"I woke up with the song in my head called 'Half of My Heart.' And the idea is that it's this real sort of updated — not that it needs to be updated — sort of Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks thing. I thought, 'Well, if this is going to be my love letter to that style of music, who's going to be the Stevie Nicks in this equation?' And I thought, 'This Taylor Swift girl is going to be around for a long time.'"
-Singer, songwriter, guitar player and Internet meme aficionado John Mayer, talking about his collaboration with Taylor Swift. "Half of My Heart," which hit the Web on Thursday, comes from Mayer's upcoming album Battle Studies. Not surprisingly, the first seeds of the collaboration were planted on Twitter, where both Mayer and Swift are skilled regulars. He expressed a desire to work with her via the microblogging service, though he's not certain that's exactly how it came together. "You know what? It's like the tweet version of 'The Secret' — no better way to put it out into the universe than to tweet it. But then it's not like she reads the tweet and goes, 'I'm in,' although she may have. I don't remember." Mayer's Battle Studies hits stores on November 17 (the same day he plays a special celebratory album release show at New York City's Beacon Theater), while Swift has more immediate plans, as she's hosting and serving as the musical guest on this weekend's edition of "Saturday Night Live."
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.
50 Cent had a busy day yesterday, blowing the doors open on two new ventures as a lead-up to the November 16 release of his new album Before I Self Destruct. He premiered his new movie (also called "Before I Self Destruct") last night in New York. The film, which will be released the same day as the album, marks 50's directorial debut. It's a hard-edged tale of 'hood politics that contrasts pretty profoundly with the other product he debuted yesterday: "Power," his new fragrance. 50 met fans at Macy's in New York City for the unveiling of the new scent, just in time for the holidays. In a span of only a few hours, 50 Cent covered two extremely different ends of the cultural spectrum, a true testament to his flexibility as a star.
Also making the rounds in New York last night? "Gossip Girl" star Blake Lively, who was all dressed up as she made her way to the Four Seasons restaurant. But not everybody was out in the Manhattan cold, as Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts rode a bicycle in Malibu wearing shorts and a tank top. Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted!" archive, featuring over 350 candid shots of stars like Madonna, Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Adam Lambert, the Jonas Brothers and Justin Timberlake!
"There's no answer that's not going to tip you one way or the other. Think about every hypothetical situation: 'OK, we are. We aren't. I'm a lesbian.' I'm just trying to keep something. I'm not going to give the fiending an answer. I know that people are really funny about 'Well, you chose to be an actor, why don't you just f---ing give your whole life away?! Can I have your firstborn child?'"
-"New Moon" star Kristen Stewart, talking to Entertainment Weekly about the constant questions she gets about her personal life — and specifically her relationship with co-star Robert Pattinson. Ever since "Twilight" became a smash success and Stewart became both a household name and a tabloid staple, the rumors about her relationship with Pattinson have been constant. She's clearly frustrated by the media blitz on her life, and she's not taking it lying down. "I probably would've answered it if people hadn't made such a big deal about it," she said.
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.
Apparently, "getting photographed in the front seat of a car" is the new "getting photographed shopping in Target" for stars in Los Angeles. A few weeks ago, Adam Lambert was spotted stealing a kiss from then-boyfriend Drake LaBry, and a few weeks later Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner inspired plenty of "are they or aren't they?" rumors when they were seen in a car during a shopping trip. Yesterday, singer and "High School Musical" star Ashley Tisdale spent some time with music video director Scott Speer in Beverly Hills, and yes, they were spending time together in their ride.
Tisdale had a pretty busy summer, as she released her second album Guilty Pleasure (which lived up to its name) and also starred in the hit animated film "Aliens in the Attic." She wasn't the only star hanging out yesterday, as Madonna was seen trying to lay low in Manhattan's Upper East Side and the cast of "Glee" mingled with rabid fans at a Best Buy in New Jersey. Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted!" archive, which features nearly 400 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, the Jonas Brothers, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Adam Lambert and Mariah Carey!
In this age of 24-hour media, it's crazy to imagine that Rihanna has managed to go so long without really sitting down for an interview about the night of February 8, when she was assaulted by then-boyfriend Chris Brown. Friday night (November 6), she'll appear on ABC's "20/20" for a full sit-down interview with Diane Sawyer. A portion of that interview debuted on "Good Morning America" this morning, and the singer spoke tearfully about the aftermath. "People put me on a very unrealistic pedestal," she said. "And all these expectations ... I'm not perfect."
She was talking about the questions that arose when she and Brown were spotted vacationing together only three weeks after the assault, but she could have easily been discussing the way her music is currently being consumed.
The uphill battle for Rihanna is avoiding the "victim" tag in her return to the music world. So far, the new singles, images and video that she has produced for her new album Rated R cast her as a strong, independent, almost otherwordly woman. "I pitch with a grenade/ Swing away if you're feeling brave/ There's so much power in my name," she sings on "Wait Your Turn (The Wait Is Ova)." While the music we've heard so far is a little more deliberate than her past singles (and not nearly as catchy as something like "Umbrella" or "Disturbia"), there's an underlying toughness in her lyrics, as though she's daring everybody to question her spirit.
We won't know if Rihanna's entire musical focus has shifted until we hear the rest of Rated R (which hits stores November 23), but one thing is for sure: The perception of her music will certainly shift, at least for the time being. Plenty of people are already wondering why there weren't more direct references to Brown in the single "Russian Roulette," but that seems like an unfair set of expectations. She has gone through a traumatic event in a very public forum, and it's almost certain that whatever she felt in the aftermath exists in the subtext of whatever she's going to put out.
After a few months of relative silence following his altercation with Rihanna, Chris Brown is back with a new album (Graffiti, due in stores December 8), a fresh set of singles, an otherworldly video and a "Fan Appreciation" tour. It's a long road back, and Brown is taking it one step at a time.
But plenty of questions still remain, which is why MTV News correspondent Sway traveled to Brown's home in Virginia for an extended sit-down with the singer. It was a no-holds-barred conversation, and the result will be revealed on Friday (November 6) when "Chris Brown: The Interview" airs at 6 p.m. on MTV.
Brown was ready for Sway's questions, as he said he has posed them to himself over and over again since the fateful night in February. "My thoughts [when I look back on it now] is like, 'Why did it happen?' Like, 'What was I thinking? What is wrong with you?' That's what I'm thinking with myself."
The singer said that it was "anger" that drove him to strike Rihanna, adding "Young people, we do before we think." But he's clearly struggling to make amends and figure out what he must take away from the experience. "It's like, 'How do we get past it? How do you, Chris' — talking to myself — 'how do you go from point A to point B? How do you learn from your mistakes, turn it into a positive and help other people with the situation, and at the end of the day become the person that you want to be?'"
For more, be sure to tune into "Chris Brown: The Interview," this Friday, November 6, at 6 p.m. on MTV.
"I've actually been making a lot of Yankee analogies in my interviews lately because I get asked, 'Do you feel pressure? How do you feel when someone says this? Or do you feel like you have to top yourself?' I say I do feel like I have to top myself. But I feel like I'm [Mariano] Rivera. I'm a closer."
-Fashion-forward pop superstar and New York Yankees fan Lady Gaga, explaining who she relates to on the iconic baseball team. The singer sat down for an extended interview with Sway yesterday, where she touched on the new edition of her album, her collaboration with Beyoncé and a whole host of other topics. But Gaga is also a baseball fan, and she sees a lot of herself in Rivera, the Yankees' famous closing pitcher. After suffering a loss on Sunday night in Philadelphia, the World Series returns to the Bronx tonight for Game 6, where the Yanks will try to shut the door on the Phillies and cash in on their 27th championship. Standing in their way will be Phils starting pitcher Pedro Martinez, who has a longstanding rivalry with the Yanks (he famously referred to them as his "daddy" in 2004). If all goes well for New York, Rivera should be walking onto the field around midnight tonight, and if he really wants to embrace his musical equivalent, he should really ditch his normal entrance music — Metallica's "Enter Sandman" — in favor of "Paparazzi."
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.
There's something about a star in an airport that is always sort of appealing. Perhaps it's the one true thing that equalizes celebs with everybody else, because even if an actor or musician is booked in first class, that person still has to pass through security and wait by the gate until boarding. And as Rihanna showed the world yesterday, she has the same philosophy as a lot of people when it comes to flight attire, erring on the side of comfortable and casual. The singer made her way through the security checkpoint at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York yesterday, dressed in an giant gray zip hoodie and comfortable-looking jeans. It's a far cry from her usual fashion-forward outlook (and miles from the get-ups in her new video "Wait Your Turn (The Wait is Ova)"), but it's refreshing to know that she doesn't feel the need to go over-the-top all the time, especially when the unpleasantness of air travel is involved.
Rihanna wasn't the only jet-setter yesterday, as Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz made his way through Tegel Airport in Berlin, Germany, on his way to the 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards, and Carrie Underwood found herself in New York performing on "Good Morning America." Click here for these pictures plus the entire "Spotted!" archive, which features nearly 400 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Adam Lambert, Justin Timberlake, the Jonas Brothers, Katy Perry and Mariah Carey!
"There was an interview where somebody asked me how I was feeling at that moment with everything that was going on with 'Twilight,' and I said, 'You know? I'm really devastated right now, because I have never heard the amount of criticism and hurt and pain from some things that I've read going on the Internet [about me] right now, like, 'She's fat' and 'She's ugly' and 'She's not blond' and 'She's supposed to be the most beautiful girl in the world?' and 'Couldn't they cast someone who was remotely beautiful?' It's like, thank God I'm not so callous that I'm totally desensitized, but I am sensitive and that really hurt my feelings."
-"Twilight" and "New Moon" star Nikki Reed, admitting that she is engaged in the online fervor surrounding the vampire-centric film series. The actress was responding to a question posed by a reader on the site as a part of the ongoing series of "Twilight" stars answering fan questions. She also added that though the thought has crossed her mine, she doesn't get involved in the Internet rumors herself. "I've joked with Kristen [Stewart] a few times about how tempted we are to defend ourselves. But there's no point," she said. "For every one person who says something, you always hear about the squeaky wheel or the plane that crashes. There might be a person that is really mean, but [you hear about them, not] the million people that say really nice things."
"New Moon," the second film in the series, hits theaters on November 20, and you can stay tuned to MTV News, MTV Movies and Hollywood Crush for all the latest insider information, cast interview, exclusive clips and fan reactions.
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.
James Brown was always called "the hardest working man in show business," but Britney Spears could certainly make a case for for that title (she'd be the hardest working woman, of course). She has a career-retrospective album coming out in a few weeks, and she's done dozens of dates on her high-energy Circus tour. Now she's taking it internationally, as she has a 14-date run through Australia starting on Friday. Yesterday, she found herself at the airport in Los Angeles to make her way out of the country, blend into her security detail and sip on a cup of soda from Taco Bell. It's a long flight to Perth (where Spears has a two night run in that city's Burswood Dome), but Spears has proven that she has the reserves to overcome her jet lag and to deliver a great show.
Travel was big for stars yesterday, as Robert Pattinson greeted fans in Japan (along with "New Moon" director Chris Weitz), while Carrie Underwood hopped to New York to promote her newest album on "The Late Show with David Letterman." Click here for these photos plus the entire "Spotted!" archive, which features over 350 candid shots of Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Madonna, Adam Lambert, Rihanna, Green Day, Taylor Swift and the Jonas Brothers!
