Lady Gaga Fans Crash Servers In South African Ticket Frenzy

Posted 6/20/12 10:44 am EST by in Lady Gaga, Tour Dates

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga's "Born this Way Ball" has hit some road bumps since kicking off in South Korea in late-April. Many of the massive tour's dates in Asia were plagued by protests from Christian and Islamic groups, culminating in a particularly frightening situation in Indonesia, where an Islamic extremist organization threatened the pop superstar with violence, forcing her to cancel a sold-out show in Jakarta.

One thing the road show has not encountered is a lack of interest from fans. Each of the 16 Asian shows that did go forward sold out, and in less than two months, the tour has already pulled in a staggering $45 million.

Gaga will be able to add two shows in South Africa to her sell-out list … just as soon as the ticketseller gets its website back up and running after a deluge of Little Monsters crashed it. Less than 24 hours after the "Bad Romance" diva announced plans to play concerts in Johannesburg on November 30 and Cape Town on December 3, fans rushed web retailer Computicket so hard that servers shut down after being overwhelmed by traffic.

"Just woke up to emails saying South African monsters crashed the online ticket servers due to high demand for The Btw Ball! I can't believe it," Gaga tweeted late yesterday (June 19).

Computicket promises it is working to rectify the problem.

Gaga is currently in Australia, with the first of three shows at Sydney's Allphones Arena planned for tonight. The star also happily reported earlier today that she is just fine after suffering a concussion during a concert in Auckland, New Zealand when a dancer accidentally hit her with a set piece mid-song (and she kept right on performing after).

"Went for an MRI. No harm from the concussion but it appears my brain is just water and a large floating jellyfish," she joked on Twitter.

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Justin Bieber's Believe Drops Today! What's Your Favorite Track? (Poll)

Posted 6/19/12 8:00 am EST by in Justin Bieber, Newsroom Poll

Bieber Album

Justin Bieber's new album Believe finally hit stores today. On the album, we find a more mature Bieber. He's entrusted some of the biggest names in the game to craft his sound, with production credits going to the likes of Max Martin, Rodney Jerkins, Babyface, Diplo and the Messengers. His mentor Usher, who recently released his own album, Looking 4 Myself, serves as the set's executive producer.

The beats are heavy on Believe and the collaborations are top-notch – we get appearances from Drake ("Right Here"), Big Sean ("As Long As You Love Me"), Nicki Minaj ("Beauty and a Beat") and Ludacris ("All Around the World"). Bieber muses on love, serenades the ladies and takes us to the club. It's the pop stars big attempt to be all things to all people … and he pulls it off with aplomb.

>> Justin Bieber's Believe: Five Key Tracks

The album is sure to be a crowd-pleaser, which got us thinking about you, Bieber's famously devoted fans.

Which Believe track is your absolute favorite? Vote in our poll below and sound off in the comments with your thoughts on the album and the new, grown up Justin!

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Madonna Spotted Shooting 'Turn Up The Radio' Video In Italy

Posted 6/18/12 3:15 pm EST by in Music

Ten days after it was rumored she'd be shooting her "Turn Up the Radio" video in Rome, Madonna was photographed in another Italian city filming the clip.

On Monday, her manager, Guy Oseary, tweeted a photo of Madonna, along with some dancers, from the video shoot in Florence.

In the snapshot, Madonna smiles as she makes her way to a convertible filled with dancers clad in colorful, shiny clothes. As for Madonna's wardrobe, she's dressed in all black, and she topped off the look with a black-and-white hat, which she's tipping down in the photo. The shot matches the track's summery vibe.

"Give It 2 Me" music video director Tom Munro has reportedly been tapped for this video, with Madonna's longtime collaborator Martin Solveig producing. Read More...

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Lady Gaga's Competition: Four Of The Best Celebrity Scents

Posted 6/18/12 8:00 am EST by in Beyonce, Diddy, Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga, Twitter

By Meredith Goldberg-Morse

Lady Gaga just released images of her new perfume, "Fame," on Twitter, a few days after a Canadian fashion magazine editor leaked photos of the bottle. The singer expressed her frustration with the situation, tweeting, "Looks like photos of my perfume are being leaked. Oh you fashion editors I could just crinkle my hands at you!" along with Instragram photos of both the bottle and its packaging. The bottle, which resembles gold talons grasping a glass egg, is filled with an alarmingly dark liquid that will spray on clear.

We’re happy to report that the fragrance includes neither blood nor semen. The singer instead went with a well-balanced blend of pulverized apricot, crushed heart of tiger orchidea, essence of saffron and honey drops as well as mysterious components "black veil of incense" and "tears of belladonna."

The megastar, whose scent will be available for purchase later this summer, is not the first celebrity to create a perfume and certainly will not be the last. The following successful perfumers are proof that people really do want the chance to smell like their favorite celebs.

Read More...

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Usher Teaches Love 101 On 'Lessons For The Lovers'

Posted 6/15/12 2:32 pm EST by in Music

By Christina Garibaldi

Usher has never made it a secret that he usually sings for the ladies. After all, he planned a ladies-only tour, fittingly titled One Night Stand, in 2008. With past hits like "Nice and Slow," "Trading Places" and "U Got It Bad," Usher has lyrically and visually captured women's hearts around the world.

Now, with his seventh studio album, Looking 4 Myself, Usher is still tantalizing everyone with his club-banging hits, sultry voice, catchy beats and lyrics that might make every woman flush.

The tracklist alone could be interpreted different ways, with titles like "Climax," "Euphoria" and "Lessons for the Lover." So when MTV News sat down with Usher recently, we asked him what lessons for the lovers he might be teaching on his latest effort.

"Well, if there are lovers out there, still to this day we have to find ways to communicate, it's difficult, but you know ... man, am I blushing right now?" Usher said, getting a little embarrassed explaining the track. "That song is specifically for those lovers who have kind of those heated moments. I think coming together ... is definitely a way to work through your harder issues."
I think you have us blushing right now, Usher!

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Who Else Has Settled Their Beef With Oprah?

Posted 6/15/12 1:00 pm EST by in Television

Oprah 50 Cent

By Cristina Recino

On this week's episode of "Oprah's Next Chapter," the big O and 50 Cent finally squashed their beef. In the candid one-on-one interview, they discussed 50's tough childhood and his pledge to feed 1 billion people through the sales of his Street King energy drink.

Oprah has continuously denounced the view of women in hip-hop culture and the use of the N-word, which at one point instigated a beef between the talk show titan and the rapper. During the interview, 50 explained that he saw O’s stance as an attack on him personally. "I would see moments where you would discuss your feelings on the culture, and everything that was wrong with the culture was on my CD," 50 said. "And I was like, 'She doesn't like me.'"

At the time, 50 responded to Oprah’s stance by saying she caters to middle-aged white women and doesn't understand hip-hop culture. He even went as far as to name his pet dog after the talk show host, which Oprah confronted him about during the interview. "I heard you had a bitch named Oprah, that's what I heard," Winfrey said.

But the sit-down revealed a different side of the MC, which took Oprah aback. 50 Cent talked about the difference between his rap persona and Curtis Jackson. "I've always had to be two people," he said. "I've had to be my grandmother's baby in the house and be more like what people perceive 50 Cent as outside. I'm not even allowed to curse around her."

Ultimately, that and 50's commitment to charity were enough for the two to work past their former feud.

But this isn’t the only settled beef Oprah’s had on her hands. Over the years, she's compiled an impressive list of celebrity feuds turned friendships.

Read More...

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When Sports Meet Song: Professional Athletes And Famous Fans Making Music

Posted 6/15/12 8:00 am EST by in Flaming-Lips, Music

Flaming Lips

By Zachary Swickey

Anyone keeping up with this year’s NBA Finals is aware that the Oklahoma City Thunder are on a roll, and quite possibly on their way to their first national championship. OKC-based experimental rockers The Flaming Lips are proud of their hometown team and recorded “Thunder Up! Racing for the Prize” in their honor.

The song is a re-recording of a signature Lips track, “Race for the Prize,” off their iconic 1999 effort The Soft Bulletin, with some new winning-centric lyrics: "Theirs is to win / We win with them / They'll keep fighting for Oklahoma" Wayne Coyne sings, while the shouted refrain of "Thunder Up!" is repeated in the background.

Get More: Music News

This is by no means the first time the music world has collided with sports. There are plenty of moments worth mentioning.

Take for example the track that made Wiz Khalifa a household name: “Black and Yellow.” The track is Khalifa’s ode to the city of Pittsburgh and the colors of its professional sports teams. Prince recorded a similar tribute (“Purple and Gold”) to the Minnesota Vikings in 2010 after witnessing a game against the Dallas Cowboys.

>> Flaming Lips Insist Oklahoma City Thunder 'Will Win' NBA Championship

Artists aren’t the only ones getting in on the action; entire teams will occasionally craft a song together. The Green Bay Packers once spoofed the craze of the “Macarena” dance movement with the “Pacarena” in 1996. However, the most memorable is the 1985 Chicago Bears' “Super Bowl Shuffle,” a rap tune which has been parodied countless times and was inexplicably nominated for a Grammy for Best Rhythm and Blues Performance by a Duo or Group. They lost the Grammy, but won the Super Bowl.

Of course, some might be more familiar with the attempts from athletes themselves at making music.

There are plenty to choose from – Ron Artest, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson – but the one we’ll never forget is Shaq’s foray into the music world. His ’93 debut effort, Shaq Diesel, was eventually certified platinum and he guest rapped on “2 Bad,” a track off Michael Jackson’s 1995 HIStory album. His next effort went Gold, but his albums since have missed the mark. His last disc was released all the way back in ’98, but there’s always time for a comeback.

Listen to The Flaming Lips' "Thunder Up! Racing for the Prize" below! Read More...

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Are One Direction's Niall Horan And Demi Lovato A Couple?

Posted 6/14/12 4:45 pm EST by in boy bands, Celebrity, Demi Lovato

By Elizabeth Lancaster @lizzydl

It doesn’t get much hotter than One Direction. Except maybe if you took their token blonde hottie and match him up with sweetheart songbird and "X Factor" judge Demi Lovato. Now, that'd be a young pop power couple!

Which brings us to the question that everyone is asking — are these two young superstars the newest couple in Hollywood?

Ryan Seacrest got the scoop on his radio show today (June 14) straight from Niall Horan himself. He explained that he and Lovato have been using Skype to chit chat – and that Demi "is a cool girl."

>> One Direction Tease Video Project, Need Your Help

Well, if Niall thinks Demi is "cool," and 19-year-old Demi has already admitted to finding him "adorable," it seems like they are leaning in the direction of their rumors! However, Horan went on to tell Seacrest, "We’ve spoken alright, yeah … So, I got in contact with her, she’s really nice. Um, I don’t know what’s going to happen."

They might not know what’s in store for them yet, but we bet the two teen dreams will figure it out fast.

It looks like they will have plenty to Skype about in the near future, huh?

Listen to Niall talk Demi and One Direction's next album below! Read More...

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Madonna's Got a Pretty Demanding Tour Rider

Posted 6/14/12 3:19 pm EST by in Madonna

Madonna

Allegedly, of course!

The riders for touring musicians run the gamut from pretty basic (Adele) to lavishly extravagant (hello, Jennifer Lopez), but if you pick up this week's In Touch Weekly (via Boy Culture) (and if you believe In Touch Weekly … which, you know, you do at your own risk), Madonna is quite the demanding diva.

The pop superstar has been making headlines around the world on her "MDNA Tour." Last week, she was flashing her breast in Istanbul, Turkey, and the other day she mooned the audience in Rome. She got a reaction out of Lady Gaga after she performed an on-stage mash-up of her 1989 classic "Express Yourself" with Gaga's hit "Born This Way" (hint: they still sound kind of the same-ish), and is encountering threats of legal action from French politician Marine Le Pen because of an image of the conservative leader with a swastika on her forehead used in the "Nobody Knows Me" video interlude shown during her show.

So, yeah, Madonna's been busy.

But if the tour demands In Touch is talking up are true, at least she's pretty comfortable on the road. The rag mag reports that Her Madgesty has a 200-person entourage (!) on tour with her – including 30 bodyguards, an acupuncturist, a yoga instructor, an on-site dry cleaner and several personal chefs. That's pretty intense, but not particularly surprising (of course Madonna has chefs and yoga instructors on the road with her … and so does everyone else), but we can't help but wonder if that very large number includes crew members that would be backstage on any artists' tour.

Why not provide further details about this enormous entourage unless that's the case? Seems like a sneaky, concerted effort to make Madonna look like an even bigger diva than she is…which isn't something you'd think they'd need a lot of help with.

Her backstage demands reportedly include a strictly vegan menu – which, unless things changed recently, is also suspect, because Madonna is not vegan. Additionally, the Queen of Pop would like there to be 20 international phone lines in her dressing room, for the furniture to be "draped in a special fabric" and decorated with lilies and white and pink roses with their stems cut to exactly six inches.

Most interestingly, though, are her alleged hotel demands. Madonna likes to take home on the road with her and "requires all be removed from the rooms and replaced with her own pieces that she has shipped in."

Now, if that's true, we bow down to the Queen!

Related:
>> Madonna On Nipple-Flashing: 'I Don't Like To Repeat Myself'
>> Nero To Join Madonna On North American Leg Of 'MDNA Tour' This Fall
>> The Real Star Of Madonna's 'MDNA Tour': Her Son Rocco Ritchie
>> Go Behind The Scenes Of Madonna's 'MDNA Tour'

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