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It's pretty hard to believe, but not that long ago likely "American Idol" top two finisher Scotty McCreery didn't always sing in that signature bullfrog croak.

In fact, Meredith Clayton, the choral director at his high school, Garner Magnet High School, told MTV News this week that the country cutie who rocketed to within reach of the crown on Wednesday night with another trio of flawless performances, used to have a way different sound when he crooned for her.

(Don't miss our hometown stories on Haley Reinhart and Lauren Alaina!)

Clayton, who also taught Scotty's older sister, Ashley, said she first got wind of Scotty a few years ago when she took Ashley's advanced choir class to New York for a field trip and the senior's choir-boosting parents asked if they could bring their sixth grade little man along.
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Tags American Idol, Scotty McCreery

Lady Gaga may sing funky dance tunes about love and equality, but it seems her roots are firmly planted in rock and roll. In the new MTV special, "Lady Gaga: Inside the Outside," Gaga opens up about her musical influences during the hour-long intimate chat, set to air Thursday, May 26, at 9 p.m. ET/PT and 11 p.m. ET/PT on MTV.

"My dad was really into rock and roll. Bruce Springsteen had such an influence on our home. My dad saw me singing along to his records, and he would pick me up and throw me around the room and laugh and cry with me while I would sing Pink Floyd and Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel records with him. My father gave me — I believe it was for Christmas — it was a Bruce Springsteen songbook for the piano, and on it was 'Thunder Road,' which is my favorite Bruce Springsteen song. And my dad said, 'If you learn how to play this song, we will take out a loan for a grand piano, a baby grand.' I didn't know the difference. There was the big one and a small one."

The lead track off Springsteen's 1975 breakthrough album, Born to Run, is a swirling ode to the melancholy of love, a theme that Gaga often explores in her own songs like "Dance in the Dark" and "Speechless."

"So I remember it was the hardest thing for me. I was playing these huge pieces, like 15 pages long. ... I opened up the book and there was, like, chords, guitar chords. I was so confused, I didn't understand it, so I just started to read it," she recalls. "Eventually, I got it down."

For her album Born This Way, which comes out on Monday, Gaga says she took her love and fandom for Springsteen to the next level, getting E Street Band member Clarence Clemons to play sax on two tracks, "Hair" and "The Edge of Glory."

Catch an exclusive teaser trailer for "Lady Gaga: Inside the Outside" on Thursday (May 19) at 10:58 p.m. ET/PT on MTV, after a new episode of "Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew." And then tune in for the full show next Thursday, May 26, at 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET/PT on MTV.

Tags Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga: Inside the Outside

I'd have to go back and look, but it feels like making the call on which two "American Idol" finalists will make the cut for next week's finale is the hardest one yet. It seems like a lock for country hunk-in-the-making Scotty McCreery, who nailed it on Wednesday night, pretty much like he has almost every night of season 10.

Which leaves this year's two female finalists to battle it out for the other berth, which is where it gets a bit trickier. After a testy time last week, Haley Reinhart appears to have gotten back into the judges' good graces. And despite falling on her face during a solid Led Zeppelin cover, nailing Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon" and nearly getting thrown under the bus with the tricky judges' pick of Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know," the 20-year-old blues belter came out looking pretty good.
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Tags American Idol, Haley Reinhart, Lauren Alaina, Scotty McCreery

The home visits are in the can! The judges have their strategies set! The contestants have their hideous flower earrings picked out!

Wednesday was Top Three night on "American Idol X: Scotty McCreery or Bust!"

Sorry, females of the world. The two representative specimens left in this high pressure ultra-important competition had a night full of stumbles, bumbles, and crumbles. And while fans debate which is worse — tripping on a step, or tripping on a key change? — some of us are busy asking the important questions. Such as, do we prefer Scotty with a buzz-cut or Scotty with an inch of hair? Have we ever heard Scotty "sing a chorus like that" before? What about one song later? And are you going to kiss him or not?!

Before I start pointing out how ... energetic ... Jimmy Iovine looked in the audience Wednesday night, here's a quick reminder to tune into my weekly Web show, "Idol Party Live," today at noon EDT, right here in this blog. This week's guest is acclaimed singer, performer, all around hilarious force of nature Bridget Everett. Plus, you won't want to miss my confrontation interview with "judge" Randy Jackson, nor James Durbin's Sophie's Choice between Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block.
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Tags American Idol, Haley Reinhart, Lauren Alaina, Scotty McCreery

What with his judging duties on "American Idol," his executive-producer gig on "America's Best Dance Crew," and his eternal quest to own every single cardigan in the universe, you'd think Randy Jackson wouldn't have time to take a new artist under his wing. But, you'd be wrong.

Because when Jackson stopped by MTV earlier this week, sure, he spoke about both "A.I." and "ABDC," but what he really wanted to talk about was his latest discovery: a Russian-born, L.A.-based dance artist named Grace.

Seems, in recent months, Jackson's been thinking about dabbling in the world of dance, and, in Grace — and her debut single, "When The Lights Go Down" (which he co-produced) — he's found an artist he believes can make a big splash here in the states.

"Her song is hot man!" he enthused. "It's a hot record!"

Yes! Hot! After the jump, check out what else Jackson had to say about his new artist, "When The Lights Go Down," and the inherent hotness therein.

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Tags randy-jackson, Yo Dawg

By James Dinh

From Candy Land princess to intergalactic alien, Katy Perry has stepped up her videography in the last year by playing a number of over-the-top characters. But in the clip for her new single, "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)," the pop star is taking things down a notch by dressing up as a high school nerd, as revealed in the single artwork for the nostalgic tune. While we patiently await the throwback clip, MTV News has decided to take a look at some other star-turned-geek getups.

Nicki Minaj
Hip-hop's Harajuku Barbie is known for her many alter egos, but she showed fans a brand-new one when she appeared on "Saturday Night Live" earlier this year in a digital short called "Do the Creep." Wearing a long, platinum-blond wig with a high ponytail, Minaj dressed as a creepy nerd as she rapped about hiding inside the boys' locker room to watch them undress. Creepy, indeed!

Taylor Swift
T-Swift played up high school drama in the video for her hit song "You Belong With Me" by acting as two different classmates: the blond band dork and the popular brunette cheerleader. As the clip played out, fans caught Swift in plenty of fish-out-of-water nerd ensembles. But like in all Cinderella stories, the ugly duckling turned into a beautiful swan all in time for prom night.

Chris Brown
Much like Swift's video concept, Breezy also ventured into the world of high school popularity for the clip for his T-Pain-assisted tune "Kiss Kiss." With taped-up eyeglasses, suspenders and a plaid shirt, Brown's geek battled a jock (also played by himself). In the end, Brown scored a kiss from the female classmate, prevailing over his fellow jock character.

America Ferrera
America turned geek for four series of ABC's comedy "Ugly Betty," and we're sure she didn't mind. As Betty Suarez, the 27-year-old actress played down her beauty by donning braces, glasses and far-too-bushy eyebrows.

Jennifer Lopez
J.Lo turned out multiple characters for her "Get Right" video, and even though it wasn't your traditional geek getup, the pop star donned a short blond bob and secretary glasses as she played a starstruck clubgoer. Throw in a couple of drinks, and our diva-turned-dork was dancing on tables by the end of the Francis Lawrence-directed clip.

Which star went nerd best? Let us know in the comments!

Tags america ferrera, Chris Brown, Jennifer-Lopez, Katy Perry, nicki minaj, Taylor Swift

By James Dinh

Keenan Cahill is an Internet sensation with serious celebrity connections. In just over a year, the Chicago native has become a viral phenomenal by posting video after video of himself lip-synching to a string of hit songs — all from his bedroom. Since his rise to fame, a few stars have also decided to get in on the fun by appearing alongside Cahill.

Now, the 15-year-old teen star has managed to do the unthinkable: pull a cameo from none other than Britney Spears. In his latest YouTube video tribute, Cahill tackles the pop star's latest smash "Till the World Ends" from inside the flashy Atlantis teen nightclub Crush, in the Bahamas.

"What's up Keenan? I'm here on the set of my video for 'Till the World Ends,' " Britney says to the teen from a video wall inside the club. "The only thing missing from this video set is you!" And then Spears disappears from the screen and Cahill does his version of "Till the World Ends."

We here at the MTV Newsroom were so impressed that Cahill scored a cameo from pop royalty that we decided to rank his best star-studded best video tributes.

5. Lil Jon

Keenan went extra wild when he lip-synched to a number of party tracks by Lil Jon. Alongside a life-size figurehead of the crunk superstar, Cahill was joined by the MC himself for some of his biggest club tracks, including "Turbulence," "Get Out of Your Mind" and "Shots." Cahill may be young, but he definitely knows how to party.
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Tags britney spears, keenan cahill, Till the World Ends

By Sabrina Rojas Weiss

NEW YORK — Your typical posh charity benefit in Manhattan usually includes a celebrity or two, maybe a performance by an artist who was popular in the '90s and a room full of insanely rich (and generous!) people. And while all of the above were at the Museum of Modern Art last night, the benefit for "Law & Order: SVU" star Mariska Hargitay's Joyful Heart organization had a whole lot more: Alec Baldwin and Brian Williams ribbing each other onstage, the Manhattan District Attorney's office rubbing shoulders with the likes of Maria Bello, Wynonna Judd, Chris Meloni and Isaac Mizrahi, a live auction in which people bid the equivalent of my salary for two years for to have Bobby Flay cook for them in the Hamptons, high heels that probably belonged out in the museum's sculpture garden ...

After several real-life victims of child abuse, rape and domestic violence wrote to her about how they related to the stories on "SVU," Hargitay founded Joyful Heart to help them heal and to make them feel OK to come forward and talk about their experiences. The event included a presentation honoring "SVU" executive producer Dr. Neal Baer and words from victims involved in the organization, but after dinner the real action began: the live auction.

Jaw-dropping amounts of money were pledged to packages like an internship with Charlotte Ronson and a super-first-class trip to Sydney with travel advice from Hugh Jackman (who tried to play auctioneer himself for a minute). But then the celebrities in the crowd decided to up the ante. One package on the block was recording session by Mark Ronson, but at the last minute, Courtney Love threw in half a dozen records owned by Kurt Cobain. And then she made MY evening by getting on the stage because she thought the Christie's auctioneer was under-representing her gift. She rambled on about how she and her late husband used to sing Dolly Parton songs at home, how his Gang of Four records were part of Frances Bean's hope chest, and how much he loved legendary blues artist Lead Belly. And when the bids weren't high enough, Samantha Ronson (who DJ'ed the cocktail hour earlier in the evening), got up next to C.Love to egg people on. It was great fun to see Courtney turn up the crazy on purpose for a good cause.
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Tags Alec Baldwin, Courtney-Love, Mariska Hargitay, patti-smith

Was it a conspiracy? The result of a once down-on-her-luck singer peaking at the right time? Do all the "usual morons out there in Twitterland," as exec producer Nigel Lythgoe put it to us, just need to shut their traps and accept reality?

There are many ways of looking at the results of last week's "American Idol" elimination show, when James Durbin was shockingly ousted, but one thing is clear: people have strong opinions about what went down on the hit reality show. That's why we put the question to you in an "Idol" poll: after all the less-than-illuminating judges' commentaries and a string of surprising eliminations— Goodbye, Pia! See ya later, Casey! — did the voters actually end up selecting the correct top three? Or is a final three comprised of Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina and Haley Reinhart nothing short of an "Idol" tragedy?

Almost fifty-percent of poll respondents agree with the tragic explanation, declaring that the top three is a joke. Just over thirty-percent, meanwhile, say they support some members of the top three but that not everyone belongs. And only about 22-percent believe voters picked the most deserving singers.

"The top four have put up a fantastic show and all are equally good," said one commenter. "In fact, this year's top 10 contestants are unique in their own ways and [this] is the best seasons by far."

Other voters were far less charitable. Some pointed to Durbin's high Twitter and Facebook follower counts and suggested either "Idol" or AT&T are involved in some sort of voter-suppression conspiracy. "James should of never been voted off. Hailey should of been off. I'm not sure what's up but it doesn't make any sense. James was too good," wrote one commenter. "James, Scotty and Lauren should be in it. They have talent."

So what's going to go down on Wednesday's show, when the top three — love 'em or hate 'em — take the stage? And, almost as importantly, are we going to be celebrating or raging against the next night's elimination results? Whatever the case, be sure to tune into MTV News' "Idol Party Live" on Thursday (May 19) at 12 p.m. ET to discuss the craziness with our own Idol expert, Jim Cantiello.

Tags American Idol

By Zachary Swickey

Rocker-turned-director Rob Zombie has already shocked us with blood-spattered films like "House Of 1,000 Corpses" and "The Devil's Rejects," but now, he's looking to frighten in a whole new way: by helming an upcoming TV commercial. The shocking part? The ad is for Woolite laundry detergent. It's Zombie’s first foray into legitimate commercial advertising, and while his new gig may raise some eyebrows, we can't argue with the choice. After all, his attire could definitely use some suds.

"It was sort of strange, but I love doing stuff like that,” Zombie told Noisecreep about the project. "An ad agency from Australia had reached out to me about doing the commercial and I had originally turned it down because I was so busy. But then some things opened up and then I was able to do it. I'm glad I did."

In a world where Flavor Flav sells chicken and Eminem pitches iced tea, this isn’t the craziest pairing we’ve seen in advertising. Sure, Zombie may pull off some clever, tongue-in-cheek ad showing how great Woolite works on decaying flesh, but here are some others we’d like to see him do.

Home Depot
Zombie is a low budget, do-it-yourself kind of director, so it would be fitting to see him direct an ad for Home Depot. A sale on hatchets, chainsaws and drill bits during the pinnacle of home-building season seems like a no-brainer.The horror!

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Tags Commerce, Rob Zombie, Woolite