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Happy Birthday, Mary J. Blige!

Posted 1/11/11 12:30 pm EST by in Music


They say that becoming 40 years old is a huge turning point in everyone's life. It's the age that perhaps puts youth to bed for good (though don't tell 41-year-old Jay-Z that) and also the age when a person needs to start to think about his or her legacy. Of course, Mary J. Blige has nothing to worry about, as her place in history is set in stone. The veteran singer (and spiritual godmother of modern R&B) turns 40 years old today, so if you see her, cut her an extra large slice of cake.

Blige burst onto the music scene in 1992 with her debut album What's the 411?, which spawned the iconic hit "Real Love." One of the first big discoveries of a young Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, Blige delivered one of the best voices in modern music, full of sweet soul, street toughness and twinges of gospel and jazz. That remarkable instrument was set to a sturdy batch of beats, and the result was the birth of hip-hop soul, which few people have done better since.

Not only has Blige been a consistent hit-maker for the duration of her career (with smash singles like "Not Gon' Cry," "Family Affair," "No More Drama" and "Be Without You"), but she has also been an extremely in-demand collaborator who lends an instant blast of credibility, depth and melody to every song she graces. Those tag-team tracks include "I'll Be There for You/ You're All I Need to Get By" (with Method Man), "Runaway Love" (with Ludacris) and the recent smashes "Remember Me" (with T.I.) and "Something's Gotta Give" (with Big Boi, from his critically-acclaimed 2010 album Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty).


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Jay-Z And Coldplay Team Up For New Year's Eve, Adding To Jigga's Collaboration All-Star Team

Posted 9/21/10 12:30 pm EST by in Music


It is not yet October, but apparently it's not too early to start planning for your New Year's Eve party. The most high-profile gig to celebrate the end of 2010 will most certainly be the planned show featuring Jay-Z and Coldplay. The concert will be an invite-only event that will also celebrate the opening of the Cosmopolitan hotel in Las Vegas. Though it'll be difficult to get on that guest list, people hanging out on the Strip will be able to enjoy the show via the hotel's 65-foot marquee (where the concert will be projected).

It won't be the first time Jigga has shared a stage with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin (in fact, they got together just last week for the Home and Home shows in New York), but it will certainly solidify Martin's place among Jay's collaboration hall of fame. That list includes wife Beyoncé (they've hooked up several times, including on stage at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards), Mary J. Blige (they got together for a sweet collaboration with the Roots when Jay recorded his "MTV Unplugged" in 2001), R. Kelly (they went on an entire problematic tour together to support their Best of Both Worlds album), Kanye West (countless times) and Linkin Park (another album length collaboration — 2004's Collision Course).

But of course Jay's most notable — and most recent — on-stage collaborator is none other than Eminem, who just took part in a series of concerts that brought together the two best rappers in the business (and certainly two who would be on the top five of all time).

(Click here for more photos of Jay-Z collaborating with stars like Eminem, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Kanye West and Linkin Park!)

Jay has proven time and time again that not only is he a singularity among rappers but he can also shift himself to hook up with just about anybody.

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The 2010 VMA Countdown: Diana Ross Gropes Lil' Kim

Posted 8/23/10 12:00 pm EST by in VMAs


The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards are only a few weeks away. The biggest party of the year features nominated clips by Lady Gaga, Eminem, Jay-Z, Ke$ha and Katy Perry and will feature performances by Kanye West, Justin Bieber, Drake, B.o.B and Florence and the Machine (with many more to be announced). In order to properly prepare yourself for what's to come, every day the MTV Newsroom Blog will deliver a classic moment in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards. Today's installment: Diana Ross has her way with Lil' Kim.

The MTV Video Music Awards are a great forum for eye-popping, envelope-pushing fashion. Since the beginning, stars have been wearing the craziest, most extreme outfits their brains (and stylists) can dream up (and in Lady Gaga's case, that happened four or five times at the 2009 show). At the 1999 show, Lil' Kim set a new standard for VMA fashion.

In the middle of the show, three generations of divas took the stage in the form of Diana Ross, Mary J. Blige and Lil' Kim. At the time, Kim was on top of the world, as her work on her solo debut Hard Core and on Puff Daddy's album No Way Out made her the top female MC in the game. She always had an eye for fashion and a willingness to bare her skin, so it made sense that she came out wearing a sparkly purple one-piece jumpsuit with only a tiny stick-on piece over her otherwise exposed left breast. Her outfit was the hit of the show, especially after Ross reached out and played with the boob while the trio were on stage.

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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Spotted: T.I. Blows The Doors Off With Mary J. Blige, B.o.B

Posted 8/17/10 12:30 pm EST by in Music


Every day a multitude of stars wander 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.

We're still over a month away from the release of King Uncaged, the first album by T.I. since he was released from a prison stint earlier this year, but Tip is quickly getting back to business — the business of being an international superstar. On Monday night (August 16), he performed a set during a not-at-all-surprising appearance at Capitale in New York City. After opening his set with "I'm Back," he burned through some of his biggest hits, including "Rubber Band Man," "24s," "Ride Wit Me" and "U Don't Know Me." Then he started to bring out special guests, including Cam'Ron, Mary J. Blig, B.o.B, Maino and Keri Hilson. All told, the rapper and actor (he has a new film called "Takers" that opens up on August 24) burned through most of his biggest hits to the delight of the packed house, further proving that his time away didn't leave any rust on the crown of the King of the South.

He wasn't the only star on stage, as Rush brought out the big prog-rock guns at a show in Morrison, Colorado and David Gray played tracks from his new album Foundling at an Apple Store in New York. Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted" archive, which features over 400 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Jay-Z, Adam Lambert, the Jonas Brothers and 50 Cent!

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Spotted: Mary J. Blige Says 'Good Morning' In Central Park

Posted 7/2/10 12:30 pm EST by in Music


Every day a multitude of stars wander 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.

It's a lovely Friday morning at MTV News headquarters here in New York City. The humidity has finally broken and the mornings are breezy and fair. It was even lovelier in Central Park earlier on Friday (July 2), when Mary J. Blige took the stage at Rumsey Playfield and woke up the neighborhood (and the nationwide viewing audience) with a performance on ABC's "Good Morning America." Before performing a string of hits, the hosts wanted to see if she could help out at all in getting LeBron James to sign with the New York Knicks. "I love LeBron," she said. "He's a great, great person. I think he's here. New York, do you think we can get LeBron here?"

Blige wasn't the only star taking the air, as Maroon 5 took the stage on NBC's "Today" in New York and Vince Neil bounced back from his recent arrest to rock a killer show in his adopted hometown of Las Vegas. Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted" archive, which features over 400 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Katy Perry, the Jonas Brothers, Lady Gaga, Jessica Simpson, Rihanna, Mariah Carey Madonna, 50 Cent and Diddy!

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Spotted: Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Hudson And Mary J. Blige Walk On

Posted 5/11/10 11:00 am EST by in Music


Every day a multitude of stars wander 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.

Did you properly celebrate Mother's Day over the weekend? Here's hoping you chatted with your mom, bought her some flowers or took her out to dinner. Of course, Mother's Day is also a time to reflect on the health of women, which is why Major League Baseball paid tribute to breast cancer research with the use of pink bats on Sunday (May 9). There was also an event in New York that supported the health of mothers: The "Live Your Best Walk" hosted by Oprah Winfrey. She teamed up with a number of different famous friends (including Mary J. Blige and Jennifer Hudson) to not only celebrate the 10 year anniversary of her O magazine but also to raise money for 10 different charities. It was a chilly day in New York, but it didn't stop Winfrey, Hudson and Blige from getting out and strutting their stuff.

They weren't the only stars on the street over the weekend, as Christina Aguilera floated around Manhattan following her appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on Friday afternoon and Perez Hilton and Russell Brand hung out in Los Angeles. Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted!" archive, which features over 400 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, the Jonas Brothers, Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus, Jay-Z, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Shakira, 50 Cent and Madonna!

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Mary J. Blige, Sade Lead Smooth Version Of The Weekly 'Late Night Lineup'

Posted 2/16/10 10:00 am EST by in Television


Thanks to President's Day, this week only has four work days in it, which is just fine with us (though if you happen to be on staff at "Jimmy Kimmel Live," it's like this every week, as they never do a show on Mondays). And because of the constant coverage of the Winter Olympics, all of the NBC shows are pre-empted. Compound that with the fact that "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" are both off this week, and the result is a fairly slim menu of shows.

However, that doesn't mean that you'll go wanting in your after-hours quest for entertainment. On the contrary, this week's shows feature some excellent guests, many of whom come from the music world. Mary J. Blige will be on "The Late Show with David Letterman" on Tuesday (February 16), and on the same night, Sade will visit the set of "Jimmy Kimmel Live." Kimmel may have the most stacked batch of guests of anybody this week, as he has Tracy Morgan on Wednesday (February 17), Robin Thicke on Thursday (February 18) and best-selling author Lauren Conrad and Wale on Friday (February 18).

We don't normally call out "Chelsea Lately" in this space, but on Tuesday night Chelsea Handler will not only welcome former "Singled Out" host Chris Hardwick (who is one of the best and funniest interviews in Hollywood) but also comedian Jen Kirkman, a hilarious up-and-comer who should spar nicely with the host. Meanwhile, "Lopez Tonight" has the always-quotable Charles Barkley on Tuesday night and will chat with Snoop Dogg on Wednesday.

If you prefer to watch your somewhat reclusive R&B stars in the harsh light of day, then you're in luck, as Sade visits with Ellen DeGeneres on Tuesday. Ellen also welcomes Tracy Morgan on Wednesday and Kim Kardashian on Friday. "Live with Regis and Kelly" has "Inglourious Basterds" star and Oscar nominee Christoph Waltz on Wednesday, and the ladies of "The View" will chat with "Dexter" star John Lithgow on Thursday.

Who are you most looking forward to seeing on TV this week? Which show has the best lineup? Let us know in the comments!

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Spotted: Mary J. Blige Gains An Edge In New York

Posted 2/9/10 2:44 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.

About a month has now passed since a horrifying earthquake struck Haiti, destroyed countless buildings and have left thousands dead. The country is still in need of medical supplies, food, water and cash for relocation purposes. The outreach from both average Americans and celebrities has been unprecedented, and the support continues. On Monday night, Mary J. Blige performed at a benefit she helped co-organize with fashion icons Andre Harrell, Donna Karan and Andre Balazs. At the Standard Hotel in New York, Blige took the stage (along with Wyclef Jean) and welcomed a roomful of stars from the fashion world as New York Fashion Week gets revved up. During her performance, Blige pulled U2 guitarist the Edge up with her for a feel-good moment that helped raise even more money for a cause that will require support for quite a long time.

Blige also rubbed elbows with an eclectic group of guests that included Michael Stipe, Robert De Niro, Whoopi Goldberg and Russell Simmons. Click here for the entire "Spotted!" archive, which features over 300 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, the Jonas Brothers, Mariah Carey, Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus, Jessica Simpson, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Shakira, Jay-Z, Diddy and Lil Wayne!

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Mary J. Blige Weighs In On 'Pants On The Ground': The MTV News Quote Of The Day

Posted 1/28/10 3:28 pm EST by in Music


"At the end of the day it's hard being a judge on 'American Idol.' It's extremely hard because it's unbelievable some of the things that take place, but you still have to recognize or realize that people might actually be serious. When the man was performing 'Pants on the Ground,' I couldn't believe what was happening. When he did the split and the whole nine, I was like, 'I'm done. This show is over. Please get me out of here 'cause I'm just gonna burst.'"

-R&B legend and "American Idol" guest judge Mary J. Blige, talking about her stint behind the judges' table next to Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi. Blige was on the auditions episode that stopped in Atlanta, where Larry Platt delivered this year's signature moment (at least up until this point). Blige spoke very highly of her experience on the show, and despite all the crazy people who came through the door to sing for her and the rest of the judges, the greatest surprise for her came at the hands of Cowell. "I guess the fact Simon is a really nice person [surprised me most]," she told MTV News on the red carpet at the Essence Black Women in Music event in Hollywood. "I mean, my experience on 'American Idol' ... it was finding out for myself, which I never judge Simon — I just always wait till I see people for myself; he was a really nice guy."

Blige was honored for her career achievements at Wednesday night's Essence Black Women in Music event, and this Sunday (January 31) she appear at the Grammy Awards where she'll duet with opera star Andrea Bocelli on a version of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" as a tribute to the survivors of the earthquake in Haiti.

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Vampire Weekend And Ricky Gervais In This Week's 'Late Night Lineup'

Posted 1/11/10 11:53 am EST by in Music, Television


In the wake of the news that Jay Leno would be exiting his 10 p.m. time slot and returning to 11:30, the talk show landscape is going to look pretty different in a little over a month. But until then, it's business as usual on all your favorite after-hours shows (all of which have wrapped up their holiday breaks and are back at full-steam this week).

Though Conan O'Brien's future has yet to be determined (depending on what report you read, he could either do the show after Leno or walk away completely), "The Tonight Show" soldiers on with a great set of guests. Vampire Weekend will play live on Monday night (January 11), with Golden Globes host and "Extras" star Ricky Gervais stopping in on Wednesday (January 13) and Lifehouse playing live on Friday (January 15). Over on CBS, David Letterman welcomes "24" star Kiefer Sutherland to "The Late Show with David Letterman" on Wednesday and superstar Denzel Washington on Thursday (January 14).

Jimmy Kimmel will talk to comedian and hip-hop fan Aziz Ansari on Wednesday and Lakers star Kobe Bryant on Thursday. Jimmy Fallon's "The Late Show with Jimmy Fallon" has perhaps the best roster of the week, with Ke$ha on Wednesday, "Avatar" star Sigourney Weaver and "The Hurt Locker" lead (and Oscar contender) Jeremy Renner on Thursday and Sutherland on Friday.

In the daytime, Mary J. Blige will celebrate her birthday on today's episode of "Ellen," while the newest "American Idol" judge will chat with Kara DioGuardi on Tuesday.

Maybe this week is the best time to jump into "The Late Show with Craig Ferguson." The host was judged the best among those who voted in our poll last week, and he has an eclectic batch of guests in Mila Kunis (Monday), Richard Lewis (Wednesday) and Vampire Weekend (Thursday).

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