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‘VH1 Divas’ History: From Katy Perry To Kelly Clarkson

Posted on December 18, 2011 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

This year’s show, airing at 9 p.m. ET/PT Monday on VH1, will feature Florence Welch and a tribute to Amy Winehouse. By Jocelyn Vena Katy Perry Photo: Getty Images Sunday night (December 18), some of the music industry’s most-soulful divas will be taking the stage for the latest installment of “VH1 Divas.” For some, like Kelly Clarkson , it’s a return engagement, but for others, like Florence and the Machine leading lady Florence Welch, it’s the chance to display diva-like prowess for the first time. Since the show kicked off in 1998, it’s had a long history of getting some of the biggest female performers in the world on the same stage belting out some of pop’s best tunes. That first show gathered Aretha Franklin, Gloria Estefan, Celine Dion, Shania Twain and Mariah Carey, quickly becoming a pop-culture milestone. It even prompted the ladies of “Saturday Night Live” to poke fun at the over-the-top singing styles and personalities of the women chosen for the show. In the 11 years since the premiere episode of the concert special, everyone from old-school belters to new-school singing sensations have been billed as “divas.” The show ran annually until 2004, after which it took a break for several years. By the time the show was re-launched in 2009, a whole new crop of pop superstars had emerged. In ’09, Kelly Clarkson, Jordin Sparks, Leona Lewis, Jennifer Hudson, Adele and Miley Cyrus proved their diva status, taking the stage and ushering in a new era. A year later, in 2010, Nicki Minaj, Sugarland, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Keri Hilson, Paramore and Katy Perry brought some new-millennium glamour to the show. That year, the show was dedicated to supporting soldiers and billed “VH1 Divas Salute the Troops” event. This year’s show, airing at 9 p.m. ET/PT Monday on VH1, will bring Clarkson, Welch, Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson, Jill Scott and Jessie J to the stage. In a tribute introduced by Nas, Welch, Wanda Jackson, and Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings will honor late soul singer Amy Winehouse . VH1 also will pay tribute to the prominent birthplaces of soul music, including Chicago, Detroit, London, Philadelphia and Memphis, Tennessee. The divas are expected to pay homage to these cities and the genre with their own soulful tracks as well as some of soul music’s classic tunes onstage at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom. And the celebration is not exclusive to women: The Roots have been confirmed as the event’s house band, and ?uestlove is set to pull double duty as musical director. Boyz II Men and Travie McCoy also will perform. “VH1 Divas” airs at 9 p.m. ET/PT Monday on VH1. Related Videos VH1 Divas 2009: Most Talked About Moments Related Photos Miley Cyrus, Jordin Sparks, Jennifer Hudson, More Celebrate VH1 Divas Related Artists Katy Perry Kelly Clarkson

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Black Eyed Peas’ apl.de.ap Launches ‘Charity Dreams’ Auction

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Fans can bid on a package that includes a Ferrari and studio time with the MC. By Gil Kaufman Black Eyed Peas’ apl.de.ap Photo: Getty Images With the Black Eyed Peas recently announcing their hiatus after a star-studded sendoff show in Miami, the band’s members are not wasting time getting busy. Leader will.i.am. has already dropped the eye-popping video for “T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever),” the electro-fueled first single from his new solo album, while member apl.de.ap is focusing on non-musical ventures. Apl announced the launch of this week of the “Charity Dreams” auction benefiting education in his native Philippines. The rapper, who is an educational ambassador for the island nation, is upping the ante on celebrity auctions in a major way with the “We Can Be Anything” event. The auction — which begins pre-registration this week at CharityDreams.com and lasts through 9 p.m. ET Monday — allows fans to start the bidding at just 99 cents for a huge prize package that may end up being the most affordable donation on the planet. Not only will the winner get a private-jet flight out to Los Angeles to spend time in the studio to watch as Apl creates a custom track in their honor, but the BEP rapper will also cut a custom disc of the session and serve as the DJ at the winner’s birthday party, where he will spin the song for the top prize-getter and 50 of his or her friends. The winning bidder will also get a 2012 collector’s edition Ferrari, $250,000 in cash and a trip to Las Vegas with 10 friends to spend New Year’s Eve with Fergie while staying in the “Real World” penthouse suite. Once 1 million people pre-register and the bidding begins, all the money donated in bids will go toward building 10,000 classrooms in the Philippines and improving education in the nation. And even before the first brick is laid, bidders will be able to join together to help build “virtual classrooms.” According to a release announcing the effort, every bid will allow users to buy virtual books, pencils, chairs, desks, etc., and help build virtual classrooms in an effort to combine gaming, social networking and philanthropy. Each time a bidder finishes a virtual classroom, an actual classroom will be named for that bidder once construction is completed on the new schools. In a unique twist, the initial fee to place a charity bid is 99 cents, with the bidding price beginning at $0. Organizers expect the final package to go for no more than a few hundred dollars thanks to a system in which each bid increases the top price by just a fraction of a penny. “That means that even as hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people bid, the final sale price will only go up to no more than a few hundred dollars,” according to a press release announcing the auction. “We have leveled the playing field, and the price stays affordable, with the auction proceeds going to a good cause.” Each bid will also entitle users to an app, music download or play list curated by Apl and featuring an exclusive song or the chance to have Apl follow you on Twitter. Related Artists Black Eyed Peas

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Adele Is Evanescence’s Artist Of The Year, ‘Big Time’

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

‘It’s been cool to watch her succeed, because it’s just someone who’s truly talented, no gimmicks involved,’ Amy Lee tells MTV News. By James Montgomery Adele Photo: Dave Hogan/ Getty Images In 2011, Evanescence rose again, ending a four-year hiatus with a chart-topping new album , a pair of booming singles and a triumphant tour. So as the year draws to a close and MTV reveals our picks for the Best of 2011 , we’re reaching out to a host of acts who dominated and defined the past 12 months to get their take on the year in music. And, really, there are few that both dominated and defined quite like Evanescence did. That’s why we had to ask frontwoman Amy Lee who she’d name as the year’s best artist. And her answer is sort of shocking, given that she fronts one of the loudest bands in rock. Then again, her pick did have, without question, one of the biggest years of any artist, in any genre. “My artist of the year? Adele. I think this was, big time, her year, [and] I’m just so happy to see her succeed the way she has,” Lee said. “I know she got a bunch of Grammy nominations … and it’s awesome. It’s been cool to watch her succeed, because it’s just someone who’s truly talented, no gimmicks involved.” Lee didn’t stop her praise for the British singer there. She also chose Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” as her song of the year (hey, so did we! ), proving that, though she’s spent most of 2011 resurrecting her band and reclaiming the rock throne, she also found time to listen to the radio. All this week, watch “AMTV” on MTV every day at 8 a.m. ET for our Best of 2011 lists. Then, come to MTVNews.com at 5 p.m. as we reveal our top picks of the year! Related Videos Foster The People, Florence Welch, More Pick Their 2011 Favorites Best Artists Of 2011 Debate Related Photos Best Artists Of 2011 Related Artists Adele Evanescence

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Florence And The Machine Cover Drake’s ‘Take Care’

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

‘I hope we can do it justice,’ Welch says of her version of Drake’s song, taped at BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge. By James Montgomery Florence Welch Photo: Gareth Cattermole/ Getty Images Perhaps it was inevitable, given the mutual admiration Drake and Florence Welch share, but last week, while the majority of you were overcoming turkey comas, Flo (and the Machine) appeared on BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge, where they turned in a stunning cover of Drizzy’s “Take Care.” “It’s three of my absolute favorite artists,” Welch said while introducing the track, referencing the fact that the song features vocals by not only Drake and Rihanna, but samples of Jamie XX’s remix of Gil Scott-Heron’s “I’ll Take Care of You.” “I hope we can do it justice.” And they did. Backed by a stirring string section, Florence and the Machine’s version of the song isn’t as dark and knotty as Drake’s original; instead, it’s ethereal and downright doleful, starting slow and sleepy but building to a towering crescendo, with Welch lamenting that she’s “loved and lost” while drums pound, keyboards pulse and the strings trill. It’s the kind of aching cover that leaves you wishing the two could actually collaborate on record, something that, in recent months, seemed a definite possibility. In the lead-up to the release of both Florence and the Machine’s Ceremonials and Drake’s Take Care, speculation swirled that the artists might make appearances on each other’s albums — especially since Welch had previously joined Drake onstage in London to sing vocals on “Fireworks.” But, as Welch told MTV News last month , they’ve yet to actually record anything together, thanks in no small part to their busy schedules. Then again, the door isn’t completely closed on a collaboration just yet. “We haven’t actually done any recording together,” Welch said. “Whenever I see Drake, we always just end up kind of hanging out, which is equally fun. … I think we’re both big fans of each other’s work. If we would have the time, it is something I would definitely like to do, but we’re both really busy.” Would you like to see a legit collabo between Florence and Drake? Let us know in the comments! Related Artists Drake Florence + the Machine

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We Don’t Believe You, You Need More People: The Biggest Publicity Stunt Faux-Relationships Of All Time

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Stop the presses! Kimmy Cakes’ marriage is already over! Anybody else smell a publicity stunt? Well, she’s not the only one. See, this is something rich people do. They get married just for publicity and to kill rumors. It’s a pretty shameful way to attention slore. Isn’t marriage supposed to be a covenant with God or something? Sigh.

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Florence And The Machine Get ‘Satanic’ In ‘Shake It Out’ Video

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Florence Welch says they were going for ‘slightly ritualistic and sort of satanic undertones’ in the clip. By James Montgomery, with reporting by Rya Backer Florence Welch Photo: Andreaa Radulescu/MTV Florence Welch has seen better days. After a rather long night in New York City — where she was in town to perform at the Vice-sponsored Creator’s Project, as well as promote her upcoming album, Ceremonials — she’s a bit worse for wear. And honestly, she thinks the entire world might spin off its axis any minute now. “I’m so bad at dealing with hangovers. I feel like it’s the end of the world, ‘This is basically it for me, nothing is going to be good ever again,’ ” she sighed. “And the poor people around me are like, ‘Florence, it’s fine.’ And I’m, ‘It’s not fine, nothing will ever be fine!’ ” Then again, her current state is somewhat appropriate, given that she’s talking about the Ceremonials single “Shake It Out,” a rousing, revelatory song that also just so happens to have been written under similarly skull-splitting circumstances. “I think I came to the studio with a bit of a hangover, and it was one of those strange days where you’re not really sure where a song comes from,” she explained. “[Producer] Paul [Epwoth] just had these chords on the organ, and they sounded optimistic and sad at the same time. And I was thinking of regrets, like, you know when you feel like you’re stuck in yourself, you keep repeating certain patterns of behavior, and you kind of want to cut out that part of you and restart yourself. “So this song was kind of like, ‘Shake yourself out of it, things will be OK,’ ” she continued. “[Because] sometimes I have to write songs for myself, reminding me to let it go. But then, the end refrain of ‘What the hell’ is really important as well, because you’ll dance with the devil again at some point, and maybe it will be fun. I’ve heard he does a really good foxtrot.” And in keeping with that last point, Florence (and her Machine) made it a priority to get devilish with the “Shake It Out” video, which was shot in the grandiose Eltham Palace and was, by all accounts, a pretty excellent party — one that, like most of Ceremonials, seemed to span space and time. “We were kind of going for a sort of ‘Gatsby at West Egg’-style house party but with maybe slightly ritualistic and sort of satanic undertones and s

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Florence And The Machine Return With ‘What The Water Gave Me’

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Florence Welch gives fans first taste of what they can expect on her new disc, due in November. By James Montgomery Florence Welch Photo: Shirlaine Forrest/WireImage Florence and the Machine conquered audiences on both sides of the Atlantic with their dynamic, dramatic debut, 2009’s Lungs. Ever since, fans have been clamoring for the follow-up. Now, it’s finally on the horizon. On Tuesday (August 23), Florence Welch announced on her official site that her sophomore album would hit stores on November 7 in the U.K., and according to her rep, it’ll be out sometime the same month here in the U.S. She also gave us all a sneak peek of what we can expect on the disc with a soaring, chiming, epically massive new track called “What the Water Gave Me,” which is imbued with a gospel choir and Welch’s epic pipes, and seems destined to rule the festival circuit for the foreseeable future. The still-untitled album is produced by Paul Epworth and was recorded at London’s iconic Abbey Road studios. Welch had been premiering a handful of tracks from the record during live shows — the standout “Strangeness and Charm” will reportedly also make the cut — and earlier this summer, before her performance at Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee, she sat down with MTV News to discuss the process behind making the new album, calling it a more cohesive effort than her debut. “I wrote so much of my first album at different times and places — some songs when I was 18, some when I was 21 — so there are so many pieces and styles on it,” she said. “And that’s one of the things I love about it, but for my new record, I wanted to do things differently. It’s why I worked with one producer in one studio. I want to tie all those things together … in one piece, if possible.” Welch also said that the album draws inspiration from ethereal sources too, including one song on the album she wrote after a ghostly visitation. “There’s a song on it that’s inspired by a visit [from] my dead grandmother — like, I had a really, really vivid dream about her and, um, she was giving me advice in this dream,” she said. “And it was really emotional, and I woke up crying. And there’s one song that’s inspired by that experience.” Related Artists Florence + the Machine

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Panic! At The Disco Face A ‘Tough Matchup’ In Musical March Madness

Posted on March 23, 2011 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Will they come out on top against Florence and the Machine? Second-round voting is under way on the Newsroom blog. By James Montgomery Panic! at the Disco’s Brendon Urie Photo: Andy Sheppard/ Redferns Panic! at the Disco came into the 2011 Musical March Madness tournament brimming with championship confidence, and, after making quick work of Avril Lavigne in the opening round , it appears as if that swagger was justified. But now, as we enter the second round of MMM , the guys in Panic! face another tough challenge, this time in the form of #13 Florence and the Machine, who handled Brandon Flowers with relative ease in their first-round matchup.

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HOLLYWOOD.TV Celebrity GPS Oscar Time!!

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

http://www.youtube.com/v/-Ut4fF-rWTE?f=user_uploads&app=youtube_gdata

It’s HOLLYWOOD.TV Celebrity GPS and it’s time for the Academy Awards Oscars!

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HOLLYWOOD.TV Celebrity GPS Oscar Time!!

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Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson Belt Out Aretha Franklin Grammy Tribute

Posted on February 13, 2011 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Martina McBride, Florence Welch and Yolanda Adams also grab solos before a special message from the Queen of Soul. By Aly Semigran Martina McBride, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson and Florence Welch perform during the 53rd annual Grammy Awards Photo: CBS At the 2011 Grammy Awards , sisters were doing it for each other. While the legendary Aretha Franklin may not have been able to attend (the 68-year-old singer underwent surgery in late 2010), some of today’s fiercest female vocalists came together to pay tribute to the Queen of Soul. Introduced by LL Cool J, a diverse quintet of “musical princesses” composed of Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Martina McBride, Florence Welch and Yolanda Adams, opened the Grammy ceremony with a medley of Franklin tunes, kicking things off with the timeless “(You Me Make Feel Like A) Natural Woman,” which they all sang on together. Check out pictures from the Grammy show here. From there on, each powerhouse performer did her own solo as the other four provided backup harmonies, all while images of the indelible Franklin appeared in the background. Aguilera, fresh off last weekend’s now-notorious Super Bowl national anthem mishap, didn’t miss a beat (or lyric, for that matter) of Franklin’s “Ain’t No Way,” which segued to country superstar McBride’s cover of “Until You Come Back to Me.” Welch, whose band Florence and the Machine are vying for Best New Artist this year, took over the duties of singing the classic “Think (Freedom).” Then Hudson belted out the unrequited feminism anthem “Respect.” Adams brought her gospel sound to the song “Spirit in the Dark” before all five women closed out with “Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves,” bringing the Grammy crowd to their feet. After the performance, Franklin appeared via a video message in which she thanked Aguilera, Hudson, McBride, Welch and Adams, telling them, “I love you all.” Standing before a piano in a white dress, the still-recovering Franklin went on to thank Clive Davis, Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich, and all the well-wishers who sent her cards, flowers and “most, importantly, your prayers.” “I wish I could have been there with all of you tonight,” Franklin said, adding she hoped to be in attendance next year. After wishing the 2011 Grammy nominees good luck, Franklin concluded, “Thank you so much. I love you all. Have a good evening.” For Grammy Awards winners list, analysis, interviews, fashion and more, stick with MTV News during the big show and beyond. Related Videos 53rd Annual Grammy Awards Performances Related Photos 2011 Grammy Awards Red Carpet 2011 Pre-Grammy Celebrations The 2011 Grammy Awards Show Related Artists Christina Aguilera Jennifer Hudson

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