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'Modern Family' Actress Sarah Hyland Does Not Back Down To Gleeks, Is Our New Hero

Posted 9/20/11 1:58 pm EST by in Television


Do you watch "Fashion Police"? That's a rhetorical question – no one watches "Fashion Police" except me and your great aunt Nancy.

But yet another mini controversy has erupted from the show, and we feel obligated to jump into the conversation. ("FP" also caused a bit of hubbub a few weeks back when Kelly Osbourne took her apparent nemesis Christina Aguilera to task for making some not-so-nice-comments about her a few years back and, of course, for wearing a bad dress. Ed note: Kelly was right about all of it too!) During last week's episode, "Modern Family" starlet Sarah Hyland, who plays teenager Haley Dunphy on the Emmy-winning ABC show, imitated "Glee" demon star Lea Michele's famous, um, style of posing on red carpets and she's gotten a lot of crap for it on Twitter from Gleeks defending Michele.

Apparently the vitriol has been bad enough to warrant a response from Hyland, who was dimplomatic but awesomely refused to apologize. Why was it so awesome? Because she was totally right and her impression of Michele's collar bone-jutting, hands-on-hips, often smile-less posing was hilarious and spot-on and she shouldn't have to apologize. Just check out the evidence above.

Lighten up, Gleeks, your mother ship lands tonight. Hyland clearly meant no harm and said as much in her statement, which you'll find along with video of her impression, after the jump. Read More...

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How Did Ashton Kutcher Do On 'Two and A Half Men'?

Posted 9/20/11 12:58 pm EST by in Newsroom Poll


Two and a Half Men

In the aftermath of Charlie Sheen's very public meltdown and subsequent firing from his sitcom "Two and a Half Men" and following much speculation about his replacement, Ashton Kutcher took the reins of the CBS hit last night and the verdict among TV critics is in – and it's basically the written equivalent of a big shrug.

Critics are saying that Kutcher was neither a disappointment nor a revelation as Walden Schmidt, admitting he slipped in to the show pretty seamlessly and that "Men" is a show you either love or hate and Kutcher's performance is unlikely to change that.

Right now, one thing is certain, people tuned in for Kutcher's debut. The show racked up a massive 27.7 million viewers – on par with the numbers "American Idol" premieres and finales typically do – and toppled all other programming last night, including the premiere of ABC's "Dancing With The Stars," which was down 24 percent from its previous season premiere last year.

So we want to know how you felt about Kutcher's "Men" debut. Did he fill Sheen's shoes or fall flat? Vote in our poll below.

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Demi Lovato's Unbroken Co-Signed By Ashley Greene, Critics

Posted 9/20/11 11:55 am EST by in Demi Lovato, Tweet Beat


Hey y'all! Happy Unbroken Day! Today, Demi Lovato drops her new album and it seems that critics and celebrities all pretty much love what the "Skyscraper" singing is doing on it.

So, what are the critics saying? While the New York Times seemed a bit restrained about their love for the album, they did note, "These songs do give Ms. Lovato the opportunity to present herself as an adult, not just a moppet who knows too much."

Meanwhile, the album scored an impressive B+ with the folks over at Entertainment Weekly, who added, "Clearly it's been a tough year for Lovato. But as Rihanna could tell her, sometimes bad years make great songs."

Rolling Stone focused less on the darker elements of the album, pointing out that "Unbroken is mostly sunshine and slumber-party hooks… She's grown into her voice. Now, if only her music would grow up too."

USA Today gave the album three out of four stars, noting that "By the time she hits the ballad 'Skyscraper,' a towering performance that sounds both desperate and determined, she has clearly transitioned from a teen star into a young woman worth listening to."

But it's not just the critics who have a thing or two to say about the album, it's also her celebrity pals. Like who? Read on. Read More...

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Interview: Mariachi El Bronx At Austin City Limits

Posted 9/20/11 10:45 am EST by in Festivals, Interview


Mariachi El Bronx

By Zachary Swickey

Despite their jet lag and still donning their Mariachi outfits from their set at Austin City Limits, Ray Suen and Jorma Vik sat down with MTV News to discuss Mariachi El Bronx, the Spanish-flavored side project of LA’s finest punk rock bands, The Bronx. Their ACL appearance was a one-off break from their much-coveted opening slot on the Foo Fighters fall tour. El Bronx’s new, niche sound is winning the hearts of many, and the guys were kind enough to shed some light on the project for us.

First off, your name and all of the instruments that you played on the album?
Jorma: I’m Jorma and I play the drums and handle percussion for Mariachi El Bronx.
Ray: I’m Ray and I play violin … and some other stuff. (Editor’s note: I’ll throw Ray a bone here: He plays violin, guitar, harp, requinto jarocho, vihuela, jarana as well providing backing vocals.)

What is the technical term for the Mariachi outfits?
Jorma: They’re called Charro suits. C-H-A-R-R-O.
Ray: We had ours made out in East LA by a guy named Alyas. How did you find Alyas [asking Jorma]?
Jorma: There’s a really f**king cool part of LA and it’s like maybe a half mile square and it’s all these taco shops, mariachi shops and all these places that make the suits or instruments. There’s this one little corner called “Mariachi Plaza” where a bunch of Mariachi dues will be all dressed up and they stand there waiting for people to pick them up to play parties or whatever.

Why no Mariachi hats?
Jorma: We thought it was a little campy. You know people would think, like, the "Three Amigos" or whatever.
Ray: Well, we’re already combating some kind of prejudice and we don’t want to make a mockery of anything, so yeah, it’s exactly that. When people think of Mariachi, especially in the UK, people will say, “Oh like 'Three Amigos'?” It’s like, “Nooo, not so much like 'Three Amigos.'” Read More...

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On Anniversary of Nevermind, Nirvana EMP Exhibit Hit With Fans, Grunge Icons

Posted 9/20/11 8:57 am EST by in anniversary


While Nirvana's landmark Nevermind album officially turns 20 this week, the celebration of all things Kurt and company has actually been going on in the band's adopted hometown since late April. That's when the "Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses" exhibit opened at Seattle's Experience Music Project.

The carefully curated compendium of all things Nirvana is a kind of holy grail for the band's biggest fans, but according to curator Jacob McMurray, it's also been a magnet for typically jaded locals who have grudgingly (or is it, sorry, grunge-ingly?) have dropped in and admitted that, yeah, it's pretty awesome.

"For me, it's been way more than I expected," McMurray said of the thousands who've wandered in to gawk at such iconic objects as the band's first recording contract and late singer Kurt Cobain's first smashed guitar. "Every time I go into the gallery, even if it's a Monday morning, it will be packed." McMurray said visitor range from die-hard Nirvanaheads to people who wander in with no knowledge of the band and leave with a desire to delve into the region's rich musical history.

At first, McMurray said he was worried about what the notoriously picky locals would make of the exhibit, which displays signposts of Nirvana's rise from obscurity amid a larger picture of the local and national music scene that helped spawn them. He knew he'd done okay when he was giving a tour to some DJ's from legendary hometown radio station KEXP and one of the jocks who was part of the scene that helped nurture the grunge explosion told him that she came in expecting to hate it and left totally digging it. "I felt like, 'my job is done,'" he said proudly.

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Get Well, John Mayer! Singer Gets Ill, Delays Album Release

Posted 9/19/11 4:00 pm EST by in Music


john Mayer

Over the weekend, John Mayer had some bad news for his fans when he announced that he has to postpone the release of his album, Born and Raised, as well as cancel some upcoming shows.

The singer took to his Tumblr to let the world know that he has "something next to my vocal cords called a granuloma," but he wanted his fans to know the condition is "a temporary setback, though I’m not sure how long or short a period of time it will be. I’ve got the best doctors in the country looking after me and I will be singing and touring again as soon as I get the all clear. Until then I’ll be spending time writing and composing more music and kicking an empty soup can around the West Village."

Mayer will no longer be able to play the iheartradio Music Festival this week in Las Vegas or his planned show with Tony Bennett. He appears on Bennett's latest album. He went on to add, "Born and Raised is complete as far as music recording, song selection, and in some cases mixing, but because of this condition I couldn’t finish singing on several of the tracks. This means the record will be released next year instead of this fall or winter."

While we're kind of bummed to hear that it will be a little longer before we hear new music from him, we do want him to take the time to get better so that he can be at 100 percent when it is time for his new album to drop. Leave your well wishes for Mayer in the comments!

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Celebrating The Twentieth Anniversary of Nirvana's Nevermind

Posted 9/19/11 3:30 pm EST by in Newsroom Poll


This week, MTV is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's legendary album Nevermind with a week's worth of coverage, including a look at the impact the groundbreaking album had on the music industry and a walk through our archives for some rare footage of the band.

We're also looking to you to help us decide if 1991, the year Nevermind hit stores, was the greatest year for rock music in the MTV era and whether the album was even your favorite record that awesome year. The answers seem obvious until you consider that Guns N' Roses' Use Your Illusion I + II, Metallica's Black album and Pearl Jam's Ten also hit shelves in 1991.

Vote in our polls after the jump and check back with MTV News all week for exclusive coverage of the Nevermind anniversary. Read More...

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Austin City Limits Festival Recap: Day Three

Posted 9/19/11 2:30 pm EST by in Festivals


Mariachi El Bronx

By Zachary Swickey

The weather gods no longer had pity for the crowd on day three of the Austin City Limits Music Festival. The sun began shining bright and early for us festival-goers, but thankfully, all eight members of Mariachi El Bronx hit the stage promptly at 12:30 in the afternoon and soon made us all forget about the sweltering heat beating down on us. (How could we complain when they were in full-blown mariachi garb sweating like a Spanish Slipknot?)

Appropriately, they snapped right into the opening track of their recently-released second album, 48 Roses. Frontman Matt Caughthran's vocals were spot-on as he serenaded, "So please save some forgiveness for me / a man blinded by love can't think clearly." When the song was over, he couldn't help but be taken with the scenery. "I really wish you guys could see the view from here. It's beautiful," he marveled. Caughthran joked that he wished he had brought some psychedelic substances to enjoy the setting even more, but noted he would've looked like an a**hole if they had missed the show because he tried to sneak drugs onto the plane from St. Louis.

"Cell Mates" was everything I hoped it'd be. The vibrant horns were alive and showed no signs of jetlag despite the show being an off-date that was squeezed in since El Bronx are currently the opening act for the Foo Fighters. Caughthran had no problem sharing the background of a few songs as he interestingly proclaimed "Silver or Lead" was about the similarities between Jesus Christ and Pablo Escobar (admittedly, it's hard to tell if he's joking sometimes, but that's part of his charm). Caughthran then urged us all to ignore the BS in life and embrace the good, noting there was plenty to go around at ACL before breaking into another stellar, mellower track from their new album. "This song's called 'Poverty's King,'" he said, "and it's about being poor but happy." Read More...

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Austin City Limits Festival Recap: Day Two

Posted 9/19/11 1:45 pm EST by in Festivals


By Zachary Swickey

There were some interesting sights on day one of Austin City Limits, but day two was no slouch on the “weird” either. I witnessed a full-grown man wearing only women’s underwear, several tween girls attempt crowd surfing for the first time, and an elderly woman with Skrillex clearly circled on her schedule. Just another typical day at ACL, where the weirder you are, the more welcome you seem to be.

First on the agenda were MTV VMA performers Young the Giant. Mere seconds before YTG took the stage, the sky dropped a sudden downpour of rain (two days in a row now after three months of zilch). The rain was coming down rather hard and was a bit chilly as everyone was expecting dry, 100-plus degree weather throughout the weekend, but the many hippies I saw doing “rain dances” must’ve worked their magic.

Frontman Sameer Gadhia embraced the rain, saying, “It’s finally raining Austin! Now let’s have us a good time!” The band wound through the various hits off their debut album, with “My Body” and “Cough Syrup” being the obvious favorites. Gadhia swooned the ladies with his onstage charm as he crooned into his vintage microphone and frequently displayed his tambourine skills. Their catchy track “Strings” had to be my favorite electric, spine-tingling moment.

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Austin City Limits Festival Recap: Day One

Posted 9/19/11 1:00 pm EST by in Festivals


By Zachary Swickey

Austin City Limits was back celebrating its 10th anniversary this weekend, a little earlier than its typical October slot, which helps explain the temperatures being a solid ten degrees higher than I recall from year's past. It's the last of the music festival season's "big four" fests – Coachella, Bonnaroo and Lollapallooza obviously being the other three – and with Austin, Texas being rain-free for three months, I was a bit weary of how I'd handle the blistering sun.

Luckily for me, Theophilus London was ready to make me forget about the weather. Donning a jet-black tank top and equally dark cowboy hat with a flat bill all the way around, London rocked some tunes from his righteous Lover’s Holiday EP and some select tracks from his recent full-length debut Timez Are Weird These Days. He cut one of his tracks short when he was inspired by a sudden downpour of rain that came out of nowhere, all while the sun was still peeking through the clouds. “Hold up, hold up," he said. "We gots to play a different song.” Unexpectedly, London broke into rhyming over a sample of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” from The Bodyguard soundtrack. The crowd erupted, ate up every moment, and the climax was London’s impressive freestyling over a funky warbling beat as he closed his set.

I made the trek across Zilker Park in time to finally see UK-import - and a favorite of the ladies – James Blake. While I had not fallen for the singer as much as some of my music-elitist friends, he won me over with his funky, experimental set. Blake’s affinity for sampling his own voice on the spot in a live setting was pretty rad to see. Expectedly, “Limit to Your Love” was the crowd’s favorite as the bass was visibly shaking the ACL banners draping both sides of the stage. He did look a little disgruntled at one moment when a raucous band was playing nearby and their sound was frequently bleeding into some of his mellower moments. (I could have sworn his sound guy began turning his bass up even louder.) Read More...

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