Last week was a big one for musician and reality show veteran Brianna Taylor. Sure, she was eliminated from "The Ruins," the latest "Real World/Road Rules Challenge" on MTV. But there was a silver lining, as she released her debut full-length album Fireworks at the Fairground. It's a stirring collection of singer-songwriter tunes that borrow elements of rock and electronic music for a heady pop brew.
Adding to Taylor's big week, she also stopped by the MTV Newsroom to chat with reality show expert Jim Cantiello. She played a pair of acoustic songs and also discussed her experience on "The Real World: Hollywood" and "The Ruins," her musical inspirations and her brief time on the fifth season of "American Idol" (she made it to Hollywood but was sent home when the finalists were selected). Because Cantiello is our resident "Idol" expert, he got some dirt on a handful of the high-profile contestants.
"Katherine McPhee's got a great voice. Taylor Hicks ... we all know what happened to him," she told Cantiello. "He's an awesome performer, but I think there were others on the show that had that spark. Chris Daughtry, namely." She added that Elliott Yamin was a grossly undervalued contestant on that show. "I didn't really know about that guy, but you can't judge a book by it's cover. Look at Susan Boyle," she said. "But I heard his voice, and it's seriously touched by an angel." She looks back on her brief "Idol" run with fondness, but adds, "'American Idol' was different, and I would have loved to see Daughtry win." All's well that ends well for Taylor, however, as Fireworks at the Fairground is in stores now.
Welcome to the debut of the weekly Newsroom Poll, where we will give you a sneak peek into the lives and minds of some of the correspondents, writers, editors and producers here at MTVNews.com. Every week, they'll answer a poll question that will reveal some of what we talk about behind the scenes here in the newsroom. Enjoy!
In honor of last night's premiere of "The Real World: Cancun," we wondered: Through 21 seasons of the show, who is your favorite "Real World" cast member? Check out the staff responses below and be sure to sound-off on your own favorites in the comments or at Your.MTV.com.
Lindsay Soll
I'm going to have to go with Brooke from the Denver season. Just when you thought no one could ever top Puck's psycho behavior or Stephen from Seattle's famous slap-heard-round-the-world, Brooke came out of the reality woodwork and and put a new face onto TV meltdowns. When she was upset, her behavior could quite possibly be equated to that of the Hulk's: Her face would go bright red and she would scream so loud you could almost see a vein popping. And that was only when she couldn’t locate a nail salon! There was no predicting when her rage would erupt, so for that reason, Brooke, you take the cake as one of the most memorable Real Worlders yet.
Jim Cantiello Matt from "The Real World: Hawaii," only because he enrolled at NYU Film School the same time I was there, and denied being on "The Real World" to a bunch of classmates. And everyone was like, "Um ... we just watched 20+ episodes of you on television. You were obsessed with Ruthie. You're, like, 23 years old. Don't lie." Second runner-up: Sharon from "The Real World: London," because I like old ladies. Read more...
In a press release that leads with “A tree isn’t the only thing growing in Brooklyn!,” our fine network has announced that the next season of that godfather of reality series, “The Real World,” will begin filming this summer…in Brooklyn. In Brooklyn!!
While the last season was in Hollywood, the 21st season returns to New York, where the series began -- although, you know, it technically began in Soho. Back when Soho was industrial and Chanel-free, and back when the very concept of being able to film strangers’ daily lives was mind-bending. This was also back in the days of Brenda and Brandon on “90210”…so it was a hell of a long time ago (as is painfully clear in the clip above: first episode ever!).
Now, we’re not part of the exalted team that actually decides high-power things like “programming,” but we’d place a $200 million bet that, as massive as Brooklyn is, this show’s specifically hitting the hipster haven that is Williamsburg. W’burg, the bell tolls for you! Oh, how many local indie-rock shows will be completely ruined by the filming of…twelve full-hour episodes??
