The New Kids on the Block were on every kind of merchandise you could possibly imagine: Posters, bedspreads, T-shirts, PJs, lunchboxes, watches, backpacks, books, magazines and, of course, dolls.
In my youth, I had the Jordan Knight-approved Ken doll, complete with rat tail and microphone for when you wanted to have him sing to you while listening to a cassette of some of the most choice NKOTB songs. (In case you're wondering, "Tonight," "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind)" and "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" are all primo tunes.)
Anyway, as it turns out there were also rag dolls of the guys. I wasn't too familiar with them, so I played along. But it seems that Jordan doesn't really care for those dolls. In fact, he thinks they are kind of strange.
"The weirdest thing? Well there's these dolls that don’t even look like us. They were supposedly us. Mine had a rat tail. They were rag dolls," he said before clarifying that he's not talking about my Ken doll. That Ken doll was cool!
"No, the Ken doll was cool," he explained, much to my relief. "We had the Raggedy Ann kind of dolls out too and they looked nothing like us. [Yeah the other doll] kind of [looked like me]. It's a Ken doll."
Fair enough. Either way, Jordan, you're still a doll!
It already sort of makes sense to mention former Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale and "Twilight" star Robert Pattinson in the same sentence, as they're both hot guys from England. But after tonight's episode of crime drama "Criminal Minds," there will be another way the two will cross paths: They'll both have played sexy vampires.
"Criminal Minds" star Matthew Gray Gubler dished to MTV News about Gavin's cameo on the show, revealing that Mr. Gwen Stefani will embrace his rocker roots and go for the jugular in the episode which airs tonight at 9 p.m. CBS.
"He may or may not be [a killer]. He plays a vampiric sort of rock star who may or may not be killing people to hype his album," said Gubler, who plays FBI profiler and psychologist Dr. Spencer Reid. "I'll be honest: I've noticed that [vampire] craze as well and no [we're not trying to cash in]. The thing is that [vampirism] is actually a pretty common delusion."
He went on to note that since rock stars and vampires seem to have pretty similar schedules (minus the whole blood-sucking thing), it makes sense for Gavin to try the role on for size. "So if you're going to pick something to fit a rock star, I think we went more with what are the odds of what he would be that cinematically interesting to watch and rather them him being a pedophile," he explained. "They went with rock star."
Given the fact that A.J. McLean have always been the Backstreet Boy who wears eyeliner and occasionally dons shirts that sparkle in the sun (like in the "I'll Never Break Your Heart" music video), it seems pretty unsurprising that the dude loves himself some "Twilight."
His bandmate, Brian Littrell, has been going around revealing to everyone that A.J. adores the vampire-centric teen movie, so when MTV News got our grubby little hands on him, we had to hear it straight from A.J. himself about how much he adores the story of Edward Cullen and Bella Swan. And in case anybody was wondering: A.J. is Team Edward.
"'New Moon' looks amazing," he told us. "I'm glad they're actually upping it and making it like more real vampire, no so much a love story. It's gonna be great. There's more werewolves in this one! It's gonna be good," he said. But despite his excitement for the werewolves, he added, "I'm Team Edward. Jacob's gotta sneak it in there."
That admission got him so good-natured ribbing, especially from Nick Carter and Littrell. But A.J., being the perfectly cool guy that he is, completely ignored them. Plus, he can always get Johnny No Name to beat them up. That guy was pretty tough.
Jordan Knight is currently touring the country in order to record an album. And while he's doing that, he's holding "Jordan Idol" events in various cities trying to find the best up-and-coming talent this great land has to offer, with the winner getting a personal boost into the industry from Knight himself. So, when I heard he was in New York City working on some new music and that I could have a chance to talk to him about his new music and "Jordan Idol," I literally jumped at the chance.
Back in the day, I kind of had the biggest crush on him ever. So imagine my surprise when he came in and I actually got the chance to meet the cutest of the New Kids on the Block. So, while he started talking about this weekend's "Jordan Idol" (which is being held this Saturday night at Le Poisson Rouge club in NYC), he decided to stump for me to get my big shot at fame.
But instead of giving my less-than-impressive singing voice a chance at superstardom (no, I didn't embarrass myself and sing for him), he decided I might be better suited to do something I actually have some skill doing: Interviewing celebrities. Except with me on camera with them. I'm not saying he's onto something here, but hey, stranger things have happened. And he's not the first singing star to suggest that I should have my own show — Brandy has already given me her support!
So watch Jordan make his case for me and let me know what you think!
The Jonas Brothers and the Backstreet Boys brought their equally hot brand of boy band magic to the MTV Europe Music Awards yesterday (November 5). And things got really awesome when the guys all met up on the red carpet.
Believe it or not, the two generations of boy bands have a history with one another. That's probably why they all looked pretty excited to run into one another, catch up and share some laughs at the big show. The Jonas Brothers opened for BSB a few years back (2005 to be exact, for BSB's "Never Gone" tour) and we have to say this was the most exciting reunion in ages. (Except for that one time Kevin Richardson joined the rest of the band for one show and gave us all false hope for one moment.)
Last year, Brian Littrell sang the JoBros praises in an MTV News interview. "They're a talented bunch of kids. They're growing up fast," he said. "I don't feel reluctant to give them advice. I'll never forget: We were doing a show in Florida with the Temptations, and one of those guys stood up and said, 'This is show business, and as you're doing your show, your business could be running out on you.' I'll never forget that."
We'll certainly never forget what will go down as a classic red carpet encounter.
Click here for more photos of Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Green Day, Tokio Hotel, Jay-Z and U2 at the 2009 Europe Music Awards!
Sometimes when the mood strikes us, we ask some of our favorite celebrities to list off five things we'd be surprised to know about them. So when I spoke to Dane Cook yesterday, he seemed like the perfect candidate for that line of questioning. He was pretty down with sharing five random facts about himself.
For instance, he's "very shy." Additionally, he's "an excellent cook." Lets' also not forget this fact: "I love to iron. I iron all my own clothes. I don't like wrinkly stuff."
Oh yeah, he also really loves Celine Dion. Without any irony, either. "I listen to Celine Dion sometimes," he shared. "No [I'm not kidding]. There's a couple songs that Jim Steinman wrote that she sings incredibly."
But it's this last fact that got me in on the joke. Cook told me he likes to scare people, and I got to learn that first-hand when he scared me right there in the middle of our interview.
"I'm obsessed with scaring people. It's really like I had to do that [and scare you right there]. I had to do it. I would hide in a closet and scare total strangers for a living. If I could get paid doing it, I would quit everything and just hide in peoples closets and scare them and be like 'Where's my check?'" he said. "I've scared pilots on planes. I had a girl break up with me because I scared her too much."
Check out the scare below. It really does seem like a legitimate problem — though it's definitely a funny problem to have.
Today the elder statesman of the Jonas Brothers clan, Kevin, marks another year on the calendar and turns 22 years old. (Coincidentally, he shares his birthday with MTV News' own Christopher "CJ" Smith, though CJ has never knowingly harmonized with his siblings.) And though he is still very young, Kevin has accomplished quite a bit in two decades and change.
He has sold millions of records, made millions of girls swoon for him, made movies and TV shows and even shared some laughs with MTV News. Let's also not forget that Kevin officially took himself off the market when he got engaged to longtime girlfriend, Danielle Deleassa, back in the spring.
Because we probably won't see him today to give him a cupcake, let's look back on the top five things Kevin shared with us here at MTV News over the course of his life.
5) Kevin had angel food cake at his high school graduation. Why angel food cake? We remain unsure.
4) He and his brothers challenged me to a dirt bike race, which they have yet to follow up on.
3) He shared how Joe gave him a huge scar on the back of his head. That was really mean of you Joe!
2) Huge baseball fan Kevin compares himself to New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada. Congratulations on your World Series victory, Kevin!
1) Kevin explains why Joe stopped straightening his hair. Enough said.
Thanks for the memories, Kevin! Happy birthday indeed!
Leighton Meester plays fashionista Blair Waldorf on "Gossip Girl" every week, so her image in the new video for her single, "Somebody to Love," isn't much of a stretch: Meester casts herself as love-starved, clothes-conscious, jet-setting starlet pining for gong guest Robin Thicke.
In the a sneak peek for the video, Meester sits in the back of a town car with a black newsboy cap and spangled cut-out romper, writhing around while singing about looking for love. In other scenes, a more sultry Meester sings in a club and wraps herself in the curtains of her boudoir. Let's not forget the video also has the prerequisite rolling-around-in-the-bed scenes. What is a video about love without shots of a singing starlet writhing amidst her soft sheets?
Meester recently explained to MTV News the video isn't about the glamour shots of her and Thicke. Rather, what it's really about is the clothes. "It's basically going through my day, a sexy day in my life. We start off in the car we come in I keep on fantasizing and dreaming that I'm with somebody I can love," she explained. "He kind of comes and goes he disappears. It's mostly about the clothes and the looks so that's exciting for me. I've had a lot of fun with that."
The Killers went to Japan for their "Read My Mind" music video. Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson got "Lost in Translation" for Sophia Coppola. And now the Backstreet Boys have headed to the Far East for the video for their new single, "Bigger."
The video is chock full of things that Westerners equate with Japan: Harajuku girls, karaoke, sushi, lots of flashing lights, arcades and boy bands (Japan still loves boy bands, and by definition BSB is still a boy band). The video is incredibly endearing, showing the guys laughing and goofing around with fans and each other on the streets of Japan, as well as in various restaurants and, of course, karaoke rooms.
The song is certainly a return to BSB form. The first single off This Is Us was the band's take on an R&B club banger, complete with a vampire-themed music video. "Bigger" is quite the opposite: a mid-tempo romp about being in love with a woman who might be too good for you.
But we do admit that seeing A.J. get fed Japanese cuisine by one of the aforementioned Harajuku girls was a bit odd. Then again, it is A.J. we're talking about. Plus, he makes it up by meditating later in a Japanese garden. And seeing the guys sing karaoke all while hugging their fans gives us a good idea of what it would be like to hang out with them. Plus, we wouldn't mind Nick sprawled across our lap while he sings us this tune. Wait, was that an overshare?
Ellen DeGeneres spent most of the month of October pranking staffers and celebs on her show, so when Taylor Swift stopped by last Thursday (October 29), she probably should have been expecting something. But based on video evidence, the country star was caught completely off guard by the newest "American Idol" judge.
Swift followed in the footsteps of Katie Couric, Mario Lopez, Lauren Graham and David Spade, who all got a little scare from Ellen. DeGeneres showed the audience Swift's prank on Friday's episode of the show, and in the grand scheme of everyone who got pranked, Taylor definitely was the biggest scaredy cat.
The pranks all followed the same sort of formula: Ellen sent stars off to a green room where she told them there was a picture of the pair hanging up in the bathroom. Just as the celeb walked into the bathroom, Ellen popped out from behind a door to give them a fright. For the most part, people just kind of did a quick scream and laughed it off, but Taylor got truly frightened.
She got so scared of Ellen's prank that she screamed very loudly and fell to the floor. After a few seconds she composed herself, started laughing hysterically with Ellen and shared a hug with the talk show host. Ellen said it best: "Oh my god! That was the best one yet!"
