‘It was average at best,’ Jay McGuiness joked, as MTV News follows the band all day leading up to their ‘Chasing the Sun’ video premiere. By Jocelyn Vena ‘The Wanted’ rehearse before ‘Today’ performance Photo: Brian Phares/MTV News NEW YORK — The Wanted made their “Today” show debut on Tuesday (April 24), the day of their debut U.S. EP release. The fans’ energy was predictably high when the guys stepped outside to the famed Rockefeller Plaza. Before their scheduled performance, the group greeted their devoted female legion of fans, who had made up signs to welcome the guys to the show. All five fellas happily took the time to pose with fans and sign autographs in the moments leading up to their performance. Then they sang not only their chart-topping track “Glad You Came” but also their new single, “Chasing the Sun.” “We’ve done two albums so we’re trying to catch people up in America,” Wanted member Tom Parker told co-host Ann Curry about the EP, their first official Stateside release. They then launched into “Glad,” clad in leather jackets and displaying their boy-band bravado. After they left the stage, they shared with MTV News that they were thankful to all the people who showed up. “It was average at best,” Jay McGuiness joked about the performance, teasing that “Chasing the Sun” was a “hot mess like Lindsay Lohan.” The “Today” show was the first of many media appearances the Wanted will make on Tuesday, leading up to their “MTV First” special airing tonight at 7:53 p.m. on MTV. They will sit down with MTV News’ Sway Calloway to debut the “Chasing the Sun” video and chat. Immediately following the MTV premiere, the fivesome are hanging around for an additional 30-minute live Q&A session with Sway on MTV.com. Fans can get in on the action by submitting video or text questions via MTV.com or @MTVNews on Twitter, using the hashtags #MTVFirst or #AskTheWanted. The guys are also one of the 32 boy-band hopefuls in MTV’s Battle of the Boy Bands , which pits some of the greatest boy bands of all time against one another, until fans vote their favorite group to #1. The battle kicked off on Monday at BBB.MTV.com , with the first round ending on Thursday. Fans can weigh in on the matches on Twitter using the hashtag #BBB. The winner of Battle of the Boy Bands will be announced on Monday, May 7, live on “AMTV” on MTV. The Wanted are taking over the Big Apple! Stick with MTV News for updates and exclusive behind-the-scenes photos all day. We’ll tag along with the guys on stops like the “Today” show and the Empire State Building before “MTV First: The Wanted” kicks off at 7:53 p.m. ET on MTV and MTV.com. Be sure to tune in for the premiere of the “Chasing the Sun” video and a 30-minute interview with the band! Related Videos Exclusive: Follow The Wanted Around NYC! Related Photos ‘The Wanted’ Take Over NYC, MTV News Tags Along! Related Artists The Wanted
THIS… is your American Idol host for at least the next two years. Fox has announced that Ryan Seacrest inked a new deal with the network yesterday and will remain at the helm of TV’s highest-rated show through 2014. “For the last 11 seasons, I’ve had the privilege to be a part of one of television’s most iconic shows,” Seacrest said in a statement. “It’s been a wild ride, and I’m excited for my journey with American Idol to continue. The legions of fans, amazingly talented contestants, judges, and producers, along with the hard working Idol crew, impress me every time we go on air and make hosting the show a dream job.” Seacrest, easily the busiest man in show business, will also help cover the Summer Olympics on NBC in June.
A literally smoking-hot photograph of a nude Madonna lying seductively on a bed almost two decades ago is set to go to auction in New York next month, MTV reports. The pic in question was taken by fashion photographer Steven Meisel for her controversial 1992 book Sex , but for whatever reason was never included in it. Featuring a bleach-blonde Madge, the picture shows the queen of pop wearing nothing but a strategically-placed sheet and holding a cigarette to her lips. Judith Eurich from the auction house selling the photo suggested that the cigarette was merely for dramatic purposes, telling the UK’s Daily Mail: “Madonna is, by all accounts, a very healthy person and I’d have to imagine the cigarette is just a prop to make her look sexy and sultry.” Indeed, Madonna recently blasted accusations of hypocrisy over her daughter Lourdes’ smoking habit and insisted she doesn’t even partake. The latest photo of Madonna nude is expected to fetch more than
Cheesa’s Whitney Houston cover brought the house down, but Tony Lucca’s unorthodox song choice also served notice that he’s a contender on The Voice: “Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears . Lucca, who was famously slammed by Christina Aguilera a few weeks back, came up with a terrific rebuttal against his fellow former Mousketeer. This rocking version of Brit’s breakout hit: Tony Lucca – Baby One More Time (The Voice) “That was really smart,” Blake Shelton said of the bold song pick, which got him through until at least tonight. His coach, Adam Levine, added, “You did something different and refreshing and I’m so proud of you for having the courage to do it.” Will America vote Tony through to the semifinals tonight? If not, do you think Adam (who cut Pip loose on last night’s instant elimination episode) will take his protege to the next round? Tell us below.
‘We did not like how he treated her,’ Hudson says of alleged killer William Balfour. By Gil Kaufman Jennifer Hudson in court on Monday Photo: Splash News What was expected to be one of the most dramatic moments in the trial of the man accused of killing Oscar-winning singer Jennifer Hudson ‘s mother, brother and nephew occurred in the first hours when Hudson took the stand and tearfully recounted her family’s disapproval of William Balfour. According to the Chicago Tribune Hudson choked back tears on Monday (April 23) morning as she told jurors that no one in her family wanted Balfour to marry her sister. “We didn’t like the way he treated her, and I didn’t like the way he treated my nephew,” she said of Balfour, who has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder in the October 24, 2008 slayings of Hudson’s mother, Darnell Donerson; brother Jason Hudson; and her 7-year-old nephew, Julian King. Dressed in all black with her hair pulled back into a ponytail, Hudson spoke at a whisper at times and was asked by the judge to speak louder when she became inaudible. Hudson didn’t offer much insight into the murders themselves, but the Tribune reported that her emotional testimony painted a “heartbreaking picture of a close-knit family torn apart by a violent crime.” The singer had to stop to compose herself at times on the stand as she spoke about her beloved mother and nephew. She said she spoke to or texted Donerson every day and when she received a call from her distraught sister about the murders she flew back immediately to Chicago to identify the bodies of her mother and brother at the morgue. “We were trying everything, anything we could do to get him back,” she said of the $100,000 reward offered for the safe return of King. “It was always me and my Tugga Bear,” she said, using the family’s pet name for King as she fought to retain her composure. The child was found two days after the murders in an abandoned vehicle that prosecutors claim Balfour stole from the scene of the crime. Hudson is expected to attend every day of the trial and was accompanied on the first day by her fianc
Pip and James Massone are sent packing, while Cee Lo performs new Goodie Mob single. By John Mitchell Pip Photo: Fox The quarterfinals continued Monday night (April 23) on “The Voice” with the eight members of Teams Cee Lo and Adam taking the stage to sing for America’s vote, and two contestants were sent home by their judges’ instant eliminations. You know times have changed when Carson Daly — former host of MTV’s teenage staple “TRL” — is the adult in the room, as he was at the start of the show when a little juvenile humor distracted the coaches. After Adam and Cee Lo had a tough time getting through their opening remarks about the seriousness of the competition without laughing, Carson got Cee Lo to confess that the panel was laughing because he was, well, a little gassy. “Well, this is live TV,” Carson observed with what sounded like a little bit of disappointment in his voice. (Right?) The night’s first two performances set the bar high for the rest. First up was favorite Jamar Roger, singing Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life.” While rehearsing the song, Jamar told Cee Lo his “Just a Thought” helped him through an especially hard time in his life, when he was getting clean from drugs and learned he was HIV-positive. The obvious bond between the two made Cee Lo’s words of praise in the theater all the more moving. “I want to pause for a moment and listen to the love,” Cee Lo said to a teary-eyed Rogers of the audience’s wild reaction. “That’s your love.” Katrina Parker, who was saved earlier in the competition by her coach Adam, turned up the glam factor in a purple gown and loose waves for her powerful performance of “Jar of Hearts” by Christina Perri. (Can you even believe it was only two months ago that we were introduced to a shy insurance office worker?) She sounded great and won raves from each of the judges. Cee Lo agreed with Blake that this performance was like “hearing you for the very first time,” adding, “You look exceptionally beautiful, your voice sounded equally flawless.” Adam summed it up by calling Parker’s performance “flawless.” Cee Lo kicked it old-school right from the beginning with Daly’s black-and-white, ’50s game show host-style intro for his team performance of “Dancing in the Streets.” When the lights came up, Cee Lo and his teammates were inside a vintage TV set before busting out onto a stage lit up with vivid colored polka dots and stripes. Cee Lo even tossed on a wig for the occasion. The weird and cool energy (and colors, come to think of it) was reminiscent of Cee Lo’s Muppet-heavy 2011 Grammy performance of “Forget You,” and every time the camera cut to the other judges, they were eating it up. Mathai’s performance of “I’m Like a Bird” was more notable for Aguilera’s dissing of Adam for not paying enough attention to all elements of his team’s staging — none of the judges, even Adam, cared for an odd bit of choreography — and getting booed for elaborating a little too honestly on how much more she preferred Parker’s performance. Team Cee Lo’s James Massone carried his clean-cut lady killer act a little too far into ’60s boy-band territory, crooning Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are” staged like a teenybopper movie with Massone singing below a girl’s window. Blake and Xtina didn’t love it, but Adam saw what Cee Lo was going for, something “like a young Sinatra, like an old-school heartthrob.” Thankfully, Cee Lo jumped back in to liven things up with his reunited Goodie Mob, performing their new single “Fight to Win.” Just when you thought the performance would be low-key by Cee Lo standards — you know, just the band clad in gold armor and capes, with a set of light-up stairs, pillars and lots of fog — they zoomed in on Cee Lo and his bandmates’ mouths, which lit up bright with some kind of mouthpiece. After Tony Lucca’s last performance, Christina commented that she thought he was coasting on his easy acoustic-rocker style and the bit of celebrity that comes with having co-starred with her on “The Mickey Mouse Club,” and his desire to prove her wrong and “stare down” his “Mickey Mouse” past pushed him to remix Britney Spears’ ” … Baby One More Time” as a rip-roaring rock song. His electric take on Spears’ bubblegum classic won all the judges over, including (finally!) Xtina, who called for an “MMC” reunion and cheered on how he made the song his own. Saved previously by Cee Lo, Cheesa took a risk, performing the late Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing.” Those are big vocal shoes to fill, and she delivered. “You still managed to do your own thing with it,” Christina raved, before declaring, “This week, Team Cee Lo is where it’s at.” Sorry, Adam! Next up, preppy Pip showed off his piano skills with his reliably capable, definitely theatrical (we agree with Adam) but unremarkable performance of “Somewhere Only We Know,” and Juliette Simms’ shredded growl was perfect for Aerosmith’s “Cryin’,” even if the wings she wore weren’t our favorite accessories of the evening. Adam jumped behind the drums for his team’s performance of “Instant Karma,” and unlike the other joint coach/team performances, Levine let his team lead this one. His four remaining contestants took turns with the lead vocal, while Pip played keyboard and Tony strummed his ever-present guitar. But two had to go, leaving Cee Lo and Adam with a tough decision to make. Ever the diplomat, Cee Lo wrote a nice speech for his team, addressing how difficult this is for him and how much he supports each of them and read it off his phone. He decided to send James Massone packing, and the young Boston guy took it pretty well. (But it’s pretty impossible to get mad at Cee Lo, right?) Adam was admittedly less elegant with his words and ultimately decided to send home Pip, who seemed at first a little surprised but bowed out gracefully. What did you think of the eliminations? Let us know in the comments. Related Artists Cee Lo Green Christina Aguilera
The surveillance state in the United States has only grown in America since the September 11th attacks. It has increasingly been used to spy and intrude on the lives of journalists and activists. And, during a Democracy Now! special, a full hour was spent delving into the National Security Agency’s evolution into an entity that illegally collects and sifts through private emails, cell phone calls and… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Firedoglake Discovery Date : 20/04/2012 17:08 Number of articles : 2
By Susan Duclos Other than being very amused at how the general campaign season has gone ” to the dogs ” in a very literal way this past week, I really don’t have any opinion about Obama having tasted dog meat when he was a kid. With that said, since someone actually made a whole music video and rewrote the “Maneater” song to fit the “Dogeater” theme, I found it amusing enough to show readers. [WATCH… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Wake Up America Discovery Date : 20/04/2012 18:43 Number of articles : 2
Round-one voting opens Monday — does the British fivesome have what it takes? By Jocelyn Vena The Wanted Photo: Getty Images Our Battle of the Boy Bands kicks off Monday, and while we imagine you will spend the entirety of your weekend weighing the pros and cons of your fave groups, MTV News reached out to some of the contenders so they could tell you why they deserve your vote. But before we hear from the Wanted, we wanted to take a look at some hard facts. Hey, this is basically an election, so we need to know where they stand on the issues! Highest Chart Achievement While “Glad You Came” peaked at #3 on the Hot 100, they went all the way to #1 on the Billboard Pop Songs chart earlier this month. Standout Video Partying on the beach? Hanging with hot girls? Dancing and having a good time? The band’s “Glad You Came” video is a snapshot into the five Brits’ favorite things to do. (Next up, they will explore similar themes in their “Chasing the Sun” video .) Defining Tune Cheeky, dance-floor-ready and full of euphemisms (really think about it, guys), “Glad You Came” introduced America to the British fivesome. It seems we Americans are pretty glad they came. Debut Album While they have yet to drop their self-titled U.S. EP (it’s out Tuesday), the guys did release their first album, The Wanted, abroad in October 2010, and it peaked at #4 in the U.K. Biggest Competition They are currently trying to fend off One Direction in a race for the hearts of American girls. It’s the Sophie’s Choice of boy-band brawls. So why do the guys think you should vote for them? Their answer might surprise you! “We think you should vote for us because everything that we’ve ever been nominated for that goes to public vote, we’ve never won,” Max George pleaded. “And also, you should vote for us because we are the worst-looking boy band of all time,” Nathan Sykes added. The guys even weighed in on their favorite boy bands of all time. Siva Kaneswaran said, “My favorite boy band of all time is the Backstreet Boys. I have to say Backstreet Boys, because they showed me the reason for being lonely.” “My favorite boy band of all time has to be the Jonas Brothers,” George chimed in. “Have you seen ‘Camp Rock’? Sick film.” Voting in round one of MTV’s Battle of the Boy Bands begins Monday, April 23, at 7 a.m. ET and runs until noon ET on Thursday, April 26. Winners are determined by fan votes, so if your favorite band made the cut, make sure you keep voting. Spread the word on Twitter using the hashtag #BBB and like us on Facebook for updates! Related Videos Battle Of The Boy Bands Related Artists The Wanted
‘The tempo and vibe they are coming from is unlike anything else that is happening in bass music right now,’ Skrillex says of Koan Sound. By Akshay Bhansali Kill The Noise Photo: Getty Images What makes Skrillex particularly exciting is his willingness to try new things, much as he did when collaborating with Benny Benassi and Gary Go on their “Cinema” remix, with the remaining members of the Doors on their track “Breaking a Sweat” and with “Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley on the upcoming single “Make It Bun Dem.” His label, OWSLA, has shed light on a versatile collection of non-cookie-cutter EDM rock stars like Porter Robinson, Zedd and Dillon Francis. So when Skrillex recently offered to introduce MTV News to two new acts, we jumped at the opportunity. First up was Jake Stanczak (stage name Kill the Noise). “He’s been DJing for a while now and been in so many different projects in the drum-and-bass scene. I feel like he’s finally found this really incredible sound that’s his own. Not to say that he hasn’t had his sound before.” Kill the Noise has heater remixes for Kanye West and Estelle, Rye Rye, and Yelawolf, and collaborated with Skrillex, 12th Planet, Datsik and Korn, in addition to his own series of successful bass singles. Throughout their friendship, Skrillex has been an ardent supporter of KTN, with OWSLA putting out his last EP, Kill Kill Kill , among other remixes. “We’ve been working hard,” KTN said. “I started sending him demos and then that’s really kind of been my inspiration, is getting feedback from him, and obviously the rest of these guys too,” he said, pointing to Koan Sound beside him. “But Sonny [Skrillex] has really kind of pushed me along.” “And this is Koan Sound,” Skrillex said, indicating Jim Bastow and Will Weeks, a pair of Bristol, U.K., DJ/producers. “Theirs is an exciting, novel form of EDM: It’s funky. It’s hype. And it’s slow. Like, 100bpm-slower-than-Moombahton slow, but in an exceptional way. “They are just so incredibly talented,” Skrillex said. “They come from Bristol. It’s a really musical, kind of artistic city in the U.K., and the tempo and vibe they are coming from is unlike anything else that is happening in bass music right now. … It’s like hip-hop, and it’s slow and it’s got this really fresh vibe, where you can rock a rager and a pool party.” “This is our first real tour in America,” Weeks said of their recent trip to Miami Music Week. “The reception we’ve been getting is pretty amazing. The stuff we released on OWSLA [ Funk Blaster EP] just goes off!” “It’s kind of mind-blowing,” Bastow said. “People recognize it instantly. That always encourages you, when you go to places that you’ve never been before and play to crowds that you’ve never played to before and they already know you’re music.” Fans can expect Skrillex and Damian Marley to release “Make It Bun Dem” soon, and new EPs for both Kill the Noise and Koan Sound will likely be served up by OWSLA this summer. And Skrillex will leave the music completely in the hands of its creators. “I do nothing but make sure their vision is exactly what their vision is,” Skrillex said, “because as soon as you f— with that, [that’s] the minute it’s not what you want them for. Both of these guys, I love them because they are making the tunes they make.” “Honestly, that’s what I love about OWSLA,” Weeks confessed. “Anything I send these guys, they take on board, and they just love anything I send them. I can be as creative as I want to be, which is perfect for being a producer.” Related Artists Skrillex
