Tag Archives: artists

Ke$ha Calls Bob Dylan Cover ‘An Emotional Purging’

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Pop singer sings ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right’ for Amnesty International anniversary album. By Jocelyn Vena Ke$ha Photo: Getty Images It’s hard to associate Ke$ha with songs about anything other than hot guys, body glitter and partying. But she’s defying her usual topics of interest for human rights organization Amnesty International. The singer is one of the many musicians on the org’s Chimes of Freedom compilation of Bob Dylan’s music, out January 24. When MTV News spoke with K-Dollar Sign last week about her all-star remix of “Sleazy,” she also opened up about switching gears vocally and emotionally for her version of Dylan’s classic “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.” “I mean, I think it’s pretty well known that he’s one of, if not my most, favorite artists of all time and … one of the most amazing lyricists as well — the original storyteller,” she explained. “So I love Bob Dylan and this was just, like, a dream. When they asked me to do a cover, I was just, like, salivating and going through all my records. It was so fun. It was the best homework assignment you could possibly have.” K’s version of Dylan’s song is a slow-burning, heartbreaking ode to the already heartbreaking classic, where she channels Dylan through lyrics like “Still I wish there was somethin’ you would do or say/ To try and make me change my mind and stay/ We never did too much talkin’ anyway/ So don’t think twice, it’s all right.” Ke$ha had originally intended to record another Dylan track, but when she heard that someone else had their sights set on it, she settled on “Don’t Think Twice,” prompting a catharsis she could never have imagined. “This song was kind of an accident. I sat down and this is the first take that I ever sang,” she recalled. “I just sat down on my bed for the first time after months of being on tour and I just started crying, and it was kind of like an emotional purging, and you can hear it on the record.” In addition to Ke$ha and her contribution, the album will feature 75 other Dylan classics recorded by nearly 80 artists including Adele, Miley Cyrus, “Glee” star Darren Criss, My Chemical Romance, Evan Rachel Wood and Sugarland. The album pays tribute to the 50th anniversary of Amnesty International. Related Videos MTV News Extended Play: Ke$ha Related Artists Ke$ha

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Drake, Rick Ross Share Musical ‘Chemistry’

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

‘We want to make the same music. It’s definitely a very good experience,’ Drake tells MTV News. By Rob Markman, with reporting by Felicia “The Poetess” Morris Drake Photo: MTV News Drake and Rick Ross have a lot on their plates these days. But in between promoting Take Care and Rozay putting the finishing touches on his upcoming album, Drizzy hopes that the two MCs can finish up their collaborative mixtape Y.O.L.O. (You Only Live Once) . “Yeah, it only makes sense, so hopefully. I’m actually going to Miami to see him this week, sit down and work on God Forgives and just work on whatever comes,” Drake told MTV News of the tag-team tape while backstage Power 106’s Cali Christmas Concert on Friday night. “Me and him usually do a few songs, so we’ll see where they end up.” The two rap stars have paired on a number of fan favorites, like DJ Khaled’s “I’m On One,” Rozay’s “Aston Martin Music” and most recently “Lord Knows” from Take Care . For Drake it’s all about their comfort while recording together. “If I have chemistry with anyone in the studio it’s Ross. We want to make the same music. It’s definitely a very good experience,” he said. In a November interview on “RapFix Live,” the Maybach Music head assured that Y.O.L.O. was definitely coming. At the time, he was flirting with the idea of the project becoming an official retail release. “You know, Drake, I consider him a part of the fam. It’s not just music,” Ross said. “We stay in the studio, we stay on Skype.” Last week, Ross took to Twitter to announce his plans for a new solo mixtape as well. “It’s Official Drop’n New Mixtape!!! #RozayNewTape,” he wrote. Related Videos Rick Ross, Meek Mill, N.O.R.E. And More On ‘RapFix Live’ Related Artists Drake Rick Ross

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Britney Spears’ Engagement Ring: How Does It Stack Up?

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

From Kim and Kris’ monster-size rock to Beyonc

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Rooney Mara Accepts MTV’s Best Movie Award For ‘Dragon Tattoo’

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

‘It’s nice to hear that people like the film,’ actress tells MTV News. By Kevin P. Sullivan, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Rooney Mara Photo: MTV News After a long debate, the MTV Movies team chose David Fincher’s “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” as the Best Movie of 2011 . To celebrate the occasion, MTV News’ Josh Horowitz presented its star, Rooney Mara , with a trophy and congratulated her for the accomplishment. Mara graciously accepted the award and shared her excitement. “That’s so amazing. That’s so cool. Thank you, MTV,” she said. Given the chance to thank MTV for the honor, Mara expressed her real wish for the film: that people see it and love it. “So many people worked so hard on this film. It was just a year of really hard work. I feel like we put so much work into it,” she said. “That’s all we really want, for people to love the film and to go out and see it and fall in love with these characters the way we did. Of course, it’s nice to hear that people like the film.” The honor may have come as a surprise to Mara, since her director, David Fincher , dismissed any awards chances for the film a few weeks ago, but as the film’s release draws closer, it is creeping further and further into the awards conversation. Mara just earned a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of Lisbeth Salander. Mara said she believes the film should get more awards attention simply because of Fincher’s work. “I think anything David does deserves to be in any conversation. I think there’s nothing he can’t do,” she said. “He elevates everything that he does. … He really made it about these two characters. I think he did an incredible job.” Stick with MTV as we count down the Best of 2011 , including the top Artists , Songs , Live Performances and EDM Artists of the year. Check out everything we’ve got on “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos Best Movies Of 2011 Debate

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Drake, Big Sean Look To 2012 At Cali Christmas Concert

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Drake preps intimate ‘Club Paradise’ Tour as Big Sean finishes Finally Famous Over Everything mixtape. By Felicia “The Poetess” Morris Drake performs at Power 106’s Cali Christmas 2011 on Friday Photo: David Livingston/ Getty Images L.A. Power 106’s Cali Christmas Concert on Friday night got fans in the holiday spirit as headliners Drake , Big Sean and J. Cole took the stage alongside newcomers Audio Push, LoveRance and YG. Drake , who had a stellar 2011, told MTV News that 2012 will be more about “growth” and “challenging” himself. He’s gearing up for his upcoming “Club Paradise” Tour, his first headlining run, which will take place at smaller venues around the U.S. and bigger arenas in the U.K. Drizzy said he loves performing for intimate crowds. “I just like the energy. I like people to feel close to me,” he explained. The Toronto rapper will play for about 6,000 to 9,000 people every night, mostly college students, a demographic he said he feels most loyal to. “I chose to do that because I just feel like those are the kids that downloaded So Far Gone off of October’s Very Own that night and have been riding with me ever since,” he shared. “I don’t want them to ever feel like I left them or like we’re disconnected, so I’m just gonna go back and I’m gonna bring them a real tour into those college spaces.” As the second wing of the tour expands overseas to the U.K. toward the end of March, so will his audience size. The 25-year-old admitted he’s not yet confident about playing the bigger arenas. “Watching me from a 500-level of an arena, I don’t know if I’m mentally there yet,” he confessed. “I don’t know if I can mentally accept that.” Joined by Kendrick Lamar and A$AP Rocky, Drake’s North American tour is scheduled to start February 14. For Big Sean , 2011 was one of the best years of his life. “It’s definitely a breakthrough year for me,” the Detroit native told MTV News, sporting white mink headgear. “I had my first songs on the radio; I got my first gold and platinum plaques. I’ve been really having a great time.” Big Sean promised fans that his Finally Famous Over Everything mixtape will be completed near the top of the year. “It’s just about done,” he said. “Give it a couple more weeks just to shoot some videos, really get it prepared for the people and just really take over.” In addition to the FFOE mixtape, Big Sean will touch down on a couple of songs on Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music compilation, also featuring labelmates Common, Mos Def, John Legend, Pusha T, Kid Cudi, Cyhi the Prynce and Mr. Hudson. Related Artists Drake Big Sean J. Cole

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Mumford & Sons Call New Album ‘A Different Experience’

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

‘It’s challenging in all the right ways,’ Marcus Mumford tells MTV News about the band’s Sigh No More follow-up. By James Montgomery, with reporting by Matt Elias Winston Marshall and Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons Photo: MTV News Mumford & Sons have spent most of 2011 working on the follow-up to their breakout Sigh No More album (when they weren’t touring the U.S. by rail , of course). Though they’ve been performing a handful of new songs live, last month they officially unveiled a somber new tune called “Ghosts” during a stop at a Philadelphia radio station. But as the year draws to a close, there’s still no official release date (or even a title) for the new album, which sort of makes sense, especially since they’re still working on it, as the band told MTV News backstage at the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas in Los Angeles. “We’re still recording. We don’t really like to put any boundaries on it; we’ll keep going until it’s right,” frontman Marcus Mumford said. “It’s definitely a different experience from the first one, as it should be, I think. But it’s been challenging in all the right ways. It’s going well. “I think we just want the songs to be good, and to sound right, and to feel like we’ve expressed everything we want to as straightforwardly and honestly as we can … and we’re working towards that,” he continued. “We’re really enjoying playing the new songs live, and we still feel that our recorded work should be adverts for our live work. The fact that we call it work is a bit pretentious — it’s not work, it’s just playing music with your mates. It’s really fun, and it still is. I think we’re getting on better than we ever have.” Mumford said that the songs on the new album have been inspired by their whirlwind year, which not only saw them break through in the U.S., but found them going to places they never thought they’d go and meeting the kinds of folks they never thought they’d meet. “We’ve been writing as we go, and you can’t deny the fact that our circumstances around us will always affect our writing, so we sometimes intentionally put ourselves in circumstances that we want to be inspired by,” he explained. “We went to Nashville for a couple weeks in January and did some really cool writing there; we felt really happy with some of the stuff that came out of it. We stayed in this little farmhouse and had some friends who are musicians come play with us. We played a house show, just had a really nice time. And then we write on the road in these hectic places with lots of people around, and I suppose we’ve always put in ideas that we pick up from conversations with people, and things that we read and things that we listen to and feel.” Of course, there’s also good news for fans of Sigh No More : From the sound of things, the follow-up isn’t going to stray all that far from that debut. In fact, it’s basically the same songs. After all, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. “If you’re asking whether they’re different from the first album,” multi-instrumentalist Ben Lovett laughed, “what we’ve actually done is taken all the songs from the first album, used all the same chords, some of the same melodies, and just tweaked the lyrics!” Related Artists Mumford & Sons

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‘Drive’ Is MTV’s #2 Movie Of 2011

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Hard to describe and hard to forget, the film (and Ryan Gosling’s Driver) oozed cool. By Kevin P. Sullivan Ryan Gosling in “Drive” Photo: FilmDistrict In October, a Michigan woman filed a lawsuit against FilmDistrict for misleading her about the film “Drive.” She claimed the movie’s trailer promised a more action-packed film and “promoted the film ‘Drive’ as very similar to the ‘Fast and Furious,’ or similar, series of movies.” But the suit succeeded in only one respect: It perfectly described why we love “Drive” and why it’s #2 on MTV’s Best Movies of 2011 list. Everything about “Drive” subverts expectations. The main character, played by Ryan Gosling , doesn’t have a name besides “Driver” and rarely speaks. We root for him despite knowing nothing about him or what’s going on behind his stares. All the audience has to go off is his affection for his down-the-hall neighbor Irene, played by Carey Mulligan , and his sudden, violent outbursts, which surprise with horror levels of gore. This is all the more shocking when you consider that for the first 30 minutes of the movie, the story plays out in a slow and quiet way, more like a romantic comedy than a crime thriller. Driver’s relationship with Irene puts the audience so off its guard that when the violence finally erupts, it’s instantly unforgettable. Director Nicolas Winding Refn sets up the film’s opening chase sequence in a way that looks and feels like a “Fast and Furious” movie, but as soon as it starts, it stops — literally. Driver parks the getaway car to remain out of sight. It’s a subtle move that sets the tone for the rest of the movie. And speaking of tone, what other film captured as much attention for its use of music and atmosphere? The synth-laced soundtrack by Cliff Martinez and a collection of electro-pop songs had everyone talking. Out of context, the choice for the music doesn’t make sense, but the second “Nightcall” drops in over the neon-pink title, all the pieces come together. When describing the movie to others, most people struggle until they stumble upon the word “cool.” “Drive” is cool in a way that most action movies with their overly muscular heroes and explosions could only dream of being. Gosling and Refn captured an exact balance of warmth and coldness, emotion and indifference that makes the film’s look, sound, story and characters feel like instant classics. All of these elements would make for a great film, but that would mean ignoring a stellar supporting cast. Albert Brooks oozed menace and dark humor as the villainous pizza parlor owner/low-level mob boss Bernie Rose, and Bryan Cranston continued his streak as the most likable actor working today as Driver’s mentor Shannon. For all its surprises and unexpected turns, “Drive” is our second favorite movie of the year. It took tired movie clich

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Black Keys Go Big On El Camino, In Between Chick-Fil-A Visits

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Keys scored highest chart debut of their career earlier this week, when El Camino opened at #2. By James Montgomery, with reporting by Matt Elias Black Keys Photo: MTV News Earlier this week, building on the breakout success of their Brothers album and powered by current single “Lonely Boy,” the Black Keys’ El Camino roared to a #2 debut on the Billboard albums chart , by far their biggest bow to date. And though many were surprised by the first-week numbers, the Keys themselves weren’t. After all, they’ve known the stakes were higher from the minute they started recording El Camino — even though they tried very hard to ignore that fact. “We were aware that more people were paying attention to us than ever had, but we tried not to let it get into our heads,” drummer Patrick Carney told MTV News. “It definitely didn’t affect the making of the album, but, you know, we were trying to take advantage of the situation, because we’ve been a band for a decade and the whole point, for us, was to play to as many people as possible without compromising. So we put a lot of time and effort into the new record. We’ve made records in 14 hours before; this one we spent 40 days on.” Of course, that extended stay in the studio had just as much to do with the band’s increased stature as it did with El Camino ‘s expanded scope. From its skuzzy, fuzzy guitars to the pealing organs and keening backing vocals, it packs a whole lot into just 38 breakneck minutes, taking the Keys’ signature two-man racket to newfound places and spaces. “When we started the songs, it was completely organic, but once we start going, and we get the foundation done, we really start to concentrate on the little details that sort of make it what it’s going to be, because sometimes those little details can be really impactful,” frontman Dan Auerbach said. “And that’s why it took us longer than it’s ever taken us to make a record.” Though most are quick to chalk that expansion to the band’s work with producer Danger Mouse (whom they’ve collaborated with since 2008’s Attack & Release ), the Keys say that it was mostly due to them wanting to take full advantage of everything Brothers provided. In fact, the majority of their conversations with the Mouse involved nothing more than chicken. “Most of our discussions were about Chick-fil-A,” Carney laughed. “Yeah,” Auerbach added. “The distance to and from Chick-fil-A.” Related Artists The Black Keys

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Why Britney Spears, Bruno Mars Didn’t Make Best Artists Of 2011 List

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

We attempt to explain the madness behind MTV brain trust’s methods. By James Montgomery Britney Spears Photo: C. Flanigan/ WireImage On Thursday, MTV unveiled our picks for the Best Artists of 2011 … a list fittingly topped by none other than Katy Perry, who bested big-name stars like Nicki Minaj, Adele, the Throne and Lil Wayne to take home the honor. It wasn’t an easy choice, but we’d like to think we got it right. After all, Katy had three #1 singles — with a possible fourth looming on the horizon — this year, took her massive California Dreams Tour to arenas around the world, won Video of the Year at the 2011 VMAs and frequently posed for photo-ops like this . It was a pretty impressive 12 months, to say the very least. Still, it took a whole lot of back-and-forth from our panel of experts — a brain trust made up of folks from MTV News, MTV Music and Talent and MTV.com — before we could declare Katy our #1 choice … and needless to say, as we’ve been unveiling our picks, not all of you agree with our decision. But it seems that most fans don’t have a problem with who made our list … they’re taking issue with who didn’t. And for all of the names bandied about by MTV.com readers, it seems that three keep coming up time and time again: Britney Spears, Bruno Mars and Pitbull, artists who each have a legitimate claim at being included in the conversation, if not placing in the top 10. So why didn’t they? Let’s try to explain. Before our brain trust met, each department gathered and created a list of their top 12 picks for Best Artist of 2011. Those lists were then compiled, and we used some good old-fashioned arithmetic to determine an overall top 12 (everyone’s #1 pick was awarded 12 points, each #12 pick got 1). From there, we debated, eventually settling on the top 10. And here’s where the snubs begin: It seems that, while Brit, Bruno and Pit made everyone ‘s top 12, none of them placed high enough to accumulate enough points … though all three were in the discussion, they each finished toward the bottom of the overall top 12 and, really, we couldn’t move them up far enough to make the final 10. And, more specifically, we couldn’t find anyone in the top 10 we felt could be taken out. Why? OK, let’s break it down. Though Britney had a big year, our brain trust couldn’t get past the fact that the story of her year hadn’t changed all that much from previous years. She seemed to still be the princess of pop at the peak of her career, but she didn’t necessarily gain any new ground this year. And though her chart-topping “Hold It Against Me” made tons of noise, Adele, Katy and Rihanna had lengthy Billboard reigns that were too difficult to overlook. Still Britney didn’t finish entirely empty-handed. Her (really excellent) “Till the World Ends” placed at #10 on Bigger Than the Sound ‘s 25 Best Songs of 2011 list. As far as Bruno is concerned, he came quite close to cracking the top 10, but the brain trust took issue with the fact that his Doo-Wops & Hooligans album came out last year, not to mention that, outside the success of “Grenade” in early 2011, his subsequent singles didn’t reach #1 (though “The Lazy Song” did make it to #4). And if all of that seems like nit-picking, well, some of us on the brain trust would agree with you, but sadly we were out-voted. And when it came to Pitbull, let’s just say that while he had a monster hit with “Give Me Everything” (which came in at #6 on the brain trust’s Best Songs list), most of the panelists couldn’t get past the fact that he never quite got around to matching that song’s success … ubiquitous Dr. Pepper ad campaign aside. So, there you go. Like we said, putting together a top 10 wasn’t easy, and fans of Britney, Bruno and Pitbull probably have some legitimate gripes. Hopefully, explaining the madness behind our methods will help assuage some of their anger. Then again, probably not. Stick with MTV as we count down the Best of 2011 , including the top Artists , Songs , Live Performances and EDM Artists of the year. Related Videos Best Artists Of 2011 Debate Foster The People, Florence Welch, More Pick Their 2011 Favorites Best Live MTV Performances Of 2011 Best Songs Of 2011 Debate Related Photos Best Artists Of 2011 Best TV Characters 2011

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Michael Buble’s Christmas Tops Billboard Again

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Justin Bieber, Adele make gains in slow week. By Gil Kaufman Michael Bubl

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