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Britney Spears, Eminem, Lady Gaga Play The Self-Reference Game

Posted 12/20/10 5:30 pm EST by in Music


Just about every year in pop music can be defined by a certain trend that tended to permeate a large percentage of the songs floating around the radio. There was the Year That Auto-Tune Blew Up, the Year That Country Crossed Over, the Year That Everybody Collaborated With The Neptunes and the Year That "Mambo No. 5" Ruled The Earth. This year, it's somewhat difficult to figure out exactly what the underlying thread was, though the MTV Newsroom Blog would like to submit 2010 as the Year That Everybody Sang Their Own Names.

Listen to the likes of Jason Derulo (who seems to open most of his songs by singing his own name), Lady Gaga (whose own name makes up the bulk of the chorus of "Bad Romance") and Akon (who croons "Akon and MJ" at the top of the recently-released posthumous Michael Jackson single "Hold My Hand"). It's not a bad plan, really, as since most songs are overheard at the supermarket or coming out of passing cars, it's probably a good idea to identify yourself in the place where a radio DJ used to.

Of course, none of those artists invented the idea of singing your own name. Britney Spears entered the universe with the song-opening "It's Britney, bitch" a few years back, while many rappers treat their own names like brands in the middle of commercial jingles (including Eminem, Busta Rhymes, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Soulja Boy and countless others).

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Check out the amazing piece of video below, pulled together by our crack production team here at MTV News. It'll give you a good idea exactly how many artists are singing and rapping their own names.

Who is your favorite self-referential artist? Let us know in the comments!

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Mark Ronson Remembers Jamming With Akon At The 2007 VMAs

Posted 9/8/10 2:30 pm EST by in VMAs


The 2007 MTV Video Music Awards was one of the boldest and most unusual broadcasts in the show's history. Rather than just be confined to a single theater, arena or studio, the 2007 VMAs took over the entirety of the Palms Casino and Resort in Las Vegas. Awards were handed out in one area, while performances were going on in suites, penthouses and at the pool. The show was thrilling in its chaos, because not only did you now know what was going to happen next, but you also didn't know where it was going to happen.

At the center of all this madness was producer and rock icon Mark Ronson, who was brought in to be in charge of the house band for the duration of the show (much in the same way that Jack White did the year before in New York and the way Deadmau5 will do this Sunday). On that night, Ronson collaborated with a number of eclectic artists, including Maroon 5, Wale, Justice and Daniel Merriweather, but the one tag-team effort that really sticks out in Ronson's mind was his collaboration with Akon.

"The concept was to take the Dap Kings horns section and myself and figure out a way to incorporate in all the people they wanted to use," Ronson recently told MTV News. "We figured out our sort of James Brown arrangement of 'Smack That,' and he sang over it. We had only rehearsed 30 seconds of it, but even after we had stopped, he got so into it that he was still singing for 20 seconds before he realized we had stopped playing."

That performance has stuck with him in more ways than one. "I still listen to it. I only have the 30 second snippet of it, but I love that version of it," Ronson said. "I think Akon could make a whole record that sounds like that, because it sounds so cool."

Ronson enjoyed himself at the 2007 show, his second as an attendee (he went as a spectator in 2002), though he won't be making it to the show this Sunday, September 12 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. He has a good excuse, though, as he's doing a tour with his new band the Business Intl for their forthcoming album Record Collection. It's a stellar collection of groovy rock tunes and collaborations with the likes of D'Angelo (making his first recorded appearance in nearly a decade), Ghostface Killah, Boy George, Simon Le Bon and Q-Tip. The only other place to get a lineup as that star-studded will be at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards.

The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on September 12 at 9 p.m. ET.

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Cee-Lo's 'F--- You' Becomes 'Forget You,' Takes Its Place Among Top Five Edited Hits

Posted 8/26/10 11:30 am EST by in Music


Cee-Lo's curse-happy kiss-off single "F--- You" continues to light up the Internet (as of this morning, the original video had logged over 2.6 million views) and the Goodie Mob member and Gnarls Barkley frontman is capitalizing on his sudden viral ubiquity. He told Entertainment Weekly that he plans on putting together a second video for the clip (probably one that didn't consist entirely of the lyrics to the song) and a radio edit that will be called "Forget You." That's a good call for Cee-Lo, as it will give him the opportunity to truly capitalize on the success of the song (at the moment, you can't even buy it on iTunes), but it will be slightly disappointing that the song will become a victim to the dreaded "radio edit."

The clean version of a song is nothing new (just about every tune on this list got some sort of cleaning up), but it's always amazing when an edited song becomes big and better known in its edited form than its original. When Cee-Lo drops "Forget You," he'll find a place on the top five biggest radio edit hits of all time.

Akon, "I Wanna Love You"
Originally titled "I Wanna F--- You," Akon's biggest single would never have ascended to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 if it still had its original lyrics in tact. In this case, it's incredible how much one word can change the tone of a song, as the original version sounded dirty and lascivious while the radio edit sounded vaguely romantic.

D12, "Purple Hills"
The first single from Eminem's crew was an ode to the various pleasures of prescription drugs called "Purple Pills." But since all the talk of popping pills got everybody a little hot under the collar, the song became "Purple Hills" when it played on the radio and MTV. It's strange because not only are there still references to mushrooms and uppers, but also because the lines about "those blue and yellow purple hills" don't make a lick of sense.

Black Eyed Peas, "Let's Get It Started"
The Black Eyed Peas' "Let's Get Retarded" helped the group make the transition from living on the fringes of the hip-hop world to a mainstream pop sensation. Read More...

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The Forbes List Of Highest Paid Hip-Hop Stars Reveals Some Excellent Diversification

Posted 8/18/10 12:30 pm EST by in Music


Hip-hop has come an awfully long way since its humble beginnings inside an apartment in the Bronx. It has blossomed into an industry worth millions and millions of dollars, much of it collected among an elite group of performers and moguls. The rap world has some of the best diversification of any genre, as rappers are regularly involved in record labels, film (both in performance and production capacities), fashion, food and professional sports. That's why Forbes magazine's list of the top 20 earners in hip-hop is so intriguing, as the biggest money makers aren't necessarily the artists with the biggest hits (though that certainly helps).

But who has the best portfolio of all the MCs on the list? Here are the five best revelations from this audit.

Jay-Z
The number one entry on the list (with an income of $63 million) not only has one of the biggest albums (The Blueprint 3) and singles ("Empire State of Mind") of the past year but also one of the best batches of extra-curricular cash flows. The most interesting? His stake in the Broadway musical "Fela!"

Akon
Though his last album came out in 2008, Akon's success can be attributed to his incredible business deals (including an alignment with Pepsi) and his label Kon Live, which has put out Lady Gaga's best-selling albums.

Dr. Dre
Further proof you don't necessarily need new music to fill your wallet, Dr. Dre still brings in money hand over fist for his watershed 1992 album The Chronic and also rakes in a ton of cash via his Beats by Dre line of top-shelf headphones. Imagine how much his worth will skyrocket when Detox finally hits.
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Akon Says Michael Jackson Had Huge Expectations: The MTV News Quote Of The Day

Posted 10/26/09 4:56 pm EST by in Music


"A lot of our memories in the studio is a lot about work, because he was so focused on trying to get the right material out that we didn't really play around. Like, we talked, but we rarely joked, because at that moment, regardless of what we were doing it's like, 'Lets get serious and really do what we came here to do.' He was never satisfied. Like, we might have passed up ideas that I know for a fact were smashes. He'd be like, 'Nah, nah — we got to come up with something better.' We can never do better 'cause his expectation was so high."

-Singer, producer and songwriter Akon, on working with Michael Jackson in the studio. Akon spent a great deal of time in the studio with Jackson, working on both new songs and "Wanna Be Startin' Something' 2008" (which appeared on the reissue of the 25th anniversary edition of Thriller). Despite the fact that Akon was convinced that the pair had hits on their hands, nothing ever seemed to be good enough for Jackson, a notorious perfectionist. "It was almost to a point where we would have to get a record and I would believe in it and just put it out, 'cause it would never come out 'cause he always believed we could do better," Akon told MTV News. It remains unclear when (or even if) the music that Akon and Jackson created will ever see the light of day, but Akon is certainly proud of the work that he did. "It was all about the melody, because we're both melody guys," he said. "And no matter how incredible the record was, he believed that it could get more incredible."

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Akon Respects Lady Gaga's Hoops: The MTV Quote Of The Day

Posted 9/25/09 4:24 pm EST by in Music


"She's definitely paid her dues. She's been through all kinds of strings and ropes. She's jumped through all kinds of hoops. It was just a matter of time for her. You can't stop true talent. And you can't stop the truth. If that's what it is, that's what it is. At the end of the day, she's one of those rare finds. A diamond in the rough that you just have to polish out and let shine, and that's exactly what she's doing."

-Akon on Lady Gaga, the artist he signed to his Kon Live Distribution label back in 2008. In addition to his own success in music, Akon has also helped jumpstart the careers of T-Pain, Rock City and Kat DeLuna. But he calls Gaga his "franchise player" and credits her sweeping success with lots of hard work.

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Madonna's Arms Aren't The Only Ripped Ones In Rock

Posted 7/30/09 6:17 pm EST by in Music


In the past few days, much has been made of the size of Madonna's biceps. Are they too big? Is that healthy? How did they get like that? No matter what the solution, one thing is for certain: Madonna could probably throw a pretty good chokehold on a would-be assailant.

But Madonna is hardly the only musician walking around with VIP tickets to the gun show. In fact, a number of rockers and rappers have committed themselves to keeping themselves jacked up — some more dramatic than others. 50 Cent kept himself ripped and his shirt off for most of his early career, making his muscles a part of his persona. But some people sneak up on you — remember when Timbaland all of a sudden got into weightlifting, or when you realized that Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails had become gigantic? Seriously, that guy could use his triceps to smash open walnuts.

Sometimes it makes sense when you consider the genre (the fact that Pete Steele of Type O Negative and Glenn Danzig are all jacked up isn't surprising considering their metal roots) and D'Angelo's muscles certainly became a part of his personality once the video for "Untitled (How Does It Feel)."

But who has the biggest arms among the muscular musicians? Click below for a sampling of buff musical bods, featuring Reznor, Akon and Busta Rhymes.

(Click here for more photos of ripped rockers, from Akon to Danzig!)

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Shontelle Is From Barbados, But She's Not Just Another Rihanna

Posted 4/17/09 7:14 pm EST by in New Music Update


ShontelleBy Lindsay Wallace

MTV News caught up with the Barbados-born artist Shontelle just after her return from Japan's Spring Groove. The talent-filled show was a landmark in her very quick rise to stardom, as she performed with John Legend, T-Pain, Akon and TLC. This wasn't her first star-studded collaboration, however, as she has previously performed with both Akon and her fellow Barbados-born pop-star friend, Rihanna.

Her relationship with Rihanna began in Barbados, where they went to different schools but were involved in friendly competition in the cadets. She admits that her friend was especially influential on her in many ways since Rihanna made it in the music industry first. Her fellow former cadet, who she refers to as "Rih," gave her advice on the ins and outs of the music industry. "I definitely got a lot of tips from her," Shontelle said. "I tend to pay attention to successful artists and she's certainly one of the most successful artists in the last few years."
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Akon Will Stand Trial For Allegedly Throwing Teen From Stage

Posted 9/4/08 9:52 am EST by in trials


Akon

Akon will most likely face a jury in December on charges stemming from an incident in which he allegedly threw a 15-year-old fan off the stage during a concert in June 2007. If found guilty of all charges, he could spend up to a year and 15 days in jail, Read the latest news in Akon's fan-tossing case here.

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Are Whitney Houston's Fans Still Out There?

Posted 7/28/08 3:53 pm EST by in New Music Update, whitney-houston


Whitney Houston

Could Whitney Houston be the Rocky of the music world? It's been a long time since the singer was in her prime, and "Like I Never Left," her first new song in nearly five years, has leaked. She worked with Akon on it and proclaims she's coming back — but will her fans be there? What do you think?

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