‘I’m getting ready as we speak,’ she tells MTV News of this year’s tournament, tipping off Monday. By James Montgomery Ke$ha Photo: Getty Images Last year, based mainly on her attitude, the fact that she plays an AK-47 shaped guitar and the presence of photos like this , Ke$ha was given an 11 seed in MTV’s Musical March Madness tournament — and promptly lost by a huge margin to U2 in the opening round. Of course, she’s spent the past 12 months fuming over that early exit, and now, she’s going to get her shot at redemption. Not only is Ke$ha back in the 2012 MMM tournament — which kicks off Monday — but she’s beefed up her rock credentials: working with the likes of Alice Cooper , channeling the “sexiness” of ’70s rock on her new album, recording a (genuinely pretty great) cover of Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” and spending time snorting Tums with Wayne Coyne. So, yeah, this year, she’s ready to knock off the field of 63 other acts gunning for the MMM trophy — a brimming bracket that includes defending champions Green Day , upstarts Fun. and good pals the Black Keys , to name just a few — and reign supreme. But just in case all that rock-and-roll prep work isn’t enough to put her over the top, well, Ke$ha has another secret weapon at the ready: an incredibly toned pelvic floor. “I’m getting ready as we speak. I’m doing Kegels,” she told MTV News, while throwing phantom punches at an unsuspecting cameraman. “Vote for me!” MTV’s 2012 Musical March Madness tournament begins Monday, March 12, when we’ll unveil the full field of 64 bands that will battle for this year’s championship. Winners are determined by fan votes, so if your favorite act made the cut, it will be up to you to guide them to glory. You can rally the troops on Twitter using the hashtag #MMM — but get ready, it’s gonna be a war.
The 2011 MMM title game went down to the wire, but in the end, it’s Green Day who stand triumphant. By James Montgomery Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong Photo: C Flanigan/ FIlmMagic It’s all over but the shouting (and there’s still plenty of that): Green Day are the champions of MTV’s 2011 Musical March Madness tournament, knocking off an upset-minded Paramore in Monday’s title game to claim the crown. Check out our MMM Bracket right here! In a contest that was waaay more thrilling — and higher scoring — than the actual NCAA basketball championship game, the guys in Green Day jumped out to an early lead, then held on for dear life as Hayley Williams and company staged a furious second-half comeback … one that, ultimately, fell short as polls closed at midnight. All in all, more than 120,000 votes were cast in the matchup, and Green Day ended up winning by fewer than 2,500. It was a nail-biter, a squeaker, and it came down to the wire. In other words, it was everything you could possibly want in a title game. And, in Green Day, we have everything we could possibly want in a champion. After an ugly opening-round loss in last year’s MMM tournament, the pop-punk veterans committed themselves to redemption, and tipped off the 2011 competition by blasting Adam Lambert in round one. Focused, Green Day then took out their frustrations on fellow heavyweights U2 and Blink-182, before surviving scares from Panic! at the Disco in the Elite Eight and Disturbed in the Final Four. And now, having bested Paramore, they stand atop the MMM mountain … battle tested, redeemed and, ultimately, triumphant. So congratulations to Billie Joe, Tr
The 2011 MMM title game went down to the wire, but in the end, it’s Green Day who stand triumphant. By James Montgomery Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong Photo: C Flanigan/ FIlmMagic It’s all over but the shouting (and there’s still plenty of that): Green Day are the champions of MTV’s 2011 Musical March Madness tournament, knocking off an upset-minded Paramore in Monday’s title game to claim the crown. Check out our MMM Bracket right here! In a contest that was waaay more thrilling — and higher scoring — than the actual NCAA basketball championship game, the guys in Green Day jumped out to an early lead, then held on for dear life as Hayley Williams and company staged a furious second-half comeback … one that, ultimately, fell short as polls closed at midnight. All in all, more than 120,000 votes were cast in the matchup, and Green Day ended up winning by fewer than 2,500. It was a nail-biter, a squeaker, and it came down to the wire. In other words, it was everything you could possibly want in a title game. And, in Green Day, we have everything we could possibly want in a champion. After an ugly opening-round loss in last year’s MMM tournament, the pop-punk veterans committed themselves to redemption, and tipped off the 2011 competition by blasting Adam Lambert in round one. Focused, Green Day then took out their frustrations on fellow heavyweights U2 and Blink-182, before surviving scares from Panic! at the Disco in the Elite Eight and Disturbed in the Final Four. And now, having bested Paramore, they stand atop the MMM mountain … battle tested, redeemed and, ultimately, triumphant. So congratulations to Billie Joe, Tr
Voting is now open as the bands compete for 2011 title game after tough Final Four challenges. By James Montgomery Paramore Photo: Nigel Crane/ Redferns It’s all come down to this: Green Day and Paramore will meet for the 2011 Musical March Madness title, advancing to the championship game after knocking off a pair of tough challengers in the Final Four. Third-seeded Green Day held off a late charge from upset-minded #9 Disturbed, watching a big lead (nearly 8,000 votes) dwindle down to triple digits as Final Four polls closed Sunday at midnight. In a contest that saw more than 230,000 votes cast, Green Day’s final margin of victory was less than 800. Things weren’t nearly as close in our other Final Four matchup, as #5 Paramore dominated heavily favored #3 My Chemical Romance. Hayley Williams and Co. led from nearly the opening tip, and ran away from MCR — who lost the 2010 MMM championship matchup to Coheed and Cambria — late, ultimately cruising to a 20,000-vote win. That sets up our 2011 championship game, which is not only a clash of two battle-tested bands (Green Day knocked off the likes of U2, Blink-182 and Panic! at the Disco in this year’s tourney, while Paramore survived showdowns against foes like No Doubt and Tokio Hotel), but also serves as the culmination of a year-long quest for revenge: Both Green Day and Paramore were upset in the opening round of last year’s MMM and have spent the past 12 months seething about that fact. In short, this one’s been a long time coming. So, why wait to get the action under way? Championship game voting has begun over on the Newsroom blog! Polls will remain open until Monday (April 4) at midnight ET. And since it’s the championship game, we want to keep things suspenseful, which means results — and our 2011 MMM champion — won’t be revealed until Tuesday on MTVNews.com. MTV’s Musical March Madness has reached our championship game! It’s Green Day versus Paramore, and the winner is determined by your votes. Rally the troops on Twitter using the hashtag #MMM. Related Videos MTV News’ 2011 Musical March Madness Related Photos Bands Hit The Court For MTV’s 2011 Musical March Madness MTV’s 2011 Musical March Madness’ Band Bracketology Related Artists Paramore Green Day
Voting is now open as the bands compete for 2011 title game after tough Final Four challenges. By James Montgomery Paramore Photo: Nigel Crane/ Redferns It’s all come down to this: Green Day and Paramore will meet for the 2011 Musical March Madness title, advancing to the championship game after knocking off a pair of tough challengers in the Final Four. Third-seeded Green Day held off a late charge from upset-minded #9 Disturbed, watching a big lead (nearly 8,000 votes) dwindle down to triple digits as Final Four polls closed Sunday at midnight. In a contest that saw more than 230,000 votes cast, Green Day’s final margin of victory was less than 800. Things weren’t nearly as close in our other Final Four matchup, as #5 Paramore dominated heavily favored #3 My Chemical Romance. Hayley Williams and Co. led from nearly the opening tip, and ran away from MCR — who lost the 2010 MMM championship matchup to Coheed and Cambria — late, ultimately cruising to a 20,000-vote win. That sets up our 2011 championship game, which is not only a clash of two battle-tested bands (Green Day knocked off the likes of U2, Blink-182 and Panic! at the Disco in this year’s tourney, while Paramore survived showdowns against foes like No Doubt and Tokio Hotel), but also serves as the culmination of a year-long quest for revenge: Both Green Day and Paramore were upset in the opening round of last year’s MMM and have spent the past 12 months seething about that fact. In short, this one’s been a long time coming. So, why wait to get the action under way? Championship game voting has begun over on the Newsroom blog! Polls will remain open until Monday (April 4) at midnight ET. And since it’s the championship game, we want to keep things suspenseful, which means results — and our 2011 MMM champion — won’t be revealed until Tuesday on MTVNews.com. MTV’s Musical March Madness has reached our championship game! It’s Green Day versus Paramore, and the winner is determined by your votes. Rally the troops on Twitter using the hashtag #MMM. Related Videos MTV News’ 2011 Musical March Madness Related Photos Bands Hit The Court For MTV’s 2011 Musical March Madness MTV’s 2011 Musical March Madness’ Band Bracketology Related Artists Paramore Green Day
Band faces a tough Elite 8 challenge against defending champs Coheed and Cambria. By James Montgomery Disturbed’s David Draiman Photo: C Brandon/ Redferns When MTV tipped off our Musical March Madness tournament three weeks ago, 64 bands stood on the precipice of greatness … though, to be honest, one of them seemed to face a tougher challenge than all the rest. Chicago shredders Disturbed, who were stuck with a #9 seed, were pitted against the heavily favored Dave Matthews Band in the opening round and basically left for dead. But Disturbed refused to die. They knocked off DMB in convincing fashion, then, in one of the tournament’s most eye-opening victories, ripped #1 seed Foo Fighters to reach the Sweet 16 . That win served notice to the rest of the MMM bands that Disturbed were a force to be reckoned with, and they backed up that newfound clout with a thorough throttling of Patrick Stump to reach the Elite 8 .
Defending champs Coheed and Cambria, upset-minded Sum 41 also survive … Elite 8 voting now open on the Newsroom blog. By James Montgomery Paramore’s Hayley Williams Photo: C Flanigan/ FilmMagic We’ve reached the Elite 8 of MTV’s Musical March Madness tournament, and it’s a fitting title, indeed. Because the eight bands left standing in the tournament are most certainly elite, each having survived increasingly tough challenges to stand on the precipice of championship glory. Check out our MMM Bracket right here! And nowhere was that more apparent than in the MMM’s Sweet 16, which saw not only a historic number of votes being cast by fans, but more nail-bitingly close contests than we can ever remember: Fifth-seeded Paramore came from way back to nip #1 Linkin Park; #5 Panic! at the Disco edged heavily-favored (and top-seeded) 30 Seconds to Mars; and, in perhaps the most remarkable matchup in MMM history, defending champs Coheed and Cambria snuck by #7 Avenged Sevenfold thanks to a last-second surge in votes … our first-ever buzzer beater! It was, to say the least, a remarkable round … and we expect nothing less in the Elite 8: One of these bands will hoist the MMM championship trophy next week, and you can help them do it. But you’ve got to hurry — Elite 8 voting is now open on the Newsroom blog, and will continue until Thursday at midnight ET. Elite 8 voting is now under way over on the Newsroom blog! We’ll reveal our Final Four on Friday … but before we get there, let’s take a look at our Elite 8 matchups! Midwest In one of the few drama-free Sweet 16 contests, #9 Disturbed handled #12 Patrick Stump with relative ease, moving David Draiman and Co. on to the Elite 8. The undercard — the now-legendary Coheed/A7X tussle — was anything but: Upset-minded Avenged took an early lead, stretched it to more than 4,000 votes, and then, with victory in sight, got complacent. That allowed Coheed (and their fans) to sneak back into things, slowly closing the gap and, finally, with less than 10 minutes to go in voting, overtaking A7X for good. In the end, in a contest that saw some 60,000 votes cast, Coheed won by less than 300 … a remarkable contest, and more proof that you should never underestimate the heart of a champion. And thanks to those last-second heroics, our Midwest final is now set: #9 Disturbed vs. #6 Coheed and Cambria East We knew heading into the Sweet 16 that the 30 Seconds to Mars/ Panic! at the Disco battle was going to be epic, but even we had no idea just how huge it would end up becoming. Top-seeded 30 STM cruised to an early lead, but then, thanks to some pretty heavy campaigning, #5 Panic! slowly started to chip away, and with less than two hours left in voting, they overtook Leto and his boys for good, winning by nearly 5,000 votes. In the undercard, what was expected to be a barnburner ended up being nothing more than a laugher, as #3 Green Day blasted #2 Blink-182 — despite Mark Hoppus’s efforts to rally the troops. And so, our East final is set: #5 Panic! at the Disco vs. #3 Green Day South A pair of hotly contested Sweet 16 matchups here, as #5 Paramore came roaring back against #1 Linkin Park (behold, the power of Facebook! ), erasing a 3,000-vote deficit in the round’s final hours and ultimately coasting to a 2,000-vote win — a pretty slight edge in a contest that saw more than 150,000 votes cast. In the region’s other battle, the unstoppable Tokio Hotel rolled on, besting a surprisingly game #2 Muse — TH’s 3,000-vote victory is by far their lowest margin to date. And so, we head to the South final, with a matchup that’s sure to deliver on every level: #5 Paramore vs. #14 Tokio Hotel East Sum 41 continue their VCU-like run through the tournament, as they pasted the fourth-seeded Strokes in the Sweet 16. But, like their NCAA counterparts, can Deryck Whibley and Co. advance to the Final Four? Standing in their way are last year’s MMM runners-up, #3 My Chemical Romance, who handled #2 Radiohead with ease. At this point, they could be the sneaky favorites to win the whole thing. But first, they’ve got to get past MMM’s Cinderellas, in what is perhaps the most unlikely East final of all time: #16 Sum 14 vs. #3 My Chemical Romance MTV’s Musical March Madness has reached the Elite 8! Voting is now open and will continue until Thursday at midnight, when we’ll roll on to the Final Four. All winners are determined by your votes, so, if your favorite act is still standing, it’s up to you to guide them to glory. You can rally the troops on Twitter using the hashtag #MMM — but get ready, things only get tougher from here on out! Related Videos MTV Kicks Off The 2011 Musical March Madness Related Photos MTV’s 2011 Musical March Madness’ Band Bracketology Bands Hit The Court For MTV’s 2011 Musical March Madness Related Artists Paramore Panic! at the Disco
Defending champs Coheed and Cambria, upset-minded Sum 41 also survive … Elite 8 voting now open on the Newsroom blog. By James Montgomery Paramore’s Hayley Williams Photo: C Flanigan/ FilmMagic We’ve reached the Elite 8 of MTV’s Musical March Madness tournament, and it’s a fitting title, indeed. Because the eight bands left standing in the tournament are most certainly elite, each having survived increasingly tough challenges to stand on the precipice of championship glory. Check out our MMM Bracket right here! And nowhere was that more apparent than in the MMM’s Sweet 16, which saw not only a historic number of votes being cast by fans, but more nail-bitingly close contests than we can ever remember: Fifth-seeded Paramore came from way back to nip #1 Linkin Park; #5 Panic! at the Disco edged heavily-favored (and top-seeded) 30 Seconds to Mars; and, in perhaps the most remarkable matchup in MMM history, defending champs Coheed and Cambria snuck by #7 Avenged Sevenfold thanks to a last-second surge in votes … our first-ever buzzer beater! It was, to say the least, a remarkable round … and we expect nothing less in the Elite 8: One of these bands will hoist the MMM championship trophy next week, and you can help them do it. But you’ve got to hurry — Elite 8 voting is now open on the Newsroom blog, and will continue until Thursday at midnight ET. Elite 8 voting is now under way over on the Newsroom blog! We’ll reveal our Final Four on Friday … but before we get there, let’s take a look at our Elite 8 matchups! Midwest In one of the few drama-free Sweet 16 contests, #9 Disturbed handled #12 Patrick Stump with relative ease, moving David Draiman and Co. on to the Elite 8. The undercard — the now-legendary Coheed/A7X tussle — was anything but: Upset-minded Avenged took an early lead, stretched it to more than 4,000 votes, and then, with victory in sight, got complacent. That allowed Coheed (and their fans) to sneak back into things, slowly closing the gap and, finally, with less than 10 minutes to go in voting, overtaking A7X for good. In the end, in a contest that saw some 60,000 votes cast, Coheed won by less than 300 … a remarkable contest, and more proof that you should never underestimate the heart of a champion. And thanks to those last-second heroics, our Midwest final is now set: #9 Disturbed vs. #6 Coheed and Cambria East We knew heading into the Sweet 16 that the 30 Seconds to Mars/ Panic! at the Disco battle was going to be epic, but even we had no idea just how huge it would end up becoming. Top-seeded 30 STM cruised to an early lead, but then, thanks to some pretty heavy campaigning, #5 Panic! slowly started to chip away, and with less than two hours left in voting, they overtook Leto and his boys for good, winning by nearly 5,000 votes. In the undercard, what was expected to be a barnburner ended up being nothing more than a laugher, as #3 Green Day blasted #2 Blink-182 — despite Mark Hoppus’s efforts to rally the troops. And so, our East final is set: #5 Panic! at the Disco vs. #3 Green Day South A pair of hotly contested Sweet 16 matchups here, as #5 Paramore came roaring back against #1 Linkin Park (behold, the power of Facebook! ), erasing a 3,000-vote deficit in the round’s final hours and ultimately coasting to a 2,000-vote win — a pretty slight edge in a contest that saw more than 150,000 votes cast. In the region’s other battle, the unstoppable Tokio Hotel rolled on, besting a surprisingly game #2 Muse — TH’s 3,000-vote victory is by far their lowest margin to date. And so, we head to the South final, with a matchup that’s sure to deliver on every level: #5 Paramore vs. #14 Tokio Hotel East Sum 41 continue their VCU-like run through the tournament, as they pasted the fourth-seeded Strokes in the Sweet 16. But, like their NCAA counterparts, can Deryck Whibley and Co. advance to the Final Four? Standing in their way are last year’s MMM runners-up, #3 My Chemical Romance, who handled #2 Radiohead with ease. At this point, they could be the sneaky favorites to win the whole thing. But first, they’ve got to get past MMM’s Cinderellas, in what is perhaps the most unlikely East final of all time: #16 Sum 14 vs. #3 My Chemical Romance MTV’s Musical March Madness has reached the Elite 8! Voting is now open and will continue until Thursday at midnight, when we’ll roll on to the Final Four. All winners are determined by your votes, so, if your favorite act is still standing, it’s up to you to guide them to glory. You can rally the troops on Twitter using the hashtag #MMM — but get ready, things only get tougher from here on out! Related Videos MTV Kicks Off The 2011 Musical March Madness Related Photos MTV’s 2011 Musical March Madness’ Band Bracketology Bands Hit The Court For MTV’s 2011 Musical March Madness Related Artists Paramore Panic! at the Disco
Two bands go head-to-head in Sweet 16 matchup; voting is live on the Newsroom blog. By James Montgomery Tom Delonge, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker of Blink-182 Photo: Nigel Crane/ Redferns As MTV’s Musical March Madness reaches the Sweet 16 , there are no more easy matchups remaining — though, of any band still standing, perhaps none faces a tougher road to the Elite Eight than Blink-182 , who find themselves up against a resilient Green Day in the West region. Vote in the Blink/ Green Day tilt — and all other Sweet 16 matchups — right now over on the Newsroom blog!
Linkin Park, Panic! at the Disco also advance, along with underdogs Disturbed and Sum 41 … Sweet 16 voting now open on the Newsroom blog. By James Montgomery My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way Photo: David Wolff – Patrick/ WireImage Two weeks ago, when we tipped off the 2011 Musical March Madness tournament, sixty-four bands entered the fray with championship dreams on their minds. For 32 of those bands, that dream died after one round. And for half of the remaining 32, the dream is over today. Because we’ve reached the Sweet 16, the midway point on the quest for the 2011 MMM title. And while the bands still left standing would no doubt like a moment to recover from their epic battles, as any tournament vet will tell you, there’s no rest for the weary. From here on out, the challenges only get tougher, and the cost of defeat is high: To come so close and leave empty-handed would be a heartbreaker, indeed.
