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By Zachary Swickey

After winning an Oscar and Golden Globe for their first foray into film scoring — David Fincher's "The Social Network" — it's safe to say that Trent Reznor and his digital partner, Atticus Ross, have found a new calling. It's a no-brainer that Fincher called upon their services once again to score his upcoming film adaptation of the Swedish crime/mystery series, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." While the first film of the trilogy is not due until December 21, a bootleg of the trailer has leaked and contains quite the surprising audio accompaniment.

Pounding over the stark images of Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara as Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander is a synth-heavy cover of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" with none other than the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' frontwoman Karen O giving her best "ah-ha" wail to kick off the song. The guitar mastery of Jimmy Page and drum pillaging of John Bonham have been replaced with an eerie, marching electronic beat that has us longing for new Nine Inch Nails material. The dirty, distorted vocals are perfectly matched with the bleak scenes of the trailer, and will undoubtedly make your skin scrawl. The short clip (1:39 min) is already boasting 1.4 million hits on YouTube, and it's hard to say what fans are more excited about — the music or the film?

Reznor has already taken to his Twitter account and posted that he is "blown away" by the positive response he's received from fans. Of course, the purpose of a trailer is to make you want to see a film, but the musical element can increase said desire by adding a certain emotional depth. Here are some trailers that hold well on their own, but become exponentially more awesome by being paired with songs that fit quite aptly.

M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" in the "Pineapple Express" trailer:
The line "sticks and stones and weed and bombs" may be the sole reason that "Paper Planes" is even used in the trailer for the smoke-tastic "Pineapple Express," but it's a good thing they chose it. The song has a laid-back vibe but features violent lyrics and sampling of gunshots, which matches the "Is it an action or comedy?" vibe of the film itself.
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Tags karen o, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Trent-Reznor

By Jett Wells
A lot of artists are downright crazy and a lot of the time it’s the media (like us, hi!) that makes them that way. Yeah, yeah, critics call it the price of fame and whatnot, and celebrities know it, but when artists get even with the media, hilarity usually ensues. Model Amber Rose lashing out at Vibe magazine over a cover story that she calls "untrue and ridiculous" via Twitter, and then followed that statement up with a bombastic "F##k @VibeMagazine" tweet.

It’s not the first time a celebrity disagreed with their published profile, and it most certainly won't be the last. But it is rather hilarious ... which is why we've compiled the following list of artists getting mad, getting violent, and, most of all, getting even with their media tormentors. What can we say? We could use a good laugh.

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Tags Amber Rose, Drama, feud, Vibe magazine

British singer Cheryl Cole knows plenty about the ravages of instant fame thanks to her employment in the once-red hot girl group Girls Aloud. Cole got her mojo back, though, as a solo star and a panelist a few years ago on the British version of Simon Cowell's "X Factor" reality singing competition.

But in a move that surprised everyone at a time when TV singing competitions are increasingly turning to A-list (and some B-list) American talent to serve as judges on shows like "American Idol" and upstart hit "The Voice," Cowell chose Cole to rehash her role on his upcoming American "X Factor."

Well, the wheels quickly came off, as Cole was unceremoniously dumped last week after reports variously claimed she didn't click with fellow panelist Paula Abdul, had a too-thick British accent to be understood by Yankee audiences, wouldn't do the promotional rounds or listen to the show's wardrobe people.

The other shoe dropped over the weekend, when Cole's name was also left off the list of judges on the new season of the British "X Factor". It appears she's been aced out in favor of another girl-group refugee, former Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland.

So, to sum up, Cole went from being an unknown British star on the verge of landing a Beckham-like media assault on these shores to being a twice-fired pop singer within one week. Ouch.

Do you think Cole has been treated fairly by Simon Cowell? Let us know in comments below.

Tags Cheryl Cole, Kelly-Rowland, simon-cowell, X-Factor

By Zachary Swickey
We are approaching the three-year anniversary of Coldplay’s last effort, 2008’s Viva La Vida, so it's no surprise that the group is preparing to unleash a new album chock full of love songs for us to lament over. After a series of cryptic tweets (since revealed to be lyrics), Coldplay have finally unveiled the release date of their newest single, the rather mawkishly-titled "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall."

Due digitally June 3rd, "Waterfall" is the first single off the group’s currently untitled, Brian-Eno produced, semi-conceptual fifth studio album. The news comes from drummer Will Champion, who posted the following message on the group’s Web site along with the lyrics and new group photos:

"We’re about to play a bunch of summer festivals so it’s as good a time as any to put out a new song. ‘Every Teardrop is a Waterfall' will be available digitally on Friday 3rd June at 12pm (BST), except in the UK where it’ll come out on the stroke of midnight between Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th June," Champion wrote. "We’ll also stream it here on Friday and give it a run out at Rock Im Park."

Coldplay are headlining Saturday’s portion of the Rock im Park Festival this weekend in Nuremberg, Germany before eventually headlining stateside at Lollapallooza and Austin City Limits later this summer. Last September, frontman Chris Martin teased a new song "Wedding Bells" at an Apple event (the computers, not his daughter) but the upcoming single will mark the first new, non-Christmas-y studio music from the group in over two years.

Tags Coldplay, Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall, new music

By Akshay Bhansali and Kunal Merchant

My, how the Big Apple savors a visit from jolly Saint Nick. No, we're not referring to the affable silver-haired bestower of gifts that visits at Christmas each year (although there was a different silver-haired guest present), rather a crowd pleaser of another kind.

In fact, as has now become customary, fans began to call out to Nick van de Wall, a.k.a. Afrojack, almost an hour and a half before he was to take the decks at Pacha NY for his set Thursday night, letting him know they were ready to take in his sermon.

"Afrojack! Afrojack! Afrojack!" they chanted in unison.

With each appearance in New York, Dutch DJ/producer Afrojack has stood before dance-music enthusiasts during a different milestone in his career. And last night was no different. Read more...

Tags Afrojack

"Contrary to what some people may think about me, I'm quite traditional in the family sense," Lady Gaga said in the the new "Inside The Outside" documentary, which premiered Thursday night on MTV. And believe it or not, she's completely serious.

How do we know? Well, because she's immensely proud of her Italian heritage, something she revealed during the show, when she took us through the basics of making a make a mean red sauce ... a staple of the traditional Italian Sunday dinner.
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Tags Lady Gaga, The Red Sauce

By Jake Katz

Here comes Lady Gaga in all of her meat-dress glory. And there she goes in her space-age egg. She's wild, innovative, and other-worldly. She's the superhero in all of us.

As a Millennial, I think my generation is more driven, confident, and self-aware than Gen-Xers, Boomers, or any other prior. Our parents were more friends than authority figures. They preached the mantra, "Reach for the stars; you're a star." Facebook, Twitter and YouTube amplified how we express ourselves: real-time, "Real World" confessionals.

From her Haus of Gaga to her cheekbone horns, Gaga is nothing less than her unapologetic self. With 35 million Facebook fans, 10 million Twitter followers and an album release that slowed iTunes to a crawl, she embodies the confidence, drive and self-awareness seen endemic to my generation. And in her MTV documentary, "Inside the Outside," her soft-spoken, self-exploration proves that she reflects and leads our generation.

Proud, confident and driven, but on a level like you've never seen: super-size and hyper-charged. In theatrical, bird-like makeup — horns, mascara and over-size beauty mark — the 25-year-old "Born This Way" star takes us through her transformation from Stephanie to Superhero. Gaga explains how she overcame adversaries to find her powers. She articulates with candor and wit how she took what made her awkward and turned it into awesome. To Millennials knee-deep in their own coming-of-age journeys now, this seems like a super power.
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Tags Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga: Inside the Outside

By James Dinh, with additional reporting by Jim Cantiello

TLC, Beyoncé and Lady Gaga were just some of the star-studded names that graced the "American Idol" stage on Wednesday night, but there were also a slew of former season contestants in the house too, including season-eight winner Kris Allen.

Always a friend to MTV News, the 25-year-old singer/songwriter gave our resident "Idol" expert Jim Cantiello a tease at what his new tunes sound like in three words: "soulful, weightier and organic."
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Tags American Idol, jim cantiello, kris allen

By Rya Backer

A year ago, MTV News production assistants Rya Backer and Steven Roberts realized that their devotion to chasing stories was seriously getting in the way of their love lives. That's why they dreamed up "First Date," a regular feature that allows them to get up close and personal to some of our favorite hot new artists.

Hello, again! The last time you all saw me, I was being wooed by Lil B the Based God at Joe's Shanghai. And while that was a magical (or rather, #rare) time, I realized I had to move on. So when I found out that one of my favorite acts from last year's CMJ, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. would be in town, I knew we'd have to go out classy.
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Tags Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., First Date

There are no sure things in life, but Scotty McCreery winning "American Idol" on Wednesday night was about as close as it comes.

The self-assured, bullfrog-voiced good ol' boy from Garner, North Carolina, had a Ruben Studdard-like untouchable march through the finals that couldn't be stopped by the strongest force of all: a blatant heart-string pulling "I love my mama" song from rival teen Lauren Alaina.

And, after a dismal season of prognosticating in which none of our experts could come within Skoal-spittin' distance of .500, we finally all got it right for once. (Even if it feels like getting one of those participation trophies kids get these days just for showing up.)
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Tags American Idol, Lauren Alaina, Scotty McCreery