2011 August - Part 9

Star-Crossed Rivals Britney Spears And Christina Aguilera Finally Meet In The Top 10

Posted 8/16/11 5:00 pm EST by MTV News in Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera

By Sterling Wong

First, it was the Internet stock bubble rising again. And this week, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera meet at last in the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10. It’s like the late ‘90s never left!

Yes, with Maroon 5 and Christina’s ‘Moves Like Jagger’ zooming back up to the Hot 100 Top 10 at No. 8, and Britney inching up two notches to No. 7 with ‘I Wanna Go,’ history was officially made this week as ex-Mouseketeers and former teen pop rivals Britney and Christina both appear in the Top 10 together for the first time ever!

It might seem surprising to many that it’s taken 12 years for the seemingly intrinsically tied duo to chart in the top 10 simultaneously, given that both Britney and Christina have reigned supreme in the pop world for years. But much like the relationship between Brit and Chrissy, their chart story is a complicated one.

Does 'American Idol' 'Mask' The Sexuality Of Its Contestants? (Poll)

Posted 8/16/11 3:45 pm EST by John Mitchell in American Idol, Newsroom Poll

Adam Levine

So you thought there wouldn’t be any mudslinging between “American Idol” and “The Voice” and the two singing competitions would co-exist in a weird sort of harmony? Well, you were mistaken.

“The Voice” judge Adam Levine has hit out at “Idol” in an interview with Out magazine, implying Fox’s hit singing competition keeps its gay contestants in the closet.

“What's always pissed me off about 'Idol' is wanting to mask that, for that to go unspoken," Levine told Out. "C'mon. You can't be publicly gay? At this point? On a singing competition? Give me a break. You can't hide basic components of these people's lives. The fact that 'The Voice' didn't have any qualms about being completely open about it is a great thing."

Levine does make a valid point. There were several openly gay contestants on “The Voice” this season and that fact was often celebrated and certainly not covered up. And yes, the two most prominent gay contestants to find fame on “Idol” – Clay Aiken and Adam Lambert – waited, for one reason or another, until after their tenure on the show to publicly declare their sexuality. But was that because they were forced to keep it under wraps by “Idol” producers?

(Levine also should be a little more careful when casting stones. After all, two of his three fellow “Voice” judges, Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton, found themselves at the center of homophobia accusations in recent months. Just saying.)

So what do you think, dear readers? Does “American Idol” “mask” the sexuality of its contestants? Vote in our poll, after the jump. Read More...

Tags Adam Levine, American Idol, The Voice

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Usher And The Case Of His Mystery Collabo

Posted 8/16/11 3:00 pm EST by MTV News in collaborations, Usher

By James Dinh

Collaborations are all the rage these days, and Usher appears to be stirring the pot big-time. On Monday, the R&B crooner teased the Twitterverse about a mystery team-up, offering fans with just one cryptic clue – “YO WHAT UP NY!!...I bet you'd never guess who I'm in the studio wit right now? A Clue. Borough starts wit a B! The record is CRAZY!!”

Now, Usher has a long history of star-studded team-ups, including tunes with Alicia Keys (“My Boo”), Ludacris (“Yeah!”) and Mary J. Blige (“Shake Down”), but the chart-topper has the Newsroom pondering who exactly his secret studio partner is. Assuming that his subliminal clue indicates that the collaborator’s name begins with a B, take a look at some our guesses (and wishes) for Ush’s hush-hush matchup.

Beyoncé
With her string of “intimate” New York shows lined up this week, King B serves as our first guess for Usher’s secret collabo. Not only have these two hit the studio together before for a remix to the R&B singer’s slow jam “Love in This Club Part II,” but they’ve also sizzled in front of the cameras for Bey’s “Naughty Girl” clip in 2004. Call us Team Sherlock Holmes, but why does Usher tease NY boroughs that begin with a B? Brooklyn stands as the most populous borough in the city with the simple BK abbreviation, which also remains the initials for the pop queen.

Don't Forget To Vote For Best VMA Hip-Hop Performance

Posted 8/16/11 2:00 pm EST by John Mitchell in Newsroom Poll, VMAs

As we gear up for the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, we’re looking back at all of the awesome VMA moments that remind us why this is the most exciting time of year, and we’re asking you to help us single out the best of the best.

It all goes down at the VMAs and here in the MTV Newsroom we’re right in the thick of it, so we have a hard time keeping things straight. That’s where you come in, beloved viewers.

We’ve asked you before, now we’re back to ask again: Help us single out the Best VMA Hip-Hop Performance ever by voting in our Newsroom poll. The polls are now open and the competition is getting intense – so get in there and help push your favorite artist to the top!

Get ready. Get set. Vote (after the jump). Read More...

Tags VMAs

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Happy Birthday, Madonna!

Posted 8/16/11 12:19 pm EST by John Mitchell in Madonna

On this day 53 years ago in Bay City, Michigan, pop royalty was born in the form of Madonna Louise Ciccone, the third child of Silvio Ciccone and her namesake mother, Madonna Louise Fortin Ciccone.

Madonna’s rise to stardom is legendary. She briefly attended the University of Michigan on a dance scholarship before dropping out to move to New York City in late 1977. She famously arrived in NYC with just $35 in her pocket and worked briefly at a Dunkin’ Donuts before taking on odd jobs as a backup dancer and model (which came back to bite her in the butt after she got famous and some nude pics taken in ’78 were published in Penthouse and Playboy in ’85).

She was playing in a NYC-based band with an ex-boyfriend when a demo landed in the hands of then-Sire Records founder Seymour Stein, who famously signed Madonna to the label from his hospital bed while recovering from a heart infection. She immediately hit the studio to record her first single, “Everybody,” which hit radio on October 6, 1982, and became a dance hit. Her self-titled debut record was released the following summer, yielding the first (“Lucky Star”) of her now-record breaking run of 37 top ten hits, more than any artist in the history of music.

The rest, as they say, is history – which we will now thoughtfully break down for you with a rundown of some of Her Madgesty’s biggest moments. Read More...

Tags Madonna

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Tweet Your Questions For Lady Gaga Live

Posted 8/15/11 4:40 pm EST by MTV News in Lady Gaga, Twitter

Calling all Little Monsters!

We need you to be a part of our live special "MTV First: Lady Gaga!" On Thursday August 18, Mother Monster will debut the video for “You and I” on MTV and LOGO at 7:49 PM ET.

She also has a huge announcement to make after the video premiere and will also sit down with MTV News for an interview where she’ll answer fan questions.

This is where you come in! There are two ways to get your questions to Lady Gaga:

1) Tweet your question to @mtvnews and tag it #mtvgaga
2) Tweet a video question from to @mtvnews and tag it #mtvgaga

We all know Gaga loves to see the beautiful faces of her beloved fans, so go with option two if you can! Please remember that we can’t use any video that includes profanity, nudity or copyrighted music.

So get those paws moving to write/record your questions and tune in Thursday, August 18 at 7:49 PM ET to see if your question gets answered and to hear some major news from Gaga!

Tags Lady Gaga

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Tweet Your Questions For The Red Hot Chili Peppers Live

Posted 8/15/11 3:07 pm EST by MTV News in Bands We Like, red-hot-chili-peppers, Twitter

We want you to be a part of our "MTV First: Red Hot Chili Peppers!" The Chili Peppers are debuting their new video, “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie,” on MTV, MTV2 and MTV.com at 7:53 PM ET/4:53 PM PT on Wednesday, August 17.

Afterwards, the band will sit down with MTV News for an interview and will answer fan questions. This is where you come in! There are two ways to get your questions to Anthony, Flea, Chad and Josh:

1) Tweet your question to @mtvnews and tag it #AskRHCP
2) Tweet a video question from Twitvid, Twitpic or other video sites to @mtvnews and tag it #AskRHCP

We want to see your faces, so we hope you choose option two! Please remember that we can’t use any video that includes profanity, nudity or copyrighted music. So get writing/recording those tweets and tune in Wednesday, August 17 at 7:53 PM ET/4:53PM PT to see if your question gets answered!

Tags red-hot-chili-peppers

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Love Triangle Update: Hilary Duff Is Married And Pregnant, Aaron Carter And Lindsay Lohan Are Doing ... Something?

Posted 8/15/11 1:24 pm EST by Jocelyn Vena in hilary duff, Lindsay Lohan

Hilary Duff

Back in the early part of this millennium, there was a love triangle between three of the tween world's biggest stars – Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan and Aaron Carter. That's right, long before they grew up (and Duff announced her pregnancy over the weekend) and the world took them in very different directions, teen dreams LiLo and Duff were once in a bit of a heated feud over the affections of Backstreet brother Carter.

Duff and Carter began dating back in 2001. They met on the set of her hit Disney series, "Lizzie McGuire." Things were going great for the two … until flame-haired love sorceress (and then-major movie star) Lindsay Lohan came along. Carter reportedly cheated with Lohan while still with Duff and eventually it all came crashing down in a very public way.

At the time, it seemed they all had a pretty good shot at making the transition from teen star to adult superstar. But a decade later, things turned out … um, different. If someone had told us then that Duff would go on to best Lohan in not only the boy department but also with her career and image, we would have been a little surprised. OK, so Duff was kind of the Miley Cyrus of her day, but Lohan showed so much promise that nothing seemed like it could knock her off her Hollywood trajectory. As for Carter, well that's a whole other story. Read More...

Tags hilary duff, Lindsay Lohan

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Fans Rally For Their Favorite Artists In Our VMA Polls

Posted 8/15/11 11:32 am EST by John Mitchell in Newsroom Poll, VMAs

We asked and boy did you respond. On Friday, polls opened for our Ultimate VMA Showdown and the response has been extraordinary. Millions (that’s right, millions!) of votes have been cast in categories ranging from Most Iconic VMA Performance and Best Video of the 1990s to Most Outrageous VMA Outfit and Best VMA Hip-Hop Performance.

By far the most surprising development so far has been the enormous push from fans of classic MTV artists like Bon Jovi, Madonna and Michael Jackson and smaller acts like Panic! At The Disco and The Killers, all of whom are really giving our usual poll queens Lady Gaga and Britney Spears a run for their money in just about every category (well, except Most Outrageous Outfit – the dueling princesses of pop are battling it out hard for the title there).

Ever-fabulous “X Factor” judge Paula Abdul even gave us a little Twitter love (above). Thanks, girl!

We love it when everyone gets involved!

There’s still plenty of time to make your voice heard. You can find links to each category below, so vote now, vote often and spread the word all over Twitter and Facebook!

>>> Most Iconic VMA Performance

>>> Most Outrageous VMA Moment

>>> Best VMA Pop Performance

>>> Best VMA Hip-Hop Performance

>>> Best VMA Rock Performance

>>> Most Outrageous VMA Outfit

>>> Best Video of the 1980s

>>> Best Video of the 1990s

>>> Best Video of the 2000s

Polls close Wednesday, August 24 at noon! Results will be announced in the lead-up to the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, which air live from Los Angeles on Sunday, August 28 at 9 PM on MTV. Don't forget to tune in!

Read on to check out some fan reaction from Twitter. Read More...

Tags VMAs

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Britney Spears Reveals Plans For 'Femme Fatale' DVD/On-Demand Concert Special On Twitter

Posted 8/15/11 9:18 am EST by John Mitchell in Britney Spears, Concerts

Couldn’t make it to see Britney Spears on her massive Femme Fatale world tour? Well, it looks like MTV Video Music Award-nominated pop princess might be swooping in to save the day.

Over the weekend, Miss Spears tweeted up a storm from her concert stop in Toronto, letting fans know that the show was being filmed in 3D for on-demand service EpixHD as well as a concert DVD.

She did not reveal when the show, which wraps up its U.S. leg in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Aug. 25 before moving to Saint Petersburg, Russia, in September, would air or when the DVD would be available. We have reached out for comment, so check back throughout the day for the latest on Britney’s big concert DVD.

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