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By Zachary Swickey

Once again I must thank 2011’s South By Southwest Music Festival for helping me discover a fresh, innovative band whose record I have been spinning non-stop throughout 2011. In January, I began combing through the collection of artists set to appear at SXSW (if you don’t do this, there will be at least a dozen bands you wish you had caught in hindsight) when I discovered the breathtaking music of Glasser and their debut Ring.

As I found my seat at the Central Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas, I excitedly chatted with everyone around me, “Are you familiar with Glasser? Do you realize what we’re about to see?” Everyone understood why I was so elated once Cameron Mesirow’s mesmerizing, angelic vocals filled the entire room – supplying the perfect acoustics to hear the star-in-the-making. (Even the less-than-stellar iPhone video I quickly shot looks and sounds amazing).

Glasser is the perfect band to exemplify the ease with which music can be made with today’s technologies. Mesirow (think Trent Reznor – Nine Inch Nails) had always wanted to make music but it wasn’t until she finally learned the ins and outs of computer software GarageBand in 2007 that she finally began undertaking the task. After famously recording her first demos on the program, Mesirow reached out to producer Ariel Rechtshaid – who has worked with Theophilus London and Diplo/Switch power-duo Major Lazer – to help flesh out the songs (despite the fact that she felt they were near completion). Read more...

Tags Bands We Like

Welcome to "That Happened THIS Year," MTV News' look back at the huge entertainment stories that were absolutely everywhere for a hot minute in 2011 but feel like they happened forever ago or faded so quickly from our collective memories that when we were brainstorming the year that was, we literally couldn't believe they happened this year!

We remember it like it was yesterday. (Except we don't. Not at all.) It was a beautiful spring day (according to the Internet) in London. There he was, the future King of England, marrying his beautiful long-time love.

Months and months of non-stop media coverage came to a head on April 29 (right?) when Prince William married Catherine Middleton, who no matter how much the palace tries to sell her as Catherine, Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Cambridge, will always be our girl Waity Katie, sister of sexy frequent-backside-revealer James.

Kate's gorgeous Sarah Burton dress! Pippa Middleton's bum! Prince Harry looking like the scoundrel we know (hope?) he is despite being clad in his finest officer's duds! Swoon! The Royal Wedding had all the makings of a fairytale event for the ages, and it definitely was … probably … over in England where the populace actually cares about Royal matters. Here in America, beyond Kate's dress and the meme-worthy supporting characters (seriously, call us, James Middleton), the Royal Wedding just wasn't a particularly memorable event.

As soon as it was over, it was like it happened forever ago. From the pre-manufactured memorabilia to the ongoing headlines speculating about Kate's weight or the possibility that she's pregnant, it's like Kate and Wills have been married for years. But, lo and behold, they are still newlyweds! Read more...

Tags best of 2011, royal wedding, that happened this year, Year End 2011

This past weekend, MTV daredevil/owner of a fantasy factory/Internet video aficionado Rob Dyrdek suited up for a one-of-a-kind car stunt outside Six Flags Magic Mountain in California.

The idea: Rob would drive a Chevy Sonic up a special ramp designed to simulate a kick-flip, the way he might kick-flip a skateboard. But there's a big difference between trying an intense trick on a skateboard and strapping yourself into a moving vehicle and flipping the crap out of it.

A stunt team took months to perfect the trick, which is set to be featured on the next season premiere of "Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory." And even still, the morning of the event, they had yet to land the jump smoothly. Rob's team destroyed several Chevy Sonics during test runs. Wheels broke off, oil spilled all over the track. There was some talk about delaying the event by a day due to increased winds, which might affect his ability to complete the stunt. It's no wonder Dyrdek looked like he was going to puke as he got into the car!

What did you think of the sneak peek of Rob's stunt? Let us know in the comments below!

Tags fantasy factory, Rob Dyrdek, video

By Adam Stewart

According to some, in one year there might not be any more fun things like this to blog about. Yes, the official countdown to whatever the Mayans say is looming asymptotically towards us finally here – and the good news is you’re not the only person who thinks the dudes running around the Mexican jungle with the pyramids and weird drawings may have been onto something.

You see, this conversation stems from when last we spoke with Swedish House Mafia's Axwell in person, back in March during Miami Music week. Our handy little "Magic 8 Ball" on-set provoked all sorts of interesting questions from many of EDM’s best. It helped Sofi and Moguai determine the success of their new record and predicted Deadmau5’s miraculous arrival into town.

But when that little black ball got into the hands of good old Axel Hedfors, without hesitation, he asked "Will the world end in 2012?" While the plastic psychic fired back an indecisive "try again later" or something of the sort, it was clear that our Swedish pal had certainly be watching his History Channel.

Fast forward to last week in New York just before the boys were set to destroy Madison Square Garden, we saw fit to follow-up on the question that has everyone looking at the calendar (whether they admit it or not) to see how they plan on living their next (and maybe last) year on this big blue spaceship we call home.

"[I’m] still a bit concerned. Still a bit concerned," Axwell said when we revisited the conversation. "You know, there's a lot of movement. There's a lot of stuff going on."

Watch:

Read more...

Tags Swedish House Mafia, video

By Lauren Kearney

Avril Lavigne has come a long way from where she started. First bursting into the scene with "Complicated" back in 2002, Avril will soon be celebrating her 10 year anniversary in music, and as an artist she has evolved and grown while staying true to herself.

"Yeah, I’ve been doing this for a really long time, 10 years, professionally in music," she tells MTV News. "And I would always look back and just say always be true to yourself, do what you want and follow your gut. And that was what I did."

Avril never wanted to be like everybody else. She never gave in to the pop stereotypes or pressures about changing her music.

"As a creative person you have to be in tune with that and really have a sense of who you are and what you're going for because other people come in and tell you [that] you should do this and that so I always stayed focused on what it is that I wanted to do," she says.

Watch:

Read more...

Tags Avril Lavigne, video

By Zachary Swickey

New Jersey’s hottest rock export Jon Bon Jovi is the latest star to get the death hoax treatment, as false reports of his demise ran rampant late yesterday on the Internet. A rep for the singer quickly quashed the rumors, saying JBJ was alive and even performing at a charity even that night.

The rumors gained steam as a trending topic yesterday on Twitter when accompanied with a fake press release that was frequently being retweeted. Noisecreep points out that the false report appears to have been copied from an LA Times story on the death announcement of Michael Jackson.

A photog friend of Jovi’s snapped a fun pic of the star holding a sign that reads “Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey! Dec. 19th 2011, 6:00” to post on Twitter ending the hoax. So at least he was a good sport about the whole silly ordeal.

Unfortunately, death hoaxes have become something of a trend. Several notable stars, from Jaleel White (aka Steve Urkel) to living legend Paul McCartney, have had to publicly deny their own death. Here are some of the craziest death rumors about our favorite stars that we’ve heard about. Read more...

Tags bon-jovi, britney spears, death, Kanye West, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Lautner, Tom Cruise

Of course he does!

Erstwhile Republican presidential candidate and "Apprentice" boss Donald Trump is a hardcore business mogul for sure, but we wouldn't exactly call him a star-maker. But he certainly sees himself that way, claiming in his new book, "Time to Get Tough: Making America #1 Again," that he is the one who plucked a little-known pop singer from obscurity and positioned her to become the global superstar we now know as Lady Gaga.

"My people told me, 'Nobody knows who she is but there's this woman with good talent named Lady GaGa.'" Trump writes (via Hollyscoop). "And I said, 'Give me a break.' And then they said, 'She's really good.' So I said, 'I don't care, if you like her, put her on.' So we put her on… It was live all over the United States and all over the world and the next day, nobody was talking about Miss Universe, everybody was talking, 'Who was the woman, who was the entertainer? She was unbelievable."

To be fair, Trump was indeed one of the first to give Gaga a major platform to showcase her talents but exactly what impact that had on the singer's career is the issue. He put her on the "Miss Universe" pageant in mid-July 2008 … over three months after the release of her single "Just Dance" and a full six months before the song topped the Billboard singles charts. So the impact of performing on the pageant seems kind of negligible. But Trump doesn't see it that way.

"I don't want to say we made Lady Gaga, but she was incredible and that was her break," Trump says.

It's worth noting here that Trumps self-aggrandizing ways are on full display when he talks about his discovery of Gaga and just how "all over the United States" his pageant was. The 2008 "Miss Universe" pageant fell right in line with the show's long-declining ratings, pulling in 5.16 million eyes here in the U.S. and coming in third in its timeslot … behind repeats of ABC's "Extreme Home Makeover: Home Edition" and CBS' "Cold Case."

But as we'd expect of Mother Monster, she does seem grateful to have been given that early chance to showcase her talents, regardless of whether or not you consider it her "break." Read more...

Tags donald-trump, Lady Gaga

Welcome to "That Happened THIS Year," MTV News' look back at the huge entertainment stories that were absolutely everywhere for a hot minute in 2011 but feel like they happened forever ago or faded so quickly from our collective memories that when we were brainstorming the year that was, we literally couldn't believe they happened this year!

Is it just us or has the celebrity scandal-to-forgiveness cycle gone into overdrive? Once upon a time, when a superstar did something sketchy and got busted, he or she usually issued an apology then went into hiding for a bit before returning to the public eye to see if they'd been forgiven. A perfect example of the old-school way of handing things is Mel Gibson, who in July of 2006 was arrested for drunk driving and went on an anti-Semitic tirade then pretty much disappeared from the public eye for over three years, making his first post-scandal film appearance in 2010's "Edge of Darkness." (We won't get into his most recent domestic violence/scary voicemails shenanigan and how that's working out.)

Then there's Charlie Sheen, who in record time went from being at the center of an enormous, completely insane scandal to appearing at the Emmys as a dignified pop cultural war survivor. All of which happened this year! Can you believe it?

In January, Sheen's top-rated comedy "Two and a Half Men" was put on hiatus while he received treatment at his home for substance abuse. The remainder of the season was cancelled, however, the following month after Sheen made some extremely disparaging remarks about series creator Chuck Lorre, and CBS and Warner Bros. officially fired the actor from the series in early March. That was when things really went off the rails. Those interviews! The goddesses! His custody issues with troubled ex-wife Brooke Mueller. Tiger blood! "Winning." The drugs. The warlock nonsense. His disastrous "My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not An Option" tour.

It was just a non-stop run of self-inflicted indignities that boggles the mind. (And at the time I worked at a celebrity gossip website … I'd written about my fair share of terrible, degrading, demoralizing things. None of them holds a candle to the Sheen Saga of 2011 in terms of jaw-dropping, can't-believe-this-is-actually-happening madness.)

But when it was over, it was OVER. Sheen was replaced on "Two and a Half Men" by Ashton Kutcher (is there something about that role?) and the world kept on spinning. Read more...

Tags best of 2011, that happened this year, Year End 2011

The death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il has put the U.S. on alert, but surely no concern is more pressing than what will it mean for Avery Jessup-Donaghy.

Avery is, of course, the wife of Jack Donaghy, Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming for General Electric Kabletown and was kidnapped by Jong-Il while on assignment in North Korea as part of the "Hot Blondes in Weird Places" initiative. When we last heard from Avery, she'd been married off to Kim Jong-un, Jong-il's son and now the "Great Successor" to the leadership of North Korea.

If you have no idea what we're talking about, it's probably because you don't watch NBC's "30 Rock." (PS. What's wrong with you?!) What we described above is the plotline for Elizabeth Bank's character on the Emmy-winning sitcom, and now Banks, who will play Effie Trinket in the much-anticipated adaptation of "The Hunger Games," has taken to Twitter to address concerns about Avery. Read on to see what she had to say! Read more...

Tags Television, Twitter

That's what José Angel Santana is claiming in a lawsuit filed against New York University in Manhattan Supreme Court, according to the New York Post.

Santana claims he was sacked from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts for awarding Franco a "D" in Directing the Actor II after the Oscar-nominated "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" star missed 12 of 14 classes. (A "D" sounds kind of generous in that regard, eh?) "The school has bent over backwards to create a Franco-friendly environment, that’s for sure," the former professor to the Post. "In my opinion, they’ve turned the NYU graduate film degree into swag for James Franco’s purposes, a possession, something you can buy."

Santana says that it is known that having a big-name student like Franco enrolled translates into increased enrollment (i.e. dollar bills, y'all) for the university, which is why other members of the Tisch faculty awarded the actor good grades.

Franco griped about the grade to Showbiz411.com last year, saying, "I did the work. I did well in everything else." Read more...

Tags James Franco