Cody Simpson To Join Big Time Rush On Summer Tour

Posted 3/14/12 10:24 am EST by in boy bands, tour, Tour Dates


With One Direction storming the plaza at "Today" and Bieber fever heating up again as the release of "Boyfriend" nears, teenage boy pop is all the rage again. And now, two of the genre's hottest acts are teaming up for a summer tour.

Australian teen dream Cody Simpson is set to hit the road with the boys of Big Time Rush for a summer tour behind his still-untitled debut. The poster also debuted the album's first single, "So Listen," a clubby dance track featuring T-Pain.

Although Simpson is drawing comparisons to Justin Bieber, the young singer told MTV News that he really aspires to be more like Justin Timberlake. "He has such a sophisticated presence," Simpson said of Timberlake. "I watched his FutureSex/LoveSounds tour, and it's something you really get inspired by. He does so much in the show: He plays piano and guitar and he just is always singing. He sounds amazing live and he dances great. He's just an all-around entertainer. That's something I want to strive to be. It's always good to have someone you want to be like."

Listen to "So Listen" and check out Simpsons summer tour dates with Big Time Rush after the jump! Read More...

Tags , ,

Get Your Musical March Madness Badges For Facebook And Twitter Here!

Posted 3/13/12 3:43 pm EST by in March Madness


Musical March Madness

By Kara Klenk

Musical March Madness is underway right now and this year we’ve made badges for every band in the competition, which you can use as your profile pic for Facebook, Twitter, BBM, AIM, whatever!

Want to make one of our MMM badges your Facebook profile pic? Follow these easy steps:

1) "Like" MTV News on Facebook.

2) Go to the Musical March Madness 2012 – Badges album.

3) Tag yourself in the photo of your favorite band.

4) Go to your profile, click on the picture in your timeline and choose "Make Profile Picture."

To download the badge directly to your computer, click on your favorite band’s name below! Read More...

Tags ,

NKOTB's Joey McIntyre Doubts The Staying Power Of One Direction

Posted 3/13/12 12:03 pm EST by in NKOTB


One Direction

Zachary Swickey

Veteran boy bander Joey McIntyre of New Kids on the Block isn't sure red-hot British bands One Direction and The Wanted are going to be long-term players on the music scene.

Talking to Yahoo UK, McIntyre said, "The odds are against both One Direction and The Wanted – neither of them are going to work in America – it hasn’t happened in 50 years so why now?"

(He had to be speaking specifically about British boy bands, as his own group found success in the U.S. in the early-90s and NKOTB's tour mates the Backstreet Boys, along with NSYNC and 98 Degrees, led the charge in the late-90s/early-00s boy band Renaissance.)

Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough was not as abrasive toward the up-and-coming groups, saying, “I’m not one to tell anyone what to do, how to make their career happen. The hardest places to crack are the UK and USA. And for success to happen a lot of things need to go right. It was a lot of right time, right place for Backstreets Boys.”

McIntyre, however, wasn't done speaking his mind. “The music has to be able to stand on its own but that’s not the only thing that matters. To have long term staying power the music has to be strong enough, to be timeless," he continued. "But nowadays with the Internet, you do something good or bad – either way the attention is on your and that makes you successful as well."

Apparently, McIntyre's words come from a place of concern, as he lamented the lack of a normal youth the guys will endure before it all comes crashing down. “It costs being a pop star, they [One Direction and The Wanted] don’t have regular girlfriends," he said. "They don’t have the experiences that everyone else has and that can be a bad thing. They’re missing out on being late on rent, doing laundry, or going out on normal dates – that’s missing out. And they’ll have to learn it all later.”

Do you think Joey McIntyre is right or wrong in his assessment of The Wanted and One Directions career longevity? Let us know in the comments below.

Tags ,

Nick Jonas Set To Return To 'Smash'

Posted 3/13/12 10:10 am EST by in Jonas Brothers, Television, Video


Only weeks ago, Nick Jonas stopped by the MTV Newsroom and shared that he wanted to return to the NBC hit musical drama, "Smash." Well, it seems, his wish is now coming true.

Nick will tackle his bad boy character, Lyle West, once again when he appears on the May 14 season finale of the show, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He really stirred the pot when he first appeared last month, chewing scenery alongside screen legend Angelica Huston and now, it seems, he’ll get to flex his acting muscles one more time.

"He's a fun character," the Jonas Brother told MTV News in February about hoping to return to the show. "Lyle is very precocious and definitely a bit different than I am in reality. But there are a lot of similarities too: Lyle started off in musical theater [and so did I]. That's how he knows all the people involved in 'Marilyn' [the musical at the center of the show]. ... He's a fun character; I hope he can come back again."

"Smash" revolves around the drama of staging a splashy Broadway show. In real life, Nick currently stars in one, as the lead in "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying."

Tags , , ,

Olivia Munn Laughs Off Nude Pic Scandal With Jokey Letter And Pic At SXSW Screening

Posted 3/12/12 4:38 pm EST by in Celebrity, Internet, The Interweb


Olivia Munn

People are still talking about the nude pics of Olivia Munn that showed up online last week after a hacker broke into her phone and leaked the images, but the starlet is taking it all in stride and is even laughing off the experience by fighting fire with fire.

(Soapbox: We get that, for one reason or another, people are super interested in celebrity nude pics, but can we please stop hacking their cell phones? It's a pretty cold thing to do. Snapping a pic of someone when they are out in public – fine. Breaking into and stealing their private property – not OK and pretty illegal.)

While Munn's pictures were not particularly explicit, the writing on them, allegedly by Munn, was. Like, VERY. The images had graphic text superimposed on them, most of which were instructions, and arrows pointing to where to, um, carry out her directions. They were basically illustrated sex instructions and they were something.

Well, this weekend at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, Munn was unable to attend a screening of her film "The Babymakers" because she was filming HBO's Aaron Sorkin series "The Newsroom," but she sent a fun letter with the film's director apologizing for her absence and detailing what she was doing when she wasn't sending lewd texts. She also included a picture of herself with some superimposed text to mock the mini-scandal. Both are kind of awesome.

"Oh, and one last thing – some of those pictures weren't even me," Munn at one point writes. "I mean, you can't even see my penis…"

You know you want to read it. Check both letter and pic out after the jump. Read More...

Tags ,

Fray Frontman Isaac Slade Wants To Punch The Killers' Brandon Flowers 'In The Mouth'

Posted 3/12/12 10:49 am EST by in Fighting, Music, The Killers


The Fray

By Zachary Swickey

The Fray may be known for their relaxed music and its frequent use on “Grey’s Anatomy,” but frontman Isaac Slade isn’t keen on anyone pointing that out exactly.

Slade – who just released The Fray’s third album, Scars and Stories, earlier this month – has got his sights set on The Killers’ frontman Brandon Flowers for derogatory comments the singer made about Slade’s group.

Slade talked to the Daily Star about this beef, saying, “When we started making the album, I saw footage on YouTube of Brandon getting mad at a Killers crowd who were a little sedate. Brandon was yelling, ‘Come on, stand up and dance. This isn’t a f**king Fray show.’”

Well, that little comment hasn’t sat too well with Slade. While he surprisingly admitted that his shows can be a bit on the chill side, he doesn't necessarily see that as a bad thing and wants Flowers to know it.

“All I could do was laugh because that’s true – we do have a very thoughtful, sensitive crowd who don’t get to dance much. Still, I’ll pay Brandon back for picking on our fans. Next time I see him I’ll have to punch him in the mouth,” Slade vowed.

The Fray’s Scars and Stories debuted at number four on the Billboard charts last month with 87,000 copies sold. The Killers are in the midst of recording their fourth studio album and are expected to make their live return with a headlining slot at the UK’s V Festival this summer.

Tags ,

Madonna Shows Off Tour Rehearsal Injuries (Photos)

Posted 3/12/12 7:48 am EST by in Madonna


Madonna is workin' hard for the money.

The pop queen, whose new album MDNA we are totally loving (especially the dance-pop gem "Turn Up The Radio") is in rehearsals for her sell-out world tour and she's giving it her all … and has the bruises to prove it.

M posted three pictures to her official Facebook of her battle scars, which include a bruised leg and backside and a split lip.

"Cut my lip from rehearsing Girl Gone Wild," Madge captioned an image of a pretty sore looking lower lip (below).

Madonna, Facebook

She's also got a small heart-shaped black-and-blue on her bum, but it's nothing compared to the large bruise on her leg. That thing looks brutal. Check both out after the jump. Read More...

Tags

Jack White Works His Way Through Back Catalog And New Tracks At First-Ever Solo Show

Posted 3/9/12 4:09 pm EST by in Music


Jack White

By Zachary Swickey

Musical Renaissance man Jack White has already had the honor of performing on “Saturday Night Live” but it wasn’t until last night that he performed his first full live solo set at the third birthday celebration for his self-owned label, Third Man Records (via Jam Canoe).

The multi-instrumentalist showcased 19 tracks spanning his career nicely, which included songs by The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather (never realized how much he likes “The” before his band names), as well as six new cuts off his forthcoming debut album Blunderbuss.

Keeping it low-key at his label’s headquarters in Nashville for the gig, White’s audience consisted of a couple hundred critics, music industry insiders, fellow bandmates and contest winners. In true White fashion, invites were found on cardboard volvelle wheels. The reception area for VIPs took place in the Third Man complex’s lounge, which was decorated with giant stuffed animals and dinosaur skulls strewn around White’s old-school office door, which strangely reads “John A White III, DDS: Family Dentistry." (Not the craziest thing to hear considering his appearance on “American Pickers.”)

White kicked his set off with the Stripes' classic ’01 track “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” followed by three Blunderbuss cuts – “Missing Pieces,” “Sixteen Saltines” “and “Love Interruption," his new single that he rocked on “SNL.”

He then went on to cover Raconteurs territory with “Top Yourself” before changing it up with a Dead Weather track, “Blue Blood Blues.” However, plenty of fan favorite hits were also covered, including “Seven Nation Army,” “My Doorbell,” Dead Weather’s “Cut Like a Buffalo” and Raconteurs’ “Steady as She Goes.”

Singer for The Dead Weather (and The Kills, of course) Allison Mosshart was spotted in the audience as well as The Raconteurs bassist Jack Lawrence, cheering their bandmate on. Read More...

Tags ,

'Turn Up The Radio' Needs to Be Madonna's Next MDNA Single

Posted 3/9/12 1:36 pm EST by in Madonna


Madonna

Yesterday I was lucky enough to get an advance listen to Madonna's much-anticipated new album MDNA, and I'm thrilled to tell you that it's exactly the return to form fans have been hoping for from the Queen of Pop. A nice mix of dark, heavy club jams, mid-tempo electronic and some truly lovely ballads, MDNA has something for every sort of Madonna fan.

While we're only now getting a snippet of the video for the album's second single, "Girl Gone Wild," listening to the album already has me thinking ahead to her next single. That's how loaded with hits this thing is. Frankly, I can name three songs that I'd have gone with as the lead single over "Give Me All Your Lovin," and I'm on the record as liking that song just fine!

But the real winner is as obvious as the nose on my face and I can't believe Madonna didn't lead with it. The song is "Turn Up The Radio" … and it's the best thing she's done since "Hung Up."

Perhaps she's just knowingly waiting until early May to drop the track as an official single because she knows it's a perfect summer song. It's a big, anthemic dance-pop wonder with glittery synths and fun lyrics like "I don't know how I got to this stage / Let me out of my cage cause I'm dying / Turn up the radio, turn up the radio / Don't ask me where I wanna go, we gotta turn up the radio."

She needs freed because she's ready to have a good time, you see! There's a propulsive energy here that feels authentic and alive. The calculated perfectionism of some of Madonna's club jams can leave you feeling a little chilly but that's not the case here. In my notes I scribbled the words "effervescent" and "happy."

"You feel the wind on your face and your skin and it's here that I begin," Madonna sings as the music cues up. It's almost like she knows this is a song designed to be listened to at full volume with the windows down. Read More...

Tags

Kelly Clarkson To Judge On Newest Reality Singing Competition

Posted 3/9/12 11:47 am EST by in American Idol, kelly-clarkson, Television, The Voice


Kelly Clarkson

By Zachary Swickey

You can add ABC to the list of stations attempting a vocal competition show. The new program, “Duets,” will premiere this summer and boasts Kelly Clarkson, Robin Thicke, Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles and living legend Lionel Richie as its judging panel.

We know what you’re thinking… seriously? Another singing reality show? However, to set themselves apart from the bunch – which now includes “American Idol,” “The Voice,” “The X Factor” and The CW’s upcoming “Star Next Door,” which has Queen Latifah and Gloria Estefan as judges – “Duets” will have the judges choosing two singers to be their duet partners each night. They will perform in front of a live studio audience each week on the show.

Of course, eventually one duet contestant will remain and the top prize is a coveted contract with Hollywood Records.

Clarkson said in a statement, "The simple fact that I get to go out and find two people that I believe in, sing with them every week, and help them accomplish their dream is an amazing thing that I can't wait to be a part of!"

The ratings for “American Idol” have been suffering more than ever, “The X Factor” has received lukewarm attention and “The Voice” is becoming the new favorite, so who knows what ABC is thinking getting into the singing reality show game. “America’s Got Talent” will also be returning this summer, and while not a predominantly singing competition, the addition of Howard Stern as guest judges is bound to give ratings one heck of a boost.

Be on the lookout for “Duets” to premiere on ABC sometime this summer.

Tags , , ,

16171819202122232425
SPONSORS
AD:
©2012 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. MTV and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.