Dr. Conrad Murray’s lawyers call their last two witnesses. By Kara Warner Dr. Paul White Photo: Pool/ Getty Images The involuntary manslaughter trial against former Michael Jackson doctor Conrad Murray is officially winding down, as the defense called its final two witnesses to the stand Thursday (October 27). Day 19 featured crucial testimony from addiction expert Robert Waldman and the man believed to be the defense’s star witness, Dr. Paul White, a propofol expert. The Witnesses
Ex-Fall Out Boy singer and Panic! tourmate tells MTV News his solo project has ‘very punk-rock moments, very Motown moments.’ By Vaughn Trudeau Schoonmaker, with reporting by Matt Elias Patrick Stump Photo: Getty Images Patrick Stump might be known to many as the lead singer of Fall Out Boy , but since the band entered an indefinite hiatus nearly two years ago, Stump has been working to create a big name for himself a solo artist. Currently on tour as the opening act for Panic! At the Disco , Stump is doing just that. “I know a lot of people still haven’t heard me as a solo artist,” Stump told MTV News. “[My current] band and I are starting to get into this groove where it’s like we’ve really proven it to the immediate people around us, so now it’s just going out and taking no prisoners.” Stump has taken the approach of developing a new sound altogether on his first solo studio album, Soul Punk . He said Prince and David Bowie were two of the record’s key influences. “The record itself and the live show: It’s really an up-tempo R&B kind of thing,” Stump said, describing his new approach. “There are some very punk-rock moments, some very Motown moments.” Already closely associated with Panic! At the Disco through Fall Out bandmate Pete Wentz’s efforts at getting them signed in their early days, Stump has seen the pop-punk headliners come a long way. “When I met them, they felt like our little brothers,” Stump said, laughing. “They’ve long since come into their own, and it’s really awesome to get to open for them.” While Stump is out to prove his validity as a solo artist, he knows there is already much to be thankful for: getting to do what he loves most for a living. “I love being a musician,” Stump said, smiling. “I write, and I play, and I think about music all the time. It’s really fun to go into rooms with people who don’t know what to expect.” Will you be checking out the fall Panic! tour with opening act Patrick Stump? Tell us in the comments below! Related Artists Patrick Stump Fall Out Boy Panic! at the Disco
‘Nobody who cared or had your best interest at heart is going to give you this,’ Cherilyn Lee recalls telling MJ. By Gil Kaufman and Kara Warner Cherilyn Lee, Michael Jackson’s former nurse practitioner, testifies in court on October 25, 2011 Photo: Paul Buck-Pool/ Getty Images The second day of testimony from defense witnesses in the involuntary manslaughter trial of former Michael Jackson doctor Conrad Murray included claims by one of the singer’s former nurses that MJ demanded she provide him with the surgical anesthetic propofol. The Witnesses
After Spears’ Dublin concert, a fan was thrown off a fairground ride outside the venue. By Kara Warner Britney Spears Photo: Danny Martindale/Getty Images Britney Spears expressed her condolences Tuesday (October 25) to the family of a fan who died after attending her concert Monday in Dublin, Ireland. Siobhan Healy, 31, was on a fairground ride called the Tip Top outside the concert venue when she was thrown to the ground and killed instantly. According to the U.K.’s Daily Mail, Healy had attended Spears’ concert earlier in the evening at the nearby O2 arena. “I was saddened to hear of the tragic accident in Dublin,” Spears tweeted Tuesday. “My heart goes out to the family. –Britney” A family friend told the paper that the accident has devastated the residents of Healy’s hometown of Willsborough. “The community is very shocked,” Michael McGreal said. “I know her family very well, we are all very upset.” An investigation has been launched to find out what caused the accident, with some speculating that the recent severe weather that has swept through Ireland might have been a contributing factor. Kenneth McFadden, the owner of the company that runs the Tip Top ride, also expressed his condolences. “We can’t say [what happened], it all happened so quick,” he said. “We are just in bits at the moment, we are just devastated.” McFadden also told the Daily Mail that he has had the Tip Top ride for nearly five years and never experienced any problems with it. Related Artists Britney Spears
But she has to share with J.R. Martinez, who also scores a 29 on Broadway night. By Kelley L. Carter Ricki Lake and Derek Hough Photo: ABC It was Broadway week on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars,” and naturally, the theatrics were high. The cast of Broadway’s “Sister Act” performed, as did Emmy winner Kristin Chenoweth. The remaining celebrities pulled out all the stops with creative costumes and over-the-top performances. This also was the first time the celebrities danced a group performance, to “Hey Big Spender” from “Sweet Charity” and “Money” from “Cabaret.” The performance didn’t get scored, but the judges commented and thought it was a fitting tribute. As for the dances that were scored, it was a dead heat at the top of the board between war hero J.R. Martinez and former talk-show host Ricki Lake, who impressed the judges with their takes on the quickstep. Here’s how everyone fared: Rob Kardashian and Cheryl Burke The duo took on a tune from “Jersey Boys,” the Four Seasons’ “Walk Like a Man,” and danced the cha-cha. The judges found the performance to be a bit muted and not at all daring for a high-stakes week like this. “It was clean. It was precise. It had good timing. Each dance gives you new challenges. The cha-cha-cha has got to show rhythm. There was no rhythm. It was all too stiff. It wasn’t oily. It was a bit … starchy,” head judge Len Goodman said. 22/30 Nancy Grace and Tristan MacManus The TV host was asked to do more after last week, when they found her routine to be a bit drab; this week, they took on the foxtrot and danced to a tune from “Spamalot.” The judges said the pair upped the ante and considered her performance to be a showstopper. They thought much more of her personality came out and she performed with great flair, earning her highest score in the competition. “It’s Nancy Dance-alot! I’ve seen the musical, and you captured the theme of it, and yet you did a foxtrot. Well done!” Bruno Tonioli said. 24/30 David Arquette and Kym Johnson The actor earned his highest score of the season last week, and he said he wanted to keep that momentum going and stay at the top. They danced “We Go Together” from “Grease” and did the quickstep. The judges thought it was rough around the edges but high-energy and fun. “It’s a really tough number to live up to. But as far as performance goes, I thought you completely lived up to any expectation that we’d have for ‘We Go Together’ from ‘Grease.’ It’s not easy. That was the good side. The bad side: You guys were out of sync today. But … there was a fluidity that was going. You just got a little ahead of yourself,” Carrie Ann Inaba said. 23/30 Ricki Lake and Derek Hough The former talk-show host and actress had previously dominated the leaderboard but fell last week to the #5 position after failing to impress the judges during ’80s week. Also a former Broadway star, Lake was hoping that would give her the edge during Monday night’s competition. They danced the quickstep to a track from “Guys and Dolls,” and the judges gave her a standing ovation. “You don’t need luck if you’ve got talent. And this number, you proved your talent. I loved it,” Goodman said. 29/30 Chaz Bono and Lacey Schwimmer The activist tangoed to a track from “Phantom of the Opera,” and he was hoping his newfound confidence from last week would continue in Monday night’s performance. The judges thought it was the most aggressive they’ve seen him, but think that he needs to be pushed a little further. “It was like watching a cute little penguin trying to be a big menacing bird of prey. This is the truth: It has to be menacing. Dark. Dangerous. Naughty. The tango wants to be driven continuously. It is hard. It’s very difficult. To me, this character didn’t fit you,” Tonioli said. 19/30 Hope Solo and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
‘We’re trying our best to transcend time,’ Wanya Morris tells MTV News. By Jocelyn Vena Boyz II Men Photo: Sandy Young/ Getty Images Boyz II Men came on the scene 20 years ago with their debut album, Cooleyhighharmony . That’s right: 20 years ago. To put that in a pop-culture timeline: that’s three years before Justin Bieber was born, and seven years before Destiny’s Child released their first album. That’s important to note because this year not only are the guys releasing a new album, the aptly titled Twenty , they also appear on Beyonc
‘A lot of people don’t know what it’s like to be real,’ 2 Chainz tells Mixtape Daily about his T.R.U. REALigion . By Rob Markman, with reporting by Ade Mangum 2 Chainz Photo: SDOTB Main Pick Headliners : 2 Chainz and DJ Drama Representing : Atlanta Mixtape : T.R.U. REALigion Real Spit : It’s hard to find a hotter rapper out of Atlanta than 2 Chainz right now. His current single “Spend It” remains one of the hottest songs in rap and even got a T.I. makeover when the King of the South hopped on the remix after he was released from prison in September. Still, that isn’t enough for the MC formerly known as Tity Boi. On November 1, 2 Chainz will be releasing his T.R.U. REALigion mixtape, while most fans are still clamoring over his last one, Codeine Cowboy 2 . 2 Chainz utilized some pretty clever wordplay for the title. “I spell it R-E-A-L because I feel like most people understand and know what religion is — it’s the study and belief — [but] a lot of people don’t know what it’s like to be real,” he explained to Mixtape Daily. And I’m here to kinda lead that campaign on why I feel like being real is a minority.” On the Jadakiss-assisted “One Day at a Time,” 2 Chainz slows his roll and raps about his everyday problems. After Chainz spills his feelings onto the track, Kiss jumps in with a scene-stealing verse. It is no secret that 2 Chainz’s star is on the rise. The DJ Drama-helmed T.R.U. REALigion will only cement what real hip-hop fans have known for some time now — 2 Chainz got next! Joints to Check For
Grammy winner announces granuloma diagnosis following series of concert cancellations By Gil Kaufman John Mayer Photo: Getty Images Singer/guitarist John Mayer has enjoyed a long, Grammy-filled career thanks to his bluesy rasp. But after canceling a series of recent performances to rest his voice, Mayer announced that he had gone under the knife to correct a throat problem that had laid him low. Mayer was diagnosed with granuloma (throat inflammation) just above his vocal cord last month and has been ordered to take complete vocal rest for at least a month following the surgery. “I wanted to give you an update on the granuloma just above my vocal cord,” Mayer wrote on his Tumblr . “I had surgery this afternoon to remove it and am now on complete vocal rest for a month or more. It’s been a very long process in waiting to see if time was an alternative to surgery, but even given two weeks’ voice rest (along with many other approaches), there was no change for the better.” Mayer canceled some performances last month, including an appearance at the first-ever iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas as well as a show with Tony Bennett in Los Angeles. In addition, his upcoming fifth album, Born and Raised, which was originally slated for release this fall, has been pushed back to next year. “I should be frustrated but I can’t seem to stop thinking about beautiful things,” Mayer continued. “I never thought I’d be wishing I could do what I love again; I stay in at night, picking guitar parts off of records and dreaming of playing on the big stage. The only difference between now and when I was 18 is that now I have this beautiful, meaningful record waiting for me when I can sing it.” Related Artists John Mayer
Compilation album due in the spring may include such G.O.O.D. artists as Big Sean, Pusha T. By Gil Kaufman Kanye West Photo: Flanigan/ Getty Images Kanye West spent much of summer 2010 seeding the Internet with new music via his “G.O.O.D. Friday” track releases, previewing a number of the songs from his own My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album. And on Wednesday, West announced that he’s packaging up some of those goods for a proper release. “Goodmusic. The album. Spring 2012,” he tweeted , providing just a tease of what’s to come. ‘Ye’s label, Def Jam, confirmed the release as well in a tweet , hyping upcoming albums from Rick Ross, the Roots, Young Jeezy and Rihanna, though a spokesperson could not be reached at press time for further details on the disc. The G.O.O.D. Music bench is deep, so it’s possible the disc could contain tracks from Big Sean, Kid Kudi, CyHi Da Prynce, Mos Def, Common, Mr. Hudson, Pusha T and John Legend. It could also contain a few of the “Friday” tracks that did not make the cut on Fantasy, including “Chain Heavy” with Talib Kweli and Consequence; “Looking for Trouble” with Pusha, CyHi, Big Sean and J. Cole; “Christian Dior Denim Flow” with Kid Cudi, Pusha, John Legend, Lloyd Banks and Ryan Leslie; and “Take One for the Team” with Keri Hilson, Pusha and CyHi. West recently took a stroll down to New York’s Zuccotti Park to check out the action at the Occupy Wall Street demonstration, not long after wrapping up his Twisted world tour in September at Austin City Limits. But he won’t be chilling for long, as he’s slated to kick off the Throne Tour with Jay-Z on October 28 at Atlanta’s Philips Arena. The tour is currently slated to run through a December 18 date at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. Related Videos Welcome To Jay-Z And Kanye West’s ‘Watch The Throne’ Week Related Artists Kanye West
‘I don’t have anything on my plate other than think-tanking a lot of different ideas for MySpace,’ he tells MTV News. By Kara Warner Justin Timberlake Photo: Getty Images Justin Timberlake has become such a hardworking, multifaceted entertainment personality that it’s become difficult to keep track of all his projects. There’s the music career, which has seemingly been put on hold for the time being; the burgeoning film career, which has taken up most of JT’s time of late; then there are his entrepreneurial efforts, particularly his newly acquired stake in MySpace . When MTV News recently caught up with the very busy jack-of-all-trades as he promoted his new film, “In Time,” we asked him to do a bit of career forecasting for us and reveal what he’s working on next. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that first, he’s going to be hard at work on revamping MySpace and second, he might be planning an actual vacation. “I don’t have anything on my plate other than think-tanking a lot of different ideas for MySpace, which doesn’t require a lot of my literally being present,” Timberlake said. “I can come up with ideas on the golf course. I can come up with ideas on a mountain while I’m snowboarding. Seriously, I don’t have anything on my plate for the rest of the year. I am going to take a vacation. I’m going to find out what a vacation really is.” And in addition to all the exotic-locale-based think-tanking and vacationing, might Timberlake have any free time to pay a visit to his favorite NYC-based variety show, “Saturday Night Live”? “I don’t know,” he said. “Those things are spur-of-the-moment. I don’t have plans to host, but those things are spur-of-the-moment for sure. Even if I had plans, I wouldn’t tell you,” he added with a smile. What do you hope Justin does with MySpace? Let us know in the comments! Related Artists Justin Timberlake
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