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'American Idol' Elimination Predictions: Will Stefano And Naima Be Sent Packing?

Posted 3/31/11 4:30 pm EST by in Music

We're just going to pretend like last week didn't happen. Especially since we totally blew it when we said Haley Reinhart was going home, only to watch as Casey Abrams was dealt a near death blow. Every season has one of those "Wait, did that just happen?" moments — sometimes more than one.

But after Wednesday night's (March 30) Elton John performance show, we're feeling pretty bullish again. All of a sudden, Reinhart is seemingly out of the fire, along with Abrams, who took the judges' advice to tone it down and chill out.

The bad news is that thanks to the Casey save, two singers go home tonight.

Once again, ladies choice Stefano Langone sounded like he was trying out for one of those cheesy Disneyland street shows (you know, the ones with all the "Cars" character, chipper tumblers in neon jumpsuits and animatronic dinosaurs?) and his "Tiny Dancer" just felt minor.

And though I've appreciated her spunk and wacky demeanor in a cast of genetically-bred-to-be-stars wannabes, Naima Adedapo may have just confused most of America with her reggae take on "I'm Still Standing." I loved it, but I had to agree with Randy that it felt a bit corny at times.

In keeping with our season-long elimination mind meld, "Idol" blogger MJ Santilli felt pretty much the same way as I did about this week's walk of shame twofer. "Naima Adedapo, Stefano Langone and Thia Megia will make up this week's bottom three, with Naima and Stefano hitting the road," she said confidently. "Naima is fascinating, but just too weird for the 'American Idol' viewing audience. If she leaves, I would say she was done in by fake Jamaican accent."

She said Langone will probably suffer from being stuck in the middle of the performance pack and just being too bland to get anyone to pick up the phone and vote for him. She also suspected Thia would land in the bottom again, but would squeak by because of her sob story about how "Daniel" reminds her of when her brother went away to college when she was a little girl.

MTV's own "Idol" obsessive, Jim Cantiello, said he was also sure that America's ready to put the "gone" in Langone. "Stefano's affected stylings almost got him booted last week and his 'Tiny Dancer' was more of the same, even if the judges decided to give the guy some good reviews for a change," he said, agreeing that Adedapo's bold choice was cool, but may have been done in by the faux Jamaican accent. "You could practically hear all of America simultaneously go,
'Huh?' as soon as she opened her mouth." He also picked Megia as the third bottom runger, but suspected she'd make it one more week.

And if there's anything we can all agreed on, it was that Abrams was 100 percent safe this week. Then again …

(One of our usual panelists, Maura Johnston, was unavailable to play this week.)

To recap, here's our prediction for the bottom three. Let us know your list in the comments below.

Gil Kaufman/MJ Santilli/Jim Cantiello: Naima Adedapo (out), Stefano Langone (out), Thia Megia

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.

Who do you think is going home tonight? Let us know in the comments!

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Lady Gaga's 'Judas' The Latest Pop Song To Take On Religion

Posted 3/31/11 3:30 pm EST by in Music

This week, Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" was finally knocked off the top of the Billboard Hot 100, but the next single from Born This Way seems ready to appear and take its place in the pantheon of her great singles. The lyrics to the song leaked this morning (Thursday, March 31), and as the title suggests, the track uses a lot of religious imagery to get the point across.

And while this isn't the first time Gaga has indulged in lyrics that reference religion (in fact, "Born This Way" has plenty of allusions to a higher power), but it is one of the sharpest. It might even ruffle some feathers (especially the line "Your Bible won't save you"), which would associate "Judas" with some of the most faith-baiting tracks in recent rock history.

Kanye West, "Jesus Walks"
West has managed to antagonize just about everybody under the sun. However, he actually managed to bring people together with "Jesus Walks," as it helped welcome religion back into contemporary hip-hop. That all happened even though the lyrics could be taken as West comparing his journey through the rap world as not unlike the second coming of Christ himself.

Depeche Mode, "Blasphemous Rumours"
Even though the members of Depeche Mode have regularly stated that the lyrics to "Blasphemous Rumours" weren't meant to be anti-religion, it still got banned from quite a few radio stations for the chorus, "I don't want to start any blasphemous rumours/ But I think that God's got a sick sense of humor/ And when I die I expect to find Him laughing."

Joan Osborne, "One of Us"
Osborne's big breakout hit (written by Eric Bazilian of the Hooters) raised some eyebrows in 1995 because the chorus attempted to humanize God ("What if God was one of us?/ Just a slob like one of us?"). Though it seemed relatively safe, that didn't stop the head of the Catholic League from publicly condemning the song and accusing Osborne of "Catholic baiting."
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Disturbed Looking To 'Make A Statement' In Musical March Madness: The MTV News Quote Of The Day

Posted 3/31/11 2:30 pm EST by in Music

"We definitely need to get everybody to rally together. We need to let everybody show their strengths and just give 110 percent all the way, and just make sure that their voices are heard. This is the time to make a statement. This is the time to strike a blow for the genre and let it be known that we're not going to go away quietly."

-Disturbed frontman Dave Draiman, rallying his fans around his band's match-up with Coheed and Cambria in the Elite Eight round of MTV's Musical March Madness. His band is one of the surprising Cinderella stories of this year's tournament, as they have rallied to defeat the likes of Dave Matthews Band, Foo Fighters and Patrick Stump (all of whom fought tough battles) to reach the regional finals. Now they face their toughest test yet in Coheed and Cambria, the defending Musical March Madness champions.

Draiman recognizes the competition but feels confident that his fans will pull through. "I think they're very, very talented musicians ... I definitely think they're very stiff competition," Draiman told MTV News' James Montgomery. "They've got an unbelievably dedicated fanbase, they're a very powerful band ... they're going to be a very serious challenge for us. I mean, we're up against leviathans here, you know, whether it's Green Day or any of the rest of these guys, they're all huge bands, so we're just very, very honored to be in competition with them. And I know that we, and the Disturbed fanbase, will give 110 percent all the way."

MTV's Musical March Madness has reached the Elite Eight! Voting is now open and will continue until Thursday (March 31) at midnight, when we'll roll on to the Final Four. All winners are determined by your votes, so if your favorite act is still standing, it's up to you to guide them to glory. You can rally the troops on Twitter using the hashtag #MMM — but get ready, things only get tougher from here on out!

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MTV's Musical March Madness: The Elite Eight!

Posted 3/31/11 1:30 pm EST by in Music

It's MTV's second annual Musical March Madness! MTV News took the 64 biggest names in rock, split them up into four regions, assigned them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 64, so over the next few weeks, fan voting will determine who will emerge as this year's champion. It's all about the fans, and the artist with the most passionate fan base will score the awesome Musical March Madness trophy!

Just when you thought MTV's Musical March Madness couldn't get any crazier, the Elite Eight has come around to raise the stakes. There have already been a number of lead changes and shifts in momentum in all four of the Elite Eight match-ups, and they will probably all go down to the wire when the voting closes Thursday night (March 31) at midnight. The Final Four will be revealed on Friday (April 1), and voting will run through the weekend leading up to Monday's (April 4) championship game. Any one of the bands left could win.

Voting for all Elite Eight match-ups will close on Thursday, March 31 at midnight. As always, you can follow all the voting here.

Midwest

» (6) Coheed and Cambria vs. (9) Disturbed

West

» (3) Green Day vs. (5) Panic! at the Disco

South

» (5) Paramore vs. (14) Tokio Hotel

East

» (3) My Chemical Romance vs. (16) Sum 41

Watch the latest update on all the Elite Eight action!

Check out the Musical March Madness bracket and be take a look at the hoops-centric photos of some of the tournament's biggest bands.

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Happy Birthday, Angus Young Of AC/DC!

Posted 3/31/11 12:30 pm EST by in Music

Today's birthday wishes go out to Angus Young of AC/DC, and though he is now 56 years old, the guy really is forever young. It isn't just because of his trademark school boy uniform (though that's certainly a big help), but it's also because of his lively concert performances and almost juvenile take (in the best way possible) on rock and roll.

AC/DC formed way back in 1973 when he was only 18 years old, and Young has been the group's lead guitarist since its inception. They instantly became huge in their native Australia, and it was mainly because of Young's incredible approach to music. He took blues riffs and melted them down, bent them in half, twisted them around and knocked them back out again with an incredible balance of power and grace. Those riffs helped turn giant slabs of proto-metal like "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap," "Highway to Hell," "Let There Be Rock" and "Back in Black" into huge hits and genre staples.

Though they've been playing music together for nearly 40 years, AC/DC remain an incredible presence in rock and roll. Their last studio album, 2008's Black Ice, was a big seller, and their accompanying world tour was extremely well-received. A lot of that has to do with Young's remarkable guitar work and manic energy (he still bounds around the stage like a crazed animal, still kicking and spinning better than any other rock star walking). AC/DC sort of had some lost years in there, but albums like 1995's Ballbreaker and 2000's Stiff Upper Lip have some gems — including "Satellite Blues," which comes from the latter album.


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Katy Perry's 'E.T.' Dethrones Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way'

Posted 3/31/11 10:30 am EST by in Music

This week will be remembered forever as the end of the reign of "Born This Way." After debuting in the top spot and spending six weeks there, the lead single from Lady Gaga's upcoming album of the same name has dropped to number four on the Billboard Hot 100. Katy Perry's "E.T." takes its place on top after seven weeks, picking up a ton of airplay in the past week. Expect the track to stick around for a while, especially considering the video for "E.T." premieres tonight (Thursday, March 31) at 7:53 p.m. ET on MTV and MTV.com.

Perry wasn't the only star to change the game in the top 10, as Wiz Khalifa stormed the upper echelon of the chart with "No Sleep." Khalifa, who previously topped the chart with "Black and Yellow" and also has his "Roll Up" at number 29, just released his major label debut Rolling Papers and appears to have resonated with a number of different audiences.

Speaking of crossovers, Chris Brown's "Next to You" (his tag-team with Justin Bieber) made a strong debut this week at number 26. The chart-topping status of Brown's new album F.A.M.E. should make him a fixture on the chart for the better part of the rest of the season. Brown sits just head of Tinie Tempah's "Written in the Stars," which has picked up a lot of attention thanks to its status as the theme song of WrestleMania XXVII (which airs this Sunday, April 3).

Finally, pay attention to the fact that Taylor Swift's "Mean" is back on the chart. Though she has been quiet on the Hot 100 lately, expect Swift to make a big splash as the months roll on into summer.

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'American Idol' Recap: Haley Reinhart Rules Elton John Week

Posted 3/31/11 8:30 am EST by in Music

Glue a wig to your head and put Eminem on speed dial because it's Elton John week on "American Idol X: Ballads Or Bust."

The Top 11 returned to primetime because Casey Abrams was saved last week. ("Saved" in the "Idol" sense, mind you. Lord knows if he's accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.) Producers were keen on trumping up the drama as much as possible, even going so far as recapping last week's results show with a graphic that mimicked a screenplay. "Hope has been renewed. But no more second chances," the Courier font typed out. Because if there's one thing us diehard "Idol" freaks love, it's having Nigel Lythgoe imply that last week's intense results were manufactured by a writer. Whoops!

The Top 11 also stopped by Entertainment Weekly for a photo shoot. Some of them even got makeovers. All that was missing from this "America's Next Top Model" homage was a campy egomaniac and an "I'm not here to make friends" declaration. (If only Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres were still on the show!)

Before I go on a rant about how season three's Elton John theme gave us some of the worst performances in "Idol" history and why in the world would they dip their toe in that pool again, let's get to the performances.

Scotty McCreery (And His Grandmother)
Song: "Country Comfort (Extra-Country Remix)"
Verdict: Memaw Approved
Scotty blindly picked "Country Comfort" because it had the word "country" in it. Good thing it wasn't Nelly week because "Country Grammar" and Scotty would go together like singing and not smirking. Jimmy Iovine's team is still trying to give Scotty suggestions and Scotty is still politely telling them, "Have you forgotten about my nuts of wonder already? I'm Scotty Effing McCreery. Sit yo ass down and take a number. I'm unstoppable."

Not only did Scotty sing the controversial "grandma" verse that Iovine's producers urged him to skip, but he stopped strumming his guitar (Scarlet!) long enough to shout out his adorable grandma in the audience.

To reiterate, he sang a country song about his grandmother. Who was sitting in the audience. In a patterned blouse. He is going to win. All other arguments are invalid.

Naima Adedapo
Song: "I'm Still Standing (Reggae Remix)"
Verdict: Jamaican She Crazy
While working with Naima, Jimmy Iovine confirmed what I've been suspecting all along. If he was in your group of friends, he'd be the one to tell you to jump over the barbed wire, drunk-text your ex, or, in this case, add a spoken word intro to your already bats--- reggae Elton John cover on "American Idol."
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Britney Spears Is 'Very Much In Control' On Femme Fatale: The MTV News Quote Of The Day

Posted 3/30/11 4:30 pm EST by in Music

"Here's what people don't realize and here's what I've noticed: She's very, very much in control of what she records, how she sounds, how she portrays herself on the record. There's no grand master puppeteering — that's kind of a myth. She knows what she's going to cut. She's not going to sing anything she doesn't want to and she has this amazing ability when she gets behind the mic. It's like eye of the tiger."

-Producer and songwriter Claude Kelly, discussing Britney Spears' confident work in the studio during the sessions for Femme Fatale. Kelly, who wrote "Gasoline" (one of the key tracks on the just-released album), explained to MTV News just how impressed he was at Spears' attitude in the studio and her approach to the work.

"Her rhythm is spot-on. You tell her, 'This part needs to be sexy,' and she's like, 'I got it already,'" he explained. "It's that rare ability that only really true artists have to get into character and to sell a theme and that's what she's good at. ... I think because she's been out for so long, people forget the evolution of her career. When you're in the studio with her, you quickly get reminded about how versatile she is and how clever she is. She's a show-woman."

To see more about what Spears has to say about fame and her life as a pop star, don't miss the "Britney Spears: I Am the Femme Fatale" special, which airs Sunday, April 3, at 9 p.m. ET on MTV.

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Watch Katy Perry's Interview Set Come Together!

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

This Thursday (March 31), Katy Perry will pull back the curtain on the brand new video for "E.T." (featuring Kanye West). Following the premiere of the video, MTV will present "MTV First: Katy Perry's 'E.T.'" which will feature a full sit-down interview with Perry conducted by MTV's Sway.

"I knew starting with 'I Kissed a Girl' that it might have taken a little bit longer to get everybody just onboard the Katy Perry train, I guess," she told Sway about her development as an artist. "But now, I'm having so much fun and I get to be so creative and try different things and expand, and I never play it safe — in any way, really."

The intrepid MTV News crew crossed the ocean to catch up with Perry in Ireland (one of the stops on her whirlwind tour for her latest album Teenage Dream) about the video, her tour, her goals and her life with husband Russell Brand (the star of the upcoming flicks "Hop" and "Arthur"). The space carved out for the interview was pretty plain, but the producers managed to put together an incredibly lovely set in what seemed like no time at all. In fact, MTV News set up a stop-motion camera to track the progress of the interview space, and the results are in the video below. Check it out, and be sure to tune in on Thursday night the big premiere of "E.T." (which of course features Kanye West).

Don't miss the premiere of Katy Perry's "E.T." video, featuring Kanye West, at 7:53 p.m. ET Thursday (March 31) on MTV, followed by our live "MTV First" interview with Katy Perry on MTV.com!

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Spotted: Justin Bieber Takes Paris

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

Every day a multitude of stars wander 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.

Even before he left the North American continent, Justin Bieber was already an international phenomenon (he comes from the wild foreign nation of Canada, after all). But he has truly blossomed into a worldwide superstar, as though he sings in English, his hooks, dance moves and hair all speak a universal language. The 17-year-old star is greeted as an icon just about everywhere he goes, and such was the case when he hit the streets of Paris this week before a series of concerts in France. Bieber was greeted by a massive throng of screaming French fans as he left his hotel to make his way to the Bercy Arena for yet another sold-out show. It's all in a day's work for Bieber, who always manages to play it cool like a pro twice his age.

He wasn't the only star getting on stage, as Snoop Dogg popped up on "The Late Show With David Letterman" and Cee-Lo Green continued his tear across Europe with another funky fresh show at Shepherds Bush Empire in London. Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted" archive, which features over 500 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, the Jonas Brothers, Madonna and Kanye West!

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