy Orton.

Following his stint on "The Real World," Mizanin became a staple on the "Real World/Road Rules Challenge," managing to win both "Battle of the Seasons" and "The Inferno 2." He continued to compete on reality shows until he landed a spot on the fourth season of "Tough Enough," the WWE's reality show that sought to give an unknown a contract with the company. Though Mizanin came in second place (he lost to MMA fighter Daniel Puder, who only lasted a brief time with the company), his in-ring ability and skills with a microphone earned him a developmental deal with WWE. After spending some time in their training program, he made his television debut on "Smackdown!" in 2006.

From there, the Miz developed into one of the best villains in WWE, and he has gradually climbed up the ladder. He scored his biggest early success as the tag-team partner of John Morrison (they had a long reign as champions) and later earned the United States Championship as a singles star. A few months ago, Miz won the Money in the Bank briefcase in a ladder match, which allowed him to cash in a title shot at any time.

That's exactly what he did on Monday night. Champion Randy Orton had a main event match with Wade Barrett, and following Orton's victory, Miz crashed the ring and beat up on Orton's already-injured knee. Though Orton fought back, Miz managed to deliver his patented move (called the "Skull-Crushing Finale") and win the title. He's the first member of the MTV family to win said championship, and we salute him.

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