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OK, We Suppose Colin Powell's Cover Of Carly Rae Jepsen's 'Call Me Maybe' Is Pretty Good Too

Posted 6/13/12 4:38 pm EST by in Politics, Video

Yes, you read all of those words correctly. On CBS' "Early Show" this morning, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, along with Gayle King, briefly performed an a capella rendition of Carly Rae Jepsen's ubiquitous hit "Call Me Maybe."

>> Carly Rae Jepsen And The Unstoppable Ubiquity Of 'Call Me Maybe'

And here we were all set to call a moratorium on coverage of "Call Me Maybe" covers following Jimmy Fallon and The Roots' charming rendition, which featured Jepsen herself. But you simply can't ignore when one of the most respected men in America takes to the daytime talk show circuit and proves that not only is he aware of the hit (and really, how could he not be?), he knows the words – and has some pretty sweet flow.

>> Carly Rae Jepsen Thinks 'Call Me Maybe' Viral Videos Are 'Rad'

Check it out:

Of course, Powell isn't the only politician to get carried away by Jepsen's pop magic. President Obama recently covered the track too … kind of! You can check out below. Read More...

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Mitt Romney Gets The Auto-Tuned Music Video Mash-Up Treatment

Posted 5/17/12 3:12 pm EST by in Politics

By Uptin Saiidi (@uptin)

The group that gifted the world with the viral musical mashup of Charlie Sheen's "Winning" last year and became famous for "auto-tuning the news" is back for more.

This time Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is their latest victim ... or winner, depending on how you look at it.

The group mashed up Romney's best quotes over the past few months on the campaign trail. The song starts off sounding like a rap, where we see the presidential hopeful singing, "What's up gangstas? It's the M.I. double-tizzle." Then he spits off a list of everything he loves, including, but not limited to, lakes, cars, American cars, you, businesses, silly stuff, mandates, grits and, heck, even "Twilight."

Members of the group appear in the video as news reporters and rappers following him everywhere from the MSNBC studios to a living room couch. At one point, member Sarah Fullen Gregor asks, "Do you like iPads? Do you like iPhones? Do you like vampires?" He gives a blank stare.

The Gregory Brothers recently won an a award for best viral original at The Comedy Awards for their song, "Winning."

Seeing Mitt Romney in a rap video might sound absurd, but you might be surprised how similar quotes between a rapper and a Presidential candidate can be. MTV's Clutch compiled quotes from Republican politicians and famous rappers, and while you'd thing who said what would be obvious, you might be surprised. Take the quiz and see for yourself: Who Said It? Republican Politician Or Famous Rapper.

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President Obama Sings Again!

Posted 2/22/12 12:01 pm EST by in Barack-Obama, Obama, Politics

By Uptin Saiidi (@uptin)

At this rate, we might see an added concert element to President Obama's re-election tour this year. Last night in the East Room of the White House, the Commander-In-Chief sang “Sweet Home Chicago” during a blues performance filming for PBS. "In Performance at the White House" will air on Monday night and is set to recognize Black History Month. The follow-up performance to “Let’s Stay Together” when he sung at a Harlem event, had the President singing the words, “Come on, baby don’t you want to go?”

Unlike his Harlem performance, where he stood behind a podium, the President was front and center with the microphone and laughed alongside First Lady Michelle Obama.

Mic Jagger, B.B. King and Jeff Beck were among the attendees at the event

Buddy Guy prompted the singing after saying he'd heard the president sung part of Al Green recently and then told him, "You gotta keep it up."

Once Jagger handed over the mic, Obama had no choice but to comply. And yet he didn't seem to hold back.

According to the Associated Press, Obama reflected on what the blues genre meant to him saying, “This music speaks to something universal. No one goes through life without bothjoy and pain, triumph and sorrow. The blues gets all of that, sometimes with just one lyric or one note.”

Read More...

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Stephen Colbert Transfers Super PAC Power To Jon Stewart As He Considers Presidential Run

Posted 1/13/12 12:03 pm EST by in Politics, Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert

By Zachary Swickey

Our favorite political pot-stirrer Stephen Colbert is causing a joyous ruckus once again. After polling in South Carolina, his home state, at five percent, Colbert has passed his Super PAC to his old chum Jon Stewart and is planning on forming an exploratory committee for a possible presidential run (we’re surprised Kanye isn’t doing the same with his “DONDA” project).

For months now, Colbert has been comically mocking the South Carolina Republicans and their presidential primary, and it appears he’s diving into the race headfirst. A new poll has revealed Colbert is even favored ahead of Jon Huntsman in South Carolina.

Additionally, the Palmetto Public Record reveals that Colbert’s Super PAC – Americans For A Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow – is in negotiations with buying some media in the Columbia market. Airtime is pricey during the primary season, so Colbert surely has a solid ace up his sleeve.

However, in order to run, Colbert must give up his beloved Super PAC. We all know how good politicians are at finding loopholes and ways around things, so Colbert found one himself by transferring control of the PAC to Mr. Stewart in order to proceed. Watch, after the jump! Read More...

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The President Says No to Facebook For Sasha And Malia, Yes To 'Modern Family'

Posted 12/14/11 2:44 pm EST by in Facebook, Politics, Television

President Obama

By Shakira Atitebi

Regardless of the growing international popularity of Facebook, which has over 800 million users, the social networking is not allowed in the White House.

In their only exclusive print interview of the holiday season, President Obama and First Lady Michelle tell PEOPLE Magazine they do not permit daughters Sasha and Malia on Facebook. "It's not been a hard decision," the President said.

Although the First Family is always under the watchful eye of the public, the Commander in Chief prefers his privacy, saying, "Why would we want to have a whole bunch of people who we don't know knowing our business? That doesn't make much sense."

But when Michelle explained that Malia is only 13 and Sasha is 10, the President giggled and added, "We'll see how they feel in four years."

While the President and his lovely wife might have a change of heart in the future about whether Malia and Sasha can be on Facebook, at least they can agree on their favorite TV show as a family. Read on to see what it is! Read More...

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Mitt Romney Taps Homie Kid Rock For Campaign Anthem

Posted 12/7/11 3:25 pm EST by in Kid-Rock, Politics

Here's how this one usually goes:

1) Clueless Republican politician (and they're almost always Republicans, for some reason) decides to adopt a rousing pop/rock song as their campaign anthem.

2) Singer/band gets wind of said appropriation and demands that politician cease and desist from using the song because a) they don't agree with that person's politics, or b) the pol has completely misinterpreted the song and is using it for jingoistic inspiration when the true meaning of the song is the total opposite of what they think. (Call it the "I don’t think that means what you think it means" corollary.)

3) Said politician quietly agrees to stop using the song, or defiantly vows to keep playing it at rallies without the artist's consent.

Then there's GOP presidential kind-of frontrunner Mitt Romney, a Detroit native who grew up in southeast Michigan as the son of the state's former governor, George Romney. According to the Detroit News, Romney has finally picked a campaign theme song: Kid Rock's amber waves of grain fist-pumping, flag-waving anthem "Born Free."

I know what you're thinking here: "oh man, Kid is gonna go all in on that guy for using his music!" Except he's probably not going to. Unlike Katy Perry, who demanded that momentary GOP frontrunner and gay rights foe Rep. Michele Bachmann cease and desist from using her song "Firework" earlier this year … after Tom Petty sent an actual cease and desist order to get her to stop using "American Girl" at campaign stops. Rock's probably okay with this one. Read More...

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Watch Event For Young Entrepreneurs Live From The White House

Posted 11/28/11 1:52 pm EST by in Activism, Politics

From MTV Act:

Today at 2PM, MTV will be at the White House for a joint event with the Young Entrepreneur Council where entrepreneurs like Dina Kaplan, founder of blip.tv, and Priceline founder Jeff Hoffman will join 150 Washington, DC-area high school and college students to promote entrepreneurship as a solution to youth unemployment and underemployment

MTV News' own Sway will be moderating a conversation with the entrepreneurs, so be sure to check out the live stream of the event. For more information, visit MTV Act Blog, and WhiteHouse.gov.

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What Are Your Thoughts On Schweddy Balls? One Conservative Group Doesn't Like Them One Bit

Posted 9/22/11 3:30 pm EST by in Newsroom Poll, Politics

Schweddy Balls

By Henna Kathiya

Who knew ice cream could be such a touchy subject? Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry's ice cream definitely have a sense of humor, as they recently released their newest flavor "Schweddy Balls." The new ice cream flavor is named after a popular "Saturday Night Live" skit in which Alec Baldwin, playing the character of Pete Schweddy, makes up a fictional treat called "Schweddy Balls" for the ladies of the fictitious National Public Radio program "Delicious Dish."

But conservative group One Million Moms is not laughing and has called for a boycott of the new flavor, claiming the name to be too vulgar. Can you imagine, children going up to the counter and asking for "Schweddy Balls"? One Million Moms certainly can't! Ben & Jerry's has been accused of being insensitive to conservative sensibilities in the past, like when it released a flavor last year called Hubby Hubby (a play on Chubby Hubby) to celebrate gay marriage, which also upset One Million Moms. Read More...

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Helping Michele Bachmann Find A Campaign Song

Posted 6/29/11 12:45 pm EST by in Gay Rights, Obama, Politics

Open-minded political figure Michele Bachmann, she of gay people being “part of Satan” and Medicaid being a form of socialism (despite her husband’s acceptance of $137,000 of it!) fame, is ruffling the feathers of yet another musician. This time around, it’s Tom Petty, whose management sent Bachmann’s campaign a cease-and-desist letter to halt their use of his song, “American Girl.”

This is the second time in two weeks that Bachmann’s camp has been asked to not use a song on the campaign trail. The Tea Party wonder entered the conservative RightOnline conference in Minneapolis, Minn., to Katy Perry’s “Firework” on June 18, prompting a big WTF from journos confused why the fervently anti-gay pol settled on one of the most mainstream pro-tolerance anthems in recent memory.

Now she’s harshing Petty’s buzz. The Minnesota rep played “American Girl” in Waterloo, Iowa, on Monday when she officially kicked off her presidential campaign and again following a speech in South Carolina last night. Not cool, Bachmann!

In light of her campaign’s inability to comprehend that almost no one wants to be associated with her politics, we have a few suggestions for Bachmann’s camp to find that perfect anthem. Read More...

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Follow Michelle Obama’s Trip To South Africa On MTV Act Blog

Posted 6/22/11 3:30 pm EST by in Obama, Politics

From MTV Act Blog:

@MTVbaseAfrica is live-tweeting First Lady Michelle Obama's youth empowerment trip to Africa this week, starting with today's stop at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa. Check out pics from the tour:

(Above) The First Lady arrives at the South African Apartheid Museum. Apartheid was a period of racial segregation enforced by law in South Africa from the 1940s to the 1990s. Citizens were classified into four groups--"white", "black", "coloured" and "Asian"--that often led to violence and nonwhite groups being subjected to limited employment, housing and schooling options.

All pictures provided by Selae Thobakgale of MTV Base.

For more, visit MTV Act Blog.

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