By Andrea Duncan-Mao

Just in case you’re thinking about your 2012 vacation plans, Carnival’s Concert Cruise Line has announced a new one-off voyage. You can cruise the Caribbean in luxury, stopping in various island locales and hanging out with, uh … R. Kelly.

That’s right! The Pied Piper of R&B is the star of the new "Love Letter Cruise," which sails next October. If you book by Dec. 17, you can lock up a two-person cabin on Kelly's love boat for a cool $500 deposit, securing you a spot on the five-day trip with the controversial crooner, who is slated to perform a "romantic" set. If that’s not incentive enough, you can also sign up for step classes or a "12 Play" basketball game to sweat out the calories from all those all-you-can-eat buffets.

Mister Kelly has never taken a traditional approach to his career, and in recent months, he’s continued with his typically eccentric behavior. After a quiet spell, he emerged with "Shut Up," an opus about folks hating on him for having throat surgery. (If you find that odd, remember this is the man who penned songs like "You Remind Me of My Jeep" and "Sex in the Kitchen.") He also announced he is writing an autobiography called "Soulacoaster," which would also address the throat surgery because, you know, everyone wants to read about throat surgery.

Most recently, it was reported that his infamous Chicago mansion – where his alleged infamous, um, activities took place – was in foreclosure.

And now, he’ll take his show on the high seas. Trapped on a boat with the Kells? Better than being trapped in the closet, for sure. Sign us up!

Would you hit the high seas for a romantic cruise with R. Kelly? Vote in our poll, after the jump! Read More...

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First it got a Bollywood spin, then Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha upped the song's girl power factor and now R. Kelly has put his own stamp on Britney Spears' "Till The World Ends," leaving us scratching our heads.

While it's certainly amusing to think about Kells sitting around some place thinking how he needed to get all autotuned on the Femme Fatale club smash, it doesn't really make all that much sense. We mean at least Nicki and Ke$ha have some connection to the star and the song.

Considering how much everyone wants some part of the Dr. Luke banger, it sort of made us wonder what other unexpected guests could appear on the track. We're going to nominate Heidi Montag to make her own remix. She's already tried to do Britney Spears, so why not use this song as a platform to get people interested in her, um, music again. Read More...

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"R. Kelly was writing for me at the time, and I didn't even know it, and they just sent me this song. You don't want to get your hopes up too high of being able to work with someone like R. Kelly, and when they sent the song, they told me, 'Kelly put up a shrine of pictures of you to channel you, and he created this song.'"

-Former "American Idol" finalist and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson, describing the process that lead to her recording the R. Kelly-penned track "Where You At" for her new album I Remember Me. Hudson said that when she finally tore into the song in the studio, she couldn't believe how well Kelly managed to capture her ideas and thoughts in a song.

"It was kind of creepy to me, because when I heard the song, I was like, 'Oh my god! ... He's, like, giving me me!" she explained to MTV News. "This is what I would do! This is something I would say.' And I hadn't even met him until after ... and I'm like, 'This is bizarre.'"

Kelly was one of a number of contributors to Hudson's new album, which hits the streets on Tuesday, March 22. The rest of Hudson's collaborators include Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz, Ryan Tedder, Rich Harrison and Salaam Remi. Hudson noted that her work with Keys was also very personal. "I must say that working with Alicia was my favorite sessions in the recording studio ever, and I think it was partly because ... it was a learning experience," she said. "She's just amazing to work with. We had such a good time together. ... It was an amazing, fun experience."

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Fill up the pinata with Jolly Ranchers and put a little extra butter cream on that cake, because today marks the birthday of a comedian whose fortunes have been tied up with MTV for a while. Aziz Ansari, the star of the stellar show "Parks & Recreation" as well as movies like "Funny People" and "Observe and Report," turns 28 years old today.

Ansari began his comedy life while he was a student at the business school at NYU. His stand-up work evolved into sketch experiments, and he soon found himself partnering with like-minded performers Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer (as well as film director Jason Woliner) to form Human Giant, a sketch collective whose two seasons worth of work on the MTV show of the same name is legendary. Ansari parlayed the exposure on "Human Giant" into a number of different film and television opportunities (including a stint hosting the 2010 MTV Movie Awards), but he never strayed far from the comedy world from which he emerged.

In fact, Ansari released one of the best albums of 2010 in Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening, a stand-up special that featured some of his most killer stories (as well as an appearance by "Raaaaaandy," the raunchy, Dane Cook-esque character Ansari crafted for "Funny People"). Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening has a number of excellent riffs, including extended bits about the horrors of the dating show "Next," the awesomeness of "Walking With Dinosaurs" and the madness hidden within Cold Stone Creamery. But the greatest stories are the ones about meeting and hanging out with Kanye West (including a feud he starts between West and his cousin Darwish and a vignette wherein Ansari shows up at West's house and finds the rapper listening to 808s & Heartbreak — "These beats are dope," West says) and about going to see R. Kelly live in concert. In fact, Ansari channeled Kelly when he paid tribute to "Avatar" while hosting the 2010 MTV Movie Awards. In honor of his birthday, let's relive the magic.


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For a guy as popular as he is, R. Kelly is awfully inscrutable. He's a guy who has always had one part of his mind on the corporeal ("I Like the Crotch on You") and another on salvation (the entirety of Happy People/U Saved Me). He has scored a number of huge hits despite the fact that legal trouble (and his complicated relationship with women) have followed him everywhere. He spent years crafting "Trapped in the Closet" but also just released what is essentially a Sam Cooke tribute album in Love Letter. And though his life is theoretically an open book (just listen to his lyrics, or read his Twitter), he doesn't grant that many interviews.

That's one of the many reasons why his sit-down in the new issue of Interview is so special. Another reason? The interviewer is none other than Will Oldham, the indie folk artist otherwise known as Bonnie "Prince" Billy. Oldham has covered R. Kelly songs during live concerts, and they are both singularities who are considered complicated conundrums.

So it's enough that the interview even exists, but of course it's full of amazing moments. It's worth reading the whole thing, but here are the five greatest bits.

R. Kelly Knows the Baldwins
The interview was conducted while Kelly was doing his two-night guest spot on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" back in December, and Oldham opens the interview asking Kelly if he watches "30 Rock" (which also tapes in the same building). He doesn't, but he does know who star Alec Baldwin is. "Alec Baldwin? Yeah! Don't he have a brother and they all kind of look alike?"

R. Kelly Live at the Copa
When explaining where the idea to create Love Letter began, Kelly talks about a party at his house. "I invited, like, 1,000 people out to my house, and everybody had to be dressed like it was the '60s," he explained. "People had the long-stem cigarettes and the zoot suits and all that stuff, man."

R. Kelly Can Travel Through Time
When talking about tapping into the spirit of Cooke for the album, he discussed a special show that he had that also had a profound effect on him. "I think I was bitten that night, like Peter Parker being bit by the spider. I had this feeling that we really tapped in spiritually to that time. We did go back in time that night. And when I came back to the present, if you will, I'd brought back some goodies." When asked what time he likes to record, his answer was "Fifty o'clock."

R. Kelly Will Never Run Out Of Concepts
While discussing Love Letter, Kelly notes that he abandoned an album called Zodiac in order to make it. According to Kelly, Zodiac was "all bump 'n' grinds," and will now be known as The Return of 12 Play: Night of the Living Dead, which he envisions as "an R&B-like thriller album."

R. Kelly Got His Start Making Fake Commercial Jingles
In the interview's most revealing section, Kelly talks about his early days as a performer in Chicago, where he would perform on the street as a child. He performed other people's songs but sometimes made up tunes on the spot. "When a lady would come down up under the L, she would have a McDonald's bag in her hand and every­thing like that, so I said, 'I should write a McDonald's song, because everybody always comes down from the L with McDonalds.' So I wrote a song that was like, 'McDonald's is the place for you/ When the day is through/ You can go to McDonald's and get yourself a Big Mac/ Big Mac/ Order a fries, icy Coke and a apple pie/ No one does it like McDonald's/ Dooh-ooh, McDonald's and you."

What's your favorite part of the R. Kelly interview? Let us know in the comments!

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Earlier today, esteemed MTV News senior writer James Montgomery laid out his picks for the 20 best albums of the year. It's a solid list, full of envelope-pushing rock, head-spinning hip-hop, staggering melody and weird sonic experiments (and that's just the number one choice, Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy). But after West (who would be my pick for the best album of the year as well), our tastes seem to deviate wildly. In fact, after West, my top 10 is completely different than his.

(Click here for James Montgomery's list of the 10 best albums of the year, including Kanye West, Eminem, Arcade Fire and Vampire Weekend!)

So here's my counterpoint to Montgomery's list. There are 10 albums here, but you should really think of the top album as "1A," because let's face it: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is absolutely the best album of the year, even if you think Kanye West sucks (in fact, that's true especially if you think Kanye West sucks).

10. Black Mountain, Wilderness Heart
The third album by Canadian psyche-stoner-metallers Black Mountain is a classically heavy album, full of big, thick riffs and druggy blasts of melody. (Whereas the number nine entry on this list is absolutely hard.) Wilderness Heart works best as a full-length freak out, but the big peaks on "Let Spirits Ride" and "Old Fangs" remind you that there is a lot of sharp songwriting that goes into these fuzzy, buzzy nightmares.

9. Black Breath, Heavy Breathing
After an especially impressive and active 2009, metal had a more casual 2010, with only a handful of truly head-turning releases. The best of them all was the second full-length LP from Seattle's Black Breath, who augment their speed-metal sound with the thornier elements of hardcore punk, black metal, prog and metalcore. It's a brutal stew that delivers just the right amount of brutality and grace. Heavy Breathing is pretty relentless, but it's hard not to bang your head to spastic workouts like "Black Sin (Spit on the Cross)" mixed with grinders like "I Am Beyond." Or skip right to "Wewhocannotbenamed" and get all of that at once.

8. Black Milk, Album of the Year
A lot of people went crazy for the new Roots album, but it was a snooze compared to the vitality of Detroit rapper and producer Curtis Cross, who is known to the universe as Black Milk. His beats are full of organic instruments and split the difference between street-sweeping hardcore and organic prog-funk, and his flow is as feisty, smart and hungry as any MC in the game. "Keep Going" and "Round of Applause" are so funky, fresh and powerful that it's hard to believe Black Milk isn't a household name (or at least a more in-demand producer). Also, I apparently only like artists with the word "Black" in their name.

7. Girl Talk, All Day
It's difficult to listen to All Day as an album, as I think most people are inclined to play a game of "Spot the Sample" and try to deconstruct it like some anthropology major's twisted senior thesis. Read More...

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The holiday season is upon is, and though none of the talk shows appear to have booked Santa Claus or Frosty the Snowman, that doesn't mean that they aren't also getting into an extra-festive spirit. Oscar hopefuls, holiday movie headliners and bit-name musicians looking to shift copies of high-profile albums again dominate the lineup this week, though there are plenty of late-season surprises in store for anybody willing to sacrifice his or her bedtime in favor of after-hours entertainment.

There are some huge names on "The Late Show With David Letterman" this week, including Johnny Deep (Tuesday, December 7), Bill O'Reilly (Thursday, December 9) and Reese Witherspoon (Friday, December 10). "The Tonight Show" counters with comedian Russell Brand (Monday, December 6), country superstar Keith Urban (Tuesday), "True Grit" and "Tron: Legacy" star Jeff Bridges (Wednesday, December 8th), Oscar winner Halle Berry (Thursday) and "American Idol" runner-up Crystal Bowersox (Friday, December 10). As is always the case, Jimmy Kimmel throws a lot of curveballs on this week's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," including "Black Swan" star Mila Kunis (Monday) and "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest (Thursday). Kimmel also has some great musical guests this week, including Social Distortion on Monday and Crystal Castles on Thursday.

Of course, music is the bread and butter of "The Late Show With Jimmy Fallon," and this week is no exception. R. Kelly will spend both Monday and Tuesday night on the show playing songs from his upcoming album Love Letter. Fallon will also chat with the likes of Martha Stewart (Monday), "Dexter" star Michael C. Hall (Tuesday), Ben Affleck (Wednesday), Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino (Thursday) and Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider (Friday). That's an intense week for Fallon, who undoubtedly has one of the best shows on TV this week.

Of course, he has stiff competition from "Conan," which will feature the likes of Nicole Kidman (Monday), "The Office" star Rainn Wilson (Tuesday) and comedian Sarah Silverman (Thursday). "The Daily Show" also has a big week ahead, including interviews with Michelle Williams (Wednesday) and James Franco (Thursday). And don't forget to tune in to "The View" on Thursday morning, as it'll feature both Seth Green and Trey Songz. If that isn't the weirdest, most wonderful hour of television this week, we don't know what is.

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Back in 2002, R. Kelly dropped Best of Both Worlds, an album length collaboration that put him side by side with Jay-Z. The album represented a collision between one of the top performers, songwriters and producers in R&B with the most dominant MC in the game (Jay was coming off the success of The Blueprint, a true turning point in his career). Though it was hotly anticipated, the album was considered a bit of a disappointment, if only because of the high level of talent involved. And even though there was a second volume of collaborations (2004's Unfinished Business), their collaboration never ended up being as big as it probably should have.

As it turns out, the tag-team with Jay-Z wasn't necessarily meant to be. In an interview with XXL magazine, Kels admitted that the Best of Both Worlds concept was originally meant to be a collaboration between himself and Tupac.

"I said 'Dude, we need to do an album.' See, Best Of Both Worlds was for me and Pac at first," Kelly explained. "'I Wish' was gonna be the first song we were gonna do."

While Jigga has always had an R&B-friendly flow that gels well with a number of other artists, Tupac never played well with others. His solo singles rarely featured collaborations, and even then, he was usually alongside another rapper. That's not to say that he didn't dip his toes in the R&B waters ever once in a while (most notably, his work with Digital Underground always brushed up against those kinds of songs), but he was predominantly a harder-edged MC (albeit with a sensitive soul).

Tupac never really needed any help crossing over (he had Dr. Dre's assistance for that), but Kelly could have been the guy to help Tupac bridge the gap from his early work into the middle part of his career (had he not been tragically cut down in 1996, of course). "I Wish" is a pretty stellar song, and the addition of Pac's trademark voice (which was always full of both toughness and sadness) would have been a great start to a classic collaboration that never was.


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Taken in a vacuum, the bulk of Monday night's (October 11) NFL game between the New York Jets and the visiting Minnesota Vikings was pretty dull. For most of the game, the Jets quietly dominated the line of scrimmage and played stout defense while their offense had trouble getting into a groove (they mostly settled for field goals). But luckily, the internal drama unfolding within the game's four quarters made it one of the most entertaining and enthralling game on the sports landscape this year. Ultimately, the Jets topped the Vikings 29-20, but there's more to the game than the score.

There were plenty of story lines coming into the game, as Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss was making his return to the team after being traded from the New England Patriots, while Jets receiver Santonio Holmes was returning from a drug-related suspension. The Jets were also welcoming back cornerback Darelle Revis, one of the best defensive players in the NFL. And of course, there was plenty of attention being paid to Vikings quarterback Brett Favre and the recent allegations of his inappropriate behavior (ESPN reported that Favre made a tearful apology to his teammates in a meeting before the game).

The game itself got started late because of inclement weather, and lightning strikes forced the team to clear the stadium twice before kickoff. When the game finally got started, each defense managed to shut down the other side relatively effectively, preventing key offensive players from finding a groove. Along the way, Favre became the first player to throw over 500 touchdown passes and pass for over 70,000 yards (though he also passed Warren Moon for the most fumbles in NFL history). By the end of the third quarter, Favre got hot and started throwing touchdown passes, and though the Jets finally found the end zone, Favre had closed the gap to 22-20 with only a few minutes left on the clock in the fourth quarter. After some problematic clock management care of Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, the Vikings got the ball back with a little under two minutes to go in the game (and if you believed ESPN analysts Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden, the game was all but wrapped up as long as Favre had the ball). The old gunslinger couldn't make it happen, though, and on third down he tossed a lazy pass that was intercepted and returned for the game-clinching touchdown.

It was a great win for the Jets, who are now in sole possession of first place in the AFC East. In honor of their big win, enjoy R. Kelly's "Sign of a Victory."


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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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