Winning Favorite Pop Artist at People’s Choice Awards ‘was the highlight of my year,’ singer says in documentary, airing Tuesday. By Jocelyn Vena Demi Lovato in “Demi Lovato: Stay Strong” Photo: MTV News & Docs Demi Lovato has had an interesting year , to say the least. After leaving treatment in January 2011, she focused on her work, going into the studio to make the fun — but still very personal — album Unbroken . She launched a tour that quickly became viral thanks to her emotional cover of Lil Wayne’s ” How to Love .” She put the pieces back together, while remaining completely honest with her fans about her issues. Lovato gets personal and tells her story in the MTV documentary ” Demi Lovato: Stay Strong ,” airing Tuesday. “I’ve just been working at it a day at a time and have been trying to continue to fight my hardest,” she told MTV News about still dealing with her problems. “And I’ve had my ups and downs, and I’m still trying, but overall it’s been a really great journey, and I’m thankful for everything that I’ve been through.” Her single “Skyscraper” topped the charts, and her fans turned it out when she toured last fall, but there’s one moment that really is the tops for Lovato: “I won Favorite Pop Artist at the People’s Choice Awards ,” she said of the January awards ceremony where she performed her new single, “Give Your Heart a Break.” “So that was the highlight of my year so far. I worked really hard towards that, and it was just amazing.” Now, though, as Lovato looks to the future, she says that anyone can rewrite their story and shift the focus to the positive. It’s a message she hopes her fans can take with them. “I think it’s important to make sure that people know there’s a positive side to it, that you can kind of rework your story no matter what,” she said. “I’m just trying to be an example for girls today.” ” Demi Lovato: Stay Strong ” airs at 10 p.m. ET/PT Tuesday on MTV. Related Videos Exclusive Previews Of ‘Demi Lovato: Stay Strong’ Related Photos The Evolution Of: Demi Lovato
Efron tells ‘Today’ show that he now has a ‘pocket-checking policy.’ By John Mitchell Zac Efron on the “Today” show Photo: NBC/ Getty At last week’s “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” premiere, the movie’s star Zac Efron caused quite a stir when he pulled his hands out of his pants pockets and accidentally dropped a condom on the red carpet. Unfortunately for the handsome star, just a few days later, he was scheduled to hit the talk-show circuit to promote the animated flick, which in these gossipy times meant fielding questions about the embarrassing snafu. His first stop was “Today,” where a blushing Matt Lauer asked Efron about the condom drop and, well, the journalist seemed to be having a harder time talking about the incident than the movie star. “Your name brings a lot of attention to this role and this movie, and there’s something else that brought a lot of attention to this movie recently, Zac, at the premiere,” Lauer said with a smile. “Yeah,” Efron answered reluctantly, knowing where the conversation was headed. Lauer then asked the “High School Musical” breakout to “take me through it.” Efron didn’t exactly want to do that, but he did assure the anchor that he “never really had a pocket-checking policy when I was going on the red carpet before, but now we’ve fully instated one.” “You dropped a … a condom on the red carpet,” Lauer elaborated, just to make sure everyone was on the same page, though he was clearly uncomfortable. “That was really hard for you to say,” the 24-year-old star observed. Clearly embarrassed by the conversation but maintaining his cool, Efron agreed with Lauer that the “better to be safe than sorry” message he was sending was “a great message to add to the many messages of the film.” That’s when things took a turn for the super -awkward. Lauer tried to move straight into a conversation about Efron’s production company. “You’ve got your own production company,” Lauer started before laughing. “And that’s a bad pun, by the way: your own production company.” Get it? His own production company. Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘The Lorax’
British boy banders prove they know ‘NSYNC from the Jonas Brothers. By Jocelyn Vena The Wanted Photo: Steve Thorne/ Redferns The Wanted are taking over America. Their single “Glad You Came” is a certified hit, and they’ve even amassed enough U.S. exposure to get covered on “Glee” and tour with Justin Bieber . The British fivesome (along with fellow Brit boy banders One Direction , who are also getting love Stateside) are proving that the new millennium is ready for a new crop of boy bands. When the Wanted stopped by MTV News while they were in the U.S. for their tour, they played a little Boy Band Pop Quiz with us, and they did surprisingly well! See for yourselves … What boy band featured Justin Timberlake? The Wanted : ‘NSYNC Did they get it right? : Yes What boy band released the song “I Want It That Way”? The Wanted : Backstreet Boys Did they get it right? : Yes What band launched the career of Robbie Williams? The Wanted : Take That Did they get it right? : Yes What group from Boston formed a supergroup with the Backstreet Boys? The Wanted : New Kids on the Block Did they get it right? : Yes What band’s name is actually a temperature? The Wanted : 98 Degrees Did they get it right? : Yes, eventually, with some hints from us! What band’s brothers are also the stars of “Camp Rock”? The Wanted : The Jonas Brothers Did they get it right? : Yes Having gotten high marks on our Boy Band Pop Quiz, the guys will come back our way later this month to be part of mtvU’s Spring Break festivities . They will head to Sin City to chill with rapper Young Jeezy and MTV Artist to Watch 2012 Dev at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. It’ll all go down March 20 to 22! How would you have done on the Boy Band Pop Quiz? Let us know in the comments! Related Artists The Wanted
‘The Voice’ judge will headline ‘Cee Lo Green Presents Loberace’ at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino starting in August. By Kara Warner Cee Lo Green Photo: Getty Images As if Grammy-nominated recording artist and “Voice” judge Cee Lo Green Cee Lo Green didn’t already have enough on his plate, the man is taking his act to Las Vegas, where he will headline “Cee Lo Green Presents Loberace,” at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino beginning August 29. The “F— You” singer announced via his website Friday (March 2) that his show will “take you on a ride through the colorful decades of music, stopping at legendary moments in time, from Prince to Blue Magic to The Rolling Stones, new wave to disco and beyond,” according to the news announcement on the site. “Visually, the production will combine Cee Lo’s flamboyant sense of style & over-the-top creativity, magnified and intensified, with his soulful voice covering some of his favorite music, as well as original songs. Part dance party, part live intimate concert, this energetic, exotic show will be as inspired and visually alive as Cee Lo Green. There will be mind-twisting magic and sexified showgirls, and the larger-than-life wardrobe and impressive stage design will out-glam and out-clever anything you’ve seen from this Muppet-ized, sequin-styled international Lady Killer to date.” Cee Lo’s “alter ego” is a nod to legendary and flamboyant showman Liberace, a world-renowned vocalist and pianist famous for both his talent and his outlandish fashion. The Goodie Mob rapper and Gnarls Barkley singer has been front and center in the world of music and pop culture over the past couple of years thanks to the success of his hit single “F— You” and the subsequent duet with Gwyneth Paltrow that was born on “Glee” and received special “Muppet-ized” treatment at the Grammys last year. And don’t forget the success of “The Voice” and Cee Lo’s recent involvement in the Super Bowl halftime show with Madonna . “Cee Lo Green Presents Loberace,” begins its first of 28 shows on Wednesday, August 29, and goes through December 9. Will you check out Cee Lo’s Vegas show? Let us know in the comments! Related Artists Cee Lo Green
Latest Dr. Seuss adaptation isn’t winning over too many critics. A scene from “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” Photo: Universal Studios There are few authors whose oeuvre is as universally beloved as that of Dr. Seuss. The love for Dr. Seuss is so great that plenty of his stories are rife for big-screen treatment. We’ve seen movie versions of “The Cat in the Hat,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “Horton Hears a Who,” and now we have “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax,” which hit theaters Friday (March 2). Led by an all-star cast of voice talent including Taylor Swift, Zac Efron, Danny DeVito, Betty White, Ed Helms and Rob Riggle, the story follows the journey of a young boy who fights to reintroduce endangered trees to the plastic-obsessed town of Thneedville in hopes of winning a girl’s heart. Despite the warm-and-fuzzy sheen of the film, critics were not as wowed by the colorful adaptation. The film currently has a 56 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes but an 85 percent positive rating from audiences. Read on as we sift through “The Lorax” reviews! The Adaptation “Director Chris Renaud and writers Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio (the team responsible for 2010’s ‘Despicable Me’) were just the right people to bring Dr. Seuss’ (a.k.a. Theodor Geisel) 1971 environmental fable to vivid, eye-popping life. It has a similar blend of humor, bouncy silliness and sweetness. And it remains faithful to the spirit of Seuss. The pro-conservation, anti-consumerist message of the book is heartily intact. And, like the Seuss story, the film never resorts to sermonizing. … Disappointingly, Seuss’ trademark lilting language and clever rhymes are only sporadically integrated into the story. The film does add pleasantly loopy, if rather forgettable, songs.” — Claudia Puig, USA Today The Animation “As with ‘Horton Hears a Who!’ four years ago, the production design and computer-generated animation in this new ‘Lorax’ respect the basic lines of Theodor Seuss Geisel’s illustrations, his voluptuously curvy universe of serious whimsy. Both the ‘Horton’ and ‘Lorax’ films work better, certainly, than the live-action Seuss pictures ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ and the seriously not-good ‘Cat in the Hat.’ ‘The Lorax’ is a little more like it. A little. But you couldn’t accuse the film of practicing what it preaches: careful stewardship of a precious resource. The message tends to get lost in all the clanging slapstick and ‘WALL-E’ imagery. ‘WALL-E’ had the courage of its convictions as well as beauty and artistry; ‘The Lorax’ is just another OK feature-length animated edition (in 3-D, if you choose to pay for it) of a Dr. Seuss book.” — Michael Phillips, The Chicago Tribune The Final Word, Pro-Con-Pro Style “Directors Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda and their team honor Seuss’ original designs — those fuzzy-top trees and the comical bears and fish — while inventively creating the artificial world of Thneedville, where all the shrubbery is inflatable and it can be all four seasons simultaneously. While the film isn’t a full-on musical, the creators weave in a handful of catchy songs that nestle comfortably in the ear and push the plot forward, a rare combo in most cartoons these days. The voice cast is just fine, with Helms’ Once-ler traveling smoothly from protagonist to antagonist and back again. (A little of DeVito’s hectoring Lorax goes a long way, and the film wisely doles him out in small doses.) Conservative commentators like Lou Dobbs are absolutely right when they say that ‘The Lorax’ preaches in favor of the environment and against corporatism and waste and the destruction of the atmosphere. Parents who find that to be a message that’s somehow dangerous have every right not to go, but those Grinches, out of their terror of tree-hugging propaganda, will miss a real treat.” — Alonso Duralde, TheWrap “Don’t be fooled. Despite its soft environmentalist message ‘The Lorax’ is an example of what it pretends to oppose. Its relationship to Dr. Seuss’ book is precisely that of the synthetic trees that line the streets of Thneedville to the organic Truffulas they have displaced. The movie is a noisy, useless piece of junk, reverse-engineered into something resembling popular art in accordance with the reigning imperatives of marketing and brand extension. … ‘The Lorax,’ while it nods in the direction of Dr. Seuss’ distinctive, trippy drawing style, treats his sensibility as, at best, a decorative element. The movie’s silliness, like its preachiness, is loud and slightly hysterical, as if young viewers could be entertained only by a ceaseless barrage of sensory stimulus and pop-culture attitude, or instructed by songs that make the collected works of Up With People sound like Metallica. The simple fable of the Lorax and the Once-ler is wrapped in gaudy, familiar business and festooned with grim, forced cheer. What do the kids want? Car chases! Kooky grandmas! Pint-size villains flanked by thuggish minions! Things that fly! Taylor Swift!” — A.O. Scott, The New York Times “As much as this looks like Dr. Seuss, some of the most intriguing ideas of the original story have been changed and not always for the better. Altering the ending into one big happy party was slightly disappointing, if understandable. It was much more interesting that this strange creature would tell his story to a curious young boy and hope that this child would be able to plant the very last truffula tree seed. Not surprisingly, the movie changes that ambiguous hope into a happy-heavy ending. Sure it may be more child friendly, but the books weren’t exclusively made for grown-ups. If done right, young viewers would be able to search for hope with a less obvious finale. Yet with all the over-the-top joyfulness and an extraneous villain, there is fun to be had with ‘Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax.’ This is an enjoyable kid’s flick with a message for a new generation. The environmental aspect might anger a few people but that same idea is in the book itself, there is nothing new about that here. Much like Bob Holt’s take on him, I really warmed up to the character of the Lorax and what DeVito brings to this little critter that speaks for the trees. And yes, Betty White voices another wacky grandma, and everybody loves her, right?” — Jimmy O, JoBlo.com Check out everything we’ve got on “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘The Lorax’
‘It’s a different show every night, a different audience every night,’ he tells MTV News of his eight-shows-a-week schedule. By Jocelyn Vena Nick Jonas Photo: MTV News In January, Nick Jonas kicked off his run as Finch, the lead role in Broadway’s hit revival of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” With six weeks under his belt (and another few to go before he wraps it up in June), he says that he’s still getting to know the ins and outs of the show, but he’s enjoying every minute of the part, even its eight-shows-a-week schedule. “It’s interesting. The thing that I think I’ve realized, having played Finch every night, eight shows a week, is that the title of the show is ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,’ however the thing about Finch that’s really exciting and appealing to the audience, and me as actor, is that he does try really hard,” he explained to MTV News. “Although he does rise to the top really quickly, he never lies, he never cuts anyone down, he never does anything that makes him a bad person,” he continues. “However, he’s just really driven. I think when it says ‘Without Really Trying,’ it’s more just saying how easy it really is when you get into the setup he falls into. It’s fun to dig in and see how quickly and easily you can rise to the top.” And, the experience of the show has been enriched even more by the folks watching. “It’s a different show every night, a different audience every night and although we’re saying the same thing, it’s so different with each show and the audience plays just a much a part into the way the show runs as with the actors do. We have to pay attention and keep the pace of the show up,” he said. “It’s been fun to have a different show every night and to see the fans, not only Jonas fans, but also fans of ‘How to Succeed’ and theater fans in general.” Have you seen “How to Succeed”? If so, what did you think of Nick Jonas’ performance? Leave your comment below! Related Videos MTV News Extended Play: Nick Jonas Related Artists Jonas Brothers Nick Jonas & The Administration
New album is about ‘accepting that your fantasy is actually your reality,’ Santi tells MTV News. By James Montgomery Santigold When it came time for Santigold to begin work on the follow-up to her breakout self-titled debut, she had to change more than just her name; she had to readjust her entire view on reality. “I really had to get a grasp on what the process was for this record … and what I was experiencing. And, really, the process for me of making this record was mastering my make-believe,” she said. “It was really about navigating through my own reality; navigating through my mind, my emotions and realizing that I was in control. I had to trust my vision and my creativity and really own the art I was making and own my experience in life, and claim it. I really do believe that our view on the world is what the world is; how we view ourselves is what we are … we really are in control of our lives and ourselves and our world, but only if we take control.” And take control she does on the upcoming Master of My Make-Believe, an album that is, first and foremost, a mission statement, Santi’s ode to self-empowerment and self-awareness. But despite what the title may suggest, it is most definitely not an escapist fantasy. Rather than withdraw from the increasingly surreal times in which we live, she’s suggesting we do the complete opposite. “It’s about accepting that your fantasy is actually your reality, and trusting your imagination, and trusting that your imagination is actually a real sense of knowing, ” she explained. “It was my second record, so I really wrongly thought I had it all under control going into it. I was like, ‘OK, I got this, I know how to make a record, I know who I’m working with,’ so the first thing was to realize that was completely wrong. The other thing was, last time I had John Hill sort of as my partner throughout the record; I worked with a lot of people, but John was always there. This time, the only person that was always there was me. That was a big change, and I had to grow into accepting that. It took a tremendous amount of trust in myself.” While all that may lead you to believe that Make-Believe is all heady and conceptual, well, take a listen to first single a staggering, swaggering slab of electro strut (courtesy of producer Ricky Blaze) and guitar stabs (courtesy of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner) that is — as Santi put it — very much “for the clubs.” But it’s also a lot more. “That song took me, like, three months to write the lyrics. First, Ricky sent me a track that was amazing, and visually, it reminded me of this day when me, Diplo and John Hill went out on this boat, and John was seasick; he was throwing up over the side,” she laughed. “And we were going really fast on this speedboat, and I was just holding on, sitting cross-legged on the very front of the boat, and my body was just, like, flying, like I could have been thrown off at any minute. And this guy was playing this old reggae through these little speakers, and it was blown out and distorted, and it was such a visual memory that stayed with me, and this song kind of felt like that. “But lyrically, I was trying to talk about what I want for the world and what I want people to be,” she continued. “The youth are the hope of the future, and I want people to have the courage to trust their own vision and instincts and make up the truth for themselves and question what’s told to them.” Will you check out Santigold’s new project? Let us know in the comments! Related Artists Santigold
‘My goal is to migrate the cultures,’ Swizz tells MTV News about his new partnership with Korea’s O&Media. By Nadeska Alexis Swizz Beatz Photo: WireImage Swizz Beatz is notorious for having his hands in a few different projects at once. In addition to outside-the-box ventures like working with Christian Louboutin to score the music for Paris’ Crazy Horse cabaret, the producer is currently focused on developing his joint venture with O&Media, which aims to introduce Korean pop music, or “K-Pop,” to mainstream America. “My goal is to migrate the cultures,” Swizz told MTV News. “It’s not about me being a feature or just producing K-Pop music; it’s about migrating musical cultures around the world. And I just felt like starting with K-Pop, starting in Asia and opening up different outlets to something cool and new.” To spearhead this project, Swizz teamed up with popular Korean entertainment group O&Media. “That partnership has been coming about for a couple of months now,” he said, detailing the progress they’ve made together so far. “We have a TV show component, a tour company component, a production company and a label. We’re just active as the tunnel for artists that want to do things in the West, or artists in the West that want to do things in Asia. This is about a whole migration of cultures coming together under our umbrella to have an outlet to express themselves.” Part of Swizz’s goal is to use elements from each music culture to help grow the other. “They still do artist development [in Asia], where back here in the States, the labels and our culture lacks artist development,” he said. “Nowadays, an artist can go into the booth, put out a song the next day, and that person thinks that they’re a superstar. But within the K-Pop movement, artists actually go through artist development. They take music classes that allow them to be ready for when they do become that big star. “I think that introducing different cultures of music can help everybody out, and that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop doing hip-hop or R&B music,” he added. “I have love for all genres of music, because it’s all art, and I just want to take the boundaries and lines of segregation and make them invisible.” In the simplest terms, the super-producer wants the love to be spread evenly across the musical world. “When we go to these different countries — Korea, Japan, China — as artists from the United States, we get treated like kings,” he said. “We get treated like real stars. And I feel that when they come over to the States, as successful as they are, they should get treated the same.” What do you think about Swizz’s K-Pop efforts? Let us know in the comments! Related Artists Swizz Beatz
Actress has reportedly completed her stay at Utah’s Cirque Lodge after suffering medical emergency in January. By John Mitchell Demi Moore Photo: Jason Kempin/ Getty Images Demi Moore has reportedly left Cirque Lodge rehabilitation center and is on vacation at an undisclosed location, E! News reports. After a January 23 health scare landed Moore in the hospital , the actress checked into the Sundance, Utah, rehabilitation center amid rumors that the actress was suffering from substance-abuse problems and a possible eating disorder. Representatives for Moore have not commented publicly on the actress’ hospitalization or what exactly she was seeking treatment for at Cirque Lodge. “Because of the stresses in her life right now, Demi has chosen to seek professional assistance to treat her exhaustion and improve her overall health,” Moore’s rep said in a statement. “She looks forward to getting well and is grateful for the support of her family and friends.” However, audio of the 911 call made from Moore’s Los Angeles-area home revealed that she was experiencing seizures after smoking an unidentified substance and that she had been “having some issues” in the lead-up to the incident. “She smoked something. It’s not marijuana, but it’s similar to it,” an unnamed female caller told the 911 operator. “It’s similar to incense. She seems to be having convulsions of some sort.” “There has been some stuff recently that we’re just finding out,” another caller added. “She’s been having some issues lately with some other stuff, so I don’t know what she’s been taking or not.” What exactly those “issues” are remains unclear. Cirque Lodge, according to its website, “is considered one of the nation’s finest drug treatment centers providing services for alcohol and substance abuse” that offers “a dual diagnosis program, providing individualized addiction treatment and services for co-occurring mental health concerns.” The “exclusive and private” treatment the facility offers has attracted many celebrities dealing with addiction issues, including Lindsay Lohan, Mary-Kate Olsen, Eva Mendes and Kirsten Dunst. Though the location was not disclosed, sources close to the actress tell E! she is “on vacation” and is “in no rush to get back to L.A.” The source continued, “She’s on total lockdown and only talking to a small group of people.” Related Photos Demi Moore Through The Years
The joint single ‘Ready to Go’ is the first product out of Limp Bizkit’s deal with YMCMB. By Gil Kaufman Lil Wayne and Limp Bizkit’s Fred Dirst Photo: FilmMagic/Getty Images Fans will not have to wait long to hear what the odd future pairing of Limp Bizkit and the YMCMB crew will sound like. A spokesperson for the home of Drake and Nicki Minaj confirmed to MTV News on Friday (March 2) that the crew will release a single online next week called “Ready to Go” featuring verses from their new labelmate Lil Wayne . Not much is known about the first new music from the “Nookie” act since their surprise signing to the label, but in a statement announcing the roster move, co-founder Bryan “Birdman” Williams said, “We have always admired how they have been able to blend rock and hip-hop and will bring a unique sound to the label.” His partner, Ronald “Slim” Williams, added, “We are excited to see the work and collaborations that come from the entire Cash Money family with the addition of Limp Bizkit.” “As both an artist and someone who has signed artists, I can say without a doubt that Cash Money is at the top of their game,” Durst said. “What attracted me to the label is not only their great taste and hustle, but their belief in their artists and the family atmosphere. Slim and Birdman allow their artists to be themselves and encourage creative output and continued development. I look forward to bringing my vision as a director as well as my voice to the label and to Limp Bizkit putting out some of our best music to date.” On Thursday, Birdman told Billboard that the song will be “a great way to let the world know that [Bizkit] is part of us,” revealing that the band’s frontman, Fred Durst, hit the studio in Miami the week after the Grammy awards to bang out the single. “It’s rock, but it’s hip-hop rock,” Birdman added. “I think we got that hip-hop-rock swagger.” He said that after Bizkit finish their tour of Australia, they will shoot a video with Wayne for the song and then continue work on the album, which they’ve already started tracking while on tour. “They’re just gonna go in and get it done,” he said. “We’re looking to put an album out this year, but right now we’re dropping the single with him and Wayne, and we’re gonna vibe from there. Fred’s all the way in — he understands what we’re about, hard work and dedication. To me, they’re one of the hardest workers.” How do you think a Limp Bizkit/ Lil Wayne collabo will sound? Sound off in the comments section! Related Artists Lil Wayne Limp Bizkit
