Justin Timberlake is everywhere. He's in our iPods, on our televisions, starring in our movies and playing through on our golf courses. Now Timberlake will be at our concert venues whether he's performing or not. According to Billboard, Timberlake has signed a deal with Live Nation to make his 901 Tequila the official tequila sponsor at clubs, arenas and amphitheaters across the country. It's the first time Live Nation has entered into this sort of deal for something as specific as tequila, and it's possible it could lead to more business between Timberlake and Live Nation.
Though their artist-signing bonanza from two years ago has quieted down significantly, Live Nation remains one of the new powers in music management and distribution. To date, the massive music promotion company has signed mult-platinum deals with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Madonna, U2, Jay-Z, Nickelback and Shakira. It would make sense for Timberlake to team up with Live Nation down the road, as he is one of the most lucrative touring entities in pop (his last tour in 2007 grossed $127 million).
Then again, it might just be another business deal for Timberlake, who has diversified so well that he is often mentioned in the same conversation with multi-platform moguls like Diddy and Jimmy Buffett. Besides the tequila, Timberlake owns his own golf course, three restaurants and a clothing line.
By Eric Ditzian
Last week, before Justin Timberlake enlisted his musical buddies for an all-star charity concert, the singer hit the links at a Las Vegas golf course for a celebrity tournament to benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children, a network of care centers dedicated to pediatric care with no financial obligation on the part of patients and their families.
(Click here for more photos of Justin Timberlake on the links at his charity golf tournament!)
This year's celeb golfers included ex-'NSYNC-er Chris Kirkpatrick, Smokey Robinson, Kenny G, comedian George Lopez, Alice Cooper, boxer Oscar De La Hoya and Alfonso Ribeiro of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" fame.
"The Shriners organization is a top-notch organization," JT said later on the red carpet before jumpstarting the concert at Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino. "I think they get voted #1 charity of the year every year. The obvious satisfaction comes from the money we get to raise and getting to see where it actually goes."
Timberlake then took the stage to perform and emcee a show that featured performances from Taylor Swift, Alicia Keys, Snoop Dogg, Jay Sean, Ciara and, for the first time in six years, TLC. While JT clearly reveled in a chance to whack a couple drives with celebs and rock out on stage with top-notch artists, he told MTV News the most gratifying part of the whole philanthropic effort is spending time with the beneficiaries of Shriners' efforts.
"I think that's the most rewarding part," he explained, "is getting to see the kids and hang out with the kids and goof around."
By Matt Elias
Justin Timberlake's "Justin Timberlake & Friends" concert on Saturday was a culmination of a week's worth of events supporting Shriners Hospitals for Children. It was a busy week for the singer: He planned the concert, hosted a charity golf tournament and met all manner of kids. He said the latter is the most rewarding part, as he gets to hang out with them and "act a fool," as he called it.
So it's no doubt that Justin had a lot on his mind when he met us in the press room to talk about the concert. As he finished his last interview, he realized there was one important thing he forgot to talk about. "TLC! I forgot to mention TLC, that's huge!" He jokingly blamed it on us, "the media." Of course, it was a big deal that TLC were performing their first full-length live concert in six years.
Click here for photos from "Justin Timberlake & Friends," including Taylor Swift and TLC!
Justin realized that none of the outlets had him saying it on camera, which meant it probably wouldn't make it into any of the press coverage. So here we are, Justin, letting everyone know that you didn't forget T-Boz and Chilli.
Later, the ladies told us just how excited they were to support the charity — and Justin. "We've known him for so long," they said, noting that his manly stubble made him look "grown-up."
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.
There are an awful lot of "American Idol" alums in the news at the moment. The first Adam Lambert music has emerged, Kris Allen's album cover has been revealed, Kelly Clarkson's tour is gaining rave reviews and Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson are both getting Christmas specials. Not to be outdone, Jordin Sparks made a trip to London to drop in on the radio show "BBC One Live Lounge" to talk about touring with Britney Spears and her relationship with Simon Cowell. Though he doesn't have the "American Idol" judge's phone number, she did steal his car once. "I don't remember how that really worked out, but we were leaving dinner and there was a car sitting out there and it was Simon's driver," she said. "I was like, 'This is awesome!'"
Sparks wasn't the only star enjoying some international exposure yesterday. In support of her new album Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, Mariah Carey attended a press conference in Seoul, South Korea. Meanwhile, Justin Timberlake continued his extended stay in Las Vegas (which might as well be its own sovereign nation) for more charity golf events. Click here for these photos plus the entire "Spotted!" archive, which features over 300 candid shots of Britney Spears, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, the Backstreet Boys, the Jonas Brothers and the casts of "New Moon" and "Gossip Girl"!
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.
Justin Timberlake is no stranger to the golf world — after all, the dude recently opened his own course outside of Memphis (where he grew up). He broke out the irons and woods over the weekend for the Shriners Hospital for Children Open, a charity golf tournament he hosts at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. The festivities kicked off with a youth clinic yesterday and will continue all this week, culminating in a special fundraising concert at Vegas' Mandalay Bay Events Center, which will feature Timberlake, Ciara, Alicia Keys, Taylor Swift and TLC. It's an impressive series of events for the tireless Timberlake, who will also appear on "The Jay Leno Show" tonight.
Timberlake isn't the only star who spent some time in Sin City over the weekend, as Mariah Carey also performed a special show at the Pearl at the Palms Casino. The concert was in support of her recently-released Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, which has already spawned two hits in "Obsessed" (plus it's Gucci Mane-assisted remix) and "I Want to Know What Love Is." Click here for these photos plus the entire "Spotted!" archive, which features over 300 candid pictures of Britney Spears, Madonna, Shakira, Lady Gaga, the Jonas Brothers, Kanye West, Katy Perry and the casts of "Gossip Girl" and "New Moon"!
By Matt Thompson
After winning an Emmy for his work on "Saturday Night Live," Justin Timberlake will return to television this Monday (October 12) to appear on "The Jay Leno Show" for a segment called "Ten at Ten." Timberlake will appear via satellite from Las Vegas and answer 10 of Leno's questions. Tom Cruise (who was asked if he had ever been to a strip club), Cameron Diaz, LeBron James and Miley Cyrus have all submitted themselves to Leno's interrogation.
What could Leno possibly ask Timberlake? Jessica Biel's name is sure to pop up, as the couple's relationship (and its possible end) have made them a staple on the gossip pages in the past week.
Timberlake is great on TV and in movies, but his primary vocation has been relatively ignored as of late. He has not released a studio album since 2006's FutureSex/LoveSounds. Despite this, Timberlake has recently appeared on hit singles "Dead and Gone" (with T.I.) and "Love Sex Magic" (with Ciara), both of which have cracked the Billboard Top Ten.
Timberlake's current project is "The Social Network," a movie about the founders of Facebook, which is due for release in 2010. Timberlake recently told Entertainment Weekly that he's not working on a new album, so it could be a while before he brings sexy back once again.
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.
Jay-Z's "Answer the Call" concert at Madison Square Garden was a massive, superstar-heavy event that featured guest appearances from Rihanna, Diddy, Kanye West, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige and Memphis Bleek (the hardest working and best hype man in all of hip-hop). But that's just the list of people who came out on stage to join Jay-Z during the concert. Plenty of other stars were rubbing elbows with the hip-hop icon backstage. One of those stars? Justin Timberlake, who stopped by to hang out and pay his respects not only to Jigga but for the people who were being remembered on Friday night. Dressed inconspicuously in a ski cap and glasses, he blended in and played it low-key.
Of course, there were plenty of other stars roaming about New York City, as between the Jay-Z concert, fashion week and of course the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, there are parties happening everywhere. Kanye West, Amber Rose, Ciara, Taylor Momsen and Swizz Beatz were among the dozens of celebs floating through the New York City nightlife. Click here for these photos plus the entire "Spotted!" archive, including photos of Britney Spears, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Hilary Duff and the casts of "Gossip Girl," "Sex and the City 2" and "New Moon."
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.
Whitney Houston's comeback continued this morning, when she performed in New York City's Central Park on "Good Morning America." Houston sang four songs at the mini-concert, including two tracks from her just-released new album I Look to You as well as the past hits "My Love Is Your Love" and "I'm Every Woman." The 44-year-old diva told co-host Diane Sawyer that what got her through the tough times in her life was "My faith and the love and support of my family which I do have. The support of my friends in the good, bad and indifferent times." She also said that the "You" in her album's title referred to her devoted fans (which got a big pop from the crowd).
Houston wasn't the only performer on the promo tip, as Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz turned up in Los Angeles to sign copies of the new comic book "Fall Out Toy Works," and "Entourage" star Jeremy Piven showed up to talk to David Letterman about mercury poisoning and his latest film "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard." Click here for these photos plus over 200 more shots of Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Madonna, Kanye West and the casts of "New Moon" and "Gossip Girl."
Throughout my career as a music writer and critic, I've been wrong about plenty of things. I gave Missy Elliott's Under Construction a poor review (it ended up being one of the best albums of 2002). After hearing the title track from the not-yet-released American Idiot, I declared that Green Day would only sell 50,000 records and would probably break up. And more recently, I didn't think that Kings of Leon would ever become as big (or as cool) as rock critics wanted them to be. But the Tennessee quartet has proved me wrong, having taken their latest album Only by the Night to platinum status, headlined huge concerts and festivals and now getting an all-star remix album together care of some of their high-profile fans. The group told Billboard that the forthcoming compilation would feature remixes care of Justin Timberlake, Linkin Park, Pharrell Williams and Mark Ronson.
"It's neat to have these people who we would've jumped at the chance to work with ourselves ... coming to us before we even get a chance to ask them," drummer Nathan Followill said. "It's amazing to hear your song played by these people who are so creative."
It's not clear what the remixes would sound like or even which tunes will be getting a re-jiggering, but there are a few team-ups that would be ideal. Timberlake should lend a bit of harder-edged disco to the sorta-dance-ready "Sex on Fire." Linkin Park could turn "Molly's Chambers" into one of their aggro stomps, while Pharrell should take "The Bucket" and slather a little bit of robot funk on it. But since Rihanna was recently spotted hanging with the band and attending a KOL show, somebody should give her a call and encourage her to do a straight cover of "Use Somebody." The band's gorgeous ballad — their first trip into the upper-echelons of the Billboard Hot 100 — could be reduced to little more than Rihanna's haunting voice, which could add layers of pathos to an already stunning track. And to return the favor, Kings of Leon should cover "Umbrella."
Britney Spears' triumphant three-night run at Madison Square Garden concludes tonight. Her wildly successful and fantastically entertaining Circus tour is back on the road after a brief break, and Spears will continue to cover North America before heading off to Australia later in the year. The Circus shows are an amazing spectacle, filled with dancers, an illusionist, pyrotechnics, gorgeous sets, flashy videos and a whole fleet of bicycles. But Spears didn't begin her career as the center of a big-budget arena show. In her decade-long career, Spears has gone through a number of phases as an artist, a performer and a celebrity. Her look has changed, too, as back in 1999 she relied on her schoolgirl persona and dressed accordingly. Her look evolved from that into the sexier, more confident, more adult style she currently flaunts. In between, she wore a snake as an accessory, donned a denim dress that matched then-boyfriend Justin Timberlake, slipped into a wedding dress for a kiss with Madonna and even made maternity clothes look good.
No matter where she was in her career, Spears has always had a style all her own. Check out the complete evolution of Britney Spears in photos, including performances pictures, award show entrances and candid shots!
