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Britney Spears' 'Till The World Ends' Opens Strong, But 'Born This Way' Still Leads Hot 100

Posted 3/10/11 11:30 am EST by in Music

While it didn't quite have the same kind of opening week pop as "Hold It Against Me" did, Britney Spears' "Till the World Ends" made a pretty strong chart debut, landing at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 after debuting the tune on Ryan Seacrest's radio show last week. That gives Spears two songs in the top 20, as "Hold It Against Me" (which debuted on the chart at number one last month) still sits comfortably at number 16. The anticipation for Spears' new album Femme Fatale continues to be strong, as fans have been gobbling up digital downloads of both singles and voraciously requesting Spears' songs on the radio.

Still, the top of the Hot 100 belongs once again to Lady Gaga, who rode the premiere of the video for "Born This Way" to yet another week at number one. After debuting in that spot, "Born This Way" has now spent four weeks on the top perch, making it the first real dominant single of the year. It fought off another strong surge from Cee Lo Green's "F--- You," which spent a second straight week at number two. "F--- You" has now spent 28 weeks on the chart, a remarkable feat for a song that clearly has incredible legs. Jennifer Lopez also enjoyed a video-related surge this week, as her new single "On the Floor" (whose clip debuted during an episode of "American Idol" last week) jumped from number nine to number five. Considering the power of "Idol" (the ratings are down slightly, but it continues to be a dominant force on television and in the music world), "On the Floor" could make a run at the top spot (though at this point, unseating Gaga seems like it will be easier said than done).

Ke$ha's "Blow" broke into the top 10 this week, settling in at number seven in its seventh week. That's just ahead of Katy Perry's "E.T.," which held steady at number eight. For the second week in a row, Perry has two songs in the top 10, as "Firework" is also in the upper echelons of the chart. Outside of "Till the World Ends," the only other high-profile debut on the Hot 100 this week belonged to Foo Fighters, whose "Rope" cracked the list at number 70. You can expect that number to get a significant bump next week, as Foo Fighters will be debuting the video for "Rope" tonight (Thursday, March 10) at 7:54 p.m. on MTV and MTV.com (stay tuned to MTV.com for an exclusive interview with the band just after the premiere).

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Happy Birthday, Carrie Underwood!

Posted 3/10/11 10:30 am EST by in Music

It's time to bust out the good sparkling wine and rent out a roller rink for the day, because today is country sensation Carrie Underwood's birthday. The winner of the fourth season of "American Idol" turns 28 today, and she'll undoubtedly be celebrating in style.

Underwood grew up on a farm in the small town of Checotah, Oklahoma. She grew up singing, performing in church and at local events, and she was even close to signing a record deal when she was only 13 years old. But it took the exposure offered by "American Idol" to turn her into a star. The fourth season of the show is remembered as being one of the most anti-climatic in the competition's history, mostly because Underwood seemed destined to win from the start. At no point over the course of the season was she ever in the bottom three, and along the way she dialed in some of the greatest "Idol" performances in the history of the show, including her run through Heart's "Alone" and her take on Elvis Presley's "Trouble."

Since her victory, Underwood has churned out three albums that adhere far more to traditional Nashville country than they do pop music (she's way more old school than Taylor Swift, for example). Just about every single she releases tops the Billboard Country chart (she already has 10 chart-toppers to her name, including her breakout single "Jesus, Take the Wheel" and the crossover hit "Cowboy Cassanova"). In honor of Underwood's big day, fire up her video for "Before He Cheats," one of her big breakout hits from her smash debut Some Hearts.


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'Buffy' Slays The Television Landscape: Wake-Up Video

Posted 3/10/11 9:30 am EST by in Wake-Up Video

It's odd to think about now, but back in 1997, there really weren't that many vampires around. Sure, Dracula was always a character who slipped in and out of the public consciousness, but in general, pop culture was relatively bloodsucker-free. Also missing in the early part of '97? Quality teen shows, which were not a focus of any of the networks at the time. But a new network called the WB had appeared in the TV universe and would remedy both the dearth of vampires and teen shows on this day in 1997, as it marked the world premiere of the first episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

Created by Joss Whedon and based on the characters he first created for a film that was a minor cult hit in 1992, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" told the story of Buffy Summers (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar), the titular "chosen one" whose job it was to eradicate the world of vampires, demons and other various forces of darkness. In the pilot, she finds herself on her first day of school after having just moved to the fictional Sunnydale, California, a suburban town that happens to be built on top of a Hellmouth (a sort of beacon for darkness). She soon meets up with her "Watcher" (librarian Rupert Giles, played by Anthony Stewart Head) as well as her sidekicks Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Xander (Nicholas Brendon). (Later, that group would expand to include a number of other characters, including Buffy love interest, the vampire-with-a-soul Angel, played by David Boreanaz).

It was a brilliant premise, as Buffy not only had to fight against undead evil (in the first season, she spent most of the episodes battling an ancient vampire known as the Master) but also the pressures of being a high school teen (school work, dating, friendship, thinking about the future). The show expanded greatly over the course of seven seasons and was never a major ratings hit, but it developed a deeply passionate following and helped solidify the WB as the go-to place for teen shows ("Dawson's Creek," "Felicity" and "Charmed" all followed closely behind).

The cast of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" have gone on to mixed careers (Alyson Hannigan and Seth Green are probably the show's biggest success stories), but Gellar is still the face of the show. She used that face in a number of other places over the course of her career, including in Stone Temple Pilots' video for "Sour Girl," from their 1999 album No. 4.


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'American Idol' Finalist James Durbin Takes Inspiration From The WWE

Posted 3/9/11 5:30 pm EST by in Music

"American Idol" returns tonight for the first show of the finals, which will pit the 13 remaining contestants against one another. The theme for Wednesday night's (March 9) episode is "Singers You Love," which means that each contestant has the chance to perform song by a singer that he or she particularly adores. Each singer was also paired up with a producer, and that person's influence will likely become known once the episode starts rolling tonight.

There are a number of singers to look out for tonight, as a lot of questions from last week remain unanswered. What will favorite Lauren Alaina do for an encore? Do the country singers have any other styles to offer? And will James Durbin wear another tail?

No matter what Durbin wears, you can bet his performance will be electric. Durbin is one of the most charismatic contestants of season 10, and he's certainly drawing inspiration from the right places.

"As one of my favorite wrestlers would say, 'I'm James Durbin, and I'm awesome!'" Durbin exclaimed to MTV News' Kara Warner during the "American Idol" finalists' party in Los Angeles last week. That, of course, is the catch phrase of current WWE Champion and former "The Real World" contestant the Miz. An avid wrestling fan, Durbin is also excited about the return of the Rock — mostly because he has grown tired of perennial headliner John Cena.

Those are fighting words, but Durbin is a guy who knows what he wants. That kind of confidence should make him a formidable contestant on "American Idol" this season. He should totally adopt the phrase, "Do you smell what James Durbin is cooking?"

Don't miss "Idol Party Live" at 9 p.m. Eastern on Thursday on MTV.com, following the "American Idol" results show, for analysis, celebrity guests and even some karaoke — get in the conversation by tweeting with the hashtag #idolparty! In the meantime, get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.

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Can Panic! At The Disco Conquer MTV's Musical March Madness?

Posted 3/9/11 2:30 pm EST by in Music

One year ago, Panic! at the Disco overcame internal turmoil to make an impressive run at the MTV Musical March Madness championship trophy. While they ultimately came up short (they ended up getting knocked out by My Chemical Romance in the Elite 8 round), they proved that they are a formidable force when it comes to fan voting. Now that they have an excellent new album (the forthcoming Vices & Virtues) and a hit single ("The Ballad of Mona Lisa," which is in heavy rotation on MTV) blowing wind into their sails, will they emerge as the 2011 MTV Musical March Madness winner?

They certainly believe they can do it. "We're going to have to persevere," frontman Brendon Urie told MTV News. "We're going to have to start off strong and we're going to have to keep that momentum going."

"We're going to have to have great bench play ... the D's going to have to step up. We have to make plays. Guys have to get out there and somebody has to step up, and they will," Spencer Smith added. "We've already started our calisthenics and we're getting pretty agile. And, other than that ... [we've got] confidence."

But confidence alone won't win the championship at the big dance — it'll require the passionate support of the fans. Will Panic! at the Disco plow through the field? Can they defeat titans like My Chemical Romance, Paramore, Coheed and Cambria and Linkin Park? We'll know soon enough.

MTV's 2011 Musical March Madness Tournament begins Monday, March 14, when we reveal the full field of 64 bands that will battle for the championship. Winners are determined by fan votes, so if your favorite act made the cut, it'll be up to you to guide them to glory. You can rally the troops on Twitter using the hashtag #MMM ... but get ready, it's gonna be a war.

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Mumford & Sons Continue Tradition Of Travel-Based Tour Gimmicks

Posted 3/9/11 1:30 pm EST by in Music

It has been a pretty big few months for Mumford & Sons, the English folk rock revivalists. Their debut album Sigh No More just cross over the one million mark, and they were a part of one of the most talked-about performances during the Grammy Awards (they shared the stage with Avett Brothers and Bob Dylan, culminating in an all-hands-on-deck jam on Dylan's "Maggie's Farm"). This spring, they plan on grabbing a lot more headlines with a very special tour. They'll be headed out on the road for six dates with brothers in arms Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show for a tour that will find them traveling entirely by a vintage rail car. "Woody [Guthrie] rode with his fellow drifters around North America; we get to do it with a bunch of other musicians, although not strangers, from different corners of the world," band member Winston Marshall said in a statement. "A dream come true to be on tour with them."

While Guthrie was probably the last musician to seriously tour on a train, Mumford & Sons aren't the only band to go on tour using a travel-related gimmick. Here is a brief history of the practice.

Pearl Jam
When the veteran Seattle band hit the road in support of their self-titled 2006 album, Pearl Jam put their money where their mouths (and bleeding hearts) were by hopping on a bus that ran entirely on biodiesel. In order to offset the other pollution on that tour, the band also spent thousands of dollars on carbon offsets, which went toward the preservation of a rain forest in Madagascar.

Ginger Ninjas
In 2007, unknown band Ginger Ninjas hopped on their bicycles and covered about 5,000 miles during a tour that saw them play over 80 shows. Not only that, but the band also carried all of their equipment with them and used their bikes to power their sound system, making the entire run almost completely self-sustained.

What other tour gimmicks would you like to see? Let us know in the comments!

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Former Alice In Chains Bassist Mike Starr: In Memoriam

Posted 3/9/11 11:30 am EST by in Music

On Tuesday afternoon (March 8th), former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr was found dead in Salt Lake City, Utah. The founding member of the seminal Seattle band was 44 years old and had struggled with addiction his entire life. His passing sent shockwaves through the rock world, and his death has devastated friends, fans and his former bandmates. In recent years, Starr had become more famous for his stint on "Celebrity Rehab" than he ever was as a musician, but his legacy as a key member of Alice in Chains should not be understated.

The core sound of Alice in Chains was as much about Starr as it is about Jerry Cantrell's guitar sludgy guitar licks or late singer Layne Staley's wails from the crypt. The low end of the sonic spectrum was not as important to a lot of the other bands who came up during that era (Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament always seemed like he'd be more comfortable in a jam band, while Nirvana four-stringer Krist Novoselic mostly provided color for Kurt Cobain's guitar riffs, "Come As You Are" notwithstanding), but in order to nail Alice in Chains' particular brand of brutality, Starr's bass was key. The brutality on the low end was terrifying, and the punch of early Alice in Chains hits like "Man in the Box" would be impossible without Starr's muscular chops.

Starr shared writing credit on two songs in the AIC catalog: "It Ain't Like That" from Facelift and "Rain When I Die" from Dirt. "It Ain't Like That" is a typical grinder, but "Rain When I Die" is something else entirely. Star's bass opens and anchors the song with a Ginsu-sharp bass roll that provides a bed for some Cantrell riffing before the main hook kicks in. "I think it's gonna rain when I die," Staley moans in the chorus. There's certain a storm front moving through the rock world today.

What are your favorite Alice in Chains songs from the Mike Starr era? Let us know in the comments!

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Raekwon's Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang: The Reviews Are In!

Posted 3/9/11 10:30 am EST by in Music

Whenever hip-hop fans talk about the greatest MCs from the Wu-Tang Clan, the conversation usually comes down to either Ghostface Killah or Raekwon (and sometimes the GZA, if you're feeling extra punchy). Both Wu members, who have often tag-teamed on classic tracks in the past (like "Criminology" from Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, "Daytona 500" from Ironman and "The M.G.M." from Wu-Tang Forever), have put out some of the greatest solo albums in Wu history, and Raekwon struck most recently when he dropped Only Built 4 Cuban Linx ... Pt. II in 2009. The man born Corey Woods just released his follow-up joint Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang, so how has one of the world's greatest living rappers add to his legacy?

According to critics, it remains in tact. Raekwon's lyrical daggers and penchant for mind-bending beats (constructed by a number of Wu-Tang worker bees who learned at the foot of the RZA, who remains absent from most of the Wu-related music at the moment) remain just as strong on Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang as they have always been. "Out of the clouds of smoke and '40 slammin' while eating salmon,' Raekwon possesses a crystalline vision," critic Jeff Weiss wrote in a review in the Los Angeles Times. "Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang is his successful quest to return to the days when it was simple, blessed with the wisdom to know which philosophies work."

Weiss wasn't the only critic who praised Raekwon for continuing the trend of the Wu-Tang's renaissance. "Far from blithe listening, Raekwon's dense storytelling veers from Only Built 4 Cuban Linx ... Pt. II's powder-white tales," Vibe declared. "Sure RZA's dark instrumentals are missed, but copious kung fu paraphernalia provide enough hard kicks and sample chops to keep the Wu flag wearing proudly."

But for some, the shadow of the RZA is too great. "Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang at least feels more complete than the hastily prepared Wu-Massacre, the first shot fired in this conflict," wrote Jesse Cataldo for Slant. "But by attempting to break free from his group's guru, Raekwon inevitably only proves how vital RZA has been to nearly everything its members have produced, and how Raekwon has been unable to break free from his influence."

NME also wasn't enamored of Raekwon's look back. Critic Ailbhe Malone only gave the album a two (out of a possible 10) and wrote a scathing review that specifically zeroed in on the posse track "Rock N Roll."

On the other hand, Kathy Iandoli of HipHopDX was totally on board with the album. "While Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang at face value might not be the most agreeable title for Raekwon's album, a closer look would prove it's actually perfect," she wrote. "The work competes against itself — taking the old school lessons learned from the first encounter with Shaolin and teaming them with the new school version of Wu-Tang (the fame, the films, the Justin Bieber collaborations). In all, it works, but in a way that only the Chef could pull off."

What do you think of Raekwon's new album? Let us know in the comments!

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Happy Birthday, Bow Wow!

Posted 3/9/11 9:30 am EST by in Music

Fill up the pinata with Fun Size Snickers and break out the good champagne, because today we celebrate the birthday of Shad Moss — better known to the universe as Bow Wow. The rapper and actor is only 24 years old, but when you sign your first recording deal at age 11 and drop your debut album at 13, you can cram in a pretty full career by your mid 20s.

Bow Wow was first introduced to the music world as Lil Bow Wow. He was rapping as early as age six, using the name Kid Gangsta and busting out relatively hardcore rhymes for a child. He attracted the attention of Snoop Dogg, who gave him the name Bow Wow. Later, he took that moniker to record producer Jermaine Dupri, who helped construct Bow Wow's debut album Beware of Dog. It's a particularly engaging and accomplished release, and it proved that despite his youth, his skills were pretty sharp. He followed that release up with 2001's Doggy Bag and dropped the "Lil" from his name for 2003's Unleashed.

By then, Bow Wow had already dipped his toe into the film world, scoring a starring role in the family basketball comedy "Like Mike." Over time, he has become as known for his acting as he has been for his rapping, and his starring role in "Lottery Ticket" and his stint on the HBO series "Entourage" (where he played an up-and-coming stand-up comedian) are both excellent accomplishments. (He also turned in a memorable performance in a classic episode of the Ashton Kutcher prank show "Punk'd.")

But must remains his first love, and the latter half of the last decade was filled with smash albums for Bow Wow (including 2005's Wanted, 2006's The Price of Fame and 2009's New Jack City II). He has another album scheduled to hit the streets later this year, but in honor of his birthday, crank up "Fresh Azimiz," one of his highest-charting hits and a signature tune from Wanted.


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Radiohead Contract The Bends: Wake-Up Video

Posted 3/9/11 8:30 am EST by in Wake-Up Video

The sophomore jinx is deadly for any rock band looking to grab some longevity. No matter how much buzz a group has surrounding its debut, the second album is still a treacherous road to cross. On this day in 1995, a band started out on that road after scoring a breakout hit single from their otherwise underwhelming debut album. They began a brief tour to promote their second album, which would initially land with a thud but eventually attracted critical acclaim. That band was Radiohead, and that album was The Bends.

When Radiohead's "Creep" first ascended to radio-dominating status in the fall of 1992, most people simply looked at the group as a more English version of the grunge that had already been flooding the airwaves for a year. Full of crunchy riffs and anthemic self-loathing, "Creep" was a pretty good pop song but didn't even vaguely hint at the sort of band Radiohead would eventually become. Pablo Honey, the album that housed "Creep," was otherwise unremarkable (though it has become more interesting when viewed through the prism of the rest of the band's recorded output) and it didn't help Radiohead that Stone Temple Pilots also had a song called "Creep" on their debut.

But The Bends is a whole different animal entirely. The album was produced by John Leckie but engineered by Nigel Godrich, who would go on to be the group's guiding voice in the studio. Though not quite as innovative and daring as OK Computer or Kid A, Radiohead's second album retains the band's knack for constructing big-hooked anthems while pushing the sound gently into the electronic atmosphere. Many of the band's overriding themes — isolation, panic, fear of technology — started to take root on The Bends, and you can hear the group becoming restless with the confines of rock structure (which they would eventually shed entirely, for better or for worse).

The Bends was a slow-burning album, picking up attention through a number of different avenues. The 1995 hit film "Clueless" featured the album's first single "Fake Plastic Trees," the band went on a huge shed tour opening for Alanis Morissette (who was the top commodity in radio rock at the time) and the video for "Just" got quite a bit of play on MTV (mostly because it was so mysterious).


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