‘VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul’ featured performances by Kelly Clarkson, Florence Welch, Jessie J and many others. By Jocelyn Vena Jennifer Hudson,Kelly Clarkson and Mary J Blige perform onstage during VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul Photo: Larry Busacca/ Getty Images NEW YORK — Glittering clothes , big voices and sassy songs about love, loss and everything in between ruled the night during “VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul.” The concert was filled with booty-shaking, sing-along performances from Kelly Clarkson, Mary J. Blige, Florence and the Machine , Jennifer Hudson, Jill Scott, Jessie J and others, who rocked the Hammerstein Ballroom for the show, which aired Monday night (December 19) on VH1. With an assist from the night’s house band the Roots, it all kicked off with Hudson, Clarkson and Blige channeling the Supremes for “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” before launching into a medley of their own tracks, “Spotlight,” “Real Love” and “Since U Been Gone.” The performance set the tone for the night, which not only paid homage to the women in the room, both legendary and up-and-coming, but also the cities that birthed some of the most soulful songs in music history, including Chicago, London, Detroit, Philadelphia and Memphis, Tennessee. Through the night, divas from all walks of life, including Erykah Badu, Estelle, Mavis Staples, Chaka Khan, Martha Reeves, Marsha Ambrosius and Ledisi, as well as a few divos (Boyz II Men and Travie McCoy), sang some of the biggest hits from soul music’s lush history. The set list included a sampling of tracks like “Nowhere to Run” by Martha and the Vandellas, “Walking on Broken Glass” by Annie Lennox, “I’ll Take You There” by the Staple Singers and “Ain’t Nobody” by Khan herself. When the cities themselves weren’t being honored, the divas were, with solo performances that demonstrated the ladies’ killer vocal prowess. Florence Welch, Clarkson, Sharon Jones, Jessie J, Scott, Hudson and Blige each took the stage to give some shine to their own tracks and pop styles, proving that soul music is a genre that is still alive and well. The Amy Winehouse tribute was the culmination of the night. Although “VH1 Divas” was all about the living performers who belted out songs at the concert, the presence of one diva gone too soon was certainly felt. Instead of focusing on the loss suffered when the British songstress died over the summer, the show focused on a celebration of her music. “What’s up New York?” the tribute’s MC, Nas, asked the room. “When the legendary Amy Winehouse sang about me in her song ‘Me and Mr. Jones,’ I was so honored. Amy Winehouse was my true soul sister.” The two worked together on her Lioness: Hidden Treasures track, “Like Smoke.” “I’m here to honor a woman who had enough soul to last a lifetime,” he added. The presence of his “home girl” was felt in the room thanks to her game-changing music as reimagined by Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings (the latter of whom worked with her on her Back to Black album), Florence Welch and Wanda Jackson. The medley included her soul-killing breakup track “Back to Black” and her sassy anthem “You Know I’m No Good.” Related Artists Amy Winehouse Kelly Clarkson Jennifer Hudson Florence + the Machine Mary J. Blige Jessie J
On the 30th anniversary of the revolutionary writer’s unmerciful attempted-murder at the guns, hands, feet and nightsticks of Philly’s finest, and of his unjust incarceration after being shot by them, Mumia Abu-Jamal and his advocates have planned a mass rally at Philadelphia’s Constitution Center, from 7:30pm-10:30pm. Click Here To Read The Rest At HipHopWired.com
‘I was trying to destroy myself physically,’ McElhenney says of gaining 50 pounds to play Fat Mac, one of MTV News’ Top 50 TV Characters of 2011. By James Montgomery Rob McElhenney as Fat Mac in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” Photo: Joey L./ FX Gregor Samsa became an insect. Hulk Hogan dyed his beard black and joined the nWo. Metallica used to be awesome. Transformations are as much a part of life as eating, breathing and making fun of Lulu, yet rarely are they as unexpected as the grand, grotesque metamorphosis Rob McElhenney pulled off on the seventh season of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” when he turned the formerly fitness-obsessed Mac into a bulbous, bloated buffoon … mostly because he thought it would be funny. But McElhenney was also making a deeper point, too. By gaining 50 pounds of solid fat, he took a not-too-subtle jab at one of TV’s oldest tropes: Namely, that as shows go on, characters don’t age and they seemingly get better-looking. It’s the kind of deconstructionist slant that has made “Sunny” a cult favorite and made Fat Mac one of the year’s best characters. Because while, sure, it was funny to watch him inject insulin into his ginormous gut, you couldn’t help but ask yourself why there aren’t more characters like him on network shows. So, in celebration of Fat Mac’s inclusion in MTV News’ Top 50 TV Characters of 2011 , we spoke to McElhenney about piling on the pounds, the silky comfort of Tommy Bahama shirts, and how, someday, he hopes to be considered “the De Niro of basic-cable comedy.” MTV News : First off, congratulations on making our list of the Top 50 TV Characters of 2011. Fat Mac actually came in at #8 on the list. Rob McElhenney : I made the top 10? F— yeah! That’s really awesome. Who was ahead of me? [We start reading McElhenney the list, but he makes us stop when we reveal that Snooki came in at #3.] What? Are you f—ing kidding me? I refuse to hear anything else. Jesus Christ. MTV : Mac’s transformation was one of the television highlights of the year, and not just because it’s funny to see him, you know, lug around a garbage bag filled with chimichangas. You just don’t see characters put on that kind of weight on sitcoms now, or really ever before. McElhenney : Yeah. Vanity is such a huge part of television, and if you watch any average sitcom, you notice that the actors get better-looking as the years go by. And I caught myself sitting in the editing room last year, looking at myself, and I said, “Man, I don’t look very good in this scene; I should try to find a different shirt or something next time.” And I realized, “Wow, that is the first time I’d ever really thought that.” So I realized I needed to go in the extreme opposite direction. It’s always been our goal to do the opposite of what any sitcom on network television would do, so that’s what I did. MTV : So it went beyond, just, “It would be funny to see Mac gain an obscene amount of weight …” McElhenney : It wasn’t just a stunt. I thought, if we were being true to the characters, and we were really showing what these people would look like if they lived the way that they claimed to live, this is what we would look like. All we do is sit around and drink and eat terrible food, and there’s certainly no exercise going on, and we don’t seem to really care about our health. So when you hit a certain early-30s, mid-30s range, it’s going to start to fall apart. So, to me, it was less of a stunt or a gag and more of an actual representation of what Mac really might look like at this point in his life. MTV : So once you decided you were going to gain the weight, how’d you go about doing it without, you know, totally destroying your body? McElhenney : Oh, I was basically trying to destroy myself physically as much as I possibly could. I was trying to eat around 5,000 calories a day, and at first I was doing it as healthy as possible, but after like the 3,000th calorie of grilled chicken breast and rice, you realize you literally have to consume twice as much volume as opposed to just eating a cheeseburger. So after a while, I started eating a lot, a lot of doughnuts. It was really hard, man. The key to it was force-feeding myself this milkshake that I made every day that had weight gainer, chocolate milk, chocolate ice cream, and creatine, which creates bloating, and force-feeding myself two of those every day, and those were about 1,000 calories a piece, and that’s what really put it over the edge. MTV : You know, it’s funny, because you hear about all these actors gaining or losing weight for roles, and they’re almost always lauded for doing so. Does it bother you that, after going through so much, people only see Fat Mac as this sort of stunt? McElhenney : Well, I’d like to enter that conversation. You know, “the De Niro of basic-cable comedy.” [ He laughs. ] Nah, it doesn’t bother me. We’re not that kind of show. But I don’t think people understand how hard it was to just gain all this weight. I started at 162 and I got up to 212 … and I was also working out, just doing, like, powerlifting, because I noticed that most of my weight was just going to my gut, and it wasn’t filling out everywhere else and it wasn’t really playing, so to create that sort of non-defined, smooth look, I had to lift weights, and then the fat just sort of sat on top of the muscle. I was trying to create David, and as we all know, Michelangelo had to start with a slab of marble and then whittle it down. So I was just creating the slab. MTV : Another great thing about the character this season is that he introduced the Tommy Bahama shirt into the national conversation. McElhenney : [ He laughs. ] I see a lot of people wearing them. And I think middle-aged guys wear them because they think it hides their gut, and it doesn’t. In a bizarre way, it makes them look bigger, and originally I was wearing these super-tight T-shirts, and since my fat was kind of rolling out from underneath it, you would think that you would look bigger onscreen that way, as opposed to this big, flowing shirt. But for whatever reason, they actually accentuate the size. They’re like a muumuu. And the truth is, once you slip one of those bad boys on, they’re unbelievably comfortable. They’re made out of silk, and they really just flow and they breathe, and I was like, “Goddamn, I kind of really love these shirts.” I took some home, but my wife [“Sunny” co-star Kaitlin Olson] wasn’t having it. MTV : One of the key episodes this season was “How Mac Got Fat,” which, as the title implies, explained why he put on all the weight. There are scenes of you in flashback when you were skinny. Can you explain the backstory of that episode? McElhenney : We shot it last season, and it was a completely different episode and we were going to air it this year, because we had one less slot last year. So that was always the intention, and then as we started the season, and I went through this endeavor, we realized we couldn’t just air this episode because it wouldn’t make sense anymore. So we sort of broke down the episode and said, “How can we tell this as a flashback, and create this as being the reason why Mac did this in the first place?” So we rewrote it, based on the cut and based on the footage we had, and then we went back and created this completely different episode. It was literally the last thing we shot this season. MTV : So, finally, we know you’ve dropped most of the Fat Mac weight now. Looking back, how do you feel about the entire endeavor? McElhenney : Yeah, I’ve dropped almost all of it. I think the remaining 10 to 12 pounds are probably just going to stay. I’m OK with that. [ He laughs. ] And, you know, I’m really happy I did it. It was hard, but it was worth it. I can tell you right now that this never would’ve happened on network television. Because when I would’ve gone in to pitch it to the network executives, they would’ve said, “Absolutely not.” Because the glamour is such an important part of how they sell their shows, so trying to make the actors look as good as they possibly can is an important part of the process. And our show has never been about that. MTV will reveal the best artists, songs and movies of the year. Come to MTV News each day to see more big reveals and check out more of MTV’s Best of 2011 music, TV, movies and news coverage.
‘Parks and Recreation’ antihero Ron Swanson lands at #1, with ‘Breaking Bad’ meth cook Walter and the ‘Jersey Shore’ guidette behind him. By MTV News staff Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi in “Jersey Shore” Photo: MTV It’s all come down to this: Only 10 remain in our countdown of the Top 50 TV Characters of 2011, and the results might surprise you. It goes without saying that one of our favorite “Jersey Shore” stars found her way toward the top of our list, but it’s a certain “Parks and Rec” administrator who took home all the bacon (and all the eggs while he was at it). Combine those characters with two nods for “Breaking Bad,” an Emmy-winning “Game of Thrones” actor and one comedian who risked his very life to bring some of the biggest laughs the small screen has ever enjoyed, and you’ll find yourself looking at our Top 10 TV Characters of 2011. Stay tuned to MTV News for interviews with several of our top honorees. See our Top 50 TV Characters of 2011, 50 to 41, including a masked bachelor and dashing novelist/crime-fighter. 10. Gus Fring, “Breaking Bad” I’ve never smoked meth, but my guess is the effects are similar to the feeling shooting through my body when the crank kingpin — SPOILER ALERT! — exited the smoky scene of a suicide bombing, straightened his tie and revealed that in place of his face was a steaming mass of Fring-like goo. He was in death as he was in life: debonair, a spiller of blood and totally goddamn frightening. Contemplating a “Breaking Bad” without Gus makes us want to reach for the pipe. -Eric Ditzian 9. Constance Langdon, “American Horror Story” Both television and the horror genre are no strangers to terrible mothers, but Jessica Lange’s deliciously dark Constance on “American Horror Story” truly takes the cake. How many moms have you known to allow their children to die in a house that keeps the dead’s spirits locked in our mortal realm for all eternity? The two-time Oscar winner marks her first regular television gig with “AHS,” and it’s a phenomenal debut. As awful as Constance can be, as mean and nasty as she gets, she’s impossible to look away from. And, so help us, you actually feel bad for this woman and her cursed womb. Only an actress of Lange’s caliber could make the ruthless Constance into someone you can root for despite yourself — and with only one season under her belt, we can only imagine the “Horror” Lange will bring in the future. -Josh Wigler 8. Fat Mac, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” Remember Robert De Niro’s turn in “Raging Bull,” when he gained 60 pounds to play Jake La Motta? Of course you don’t; there weren’t any sparkling vampires in “Raging Bull.” Long story short, De Niro packed on the lb’s and subsequently won every award on the planet. Rob McElhenney, on the other hand, added a solid 50 pounds of fat to play Mac on the current season of “Sunny,” and he’ll be lucky to be nominated for a Blockbuster Entertainment Award. So let’s honor him here — not only for ruining his body for the sake of comedy, but for spoiling one of TV’s oldest tropes: As shows go on, characters don’t age, they get better looking. On the seventh season of “Sunny,” Mac looks worse than ever, yet his best moments — carrying around a trash bag filled with chimichangas, insisting he’s just “cultivating mass” — steal the show. Whether it’s method acting or some sociological experiment, you’ve got to appreciate McElhenney’s willingness to bust boundaries — and waistbands. -James Montgomery See our Top 50 TV Characters of 2011, 40 to 31, including a “hootie hoo!”-hollering chef and funnyman talk-show host. 7. Milania Giudice, “Real Housewives of New Jersey “You have such muscular legs when you do gymnastics, sometimes you gotta rest your toes,” Gia sang to little sister Milania — both daughters of “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Teresa Giudice — on her fifth birthday. The song is irrelevant to all the adorable little Milania represents, but I just love that line. Milania remained blissfully unaware of the drama her mother and castmates stirred up on “RHONJ” and instead delivered such irreverent pearls as “give me pizza, you old troll” to her father and climbed onto couches, into supermarket freezer displays and, most importantly, into our hearts. -Rya Backer 6. Phil Dunphy, “Modern Family” In the sea of characters on “Modern Family,” the biggest one of all just might be Phil Dunphy, played by Emmy winner Ty Burrell . Prime time’s most well-meaning husband, dad and son-in-law, Phil lives his life with his own joie de vivre, blind to the fact that sometimes (when he lets his feet get off the ground) he borders on the ridiculous. He’s over-the-top and underappreciated, but at the end of the day, it’s his love for life, shenanigans and family that keeps audiences, and the Dunphy clan, coming back for more. -Jocelyn Vena 5. Eric Northman, “True Blood” There are plenty of badass bloodsuckers littering vampire canon, so what makes Eric Northman (played by Alexander Skarsg
Almost 30 years to the date since his arrest for allegedly shooting a police officer in Philly, political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal is no longer on Death Row. The Philadelphia district attorney said today he is dropping pursuit of death penalty against former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal, the Associated Press reports. The announcement comes two days before supporters of the former radio reporter, who was convicted in the 1981 murder of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner, will gather to mark the 30th anniversary of Abu-Jamal’s arrest, ThePhiladelphia Inquirer says. Abu-Jamal, 58, is being held at the state prison in Greene County in Western Pennsylvania, where he has gained fame for his death-row writings. He will serve a life sentence. Faulkner was on patrol in Center City on Dec. 9, 1981, when, according to testimony, he pulled over a car driven by Abu-Jamal’s brother, William Cook, at 13th and Locust Streets, the Inquirer says. Abu-Jamal, moonlighting as a cabdriver, recognized his brother’s car, ran toward them, and shot Faulkner, witnesses testified. A gunfight ensued, and Abu-Jamal was struck by a bullet from Faulkner’s gun. Abu-Jamal was found slumped on a curb. Witnesses said Abu-Jamal stood over the wounded officer and shot him in the face. Neither Abu-Jamal nor Cook has testified about what happened that night. Abu-Jamal has denied shooting Faulkner. After 30 years… Let’s see what this will mean for the rest of America’s political prisoners. Source More On Bossip! RihRih Gets Kushed Up And Goes Drizzy H.A.M. On Twitter Talking About Skrippers And Getting Back Into Her Freakum Bikini The Favorite Child: We Pick The Hottest Sibling Out Of Each Superstar Family Luckiest Husbands In The World: A Look At Wives Keeping It Right And Tight For Their Men EXCLUSIVE: Robin Thicke (@RobinThicke) Gets Candid About His New Album, Adding To His Family, And Paula Patton Dancing In Lingerie
Meek Mill will also make an appearance on the show, airing Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET on MTV.com. By Rob Markman Rick Ross Photo: Getty Images Rick Ross is back and the Maybach Music boss has much to celebrate. After suffering two seizures in October, Rozay is focused on his health and relishing in the success of Wale’s current #1 rap album Ambition . On Wednesday, the biggest Bawse and Meek Mill will be featured on “RapFix Live” and touch on MMG’s reign, his upcoming album, his new mixtape with Drake and how he and his team are moving after his health scare. Ross will also speak on Trina. Last week, “RapFix Live” invited Da Baddest Bitch to the red couch and talked to her about her new album, her love life and the possibility of her signing to Rozay’s Maybach Music label. Trina stayed tight-lipped about the merger, but hopefully Ross can shed some light. “I have a few surprises,” Trina said on “RapFix Live.” “This album, I want to make it more about me. I’m not going to have a whole album full of features. I’m working with some really great producers and Ross, of course. He’s the structure and the leader for the album. I love Ross. He’s like my brother, so it’s really important for me that he understands where I’m at right now and to help make this album be as great as I want it to.” Ross has also been contributing to Meek Mill’s as-yet-untitled debut LP, so expect an album update from the Philadelphia flame spitter as well as info on his recently released “I’ma Boss (Remix),” featuring Lil Wayne, T.I., Rick Ross, Swizz Beatz, DJ Khaled and Birdman. N.O.R.E. will also make an appearance on this week’s show. The Capone-N-Noreaga rapper has been down in Miami, not only putting the finishing touches on his upcoming Super Thug album, but also concentrating on his health. N.O.R.E. will talk about the steps he has been taking to shed pounds as well as speak on his buddy Fat Joe’s new look and his thoughts on the recent death of hip-hop legend Heavy D . That’s not all. Fans will be able to see what industry insiders are listening to in our regular “Week in Rotation” segment and check out new talent with this week’s “Get in the Game” pick. Catch Rick Ross, Meek Mill and N.O.R.E. on “RapFix Live” Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET on MTV.com, and be sure to join the Twitter conversation using the hashtag #RapFixLive! Related Artists Rick Ross N.O.R.E. Meek Mill
Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa have joined marijuana forces for their new movie “Mac + Devin Go To Highschool.” Packing Playlist : California Wiz Khalifa plays Devin, a student overachiever vying for the title of valedictorian. While writing his graduation speech, Devin realizes he lacks the social experiences of his peers. Mac Johnson played, by Snoop, is the opposite of Devin, a 15-year senior/slacker–full of life. The two meet up and help one another make it through High School! The Cheech and Chong like couple have also announced that they will hit several cities for a small tour of the soundtrack. Dec. 5 – New York, NY – Terminal 5 Dec. 6 – Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory Dec. 7 – Washington, D.C. – 9:30 Club Dec. 10 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle Dec. 12 – San Francisco, CA – The Warfield Theatre Dec. 13 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern Spotted @Rap-Up.com Wiz Khalifa “Dessert” [NEW SONG] The Evolution Of Snoop Dogg [VIDEO]
Amber Rose appeared on “The Wendy Williams Show” recently where, naturally, the host was able to get her to spill on the past and present men in her life. On Kanye West shouting her out at the ‘Watch The Throne’ concert in her hometown of Philadelphia : He said that he was an a-hole and he was mean to me. He did not treat me the way he was supposed to and I accepted his apology because I feel like he’s remorseful for how he treated me. It was a nice gesture. Do you think Kanye West wants you back? I don’t care. Will you ever get back with Kanye? I will never get back with Kanye, there’s no way. I want to be with Wiz for the rest of my life. Do you believe in marriage? I never did until I met Wiz. I really didn’t. Every relationship that I ever had, especially being a stripper since I was 15 years old, I never thought it would happen for me. On rumors that she was the reason Reggie Bush & Kim Kardashian broke up One thing about me is that I’m not a home wrecker. I would never date a man that’s in a relationship or a married man. I broke up with Kanye and he broke up with Kim and we met right after. We were both going through a hard time so we were like each other’s rebounds basically. It was brief, it was nice and he’s a great guy. On whether Kim Kardashian & Kanye West slept together Come on, you know. WATCH! Amber Rose On Kanye’s WTT Shoutout: “He’s Remorseful About Being An A**hole To Me” Kanye West Calls Ex Amber Rose “Incredible” At Watch The Throne Philly Stop [VIDEO] Amber Rose To Kanye West: “I Can Write A Book, But I Choose To Take The High Road” Wiz Khalifa Shows Amber Rose Birthday Love [VIDEO]
