Last night's taping of the 2009 mtvU Woodie Awards (which went down at Roseland Ballroom in New York City) featured a handful of excellent performances, a few dozen very welcome stage divers, some almost nude people and a bunch of potty language that will certainly have to be edited for when the show airs at 10 p.m. on December 4 on MTV. One thing that certainly sets the Woodies apart from other award shows is the fashion. Because the Woodies celebrate college music and independent scenes on the fringe, it's a pretty casual affair. Comparatively speaking, it makes the Video Music Awards look like a black tie affair. Certain guests — like Mary-Louise Parker (who introduced the Dead Weather) and Zooey Deschanel (who presented the award for Breaking Woodie to Never Shout Never) — couldn't help but look glamorous, but for the most part everybody kept their threads dorm-friendly.
This was especially true of the folks who chose to wear hideous sweaters to the show. This was especially true of comedian David Cross, Christofer Ingle (also known as Never Shout Never) and Sean Foreman of 3OH!3, all of whom were wearing the kind of duds that would make Bill Cosby blush.
When you're a huge star, sometimes it may seem like every day is Halloween: the elaborate clothes, the constant need to perform, the surreal mix of flash bulbs and eerie silence. That didn't stop a bevy of musicians and actors from hopping into a costume and heading out to high-profile Halloween parties. Top prize goes to Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon, who showed up to the party at New York's M2 Ultra Lounge dressed as angels (likely a play on Carey's recent album title Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel).
Ice-T and his wife Coco took a different tactic when coming up with their couple-centric costume, as they decided to pose as a dominatrix and a gimp at the same party in New York. A few blocks away, the Heroes vs. Villains party at the Gramercy Park Hotel saw appearances from Cat de Luna (who came as Medusa) and Alexa Chung and Agyness Deyn, who partied as Wayne and Garth.
Over in Los Angeles, Heidi Klum hosted her annual Halloween party and arrived to the fete with husband Seal. They were both dressed as ravens, obviously because they appreciate Edgar Allen Poe, Joe Flacco and Raven-Symoné. Guests there included "Dollhouse" star Eliza Dushku and boyfriend Rick Fox, who appeared as zombie versions of Bonnie and Clyde. And Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani didn't commit themselves to a party, preferring instead to take their kids trick-or-treating. The two kids were dressed as dinosaurs, while Stefani donned a cowgirl costume and Rossdale went as himself circa 1998.
On last night's episode of "The Tonight Show," host Conan O'Brien welcomed actor, musician and "America's Got Talent" host Nick Cannon to the program. During his interview, Cannon spent most of the time explaining to O'Brien how he first got together with wife Mariah Carey. "I always say I spoke our relationship into existence," Cannon told the host. "Being an entertainer, they always ask who your celebrity crush is, and I would always say Mariah Carey." Cannon said he first met her at an awards show, then didn't hear from her for a few years until he was contacted about appearing in one of Carey's videos. "First they asked me to be in 'Touch My Body.' The director wanted somebody funny, but when they told me the concept and about the '80s nut-hugger shorts, I passed," Cannon said, noting that the role he was asked to play eventually went to "30 Rock" star Jack McBrayer.
His relationship wasn't the only thing he willed into existence, as Cannon's relationship with President Barack Obama was also the result of his powerful mind. "I was on the campaign trail speaking on the President's behalf, and I had some time with him back stage one day. He told me, 'Thanks so much for doing this,' and I said 'Any time. When you win, just let me be the DJ for the inaugural party,'" he said. "I was just joking, but then I got the call." Cannon said he played Stevie Wonder, Kanye West and "'Copacabana' for the white folks. That's the joint — white people go crazy when that song is on."
So Paula Abdul is leaving "American Idol," marking the first exit from the judges' table in the show's history. (Though it isn't the first high-profile exit, as Brian Dunkleman famously ducked out of hosting duties for greener pastures after the second season.) That leaves anchor judge Simon Cowell to team up with Randy Jackson and relative newcomer Kara DioGuardi to tell crazy people that they are not very good singers.
Though the four-person judging panel got mixed reviews last year, it seems like Fox needs to fill the Abdul-shaped hole and get a fourth judge who will provide semi-coherent platitudes in between trying to put Cowell in his place. But who can fit that very specific description? Glad you asked!
Janet Jackson
Her and Abdul have had similar careers (though Jackson has obviously stayed relevant as a singer for far longer), but perhaps it's time she slowed down to help a new generation of stars. It'd be a boost to her and to the show. Read more...
"Trying to save a hater is like trying to teach astrophysics to a wino!"
-Nick Cannon, tweeting in response to Eminem's Mariah Carey dis song "The Warning." Following the release of the savage track, Cannon took to Twitter to lay out a series of quotations and Bible verses as a response to the song. While he never addresses Slim Shady directly, it's pretty clear that the messages are meant for the Detroit rapper. "Be patient in the moment of anger and escape a hundred days of sorrow!" he tweeted, also adding the Bible quote "I will bless those that bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse." That, of course, is from the Book of Genesis (but sadly not from any albums by Genesis).
The war of words between Eminem and Mariah Carey got seriously kicked up a notch last week, as Slim Shady dropped the vicious dis track "The Warning" and Carey's husband Nick Cannon responded with some philosophical tweets. Though it never addressed Em or "The Warning" directly, Cannon's Twitter assault did seem like it was attempting to squash the beef while still getting in some digs at Slim. "Trying to save a hater is like trying to teach astrophysics to a wino!" he tweeted in one of about a dozen messages sent out into the virtual world late Friday.
But one note stood out above all others. In an attempt to bring some perspective and wisdom into the proceedings, Cannon decided to get Biblical. He tweeted, "'I will bless those that bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.' Genesis 12:3." The Book of Genesis is certainly full of lessons and advice, but Cannon really should have turned to the otherGenesis to lay it down for Shady.
But those are all pacifist statements. What if he still wanted to take a few shots at Eminem? Phil Collins and the boys would have had him covered. "I got a name and I got a number/ I got a line on you/ I got a name and I got a number/ I'm coming after you" (from "Just a Job to Do") would have provided the right level of passive menace without really threatening anything specific (because in the end, it's all about plausible deniability). He could have even peppered in a few non sequiturs to throw everybody off the trail, like "Sun he giving life in his light/ Part of the system/ Friend to man/ Friend to the trees/ No friend to the snowman." (Though that will come in handy should he ever want to start a feud with Young Jeezy.) He could have also tapped into the Phil Collins solo oeuvre, simply tweeting, "Just another day in paradise" or simply "Sussudio!"
So here's hoping that Eminem takes the Newsroom's advice and taps into the vast resources that Genesis has to offer. Because anybody can quote the Bible, but how many people can kill you with a line from "I Can't Dance"?
The week is over (as is the month of July), so it's time to close the books here in the Newsroom. It was another wild one, with plenty of beef, a handful of rumors, a little hilarity and at least one incredibly amazing video care of Shakira. But what lessons did we learn? You can feel confident walking into the weekend knowing that you can take the following revelations as absolute truth.
This morning, the latest shot was fired in the beef between Eminem and Mariah Carey. Their war of words started a few years ago when rumors circulated that the two had been involved in a romantic relationship and escalated with the release of Em's "Bagpipes From Baghdad" from this year's Relapse. From there, Carey released the single "Obsessed," which also came with an accompanying video that appears to be aimed at Eminem (though Carey and husband Nick Cannon — who was also attacked in "Bagpipes From Baghdad" — have repeatedly denied that the song or video are directed at any one person). Then came this morning's dis track "The Warning," a bile-filled Em rant wherein he talks about recordings they made, recounts their supposed sexual encounter and makes several threats against her life. It's the sort of anger Slim Shady usually reserves for the likes of Ja Rule or Benzino.
It's a pretty stunning and aggressive track, though it made us wonder: Has he gone too far? We hit the streets this afternoon to poll some people to see if they thought Em had gone over the line.
The (extremely unscientific) results are in, and 61 percent of those polled thought that even though the song was extreme, it still doesn't go too far. Those respondents were very willing to let Shady off the hook — not an unreasonable stance, especially considering he has spent most of his career taking down celebrities and attacking other musicians with his lyrics. The 39 percent who thought "The Warning" was too much were mostly uncomfortable with the threats of violence. One thing that everybody could agree on, though: This feud is far from over.
Eminem's beef with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon escalated earlier today when his latest dis track "The Warning" was unleashed on the masses. The bile-filled rant was recorded in response to Carey's "Obsessed," which most people believed was about the rapper even though both her and husband Cannon have categorically denied that that song and video are aimed at the man born Marshall Mathers. "The Warning" represents a return to beef for Eminem, which was a cornerstone of his early career. In spite of (or perhaps because of) his staggering success, the early part of his career always saw him involved in some public feud or another, be it with the Insane Clow Posse, Christina Aguilera, Ja Rule, Benzino or Everlast.
But in 2004, Eminem very publicly decided that he was going to put beef to rest for good. In an interview with MTV News' Sway, Em discussed the nature of his feuds and how easily they escalated. "We started inheriting each other's beef," he told Sway. "50 inherited mine, so now he can't be on the cover of The Source magazine 'cause I got this beef over here. He's being attacked by Ja. Ja is saying things about me, then all of a sudden comes out and says a line about my daughter — and when it got to that level, that's when it got crazy to me. That's when it got crazy. But 'Toy Soldiers' is a song saying how serious the beef can get, and people can die over this sh--." Indeed, the track and video "Like Toy Soldiers" (from 2004's Encore) attempts to put everything to rest and allow for all parties to walk away with dignity.
But now Eminem is back on the offensive, taking down Carey and Cannon on the Relapse track "Bagpipes From Baghdad" and now with "The Warning." It seems as though he's reversed his stance from a few years back. "You know, we're not really looking to start no beef," he told Sway. "We're usually not the beef-starters, despite the little stabs taken at pop singers and all that stuff. That's not real beef; that's ha-ha-ha funny." It seemed like this particular feud started out in the "ha-ha-ha" mode, and considering the savagery of "The Warning," let's hope it remains that way.
Diddy engaged in his annual 4th of July tradition over the weekend by throwing his "White Party," where guests wear all-white clothing. The party, co-hosted with Ashton Kutcher in Beverly Hills, greeted a star-studded guest list that included Demi Moore, Mariah Carey, Nick Cannon, Chris Brown, Russell Brand, Tyrese Gibson and Jonah Hill.
The get-together wasn't just an excuse to get ultra-famous people to adhere to a wacky dress code, though. The party was thrown to raise awareness for Malaria No More, a charity that seeks to fight the disease in Africa.
