Madonna

Adele isn't the only one proving that a little good exposure goes a long way.

On the heels of Madonna's much-watched, well-received Super Bowl XLVI halftime show, the Queen of pop's summer upcoming world tour is unsurprisingly selling out arenas and stadiums across the U.S. and has even added multiple dates to accommodate demand. Now, a Madge sellout is a pretty common thing – her 2008-09 "Sticky & Sweet Tour" is the highest grossing ever for a solo artist – but the pop superstar appeared to have adopted a "go big or go home" attitude with this tour, booking massive venues like London's Hyde Park and New York's Yankee Stadium, and it seems to have paid off. Her Sept. 6 concert at Yankee Stadium sold out in hours, forcing a second date, on Sept. 8, to be added.

All told, Madonna has already added five shows – two in Europe and three in the U.S. – to what was already her largest tour itinerary, 90 planned dates that would take Madonna to five continents, including M's first trek through Australia in over 20 years. So far, the added shows include NYC's Yankee Stadium on September 8, Washington DC’s Verizon Center on September 24 and Seattle on October 3 as well as Europeans dates in Berlin June 30 and in Amsterdam July 8. Tickets for the additional shows in the U.S. go on sale February 21.

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By Zachary Swickey

The Black Keys had a hell of a year in 2011, finally getting some much-deserved attention (selling out Madison Square Garden in the process), but frontman Dan Auerbach is the first to admit that it used to piss him off that they weren’t bigger.

We can’t blame Auerbach (I was notably confused when I saw them play for just a couple hundred people in 2004), as the band has the catchiest, most dynamic blues-pop combination sound out there today. In an interview with the Sun, the singer said that he had grown frustrated with their lack of mainstream success, but claimed that he and his drummer bandmate Patrick Carney now appreciated it more because it took them longer to achieve.

“Stuff used to piss me off and I'd moan about it. Like, 'Why aren't we up here on the bill? Why aren't we playing a higher festival slot?'” stated Auerbach.

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Jack White

Eccentric former White Stripe Jack White is all set to release his debut solo set Blunderbuss on April 24. The album's lead single, "Love Interruption," dropped last week and now, another song from the album, "Machine Gun Silhouette," has made its way online for your listening pleasure.

The track recalls some of White's best work with the White Stripes and his side project The Raconteurs, combining the Renaissance man's trademark guitar licks with a fiddle and piano. It's a bigger, less subtle track than "Love Interruption," but when taken together, we are seriously vibing on the sound he is cultivating for Blunderbuss. There's an air of country here that also reminds us of White's excellent production and songwriting work on Loretta Lynn's brilliant 2004 album Van Lear Rose.

Stream the track at Hype Machine and let us know what you think in the comments.

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Madonna

If you've been living under a rock all day, you might not know that Madonna's new single, "Give Me All Your Luvin" featuring Nicki Minaj and M.I.A., hit the ground running today.

"Luvin" is a bouncy dance-pop track reminiscent of the pop queen's Grammy-winning "Beautiful Stranger." Driven by glittery synths, marching band drums and claps, the song features guest raps from Minaj and M.I.A. and a deep nostalgia streak. With its simple, impossibly catchy chorus and "dance our lives away" message, the song, which was written and produced by Madonna and dance music master Martin Solveig, feels like classic Madonna re-imagined by the production dynamic that brought her widespread acclaim beginning with her 1998 electro-dance album Ray of Light.

We're luvin' M's new single, but are you? Check it out after the jump and vote in our poll! Read More...

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Sure, he won't be playing in Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN, this Sunday, but some people just can't let go of Tim Tebow mania. From his faith to his Jokey underwear campaign, the Denver Broncos' quarterback is a lightening rod, but Grammy winner John Legend has had enough.

A big sports fan, Legend visited ESPN yesterday to appear on ESPN2’s "First Take" after contacting commentator Skip Bayless via Twitter to request a throw-down – which has become an odd sort of hip-hop/R&B tradition, with LL Cool J, Lil Wayne, Common and Queen Latifah all stopping by "First Take" to take him on.

Legend spent the full episode debating the day’s sports topics with Bayless and Stephen A. Smith but it should come as no surprise that Bayless' passionate support for Tebow was one of the hottest topics.

The soulful singer later put his feelings on the matter into song, spoofing his own smash “Ordinary People” by turning it into “Extra-ordinary Tebow.”

“Now it’s the Super Bowl, and while you are sitting home, Skip and Stephen debate you every day," Legend sang, "Extra-ordinary Tebow, your power we can’t know.” Legend went on to conclude that while it's understandable to discuss Tebow, “Skip won’t you let it go.”

Check it out, after the jump! Read More...

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By Zachary Swickey

It’s hard to believe that we are already about to wave goodbye to 2011. It’s been quite a kickass year for music too with new albums from all sorts of big-names artist. However, considering the wealth of bands out there these days – thanks to modern technology making it an easier process than ever before – it can be tricky to even get the attention of one’s own fans.

So while everyone is freaking out about the new Lady Gaga or Bon Iver record, I find myself listening to plenty of other albums much more – like my personal album of the year (to which New York magazine agrees), Canadian act Austra’s debut, Feel It Break. We felt it was our duty (and privilege) to introduce you to some of the best albums in 2011 that didn’t get the full-blown attention they deserved.

Read on to see which albums made the cut! Read More...

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Today is the last day of August and that means fall is just around the corner. Not only is it our favorite season, it means all of our favorite TV shows will soon be returning, Oscar-caliber movies will start hitting theaters and some hot records will drop.

It was an awesome summer for entertainment. At the movies, we saw the biggest film franchise ever come to a fitting, well-made and moving conclusion with "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," a bunch of blockbusters turned out to be better than expected ("Thor," "Captain America") and some legitimately good films turned into surprise box office success stories ("The Help," "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," "Bridesmaids," "Midnight in Paris").

As good as this summer's movies were, for us, however, this summer was all about music. We got a great collaboration record from Jay-Z and Kanye West, Watch The Throne, plenty of dance jams from Lady Gaga's Born This Way and our favorite album of the year so far landed in late June – Beyonce's 4.

Seriously, watch this and tell us she isn't the best thing since sliced bread:

So what is waiting in the wings this fall? Read on to see what we are most looking forward to in music, TV and movies. Read More...

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On Monday (January 10) morning, Britney Spears officially began her campaign to reclaim the pop throne with the premiere of "Hold It Against Me", a swelling, swaggering club track that's just as loaded with rib-rattling electro whomp as it is, well, incredibly cheesy pickup lines.

It's as if, in her time away from the spotlight, Britney has spent an inordinate amount of time hanging out in singles bars (or perhaps taken a few lessons from Mystery), as evidenced by the last-call desperation of lines like "If I said I want your body now, would you hold it against me?" and "You feel like paradise, and I need a vacation tonight." And while wordplay isn't exactly new for Spears (who among us can forget the whole "If U Seek Amy" incident?), with "Hold It Against Me," she's taken the, uh, art form to new heights. Or lows. You know, whatever.

Anyway, the whole thing got us thinking: Why should Britney stop now? If she continues down this path, she can be a full-fledged member of the "seduction community" by the time her album drops. And so, to help her, we've come up with a list of other awful pickup lines that are just begging to be included in one of her upcoming singles. Read 'em and weep.

» "Do you know karate? Because your body is really kickin.'"

» "Do you clean your clothes with Windex? ... Because I see myself in your pants."

» "My wife is dead."

» "Is your dad a terrorist? Because you are the bomb."

» "Would you like Gin and Platonic or do you prefer Scotch and Sofa?"

» "Baby, I'm no Fred Flintstone, but I can make your bed rock!"

» "I would like to extend to you an invitation to the pants party."

» "Check out my T-shirt, it says 'F.B.I. – Female Body Inspector!' Get it? What? No, I'm not actually a federal agent ... it's a shirt I got at Spencer's at the mall."

» "Are you from Tennessee? Because you're the only ten I see!"

» [Weeping.]

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Look, it's no secret that Weezer have had a pretty rough decade ... after all, with each album they released in the 'aughts, they moved a little bit further away from their Blue/Pinkerton heyday, and a little bit closer to being the kind of band that puts Lil Wayne on songs about partying and names albums after ancillary characters from "Lost" (oh, wait, they already are that kind of band).

But even by the harshest of standards, this is a bit much.

They've now been offered $10 million to break up, by one angry music fan on a mission to save Weezer aficionados from "an abusive relationship" with the band.

"Every year, Rivers Cuomo swears that he’s changed, and that their new album is the best thing that he’s done since Pinkerton, and what happens? Another pile of crap like 'Beverly Hills' or 'I’m Your Daddy,'" James Burns, the man behind the campaign, writes on ThePoint.com, where he's currently accepting donations for his cause . "I am tired of my friends being disappointed year after year. I am tired of endless whimsical cutesy album covers and music videos. ... I beg you, Weezer, take our money and disappear."

Burns -- who admits he's never been a fan of Weezer -- figures that if all 852,000 fans who bought the band's Pinkerton album chip in $12, he'll make his $10 million goal. At the time of this writing, he's received exactly $182 in donations (though, it should be added that per The Point's rules, no one will actually have to pay until he reaches the $10 million mark).

As of press time, a rep for Weezer had not responded to MTV News' request for comment on the campaign. And while we'll try our best to remain objective on the matter ... well, c'mon guys, $10 million is a lot of scratch ...

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As you probably know by now, on Tuesday (October 5), Kanye West took to his Twitter account to announce the title of his much-anticipated new album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (punctuation apparently optional). And while we're happy that we finally know what to call the thing -- and thankfully, it's not Good-Ass Job -- we'd be lying if we said we're happy with his decision. After all, not only is My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy sort of a mouthful, but it kind of sounds like something a melodramatic 15-year-old girl would write in her dream journal.

Frankly, Kanye, we know you can do better. In fact, you already have. For proof of this, we just dug through your rather prodigious tweet archive and came up with a list of 10 titles that are w-a-a-a-y better fits for your new album. And since it doesn't come out until November, there's still plenty of time to make the change. You don't even have to thank us, either ... just consider this a favor to you. What can we say, you've done enough for us already.

So here, for your perusal, are our 10 picks. They may not be dark (or particularly twisted), but they're definitely better.

»Life Is Pretty F—king Awesome
»No More Jeans
»hahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahah aaand 140
»Yo Being Nice Is My Whole Sh-- Now
»Steve Bartels, Gabby Peluso, Tracey Waples!
»I Haven't Made My Best Work Yet
»I Make Awesome Decisions In Bike Stores!!
»Quincy Jones
»What's The Best Wu-Tang Album?
»I'm Sorry Taylor.

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