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We're all nobody until somebody notices us, right? That's probably what Simon Cowell is hoping with the choice of Steve Jones as the co-host of the American version of his reality singing competition, "The X Factor."

Yes, the former model is well-known to British audiences thanks to appearances on a number of popular shows, including the children's variety program "T4," the "Guinness World Records Smashed!" special as well as upcoming series “Drop Zone,” “Wedding Crashers” and “101 Ways to Leave a Gameshow.”

But in America? He's as blank a slate as a guy named Ryan Seacrest was before "American Idol" launched in 2002. It's hard to remember now, but back then Seacrest was just a radio guy in Los Angeles, not the new Dick Clark with an exploding multi-media empire that threatens to swallow all of entertainment.
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Tags Carson Daly, Steve Jones, X-Factor

By Jett Wells

NEW YORK — If entire bands were singular people, then much-buzzed newcomers Yuck would probably be the dude at the party who's standing alone in a dark corner, awkwardly staring into his drink and sorta creeping everyone out.

In other words, they'd be J Mascis. If J Mascis ever got invited to parties. And much like the frumpy Dinosaur Jr. mastermind, Yuck don't win you over with their showmanship; they do it with their slouched charisma. And that anti-appeal was on display Saturday night at the Bowery Ballroom, as the band put the finishing touches on their U.S. tour, and won pretty much everyone over in the process. Bad posture notwithstanding.

Lead singer Daniel Blumberg with his best friend Max Bloom, Yuck hit the stage like they always do, hunched over their instruments, faces stoic except for the unmistakable grin (and sizeable 'fro) of drummer Jonny Rogoff. And while they certainly don't look the part — their lineup consists of two Brits, a Japanese bassist and some guy from Jersey — Yuck are, at their sludgy, slumping core, a pure pop band ... they love melodies (even if they're distorted), and they do them really well.

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Tags Yuck

It's hard to capture the electricity of a Lady Gaga show. The audience itself is a wealth of energy. Fans are cheering, dressed up in costumes, buzzing about what Gaga will say, how she will say it and wondering if she will play any new songs.

For her two shows at Madison Square Garden earlier this year, Gaga didn't have many surprises. She kept to the script, only playing the Born This Way tracks she had already played in her previous stops on the Monster Ball tour. These shows served as the concerts used in her HBO special "Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden."

Those nights were pretty magical, regardless. I had seen Gaga once before at Lollapalooza the previous summer, but it was hot and there were mosquitoes and I generally hate the outdoors, so the experience was less than pleasant. But that HBO MSG show had a certain cosmic energy. Gaga turned it up to 1,000 (not that she usually doesn't). She knew the cameras were rolling. She knew these shows meant something.

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Tags Lady Gaga

By Aly Semigran
When it comes to Kentucky, it's hard not to associate it with anything other than the world-famous Run for the Roses, the Kentucky Derby (and sure, for some, a certain fast food chain.)

And with the 137th Kentucky Derby set to take place this weekend, we here at MTV wanted to pay homage to some other winners from the state, namely the eclectic variety of musicians and bands that hail from there. In addition to the many bluegrass and country artists that call the great state their old Kentucky home, there's also been boy bands (Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys hail from the state), chart-topping rockers and hip-hoppers. Here are some of our favorites ... a Musical Mint Julep to enjoy before the big race.

Loretta Lynn
Perhaps the name most synonymous with Kentucky musicians, Butcher Hollow native Loretta Lynn is a country music pioneer. The Grammy-winning legend, whose life and music was chronicled in the Oscar-winning film "Coal Miner's Daughter," has released some 70 albums and written songs that didn't shy away from tweaking society's standards. While she has earned respect and accolades the world over, the influential singer-songwriter is still the pride of Kentucky. Lynn has been honored by the Kentucky Commission and is part of the Women Remembered exhibit in state's Capitol building.

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Tags Loretta Lynn, my-morning-jacket, The Kentucky Derby

By Jett Wells
The customer is always right, even at concerts, and sometimes that means a music fan has to open a can of whoop-ass if they don't get the show they paid good money for. Of course, sometimes things get out of control, whether it's the artist's fault or not. While it's kind of funny, Justin Bieber getting pelted with eggs at an Australian concert by a party-crashing teen is a good example of that point: Technically the teenager in question wasn't a fan — since he broke-in to the show specifically to harass Bieber (he was also subsequently arrested for his indiscretions) — but the incident goes to show you that music lovers rebel at shows for all sorts of reasons, and as far as ranking the most violent acts of fans revolting against artists, egg pelting is child's play. Here are some recent examples of their (ovum-free) protests.

Fans Sue Creed
Back in 2002 during a Creed show in Chicago, frontman Scott Stapp got so hammered he could barely remember the words to his own songs. And, granted, rock stars are supposed to be on something while performing, but in this instance, Stapp was so inebriated that four fans literally sued him for putting on a bad show ... to the tune of $2 million. The charges were dismissed, but it sent a warning to all touring musicians: rock my face off or I'll see your ass in court!

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Tags Justin Bieber, Wanton Eggings

By James Dinh

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and Nicki Minaj is ready to put her Barbz and Kenz to the test. After dropping her iced-out video for "Super Bass" on Thursday (May 6), the Young Money MC took to her website to announce the rules for her new "Super Bass" Contest, where she's asking Team Minaj to record a video of themselves performing a verse from the bubbly tune and send it to them. The Harajuku Barbie will select five winners, who will score tickets and meet-and-greet passes to her Femme Fatale outing with Britney Spears.

Before grabbing their cameras, fans may want to take note from a few celebrities, whom have already put their own spin on the uptempo Pink Friday cut.

First off, there was Selena Gomez, who uploaded a video of herself rapping to song in her dressing room at the 2011 People's Choice Awards. Decked out in an elegant Paule Ka dress, the Disney starlet flowed through the tune and even imitated some of the rapper's over-the-top faces.

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Tags nicki minaj, Selena Gomez, Super Bass, Taylor Swift

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times ... won't get fooled again. After weeks of plaid-based fashion crimes, self-righteous audience threats, horsey falsetto screeching and more awkward stage moves than an army of Paul McDonalds, Compton, California's Jacob Lusk was finally booted from "American Idol" on Thursday night.

I'm not saying I wanted him gone, but when America finally heard what I've been hearing for weeks (i.e., a singer whose commercial potential makes last year's "Idol" winner Lee DeWyze look like Lady Gaga), well, let's just say I felt vindicated, at the very least.

All but one of our experts correctly predicted Lusk's demise this week and "Idol" blogger MJ Santilli shared my feelings about the news. "I suspect if he had performed the way he really wanted to on 'Idol,' he would have been out weeks ago," she said of his wayyy over-the-top sing-off. "Lusky Stank had his moments on the show, but really, he was never able to top 'A House Is Not a Home' — the semi-final performance that ensured his place in the Top 13. I can see Jacob with a career singing gospel music, but as a pop star? Not so much."

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Tags American Idol, Jacob Lusk, video

By Kara Warner

Sometimes the singer/actress hyphenate can come off as a bit forced. This is not the case, however, for legitimate singer and actress Schuyler Fisk, who recently released her sophomore album Blue Ribbon Winner AND has a film opening at the Cannes Film Festival called "Restless."

MTV News caught up with her recently to discuss what inspired her new music and what we can expect from "Restless," directed by Gus Van Sant. Also, we learned that she'd secretly love to be in an action movie someday — leather catsuit, crazy stunts and all.

Speaking to Blue Ribbon Winner, Fisk revealed that a lot of the music was written mainly on a farm in her home state of Virginia.

"It was a blast. I had a ton of my musician friends come stay on the farm where I grew up. We had such a good time," Fisk said. "It was weird that we were working because it was playing music every day on the farm with goats and chickens running around. It was great."

One track, however, was inspired by her work on Van Sant's "Restless."

"I was so inspired," she said of her time shooting the film. "There was a very creative vibe on set, very creative vibe in Portland where we filmed. 'Waterbird' was inspired by the film," she said.

In "Restless," Fisk plays the older sister of Mia Wasikowska. It's a film that she described as having "a beautiful story, and all the characters are beautifully flawed."

"I think it has that kind of slice-of-life feel, like, these people could be real, but at the same time there's another side to it as well," she teased. "It's definitely a serious film, but there is light. For me, it makes you look at life differently and seeing it in this beautiful way. It deals with some heavy things, but it's really about life and how beautiful life is."

The film, which has been described as a unique teen relationship drama, kick off the Cannes Film Festival's prestigious Un Certain Regard section next Thursday and is slated to be released by Sony Pictures Classics in the fall.

Although Schuyler is currently busy with her music career, she did reveal that she'd love to tackle a role in an action movie someday.

"I would love to be a part of an action film and have stunts," she said. "Be in some leather catsuit and jump off buildings and such. ... I do pilates," she added with a laugh. You hear that, Hollywood? She's ready for some action!

What do you think of Ms. Fisk? Tell us in the comments!

Tags Blue Ribbon Winner, Gus Van Sant, Mia Wasikowska, Restless, Schuyler Fisk

By Kara Warner, with reporting by Jim Cantiello

Sad times for Casey fans that the unique musician was voted off the show last week, but lucky us in that Abrams stopped by MTV News in New York to chat a bit about his experience, the most entertaining gem being how he likened the "Idol" judges to jelly beans. But also, he answered our always interesting and fun 10 questions!

Here are the highlights:

Casey's favorite TV show is "Modern Family." He called it "the new 'Simpsons.' "

His least favorite word: "Déjà vu. I love the concept, hate the word," he said. (We'll give him a pass even though that's two words.) "It just doesn't work. Re-glimpsing, that's what it should be called."

The movie he has to watch when it's on: "300." The reason? "Sweaty men in thongs," Casey joked. "It's a perfect combination, man."

The title of his album, whenever it may be recorded and released: "Underneath This Beard ... Is Another Beard."

Outside of these surprising and fascinating facts, Casey also surprised us when he said he read all the negative comments about himself online while he was on the show.

"What you have to do is kinda, you have to translate it. If they're saying negative things about you, you take away the swear words and like 'I hate you' and you read what they're actually trying to say," he said. "And, if [they wrote] 'Casey sucked this performance, he sounded like a dog,' I take it as 'Casey, stop growling so much.' And if I see more than, like, 10 comments like that, I'm going to take it as a sign, and I'm going to try to ease up on the growling."

Also, going back to the jelly beans comment, because it makes me giggle every time I think about it, Casey picked out a special flavor for judge Jennifer Lopez.

"The buttered-popcorn jelly bean would have to be J.Lo," Abrams said of the judge he famously smooched on the show. "Right? She's buttery?"

What do you think of Casey's comments? Would you buy Underneath This Beard? Tell us in the comments!

Tags 10 Questions, American Idol, Casey Abrams, video

There are already a few songs from a potential Britney Spears Femme Fatale Tour set list floating around on fan sites. With about five weeks left until the tour actually kicks off, we're sure the Spears camp is narrowing down what songs the pop star should perform live from her expansive back-catalog of tunes.

The current set of contenders includes newbies like "How I Roll," "Hold It Against Me" and "Till the World Ends," as well as classics like "Slave 4 U," "Boys" and "Overprotected." (There hasn't been any confirmation yet about what songs have made the final cut, FYI.)

We admit these are all fine choices and have the potential to make for a good time at the show. Brit's got seven albums to potentially pick songs from, so we imagine that it's really hard to narrow down what fans will see when they go out to the show in their respective city. Will she play old-school fan favorites like " ... Baby One More Time," "Toxic" or "Crazy"? Will she play newer favorites like "Circus," "Gimme More" or "Inside Out"? Or, will she get a little weird on us and just make some crazy song selections? Anything. Is. Possible.