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Britney Spears' Best Video Costumes: How Will 'Hold It Against Me' Stack Up?

Posted 2/16/11 3:30 pm EST by in Music


Sure Britney Spears tends to take her clothes off a lot, but she's also worn some pretty memorable looks in her music videos. And as it turns out, Spears plans to up her fashion ante for the upcoming "Hold It Against Me" (which premieres on MTV and MTV.com on Thursday, February 17 at 9:56 p.m. Eastern).

"She's taking fashion risks," choreographer Brian Friedman shared about the style Spears is rocking this time around. "Things we've never seen her wear before she's wearing in this video, and I think it's just very sexy and it's a little bit playful."

Spears famously donned that school girl uniform in her "...Baby One More Time" video in 1998. The Lolita idea was all her own. "My idea originally was just jeans and T-Shirts, and we were at the wardrobe fitting and Britney holds up the jeans and T-shirts and says, 'Wouldn't I wear a schoolgirl outfit?'" director Nigel Dick said. "Every piece of wardrobe in the video came from K-Mart, and I was told at the time not one piece of clothing in the video cost more than $17. On that level, it's real. That probably, in retrospect, is a part of its charm."

When Dick and Spears hooked up again for "Oops! ... I Did It Again," the pop starlet had a similar fashion request. "[She said,] 'I want to be in a red jumpsuit. I want to have a really cute spaceman, but there can't be any rockets,'" he recalled. "There was another catsuit, actually, which was fantastic, which I loved, and the night before, I was told that Britney hired this guy that worked with Michael Jackson. And so we're going to use that catsuit. So that's the catsuit."

Though none of her costumes have really ever been as iconic as that cat suit and that school girl uniform, Spears has certainly always looked sexy in her videos. Who could forget the time she wore her underwear over jeans in her "I'm a Slave 4 U" video or the time she was a naughty flight attendant in "Toxic"? We just wonder where her latest fashion risks will rank on the Spears Fashiometer.

Which of Britney Spears' video looks is your favorite? Let us know in the comments!

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Lindsay Lohan Not Delivering 'Letterman' Top 10 Because Booking Was Fake (Or Was It?)

Posted 2/16/11 2:30 pm EST by in Television


By Aly Semigran

Even on relatively low-key days, the saga of Lindsay Lohan only gets weirder. As soon as the excitement began to build that the troubled actress (who is currently out on $40,000 bail from her felony grand theft charges) would be appearing on "The Late Show With David Letterman" to deliver the Top Ten List, it was just as quickly taken away.

The "Mean Girls" star, who was supposed to appear on Thursday (February 17) night's episode of the show (other guests scheduled to for that evening include fellow controversial celebrity party girl Paris Hilton), wrote on her Twitter page late on Tuesday (February 15), "I am NOT going to be doing David Letterman, I'm not sure how this happened, but I am sorry for the confusion."

As it turns out, LiLo wasn't pulling her followers legs. On Wednesday morning (February 16), CBS/Worldwide Pants (Letterman's production company) released a statement which read, "Lindsay Lohan will not be delivering a Top Ten list on Thursday’s 'Late Show with David Letterman,' as had been previously announced. We made a mistake. Someone purporting to be a friend of Lindsay’s reached out to the show yesterday, allegedly on her behalf, and booked her to appear. Clearly, this person was not authorized to make commitments on her behalf. We wish Lindsay well, and look forward to having her on the show in the future."

Apparently, the booking was made by none other than Lohan's dad Michael. He claims that Lindsay knew about the booking and gave her approval before the call was made. Like many things surrounding Lohan, it raises a ton of questions. Who contacted Worldwide Pants to tell them they had been duped? If Lindsay was never aware of the booking, what did Michael Lohan hope to accomplish? And if Lindsay did know about it, why did she back out? Oh, unknowable universe, we need answers!

Because we feel like we've been robbed of some quality late night television in the form of Lohan's Top Ten, here's a couple of Top Ten lists we would have loved to see the actress deliver on the show.

» Top Ten Ways Your Friend Tricks You Into Appearing On "Letterman"

» Top Ten Places To Inappropriately Wear A White Dress

» Top Ten Ways "Glee" Hurts All Of Our Feelings

» Top Ten Menu Items At The Los Angeles County Courthouse Cafeteria

» Top Ten Crimes Lindsay Lohan Hasn't Been Charged With (Yet)

» Top Ten Ways To Prank "The Late Show"

What Top Ten would you like to see Lindsay Lohan read? Let us know in the comments!

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Justin Bieber Stands Up Against Digital Abuse, Offers To Record Your Voicemail

Posted 2/16/11 1:30 pm EST by in Music


As one of the biggest pop stars on the planet, Justin Bieber has carved out an extremely successful career for himself thanks mostly to the commitment he has made to his fans. In staying close to the people who adore him via social networking, he's the rare star who knows exactly what his audience is thinking at all times. He's uniquely privy to their concerns, which is one of the reasons why Bieber is teaming up with Facebook and MTV's "A Thin Line" campaign to take action against digital abuse (including cyberbullying, stalking and textual harassment).

You can let Justin know what you're doing to help eliminate digital abuse over at Draw Your Line, MTV's virtual map tracking actions across the country. Every time you contribute, you are entered to win the grand prize, which will get you a trip for two and backstage access to MTV's "The Seven" as well as a personalized voicemail greeting recorded by Bieber himself.

For more details, check out the details over at MTV's Act blog, which explains the different types of action you can take in order to cut down on digital abuse in your life and in the lives of others. Every little bit counts, and small actions can add up to big effects.

(Click here for more information about MTV and Justin Bieber's stand against digital abuse!)

What have you done to take a stand on digital abuse? Let us know in the comments!

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Spotted: Rihanna Gets Colorful At The Brit Awards

Posted 2/16/11 12:31 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.

Only a few days after performing two songs and taking home the prize for Best Dance Recording (for her smash hit "Only Girl (In the World)") at the 53rd Grammy Awards, Rihanna made her way across the Atlantic to attend the 2011 Brit Awards. She was just as busy at that show, which took place at London's O2 Arena on Tuesday night (February 15), as she not only performed on the show (she busted out a fire-assisted version of "Only Girl (In the World)") but also scored a prize for Best International Female Star. But perhaps the biggest Rihanna-related headline from the Brit Awards was her outfit, which was an electric blue dress that gave an otherwise tepid red carpet a jolt of electricity and color. Other bit winners at the Brit Awards included Arcade Fire (who won a pair), Justin Bieber, Cee Lo Green, Take That and breakout British rapper Tinie Tempah.

(Click here for photos from the 2011 Brit Awards red carpet, including Justin Bieber, Rihanna and Avril Lavigne!)

She wasn't the only star getting glamorous, as Kelly Osbourne made her way around Fashion Week in Damrosch Park in Lincoln Center in New York and Avril Lavigne made her energetic presence known around London before attending the Brit Awards herself. Click here for these shots as well as the rest of the stars at the 2011 Brit Awards, including Justin Bieber, Arcade Fire, Cee Lo Green, Mark Ronson, Tinie Tempah and Adele!

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Is Bonnaroo, Coachella Or Lollapalooza The Biggest Festival Of 2011?

Posted 2/16/11 11:33 am EST by in Music


The weather is starting to warm up a touch across the country, which means that pretty soon it will be time to spend the summer months seeing bands outside. A little over a decade ago, there weren't any major event festivals in the United States, but now it seems as though there are dozens. But there are three tentpole events against which all other festivals are measured in this country, and they are Coachella, Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo. Coachella announced its full lineup a few weeks ago, and on Tuesday (February 15), Bonnaroo revealed the eclectic batch of acts that will be descending on Manchester, Tennessee in June. Meanwhile, the full lineup for Lollapalooza has yet to be revealed, though we do know that the headliners include Eminem, Foo Fighters and Muse.

So now that the top-line talent has been announced for each of the major festivals, which one are you most looking forward to? Which one is most likely to get your admission and travel money? Let's take a look at the vital stats for each.

Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival
Location: Empire Polo Field, Indio, California
Dates: April 15-17
Headliners: Kanye West, Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire
Bottom Line: Coachella remains steadfastly committed to widescreen versions of indie rock (as well as theatrical hip-hop). There aren't any big-time reunions this year (the London Suede doesn't cut it), but if you're a fan of sharp, fuzzy guitar songs, Coachella is your summer oasis.

Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
Location: Great Stage Park, Manchester, Tennessee
Dates: June 9-12, 2011
Headliners: Eminem, Arcade Fire, Widespread Panic
Bottom Line: Though purists may bristle at the idea of two of the world's biggest rappers ruling a traditionally jam-friendly festival (Lil Wayne will also play a high-profile set in Manchester), this year's Bonnaroo is actually one of the most refreshingly eclectic in the festival's history. Other highlights include My Morning Jacket, the Black Keys, String Cheese Incident and the only festival appearance of Buffalo Springfield (if you're into that sort of thing).

(Click here for photos of the 2011 Bonnaroo lineup, including Eminem, Lil Wayne and Arcade Fire!)

Lollapalooza
Location: Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois
Dates: August 5-7
Headliners: Eminem, Muse, Foo Fighters
Bottom Line: The full lineup won't be announced until April, but the first three acts have set the tone for the summer. Lollapalooza arguably has the biggest combination of headliners of anybody, and it's likely that more surprises are in store when the full list of acts is announced.

So which one gets you the most excited? Which one has that perfect combination of musical strength and travel and experience opportunities? Vote in the poll below and sound off in the comments!

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Ozzy Osbourne's 'Let It Die' Video: The Key Scene

Posted 2/16/11 10:33 am EST by in Music


Just in case you didn't get anything for Valentine's Day, Ozzy Osbourne had you covered. While a new music video isn't the same as getting a box of chocolates or a dozen roses, the clip for Ozzy's new single "Let It Die" — which premiered on Monday, February 14 — is certainly a heartfelt tribute to the fans who keep the godfather of metal going after all these years.

The video for "Let It Die" (one of the sharpest tracks from Osbourne's 2010 album Scream) is pretty straightforward, but still arresting. The clip focuses on a live performance of the song in front of a particularly enthusiastic (and apparently extremely hot) crowd. Osbourne bangs his head, stomps, pumps his fist and seems particularly entertained and engaged by various members of the audience. Over the course of the performance, he is intent on dousing his followers (and himself) with water, regularly tossing buckets of water on the crowd like some sort of metalhead Harlem Globetrotter (eventually, he leaves the bucket behind in favor of a high-powered hose). In the video's key scene, the Ozzman flings yet another bucket of water on his increasingly moistening crowd (and though you can't really see it, Osbourne is pretty soaked as well).

Osbourne has never really gone away, but Ozzy's excellent 2010 album Scream represents something of a renaissance for the metal legend. The first single "Let Me Hear You Scream" topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, marking the first time one of Osbourne's tunes has done that. His ongoing tour for Scream (currently crossing North America) is one of the most successful of his career, and features a set list that includes solo classics like "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley" as well as Black Sabbath hits ("Iron Man," "War Pigs") and some deep cuts (the oft-overlooked Paranoid album-closer "Fairies Wear Boots"). By all accounts, Ozzy is as good — and as loud — as he has ever been.

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Happy Birthday, Lupe Fiasco!

Posted 2/16/11 9:30 am EST by in Music


Bust out the good decorations and start preparing the seven layer dip, because there are birthdays to celebrate today. It's a particularly strong day for drummers, as both Slayer skinsman Dave Lombardo and Foo Fighters time keeper Taylor Hawkins turn one year wiser today (Lombardo is 46, Hawkins 39). But the MTV Newsroom crew is most excited for Lupe Fiasco, who turns 29 years old today.

Chicago native Fiasco (born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco) first started writing and recording hip-hop tracks when he was 17, and at 19 formed a group called Da Pak (they signed a record deal and released a single but split up before an album could be completed). Fiasco made a big splash on the mixtape circuit, dropping the beloved Fahrenheit 1/15 series over the course of 2006. In the meantime, Fiasco attracted the attention of both Jay-Z (who he met briefly during his tenure as a member of the Arista Records roster) and Kanye West (who liked Fiasco's mixtape versions of "Jesus Walks" and "Diamonds From Sierra Leone"), and he scored a breakout hit with "Kick, Push," a pop-friendly blast of fresh air that blended streetwise storytelling with Fiasco's brainy worldview. It remains the best hip-hop skateboarding anthem of all time.

Fiasco has continued to push the limits of hip-hop. He followed up his smash debut Food & Liquor with the genre-bending The Cool. Since then, he has dabbled in a bunch of different projects, including a supergroup with West and Pharrell Williams called CRS (Child Rebel Soldier) and one of the best mixtapes of 2009 in Enemy of the State: A Love Story (which features Fiasco rapping over Radiohead's "The National Anthem," among other tracks). His third album (and long-awaited) album Lasers is scheduled to be released next month, and it features the single "Show Goes On," which fully captures Fiasco's unique energy and approach to the rap world.


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Kid Rock Has A Rough Night Out: Wake-Up Video

Posted 2/16/11 8:30 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


Living the rock and roll lifestyle can be sort of complicated. After all, that level of excess can sometimes be overwhelming. But it's necessary for the sake of entertainment, and the best ones — like Axl Rose or Vince Neil — aren't afraid to occasionally brush up against the law every once in a while. Kid Rock is one of the few superstars who is totally willing to push the envelope, and on this day in 2005, he was arrested after a spectacular night of debauchery and rock and roll excess.

The evening began at a strip club in Nashville, Tennessee called Christie's Cabaret. Rock was there partying when at some point he assaulted a guy named Jay Campos, the club's DJ (supposedly, Rock was upset with Campos' choice of music). By the time police had arrived at Christie's, Rock had already taken off to make his way to a second strip club. On the way, he was even pulled over by a police officer who did not detain Rock (though did get his autograph).

After taking time to sober up at the second club, Rock returned to an apartment he had been renting in town, where he turned himself in. Rock pleaded no contest, and his bail was set at $3,000. It wasn't the last time Rock found himself in trouble because of a scuffle, as he got into a dust-up with Tommy Lee at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards and also got into a brawl at a Waffle House in Atlanta that same year.

Rock was going through a musical transition at the time, moving from his early rap-rock leanings to a more classic rock-influenced, country-kissed sound of his last few albums (including 2010's Born Free). But he hasn't lost the edge that let him cut hits like "American Bad Ass," a track from 2000's The History of Rock that borrows the riff from Metallica's "Sad But True."


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The Bonnaroo 2011 Lineup: Five Acts You Must See

Posted 2/15/11 5:00 pm EST by in Music


With Coachella already set to go and a handful of Lollapalooza acts already leaking out, the summer festival season is already shaping up to be one of the biggest and best of all time. But what of Bonnaroo, the rural Tennessee camping adventure that began as a gathering of jam band obsessives but has evolved into one of the best music events in the world? On Tuesday morning (February 15), the Bonnaroo lineup was unveiled, with Eminem, Lil Wayne and Arcade Fire serving as the big headliners at this year's model (which will run June 9-12 in Manchester, Tennessee). The top line is rounded out by the likes of the Strokes, the Black Keys, My Morning Jacket, Florence and the Machine and a reuniting Buffalo Springfield (making their only festival appearance).

That's an eclectic lineup, for sure (there's more hip-hop on the bill than ever before, especially in the headlining spots), but there's still plenty for the Bonnaroo purists. No matter who you are, you'll be able to find something.

But what if you don't even know what you're looking for? Here are five acts on the Bonnaroo bill who should be circled, highlighted and checked off on your agenda as you make your way into the wilderness.

Lil Wayne
Sure, he's a headliner and a major star, but how often do you get to see him in a festival setting? With a crowd that size and a sound system of that magnitude at his disposal (not to mention an exceptionally mellow crowd), Lil Wayne could turn in one of those transcendent performances you always end up hearing about later. Except this time, you're actually there.

The Sword
For the uninitiated, the Sword play the sort of zonked-out, sludgy, chugging hard rock sometimes referred to as "stoner metal," but they're far more dynamic than that reductive moniker suggests. Their live show is legendarily sharp, and they should provide some much-needed evil amidst all the good vibes in Manchester (because you need balance, you see).

The Black Keys
Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney are secretly one of the best festival bands working, able to stretch their tunes into sweaty, fuzzy orgies of sound that dart, groove and explode. Their set at Lollapalooza 2008 was a revelation, and they've only gotten better since then.

Girl Talk
For a group that consists of little more than a guy and a laptop, Girl Talk is always shockingly dynamic. At festivals, Greg Gillis turns his anything-goes approach into the red, and his set at Bonnaroo is likely to end in mass hysteria and free hugs. So, you know, greatness.

Wiz Khalifa
If nothing else, this show should be an excellent test for one of the most buzz-worthy new MCs on the scene. Can Wiz handle the big crowds? Can his claustrophobic tracks work outdoors? Whether Wiz succeeds or fails (and the former is far more likely), it should be a heck of a party.

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Before Skylar Grey, There Was Holly Brook (And Fort Minor's 'Where'd You Go')

Posted 2/15/11 4:00 pm EST by in Music


Sunday night's (February 13) 53rd Grammy Awards was a star-making evening for a handful of young stars in the music world. With their underdog victory in the Album of the Year category, Arcade Fire grabbed their biggest exposure yet. Following her win for Best New Artist, Esperanza Spalding became a household name overnight (and gave jazz bass a much larger audience). And in anchoring the hot new Dr. Dre/Eminem single "I Need a Doctor" with her vocal gymnastics, Skylar Grey elevated her profile significantly (especially considering how many people were buzzing about the greatness of that performance). Couple that with the fact that "I Need a Doctor" continues to perform well on the iTunes chart (it currently only trails Lady Gaga's just-released "Born This Way" at the top of the heap), and suddenly you have a star in the making.

But Grey (whose real name is Holly Hafermann) isn't taking her first trip to the rodeo. In fact, she was a key component of one of the biggest songs of 2006 in Fort Minor's "Where'd You Go" (she was known as Holly Brook then). The track, which appeared on Linkin Park member Mike Shinoda's side project's only album (2005's The Rising Tied), just missed topping the Billboard Hot 100 in 2006 (it peaked at number four, behind "Ridin'" by Chamillionaire, Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" and Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous"). At the center of the song was Grey's gorgeous voice, which wrapped the chorus in layer upon layer of hauntingly gorgeous melancholy.

When MTV News caught up with Shinoda back in 2006 just before the release of "Where'd You Go," he took us to meet Brook. During the interview, Brook revealed her background (dig the footage of her playing piano as a little girl), her influences, the sentiment behind the big single and the story behind her own album Like Blood Like Honey.

What did you think of the performance of "I Need a Doctor" at the Grammy Awards? Let us know in the comments!

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