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It was another short week thanks to the holiday, but it was still a busy one here at MTV News thanks to the premiere of "American Idol," the continued dominance of Britney Spears' "Hold It Against Me" and the Golden Globes. Also, Friday afternoon has been taken up mostly by a single question: If "The Real World" had a seven person all-legends team, who would be in there? And would it be cool to have both Pedro and Puck in there? (These are the philosophical questions that keep us sharp on slower news days.)

So before you head out to your local cinema to see "No Strings Attached," prepare for the last weekend of NFL playoffs before the Super Bowl and try desperately not to freeze in the open air, be sure to check out everything you might have missed on the MTV Newsroom Blog this week.

» "American Idol" came back and delivered some comedy, some tears and the staggering greatness that is Steven Tyler.

» Look, did we mention how much we love Steven Tyler? Stay tuned all season for more "American Idol" news, opinions, interviews and insight.

» The world also welcomed Coachella back into the fold, as the lineup for the 2011 festival was unleashed.

» Britney Spears' "Hold It Against Me" debuted at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. It's the second time for her and only the 18th time in history.
Read more...

Tags britney spears, Coachella, Jersey Shore, Regis Philbin, Trent-Reznor

This Sunday represents one of the best days in sports all year. The Super Bowl is a big deal, but the game itself is usually a total crapshoot (over the course of 44 games, more than half have been insufferably dull) and is often eclipsed by the commercials, the halftime show and the general spectacle of the whole thing. But this Sunday (January 23) features the two conference championship games, both if which not only carry a lot of history but also promise to be evenly matched affairs.

But who will win? MTV News has figured out the formula for figuring out who we'll be seeing in the Super Bowl. Next up: The AFC Championship, featuring the New York Jets and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

New York Jets
Record: 13-5
Season Arc: Rex Ryan yells really, really loud.
Permanent Place In Pop Culture: Joe Namath and the guarantee.
Famous Fans: Fireman Ed, Adam Sandler, Kevin James, James Gandolfini
Representative Video: The Vandelles' "Roving Rex"

Pittsburgh Steelers
Record: 13-4 Read more...

Tags Football, New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers, video

"The sparkle in your eye is like, forget about it. Looking at you, I'm closing my eyes and it's a work of art, a thing of beauty ... and I will finish that off with a double helping of ooh-yeah."

"From my melodic sensibility, it was really delicious. I really liked your voice."

-Aerosmith frontman and "American Idol" judge Steven Tyler, unleashing just two of the dozens of staggeringly great remarks he laid out during the premiere week for the 10th season of the long-running singing competition. Tyler joined fellow newcomer Jennifer Lopez and show veteran Randy Jackson behind the judges' desk, and while the latter two both acquitted themselves nicely during the show's first two episodes (which were in East Rutherford, New Jersey and New Orleans), the new version of the program might as well be called "The Steven Tyler Show." The singer tossed out his delightful bon mots in between flirting with girls and providing vocal and rhythmic accompaniment for a number of potential contestants.

So far, Tyler's presence on the show has been wildly popular and well-embraced. "If anything, Steven Tyler's wacky addition proved that it's not a 'mean judge' that keeps me jazzed for 'Idol.' It's an unhinged one," explained MTV News' "American Idol" expert Jim Cantiello, who was thrilled by the new judges and doesn't miss the departed Simon Cowell at all just yet. "Truth be told, I never realized how much I missed Paula [Abdul] last year. Tyler's colorful language, zany metaphors and deafening jangly man-jewelry was just the entertaining wild card the two-night premiere needed to give it a must-see facelift."

Tags American Idol, Quote, steven tyler

The lineup of performers who will be appearing at this year's Grammy Awards promises to be one of the biggest of all time, and earlier this week the night got just a little more epic with the additions of Justin Bieber, Usher, Muse, Bruno Mars, Janelle Monae, Lady Antebellum, B.o.B and Jaden Smith. That giant list augments the already-booked stars like Eminem, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire and Cee Lo Green (among many others). The producers of the show promise that there will be more names announced in the coming weeks, which will ensure that the show (which will air live on Sunday night, February 13) will be one of the biggest in its five decade-plus history.

But with all those stars already booked, who is missing? That's what we asked the readers of the MTV Newsroom Blog in a poll opened up on Thursday (January 20). After thousands of votes, the choice is clear: The readers desperately want to see Rihanna perform live at the show. She took the number one spot with an overwhelming 51 percent of the total vote — an astounding consensus considering there were 10 possibilities. Drake came in second place with 19 percent, a testament to his lasting impact as a hitmaker and a star.

Deeper down the list, Nicki Minaj snagged nine percent of the vote, which was good enough for third place. The number four spot belonged to Kanye West (who took home six percent), while Ke$ha's five percent earned her fifth place to round out the top five.

Who are you most excited about seeing perform at the Grammy Awards? Let us know in the comments!

Tags Grammy Awards, Grammys, Rihanna

This Sunday represents one of the best days in sports all year. The Super Bowl is a big deal, but the game itself is usually a total crapshoot (over the course of 44 games, more than half have been insufferably dull) and is often eclipsed by the commercials, the halftime show and the general spectacle of the whole thing. But this Sunday (January 23) features the two conference championship games, both if which not only carry a lot of history but also promise to be evenly matched affairs.

But who will win? MTV News has figured out the formula for figuring out who we'll be seeing in the Super Bowl. First up: The NFC Championship, featuring the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers.

Green Bay Packers
Record: 12-6
Season Arc: Aaron Rodgers finally comes into his own as a quarterback in the post-Favre era.
Permanent Place In Pop Culture: Fans wear cheese on their heads.
Famous Fans: Lil Wayne, Larry the Cable Guy, James Van Der Beek, Erin Andrews
Representative Video: The Pack's "I'm Shinin'"

Chicago Bears
Record: 12-5 Read more...

Tags Chicago Bears, Football, Green Bay Packers, The Pack, video

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.

Tattoo artist Kat Von D has had quite an unusual career arc. She first picked up exposure as a cast member of the reality show "Miami Ink," which lead to her own show "LA Ink" (where she set the Guinness World Record for the most number of tattoos given over a 24 hour period). Her musical roots run even deeper, as she is a classically trained pianist, is a favorite among rock musicians for their body art and has the logos of the Misfits, ZZ Top, AC/DC, Slayer and a bunch of others on her person. In fact, she is such a big fan of 30 Seconds to Mars that her face ended up on the cover of This Is War as one of the thousands of fans who submitted images. On Wednesday night (January 19), just before she made the announcement that she was engaged to Jesse James, she attended the opening night of the Los Angeles Art Show at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. Her own tattoos are exquisite, which is why she showed off some of her stuff on her way in.

She wasn't the only star out among the people, as Diddy kept fighting the flu and plugging Last Train to Paris around London and hundreds of stars partied in Park City, Utah for the Sundance Film Festival. 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, Justin Bieber, Jay-Z, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Madonna, Shakira and Kanye West!

Tags Kat Von D, photo, Spotted!

After weeks of reruns, it seems like all of the best shows on television are back this week, including "Fringe," "30 Rock" and, of course, "American Idol." And obviously the greatness of the current season of "Jersey Shore" cannot be denied. With all that excellent television flying around, you may not have room for another show in your life, but you should really make time to check out "Portlandia," the new sketch comedy show that premieres Friday night (January 21) on IFC.

The show was created by and stars "Saturday Night Live" personality Fred Armisen and former Sleater-Kinney (and current Wild Flag) guitarist Carrie Brownstein. In the first episode's extended opening sequence, Armisen explain the concept of Portland to Brownstein (it's a place where "young people go to retire," which is followed by a song that declares "The dream of the '90s is alive in Portland," as "all the cute girls wear glasses"). It then settles into a subtle, charming brand of sketch comedy that revolves around a couple who take their devotion to locally-grown, organic food to the craziest of extremes.

"Portlandia" is produced by Lorne Michaels, but it's a much more pointed, shaggier show than "Saturday Night Live." Every joke seems to be a "10 percent" gag (a bit of humor that a small portion of the audience will actually get), but the show gets by on its strangeness and particularly on Brownstein's considerable charisma. She perfectly expresses the show's low-energy vibe, which provides a nice counterpoint to Armisen's occasional digressions into desperate flailing. It's not for everyone, but for anybody who considers Sleater-Kinney one of the greatest bands of all time should check out Brownstein's new project (though it's a considerably quieter vibe than, say, "Entertain," from the group's final album The Woods).

Tags Portlandia, sleater-kinney, video

Snow has again attacked the colder parts of the country, which makes it sort of difficult to get out to the local cinema. Still, this weekend's new movies might just be compelling enough to get you to put your boots on and brave the frost. A bunch of eclectic titles are hitting screens this weekend, including the economy-is-busted drama "Company Men" (featuring a trio of great performances from Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper and Tommy Lee Jones), the historical Peter Weir-directed epic "The Way Back" (starring Colin Farrell), the Korean import "The Housemaid" and the awesome on-the-road-with-a-madman documentary "Lemmy: 49% Motherf---er, 51% Son of a Bitch" (a hallucinatory look into the staggering existence of Mötörhead founder Lemmy Kilmister).

But the big release of the weekend is "No Strings Attached," the comedy starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher that explores the eternal question of whether coed friends can also enjoy casual sex without any real commitment. It's actually one of two movies that focus on the same subject that also star cast members of "That '70s Show" and "Black Swan" (though in the case of "Friends With Benefits," which opens this July, the star in both scenarios is Mila Kunis). The film is a delightful little frolic that shows off Portman's comic timing (a total 180 from her award-winning "Black Swan" performance) and Kutcher's natural charisma.

In order to get yourself in the right mindset for "No Strings Attached," check out the video playlist below. It features nine clips that celebrate the joy of fooling around (George Michael's "I Want Your Sex") and the complications of male-female relationships (Trey Songz's "Can't Be Friends"). But we start with a nod to the film's star with k-os' "I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman."

Tags No Strings Attached, video

When MTV decided to give the world not one but two brand new episodes of "Jersey Shore" this week (one on Monday to celebrate the premiere of "Skins" and one at its normal time), it raised an age-old question: Is there such a concept as too much of a good thing? After watching Monday night's (January 17) fiasco involving Snooki losing the beach and getting arrested and Thursday night's (January 20) journey into the mind of Jenni "JWoww" Farley, the definitive answer is "Absolutely not."

Since the show began, JWoww's relationship with the mysterious Tom (who has made a few appearances but never really made an impression) has been one of the stories sitting on the fringes of the show's narrative (and somehow must have been even more boring than the Ronnie and Sammi's constant lying around). Considering the amount of partying (and potential infidelity) that goes on over the course of the show, you would think that JWoww's relationship with her left-behind boyfriend would have dissolved hundreds of times over by now (a classic reality show trope founded by "The Real World" some two decades ago). Apparently, she has been able to make it work for a while.

But it certainly came to a head last night. After she forgot their anniversary and spent some time in the smash room with her ex (where she claims that nothing happened), we witnessed what was probably the most dramatic moment in the show's history when Snooki accompanied JWoww back to her house to retrieve the dogs that Tom abandoned after the break-up only to find that he had absconded with her bed, her watch and her hard drive. Though it sometimes seems like the people on the show are little more than caricatures of actual people, JWoww's reaction was nakedly human, full of sadness, rage and regret.

There were other things happening in the house, like Deena's hookup with a Ronnie clone and Snooki's general state of malaise over her arrest (which even inspired the short-lived idea that she would give up drinking), but this episode was all about JWoww. She has rarely been given her own story line, but now that her personal life has fallen to pieces, perhaps she'll be entering phase two. There's no "By the Numbers" graphic this week (the drama was too intriguing, though the word "Roger" was probably uttered two dozen times thanks to the Situation's constant chorus of "Roger that!"), but certainly the quote of the episode belongs to Snooki (perhaps our greatest modern philosopher). After revealing last week that she has no problem pooping in a bush, she expounded upon her relationship with her own digestive system. "Every time I get really excited, like if we go to a club, I have to s--- my pants. If we go to a party, I have to s--- my pants. If I go on a date with a hot guy, I have to s--- my pants. Like, I get really excited." (Kudos to the editors, who then cut right to a scene of Snooki saying, "I just had a baby in the toilet.")

Tags Jersey Shore, JWoww, Snooki, video

Under normal circumstances, the anniversary of the beginning of the manufacturing of a car wouldn't be all that big a deal. However, when production of the DeLorean DMC-12 began on this day in 1981, it ended up having a profound effect on pop culture at large.

Designed by American engineer John DeLorean (who up until then had been most famous for working on a trio of sports and muscle cars for Pontiac), the DeLorean was an incredible automotive creation that was easily identified by its flip-up doors (known as the "gull-wing" style), a rear-mounted engine and a fiberglass-and-steel construction (which ended up making the car ridiculously heavy). The development of the car (which eventually became known simply as the Delorean) cost the mogul $175 million and was partially funded by investments made by the likes of Sammy Davis, Jr. and Johnny Carson. Production was supposed to begin in 1978, but engineering snafus forced them to wait until this day in 1981.

Of course, the DeLorean's first life was a disaster. Only about 9,000 cars were made before production was abruptly halted in 1982 following the bankruptcy of the DeLorean Motor Company (brought on partially by the expenses associated with the car and partially by the founder's arrest for drug trafficking — a crime for which he was later acquitted). But the DeLorean's life was not done, as it became an iconic piece of pop culture minutiae when it became the basis for Dr. Emmett Brown's time machine in the series of "Back to the Future" movies. Not only was that big for the careers of Michael J. Fox and Robert Zemeckis, but it was also a huge leap forward for Huey Lewis (who provided some great songs for the first film, including the hits "Back in Time" and "The Power of Love"). In honor of one of the most iconic vehicles in all of film history, crank up Lewis' "The Heart of Rock and Roll."

Tags Huey Lewis & the News, video