Singer says the show’s version of ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’ was not ‘dinky,’ but ‘clever.’ By Gil Kaufman Gotye Photo: MTV News Did Australian singing sensation Gotye say he thought the “Glee” cover of his breakthrough hit “Somebody That I Used to Know” was “dinky and wrong” , “ultra-dry” and sounded like “it’s playing to you from a cardboard box?” Well, what he actually meant was that the version performed by Darren Criss and Matt Bomer on last week’s episode was “really clever.” According to The Hollywood Reporter , during a private performance at a Los Angeles club on Monday afternoon Gotye clarified his comments. He explained that, “The nature of using reverb and space in a recording can change your perception of how a sound appeals to you.” That was after he originally said, “They did such a faithful arrangement of the instrumentals but the vocals were that pop ‘Glee’ style, ultra-dry, sounded pretty tuned and the rock has no real sense, like it’s playing to you from a cardboard box,” which was actually meant as a compliment. See, what Gotye was referring to was, “This xylophone hook in my song — it’s kind of dinky not just in the cover version but the original song.” Aha! Furthermore, Gotye said he thought the interpretation of his hit on the choral drama was, “Really clever to transpose the song to two guys … It was a great idea.” Whatever Gotye thought of it, the cover was just what “Somebody” needed to get over the hump and top the Billboard Hot 100 chart. And Gotye wasn’t the first singer to slam the show (and/or creator Ryan Murphy), joining a list that includes the Foo Fighters , former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash and Kings of Leon . Related Artists Gotye
At a mere 23 years old Orlando-born Daniel Johson, aka Kane Beatz , has already helped make hip-hop history. While he is proud of music he’s produced for Trey Songz (“Bottom’s Up”) and Trick Daddy (“Tuck Your Ice”) his hit for Nicki Minaj, “Super Bass ” just helped her set a Billboard record. After ten weeks on the charts, the single bumped Missy Elliot’s “Work It” to become the most successful solo single by a female emcee in almost a ten years. “That feels crazy,” he told TheUrbandaily.com of his achievement. “Working with Nicki, she is one of the only female artists in a while that has that kind of potential so it feels incredible.” Beatz is part of a new wave of young producers (Boi-1da, Lex Luger, et al) taking the industry by storm working right from their computer desktops. “Super Bass” was one of four instrumentals he knocked out on Fruity Loops while visiting family in Orlando. “I use a lot of 808 elements in the music,” he answers when asked what makes his bass so Kryptonian . “I was trying to mix R&B and Pop at the time. There’s no real trick to the bass.” In addition to Billboard accolades the song has been covered by American Idol contestant Anoop Desai . While Kane hasn’t heard the cover, he feels it’s a testament to the song’s universal appeal. “I’ve had big records but ‘Super Bass’ connects people from so many different genres. I just take it in and enjoy it.” As any musician will tell you in 2011, success doesn’t come without its challenges. Kane Beatz was also the producer behind Young Money’s hit, “Bedrock,” and the song has recently become the focus of a lawsuit. [ read here ]. “I talked to [my management] about it but nothing has come to them in the mail,” he says. “They don’t even know what that is. I think they had the same name or something. But people don’t understand what it is. Wayne didn’t even write that song. The song is based off an old school pick up line, so I’m not sure what the situation is there.” Unlike some other producers, this may be the only time you hear Kane mention Lil Wayne and legal action in the same sentence. While a list of musicians, including Bangladesh , Playn-N-Skillz and Jim Jonsin are taking Lil Wayne to court for unpaid royalties, Beatz insists that his money is never funny when working with Weezy. “Me personally I’m managed by G. Roberson so Cash Money has always kept the business 100 with me,” he says. “One thing I know about Wayne is that everybody who works with him still ends up working with him so they must be doing something right.” After a busy and lucrative 2010 and 2011, Beatz has completed three songs with Nas for his up-coming album and is scouting talent for his label The Building. “Right now I’ve got JR Get Money, he’s on Lupe Fiasco’s ‘The Show Goes On,’ we gotta new single with Plies and at the same time looking for new outlets. I’m looking for a female artist to invest in.” Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass” Breaks Record
We recap the mystery surrounding the project before you learn the mystery within. By Eric Ditzian Joel Courtney in “Super 8” Photo: Paramount Almost exactly one year to the day that J.J. Abrams’ rebooted “Star Trek” hit theaters, rumors started to circulate in May 2010 that the director had already shot a theatrical trailer , to run in front of “Iron Man 2,” for a secret new project called “Super 8.” While the film seemed to have a connection to the Abrams-produced alien-disaster flick “Cloverfield,” we soon learned that wasn’t true . Instead, the film was an original tale, produced by Steven Spielberg and having something to do with an escaped creature from Area 51, the mysterious government site long suspected to be involved in alien experimentation. But that’s about all we’d find out for a while. Over time, though, we began to put together the pieces. And eventually, Abrams himself started to dole out info about the movie. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s flash back in time with an MTV News cheat sheet before we can truly say we know everything there is to know about “Super 8.” The Explosion The teaser trailer arrived, as rumored, in May. It featured a fiery train crash and the unseen presence of the mysterious creature. Sources connected to the film said the story would focus on a group of small-town kids in 1979 who begin filming a home movie on a Super 8 camera, only to capture the crash and the emergence of the creature. At this point, though, production on the flick hadn’t even begun. The shoot kicked off in September. By that point, Abrams had cast a collection of unknown young actors, plus Elle Fanning (“Somewhere”), to play his featured kids, as well as Kyle Chandler (“Friday Night Lights”) to portray the town sheriff and central boy’s father. That’s about all we knew. The next month, all “Cloverfield” director Matt Reeves would tell us was that the film “is very, very intimately connected to an aspect of [Abrams’] childhood and to this idea of Super 8 [films].” The Dust Settles By February of this year, as Abrams got set to debut a “Super 8” Super Bowl ad and a full trailer , the director finally began to open up about the project, albeit reluctantly. “To me, all people need to know is that it’s an adventure about a small town and it’s funny, it’s sweet, it’s scary and there’s a mystery: What is this thing that has escaped? What are the ramifications of its presence? And what is the effect on people?” Abrams explained to the Los Angeles Times. “But I know that’s not enough. Look, I feel we need a little bit of a coming-out party because we are up against massive franchises and brands and most people don’t know what ‘Super 8’ means. We’re a complete anomaly in a summer of huge films … and we don’t want to be so silent or coy that people don’t care or don’t hear about it.” Then in April, we caught up with Abrams himself, as the helmer was putting the finishing touches on the film’s score. In a long-ranging conversation, he touched on the Spielbergian influences in “Super 8” that so many observers had noticed. “He’s a real producer of this movie,” Abrams said. “He worked with me to develop the story. We had countless story meetings prior to and following the script. What was wonderful about working with him is the ongoing conversation. Because I was working with him, I felt free to allow the influences of his films to rise to the surface.” Seeing Clearly With “Super 8” just days away from release, we debuted an exclusive clip at the MTV Movie Awards — one that began with a close look at the train crash and segued into a mini-trailer. Abrams, Spielberg and the kids were on hand at the show to introduce the footage. It wasn’t the first time we met them face to face. At a press event in May, the kids took us behind the scenes of that epic train crash and tried to explain what the film was all about without giving away the secret . And then on Wednesday evening in Los Angeles at the film’s red-carpet premiere, the cast had fun laughing off some of the wackiest theories they’ve heard about the mysterious creature at the heart of “Super 8.” “I’ve seen on IMDb that a lot of people thought it was a giant lion,” co-star Zach Mills said. “I don’t know why. That’s the craziest thing I’ve heard.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Super 8.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘Super 8’ ‘Super 8’: Check Out The Latest Movie Clips Here! Related Photos Tom Cruise, Elle Fanning, More At ‘Super 8’ Premiere
MTV News takes a deeper look at the singer’s June 28 release. By Jocelyn Vena Beyonce’s 4 Photo: Columbia Lady Gaga is political, Britney Spears loves to party, and Beyonc
