‘It was a song we did, kind of like a funny, kind-of-a-joke song,’ Diplo tells BBC Radio of B’s 2011 single, which sampled his Major Lazer song. By James Montgomery Beyonc
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Above the Buzz examines how these former pop princesses serve as examples of how stars can re-brand themselves again and again. By Jocelyn Vena Britney Spears Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images Both Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson dominated headlines this week. Not since the late ’90s have these two duked it out for so much media coverage. However there’s a remarkable difference in what’s happening today to what was happening then: Then, everyone was talking about their music and their pop star personas. Where Britney was a Lolita who proclaimed virginity while dancing provocatively in belly-baring tops, Jessica was innocent and sweet and didn’t dare anger her minister daddy. Jessica released songs that put her big voice on display, and Brit focused on songs that put eyes on her dazzling dance moves and her ear for dance beats. A lot has changes in the years since then. What’s interesting is that, despite their seemingly different personalities, in retrospect, they have a lot more in common than was initially apparent: They are both down-home country girls who have built empires that few can touch. Both have had very public career highs met with very public personal lows. Both have loved boy banders. Both have even documented their lives on reality shows, albeit with very different outcomes. With almost 15 years separating the women they are now from those girls they were then, it seems they are looking to change it up. At a time where the pop world is filled with plenty of younger pop princesses looking for their time to shine, Britney and Jessica seem comfortable enough with their own musical legacies to let them all have their moments. And, they should be at ease. They have both been incredibly successful in that world, having sold millions of albums, had huge radio singles and made music that is uniquely their own. And while Simpson has let her music take a back seat to other projects in the past few years, Spears is still a working singer who sells out tours and tops the charts. These days, Jessica seems focused on maintaining the post-pop star second act she launched several years back. She’s a fashion mogul with a billion-dollar empire that has outfitted fashionistas with reasonably priced essentials like platforms and bags. She also judges up-and-coming fashion talent on NBC’s “Fashion Star,” sharing with new designers her own wisdom on breaking into the industry. But, always savvy enough to keep people guessing, she’s expanded her brand even further. Now, she is also the latest mommy mogul . Jessica just added another gig to her post-pop star career — that of the A-list mom. Just this week, she welcomed her first child, Maxwell Drew , into the world. We expect she’ll use that experience to re-launch herself yet again. We should expect fashion lines for stylish toddlers. And who wouldn’t want to see a reality show that follows the new mom and her family? It seems that, like Simpson, Spears might be looking to take a break from music for a moment. Having already given birth to two sons and tried her hand at the worlds of fashion and beauty, Spears is now a frontrunner to judge “X Factor.” Her own experiences in the industry certainly make her the perfect candidate to give advice on the ups and downs of pop superstardom. She’s experienced both with the entire world watching. While Spears’ other projects (clothing line, fragrances) have generally been overshadowed by her music career, this rumored gig might be the first one to take the attention away from her pop fame while using it for all it’s worth. Spears is probably up for the gig because she is basically the heir to the Madonna legacy . She truly understands how to be a pop star. And the rumors that she might join Simon Cowell on the show seem to be intriguing Spears’ critics and non-devotees more than anything she’s done in the past few years. Spears might have found her perfect next chapter. Right now, it’s unclear how these new career paths will shape the future for Simpson and Spears — musically and otherwise. But, as has always been the case for them, no one doubts they will redefine what it means to be a female pop star. They are women who aren’t willing to go quietly into the night. For Spears and Simpson, it seems they want it all or nothing. And, who can blame them? What would you like to see Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson do next? Share your thoughts below! Related Videos MTV News Extended Play: Jessica Simpson Britney Spears: I Am The Femme Fatale
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Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson And The Art Of The Second Act
Rapper-turned-actor also updates MTV News on his in-the-works FX series ‘Eye for an Eye,’ N.W.A biopic and fourth ‘Friday’ film. By Tamara Palmer Ice Cube Photo: Kameron Zach/MTV News As the clock struck midnight on April 29, ringing in the 20-year anniversary of the day three police officers were acquitted in the Rodney King trial and the start of the Los Angeles riots, Ice Cube was imploring a sold-out crowd at KDAY’s Krush Groove concert at L.A.’s Gibson Amphitheatre to never forget what happened in 1992. The upheaval fueled the direction of Ice Cube’s The Predator later that year. The album remains his career bestseller, a home to express songs like “We Had to Tear This Mother—-a Up” as well as a wry hit like “It Was a Good Day.” Two decades on, he still believes in music as a vehicle for social change. “People have music in their hearts,” Cube told MTV News before stepping onstage . “Music ain’t about the charts. It’s about how you feel about a certain song. I know people who have music and music changed their life just by hearing a song. It could be an old song. It could be a song that people thought was thrown away and you can hear it and it can inspire you. So, I think music has always had the power to change, heal, bring understanding and bring people together.” After serving up his best-known ‘hood and Hollywood anthems, Ice Cube brought his rapping sons OMG and Doughboy to offer a taste of a collaboration they’ll bring on his next album. “I think I’m gonna call it Everything’s Corrupt ,” he revealed. “It’s just really hardcore West Coast hip-hop — what I do. I don’t think changing the formula is what should be done. I think it’s all about do what you do best and give the people what they want.” Cube stays busy with his film and television pursuits and has talked about several ideas that are in development, including creating a dramatic television series for FX called “Eye for an Eye,” in which he’ll play an ambulance driver with a mission to avenge victims of violence. “It’s a great series as far as the idea, the concept,” he said. “We’re still trying to find that top-notch A-list writer who will want to be with us in the long haul, be with the project and ready to go. So, we want to find the best because we think the premise of the show is great. “I play a guy who is an ambulance driver. He’s basically not really qualified as a paramedic, more EMT kind of dude, and he’s sick of seeing all these victims,” he explained. “He wants to do something to give them some kind of revenge. So, it’s an eye for an eye — whatever you do to your victim, same thing can happen to you.” Longtime collaborator F. Gary Gray has signed on to direct the planned biopic of N.W.A , which Ice Cube says is “full steam ahead.” “We’re excited about him being part of the project, and the script is getting tighter and tighter, and once the script is tight as sweaty butt cheeks, we’ll put it out, and we’ll start working on it. ” ‘Friday’ is the same thing,” he said of the anticipated fourth installment of his popular movie franchise . “I’m almost finished with the script, so as soon as we can finish the script, fast motion on it.” Which of Ice Cube’s upcoming projects are you most looking forward to? Share your thoughts in the comments below! Related Artists Ice Cube
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Ice Cube Reveals New Album Title, Everything’s Corrupt
‘I couldn’t be more excited for her and Eric,’ Jessica’s little sister tells People of Maxwell Drew Johnson’s birth. By Jocelyn Vena Ashlee and Jessica Simpson Photo: George Pimentel/ Getty Images Ashlee Simpson is pretty excited about the arrival of big sister Jessica’s baby girl, Maxwell Drew . On Tuesday (May 1), the fashion mogul confirmed the birth of her first child with fianc
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‘Jersey Shore’ star Vinny Guadagnino, Monica, ‘Glee’ actress Dianna Agron and more weigh in on MTV’s Battle of the Boy Bands. By Christina Garibaldi New Kids On The Block Photo: Michel Linssen/ Getty Images With the Battle of the Boy Bands nearing the Final Four , things are getting pretty intense among fans who are furiously voting to keep their favorite groups in the race. Along the way, we lost some of the early front-runners , including the Backstreet Boys , ‘NSYNC , New Kids on the Block and Boyz II Men . Just because the Boyz were knocked out in the second round of the competition doesn’t mean they don’t have their die-hard fans out there — among them “Glee” star Dianna Agron. “When I was growing up, it was ‘NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees,” Agron told MTV News of the late-’90s boy-band explosion. “I was so obsessed with Boyz II Men in fourth grade. ‘Motownphilly’ — so good, so awesome.” The R&B group is a favorite of Monica ‘s as well. “My favorite boy band would have to be New Edition and Boyz II Men,” she told MTV News. “I don’t know if you consider these boy bands though, but they were just unbelievable.” Another popular choice was ‘NYSNC, who made a shocking first-round exit when they lost in the final moments of voting to British boy band 5ive . Justin Timberlake and company ruled the charts (and the hearts of teen girls everywhere) in the late ’90s. “I would say ‘NSYNC was my favorite boy band. They’re amazing, they were so talented,” former Danity Kane singer Aubrey O’Day said. “Obviously Justin came from that. We all know we were sweating Justin!” Posters of Timberlake most certainly lined the walls of millions of fans, including Selena Gomez, who revealed to MTV News that her first crush was the former ‘NSYNC member. Of course, picking just one boy band isn’t always easy, which was the problem for Roc Nation’s newest member, British singer Rita Ora . “My ultimate boy band, I have a few: Jackson 5, Jagged Edge — I love Jagged Edge,” Ora said. ” ‘NSYNC, they were the ones, I swear.” But when “Jersey Shore” star Vinny Guadagnino picked his ultimate boy band, he opted for keeping it in the MTV family. “I kinda liked 2ge+her ,” Vinny admitted. “I loved [‘U + Me = Us’].” Voting for the Elite Eight in MTV’s Battle of the Boy Bands runs until noon ET on Wednesday, May 2. Winners are determined by fan votes, so if your favorite band made the cut, make sure you keep voting. Tune in to AMTV and MTV Hits for their boy-band video takeovers each day and make sure to spread the word on Twitter using the hashtag #BBB and like us on Facebook for updates! Vote for your favorite band, discuss and share on Facebook and Twitter in the MTV Battle of the Boy Bands interactive bracket! Related Videos Battle Of The Boy Bands Related Artists *NSYNC Boyz II Men New Kids on the Block
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‘NSYNC? Boyz II Men? Celebs Pick Their Top Boy Bands!
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‘It’s basically a big party with no judgment,’ Roc Nation singer tells MTV News of the concept for her ‘How We Do’ video. By Rebecca Thomas Rita Ora Photo: MTV News The last time an R&B upstart sampled the Notorious B.I.G. on her debut single, it was the early aughts: Eminem was still cleaning out his closet and Pink and Christina Augilera were pop’s reigning bad girls. Amidst all that, Ashanti ‘s Biggie-sampling “Foolish” scaled the charts and spent 10 weeks at #1 on the way to becoming one of the decade’s most successful singles. Now, 10 years later, Rita Ora is dipping into Mr. Wallace’s vault for her first Stateside release. But whereas the onetime Murder Inc. princess made a breakup ballad for the ages, Ora’s debut single, “How We Do (Party)” — which gets musical inspiration from the late Big’s grimy “Party and Bullsh–” — is as bouncy as a box spring. When the newly minted Roc Nation signee visited the MTV newsroom earlier this month, we drilled her with questions about the tune and its equally effervescent video. “It’s basically a big party with no judgment,” Ora explained of how the visual matches the sentiment of the number, written by Kelly Sheehan and Bonnie McKee. “So there’s a whole bunch of people in there, from a guy who’s got knickers on and who’s colored in paint on his chest to an old man kind of shaking his hips around. … It’s definitely [about embracing] anyone who wants to come to a party,” she laughed. In the clip, the Kosovo-born, West London-raised beauty down a Basquiat-style crown as she presides over a colorful bash that alternates between a lush garden at twilight, a foil-wrapped bedroom and a white-cube space complete with guests using their torsos as paint brushes. ” ‘Cause when the sun sets, baby, on the avenue/ I get that drunk sex feeling, yeah when I’m with you,” she coos to the camera. The infectious tune dares you not to dance along, and last week at New York’s SOB’s, a room full of seen-it-all industry types gathered for a Roc Nation showcase fully rocked out. Ora, for her part, announced the next song in her set by throwing an oversize Coogi sweater (we think Big would have approved!) over her tank. With a red knit cap pulled down over platinum-blond curls, she called to mind a cross between mid-’90s-era Faith Evans (during her courtship with Mr. Wallace, of course) and Gwen Stefani, whom Ora cites as an influence. “I am a huge Notorious B.I.G. fan and I loved his Coogi sweaters and … I found one for 10 pounds actually in a village shop back home,” she told us of the Brooklyn icon’s signature cover-up. The connections to Biggie don’t end there, though. Ora is the latest on a growing roster of acts being groomed by Jay-Z, the Roc Nation mogul and Big’s old Bed-Stuy pal. Back in February, Shawn Carter himself accompanied his new artist, single in hand, to iHeartRadio’s Z100. The video went viral and the Jordan-wearing 21-year-old hasn’t looked back since. What do you think of Rita Ora? Tell us in the comments or on our Facebook page! Related Artists Rita Ora
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Rita Ora Throws A ‘Party’: Gin, Glow Sticks And Glitter
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Boyz up against longtime rivals Jodeci in round one; voting open now! By John Mitchell, with reporting by Jocelyn Vena Boyz II Men Photo: Jeff Fusco/ Getty Images Our Battle of the Boy Bands got off to a roaring start Monday as fans of new groups like the Wanted and One Direction and legacy acts like ‘NSYNC and New Kids on the Block hit our bracket hard to push their favorites on to the next round. One group that is in it to win it is Boyz II Men , who told MTV News they were among the “progenitors” of the entire boy-band genre. “We were kind of like the progenitors, the torch holders of a lot of the artists, of a lot of the boy bands that came about,” Nathan Morris told us. Highest Chart Achievement In the mid-’90s, Boyz II Men ruled the charts. That’s not hyperbole, either — three of the top-10 longest-running #1 singles in the history of the Billboard chart belong to the band. Their top song, though, is actually a duet, and with 16 weeks spent atop the chart, it’s also the biggest single ever: “One Sweet Day” with Mariah Carey. Boyz II Men are one of just four artists or groups to have held the #1 spot for at least 50 weeks cumulatively. On the all-time list, they fall at #4, behind only (ahem!) Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Carey. (With 47 weeks, Usher falls just short at #5.) Clearly, the band has quite a few chart achievements under its belt. Standout Video The Boyz made a series of great videos for their hits “End of the Road,” “I’ll Make Love to You” and “Water Runs Dry,” but for its cameos alone, “On Bended Knee” rises above. In the clip, each band member breaks up with and eventually reconciles with a girlfriend, played by four famous actresses: Victoria Rowell, Ren
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Proving herself a good sport, Secretary of State creates her own submission for meme. By John Mitchell The photo of Hillary Clinton that inspired “Texts From Hillary” Photo: Getty Images/Tumblr The Tumblr “Texts From Hillary” launched just one week ago, but it already has one very famous fan: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The site pairs a well-known picture of Clinton on her Blackberry with photos of other Washington politicos and celebrities on their mobile devices, adding jokey, text message-like captions. It has gone viral in a major way, and its sudden ubiquity earned creators Adam Smith and Stacy Lambe an invitation to the State Department to meet their muse. Ever the good sport, Clinton is a fan of the meme just like everybody else and even created an entry of her own , which she autographed for Smith and Lambe, writing, “Adam — Thanks for the many LOLZ Hillary ‘Hillz.’ ” “I don’t think anyone ever imagines that they’d create a meme like this and it becomes an overnight sensation,” Smith told Politico . “It’s just been a wild ride.” The conceit of the site is that Clinton is a no-nonsense power player with a penchant for telling it like it is. In the various entries, she sends snappy, matter-of-fact quips to people including President Barack Obama, Lady Gaga, Sarah Palin, Jay-Z and Beyonc
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Madonna’s MDNA suffers historic second-week drop. By Gil Kaufman Nicki Minaj Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images It’s the best of times, it’s the worst of times on the Billboard 200 charts. On the one hand, Nicki Minaj will put up her first #1 debut on the album chart with her second full-length studio album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded , which moved 253,000 copies, according to figures provided by Nielsen SoundScan. Nicki’s debut, Pink Friday , debuted at #2 in December 2010 on sales of 375,000. On the other, Madonna will suffer the worst second-week drop in chart history when MDNA (http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1682452/madonna-mdna-billboard.jhtml) slips 87 percent from its debut to #8 on sales of 44,000. A number of other acts made it into the top 10, including country trio Rascal Flatts , whose Changed came in at #3 (130,000), Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men , who made their American chart bow with My Head Is An Animal (#6, 55,000) and gospel great Marvin Sapp , in at #9 with I Win (44,000). The rest of the top 10: Adele , 21 (#2, 153,000), Lionel Richie , Tuskegee (#4, 95,000), One Direction , Up All Night (#5, 92,000), “The Hunger Games” soundtrack (#7, 50,000) and Shinedown , Amaryllis (#10, 36,000). Kelly Clarkson got a nice Easter bump, as sales of her Stronger shot up 117 percent to 33,000, lifting the album 14 spots to #12. Bluesy rockers Alabama Shakes had a nice week as well, landing their debut, Boys & Girls , at #16 on sales of 25,000, while reunited vocal trio Wilson Phillips returned to the charts at #29 with a tribute to the members’ famous classic rock parents, Dedicated (16,000). On the iTunes album chart, Nicki was queen, followed by Of Monsters and Men, Flatts, One Direction, Richie, Adele, Alabama Shakes, Gotye ‘s Making Mirrors , “The Hunger Games” and Fun. ‘s Some Nights . Fun. was tops on the iTunes singles tally with their breakthrough hit, “We Are Young,” which came in before Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know,” One Direction’s, “What Makes You Beautiful,” Justin Bieber ‘s “Boyfriend” and Nicki’s “Starships.” The #6 slot belonged to Bieber discovery Carly Rae Jepsen ‘s “Call Me Maybe,” followed by The Wanted with “Glad You Came,” Flo Rida ‘s “Wild Ones,” Katy Perry ‘s “Part of Me” and Clarkson’s “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You).” Nicki’s pole position could be safe next week as the only new faces in the crowd will be Monica , blues rock veteran Bonnie Raitt and Florence and the Machine’s Unplugged album. Related Videos The Evolution Of Nicki Minaj Related Artists Nicki Minaj
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Nicki Minaj Scores First #1 On Billboard 200
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Even without Mickey Rourke! “I remember meeting with a studio executive after he saw the movie and he said, ‘You have a lot to learn about editing.’ I said ‘I’m sure I do, give me an example.’ He brought up the roast beef sandwich scene. ‘Well you’re going on and on with, “Are you gonna eat the sandwich, not eat the sandwich,” just cut it and get on with the story.’ I said, ‘Well, that is the story.’ It’s a way to talk about friendship. A lot of time you see movies and people are talking about, ‘How long have we been friends?’ Friends don’t talk about being friends. From the nature of their conversation, you know they’re friends. That was the point. We talk about problems with girlfriends in abstract ways, we get off the point, we get into arguments that are not essential to what the argument is really about. We’re always messy. That, really was the point of Diner .” [ Baltimore Magazine via The Awl ]
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