Gaga went on Howard Stern’s satellite radio show on Tuesday (November 12) and talked about her Madonna beef and betrayal by Perez Hilton. By Gil Kaufman
Despite the hype surrounding Stern’s debut, the show’s ratings are down more than 15 percent from last year. By Gil Kaufman Howard Stern Photo: MTV News Over the past week it has felt like Howard Stern was everywhere. The self-proclaimed “King of All Media” was doing his best to make that title sing in the lead-up to his debut as a judge on “America’s Got Talent,” by doing a rare publicity swing of talk shows and feature interviews. He was excited and he wanted America to be excited, and by the looks of the blanket ads, billboards and promotional stunts, NBC clearly thought that adding the controversial shock jock to the mix on the family-friendly show was going to be big news. Stern did his part , delivering a warmer, fuzzier version of his outrageous radio persona on Monday night’s two-hour debut and earning almost universal praise for his playful, personal touch. The ratings, however, were another matter. According to overnight figures from Nielsen, Monday’s show was seen by 10.3 million viewers and earned a 3.6 rating, which was solid, but meant that viewership was down 33 percent (from 15.3 million) and ratings fell 16 percent from last year’s debut (4.3). Stern spent a while on his SiriusXM satellite radio show on Monday tamping down expectations for the first night’s ratings, mixing a cocktail of his own self-deprecation with the cold-hard facts about the competition. According to Entertainment Weekly unlike last year, when “AGT” bowed at the end of May and was paired with the first season of “The Voice,” Monday night’s episode went up against the one-hour season finale of “How I Met Your Mother,” as well as the season finales of “Two and a Half Men” and “Mike & Molly.” Oh, and it also had to contend with the penultimate performance night on “Dancing with the Stars.” While the ratings may not have been the kind of slam-dunk success NBC was hoping for, Stern may have one less potential headache to deal with (for now). After lambasting NBC for hiring Stern for the show , citing the broadcasting veteran’s more risqu
Despite the hype surrounding Stern’s debut, the show’s ratings are down more than 15 percent from last year. By Gil Kaufman Howard Stern Photo: MTV News Over the past week it has felt like Howard Stern was everywhere. The self-proclaimed “King of All Media” was doing his best to make that title sing in the lead-up to his debut as a judge on “America’s Got Talent,” by doing a rare publicity swing of talk shows and feature interviews. He was excited and he wanted America to be excited, and by the looks of the blanket ads, billboards and promotional stunts, NBC clearly thought that adding the controversial shock jock to the mix on the family-friendly show was going to be big news. Stern did his part , delivering a warmer, fuzzier version of his outrageous radio persona on Monday night’s two-hour debut and earning almost universal praise for his playful, personal touch. The ratings, however, were another matter. According to overnight figures from Nielsen, Monday’s show was seen by 10.3 million viewers and earned a 3.6 rating, which was solid, but meant that viewership was down 33 percent (from 15.3 million) and ratings fell 16 percent from last year’s debut (4.3). Stern spent a while on his SiriusXM satellite radio show on Monday tamping down expectations for the first night’s ratings, mixing a cocktail of his own self-deprecation with the cold-hard facts about the competition. According to Entertainment Weekly unlike last year, when “AGT” bowed at the end of May and was paired with the first season of “The Voice,” Monday night’s episode went up against the one-hour season finale of “How I Met Your Mother,” as well as the season finales of “Two and a Half Men” and “Mike & Molly.” Oh, and it also had to contend with the penultimate performance night on “Dancing with the Stars.” While the ratings may not have been the kind of slam-dunk success NBC was hoping for, Stern may have one less potential headache to deal with (for now). After lambasting NBC for hiring Stern for the show , citing the broadcasting veteran’s more risqu
Despite the hype surrounding Stern’s debut, the show’s ratings are down more than 15 percent from last year. By Gil Kaufman Howard Stern Photo: MTV News Over the past week it has felt like Howard Stern was everywhere. The self-proclaimed “King of All Media” was doing his best to make that title sing in the lead-up to his debut as a judge on “America’s Got Talent,” by doing a rare publicity swing of talk shows and feature interviews. He was excited and he wanted America to be excited, and by the looks of the blanket ads, billboards and promotional stunts, NBC clearly thought that adding the controversial shock jock to the mix on the family-friendly show was going to be big news. Stern did his part , delivering a warmer, fuzzier version of his outrageous radio persona on Monday night’s two-hour debut and earning almost universal praise for his playful, personal touch. The ratings, however, were another matter. According to overnight figures from Nielsen, Monday’s show was seen by 10.3 million viewers and earned a 3.6 rating, which was solid, but meant that viewership was down 33 percent (from 15.3 million) and ratings fell 16 percent from last year’s debut (4.3). Stern spent a while on his SiriusXM satellite radio show on Monday tamping down expectations for the first night’s ratings, mixing a cocktail of his own self-deprecation with the cold-hard facts about the competition. According to Entertainment Weekly unlike last year, when “AGT” bowed at the end of May and was paired with the first season of “The Voice,” Monday night’s episode went up against the one-hour season finale of “How I Met Your Mother,” as well as the season finales of “Two and a Half Men” and “Mike & Molly.” Oh, and it also had to contend with the penultimate performance night on “Dancing with the Stars.” While the ratings may not have been the kind of slam-dunk success NBC was hoping for, Stern may have one less potential headache to deal with (for now). After lambasting NBC for hiring Stern for the show , citing the broadcasting veteran’s more risqu
‘Monday proved for sure is this is the show where he belongs,’ writes one critic about Stern’s debut on ‘America’s Got Talent.’ By Gil Kaufman Sharon Osbourne, Howard Stern and Howie Mandel Photo: NBC Prepare for the worst and the results can only be better than you expected. That’s the lesson naysayers learned on Monday night when radio talker Howard Stern made his long-awaited debut as the new judge on “America’s Got Talent.” Stern, a huge fan of the show who has been talking up his new gig for months on his SiriusXM satellite radio show did exactly what he promised : he was a fair, sometimes silly, sometimes harsh judge with a heart of gold and a soft spot for sappy stories. Hell, the notoriously Purell-addicted germaphobe even lumbered up onto the stage to huge a particularly sweaty, not-so-great singer after giving him a second chance at fame. After dismissing the pre-debut hand-wringing by the Parents Television Council that Stern’s penchant for R-rated humor might leak over into the family-friendly show as “a foolish presumption,” Los Angeles Times writer Robert Lloyd wrote that such fretting, “sells short the show’s producers and misreads Stern, who has shown himself perfectly capable of good behavior on other people’s turf.” Despite an introductory montage set to the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” that set up his bad-boy reputation and a joke about how NBC execs must be “out of their mind” for taking a risk on him,” Lloyd said it was quickly evident that, “like fellow judges Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel, he [Stern] meant to play the game the way the game is meant to be played, because, to a deep degree, he believes in it.” In a headline in which it said the shock jock, “becomes a beloved uncle,” the Washington Post ‘s TV reviewer mixed the sweet and sour in offering backhanded praise to the radio veteran. “Somewhere along the way to the collapse of Western civilization, pioneer shock-jock Howard Stern became a sweet old man, perhaps staving off our multimedia Armageddon,” wrote critic Hank Stuever. “At least that’s the story line presented along with Stern’s canny decision to join — at a reported fee of about $20 million — NBC’s goony amateur performance competition, ‘America’s Got Talent,’ as its newest judge.” Stuever yawned at Stern’s rehashing of old bits about his looks and the size of his manhood, and said he did “dish out a tiny bit of brutal honesty,” but mostly came to “bask in the show’s trademark combination of awkwardness, ingenuity and love” and delivered “apple-pie pronouncements more typical of presidential candidates.” The embrace was slightly warmer at the New York Daily News , which explained that, “to appreciate Howard Stern’s debut as a judge on ‘America’s Got Talent’ Monday night, just remember this: Inviting Stern on ‘AGT’ is not like inviting the Sex Pistols to crash ‘La Traviata’ at the Met. ‘America’s Got Talent’ didn’t hire Stern to inject outrageous and wacky. It didn’t need to. It has ’em already.” Critic David Hinckley said that Stern settled in quickly and comfortably on the show, praising him for being honest and getting caught up in the show’s “figurative group hugs and four-handkerchief moments.” The question remains of how Stern will deal when the goofy acts are gone and he has to make tough decisions between talented acts with widely differing skills. “There was no indication he can’t do it. But all Monday proved for sure is this is the show where he belongs.” People magazine seconded those emotions, writing, “Stern showed a lot of heart and proved he’s got talent — for judging!” What did you think of Stern’s debut on “America’s Got Talent?” Let us know in comments below.
‘We gave him a shot at it,’ Jadakiss tells ‘Sway in the Morning.’ By Rob Markman, with reporting by Sway Calloway Styles P and Jadakiss of the LOX Photo: Phil McCarten/ Getty Images There will be a new LOX album, eventually, but it won’t be released on Diddy’s Bad Boy Records. “Nah, we went over there, we gave him a shot at it,” Jadakiss told MTV News correspondent Sway Calloway when he appeared on his “Sway in the Morning” satellite radio show on Tuesday (May 8). In 1998, the LOX — comprised of ‘Kiss, Styles P and Sheek Louch — released their debut album, Money, Power, Respect, with the house that Diddy built, but their relationship soon soured. When it came time to drop their sophomore LP, We Are the Streets, the LOX made the move to Ruff Ryders Entertainment . It’s been 12 years since the Yonkers, New York, trio dropped an album, and they have since reconciled with Puff, but there are hurdles standing in the way of future business between both parties. “He wanted to do it, but I don’t think contractually with all of the forces, we weren’t able to do it, but he’s still the big homie,” Jada said, without revealing where the group may sign. Since making their initial move away from Bad Boy, each group member went on to sign separate solo deals, making any would-be agreement for a new LOX album very tricky. During an August 2011 interview, Styles P tried to break things down. “It’s a lot of heads involved with the new LOX album. You got Ruff Ryders, you got Bad Boy, you got Interscope. It’s a lot of politics in one set of paperwork, but it’s gettin’ close,” the Ghost said several months ago. Though the Bad Boy deal is off the table, ‘Kiss and company will forever be tied to the storied label. It was there where they first learned to refine their raw rhyme talent and craft hit records. The crew has often credited the Notorious B.I.G. with their development, so when Sway asked Jada about his thoughts on a prospective Biggie holographic performance, similar to the Tupac stunt Dr. Dre pulled at Coachella last month, Mr. So Raspy was all for it. “It cost a lot, so I think Diddy with his connection to Interscope and Jimmy, I still think he got the resources to do a Big joint whenever he goes out to do a big tour; that’ll be cool,” Jadakiss said. “I think it was good for the ‘Pac lovers and for these young cats that ain’t really get the chance to see him or understand him. But I think if they gonna do it, we should try to do Big L, Pun — let’s do all of the fallen soldiers of hip-hop and let the people get a chance to see ’em at one of these big venues.” Catch MTV News’ Sway Calloway on “Sway in the Morning,” on SiriusXM Radio’s Shade 45 , Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to noon ET.
‘I think she’s taken it to the next level,’ says Sirius/XM’s Reggie Hawkins. By Gil Kaufman Nicki Minaj Photo: Getty Images It’s one of the trickiest moves in music and even if it’s done right it only goes in one direction. With her just-released second album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded , Nicki Minaj has served notice that she aims to be that rarest of MCs: one that can appeal to the pop crowd and hard-core hip-hop heads at the same time. It’s virtually impossible (so far) to start out pop and then work up enough cred to get over with rap fans. But like Missy Elliott, Nelly, Eminem and Diddy before her, Minaj is hoping that she can stay relevant to the heads who fell in love with her three years ago on a series of buzzy mixtapes and still become the next Katy Perry. “She can rap, flat out, she has proven it with some of best rappers in game and she will never lose that ability and because of that she will always remain a favorite in hip-hop,” said XXL magazine executive editor Jayson Rodriguez. “It’s the pop crowd that can be fickle … She has the personality, the skill, the songs and charisma to inhabit that pop sphere. As long as she has skill level, there’s no reason she can’t top both charts.” Thanks to a string of knock-out features on hits by everyone from label boss Lil Wayne to DJ Khaled, Kanye West and Ludacris, Minaj, 29, has plenty of rap bona fides. But she’s also reached for the pop brass ring by performing at the Super Bowl with Madonna, the Grammys and on “American Idol,” indulging in the kind of outrageous fashion sense that makes headlines and earns cover stories from the mainstream press. She also launched the new album with a single in “Starships” that’s like tooth-rotting candy to pop radio, and a far cry from the gritty mixtape songs that launched her career back in the day. That might explain why Roman is almost pointedly split in two, with the first half presenting her rap side courtesy of a string of no-nonsense rhymes produced by the likes of Hitboy and Blackout, with features by Cam’ron, Weezy, Rick Ross and, on the hard-hitting potential break-out rap single “Beez in the Trap” , 2 Chainz. Those songs are followed by a string of tunes on the second half produced by Lady Gaga collaborator RedOne, pop trackmaster Dr. Luke and J.R. Rotem. For the most part, mainstream critics have not been kind about the cross-over dribble move, which has also left some fans with divided loyalties . “I honestly think that she saw the blueprint Kanye West made with his last album [ My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy ], and the way music is going where an artist can have a record playing on four different platforms [at satellite radio] and she personified it and maximized it,” said Reggie Hawkins, program director for Sirius/XM’s Hip Hop Nation. “She [isn’t a rapper that] does pop records that suck. She does great pop records and songs like ‘Pound the Alarm’ are going to be played in clubs from here to Brazil. I think she’s taken it to the next level.” Minaj recently told the Los Angeles Times that she took the disappointment of her rap fans hard when they complained about lightweight tunes like “Your Love” and “Moment 4 Life” from her best-selling debut, Pink Friday . “I felt a lot of pressure to be inspirational and responsible [on that album],” Minaj said. “I like all kinds of music; when I was working at Red Lobster the soundtrack of my life there was Avril Lavigne. Hip-hop fans are my core, and I can never not be hip-hop. But why not showcase all sides of who you are?” Which is why, she said, she wanted Reloaded to indulge all of her many personalities, from the frantic verses of “Roman Holiday” to the mixtape-like “Stupid Hoe” and the Eminem feature “Roman’s Revenge.” The way Hawkins reads it, Nicki doesn’t seem to really care if hip-hop gives her the cold shoulder. “She’s seen the light internationally and seen that there’s a bigger world than just Queens, New York, or Bankhead, Atlanta,” he said. “She’s grown and when I sat down with her [I got the sense] that she doesn’t care. She’s going to Will Smith the game … her next step is movies. It’s not about hip-hop critics who want to box her in as a hip-hop artist. It’s about her core fans, her Twitter followers and social media people, her Barbz. If they give her backlash it’s a problem.” And when Nicki appeared on Sirius radio’s “Sway in the Morning” on Shade 45 this week, she reacted to that potential backlash by explaining that she has to keep evolving. “You just gotta realize that I’m never gonna be one-dimensional,” she said. “Even my core fans I think, at times, thought I was one-dimensional when I was doing mixtapes. However, even on the mixtapes, I was singing and I did a song called ‘Can Anybody Hear Me’ on one of my mixtapes where I was singing and talking about being a female rapper and trying to get signed.” Rodriguez said he totally understands Nicki’s desire to grow artistically and predicted that the grumbling from the rap community would settle down eventually once she puts out some hot remixes. “The thing with a half-and-half record is that you’ll have detractors because it’s never fully one thing or the other,” he said, pointing to label mate Drake as someone who has managed to keep both sides of his audience happy with a more cohesive pair of albums that smoothly mix his pop and rap leanings. “As opposed to Missy or Diddy, who started out glossy and very pop hued … Nicki came from the DVD/mixtape scene. Her base is hip-hop, which launched her to reach those pop heights and now they’re looking at it like, ‘wham, bam, thank you ma’m.'” Regardless of the grumbling, she’s on track to show them all when Roman likely debuts at #1 on the Billboard charts next week. What do you think of Roman Reloaded? Tell us on our Facebook page! To celebrate the release of Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, we will be examining the “Evolution of Nicki Minaj” throughout the week. Check MTV News every day to see how the Southside Jamaica, Queens, Barbie went from a promising mixtape standout to rap’s reigning queen. Related Videos The Evolution Of Nicki Minaj Related Artists Nicki Minaj
The wait is almost over! Our fearless leader Mr. Skin is currently on his way to New York City, where he’ll be appearing LIVE on The Howard Stern Show tomorrow morning to announce the winners of our 13th Annual Anatomy Awards. Jenna Jameson (probably) won’t be there (though you never know with Howard), but our Sultan of Spank will reveal his picks for the very breast of 2011 in categories like Best Breasts, Best Full Frontal, Best TV Series and Nudecomer of the Year. This is the big show, folks, so tune into Sirius XM Satellite Radio HOWARD 101 tomorrow morning at 7am Eastern/ 6am Central to hear Mr. Skin announce the winners of the 13th Annual Anatomy Awards LIVE!
Hudson’s stirring cover of Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’ was an emotional homage to late singer. By Gil Kaufman Jennifer Hudson performs at the Grammys on Sunday Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images There is a whole generation of modern divas who grew up worshipping at the altar of Whitney Houston . Everyone from Mariah Carey to Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Rihanna and Beyonc
Producer will be music consultant on the broadcast. By Gil Kaufman Pharrell Williams Photo: Getty Images It’s a long way from “Drop It Like It’s Hot” to the Academy Awards, but Pharrell Williams is about to make that fantastic voyage. The acclaimed hip-hop/pop producer and N*E*R*D band leader has been tapped to be a musical consultant for the upcoming 84th Academy Awards telecast. According to The Hollywood Reporter , first-timer Williams will be in good company when he cooked up musical cues for the show, as Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer has also been asked to work on the show by recently installed show producer Brian Grazer. Zimmer has composed music for more than 100 movies, including “Gladiator,” “Pearl Harbor,” the “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy, Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” movies, “Kung Fu Panda 2,” “Rango” and “The Lion King,” for which he won an Oscar. Williams has written songs for a number of movies, including “Knocked Up,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Despicable Me.” “Hans is one of the most accomplished and creative film composers of our time, and Pharrell is a phenomenal songwriter with an amazing list of credits,” said Grazer and show co-producer Don Mischer in a statement. “This is an exciting and prestigious collaboration that promises to take the audience on a musical journey.” The two music men join a telecast that has already garnered its share of attention due to the departure of original newbie producer Brett Ratner last month after the “Tower Heist” director was criticized for using a gay slur at a movie screening and speaking in frank terms about his sexual proclivities on Howard Stern’s satellite radio show. Ratner was quickly followed by his hand-picked show host, comedian Eddie Murphy, who was swiftly replaced by Oscar veteran Billy Crystal. The 84th Academy Awards will take place on February 26, 2012. For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Artists Pharrell Williams
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