MTV Newsroom › Jim Cantiello

'So You Think You Can Dance' Primer: Because You Really Should Be Watching

Posted 6/10/09 3:10 pm EST by in Television


"So You Think You Can Dance" is the best reality competition show ever. Sure, I'm touted as MTV News' "American Idol" expert, and sure, I get paid to do "Idol in 60 Seconds" recaps every season, but deep down inside, I just wanna "Dance."

I'm not going to rehash the reasons why I think "SYTYCD" is a superior show to "AI" — especially since my old colleague Lindsey Thomas did it perfectly last summer. Instead, I'm here to beg all of you to start watching and make this season the highest rated yet. I have no stock in the show. Hell, it's on a rival network. I just think the world will be a better place if, instead of gossiping about Miley and Jason's breakup, we discussed the finer points of Napoleon and Tabitha's latest lyrical hip-hop routine.

Before you start getting all, "But I don't know anything about dance," or "Who cares about dancers?" let me remind you all that my dance experience is limited to growing up watching "The Grind" and creating the last 60 seconds of this video. Plus, do you know anything about designing clothes or grooming dogs? Then why are you watching "Project Runway" and "Groomer Has It"? (I suppose nobody but me is watching "Groomer Has It," but still). In any case, I understand that a show like this might be overwhelming to newbies.
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Heidi And Spencer Come Back, Throw Up, Find Jesus And Leave ... Again

Posted 6/9/09 1:09 pm EST by in Television

Spencer Pratt
I want to sue NBC for torturing me by making Monday night's "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!" two-hours long. Not cool.

"But Jim," NBC might argue, "we had so much to cover, what with Speidi returning and then Heidi getting sick and then Janice having a panic attack and Lou Diamond Phillips busting out a British accent!"

Phooey.

So Speidi survived a night in The Lost Chamber. It was completely uneventful. The drama began when they returned to the camp. A newly-spiritual Spencer told his castmates the tale of his recent awakening. It involved a tremendous amount of vomit, or as he and Heidi put it, getting rid of the demons. (Their word choice will make my next hangover feel supernatural! Thanks, guys!) In fact, now Spencer was so charged with the Holy Spirit that he and Heidi were fasting for God. Seriously. All the Godspeak had new cast member Daniel Baldwin bitching about the show turning into Jesus Camp. I wouldn't go that far, Daniel. Until Sanjaya or Lou Diamond Phillips gets caught having down-low sex on a meth binge, there's nothing "Jesus Campy" about this show.
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Heidi And Spencer Turn 'Celebrity' Return Into Performance Art

Posted 6/4/09 11:43 am EST by in Heidi Montag, Spencer-Pratt, Television

Spencer PrattWednesday night's "I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here" was the first Speidi-less episode, and sadly, the magic was missing. Without the MTV stars hogging the spotlight, Janice Dickinson stepped up as the attention whore, and her shenanigans weren't anything I hadn't already seen on "America's Next Top Model" or "The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency." Over it. Plus, you know producers are desperate when they devote 20-plus minutes to a John Salley/ Janice Dickinson argument about whether she spilled water in his boot. No, thank you. (Not to mention that John's subsequent meltdown/apology after calling Janice a filthy word was just plain depressing.)

The show wasn't a complete wash, however. Aside from Speidi's bizarre return (more on that later), I must admit that I'm still delighted by watching "celebrities" forced to degrade themselves on television. The food challenge involved the stars sticking their hands in a hole filled with different creepy crawlies (tarantulas, earthworms in cow dung, and, uh, frogs?) in order to blah, blah, blah, not important. All you need to know is that Lou Diamond Phillips' arm got chewed off by rats, and then after he got fixed by the medics, he compared his experience on the show to that of the brave men and women who fought in the Vietnam War! Say what?!!


Also, Daniel "Black Sheep" Baldwin joined the cast, much to the delight of Janice, who saw the addition as an opportunity to get more screen time. She's already announced that she plans on seducing Stephen's brother. Gross. But Daniel's debut was upstaged by ... Read More...

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Five Other Celebs Brüno Should Have Landed On

Posted 6/2/09 4:35 pm EST by in Eminem, Movie Awards

BrunoBrüno's bare-assed crash landing on Eminem has already become one of the most talked-about moments in MTV Movie Awards history (for non-Twilighters, I suppose). But it also made us think, was Em really the best person in the audience the Austrian fashion reporter could have chosen?

Here are five celebs we would love to have seen in a compromising position courtesy of Brüno:

5. Doug Reinhardt
Because then something interesting would have happened in the life of Paris Hilton's boyfriend. Read More...

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Spencer And Heidi Steal The Show On 'I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here!'

Posted 6/2/09 12:15 pm EST by in I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here, Speidi

Heidi Montag and Spencer PrattIt's official. I have a new summer obsession: "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!"

Last night's two-hour premiere was a marathon of train wrecks, egos and schadenfreude ... and I loved every second of it. Who knew that watching Stephen Baldwin, Lou Diamond Phillips, Sanjaya and Janice Dickinson chow down on raw tripe and cow-intestine milkshakes would bring me such immense joy?

In a weird way, I was proud of my home-team players, Spencer and Heidi Pratt. Those two MTV superstars stole the show with their delusional expectations, spontaneous prayer sessions and cartoonish scheming.

Here are my five fave Speidi moments from the premiere of "I'm a Celeb ...":

5) The 9th contestant on the show? Heidi's hair-care products. During the final live moments (where the celebs were put in positions resembling waterboarding — except instead of liquid, they were covered with creepy crawlies), Heidi sat the challenge out and personally contributed to 40 percent of our ozone layer's depletion by obsessively spraying her hair. Random side note: Heidi without makeup? Awesome. Remember the old Heidi, the one from the first couple of seasons on "The Hills," when she looked ... um ... different? Apparently, when she doesn't have a hair and makeup team touching her up every five minutes, Heidi looks a lot like her younger self. Perhaps all those plastic surgery rumors are fake after all?
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Stephanie Pratt Loves 'MTV Detox: The Hills'!

Posted 5/26/09 6:45 pm EST by in Detox

First Kris Allen, now Stephanie Pratt.

Last week while I was in Los Angeles covering the "Idol" finale (and getting props from the recent winner), a familiar face from "The Hills" left me a message on my Facebook wall praising my other recap endeavor for MTV, "MTV Detox: The Hills." Keeping the punctuation intact, Spencer's sister wrote: "great show! great job! i love to laugh at myself- i hate when people take the show so damn serious... give me a break people! Lauren conrads job is being Lauren Conrad. i am in no way 'ruining her internship at peoples revolution' so everyone needs to calm down! thanks for making the show funny! xoxoxoxo."

First of all, I love how the only thing she capitalizes is Lauren's name, as if LC were a deity. Amazing. Second of all, how awesome is that message?! It says a lot that she has a sense of humor about herself.

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'Jon & Kate Plus Eight' Premiere: A Bummer On So Many Levels

Posted 5/26/09 12:06 pm EST by in Television

Jon & Kate Plus 8Monday night's season premiere of the TLC hit "Jon & Kate Plus Eight" should have been retitled “Jon & Kate Plus Eight Divided by a Cheating Scandal Multiplied by Paparazzi = A Depressing Clusterf---.” And, sadly, I couldn't stop watching it. It was like the second-half of "Boogie Nights," when the perverse pleasure of watching a bunch of porn stars turned into a harrowing claustrophobic nightmare, with characters desperately trying to escape their life situation, yet completely stuck in the path they've chosen for themselves (but, you know, with less cocaine and giant ... well, you know ...).

For those of you who have somehow avoided the newsstands or the gossip blogs (or have never been hung over and caught a marathon of the show), Jon and Kate Gosselin are the parents of eight children — a pair of twins and a set of sextuplets. Their lives have been documented since the sextuplets' birth in various TV specials, and eventually, a popular TV series on the cable network that gets off on airing shows that feature unorthodox families, rare medical conditions and makeovers where cat ladies learn how to hide their cankles. Audiences loved watching how Jon and Kate handled the stress of raising eight children, and the warts-and-all depiction of their relationship was endearing. (If you had a nickel for every time Jon rolled his eyes at his demanding wife, you'd be as richer than hollandaise.) In the past several months, however, once stories started to bubble up that Jon might be less-than-faithful to his partner, Jon and Kate's rocky relationship wasn't charming or funny anymore. It was eye-opening and sad. Read More...

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'American Idol' Finale Diary: Farewell Until Season Nine!

Posted 5/21/09 2:59 pm EST by in American Idol

And that's a wrap!

Faster than you can say "No Boundaries," a new American Idol has been crowned. The confetti's been swept. The red carpet rolled and tossed in storage. And Paula's battery has been removed so that she can recharge.

But before I say goodbye to this season, I just want to say thanks to all the awesome readers, commenters, bloggers and MTV News staffers who helped make season eight so much flipping fun!


Yesterday, at the "Idol" finale, I got to meet a lot of fans (including Kris Allen!), and it was super cool (and totally surreal) to have random people shout my name when artists like Jason Mraz and the Black Eyed Peas were in the vicinity! All I do is write silly jokes and talk fast. To paraphrase Kris Allen, "I don't deserve this."

So, until we meet again next January (although I'll be doing tons of other stuff for MTV News! Keep watching, kids!), I'll leave you with my final "Idol" video diary. Because every "Idol" adventure should end with a hotel toilet that sounds like Danny Gokey's scream.

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Kris Allen Says 'American Idol In 60 Seconds' Is 'The Funniest Thing Ever'

Posted 5/21/09 11:46 am EST by in American Idol

Kris Allen loves my "American Idol" recaps. And when he informed me of this backstage at the American Idol" finale, I think my reaction was bigger than when he was crowned the new Idol.

This is my third year doing "American Idol in 60 Seconds," and the third finale I've attended. Since every media outlet and their mother covers "Idol" in some capacity, I never expect my silly video recaps to burst through all the noise. Plus, I always assumed "Idol" contestants avoided the Internet like the swine flu while they were on the show, since so many bloggers are gainfully employed to take dumps on "Idol" singers week to week.

In other words, I never expected any of the Idols to recognize me.

So, when Kris said my name and acted like he knew who I was, as you could imagine, I became quite flabbergasted. (The words "Holy crap!" flew out of my mouth as many times as Kara says "artistry!")

Funny thing is, on the red carpet before the show, when Adam and Kris were whisked over to speak to the crew from "Ellen" (the only outlet they gave an interview to there, oddly enough), Kris stopped to shake my hand like we were buddies. I just figured he thought I was the "Ellen" producer (we were standing next to their crew on the carpet). Or maybe he dug my "TEAM KRADAM" custom T.

And then he said it: " 'American Idol in 60 Seconds' is the funniest thing ever."

Kris Allen likes my work. Scratch that. OUR NEW AMERICAN IDOL likes my work. And if the American Idol endorses my recaps, then, by golly, you should watch them and send them to all your friends, whether they're in the Allen Nation or they're Glamberts.

We're Live-Blogging The 'American Idol' Finale!

Posted 5/20/09 8:11 pm EST by in American Idol, Live Blog

Hi guys - sorry I'm late. I was busy talking to Paula Abdul on the red carpet. SERIOUSLY. More on that later…

But for now, it's time to live-blog the "American Idol" finale! Yay!

8:01 pm - Seacrest is introducing the judges with fun little montage that reminds us why they're the worst judges on television. Also, Randy Jackson borrowed a bow-tie from (Mrs.) J. Alexander on "America's Next Top Model."

8:06 pm - What's the worst part about being an "Idol" finalist? Having to sing songs about mountains and hurricanes or being forced to wear all white on the finale? At least Adam's wearing space boots.

8:06 pm - Mikalah Gordon is in Conway, Arkansas. This is the first time they've seen a real live drag queen. It's a night of firsts!!

8:07 pm - Carly Smithson is in San Diego. Oh no! Has Carly already become Mikalah Gordon-famous?

8:08 pm - The top 13 (remember that?!) are singing Pink's "So What." Although they edited out all the lyrics about ex-husbands and liquor. Also, if you mute your telelvision you can hear all of America saying "Oh yeah, remember Jorge and Jasmine?"

8:10 pm - Dear Michael Sarver, stop being a camera-whore. You're not the one we're tuning in for.

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