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'American Idol' Recap: Carson Higgins, Scotty McCreery, More Survive Another Hollywood Round

Posted 2/18/11 2:07 pm EST by in Music


Hollywood Week continued on "American Idol" Thursday night, as the remaining 100 contestants performed solo numbers in hopes of becoming America's "next top adult contemporary star."

Historically, this is the week where the front-runners solidify their lead going into the semi-finals. Think David Archuleta's "Heaven." Think Andrew Garcia's "Straight Up." Think Matt Giraud's "Georgia on My Mind." It's also when early faves flame out spectacularly. See: Josiah Leming.

Seacrest promised "some of the most outstanding performances in our 10-year history," and for once, his overhype was nearly justified. I can't remember the last time I watched an "Idol" episode so full of singers leaving every last bit of showbiz pizazz on the stage.

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'Jersey Shore By The Numbers: It's Good To Cry, Dog

Posted 2/18/11 10:33 am EST by in Television


The Situation already has a workout DVD, a protein-infused vodka, and line of T-shirts and accessories called Dilligaf Couture by the Sitch. After last night's episode of "Jersey Shore," perhaps a book of relationship advice should be in the works. Because while comforting Ronnie following the post-brawl departure of Sammi, Sitch laid out the 11 rules for getting over a breakup.

1. It's good to cry, dog.
2. Think about what's going on in your life.
3. Walk around. Do something.
4. Do you, take care of you.
5. Go to the gym.
6. Listen to music.
7. Vibe out.
8. Remember that life goes on, time keeps ticking and if you don't keep going, you get left behind.
9. Never forget that if it's meant to be, it's meant to be, that life's not cookie-cutter, and that the Situation would rather die standing than live on his knees.
10. Put on a little Michael Bolton.
11. A little fetal-position action, you'll be OK.

Or not. As Ron Ron pointed out, listening to the Situation dole out relationship advice is like talking to a sailor about flying a plane. But hey, Sitch was just trying to make the best of a crappy state of affairs — much like the rest of the crew, who found themselves consumed with the particulars of poop: Deena couldn't go, Snooki needed to but Ron was in the john crying, and Vinny had to hold it while attempting to unclog the toilet. Oh, and there were soiled panties everywhere.

It was just that kind of episode. And the "Jersey Shore" kids attempted to make the best of it. They played pranks on one another, apparently didn't laugh when Sitch got his eyebrows waxed, and did their best to support Ron as he finally showed some genuine (though too-little-too-late) remorse. Ron, your heart might be in the right place, but flowers and chocolate aren't gonna mend Sammi's broken soul. Don't believe us? Follow along this week's "Jersey Shore by the Numbers" and see for yourself.

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Indie Rock Loses A Legend In Bob Stinson: Wake-Up Video

Posted 2/18/11 10:00 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


No matter how many colorful words are written about the greatness of the Replacements, they will always remain perpetually underrated. That's because their excellence can scarcely be measured, as the Minneapolis band managed to craft some of the greatest songs of the 1980s, helped define one of the most critical underground movements in music history and generally push buttons and envelopes for the duration of their existence. He was forced out of the group in 1986, and the rest of the band splintered in 1991, but all hope of reconciliation ended on this day in 1995 when founding member and lead guitarist Bob Stinson passed away at his home in Minneapolis.

Stinson, a formidable six-string player, formed the band (originally called Dogbreath) with drummer Chris Mars and his younger brother Tommy on bass (Tommy was only 11 years old when he first started playing in a band with Bob). The trio jammed on '70s rock staples without a singer before meeting Paul Westerberg, who joined the group as a singer and second guitarist. A power struggle began almost immediately, as while the three core members of the group were mostly into partying, Westerberg was an organized taskmaster who demanded focus.

That pull between two poles is evident on the early Replacements recordings. Their 1981 debut Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash is a sloppy masterpiece, full of raw energy and kinetic playing barely held together by Westerberg's evolving sense of melody. Eventually, Bob Stinson's freewheeling guitar playing and manic approach to production was tempered by Westerberg, and the subsequent Replacements recordings became more stately and refined. By the time the group signed to a major label and released 1985's Tim, the band had become one of the finest underground pop concoctions of all time.

But things came to a head in 1986. Around the time the group started recording the demos for 1987's Pleased to Meet Me, Bob Stinson either left on his own due to the ever-widening creative rift between himself and Westerberg, or he was dismissed from the band because of a drug and alcohol problem. Undaunted, Bob Stinson formed a short-lived band called Model Prisoner and then a longer-term outfit called Static Taxi. Neither band gained much attention or success outside of the immediately Minneapolis area, and Static Taxi were broken up by 1991. Bob then joined the ever-rotating lineup of a band called Shotgun Rationale before playing briefly in a group called Dog 994 and ending his musical life with the Bleeding Hearts.

Bob Stinson was a beloved founder of one of the most important bands to ever plug in an amp and trash a stage, and his musical legacy has been undersold a bit because the most successful and recognizable Replacements songs (notably "Can't Hardly Wait") were recorded without him. Still, the early Replacements albums are all excellent, and the energy and beauty captured in songs like "Bastards of Young" has rarely been repeated since.


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Britney's 'Hold It Against Me' Video Style: Which Look Rules?

Posted 2/17/11 10:00 pm EST by in Music


Britney Spears debuted her futuristic clip for "Hold It Against Me" on Thursday night (February 17), and the video, directed by veteran director Jonas Åkerlund, takes a sleek look at celebrity culture and includes some sexy dance sequences and funky, glamorous fashions.

The video was styled by Åkerlund's wife, B. Åkerlund, who has worked with everyone from Madonna to Lady Gaga to Blondie for their past music video endeavors. She certainly has the résumé and credibility to tackle styling a pop star like Britney. It's clear from watching the video that Spears was game to try on some new looks. The fashions are clean, fresh and sophisticated.

With multiple costume changes over several setups, the overall look of the video is only enhanced.

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Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' Sets Hot 100 Chart Records

Posted 2/17/11 1:00 pm EST by in Music


Lady Gaga certainly hasn't lost a step. After dominating the pop charts and setting all manner of records with the one-two punch of Fame and The Fame Monster, the 24-year-old singer and icon is back to the business of redefining the pop music universe with "Born This Way." The song, which was released last Friday (February 11), immediately rocketed to the top of the iTunes singles chart (where it still remains) and got spun over 4,000 times on the radio in its first few days of release. Not surprisingly, it has made its debut on top of the Billboard Hot 100, making it not only the 19th song in history to debut at the chart's top spot but also the 1,000th number one in the history of the chart.

"Born This Way" made its mark in a hurry. It sold 448,000 downloads in just three days, making it the third biggest digital debut of all time (behind Flo Rida's "Right Round" and Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow") and the highest selling debut for a female artist in history (Britney Spears' "Hold It Against Me" held the record for a mere four weeks). "Born This Way" also represents Gaga's third chart-topper (following "Just Dance" and "Poker Face") and her eighth top 10 (each one of her singles has landed in that echelon, with the lowest being the six spot for "Paparazzi"). Truly, Gaga has had her way with the Billboard Hot 100, and "Born This Way" is somehow her biggest yet.

The rest of the chart was pretty free of news, with most of the top 10 staying the same (though you can expect Dr. Dre's "I Need a Doctor" to get a big post-Grammy boost next week, perhaps all the way to the top spot if "Born This Way" weakens — which is unlikely, considering Gaga should get the same Grammy bump).

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Happy Birthday, Billie Joe Armstrong!

Posted 2/17/11 11:00 am EST by in Music


Rock and roll keeps a lot of stars eternally young. Even though you can recognize the lines on the faces of veterans like Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen, Robert Plant and Ozzy Osbourne, their passion for the music makes you forget how old they are (just look at Jagger's performance at last weekend's Grammy Awards or Osbourne's just-released music video for "Let It Die" for proof). So even though Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong turns 39 years old today (which is not especially old, of course), he still remains a spunky 20-year-old kid in the eyes of anybody who has ever cranked up American Idiot.

Armstrong grew up in Rodeo, California with his five older siblings. He got into music early, as his father was a jazz musician and his older brothers were all on top of the first wave of punk rock. At age 10, he met fellow Rodeo resident Mike Dirnt, and the pair eventually formed a band called Sweet Children, which found of Armstrong (who had dropped out of high school to pursue his music career) and Dirnt both playing guitar. The band became a three-piece and changed its name to Green Day in 1989, the same year they recorded the EPs 39/Smooth, 1,000 Hours and Slappy (which were eventually collected as 1,039 Smoothed Out Slappy Hours and released as a de facto debut album). Drummer Tré Cool joined the fray shortly after the EPs were recorded (replacing John Kiffmeyer, who left the band to go to college), and the core unit of Green Day was solidified.

The early recordings (including the debut album and 1992's Kerplunk) are formidable and raw, featuring the trio's hyperdrive playing and centered around Armstrong's signature voice, which managed to sound bratty, melancholy, triumphant, defiant and depressed all at once. It has remained a unique, versatile instrument, and it has served Armstrong well as his songwriting has matured (it's no wonder he has delivered such excellent performances in his own Broadway show "American Idiot"). In honor of Armstrong's big day, crank up "Wake Me Up When September Ends," an excellent example of what keeps Armstrong great — and eternally young.


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Destiny's Child Make Their Debut: Wake-Up Video

Posted 2/17/11 9:30 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


As we get further away from their peak, doesn't it seem like Destiny's Child should be considered among the greatest R&B acts of all time? In less than a decade together, they produced four albums with four chart-topping hits, moved nearly 50 million units and — perhaps most importantly — influenced an entire generation of R&B stars. But before the solo albums, big-ticket videos, sold out tours and chart dominance, they had to start somewhere, and on this day in 1998, Destiny's Child dropped their self-titled debut album.

The group began when the members were just teenagers. Originally called Girls' Tyme, the group had as many as six members when they first started performing and attracting national attention from producers and record moguls. When the group finally got serious and focused on producing their first album, they changed their name to Destiny's Child (a reference to a passage in the Book of Isaiah) and cut their membership down to the four core members who made up the first true version of the group: Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett. Under the leadership of manager Matthew Knowles (Beyoncé's father), the group scored a deal with Columbia Records and put together their debut album, which featured input from some of the biggest names in music at the time (including Wyclef Jean, Jermaine Dupri and Rob Fusari, who would later go on to aid the career of Lady Gaga).

Strangely, Destiny's Child was not much of a chart hit (it peaked at number 63 on the Billboard 200), but it did end up selling over a million copies and spawned the smash single "No No No," whose remix ended up near the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Lineup changes, solo albums and worldwide domination came later, but this was our first glimpse into the world of Destiny's Child.


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'American Idol' Recap: Group Night Brings More New Faces And Shattered Dreams

Posted 2/17/11 8:15 am EST by in Music


Wednesday night (February 16) smelled like sleep deprivation, bad craft service and embarrassing levels of desperation. It's not VMA week here at MTV (kidding), so it must mean one thing: Hollywood Group Number Night on "American Idol"!

In the past, we've had havoc-wreakers like the Brittenum Brothers, Tatiana del Toro, Julia DeMato and Antonella Barba. Who will step up and be this season's resident diva?

As it turns out, a bunch of people!

Thanks to producers insisting that each group feature singers from both days of the first Hollywood round (thus thwarting savvy hopefuls who secretly created groups and rehearsed on their day off), contestants' true colors shone through immediately.

The first diva showdown came during the initial group number scramble. In one corner, we had "professional choreographer" Tiffany "Star Tatas" Rios, and in the other we had Scotty "I Only Know One Song" McCreery. No shocker that nobody wanted to be in Tiffany's group. Could you blame them after she boasted to the judges "I'm tired of seeing people try to do what I know I can"? But Scotty's reaction to Tiffany's invitation was surprisingly divalicious. "Sing for me," he sniffed to the desperate Rios as he sprayed his voice with some kind of magic Celine Dion vocal spray. Even cowboys get the phlegm!

Then Scotty dissed the likeable Sugarmamas, who were desperate to include a day two singer after their first nameless white dude member (who might have been Tim Heidecker) ditched them. (The Sugarmamas also ended up losing Jessica Yantz to Tiffany Rios. Perhaps they should have renamed their group the Hemorrhages.)

Scotty met his match with Jordan Dorsey, who only needed to hear two seconds of McCreery's signature "Oh baby blah blah blah lights down low" song before hilariously hissing, "No, just no." Later, Dorsey denied calling a girl "a weak link" two seconds after he called just that. Werk, delusional diva! Werk! (Eventually Jordan left his first group to go terrorize another.)

Our next diva was Guap group leader Clint Jun Gamboa, who kicked 15-year-old cherub Jacee Badeaux to the curb. Clint, Clint, Clint — even if Jacee's sweet honey-dripped tenor wasn't gelling with the group (as you claimed), didn’t you realize that you'd look like a heartless boob on television for making an adorable puppy cry? Good thing Jacee's mom passed the parent test by saying precisely the right thing to her weeping child. "You know what? It just wasn't meant to be." Four for you, Mama Badeaux! (Jacee ended up with a group who knew a thing or two about being dumped: the Sugarmamas.)

Moms were involved in another diva-off, this one with resident season 10 screamer James Durbin. Both his group, the Deep V's and the Minors (a collection of underage R&B superstars), were tackling Queen's "Somebody to Love." But his Asperger's-and-Tourette's-affected mind thought it was unfair that the 15- and 16-year-olds were getting coached by their sassy stage moms. He bitched to producers, cameras and anyone who would listen, which was basically everyone in the greater Los Angeles area since Durbin busted out his signature shriek. "Either way, our version is really gonna kick some aaaaaaaass," he said/sang as a group member visibly winced. I feel ya, bud.

Our next diva, Jacqueline Dunford, committed the cardinal sin of "Idol" Hollywood Week episodes by saying she didn't want anyone to "take control" of the group. You know where this is going. Read More...

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Which Now That's What I Call Music! Is The Best?

Posted 2/16/11 5:30 pm EST by in Music


This week's Billboard album chart featured few surprises, mainly involving pre-Grammy sales bumps for Justin Bieber and Mumford & Sons (expect more of those increases next week) and a post-Super Bowl surge from the Black Eyed Peas. At the top of the heap was the 37th (!) volume of the Now That's What I Call Music! series, which collects hits from Eminem ("Love the Way You Lie"), Katy Perry ("Firework"), Ke$ha ("We R Who We R") and Taylor Swift ("Mine"). It also includes chart-topping smashes like Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are," Pink's "Raise Your Glass" and Far East Movement's "Like a G6," not to mention chart sensations like Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair" and Pitbull's "Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor)."

That's a pretty dense collection of singles, which begs the question: Is Now That's What I Call Music! 37 the best in the series' history?

Typically, Now collections are front-loaded with big hits (typically stuff that dominated the charts six to eight months ago) and usually taper off with weaker rock tracks or unknowns toward the back. And while Now 37 certainly has its share of question marks, we count 17 of the 20 tracks to be genuine smashes. That's a strike rate of 85%, which is a pretty high mark.

Comparatively speaking, previous incarnation Now 36 only contained one chart-topper (Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream") and had a hit rate of 60%. Now 35? That had two number ones, but only half of its track list could really be considered top shelf (even though 16 of its 20 songs were still in the Billboard Hot 100 at the time of its release).

Of course, some of the older entries in the Now series have the benefit of hindsight, which is why an entry like Now 10 (which features hits from Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, Jennifer Lopez, *NSYNC, Nickelback and Ja Rule) looks especially impressive now (and perhaps more so than it did when it was released in 2002). Of course, time hurts some of these too (2004's Now That's What I Call Music! 17 looks pretty flat today).

But overall, we have to give the nod to Now That's What I Call Music! 14. It has several hits that were absolutely larger than life (Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love" and the Black Eyed Peas' "Where Is the Love?"), a handful of delightful hip-hop novelties (Chingy's "Right Thurr," Murphy Lee's "Wat Da Hook Gon Be"), a tremendously underrated R. Kelly song ("Thoia Thong") and a couple of excellent little radio rock tunes for good measure (Fountains of Wayne's "Stacy's Mom," the Ataris' cover of "The Boys of Summer," Liz Phair's "Why Can't I?" and 3 Doors Down's "Here Without You"). That's a lot of big hits spread over a lot of different styles and genres, which makes that particular Now entry one against which all others should be judged.

What's your favorite entry in the Now series? Let us know in the comments!

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Blink-182's New Album Is Coming Soon: The MTV News Quote Of The Day

Posted 2/16/11 4:30 pm EST by in Music


"I think we'll turn in our album in June or July, honestly, and, I mean, the stuff's awesome. It's coming close, to the point where these are completed songs and they're not going to change. These are album versions."

-Blink-182 drummer and solo artist Travis Barker, noting that the long-awaited Blink-182 reunion album should be completed some time this summer. Following a four year hiatus as a group, the band got back together in 2009 for a string of well-received tour dates. But though they've been talking about a new album for several years, it appears as though it's finally happening.

Of course, the main reason for the delay has been because all three members of Blink-182 are in demand and have very active lives outside of the band. Barker, for example, has a new solo album called Give the Drummer Some that he has been working on for a while and contains guest appearances from some of the biggest names in hip-hop and rock, including Tom Morello, Raekwon, the RZA, Slash, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, the Game and Swizz Beatz.

Barker told MTV News that the stars are finally aligning for the three members of Blink-182 to focus on the album. "You know, it's hard, because we would get home from a tour, and then Tom [DeLonge]'s side project would go out, his side project comes back, he's back now, he's ready to get in the lab, [and] I'm about to say, 'Peace out, I'm about to do my thing.' So it's like, when we're in a room together for more than a month or two, it's gonna really happen," he said. "I mean, up until the last album, every album was written in a week. All of us had ideas, we would come, we would get into a room, [and] we'd go, 'OK, you want to write the album?' And we'd write those songs, and then we'd record them the next week. Now ... we all have studios, we all have the luxury of staying home and doing it, and we don't have to get into a room to get an idea out or pay for a studio. So a lot of it's going down. Like, we're working in separate studios, just really kind of working on music."

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