Kiefer Sutherland and his dog make quite the musical tandem. The Touch star posted a video of his talented pooch on Twitter last weekend, showing off his four-legged friend’s talent. These guys should go on tour. With Sutherland on lead guitar and backing vocals and his BFF singing lead, the dog belts out a few howls while looking into his owner’s eyes … so good. “Even the dog can sing better than me,” he wrote. Kiefer Sutherland, Dog Duet
Gabe Saporta and Co. prove to MTV News that they bring the party. By Rya Backer Cobra Starship’s Gabe Saporta and Alex Suarez Photo: MTV News An interview with Cobra Starship ought to come with a warning: Once the cameras start recording, throw away anything you’d previously prepared, because Gabe Saporta and Co. are card-carrying hams. Anyone who’s familiar with members Ryland Blackinton and Alex Suarez’s takes as “Dick Bagwell” and “Vincent Twice (Vincent Twice),” respectively, in our Musical March Madness videos of years past knows how invested they can become in adopted personages (to say nothing of Blackinton’s other alias, Guy Ripley), but I was just as happy to learn that their authentic selves were just as animated. Between us: Now that I’ve gotten a bit of distance from the situation, I can also admit that as a female who grew up in early aughts Manhattan, I was pretty excited to go out on a (albeit, synthesized reality) date with the lead singer of my beloved Midtown — the band which upon its demise was how Cobra Starship was born. “I needed a band and … you were like the first people I asked,” Saporta said, regarding his reaching out to Suarez and Blackinton, who were once in a band together called This is Ivy League. Suarez added, “Gabe was like, ‘Hey, look, I’m starting this new band. You guys should come and be a part of it. I would love to have you guys. I don’t know what’s going to happen.” Not willing to let go of the good thing his band with Blackinton amounted to, “[Suarez] said no at first,” Saporta solemnly remembered about his first shot at getting a new band together. Eventually, the pair obviously came around, and alongside Victoria Asher and Nate Novarro, Starship have become a pop-rock behemoth, known for big choruses and dance floor-ready tracks. So, it only made sense to take Suarez and Saporta to the Village Party Store on our First Date. Surely, the makers of party music would feel at home at the party store, right? My suspicions were confirmed. And between learning how to host a “gritty” party to being branded with a Cobra temporary tattoo down my right forearm, it’s safe to say that the group brings the party wherever they go. Related Videos MTV News First Date
‘We Found Love’ singer will be the musical guest on the May 5 episode, hosted by Eli Manning. By John Mitchell Rihanna Photo: Getty Images Rihanna will hit the “Saturday Night Live” stage for the third time when she performs on the legendary sketch comedy show on May 5. New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning will host. The pop star has a long history with the show and has always been a standout guest. While she always nails it on stage for her musical performance, Rihanna also tends to pop up throughout the show to flex her comedy muscles in sketches and, most notably, in rumored-to-be-departing Andy Samberg’s buzzed-about digital shorts. Her first “Shy Ronnie” short landed an Emmy nomination and she reprised the role for another digital short over Halloween weekend in 2010, playing Clyde to Shy Ronnie’s Bonnie as the unlikely couple holds up a bank and Ronnie’s bashful nature causes their plan to go array. For all intents and purposes, Rihanna’s appearance is to promote both her album Talk That Talk and her film debut in the upcoming “Battleship,” but for those still keeping an eye on the happenings of Ri Ri and ex Chris Brown, it’s worth noting that May 5 is also Brown’s birthday, so get ready for plenty of “will Chris Brown show up for a surprise appearance” speculation. The gig will be Manning’s first time hosting, though he made a brief cameo when his brother, Peyton, hosted in 2007. Are you excited for Rihanna’s “SNL” return? Do you think Chris Brown will show up with some “Birthday Cake”? Let us know in the comments below! Related Artists Rihanna
‘We Found Love’ singer will be the musical guest on the May 5 episode, hosted by Eli Manning. By John Mitchell Rihanna Photo: Getty Images Rihanna will hit the “Saturday Night Live” stage for the third time when she performs on the legendary sketch comedy show on May 5. New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning will host. The pop star has a long history with the show and has always been a standout guest. While she always nails it on stage for her musical performance, Rihanna also tends to pop up throughout the show to flex her comedy muscles in sketches and, most notably, in rumored-to-be-departing Andy Samberg’s buzzed-about digital shorts. Her first “Shy Ronnie” short landed an Emmy nomination and she reprised the role for another digital short over Halloween weekend in 2010, playing Clyde to Shy Ronnie’s Bonnie as the unlikely couple holds up a bank and Ronnie’s bashful nature causes their plan to go array. For all intents and purposes, Rihanna’s appearance is to promote both her album Talk That Talk and her film debut in the upcoming “Battleship,” but for those still keeping an eye on the happenings of Ri Ri and ex Chris Brown, it’s worth noting that May 5 is also Brown’s birthday, so get ready for plenty of “will Chris Brown show up for a surprise appearance” speculation. The gig will be Manning’s first time hosting, though he made a brief cameo when his brother, Peyton, hosted in 2007. Are you excited for Rihanna’s “SNL” return? Do you think Chris Brown will show up with some “Birthday Cake”? Let us know in the comments below! Related Artists Rihanna
Gil Kaufman and James Montgomery face off over song selections for the ‘Idol’ top eight. By Gil Kaufman and James Montgomery “American Idol” top eight Photo: FOX Last week, we tried to give the “American Idol” top nine some helpful advice with a selection of songs they should sing during Idols week. Of course, they mostly ignored us — except for our girl J.Sanch, who totally did Beyonc
The eternal also-rans knock off defending champs Green Day in Tuesday’s championship matchup to claim the title. By James Montgomery Tokio Hotel’s Bill Kaulitz Photo: Getty Images Tokio Hotel have finally made it to the mountaintop. The eternal Musical March Madness bridesmaids bested Green Day in Tuesday night’s championship matchup, claiming their first-ever title and putting to rest any questions about their tournament toughness. Now that the title is theirs, check back tomorrow for an exclusive message from Tokio Hotel, thanking their fans for carrying them to victory! After a back-and-forth battle that saw nearly 5 million votes cast, TH pulled away from defending champs Green Day late in the game, then withstood a final rally — Billie Joe Armstrong and co. weren’t about to go down without a fight — to take the championship. In doing so, they brought to close two years of tournament torment ; after all, Tokio Hotel have come tantalizingly close to the championship before, losing a Final Four heartbreaker to Coheed and Cambria in 2010 and getting edged out by Paramore in the Elite 8 last year. But from the tip-off of MMM 2012, they appeared determined to finally win it all, pasting lesser foes like Arcade Fire, Muse and F—ed Up, blasting longtime rivals Coheed and Cambria in the Elite 8 and outlasting #1 Evanescence in the Final Four. And now, much to the delight of their worldwide fanbase, they’re the first international band to wear the March Madness crown. Congratulations to them and all of their loyal Aliens — they took on all challengers and now reign supreme. The MMM trophy is being engraved as you read this, and we’ll even pay to ship it all the way to Germany. To wrap up a truly epic tournament, we’ve put together a traditional “One Shining Moment” montage, one that captures all the highs and lows of a wild three weeks. We had upsets, blowouts and more than a few accusations of cheating, but that’s what makes this tourney so great. Check out the results from this year’s tournament in the MTV Musical March Madness interactive bracket! Thanks to all the bands that made this year’s Musical March Madness such a rousing ride — from returning favorites like Green Day, My Chemical Romance and 30 Seconds to Mars to newcomers Evanescence, Mumford & Sons and F—ed Up — and a huge round of applause to all of you who voted. You shattered records and amazed us with your dedication. Enjoy the title, Tokio Hotel: It’s much deserved. And get ready, because the 2013 Musical March Madness tournament tips off in less than 12 months, and we’re all waiting to see if you’ll be the first band to repeat as champs. No pressure or anything. Related Videos Musical March Madness 2012: Video Highlights Related Photos MTV’s Musical March Madness 2012
J. Lo gets blindfolded by her dancer beau Casper Smart in the video, which features Pitbull and RedOne. By Jocelyn Vena Jennifer Lopez and Casper Smart in the “Dance Again” music video Photo: Island Jennifer Lopez has once again looked to her real-life love to play her love interest in a music video. The ab-tastic star will appear alongside her dancer boyfriend, Casper Smart, in her video for “Dance Again.” In stills posted on her official website , she appears in a body-hugging, midriff-bearing outfit as Smart ties a blindfold around her that reads “Love Is Blind.” In another still, the roles are reversed, and Smart dons the blindfold as she caresses her tatted lover from behind. In the past, Lopez appeared alongside real-life loves Diddy, Ben Affleck, Chris Judd and Marc Anthony in music videos. This is the first time Smart will appear in a video with his superstar girlfriend, whom he reportedly began dating late last year. The video will debut Thursday during “American Idol.” “Dance Again” reunites Lopez with her “On The Floor” pals rapper Pitbull and producer RedOne. “I love being able to collaborate with the producer RedOne again, and working with Pitbull again,” Lopez recently told her “American Idol” pal Ryan Seacrest . “We had a great chemistry the last time, and it was like, ‘We’re going to have to do something again.’ And this was the perfect song. I love the message of the song. That when something bad happens, your life is not over. You have to get up. You’re gonna live. You’re gonna to be okay. You’re gonna dance again.” Lopez is expected to drop an album in the near future, but she wouldn’t confirm whether or not it will be a greatest hits album. “I’m working on a collection of songs right now, and I don’t know what I’m going to do with them, but here’s the first single!” she said, adding, “”I think when it came to me it was the perfect moment. I definitely related to that. I think it’s a good thing to put it out there right now, because everybody goes through tough moments. Everybody goes through hard times, and I am no stranger to that myself.” Late last year, producer Kuk Harrell teased the project, which may also feature production from The-Dream and Tricky Stewart. Should Jennifer Lopez come out with a greatest hits album next? Leave your comment below! Related Artists Jennifer Lopez
With hours left to vote, our 2012 championship game is shaping up to be one for the ages … polls close tonight at midnight ET! By James Montgomery Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong and Tokio Hotel’s Bill Kaulitz Photo: Getty Images At this point, we probably shouldn’t be surprised. After all, if anything, the 2012 Musical March Madness tournament has been a wild ride, with upsets aplenty, epic, scoreboard-busting shootouts galore and vitriolic back-and-forths between fans. So, it’s fitting that our championship matchup — which pits reigning champs Green Day against unstoppable juggernaut Tokio Hotel — would play out like this. In short, it’s incredibly close. And with just hours left to go in the voting (polls close tonight at midnight ET), it’s looking more and more like the 2012 title game is going to come right down to the wire. As if this whole thing could’ve ended any other way. Vote for your favorite band, discuss and share on Facebook and Twitter in the MTV Musical March Madness interactive bracket! We’ve been keeping the numbers secret — suspense! — and we’ll reveal the 2012 champion Wednesday (April 4) on MTVNews.com. But until then, let’s bring you up to speed on what’s already been a championship battle for the ages! Showing that they weren’t about to be intimidated by the defending champs, Tokio Hotel came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, leaping out to a commanding lead within hours of the polls opening Monday morning. Rattled, Green Day were forced to call a time-out, and after a fire-and-brimstone speech from head coach Billie Joe Armstrong — not to mention a full-court Facebook press — the East Bay boys showed their championship pedigree, closing the gap by the afternoon. And unlike the actual March Madness championship game, this one has been a rollercoaster ride ever since, with each band seizing — and subsequently losing — the lead. At their highest point, Tokio led by nearly 200,000 votes, while Green Day’s biggest advantage was less than 100,000. And in a matchup that’s seen nearly 3 million votes cast already, well, you get an idea of how close this thing has been. Right now, with hours left in the contest, it’s Tokio Hotel who hold the lead, and stand on the precipice of finally hoisting the MMM trophy. Of course, given that everyone makes a run in Musical March Madness, Green Day have once again surged to within striking distance … they’re not about to let their championship reign end without a fight. But can they complete the comeback? Or will Tokio Hotel take home their first-ever championship? We’re headed into the home-stretch, and, really, we have no idea. Then again, we wouldn’t have it any other way; MMM 2012 has been one for the ages, and the championship game is definitely only adding to its legacy. So, who’s it gonna be? Green Day or Tokio Hotel? Someone’s going to win the MMM championship tonight, and you determine who will reign supreme. Polls close tonight at midnight ET, so time is running out … vote now, or forever hold your peace. Vote for your favorite band, discuss and share on Facebook and Twitter in the MTV Musical March Madness interactive bracket! The 2012 Musical March Madness championship is coming down to the wire! Will Green Day repeat, or can Tokio Hotel finally win it all? Voting runs until midnight ET on Tuesday, April 3, so there’s still time to help determine the winner. You can rally the troops on Twitter using the hashtag #MMM or by downloading one of our custom badges — and we’ll reveal our 2012 champion on Wednesday on MTVNews.com Related Videos Musical March Madness Heats Up! Related Photos MTV’s Musical March Madness 2012 Related Artists Green Day Tokio Hotel
Critics agree the Snow White adaptation is ‘not the fairest of them all.’ By Fallon Prinzivalli Lily Collins in “Mirror, Mirror” Photo: Relativity Media Before it even hit the box office, “Mirror Mirror” was viewed with a critical eye as two Snow White adaptations had announced their release dates a month apart. But with the release of the trailers, it was clear that the two movies were very different. The Tarsem Singh film is a quirky comedy from the vantage point of the Evil Queen ( Julia Roberts ) over the traditional Snow White ( Lily Collins ), while “Snow White and the Huntsman” is about the epic battle Snow White ( Kristen Stewart ) must fight for her life. Unfortunately for those involved in the former, as the reviews pour in, it’s obvious the movie is making critics grumpy. The Story ” ‘Mirror Mirror’ begins with an impressively animated recap of Snow White’s predicament: Banished to her castle by a wicked stepmother after her father the king disappears, and being played by such a vacantly pretty ingenue as Lily Collins. Collins conveys a properly Audrey Hepburn princess look and the acting range of a runway model. The damsel’s role is always distressed. The queen has run the kingdom into the ground, funding a lavish lifestyle with escalating taxes. After sneaking out for a tour of the squalor, Snow sides with the other 99 percent. Their relationship is further strained with the arrival of handsome Prince Alcott.” — Steve Persall, Tampa Bay Times The Laughs ” ‘Mirror Mirror’ is unfair to people expecting more than a few good laughs. Scenes proceed lethargically, with pauses after punch lines where Tarsem must hope for audience laughter. Anachronistic gags (as when the Prince tells Snow White that he has to be the hero because ‘it’s been focus-grouped — it works’) break whatever luscious spell the art direction and costumery might create. On their first meeting in the woods, the Prince tells the dwarfs, ‘You’re short, and it’s funny.’ Well, the film is shortish (106 mins.) but it’s also epically unfunny. The producers should have handed the script to an actual clever person like Paul Rudnick (‘In & Out,’ ‘Jeffrey’) and told him to send it back in a week, with solid jokes and a buoyant spirit.” — Richard Corliss, Time Julia Roberts “Roberts has had exactly one high point (‘Duplicity’) since winning her Oscar in 2000, and she acts here as if simply appearing in a floofy dress is high hilarity. Her ‘playfulness’ seems like work and her cartoony maliciousness is dull. (Charlize Theron, who plays the queen in this summer’s more serious ‘Snow White and the Huntsman,’ needn’t fret.)” — Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News The Visuals “Singh, whose eye-popping tribute to the Silent Era, ‘The Fall,’ was several years ahead of ‘The Artist’/’Hugo’ curve, never lets his attention waver from the production design — those beautiful, snowy, birch tree forests; the parapets; cliffs; and opulent palace digs. He lets his stars deliver their lines — some with more flourish and wit than others (among the dwarfs, Jordan Prentice and Danny Woodburn get off the best) — but his eye is mostly on the gilt and the silk, the CG-ed skies, and the eerie, iced-over lake that separates the castle from the town.” — Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer The Final Word “The whole thing lacks tonal cohesion, lurching from Tim Burton-style comic grotesquerie to underpowered action set pieces to a gratuitously self-referential Bollywood production number on the end credits. The impression is that of a director constantly fighting to put his stamp on material that’s foreign to him, and unable to figure out what that stamp should be.” — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter “Not the fairest of them all.” — Matt Stevens, E! Online Check out everything we’ve got on “Mirror Mirror.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘Mirror Mirror’
After three weeks of battles, one of these four will take home the MMM title; voting in all Final Four matchups is now open! By James Montgomery Evanescence’s Amy Lee Photo: Getty Images Well, that was intense. After 48 hours of epic Elite Eight battles, we’ve reached the Final Four of MTV’s Musical March Madness . And while making it this far is certainly an accomplishment, there’s not exactly a whole lot of time to sit around and savor it. That’s because voting in our Final Four matchups is already under way, and polls will remain open until Sunday (April 1) at midnight ET. You’ve carried your favorite band to the cusp of championship glory, but can you help push them over the top? Vote for your favorite band, discuss and share on Facebook and Twitter in the MTV Musical March Madness interactive bracket! Let’s take a look at the four bands still standing in MMM: true, tourney-tested squads that have survived three weeks of brutal back-and-forth battles just to make it to this point. In a way, they’re all champions; too bad only one will actually be able to call themselves that. #5 My Chemical Romance vs. #5 Green Day My Chem are the champions of the Midwest region, having survived a furious rally from upset-minded Metallica in the Elite Eight (seriously, with more than 600,000 votes cast, MCR won by 400 ). Meanwhile, defending MMM champs Green Day had to stage a serious comeback of their own against Adam Lambert, who led until late Thursday before succumbing to GD’s full-court press. At this point of the tournament, there truly are no easy matchups, and this one, well, it’s going to be a war. Both bands have been put through the wringer, and both know how to win a close contest; can My Chemical Romance finally take home the MMM title (they’ve been in the Final Four three consecutive years), or will Green Day make history as the first band to repeat as champions? All we can do is wait and see … #1 Evanescence vs. #12 Tokio Hotel Speaking of history: Congratulations to Evanescence, the first #1 seed to make the MMM Final Four. They’ve battled hard throughout the tournament, having bested tough foes like Paramore, Linkin Park and Dave Matthews Band just to reach this point. As a reward, they draw perhaps the toughest opponent in the entire field: Tokio Hotel, a band that’s steamrolled their way through the competition. They’ve throttled all challengers and even got revenge (big time) against rivals Coheed and Cambria in the Elite Eight. No two bands have enjoyed as much fan support in MMM 2012, which is why we’re certain this one’s going to be a classic. And not to go out on a limb here, but we suspect the winner of this one may very well be the band hoisting the championship trophy next week. No pressure or anything. Is your favorite band still alive in the Final Four? Help carry them to the championship — or assist in shattering some dreams — by voting now. Polls close Sunday at midnight, so get cracking — we’re so close to crowning a champ! Vote for your favorite band, discuss and share on Facebook and Twitter in the MTV Musical March Madness interactive bracket! MTV’s 2012 Musical March Madness tournament reaches the Elite Eight! Voting runs until midnight ET on Thursday, March 29, and winners are determined by fan votes, so if your favorite act is still alive, it’ll be up to you to guide them to glory. You can rally the troops on Twitter using the hashtag #MMM or by downloading one of our custom badges — but get ready, it only gets more difficult from here on out. Related Videos Musical March Madness Heats Up! Related Photos MTV’s Musical March Madness 2012 Related Artists Evanescence Green Day Tokio Hotel My Chemical Romance
