Tag Archives: alicia-keys

2011 Grammy Nominations: Eminem Leads The Pack

Bruno Mars, Jay-Z, Lady Antebellum and Lady Gaga trail Em’s 10 nods. By MTV News staff Eminem Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage At this point, perhaps we can officially declare Eminem’s comeback to be complete. He’s already got the year’s best-selling album (and a pair of the biggest singles), and now, well, he’s the most-nominated artist of the 53rd annual Grammy Awards . On Wednesday night (December 1), Em picked up a staggering 10 Grammy nods, including Song and Record of the Year (for “Love the Way You Lie”) and Album of the Year (for Recovery, which is also up for Rap Album of the Year). He also scored noms for Best Rap Solo Performance (for “Not Afraid”), Pop Collaboration With Vocals (for his turn on B.o.B’s “Airplanes Part II”) and Best Rap Song (for “Lie”). Following (not so) closely behind him is Bruno Mars, who landed seven nominations, followed by Jay-Z, Lady Antebellum and Lady Gaga, who earned six apiece. B.o.B and John Legend are among the names who will head into the Grammys with five noms. The complete nominations for the 53rd annual Grammys: Album of the Year

Mila Kunis Says ‘Black Swan’ Trainer ‘Kicked My Ass’

‘Get as skinny as you possibly can as fast as you can and then learn to get en pointe, ‘ she recalls to MTV News of preparation. By Kara Warner, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Mila Kunis Photo: MTV News While much of the buzz about “Black Swan” has been focused on the sexual undertones — and overtones — the real story is about the intensive training stars Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis underwent in order to transform for their performances. When MTV News caught up with Kunis, we asked her to give us the “CliffsNotes” version of her laborious undertaking for the flick, which opens Friday. “The preparation was, get as skinny as you possibly can as fast as you can and then learn to get en pointe while doing it,” she said. “I got the part, let’s say on a Wednesday. Thursday morning I went into the ballet studio in L.A. with Alexandra Blacker who was my ballet instructor. [She] was 20 years old at the time and had already broken her back and had fractured ribs and things. I went in there, started working with her for seven days a week, five hours a day and was put on a 1,200-calorie diet for a total of five or six months,” Kunis explained. “I did get one day off, and that was my birthday; Alexandra made me a root beer float.” The feisty 27-year-old added that her regimen didn’t stop for scheduling conflicts, even the Emmys. “We’re talking all day, every day,” she said of her training schedule. I remember during the Emmys and I said, ‘I don’t think I can make it, I have to get ready for the Emmys.’ [Blacker] said, ‘Yeah you can. I’ll see you at 6 a.m.’ So I went in at 6 a.m., danced for five hours, came home, showered and went to the Emmys.” Kunis went on to say that her younger instructor was quite the slave driver. “She never gave me a break. She was 20 and she kicked my ass.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Black Swan.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: Mila Kunis

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Mila Kunis Says ‘Black Swan’ Trainer ‘Kicked My Ass’

Alicia Keys dead pictures

The reason they appear dead is because in an effort to help the Keep a Child Alive foundation, they will sacrifice their “digital lives” (Twitter, Facebook accounts) and will not be “resurrected” until the donations amount to a minimum of $1 million. What they are doing is very important as it will help children with AIDS in Africa and India. Alicia Keys has generated a bit of controversy after some ads for the World AIDS Day were released. Tomorrow is the World AIDS Day, a day to remember the

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Alicia Keys dead pictures

Kardashian Sisters Dip Into Childhood For New Book

Kim and Khlo

Swizz Beatz, Diddy-Dirty Money Get Their ‘Ass On The Floor’

Swizzy drops Monster Monday track days after previewing new Haute Living cuts on Ustream. By Mawuse Ziegbe Swizz Beatz Photo: Johnny Nunez/ WireImage Following in the tradition of fellow production star Kanye West, Swizz Beatz has conjured up Monster Mondays to dole out free joints on the Web featuring some of his celebrity pals. His latest offering, “Ass on the Floor,” corrals Diddy-Dirty Money into the mix for a slickly atmospheric dance-floor-filler. Reinvigorating the rapid-fire drums made famous by Major Lazer’s 2009 party must-have “Pon De Floor,” Swizzy adds the spacey sheen of synth chords as the Dirty Money ladies croon about drowning their sorrows over a frustratingly volatile relationship. “You’re the love of my life/ But you hurt my heart twice/ Now I’m drunker than a motherf—– / Trying to find my way back to your heart you motherf—–,” Kalenna sings. Production duties aside, Swizzy plays hypeman, commanding the lovelorn souls to forget the drama and “get ya ass on the floor/ Them haters can’t tell you nothing!” The track’s amped-up rhythm is somewhat at odds with the melancholy lyrics, as Diddy also laments potent heartbreak in his verse. “That love’s gon’ get ya, motherf—– / Smoke weed, listening to Sade/ I left my pain in Paris/ Why can’t you see sh– my way?” Diddy spits. The vibe of the song definitely stays on track with the naked emotion the Bad Boy mogul promised on the trio’s long-delayed effort, Last Train to Paris. “One of the things we’re trying to represent is emotion,” Diddy told MTV News last year. “Not being afraid to show emotion on record. A lot of records out right now — no disrespect to them, but they’re all surface. It’s about what people have or a dance. All our records are gonna be about love, feelings and emotion. Last Train to Paris is a love story and the most vulnerable album I’ve ever been involved in. It’s raw emotion — you get a feeling, a vibe.” In addition to his Monster Mondays series, Swizzy has been staying busy in the studio and recently previewed some joints from his upcoming Haute Living album on Ustream. Tracks included a thumping midtempo banger featuring Chris Brown, and another song boasting the breathy vocals of his new wife Alicia Keys . What do you think of Swizz Beatz and Dirty Money’s “Ass on the Floor”? Let us know in the comments! Related Artists Swizz Beatz Diddy-Dirty Money

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Swizz Beatz, Diddy-Dirty Money Get Their ‘Ass On The Floor’

Kim Kardashian Plays Dead for Good Cause

Kim Kardashian is finally putting her inexplicable popularity to good use. The large-breasted sex tape star is one of a number of big names participating in the Digital Life Sacrifice event , a charitable effort spearheaded by Alicia Keys that asks celebrities to stay off all social networking sites until $1 million is raised in honor of World AIDS Day on December 1. In a poster to promote the cause, Kim does the same thing that made her famous in the first place: lie down in front of a camera with her eyes closed… ” Kim Kardashian Is Dead,” reads this ad, detailing how she has sacrificed her digital life “to give real life to millions of others affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India. Visit BuyLife.org or text ‘KIM’ to ‘90999’ to buy her life now.” We’re all for any celebrity using his/her fame to raise funds. But wouldn’t this be a more effective campaign if the population could donate money to keep Kim off Twitter and Facebook?

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Kim Kardashian Plays Dead for Good Cause

Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian Stage Online Death For World AIDS Day

Alicia Keys recruits Justin Timberlake, Usher, Ryan Seacrest, more for Buy Life campaign. By Gil Kaufman Lady Gaga Photo: Getty Images If you see headlines this Wednesday about Lady Gaga and Kim Kardashian giving up on social media, don’t be alarmed. Along with Usher, Elijah Wood, Justin Timberlake, Khloe Kardashian and Jennifer Hudson, they’re participating in a stunt to promote World AIDS Day in which they will kill off their cyberselves for one day as part of a Digital Life Sacrifice. The idea was hatched by singer Alicia Keys to raise money for her charity, Keep a Child Alive , and as part of the Buy Life promotion the celebrities will urge fans to donate to the charity in order to buy back their online presence. Fans can text the first name of the celebrity they are mourning to 90999 and $10 will instantly be donated to the cause. Kardashian is among the participants who have posed for a poster to bring attention to the effort. In it, she lies in a casket while wearing a cocktail dress and clutching her cell phone. Celebrities such as mega-tweeter Ryan Seacrest have agreed to sign off all social networks on Tuesday until they raise $1 million for World AIDS Day. Seacrest has even videotaped a “Last Tweet and Testament” representing his digital death for his Facebook page that will be linked to from his final tweet early Tuesday morning. In another taped plea, Jennifer Hudson says, “Come on, y’all. Buy my life back. Go on a shopping spree and buy as much of it as you can.” Keep a Child Alive helps provide money for medical care and support services for children and families impacted by HIV and AIDS in Africa and India. Janelle Mon

Celebrities to Spurn Twitter, Facebook For Charity

Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake and Usher are going dark. All in the name of charity. The aforementioned foursome and others are signing off Twitter and Facebook Tuesday until they raise $1 million for World AIDS Day. Keys’ charity, Keep A Child Alive, is staging a campaign that will have celebs such as Lady GaGa, Justin Timberlake, and Usher signing off of all social media. PEACE OUT : Donate money or Usher won’t be back on Twitter! The “Digital Life Sacrifice” will feature the stars’ filming “last tweet and testament” videos which will show them lying coffins to represent their “digital death.” “It’s really important and super-cool to use mediums that we naturally are on,” Keys said . “It’s so important to shock you to the point of waking up.” “It’s not that people don’t care or it’s not that people don’t want to do something, it’s that they never thought of it quite like that. This is direct, instantly emotional way, a little sarcastic too, as a way to get people to pay attention.” Leigh Blake, President and co-founder of Keep A Child Alive, says: “We’re trying to sort of make the remark: Why do we care so much about the death of one celebrity as opposed to millions and millions of people dying in the place that we’re all from? It’s about love and respect and human dignity.” She also added that ” Lady Gaga is going to raise it all by herself.” “She’s got a very, very mobilized fan base and that’s beautiful to watch I think … she’s able to draw their attention to these issues that are very important, you know, so that people follow it and act,” she says of the Little Monsters. We wouldn’t doubt it.

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Celebrities to Spurn Twitter, Facebook For Charity

Rihanna Says AMA Performance Will Be ‘A Challenge’

‘We’re actually opening up the show, which is a lot of pressure,’ she tells MTV News about performing on Sunday. By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Sway Calloway Rihanna Photo: Matt Harper/ MTV News Rihanna is set to prove she’s the only girl in the world when she takes the stage at the American Music Awards on Sunday. The Loud singer will be the show’s opening act and says that despite some recent big awards-show performances,

Ambush Filmmaker O’Keefe Tried To ‘Punk,’ ‘Seduce’ CNN Reporter | TPMMuckraker

Editor's note: CNN takes an unprecedented look inside the young conservative activist movement in the documentary “Right On The Edge,” which airs Oct. 2 and 3 at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. EST. http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/09/29/okeefe.cnn.prank/?hpt=T2 James O'Keefe, the young conservative activist who secretly recorded meetings with ACORN and was convicted in May of entering Sen. Mary Landrieu's office under false pretenses, allegedly tried to “punk” CNN reporter Abbie Boudreau by luring her on to a boat and seducing her. CNN reports on the scheme today, a few days before airing a documentary on O'Keefe and other young conservatives called “Right on the Edge.” The incident happened in August, when Boudreau was working on the documentary. According to CNN, Boudreau was trying to get O'Keefe to let her and a camera crew tape a video shoot O'Keefe and some of his friends were doing. He told her he wanted to meet her alone, in person, beforehand. When she arrived at his house in Maryland, she was approached by Izzy Santa, the executive director of Project Veritas, O'Keefe's investigative journalism project. Santa told Boudreau that O'Keefe actually wanted to meet with the reporter on his boat, which he had set up into a “pleasure palace,” where he would try to seduce her in front of hidden cameras. Boudreau left. CNN then obtained emails and a 13-page document outlining the plan. The plan, which Santa confirmed was real, had a list of “props,” including a “condom jar,” “dildos,” sexy music (like Alicia Keys, as Marvin Gaye was dubbed “too cliche”) and a camera on a tripod, which the filmmakers dubbed “an obvious sex tape machine.” There's also a script O'Keefe was supposed to read on camera before meeting with Boudreau. “I've decided to have a little fun,” reads the script. “Instead of giving her a serious interview, I'm going to punk CNN. Abbie has been trying to seduce me to use me, in order to spin a lie about me. So, I'm going to seduce her, on camera, to use her for a video. This bubble-headed-bleach-blonde who comes on at five will get a taste of her own medicine, she'll get seduced on camera and you'll get to see the awkwardness and the aftermath.” The document also predicts potential fallout from the plan. “If they [CNN] go on the attack, you should point out the hypocrisy in CNN using the inherent sexuality of these women to sell viewers and for ratings, passing up more esteemed and respectable journalists who aren't bubble-headed bleach blondes and keep the focus on CNN.” O'Keefe denied to CNN that he would have gone through with the plan, saying, “That is not my work product. When it was sent to me, I immediately found certain elements highly objectionable and inappropriate, and did not consider them for one minute following it.” The document was apparently written by Ben Wetmore, another activist who hired O'Keefe a few years ago and offered his place as a crash pad for O'Keefe and three others when they illegally entered Landrieu's office dressed as phone repairmen. Boudreau wrote about the episode on her CNN blog. “Apparently, I represent all of the things this group hates about the mainstream media,” she wrote. “They feel because of the way I look that I do not matter, and that my reporting is a joke. They don't know anything about my work ethic – my history – my dedication and commitment – and my love for reporting. They just saw my blonde hair. And the ironic thing is that I'm really a brunette.” added by: toyotabedzrock