Months ago, before Britney Houston had us all in stitches with her Pussycat Dolls parody, she was giving me dancing lessons ... sort of!
You see, back in February, (while I was pulling "American Idol" and "Project Runway" double duty,) my buddy Christopher Smith and I had the opportunity to develop and pilot a bunch of ideas for MTV News. One idea that we were super-excited about was called "The Newsical," where the MTV Newsroom would explode into an over-the-top musical number. I wrote a song, my co-worker Rich Sancho produced the track, and we began storyboarding. But we knew nothing about choreography or dancing (or, as some might argue, singing). So we put Britney Houston and her amazing, hard-working cohorts to work. Their job? Fill the frame with Broadway-style choreography, and help make us MTV Newsies look like triple-threats.
While the pilot ultimately never got picked up, and while the lyrics now refer to stories that are months old (and long forgotten ... Yoko Ono dropped a lawsuit? Huh?), we still hold a special place in our hearts for the Newsical and thought we'd share it with you all anyway. Keep your eyes peeled for a Britney Houston cameo (or three)!
Check out the lyrics after the jump. And bragging rights go to the first commenter who correctly guesses which week I'm singing about.
Read more...
Even after more than 15 years here, I’m still, every so often struck, by one of those, “How did my life get me here?!?” moments (in a good way!). This is one of them.
At around 11pm last night -- and just minutes after the David Archuleta debacle on "Idol," YouTube drag-sensation Britney Houston was standing just outside my office door where she was getting all Wade Robson on MTV News' a**. Britney was choreographing a gaggle of her Broadway-dancer friends, and our very own Jim Cantiello, who’s proving that he’s not only funny… but fearless as well.
Every now and then an Asian girl would come twirling into my office, beta-tape prop in hand, paying me absolutely no heed. Just a few feet away, cute boys were doing back-flips and entertaining themselves with their best John Norris imitations. A statuesque girl in a pink boa stood nearby looking pensive. Here at 1515 Broadway, high up on the 29th floor overlooking Times Square, we were shooting what we’re calling the very first MTV Newsical.
It’s a top secret pilot that the hipster behind this piece (Hi, CJ!) and your favorite 60-Second-Recapper have been developing for several weeks. Unfortunately, we can’t reveal much more than that right now. But keep clickin’ the Newsroom and we might just give you a sneak peak sometime soon! Below, a pic of some of the dancers and MTV News producer, Conor Bezane (in the green).
