Mr Tan Jee Say is an investment adviser. Prior to joining the financial sector, he was with the Administrative Service for 11 years, including five years as a private principal secretary to then Deputy Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. Mr Tan Jee Say, 57, a former principal private secretary to Mr Goh Chok Tong, said he joined the opposition because he was dismayed at the direction that Singapore#39;s society and economy had been heading in recent years. The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) has i
The 41-year-old Chan Chun Sing, who looked surprised at the group of waiting reporters and cameramen, said he was there to collect a compact disc containing an updated register of voters for Tanjong Pagar GRC, where he is slated to stand. Candidates, their associates and party representatives streamed into the usually quiet Elections Department (ELD) premises on Wednesday to collect or submit forms, a day after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called for the General Election on May 7. Leading th
Duo play up hit song’s intergalactic theme with laser-heavy performance. By Adam Graham Katy Perry performs on “American Idol” Thursday Photo: FOX Katy Perry transported “E.T.” to the “American Idol” stage Thursday (April 21) and even brought a special guest along with her: Kanye West. The two reprised their recent #1 hit on the “Idol” stage in a pre-taped appearance during the “Idol” results show. The performance kicked off with Kanye’s opening verse piped in via music video, so it was a surprise when the Coachella headliner appeared onstage with Perry later in the song. Perry was carried on to the stage, arms outstretched, by three dancers dressed in alien getups, who hoisted Russell Brand’s better half high above their heads. Perry was decked out in a white, form-fitting bodysuit tricked out with pink LED lights and a long white cape. She wore some sort of futuristic space crown atop her head, making her look like the queen of a far-off pop planet. Green lasers crisscrossed the darkened “Idol” stage as Perry was placed into a throne-like cage, which was carted across the stage by her team of a half-dozen alien dancers. West took the stage in a leather coat accented with a fur overlay and exercised self-censorship on his verse’s “alien sex” line. West and Perry faced off at center stage, moving toward and away from each other to play up the tension between them. In the song’s closing moments, Perry softly caressed West’s cheek before retreating back to her throne, where the lights dimmed and her suit lit up with blinking, zigzagging lights. Perry and West both have a history with “American Idol.” Perry chipped in as a guest judge during the early rounds in season nine, at one point threatening to throw a Coke in Kara DioGuardi’s face, and performed “Waking Up in Vegas” — in an Elvis jumpsuit, no less — on the show during season eight. Earlier that same season, West took to the “Idol” stage to perform “Heartless,” from his 808s and Heartbreak LP, which would later be transformed into a winning performance by that season’s champ, Kris Allen . What did you think of Perry and West’s performance? Let us know in the comments! Don’t miss “Idol Party Live” every Thursday at noon on MTV.com for analysis, celebrity guests and even some karaoke — get in the conversation by tweeting with the hashtag #idolparty! In the meantime, get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos ‘American Idol’ Season 10 Performances Related Artists Katy Perry Kanye West
On ‘Idol Party Live,’ McDonald talks about his appearance in KC Jockey’s 2008 ‘Rub Your Body’ video. By James Montgomery, with reporting by Rya Backer Paul McDonald Photo: MTV News Back in 2008, Paul McDonald hadn’t even dreamed of auditioning for “American Idol” and probably had no idea who Nikki Reed was . Instead, he was on tour with his band, the Grand Magnolias, and, on a rare off day, decided to roll into Atlanta to see his manager. Little did he know that infamy awaited. See, on that day, McDonald and his bandmates unwittingly appeared in a rap video for KC Jockey, an artist under the tutelage of Akon. Sadly, much like the video itself, McDonald’s rather amazing cameos (he smiled a lot even back then) went unnoticed — until the singer began making waves on “Idol,” at which point Jockey’s “Rub Your Body” clip quickly made waves across the show’s many fan sites. It is, to be quite honest, one of the most inexplicable things you’ll ever see (McDonald makes his first appearance as a background dancer around the 2:20 mark). And so, when he stopped by the MTV Newsroom last week, we had to ask the beaming crooner just how the rather amazing bit of music history came to be. “This was a rap video that I stumbled into,” he laughed on MTV News’ “Idol Party Live,” which streams live Thursdays at noon on MTV.com. “Back in the day, my manager lived in Atlanta, and we were going to a Raconteurs concert at the Tabernacle, and he lives in this big complex where a bunch of rappers … lived, and we walked in there and they were like, ‘Hey, Akon is filming a video in the penthouse upstairs, you guys should go up and say “what’s up!,” ‘ because he knew we were in a band. “And as soon as we went up, everyone was partying, and they’re like, ‘Guys, come in here! Get in the video!’ So I got in there and, yes, I made my rap-video debut,” he continued. “I thought it was an Akon video the whole time. It ended up being KC Jockey ‘Rub Your Body.’ ” But rather than be embarrassed by his cameo — and, with the dancing he displays, he probably should be — McDonald has come to embrace his brief dalliance into the world of hip-hop. As he put it, it may pay dividends down the road. “It’s my rap-video debut,” he smiled. “I got some street cred.” Don’t miss “Idol Party Live” every Thursday at noon on MTV.com for analysis, celebrity guests and even some karaoke — get in the conversation by tweeting with the hashtag #idolparty! In the meantime, get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Videos ‘Idol Party Live’ With MTV News’ Jim Cantiello
Harlem MC ditches his street ways for a hip-hop hustle, in Mixtape Daily. By Rob Markman Smoke DZA Photo: Courtesy of Smoke DZA Fire Starter: Smoke DZA Harlem rapper Smoke DZA is experiencing an all-time high, thanks to the change in his hustle-heavy lifestyle. He’s currently on the road with Big K.R.I.T. on the Cinematic/ Def Jam rapper’s Return of 4eva Tour and has also recently released his third solo Internet album THC (The Hustler’s Catalog), but his future didn’t always look so bright. “I’m really talking about the game — the other side and past stuff that I’ve been through in the street,” DZA said of the subject matter on THC. “Just being able to talk about that right now and not talk about that [from jail] is a blessing, because it could have went a different way.” Smoke may have started out on the street hustling, but rap proved to be his true calling. He started his career as one-half of the local New York rap duo Smoke & Numbers in 2004, but split from the group, went solo and dropped Substance Abuse in 2009. DZA followed the next year with his follow-up project George Kush Da Button. It was George Kush that made Smoke a fan favorite and got him the exposure needed to take his show on the road. In 2010, DZA embarked on Curren$y’s Smoker’s Club Tour, a 40-city trek that also included artists such as Big K.R.I.T. and Dom Kennedy. ” George Kush was the beginning of what you are seeing now,” DZA said. Now, with THC, Smokey seems to have really hit his stride. The album, which is available as a free download on his website , features lyrical contributions from other notable rap rooks like Kendrick Lamar (“Uptown 81”) and Kid Daytona (“Cool Sh–“), as well as beats from Hit-Boy and the highly demanded Lex Luger (“Loaded”). Building a foundation was key, and now Smoke said he’s booked for shows throughout the year, including K.R.I.T.’s current Return of 4eva run and another tour with Curren$y next month. Still, DZA, who is independently signed to Cinematic Music Group, isn’t about to let his life on the road interfere with his recording process. The marijuana-influenced MC is looking to drop Substance Abuse 2 as a retail release in September and another untitled project at the end of the year. Things have been going so well for Smoke, he intends to remain independent for as long as he can. “I like the independent route right now because I get to keep all of my bread and don’t have to cut nobody in,” he said. “I would love to get under that [major label] machine someday when the situation is right, but right now, I feel like being independent is the best way for me.” For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines . Related Artists Smoke DZA
Ex-‘Hills’ star tells MTV News outspoken mom Lynn has always been ‘the life of the party.’ By Jocelyn Vena Audrina Patridge Photo: MTV News Even before Audrina Patridge’s new VH1 show, “Audrina,” debuted last Sunday, the Internet was abuzz about what her mom, Lynn, would bring to the show. In many ways, Lynn’s the breakout star of the reality series, which follows Audrina’s career, love life and family. “I was not surprised at all that my mom was a breakout star,” she told MTV News. “She’s the life of the party everywhere we go and ever since we were little, everyone that meets my mom, they absolutely fall in love with her. She just has that personality and she’s very blunt and says what she means, but it all comes out from a good place and she’s so much fun and has the biggest heart. I was excited for her.” Audrina is, of course, no rookie when it comes to starring in a reality show. She spent years sharing life with the world as one of the breakout stars of MTV’s “The Hills.” Now, however, she’s ready to show more than just Justin Bobby drama. “I was really excited. You know, it’s kind of crazy watching yourself again and reliving everything that you went through, but it was fun,” she said of the debut episode of “Audrina.” “It’s different and similar [to ‘The Hills’], and in many ways I feel like it’s different because it’s really about my life outside of ‘The Hills’ world,” she continued. “And so this is really up close and personal. My family’s in it, my relationship’s in it and my business is in it, my endorsements and everything, like, my dreams and goals and trying to achieve that.” And if you thought she shared a lot in the past, just wait till you see what happens in the show’s upcoming episodes. “I really opened up and brought the cameras with me. … This is me uncensored and it’s my family uncensored,” she teased. “What you see is what you get.” What do you think of Audrina’s new reality show? Tell us in the comments!
People always talk about how much cell phones and Facebook have ruined society’s ability to talk to each other face to face, and generally I have scoffed at the suggestion. I mean, I still spend the majority of my waking hours talking to real people, and don’t rely on Facebook to keep me in touch with my friends. However, I am starting to see their point of view, where I could never before. I don’t necessarily think that the internet and social networking sites are creating a generation of illiterates, incapable of communicating without a Blackberry in their hands, but I do think that the growing number of online forums and networking sites, has contributed to a decline in manners and the anonymous nature of the internet has created a culture where it is deemed acceptable to say whatever you want to the person on the other side of the computer, with no regard for their feelings. ‘Cyber Bullying’ has become a fashionable tag line for politicians and school administrators. However, cyber bullying isn’t only a problem for teenagers who are harassed by other kids at school, on social networking sites. Cyber bullying can be seen, at least to a certain extent, with the way people talk to each other on online forums, online magazines or even with the pictures and video they upload to sites like YouTube and Facebook. I was always told, as I’m sure a lot of people were, that ‘If you don’t have anything nice to say, say nothing at all’. And although most people live by this in their daily life, when they are let loose on the web, this no longer seems to apply, and all their inhibitions seem to fade away. For example some of what is written on this website at times, is cruel stuff, stuff that you would never say to somebody face to face. So why then do people think that it’s cool to write it down? Is it simply because you don’t have to see the person about whom the comment is written? The issue of anonymity and the lack of inhibitions it creates can probably be seen best on Facebook. I know people who wouldn’t say boo to a goose in real life, but create arguments on Facebook, simply because they can. It also seems that people get petty with social networking, and will ‘de-friend’ someone, even someone the are close with in real life, for next to no reason at all, yet they will not actually physically talk to the person they have the problem with. For example, just before Christmas, I received a phone call from a friend who was losing the plot over something she read on Facebook. A conversation between two mutual friends had come up on her news feed, which, for all you non Facebookers out there, (if there are any left), is basically, just a web page telling you everything that all your friends have done on Facebook since you last logged on, such as added photos, changed their status, updated their location information, relationship status blah blah blah. Anyway, my friend, who we shall call ‘Lily’, was mad about what she read between people we shall call ‘Jasper’ and ‘Sam’. They were discussing how they needed to cut out their old friends from their lives (meaning Lily, and some others). To make a long story short, earlier this week, she called me again, to tell me that both Jasper and Sam, had ‘de-friended’ her on Facebook. She hasn’t spoken to either of them in at least a few months, and before they de-friended’ her, I don’t think she was really too bothered about whether or not she spoke to them again. What bothered her the most, I think, was the fact that being ‘de-friended’ on Facebook, is generally not done, as, for some people at least, having hundreds of Facebook friends is very important. And so as silly as it is, being de-friended’, and by someone you actually know personally can be quite hurtful (even when you only keep them as a friend, so you can stalk their status updates and photos). Being de friended, is an abrupt, kinda rude way, of cutting someone out of your life. What makes it rude is the fact that there is no personal aspect to it. Would you actually tell someone in person that you never want to hear from them again? Probably not, but I know that everyone has deleted at least one person from Facebook, and probably didn’t think anything of it. However, losing our manners doesn’t just refer to bullying, or ‘de-friending’. Even simple things, like sending out invites, or calling to thank someone for a birthday or Christmas gift, seems to have fallen by the wayside with the explosion of the web. In the last few weeks, I cannot even tell you the amount of events I have been invited to from friends on Facebook. But, even for ‘serious’ events, such as baby showers and twenty first birthdays, I did not receive even one hard copy invite. Last year, a very good friend of mine, who at the time hadn’t jumped on the Facebook bandwagon, wasn’t even invited to an event, because the party planner didn’t even think to double check who of their (very good) friends wasn’t invited. Oh, and while I’m at it, how many of us have just clicked ‘not attending’ to an event, and not even bothered to tell the host why?. I also attended a wedding in the middle of last year, and got a text thanking me for my attendance and gift. I mean really? I know we’re all busy, and I don’t want to sound like a whining grandma, busting out the ‘back in my day…’, but how hard is it really to write on a damn card?. I don’t know, you tell me, am I over reacting or has what is deemed acceptable behavior changed drastically with the explosion of social networking? Is Common Etiquette Still Alive In 2010? Gym Etiquette: Do You Make These Mistakes? 5 Things That Have To Stop On Facebook
People always talk about how much cell phones and Facebook have ruined society’s ability to talk to each other face to face, and generally I have scoffed at the suggestion. I mean, I still spend the majority of my waking hours talking to real people, and don’t rely on Facebook to keep me in touch with my friends. However, I am starting to see their point of view, where I could never before. I don’t necessarily think that the internet and social networking sites are creating a generation of illiterates, incapable of communicating without a Blackberry in their hands, but I do think that the growing number of online forums and networking sites, has contributed to a decline in manners and the anonymous nature of the internet has created a culture where it is deemed acceptable to say whatever you want to the person on the other side of the computer, with no regard for their feelings. ‘Cyber Bullying’ has become a fashionable tag line for politicians and school administrators. However, cyber bullying isn’t only a problem for teenagers who are harassed by other kids at school, on social networking sites. Cyber bullying can be seen, at least to a certain extent, with the way people talk to each other on online forums, online magazines or even with the pictures and video they upload to sites like YouTube and Facebook. I was always told, as I’m sure a lot of people were, that ‘If you don’t have anything nice to say, say nothing at all’. And although most people live by this in their daily life, when they are let loose on the web, this no longer seems to apply, and all their inhibitions seem to fade away. For example some of what is written on this website at times, is cruel stuff, stuff that you would never say to somebody face to face. So why then do people think that it’s cool to write it down? Is it simply because you don’t have to see the person about whom the comment is written? The issue of anonymity and the lack of inhibitions it creates can probably be seen best on Facebook. I know people who wouldn’t say boo to a goose in real life, but create arguments on Facebook, simply because they can. It also seems that people get petty with social networking, and will ‘de-friend’ someone, even someone the are close with in real life, for next to no reason at all, yet they will not actually physically talk to the person they have the problem with. For example, just before Christmas, I received a phone call from a friend who was losing the plot over something she read on Facebook. A conversation between two mutual friends had come up on her news feed, which, for all you non Facebookers out there, (if there are any left), is basically, just a web page telling you everything that all your friends have done on Facebook since you last logged on, such as added photos, changed their status, updated their location information, relationship status blah blah blah. Anyway, my friend, who we shall call ‘Lily’, was mad about what she read between people we shall call ‘Jasper’ and ‘Sam’. They were discussing how they needed to cut out their old friends from their lives (meaning Lily, and some others). To make a long story short, earlier this week, she called me again, to tell me that both Jasper and Sam, had ‘de-friended’ her on Facebook. She hasn’t spoken to either of them in at least a few months, and before they de-friended’ her, I don’t think she was really too bothered about whether or not she spoke to them again. What bothered her the most, I think, was the fact that being ‘de-friended’ on Facebook, is generally not done, as, for some people at least, having hundreds of Facebook friends is very important. And so as silly as it is, being de-friended’, and by someone you actually know personally can be quite hurtful (even when you only keep them as a friend, so you can stalk their status updates and photos). Being de friended, is an abrupt, kinda rude way, of cutting someone out of your life. What makes it rude is the fact that there is no personal aspect to it. Would you actually tell someone in person that you never want to hear from them again? Probably not, but I know that everyone has deleted at least one person from Facebook, and probably didn’t think anything of it. However, losing our manners doesn’t just refer to bullying, or ‘de-friending’. Even simple things, like sending out invites, or calling to thank someone for a birthday or Christmas gift, seems to have fallen by the wayside with the explosion of the web. In the last few weeks, I cannot even tell you the amount of events I have been invited to from friends on Facebook. But, even for ‘serious’ events, such as baby showers and twenty first birthdays, I did not receive even one hard copy invite. Last year, a very good friend of mine, who at the time hadn’t jumped on the Facebook bandwagon, wasn’t even invited to an event, because the party planner didn’t even think to double check who of their (very good) friends wasn’t invited. Oh, and while I’m at it, how many of us have just clicked ‘not attending’ to an event, and not even bothered to tell the host why?. I also attended a wedding in the middle of last year, and got a text thanking me for my attendance and gift. I mean really? I know we’re all busy, and I don’t want to sound like a whining grandma, busting out the ‘back in my day…’, but how hard is it really to write on a damn card?. I don’t know, you tell me, am I over reacting or has what is deemed acceptable behavior changed drastically with the explosion of social networking? Is Common Etiquette Still Alive In 2010? Gym Etiquette: Do You Make These Mistakes? 5 Things That Have To Stop On Facebook
For a freshman congressman, Rep. Allen West certainly seems to have a veteran’s grip on policy. If you’ve got 17 minutes to devote to this, it’s well worth your time to hear a guy who is both a Tea Party superstar and a high-level military leader. Most of all, though, watching West you get the Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Hayride Discovery Date : 20/04/2011 23:17 Number of articles : 3
Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina play it safe with country tunes on ‘Idol’ night that called for contemporary tunes. By Gil Kaufman James Durbin on “American Idol” Wednesday Photo: FOX The theme on Wednesday’s (April 20) “American Idol” top-seven performance night was music from the 21st century , and while James Durbin blew it out with a Muse extravaganza, Jacob Lusk took it down for a touching Luther Vandross tribute and teens Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina played it close to the vest with traditional country tunes. First up was McCreery, who sang “Swingin’ ” by LeAnn Rimes, giving it his usual dose of country comfort. Backed by a four-piece horn section, McCreery brought the whole arsenal: the bizarre sideways-mic technique, the George W. Bush-esque facial tics and the “down-home” charm. For the first time this season, though, McCreery’s shtick seemed a bit phoned-in and fell a bit flat, lacking his usual appeal. While the crowd ate it up, Steven Tyler suggested Scotty move his body a bit more when he performs and Jennifer Lopez said it was that time in the competition for Scotty to move beyond his comfort zone and show America his full range. “It’s time to pull out the big guns,” she said, noting that McC had a whole decade of music to choose from and picked a tame song. “We were expecting more from Scotty on that one. Randy Jackson served up the ultimate “Idol” judge’s dis, calling the song choice “safe.” Looking like a rock and roll shock trooper in an all-black ensemble, James Durbin went truly contemporary by picking Muse’s bombastic “Uprising.” Mentor Jimmy Iovine loved the song choice and Durbin delivered, coming out alongside a marching band drum section and wearing a post-apocalyptic shredded black overcoat. Though tentative at first, Durbin leaned into the chorus and showed nice vocal control, swinging his truncated mic stand in the classic fashion of late Queen singer Freddie Mercury and not being shy with his glass-shattering upper register. J.Lo was blown away. “I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that that theatrically, this is going to be the best performance of the night,” she said, marveling at how high his voice reached. Randy hopes JD follows that direction on his album and mixes the pomp with metal, predicting (correctly, as it turned out) that it could be the best performance of the night. You can’t really go wrong by picking a song from the best-selling album of 2011 to date, so Haley Reinhart’s take on Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” was probably her best choice so far. Iovine counseled her to tap into the tune’s heartache, and wearing a throwback red and white polka-dot dress, Reinhart busted out her signature growl and put bluesy emotion into the tune, but at times still came off a bit too chipper. Randy said he’s not only looking for a winner, but also trying to figure out what direction the singers might go in after the show and he praised Haley’s choice, even if the falsetto was a bit wobbly at times. Tyler loved it, even with the slow start and Lopez said it took guts to take on such a well-known song. “There were moments when you did … you brought a little bit of Haley to it in certain moments,” she said. After all the comparisons, Jacob Lusk wisely went with the Luther Vandross classic “Dance with my Father,” (on the late R&B great’s birthday, no less), reaching deep for memories of his own long-departed father. Looking like he was straining to keep it together, Lusk sat serenely on stool center-stage and sang the uplifting tune in his breathy falsetto, bringing power and grit without his usual over-emoting. “Luther Lusk!” Tyler enthused. “You remind me all the time the reason I love music.” After a few weeks of bland platitudes, Lopez served up another of her useful real-life artist comments, telling Jacob that part of being an artist is tapping into the emotion of a track without losing control. Randy agreed and said the vocals were good, but it didn’t excite him and encouraged Lusk to “go for it” next week. Casey Abrams chose Maroon 5’s “Harder to Breathe,” strapping on an electric guitar and tapping into his blue-eyed soul man for the bouncy white-funk tune. Moving spastically across the stage slapping hands with the audience, Abrams gave a performance that was manic at points, as he flashed his unfortunate scary face a few too many times, ending the song by getting uncomfortably close to Lopez’s face and then planting a kiss on her cheek. “I loved it,” Lopez blushed, clarifying that she was talking about the performance, not the soft-lips kiss and praising Abrams for taking a pop tune into the rock zone. With memories of the disastrous Nirvana performance from earlier in the season, Jackson was worried the Maroon 5 song wouldn’t pan out, but said the risk-taking worked and said Casey should continue pushing the envelope. “There’s millions of people in America that are really angry because you piss them off because you’re so f—ing good,” Tyler said, eliciting wide-eyed looks from his fellow judges and some nimble-fingered dead air from the network censors. He’s well-acquainted with the bottom three, so Iovine said Stefano Langone needed “Closer” by Ne-Yo to have the right sex appeal and strut, without coming off like begging. Wearing a romper-stomper pseudo-punk outfit complete with drooping red suspenders, Langone served up another cheesy, vocally weak performance that felt more like an over-eager high school musical solo than the work of the next “American Idol.” Expecting it to be jerky, bad karaoke, Jackson said Stefano pulled it off and smartly took his time on the early verses, even working in a few nice dance steps. Speaking for the ladies, Lopez said Langone had his swag on and worked the audience. Thursday night’s pimp spot belonged to teen Lauren Alaina, who sang Sara Evans’ “Born to Fly” with some help from Miley Cyrus’ producers, Rock Mafia. Iovine picked them to once again motivate Alaina to bring her best and not shrink away from the pressure. Working the stage like a pro, Alaina shimmied and strutted her way through the fiddle-tastic song that most of America was probably not familiar with. It was a bit of a generic arrangement and though Alaina came off confident and brassy, the song lacked the kind of dynamics needed to show off her vocal talent. Tyler suggested some Faith Hill or Shania Twain next time, while Lopez praised the color in the 16-year-old’s voice and encouraged her to go for the big notes she hears the other singers trying. “You can do that, do that next time,” Lopez said. “Try it. Try it at home by yourself. Scream, yell, in the shower, in the closet … just let it out and see how far and how long you can hold it … because you can do that!” In a huge switch from past years, when eliminated contestants who left “Idol” were rarely heard from again, the show opened with all of this year’s booted singers doing a group sing on Pink’s “So What,” with Pia Toscano, Naima Adedapo, Karen Rodriguez, Thia Megia and Ashthon Jones. Thursday’s results show will feature the return of season-seven winner David Cook singing his new single “The Last Goodbye,” and Katy Perry beaming in for “E.T.” Don’t miss “Idol Party Live” every Thursday at noon on MTV.com for analysis, celebrity guests and even some karaoke — get in the conversation by tweeting with the hashtag #idolparty! In the meantime, get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos ‘American Idol’ Season 10 Performances
