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'X Factor' Celeb Mentors: How Did Rihanna, Pharrell Fare?

Posted 10/14/11 7:04 am EST by MTV News in Television

By James Dinh

It's clear "X Factor" isn't scared to tack on some star power to their much-hyped talent competition; just take a look at the judging panel. And after catching Thursday's night's delayed episode, which featured Rihanna, Pharrell, Enrique Iglesias and Mariah Carey (sort of), it's even clearer.

In an episode that sent all 32 contestants around the world to their assigned judges' homes, Simon Cowell (mentoring under-30s girl acts), L.A. Reid (mentoring under-30s boy acts), Paula Abdul (mentoring group acts) and Nicole Scherzinger (mentoring over-30s acts) took the wannabes under their wings, calling on their very famous friends to help out.

We here at the MTV Newsroom thought we'd take a closer look at the celeb mentors and their words of wisdom. Here's how they fared:

Rihanna
Partnering with L.A. Reid, the record bigwig who discovered her, Rihanna was open to voicing her opinions on contestants' vocal talents, confidence and commercial relatability. Right off the bat, the pop titan compared young rapper Brian Bradley (also known as the Astronomical Kid) to the likes of current industry MCs like J. Cole. Score: 8/10

New West Week: Diary Of The L.A. Hip-Hop Scene

Posted 4/19/11 5:41 pm EST by MTV News in MTV News, Music

By Steven Roberts

New West Week, spotlighting the re-energized L.A. hip-hop scene, is under way at MTV News, and when I originally pitched the concept of a New West Week I didn't have much of a big, grandiose plan.

I noticed that there were a bunch of young, up-and-coming artists in L.A. who didn't have much in common other than the fact that they weren't of the N.W.A/Dr. Dre lineage and were being overlooked. But the main reason I wanted to go out to Cali was because I thought Odd Future and Casey Veggies were dope.

I didn't know much about either act before last November. I'd seen a bunch of reviews from their Webster Hall show and our rock editor, James Montgomery, even stopped by to talk to me about them. I was familiar with some Mellowhype tracks that I had heard on a few blogs, and I only knew Tyler, the Creator from a remix of N.E.R.D's "Inside of Clouds" he'd done. I didn't know that those guys were a part of a larger group or even that Tyler rapped. Read More...

Tags Casey Veggies, hip-hop, L.A., New West, Odd Future, OFWGKTA

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T.I. Becomes A Legend: Wake-Up Video

Posted 11/30/10 8:00 am EST by Kyle Anderson in Wake-Up Video

Before he earned the reputation as "the Jay-Z of the south" (a well-earned title bestowed upon him by Neptunes and N.E.R.D. mastermind Pharrell Williams) and long before legal troubles threatened to derail his career, Clifford Harris (better known to the hip-hop world as T.I.) was merely a hungry rapper from Atlanta with a serious flow and a knack for wordplay. His first two albums — 2001's I'm Serious and 2003's Trap Muzik — were spotty but inspiring, clearly the work of an artist learning how to master his craft. He finally found the groove with 2004's Urban Legend, which found its way to the streets on this day in 2004.

Though T.I. had scored some buzz from his first two albums, he was mostly a well-kept secret in the hip-hop community for the first few years of his career. The first time most of the general population heard his unique voice and signature flow was when "Bring Em Out" found its way into heavy rotation on radio and on MTV. Produced by Swizz Beatz, "Bring Em Out" is a spectacular contrast in styles, marrying low-fi keyboards, brassy horns and a killer disco whistle to a stream of boastful (and frequently violent) lyrics. Consider the lyric that kicks off the song: "Bring 'em out/ It's hard to yell with the barrel in your mouth." That's a pretty savage (and often censored) line for a song that was as big as "Bring Em Out" was.

In fact, it was the first of many big hits for T.I., who would later pile on success on the back of singles like "Big Things Poppin' (Do It)," "Whatever You Like" and "Live Your Life." But it all began with "Bring Em Out" and its fun, almost manic video.

Tags t.i., video

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Backstage With Usher And Swedish House Mafia At The 2010 American Music Awards

Posted 11/23/10 5:00 pm EST by MTV News in Music

By Adam Stewart

One little tweet from Swedish House Mafia's Steve Angello was the hint that something big was about to happen with them during Sunday night's (November 21) American Music Awards.

"At the AMAs. Feel like crashing someone's performance," Angello blasted out to his over 55,000 Twitter followers just hours before millions of viewers saw and heard the Swedish House Mafia perform (many of them likely for the first time). During the live telecast, R&B superstar Usher welcomed dance music's biggest star collective to the stage for a mash-up version of his summer smash "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love." The powerful performance represented an exclamation point on what has been a banner year for the Scandinavian trio. MTV News spoke exclusively with Axwell about how this memorable moment came to fruition.

(Click here for more behind-the-scenes photos from Swedish House Mafia's trip to the American Music Awards!)

"Usher asked us to do it, but we didn't tell anyone because we were not sure how it would turn out," he explained. "We thought maybe we'd DJ from backstage or something." But as it turned out, Usher had much grander plans for house music's hottest act. According to Axwell, Usher’s decision to ask the Swedes to come on board wasn't made on a whim.

"He knew our music and our videos — he let us [give our] input into the show," he said. "He just ran with the edit we handed in, which was amazing as this was his performance in the show." This sort of collaboration was not uncharted territory for the Swedes, who in the past year have teamed up with Pharrell of N.E.R.D. and Tinie Tempah on "One (Your Name)" and "Miami 2 Ibiza" respectively. Both tracks were included in the Usher mash-up.

After the show, everyone had reason to celebrate, as it was also Angello's 28th birthday. According to Axwell, thanks to Usher and his team, the after-party was massive — so massive in fact that when asked to share some of the details of how the night ended, he paused, and with a laugh replied, "We can't tell you everything!"

(Click here for more behind-the-scenes photos from Swedish House Mafia's trip to the American Music Awards!)

Tags AMAs, American Music Awards, photo, Swedish House Mafia, Usher

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Gorillaz Get Tour And Studio Support From Little Dragon

Posted 10/11/10 5:00 pm EST by MTV News in Music

By Joel Hanek

This past Friday (October 8th), the amalgamated animated legend collective that is Gorillaz kicked off the American leg of their world tour at Madison Square Garden in New York City. After a supporting set from N.E.R.D., Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett's brainchild manifested itself with the help of a group of venerable guests like Lou Reed, former Clash members Mick Jones and Paul Simonon, Bobby Womack and Mos Def. Standing with the impressive list of veterans was relative newcomer Little Dragon, the much-acclaimed Swedish band who, like Gorillaz, defy genres and mix sounds ranging from dancehall and R&B to electro and new wave. The band has been working with Albarn and crew in various forms throughout the year, having collaborated on two tracks for Gorillaz' stellar 2010 release Plastic Beach.

MTV News caught up with the band earlier this year around the release of Plastic Beach, and Little Dragon singer Yukimi Nagano explained how the collaboration came together. "We were in London for a couple of days and just hung out in their studio and tried to see what we could come up with," Nagano said. "They had a really nice studio with a bunch of crazy instruments, so we just explored. It was fun."

Regardless of the impressive studio setup, Nagano explained that the writing process was organic. "They played a bunch of different tracks for us and it was kind of mind-blowing because it was so [diverse]," she said. "Yeah, we listened and then we just chose a beat that we liked and then I wrote something and the guys jammed out on some synthesizers and that was that."

Nagano and bassist Fredrik Wallin are currently touring with Gorillaz throughout the rest of the American leg, performing their collaborations "Empire Ants" and "To Binge." The rest of the band members are currently finishing Little Dragon's upcoming album in Sweden. After that, fans can catch the guys when they rendezvous in Europe to provide the full supporting slot for Gorillaz throughout the rest of the year on their world tour.

Tags Gorillaz, Little Dragon, video

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'The Social Network' Friends This Week's 'Late Night Lineup'

Posted 9/27/10 10:30 am EST by Kyle Anderson in Television

First, a bit of business: After not getting very much information for a while, we now know a whole lot more about Conan O'Brien's upcoming return to late night. A few weeks ago we learned the title of his new show ("Conan" or "Conaw," depending on your sense of humor) and over the weekend it was confirmed that Max Weinberg will not in fact be coming back as the band leader (that job will fall to guitarist Jimmy Vivino, who regularly filled in for Weinberg whenever he was on vacation or touring with the E Street Band).

Of course, we still have to wait until its November premiere before we know what "Conan" will be like, which is why we must make do with the hosts we have now until then. Luckily, this week is a fine stretch to lose sleep over late night laughs. It all begins on "The Late Show With David Letterman," which will welcome Jon Stewart in a rare guest appearance on Tuesday (September 28th). Music-wise, Letterman will throw to performances from Runner Runner (Monday, September 27), N.E.R.D. (Tuesday) and Drake (Friday, October 1). There will also be an appearance by "The Social Network" star Jesse Eisenberg on Wednesday (September 29), marking one of the many, many interviews the cast of that movie will give in a push for its release this week.

If you're really hungry for information on "The Social Network," you should stay glued to "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon' this week. He'll have stars Andrew Garfield (Monday), Justin Timberlake (Wednesday) and Jesse Eisenberg (Thursday, September 30) as well as writer Aaron Sorkin (Friday). Fallon will also welcome performances by the Temper Trap (Monday), Teenage Fanclub (Tuesday), Belle and Sebastian (Wednesday) and the Vaselines (Thursday).

Jay Leno doesn't have any "The Social Network" cast members on "The Tonight Show," though he will have performances by Train (Tuesday), Seal (Wednesday) and Kenny Chesney (Friday). Jimmy Kimmel's slate of shows this week includes Maroon 5 (Tuesday), Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings (Wednesday) and the Avett Brothers (Thursday).

"The Daily Show" will have a killer week, beginning with Bill O'Reilly (Monday) and ending with Timberlake (Thursday). And if you have any energy in the morning, you can catch the entire cast of "The Social Network" on "The View" on Friday (with Sorkin as a teaser on Wednesday).

Who are you most looking forward to seeing on talk shows this week? Let us know in the comments!

Tags Conan O'Brien, Late Night, Talk Shows

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Enrique Iglesias Rules The 'Late Night Lineup'

Posted 7/19/10 10:00 am EST by Kyle Anderson in Television

Like all good things, summer vacations have to end eventually. All the talk show hosts are back to work this week (save for the Comedy Central duo of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, who are pre-empted for the next few days), which means that the guest lists are gigantic. David Letterman kicks off the week strong with a visit from Sylvester Stallone (plugging his upcoming action epic "The Expendables") and a musical performance from Robyn on Monday (July 19). Sheryl Crow stops by for a song on Tuesday (July 20), while Friday (July 23) will see Paul McCartney swing by for a performance.

"The Tonight Show" counters with visits from Kiss (Monday), the Black Eyed Peas (Tuesday), "Eclipse" rockers Metric (Wednesday, July 21), 3OH!3 (Thursday, July 22) and the Gaslight Anthem (Friday). That is an incredible week of music, augmented by interviews with Miami Heat star Dwayne Wade (Monday) and "Charlie St. Cloud" hunk Zac Efron (Tuesday). Over on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," the ABC host will welcome N.E.R.D. and Jay Baruchel (Monday) and "Mad Men" star Jon Hamm (Tuesday) on a fairly low-key week.

It's good to have Jimmy Fallon back, as "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" always has the most satisfying and eclectic music line-ups, and this week is no exception. Jam icons Widespread Panic (Monday), Australian legends Crowded House (Tuesday) and rapper Rick Ross (Friday) will all throw down on Fallon's stage this week (the idea of a Ross/Roots collaboration is mouth-watering). Another great collaboration? Travie McCoy and Bruno Mars, who will team up on "Lopez Tonight" on Tuesday. Lopez will also welcome Enrique Iglesias on Thursday, further cementing his reputation as a host who has excellent taste in musical guests.

What talk show appearance are you most looking forward to this week? Let us know in the comments!

Tags enrique iglesias, Late Night, Paul McCartney, sheryl-crow, Talk Shows, Travie McCoy

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'When I Was 17' Photo Flashback: Which R&B Star Is In This Photo?

Posted 7/15/10 12:00 pm EST by MTV News in Television

Every week, MTV's "When I Was 17" takes you into the teenage lives of some of your favorite stars. In the past few weeks, the show has revealed interesting, funny and embarrassing stories about "Jersey Shore" star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, N.E.R.D. frontman Pharrell Williams, actor and "America's Got Talent" host Nick Cannon, "The Apprentice" host and real estate mogul Donald Trump, Cobra Starship mastermind Gabe Saporta and Kevin Jonas, among dozens of others. The stories have been funny, revealing and always rewarding.

This week's episode features tales, jokes and confessions from ace New York Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia (who talks about the huge paint fight he once got into) and Costa Rican pop sensation Debi Nova (who had a profound "Coming to America" moment involving the different varieties of toilet paper).

The third participant in this week's show (which airs this Saturday, July 17 at 11 a.m. on MTV) is an R&B sensation who spent her childhood growing up on Army bases around the country (as well as Germany) and who has scored a number of high-profile hits through her career. In fact, she is about to release her fourth album next month. Based on this photo of the star from when she was 17, can you guess who it is? No cheating!

(Click here for more flashback photos from this week's episode of MTV's "When I Was 17," including all star New York Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia and Costa Rican pop sensation Debi Nova!)

Who do you think is in the picture above? Leave your guess in the comments!

Tags photo, When I Was 17

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Spotted: The 'Jersey Shore' Cast Is Back In Business

Posted 7/12/10 1:10 pm EST by MTV News in Music

Every day a multitude of stars wander through the halls of MTV News to talk about their latest projects and goof around with our intrepid correspondents. But sometimes we catch stars elsewhere, and that's why we put together Spotted!, a daily compendium of stars in the wild.

It has been a while since the last episode of the inaugural season of "Jersey Shore" aired (our first visit with America's new favorite super-tanned reality stars ended way back in January, back when Conan O'Brien was still the host of "The Tonight Show" and Justin Bieber's My World 2.0 hadn't yet taken over the airwaves), but the cast of the show is back and ready to usher the television universe into season two. The new batch of episodes kicks off on July 29, and you can bet that the cast members — Jenni "JWoww" Farley, Vinny Guadagnino, Angelina "Jolie" Pivarnick, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Ronnie Magro, Pauly "DJ Pauly D" DelVecchio, Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola, and Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino — are going to be everywhere for the rest of the summer. They are making a handful of appearances on talk shows this week, and over the weekend they were the special guests at the KIIS-FM "Now 34 and the Jersey Shore" party at the Hollywood Tower in Los Angeles.

They weren't the only stars catching some rays, as "True Blood" star Alexander Skarsgard did some shopping with girlfriend Kate Bosworth in West Hollywood and Pharrell Williams lead N.E.R.D. through a funky, sweaty performance in Berlin, Germany. Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted" archive, which features over 400 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Jessica Simpson, Adam Lambert, Madonna, 50 Cent and Diddy!

Tags Jersey Shore, photo, Spotted!

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Snooki Spent Some Time Under A Four-Wheeler: The MTV News Quote Of The Day

Posted 7/7/10 4:00 pm EST by Kyle Anderson in Television

"So one day, I was 17, and my girl came over and we decided to go four-wheeling. So me and her are driving on the road and I pass this really hot senior's house. He's outside watering his plants with his shirt off. I turned my head and I noticed that I'm going into this bank [at] 20 miles per hour [and] ran into the bank. The four-wheeler tumbled three times. My girlfriend jumped off [and] skinned her knee. You could see her knee bone and I got stuck under the four-wheeler. I couldn't move anything just because I looked at this boy because his shirt was off."

-"Jersey Shore" cast member Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, explaining an unfortunate incident from her teenage years to MTV's "When I Was 17." Though she is more interesting in GTL (gym, tan, laundry) nowadays, back in high school she was a great enthusiast of the great outdoors. "Growing up [I was] very into, like, four-wheelers, snowmobiles, snowboarding," she explained.

Snooki's story, along with a number of other tales, will be featured on the new episode of "When I Was 17," which airs this Saturday, July 10, at 11:00 a.m. on MTV. The show also features former "Dawson's Creek" star James Van Der Beek and master producer and N.E.R.D. frontman Pharrell Williams. Each new episode seeks to reveal something new about the teenage years of some of the biggest stars in the worlds of television, music, film, sports and celebrity.

What were you doing when you were 17? Let us know in the comments!

Tags Jersey Shore, Quote, Snooki

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