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Penn Badgley Is Set To Play Jeff Buckley, But Which Rockers Should His 'Gossip Girl' Co-Stars Play?

Posted 6/21/11 2:00 pm EST by in Gossip Girl


Penn Badgely

Late Monday, reports began circulating that Gossip Girl star/possessor of amazing bone structure Penn Badgley had signed on to portray Jeff Buckley in an upcoming biopic, one of two currently being planned about the late singer-songwriter, who died in 1997 in a freak drowning accident.

Badgley's film is called Greetings From Tim Buckley and will apparently take place in the days leading up the 1991 tribute concert for Jeff’s father Tim, who died in 1975 of a drug overdose, where Jeff made his public singing debut. According to a statement from the production company behind the project, the plot centers around "a romance with a young woman working the concert," through which Buckley "comes to understand the father who abandoned him."

And while some might be concerned that Badgley might not possess the, uh, depth required for a role of this magnitude, we have faith that he’s got it in him. For one, he can actually sing, and his character on Gossip Girl is already the son of a rock star, so that's got to count for something. In fact, we think that Badgley's GG co-stars should follow his lead and sign up for rock star biopics of their own. And yes, we've already picked out the perfect roles for them.

Blake Lively: Is blonde and makes questionable decisions ("The Green Lantern," Leonardo Dicaprio). In other words, she would be perfect as Courtney Love. Or Liz Phair.

Leighton Meester: Has already appeared on records with everyone from Gwyneth Paltrow to Cobra Starship, a pedigree which places her somewhere between Madonna and Pat Benatar.

Read on to see which rockers we think Ed Westwick, Chace Crawford and Taylor Momsen should bring to the big screen. Read More...

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Happy Birthday, Taylor Momsen!

Posted 7/26/10 12:30 pm EST by in Music


Bake your favorite cupcakes for Taylor Momsen, as the "Gossip Girl" star and singer of the Pretty Reckless is celebrating her 17th birthday today. She'll be celebrating her big day in Atlanta, where her band is on the road as part of the Warped Tour. Though she is not yet of legal voting age, Momsen has already managed to put together quite a career together. She has made a name for herself as an actress as one of the stars of "Gossip Girl," and her acting skills were especially on display in Gus Van Sant's "Paranoid Park." She has also established herself as a fashion icon, always dressing sharply and modeling for Madonna's new fashion line.

But her music career has really elevated her. Though her band has yet to release a full-length album (their debut Light Me Up is scheduled to hit stores at the end of August), they have become live favorites because of their raw, hook-heavy songs and Momsen's incredible stage presence. She always comes dressed to impress, and she carries herself with a raw sexuality that reminds many people of the early days of Courtney Love and Hole (though Momsen has gone on record saying she doesn't appreciate those comparisons).

Like a proper rock star, she even has a feud. Momsen has taken shots at Miley Cyrus. "I think the Disney bubblegum s--- that the world is living right now is pathetic," she told FHM UK. "I thought we passed that repression. I'm not looking to be Miley f---ing Cyrus. I don't care about the fame. I do it because I love music." Interestingly, this isn't the first time the two have been at odds, as Cyrus beat out Momsen for the titular role on "Hannah Montana" back when that show was casting.

The Pretty Reckless have dropped two savagely excellent videos in their short tenure as a group. There was the smoking "Makes Me Wanna Die" and the recently-released, ultra-sexy "Miss Nothing." On her 17th birthday, here's to Taylor Momsen and truly raw rock and roll.

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Spotted: The 'Gossip Girl' Crew Keep Setting Trends

Posted 1/13/10 12:21 pm EST by in Music


Every day a multitude of stars wanders 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.

Just like "Glee" (our other favorite show on television), we'll have to wait an awfully long time before we can jump back into the world of "Gossip Girl" (new episodes don't air until March 8). Still, there will be plenty of opportunities to hang out with our favorite overprivileged young Manhattanites. Leighton Meester is prepping for the release of her debut album Love is a Drug, Blake Lively will be appearing in the new Ben Affleck-directed film The Town, Ed Westwick is working on a version of "Wuthering Heights" and you'll be able to catch Michelle Trachtenberg in the movie "Cop Out" in February. In the meantime, they'll continue hitting the town and being pretty, as many of the cast members did Tuesday (January 12) night at Henri Bendel in New York City.

There were a lot of parties going on in New York last night, as Anna Kendrick visited the National Board of Review Awards and Omarion celebrated his new album with DJ Clue at Element. Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted!" archive, which features over 300 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, the Jonas Brothers, Madonna, Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Adam Lambert, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Shakira, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Mariah Carey!

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Leighton Meester Doesn't Mind Lil Wayne's Manners: The MTV News Quote Of The Day

Posted 11/18/09 4:26 pm EST by in Music


"I met [Lil Wayne] a few months ago, and he's honestly — I don't even know if he'll want people to know that he's incredibly polite and respectful. He's so talented and very funny. And really optimistic, and super supportive of me, which I've really, really appreciated so much. I sent him a couple of my songs. He's been diggin' on them for a while. Then he heard ['Make It Rain'], and he was like, 'All right, I'm gonna kill it!'"

-"Gossip Girl" star Leighton Meester, announcing that she recently collaborated with Young Money CEO Lil Wayne on a song called "Make It Rain." Before her performance at last night's event for the opening of the new American Eagle store in Times Square, Meester told MTV News that the legends about Wayne's unconventional work ethic have not been exaggerated. "It was like, literally, 4 o'clock in the morning," Meester said of one of their sessons. "He was so sick — he didn't even write anything down. He just, like, vibes to the music and dances. I don't even know how he does it; he's amazing." Meester's musical career has already gotten off to a strong start, as she has had notable, head-turning collaborations with Cobra Starship, Robin Thicke and now Weezy. Her full-length debut doesn't have a release date yet but is expected to hit the streets some time in January of 2010. In the meantime, she'll keep things feisty as Blair Waldorf on "Gossip Girl."

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Leighton Meester Teases New Video For 'Somebody To Love'

Posted 11/3/09 3:40 pm EST by in Music


Leighton Meester plays fashionista Blair Waldorf on "Gossip Girl" every week, so her image in the new video for her single, "Somebody to Love," isn't much of a stretch: Meester casts herself as love-starved, clothes-conscious, jet-setting starlet pining for gong guest Robin Thicke.

In the a sneak peek for the video, Meester sits in the back of a town car with a black newsboy cap and spangled cut-out romper, writhing around while singing about looking for love. In other scenes, a more sultry Meester sings in a club and wraps herself in the curtains of her boudoir. Let's not forget the video also has the prerequisite rolling-around-in-the-bed scenes. What is a video about love without shots of a singing starlet writhing amidst her soft sheets?

Meester recently explained to MTV News the video isn't about the glamour shots of her and Thicke. Rather, what it's really about is the clothes. "It's basically going through my day, a sexy day in my life. We start off in the car we come in I keep on fantasizing and dreaming that I'm with somebody I can love," she explained. "He kind of comes and goes he disappears. It's mostly about the clothes and the looks so that's exciting for me. I've had a lot of fun with that."

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'Gossip Girl' Welcomes Sonic Youth To The Upper Crust

Posted 10/13/09 3:05 pm EST by in Music, Television


By Rya Backer

Last night I did something I haven't done in, like, three weeks: I watched "Gossip Girl." Why? Because in the last 10 minutes, one of my favorite bands in the history of recorded music, Sonic Youth, showed up.

If you were watching last night, then perhaps later we can talk about why Georgina Sparks is just the worst person the world (ruining a wedding? Making Dan break up with a celebrity?) and how outlandish Carter Baizen's story line is. Actually, I take that back — I never want to talk about how he tried to marry the cousin of the girl Nate was dating. (At least I think that's how it went.) But let's talk about Sonic Youth!

The best night that Rufus and Lily spent as a couple was a lot of years ago, while Rufus and his band Lincoln Hawk were opening for Sonic Youth. They stayed at a motel where they drank wine out of "Welcome Back, Kotter!" mugs (Rufus got Lily a Horshack mug, because you were wondering). Later in the episode, they got into a fight about what kind of wedding they ought to have, and there was a montage that involved them looking at pictures of each other (in their respective apartments, natch) while "Antenna," a track from Sonic Youth's very good 2009 release The Eternal played.

And then there was wedding drama. Read More...

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Spotted: Hilary Duff Glams Up For 'Gossip Girl'

Posted 9/3/09 12:41 pm EST by in Music, Television


Every day a multitude of stars wanders through the halls of MTV News to talk about their latest projects and goof around with staff members. But sometimes we catch stars elsewhere, and that's why we put together Spotted!, a daily compendium of stars in the wild.

"Spotted!" favorite Hilary Duff was out yesterday looking pretty glam. But it isn't necessarily a shift in her personal style — rather, she was headed to the set of "Gossip Girl," where she will spend the coming television season playing a movie star who goes to NYU looking to test drive a more normal life. With "Gossip Girl" co-stars Taylor Momsen and Leighton Meester both getting involved in music careers (Momsen has a band called Pretty Reckless, Meester has an album coming out and can currently be heard on Cobra Starship's Top 10 hit "Good Girls Go Bad"), perhaps we can look forward to some sort of three-way collaboration between the three ladies. Think they jam in the trailers?

Duff wasn't the only foxy lady hitting the streets yesterday. Jessica Alba took her daughter shopping at the Prada store in Beverly Hills, while Lo Bosworth also indulged in some retail therapy in Hollywood. Click here for these photos as well as the full "Spotted!" archive, which includes shots of Beyoncé, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Pete Wentz and the cast of "New Moon"!

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Sonic Youth Join The 'Gossip Girl' Cast

Posted 8/14/09 11:59 am EST by in Music, Television


TV phenomenon "Gossip Girl" is headed into its third season this fall, and on the fifth episode the show will feature a guest spot from a very special musical guest. Veteran New York indie kingpins Sonic Youth will appear as themselves on the show and play an acoustic rendition of the song "Starpower," which comes from their 1986 album EVOL. "Gossip Girl" executive producer Stephanie Savage told Entertainment Weekly that when she heard that guitarist Thurston Moore had used footage from the show during a concert, she jumped at the chance to get one of her favorite acts on the CW hit. "I hope they’re not making fun of us! I hope it was a cool, edgy homage! And it turned out that it was — tongue in cheek for sure, but definitely with love, and that they were fans of the show," she said. She wouldn't divulge the specifics of the performance, only saying that it occurs during a big event that involves Rufus and Lily and that fans should "draw [their] own conclusions."

This isn't Moore's first contribution to the show: Last season, he recorded a cover of the Ramones' "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" for a fashion show on an episode. Nor is this Sonic Youth's first trek to teen TV, as Moore and bassist Kim Gordon appeared on a fantastic episode of "Gilmore Girls" back in 2006 (along with their pair's daughter Coco). "Gossip Girl" is also no stranger to legendary bands, as they welcomed No Doubt to the show, who performed a cover of Adam and the Ants' "Stand and Deliver," which marked the first new recording for the band since they got back together. With a soundtrack that regularly features bands as diverse and cool as Lady Gaga, Kings of Leon, MGMT and the Ting Tings, "Gossip Girl" has picked up where shows like "Dawson's Creek" and "The O.C." left off as the definitive music taste-making TV show on the air.

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Spotted: Britney Spears Shops, Ne-Yo Shills

Posted 8/12/09 12:28 pm EST by in Music


Every day a multitude of stars wanders through the halls of MTV News to talk about their latest projects and goof around with staff members. But sometimes we catch stars elsewhere, and that's why we put together Spotted!, a daily compendium of stars in the wild.

Has anybody had a better recovery than 2009 Video Music Award nominee Britney Spears? It seems like it wasn't too long ago when she was shaving her head, running around with Kevin Federline, getting into traffic accidents and generally looking like a disaster. But with a big comeback album, a massively successful world tour and a general sense of calm, it seems like Britney is back and better than ever. Not a bad turnaround really. While on a break from the "Circus" tour (she resumes next week in Canada before coming to Madison Square Garden for a huge three-night stand), she took some time out to go shopping at Vionnet, an arty clothing and jewelry boutique in Los Angeles.

(Click here for more Spotted! photos of Britney Spears, Ne-Yo, Chris "Captain Kirk" Pine and more!)

Yesterday was a busy day not just for Britney but also for Ne-Yo (another VMA nominee), who unveiled the new fall ad campaign for Alfani in New York. Meanwhile, the cast of "Gossip Girl" got back to the business of that show, Fergie ducked into an L.A. recording studio and former "American Idol" winner David Cook signed autographs in Hollywood. Be sure to check out those photos plus the entire "Spotted!" archive at the link above. Or hey! Here it is one more time.

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Spotted: Chris Brown In Court, Jessica Simpson Partying In L.A.

Posted 8/6/09 11:26 am EST by in Music, Spotted!


Every day a multitude of stars wanders through the halls of MTV News to talk about their latest projects and goof around with staff members. But sometimes we catch stars elsewhere, and that's why we put together Spotted!, a daily compendium of stars in the wild.

Chris Brown arrived at the Los Angeles County Courthouse for sentencing on Wednesday (August 5), only to hear that his sentencing was postponed. While Brown was busy dealing with his legal issues, newly single ladies Jessica Simpson and Kim Kardashian enjoyed their night by partying at Eva Longoria's restaurant, Beso, in Los Angeles. Simpson was there to celebrate her stylist Ken Paves' birthday.

Check out our photos of Chris and Jessica, and also follow the link below to see who else MTV News spotted, including the "Gossip Girl" cast, Mary J. Blige and the All-American Rejects.

Chris Brown

(Click here for more "Spotted!" photos of Jessica Simpson, Eva Longoria, the All-American Rejects and more!)

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