
Look, we all know what you're doing this weekend. You're not preparing for Thanksgiving, raking the last of your leaves before the snow arrives or indulging in this year's batch of Beaujolais Nouveau. Rather, you're going to be at your local cinema watching Taylor Lautner's perfectly-sculpted abdominal muscles in "The Twilight Saga: New Moon." And we can't blame you — it's a heck of a roller coaster ride through teenage angst and vampire mythology. But in between screenings (because you're obviously seeing it more than once), you should catch up on everything you missed this week here on the Newsroom blog.
» Last weekend saw a couple of cool-looking flash mobs in honor of Janet Jackson's Number Ones, and we had a first-person account from one of the dancers. (Be sure to catch Janet this Sunday on the American Music Awards, where she'll open the show.)
» MTV mourned the passing of comedian, TV producer and "Remote Control" host Ken Ober with classic clips and testimonials from friends.
» Rihanna premiered the hotly-anticipated video for "Russian Roulette," which really made us think about the head wound Balthazar Getty received in a David Lynch movie.
» Are you a hardcore fan of Adam Lambert, Kris Allen or Allison Iraheta? Make sure you enter our photo contest, with the winner receiving an autographed copy of the new issue of Elle magazine, which features all three!
» There was no shortage of other "American Idol" news this week. For example, we now know why Kris Allen changed his Twitter name.
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Tags adam lambert, American Idol, Janet-Jackson, Jay Sean, Justin Bieber, Ken Ober, kris allen, New Moon, Pretty Ricky, Rihanna, Vampire-Weekend

By Matt Thompson
In perhaps one of the oddest moments of the week, 50 Cent's crew got tangled up with longtime basketball announcer Marv Albert backstage at "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on Wednesday (November 18). 50 and Marv both appeared on the show that night, and according to the Los Angeles Times, Albert received a chilly reception from 50's entourage when he arrived at the studio. Apparently, they didn't recognize the venerable voice of the NBA, and they were under the impression he was trying to impose on 50's interview. So when the broadcaster entered the building, what went down? Punches were thrown, obscenities were spat out and things got quite hostile.
Although the details remain unclear, the 68-year-old Albert was in the middle of it all. Even when a Kimmel staffer identified Albert, 50's entourage remained unswayed. Somehow, Albert got out of there unscathed, remarking, "Did you see that? I thought they were kidding, then I realized they weren't."
Both Albert and 50 were interviewed later and neither made any reference to the incident. In their defense, most people know Albert's voice more than his face. In fact, Albert could have probably avoided the whole incident had he simply shouted "LeBron James for three! Yes!"

"It's gonna be sexy, I think. The wardrobe is amazing. I'm working with 10 dancers that I'm so impressed by. I was looking for a certain sensuality — five guys, five girls and they're all incredible."
-"American Idol" runner-up and For Your Entertainment mastermind Adam Lambert, telling MTV News about his upcoming performance on this Sunday night's American Music Awards broadcast, which marks the first time he'll sing in prime time since the "American Idol" finale in the spring. It'll be a big week for Lambert, as he will perform on Sunday and then drop his debut album on Monday, challenging a number of other high-profile artists (including Rihanna, Susan Boyle, Beyonc&233;, Lady Gaga and Shakira) to a Thanksgiving-week sales war. Lambert also talked about the band he brought together (the same group he just debuted online). "I auditioned a band a couple weeks ago that I've been working with," he told MTV News' Larry Carroll. "I'm so impressed by [them] and it feels really good to be part of a team situation again. It's great because I'm back in a team environment and it reminds me of my roots in musical theater." Check out Lambert — as well as the rest of the AMA performers, like Jay-Z, Rihanna, Eminem and Janet Jackson — this Sunday at 8 p.m. on ABC.

Every day a multitude of stars wanders 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.
The American Music Awards are rarely a high-profile event, but that changes this weekend. Sunday night's show features a handful of high-profile performances by Janet Jackson (who will open the show with an eight-minute presentation), Adam Lambert, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Shakira, Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga and Eminem (among others). Jennifer Lopez will also be performing (she'll roll out her new single "Louboutins" from her forthcoming new album Love?), and she spent yesterday on stage in Los Angeles rehearsing for the show. Based on the photos, the Lopez performance features a guest appearance by Michael Buffer (the "Let's get ready to rumble!" guy) and will have Lopez climbing all over her backup dancers and making a handful of leaps and jumps. It promises to be one of the big highlights in a show that should have no shortage of epic moments.
The American Music Awards air this Sunday at 8 p.m. on ABC. Be sure to stay tuned to MTV News for the latest updates and coverage of the big show. In the meantime, click here for the entire "Spotted!" archive, which features over 350 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift, the Jonas Brothers, Mariah Carey, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Chris Brown, Pete Wentz and John Mayer!
By Rya Backer
Being an MTV employee has its perks: Access to concerts, meeting famous people you like, spending your day just yards away from Tim Kash. But the greatest gift MTV has given its workers is a large room on the seventh floor with a balcony the length of half a city block. It may look like little more than a cafeteria, but it's called the Lodge, and sometimes it's like a second home.
For those at 1515 Broadway, the Lodge has become the place to eat in midtown Manhattan. The staff is friendly, there's an amazing mac and cheese station, and most importantly, they have a wing bar every Friday which has made me gain approximately 40 pounds solely because of my blue cheese dressing intake.
So when my co-worker Steven and I hit the red carpet for the grand opening of the American Eagle store across the street from our building in Times Square, we had the chance to talk to fellow MTV-er Adrienne Bailon for her thoughts on the corporate canteen.
It turns out that while she enjoys some of its offerings ("I'm actually a fan of the pizza section and the sandwiches. I'm really into that," she told us), she's a bigger fan of Times Square Bagel, a hole-in-the-wall, mom-and-pop store right across the stree. I can order from there every single morning when I'm in hair and makeup," she revealed. "I order a bagel every morning. I try to go pumpernickel. It's less carbs."
Check out the clip below. And seriously Adrienne: I'm on 29, and any time you get bored of wearing that top, I'll happily take it off your hands.
"There are some mothers, and then also there are a couple more guys from this sequel. There was a guy, maybe a 230-pound guy who was at the premiere, kind of maybe Hispanic looking, and he was asking me to bite him as well. And so I did, and the surprising thing was, I kind of liked it afterwards. And I've been out to dinner with him a couple of times."
-Cheeky "New Moon" star Robert Pattinson, who joked around about biting people with veteran host David Letterman on Wednesday night's episode of "The Late Show with David Letterman." Pattinson has been on a whirlwind press tour to promote the second film in the "Twilight" series, which opens with a handful of sold-out shows Thursday at midnight and goes wide Friday. Though he plays a brooding undead loverman in the movies, Pattinson himself has been keeping it loose with various interviewers. In an appearance on Thursday morning's edition of "Today," Matt Lauer asked him about a bunch of tabloid rumors, and Pattinson confirmed every one. "I actually come up with these rumors myself," he said with a smirk. "I'm my own press agent." He was honest about the process of going from anonymity to superstardom almost overnight. "It's kind of incredible. I mean, especially — literally the day before I auditioned, I was going to quit acting 'cause I never got any jobs," he told Laure. "So I guess that's not really quitting, when you're not really getting any jobs. It's just surrendering to fate."

By Akshay Bhansali
Yesterday, I joined a lucky band of music industry folks at the Universal Republic Records office in New York to get a first listen of songs from All or Nothing, British R&B artist Jay Sean's debut album (which hits stores this Monday, November 23). It soon became clear that the motive for the occasion was less a listening session and more a show of gratitude to the legions of the Jay Sean fans that have spent six years helping him get to where he is today.
In fact by, one member Sean's camp declared, "This is a pep rally!" For what? To help Jay Sean score a #1 album.
Jay Sean's co-manager and producer Jeremy Skaller talked through the intimate details of how Sean came to be signed by Cash Money and how the songs came to be. Probably one of the more touching stories he recounted took place at the initial meeting between Cash Money CEO Slim Williams and Sean in Miami last year. Skaller said that when faced with an artist that moved one hundred thousand units independently and had 10 million hits of his video for "Ride It" on online, Slim asked Sean very simply, "Jay, why do you think you haven't been signed yet?"
Sean answered, "I guess maybe it's because I'm Indian."
To which Slim answered, "That's exactly why I'm going to sign you."
Just as "Lights Off" — a track featuring labelmate Kevin Rudolph — began to play, Sean walked in and thanked the room for their unwavering support. "I love everyone in this room and I can't thank you enough for the support over the years," Sean said. He then took photos with virtually every person in the room.
On Monday, keep an eye out for "If I Ain't Got You," "Do You," "Fire" and my favorite thus far, the mid-tempo "War."

By James Dinh
Even though it has been 20 years since the release of Queen Latifah's All Hail the Queen, female rappers are still a relatively endangered species. Kanye West protégé Kid Sister hopes to change all that. On Wednesday evening (November 19), the rapper held an album release party in support of the release of her debut album Ultraviolet (which hits stores this Tuesday, November 17) to a group of friends, family and fans.
The event was hosted at the Griffin Lounge on Manhattan's Lower East Side, which was quite a grand setting for party, with its the enormous golden chandelier. The scene might have been perfect for a time of celebration, but for Kid Sister, things haven't always been so glamorous. Before launching a career in rap, she and her parents suffered through a financial disaster that took up most of her adolescence. It must have only motivated her more, as she went on to graduate from Columbia College in Chicago with a degree in film. In 2005, she decided to get involved in the rap game and caught the attention of Kanye. He signed the then 27-year-old to DJ A-Trak's label Fool's Gold, and she later landed another deal with Downtown Records. Ever since then, the Chicago-based rapper has been hard at work creating her debut album, which includes the track the buzzworthy track "Pro Nails" (featuring mentor West). The first single off Kid Sister's debut album is the house-infused track "Right Hand Hi" and is wrapping up a national tour with DJ Flosstradamus.
One thing the grandiose room was missing for most of the night? Kid Sister herself, who was delayed because of her visit to the 2009 mtvU Woodie Awards, which were taping uptown. Still, it was a great night that felt like an appropriate celebration for an artist who stuck to her guns and ended up on top.

By Chad Bullock
Do you like it clean, dirty or chopped & screwed? Take your pick, because that's how the guys of Pretty Ricky are giving it to you with their new album. The Bluestars themselves stopped by MTV News and hung out on our multi(million) purpose red couch to talk everything from their new music to who they’d appreciate a lap dance from.
Diamond "Baby Blue" Smith, Spectacular Smith, Corey "Slick 'Em" Mathis and newest member Lingerie sat down with MTV News correspondent Jim Cantiello to let us in on what they have in store for us. The super down-to-earth guys talked about the album and how the "melodies are gonna wrap around your body." The guys are hoping to make this album the comeback album of 2009 and to solidify themselves as the top hip-hop and R&B group of the year (with the help of some body-wrapping melodies, of course).
The "Grind With Me" singers/rappers also schooled us on how to turn our red couch into a lovemaking device. In fact, they made the couch pregnant. And yes, Jim Cantiello got in on the action.
The group discussed other things, including current social issues and what things would be like if they ran the country. They talked about the awesomeness of Twitter and we all became Twitter friends.
Their self-titled new album was just released this week and their new single is "Say a Command." And in case you were still wondering: R&B singer Ciara is who they would appreciate a lap dance from.

Every day a multitude of stars wanders 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.
American country music is obviously massive on American shores, but it very rarely makes the transition onto the international stage. Like most things in life in 2009, the rules are different for Taylor Swift. She is currently in England for two huge shows, one in London at Wembley Arena, the other in Manchester at the Manchester Evening News Arena. It makes sense, as now that she has conquered this country with album sales, awards and hosting gigs on "Saturday Night Live," she might as well cross the ocean. Though her first show isn't until Monday (November 23), she is already in London seeing the sights and doing some promotional work. She was spotted outside of her hotel in the English capital yesterday, and based on the fervor surrounding her presence, it looks like she will have conquered the U.K. by this time next week.
She didn't have Europe to herself, though, as Mariah Carey was in Paris promoting Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel. Meanwhile, a multitude of stars — including the Olsen sisters, Ashley Greene and People's Sexiest Man of the Year Johnny Depp — came out to the Museum of Modern Art in New York for the opening of the museum's tribute to Tim Burton. Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted!" archive, which features over 350 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Madonna, the Jonas Brothers, Lady Gaga, Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, Shakira, Adam Lambert and Rihanna!